Elephantmen, RASL, Excellence, Pearl, Superman: Year One

New comics!

Excellence 4

Spencer and Aaron share a special moment in the middle of beating the crap out of each other.  After that shared experience, they’re now united in a common cause. The details of the cause are unclear, but I’m sure it has something to do with revolution against the establishment.  

What’s worth the price of admission is the letter column at the end, where co-creators Brandon Thomas and Khary Randolph discuss their use of the n-word in both their everyday lives and Excellence.  I greatly appreciate how they’re willing to engage in an open conversation about the topic and share it with their readers.  

Pearl 12

The final issue of the series.  A fine effort from Bendis, but it’s not going to be anywhere near the top of my list when I think about his masterpieces.  I wouldn’t be surprised if I don’t remember this two years from now.  

Superman: Year One 2

Somewhat-out-of-character Clark Kent behavior aside, I really enjoyed this.  And to be fair, if it weren’t for Frank Miller’s personality surgery on Clark, I’d never have seen how he’d do in the military.  And it’s a blast to read. Miller can still bring it with the narration when he wants to. Still on board.  

RASL 13-15

Borrowed from the library, and now I know how it ends.  Eh. I didn’t miss anything, and saved myself ten bucks in the process.  

Would buy? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Stupid

Going through a major collection reorganization to make room for other things.  So a lot of stuff’s getting shuffled around. I just moved a bunch of comics from the shelf into this box for alphabetical purposes, and things I’ve already read (from Red Star on) are getting pushed into the next box.  Moving on.

Elephantmen 0, 1-13

My wife bought these years ago at Wondercon from artist Moritat’s table.  (She liked his art and he was an effective salesman.) I don’t think either of us have ever read them.  Moritat’s certainly a good artist (and a super nice guy), but Ladronn was the only reason I kept the original Hip Flask comic around.  Richard Starkings’ story isn’t interesting enough for me to keep this in my collection, but there was one page that was so very effective:

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck (Cutting)