Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olson #1 (of 1) — Writer: James Robinson;  Pencillers: Jesus Merino, Leno Carvalho and Steve Scott;  Inkers: Jesus Merino, Nelson Pereira and Kevin Stokes I suppose DC has to publish one of these every so often, to maintain rights to the title or something.  Robinson can deliver character and dialogue, and he’s OK with Jimmy as an intrepid reporter, but he’s saddled with two major problems: first, he pulls the old show-how-tough-the-villain-is-by-killing-off-minor-characters bit, and uses it to eliminate a number of Jack Kirby creations.  Second, after 54 pages of story (and a $5 cover price) he ends … Continue reading →

Uncle Scrooge #380 — Writers/Artists: Various A full-length Rosa story from 1993 (plus a back-cover pinup), a handful of Barks one-pagers, and four tales from other creators (mostly Dutch), at least two of which are well above average. Not bad for your $8, especially if you don’t already have the Rosa tale, or if you know any little kids who’d like these read aloud to them (thereby corrupting them into lifelong comics fans). Young Liars #8 — Writer/Artist: David Lapham I’m increasingly disappointed by this book, which started out as a slice-of-life story with a few fantasy undertones, and has … Continue reading →

Marvel Zombies 3 #1(of 4) — Writer: Fred Van Lente;  Artist: Kev Walker Talk about beating an (un)dead horse: after the original Ultimate FF introduction of these characters, the two mini-series, the special, the Army of Darkness crossover mini-series, and who knows what else, this concept has officially been run into the ground. Those first two mini-series worked because of Robert Kirkman’s sly, gleeful scripts, but now he’s gone, and while Van Lente tries mightily (and does throw in one or two effective twists), this just ain’t working no more (it’s fitting that it’s set in a swamp: dark, hard … Continue reading →

Batman #680 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Tony Daniel; Inker: Sandu Florea Heating up — now that all the moodsetting and hints of disaster are out of the way, we’re in the middle of the actual confrontation (with the Joker thrown in as a bonus), and it’s all reasonably smooth and exciting, with a cliffhanger leading into the next issue (although the plot “twist” at the end is one that most readers probably saw coming about six months ago — assuming that it really means what it seems to). As with many Morrison stories, it’ll be hard to tell what … Continue reading →