Author Archives: Phil

Special Crossover-Fatigue Edition (Countdown/52/Infinite Version): Countdown to Final Crisis #26 — Writers: Paul Dini with Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti;  Art: Scott Kolins At the halfway point, we get a title change and a style change, as the story (at least for this issue) becomes more linear: the Monitors gather, review what’s happened so far, and vow to actually, you know, do something. If you haven’t been buying this, it’s a midseason clip-show summary to get you caught up, but it’s still got portentious dialogue, tons of characters from alternate universes, mediocre art, and six long months to go. Countdown … Continue reading →

Action Comics #857 — Writers: Geoff Johns and Richard Donner;  Artist: Eric Powell This is worth it just for the cover, which features the Bizarro Justice League and am gloriously sick and wrong (it looks like some early-Mad parody as drawn by a drunken Wally Wood). The insides don’t quite live up (or down) to it, but the Powell art carries it through nicely, and the end result — we’re back to the square Bizarro World, watched over by Bizarro #1 and populated by weird dopplegangers of the Superman cast who aren’t capable of using the correct form of the … Continue reading →

Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime #1 — Writer: Geoff Johns; Artists: Pete Woods & Jerry Ordway Heh — they should have titled this Lawsuit Avoidance Comics, as DC scrubs this character of any reference to Superboy, Smallville, or anything else that the Siegel family might have a legal claim to. Now, he’s a comic-book nerd from a non-superhero Earth like ours, ironically named Clark Kent, who discovered his powers just before the “real” Superman showed up and his world was destroyed in the original Crisis. Nice art (Wood and Ordway are particularly good at showing the insane gleam in … Continue reading →

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) … Continue reading →

Suburban Glamour #1 (of 4) — Writer/Artist: Jamie McKelvie This is a stylish-looking book, and it tries to do for American suburban highschoolers what Blue Monday does for their British counterparts, but instead of mostly humor and hijinx we get a fantasy plot that seems a little too tacked-on. McKelvie’s got a striking sense of design, with dialogue and fashion that ring true and engaging characters, but there’s some stiffness to his action sequences, and this kind of story doesn’t play to his strengths — the monsters on the last page don’t look particularly threatening or realistic, and I’m not … Continue reading →