This week, Superman is a time-traveler, Swamp Thing is in trouble, and Bucky is a super-spy.
Action Comics #6 – If were being
honest with myself, I would admit that the new Action Comics
has not really met my expectations. There was something lacking from
the first storyline, but I cannot really put my finger on what it
was. I like young Superman re-imagined as a brash super-activist,
but the story itself felt kind of half conceived. But, Grant Morrison
is sometimes hard to draw a bead on mid-story. I mean, the reality
is that I have read some of his most famous runs with the benefit of
hindsight. His runs on Animal Man and Doom Patrol had
the weight of critical acclaim and the advantage of completion going
for them. Plus, I would be deluding myself if I claimed that I
thought every part of Morrison's Bat-epic was great on the first
read-through. Based on his history, I would suspect that the first
storyline and the second storyline of Action Comics will be
connected in some way, whether thematically or directly. Until then,
it will be hard to analyze just how strong each individual issue is.
I will say that I enjoyed issue 5 and 6 more than the first
four—perhaps because they have a more distinctly Morrison vibe to
them. One gigantic plus has been the art of Andy Kubert. Though I am
not usually a huge Kubert fan, his consistency is a nice change after
Rags Morales' pencils got steadily uglier over the first four issues.
Animal Man #6 – There is really no
doubt that Jeff Lemire is one of the rising stars of the comic book
genre. Anyone that has read his Essex County trilogy or Sweet Tooth
has seen just how flexible his writing ability is. While Animal Man
has been (very, very) good so far, Lemire has yet to really stretch
his legs from a narrative standpoint. In issue 6, he shows just how
versatile he can be. The main balance of the issue shows a snippet of
Buddy's movie role that was alluded to in issue 1. It was a nice
respite from the Hunters Three storyline that we have been following
for six issues. However, the greatest surprise of the issue is the
revelation that someone close to Animal Man is actually watching the
movie along with the readers. The insight Lemire gives us into that character is a touching moment. John Paul Leon's art lent a
perfect feel to the movie-within-a-comic, and Travel Foreman
continues to impress me with his work on the rest of the issue.
The Defenders #3 – The Defenders
prove to be almost completely incompetent, but even the best teams
need to be more lucky than good. Thank goodness for “deus ex
machina in humanoid form.” Anyways, even though I know little to no
continuity surrounding the major players in The Defenders, I still
feel myself liking them. I am aware of who they are and that's all
that really matters at the moment. I am enjoying the insanity of the
series so far and I can think of no better tag-line than “Protecting
Reality from the Impossible.” Matt Fraction is never lacking in
ideas that are both fresh and recall the insanity of superhero comics
from another age. The Dodson's art continues to give the series a
nice sheen that makes everyone look nice and sleek. Also, “Hey
that tiger is flying a spaceship.”
Swamp Thing #6 – Timothy Callahan,
in his reread of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing over at tor.com, recently discussed the
fact that one of the major plot points early in that run was
the “death” of Swamp Thing and the revelation that the shambling
creature had never been Alec Holland but rather a plant that thought
it was Alec Holland. Now, it looks like Scott Snyder is referencing
that linchpin of Moore's seminal run. Holland, who was resurrected
before the upheaval of Flashpoint (or during Flashpoint, or after
Flashpoint...who really knows?) has been almost completely
disconnected from “the Green.” After Holland's refusal early in
the series to rejoin the source of Swamp Thing's powers, Snyder seems
to have masterfully maneuvered the plot into forcing him to reclaim
the role as the environment’s protector. Once again, Marco Ruby
does a solid job filling in for Yannick Paquette.
StormWatch #6 – Issue six is the
final issue of Paul Cornell's run on StormWatch, but it is also the
first issue that officially unites the entire StormWatch cast. At
the end, Apollo and Midnighter finally join the team (though they
have been present since issue 1). Cornell leaves his toys set up for
the next regimes. First Paul Jenkins, for two issues and then the
new ongoing writer Peter Milligan with issue 9. Personally, I think
Cornell's run has underachieved. I think the plotting and concepts
were fine, but the entire endeavor felt flat from the very beginning.
The characters were a mixture of old and new and there was very
little time for the reader to get acclimated. (Yes, I have
championed a similar treatment with the Justice League, but those are
iconic and recognizable characters—even to comic book outsiders.)
This break-neck speed wasn't helped by mushy art from Miguel
Sepulveda. Entire pages seemed almost dim, out of focus and overly
busy. I like Cornell as a person and a writer—and I hope he
continues to write Demon Knights—but I am glad to see some
new blood on StormWatch. Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see
Cornell transition to a new book soon, either taking over a series or
in the eventual New 52 Third Wave.
Uncanny X-men #6 – Kieron Gillen's
Uncanny X-men is a book filled with all kinds of interesting ideas,
and the current storyline is a fine example of that creativity.
While exploring a time-altered, bubble world somewhere in Montana
(just go with it...) the X-men come across all kinds of fascinating hyper-chronological possibilities. In this tiny area that has rapidly undergone millions
of years of evolution, there are plenty of places for the team to get
split up and challenges for them to face. Yet, (and I know this
isn't true or fair) it feels like most of the issue is spent having
Magneto misguide the “Immortal Man's” missiles. I know there is
other stuff going on, it's just returned to often enough that it
seems like it dominates the issue. Enough has been said about Greg
Land's art that I don't really feel like mentioning it, except to say
that Psylock is freaking SMILING while unconscious at the feet of the
enemy on the cover. Terrible.
Winter Soldier #1 – I. Love.
Gorillas. Especially ones with machine guns. I realize that's a silly
thing to be the first thing I think of when I think of Winter Soldier
number one but, wow, gorilla with a machine gun. Brubaker's super-run
on Captain America branches out to the formerly dead, formerly
brainwashed, temporarily Captain America, and now supposedly dead
Bucky Barnes, but really you don't need to know any of that. Just
know that Bucky and Scarlet Widow are super-spies chasing down
brainwashed super-soldiers....and then GORILLAS WITH FREAKING MACHINE
GUNS. The art, by Butch Guice is good, but some of the early action
scenes are almost too dark to be decipherable.
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