COMICS: Wed. 10/27/04

Amazing Spider-Man: Why did I even get this issue? Morbid curiosity, I guess. I wonder if the bit with the Spider-Man stalker/comic book guy on the news was in anticipation of the backlash Straczynski knew he'd be getting from the comics community after his last issue. There are things about this story I think I really could've enjoyed -- Norman Osborn raising his children to hate and kill Peter Parker, a battle on the site of Gwen Stacy's death -- if Straczynski hadn't found it necessary to retroactively befoul the character of Gwen Stacy. Even if it were some bullshit like the kids were cloned from Gwen's blood or something like that, it would be more palatable than the way it stands now.

Daredevil: I read this last night while I was kind of drunk, and I don't remember a goddam thing about it. Other than parts of it were in black & white. And I have no desire to read it again. I gotta force myself not to buy this out of reflex anymore.

We3: This is so fucking brilliant it hurts. To turn these ludicrous animal soldiers first into horrifyingly convincing death dealers, then into objects of unironic, heartbreaking pity -- it's absolutely wonderful writing. And the art -- wow. Quitely is a master. The most beautifully rendered carnage since Bissette and Totleben's Miracleman work. I'm gonna go ahead and say Morrison and Quitely together make for one of the most powerful teams in comics history. The fact that they can actually convey to the reader the way the animals' senses work on a different, higher level than the humans (through the multiple mini-panels, the timelapse photography-style fast motion, and especially the sequence of skewed panels on pages 12 & 13) is awesome. And the emotions that they elicited merely by having 1 lower his head and say, "BAD DOG" -- it's a powerhouse of a comic.

Green Lantern: Rebirth: I picked this one up because apparently I'm a sucker for hype. I've always liked the idea of Green Lantern, but I've never been thrilled enough with any of the comic's writers to make it a regular habit. I'm aware of most of GL's recent history, but still, there is a lot in this issue that makes me feel like I wasn't being allowed to join in the reindeer games. Like the dude in jail with the giant head, Hector Hammond -- what the hell? I kind of liked the story and the writing -- although, in contrast with Mike, I did not enjoy the confrontation between John Stewart and Batman; Batman is portrayed as alternately a raving lunatic, and a cowering weakling, clutching impotently at his cape, and Stewart's self-righteous anger plays as totally false, especially considering the fact that he's defending a man who murdered, like, a bajillion people. (Mike's right about the purty art, though.) But I don't like the idea that a comics fiend like myself still feels left in the dark by any number of references. Why oh why did I buy 20 copies of this issue??

The Authority: Revolution: Has some of the same problems as Green Lantern -- I don't know the Authority universe very well, don't know if the villains are old or new, don't know if this takeover of America commenced with this issue, or if this is continuing something previously established... and so on. But I like Ed Brubaker, and I think I'm going to like this story. The only other Authority comics I've read were the first TPB collection, which I thought was attempting to emulate Miracleman -- superheroes take over the world -- with none of the subtlety or thoughtfulness, just a bunch of idiots punching people's brains out. This first issue of Brubaker's puts some of that thought that was lacking into the story. I'm definitely going to want to read the whole 12 issues -- I just haven't decided if I'm going to continue with it monthly, or wait for the trade.

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. 9/15/04

Just so I have something to post today, here's a quick list of today's purchases, and my judgments based solely on the covers:

Strange: Straczynski. I'm a sucker.

Daredevil: Bendis. I'm a sucker.

Wanted: Millar. At least I'm not sucker enough to buy the special edition reprints of this thing. Seriously, what kind of chumps shell out for that kind of nonsense? I'm sticking with this series only because it's almost done. Despite his best efforts, Millar has failed to make interesting a comic in which every single character is irredeemably contemptible.

Fantastic Four: Stupid freakin' Disassembled crossover. Hopefully it only mentions the Avengers foofaraw in passing, and just gets on with the regular storyline.

