Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil #2 (of 4) — Written and Drawn by: Jeff Smith
No letup on this second issue; we’re in the presence of great storytelling here. This is the book that we should have shown to everyone coming in for Dead Captain America. Look at the way both Billy and Mary are little kids, both innocent and brave against the looming, corrupt adult world — and yet, the littlest adult, Doctor Sivana (the Attorney General of the United States, and the head of Homeland Security to boot) just oozes menace. The clever/compelling bits go by almost too quickly to count: the Alligator Monsters, both cartoony and scary; Mr. Tawny (we knew from Bone‘s Roquejaw that Smith could draw big cats, but Tawny’s feline-but-somehow-human expressions and poses are just beautiful); the looming manifestations of Mr. Mind, gigantic and eerie, with their little servomechanism arms and opaque red eyes in otherwise-featureless faces; the way Mary pulls the hood on her jacket into a little “o,” completely hiding her face, as she tells her sad story to Billy (which is then balanced by her expression of absolute delight when she gets the Marvel powers later) — wonderful, wonderful stuff, with at least one cool thing on every page. How many comics can you say that about?
Iron Man: Hypervelocity #3 (0f 6) — Story & Layouts: Adam Warren; Art: Brian Denham
Warren continues to throw out mecha-concepts like some runaway cyberpunk sparkler, all flashes of light and spectacle, moving almost too fast for the eye to follow. Tony Stark lies in a coma, brain-dead, with his consciousness now uploaded to his armor’s imperfectly-written software. SHIELD thinks the armor’s a rogue artificial intelligence and has brought out all the technological big guns to track it down, and then there’s the mecha-underground and the goth avatar of the intrusionware trying to overwrite his consciousness, and…well, don’t try to grasp it all at once; just have fun with it. This stand-alone mini-series is the perfect antidote to the annoying Iron Man in all those Civil War books.
The Mighty Avengers #1 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Artist: Frank Cho
Just a continuation of the “official” Avengers, really, as Tony Stark taps Carol Danvers to lead the new team. Some nice picking-the-roster bits (Danvers’ first reaction is to just pick all the strongest characters; she’s never gone dungeon-crawling, apparently), ending with a final-panel villain reveal that oughta be expected (quick: who’s the ultimate Avengers villain? No, not Kang; the other one).
One interesting wrinkle is Bendis’ Return of the Thought Balloon — it’s been banished from mainstream books for so long that now it feels like a new way to read the characters’ minds, and something that can only be done effectively in comics (voice-over narratives in movies and TV are clumsy). I was surprised at how quickly it became annoying, though — maybe because it’s been so many years since it’s been used that it was hard to keep the “voice tracks” of the thoughts and spoken dialogue separate.
Boneyard #24 — Written and Drawn by: Richard Moore
Conclusion of the current arc — it’s a trifle bumpy, since the Big Problem that’s been driving the plot turns into no problem at all. Also, Moore slips up by having two characters comment on how great a speech by another character is — “impassioned, yet eloquent” — when it isn’t particularly either one. However, that’s all forgiven because the whole thing leads up to an Abby – Michael scene that’s touching and romantic, and yet doesn’t screw up their current relationship, either (Moore’s obviously treading very carefully around what I think of as the Moonlighting dilemma — how to keep romantic tension between your lead characters without having them fall into bed — and so far doing a good job of it).
Strangers in Paradise #88 — Writtten and Drawn by: Terry Moore
Speaking of stringing out a relationship…. it happens here, too (it’s been happening for over a hundred issues), which would normally be frustrating. However, that’s tempered by our knowledge that this Moore has a deadline — with only two issues to go, we can at least figure that it’ll all work out in the end, and soon these familiar characters can walk off into the sunset for some well-deserved, if bittersweet, happiness.
Justice League of America #6 — Writer: Brad Meltzer; Penciller: Ed Benes; Inker: Sandra Hope
Ending better than it started. Bloodier than absolutely necessary (although the key Red-Tornado-lends-Solomon-Grundy-a-hand scene had the desired jolt), but it’s got a satisfying resolution. Now that the preliminary blockbuster is out of the way, could we please just have a few smaller stories, with clever plots and cool character bits? Please?
Fantastic Four #543 — (Lead Story:) Writer: Dwayne McDuffie; Penciler: Mike McKone; Inkers: Andy Lanning & Cam Smith; (Back-up Story #1:) Writer: Stan Lee; Penciller: Nick Dragotta; Inker: Mike Allred; (Back-up Story #2:) Story and Art: Paul Pope
OK on the lead story — McDuffie’s got the characters down well, and the Reed-Sue relationship seems to have been repaired in a nicely quiet adult fashion. If they’re going to leave for a while (to “work on the marriage”), and we’re going to have one of the periodic FF roster shakeups, the replacement duo makes a lot of sense — they’re a married couple, too, and should supply an effective mature balance to the “kids,” Ben and Johnnie.
