Thor: Man of War #1 (of 1) — Writer: Matt Fraction;  Penciller/Part One: Clay Mann;  Inker/Part One: Victor Olazaba;  Artist/ Part Two: Patrick Zircher This is the third of Fraction’s one-shots on the early days of Thor, and he’s presented in Young Butthead mode, fighting and kicking over both mortal and immortal anthills on the Nine Worlds, and generally trying to get Daddy Odin’s attention. As usual with Fraction, there are some good bits; the art, in both sections, is good at delivering both the dour Norse atmosphere and the mythological oomph that’s required.  And yet, the plotting and characterization … Continue reading →

Ambush Bug: Year None #4 (0f 6) — Plot/Pencils: Keith Giffen;  Dialogue: Robert Loren Fleming;  Inks: Al Milgrom Read it for the in-jokes; keep it for Giffen’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Archie parodies, the whole Mitsu Bishi manga thing, the fanboy argument about the relevance of trivia, and, definitely, any of the parts with the sock guy (especially “woggita-woggita-woggita” and “Oh, si! You are muy macho sock!”). The Goon #30 — Creator: Eric Powell Powell sometimes descends into self-parody (i.e., Satan’s Sodomy Baby), but when he’s on, as he’s been the last few issues, he delivers a smooth blend of action, drama and … Continue reading →

Batman and the Outsiders #13 — Writer: Frank Tieri;  Penciller: Fernando Dagnino;  Inker: Raul Fernandez Remember last month, when I said that I had never, ever read a Frank Tieri comic that was any good? Still true. Punisher #64 — Writer: Greg Hurwitz;  Artist: Lawrence Campbell Well, that didn’t take long: we’re four issues into the post-Garth Ennis Punisher era, and already this book has slid completely off the rails. It doesn’t help that, although this issue is part four of the current arc, it’s so disjointed that I thought it was a brand-new storyline; it also didn’t help that … Continue reading →

Batman: Cacophony #1 (of 3) — Writer: Kevin Smith;  Penciller: Walt Flanagan;  Inker: Sandra Hope Jokes about lateness aside, I’m normally a Kevin Smith fan — his ear for dialogue, and for the psychopathology of super-villains, makes bits like the opening scene between an Arkham-dwelling Joker and Deadshot, who’s broken in to kill him, smoothly entertaining. Yes, the Green Arrow bad-guy-who-repeats-sound-effects is annoying, and Smith probably pushes the sex-and-violence envelope too much for this to be an unrated book, but let’s call it a guilty pleasure and acknowledge it for the fun comic that it is. JSA Kingdom Come Special: … Continue reading →

Eternals Annual #1 — Writer: Fred Van Lente;  Artist: Pascal Alixe The one thing going for this book is that it also includes a reprint from the original series (issue #7, not that the editor cared enough to include that information here). That Jack Kirby offering, with its jam-packed action, powerful layouts and awe-struck sense of wonder, blows the modern-day main story (ugly art and an impossible-to-plow-through plot ) completely out of the water; mediocrity looks even worse when it’s lying right next to genius. The Cleaners #1 (of 4) — Writers: Mark Wheaton and Joshua Hale Fialkov;  Art: Rahsan … Continue reading →