Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Bought #19

Local #9 — Story: Brian Wood; Art: Ryan Kelly
A story about the death of a parent, poignant and wise, all the more impressive because it ends up being about mothers and daughters (generally a much different relationship than fathers and sons), and yet Wood’s able to nail it. He’s really found his voice with this title; the last three or four issues have all been great stories, each more confident and smoothly told than the last. In a week with long-awaited titles like All-Star Batman and The Ultimates, it’s got the best pure writing of any of them.

Countdown #50 — Writers: Paul Dini with Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray; Pencils: J. Calafiore; Inks: Mark McKenna
Well, this has been, um, exciting. We get Jimmy Olsen talking to Jason Todd and visiting the Joker in Arkham, plus a few pages of the Flash’s Rogues backstabbing one another, plus a Batman/Karate Kid scene we already got in the JLA (or was it the JSA? Whatever…). It’s all boring enough to leave the reader contemplating questions like: If Superman used his heat vision from fifty miles up, how would it stay concentrated in a tight beam? Wouldn’t it spread out and, like, fry the whole city? And hey, how does Jimmy Olson know who Jason Todd is, anyway — and how does he know who Dick Grayson is? Doesn’t that mean he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, too, since he knows they were both Robins, and wards of Wayne? But he doesn’t know Clark Kent is Superman? Is this because Superboy punched the universe, or are we blaming everything on Mr. Mind the hyperfly now? I was sure that Dini’s involvement would at least make this book run smoothly, but I’m losing that confidence rapidly; one or two more weeks like this, and it can count down without me.

The Ultimates 2 #13 — Writer: Mark Millar; Pencils: Brian Hitch; Inks: Paul Neary
Well… it’s OK. Would have been better without the 16-month wait, obviously, but if I were 12 I’d have found the 8-page foldout splash worth the wait, just on the coolness factor alone, as you keep unfolding it, and unfolding it… although, come to think of it, if I’d been 12 when this started I’d be starting freaking high school now at the end, wouldn’t I? The Cap coda, set in 1942 with Steve about to go to war, seemed off-putting at first, although upon reflection it’s meant to contrast that “good” war with the current send-troops-to-invade-countries-and-make-more-terrorists theme that Millar’s been using throughout this series. It’ll be interesting to see how this all hangs together in the trades, since I’m far too lazy to find two years’ plus worth of back issues to review it now — and, hey: how’s that foldout going to work in the trades, anyway?

Batman #665 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Andy Kubert; Inker: Jesse Delperdang
Only Frank Miller could make Grant Morrison seem mainstream. Here, in contrast to Miller’s over-the-top origin story, we have the Modern Batman, the suave playboy/detective/inventor/ultimate fighter who’s at the peak of his powers, up against foes twice his size but somehow, even when he doesn’t know what’s going on, two steps ahead of the bad guys. I’m not sure that we needed to see Talia and Damian again so soon, even a little, and the “Black Casebook” idea — it’s the cases that didn’t have “normal” explanations, stuff like vampires and flying saucers — seems a little off in a world where Batman’s in the JLA, a group that treats aliens and the supernatural as a matter of course. Still, it’s well done, both in the writing and the art, and definitely a story to keep.

The Mighty Avengers #3 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Artist: Frank Cho
This is about as decompressed as storytelling gets, with each issue so far being, maybe, ten minutes of real time during a battle with Ultron, who’s taken over the body of Tony Stark and turned it into a nude, metallic woman (with strategically placed smoke the first few issues, which now dissipates to reveal… nothing interesting, since she’s metallic. Psyche!) Middle story of an arc, so we won’t know how it all works together until we get the whole thing; for now, we’re left to contemplate the thought balloon experiment, which has now progressed from most of them being “What?” to most of them being “$#%@!” This is known as “escalating tension.”

Ultimate Spider-Man #109 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Mark Bagley; Inker: Drew Hennessy
Clever, competent, smooth and entertaining — and one issue left now for this creative team. Cool as always. With 17 or 18 volumes of USM trades of their stuff out there, as the entry-level Spidey title for teen readers, these guys should be able to live off their creative output on this title for years to come — and rightly so.

Fables #61 — Writer: Bill Willingham; Penciller: Mark Buckingham; Inker: Steve Leialoha
See above, except the part about the creative team leaving. And the number of trades.

Phil Mateer

About Phil

With 40 years of experience in comic reading, collecting and reviewing, English Professor Phil Mateer has an encyclopedic mind for comics. Feel free to ask Phil about storylines, characters, artists or for that matter, any comic book trivia. He will post your questions and answers on the AABC blog. His knowledge is unparalleled! He is also our warehouse manager, so if you are looking for that hard to find comic book, ask Phil!
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