Omega The Unknown #10 (of 10) — Writer: Jonathan Lethem; Art: Farel Dalrymple
Don’t pick up this final installment of the series as your first issue; all but two panels are wordless, and it’s all aftermath, the explosion that ended last issue having fried the brain (and the hearing?) of the title character, but left him alive. You won’t understand why the little omega symbols in the salt show that the good guys have won, or be able to figure out what happens to each of the protagonists, or know whether to find the hobo Hollywood Squares at the end to be deeply sad or oddly hopeful. You might be inspired to pick up the rest of the story, though (or, at this point, wait for the trade), and you’ll have the pleasure of watching it morph away from its origins and, somehow, become its own satisfying exploration of (among other things) paranoia, fitting in, and the tensions between “matter” and “doesn’t matter.”
Conan The Cimmerian #1 — Writer: Timothy Truman; Artist (main story): Tomas Giorello; Artist (flashback story) Richard Corben
Worth noting for the Corben sequence (most of the book: 15 pages, involving a flashback about one of Conon’a ancestors), which is reason enough for buying most comics — and, lately, between H. P. Lovecraft adaptations and Hellboy mini-series, has become increasingly common; who’d have thought Corben would still be turning out so much decent and individual work, at this late stage of his career?
War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #5 (of 5) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Howard Chaykin
Last issue — there’s been surprisingly little plot here, the story arc consisting of “character learns that war is not romantic,” but the evocation of a WWI airfield and its attendant personalities shows Ennis’s easy professionalism with war tales, and the crisp, detail-oriented Chaykin art has been a joy to read.
1985 #3 (of 6) — Writer: Mark Millar; Art: Tommy Lee Edwards
Half-way through, and there’s little plot here, either, at least from the viewpoint-character kid’s standpoint — “super-villains invade the ‘real’ world” is it. Kind of disappointing at this juncture, frankly — the art isn’t bad, but doesn’t particularly bring anything to the table, either, so this is rising or falling on its slight story — but, having invested $12 in this already, I’ll keep buying it in the hopes that it perks up and justifies itself.
Captain America #40 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Artist: Steve Epting
Bucky-Cap fights the ’50s-substitute Cap from the Englehart/Buscema run (with Bucky-Cap finding it a little hard to explain how he happened to kill the ’50s-substitute Bucky-aka-Nomad a while back, when he was still, you know, a brainwashed bad guy). Trust me; this works better in execution than it sounds on paper, as the Brubaker/Epting run keeps climbing the ladder to take its place among the classic Cap sequences, even as the main character remains stubbornly out of the picture, almost a year and a half later.
The Mighty Avengers #16 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Pencils: Khoi Pham; Inks: Danny Miki
How Elektra got Skrulled, as Bendis continues his here’s-what-really-happened tour of the last year or so of the Marvel Universe. Sacrificing three powered-up pieces so a fourth can infiltrate comes off a tad… extravagant, tactics-wise (the bad guys’ seemingly-unlimited supply of powered aliens and equipment is getting more annoying as the crossovers drag on), and suggests that it’s just about time to wrap up these stand-alone Secret Invasion puzzle pieces, and get back to the exploits of the actual title heroes, before event fatigue sets in completely.
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 #59 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Garan Parlov
Amazing Spider-Man #566 — Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Breakdowns: Phil Jimenez; Finishes: Mark Pennington
Trinity #7 — Writer: Kurt Busiek; Pencils: Mark Bagley; Inks: Art Thibert; (Back-up story): Writer: Fabian Nicieza; Artists: Tom Derenick and Wayne Faucher
Phil Mateer
