New Comics

Joe the Barbarian #1 ( of 8 ) — Writer: Grant Morrison; Art: Sean Murphy After the universe-spanning clash of thousands that was Final Crisis, Morrison has (maybe wisely) gone back to stories that focus on the vastness inside a single human heart and head; Seaguy II had a world at stake, but boiled down to the changes inside its title character as he journeyed on the path to becoming a true hero, and Joe the Barbarian looks like it’s exploring similar territory. It’s a classic fantasy set-up: the lonely, put-upon kid with the creative imagination who crosses over into … Continue reading →

The Incredible Hercules #140 — Writers: Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente; Art: Rodney Buchemi Pak reminds me of Abnett and Lanning, the writers of all the Annihilation/Phalanx/War of Kings cosmic books: he’s good at multi-part stories with large casts; you’re never bowled over by his description or dialog, but he’s got a broad knowledge of continuity, everyone acts in character, there are a couple of good bits in every issue, and it all goes down smoothly and entertainingly. Here, he’s continuing his “Assault on New Olympus” storyline, juggling Herc and Amadeus Cho, plus various Avengers and Agents of Atlas … Continue reading →

The Muppet Show: The Comic Book #1 — Writer/Artist: Roger Langridge Langridge has finally brought me around to this title: he’s done a few mini-series with the characters already, and for someone with fond memories of the TV episodes (no, not Sesame Street: the classic Great Britain-located prime-time production) the personalities are all dead-on, and the sophisticated humor, slapstick and heart are all there. Here, he’s got his cast of entertainers on the road (their theater having been destroyed in the previous series), and the traveling-stage-production bits are clever and funny; this is a sophisticated, very high-quality comic book, made … Continue reading →

Batman #695 — Writer/Penciller: Tony S. Daniel;  Inks: Sandu Florea Batgirl #6 — Writer: Bryan Q. Miller;  Penciller: Lee Garbett;  Inker: Trevor Scott Any Batbook not written by Grant Morrison (or, possibly, Frank Miller, assuming that ASBAR even still exists) suffers by comparison right now, and these are no exception. Batman continues to demonstrate why most artists shouldn’t write, just as most writers shouldn’t draw — Daniels can deliver a few pin-up pages, but the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plot is confusing, there’s no linear flow to the narrative, none of the characters is particularly in character, and he can’t write dialog to save his life. Batgirl‘s … Continue reading →

Blackest Night: Suicide Squad #67 — Writers: Gail Simone and John Ostrander;  Art: J. Calafiore Amanda Waller and crew appear a little, and Ostrander’s the co-writer, but this is actually a Secret Six story, and continues into the next issue of that title. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, since Simone is so good with that particular cast of characters, and since both teams involve bad guys trying to (occasionally) do the right thing (with Deadshot the link between them), it all makes just the kind of twisted sense that she specializes in; this is a much better BN … Continue reading →