Author Archives: Phil

Midnighter #7 — Writer: Brian K. Vaughan; Penciller: Darick Robertson; Inker: Karl Story Less than it seems — it looks like an experiment in storytelling, trying to duplicate Midnighter’s ability to see possible futures, but all is does is run the pages backwards, so that we read the “last” page of the story first, and then the next-to-last page, and so on. So, Midnighter sees the future in five-minute chunks, from a situation’s outcome back to the start, exactly like, um, a comic book read backwards? Wow, lucky break for the writer, huh? Readers should do themselves a favor and … Continue reading →

The Punisher Presents: Barracuda #3 (of 4) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Artist: Goran Parlou You know Ennis is having fun when he starts throwing in everything but the kitchen sink: transvestite commandoes, earless (and clueless) South American dictators, hemophiliacs, ex-porn stars, Mafia bosses — all somehow believeable in the context of the story, and all held together by the amiable, casually violent force of nature that’s the title character. Yes, this is a low-rent, guilty pleasure, but it’s all the more entertaining for that. True Story, Swear to God #5 — Creator: Tom Beland Beland continues his real-life adventures with … Continue reading →

Wonder Woman #8 — Writer: Jodi Picoult; Penciller: Terry Dodson; Inker: Rachel Dodson Picoult’s writing ability probably comes out best in the Wonder Woman/Nemesis scenes, as they engage in a kind of awkward, half-kidding courtship in between fighting the bad guys. The unfortunate part’s the forced plot, as she’s compelled to use Circe to resurrect Mother Hippolyta, for no good reason other than to connect the book to the first issue of Amazons Attack, also out this week (This issue runs parallel to that one, and they end with the same scene. If this is going to go on for … Continue reading →

Love and Rockets #19 — Creators: Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez If you’ve never picked up this title…well, you’re an idiot, frankly. When everyone tells you something is good, you should at least try it, even if it turns out not to be to your taste, right? Anyway, if you’ve never picked this up, this is a good sampler issue: you have the final two chapters of a south-of-the-border story, two chapters of an LA story, and a surreal stand-alone strip. Beautiful, beautiful art, deft characterization, every panel a master class on composition — why, exactly, haven’t you ever tried … Continue reading →

World War III #1 — Writer: Keith Champagne;  Penciller: Pat Olliffe;  Inker: Drew Geraci World War III #2 — Writer: Keith Champagne;  Penciller: Andy Smith;  Inker: Ray Snyder World War III #3 — Writer: John Ostrander;  Penciller: Tom Derenick;  Inker: Norm Rapmund World War III #4 — Writer: John Ostrander;  Penciller: Jack Jadson;  Inker: Rodney Ramos If you bought 52 #50, you really, really don’t need these comics — unless you were hoping for 88 more pages of Black Adam beating up on various super-heroes and punching his fist through people, because that’s all that’s here. That’s all the “World … Continue reading →