Strange Tales #2 (of 3) — Creators: Peter Bagge, Max Cannon, Jacob Chabot, Jonathan Hickman, R. Kikuo Johnson, Matt Klindt, Tony Millionaire, Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca, and Jhonen Vasquez
Indie fans have had a lot to be happy about over the last few weeks, between the Simpsons: Treehouse of Terror book and this series. This cover-features a Peter Bagge Hulk story, which is as good as you’d suspect, but the best offering is Tony Millionaire’s Iron Man, a visually stunning, lushly-colored tale that looks like a cross between Tales of Suspense-era Gene Colan and Bob Burden’s Flaming Carrot. Honorable mention to Matt Klindt’s Black Widow and Jhonen Vasquez’s Modok story (which might have won top honors except that (a) it’s only four pages, and (b) Modok? Again?) As with the first issue, there’s a page of creator biographies, so superhero-centric readers who are new to these guys can check out their “real” comics work, and expand their graphic storytelling horizons considerably.
Haunt #1 — Writer: Robert Kirkman; Layouts: Greg Capullo; Pencils: Ryan Ottley; Inks: Todd McFarland
This was billed as a Kirkman/McFarlane team-up, and it sort of is, except that Todd is only supplying inks over Ottley’s pencils (and, in fairness, making him look considerably moodier and darker than in his Invincible work). The setup? You’ve got your two brothers, one a secret agent and one a priest (who smokes and sees hookers, so he’s not, like, you know, overly priestly or anything…); the secret agent one gets killed, but somehow his ghost hangs around, and when danger threatens he merges with the priest and turns into… some dude who looks like Spawn without the mask, actually, who moves like Spider-Man, has claws, and uses some kind of ectoplasmy powers. Is it derivative? You bet. Is it fun? Kinda — it’s interesting enough to stick around and see what develops. Between Walking Dead, Invincible, the Werewolf thing and this, Kirkland’s head is going to explode, but he always delivers interesting variations on his themes, and his obvious love for comics is infectious, so it’s hard to be anything but grateful for his output.
Crossed #7 (of 9) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Jacen Burrows
Wormwood: The Last Battle #1 (of 6) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Oscar Jimenez
The Boys #35 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Darick Robertson
Garth Ennis week: Crossed gets considerably darker than it’s been the last few issues (as we all knew it would), so don’t read it if you’re hoping for fuzzy bunnies and warm feelings. Ditto for Wormwood (which does have a fuzzy talking bunny in it, but don’t think Ennis is going all Disney: it watches cosplay porn videos while masturbating); its first series actually did have a happy ending, but the subtitle of this one doesn’t bode well, and the cover and some interior scenes are just as apocalyptic as those in Crossed. The Boys, which features the origin of Mother’s Milk, has Darick Robertson back, which is welcome; it’s probably the best candidate of all these series to end up with an actual happy ending, although, mind you, it probably won’t be until after most of the characters die horribly, and half the world gets blown up. All of these are well-written, sarcastic, insightful, violent and occasionally really funny (although that’s not on display in Crossed this issue), so get ’em while you can.
Planetary #27 — Writer: Warren Ellis; Art: John Cassaday
Astonishing X-Men #31 — Writer: Warren Ellis; Penciler: Phil JImenez; Inker: Andy Lanning
Warren Ellis week — Planetary is a last-issue coda, tying up some loose ends, bidding a fond farewell to the characters, and reminding us of just what a great series this was, and how much more drab the comics universe will be without an Ellis-Cassaday comic on the stands any more. Astonishing X-Men is work-for-hire stuff, but accomplished and smooth for all that, as the team has to deal with crashing space shuttles, organic Sentinel-human hybrids and, it looks like, the Brood. Jiminez’s art looks pretty good — one of the signs that Ellis is a good writer is that he elevates the talent around him; for him, as for Ennis, artists are always eager to bring their “A” games.
Criminal: The Sinners #1 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Art: Sean Phillips
With Incognito finished, we’re back to this crime/noir title, and Brubaker/Phillips are picking up on the story of conflicted bad-guy-for-hire Tracy Lawless again; if you’ve read these before, you know what grim fun they are, and if not, this is the perfect place to start.
Batman: Unseen #1 (of 5) — Writer: Doug Moench; Art: Kelley Jones
A Moench/Jones Batman mini (with Bruce Wayne in the costume), featuring a villain who becomes the invisible man. It takes him a while, though, so Jones gets to draw lots of variations of the villain’s ever-more-transparent anatomy, from skinless musculature through visible interior organs down to just a skeleton, and so to nothing at all. That’s worth wading through Moench’s sometimes-purple prose; there are places where people say things no actual person would ever phrase that way, but it’s cleverly done, and these two are such a comfortable old team that it’s easy to forgive them small bumps, in favor of the larger thrill ride they’re providing.
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:
Batman and Robin #5 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Pencils: Philip Tan; Inks: Jonathan Glapion
Amazing Spider-Man #608 — Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Art: Marco Checchetto, Luke Ross and Rick Magyar
Grimjack: The Manx Cat #3 (of 4) — Writer: John Ostrander; Art: Timothy Truman
Ultimate Spider-Man #3 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: David Lafuente
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #29 — Writer: Jane Espenson; Pencils: Georges Jeanty; Inks: Andy Owens
Phil Mateer
