COMICS: Wed. 1/19/04

Madrox: This final issue wrapped things up better than I'd expected, but I still can't say the mini-series as a whole was entirely successful. There were some good character bits, but I just didn't care about the story at all, neither the main one involving Jamie nor the side-plot involving Rahne. I would sign on if Peter David established a new ongoing series with these characters, as the last part of the issue suggests will happen, but only because I know David can create great, interesting, funny stories with the characters, not because of any particular love for this mini.

Plastic Man: Had its moments, but mostly it felt like a rehashed Tom & Jerry cartoon. Hilarious punchline to the whole thing, though.

Wanted: Mark Millar finally brings the mini-series to a close with an interesting, fourth wall-breaking meta-premise (at least, the way I choose to read it): the shift to grim and gritty comics in the mid-to-late-80s actually occurred because the supervillains of the world defeated the pure and noble superheroes once and for all. All the brightness and fun of the comic book universe were replaced by darkness and deviance because the bad guys were victorious in remaking the world in their image. This, coupled with the cover's excellent mockery of Marvel's crass "Who's Next?" chart for Avengers: Disassembled:



...were highlights of a generally clever and certainly very different comic. The tears-and-teddy-bears parts of the story were heavy-handed, and wildly out of synch with the overriding cynical brutality of the rest of the issue and the mini-series as a whole, but things got back on track in the end, especially with Millar's giant "fuck you" to the reader on the final page. I'm still not a huge Millar fan, and this comic was sometimes hard to take, with its celebration of the concept of "freedom of choice" being used to justify rape, murder, and the general degradation of the species, but overall it was intriguing, inventive, and well-crafted.

Haven't read yet: Powers and Invincible. I also picked up the first Gotham Central TPB, continuing on my recent Ed Brubaker buying spree. Last week, I got the third collection of his excellent Catwoman series; terrific writing, especially in the second half of the book, which illustrated the breakdown of the characters' relationships following the tragic events of the first half, but good lord was the artwork in that second half awful. It was Javier Pulido's work, and it was just wretched. He's the reason I could never get into Peter Milligan's Human Target series -- I love Milligan's writing, but I could not stomach the artwork. I hate, hate, hate Pulido's art. Hate it.

And I got the collection of Charles Schulz's other cartoon, It's Only a Game. These were one-panel sports and games-related comics Schulz co-produced with Jim Sasseville from 1957 to 1959. I hadn't bought it before because, honestly, it hadn't looked very interesting, but I impulse-bought it this week. And after paging through it, I see my first instinct was right -- it's not very interesting at all. Sure, it's neat to see Schulz draw adults, but the humor is very weak, and, as a gag-based strip, there are no recurring characters or developing themes to hook me into it. I'm glad I have it, out of a completist impulse, but it's simply not very good.

COMICS: Shameful confession

My shameful confession:

I really like Jubilee.

The comic, not the character. Or, not the character specifically, just what Robert Kirkman is doing with her on the new book. I don't really know anything about what I'm sure is the rich and fascinating backstory of Jubilee (she's basically a ripoff of Robin, right?), but Kirkman's using her well here.

This is more like Invincible than any of Kirkman's other books, and since Invincible is my favorite Kirkman book -- one of my favorite comics now being published, period -- that's just fine with me.

It's a very simple, character-driven high school story, with the whole mutant powers thing being very secondary (so far) to the daily interactions between Jubilee and the other people at school -- the popular, the unpopular, the faculty. There's a bit of intrigue with Jubilee's aunt, which seems to be coming to a head, and that's interesting, but it's not really what's got me hooked on the book; it's well-written and funny, with good characters, and that's what's got me hooked. It's far better than any of Kirkman's recent 2099 books, and it beats the hell out of his Captain America (one more issue of that and I'm done, this time for sure, I swear).

And no, I'm not kidding about any of this.

Or, as Dorian suggested at the comic shop yesterday, maybe I just like reading about teenage girls.

COMICS: More Wed. 9/29/04

Daredevil: Hey, an oversized issue with two whole pages of story! Gee, thanks, Mr. Bendis! You're the swellest! Actually, I didn't really expect anything other than that from an anniversary issue. It was actually pretty darn entertaining, with some gorgeous art. But using all those different artists really made me wish someone, anyone else would do the regular artwork other than Maleev. After Bachalo, P. Craig Russell and co., Maleev's two pages at the end looked even crappier to me than his art usually does. I enjoyed the bits with Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, I really got a kick out of the Punisher sequence, even if the character doesn't quite feel right when not written by Ennis, and I would've enjoyed the Nick Fury bit more if Bendis didn't have him do that hesitant, repeating words thing like he does for every other character. Wow, I'm complaining that Bendis makes some characters sound the same. I bet I'm the first person ever to do that.

