Star Trek, New Comics

Two new comics for the week.  (I opted to stop getting Second Coming, Batman/Superman, and Action Comics.)

Batman: Curse of the White Knight 4

Story of the series: Sean Murphy’s story is good.  His art is better. It continues to blow me away with its awesomeness.  

So much rage and grief on her face.

King Thor 2

An extended fight scene that’s fun enough.  But what really has me excited is the ad for a new Garth Ennis Punisher miniseries…

Star Trek Annual 3

Peter David, perhaps the greatest non-TV Star Trek writer ever (see: Q Squared, Vendetta, New Frontiers, Q-in-Law…), tells the story of Scotty’s first and greatest love.  It’s not quite as romantic as I remember, but it’s still not bad.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Star Trek 50

I don’t know why I have this random issue (also written by Peter David).  If I was collecting David’s Star Trek comic run, I’d have way more of it.  Anyway, this is fine but forgettable.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Fine (Cutting)

Touch of Silver, Star Trek

My daughter was born last week.  So I’ve been a little busy. Things are going to be a lot more sporadic here as my reading time drops and my writing time plummets.  But let’s see how much I can do tonight.

Miscellaneous Comics Box 5 is done!

Box Summary:

Time spent reading: 15 hours, 1 minute

Issues read: 139

Issues cut: 0

Highlights (Good or better): Stray Bullets 1-10, Sin City, Sin City: Dame to Kill For, Sin City: Big Fat Kill, Sin City: That Yellow Bastard, Sin City: Hell and Back.  Frank Miller is the man.

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 21 days, 20 hours, 8 minutes

Issues read: 4309

Issues cut: 572

Touch of Silver 1-5

Hated.  I have zero desire to read about a kid’s broken family life.  It doesn’t entertain me in any way. I bought this because it was critically acclaimed.  Not by me.  

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Hated (Cutting)

At this point, due to box shuffling, I’m jumping from Misc Box 6 over to my Star Trek/Star Wars box.

Star Trek: Countdown 1-4

The lead up to the JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot, telling the original ST universe’s side of the story.  Super fun to see what happened to the TNG crew all these years later.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Star Trek: Q Conflict 1-6

Still as fun as the first time through, which wasn’t that long ago.  The fun does taper off as the series goes on and the writers fail to take full advantage of the crossover story opportunities between characters from the various shows, but it’s still entertaining.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Sin City

Sin City: Booze, Broads, and Bullets

A collection of Frank Miller’s Sin City short stories.  Not as good as his longer arcs, these are mostly tone poems.  Fun, but not the best vehicles for conveying the emotion that elevates this series above other comic noirs.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Sin City: Family Values

Deadly little Miho is very deadly in this volume.  Miller sets her apart from the rest of the world by using zero spots of black on her.  She’s a stark contrast to everything around her, like an ethereal ghost that can’t be touched by her surroundings.  

I do have a major problem with how Miller writes the relationship between Dwight and Miho.  He treats her like a pet, an attack dog to sic on his enemies. Ordering her around and keeping her silent reinforces the comparison.  Miller even has her curled up and sleeping on Dwight’s lap. It’s a disturbing treatment of a character who’s ostensibly a kickass woman.  

And yet the relatively high rating and rebuyability (totally a word) remains.  Dunno what that says about me, but I still found it an enjoyable read. I’ve got nothing for you.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Sin City: That Yellow Bastard 1-6

My second favorite SIn City story. A self-sacrificing hero, repulsive villain, forbidden love, top-notch art...It’s only the sad ending that takes it down a notch.  I’m not knocking it from a plotting point of view, it’s just my personal preference for happy endings that’s in play here. Hartigan’s monologuing is wonderful here, his emotions clearly spilled out onto the page.  Miller uses it to great effect, here setting up a beautifully drawn silent page.

Miller’s just a flat out master of black and white.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Sin City: Hell and Back 1-9

Miller goes full out superhero in Sin City.  Wallace has Batman-level martial arts abilities, and his victory is never in doubt.  It’s a far cry from every other Sin City protagonist, who struggle and claw for every little win that they can get.  It creates a very different vibe, and if it weren’t for the art, wouldn’t feel like a Sin City story at all.  

