Punisher War Journal #14 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Artist: Scott Wegener
This title’s been all over the map since its inception — weird, since it’s had the same writer, but the tone has varied enormously. Sometimes, it’s skating close to satire, as here, and that’s probably its best bet (the “serious” Punisher-as-Cap storyline got bogged down and sputtered out in near-incomprehensibility). Fraction likes super-villains — his “Stilt-Man wake” story was probably the best of this series so far, even though you had to kind of squint to ignore all the little continuity impossibilities — and this tale, following an insane Kraven who’s capturing all the “animal”-themed bad guys, like Rhino, Vulture, etc., and putting them in a private zoo, has a similar sense of fun (and a similar disregard for continuity). Wegener’s indy-flavored art reinforces the tongue-in-cheek approach, since it’s impossible to take his jug-eared, cartoony Punisher seriously, even as he’s facing a deathtrap/cliffhanger leading into the next issue; the bottom line is an uneven-but-interesting story that’s at least worth checking out.
The Astounding Wolf-Man #4 — Writer: Robert Kirkman; Artist: Jason Howard
Kirkman at this point is like M. Night Shyamalan; since Invincible, he’s been known for his everything-you-know-is-wrong jolts, but that means that the reader now expects them, and so they lose some impact. Here, his tale of a werewolf trying to be a superhero (while being mentored by a vampire) is engaging enough, and the way the characters suddenly reveal their own selfish interests, or erupt in sudden violence, is intriguing, but the plot twists sometimes seem like they’re there because they’re expected to be, and there’s a little too much sense of Kirkman behind the scenes, pulling the strings, to let the reader settle comfortably into the characters and the story.
Green Lantern Corps #19 — Writer: Peter J. Tomasi; Penciller: Patrick Gleason; Inkers: Various (seriously: six different inkers. What’s up with that?)
The cover says this is an epilogue to the Sinestro War, and it’s exactly that — we check in on each of the main surviving Corps characters for a page or two, on Earth and scattered around the galaxy, and see how they’re recuperating. Not that much actually happens (and there’s the inevitable it’s-not-really-over last page), but if you bought all the rest of the series, get this one, too; it ties up what’s gone before, and clears the stage for whatever’s to come next.
Ion #1 — Writer: Ron Marz; Artist: Michel Lacombe
Another epilogue to the Sinestro War story, really — it’s supposed to be about the “new” Ion, Sodam Yat (the GL from Daxam), but most of the screen time is on Kyle and the other Earth-Lanterns (Kyle gets the prominent cover feature, too). Kind of a bait-and-switch for Kyle fans, since presumably by next issue it’ll just be the new guy (seriously: how do you tell an effective story when your main character is named “Sadam Yat”?), but, as with GL Corps #19, if you have the rest of the Big Crossover Event you’ll probably want this too, just to wrap everything up neatly and complete the set.
X-Men: Die by the Sword #5 (of 5) — Writer: Chris Claremont; Artist: Juan Santacruz
Same strengths and weaknesses as the rest of the series, but notable for the tribute to Dave Cockrum that Claremont inserts into the conclusion — a nice gesture, especially considering the long history those two creators had way back at the beginning of the modern X-franchise.
Countdown to Final Crisis #20 — Writers: Paul Dini and Adam Beechen; Story Consultant: Keith Giffen; Pencils: Howard Porter; Inker: Art Thibert
Trickster’s still dead (and still attached to Piper, in a situation that’s going to get increasingly grotesque over the next 20 weeks), Jimmy Olsen’s still on Apokolips, Karate Kid’s still sick, and Mary Marvel’s still a bitch (although she may have hit bottom this issue; let’s hope the climb back to heroine-ness is more interesting than the descent.). In less repetitive news, Brother Eye and the Omacs infiltrate Bludhaven, and Monarch’s still doing the alternate-heroes-in-the-arena thing. Oh, wait, that’s all repetitive too, isn’t it? My bad; keep ignoring this book; I’ll wake you when something important happens, probably five issues from the “end.”
Salvation Run #2 (of 7) — Writer: Bill Willingham; Penciller: Sean Chen; Inker: Walden Wong
Luthor shows up, makes an inspiring villain-type let’s-get-revenge speech, and rallies his troops. Completely predictable, and Willingham isn’t able to do much to with it, although there’s one amusing throw-the-superfluous-villain-to-the-alien-wolves scene. Nothing to see here; move along.
Superman Confidential #10 — Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning; Pencils: Chris Batista & Andy Smith & Mike Norton; Inkers: Cam Smith & Prentis Rollins & Mike Norton
Did I miss something? Was there a crying need to retell the first meeting of Superman with the New Gods characters, from back in Forever People #1? Were three (!) mediocre pencillers and three (!) similarly mediocre inkers (not to mention the two writers), spread out over three issues, really necessary to update a tale Jack Kirby (and Vinnie Colletta, and probably a little Al Plastino on the Superman faces, but let’s not get started on that) told in one comic? There was no good reason to create this story, and you have no good reason to buy it; pick up one of the many reprints of the original instead.
Phil Mateer
