Ghost Rider #21 — Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Roland Boschi
Aaron brings a deliberate grindhouse sensibility to this book, piling on the twists (Angels! Demons! Ghosts! Cannibals! Killer nurses!), and Boschi’s art has an indy sensibility (he’s somewhat reminiscent of Dalrymple, over on Omega the Unknown) that also can channel EC — one panel looks like vintage Graham Ingels, complete with a saliva line. There’s B-movie sloppiness, too — often, there’s too much going on, and the whole thing keeps threatening to slide into parody — but it’s not dull, and shows encouraging flashes of potential.
Thor #7 — Writer: J. Michael Straczynski; Penciler: Marko Djurdjevic; Inker: Danny Miki
This is a solid comic, but a slow-moving one; after six issues, we’ve only just assembled the cast, and now we seem to be moving to an origin story. Even with its Oklahoma setting, a certain Northern Viking cold and gloom permeate this book, and make it hard to warm up to — but, then, small touches (Donald Blake, the mythological fathers-and-sons stuff, Djurdjevik’s knack for sword-and-sorcery-flavored scenes) keep it interesting, and at the least worth reading.
FX #1 — Writer: Wayne Osborne; Artist: John Byrne
You can see why Byrne would be attracted to this book — it’s a teenager-gets-cool-powers story, and it’s got a fun oldstyle superhero vibe (Giant gorillas? Check. Spunky-friend sidekicks? Check. Shadowy adversary with a skull-like face? Check.) that’s probably a lot like the comics a young John was first attracted to. Its deliberate derivativeness works to its disadvantage — we’ve seen all this, or variations on it, before, often from Byrne himself — but it’s a great gateway drug; it’s kid-friendly, and a reader new to comics could find its open, clear style and concepts to be compelling, and even magical.
Captain Marvel #4 (of 5) — Writer: Brian Reed; Penciler: Lee Weeks; Inks: Jesse Delperdang and Klaus Janson
Lots of Secret Invasion talk, with the interesting idea that maybe all those Skrull plants don’t know they’re Skrulls, until someone says the secret word and their posthypnotic suggestions kick in. If reading that sentence just made your pulse quicken, buy this book; otherwise, it’s a standard next-to-last issue of a mini-series, advancing its mysteries and getting all the dominoes into place for whatever answers are going to come with the conclusion next issue.
Superman/Batman Annual #2 — Writer: Joe Casey; Art: Scott Kolins
I seem to like Casey’s stuff a lot more in theory than actuality — his ideas are good, and his themes are worthwhile and designed to push his characters in well-thought-out directions, but somehow the execution never quite comes off. Here, even for an annual there’s just too much going on, and the story collapses under its complexities, resolving into a standard face-your-fears resolution that feels worn-out and too familiar. The art never quite seems to settle on one style, and isn’t helped by the kind of murky, hide-the-details coloring job that in so many of today’s comics strives for atmosphere, but mostly just obscures the storytelling instead.
Invincible #49 — Writer: Robert Kirkman; Artist: Ryan Ottley
Worth mentioning because it’s the lead-in to the 50th issue, something rare for an Image book — although Kirkman just did it with Walking Dead, too. How has it lasted? It’s standard, classic superhero fare, but polished and confident, and willing to throw enough curveballs at the reader to keep things moving — come to think of it, it’s a lot like Savage Dragon, another under-the-radar book that just keeps going and going, channeling Silver-age sensibilities and updating them just enough to connect with modern readers.
Countdown to Final Crisis #6 — Writers: Paul Dini and Adam Beechen with Keith Giffen; Pencils: Mike Norton; Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
OK, all you old-school Kamandi fans: here’s the Great Disaster, courtesy of a dead Karate Kid and his badass, unstoppable virus infecting the DC Earth. It’s not the “real” DC Earth, mind you, but it’s “a” DC one, and if you got a chill from reading Kamandi #29 back in the day, with its tattered Superman cape as a ghostly reminder of tragedy and vanished heroes, then here’s the beginning that hooks into it.
For everybody else? Eh; it’s just another parallel universe that’s likely to be erased in a few months anyway, right?
Checkmate #24 — Writers: Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann; Pencils: Joe Bennett; Inks: Jack Jadson
Competent black-ops superhero work, enlivened by a big fight with Kobra that pulls in most of the JLA and friends, but of course leaves it to the title organization to try to save the day. Solidly told, but it’s hard to get that excited when your big last-page character reveal is, um, G. I. Robot (I’m sorry, did I just spoil the book for you? Yes: G. I. Robot! Now the shocking return of a character 99% of you never heard of in the first place has been ruined by this irresponsible review! Let the Internet now break in half!)
Phil Mateer
