Scalped #25 — Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: R. M. Guera
I’m a fan of Aaron’s enthusiasm (he has the same what-the-hell, go-for-it plotting and dialog of Matt Fraction), but my problem with this Indian-Casino noir tale is the same one I have with 100 Bullets: the tough-guy facade sometimes slips, and underneath you can see the seams. Here, the plot revolves around a blackjack player who can count cards in his head, but has to be sneaky about it because if he wins too much, casino goons will try to break his legs. Bullshit: no casino anywhere today would give a crap about you counting cards in your head, and nobody has for 25 years; they just use multiple decks and reshuffle before the ability to count can get significant. Yeah, the story’s better if the protagonist is facing a bigger threat, blah blah blah, but that’s no excuse to just reshape reality to make your plot work; that’s lazy writing. All you 100 Bullets fans who are looking for a substitute because that title’s ending, though: get this book.
Patsy Walker: Hellcat #5 (of 5) — Writer: Kathryn Immonen; Artist: David Lafuente
Imminen and Lafuente stick the landing, and deliver a charming, well-written and entertaining mini-series. With Lafuentes announced as the artist on the relaunched Ultimate Spider-Man, he’s worth checking out here (he did the recent Ultimate Spider-Man Annual, too); his slightly-cartoony, very confident and clean style deserves to make him a hit — and Immonen’s script is a good match for it, simultaneously silly and subtle in making us understand and care about its perky heroine. Why’s it on the “put back” list? Because I didn’t keep the first few issues (I wasn’t sure it was going to be able to sustain its tone and find an effective conclusion), but now I’m thinking I need to back up and get them, or wait for the trade. (By the way, this series sold fewer than 9,000 copies in the direct market, despite being pretty darn good, so buy ’em now; there’s a good chance they’ll be collectible later.)
Vixen: Return of the Lion #5 (of 5) — Writer: G. Willow Wison; Artist: Cafu
Another mini-series with a female main character that managed to keep a consistent, appealing approach to its heroine, and build to a satisfying conclusion (although its tone is much different than PW: Hellcat). Cafu, the mononomial artist, has a clean, attractive style much like Lafuentes, and I ended up caring more about the character at the end than I did at the beginning: a very good sign. Weirdly, the cover says “5 of 6,” but this is definitely the conclusion of the story.
Hexed #2 — Writer: Michael Alan Nelson; Art: Emma Rios
My reaction to this second issue is much like the one to the first: it’s professionally done, and I could totally see it as an effects-heavy TV series, ala Supernatural or Charmed or even Buffy, but as a comic it doesn’t quite click; I don’t mind reading it, but its heroine is too derivative of her sources so far for me to care about her, or want to keep it or read it again. Give it a few issues to outgrow its influences, though, and carve its own narrative, and it might amount to something.
Batman and the Outsiders Special #1 — Writer: Peter J. Tomasi; Penciller: Adam Kubert; Inkers: John Dell and Sandu Flores
Meh. Kubert’s use of two-page, read-across-the-gutter spreads (with extra enhancements around the borders) is sometimes interesting, but watching Alfred gather the new Batmanless Outsiders is pretty standard fare. I’ll give you the lineup and spare you some time and expense, but maybe this would be a good time for SPOILERS first… … although since the cover gives it away, maybe not. Anyway, it’s Geoforce, Katana, Black Lightning, Creeper, Metamorpho, Roy Raymond (!), and whoever that chick named Violet with the rainbow auras who was in the original team and wasn’t Looker was… Ah: Halo, yes?).
Trinity #37 — Writer: Kurt Busiek; Artist: Mark Bagley; (backup story): Writers: Busief and Fabien Nicieza; Artists: Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens
I really really like Busiek and Bagley, but at this point I ‘m just listlessly leafing through this title, looking for quick narrative clues to see what’s happening and then sticking it right back on the rack: it’s completely bogged down, a little over 2/3 through it’s arc and with 15 issues still to go, and the light at the end of the tunnel seems very very far away. Maybe it’ll read better as one big story, but the 52-issue weekly comic thing seems like an albatross now: this would have been a much better tale at half the length.
Fire and Brimstone #4 — Writer/Artist: Richard Moore
Speaking of padding — I’ve loved Moore’s stuff, too, from Far West through his little one-handed knockoffs in mags like Milk to, especially, Boneyard, but this new effort, involving an angel and an imp who team up as bounty hunters, seems tired and ‘way too by-the-numbers; this needs an enthusiasm IV, something to goose it into offering double the plot in half the space, before it’ll really be worth reading for keeps.
Phil Mateer