Amazing Spider-Man: Dude, whatever. Gwen Stacy screwed Norman Osborn? I buy that. Yeah, because that's so in keeping with her character. She was the queen of the mercy fucks, that girl was. Maybe she was under mind control. Or she was a clone! Yeah, that's the ticket. This whole issue was one big "fuck you" to long-time fans. Thanks a crapload, Straczynski. Seriously, I don't get into that fannish, "that betrays the characters and history" thing very much, because, well, it's stupid. But I have to say: that betrays the characters and history. This all better be a dream sequence or something. Love the art, though.

Invincible: Good issue, setting up some interesting future plots. I like the crossover with the big alien invasion from Brit last month. (Is that going through all the Image titles? Or just the Kirkman ones?) Robot's about ready to snap, I think.

New Frontier: Pretty great ending to a series that took a long time to win me over, but finally did in a big way. I absolutely love that Flash and Green Lantern were the big heroes. Very, very cool. And nice tie-in with the first JLA adventure at the very end. I need to read this whole series again.

COMICS: Wed. 9/29/04

For someone who's listed on the Comic Weblog Updates page, I don't write about comics a whole awful lot. Well, here's some thoughts on yesterday's purchases.

Daredevil: Didn't read it.

Amazing Spider-Man: Didn't read it.

Invincible: Didn't read it.

New Frontier: Didn't read it.

No wonder I don't write about comics very much. By the time I read the damn things, it's irrelevant.

I did read all the Marvel 2099 books (and by the way, thanks a pantsload for putting them all out on the same day, Marvel! Way to serve the typical fan's budget best. Douchebags). I bought all five of them, because Robert Kirkman wrote them. Okay, I think I've finally been cured of that habit.

Not that they were all bad. Just that none of them were really spectacular. And I was surprised that all the issues were one-and-done. (I'm sure everyone else was aware of this, but I guess I don't really pay attention to much of anything that's happening in comics other than what I can see right in front of me on the shelves.)

I liked Punisher 2099 just for the fact that Kirkman followed up on the Punisher/Elektra love connection Garth Ennis threw out as a joke a year or two ago. So Frank and Elektra have a baby in 2038 (according to the dates on Cassandra's tombstone)? Let's see, Frank was in Vietnam, so, being extremely generous, let's say he was 21 in 1975. That would make him a proud papa at the age of 84! Take that, Tony Randall! Hell, forget Frank -- Elektra's the one who had to suffer through an octogenarian labor. That'll break a hip. Other than that little bit of backstory, I didn't much care for the issue, though. Even Pop Mhan's art, which I dig on SpyBoy, didn't really thrill me here.

Mutant 2099: The brain of Reed Richards in a Ben Grimm robot. That should have been a lot cooler than it was. I just kept thinking, why don't the Sentinels catch Reed and the kid, already? Reed's flying around in his jetcar, the kid's zapping Sentinels -- but they easily evade capture. And there's a gigantic mole people invasion right out in broad daylight, and no Sentinels show up? They're really pretty ineffective, aren't they? How the hell did they defeat every superpowered being on Earth?

Inhumans 2099: This had a very dark and interesting twist at the end, but I think it would've worked better for me if I knew who the hell the Inhumans were. I mean, I know who they are, I'm aware they exist, I've seen them in comics like Fantastic Four, and, I don't know, X-Men or Hulk, I guess, but they never really interested me. The only one whose name I knew was Black Bolt, and I didn't even know he had a brother. So, yeah, some of the impact of the ending was lost on me. Still: pretty cool.

Black Panther 2099: I know nothing of Black Panther. Does the current version often fight Doctor Doom? Seems like a bit of a mismatch to me, but whatever. And are the Sentinels confined only to America? You'd think, if they could've destroyed every single superhero, they could've gotten to Doom in Latveria, too. But again: whatever. And the issue as a whole? You guessed it: whatever.

Daredevil 2099: This was probably my favorite of the 2099s. I really liked the ending, where we learn Fisk is not just carrying on the tradition of Matt Murdock, he's carrying on his grandfather's as well, committing evil as the Kingpin and atoning for it as the Daredevil. How Catholic of him! And I liked that, in Kirkman's world, the original Kingpin eventually defeated and killed Daredevil. Good story.

So, all in all, I'd say this 2099 experiment was a bit of a failure. None of them were really designed to be continuing stories, but if they did turn into regular series, or if a generic Marvel 2099 title were launched, I doubt I'd buy any of them. Which is a failure in my eyes.

And I've learned to stop buying comics just because Kirkman's name is on the cover. Invincible and Walking Dead, yes. Anything else: doubtful. I mean, why the hell am I still buying Captain America? It's quite bad. (Although I have to admit, I kind of enjoyed the first issue of Kirkman's Jubilee. I'm a teenage girl, apparently.)

