The Immortal Iron Fist #9 — Writers: Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker; Artist: David Aja;
The Immortal Iron Fist Annual #1 — Writers: Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction; Artists: Howard Chaykin, Dan Brereton and Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic
I oughtta be getting this. Issue #9 continues the “7 Capital Cities of Heaven” martial-arts contest story, with some unexpected twists, and that leads into the annual, as Danny searches out an old friend of the 1930s Iron Fist, who has valuable information about his history. The annual’s flashback adventures to the 1930s have Brereton art, and his lush pulp style fits the period perfectly, while Chaykin (who’s been all over the place lately) adds his smooth sophistication to the “modern” sequences. I admire all of it, but somehow I’m just not interested enough in Iron Fist, and the byzantine complexities of K’un L’un and all the plots and counterplots of this current storyline, to keep it. It’s definitely a quality comic, though.
Superman Confidential #6 — Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Penciller: Koi Turnbull; Inker: Sandra Hope
Speaking of quality comics… not here, because this is a train wreck. It’s a fill-in, to start with, instead of the climax to the Tim Sale story of the last five issues that readers were expecting. Gray and Palmiotti’s plot involves a Lori Lemaris retcon that ends up with Metropolis underwater, Superman brainwashed, and the entire cast mermaids and mermen; it’s cobbled-together bits and pieces from everywhere, and by the time we see Lois crying, tears streaming from her eyes underwater, it just seems stupid. The art strings together too many soft-core porn poses with clothes on, sort of like Michael Turner but scratchier, more angular and with even less knowledge of anatomy, and the whole package is just kind of ugly and depressing.
Killing Girl #2 — Creator/Writer: Glen Brunswick; Artist: Frank Espinosa
Well, this went south quickly — the first issue compensated for the silly paint-by-numbers script with Espinosa’s startling, retro-’50s coloring and art, but with some of the novelty gone this issue’s visuals seem more confusing than cutting-edge, and the script is even sillier, and more pointlessly violent, than the first; the potential of last issue is buried under predictable, TV-dumb plot twists and character beats. Interesting to page through, but not worth the effort to actually read.
Blue Beetle # 19 — Writers: John Rogers and Keith Giffen; Penciller: David Baldeon; Inker: Steve Bird
Another book I oughtta be buying — Jaime and his cast are interesting people, who don’t act in stock, predictable ways, and their young-adult struggles to handle grownup problems (along with the occasional giant super-villainess rampaging through their town) are fun to watch (the Jaime/Traci 13 relationship is especially good). Ultimately, though, it just seems a little too lightweight for me, even as I admire its competence and sense of fun.
Sub-Mariner #4 (of 6) — Writers: Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson; Artist: Phil Briones
Subby gets his little ankle-wings ripped up (partly, since he can still sort of fly, although let’s not even get started on how that’s remotely possible anyway), Venom gets his tongue ripped out, and the readers — who see a lot of pointless talking and punching, and still, after four issues, don’t get to see Namor do anything underwater — just get ripped off.
Countdown to Adventure #2 ( of 8 ) — (Main Story): Writer: Adam Beechen; Pencils: Eddy Barrows; Inks: Julio Ferreira (Second Story): — Writer: Justin Gray; Pencils: Travis Moore; Inks: Saleem Crawford
Ah — at least we get an explanation for last issue’s everybody-on-Rann-is-a-butthead plot: Adam (along with Starfire and Animal Man on Earth?) is a carrier of some kind of psychic plague involving the all-powerful evil space-chick from 52, the one that they supposedly killed and whose name I’m too lazy to remember or go look up. Competent scripting, but generic art, and the Adam’s-an-outcast thing has been done to death before; the only one of these people I care about is Animal Man, and only then when he’s written by Grant Morrison. The backup story involves Forerunner, who’s this current Crisis continuity’s splashy-new-character answer to Harbinger and Pariah in the old Crisis, and is almost exactly as boring as they were.
Captain America: The Chosen #2 (of 6) — Writer: David Morrell; Artist: Mitch Breitweiser
Basically the same plot as the first issue — an American soldier in the modern-day Middle East fights, and has hallucinations involving Cap, who’s lying in a high-tech hospital gurney and watching the soldier on a video screen. There’s no apparent connection to current Marvel continuity; it’s just an annoyingly coy story (Is the soldier real? Is Cap real? Who’s the hallucination? Who cares?), one that’s hitting all the standard notes about the honor and courage of being a soldier, and moving at a glacial pace.
Phil Mateer
