marvel comics

The Pull List – March 24th

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Pretty light week this week, but hey, today’s my birthday, so you get a present!

Deadpool #21: This particular story just hasn’t been doing anything for me, so thank goodness it’s over. Maybe it’s just the presence of that horrible thing known as Hit-Monkey, or maybe the conceit of Deadpool running around “trying to learn to be a hero” has just worn thin for me, I dunno. I’m gonna give the book another few issues before I decide what to do, but I seriously hope this title picks up a bit. On the positive side, there were a couple of decent gags in this issue, and it was definitely stronger than the last couple of issues. The art’s still solid (though I’ve no idea why Carlo Barberi draws Spider-Man with such broad shoulders. Isn’t Peter Parker supposed to be more…I dunno, wiry? Not built like a guy who lifts weights and downs protein shakes?)

I also picked up two trades this week: the third volume of Brian Wood’s excellent Northlanders and the Deadpool: Suicide Kings collection. Suicide Kings was alright, though it relied a little too heavily on a couple of crutch-like jokes throughout (the whole “imagine some ‘wacky’ situation then snap back to reality and realize he was daydreaming or whatever” thing was used, like, at least once per issue, and most of the supposedly-wacky situations weren’t all that wacky), but it was okay. Northlanders was great, a collection of some of a couple of the shorter stories from the title so far (two two-parters, “Lindisfarne” and “The Shield Maidens,” and a couple of one-shot issues, including the excellent “Sven the Immortal,” proving that an old man who is pissed off can take a bunch of insolent young idiots anytime). Good times.

The Pull List – March 17th

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St. Patrick’s Day was indeed a day for green, as the second of five (!) new Green Hornet titles from Dynamite came out. Apparently my LCS guy thought I might enjoy it, so I found a copy of Green Hornet: Year 1 #1 in my box. Here’s my thoughts on it and the rest of the stuff I pulled this week.

Green Hornet: Year One #1: I really dig Matt Wagner’s stuff set in the 1920s/1930s (really, the only other thing I can think of off the top of my head is his work on Sandman Mystery Theatre, which is absolutely fantastic), so I’m down with this. The Year One subtitle is a little bit of a misnomer, as Wagner bounces around between the early childhoods of Britt Reid and Kato and their early efforts as masked heroes. What we get is the beginning of a nice little examination of how Green Hornet came to be, and some solid moments of characterization for each character. We haven’t seen how the two will get together just quite yet, but hey, this is just the first issue. I may not have originally planned on pulling this book, but I’m glad it made its way into my box and I’m definitely looking forward to the next issue.

Joe the Barbarian #3: This book just keeps getting more awesome. Sean Murphy’s art is easily the best thing about this title, but that’s not to say Grant Morrison’s script isn’t cool as hell. The parallels between Joe’s hallucinations and the real world are well-done and add some great depth to the story, and things are starting to blur together in a pretty exciting way. Plus, we get a new addition to the group, the rather large son of a pirate guy who brings some fun to the proceedings. This is one of the funnier books I’ve ever read by Morrison, and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1: So we get a nice little send-off for Hercules here, with folks getting together and telling stories about their experiences with the Prince of Power. Thor’s tale is pretty great, a couple of solid little jokes about Herc’s sexual exploits, and an interesting set up at the end of the issue. I do have a couple of problems with the book: first, the art is just bland and boring. Things look washed out, and the women all have the same exact face. The Agents of Atlas backup works pretty well, featuring Venus going around and closing out Hercules’s accounts in what ends up being quite funny and warm. The book’s worth picking up, if for no other reason than to set up the new Prince of Power book that’s starting up in a couple of months.

As for trades, I picked up the new Hellboy trade, which admittedly came out last week, but which I could only find this week. Huzzah for Hellboy!

The Pull List – March 3rd

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Comics strike back! And this time, there’s some fantastic stuff in the pile…

Detective Comics #862: Part 2 of “Cutter” continues the breakneck pace of the first issue in the arc, flipping back and forth between two cases (one from Batman’s past and one which Batwoman is currently working) that are running remarkably parallel. There are some great character moments here for Batwoman, and some interesting interactions between her (in her civilian Kate Kane persona) and her cousin, Bette Kane (and an unusual little snippet of a scene featuring Bette looking at a rather odd costume), and the parallels between Batman’s work on the earlier Cutter case (I’m guessing the implication here was that he was unsuccessful in really stopping this guy back then) and Batwoman’s approach now are deft and clever. Parallel imagery and situations are handled well by artist Jock, and Rucka’s dialogue and scripting are smart, well-paced, and fit well. The Question backup feature continues to engage as well, and Cully Hamner’s art is just great.