The Stan Lee backup story mines the same vein as those weird specials from a few months ago; his tongue’s stuck so far in his cheek that it’s a wonder he can get any dialogue out, although here even the cynicism seems a little warmer in tone (the art, inked by Mike Allred and colored by Laura Allred, gives a soothing Silver-Age sheen to the proceedings). The other back-up story is by Paul Pope, and it’s a minor diversion — but, dude, it’s Paul Pope drawing one of those wacky early Spider-Man/Torch fights, with Johnnie in a race car and Crystal and the Thing. What more do you need?
Punisher #45 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Penciler: Ian Medina; Inker: Bill Reinhold
Middle of the current story, as dependably bloody, cynical and entertaining as always. More analysis after the story ends in another issue or two.
Marvel Zombies Vs. Army of Darkness #1 (of 5) — Writer: John Layman; Artist: Fabiano Neves
Just what you’d expect — and not bad, with one especially chilling panel (of a zombified Sentry). Since it’s a prequel, there’s some cruel fun in watching a character like Spider-Man, optimistic as always that all they have to do is Solve the Crisis and then everything will be OK again, when we know that this time it’s not gonna happen that way.
Jonah Hex #17 — Writers: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti; Art: Phil Noto
The new female character, a want-to-be bounty hunter like Hex who’s just as damaged and stubborn as he is, makes a nice match for him (although it’s good to see that she won’t be sticking around past this storyline, either). This continues to deliver satisfying, bleak existential action with occasional flashes of redemption — the perfect mix for a western, in other words, at least ever since Sergio Leone.
Criminal #5 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Artist: Sean Phillips
Brubaker’s “other” book this week — overshadowed by Captain America, but in some ways a better story (I’d be pushing it on everyone looking to buy Cap, except that it’s the last chapter of the arc, and so not the best jumping-on point; Marvel ought to hustle a trade out). It ends the only way this kind of story can — badly for everyone involved (when one of the tragedies is that the hero doesn’t die, you know you’re deep in noir territory) — but it’s the journey to the pre-ordained ending that’s the fun part. Brubaker and Phillips have become confident, smooth storytellers who know every inch of this gritty little universe they’ve created.
Phil Mateer
52 #43 — Writers: Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid; Breakdowns: Giffen; Layouts: Jurgens; Finishes: Rapmund
The “Animal Man in Space” subplot gets a few pages, with the cool yellow alien guys looking like they’re setting Buddy up for long-term residency in the DC Universe. Great, although what really makes the book is the Black Adam storyline, which winds its boring way through the comic right up until the “Holy Crap!” moment at the end. That scene’s going to get criticized, but boy, did it work. “I’m not so hungry anymore” — masterfully, chillingly done.
True Story, Swear to God #4 — Story and Art by Tom Beland
Comic artist Beland, as the inside-front-cover recap reminds us, met a Puerto Rican DJ named Lily at a bus stop in Disneyland, fell in love, and moved to Puerto Rico to be with her. See, this is the thing about autobiographical comics: it helps if actual interesting stuff like that happens to you. Beland’s a good storyteller — he knows how to use themes and establish character and everything — and these are people we’re glad to get to know and hang out with. After four issues, I’m starting to see a few too many stock panel layouts and poses, but this is a fun read; he doesn’t tackle the big existential issues like, say, Harvey Pekar, but he’s considerably less cranky and depressing.
Frontline #11(of 11) — Writer: Paul Jenkins; Penciler: Ramon Bachs; Inker: John Lucas
This works well as a coda to Civil War, since the two main-character reporters spend the issue visiting, first, the jailed Captain America, and then Tony Stark. Cap’s motivations are expressed considerably more clearly here than they were in CW, but the real shocker is the Stark interview, where (after a recap that does a good job of summarizing just how screwed up the Registration side was), the reporters reveal that (OK, SPOILERS after the jump…)
… Stark deliberately had someone murdered to advance his agenda — and the reporters are OK with that, at least to the extent of promising not to reveal the truth, because the end — the 50-state initiative, everyone pulling together — apparently justified the means. It is, almost exactly, the Ozymandias ending of Watchmen. (To be fair, Stark doesn’t explicitly confess to the murder, so later writers might be able to weasel out of it, but the implication is crystal-clear that he knew what he was doing, and did it deliberately.)
Now, on the one hand, if we assume that this is all part of Marvel’s Clever Long-Term Plan, this could actually be a good thing, to the extent that it makes for a satisfying story — if the whole “Initiative” storyline eventually leads to Stark in jail, and Cap redeemed, that has possibilities for some relevant themes about true heroism vs. political expediency. It would also make CW only the first act in a longer play, and show that it actually made sense and wasn’t at all the disaster everyone’s said it was.
