Shorties

Two quick reviews below, but I also just posted a review of Matt Kindt's Super Spy on IndiePulp. That book is amazing, and definitely one of my favorites of the year. Plus, I also have a review of the first volume of Fall in Love Like a Comic over on MangaLife. I looked at the first chapter of that one when it was previewed in Shojo Beat a few months ago, and now I got to check out the whole volume. Neato, if you like cutesy girly stuff.
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Okay, here's what I really wanted to talk about:



That's right, it's my current favorite panel (I haven't done that in a while!), from Casanova #10, a really good issue of one of the best monthly comics that's currently being produced. This issue is a sexy romp through a freaky cinema-based murder cult, and holy cow, does Fabio Moon make Zephyr look hot in that panel. I love the way her feet are arched to show off her legs like that. Yowza! Damn good comics.
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And another excellent panel:



That's from Glister #2, the newest issue of Andi Watson's all-ages series. This one is great, with Glister's home, the shape-changing Chilblain Hall, getting upset when a guy from the town calls it an eyesore and leaving to go on vacation throughout the world. There's some great stuff in the issue, but I think that panel has my favorite joke.
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Okay, I think that's it for today, unless the mood strikes me to write about something or other (like the political metaphors in 28 Weeks Later, which I just watched). So long!

Last of the Independents: I sure hope it's not

I.e., I hope it's not the last "independent" comic by Matt Fraction. Anyway:

Last of the Independents
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Kieron Dwyer



With this graphic novel, which came out a few years ago from AiT/PlanetLar, Matt Fraction proved that he's got more in him than zany science fiction stories (well, I think Casanova proves that already, since while it's crazy, it has a lot of heart, but that's beside the point). Here, he teams with Kieron Dwyer to give us a Sam Peckinpah/Sergio Leone-styled action/crime story (he thanks both of them, along with other role models, in the acknowledgments) about a bank robbery with unintended (and violent) consequences.

The heist is masterminded by Cole, a character cast in the Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson mold as a middle-aged badass looking to make a big score and settle down. Joining him are his girlfriend Justine (or "Juicy") and Billy, a big man-child who isn't too bright but has a way with mechanical stuff (especially explosives). It seems like a "routine" robbery, but they get more than they bargained for when they find a huge amount of cash in the bank's vault; this was the spoils of a money-laundering job perpetrated by some gangsters who own a Las Vegas casino. Soon enough, scores of mafia goons are descending on Cole's small theme park, which shares a name with the book itself. Lots of action, violence, and gore result, in good crime-movie fashion. It's a satisfying ride, with some incredible action scenes involving horses, shotguns, planes, gasoline, dynamite, and plenty of swearing.

It's really nicely done, with well-drawn characters and nice, sepia-toned art. Fraction includes plenty of little touches, like Cole and Justine's relationship, or Billy's love of words (he insists on calling the place they ditch their car the "rendezvous", even though they're not meeting anybody). The matter-of-fact captions are great, introducing or underlining scenes with simple statements like "Cole and Justine in love" or "Justine thinks about meeting Cole". It's all part of the effective presentation of the gritty atmosphere.

There are some great action scenes too, with Dwyer providing dynamic layouts, like this page from a horse/car chase:



That lower-right panel, of Justine swinging up onto her horse, is wonderful. Dwyer knew the exact moment to capture for the maximum feeling of motion and speed. The whole book is like this, and the non-action scenes are just as dynamic, with faces that convey the characters' personalities as much as the dialogue does:



So it a good book, short and sweet (96 pages for $12.95), nice story, nice art, a look at the development of Matt Fraction's writing; what's not to like? Check it out, if you missed it the first time around.
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Bonus! Tangents and speculation about symbolism and stuff [with SPOILERS]:

One thing that struck me about the book was some of what seemed like symbolism for the comics industry. The book's title, for one thing, seems like it might be referring to its publisher, a well-known independent purveyor of comics. Larry Young has a bit of a reputation as a maverick publisher, so he seems somewhat analogous to Cole. Billy is good at mechanics and explosives, like the mainstream superhero publishers, with their slick production values and violent stories, but he's not too smart. He remarks that his favorite place is the corporate theme park that put Cole's establishment out of business, and he wants to use his share of the money to buy it and have it all for himself. Maybe he's a self-critical analogue of Fraction, who likes words, is good at constructing a story, and wants to work on the big icons of comics. Of course, at the end, Billy dies, and the "corporate" mafia thugs are all defeated, so maybe that's a triumph of the independent over the mainstream. Despite the title, this book and this company are far from the end of independent comics.

Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it. I've been known to do that too.

Thanks to Larry Young for the complimentary copy.

The Annotated Mantooth: Matt Fraction has come a long way

The Annotated Mantooth
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Andy Kuhn and Tim Fisher



These days, Matt Fraction is the highly regarded genius behind Casanova, Punisher War Journal, Iron Fist, and The Order. But he wasn't always so infamous. What was he working on before he broke through and became an internet darling? Well, I'll tell you: it was Mantooth, part of Ait/PlanetLar's Double Take, along with Joe Casey and Charlie Adlard's Codeflesh. It was the story of a superspy gorilla named Rex Mantooth, and his over-the-top world-saving adventures that can usually be summed up with the phrase "Kick! 'Splode!".

It's a fun book, but it certainly shows as an early work, containing a lot of the crazy ideas and frenetic action of Fraction's later work (especially Casanova), but none of the heart. There's some damn funny writing, with lines like "Those robo-dicks had jetboots. I wish I had jetboots." Or "I took ass-whup as an extracurricular at finishing school." Not to mention the good use of profanity, like "Sweet Mary, mother of fuck!" or "Hoppin' he-cunts!" There's also lots of ridiculous action, with silly stuff like ninja robots, exploding tuxedos, rabid ducklings, a giant killer robot named "World's Greatest Grandpa" (Fraction always has to work in a giant robot), Adolf Hitler, an evil Oprah Winfrey-knockoff who trains lesbian assassins, and zombie Stephen Hawking:



That panel always cracks me up. Really, the book this probably reminds me of most is Nextwave, except it's missing two bit things that contributed to that masterpiece: the depth of the Marvel Universe, and Stuart Immonen's amazing artwork. Andy Kuhn certainly isn't bad, but he's just not at Immonen's level. Or Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, for that matter. But Kuhn does the best he can, giving us wild scenes packed with detail:



This annotated version of the series contains the full script for each issue printed opposite the corresponding comics page, along with Fraction's notes, which try very hard to be funny, alluding to media controversies that the book supposedly stirred up or bragging about his accomplishments. There are also introductions by Warren Ellis, Joe Casey, and Greg Rucka, text pieces by Fraction about making the comic and meeting the "real" Rex Mantooth, and an afterword from publisher Larry Young. It's all entertaining enough, but it definitely seems to be padding, considering the three actual stories are each only thirteen pages long.

So it's a fun book, especially if you're interested in Matt Fraction's earlier career. You can see the seeds of his future greatness, and have a good time too. I don't know if it's worth full price though; it's worth it if you can buy it used. Now I just have to find Last of the Independents...

New comics, and ponderings about my buying habits

I think I'm getting to the point where I wonder if many of the comics I buy are worth the money I spend on them. Sure, there are some that are totally worth every penny, but there are plenty that leave me wondering why I bothered. I think I've reached the point where I'm going to attempt to dial back my weekly spending and focus on trades, collections, graphic novels, manga, etc. So I think I'll look at each book this week and decide if I want to keep buying the series, or if I want to wait for the trade (or drop it altogether). Off we go:

The Boys #8
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson



This series seems to be plugging along regularly, making fun of superheroes and throwing in lots of gross-out humor and profanities. This story arc seems to be slightly different than the previous one (at least so far), as Hughie and Butcher investigate the death of a young gay man with links to the superhero Swingwing, a parallel to Nightwing. Meanwhile, Tek Knight, the Batman analogue, is having more sexual problems. Maybe this will lead to another big brawl, but for right now the story is focusing on exploring the sexual issues of this world and developing the characters. There's an amusing bit where Hughie objects to Butcher using terms like "poof", but then he is afraid to go into a gay bar and interact with actual homosexuals. It's enjoyable enough, and I'm sure hilarity will ensue in the future. (EDIT: After reading Alan David Doane's comment on this review, I realize that my wording makes it sound like the little character bit between Butcher and Hughie is amusing and a setup for future hilarity. I actually was referring to the issue as a whole with the last sentence there, and I agree with Alan that it was a good character moment that brought some unexpected depth to the characters in a book that seems to be mostly focused on superhero satire. That's what I get for rushing through this without thinking it over or proofreading).

