All Star Superman #12 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Pencils: Frank Quitely; Inks: Jamie Grant
Morrison’s endings often feel a tad disappointing (I’m thinking of his last Invisibles arc, and his last New X-Men one, too — I’m still not sure what was up with that alternate-future stuff), but I think it’s mostly just reader sadness that he’s leaving. That’s certainly true here: at first blush, this felt a little… off, anti-climactic… but on rereading — and considering all twelve issues as a unit — it makes perfect sense; the absent-hero, waiting-for-the-return conclusion is reminiscent of the Arthurian myths, and ties directly into the examination of the superhero archetype that’s been at the center of this series since its beginning. If that all makes it seem too pretentious, well… it’s a lot of fun, too, and Luthor gets his butt kicked, and the art’s gorgeous as always, so enjoy it for all that, and lave the rest to the critics.
A Tribute to Gene Colan — Writers: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman; Pencils: Gene Colan; Inkers: Frank Giacoia, Tom Palmer, George Klein
This is $10, but it’s 100 pages of Colan art, on considerably nicer paper than the original stories got, and the choices — full-length tales from Daredevil, Doctor Strange and Tomb of Dracula, plus a two-part Tales Of Suspense Iron Man and a Dr. Doom episode from Astonishing Tales — cover the best of his superhero work, and reinforce how bracingly experimental, and how carefully human, and how utterly wonderful to look at, his art has always been. This isn’t comprehensive — a Howard the Duck episode would have been nice — but it’s a great introduction to his work, and well worth any true comic fan’s time.
The Sword #11 — Writers/Artists: The Luna Brothers
A full-issue running battle, with a suitably shocking full-panel last-page twist, guaranteed to bring readers back for more. That’s just about what I said about The Sword #10, and it’s even more true of this one — the Luna Brothers right now are one of the better superhero action teams in the business, and it’s a pleasure to watch them, and their work, as it gets more and more assured with each issue.
Glamourpuss #3 — Writer/Artist: Dave Sim
More musings about Alex Raymond and Milt Caniff (with some Hal Foster thrown in), all illustrated by Sim in his best photorealistic style (his recreations of the various comics illustrators’ panels, not to mention of the fashion-model photos that serve to illustrate his women’s-magazine parodies, are dead-on amazing). Readers who can get past the weirdness of eight pages analyzing a single photo of Caniff and Raymond shaking hands at a National Cartoonists Society function, juxtaposed with stuff like “Skanko’s Dating Guide” (with its examination of “bikini clubbing”), will find a wealth of knowledge about various rendering styles and why they matter; if you’re any kind of comics artist yourself, you need to check out this book.
Uncanny X-Men #502 — Writers: Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker; Penciler: Greg Land; Inker: Jay Leisten
Fraction and Brubaker make a good team; based on their previous work, I’d guess that Brubaker provides the careful structure and grounding, while Fraction brings the fireworks and weirdness — but who can tell? Although this issue, like the last one, is more setup than payoff (and Land’s art continues to be pretty but static), I’m more than willing to keep reading and see where it all leads.
The Mighty Avengers #18 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Stefano Caselli
Still on Secret Invasion backstory, this time with Fury and his new group of young super-agents, and it takes them right up to their appearance in the actual mini-series. If you’re following all the SI stuff, it’s still worth buying; if you’re waiting until the crossover is over (and prefer your Avengers stories to have actual Avengers members in them), I’ll try to remember to wake you when Bendis gets back to actual new, in-continuity episodes again.
Stuff I read and liked enough to buy, but don’t have much to say about, so read previous reviews in the archives if you’re interested:
Billy Batson and the Power of Shazam #2 — Writer/Artist: Mike Kunkel
Action #869 — Writer: Geoff Johns; Penciller: Gary Franks; Inker: Jon Sibal
Amazing Spider-Man #572 — Writer: Dan Slott; Pencils: John Romita, Jr.; Inks: Klaus Jansom
Conan the Cimmerian #3 — Writer: Timothy Truman; Artists: Tomas Giorello and Richard Corben
Phil Mateer