On the other hand, this whole scenario depends on the assumption that Marvel, the company that brought us Civil War: The Return and Spider-Man: Reign — the company that somehow couldn’t manage to get its huge important company-wide crossover event out on time, thereby costing itself untold lost sales and ill will — actually has a Clever Long-Term Plan, or is even capable of one.
Anyone want to place their bets?
Jack of Fables #8 — Writers: Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham; Penciller: Tony Akins; Inker: Andrew Pepoy
Another fun read — and it accomplishes the difficult task of making a self-centered, immoral playboy a root-for-him character (check out The Irredeemable Ant-Man to see just how hard it is to accomplish that). Maybe that’s because this Jack’s one of the original rogues of literature, and maybe it’s just because the art and story provide a lot to like, from the sexy-but-realistic women to the lucky gamer guy in Vegas to the lawyer with the absurdly thick glasses to the line “Oh, God. They’re Belgians!” to the unexpected explosion to the last-page shot of our hero, snapping out of his depression to look like the cat who swallowed the canary.
X-Men #196 — Writer: Mike Carey; Pencils: Humberto Ramos; Inks: Carlos Cuevas
This creative team may actually work — Carey’s dark, complicated storytelling intersects with Ramos’ cartoony style, and they manage to balance one another’s excesses and meet somewhere in the middle. The result’s reminiscent of the early issues of DV8 (you know, the good Ellis-Ramos ones). Give these guys a couple more months to get used to one another, and they might actually kick-start this book back into required reading.
Eternals #7 (of 7) — Writer: Neil Gaiman; Pencils: John Romita Jr.; Inks: Danny Miki
A perfectly good story, as it turns out, although it’s been criticized for not being a great one; I suspect if this had been by Neil Smith and John Doe, we’d all be talking about what a nice surprise it was. It should be a perpetual seller (and read better) as a trade, and it repositions the Eternals as players in the Marvel Universe, so it’s accomplished its mission respectably; maybe we should just be happy with that.
Runaways #24 — Writer: Brian K. Vaughan; Penciler: Adrian Alphona; Inkr: Craig Young
A satisfying conclusion to Season Two, leaving all the toys (well, most of them) in place for Joss Whedon. This may be Vaughan’s best work, with more consistent quality than Ex Machina and better staying power than Y, The Last Man (which, after all, is a story that’s supposed to have a definite ending). Just to prove it: over the last five years, what other mainstream Marvel title has been created, using brand-new characters, that looks like it’ll stay around and be a franchise for years to come — even with other creators taking it over?
Action Comics #846 — Writers: Geoff Johns and Richard Donner; Artist: Adam Kubert
It’s like reading some weird alternate version of the second Superman movie — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but couldn’t Donner have come up with something a little, um… more original? Pretty art, and it’s setting up what looks to be a good fight (although, again, one with more than a touch of deja vu). However, since the story’s now, apparently, going to be interrupted for months, as DC and the storytellers try to get their acts together, who knows when it’s going to pay off? This isn’t exactly helping those of us who actually like the floppy monthly pamphlets; it’s a perfect example for the waiting-for-the-trade people instead.
The Flash #9 — Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Layouts: Andy Hunt; Finishes: Ron Adrian; Inks: Art Thibert
This is… encouraging. It’s a one-issue story, accessible to new readers, but Guggenheim also gets in a page-four joke about Bart’s complicated continuity that name-checks Hawkman and Wonder Girl, and lets him, um, flash his credentials for longer-lived readers, too. It’s not world-shattering, but it’s competent, and a good jumping-on point; that’s a definite improvement over most of the previous issues of this relaunched title.
Daredevil #94 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Artists: Lee Weeks and Stefano Gaudiano
Another good jumping-on issue, told from Milla’s point of view, that acts as a kind of epilogue to the last big story and a breather before the next one starts. Little happens — in fact, the cover sums the whole thing up — but it’s a good introduction/summary of where the character is right now.
Green Lantern #17 — Writer: Geoff Johns; Penciller: Ivan Reis; Inkers: Oclair Albert and Ivan Reis
Points for not making Hal’s maybe-girlfriend DC’s latest Woman-in-a-Refrigerator after all (a reference that, at this point in the reviewing stack, I’m too tired to explain). The story doesn’t so much end as stop, as the current menace suddenly becomes part of the Next Big Menace instead (and, on the last page, yet another familiar pink-costumed menace appears). This comic could use a quiet breather issue, too, but it provides enough action, and makes the main character smart and capable enough, that it’s still a satisfying mainstream superhero read.
Phil Mateer
