Speak of the Devil #3(of 6) — Creator: Gilbert Hernandez This is one of Hernandez’s “B-movie” stories, where he’s “adapting” the films of one of his “real” Love and Rockets characters (yeah, it’s complicated; it’s part of a 20-year, multi-generational storyline). These are grindhouse movies, exploitive and lurid by design, and none of their characters are tied into all that complicated backstory; he can do whatever he wants with them. Consider this issue’s last page — exactly halfway through the story — which offers the moment when the set-up is over, the roller coaster tops the hill, and the real … Continue reading →

Countdown to Final Crisis #22 — Writers: Paul Dini with Tony Bedard; Story Consultant: Keith Giffen; Pencils: Carlos Magno; Inks: Rodney Ramos We start with a panel looking up Mary Marvel’s butt, and end with a full-page splash of the Trickster with a bullet through his forehead (in between? Jimmy Olsen on Apokolips), and that really tells you all you need to know about this sad, exploitive indication of how badly DC has lost its way. Want more evidence? Read on…. Green Lantern Corps #18 — Writer: Peter J. Tomasi; Pencillers: Patrick Gleason and Jamal Igle; Inkers: Prentis Rollins and … Continue reading →

The Spirit #11 — Writer/Layouts: Darwyn Cooke; Finishes: J. Bone One bonus of reading this book is marveling at the obvious care that goes into it, from the detailed “Day of the Dead” cover this issue to the page layouts (especially the double-page “Spirit” title splash) to the coloring; given all that, it seems churlish to complain that sometimes the plots don’t quite make sense (Zombies? Really? OK, Hallowe’en, but still…). Cooke is one of very few creators capable of taking an icon like this and combining extensive knowledge of the source material with enough personal creative chops to make … Continue reading →

Batman Confidential #11 — Writer: Michael Green; Art: Denys Cowan and John Floyd All right, I understand this: DC’s looking ahead to the next Batman movie, and wants new, modern product featuring the origin of the Joker, so they’ll collect this six-parter (of which this is part five), into a trade, and everyone’ll be happy, right? It might even work; to someone who’d never read a Batman comic, the continuity chasms and sledgehammer characterization wouldn’t be noticeable, and they might even think that the scratchy Cowan art was an effective style choice for the psychotic topic, instead of being merely, … Continue reading →