All right folks, we’re back in action. Not a bad week for comics, but only a few that really stood out. Let’s do this!
Elektra #1 Writer: W. Haden Blackman Artist: Mike Del Mundo
The first few pages of this issue threw me off. It was a fair amount of talking, reminding the reader about just who Elektra was and what had come before. The art style is pretty jarring. But once you actually focus and see that every panel of every page is telling a story, you realize that this book is shockingly well put together. In a similar vein to the Black Widow series, Elektra puts the assassin on her own fighting some weird new villains all the while dealing with her personal struggles. It’s a really great book, and Del Mundo draws the crap out of every splash page he has. In the process of flipping through it again, I found myself analyzing every panel just to get every piece of what was going on. It was fantastic stuff.
Original Sin #0 Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Jim Cheung
This is kind of a hard book to analyze. I want to like it, I want to like it a lot, but I just don’t know that I do. If you’re looking for someone to dig deep into the history of the Marvel Universe, you can do much worse than Waid… and Cheung is always a good artist to kick off an event. I read through the issue, it looked good, and the content was solid, but man, I just don’t care. The angsty kid Nova has already been kinda rough, and pairing him with a Watcher that just doesn’t feel like talking is just not working out. I feel like this is the kind of event that is going to be obsessed with explaining the Watcher’s entire history, and that’s actually going to make the Watcher seem really lame. I worry about this storyline, and this issue does nothing to alleviate those fears.
Secret Origins #1 Writer/Artist: Various
Sometimes you just need to keep things simple. Secret Origins is a book that will, it is hoped, be quick introductions of characters to set up their stories. The first is Greg Pak and Lee Weeks setting up Superman’s Kryptonian roots. It works well. Second, Kyle Higgins and Doug Mahnke tell a story about Dick Grayson coping with the death of his parents. It’s the best story of the book because Mahnke is a fantastic artist, and Higgins has had a grip on the character since the beginning of the New 52. Tony Bedard and Paulo Siqueira talk about Supergirl, and I kinda phased out cause I don’t really care about Supergirl. Two out of three, not bad! I figure this book will obviously depend on the team and the characters, but this first issue is a step in the right direction.
Zero #7 Writer: Ales Kot Artist: Matt Taylor
Zero is a strange book. Every issue is a story about the same spy, covering all his memories of the strange things he has to deal with. They are told as one-shot stories, sometimes with different artists, and in not discernible order. While that sounds complicated, it leads to really amazing one-shot stories. You can pick up an issue of Zero, and read it completely independent of any other issues, and just get a good-old fashioned spy and espionage story. If you’ve read every issue, there are hints of the chronological order of things, and that makes the series even better, but the individual issues are just as fantastic overall. So good. So very, very good.
And now some quick hits!
Daredevil #2 Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Chris Samnee: Do you ever get tired of me gushing over Daredevil? You don’t? Neither do I. It’s totally rad. Just go buy it already.
Mind MGMT #21 Writer/Artist: Matt Kindt: Remember everything I just said about Daredevil? Repeat for Mind MGMT. It’s absolutely fantastic, and this issue just keeps getting better.
Batman/Superman #8 Writer: Greg Pak Artist: Jae Lee: I’m on the fence about this book, and with the weird tie-in to World’s Finest, I’m leaning away. The Jae Lee art is completely fantastic though. So nice to look at.
Powers Bureau #9 Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Michael Avon Oeming: Powers used to be amazing, but it’s erratic release schedule has made it impossible to keep track of. I want to love it, but I just can’t keep the story straight anymore.
Manhattan Projects #20 Writer: Jonathan Hickman Artist: Nick Pitarra: This book is still firing on all cylinders. And, in my opinion, the best book on the market… and it just keep getting better! One sentence to describe this book: All the lies about Albert Einstein you never knew you needed to know.
Conan the Avengers #1 Writer: Fred Van Lente Artist: Brian Ching: A competent follow-up to Brian Wood’s recent run. Van Lente will always give you great stuff, and this is no exception.
The Flash #30 Writer: Robert Venditti & Van Jensen Artist: Brett Booth: Bleh. What a step down in quality from the last team on the book. Ugh, it’s really too bad. This book used to be amazing, now it’s just “meh.”
Justice League United #0 Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Mike McKone: I want to like this book, but I legitimately don’t remember what happened in it. That can’t be a good statement on its quality, right?
The Saviors #4 Writer: James Robinson Artist: J. Bone: The art continues to be stellar, and the story continues to be so well made that this is one of the most fun comics to read on the market. Good stuff.
And that’s the week! See you folks next time!
“The” Dan Jacka
