Hellboy in Mexico #1 (of 1) — Writer: Mike Mignola; Art: Richard Corben
Just like the title says: Hellboy down in Mexico. With ancient pyramids. And bat-creatures. And masked wrestlers. Drawn by Richard Corben. What the hell are you waiting for?
iZombie #1 — Writer: Chris Roberson; Art: Michael Allred
My one complaint about this book is the marketing: after we’re introduced to the main character and her friends, the book’s last five pages have a big reveal about her… that’s been reprinted as part of the promo material in just about every DC book for the last two months. Imagine the readers’ shock. Other than that spoiler, though (and, OK, it’s implicit in the title), this $1 Vertigo first issue is a lot of fun: it gives Allred various appealing dudes and girls and monsters to draw in his cool hipster style, and doesn’t take itself too seriously, and offers readers more than enough reason to come back for more.
Amazing Spider-Man #630 — Writer: Zeb Wells; Pencils: Chris Bachalo; Inks: Tim Townsend and Jaime Mendoza
Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine #1 (of 6) — Writer: Jason Aaron; Pencils: Adam Kubert; Inks: Mark Morales and Dexter Vines
Spider-Man: Fever #2 (of 3) — Writer/Artist: Brendan McCarthy
Three Spider-Man titles in one week is overkill (wasn’t the point of a weekly Spidey book not to flood the market like this?), but these all have their attractions: Amazing starts a Lizard story with art by Bachalo, which is reason enough to get it (although having Conners doing research into lizards and irritated by a dumbass corporate manager is a tad too easy, and comes off as lazy writing). Still: Bachalo! Lizard! Astonishing S-M & W starts out with Parker and Logan stranded in the Cretaceous Era; Aaron, between hurtling asteroid extinction events and butterfly-stepping timeline changes, keeps things rocketing along, and the last page indicates that things will just keep getting weirder (while the Kubert art helps to ground the craziness). Speaking of weirdness and craziness, there’s the middle issue of the Fever three-parter, wherein McCarthy continues to offer his hallucinatory other-dimensional Dr. Strange/Spidey psychedelia mashup. It’s a little too British-Isles fey for its own good, but hard to resist all the same: there’s nothing corporate or cookie-cutter about it, and kudos to Marvel for publishing it.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #35 — Writer: Brad Meltzer; Pencils: Georges Jeanty; Inks: Andy Owens
The finale to the Twilight reveal (and, as they say, the end of the beginning of the end of the season), with lots of demons and crisis, much Buffy/Angel interaction (talking this time, after all the physical stuff of last issue, and Jeanty gets off some nice expressive panels to carry the emotion), and a last-page character reintroduction that’s both startling and inevitable, and showcases the Whedon crew’s knack for crafty plotting and compulsive, fan-friendly storytelling.
Batman and Robin #12 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Pencils: Andy Clarke; Inks/Finishes: Scott Hanna
The “Search for Bruce Wayne” serial begins, although it doesn’t move forward very much; instead, we get a number of dominoes being set up, including a conversation between Talia and Damian, the Terminator being bat-tasered by proxy, the significance of the full architectural drawings of Wayne Manor, the return of the Black Glove, and, in one of those patented Morrison last-page reveals, the identity of the Sexton. The Clarke/Hanna team isn’t flashy, but they offer very solidly-designed pages, and handle everything Morrison throws at them with clarity and panache, so it’s unfair to keep looking at the Quitely cover, and wish he were doing the interiors too.
Echo #21 — Writer/Artist: Terry Moore
Lots of action this time, plus a particularly creepy bad guy; like Buffy, this seems to be moving into its endgame, although there are still a number of issues left. This isn’t the issue for new readers to start, but anyone who picks it up and is intrigued (and, between the weird science, strong women characters, world-threatening corporate shenanigans and cute dogs, who wouldn’t be?), now has four trades available to catch up on the story: collect ’em all, and enter Moore’s imaginative, well-rendered world.
Astro City: The Dark Age Book Four #4 (of 4) — Writer: Kurt Busiek; Art: Brent Anderson
After 16 issues and five years, this story reaches its end. Does it live up to all that time and effort? My first reaction is “no” (eight issues and two years would have been about right), but I’d have to round up the whole thing and read through it to be sure, and that isn’t happening right now. Don’t be mistaken: it’s a good story, with an epilogue that helps to put everything into perspective and the usual careful construction and effective art, but the fog of event fatigue makes it hard to appreciate, and the promise of a regular ongoing series with one- and two-part stories sounds like a smart move, and something to look forward to.
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:
Uncanny X-Men #524 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Pencils: Terry Dodson; Inks: Rachel Dodson
Knights of the Dinner Table #161 — Creators: Jolly Blackburn, Steve Johansson, David Kenzer and Brian Jelke
The Boys #42 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Darick Robertson and Richard P. Clark
Secret Six #21 — Writer: Gail Simone; Art: J. Calafiore
Glamourpuss #13 — Writer/Artist: Dave Sim
Gold Digger #117 — Writer/Artist: Fred Perry
Phil Mateer
