Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye #1 (of 3) — Writer: Grant Morrison; Artist: Cameron Stewart
Whoa: I had no idea this was coming out this week. You can have your expectation-raising, slam-bang blockbusters like Final Crisis, but Seaguy is the Grant Morrison I want. It’s best to read the first series before tackling this one, but get to it, because this is the heir to Animal Man and The Invisibles: small-scale, reality-bending, full of little moments that can make you whistle in awe or break your heart. Pray for a decent ending (Morrison is sometimes more about the cool zen here-and-now than the actual destination, although Final Crisis had the Batman pictograph and… um… well, the… um, maybe that wasn’t much of an “although” clause…) and this trilogy trilogy (it’s supposed to be three three-issue mini-series, right?) could be a classic.
Star Trek: Crew #2 (of ?) — Writer/Artist: John Byrne
Angel: Blood and Trenches #2 (of ?) — Writer/Artist: John Byrne
Two by Byrne, and very different in execution. The Trek is him as fanboy, showing off an encyclopedic knowledge of the Trek mythos (while studiously avoiding using any of the main players), and providing very well-executed Heinleinesque tales of space heroism and tactical smarts. The Angel is the experimental Byrne: shot from just his pencils, in black and white with splashes of red, it’s stunningly executed. Byrne, when inked (whether by others or himself) displays such a clean line that it’s easy to forget how gorgeous his bare pencils can be: they’re simultaneously lush and moody, and they mesh with this kind of story perfectly. This series debuted so quietly that I missed the first issue completely, but this second episode’s convinced me to go find the first one.
The Flash: Rebirth #1 (of 5) — Writer: Geoff Johns; Artist: Ethan Van Sciver
Reading this made me realize how little I care whether Barry Allen comes back or not (at this point, most of us have a longer history with Wally, or even Bart), but Johns and Sciver have been a good enough team in the past that I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. If they start killing off Flashes, though, or if the phrase “Black Lantern” comes up, or if Allen starts sounding too much like a late-’60s Steve Rogers — whine, whine, man out of his time, used-up old soldier, etc. — then I’m bailing quicker than… well, you know.
Jonah Hex #42 — Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Art: Jodi Bernet
On this book, Bernet is French for “buy it”; the story’s an actual linear narrative, too (well, except for the flashbacks, but it’s not the cut-and-paste, short-scene experimenting that Palmiotti and Gray have sometimes used lately, so it’s easy to follow), and is a well-done, done-in-one story with ties to Jonah’s childhood; it’s a perfect try-it-and-see-if-you-like-it issue for newcomers.
Invincible Iron Man #10 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Artist: Salvador Larroca
The triple narrative — Tony, Maria Hill and Pepper all face various challenges — ends with two losses and a win, although even the win is more of a “not caught yet”; things continue to get darker for the good guys, but I’m confident enough in this creative team to ride out the story, in expectation of an eventual satisfying payoff. Very smoothly done, as always.
The Boys #29 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Artist: Darick Robertson
The conclusion of the current arc; it goes about where you’d expect, although with a few surprising detours en route to the gory, oddly cathartic ending. This would be the first book on my stack to read in any week without a Seaguy.
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:
Knights of the Dinner Table #149 — Creators: Jolly Blackburn, Steve Johansson, David Kenzer and Brian Jelke
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #24 — Writer: Jim Krueger; Pencils: Cliff Richards; Inks: Andy Owens
Glamourpuss #6 — Writer/Artist: Dave Sims
Amazing Spider-Man #590 — Writer: Dan Slott; Pencils: Barry Kitson; Inks: Mark Farmer
Official Index to the Marvel Universe #4
Phil Mateer
