Comic Mini-Reviews Week of April 11th, 2012

This week: Thief of Thieves' story deepens, Geoff Johns expands via contraction, and James Robinson does the opposite.

Avenging Spider-man #6 – I am not sure I can think of a pairing of writers that I love more than Mark Waid and Greg Rucka. It seems like forever ago that they were two-fourths of the scripting team of DC's year long event, 52.  As much as I love Grant Morrison and like Geoff Johns, Waid and Rucka just seem suited for working together. Avenging Spider-man #6 kicks off the Omega Effect crossover between Spider-man, Daredevil and Punisher. Tonally it is just about perfect. The characters are well pitched and they react to each other in fitting ways. I've admitted before that I'm not much of a Spider-man fan but what I may have neglected to mention is that I have even less interest in Punisher. Yet somehow, Rucka and Waid took both characters and made me interested in them. The art by Marco Checchetto and Matt Hollingsworth fits the tone of the book perfectly. They were able to strike a balance where the playful Spider-man, dour Punisher and determined Daredevil all look at home on the page.

Batman and Robin #8 – The longest New 52 story arc (of the books I have read) is over! Batman and Robin by the stellar team of Pete Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray has been intense. After eight issues, the book is easily in my top five DCnU series. The first story wasn't perfect but it was darn good. This issue puts the wraps on the duo's conflict with NoBody, but I think it's a safe assumption to think the story isn't quite over. After all, there seems to be little to no consequences to the actions that Damien took throughout the arc (particularly, at the end of issue seven). Aside from a few minor flaws, the story was surprisingly deep while the art was some of Gleason's absolute best. I hope that the same level of quality can be maintained in the next storyline.

Batwoman #8 – Look, I'm not exactly sure what to say about this issue. Batwoman is still a good series but the storytelling in the current arc lacks cohesion. The problem is not in the art – Amy Reeder's pencils do a great job of conveying the craziness of the plot on the page. Rather, I think that JH Williams III and W. Haden Blackman's choice to skip around in the story is a detriment to the narrative. I am all for creative storytelling but the story might be focusing on the perspective of too many characters. I may be in the minority but I am having trouble getting a grasp on the gravity of the story with so much jumping around. I'm still enjoying the series, but it doesn't seem to have the momentum and creative energy that it had in the first storyline.

Conan: The Barbarian #3 – I know little to nothing about Conan. He's a barbarian, he's badass...uhm, he was governor of California? Considering that I am buying this series solely because of its stellar creative team and not because of my prior knowledge of the character, some of my reactions have been interesting. For instance, as good as it is, my appetite is not whetted for more. I will follow the book as long as Brian Wood, Becky Cloonan, and Dave Stewart are working on it but after that it will have to be a superstar team to keep me. I'm not running out and buying old copies of Conan novels and I have zero interest in the other Conan comic books on the shelves. All that aside, this is a very, very good issue. The adapted script by Wood is dynamic and engrossing while the art by Cloonan and Stewart is gorgeous.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #8 - One thing I love about comic books is that if you watch the career of a writer closely, you can often see the some pretty interesting shifts in their work. I say this to point out that the Jeff Lemire, the writer of the deeply personal love-letter to his birthplace in Essex County, is currently working on a book where Frankenstein and his six-armed ex-wife have to search down and destroy their laboratory created monster child for a secret government agency. I mean, what other medium are you going to find that kind of range in? You think Nicolas Sparks has ever finished a romance novel and decided to write the next great American spy-novel? I digress. Frankenstein #8 is a solid issue with good art from Albert Ponticelli. I know I said this last month but I am shocked by how much smoother Walden Wong's inking job makes Ponticelli's pencils. I like both, but I think I might prefer the latter.

Green Lantern #8 – This issue is the second part of the laborious revelation of who and what the Indigo Tribe really is. To anyone reading Green Lantern since Geoff Johns took over, it should come as no surprise that their origins are intimately tied to the Green Lanterns, the space sector Earth is in, and the legendary name of one person we're already pretty familiar with. Look, I like Johns' run as a whole but, goodness, he has the whole universe as his sandbox but he refuses to leave the familiar territory. If we had to rely on him as an ancient explorer, we never would have made it out of the Mediterranean. (Though EVERY corner of the coast of Italy would be well examined. Maybe this metaphor is getting a bit labored.) Regardless, Johns' work post New 52 has been (mostly) inoffensive and Green Lantern number eight is no different. Doug Mahnke is still one of the best artists working in the industry and he brings the creepiness of the Indigo Tribe to life. My eye isn't discerning enough to see a difference but his pencils are inked in this issue by FOUR different artists—himself, Mark Irwin, Keith Champagne, and Christian Almay—and the colors are done beautifully by Alex Sinclair.

The Shade #7 – If you've read Starman you know that James Robinson enjoys using his characters as a way of exploring the fictional world of DC. It should come as no surprise that the majority of The Shade has been taken up with shedding light on unexplored regions of the DCnU. The new characters are interesting but I'm not sure where the plot enters into the story. After he was attacked by Deathstroke in issue one, we've only gotten little bits and pieces of the Shade's story. At the end of issue seven, we're told that not only the quest item the Shade was looking for was destroyed but the quest giver had died. Essentially, this allows for Robinson to take the story into another corner of the world for a little while. It almost feels like the comic is telling me that the princess is in another tower. Don't get me wrong, The Shade is a fun mini-series, but I'm not sure how cohesive the story is. Of course, if the new characters Robinson introduces continue to be this fun, it might not matter.

Thief of Thieves #3 – There's something about this series that reminds me of Y the Last Man. Obviously, the stories are nothing alike but there are similarities in the way the little pieces of plot are being slowly doled out. Issue three ends with a suitable shocking bombshell that will make the series going forward even more interesting. Can the world's greatest thief continue to be retired with the FBI breathing down his neck and a mysterious loved one behind bars? Solid issue, good art, and, now, a future TV show.

Winter Soldier #4 - There's quite a bit to like about this issue.  Brubaker continues to weave a super-spy narrative into the fabric of the insanity of the Marvel Universe.  At one point, Bucky chases down a sleeper agent while Dr. Doom fights a Doombot duplicate of himself.  The writing is crisp, the art is fitting and the story moves a pretty fast clip.  Sadly, there were almost no machine gun toting great apes in this issue. I'd like to see you remedy that, Mr. Brubaker.