Hulk #3 — Writer: Jeph Loeb; Penciler: Ed McGuinness;  Inker: Dexter Vines Well, it’s a big, sloppy, loud mess, although I suppose if I was 10 years old all the big red and green and blue people punching one another would seem cool. Not being ten, though, and having read a large number of previous Hulk stories, I’d have to argue this is one of the most aggressively stupid comics currently punishing a gullible public (the giant robot Harpies were a particularly surreal, pointless touch). There’s no reason to buy this;  you can flip through it and absorb the little … Continue reading →

Brave and the Bold #12 — Writer: Mark Waid; Penciller: Jerry Ordway; Inks: Bob Wiacek There’s been Internet debate over the last few weeks about why this book doesn’t sell better; that mostly involved the Waid/Perez issues, although these Waid/Ordway ones have similar characteristics — “classic” panel layout and character design, clear storytelling, and stories that draw on extensive knowledge of the DC Universe. So, what’s wrong? That “extensive” may be the problem; with 8 major superhero characters, plus the Challengers of the Unknown, plus Destiny, plus a new villain, it’s an intimidating, complicated story. It’s not badly told — … Continue reading →

Pigeons From Hell #1 (of 4) — Writer: Joe R. Lansdale;  Artist: Nathan Fox This is an adaptation of a Robert E, Howard horror story, but Lansdale has updated and modernized it so that it’s more like a sequel. The plot — group of young adults show up at an isolated Bad Place, and Bad Things happen to them — isn’t exactly original; the art, reminiscent of Paul Pope in the way the characters look simultaneously ugly, interesting and oddly attractive, is a selling point (and the faceless, stylized ghosts at the end are cool). Annihilation: Conquest #6 (of 6) … Continue reading →

Echo #2 — Writer/Artist: Terry Moore Strangers in Paradise was a tale of human interaction that gradually revealed fantasy and adventure elements; Echo is starting out as the opposite: an upfront sf/adventure story that’s gradually revealing its characters’ human connections and foibles. I’m not sure the vast-badguy-conspiracy stuff is working, at least not yet; it’s the same old hard-to-believe crap that we get in 24, Lost, etc., and seems like lazy storytelling. On the other hand, the fragmented-battlesuit pellets, their spooky attempts to reintegrate, and the idea that their original owner is somehow still “in” there somewhere (as the titular … Continue reading →