Tag Archives: Journey into Mystery

Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #225

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Phil

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 →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #223

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Phil

Batman Incorporated #1 — Writer: Grant Morrison;  Art: Chris Burnham After almost a year, it’s nice to have this back, and Morrison offers many of his old tricks: the first-page flash-forward, showing Bruce Wayne in a bad place; the vast conspiracies; the perspective switch to humanize one of the faceless minions; the shock ending; Batman and Damian and Talia and all the moves and counter-moves between Wayne’s forces and Leviathan’s: then, add the art, which is quite good at communicating the action, and looks Quitely-like in some of the expressions and poses (Morrison’s scripts have similar effects on his artists). … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #220

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Phil

America’s Got Powers #1 (of 6) — Writer: Jonathan Ross;  Art: Bryan Hitch Ross is the former British talk-show host who’s a big comics geek, and has dabbled in writing them before (Turf, about Prohibition-era vampires, came out a year or two ago). Here, he’s snagged Bryan Hitch as artist, which helps his cause considerably. The comic itself is nakedly commercial: it’s a mashup of J. Michael Straczynski’s  Rising Stars (radiation from a mysterious meteor causes a bunch of kids whose mothers are exposed to it to be born with super-powers), America’s Got Talent (there’s a reality show wherein the … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #218

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Phil

Saga #1 — Writer: Brian K. Vaughan;  Art: Fiona Staples Vaughan’s last extended series was Y: The Last Man, so he’s got a reputation to uphold, and this debut issue does so nicely: it’s a fantasy/Star Wars/Romeo and Juliet mashup, with all the sprawl its name implies — but this first issue focuses very tightly on just two characters, and the third one they produce. It’s very well done, and Staples brings enormous talent to the drawing: she’s just the kind of artist I admire, able to work with small human expressions and double-page city-destroying splashes (with giant turtles added!) … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #209

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Phil

Rachel Rising #3 — Writer/Artist: Terry Moore We’re still in “set up the mystery” mode, as the title character, having clawed her way out of a shallow grave, exhibits spooky precog powers and watches bad things happen to other people. There’s some kind of possession thing going on, and it’s all very well staged, and drawn very prettily too. Echo, Moore’s last effort, was remarkably well thought out, so I trust that the eventual explanation here will be a lot of fun, and involve a lot of action. With only four issues so far, readers still have time to get in … Continue reading →

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