Omega the Unknown #7 (of 10) — Writers: Jonathan Lethem and Karl Rusnak; Pencils: Farel Dalrymple and Gary Panter; Inks: Farel Dalrymple
Panter does the cover and first five pages (the never-before told, no-kidding origin, as drawn in a Basil Wolverton/Fletcher Hanks-cum-medieval-tapestry style), and it’s cooler than anything else you’ll see in a mainstream comic this year. The main story, by the usual team, is skating perilously close to Harry Potter territory — look at the cover for the next issue, which could practically be a chapter illustration in one of the earlier Potter books — but, wow: Gary Panter!
American Splendor Vol. 2 #1 — Writer: Harvey Pekar; Artists: David Lapham; Dean Haspiel; Mike Hawthorne; Hilary Barta; John Lucas; Ed Piskor; Zachary Galdus; Chris Weston; cover by Phillip Bond
Each artist tells a different short story, of varying lengths (six pages for the Lapham and Barta entries; one for the Haspiel), and it’s, you know, a Harvey Pekar comic. If you’re familiar with his style, you know whether you’d like this comic; if you’ve never tried him before, this isn’t a bad first impression. I’m buying it….
Kick-Ass #2 — Writer: Mark Millar; Penciler: John Romita Jr.; Inks: Tom Palmer
The scene with the tough little neighborhood girls made me wince (the dialogue just doesn’t work), and the attempts to graft real-life consequences of violent action onto a comic-book sensibility keep threatening to descend into parody. On the other hand… man, the action sequence is great, and the hero’s stubborn morality is inspiring, in a 1960s-Marvel-comic kind of way. At this point, even though there’s a chance that this is going to end up stupid, there’s an equal chance it’s going to be unusual and thought-provoking (in other words, it’s a typical Millar story).
Secret Invasion #1( of 8 ) — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Pencils: Leonil Yu; Inker: Mark Morales
Um, OK so far. No profound comments: I’m entertained, but a lot of it is set-up, so it’s too early to tell what’s actually going on. The second-banana Skrull reveals are fine, and the Yu art is up to the task (the big who’s-in-the-saucer scene is a little shaky, but the Mr.-Fantastic-gets-shot scene is cool — especially if I’m reading it right that the blaster never actually touches him). If the creative team can deliver all eight issues on time, this should be a big hit, and a lot of fun.
Punisher War Journal #18 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Artist: Howard Chaykin
I don’t get the bit with the face — Is that an image inducer? A mask? Which is real? — but if he’s just crazy, and Fraction is using an unreliable-narrator point-of-view, that’s cheating. Thumbs up to everything else, though — this is the second really violent book I read this week, after Kick-Ass (although here the violence is much more chilling), and here, as there, that violence is penciled by an experienced artist who knows exactly how to deliver it for maximum effect. That low hum you hear is Dr. Wertham, spinning in his grave….
Jonah Hex #30 — Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Art: Jordi Bernet
Jordi Bernet! Readers who follow artists, especially the kind of readers who buy any book with John Severin art in it, should check out this comic. This is the coolest book of the week that isn’t drawn by Gary Panter.
Amazing Spider-Man #555 — Writer: Zeb Wells; Pencils: Chris Bachalo; Inks: Tim Townsend
More good art; Bachalo may be providing the best visuals of the tag-team artists on this book right now, and Wells gives him a good, adventurous script, with guest stars like Wolverine and Dr. Strange to draw. The “responsibility” button gets pushed a little hard (yo, Spidey: this is why you’re in the Avengers, so you can call them for help when stuff like this happens), but this is an encouraging setup for the next 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….
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #13 — Writer: Drew Goddard; Pencils: Georges Jeanty; Inks: Andy Owens
Detective Comics #843 — Writer: Paul Dini; Penciller: Dustin Nguyen; Inks: Derek Fridolfs
The Boys #17 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Darick Robertson
Phil Mateer
