B.P.R.D.: 1947 #5 (of 5) — Writers: Mike Mignola and Jodhua Dysart; Art: Gabrial Ba and Fabio Moon
Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #8 ( of 8 ) — Writer: Mike Mignola; Art: Duncan Fegredo
This week features the conclusion to two of the Mignolaverse mini-series: B.P.R.D. continues to shine because of its Ba/Moon art (and ends up tying in more with the main series than we might have expected, owing to some appearances by a very young Hellboy). Hellboy itself offers the game-changing ending that was advertised, as Our Hero reluctantly accepts (part of) his destiny, and Arthurian legend dovetails neatly into it; here, too, the art is a pleasure.
PunisherMax #1 — Writer: Jason Aaron; Art: Steve Dillon
Not too bad, especially for a comic with such a stupid title: Aaron wisely is focusing on a younger Frank Castle (and, it turns out, a younger Wilson Fisk), and with Dillon on the art this tail of Mafiasos and vengeance looks and feels remarkably like some of the early Ennis stories, without making the mistake of repeating them too slavishly. Between this and Rick Remender’s Frankenpunisher stuff in current continuity, there may be some creative energy left in this character after all.
Supergod #1 (of 5) — Writer: Warren Ellis; Art: Garrie Gastonny
Ellis, after No Hero, is continuing his examination of why actual super-heroes would be a Very Bad Idea; this story starts at an apocalyptic conclusion, as its narrator takes us back to explain what happened, and how an international superperson arms race got swiftly out of hand. If you like Ellis in full worldwide Nietzschean meltdown mode, here he is.
Strange #1 (of 4) — Writer: Mark Waid; Art: Emma Rios
Dr. Strange, that is, although with Brother Voodoo having taken over both the Sorcerer Supreme mantle and the medical honorific he’s just “Stephen” here. Waid offers a nice done-in-one-issue job of making us care about a damaged hero with a lot of knowledge, almost no powers, and a continuing compulsion to do good, and Rios’s mangaesque art complements the story nicely, hitting just the right mixture of the mundane and the fantastic. If you’re a fan of the (former) Doctor, you should like this .
Amazing Spider-Man #611 — Writer: Joe Kelly; Artist: Eric Canete
Guest-starring Deadpool, and Kelly has enough experience with the character to make this better than just an obligatory sales-boosting appearance by the current flavor of the month; the dialogue crackles nicely, and the meta-shoutouts to people like Geoff Johns (plus the fumetti recap page), which would seem self-indulgent in another story, fit right in here. The one problem is the art, which works OK with Wade’s more-plastic, cartoony world, but not so well with the actual main character; this book has some of the ugliest head-shots of a masked Spidey that I’ve seen in years. Next issue, this comic gets serious again, as the multi-part “The Gauntlet” begins, so enjoy this breather before the drama starts.
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 #6 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Pencils: Philip Tan; Inks: Jonathan Glapion
Fables #90 — Writer: Bill Willingham; Pencils: Mark Buckingham; Inks: Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy
Citizen Rex #5 (of 6) — Creators: Gilbert and Mario Hernandez
DMZ #47 — Writer: Brian Wood; Art: Riccardo Burchelli
Wormwood: The Last Battle #2 (of 5?) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Oscar Jimenez
Phil Mateer
