Lucifer, Batman

Catching up on some trades.

Batman: Rebirth 1, Batman 1-6

The start of the Tom King run.  I bought the first couple issues when they first came out after reading his phenomenal work on Vision.  I was far less impressed by his Batman, and stopped after four issues. But after reading some later trades changed my mind, I went back and got the first collection.  It’s still not the best, but it sets some things up for future storylines.

Batman 33-44, Batman Annual 2

I suppose I’ll save the full review for when I get around to the re-read.  But in the meantime, I’ll just say that the two parter with Superman and Lois is as delightful as comics get.  Lee Weeks crushes the annual issue. Mikel Janin continues to dazzle me with his art.

I love the concept, but I have serious storytelling nitpicks with the way Selina shops for wedding dresses.  And the Wonder Woman two-parter have been more compelling if it wasn’t a direct rip off of Action 761.

Poor Diana.  It's not her fault writers keep placing her in these situations.

Sandman Presents: Lucifer 1-3

As with The Dreaming, I picked this up with the hope that it would provide even a little bit of the fix Sandman gave me.  And while he never reaches the heights of Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey climbs pretty high himself.  He hits just enough of the familiar spots to tie it to the parent title - the Lux bar, Pharamond the God of Transportation, Mazikeen, Duma and Remiel.  Most importantly, he nails the dry, understated arrogance of someone who has absolutely every reason to be confident in his supreme abilities.

The story is a lot of setup for the main series, and I appreciate the cajones of someone using a mini-series to plant seeds for a comic that may not have even happened.  

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Heartthrobs, Light Brigade, Little Endless Storybook

Heartthrobs 2-4

I picked up the rest of the miniseries after liking the stories in the first issue.  And after reading them, I’m pretty sure I’ve now bought these issues for the second time.  I remember some of these stories, and must have cut them for poor quality.

The second issue does very little for me.  Brian Azzarello and Tim Bradstreet’s murder mystery includes a mild twist at the end, but not enough to merit the pages spent on it.  Jericho by Doselle Young and Tony Salmons tells a completely uninteresting story about a stripper and the customer she refuses to let into her heart.  At least Ilya’s story about the man who’s addicted to screwing stone is moderately amusing, with equally entertaining art by Frank Quitely. But it’s far too slight to justify the cost of the book.  

The third issue quickly finds itself down 0-2 in the count with flat out bad segments by Simon Revelstroke and Marguerite van Cook.  At this point, I’ve completely written off the first issue as a fluke, and written off this purchase as money ill-spent. (For a second time.)  

Peter Milligan and Eduardo Risso prevent the strikeout with a solid base hit, presenting the quirky romance between a young literature researcher and a long dead poet.  The resolution of their “breakup” made me smile with its cleverness.

The final issue also starts with two absolute clunkers.  The final story isn’t that good either, but I do like how Danijel Zezelj visualizes an online chat room as if it were a physical space.  It’s a clever conceit by Steve Gerber, but the story itself is as basic an dull as its two predecessors.

I wish that past me had thought of some way to warn present me that I only had the first issue for a reason.  Could have saved me some money. But if to serve no other purpose than to prevent this from happening a third time, I’m keeping these around.

Regret buying? Yes

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Didn’t suck

Light Brigade 1-4

I usually appreciate genre fusion in most of my entertainment media.  It can lead to some really cool outcomes - Cop procedural + Superheroes = Top Ten.  Jane Austen + Undead = Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But mixing historical war comics with angels is not something towards which I am naturally inclined.  There’s a gravitas and respect that soldiers, even fictional ones, deserve, and tossing in something outlandish that can potentially trivialize their struggle is off-putting to me.  Which isn’t to say it can’t be done. I like how Darwyn Cooke handled it in New Frontier. He respected the Losers, even as they were fighting dinosaurs on a lost island.

Any excuse to show Cooke art.

I would not have believed that a platoon of American WWII soldiers fighting fallen angels was tonally possible.  But Peter Tomasi and Peter Snejbjerg tell a gripping story while hitting all of the best tropes - A ragged band of veteran soldiers, each with just enough personality to make their interactions interesting.  Each with just enough personality to make their inevitable sacrifices in service of the mission sting. The battles are gripping, tension-filled affairs, and the supernatural elements fit in far more smoothly than I could have imagined.  

