Irredeemable #2 — Writer: Mark Waid; Artist: Peter Krause
I don’t like Waid when he’s in this fan-fiction mode (What if Lois Lane reacted with disgust and betrayal at Clark Kent’s revelation that he was Superman, exposing his identity, driving him away and eventually turning him into an apparent mass murderer? Yeah: what if? I don’t care). The best thing here is the house ad for Waid’s upcoming The Unknown, said to be “in the vein of Ruse,” Waid’s Victorian supernatural-detective series for Crossgen. Yes, more of that, please.
Run! #1 (of 6) — Writer: Matthew Sturges; Artist: Freddie Williams II
Superhero noir with the Human Flame, a low-level crook with a gimmick who got suckered by Grant Morrison into making a play for the big time by killing the Martian Manhunter, and is now trying to keep a step ahead of the cops, the heroes, and the other villains who all want his head. Workmanlike story; better than workmanlike art; worth a look.
Deadpool #10 — Writer: Daniel Way; Penciler: Paco Medina; Inker: Juan Vlasco
Wade vs. Hawk/Bullseye, and if that makes you want to go buy this, then go buy it; it’s a fun comic. Way is sort of like Garth Ennis without the occasional seriousness, and Deadpool’s a perfect match for his strengths: inventive mathem and tongue-in-cheek but sharp dialogue. Witness the three-page sequence that closes the book; it’s kind of stupid, when you think about it, but if you squint and say OK, it’s Bullseye, whatever, then it’s kind of cool and funny, too, especially if you’re a fan of early Steve Martin routines.
Battle for the Cowl: The Network #1 (of 1) — Writer: Fabian Nicieza; Pencillers: Don Kramer and J. Calafiore; Inker: Mark McKenna
An updated Birds of Prey, with Barbara coordinating all the Gotham Heroes Who Aren’t Batman. With Nicieza, you know you’re getting very very smooth plotting; everything clicks together and falls into place and works as a story. However, it’s a story about Hugo Strange, whom only Steve Englehart and (I’m guessing) Bill Finger ever made work as more than a generic villain, so eh. It’s a non-embarrassing chapter of the ongoing Batman saga, better than many, so if you’re buying all of them here it is.
Fin Fang Four Return! #1 (of 1) — Creators: Scott Gray and Roger Langridge
Humor in the Marvel-parody tradition of Not Brand Echh (or Crazy, if you’re of that era), a sequel to the previous one-shot involving a quartet of pre-super-hero Marvel monsters (Elektro, Gorgilla, Googam (son of Goom), and the titular Fin Fang Foom, if you really have to know) trying to integrate themselves into society; it does a good job of channeling some of Marie Severin’s slightly-exaggerated cartoony style, although the stories themselves actually have a little heart hiding in amongst the jokes.
New Mutants #1 — Writer: Zeb Wells; Pencils: Diogenes Neves; Inks: Cam Smith with Ed Tadeo
I could swear I saw an ad for this that said “by the original artists,” and I’d have totally bought a Claremont/Sal Buscema comic, or even Claremont/Sienkiewicz, but Wells/Neves? I mean, it has all the right characters doing OK things, but Ilyana’s got this big backstory now so she has to be creepy, and anyway this is a second-generation relaunch of The New Mutants, which does nothing but make me feel old. The Silver Age had Lee and Kirby reviving the Sub-Mariner and Captain America; the late Bronze Age had Claremont and Byrne fulfilling the potential of the X-Men, and now we have Wells and Neves offering a New Mutants for the ’10s. Not to put those creators in unfair company, but geez….
Power Girl #1 — Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Art: Amanda Conner
Compare this to this week’s Jonah Hex, and you’ll see the difference between a writer’s calling and a job: both are by Palmiotti and Gray, and both have quirky, good artists, but Hex is stylish, confident fun, and Girl is all backstory infodump and supporting cast setup and boring nemesis superfoe; Conner does what she can, but it’s thin material, resolutely average, and not an encouraging start.
Phil Mateer
