RASL #3 — Writer/Artist: Jeff Smith
Boy, these individual issues just zip along; they’re 32 pages of story, but they’re action-packed and don’t take more than ten minutes to read (it’s not that they’re empty; it’s just that the storytelling is so clear that it pulls you along insistently). The only drawback is that the reader is left wanting more, ready for the next issue (which won’t be along for three more months); when these get collected into trades, all that concentrated narrative in one place, they should be an explosive experience.
Madman #11 — Writer/Artist: Michail Allred
Frank goes to the family homestead he never knew, and finds it haunted — cool use of special effects for the ghosts, but the revelations here (involving Spirit Prisons, pre-existence, the “celestial planet of Golub,” and tears in the veil between worlds) read like something L. Ron Hubbard and Joseph Smith might have cooked up after a long night of tequila and peyote. Let’s hope Allred, having mentioned all of this once, doesn’t go back to it; unexplained weirdness is much more fun than weirdness with a complicated, boring backstory.
Grant Morrison’s Dr. Who #1 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Artists: John Ridgway, Bryan Hitch
This collects three eight-page stories from the ’80s, which first appeared in the British Dr. Who Magazine back when Morrison was just getting started. It’s interesting to see him stretching his writing muscles, and to note the echoes of themes like identity and weird sf (“We are the syntelligence of the culture!”) that show up in his later works, too. Add in the art, especially by a young Bryan Hitch, and the fact that this is the sixth Doctor (the one with the rainbow scarf, probably the most familiar to American audiences), and that’s enough to make this worth a look.
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2 (of 5) — Writer: Geoff Johns; Penciller: George Perez; Innker: Scott Koblish
Featuring a cast of thousands — but here Johns seems more adept at handling everyone than he did with the similarly-huge lineup over in JSA this week; maybe it’s because the Legion has always lent itself to big roll calls, or maybe it’s just that the George Perez art makes it all seem so easy and fun. Yes, Superboy-Prime is annoying, and so are three Brainiac-5s, but Johns knows that, and is able to make their quirks part of the overall plot. This is, really, the unpretentious thrill ride that Infinite Crisis should have been (and that Morrison is stubbornly avoiding turning Final Crisis into), and those of us who like that kind of thing should be grateful for it here.
Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge #3 (of 3) — Writer: Geoff Johns; Artist: Scott Kolins
Operating on a much smaller scale than the LSH tie-in, with just three issues and a more scruffy, down-to-earth tone; as I’ve said before, it’s very much like the Johns/Kolins run on The Flash a few years ago, and that’s a good thing (other than a few Mark Waid issues with undistinguished art, it’s the last The Flash has been any good in all that time). Between this and Gail Simone’s Secret Six, the DC’s villains are getting better characterization than the heroes right now.
Amazing Spider-Man #573 — Writer: Dan Slott; Pencils: John Romita, Jr.; Inks: Klaus Janson
The conclusion to the “New Ways to Die” arc, with Norman Osborne in the Goblin costume, plus the Scorpion/Venom combo, plus Anti-Venon, plus the regular cast (all drawn by Romita Jr. and Janson in their trademark smooth, crystal-clear storytelling style): there’s plenty to like here, even before throwing in the eight-page backup story (by Mark Waid and Patrick Oliffe) teaming Spidey with Steven Colbert.
Uncanny X-Men #503 — Writers: Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker; Penciler: Greg Land; Inker: Jay Leisten
In which one of the newest X-Men gets to play hero, while Scott commits unintentional mental adultery with an ex (but not the one we’d expect). Land’s art still has its advantages (it’s pretty) and disadvantages (all the swiped photo references make it too static, especially in the action sequences), but Fraction and Brubaker keep the pot boiling nicely, and this title, after a year or so of wandering around, seems to have a sense of direction 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:
Astonishing X-Men #27 — Writer: Warren Ellis; Pencils: Simone Bianchi; Ink Washes: Simone Bianchi and Andrea Silvestri
Fables #77 — Writer: Bill Willingham; Penciller: Mark Buckingham; Inker: Andrew Pepoy (plus a backup story by Willingham and Peter Gross)
Conan the Cimmerian #4 — Writer: Timothy Truman; Artists: Tomas Giorello and Richard Corben
Phil Mateer
