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| Sunday, August 31, 2008 09:33 AM |
| The Take |
 by Fëanor |
Fëanor's weekly comic book review post.
This covers new releases from the week of August 20th, plus some trade paperbacks I picked up at my new library (which looks like it's going to be a great source for such items, so expect plenty more reviews of older volumes of comics in the future).
The new issue of Superman/Batman came out this week, and I managed to hold myself back from buying it by reminding myself how awful each of the book's most recent story arcs turned out to be. Unfortunately I then found scans of the issue online and it looks like it was the most funny, crazy, fun issue of the title ever. Sigh.
Back issues and old data
The Groo Library
This is a trade paperback collection of issues 44, 45, 47, and 49 of Groo the Wanderer (not really sure what the deal is with 46 and 48 being left out), which was originally put out by Marvel/Epic Comics (although this particular collection was published by Dark Horse). I'd heard of Groo, but never really read any, so I thought I'd grab this and see how it was. Groo is sort of a bumbling, comedic version of Conan, with a dog sidekick named Rufferto. Groo gets into various adventures and usually screws everything up thanks to his stupidity and his complete misunderstanding of the situation. He's good at fighting, but not good at knowing who to fight and when. This book is kind of fun, but it's very light - with more of the humor and style of a newspaper comic strip than a comic book - and I'm rarely much of a fan of stories where the hero is mostly incompetent. I don't plan to read any more of this series.
Thumbs Sideways
The Perhapanauts Volume One: First Blood
This is a trade paperback collection of the first four issues of the Dark Horse comic The Perhapanauts. The best and shortest way to explain the series is to say that it's exactly like B.P.R.D., but not written or drawn nearly as well. The concept is that there are places all over the world where reality has worn thin and things from other dimensions can get in. An organization called BEDLAM (Bureau of Extra-Dimensional Liabilities And Management) has a couple of teams who go out, investigate, and patch things up. The book follows one such team, staffed mostly by freaks, weirdos, mutants, and monsters. Like I said, B.P.R.D. Problem is, the characters are pretty lame stereotypes, the dialogue is weak, and the stories are pretty dull. I couldn't even make it all the way through this volume.
Thumbs Down
New releases
Anna Mercury #3
I usually love Warren Ellis' books immediately, but this book I just don't get. It's probably partly because I can't seem to quite get my brain around the premise. Essentially the people of Earth are sending an agent from our world to other worlds to... do stuff there. Like, save people, and so forth. The other worlds are sort of fake Earths, floating around our Earth, I think. Anyway, in this issue she does some crazy stuff and manages to stop some people on one of these other planets from hurting a bunch of other people on... a different planet? I think? But who all those people are and why we should care about them I'm not entirely clear on. And then when she's done she walks home in the rain. It all just seems kind of weird and even pointless. It feels like to me that Warren Ellis just wanted to write a series that could include scenes set in a NASA-style control room, and he didn't really think out the premise very much beyond that. Maybe I'm missing something, and I should read it again from the beginning. Or maybe I should just give up and drop it.
Thumbs Sideways
The Brave and the Bold #16
This is a title I don't normally collect, but something about this issue attracted me. The general concept of the book is that each issue will feature an unlikely pair-up between two characters of the DCU. This issue the characters are Superman and Catwoman, and the creative team is Mark Waid on writing, Scott Kolins on art, and Rob Schwager on colors. The problem is, the concept behind the book is inherently gimmicky. You have to come up with a way to put together two characters who normally wouldn't be together, and tell an entire story with them in one comic. (It's true that B&B does occasionally have multi-issue story arcs, but the pair-up only lasts for one issue.) This is a tricky proposition, and in this issue Waid is only partially successful at it. Superman's taking over for Batman in Gotham while the Dark Knight is out of town, and he hears tell of an underworld auction that the cops want to break up. By chance, he catches Catwoman stealing something as a stake to get into the auction, and he agrees to team up with her to sneak in, especially when he hears the major item up for sale at the auction is a map to a cave outside the city, which he naturally assumes is the Batcave. It actually turns out to be (spoiler warning) the map to a different cave that's not nearly as interesting, and once Supes and Catwoman finally get to said cave, there are very few pages left in the issue, so things are resolved with an extremely short fight, and an explosion. It's not a very well paced story, and although there are interesting ideas in it (the underworld auction, for instance), and funny bits (Superman's interactions with Catwoman, and with Gordon and the GCPD), overall it's just kind of dull. Plus, Catwoman's instant lust for Superman, and the characterization of her overall, is oddly... offensive, almost. Funny, too, of course, but there's an undertone there that kind of bothers me.