Why does this seem familiar?

Oh right, Dame to Kill For

And that’s ignoring the full color psychedelic trip in issue seven…

Storywise, it’s Taken before Taken.  

Wallace also has a very particular set of skills.

Still fun.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Sin City, New Comics

Two new comics this week:

Spider-Man 2

Less interesting this time around, as Ben Parker goes through the standard “learning how to use his spider powers” beats.  It’s done well enough though, maybe I’ll stick around for another month.

Superman: Year One 3

This issue’s a little all over the place.  It’s more three vignettes than a cohesive story, and ends abruptly without any kind of resolution.  But Frank Miller’s narration continues to be wonderfully evocative, and sucks me right in. This may also be John Romita Jr’s finest work, but I suspect that it’s Alex Sinclair’s colors that are largely to credit for the bump.  The splash page below is absolutely glorious. But what really gives it power is the setup on the previous page. It makes the reveal so much more wonderful.  

Sin City: Dame to Kill For 1-8

This is my favorite Sin City story.  It’s got one of the best femme fatales ever, great story, and peak Frank Miller art.  

What a pose.  That musculature is magnificent.

Ah, the days before "Deadly little Miho" got overplayed to death.

God, I loved reading this again.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pure Joy

Sin City: Big Fat Kill 1-5

I’ve always considered this one of the lesser Sin City stories, mostly due to the simplistic plot.  There’s no subtlety to it at all. Not to say that I haven’t always liked it.  But this time around, I enjoyed it even more than I expected. Miller’s was just so good at his best.

A precursor to 300.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really Good

Sin City

Sin City

This got me in trouble with my mom when I bought it back in high school.  I get where she’s coming from :)

That said, this is an amazing work of art.  Frank Miller pioneers a style that only Jim Lee has come close to pulling off (with Deathblow), and it remains unquestionably his.  It’s a masterful use of black and white, just about every panel can be used as a shining example of the craft. And the rain!

So good.

Terry Moore's take.  Note the copyright in the corner.

Back to Miller.

Love the profile.  Love the shadows and the passage of time.

Lee's spin is awfully nice.

The florid pulp detective novel narration (which really doesn’t work when read out loud, as shown in the movie adaptation) is perfect for this story.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve read this, and it’s a joy each time. It’s just a notch below the Pure Joy rating, though. Not sure what it's missing, because it's damned close.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Switchblade Honey, Time Lincoln, Tokyo Storm Warning, New comics

Three new comics for the week, all Batman related.

Batman Universe 4

Less fun than the previous issues, but still entertaining enough. Nick Derington is the star of the issue.  His art’s a mix of Mike Allred and Cliff Chiang, which is really nice to look at. (At what point does my head stop seeing an artist as a collection of influences?  When did Bryan Hitch go from being an Alan Davis disciple to owning his style in my eyes?)

Batman’s Grave 1

Speaking of Hitch, he reunites w/ Warren Ellis from their Authority days.  

This is a stunningly meh book, with both the writing and the art.  It’s been quite some time since I’ve liked anything from Warren Ellis, and whether it’s because he’s past his writing prime or my sensibilities have shifted to a place where his work no longer resonates with me, I really need to stop buying his work on sight.  

As for Hitch, some of his poses are downright awkward, a far cry from his best pages.

That kick lacks punch.

This whole sequence is missing energy.

I regret buying this without giving it a closer look in the store.  Won’t be getting the next issue.

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity 1

I avoided the first wave of Harley Quinn oversaturation at DC Comics.  (She’s their version of Deadpool over at Marvel.) Outside of her appearances in the Batman animated universe, I never found her that interesting.  But on this second go around, preparation for the new Harley movie, they’ve found the thing that’ll get me to read comics with her name on the title: Excellent Elseworld twists with awesome art.  After Breaking Glass and Harleen, this is the third book in the last month that I’ve picked up starring Dr. Quinzel, and it’s just as good.

