Hi folks, we’re back! I have nothing important to say at this moment, so let’s do this!
Miracleman #1 Writers/Artists: Various
What a weird book this is! Alan Moore wants no part of it, so the reprints say they’re by “the original writer”. There’s also an interview with the creator of Miracleman, Mick Anglo, and a Golden Age reprint of a story. The first story by Moore and artist Garry Leach is worth noting. Legal issues have tied up these reprints for years, and made the back issues higher priced and harder to find. The story is absolutely fantastic! It’s another one of Moore’s re-imagined heroes with a horrible twist. In this case, Miracleman had no idea who he was, but when he figures it out, he gets ready to see where his former sidekicks are. Those sidekicks may not have the best of intentions… Like I said, the book is worth looking at… six-dollar price point is a bit high, but would you rather pay hundreds for the back issues? It’s fun stuff and worth noting just for the amount of history contained in the pages.
Daredevil #35 Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Chris Samnee
I’m sure you know this, but this volume of Daredevil comes to an end next issue. So Waid is having to wrap up plot threads and put things together before moving on to the next writer… oh wait… Waid IS the next writer! I have no idea what to expect from the final issue of this book, but in this issue, Waid puts a slight cap on pieces of the whole puzzle. While we aren’t getting things with Foggy quite where they need to be, it looks like all the recent issues with Hydra will be put to bed by the next issue. The surprise twist at the end has happened before, but in a different way, so it works in this case. This has consistently been one of the best comics on the stands, and I expect the next volume to be more of the same.
Disney Kingdoms Seekers of the Weird #1 Writer: Brandon Seifert Artist: Karl Moline
As the title suggests, this is a very weird book. The Museum of the Weird was an attraction that was supposed to arrive in Disneyland, but due to Walt Disney’s passing, never came to be. So this comic is the story of two kids who, through a series of unfortunate events (parents die… it’s clearly a Disney idea), end up with their uncle in the previously mentioned museum. This first issue works really well, building up characters, concept and ideas all together into an interesting issue. Moline is given a ton of stuff to work with, demons, creatures and fight scenes galore. It’s a really fun first issue, and I look forward to reading the rest.
Fantastic Four #16 Writer: Matt Fraction Artist: Karl Kesel
So Fraction’s run on Fantastic Four and FF comes to a close with a weird little whimper. Conceptually, it’s amazing. Doom, the Annihilating Conqueror, has to fight a couple teams of FF in an all-out battle for humanity! Sounds amazing, right? Well, it just doesn’t pay off quite right. Part of the problem is that Fraction has been off of the book for quite some time. His concepts are being dragged through another person’s script. It makes it all weird! Add to it the fact that Mark Bagley and Mike Allred, the original artists of the book, jumped ship as well, and you just get a huge pile of something that could have been amazing but petering out into a whimper of a finish. It may be worth a re-read, but man, did this feel unsatisfying! Oh well, there’s a new Fantastic Four series starting next month!
Thunderbolts #20 Writer: Charles Soule Artist: Carlo Barberi
Thor: God of Thunder #17 Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Ron Garney
So Marvel has a lot of books coming out, and they come out quickly, so I figured I’d check in on a couple of the ones that we don’t really talk about much in reviews. Thunderbolts is the beginning of a new story, and it’s a lot of fun. The group has been going after character-specific missions for a while now, but during the last crossover, they found a new big threat, and now they have to take care of that. It’s fun stuff with good character work from Soule. On the other hand, Thor’s latest story is coming to an end. He’s been fighting dark elves for about five issues now, and now everything comes to a head. The Thor book works for the little bits; Aaron creates characters and then gives them amazing one-liners. Both of these books are just moving their stories along, and it’s real good stuff.
Onto the quick hits!
Powerpuff Girls #5 Writer/Artist: Troy Little: What makes these old school cartoon books work is when a creator knows and appreciates the work. This is absolutely the case. Great stuff.
Adventure Time #24 Writer: Ryan North Artist: Shelli Paroline & Braden Lamb: This book is just ridiculous enough to be the best thing ever. Worth getting trades of and picking up every single issue you can get your hands on.
Black Dynamite #1 Writer: Brian Ash Artist: Ron Wimberly: This is a very weird book. It’s right in the vein of the movie, so if you’re into that, then go for it.
X-Files Conspiracy #1 Writer: Paul Crilley Artist: John Stanisci: I wanted to get all the X-Files books, but the art on this is just painful. It’s going to be the Lone Gunmen vs. IDW’s properties, and it’s funny, but man, that art is rough.
Velvet #3 Writer: Ed Brubaker Artist: Steve Epting: It’s hard to talk about a book like this when it’s still only 3 issues old. I love everything about it, but I still want to see what we’re going to get overall.
Alex + Ada #3 Writers: Sarah Vaughn and Jonathan Luna Artist: Luna: This book is similar to Velvet, there’s a lot of pieces of good stuff, but I want to see an end product. Really good stuff so far though, and so pretty.
Li’l Battlestar Galactica #1 Writer/Artist: Art Baltazar & Franco: Apparently, the Tiny Titans guys are doing these one shots all over the place now, and they are insane. It’s hilarious but crazy, totally worth checking out.
Justice League of America #11 Writer: Matt Kindt Artist: Eddy Barrows: Pieces of the Forever Evil puzzle keep moving as Martian Manhunter and Stargirl try to battle for freedom. It’s a fun piece of the overall story, worth noting if you really dig Forever Evil.
Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #4 Writer: Brian Buccellato Artist: Scott Hepburn: For those of you that enjoyed the main Flash book, Buccellato works with the Rogues in this mini. It’s fun stuff, and another side piece of Forever Evil worth checking out.
And that’s the week! See you next time kids!
“The” Dan Jacka