Thumbs Down
Captain America #41
It's part five of act three of Brubaker's endless Death of Captain America storyline! Bucky and Falcon are keeping a close eye on the Director, hoping he'll lead them back to the Red Skull. Meanwhile, one of the Skull's minions rather surprisingly betrays him, for reasons I'm not entirely clear on. I mean, supervillains rarely work well together, and these guys have been bickering with each other for many issues, but it still seems odd that he would collude with his own enemies to get back at the Skull. Maybe he's got a more long-term plan in mind, the details of which are not yet clear... As the issue nears its end, we cut back and forth between various storylines, building everything to a big climax. One of these storylines is mighty similar to the end of Manchurian Candidate, in what I'm sure was a deliberate homage. Meanwhile, the Skull is readying two mad scientist devices, one apparently meant to split him and Lukin into separate people, and the other designed to do something unspecified to poor Agent 13. It's an exciting build-up, but not everything comes to a climax in this issue, and I'm very curious to see what's going to happen with those creepy devices.
Thumbs Up
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #1
Yes, it's another Final Crisis tie-in miniseries. But it's also Geoff Johns writing about the Legion, which is something I've really enjoyed in the past. It opens up with some supervillain or other tossing the evil Superboy-Prime into the future in an attempt to destroy the Legion for good. His arrival is a wonderful, twisted recreation of Superman's first crash landing on Earth. Then there's a fun and informative tour of the Superman Museum (and by extension a tour of the comic book history of Superman and the Legion), with a holographic Jimmy Olsen as our guide. Meanwhile, in the universe at large, the Legion's recent victory in the pages of Action Comics has in no way solved all the issues of unrest among Earth and the other planets. The three main Legion members appear before the United Planets Council to speak in defense of the Legion, and to plead with them to allow it to continue existing. It ends up being an interesting analysis of what the Legion is, and an interesting discussion about whether it is really useful, or whether its idealistic goal of unity is just an impossible dream. Old friends and enemies of the Legion reappear, and the universe really starts to get trashed, so of course it becomes necessary to call in Superman. But even his help may not be enough - it may be necessary to call in two other Legions from two other parallel universes so they can also lend a hand. Complicating matters is the fact that Superman doesn't want to kill Superboy-Prime - he wants to redeem him.
This book gets a bit corny and ridiculous in parts, but that actually feels right, given the focus on the Legion and on Superman's Silver Age history. Overall, I really enjoyed it (especially those early scenes with Superboy-Prime), and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
Thumbs Up
Ghost Rider #26
Here's where I really start to wish I knew more about the history of Ghost Rider and his enemies. Aaron brings back a lot of old characters in this book, and I don't recognize any of them. Luckily, it's still a crazy amount of fun. Danny Ketch hires four old Ghost Rider villains to capture an old friend of Johnny's for Zadkiel. But before they take him out, Ketch wants to talk to him, to try and get some real answers about the origin of the Ghost Rider and his powers. In fact, Aaron's entire run on this book so far is a deep examination of what the Ghost Rider really is, where he comes from, and who he works for. It's very interesting stuff. And it helps that this issue is loaded with great art (by Tan Eng Huat and Jose Villarrubia), fun dialogue, crazy characters, and exciting action.
Thumbs Up
Guardians of the Galaxy #4
Time for the Secret Invasion to plow on through Marvel's space team title! As the team is trying to pick up the pieces from Major Victory's fight with a mysterious intruder, and figure out just what the deal is with him, tensions rise. And they only rise higher when an explosion simultaneously traps everyone on Knowhere, and reveals that there are Skrulls hidden among the populace. The team fights amongst themselves and the point is raised that one or more of them could be Skrulls. As if those weren't complications enough, there's also a political fight brewing between the team and the folks who govern Knowhere. And then a surprising secret about how the Guardians were originally formed comes to light. A lot of stuff happens in this issue, and it's all building toward a big explosion of some kind. It's exciting and well done. Yay!
Thumbs Up
The Helm #2
I was afraid the first issue of this new Dark Horse miniseries might have been a fluke and that things would go downhill in #2, but thankfully the book remains a solidly entertaining, seriously funny, comedic fantasy adventure. The cover is a brilliant and hilarious parody of a famous Frank Frazetta fantasy illustration, and things only get better from there, as our hero is led by the Helm (berating him all the while, of course) to a couple of treasure caches - which are guarded by dangerous ghosts and wizards, natch. But luckily Matt comes out on top. Now that he's got some better equipment, the Helm continues his training. His ex sees him at it, is impressed, and he actually ends up on a successful date with her which seems to be a strong first step toward reopening their relationship. Unfortunately for him, the forces of evil have sensed his presence and are moving to strike back.
