Reviews

Superman Beyond 3D #2 (of 2) — Writer: Grant Morrison;  Pencils: Doug Mahnke;  Inks: Christian Alamy with Tom Nguyen, Drew Geraci and Derek Fridolfs This is exactly the kind of sophisticated, hyperactive superhero romp we all wanted Final Crisis to be, right done to the instructions on the 3D glasses and the wink at the end (and the metatextual insights as the secret ingredient…). For less than $10, you can get this and the first issue, and so only have to rip out one pair of the glasses. Totally worth it, and Mahnke is perfect for this stuff; he hits … Continue reading →

Captain America: Theater of War: America the Beautiful #1 — Writer: Paul Jenkins;  Art: Gary Erskine; (Second story): Writer: Dan Jurgens;  Art: Jerry Ordway Two stories with similar arcs: start in the present, then flash back to WWTT. The first is better written, one of those scared-rookie-finds-his-courage deals, set during the D-Day invasion; it’s cliched, but hits all the right beats. I’m not a big fan of Erskine’s art, but it brings a gritty realism that’s appropriate to the story. The second tale, which flashes back to the Battle of the Bulge, looks more comic-booky (almost like an inventory story), … Continue reading →

Final Crisis #6 (of 7) — Writer: Grant Morrison; Art: JG Jones, Carlos Pacheco, Doug Mahnke, Marco Rudy, Christian Alamy and Jesus Merino Well, you can’t accuse Morrison of scrimping on the action: between Superman and Brainiac-5 accessing the Miracle Machine in the future, the two Atoms scouting out alternate universes, Black Canary and the resistance fighters on the JLA satellite, the Flashes, Checkmate, the Green Lanterns… all those heroes, all working independently, almost make the reader feel sorry for Darkseid even before his final confrontation with Batman (and, by the way, has that Omega-beam thing ever actually taken someone … Continue reading →

Faces of Evil: Prometheus #1 — Writer: Sterling Gates; Art: Federico Dallocchio Green Arrow and Black Canary #16 — Writer: Andrew Kreisberg; Penciller: Mike Norton; Inker: Josef Rubinstein Action Comics #873 — Writer: Geoff Johns; Artists: Pete Woods, Renato Guedes and Wilson Magalhaes All of these titles are part of DC’s “Faces of Evil” month, which means the cover features the villain of the book, with his/her name scrawled over the regular logo, against a jet-black background. Kind of cool in theory — and the whole series would look impressive all mounted on a wall — but in execution it’s… … Continue reading →

Amazing Spiderman #583 — (Main story): Writer: Mark Waid;  Pencils: Barry Kitson;  Inks: Mark Farmer;  (Obama story): Writer: Zeb Wells;  Artist: Todd Nauck First of all, thank God for Mark Waid: his story, a slice-of-life look at Peter Parker told from the point of view of Betty Brant, is sophisticated, charming and deeply human, reminiscent of one of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City stories. Kitson’s and Farmer’s art isn’t flashy, but it’s clear and doesn’t get in the way, and for a quieter story like this that’s just fine. The story’s also self-contained (although a few subplots get thrown in), so … Continue reading →