All Star Western #7 – So the Jeremiah Arkham/Jonah Hex show isn't over yet. Our two intrepid heroes head down to New Orleans on the trail of a child slaver only to be hijacked into adventure by superhero cow-pokes, Nighthawk and Cinnamon. The first issue of All Star to not take place in Gotham, issue seven felt somewhat more free than its predecessors. I have no problem with the series returning to Bat-city occasionally but I hope for more forays like this one. As always, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti nail the perfect tone for a western book and, of course, Moritat's art is fantastic. His female characters are immediately gorgeous, strong-looking, and they fit perfectly into the Western-themed world of All Star. This is especially important seeing as the current arc looks to involve two capable and deadly women in the forms of the heroic Cinnamon and the villainous Z. C. Branke. After a slight lull, I am glad to see ASW is picking back up again.
Aquaman #7 – While I have listed
books like Batwoman and The Flash among the best
looking of the New 52, I have been somewhat remiss in not adding
Aquaman to their ranks. This is partly because JH Williams
III and Francis Manapul have very stylized storytelling methods and
Ivan Reis' art tends to be a bit more traditional. Regardless, Reis
and inker Joe Prado have turned in one of the most consistent and
classic looking books of the New 52. Aquaman and Mera look as iconic
and heroic as writer Geoff Johns is desperately trying to convince us
they are. Aquaman issue seven is a fast-paced push toward the
revelation of some “Other League” that Arthur was once a part of.
There's a whole conversation that could be had about the very quick
introduction and death of a female member of the “Other League”
at the hands of Black Manta, but I am not sure I want to lead it. I
mean, is every female hero death an example of “women in
refrigerators”? Are writers supposed to only use male heroes as
cannon fodder? I'm not really sure what the answers are here.
Regardless, Aquaman seven was a solid issue that eschews the
exaggeration of earlier installments and focuses more on action and
plot.
Daredevil #10 – The most amazing
thing about Mark Waid is that he infuses every story with a reality
and pathos that most other writers can't match. For example, issues
nine and ten have been about Mole Man, a subterranean despot,
stealing the coffins from an entire graveyard just to find the woman
he once loved from afar so he can honor her in her death. Seriously,
on paper that doesn’t seem like a story that would leave you
feeling sympathy for the villain or seeing the shades of gray that
the hero has to decipher. Yet, I felt for Mole Man and questioned
Daredevil's dogged determination to return to the surface with her
body. It's so good to catch a book being written by a writer at the
top of his game. This is a run that will be talked about for years.
The art by Paolo and Joe Rivera was great, as usual.
The Flash #7 – Francis Manapul and
Brian Buccellato's run on The Flash has been a pleasant
surprise. Going into the New 52, we knew their art was going to be
gorgeous but I don't think we could have known how solid their
scripting would be. Even with seven very strongly written issues,
the art has been the real star. Some of the dialogue beats and
character development in issue seven weren't great. Barry Allen's
girlfriend Patty Spivot turned into a Flash-hater awfully fast, but
that's not a gigantic complaint. Regardless, The Flash is the
kind of book that you need to pick up even if it's just for the
gorgeous layouts and visual storytelling.
Green Lantern: New Guardians #7 – I
enjoy this book way more than I have any right to. The concept is
silly and the plot isn't great but I can't help myself. The idea of
disparate characters forced to work together for their own good isn't
new but there's something fun about the various Lantern Corps members
fighting an avenging angel made of light. Tony Bedard's script is
engaging but not perfect—at one point, Kyle Rayner makes a plea for
the angel's leniency by pointing out that the “team” coming
together is almost a miracle—and Tyler Kirkham's pencils are solid.
Justice League Dark #7/I, Vampire #7 –
No, it's not the latest Twilight book and it's not the newest
Underworld sequel! It's the Justice League Dark/I, Vampire
crossover “Rise of the Vampires”! If you've been following my
reviews, you know that I've picked up JLD from the beginning.
Honestly, I, Vampire hasn't even been on my radar. So, of
course, DC decided to force me to buy extra issues for two months by
having the two books crossover. (See, that's how they getcha.)
Justice League Dark was as solid as it has been all along but
I was pretty impressed with I, Vampire. The vampire-centric
book is filled with moody art and interesting characters. Joshua
Hale Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino have created a vampire apocalypse
that is immediately engaging and layered. As far as crossovers go,
JLD/I,Vampire ranks well ahead of the other New 52 crossover I
reviewed earlier this year, Frankenstein, Agent of
S.H.A.D.E./O.M.A.C. At least the two issues told separate parts
of the story instead of retreading the same events from the other
issue.
Legion: Secret Origins #6 – So, the
mini-series is over and the Legion (or at least some nascent form of
it) has finally formed. Yet, despite the story's completion, I feel
like something is missing. Paul Levitz took what had once been a
pretty straightforward origin—three superpowered kids protect a
rich guy from assassins—and muddied the water. This style of origin
rejiggering is in vogue at the moment with Green Lantern and Superman
both receiving similar treatment over the last half decade.
Generally, the Secret Origins serve (or at least attempt) to
strengthen the existent canon by filling it out. It is pretty
obvious that that was the intent of this Legion retelling but mostly
it just added a bunch of sound and fury that signified nothing.
There was no real peril, no interesting revelations—not much of
anything really. While it certainly filled out the events leading up
to the birth of the future superhero team, I am not sure it actually
added anything of interest. At least the art by Chris Batista
and Marc Deering was good looking.
Spaceman #5 – Brian Azzarello and
Eduardo Risso's brilliant dystopian
kidnapping-thriller/space-exploring-man-ape story continues to be one
of the best books I buy monthly. The real strength is the world
building that is done by the pair of creators through a steady diet
of visuals and indirect hints. Really, the book is so elegant in its
creation that you don't even realize just how much your understanding
of Orson's world expands with every installment. Spaceman isn't
exactly the smartest antagonist, but the heroic lengths he has gone
to protect Tara are endearing. It's a depressing future and it isn't
what I would call a fun read—but I would call it words like
compelling and fascinating.
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