I like how after all of the insanity with the undead hordes, sword of God, and original Cross, Tomasi ends the story with the delivery of the group’s final letters to their families.  The humanity of the soldiers remains the most important aspect of the story, and it’s a sign of the respect that I referred to earlier. A very fine job by the creative team.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Little Endless Storybook

Jill Thompson is so very good at drawing this incarnation of The Endless.  What started out as a throwaway page in Sandman’s Brief Lives story arc spawned multiple spinoff issues.  Unfortunately, I’m not really sure who this book is meant for.  If it’s meant for adult fans of Sandman, the story is far too simplistic to provide much entertainment value, even with the delightful art.  And I don’t see how kids will appreciate the appearance of the seven Endless. It’s a problem that doesn’t have a satisfying answer.

I particularly like the way Thompson paints Delirium's hair

The whole lil' family

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Fine

Jack of Fables, Action Comics, Walk Through Hell, Doomsday Clock

New comics!

A Walk Through Hell 3

I wish that the cover hadn’t given away what would have been a shocking page-turn reveal, but the visual is still jaw-dropping nonetheless.  In any case, things start making sense with this issue. The bad guy makes himself known, and this series is no longer just a mood piece. A plot starts to emerge, hinting at something that I’m sure will be terrifying.  I’m feeling a lot better about sticking with this Garth Ennis title. (As opposed to something like Jimmy’s Bastards, which I wish I had dropped earlier than I did.)

Imagine it with the skin on.

Doomsday Clock 6

Halfway through the series and I still don’t know where it’s going.  I’m not complaining, though. Geoff John continues to focus on the characters from the Watchmen universe, and as long as he writes them this vividly, I’ll deal whatever release schedule he wants.  Still loving Mime and Marionette, though I suspect that continued exposure will make them less interesting after Doomsday Clock ends. It’s a combination of Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, and the novelty of their schtick that makes them sparkle, and it just doesn’t feel sustainable.  (Though I fervently hope that it is.)

Action Comics 1001

First off, David Mack cover!

Loving Bendis’ Superman portrayal.  Which is good, because I’m less impressed by his new villain (Red Cloud) and his new annoying reporter (Trish Q).

Jack of Fables 21-26

Yeah, so not interested.  I don’t care about Jack, his adventures, the Literals, Revise, Bookburner, or just about anything else in this title.  Jack of Fables has two things going for it: Hot librarians (not very evolved of me) and Babe.  Apparently twenty-six issues was how far those two things can carry a substandard comic book before I quit buying it.  I won’t be missing these at all.

     

Regret buying? Yes

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Didn’t suck (cutting)

Jack of Fables, Black Widow

Jack of Fables 1-20

I clearly bought this title because Bill Willingham’s run on Fables ranks up there with the best, and more in the same universe by the same writer must be a good things.  Right?

Yeah, no.  The problem is clearly Jack.  He’s a cad, and an unlikeable one at that.  Every one of his decisions is driven by his base need for sex, money, or power.  Not to say that it isn’t possible to create compelling stories with those motivations, but at some point, I need more than out out of my protagonist.  Jack has no heart of gold, like Tommy Monaghan in Hitman.  Unlike Cassidy in Preacher, he doesn’t even attempt to struggle again his weaknesses.  And he’s not funny enough to get away with it the way How I Met Your Mother’s Barney can.  

The result is a character who bounces from adventure to adventure with no consequences.  He inevitably ends up where he started, no lesson learned. His companions don’t add anything to the mix - Wicked John and Raven have no personalities, the librarian sisters seem to exist solely as objects of lust for Jack, and Gary the Pathetic Fallacy is as sad of a sack as his title suggests.  

The only bright spot in this title starts his glorious string of appearances in issue 13: Babe the Ox.  The blue bovine get a page of monologue per issue, and he never fails to make it count.

The only thing keeping me from cutting these issues from my collection was the fact that I’d be losing these inspired nuggets of storytelling.  Luckily, I discovered these pages, and with these works of art now safely saved away, I can happily divest myself of this mediocre title.      