Should I keep buying it? Certainly.
Monthly issues or trades? I'll have to decide after this arc is over.
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Criminal #7
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips



The arc continues to plug along, with exciting developments for Tracy Lawless as he infiltrates his brother's former gang in an attempt to find his killer while they perform a heist. Brubaker writes some great crime fiction, and this chapter is excellent, as the gang performs the first part of the job, which involves breaking a guy out of prison who has the plans for the second part of the job. Very exciting. Plus, we learn how this story is connected to the first story arc when Tracy visits Leo in prison in order to get a reference on his criminal resume. I can't wait to see where this goes.

As for Phillips' art, I've said before that I wish he would stick to this sort of thing and stay away from the superhero/zombie stuff that he sometimes does. His style suits this sort of story perfectly, with lots of moody shadows and atmospheric details (although he hates drawing buildings and cars, according to Brubaker's afterword; that was amusing, because this issue contains a lot of those). One thing I noticed in this issue was how well he draws women's faces, differentiating them from his men's faces, which usually have sharp corners and rough lines:



Instead, the women's faces have smooth curves and sharp lines:



Nicely done.

Should I keep buying it? Definitely.
Monthly issues or trades? I like the "backmatter" text pieces that various authors contribute about noir films, and I don't think those are included in the trades, so I'll stay with the monthly issues.
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Hellboy: Darkness Calls #3 (of 6)
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo



This series is tons of fun, even if I'm still having trouble following the plot. Not that it's too convoluted or anything, but I'm just not familiar enough with Hellboy's history. This issue, he fights an army of corpses mustered by his old enemy (I think) Baba Yaga:



He even gets to do the old gag where a bunch of bad guys pile on top of him and he crawls out from under the pile and runs away. That's a classic. He also gets some help from giant wolves:



Man, Fegredo is really knocking the art out of the park here, cramming an insane level of detail into the panels while still keeping close to Mignola's signature style. Wow. In future issues, it looks like Hellboy will have to face a creepy guy named Koshchei the Deathless, along with Baba Yaga herself, I assume. Lots of crazy stuff is going on here, and I can't wait to see what's coming next. Here's my pull quote:

"Hellboy: it's the book to read if you want corpse-kicking action!"



Should I keep buying it? Yes!
Monthly issues or trades? I'll finish out this miniseries in monthly format, but I figure I'll buy trades for any future (or past) stories.
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The Immortal Iron Fist #6
Written by Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker
Art by David Aja and Russ Heath



Holy crap, this is an awesome book. We get the big showdown between Iron Fist(s) and Steel Serpent, along with Hydra's armies and the Heroes for Hire gang (that is, Luke Cage, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing). Sweet! Tons of cool stuff, like Luke celebrating the team-up:



Colleen cracking wise while diving down an elevator shaft:



Misty yelling "Aww, yeah!" while blowing away Hydra agents (no picture for that one, but just imagine it), and some kick-ass kung-fu poses:



And lots more! Next storyline, Danny travels to some mystic dimension to represent K'un L'un in the tournament of the Seven Cities of Heaven. Sweet. It's an awesome, awesome book, and I can't get enough of it.

