New Comics

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 →

Green Lantern #18 — Writer: Geoff Johns; Art: Daniel Acuna A piece of fluff: 16 pages to the main story, of which four are splashes. Lots of T&A, but all that happens is that Star Sapphire shows up, possesses Carol Ferris, and then decides to possess Hal’s new girlfriend instead. That’s it. The backup story introduces one of the villains in Sinestro’s new Yellow Lantern Corps, and is meant to show us what a badass he (it) is. It’s all prelude too. ( *sigh* This whole mega-huge Sinestro story’s going to to be nothing but a big, loud, overbearing maxi-series … Continue reading →

The Spirit #4 — Writer/Penciller: Darwyn Cooke; Inks: J. Bone Four issues, four solid hits: and this might be the best so far. I would not have bet that anyone could make The Spirit work in a modern setting, but Cooke makes it look easy. Reimagining Silk Satin as a CIA agent attached to homeland security works fine, and there are a lot of delights here — the double-page title splash; the coloring in the desert scenes (all washed-out yellow during the day, and dark blues and black at night); the use of Ebony; the twist in the introductory narrative; … Continue reading →