Shoutout to Tony Akins for perfectly depicting the look of someone who really doesn’t want to do something:

"But I don't wannaaaaaaa!!!!"

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Fine, sliding down to Didn’t Suck by the end.  (Cutting)

Black Widow vol 3 3

I found this online to fill the gap in my collection.  It gets the same grade as the rest of the series.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice

I Die at Midnight, Magic Order, Runaways, DMZ

Finishing off the new comics from last week:

Magic Order 2

The bad magicians keep on killing the good magicians.  It’s entertaining enough to read, and Olivier Coipel continues to draw the heck out of it.  But it’s Cordelia’s origin that stole the show. I legit lolled at her first public performance.  Her youthful exuberance, the teachers’ reactions, and her classmates’ complete willingness to light her on fire cracked me up.  A+ on that sequence.

Runaways 11

Wonderful character development for Vic and Gert.  Even better was the team’s quick acceptance of the decisions that they make - Vic would rather have no body than a weaponized one, and Gert make the counter-counter-establishment decision of dying her hair back to its original color.  

They’re far less understanding of Klara’s decision to stay with her new foster family.  First of all, I’m so happy that Rainbow Rowell hadn’t forgotten about her. Second, I love that she’s found happiness and a peaceful life.  Finally, I also like that the Runaways still have their blindspots, especially when it comes to their view of adults. Their universal distrust of anyone older serves as a tragic reminder of how emotionally damaged they are from their parental woes.  

I hope this is the last we see of Klara, I want her to have a happy ending.

Doombot continues to rule.

DMZ 35-49

I borrowed these from the library.  I am glad that past me did not buy them.  With the election of Parco Delgado, Brian Wood really starts getting into the meat of what I imagine is DMZ’s main narrative.  Unfortunately, that means that Matty Roth completes his transformation from impartial journalist to Delgado shill. Once that happens, the power gets to his head, he completely fucks up, and winds up with the blood of fourteen civilians on his hands.  By the end of the last trade, he’s lost any semblance of sympathy from me. And while I still kind of want to find out how this all ends, the library doesn’t have the rest of the series, and I’m not that broken up about it. Maybe I’ll read it at a Barnes and Noble if they have it.

Returning to my second Vertigo box.

I Die at Midnight

I bought this when it came out in 2000 because I’d heard good things about Kyle Baker, but didn’t want to spend the money on any of his more famous trades, like Cowboy Wally and Why I Hate Saturn.  (College student at the time.)

He certainly lives up to the hype - His art is cartooning at its best.  It reads like an impeccably storyboarded animated movie, with lovely facial expressions and heart-pounding chase sequences.  I could barely move my eye from panel to panel fast enough as I watched all the characters racing towards their various goals.

Too bad Larry’s a complete idiot, and I was really hoping that he’d kick the bucket.  His stupidity and pride put him in this situation, and I’d have derived more satisfaction out of seeing him die with salvation at his fingertips.  One of the few times I was rooting for the clock instead of the protagonist.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice

Just love the art by Stanley Lau.

Incredibles 2

Incredibles 2

I finally got a chance to watch this over the weekend, and it was totally worth the 14 year wait.  

Things I liked:

• Edna Mode steals the show just as much as she did last time.  She shows up again in two scenes and crushes them as only she can.  Of course she was going to bond with Jack Jack. The predictability doesn’t make it any less delightful.
• Jack Jack shifts from supporting player who does adorable things in the background to full fledged cast member doing adorable things squarely in front of the camera.  His power to have any power makes him a potential baby ex machina in any future follow ups (please!), but I don’t care.  
• Everything Elastigirl.  This is Helen’s movie. Her infiltration of Syndrome’s base in the first movie gave us a peek under the sheet of what she’s capable of.  This one yanks it away and reveals all of her superhero glory. The motorcycle/train sequence ranks among one of the most inventive action scenes ever.  (Her explosion of joy when describing it to Bob afterwards is such a wonderful contrast to her professional mein during the chase itself. A nice parallel to Dash’s play-by-play recap at the end of movie one.)
• Bob’s honest desire to be a great stay-at-home dad and the spectacular collision when he runs into the wall of reality.  Sure, there’s a measure of selfishness in wanting Helen to succeed, but he quickly moves past that to his genuine determination to excel for his family’s sake.  It requires a whole different kind of strength, and a type of heroism that is far less appreciated.     
• Water-out-of-nose spit take.  It’s a classic for a reason.