Should I keep buying it? Of course!
Monthly issues or trades? I'm thinking I'll switch to trades, although I'm going to have to figure out if next month's issue spotlighting the story of a past Iron Fist, the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay, is going to be included in the first trade or the second. Okay, I looked it up on Marvel's site, and it says volume 1 contains issues #1-6, so I think I'll be dropping this one to wait for future collections.
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Jack of Fables #12
Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Tony Akins and Andrew Pepoy



As somebody who is intimately acquainted with the creators of this book, I think my opinion has a lot of weight when I say it is awesome. The current storyline is called "The Bad Prince", which is a good counterpoint to the storyline running in the sister book Fables, called "The Good Prince". I'm not sure what poor nobility has to do with the story so far though, other than Jack stating that he was once a prince for two days. The rest of the issue deals with his recapture by Priscilla Page and the circumstances of his (probable) escape. I won't spoil them, but I will say that there is a hilarious running gag in which Jack alternates between telling us via caption the good news and the bad news of his circumstances. We also get some hints about the larger running storyline, such as Jack's connection to Wicked John and what's going on back at Golden Boughs. And one crazy-ass final page. I don't know what's going to happen next, but I'll be reading it.

Should I keep buying it? Yes. This is getting monotonous, isn't it?
Monthly issues or trades? Hmmmm. I'll have to decide as I read this storyline. I'm enjoying it monthly, but there's really no reason not to wait and read stories all in one chunk.
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Marvel Adventures: Avengers #14
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Leonard Kirk



Well, this book is pretty fun, but I'm starting to wonder if it's worth my money. This issue, the team gets pulled back in time (or to an alternate universe, maybe) to help some villagers that are regularly robbed by bandits. If the story seems familiar, you might have watched The Seven Samurai at some point. Or The Magnificent Seven. Or some other variation on the tale.
It's still a pretty fun take on it though, with the team changing their uniforms to fit the period, training the villagers in ways to fight (Hulk's training is the best):



And appointing Wolverine as leader for the mission:



It's very enjoyable, but it's just so lightweight, I don't think I can justify spending three dollars a month on it. Especially since I'm getting more and more sick of superheroes lately; I'm figuring I'll drop pretty much anything that I don't really like.

Should I keep buying it? Unfortunately, no.
Monthly issues or trades? Since it is a fun book, and I do like Jeff Parker, I suppose I could pick up one or more of the digest collections sometime.
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The Nightly News #6 (of 6)
By Jonathan Hickman



Well, the series wraps up in explosive fashion, with some change apparently being effected. Was all the violence worth it? Surprisingly, Hickman seems to be saying it was, but I'm not sure. It's been a subversive series all along, with readers seemingly encouraged to cheer as the evil media spokesmen were being murdered, but there were also some hints that the group behind the murders were an unthinking cult just following orders, and that's not any better than listening to a profit-obsessed media. But with the revelation of the cult's mastermind, Hickman seems to be celebrating the murder spree they went on, even hinting at a sequel aimed at another evil group of people. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I did find the story quite enjoyable.

And the art was also pretty damn cool, revealing an incredible design sense and an intention to push the limits of what comics can look like. Great stuff, and I think Hickman will be a major talent. At the end of the book, he announces two upcoming miniseries that will be appearing soon: Pax Romana (written and illustrated by Hickman) and Red Mass For Mars (written by Hickman, illustrated by Ryan Bodenheim). Plus, two more coming in 2008: Transhuman (written by Hickman, art by J.M. Ringuet) and The Return (written and illustrated by Hickman). Unless Hickman does something to really turn me off, I'm sure I'll be reading all of those.

Should I keep buying it? Um, the series is over.
Monthly issues or trades? Well, for future miniseries, I might consider waiting for the trades, but I might want to buy the monthly issues to support Hickman. We'll see.
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White Picket Fences #2 (of 3)
Written by Matt Anderson and Eric Hutchins
Art by Micah Farritor



I kind of liked the first issue of this miniseries, but this one doesn't really do anything interesting. We get some more scenes of the kids and their antics, more scenes of neighborly competition, and some backstory that was probably already obvious. There's a decent scene in which the general negotiates with a Martian ambassador, but it's nothing amazing. And it seems the whole thing can be resolved if Charlie (the kid) returns the laser trigger to the army, and even though he knows this, he can't figure out what to do. I'm sure there will be some exciting stuff of some sort in the final issue, but I'm not really stoked about it.

