The Goon #22 — Creator: Eric Powell
The first part of a new extended story, with some shakeups and serious problems (like, death) for the cast. Powell has a knack of going for the cheap, outrageous sick joke (which, in a Jackass-raised generation, doesn’t hurt his sales), but when he gets serious about his characters, as here, he can be a moody, powerful storyteller, so buckle up and enjoy the ride. Still one of the better letters pages in the business, too.
Madman #7 — Creator: Michael Allred
An all-silent issue, as Allred continues to set up artistic-problem exercises for himself, and then stretch his abilities in solving them (I’m still marveling at the episode last year that featured a succession of panels drawn in the style of over a hundred famous comics artists. In chronological order). I suspect this “’nuff said” method was picked partly to camouflage a suspiciously deus ex used-alien-machina plot development, but boy, is it gorgeously drawn — and it’ll look even better in a trade, surrounded by chapters that actually communicate verbal information.
Fantastic Four #555 — Writer: Mark Millar; Penciler: Bryan Hitch; Inkers: Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary
Still just OK. The high-concept plot development — a bunch of ultra-rich people, having determined that our Earth is polluted beyond saving, are pooling their resources to construct an exact duplicate, complete with moon, in a parallel dimension, and then plan to move everyone to it — makes absolutely no sense, even by Millar standards, and doesn’t even offer much in the way of gosh/wow effects. It’s sure a pretty comic to look at, though, and the little character bits are good; if you turn off the rational part of your brain, it’s fun to read.
DMZ #29 — Writer: Brian Wood; Art: Riccardo Burchielli
Starting a new six-parter, after a series of one-shot episodes that focused on various members of the supporting cast. It’s nice to see Matty as a confident in-country resident of the DMZ by now, and Wood continues to offer a subtle critique of the kind of warmaking that can benefit the cynical interests of those in power, whether in the media, the government, the military or the business world (any resemblance to current military events being, of course, exactly the point).
Mighty Avengers #10 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Mark Bagley; Inkers: Danny Miki and Allen Martinez
The stuck-in-the-’70s plot lets Bagley play with the kind of retro Zipatone-like shading he used under similar circumstances in Alias, and allows for little touches like actual bottom-page subliminal ads for other Marvel comics of the era (“The Serpent Squad strikes — in Captain America #181!”). The story? Eh; mostly an attempt to hammer home that, yes, there was a Sentry in the ’70s Marvel Universe, interspersed with Iron Man and Dr. Doom forming an uneasy technological alliance to get back to their own era — exactly like the last two times this unexpected-time-travel got used, which would seem to cross the line between “tribute to fondly remembered stories” and “just copying the same damn plot over and over again.”
Countdown to Mystery #6 ( of 8 ) — (Eclipso story): Writer: Matthew Sturges; Artist: Stephen Jorge Segovia; (Dr. Fate story): Writer: Steve Gerber; Penciller: Justiniano; Inker: Walden Wong
Worth noting because the Dr. Fate episode was Gerber’s penultimate story before his death (he finished the script to #7 in his hospital room a day or two before he died; what’s going to happen to the concluding chapter is anybody’s guess). It’s the same blend of subtle psychological insight and mystical adventure as always; combined with the more superhero-action-oriented Eclipso tale (which has returned Bruce Gordon to the spotlight), this series has been the best of the countless Countdown spinoffs. Not that that’s saying a lot….
Stuff I bought and liked, but have nothing new to say about, so read past reviews in the archives if you want to know….
Punisher #55 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Goran Parlov
Amazing Spider-Man #553 — Writer: Bob Gale; Pencils: Phil Jimenez; Inks: Andy Lanning
JLA Classified #54 — Writer: Roger Stern; Penciller: John Byrne; Inker: Mark Farmer
Thunderbolts #119 — Writer: Warren Ellis; Artist: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Bat Lash #4 (of 6) — Writers: Peter Brandvold and Sergio Aragones; Artist: John Severin
