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| Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:26 AM |
| The Take |
 by Fëanor |
There was huge variability in the quality of the stuff I picked up this week. Some truly excellent books, and some truly terrible ones. Terrible as in, some of the worst comics I've ever read. Two sad notes on failed acquisitions: I was only able to find the middle issues of the six-issue Wisdom miniseries, so I obviously can't start reading those yet, and I was thwarted in my attempt to get a copy of Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash #1 by obsessive comic book collecting nerds, who apparently swarmed the store before I got there and, upon discovering that were three variant covers, bought them all so they could have complete sets, and left me with nothing. Bastards. Anyway, I'm sure I'll find a copy of it one of these days.
Death Note Volume 8: Target
I borrowed this from Peccable a while back but didn't get around to reading it until just recently. Bored with having just two super geniuses fighting over the Death Notes, our erstwhile author has increased the number to three super geniuses, and the new guys involved in the fight are so freaking crazy smart they're making Light look like a punk. But it's the introduction of another Shinigami into the story that keeps things really interesting. Not only is he a fresh and funny new character, he also totally changes the dynamic of the conflict and adds a real wildcard element into things. So yeah, pretty much just another insane volume of Death Note, full of shocks, surprises, humor, creepiness, and death, death, death!
Midnighter #13
Blech. This was disappointing. It didn't help that I was obviously coming in in the middle of a rather complex story involving an organization called Anthem apparently trying to control superhuman activity in a way similar to Marvel's Registration Act. Looks like Midnighter has a goth teen girl techno-geek sidekick, and he's been undercover trying to discover the secrets of Anthem, but everything falls apart in this issue, and in the end he's been captured and the girl may have been killed. But in general it's just kind of a boring story, rather clumsily told. Nothing particularly exciting, surprising, clever, or funny. None of the power and greatness of Authority is here. I may pick up another issue of this, just to give it the benefit of the doubt... but I don't think so.
World War Hulk: Gamma Corps #4
Oh. My. God. I'm so glad this little miniseries is over so I won't have to pick up another issue of it, because this one was seriously one of the worst comics I've ever read. So bad, in fact, that I couldn't even finish reading it; I just skimmed the last couple of pages. The writing in this is so awful it's not even funny. The Hulk (who recovers quickly from having his neck snapped in the last issue, of course) actually talks the Gamma Corps - a group of people, remember, whose entire lives are about wanting to kill the Hulk, and who have gone through horrible torture and experimental procedures just for a chance to kill him - talks them out of wanting to kill him, while beating them to a pulp. The characters have incredibly corny, melodramatic monologues about how maybe they misjudged the Hulk, and maybe they should rethink this whole revenge thing. Agh!! I wanted to pull my eyes out. Worse, the conclusion is clearly setting up a new, ongoing series about these characters. Please, no!
Robin #168
This is the actual first episode of the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul saga (the previous issue of Batman was just a prelude), and it's an amazing example of how two authors can take the same characters and the same basic story and come out with something entirely different. Grant Morrison's books about Batman and his naive, vicious, strange little son, and about the weird family dynamic that develops amongst Batman, his son, Robin, and Alfred, are totally fascinating, well written, complex, and subtle. This issue of Robin, which also tries to tackle these people and their complicated relationships, is obvious, clumsy, melodramatic, and dull. Damian is simplified into a whiny kid who wants his daddy, and the character loses all the edge and guile that he had in Morrison's hands; he and Robin have a ridiculous fight/screaming match, where all of the interesting subtext that was present in the background of Morrison's books is spoken out loud in ugly little sentences with lots of very short words. I really don't want to buy another issue of this book, but I also would like to collect the entire Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul storyline, which does in fact include one more issue of this, so... we'll see which desire wins out.
Immortal Iron Fist #10
This month's issue of Immortal Iron Fist doesn't actually have the Immortal Iron Fist in it at all, but hey, I'm also reading Captain America, and Captain America is dead, so whatever. Besides, it was still a good issue, with some good fighting, and some intriguing flashbacks, as well as other sequences which hint at further mysteries surrounding the rise and fall of Danny's father.