And the art started really bugging me, with characters' heads often seeming too large for their bodies, the kids looking like adults in some panels, and a freaky shot of Charlie's mom in which she seems to be related to Plastic Man:



So, I don't think I'll bother getting the final issue of this. Too bad; it had potential.

Should I keep buying it? Nope!
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X-Men: First Class #1
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Roger Cruz



I figured I would give this a shot after enjoying the recent special, and it's really pretty good. I've never really liked Roger Cruz's art since I first encountered him as a fill-in artist for Chris Bachalo on Generation X, but he's really improved; his art is actually quite good and suits the style of this book excellently. This issue is about Jean Grey spending some time with the Invisible Woman in order to see a fellow female superhero at work and get some motherly advice and stuff. It's a lot of fun, with lots of hugs and hero worship, amid fights with the likes of the Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android. But then the rest of the X-Men freak out and think she's leaving the team to join the Fantastic Four, so they go to beg her to come back, just in time to join her for the fight. It's a really fun book, with lots of good details, like Jean using hairbrushes telekinetically while putting on makeup, or Johnny Storm putting the moves on Jean, much to Scott's chagrin. This is the kind of book that Jeff Parker is great at writing, filling the issue with character details while still throwing in lots of action. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be following it. It's a good book, probably one of the best things Marvel is publishing right now, but like MA: Avengers, it's just kind of lightweight, and I don't think I want to spend three dollars a month to read it. I'll still recommend it to anybody looking for a good superhero comic though.

Should I keep buying it? Unfortunately, no. Sorry, Parker!
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So that's it for this week. I'll have to continue this examination of what to continue buying and what to drop or wait for the trade. Just for fun, I'll try to list off the top of my head what I should keep reading in single issues and what to switch to trades for.

Read monthly:

All-Star Superman
Batman (if I keep reading it)
Y: The Last Man (It's almost finished)
Local
Madman Atomic Comics
Criminal
Casanova
Runaways (for now)
Astonishing X-Men (it's almost over)
Fell (for the backmatter)
The Goon

Wait for the trade:

Powers
Fables
100 Bullets
Jack of Fables (maybe)
The Boys (maybe)
Immortal Iron Fist
Newuniversal
Desolation Jones (after the current arc, if it ever continues to come out)

Not sure:

DMZ
Ex Machina
Godland
The Spirit

Okay, that's enough for now. I might update this list if I think of other series.

New comics that I can get to tonight

I've got several comics that came out this week to talk about, but I probably won't get to all of them tonight. Let's see:

Cover Girl #1 (of 5)
Written by Andrew Cosby and Kevin Church
Art by R.M. Yankovicz



I wanted to like this, due to the fact that I can claim to know co-writer Kevin Church (I read and sometimes comment on his blog, and I'm a member of his forum). But unfortunately, my reaction to this issue was a bit mixed. But I'll get to that in a second. Here's the plot: struggling actor Alex Martin rescues a woman after her car narrowly misses his and crashes. This instantly rockets him to fame, netting him a movie deal and lots of recognition in Hollywood. But there seems to have been something odd about the circumstances of the crash, with sinister "men in black" types involved who now seem to be plotting to harm him. So, he gets a security guard: the titular "cover girl".

It's enjoyable enough, but nothing groundbreaking. The dialogue is witty, but sometimes overly so, with the characters seeming to try very hard to seem clever (if I was being generous, I would say it's because they are image-obsessed). And while the interior art is passable, it doesn't live up to the promise of Rafael Albequerque's slick cover art. For instance, one thing that bugged me was when Alex's handlers give him a total makeover, saying, "We're going to do something about that hair of yours." But unfortunately, other than a panel of Alex with a faux-hawk, his hair looks the same as it did at the beginning of the book.

