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