COMICS: Wed. 3/23/05

Kind of a light week for me at the comics shop.

Spider-Man/Human Torch: Some of the silliest things in the history of Marvel Comics meet in this issue -- the Spider-Mobile, Red Ghost and his Super Apes, the Hostess Fruit Pies ads, and the way every bad guy used to be a Commie spy -- and yet Peter Parker's eternal, overpowering guilt is still portrayed seriously and touchingly. Dan Slott is frickin' awesome. And Ty Templeton's art is pure retro delight. I feel like I'm repeating myself every time a new issue comes out, but I just love this book. This is one of the funniest, coolest, most entertaining comics Marvel has published since -- well, since Slott's She-Hulk. Or since...

Runaways: ...this book. This was another fine issue. The reboot is off to a great start. So, are the Runaways being played for saps? Or is "Excelsior," the former teen superhero support group? Or are they both? Is Victor really bad? And who is his father, supposedly the greatest evil in the universe? Good story (if a little too heavily steeped in Marvel continuity -- those are some damn obscure characters in Excelsior), and great art -- Alphona can crack me up with pretty much any facial expression he draws for Molly.

The Manhattan Guardian: Another Seven Soldiers tie-in, with only, oh, twenty-seven more to come. I guess I really am going to try to keep up with the individual issues, rather than waiting for the TPBs sometime down the road. This new issue was every bit as entertaining as the previous two in this massive crossover -- in fact, due to its being a little more straightforward and accessible, perhaps even more entertaining. I just worry that months from now, I won't remember what's come before, I won't be able to tell what's going on, and I won't care. It could go either way, with Grant Morrison.

New Avengers: Dorian was happy to see me get this; he said, "Oh good, I can make fun of at least one of your picks this week." And I can scarcely bring myself to disagree with him. I mean, look at this goddam cover (click for full size):



Good lord. That is embarrassing. With emphasis on the "ass". As Dorian rightly wondered, how can her spine even bend like that in the first place? Especially with those sandbags on her chest weighing her down.

I don't know. For the humor and the banter, I still find myself liking this title. Despite its glaring flaws. Such as: Wolverine is a major member of this new team, and it's only now, in issue 4, in the last panel, that he's making an appearance. For Bendis, though, that's prompt. What's the rush? Why not pad it out another dozen issues first? Also, I am sick to death of the Xerox school of art. I like Finch's art; I do not like it when he uses five copies of the same talking head panel on the same page. I hope they don't pay him the full page rate when he does that.