This book is a wonderful combination of fantasy adventure, comedy, and modern day romance. The constant bickering between Matt and the Helm is hilarious (I particularly loved the bit about the Highlander coat), and it only gets funnier during the weird three-way conversations that happen when Jill is in the room. And then there's the magic and sword fighting. It's just good stuff. The one thing I don't like is the fact that this is only a four-issue miniseries, and it's already halfway over.
Luckily, there's a chance that more Helm will be on the way soon, in one form or another. At least, that's what writer Jim Hardison told me! Yes, he found my review and emailed me. I was very excited. :) Anyway, he says he pitched a bunch of Helm ideas to Dark Horse, and depending on how #4 sells, they just might give him the greenlight on one of them. For this reason, I recommend that everybody start collecting The Helm ASAP! You won't regret it.
Thumbs Up
The Incredible Hercules #120
This title's tie-in with Secret Invasion comes to a close in this issue, as the God Squad has a final showdown with the two Skrull deities. Things open up with an excerpt from the Skrull holy book which explains the origin of both Gods. Then it's right into the fight, which includes lots of violence and death, lots of really ridiculous sound effect words, and Cho making that difficult decision he was warned he'd have to make. There's also the completely unsurprising surprise reappearance of a character who was apparently dead. The very end is actually legitimately surprising, though, and also a bit odd. (Spoilers ahead.) The good guys succeed in that they eliminate the Skrull gods, but then the Japanese death God merely takes over as the new deity of the Skrulls. Meanwhile, Athena is looking on and says things have gone even better than she planned. I'm still not clear whether she's a Skrull or not, or whether her plan is for good or ill, so that's a bit ominous and unsettling.
This comic continues to be disappointingly mediocre. The dialogue is quite corny, the story and characters only vaguely interesting. I'm thinking hard about dropping it, but I keep remembering the good stuff that came before... I don't know, we'll see.
Thumbs Sideways
Marvel 1985 #4
After our main character and his Dad survive their encounter with the Lizard, another flashback takes us yet another step closer to the mystery at the heart of this story. (Spoilers ahead.) Turns out Toby's Dad is actually a mutant. The exact details of his power are as yet unclear, but the appearance of Marvel supervillains in town is almost certainly related to it. As his Dad runs off to save his Mom, Toby comes to the conclusion that the door back to the Marvel world must be in the Wyncham house, and that the only way to save his own world is go through it and get the Marvel heroes to come back with him. This is going to be cool.
Definitely still enjoying this series. Now that the villains are all over the place rampaging in the open, and the secrets are starting to be explained, it's not as mysterious, intriguing, and awe-inspiring as it was at first, but it's still fun.
Thumbs Up
Scalped #20
The analysis of Bad Horse's twisted relationship with Carol continues, with a few flashbacks that explain her past with Graham and what happened to her baby. As usual, it's a pretty brutal story. Then Bad Horse has an encounter that, in a powerful series of panels, nearly drives him to suicide. He tries to turn his violent feelings outward, onto Diesel, but he's frustrated there, too. He and Carol end up in bed together yet again, trying to fuck away their depression and hopelessness. And then in the final pages Bad Horse takes yet another step down the road towards complete self-destruction.
In a series that has been brutally dark throughout its length, this may be the most brutally dark issue yet. Every time you think these characters have hit bottom, Aaron finds a way to sink them even deeper. But the comic isn't being depressing for the sake of being depressing, and it's not ridiculous or melodramatic. The darkness that's here is spinning naturally out of the characters and the story, and it feels believable and real. In other words, this is another powerful, artfully constructed, moving issue of Scalped.
Thumbs Up
X-Men First Class #15
This issue at last features the long-awaited return of Angel, as well as an encounter with Madame Medusa and the Wizard. There's also one of those cute and funny one-page back-ups explaining why Angel came back. And I find myself feeling the same way about this issue as I feel about pretty much every issue of this comic: it's cute, and kind of fun, but so light and airy as to be almost completely devoid of substance. I think it's really time I dropped this title. It's never bad, but it's never really good, either.
Thumbs Sideways |
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Jim Genzano's books on Goodreads
