Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Comic Mini-Reviews Week of May 2nd, 2012



This week: Daredevil meets Foggy, Superman goes multidimensional, and Swamp Thing kicks butt.

Action Comics #9 – Grant Morrison's run on Action Comics has taken some weird twists and turns, but issue nine might take the cake. The thing is...I love it. Morrison is notoriously hard to decipher mid-run, but I am entirely confident that it will all come together in the end. For now I am just happy to be along for the ride. Action number nine's glimpse into a world where Superman's alter-ego has been elected president is an opportunity to explore the character's abilities taken to a logical conclusion. Just how much could the “real” Superman change the world if he had the authority of government behind his actions? A good issue with solid art by fan favorite Gene Ha.

Animal Man #9 – Though the vast majority of Jeff Lemire's run has been consumed by the Baker family on an extended journey to escape the powers of the Rot, each issue is filled with intriguing new developments and creations. Issue nine is no different. As Buddy Baker travels through the Red, we're introduced to a guide that only Jeff Lemire could have come up with. While I am sad to see Travel Foreman go, Steve Pugh's art is a solid replacement.

Daredevil #12 – This issue is a flashback tale that explains why Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson are friends. While it's not exactly the most exciting story, Mark Waid infuses it with character and style giving us a definitive origin of one of the longest friendships in comics. Chris Samnee (of Thor: The Mighty Avenger fame!) handles the art spectacularly.

The Defenders #6 – I increasingly find myself having to apply the same tactics I use to read Morrison comics to the comic books that I read by Matt Fraction. I need to sit down and reread all six issues, but I feel like there has been a lack of cohesion since the opening storyline. This might have to do with frequent changes in artists or it might even be intentional. Regardless, the last three issues of The Defenders have left me scratching my head. I know they're all connected but I can't see where they are going. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just makes them hard to review. It was an enjoyable issue that I am sure I will enjoy more once I have read deeper into Iron Fist's history.

Swamp Thing #9 – After eight issues, ol Swampy finally throws his weight around. Alec Holland defeats Lord Seethe pretty easily, saving Abigail Arcane in the process. Still one of the best New 52 books, I feel like Swamp Thing is taking a long time to unfold. Quite a bit happens in each issue, but none of it is terribly memorable. Number nine is a perfectly solid issue with a cliffhanger ending, but the ease with which Swamp Thing dispatches one of the Rot's dukes kind of makes the issue anticlimactic.

Wolverine and the X-men: Alpha and Omega #5 – The miniseries is finally over, but I'm still not certain why it was ever made in the first place. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad. It just wasn't very good. However, the most frustrating thing about it was that it seems to have very little bearing on the main Wolverine and the X-men series. Wolverine and Quinton Quire are essentially the focus of both books, but the miniseries implies that they have formed a a trust that we don't see in ongoing series. I guess I am just confused as to why they even bothered with Alpha and Omega. It just doesn't seem to fit anywhere.

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