As for the plot, I was disappointed that the "cover girl", Rachel, doesn't show up until the last page. But I suspect that the book will get better (or I'm hoping it will, at least; gotta support my homeboy!). The promise of the concept seems to rest on the relationship between Alex and Rachel, so this issue was really just an opening chapter to set up said relationship. So, don't let me down, Church! Make me proud to know you!
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The Immortal Iron Fist #5
Written by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction
Art by David Aja and Travel Foreman



Man, this book is awesome. Brubaker and Fraction are setting up a grand mythology for Iron Fist here (or maybe they're expanding on existing mythology; I'm not familiar with the character's history), full of details like a mystical kung-fu instruction manual made from the scales of the dragon Shou-Lao, or an interdimensional city where "the lords of the seven capital cities of heaven" plot to take down Iron Fist.



That is a really cool image, and it's the panel that opens the book. And then you've got the two Iron Fists taking on the hordes of Hydra, in awesome scenes like this:



Cool-sounding kung-fu techniques? That's exactly what I want in a martial arts comic.



I love the way all the other Hydra guys look on as their fellow soldier gets kicked through a train.

The issue ends with a cliffhanger promising a huge throw-down featuring more Hydra agents, Steel Snake, Luke Cage, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing. I expect awesomeness.
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Well, looks like that's all I'm going to get to tonight, so hopefully I'll have more reviews tomorrow.

Quick-ish reviews of new-ish comics

Sorry for the overuse of "-ish". Anyway, I thought there were some good comics this week, but I don't have too much to say about many of them. So some of these reviews will probably be kind of short.

Runaways #26
Written by Joss Whedon
Art by Michael Ryan



Well, this was kind of disappointing. The characters seem a bit...off. Which I suppose is to be expected when written by a different person, but it was bad enough in this case that it bugged me. Examples: The Punisher provides some narration, which is started with the heading "Punisher's War Journal: ...". Does the Punisher actually keep a "war journal"? Later, he gets punched, and a caption reads "Punisher's War Journal: Hhhhhhhhh...". Yes, that's a joke, but it's not a very good one, since it makes me think the Punisher is recording his actual thoughts. Another silly caption gag is when the Kingpin is thinking about the whole situation while he's eating a chocolate bar, and he stops in mid-thought to think "mmmm, chocolate". I almost get the feeling Whedon is "talking down" to his audience, which he seems to think are children.

Back on the topic of the Punisher, he confronts the team at one point, and says he attacked them because they were commiting a crime: theft. So, does that mean he goes around firing rocket launchers at whoever he sees staging a break-in? Even if they're children? Oy. Luckily, we do get this panel:



Which is probably the highlight of the book. There's also this gag, which made me laugh:



And there was a good line by Molly, when she was amazed that she predicted exactly how Chase was able to save himself from dying: "Why aren't you awesomed by me?"

One other complaint: wonky anatomy. Look at these panels:





In the first one, I don't know what is going on with Nico's legs, and in the second one, Karolina seems to have bent her spine sideways at an impossible angle. I realize weird spinal contortions are commonplace in superhero art, but that's usually for the sake of cheesecake, and I don't think that's the intention here. Huh.

Anyway, there were some okay moments in the issue, but it's becoming apparent that it's all a setup to get to the events of the next issue, which can be guessed by looking at the cover. That could be entertaining, and we'll see next month, but I don't like some of what was done to get there. I really wanted to like Whedon's run on the book; we'll see if it ends up getting better or not.
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Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #18
Written by Sean McKeever
Art by David Hahn



I do love this book, but there was a quirk of the art in this issue that bugged me. I'll get that out of the way first; Hahn changes the way he draws lips halfway through the issue. In the first half, he continues what he had done in the previous two issues, drawing a line for the mouth, with colorist Christina Strain adding color to define the lips:



But later, he draws the outline of the lips, which I think changes the look of the characters' faces, almost making them look like different people:



Weird. I prefer the former style, but I would have been okay with the latter. But switching between the two styles in the middle of an issue is a bit jarring. One thing that Hahn has done since he came on to the title was to sort of "transition" between Takeshi Miyazawa's art style and his own. But a change as drastic as this one should have been done between issues, in my opinion.