Things I didn’t like:

• Jack Jack’s gremlin transformations.  He’s not cute in beast mode, and not that funny either.  I’d have gone with human torch when he’s angry.  
• The villain turned out to have as uninteresting a motivation as Syndrome.  “We can’t rely on supers because they let me down in the past.” Meh.  
• All the new supers were really underwhelming in both design and personality.  Their fight scenes were the most disappointing, which isn’t to say that there weren’t some wonderful moments.  “You want me to uncrush? Could I tell you un-punch something? What does that even mean?”

Oh so very good.  I can’t wait to watch it again.

Regret watching? No

Would watch again? Yes

Would buy on DVD? Yes

Rating: Pure joy

Hellblazer, Rome West, Southern Bastards, Michael Cray

A bunch of trades, some new, some that have been sitting around begging to be read for the first time.

Michael Cray 1-6

I’d heard a number of positive reviews for this over the last few months in iFanboy, so I gave the first trade a shot.  The hook’s an easy sell: Michael Cray kills evil alternate universe versions of the Justice League. In these issues, he takes on Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, and Arthur Curry.  They’re not bad, and read very Warren Ellis-y, which isn’t surprising considering he created the original pitch.

It’s actually the proposal that’s the most interesting part of the trade.  Ellis summarizes the story structure thusly:

Each story has five parts:

1. Michael Cray is tasked with a kill.
2. We learn something new about Michael Cray’s condition.
3. We learn about or spend time with Michael Cray’s Target.
4. Michael Cray prepares for the kill.
5. Michael Cray kills the victim.

Only THREE of these pieces appear per issue.  The structure of the book is therefore:Issue 1: 1 2 3Issue 2: 4 5 1Issue 3: 2 3 4Issue 4: 5 1 2Issue 5: 3 4 5

The point was to leave the story incomplete each issue, to give the reader an incentive to read the next one.  I like this insight into story structure dissection.

Unfortunately, there isn’t enough in the story itself to elevate it past “worth a borrow from the library or read in the store” status.  I don’t care at all about the titular character’s life and or the tumor in his head, and his missions lack the oomph and excitement that I was hoping for.  I’ll keep it around on the shelf for a re-read, but it probably won’t stick around after that.

Southern Bastards 15-20

Jason Aaron is so good on this.  I’m completely sucked into the seedy underbelly of this tiny Alabama town.  (Though no one really tries to hide their crimes or schemes, so underbelly might be overstating it.)  Perhaps the mostly complimentary thing I can say about it is that I want to go back and read the first three trades over again.  It’s also making me want to go read Scalped, Aaron’s previous crime-in-an-isolated-location series, for the first time.

This is certainly Jason LaTour’s best work.  It perfectly fits the tone of the title, and I like him a lot more here than on Spider-Gwen.  

Cliff Chiang alternate cover.  I love how he draws the memory of the tree.

Rome West 1-12

An alternate universe where a storm-tossed Roman fleet discovers America in 323 AD.  The colony that they establish starts a new empire that changes the course of human history.  Over the subsequent 11 issues, Justin Giampaoli and Brian Wood, with art by Andrea Mutti, show how the New World progresses over the next 1650 years.  Utterly enthralling, I love what they do here. The readers are given glimpses into the lives of the Valerius family across the centuries, and see the development of a completely different but utterly believable American continent.  This was originally a digital comic, and I’m so glad Dark Horse decided to publish it.

Back to Vertigo comics.

Hellblazer 146-150

Brian Azzarello starts his run on Hellblazer, and it’s a doozy.  Constantine lands himself in jail, and the inmates don’t stand a chance.  He tears apart the established power structures in no time flat, and ends up ruling a prison that he’s made into even more of a hellscape than when he entered it.  

