Secret Invasion #8 ( of 8 ) — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Leonil Francis Yu; Inker: Mark Morales
This seems to have both started and ended better than Final Crisis (assuming Final Crisis ever ends…), although FC had its moments in the middle, and SI bogged down there. This last episode, though, has plenty of slam-bang events, and the “Dark Reign” setup turns out to be much better than I had feared (although, geez, can’t we please, at some point, have an actual end to a story?). Yes, it went on too long, and the revelation of the fate of the characters that the Skrulls had switched out is too convenient; despite that, this is much more Secret Wars I than Secret Wars II — I would guess that, to fans around the golden age of 12, the action, multiple characters and sprawling, earth-changing story make it one of the coolest superhero stories they’ve ever read.
Batman #682 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Lee Garbett; Inker: Trevor Scott
This takes up the Bat-related events in Final Crisis, although whether it comes before, after or during the Batman: R.I.P. story is unclear (if it comes after, then that R.I.P. story turns out to have been a massive feint, right?). As a one-issue survey of the Bat’s history, it’s a neat little ride, but the last-page cliffhanger loses some impact, coming one week after the finale of R.I.P.; the whiplash is going to leave a lot of fans with sore necks.
Criminal #7 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Artist: Sean Phillips
Just another great issue of Brubaker and Phillips’s noir thriller, with twists, character revelations, fists, bullets, car crashes, and the requisite existentially angsty ending. It’s going on hiatus for a few months, while they do Incognito, a Sleeper-style series set in the Marvel universe (or is it? The promos aren’t clear, although it involves a super-villain and is being published through Marvel’s Icon line), but discerning readers will be ready to buy it again whenever this team chooses to produce more episodes; we don’t have so many dependably-entertaining books out there that we can afford to give up one like this.
Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #1 ( of 8 ) — Writer: Mike Mignola; Artist: Duncan Fegredo
Speaking of dependably entertaining: after Richard Corben and Mignola himself have done recent mini-series with this character, it’s startling to realize how well Fegredo can hold his own with them; he’s developed into a very effective chronicler of the Big Red Demonic Cheese and his exploits. As a bonus, we’re back in current continuity, so the events here have more weight, and promidse to tie in with the looming apocalypse seen in B.P.R.P., the other book in Mignola’s chronicles of the Hellboyverse. As with Criminal, as long as he keeps producing ’em, I’ll keep buying ’em.
Marvels: Eye of the Camera #1 (of 6) — Writer: Kurt Busiek; Artist: Jay Anacleto
It’s interesting how, with Alex Ross involved in a Kingdom Come sequel (prequel? Future timeline are so confusing…) over in Justice Society, Marvel now offers Busiek doing a Marvels 2.0. Unfortunately, as with many sequels, it’s pretty much a repeat of the first story (at least after one issue), hitting many of the same beats; the other problems are that (1) Anacleto, fairly or not, ends up looking pedestrian when compared to Ross’s work on the first series, and (2) the whole civilian-perspective-on-superheroes thing no longer has the shock of the new that it had back in the day. The good news is that it’s Busiek, and few writers are as good at this kind of ground-level view of costumes (Exhibit A: Astro City), so at worst it’s bound to be entertaining, carefully-constructed and rich in character interaction and philosophizing.
New Avengers #47 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Pencilers: Billy Tan and Michael Gaydos; Inkers: Matt Banning and Michael Gaydos
The last of the Secret Invasion tie-ins, and it ends just about where the mini-series does. Fans of Bendis’s Alias will especially like it, since it’s largely an episode of that deservedly-appreciated earlier series, although the ending’s a downer (and, if you’ve read SI #8, you’ll know it already). C’mon, Bendis, give these two crazy kids some happiness fairly soon, eh?
Jonah Hex #38 — Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Artist: Jodi Bernet
Bernet art, so I’m on board, although this title is getting increasingly bizarre — this episode helps to tie a number of previous ones together into one uber-story, while at the same time everyone, including Hex, is starting to speak in an increasingly-florid, stagy dialogue reminiscent of either Tennessee Williams or Don McGregor, depending on your cultural perspective. Still, as it did in Michael Fleischer’s day, this continues to offer a mixture of violence, cynicism and weirdness unavailable in any other Western comic, and, amazingly, is still being published after over three years; that’s worth some appreciation just by itself.
Stuff I read and liked enough to buy, but don’t have much to say about, so read previous reviews in the archives if you’re interested:
Amazing Spider-Man #579 — Writer: Mark Waid; Artist: Marcos Martin
Crossed #2 — Writer: garth Ennis; Artist: Jacen Burrows
The Boys #25 — Writer: garth Ennis; Artist: Darick Robertson
The Sword #13 — Writer/Artists: he Luna Brothers
Gold Digger #101 — Writer/Artist: Fred Perry
Knights of the Dinner Table #145 — Creators: Jolly Blackburn, Steve Johansson, David Kenzer and Brian Jelke
Phil Mateer
