World War Hulk #4 (of 5) — Writer: Greg Pak; Penciller: John Romita Jr.; Inker: Klaus Janson
You have to admire how old-school this series has been — it doesn’t waste time trying to integrate or link to all the crossovers or related mini-series; it doesn’t care whether you’ve read them or not. Instead, it just bulls straight ahead, telling its tale and giving you all the action you need, as The Hulk sets up his Death Arena and rubs the Illuminati’s nose in exactly what they did to him. Great art, lots of punching, a sense of an actual brain behind the plotting — what more could a superhero fan ask for?
The Umbrella Academy #1 — Writer: Gerard Way; Art: Gabriel Ba
A pleasant surprise — it’s very Mignola-esque, with its Victorian origins, its matter-of-fact, straightfaced acceptance of its surreal plot (the Eiffel Tower comes alive! Zombies! Talking monkeys!), and its shadowy, well-composed art. Some of it’s a little too arch for its own good, but the creative team seems to know what they’re doing, and it’s more than entertaining and intriguing enough to bring me back for the next issue.
Flash #232 — Writer: Mark Waid; Artist: Daniel Acuna
The West family continues to fight an invasion of undersea aliens. I think that Waid, Mr. Silver Age, is going back to Brave and the Bold #73 for his bad guys (that issue’s Aquaman/Atom teamup had them fighting against a very similar-looking monster that I remember because it creeped me out back in 1967 — long before I knew what “vagina dentata” meant). Acuna’s painted, watercolory art continues to be an interesting match for Waid’s always-solid characterization and plotting (the kids’ costumes, with their primary colors, jump out against the greys and greens of the aliens), and this remains one of the more entertaining Flash stories of the last few years.
Green Arrow and Black Canary Wedding Special #1 — Writer: Judd Winick; Art: Amanda Connor
I got this for the great art by Connor, as she handles the enormous job of drawing all the bachelor and bachelorette parties, plus the wedding itself (all those heroes, plus the villains in the requisite massive fight scene), with a skillful, sexy grace. The story? Eh. That attack-the-wedding bit has been boring since Reed and Sue got hitched (although at least Winick has a sense of irony about it, as the villains themselves admit that it probably won’t work, but that they just can’t pass up the shot), and the ending is a cheap, exploitive attempt to make readers buy the new GL/BC series that spoils what should have been a stand-alone book. Ah, but the art… and if you liked it, look for the The Pro, Connor and Garth Ennis’s over-the-top (and R-rated) satire of superhero groups that just got reissued a few weeks ago.
JLA/Hitman #1 (of 2) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Artist: John McCrea
Speaking of Garth Ennis… this has been a long time coming (so much so that the plot needs a framing device to set it up), but it’s all good, as we revisit the inhabitants of Noonan’s Bar, and hear the story of how Tommy Monoghan ended up on the moon, fighting aliens with the JLA. McCrea and Ennis have always made a good team, and here his art is better than ever (he was always best at the gritty bar and street stuff, but when he had to draw superheroes they always seemed out of place; now, he’s good at that too). For fans of the original Hitman, this is a great “extra” story, coming over six years after the book’s conclusion — it’s like finding an old, unopened Christmas present in August.
Streets of Glory #1 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Mike Wolfer
Yet more Ennis, indulging his passion for the classic American western. That’s all you need to know, really — the art’s serviceable, the story’s got a turn-of-the-century last-of-the-old-gunman plot, and if you’re a Clint Eastwood fan, or bought a ticket to 3:10 To Yuma, or liked Ennis’s own Saint of Killers, you’ll probably like this too.
Madman #4 — Writer/Artist: Michael Allred
After last issue’s tour-de-force panel-by-swiped-panel review of the history of comics illustration, we get back to the actual storyline, as Frank gets rescued by space aliens, and jets off on a new adventure. The one weakness of this title in the past always seemed to be the unwieldly plotting, as surreal block got placed on surreal block until they all came tumbling down, but this time around Allred seems to have a handle on it (i.e., he seems to have an actual plan, as opposed to making it up as he goes along), so we can all relax, enjoy the gorgeous art, and trust that the story will go somewhere good (next issue: the Atomics…).
Phil Mateer
