Secret Six #9 — Writer: Gail Simone; Penciller: Nicola Scott; Inker: Doug Hazelwood
Catman, Bane and ‘Doll go to a now-Batmanless Gotham City to help out against a wave of child kidnappings, and fight crime in their own cheerful, lethal fashion. Between the clear storytelling and the spot-on characterization (Nightwing appears near the end, and Simone is perfect at showing the enormous stick he’s always had up his butt), this continues to be a fun guilty pleasure, and one of the better super-“hero” titles on the stands right now.
The Umbrella Academy #6 (of 6) — Writer: Gerard Way; Artist: Gabriel Ba
The end of the second mini-series, with a welcome mention of a Series Three on the letters page. This one hasn’t quite had the shock of the new that the first delivered, but between the time travel loops, the casual, surreal touches (Carmichael, the guy with a fishbowl for a head, who’s actually, I suppose, a fish with a body under its habitat), and the dysfunctional family of reluctant, semi-heroic pseudo-siblings at its heart, it’s managed to deliver another good story.
The Unwritten #1 — Writer: Mike Carey; Artist: Peter Gross
Carey and Gross have two long-running Vertigo titles to their credit — Books of Magic and Lucifer — and considering that Tim Hunter, in BOM, was a boy wizard years before Harry Potter, it’s ironic that this new series is about a now-grown boy whose father wrote a Potteresque series of bestselling fantasy novels and then disappeared. Well, that’s the story, but of course things appear to be more complicated than that, as characters from the novels appear to be bleeding through into the “real” world. It’s all a little too calculated (Carey even has a character in the story comment on the Potter resemblance, and then assert that the “Tommy Taylor” series is “so much bigger.” Uh-huh…), but I’m willing to let these guys spin out their tale for a few issues before making any final judgments about it.
From The Ashes #1 — Writer/Artist: Bob Fingerman
Fingerman’s best known for Minimum Wage, but this adds a fantasy element to that tale of working-class New York City characters, as a husband-and-wife pair wander around a post-apocalyptic NYC. How did they survive, when the rest of the city’s a smoking radioactive ruin? Dunno — and the characters themselves simply call it “improbable.” As in The Unwritten, it’s not a good sign when the characters in the story start commenting on the shakiness of the story’s premise, but this gets away with it (barely) because it’s so obviously social satire, as the pair clamber over the rubble and celebrate a day without Blackberries or business headaches. We all wonder what we’d do if we woke up as survivors of Armageddon, and that, plus the appealing art, should be enough to sustain this series, at least for a few issues.
Knights of the Dinner Table #150 — Creators: Jolly Blackburn, Steve Johansson, David Kenzer and Brian Jelke
Double-sized anniversary issue, and look at that issue number — 150 issues is impressive for any comic, let alone a barely-drawn one about gamers sitting around that titular table. It’s the clever writing and the I-know-those-people characterization that make it, and whether you know anything about gaming or not it’s funny, addictive storytelling. All the stories are self-contained, too, so it’s a perfect try-it issue for new readers.
Fables #84 — Writers: Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges; Pencils: Tony Akins; Inks: Andrew Pepoy and Dan Green
Jack shows up in the “main” book, trailing his regular artist behind him, as the crossover within the Fables titles continues. Not much happens, actually (unlike KOTDT, this is the opposite of a good jump-on issue), but it’s worth mentioning because, as always, Willingham and Sturges are so good at wringing little bits of characterization out of their sprawling, colorful cast of fairy-tale refugees, from the badger formerly known as Stinky to the bedridden Rose Red to the supremely self-assured (and self-involved) Jack himself.
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:
Gold Digger #106 — Writer/Artist: Fred Perry
Echo #12 — Writer/Artist: Terry Moore
B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess #5 (of 5) — Writers: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi; Art: Guy Davis
Young Liars #15 — Writer/Artist: David Lapham
Ultimate Spider-Man #132 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Stuart Immonen; Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Phil Mateer
