The Punisher #54 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Artist: Garlan Parlov
Concluding Ennis’s penultimate arc, where he explains, without hitting you over the head with it, What It Means to Be the Punisher. Very nicely done, and he’s dead serious, too: the careful connection to earlier stories; the way the villain, who started out carefree as Bugs Bunny, at the end becomes the monster his father was; the careful combination of grimness, sadness and hope. One line near the end (“Memories…”) kind of pushes things, but the last two pages more than make up for it. Now, let’s watch him cut loose with Parlov on a final high-action adventure-movie romp, and then somehow get together with Dillon to end it all on a proper note, preferably in a bar somewhere, and he can walk into the sunset with an eight-year legacy of hardboiled, knowing, cynical and sometimes-heartbreaking stories that have helped to define this character.
Speak of the Devil #4 (of 6) — Writer/Artist: Gilbert Hernandez
The B-movie set-up gives it a clear linear push, corraling some of Gilbert’s more scattered mystical impulses and focusing them into a chilling, dreamlogical narrative clarity (which is to say that this is a stylish, psychological horror movie, and you should grab the popcorn and hop on the ride). This provides a great example of the way the serial-episode pause between chapters, the wondering what’s going to happen and then being surprised by what actually does, can give monthly comics an advantage over the trade collections.
Jack Staff Special #1 — Writer/Artist: Paul Grist
This must have originally been intended as a serial, too, since it’s broken into four-page sections with a “continued” at the end of each. No worries, though, since that allows Grist to focus on different members of his sprawling cast and still tell a tale; it’s a good introduction to his smart-superhero style and characters. If you’ve never encountered him before, and you like stuff like Invincible, give this a shot.
Damage Control #1 (of 3) — Writer: Dwayne McDuffie; Artist: Salva Espin
Speaking of smart superhero stuff, here’s this new mini-series. “Damage control” is right, since this allows McDuffie and company to fix some of the more ill-conceived plot twists of Civil War, at the same time that his cheerfully-professional blue-collar cleanup crew prepares to rebuild a Hulk-flattened New York City. Well-told, with an obvious affection for the characters, lots of guest-stars, and a last-page twist that sets up even more fun next issue: if you’ve been skipping some of the other post- W.W.Hulk stuff, don’t let this one get away.
Legion of Super-Heroes #38 — Writer: Jim Shooter; Penciller: Francis Manapul; Inker: Livesay
It’s popular in some quarters to dismiss Shooter as a storyteller, because he writes to a formula; what’s sometimes missed is what an effective formula it can be. Look here, at the way he’s establishing character traits and relationships, making it accessible to new readers and nodding knowingly at old ones, and creating a compelling narrative undertow to sweep everyone up and propel them helplessly toward the next episode. Pretty impressive, especially because it would have been so easy to produce a retro-nostalgiafest, and instead it’s a crisp, modern tale set firmly in current continuity.
Blue Beetle #23 — Writer: John Rogers; Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Jaime pulls together what he’s learned over the last two years, and confronts the Reach. I like the careful little details — the way the Scarab’s lettering has morphed to stylized English, and the “W.W.T.K.D.?” tacked to Jaime’s bulletin board — and I like the oh-crap, darkest-before-the-dawn cliffhanger. This is yet another well-thought-out, well-told mainstream-superhero book in a week that’s turning out to be full of them (not that we should be complaining…).
X-Men #207 — Writer: Mike Carey; Penciler: Chris Bachalo; Inkers: Townsend, Olazaba, Sibal and Vey
Last chapter of the “Messiah CompleX” crossover. OK, and no quarrels with the creative team (i.e., the words and pictures do a good job), but both the resolution with the kid and the OMG shocking last-minute twist are, let’s say, not exactly startling never-before-seen directions for this franchise (he’s dead again?), and drain the conclusion of much of its pizzazz; there’s more a feeling of “Well, that’s over; what’s next?” then “What a great ride!”
Superman Confidential #11 — “Storytellers” — Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale
Remember the first five issues of this title, a year ago, that began this story of an early-in-his-career Superman’s first encounter with kryptonite, and then inexplicably moved on to something new, by other creators, and never finished it? You don’t? Me neither, but here’s the conclusion. Worth buying, because it’s Cooke and Sale, but it’s going to require digging out those first five dimly-remembered chapters to properly read or review it, and if they think I’m going to all that trouble now, when they couldn’t even get the thing properly published, they’re sadly mistaken.
Amazing Spider-Man #548 — Writer: Dan Slott; Penciller: Steve McNiven; Inker: Dexter Vines
I like the progression of the face-to-face first-page splashes in each of these first three issues of the relaunch (hot chick to JJJ to dying gangster), and I like that this didn’t suck as badly as I thought it would. There’s a fine line between lovable loser and annoying whiner, and Slott’s put Parker right on the edge of it; so far, it’s worked, but the next creative team’s going to have to provide more than “not sucking” for this to retain any momentum.
Stuff I liked enough to buy, but don’t have anything new to say about, so go look up previous reviews in the archives if you want to know why:
JLA Classified #51 — Writer: Roger Stern; Penciller: John Byrne; Inker: Mark Farmer
Countdown to Mystery #5 ( of 8 ) — (Eclipso story): Writer: Matthew Sturges; Penciller: Chad Hardin; Inker: Dan Green; (Dr. Fate story): Writer: Steve Gerber; Penciller: Tom Derenick; Inker: Wayne Faucher; Additional Art: Shawn McManus
Astonishing X-Men #24 — Writer: Joss Whedon; Artist: John Cassaday
Marvel Zombies 2 #4 (of 5) — Writer: Robert Kirkman; Artist: Sean Phillips
Usagi Yojimbo #109 — Writer/Artist: Stan Sakai
Phil Mateer
