Author Archives: Phil

The Spirit #11 — Writer/Layouts: Darwyn Cooke; Finishes: J. Bone One bonus of reading this book is marveling at the obvious care that goes into it, from the detailed “Day of the Dead” cover this issue to the page layouts (especially the double-page “Spirit” title splash) to the coloring; given all that, it seems churlish to complain that sometimes the plots don’t quite make sense (Zombies? Really? OK, Hallowe’en, but still…). Cooke is one of very few creators capable of taking an icon like this and combining extensive knowledge of the source material with enough personal creative chops to make … Continue reading →

Batman Confidential #11 — Writer: Michael Green; Art: Denys Cowan and John Floyd All right, I understand this: DC’s looking ahead to the next Batman movie, and wants new, modern product featuring the origin of the Joker, so they’ll collect this six-parter (of which this is part five), into a trade, and everyone’ll be happy, right? It might even work; to someone who’d never read a Batman comic, the continuity chasms and sledgehammer characterization wouldn’t be noticeable, and they might even think that the scratchy Cowan art was an effective style choice for the psychotic topic, instead of being merely, … Continue reading →

World War Hulk #5 (of 5) — Writer: Greg Pak;  Pencils: John Romita Jr.;  Inks: Klaus Janson On first flipping through this, I was disappointed — big fight (with the Sentry), seemingly-lame resolution, no big change in status quo (and the ads in the back for the “new” Hulk book with a red Hulk, and for something next year called Skaar, Son of Hulk didn’t help).  However, a second, slower, less fanboyish-what’s-gonna-happen read paid off;  it’s a story about, not only rage, but uncontrolled use of power — by the Illuminati, by the Hulk, by the Sentry — and what … Continue reading →