Invincible Iron Man #24: The finale of the Stark: Disassembled storyline delivers a solid story after a rather tepid issue last month. Stark’s friends acquit themselves well in a fight against Ghost, though ultimately it’s up to Tony to save the day (and he does so in a very Tony Stark sort of way). Dialogue and action are well-done here, and the scenes in Stark’s mind are much better than they were last month. Still not quite sure what was happening there, but sitting down with the whole story and reading it in one shot should help clear that up. The most interesting aspect is the last scene, which sets up a new status quo for the revived Tony in a way that not only makes sense, it kinda helps clear the deck of the past few years’ worth of craziness that’s built up. I’m interested to see where this is going next, and that’s always a good thing.

This was a good week for trades. I picked up volume four of Justice League International (the last one they’re releasing, as far as I can see, which makes me quite sad), and though it doesn’t feature nearly as much Kevin Maguire art as I’d like, it’s still a great collection. If you haven’t read this stuff, I highly recommend it: superhero melodramatics and laugh-out-loud funny bits mixed together liberally and with some (usually) great art (there were a few issues in volume 3 that looked like they were just using someone’s rough sketches for the final art, and it’s pretty painful after getting used to the stellar work of Maguire and the book’s other semi-regular penciller, Ty Templeton). Definitely worth the investment.

The other trade I picked up was the Iron Man story Demon in a Bottle, one of the most well-known Iron Man stories out there. I haven’t had a chance to crack this one open yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

The Pull List for February 24th

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It’s that time again: comics!

Wonder Woman #41: Mostly just an excuse for Wonder Woman and Power Girl to have a little throwdown, but it works pretty well. In typical superhero fashion, this leads to an inevitable team-up. Simone’s dialogue sparkles as usual, and the characterization between the two is swell. The way Wonder Woman defeats the Crows (those obnoxious, mind-manipulating little bastards who are causing all the trouble) is fairly novel, too, the gag about Wonder Woman needing Power Girl to tie her up is amusing, and seeing Power Girl use something other than her fists and her cleavage to accomplish something is nice, too. Could have probably done without the hot dog bit, though.

Batman and Robin #9: This issue wraps up Cameron Stewart’s three-issue run on the title, and damn it was a fun ride. Morrison throws several crazy ideas at us, from Batwoman letting herself die and trusting Batman to bring her back, to using Knight and Squire effectively (seriously, how come we only see these guys in Morrison-penned comics?), to the battle between the fake Batman and Robin & Alfred; everything just really worked. We even get a bit of justification for Dick Grayson’s apparent inconsistency with regards to using the Lazarus Pit to revive Bruce Wayne, even if it doesn’t quite fully explain things. Overall, a solid issue.

Deadpool #20: A definite improvement over the previous issue, though it still felt pretty weak (especially compared to the whacked-out zaniness of the previous storyline). Some of the bits between Deadpool and Spider-Man were pretty good (and the dress was a fantastically left field thing to throw in), but the continued use of Hit-Monkey kind of drags the proceedings down quite a bit. We’ll see if this story justifies its existence next issue.

As far as trades go, I picked up the Immortal Weapons TPB, a collection of one-shots featuring the immortal weapons of the 7 Cities of Heaven from Immortal Iron Fist. Haven’t gotten very far into it yet, but the Fat Cobra story was pretty decent, and I heard good things about most (if not all) of the stories in this collection, so huzzah.

Comics to Heal the Soul

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C’mon, get happy! It’s new comics time! Possible spoilers (but only if you haven’t been paying any attention to interviews from the writers or, well, the internet), so you’ve been warned!

Incredible Hercules #141: I’m sad this is the last issue of this title. Sure, I only started reading it in single issues at the start of the current Assault on New Olympus storyline, but I’d read everything else (except the apparently awesome Incredible Thorcules story) in trades and felt this was a title worth following monthly. And it was. We get some interesting twists here (the new chief deity of the Olympians makes sense, but she turns out to be just as cruel and calculating – more so, really – than Hera ever was), a couple of deaths that were telegraphed from quite a ways back (Van Lente and Pak have been telling us that a certain Prince of Power would die). There are a couple of choice bits that were interesting: finding out who was really behind, well, essentially everything that’s ever happened in Hercules’s life, Amadeus Cho’s resigned acceptance of his new role, a couple of nice sound effects. However, Herc’s defeat of the big baddie doesn’t make a whole lot of sense (I mean, the Aegis plate bounces the kinetic energy of his attack back at him the first time, but doesn’t three pages later? Seems a little off to me, fellas). This isn’t the end for these characters (there’s a two-part Fall of an Avenger thing coming out in the next couple of months, which will lead into a new title, Prince of Power, staring everyone’s favorite self-proclaimed “Seventh Smartest Person in the World”), so it’s good to know there’ll be more from this creative team with these characters. The Agents of Atlas backup feature was decent, too, and the ending to that had a decent little twist, too, and tied things back into the original miniseries (what with Venus’s assumptions about her identity) rather nicely.