Madrox: Peter David. Aw yeah. The only X-title I've been really interested in since David's run on X-Force. Even Grant Morrison's X-Men run merely got me to buy the comic, but never really got me excited about it. I can't wait to read this issue. In fact, I'm gonna do that right now. I'm outta here.

[EDIT: I mean, X-Factor. As Shane from Near Mint Heroes correctly commented, I got my X-titles mixed up. I blame society.]

COMICS: Thurs. 7/8/04

I was going to do my comics post a day late this week, since they were released a day late due to the Monday holiday, but looks like I can squeeze this post in tonight. Four new comics this week; may contain spoilers for readers slower than I am.

Supreme Power: I've been borderline on this series for a while. The concept itself is, of course, a revision of an old rip-off of the JLA, and I've seen plenty enough of those as it is. And the story has been moving verrrry slowly. Almost Bendis slow. But things happened in this one that I liked: Mark Milton learns his secret origin! Several different versions, in fact, from the very unreliable and possibly insane Zarda (the Wonder Woman rip-off). Mark appears to doubt her assertion that she's from the same place he is -- but she's hot, naked (this comic has more boobs than Cinemax After Dark), and he's probably still a virgin, so looks like he's gonna let that slide for now. The dog. Also, the Batman and Flash rip-offs team up to find that there's yet another superpowered being out there -- a serial killing one. It was a good issue, so guess I'll be sticking around a while longer.

Powers: Speaking of Bendis... First issue of the reboot, now at new Marvel imprint Icon, rather than Image. Only thing that's changed is the little box on the cover; inside is still the same old badass Powers. Starts off with quite a shocker: Kutter, who could probably be described as the #3 character, gets killed in the traditional sudden and graphic Powers style. Walker and Deena are back together as partners, which is nice to see. Bendis' dialogue is as long-winded but hilarious as ever ("How'd he die?" "Dunno." "Don't be so technical."), but, unlike certain Bendis projects, stuff happens here. He basically reinvents the entire world within the comic in this one issue, plus has time for a nifty action scene, plenty of great dialogue and character moments, and a great reveal on the final page. Bendis' best series (out of, like, 87), and one of my top ten, if not top five.

Fantastic Four: Another of my favorites. I had never been much of an FF fan, outside of the Stan Lee originals, so I'm not really familiar with the "Frightful Four." But I get the feeling Mark Waid portrays them about as well as they can be -- after all, the Wizard, the Trapster, Salamandra, and Hydro are C-list villains at best. The way in which they defeat the FF is believable, and the reason why the Wizard doesn't kill them outright, which is always a stupid, Bond villain thing to do -- the reason he doesn't is kind of plausible, the way the character is portrayed. Waid's writing is funny and sharp, and I love the art. The only Marvels I buy are for the writers -- Marvel has great characters, but the writers have to know how to use them -- and Waid is now up there in that category with Peter David, Garth Ennis, J. Michael Straczynski, Brian Bendis, and a select few others.

Y: The Last Man: Another of my faves. Only bought four comics this week, and three of them are in my personal top ten. This one is in my top three, actually. Best thing about this issue: the slam against those dopey, non-"born again" bashing, crappily written, inexplicably popular religious screeds disguised as fantasy, the Left Behind series. Yorick is a great character, and he goes through a great deal of development this issue, dealing with his remorse over the woman he had to kill the previous issue, and allowing himself to finally let go of -- or at least, forget for a little while -- his girlfriend half a world away, whom he may never see again. It's just a great book.

I also picked up a Hopeless Savages collection (a funny book about a punk rock family), and the Three Strikes TPB (gritty crime drama), because of good Free Comic Book Day issues. The Three Strikes book I got because it's by the same team behind the Skinwalkers series, one issue of which I picked up as a leftover from last year's FCBD (come to think of it, the Hopeless Savages was a leftover, too), as well as on recommendation from Dorian, who's a fan of the creators. And I got the newest Ultimate Spider-Man trade, too -- for some reason, that's the one ongoing series that I only buy in trades. Bendis' habit of padding storylines in US-M is less annoying when you get the whole story at once, I guess.