Reviews

Since this was a skip week, it’s a good time to do a “Top Ten Books of the Decade” list, eh? One complication has to do with changes that the ’00s saw in comics production: if the ’80s and ’90s were the decades of the comic store, when fans couldn’t find the magazines in general outlets any more, and had to go to the specialty shops that sprang up across the country like so many mushrooms (and, mushroom-like, in the late ’90s disappeared just as quickly), the ’00s were the decade when comics reappeared in “regular” bookstores; trades, hardcovers and … Continue reading →

Beasts of Burden #4 (of 4) — Writer: Evan Dorkin;  Art:  Jill Thompson You know the drill on this by now — dogs and cats in a small-town suburban neighborhood battling various supernatural menaces, with skillful and effective storytelling by Dorkin, and beautiful art by Thompson. It’s a crime that this is selling something like 6,000 copies an issue in comic book stores, but they’re collecting these four issues, plus the other four stories with the characters, into a nice hardcover for publication next year; watch it fly off of bookstore shelves then. In the meantime, buy this, and the … Continue reading →

Fall of the Hulks: Gamma — Writer: Jeph Loeb;  Pencils: John Romita, Jr.;  Inks: Klaus Janson Great art, with a large cast, too (both heroes and villains), as a major character “dies” (and I’m using the quotes because he’s “died” at least twice before that I can remember). Loeb, to give him credit, lets his art team carry most of the load; he throws in five full-page splashes, plus two double-page splashes, and they’re all just about pretty enough to be worth the cost of the book. Unfortunately, there’s 29 pages of story, so even with nine of them being … Continue reading →

Fables #91 — Writer: Bill Willingham;  Penciller: Mark Buckingham;  Inkers: Steve Leialoha and Dan Green This is always good, but I’m putting it first this week because all the other books are Marvels (it being a light week for decent nonsuperhero stuff). Note how easily Willingham is able to keep two storylines going at once, ending one while cranking up the other, and how smoothly he doles out information to new readers, keeps his enormous cast balanced and fascinating, and throws in plot twists and asides to keep it impossible to resist. Buckingham, Leialoha and Green are all old pros, … Continue reading →