COMICS: Wed. 8/25/04

I didn't update yesterday, because I'm a bad, lazy man, and yet my hit count was slightly up from Tuesday, when I did update. Weird.

Just a quick one to let you know I'm still alive. And also because I've only read two of my comics so far. Spoilers ahead.

Brit: Red, White, Black & Blue: I've only read one of the previous one-shots of Brit, so I was a little lost in this one. First of all, I didn't even realize Brit officially tied in with the rest of the Image universe; seeing Savage Dragon and Invincible pop up during the big fight scene was a little surprising. Second, the whole thing with his son being shot into the sun really left me scratching my head, as did Brit's friend with the robotic body. I'll have to assume this weird stuff was explained in a previous issue. And Brit's ex-wife has claws? Whatever.

I was disappointed that Tony Moore wasn't doing the art, but I did enjoy the artwork. The story was kind of weak. Aliens invade, how original. And the instantaneous way they suddenly go into attack-mode didn't really build up any suspense or drama. Just all of a sudden, Independence Day is happening. And what is the point of having the French be the aliens' allies? Just a swipe at the French for the hell of it?

The scene with Brit's ex-wife getting killed is truly shocking, though. Anyone who's ever heard the term "pornographic violence" could look at that panel and understand the meaning. Not that there's anything sexual about: it's just so horrifically, unexpectedly, unnecessarily graphic, that I just stared at it in disbelief for probably a full minute. I'm not suggesting the violence should have been toned down, I'm just saying, it really caught me off-guard, and that rarely happens, in comics, films, or any medium. There was violence throughout the comic, but mostly involving the aliens, so it was cartoony, Mars Attacks! violence. Brit's ex-wife's death, in contrast, seemed disturbingly real. It felt like the whole purpose of this comic was to get to that one panel.

Overall, a disappointing issue, but, due to that one sequence, it'll stick with me for a while.

The Authority: More Kev: Funny stuff, though about 90% of the humor is gay-themed insults. Midnighter's eventual bashing of the homophobic and stupidly overconfident Kev was especially satisfying. And the final page was a great reference back to the original Kev one-shot. The stupid bastard's killed the Authority -- again! I've never been a big fan of the regular Authority comic -- it always seemed a little too creepily, unironically fascistic to me -- and Ennis plays right into my dislike, by mocking and belittling the superhero team as they so richly deserve, and just outright killing them every once in a while. Good stuff.

COMICS: Wed. 8/18

Taking a breather from my Olympics coverage (don't all cheer at once) to go over this week's comics haul. And it was a pretty decent-sized one.

Demo #8 & #9: I liked both issues, but I have the feeling I would've liked them better if I hadn't read them back to back. It feels like they're going over the exact same territory. Hell, the whole series may be going over the same territory; the only other issue I've read is #1. And all of the issues I've read are moving, sometimes sweet, sometimes painful, sharply observed examinations of relationships (with a little supernatural thrown in). They all feel real -- but they also all feel the same. Possibly the other issues branch out in different directions, but #8 and #9 are both about the exact same thing, a couple breaks up. Sure, one is by way of suicide -- but still, the story structure is the same: a woman explains (post-mortem in the latter case) to a man why they can't be together anymore. It's good writing, and I'll probably pick up the next issue, too; I just hope the writer has another trick up his sleeve.

Ex Machina: Brian K. Vaughan continues to keep my interest, although the bad guy is so far poorly defined and without any real sense of threat. It's the politics that make this series compelling, and I'm glad it hasn't degenerated into superhero punch-em-up yet.

She-Hulk: ...like this comic. I kind of get the feeling the writer is under pressure to make the series more reader-friendly with this two-parter, which featured new, more traditional artwork, and a big superhero punch-em-up. This one was down from the high standards set in previous issues. I hope Jen returns to the courtroom next time.

Plastic Man: Intermittently funny, but a mess overall, like Baker was just throwing out ideas as they occurred to him. The "Abraham Lincoln must die!" story crossed over from absurdly funny to kind of creepy pretty quickly, and the wrap-up was abrupt and sloppy.

Invincible: In the letter column, Kirkman calls this issue the big one, the one he's been waiting for. Really? Hm. I thought it was the worst issue of the series. Kirkman is starting to stretch himself way too thin -- like, Bendis thin. What's he writing, five comics now, counting the upcoming Marvel Team-Up? I'm afraid the quantity will make the quality suffer.

Daredevil: Speaking of which... This is in my "Why am I still buying this?" category. Why am I still buying this?

Supreme Power: See above. I can't fucking believe there are spin-offs from this series already -- and NOTHING HAS HAPPENED IN IT. Why am I still buying it?!?

Girl Genius: Decent, not great. I love that it came out so quickly after the previous issue -- by which I mean, not five months late -- and I liked that some backstory about Wulfenbach and the Heterodyne Bros. was revealed, but overall, just an average issue of a way above average series.

