This week: Conan barbarians, Lemire writes his own After Watchmen story, and Exoristos headbutts a triceratops!
Batgirl #6 - Batgirl—the book and the character—won't be on most people's “Worst Thing About the New 52” lists. Mostly, this is because the book has been almost aggressively mediocre from issue one. As much press as it received pre-relaunch because of Gail Simone and the return of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, the series has never really lived up to the hype OR lived down to its detractors. Issue six did nothing to change this. Despite some good character moments between Bruce and Babs, Batgirl still doesn't seem to be hitting on all cylinders. As with the book's first arc, the villain is pure Simone weirdness but just doesn't seem to be fully conceived or almost purposefully tame. Perhaps I am unfairly reading through the lens of Simone's brilliant Secret Six run, but it kind of seems like Simone is playing it too safe. I am extremely hesitant to completely bash her work, after all, I don't know the external pressures she is under. The thing is I really want to love this book and so I just don't.
Batman and Robin #6 – For five months now I have talked about how shockingly good Batman and Robin has been. For five issues, the team of Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleeson have been brilliant. With issue six the story climaxes, and takes some of that brilliance with it. Don't get me wrong, there is still a ton of quality in the book, but Damien's character arc (the driving force of the entire series) kind of comes to a simplistic ending. It is still an interesting turn around, but not as deep and meaningful as the direction the story seemed to be heading. I still strongly recommend the series, and I don't want to spoil anything. I guess I will just say that instead of being a deeply troubled child, Damien is a slightly troubled but reckless mini-Batman.
Batwoman #6 – Really, the biggest news about this issue of Batwoman is the fact that this is Amy Reeder's first issue on the series. That may seem like an unfair thing to focus on—the series had has very good plotting so far, but the real strength of the series has been the ultra-unique art of JH Williams III. Reeder has a much more traditional storytelling style, but there are a few segments where it really pops off the page. As always, I am glad to see more of Agent Chase and the D.E.O., this time working directly with Kate Kane.
Captain American #8 – This week I actually read Captain America issues 1-8 after falling into a Buy-Hole at my local comic shop. I am not sure why I haven't been following the series. I'm not going to review the entire series, but I will say that it has been very good. One of the things I like about some modern comic writers is that they mine the history of comic books and put a modern spin on some of the most fun and quirky characters of the past. Brubaker's entire run on this new volume of Captain America has taken real advantage of some of the strangest little-known characters the Marvel Universe has to offer. Penciler Alan Davis is one of those few artists that seems to be able to maintain a classic sensibility without seeming out of date.
Conan #1 – Look, there is nothing about Conan that I am interested in. I have zero desire to see the recent movie, I've only seen bits and pieces of the Ahnold movies, and I've never read any of the prose stories. Yet, standing at the racks of my LCS on Wednesday, I realized that Brian Wood, Becky Cloonan, and Dave Stewart might be the most impressive creative teams currently working in comics. For a lineup like that, I would read stories starring just about anything. Issue one was well written, beautifully illustrated and entirely engrossing tale about Conan on the high seas. As long as Wood, Cloonan and Stewart are working together, I will be buying this book.
Demon Knights #6 – I know that I have complained about Demon Knights extremely dilated storytelling in the past. While I would prefer a slightly less expanded story, I will admit that unlike Paul Cornell's other series, StormWatch, this method has given the readers plenty of chances to become acclimated to the various characters starring in the series. He has been able to focus on the characters for a little more in-depth examinations their abilities and motivations. In issue number six, the Horsewoman and Exoristos share the spotlight and finally show us what they can do. Aside from that, however, the siege of the Demon Knights-protected village continues to move along slowly. As I have said before, I am sure that the first collected volume of Demon Knights will be a more fulfilling read than picking up the monthly issues. Regardless, its hard to completely write off the series, the Diogenes Neves art is very good and the characters are interesting enough to make me want to come back for more.
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #6 – It's kind of funny that in the same month that we started hearing about Before Watchmen, Lemire explores his own version of After Watchmen for a few pages. Frankenstein and his Creature Commandos head into the jungles of Vietnam in search of his former ally Colonel Quantum. The Colonel is essentially a red colored spoof of Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan. Really, the main thrust of the story is a rebellion within S.H.A.D.E. headquarters and the accidental release of the original Creature Commandos. Not to take anything away from the first five issues, but this is probably the most intriguing issue of the series so far.
Green Lantern #6 – Green Lantern has been kind of an enigma since the relaunch. Geoff Johns seems to want his cake and eat it, too. So while Sinestro gets the role of titular Green Lantern, Hal Jordan effectively remains main character. The result is that Sinestro cannot seem to leave Hal alone. After years of cultivating an adversarial relationship, they seem more like disgruntled coworkers now. Maybe this is because I just watched an episode of The Office, but the closest fictional equivalent to Hal and Sinestro's relationship I can think of is Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute. It's a fine story, but I doubt it is as interesting as a comic dealing solely with Hal being powerless or Sinestro having to learn to be a good guy again could have been. Of course, Johns' generally knows what he is doing, so who am I to judge? Mike Choi is no Doug Mahnke but he fills in fine. I might be nuts, but some of his storytelling style and character poses actually reminded me of Frank Quitley—which is a very good thing.
Thief of Thieves #1 – It's hard to thing of two hotter names in comics at the moment. Robert Kirkman is getting all kinds of praise thanks to Walking Dead's crossover success and Nick Spencer is one of the real up-and-coming creators in the industry. Thief of Thieves is the story of the world's greatest thief and his decision to walk away from it all. The first issue takes time to establish the main character and one of his associates. I am not entirely sure, but the style in which it was written implies that this will be a slowly unraveling story with plenty of flashbacks and character-driven issues. I could be reading into it incorrectly, that's just the feeling I get. Regardless, it was an interesting first issue and I am excited to see where it goes next.
Wolverine and the X-men #5 – As I've stated before, there is something to be said for fun, straightforward comic book storytelling. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking about Wolverine and the X-men. Instead, it's a fun series filled with fun characters doing stuff that can only really happen in comic books. I mean, can you think of any other medium where alien pregnancies, shrinking students, extraterrestrial gladiators, and financial issues caused by angelic insanity all collide in one issue? I doubt it. This is one of the books I look forward to the most each month.
Wolverine and the X-men: Alpha and Omega #2 – Like most other comic book readers, I am a sucker for a good alternate universe story. Alpha and Omega combines the intrigue of a dystopian futuristic landscape with the social politics of high school. No, really. Quentin Quire's mental construct is which he has trapped Wolverine is taking its toll on his mind. It's plenty interesting and I like Quire but I am not sure where this miniseries really fits into the main Wolverine and the X-men book or the greater X-men books. Wolverine and Quire's relationship in Alpha and Omega even seems different from their relationship in the the ongoing series. In the end, it doesn't really matter. It's an interesting book about psychic warfare, who cares about logic?
No comments:
Post a Comment