All-Star Superman #10 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Frank Quitely; Inker: Jamie Grant
All stories end in death — except that, really, they don’t. Look at comics, and their reboots and resurrections, or look at icons like Sherlock Holmes; maybe pop-culture characters get to live forever. Death and creation seem to be the themes this issue, as various characters get saved, or find new beginnings, or think up ways for their legacies to live on, through DNA or super-powered intervention or sheer creative spark (that last comes courtesy of two high-school kids from Cleveland, in a very Morrisonian touch of synchronicity). As always, the small touches — Quitely’s cover, which makes Superman look simultaneously human and ethereally alien; the scene with Luthor; the little sick kids and their new Kandorian friends; the chronologically out-of-sequence scenes that make perfect sense because of the timestamps that begin each one — make it clear just how much thought and effort have gone into creating this book.
Blue Beetle #25 — Writer: John Rogers; Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
This has become the little comic that could — Rogers and Albuquerque conclude the origin story that’s been building for two years, and do it with style, grace, and an instinct for the crowd-pleasing heroic flourish that’s just about perfect. It works OK as a stand-alone purchase, but for readers who’ve been keeping up all along it’s a valentine: a payoff for the time we’ve spent watching Jaime and his cast grow, interrelate, and mesh into a team. This book’s been teetering on cancellation, so it may disappear, or other creators may come in and mess things up, but for right now the creative team should take a bow: they’ve crafted a wonderful little superhero story, and made it look easy.
Usagi Yojimbo #110 — Creator: Stan Sakai
Speaking of making it look easy…. The foxes, and the twisty plot, are just masterful. If you’ve never tried this title, try this issue.
Speak of the Devil #5 (of 6) — Creator: Gilbert Hernandez
Hernandez’s conceit, that these mini-series are B movies that one of his “real” creations appeared in, gives him an extra layer of distance from the characters, and he uses it to make them spookier: their motives are mysterious, as alien as a lizard’s in their casual, uncaring, immense violence. This sticks in your head the way the best B movies do, seductive and disturbing.
New Avengers #39 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Artist: David Mack
Mighty Avengers #11 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Mark Bagley; Inkers: Danny Miki with Allen Martinez
… Since they could just as well be two issues of one book. This soap-opera stuff, this building up of suspenseful bits towards a Big Event Payoff that fans know is coming, is very hard to pull off. Give credit to Bendis for doing it: even a jaded fan starts to care about the characters and, unbidden, start to speculate about future events. and pray that the payoff will be worth it….
X-Men: Legacy #209 — Writer: Mike Carey; Penciler: Scott Eaton; Inks: John Dell
The advertisements for this suggested some kind of flashback series, but two issues in it’s actually just the regular continuity, moving forward as always, but focused on Xavier and, right now, Eric Lehnsherr. Not that that’s a bad thing; watching them debate is entertaining when Carey writes it, because he’s able to suggest how powerful, strategic minds think (he probably needs to stay away from the portentious-but-understated-dialogue-preceding-the-confrontation-with-a-major-player trick, though, since he’s now used it three times in two issues).
Stuff I bought and liked, but have nothing new to say about, so read past reviews in the archives if you want to know:
Daredevil #106 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Artist: Paul Azaceta
Ultimate Spider-Man #120 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Stuart Immonen; Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Legion of Super-Heroes #40 — Writer: Jim Shooter; Penciller: Francis Manapul; Inker: Livesay
Jack of Fables #21 — Writers: Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges; Artist: Tony Akins
Fallen Angel #25 — Writer: Peter David; Art: J. K. Woodward
Knights of the Dinner Table #137 — Creator: Jolly Blackburn
Phil Mateer
