Invincible Iron Man #16 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Artist: Salvador Larroca
Fraction continues to do the impossible, by making Tony Stark into a sympathetic character again; he’s stripping him of everything, purifying him, and revealing the decency at his core. Few writers today are as good, or as confident, at figuring out what makes their subjects worth reading about, and here it’s all about the Tony/Pepper relationship, and about dealing with the “hero” part of “superhero,” and making it work; this is one of the better mainstream books on the stands right now.
Amazing Spider-Man #601 — Writer: Mark Waid; Art: Mario Alberti; (2nd story/6 pgs.) Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Joe Quesada
I’m not sure what to think about Waid’s story here: the patter and general plot seem fine, but the story’s central conceit — Peter Parker gets ‘way drunk at Aunt May’s wedding reception, and wakes up to discover that he’s (apparently) had a one-night stand with his roommate Michele — just seems wrong; it’s completely out of character. Of course, it could be a feint, but it also seems like exactly the kind of thing Marvel Editorial wanted to play around with when they did the whole deal-with-Mephisto break-up-the-married-couple thing, so it’s probably a development mandated from above. Either way, it made it hard to enjoy an otherwise OK issue. Speaking of editors, the backup story is a Jessica Jones/Spidey conversation that’s OK, except that Quesada draws, in one panel, maybe the worst-looking Spidey mask ever; the story itself looks like it’s an overflow from last issue’s #600, especially since it’s included here without the price increase that Marvel’s normally been charging for these extra stories.
Captain America: Reborn #2 (of 5) — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Penciler: Bryan Hitch; Inks: Butch Guice
Not earthshattering, but OK — the Hitch/Guice combo knows what they’re doing, the jumping-around-in-time bit gives Brubaker a chance to spotlight various events from Cap’s 1940s past, and it’s interspersed with present-day developments that are pretty much just like what’s been going on in the regular title for the last two years. Watching Norman Osborn turn up makes me wince; he’s currently got, like, 30 separate evil schemes going in all the various Marvel titles right now, making him more overexposed than even Dr. Doom on his worst days — a tribute to evil executive multitasking, maybe, but not to imaginative storytelling.
Astro City: The Dark Age Book Three #4 (of 4) — Writer: Kurt Busiek; Art: Brent Anderson
Very little gets resolved — there’s a Book Four on the way, and the third part of a tetralogy is even worse for resolutions than the middle part of a trilogy — but we get to see a lot of superhero action, smoothly done as always, and there’s the welcome note on the letters page that Busiek and Anderson will be returning this series to a monthly format after the final Dark Ages arc concludes; that’ll make it a lot easier to remember what’s been happening, and give them a chance to do the kind of shorter, character-focused meditations on heroism and responsibility that are this title’s strong suit.
Secret Six #12 — Writer: Gail Simone; Penciller: Nicola Scott; Inks: Doug Hazelwood and Mark McKenna
Still one of the most offbeat team books out there, with its villains never quite completely bad — but nowhere near good either — and always entertaining. Here, Wonder Woman guest-stars, there’s a big revelation about Jeannette, Ragdoll extols the virtues of lacking certain body parts, and things go, if not literally to hell, close enough for mercenary work. Buy and appreciate this book while it’s here; if nothing else, Simone needs to be able to write more titles like it.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #27 — Writer: Jane Espenson; Pencils: Georges Jeanty; Inks: Andy Owens
Oz shows up, for all you readers who are fans of the TV show (and I’d guess that’s all of you; otherwise, why would you be reading it?), and there seems to be a subtle clue or two dropped about the identity of the mysterious masked bad guy… er, person… er, being. Not much happens, but lots of events are set in motion for payoff later, and this book continues motoring merrily along, dependably Buffyesque as always.
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:
Jonah Hex #46 — Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Art: Cristiano Cucina
Wednesday Comics #5 (of 12) — Writers/Artists: Lots of different people….
Phil Mateer
