Reviews

Not very much to make fun of or eviscerate this week — mostly books that are actually pretty good, solid superhero stuff that’s entertaining enough, but for various reasons just doesn’t quite make the cut: Booster Gold #7 — Writers: Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz;  Pencils: Dan Jurgens;  Finishes: Norm Rapmund Take this title, for example — the visual storytelling is smooth without being flashy, and the script moves briskly along, exploring the effects of Ted Kord not dying, and the Booster/Blue Beetle scenes are comfortable and welcome — but we’re in alternate-timeline territory, and much as a permanent Blue/Gold … Continue reading →

Young Liars #1 — Creator: David Lapham The first Lapham solo effort since Stray Bullets, I think, and it’s got one of his patented rowdy young female characters, plus an actual logical explanation for her behavior (with a built-in tragedy, although given the circumstances she doesn’t mind). The cast is built of stock character types (the big-hearted transvestite, the anorexic waitress, the fairly-normal, good-guy narrator as an anchor for the readers, etc.), and it’s all going to be familiar for Lapham fans, but that’s not a bad thing; it’s nice to have him back doing his own stuff instead of … Continue reading →

X-Force #2 — Writers: Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost; Artist: Clayton Crain Even worse than the first issue — it’s like a parody of the worst ’90s comic you can think of, with pointless fighting and killing (and pointless discussion about the fighting and killing), murky art that tries to be kewl but just seems krappy, the kind of plot that involves one of the “good” guys somehow wiring an entire building with explosions with no one knowing it, and then blowing it up and failing to take out any of the main bad guys (who all miraculously survive the … Continue reading →

Yow! Over 20 titles in the “buy” column this week, and even though many of them could use extended commentary, we’ve only got time and space to talk about a fraction of them.  If you think the comics industry is in trouble, though, check out all this stuff (if it’s not the best single week ever, it’s the best in a long time, kids): All-Star Batman and Robin #9 — Writer: Frank Miller;  Penciller: Jim Lee;  Inker: Scott Williams I wonder if all the haters will hate this one, too, or finally admit that Miller has something going on here … Continue reading →

Narcopolis #2 — Writer: Jamie Delano;  Art: Jeremy Rock What is it about the art in Avatar books? They get the good writers, like Ellis and, here, Delano, but the drawing always looks a little… off. Is it the coloring, the way the faces, especially, are shaded? Is it just that the artists are mostly new, and can’t quite make, say the shape of the heads and the eyes look quite realistic enough? (There’s usually something too staticy about the figure posing and the action sequences, too.) This would still be buyable if the story was great, but it’s too … Continue reading →