COMICS: Plastic Man

I enjoyed the new issue of Plastic Man, but there were a couple things about it that bothered me as well. Number one is the typeface. The lettering has been changed from the Kyle Baker trademark font (here's an example of it, from Mile High Comics), which has a cartoony feel while still being blatantly computer-produced (as opposed to most other comics, in which all the lettering is done by computer, but it still tries to look like it's hand-lettered), to a generic sans-serif word processor font, cold and boring and personality-free, that jars me out of the story, and actually detracts from my enjoyment of the book. If you think lettering doesn't make a difference to a comic, check out this issue.

And number two, the artwork, while often tremendously funny and creative, also often looks like it was scribbled out while Baker was on the phone, or thinking about something else. I love Kyle Baker's art, but too often on this series it looks rushed and sloppy. In all likelihood it is not rushed; I'm sure Baker dotes over each individual panel like it's his firstborn child. But it looks rushed and sloppy, maybe not everywhere, but in many places.

That said, this comic continues to make me laugh, which is why I continue getting it. So I guess I just felt like bitching.

COMICS: Wed. 11/10/04

Some quick notes on the comics I've read so far:

Challengers of the Unknown: Decent enough wrap-up. Although making Jan Boulton a man is kind of out of left field, and not really necessary -- that's your final commentary on Ann Coulter? She's mannish? Weak. And did I miss it: how did the moon base blow up? And did it kill the Hegemony or not? Well, obviously it didn't kill them, but were we supposed to think it killed them? Either I missed something (very likely) or that was very poorly presented. Also, the similar-sounding stilted dialogue of every character began wearing on me. Hmm, maybe it wasn't a decent enough wrap-up. Were there another series, I think I'd wait for the trades before deciding to get it or not.

Plastic Man: Dammit, I've gotta start looking more closely at the covers before buying these things. Scott Morse is no Kyle Baker. This was a really awful issue, filled with incessant obnoxious punning reminiscent of the Batman & Robin movie. Stupid fill-in issues!

Avengers: Finale: I liked the very ending, with the crowd at the memorial; extremely sappy, but effective. But the whole "best memories" section was lame. Every other character picked a "memory" he or she wasn't present for. Is it because they enjoyed so much hearing the stories from the Avengers who were there, as one character claimed? Or do you think it was because Bendis wanted to mention the landmark storylines in Avengers history, but he didn't have enough current members who were in those storylines to share their recollections, so he had to cheat and put those recollections in the mouths of other characters? I wonder. And that was a quick turn-around for Captain Britain: "I'll never forgive Wanda! Here's a toast to Wanda!"

Iron Man: This was a beautiful book. The artwork is really just amazingly gorgeous. I liked the confrontation between Tony Stark and the documentarian; a lot of great back-and-forth in that scene, with Tony sneaking in the final dig, pointing out the sheer futility of the filmmaker's career. I like that Tony is being forced to confront the destruction he's created with his inventions. Some nice character moments, too, especially the page with Tony looking at himself in the mirror. And I've never seen the wonder of flight expressed so well on a comics page. The wordless image of Iron Man arcing above the clouds was perfect. The villain looks interesting, too, but that may only be because of the artwork. As is the Marvel tradition, though, nothing of consequence really happens; the first issue is always warm-up, padding out the page count for the trade. But that's a minor fault. I gave this book a try just for the hell of it, and it's definitely hooked me.

COMICS: Wed. 10/20/04

Only bought three new comics this week, but they were all good.

Fantastic Four: Entertaining issue, and interesting solution to the problem at hand -- if a little too pat to be believable. Reed can switch powers from one person to another, but can't remove the powers? That's kinda dopey. But it resulted in fun comic goodness, so I forgive it. And hey: Galactus. What more can you ask of a Fantastic Four book?

Plastic Man: Funniest issue yet. I laughed out loud several times, especially at the self-referential stuff. Like when President Lex Luthor says he's waiting for the paperback of Identity Crisis to come out. Or when Woozy Winks, on seeing the vice-president, says, "Hey, it's that guy from Smallville!" (Woozy must be watching the repeats on ABC Family.) And excellent use of real Dubya quotes for the final punchline. I think this book is actually getting better each issue.

Madrox: I'm not wild about the art. But the story is interesting, as is the idea that each Madrox duplicate has a different personality, and might not be so willing to go along with the original's plans anymore. But, as regards the opening scene -- I think if I were Madrox, I'd create a duplicate before getting punched in the face.

Also, the 2nd TPB of Batman: Hush came out, and, true to my word, I refused to buy it. As should you all. Screw those greedy bastards and their double-charging ways! Collect your storylines in one book, DC, or you can stuff 'em! (I'm looking at you, too, Marvel.)

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. 7/21/04

Slow week for me at the comic shop. Other than the Hush TPB I wrote about yesterday, I only got three comics, which is probably a change for the better; I've been spending way too much on comics recently. Yeah, like I'm really gonna cut back.

Plastic Man: Glad Kyle Baker is back. I think I'm going to enjoy this story more than his first arc. It's lighter, goofier, funnier, more enjoyable over all. No hint of that jarring darkness Baker introduced in the early issues: who wants to read a Plastic Man story involving the gut-wrenching death of his best friend Woozy Winks? (Sure, Woozy got better, but still -- it was Plastic Man with an edge, which is so wrong in every definition of the word.) Seeing Abraham Lincoln slap Wonder Woman's ass in this new issue was definitely worth the cover price.

Ex Machina: Good, smart stuff. And, hey, here's Abraham Lincoln again! Slightly different context, though. Now that was a bit shocking, wasn't it? I enjoyed that central debate -- is it right to censor something that has the potential to provoke actual violence? -- but it felt like an extended tangent, irrelevant to the story. Are they going anywhere with this? I also enjoy that the superhero costume only appears in flashback: I'd rather see how a superpowered mayor deals in politics, than see just another costumed hero. Brian K. Vaughan is now officially one of my favorite writers, with this and Y: The Last Man. I may even have to check out what he's done with Ultimate X-Men when the TPB comes out.

It took me forever to remember the third comic I got was Daredevil. That probably doesn't say much about its entertainment value. I don't like that Ben Urich's uninformed diagnosis that Matt Murdock had a nervous breakdown has been so readily accepted as fact -- especially when, if you buy that theory, it took years for the breakdown to manifest, it lasted for more than a year, and upon Urich's diagnosis, Murdock apparently instantly cured himself by driving away his wife. And I've tolerated it for so long, but I finally reached the breaking point this issue: Alex Maleev's artwork is ugly. It's an eyesore. It makes the book a chore to read. I unequivocally hate it. If I drop this book -- and I'm getting fairly close to doing so -- it'll be 10% because of Bendis' story, which is, as always, padded to the breaking point, as well as patently ridiculous (Daredevil declares himself Kingpin and crime in Hell's Kitchen disappears -- because I guess now he's really beating up criminals, as opposed to all those other years he only kind of beat up criminals), 90% that hideous art.