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| Saturday, July 14, 2007 02:26 PM |
| The Take |
 by Fëanor |
Casanova Volume One: Luxuria
Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham #1-3
Irredeemable Ant-Man #10
Nextwave: Agents of Hate, Vol. 1
BPRD: Garden of Souls #4
Failed to find ANY of these. D'oh! In fact, I even forgot to put Ant-Man on my list at all, although I did remember to look for it when I got to the shop. Anyways, I might see if I can just order those two collections online. The old Batman series, the Ant-Man issue, and BPRD I may have to put on a request sheet at Fat Jack's. We'll see...
Funny story about BPRD: Garden of Souls #4 - I thought I had it. At least, I bought a BPRD #4, but I didn't realize until I'd actually read the entire issue (the whole time confused and thinking maybe this was a weird interlude or flashback) that it was #4 in an earlier BPRD story arc - Universal Machine. D'oh. It was a pretty good book, as it happens, but not quite what I wanted or expected.
The Spirit #2
This is the new, revived version of The Spirit, originally created by Will Eisner, now being written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. I actually picked up #1 of this series back on Free Comic Book Day, along with the Batman/The Spirit one-shot crossover book. Both books were vaguely amusing, but neither really grabbed me, so I decided not to collect The Spirit. However, ever since New Frontier, I've been kind of enamored of Darwyn Cooke and have been trying to get my hands on any of his stuff that sounds even vaguely interseting. Add to that the fact that EverMike recently recommended the book to me again, and I decided I had to give it another shot.
And it is indeed entertaining! There's comedy, there's drama, there's action, there's great art. I remain un-blown away, but it's a fun read, so I'll probably pick up #3 and see what happens from there.
BPRD: Garden of Souls #5
As I had feared would occur, I found this issue, but not #4 (see funny story about that above), which means I can't read this one yet. Grumble, grumble...
Superman Confidential #1-5
After reading the first couple issues of this series, which I've started collecting due to the fact that it's being done by Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale (a dynamite combination), I was a little worried about it. It appeared as if they were making Kryptonite sentient, with thoughts and a spiritual connection to Superman and everything, and that bugged me, big time. Also, the dialogue and narration occasionally strayed into corniness.
But later it becomes clear that it's not the rock itself that's having thoughts, and I stopped being bothered by the occasional corny bits. After all, the art is just beautiful, with all the classic characters captured perfectly (except maybe Jimmy Olsen; he seems a bit too small and not scrawny enough). And actually, not only are the characters visually excellent, they're also written interestingly and well. I like the idea of seeing Superman before he really knew what he was capable of, or what his weaknesses were. He really just doesn't know what he'll be able to survive. He seems to be invulnerable, but for all he knows, the next bomb that explodes next to him will kill him. He's really a big child, and when he comes back home to the farm, battered and burned and nearly crying, seeking comfort from Ma and Pa Kent, it's hard not to want to give the big guy a hug yourself. Also, I've always loved the entire Kent family dynamic, and I like the way Cooke is handling it here. So yes, I'm very glad I started collecting this one, and as the latest issue ends on a cliffhanger, with Superman in mortal danger, but also on the edge of learning more about the planet he came from, I'm very anxious to read the next one.
Nova #4
I was actually kind of hoping this would suck so I could drop the book, but sadly it was quite good! This series is just entertaining space opera, and I love me some entertaining space opera. All kinds of great science fiction terms get thrown around, and there are big high-powered battles amongst the stars, and evil viral aliens trying to take over the galaxy, or what have you. Plus, the story's interesting, and takes a strange new turn at the end of this book. So, yeah. Still hooked!
Punisher War Journal #9
The irritating Then/Now plot format which this series has been using for some time continued in this issue, but I think we're finally caught up on the flashback part of the story, and the next issue will just be told in a linear fashion, straight through. And thank God, because the back and forth way it was being told was making my head hurt. But anyway, something does finally happen in this issue, too - we get to see a surprisingly awful thing that Frank was forced to do, and some more awful things that he did on purpose. Then we get to see who's been shooting at the Hatemonger and his people. It was good to see Frank open up some whoop-ass on the neo-Nazis, even if it was short lived.
So yeah, definitely a better issue than the last one. But I'm still a little disappointed with where this series is at the moment. I think it's their fault for raising my expectations so high with Punisher War Journal #4, which is one of the best comics I've ever read.
Hedge Knight II: Sworn Sword #2
This series has indeed picked up a bit, as I'd hoped it would, with the second issue. There still hasn't been any action, really, but there's been a bit more character development and we've met some more interesting people - people who may or may not be secondary or tertiary characters in the Song of Ice and Fire series (wish I could remember those books better...). It definitely kept me reading. Still, I can't say I've been extremely thrilled by any comic book adaptations of novels or short stories that I've read lately. Maybe it's just not a good idea in general? I don't know. |
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