Joe the Barbarian #2: The pace really picks up in this issue and we’re thrust right into the action. Deathcoats are hot on our hallucinating hero’s trail, he’s joined by a samurai rat name Chakk (actually Joe’s pet rat, Jack), and Captain Pickard gives him a pretty useless phaser (well, seems useless so far. This is Grant Morrison we’re talking about here, so you have to assume everything was done for a reason). Sean Murphy’s art is beautiful, and with the able assistance of Dave Stewart on colors and Todd Klein on letters, this is one of the best possible creative teams you could hope for in a comic. Loved Joe’s interaction with Lord Arc, whose “The journey – arduous, companions on the way, et cetera! Traditional rules apply!” had me laughing out loud. Morrison is using something of a stock fantasy plot here – young man falls into a world not his own and must make a journey to save the world and get himself home – but it’s the twist of this just being the kid’s hallucination (or is it? Again, it’s Morrison, so who knows what’s really happening just yet) that adds an interesting dimension to an otherwise standard plot. Morrison’s always playing around with storytelling conventions and metafiction, always tweaking little things and playing with the basic notions of narrative, so I’m interested to see where he takes this.

Deadpool #19: This issue felt kinda flat, and not just because of its use of Hit Monkey as a plot device. No, it was the characterization of Spider-Man; things just felt off, and Peter Parker seemed to have way too much anger and not nearly enough snark in him. And Deadpool just didn’t bring the crazy funny in this issue. There’s a chance for hijinks next issue, sure, but as the opening issue of a story, this just didn’t draw me in.

Atomic Robo: Revenge of the Vampire Dimension #1: Hot damn, new Atomic Robo! Any week that features Atomic Robo is a good week. In this case, we get to see one of the current Tesladyne’s employees on his first day, which also happens to be the same day a dimension full of “vampires” break through into Tesladyne and Robo and his team have to contain them. Well, I say “Robo and his team,” but it’s really all about the force of nature that is Jenkins. Brian Clevinger throws in some great lines (“Action geology.” Heh), and Scott Wegener’s art is fantastic as always. This issue was essentially done in one, which leads me to wonder what they’ll do with the other three issues in this mini, but I trust in Clevinger and Wegener to steer us right. They haven’t let me down so far.

Trade this week was the second volume of J. Michael Straczynski’s run on Thor. There’s some decent stuff going on in this title, between the machinations of Loki (and the revelation about Loki’s female body is a nice twist) and the trick to kick Thor out of Asgard. I’m actually really interested now to see what Matt Fraction does when he takes over the title post-Siege.

Snow Won’t Stop New Comics!

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Despite the several feet of snow on the ground here in Northern Virginia, I managed to get out yesterday to the comic book store and pick up my books for the week. Pretty light haul, but what it lacked in quantity it made up in quality!

Batman and Robin #8: Cameron Stewart’s art continues to dazzle in its clarity and pure awesomeness, and Grant Morrison writes a story that’s clever and full of crazy ideas. Plus, he draws on stuff from Final Crisis and his earlier run on Batman to pull out a crazy twist with the body of “Bruce Wayne” that’s pretty cool. This series is awesome, plain and simple.

Secret Six #18: The final part of the Six’s Blackest Night tie-in does everything right. I didn’t even mind that it’s a tie-in to an event I’m not even following. We get the resolution of the fight between the Six and the Suicide Squad, some great lines from Ragdoll (finding out along the way the one thing in the world that can actually disgust him), and a nice little twist reveal at the end that sets up (I hope) some future stories and conflicts. If you’re not following Gail Simone’s Secret Six, shame on you!

I also picked up volume 2 of All-Star Superman. It’s easily one of the best comic books – and hands-down the best Superman story – I’ve ever read. Everything about it is pitch-perfect, from the tone of the stories to the brilliant art by Frank Quitely to the touching moments that show us the “man” is just as important as the “super.” Oh, and giving Clark Kent the headline? Absolute perfection. If you haven’t read this comic, there’s a giant gaping hole where your soul should be.

