Fables #66 — Writer: Bill Wilingham; Penciller: Mark Buckingham; Inker: Steve Leialoha
Continuing the “Good Prince” arc, as Shere Khan demonstrates to Bluebeard why you should never trust a carnivore, the ghost of Lancelot appears in the court of the Emperor, and dominoes are toppled that promise to lead to a huge battle. This is the best current fantasy story in comics, one with wit, sweep and compelling characters, and we’re lucky to be present as it’s being created, month by entertaining month.
The Boys #11 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Artist: Darick Robertson (with Rodny Ramos inks on 6 pages)
The team arrives in Russia, to investigate the apparent murder of a supe (his head exploded, which is about par for this book). Lots of interesting conversation, colorful characters — it might be nice to have an issue where no one exhibits some kind of weird sexual proclivity, but then The Boys wouldn’t be The Boys, would it? — and clever violence, this time involving a box of what the Russian mob apparently means by “pizza with everything.” Well-done storytelling, in its dark, cynical way.
Powers #26 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Mike Avon Oeming
Speaking of dark and cynical — this has been a grim story, too, and it’s gone on forever (especially with the comic’s sporadic publication schedule). With Bendis, though, there’s at least some promise of daylight, as there are hints that Deena isn’t the problem, and that the story’s starting to edge toward a resolution in a few issues. It’s funny; these characters have been around long enough now that we really do care about them, and hope that they can work through their problems and find some measure of happiness — and that’s a mark of a good creative team.
Justice League of America #14 — Writer: Dwayne McDuffie; Penciller: Ed Benes; Inker: Sandra Hope
Continuing the slam-bang, power-charged fight with the Injustice League, as strategies and counter-strategies are employed, Black Lightning offers sage advice, there’s a cool double-page spread of the IL headquarters rising from the swamps, and things look bad for Our Heroes at the end. Why can’t all superhero comics be like this?
Death of the New Gods #1 (of 8) — Writer/Penciller: Jim Starlin; Inker: Matt Banning
If you’re going to do death on a cosmic scale, Starlin’s your guy. I was kind of hoping that these eight issues would involve all the New Gods getting cancer, a la Captain Marvel, and we’d get pages and pages of nothing but them lying in rows in a hospital, wasting away, but instead the preferred method seems to be getting their hearts punched out — in this first installment, we start with the Black Racer, go through a few minor characters, and then end with a more major player (let’s just say no one will be getting off Scott Free any more…). Starlin seems to have been infected by some kind of Modigliani virus himself, since the necks of his characters have grown absurdly long (there’s a shot of Jimmy Olsen where he looks like Elastic Lad), but I enjoy his work enough to stay on board as this particular Slaughter Express pulls out of the station.
Conan #45 — Writer: Kurt Busiek; Artist: Greg Ruth
Busiek returns, and his knack with the gloomy Cimmerian world of the young Conan is appreciated; he’s thought through the tensions and politics of a barbarian society, and his unstated comparison of Aquilonia vs. Cimmeria to European settlers vs. Native Americans adds an extra level to the story. Enjoy him while you can — after this two-parter, he’ll be gone, and the title itself will end soon after, although it’ll be getting a relaunch sometime next spring.
The Sword #1 — Writer/Artists: The Luna Brothers (Joshua and Jonathan Luna)
With Ultra and Girls, the Luna Brothers showed that they could create interesting characters and fantasy situations, and sustain them through graphic-novel-length stories, so I’m happy to follow them as they launch this newest effort. The setup is reminiscent of Roger Zelazny, as the young heroine discovers that her comfortable middle-class family life is an illusion when three nasty strangers knock on their door, and the blood starts to flow with startling quickness. There’s an awfully convenient floorboard collapse at the end to get her to the title weapon, but this first issue did its job: I definitely want to see what happens next.
Phil Mateer
