Joe the Barbarian #1 ( of 8 ) — Writer: Grant Morrison; Art: Sean Murphy
After the universe-spanning clash of thousands that was Final Crisis, Morrison has (maybe wisely) gone back to stories that focus on the vastness inside a single human heart and head; Seaguy II had a world at stake, but boiled down to the changes inside its title character as he journeyed on the path to becoming a true hero, and Joe the Barbarian looks like it’s exploring similar territory. It’s a classic fantasy set-up: the lonely, put-upon kid with the creative imagination who crosses over into a fairy-tale world, in this case populated by all the toys and action figures inside his room. This first issue covers familiar ground, at least so far (made more familiar because we’ve seen much of it in the preview DC has been running in most of its other comics for months), but it’s smart and solid, and Murphy looks like a good choice for artist: he toggles effortlessly between the “real” world and the larger-than-life one, with Joe himself a constant, appealingly-rendered presence. One-eighth of the story isn’t much to go on, but so far, so good.
Fables #92 — Writer: Bill Willingham; Art: David Lapham
The first of a two-part story drawn by David Lapham, set in the Kingdom of Haven, as the former Frog Prince and his subjects play a baseball championship, find romance, and note the ill effects of too much celebration on a goblin’s moral compass. Lovely art, and as always Willingham turns in a clever, entertaining story (the ill-fated goblin pitcher’s Scottish accent is worth the price of admission by itself, as is the parody of “Casey at the Bat”). There’s no connection to the title’s various ongoing plots, either, so new readers can enjoy the festivities without being burdened by lots of backstory.
Uncanny X-Men #520 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Pencils: Greg Land; Inks: Jay Leisten
Worth mentioning because Fraction continues to deliver one of the best runs of this title in years; there isn’t much in the way of single head-spinning moments, but all the characters are treated with respect and wisdom (and so ring true to the reader, both in their relationships and their dialog), and the “Nation X” story is a very solidly-worked-out response to the mutants’ current relationship with the Marvel Universe. Even Land’s art has started to move away from the pin-up-pose tracing, and so become more effective at the story-telling and composition that’s needed to deliver a good reading experience.
Blackest Night: Starman #81 — Writer: James Robinson; Layouts: Fernando Dagnino; Finishes: Bill Sienkiewicz
I was just restocking this title in the back-issue boxes a few weeks ago, thinking about how good it was for most of the ’90s: Robinson had a unique narrative voice back then, and Opal City and its residents gave him the perfect vehicle for it (sadly, he hasn’t yet found a way to match it). This BN one-shot isn’t about the retired (and relocated) Jack Knight at all, but involves a black-ringed David Knight and his battle with The Shade and the various O’Dare siblings. It’s too bad that Tony Harris isn’t around to draw it, but the Sienkiewicz finishes are a welcome substitution, and otherwise this offers just the kind of nostalgiac coda to a fondly-remembered series that all of these revivals should have delivered.
Captain America #602 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Pencils: Luke Ross; Inks: Butch Guice with Luke Ross
This story is post-Cap: Reborn, so they’ve apparently gotten tired of waiting for it too (although, in fairness, that title’s final issue is due out next Wednesday). Bucky is still in the red-white-and-blue (we’re told Steve and Sharon are “off the grid,” although you wouldn’t know that from events in the last few Avengers titles), and he’s going up against the crazy-as-a-McCarthyite ’50s Cap, who’s thrown in with a bunch of angry tea-partyer/posse comitatus types to “take back America.” Dependable as always; I actually prefer the Ross/Guice team to Hitch, because they’re just as good at both the human expressions and the action sequences, and they get their art in on time….
Dark Avengers #13 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Mike Deodato
Spider-Woman #5 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Alex Maleev
Two by Bendis: DA makes it increasingly probable that the Siege endgame is going to include an insane (and insanely powerful) Sentry as the gamechanger, in the same way that the insane (and insanely powerful) Scarlet Witch jumpstarted all these interconnected Big Events so many years ago now. Fine by me, especially if Bendis uses the occasion to get rid of the guy, who started out as a weird practical joke and has never moved much beyond that. Spider-Woman continues to be DA‘s mirror image: it has Maleev’s impressionistic, painterly art instead of Deodato’s polished superhero realism, and where DA covers quickly-moving events from the Earth to the sun and back, SW has taken five issues to cover a day or two in the title heroine’s life, the very definition of “decompressed storytelling.” That both books are readable and entertaining shows Bendis’s ability to tailor his style to his artists, and to deliver a variety of different reading experiences — a useful talent when you’re writing six or seven books a month.
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:
Amazing Spider-Man #618 — Writer: Dan Slott; Art: Marcos Martin
PVP #43 — Creator: Scott Kurtz
RASL #6 — Creator: Jeff Smith
Battlefields: Happy Valley #2 (of 3) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: P. J. Holden
Glamourpuss #11 — Creator: Dave Sim (Cover: Russ Heath)
Phil Mateer