Weekend Reading

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Haven't we already been through this once this winter?This is the view out the back door of my townhouse at 10:00 AM this morning. The view from the front is much the same. We’re snowed in, baby, so it’s a weekend of reading and enjoying the warmth of our townhouse until the power cuts out and we’re left to huddle together under blankets for warmth. So what, exactly, am I reading? Well…

Runaways, Volume 1: I’ve read these before, but I felt this would be a great time to sit down and re-read the three digest-sized trades of Brian K. Vaughn’s first Runaways story. The second volume was alright, and I haven’t had a chance to read anyone else’s stuff with the characters, but this first 18-issue arc was fantastic. It’s nice to see kids portrayed in a way that isn’t condescending or makes them seem like they’re just adults with acne. And the anime/managa-influenced art is pretty solid, though the characters’ mouths open tremendously wide sometimes. Like, freakishly so.

Booster Gold, Vol. 3 – Reality Lost: I rather dug the Booster Gold stuff Geoff Johns wrote in the first two trades of this title, so went ahead and picked up the third trade yesterday before Snowpocalypse 2: Electric Boogaloo got underway. It’s not bad; not nearly as good as the stuff in the first two trades, but the art (by Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens) is still top-notch, and there’s some neat little ideas running around in it. Can’t wait for Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis to get ahold of the title in the coming months.

No Hero: I’m a big Warren Ellis fan, and this is supposed to be classic Ellis: over-the-top violence, weird concepts, snarky dialogue, the works. Can’t wait to dig into it.

The Starman Omnibus, Volume 1: I’ve heard phenomenal things about this, James Robinson’s opus, and picked up the first volume of the set to see what I think. It’s pretty awesome so far. I’ll definitely be picking up the rest of the set as they come out (they’re up to number 4 of 6 so far, right?).

John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty and Utilitarianism: What, I’m not allowed to read something deep and intellectual? I’m not all fights and tights, folks. There’s hidden depths here. Plus, I just really like a philosophy built around the idea of “if it doesn’t hurt someone else, you should be able to do it.” And yes, that’s an oversimplification, but it’s early still and I haven’t had breakfast yet.

Snow Day Means Comics!

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Snow day, school was closed, so I got to get my comics today instead of the weekend! Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Invincible Iron Man #23: Actually a rather disappointing issue, as it turns out. Not much of anything really happens; Fraction just gets players into place for the final issue of the Stark Disassembled storyline. The art also isn’t all that great; Stark’s face isn’t consistent from panel to panel, and he and Dr. Strange look way too similar. There is a nice bit between Pepper Potts and Maria Hill that’ll make for an interesting little confrontation when Stark does finally wake up next issue (’cause, c’mon, we know that’s what’s gonna happen here), but this really just feels like a setup for the finale.

Doom Patrol #7: Not a bad issue, per se, but also pretty underwhelming. We see the aftermath of the Black Laterns’ attack from a couple of issues ago, an old character gets dredged up from Grant Morrison’s run, and a new story is set in motion with what looks to be competing Doom Patrols. This could have a nice payoff later, but I’m just not seeing it yet. The issue also featured the final Metal Men co-feature, and I was pretty underwhelmed by that as well. The art was great as always, but the humor seemed forced and the ending just didn’t do anything for me. It feels rather like they were expecting to have longer to work with this than they did, but that’s merely idle speculation on my part.

Also picked up the first J. Michael Straczynski Thor trade, just to give it a go. We’ll see how that goes. I’ve heard good and bad, and the fact that it’s set in my native Oklahoma has me a little concerned (rarely is my home state portrayed well in popular culture; I mean, not that Oklahoma often does much to be proud of, but not everyone there is a bumpkin named Cletus).

You want comics? I got yer comics right here!

| xeyeti

Another week, another batch of comics! Small set this week, but let’s jump in, shall we?

Joe the Barbarian #1: A rather slow, sedated start to a comic from a writer who usually jumps headlong into the action from panel 1, but with art this beautiful, who am I to complain? And the fact that it looks to be such an interesting story (diabetic kid goes into hypoglycemic shock and has to make it to some food before he, y’know, dies, and oh he happens to be hallucinating something fierce on the way) is gonna go a long way to helping me feel good about picking up this 8-issue miniseries. Plus, hey, first issue was only $1. Thank you, Vertigo!

Incredible Hercules #140: The Assault on New Olympus continues with some nice twists, great moments between Herc and Amadeus Cho, and the as-usual awesome sound effects. This series is consistently awesome and you should all be reading it, even if it is slated for cancellation in the very near future.

Also picked up the latest Captain America trade, Road to Reborn. Brubaker writes a very compelling Cap, and I’m half-tempted to start following this one in single issues instead of just trades (probably not, though. It’s one of those stories that just reads better in large chunks).