Richard Corben’s style is one that immediately makes me think 60s alternative comics, even though I have practically zero knowledge of that era.  It reminds me of R Crumb, also someone I know very little about.

R Crumb.

Corben.

In any case, his art is perfect for this story.  His characters are as deformed and ugly as their souls, and he convincingly depicts the horrors inside the facility.

Really not pretty.

The end of the arc is a bit of a let down - The chaos peters out and Constantine walks out.  That’s about it. I don’t know how I would have liked it to wrap up, but not like this.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Hellblazer 158-161, 165-167

I’m not sure why my buying habits for this were so sporadic.  Anyway, jump ahead eight issues and Constantine’s trapped in a bar with a hodgepodge of locals in a snowstorm.  They discover a body, three desperate criminals show up, and chaos ensues. Constantine proves that he can do a lot using only his words and no magic.  A nice little adventure, with decent art by Marcelo Frusin, who looks a lot like Eduardo Risso, another of Azzarello’s partners.

Risso.

Frusin.  It's the shadows and the eyes.

A couple of issues later, Constantine gets involved with a group of white supremacists.  He teaches them a lesson, then floats on out of town, as he is wont to do.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice

Hellblazer 175-177

Mike Carey takes over with Hellblazer vet Steve Dillon.  He solves a little mystery in his sister’s apartment building, then goes off searching for his niece, Gemma.  The mystery’s a lot more interesting than the search that follows. Cutting the last issue.

Regret buying? No (Yes for 177)

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes (No for 177)

Rating: Fine (Boring for 177, cutting)

Heartthrobs, Hellblazer, Mage, Skyward

Some new comics:

Mage: The Hero Denied 10

Kevin and Magda deal with their involuntary separation in their own ways: Kevin hunts down a magical cloak to protect his daughter in the upcoming battle he knows is coming, and Magda summons a new familiar in preparation for her escape with her son.  I like the understated confidence that both possess. They figure out what needs to be done, then go about doing it. No muss, no fuss, with every certainty that they will succeed. I wonder how much of that is a front for their children. If nothing else, they must be terrified for them.

Skyward 4

This continues to be an entertaining yarn, and the visual of a rainstorm in this low-G world is pretty sweet.  But it’s Lee Garbett’s work on Willa that keeps me coming back. I’m in love with how he draws her. The grace of her movement and something about her face captivates me.  I finally added this to my pull list today.

Grace.

Face.

Heartthrobs 1

Back to Vertigo.  A twisted, humorous anthology parody of the romance comics of old.  The three stories in this issue are created by a wonderful lineup. Brian Bolland’s irreverent take on the Princess and the Frog cracked me up, even (or perhaps especially) with the head-smackingly obvious coda.  Robert Rodi and Phil Jimenez’s story about a man desperate to turn straight after a bad breakup would be tragic if his failure to do so wasn’t so obviously doomed to fail. “I wasn’t looking forward to Monday Night Football, anyway.”  

The final bit by Steven Seagle and Tim Sale reads entirely like a Ray Bradbury short story, one of the dark ones.  A cancer surgeon can’t help but wonder if his new bride had breast cancer. “There’s only one way to find out,” he thinks, as he toys with his scalpel…

A ton of fun, and if the rest of the issues are nearly as good, I’m missing out.  It’s so hard to tell with anthologies.

[fifteen minutes later]  Okay, I bought the other three issues.  Gotta trust the editor. Along with a bunch of other single issues to fill in gaps that have been in my collection for years.  12 issues for thirty bucks, not bad.

 

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Time for more stats:

Box Summary:

Time spent reading: 22 hours, 58 minutes

Issues read: 201

Issues cut: 10

Highlights (Good or better): 100 Bullets 11.  Wow, not the best box.

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 9 days, 7 hours, 50 minutes

Issues read: 1814

Issues cut: 231

Hellblazer 26

So not in the mood for more nonsensical Grant Morrison after Flex Mentallo.  Cutting.

Hellblazer 131

So not in the mood for nonsensical Garth Ennis.  Cutting.

Regret buying? Yes

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Disliked