Fantastic Four: I've already seen some people grousing about this issue. I thought it was great, especially after the ho-hum previous story. I like that we're seeing Johnny back in the business office of FF Inc., I loved Ben's "Human Torch" costume, and the menace from above was the kind of cosmic, epic threat that often brings out the best in the Fantastic Four.

Runaways: Last week, I finally picked up the TPB of the first four issues, and I really liked it. I should've known I would, what with Vaughan's track record. I don't like the digest size of the book, though; my eyes are bad enough without having to make out the print at 60% size (or whatever it is). I love it when I finally check out a book everyone's been talking about, and, if I like it, there's a whole load of back issues I can get all at once.

COMICS: Wed. 6/30/04

Went to my friendly neighborhood comics shop Wednesday and wound up hanging out with employees Mike, Dorian, and Chris, as well as fellow comics fiends Corey and Ian, for a good hour and a half. Good times. One of our conversation topics was about our Irish chins, all of which (but Corey's) are oh-so-cleverly concealed behind facial hair. Chris, who isn't Irish, felt left out, but we all decided that half Mexican plus half Jewish equals Irish, and that seemed to cheer the lad right up.

Anyway. Only three new comics today, a light and inexpensive load for me, but I collected a bundle of back issues as well, and wound up putting a serious hurt on my bank account after all. Hooray?

• Batman: Harley and Ivy
  Part 3 of a 3-part mini. Another funny issue from Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, featuring Harley and Ivy's misadventures in Hollywood. Very reminiscent of the work the two did on the Batman cartoon -- but with a more adult slant. Which I think must be confusing parents and kids alike. A cursory glance reveals the same cartoony art style found in the children's comic Batman Adventures, but a closer look reveals:
  

  Lingerie shot. Lingerie shot. Panty shot. Panty shot. Bra shot. Ass shot. Panties around ankles shot. Shower shot. Shower shot. Shower shot. Panty shot. Partial bare boob shot. Panty shot. Panty shot. Towel shot.

  And so forth and so on. There's a reason this book isn't approved by the Comics Code Authority. It's very naughty, in an innocent way, if that makes sense. Good clean dirty fun.


• Invincible
  My favorite new series of the past year (or so) continues to satisfy. In the aftermath of last issue's brutal battle between father and son, an important new government agent character is introduced, Mark learns more about what his father did for a living, new relationships are formed, both inside and outside the superhero world, and Mark's got a new job. Which, after being so utterly betrayed by his father, seems like a foolish thing to jump into as blindly as he does, but hey, the kid's still learning. Robert Kirkman has quickly become one of my favorite writers, and Ryan Ottley continues to impress with his sharp, clean artwork. Invincible is one of my five current favorites.


• The Punisher
  After the amazing previous storyline, in which longtime Punisher ally Micro met his shocking, extremely graphic end at the hands (well, shotgun) of the Punisher himself, this new story feels like a muddled let-down. Something about the IRA and pirates on the East River and some old guy who cuts up people real good and a bomb expert who's missing nine-tenths of his face and a dreadlocked, gold-toothed gangster and oh, I just stopped caring. Maybe I was just tired when I read this issue, but it stopped making sense around page three. Too much plot getting in the way of the action, as Joe Bob would say.


• She-Hulk
  I've been hearing a lot of good things about this title -- "It's not what you'd expect!" -- so I finally broke down and bought the first four issues. (Corey was pleased that both I and Ian were buying it.) And it's a good fun book. The artwork is nice -- although, in some action sequences (such as the one with MODOK in outer space), it's a little hard to tell what's going on -- and the writing is clever and humorous. The book's about She-Hulk, after she's screwed up her life with excessive partying (losing her job and getting kicked out of the Avengers mansion in the process), getting hired by a prestigious law firm that handles supernormal clients -- but the catch is, they don't want She-Hulk, they want her non-powered alter ego, Jessica Walters. I have minor complaints about She-Hulk's/Jen's seeming inability to stand up for herself, whether it be against the Avengers or her bitchy new co-worker, and I think it's a little unlikely the Avengers would've gone straight to kicking her out of the mansion without having a talk with her first, but hey, you gotta get the plot and conflict somehow. And like I said, minor complaints. I've heard the book's in danger of cancellation. Which just figures, now that I've finally started liking it.

I also picked up Ex Machina (by Brian K. Vaughan, writer of Y: The Last Man -- another of my current favorites) and Astonishing X-Men, both of which I forgot to get last week. I've got nothing to add about them that hasn't been said already. (Oh, and also, I haven't read them yet.)

And on Corey's recommendation, I got an issue of Brit, by Invincible writer Kirkman, but I didn't read it yet, either. Possible follow-up post later today.