Astonishing X-Men #23
If I gave out best of the week awards (which - hey, maybe I should!), this one would be the winner. When, during the course of reading a comic book, I actually cheer and pump my fist, that is a good comic book. And that's what happened here. In fact, this issue was so awesome, it actually went back in time and made the previous issue more awesome in its wake. (It did this by revealing that a conversation we'd heard in that issue actually had a totally different, psychic conversation going on at the same time that completely changes everything.) Also, there are funny jokes, and Cyclops kicks ass. I love you, Joss Whedon.
The Order #4
This is hilarious, exciting, and awesome, and takes the fast guy's storyline in a direction I completely had not expected, and that I really enjoyed, especially since it involved another Marvel cameo for the Wii. Fraction continues to knock it out of the park with this one every month. Bravo, sir!
Criminal #10
This was the final issue of Criminal's second story arc, and although it wasn't as physically violent as the conclusion of the first arc, it was just as twisted and devastating. It's good, strong stuff. There are some interesting revelations about the future of this book in the back, too - apparently it'll be getting longer and changing format when it comes back in February of next year (we have to wait that long?!). Also, we can expect to see more of Tracy Lawless. Looking forward to it! Oh, and I loved the essay in the back by Brubaker analyzing a couple of films by Johnny To, one of which I saw at the film festival this year and really, really enjoyed.
Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus #3
Interesting revelations about Vril tie this story more tightly into the Hellboy mythos. Also, there's a disembodied brain, some brutal fights, a scorpion, science, magic, a prophecy, and maybe that one guy is a zombie now? Yeah, pretty good stuff. It's odd, though. Even though this book seems to have all the ingredients of something I should absolutely love, I find myself left a little cold by it. It's not that I dislike it, I just have yet to be really blown away by it, and that makes me sad and confused. Well, we'll see how the rest of the story arc goes...
Omega: The Unknown #2
Yep, this is still awesome. Great art, fascinating characters, crazy story. It's a weird coming-of-age story wrapped inside the tale of a mysterious war between a mute super-powered alien and a horde of robots, with a smarmy, asshole celebrity superhero thrown in for good measure. Also, now the mute super-powered alien works at a grease truck. Brilliant!
The Fantastic Four #551
Christos Gage should read this book. This is how you take the old chestnut about people coming back from the future to warn you of an oncoming end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it scenario and turn it into a fresh, exciting yarn. You end it with future-Namor getting his head blown off! Eh, I'm sure he's fine. He was probably a Doom-bot or something anyway. The point is, good stuff!
Hellboy: Darkness Calls #6
The final episode in the latest Hellboy story arc has left me - like the previous episodes - pleased, but slightly confused. I think I get pretty much what happened, but I definitely want to read all these together in one sitting; I think it'll be a stronger story that way. As it is, I liked it, but it didn't blow me away. Not my favorite Hellboy arc, definitely.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #8
Vaughan is still working his magic here, channeling the best things about Joss Whedon's TV show directly onto the comic book page. Love the story, love the humor and the dialogue, can't wait to see what happens next. Oh, and putting two hot, naked young women in a tub together didn't hurt, either.
Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 2: Learning Curve
In many ways, this is very similar to Volume 1 - which makes sense, since it's the same creative team. The art is just as ugly, the writing style just as amusing and pleasant. But this time, there's something extra here - something more powerful, something more entertaining. Maybe it's watching Spider-Man learn how to be a real superhero, and transform from a bumbling beginner into a successful scourge of the underworld. Maybe it's seeing Peter Park finally begin a sweet teen romance with Mary Jane. But it's a good bundle of comics, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I doubt I'll bother following through and collecting the 20 or so more volumes of this title (because that's a whole lot of comics, and a whole lot of money, and I don't love it that much), but I'm certainly not sad that I purchased these first two volumes. |
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