Hulk #17 — Writer: Jeph Loeb; Pencils: Ian Churchill; Inks: Mark Farmer
I checked in with this title to see if it had gotten any better; the short answer is “no.” There’s a red She-Hulk now, but otherwise everyone continues to be a cynical 13-year-old’s view of the world: they’re all mean, violent bullies, out for themselves (Churchill draws them all with perpetual scowls). This issue is mostly characters standing around talking, too — even as they’re trying to strangle one another or throw each other off tall buildings — and Loeb amplifies the talkiness by using a perpetual internal monologue, in an attempt to gain some sympathy for his murderous main character. It doesn’t work, because the guy’s a creep; so is everyone, though, and that’s this book’s fatal flaw.
Dark Wolverine #80 — Writers: Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu; Pencils: Stephen Segovia and Paco Diaz Luque; Inks: Sandu Florea, Guillermo Ortego and Jay Leisten
Speaking of everyone being a creep…. Daken is a disastrous peg to build a book around, because, while he’s a psycho, he’s not even an interesting one. Way’s been masking that fact by teaming him up with others (since he’s too much a cypher for readers to care about by himself), like Deadpool, but here he’s only got a couple of C-level villains to slaughter, and the even-less-interesting Norman Osborn to exchange grim threats with. With two writers and five artists, the book’s a narrative and visual disaster, too, with ugly, inconsistent art and a story that’s simultaneously confusing and depressing. If you read comics to make yourself feel bad about the world, by all means pick up this book.
Creepy #2 — Writers: Dan Braun, Mike Baron, Joe R. Lansdale, Joe Harris, Dave Sims; Art: Greg Ruth, Nathan Fox, Rahsan Ekedal, Jason S. Alexander, Angelo Torres and Russ Heath
Much closer to the original source material than the disastrous Tales from the Crypt: we’re given moody black-and-white short stories by a variety of creators, most of which would have fit comfortable into the old magazine, icluding one classic reprint: the Sims/Heath “Shadow of the Axe!” It’s a little late for Hallowe’en, but if you liked the old Warren stuff, you might find this worth picking up — there’s even a brief interview with Angelo Torres, and one of his patented “Loathsome Lore” pages on torture devices.
Fantastic Four #573 — Writer: Jonathan Hickman; Art: Neil Edwards
Hickman’s settled nicely into this series (he already seems a more comfortable fit than the much-more-heralded Millar), and this self-contained episode is a good example of his strengths: the big concepts combined with the small family personality bits, as Ben and Johnnie take the kids on what they think will be a small holiday on Nu-Earth. Edwards’s art isn’t terrible, but except for a few glimmers it lacks the necessary pizzazz; the real star of the book is Alan Davis and Mark Farmer’s cover, a perfect shot of the guys and their charges at an alien fast-food court, as Johnnie chats up a scantily-clad waitress and Ben, horrified, uses his massive paws to protect the kids from the sight of alien booty. What really makes the picture are the little touches: the delighted looks on the kids’ faces; Franklin’s mouth full of food; the Dan Akroyd conehead at the next table. That combination of the exotic and the human is what Edwards needs to grow into, if he’s going to do the book justice.
The Incredible Hercules #138 — Writers: Greg Pak and Fred van Lente; Art: Rodney Buchemi
Guest-starring the Agents of Atlas and the Avengers (plus Amadeus Cho and pretty much the entire Olympian pantheon), as Pak and van Lente weave together all kinds of threads, from all kinds of places, ably assisted by Buchemi’s competent, mainstream-solid art. As a carefully-constructed confection involving the core Marvel Universe, it’s a pleasant diversion; the Herc-Cho buddy relationship is what holds it together, although the writers are able to show off their ability to give almost everyone a few good in-character moments.
Ms. Marvel #47 — Writer: Brian Reed; Art: Mike McKone, Rob Disalvo and Derec Donovan
Worth noting for Spider-Man fans, as Carol Danvers and Peter Parker go on a date. Fairly predictable, but fun enough, and readable: the problem is the art, by three different artists with three different styles, so that the book ends up looking like one of those somebody-got-sick, done-in-a-weekend rush jobs. Too bad; just when Reed turns in a good script, the visual end lets him down.
Web of Spider-Man #2 — Writers: Fred van Lente, Tom Defalco and Tom Peyer; Art: Barry Kitson, Ron Frenz/Sal Buscema and Javier Rodriguez
If you weren’t paying attention when the first issue of this revival dropped, it’s a reduced version of the previous Spider-Man Family: three stories, a total of 35 pages, for $3.99. The first is an Electro origin that ties into Amazing’s current “Gauntlet” storyline; the middle story is 14 pages of Spider-Girl, by her regular crew, and is probably the best reason to pick up this book, especially for fans of her just-cancelled title. The last story is a J. Jonah Jameson tale, lightweight but competent, and just about what you’d expect. As with Hercules, it’s not a bad way to spend $4 and a half hour, provided you can spare both the money and the time.
Phil Mateer
