The Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #15 — Creators: Tim Hensley; Matthew Thurber and Kevin Huizenga; Jordan Crane; Ted May and Sammy Harkham; Will Sweeney; Jon Vermilyea; Ben Jones; John Kerschbaum; Jeffrey Brown; C.F.; Dan Zettwach; Guest Editor: Sammy Harkham
Harham is the editor of Kramer’s Ergot, the avant-garde indy comics anthology whose most recent issue was roughly the size of a Mini-Cooper, with a price ($125) to match. One of its contributors was Matt Groening, so it makes a certain kind of cosmic sense that he’d tap Harkham for this year’s Treehouse — it’s developed its own reputation as a wild-‘n’-wooly showcase for comics creators of all styles and stripes. This one, naturally, is the weirdest yet: these guys represent the warped cutting edge of graphic narrative, and their offerings range from one-page Robert Crumb takeoffs to off-balance rants against bootlegs (and capitalism) to Lovecraft tributes to… well, all kinds of strange stuff. At $5, this offers 1/2 the pages of Kramer’s Ergot #7 for 1/25 the cost, so it’s a screaming deal, and a reminder of just how subversive the Simpsons and their spawn can be.
Giant-Size Wolverine: Old Man Logan #1 — Writer: Mark Millar; Penciler: Steve McNiven; Inkers: Dexter Vines and Mark Morales
Reading this after Treehouse of Horror was a strange segue — it made Millar’s already-weird denuement to his future-Wolverine event seem even weirder, but in a good way: his tale of redneck (greenneck?) cannibals and freaks seemed to be tapping into the same collective unconsciousness as the Bongo team. Since otherwise I’d probably been complaining abut how hacked-out and tossed-off it was (Millar not being known for his, shall we say, carefully-constructed or unexpected conclusions), it felt better to just let it wash over me, helped by the always-smooth McNiven/Vines art, and appreciate it as the jokey, casually-violent grindhouse tale it was meant to be.
Wednesday Comics #12 (of 12) — Creators: Various
What to call this — a noble experiment? Not a failure, because some of these worked, although few completely — Kyle Baker’s Hawkman had gorgeous art and a plot full of holes; the Azzarello/Risso Batman had a good beginning and ending, but sagged in the middle; the Arcudi/Bermejo Superman was the opposite, with a weak beginning and faded conclusion, but a strong center. The Gibbons/Sook Kamandi had the best use of Prince Valiant-style stroytelling, but used it to tell a story totally lifted from an early Kirby issue. Deadman? Nice art but a story that was just there. Green Lantern? Nice story, but art that was just there. Metamorpho? Fun story and art, but a little too look-at-me Silver-Age hip. Strange Adventures? Paul Pope can’t deliver anything but great art, but it probably needed a little more Silver-Age referencing; its character might have been called Adam Strange, but he was Pope-ized enough to be almost unrecognizable. Teen Titans and Metal Men? Bleah. Wonder Woman and Flash? Interesting experiments with the strip format, but ultimately too hard to understand; call them both noble failures. Demon/Catwoman? Solid script but only OK art, and a little too fan-fic-y. That leaves Supergirl, and, amazingly, it turned out to be the best over the entire run: solid beginning and middle, a hokey Twilight Zone ending that completely worked because Amanda Conner is a goddess (and Palmiotti knew just how to write to her strengths; the knowing glances exchanged by the two pets near the end was exactly right, and the last two tiers did what none of the other strips were able to: they made me happy).
Superman: Secret Origin #1 (of 6) — Writer: Geoff Johns; Penciller: Gary Franks; Inker: Jon Sibal
The world didn’t exactly need another Smallville origin story, but the Frank/Sibal team is uniquely suited to render all the farmers and cornfields and county fairs just right, and to shift gears into Kryptonian history without a hitch. Add to that Johns’s confident scripting and feel for what to keep in continuity, and what to throw out, and, if we had to have another of these, this was the one to have.
No Hero #7 (of 7) — Writer: Warren Ellis; Art: Juan Jose Ryp
Extremely violent, nihilistic and depressing, but in a good way — it’s one note, but played well, and Ryp’s obsessive, over-the-top detailing is put to good use by Ellis’s obsessive, over-the-top script. Nothing redeeming about this, but if you’re in the mood for a the-world-sucks story (to make your own world seem like it sucks considerably less), this, like Ellis’s Blackgas books, is there to offer a bloody hand.
Spider-Woman #1 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Alex Maleev
Jessica as a Skrull-hunter, outfitted by whatsername Brand and S.W.O.R.D., the world alien-hunting group (S.H.I.E.L.D., H.A.M.M.E.R., S.W.O.R.D…. what implements are next?). Pretty standard stuff so far, but elevated by the Bendis/Maleev team into a book worth watching.
Amazing Spider-Man #606 — Writer: Joe Kelly; Penciler: Mike McKone; Inker: Andy Lanning
Kelly supplies a snappy script, and he’s good at keeping Peter put-upon; it’s weird, though, to watch what continues to be a PG-13-rated Spidey, as he juggles girlfriends and potential girlfriends and ex-girlfriends and… well, this is apparently what they wanted when they got rid of the marriage, but drunken one-night stands and double-entendres might give old-time fans a pause; they certainly add a different spin to the phrase “the old Parker luck,” and supply a more adult version of the character that’s sometimes at odds with his straitlaced history.
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:
Madame Xanadu #15 — Writer: Matt Wagner; Art: Michael Wm. Kaluta
Uncanny X-Men #515 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Penciler: Greg Land; Inker: Jay Leisten
Dark Reign: The List: X-Men #1 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Penciler: Alan Davis; Inker: Mark Farmer
Echo #15 — Writer/Artist: Terry Moore
Madman #17 — Writer/Artist: Michael Allred
New Avengers #57 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Stuart Immonen; Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Detective Comics #857 — Writer: Greg Rucks; Art: J. H. Williams III; (Question story): Cully Hamner
Phil Mateer