Okay, now that I've got that nitpick out of the way, let me say that the writing continues to be excellent. In this issue, I like the way McKeever draws a parallel between the relationships of Mary Jane and Peter/Spider-Man. M.J. is dating Harry, but doesn't want it to get too serious, presumably because she really wants to date Peter. But she is still friends with Harry, and helping him deal with his relationship with his father is bringing them closer. At the same time, Spider-Man is dating Firestar, and she wants to get closer, going so far as bringing him to her house and revealing her secret identity to him. That's too much for him, because he really wants to be with Mary Jane. It's nicely done. Good old teen soap opera.

So, does anybody know what is going to happen to the title when McKeever leaves to write for DC? I haven't heard any news. Whatever they do, I hope they don't give the title to Jeph Loeb.
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Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Salvador Larroca



This is a pretty nice story. I think I read on Matt Fraction's blog that he wanted to write a superhero love story, and he did a good job, affirming that Peter and Mary Jane's marriage is a good thing. I like the way the two of them ponder memories of their relationship (with really cool flashback art in which Larroca apes the styles of John Romita, Sr. and Ross Andru) and reveal how much they love each other. It's all mushy emotional stuff, and it's great. We get one action scene, and it was slightly hard to follow, but I got the gist of it well enough. I think it's a pretty damn nice story. Well done, Fraction.
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Midnighter #7
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Darick Robertson



Well, I decided to drop this book after this issue, and it's a good one to go out on. In an effort to evoke the Midnighter's power of knowing how things will turn out, Vaughan structures this issue in reverse, with the first page of the comic being the last page of the story, the preceding page following it, and so on. It could have been gimmicky (and it still is, really), but it's executed very well, and Vaughan even throws in a few clever jokes, like Midnighter making a reference to a criminal organization collapsing like a house of cards, when we've already seen the collapse of a literal house of cards on the first/last couple pages of the story. I don't think the story would flow very well if put in the "proper" order, but that doesn't really matter. It's a nice single issue, and probably a good place to stop reading the series.
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Astonishing X-Men #21
Written by Joss Whedon
Art by John Cassaday



I like that cover. Unfortunately, Armor (which is kind of a "blah" codename) doesn't get much time in this issue, but whatever. It's a pretty good issue, although it suffers from being in the middle of the story arc; it mostly takes up time moving characters into place for big future showdowns. However, we do get some good character moments (I especially like Scott and Emma having an argument in the middle of an airship firefight), including this one:



Wow, Kitty Pryde naked and making "bedroom eyes"? That'll have 80's X-Men fans in a tizzy! I also liked the bit about the "Breakworldian" rebels that are ostracized because they actually experience empathy and compassion; their leader thinks this might be a mutation. That's a nice way to tie this story into the general theme of the X-Men, rather than just being an "X-Men in space" tale. Well done, Whedon. Now just bring this type of writing to Runaways!
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The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #4 (of 7)
Written by Robin Furth and Peter David
Art by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove



This is a decent issue, but it also suffers from "middle-of-arc-itis". The art is very nice, of course, but there's not really anything in the issue that jumped out at me as something that I should mention. I guess I'll wait until next issue comes around. Sorry for wasting everyone's time.
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Hellboy: Darkness Calls #1 (of 6)
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo



I dug this issue quite a bit, even though I'm not sure what happened, exactly. Like I've been saying, I really need to pick up the various collections and get caught up on Hellboy. But I still liked this one, especially the art. Fegredo does a great job of aping Mignola's style (Dave Stewart's colors help a lot) while still keeping some of his own flavor. Very nicely done. If you're interested, check out the preview on Dark Horse's site; I especially liked the scene with the cats.
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Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #3 (of 4)
By Jeff Smith



Ah, another fun issue. It's yet another case of a slightly-below-average middle-of-the-story issue, but there are still some great moments, like Captain Marvel punching out monsters:



And plenty of other stuff. But again, it's mostly maneuvering characters and story elements into position for the final issue. I can't wait for that one to come out, and I'll probably have more to say about it. Again, sorry if I'm wasting your time.
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Okay, I think that's finally it for this week's comics. I've got other stuff to talk about, so expect more content soon!

