Tag Archives: Journey into Mystery
Phil’s Reviews — Stuff I Bought #238
OK, people, there were a ton of decent books this week — a holiday bounty partly because there will be only a handful for next week (although Amazing Spider-Man #700, and Avenging Spider-Man #15.1, the next chapter in the story after that, will both be out) — so let’s get to them. Marvel’s many relaunches lead the pack; I had my doubts about Marvel Now!, but have to admit that reshuffling the creative teams and starting from scratch led to (a) a lot of satisfying conclusions to the old runs, and (b) a lot of intriguing beginnings to the new … Continue reading
Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #232
Journey Into Mystery #644 — Writers: Kieron Gillen and Matt Fraction; Art: Carmine di Giandomenico I’ve made it no secret how much I like Teen Loki: instead of a stereotypical cackling villain, he’s a kid trying desperately to do the right thing, and he’s willing to cheat, lie and piss off any powerful adult figures to do it. That makes him, simultaneously, a typical Trickster archetype and a typical adolescent, and leads frequently to results like the one on this issue’s cover. In the capable hands of Gillen and Fraction, we’ve actually come to care about the little hustler; here’s … Continue reading
Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #231
Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 — Creators: Los Bros Hernandez This is in the Hernandez Brothers’ current format: a new trade each year, for $14.99, with 100 pages of stories: a look at the new generation of characters in Palomar, from Gilbert, while Jaime provides a series of LA tales involving Vivian and her sister. There’s no Maggie or Hopey, since their story was concluded in last year’s “The Love Bunglers,” and while what’s here isn’t quite at the level of that issue (no sin, since it was one of the best Hernandez offerings ever, and the best comic … Continue reading
Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #230
Detective Comics Annual #1 — Writer: Tony Daniel; Art: Romano Molenaar and Sandu Florea; Pere Perez Flash Annual #1 — Writers: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato; Breakdowns: Manapul; Finishes: Marcus To; Scott Kolins; Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert; Marcio Takara; Wes Craig Green Lantern Annual #1 — Writer: Geoff Johns; Art: Ethan Van Sciver with Pete Woods and Cam Smith Justice League International Annual #1 — Writers: Geoff Johns and Dan Didio; Art: Jason Fabok DC came out with a number of annuals this week, and they’re fascinating because of the different approaches they offer to the genre. Detective is … Continue reading
Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #225
Casanova: Avaritia #4 (of 4) — Writer: Matt Fraction; Art: Gabriel Ba Invincible Iron Man #519 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Art: Salvador Larroca Fraction’s career arc with critics sometimes reminds me of Bendis’s — people who liked him when he was new and different and an indie star now have a vague resentment for his mainstream success, and are tired of his various literary tics and fallbacks, leading to a lot of bitching about how he’s no good any more. Casanova is the antidote to that, his creator-owned book that (like Powers for Bendis) he’s kept up as a labor … Continue reading
