Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! #1 — Writer/Artist: Mike Kunkel
Surprisingly good — Kunkel’s open, expressive, cartoony style suits a Johnny DC title like this, and he’s using most of the Jeff Smith setup from last year’s Shazam mini-series, so the foundation is solid, with Billy, Mary and the return of Adam (who, in this version, has a pre-teen alter-ego just like Billy, and can’t remember his magic word… yet). Of all the established super-heroes, Captain Marvel’s probably the most kid-friendly, going all the way back to his origins (well, yeah, Plastic Man, too), so it’ll be interesting to see if DC can make a younger-readers hit out of this.
Batman #678 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Tony Daniel; Inks: Sandu Florea
The hero hits bottom and starts the climb back up, with some supernatural help, a few cutaways to supporting cast, and a last-page character reveal that should get at least some fan pulses racing (and is foreshadowed by the teeny-tiny dialogue earlier, on page six). “Uh-oh,” indeed. The mood’s deliberately dream-like, an effect that plays to Morrison’s strengths (he’s so good at tone and atmosphere that it’s easy to ignore his sometimes-creaky plots), and, other than hoping really hard that the daddy thing is a feint, I’ve been enjoying this.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1 (of 3) — Writer: Mike Mignola; Art: Richard Corben
Appalachian backwoods craziness, with witches and the devil, set in 1958 and drawn by Corben, who can deliver spooky hillbilly backwoods craziness better than practically anybody. This first of three parts is mostly character introduction/exposition, but there are a couple of effective scenes, and the odds that this will turn out to be a good story look pretty high right now.
Astonishing X-Men #25 — Writer: Warren Ellis; Artist: Simone Bianchi
OK as a start for the new creative team — it’s mostly setup, as we get scenes with Scott and Emma, Beast, Wolverine, et.al., as they hang out in their new San Francisco headquarters, consult with the police over a mysterious mutant murder, find out that someone’s been manipulating chromosomes to create new mutants, and head down to an alien spaceship graveyard in Indonesia (pretty much business as usual for an Ellis comic, in other words). There’s no “Oh, wow” moment, like there sometimes was in the Whedon issues, but the voices all sound right, and Storm shows up to tag along and has a nice scene with Emma, so let’s all hang on and see where it goes.
Trinity #5 — Writer: Kurt Busiek; Pencils: Mark Bagley; Inks: Art Thibert; (second story): Script: Fabian Nicieza; Layouts: Mike Norton; Finishes: Mark Farmer
This is starting to round into a decent read — it’s much more focused than Countdown or even 52, with its one serial main story featuring the Big Three, and its back-up story to spotlight other characters, provide background and eventually hook up to the main narrative. There haven’t been any blow-the-top-of-your-head-off moments so far, but it’s solidly constructed and dependably entertaining, and the chapter-a-week delivery is oddly relaxing for a reader (although it’s got to be one massive pain for the creative team).
Jonah Hex #33 — Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Art: Darwyn Cooke
As one of the few westerns out there (and featuring a cranky anti-hero, to boot), this title’s stories can get repetitive, but they’re redeemed by all the good artists who want a shot at it — we’ve had Russ Heath, Jodi Bernet, and now Darwyn Cooke. Sold.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #16 — Writer: Joss Whedon; Pencils: Karl Moline; Inks: Andy Owens
Starting a new Whedon-scripted arc that features a crossover with Fray, the Slayer from the future who had her own comic for a while, and whose magical weapon thingy became a key to the end of the TV Buffy’s Season Seven, and to this series too. Sold, too.
Stuff I liked enough to buy, but don’t have anything new to say about, so read past reviews in the archives if you really want to know:
Punisher War Journal #21 — Writers: Matt Fraction and Rick Remender; Artist: Howard Chaykin
Amazing Spider-Man #564 — Writers: Marc Guggenheim, Bob Gale and Dan Slott; Pencils: Paulo Siqueira; Inks: Amilton Santos,and Paulo Siqueira
The Boys #20 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Darick Robertson
Fables #74 — Writer: Bill Willingham; Penciller: Mark Buckingham; Inks: Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy
Legion of Super-Heroes #43 — Writer: Jim Shooter; Penciller: Francis Manapul; Inker: Livesay
Echo #4 — Writer/Artist: Terry Moore
American Splendor #4 — Writer: Harvey Pekar; Art: Darick Robertson, Ty Templeton, Dean Haspiel, Rick Geary; Gary Dumm and Greg Budgett
Tor #3 (of 6) — Writer/Artist: Joe Kubert
Phil Mateer