My fists are like unto jello

Reviews of newish comics:

Agents of Atlas #6 (of 6)
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Leonard Kirk



This issue ended the miniseries, and it kind of goes out with a whimper. It might be better when I reread sometime in the future, but it was only so-so. Not that it's bad; it sets up the team nicely, and I hope Marvel brings them back in the future, either in another miniseries or an ongoing series. That would be cool. Hey, at least we got a dragon arguing with a gorilla:


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Welcome to Tranquility #2
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Neil Googe



Well, I wanted to like this series, but it just isn't doing it for me. I don't think it's bad; it's just not good enough for me to justify the expenditure. The characters are nice enough (especially Emoticon, although he was funnier in the first issue), and the plot is okay, but I'm just not enjoying it enough to feel like continuing with it. Bummer. My favorite part is probably the little ads and covers and stuff that feature the retired superheroes (or maxis, sigh) who star in the book. Here's an example:



And I like this shot of the superhero mayor tossing a car over his shoulder:



There's also a funny bit with a Cryptkeeper-like graveyard attendant (tha's him on the cover). But I guess I spend enough money on comics that I want to feel like I'm getting my money's worth when I pay for them. Sorry, Gail!
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The Immortal Iron Fist #1
Written by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction
Art by David Aja



Well, as I mentioned in my weekly preview, I was convinced to buy this by the good reviews I read on other blogs, and they were right! It's a pretty awesome martial arts book, and hopefully it'll get even better in future issues. I'm hoping Fraction sets the tone for the book; I like Brubaker also, but I would prefer wacky over-the-top ideas (like Mechagorgon!) rather than brooding narration about Danny's father. I'm just guessing the narration was from Brubaker; I could be wrong. Hopefully most of the heavy-handed stuff in this issue was first-issue scene-setting, and future issues will concentrate on action, action, action! Here's my favorite panel of the issue; I love Iron Fist's expression (as always, click the image to see a bigger version):


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Thunderbolts #110
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Mike Deodato



I picked this up on the strength of Warren Ellis's name, and it was okay. Didn't I say I wasn't going to buy anything Civil War-related? Crap. Anyway, I never read Suicide Squad, but this seems like pretty much the same concept: a team of villains controlled by the government goes on dangerous missions. Of course, they're hunting rogue superheroes, and they're a public team, so that's a slight difference. Ellis plays the concept mostly for satire, and it's pretty enjoyable, especially the news coverage and TV commercials. I might or might not get the next issue. I did learn one thing though:



Tommy Lee Jones just wants us to love him.
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Runaways volume 2, #23
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Adrian Alphona



Well, it's the second-to-last issue of Vaughan and Alphona's run on the series, and I was right; they appear to be going out with a bang. Who knows what will happen next issue. Some great stuff this issue, including the continued deterioration of Karolina and Xavin's relationship and Chase's excellent confrontation with Victor. I hope Whedon can write these characters half as well as Vaughan does.
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The Nightly News #3 (of 6)
by Jonathan Hickman



This comic is probably my favorite of the week, and possibly one of my favorites of the year. I'm amazed at the designs Hickman is coming up with here; I don't think I've ever seen anything like it in comics. And the story is a fun, Chuck Palahniuk-style look at society in which we're informed that the tyranny of the government and major corporations is keeping us all in line while they run the world. I used to go crazy for stuff like that, and I think it's an interesting point, but now I mostly look at it as a fun plot point to lauch stories about revolutions and such. Anyway, I love the look Hickman gives the book; it's full of pages like this, where the panels (if there are any) all bleed together and everything looks stylized:



He also throws in lots of charts and graphs. I liked this one in particular:



What's especially amazing about this is that it's Hickman's first comic. It's very exciting to see the beginning of a creator that I think will be a major talent in the future.

Oh, and one thing I wanted to mention: in the letter column section in the back of the book, Hickman mentions that the first issue only sold 16 copies. Really!? I know I've seen mention of the book on two or three websites, so unless those were review copies, they made up nearly a quarter of the issue's sales. Weird. I hope he sells more; I'll keep recommending it.
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I also bought the new issue of Godland this week, but I can't think of anything interesting to say about it. I guess I'll just say it's cool, so buy it!