Death of the New Gods #8 ( of 8 ) — Writer/Penciller: Jim Starlin; Inks: Art Thibert
Starlin manages a suitable conclusion, although the cosmic flash and thunder is tempered by (a) the nagging feeling that the Apokolips/New Genesis planet bit has been done before, and (b) the way that the Darkseid-Orion climax isn’t even in this issue, having already taken place in Countdown a week ago. It’s a tribute to Starlin’s skills that this still works at all, but the Countdown thing is just ham-fisted editorial idiocy, and leaves a bad aftertaste after what otherwise was a surprisingly good story.
The Mighty Avengers #12 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Artist: Alex Maleev
Mostly a what’s-Fury-been-up-to summary, one that could have appeared in the other Avengers title, or in Secret Invasion itself, or even in a special; even so, it’s a perfectly good piece of Marvel’s ongoing mega-story, and manages to sprinkle around some important clues about it (the double-page final splash, of Fury musing over a number of head-shots of various heroes, some of them circled, should provide plenty of fuel for discussion over the next few weeks…).
Batman #675 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Ryan Benjamin; Inker: Saleem Crawford
I’m still buying this because of Morrison, although its roller-coaster pace has slowed down considerably lately, and the girlfriend-who-wonders-about-Bruce-Wayne bit offers nothing that hasn’t been done before (*cough* Summer St. Cloud *cough*). It would sure help if the art was something more challenging than ’90s-Image mediocre, too.
Amazing Spider-Man #557 — Writer: Zeb Wells; Penciler: Chris Bachalo; Inks: Townsend, Irwin, Faucher, Mendoza and Vey
This has followed the pattern of all the other three-issue stories since the revamp: much more “OK” than “amazing.” Bachalo’s art continues to be the best part (although look at that list of inkers in the credits: deadline problems, Marvel? The lack of consistency doesn’t do his pencils any favors). The story is skillful enough, hitting the right beats and buyable enough, but shouldn’t one of Marvel’s flagship titles offer more impressive fare than this?
Justice League of America #20 — Writer: Dwayne McDuffie; Artist: Ethan van Sciver
Spotlight on Wally West, as Wonder Woman shows up to scold him for not keeping up with his JLA duties since his return, and the two of them team up to fight the Queen Bee. Like Spider-Man, it’s not particularly special, but it’s competent, both in story and art, and there are enough good character bits to keep readers entertained.
Fallen Angel #26 — Writer: Peter David; Art: J. K. Woodward
The climax to the big “everything changes” issue, although it’s more like the end of the beginning of a much longer story. Worth it just to watch David put his big cast through their paces, gracefully keeping everyone in character and getting each piece of the plot to click into place, although if you’ve never read the title before this probably isn’t the best place to start.
Fables #72 — Writer: Bill Willingham; Penciller: Mark Buckingham; Inkers: Steve Leialoha and Buckingham
Part two of a two-part Cinderella-as-secret-agent story, which only sounds stupid if you haven’t been following this title (trust me, Willingham makes it work very well). The massive war with the Adversary is upon us, although this episode only hints at it from the edges, and the whole thing’s very well done; this continues to make the short list of the best currently-published monthly comics.
Phil Mateer
