COMICS: More 8/25/04

Astonishing X-Men: So Colossus is back. Prompting me to ask the question: he was gone? Seriously, he's been dead? Okay, if you say so.

I'm joking, a little. Don't post a comment telling me when and how Colossus died; I've gleaned as much as I want to know from other blog entries about this issue. But before this week, I honestly did not know he was supposedly dead. Nor would I have cared. I'm not an X-fan by any stretch; I only pick up the books when I'm interested in the writers, such as Whedon, Grant Morrison, or Peter David. This issue highlights why it's so hard for me to care about the X-characters even when good writers are in charge: there's just so... much... crap. All the titles, all the characters, all the stupid, stupid, sub-soap opera quality plots. I'd much prefer a writer to do something new with these damn mutants, rather than resurrecting the dead, or rehashing ancient stories. Even Morrison did it. Jean Grey is the Phoenix again? You know what? FUCK the Phoenix! Jesus Christ! Trying to write a new and interesting Phoenix storyline is like trying to come up with a new and funny chicken-crossing-the-road joke. It can be done, I suppose, theoretically -- but why? Move on, people, move on.

I probably should stop buying this book.

We3: Speaking of Morrison... This book swept me up in a way Morrison's Seaguy totally failed to do. Maybe because it's not quite so relentlessly, mind-scramblingly weird for the sake of being weird. I mean, it's weird, don't get me wrong. But the art by Quitely, gorgeous as always, helped me ease into the story in a way Seaguy's artwork did not, and, though the story is weird, there actually is a story. And it's somewhat coherent!

I don't mean to rip on Morrison so harshly. I like almost everything he's written. I appreciate a comic which is challenging; I don't much care for a comic which I feel is mocking me for not getting it, like I felt Morrison was doing with Seaguy. I look forward to the next issue.

Amazing Spider-Man: I hope Flash Thompson is the father. Does Flash Thompson even still exist in the Spidey universe?

Street Angel: I finally got a back copy of the first issue, and while it wasn't as wildly, inventively, hilariously over-the-top as the second issue, I still enjoyed it a great deal. One of my favorite new comics. Which means it probably won't make it to issue four.

Runaways: I enjoyed the first TPB so much, I went and got the next four-part storyline out of the back issue boxes. I could've waited for another TPB. It was a decent story, kind of fun, but in the end it didn't go much of anywhere, and being broken up into four parts didn't help. The second arc is pretty early for what's basically a placeholder storyline. But hell, now I'm so close to the current issue, I might as well keep on buying the back issues, right? (This is why I'm always broke.)

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.