Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #1 (of 4) — Writer: Jeff Parker; Penciler: Mike Wieringo; Inker: Wade von Grawbadger I almost bought this, and if you’re looking for “classic” FF while the main title’s going through one of its periodic let’s-shake-up-the-roster things, you could do worse. Weiringo knows how to draw this book, and the script gives him Spider-Man and the Impossible Man and a Thing-Torch prank to have fun with. There was a little too much going on for me, though; it seemed like the volume was cranked up too high — the villain’s working for an alien race! … Continue reading →

Madman #1 — Words and pictures: Michael Allred Just OK. Wonderful art, but it’s more of a clip show than anything else, and the suggestion at the end that everything up to now’s all been an illusion feels like a cheat. Of course, the cheat might be a cheat, too, so it’s important to reserve judgment; it’s understandable that Allred wants to clear away 20 years of cobwebs surrounding his character, and we’ll have to wait until the end of the storyline to see exactly how he’s going to accomplish that. Allred’s part of an interesting pattern — Matt Wagner’s … Continue reading →

Batman #664 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Andy Kubert; Inker: Jesse Delperdang Morrison’s Wayne is a super-competent international playboy, instead of someone pretending to be a klutz, and that’s kind of fun. Nasty things are happening in Gotham, and Batman gets smacked around and there’s talk of “the black casebook,” apparently one of those shadowy Morrison conspiracy-of-the-weird things, and that’s it: the first chapter of a new story. Andy Kubert’s been a good match for Morrison; he’s good at standard superhero poses, but he’s just off-center and gritty enough to have a style. Look at that cover: it’s generic at … Continue reading →