This time around, Harley’s a criminal profiler, her roommate (girlfriend?) the victim of one of Joker’s serial killings.  I like Kami Garcia’s take on her character, and I like the split art duties by Mico Suayan and Mike Mayhew (who’s clearly photo referencing everything he does.  Whoever he got for Harley bears a striking resemblance to Taylor Swift, and I’m not complaining. I love Margot Robbie, but Tay-Tay in the role is something I’d pay to watch as well.)

It could work, right?

But boy does Robbie rock this role.

DC’s Black Label is coming out with some quality product.  They’re definitely bringing me around on this Elseworlds for mature readers concept.

Switchblade Honey

Star Trek w/ Warren Ellis’ brand of doing the right thing as rudely as possible.  Not bad, not great.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Time Lincoln 1

I’m a sucker for stories involving historical figures on fantastical adventures.  (Tales from the Bully Pulpit, Rough Riders, etc)  This story by Fred Perry has all the trappings of something fun, with nice stylized art and random Cobra (from GI Joe) tributes, but it ultimately falls short of memorable.  Cutting.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck (Cutting)

Tokyo Storm Warning 1-3

Third Warren Ellis story of the day.  This time, he’s doing Pacific Rim before Pacific Rim came out.  The twist at the end explaining the origins of the monsters and mechs is cute enough, and the art by James Raiz is impressive enough (albeit with some storytelling clarity issues), but the writing’s about as good as Switchblade Honey.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Stylish Vittles

Stylish Vittles 1-3

One of the better first-romance comics that I’ve read.  (I’m struggling to think of another right now, but that doesn’t diminish the statement.  Oh! Blankets by Craig Thompson is phenomenal.)  Tyler Page does a commendable job of capturing the rush of a new romance, walking the reader through each heady step as Tyler (the character) and Nanette lose themselves in each other.

Page gets a little self-indulgent with his splash pages of the cosmos, and his occasional metaphoric superhero interludes, but he’s quite the talented artist.

He does a better job of selling the romance than the relationship - I cared about the storyline more than the couple.  So while I wanted to see how events unfolded, and the authenticity of the emotions came through, I was surprisingly unmoved by their separation at the end of the series.  I processed their heartbreak intellectually as something that sucked, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel sad.  

Other than that, a fine job.  I wish that I liked his followup, Nothing Better, more.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Street Fighter

Street Fighter 1-13

Fun, mindless action with a fun cast of characters.  I don’t think Capcom gets enough credit for the large number of iconic designs that they’ve come up with over the years, and Alvin Lee, along with his crew at Udon Comics, is the ideal artist to render them.

Jo Chen on variant covers is a bonus.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Street Angel

Street Angel 1-5

Oof, this didn’t age well.  Coming off of Stray Bullets, I can’t help but think of Street Angel as a younger Amy Racecar, with a My Monkey’s Name is Jennifer vibe.  Which I’m really not in the mood for.  Maybe on a different day, but today wasn’t the time for absurdist action with ninja and pirates.  Though Afrodisiac made me laugh.  

It’s the possibility that I’m just too tired today that’s keeping this in my collection.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Stray Bullets

Stray Bullets 15-41

Stray Bullets: Killers 1-8

Amy Racecar Color Special 1-2

Yeah, I went on a binge these last couple of days, and tore through the rest of this series.  So it couldn’t have been that bad. My thoughts:

Continuing on my last post, I realize that I like the standalone stories better because David Lapham is writing about bad people.  These are characters who have, through various combinations of poor decisions and horrible environments, become unsavory characters with whom I would never wish to associate.  And because Lapham doesn’t condescend to his readers by glamorizing the violence and crimes that his motley crew commits, it’s not a very pleasant reading experience. It’s remarkably well crafted, so each introduction to a new character is exciting and gripping.  But I generally found myself less interested in spending any more time with them after their first appearance.  

The exception was with Ginny Applejack.  Here’s someone that we’ve been with from the start.  Her decisions, while often ill-advised, are a little more understandable than those of the other characters.  Plus, there’s still a chance that she pulls out of her tailspin and extracts herself from the nosedive she’s in.  (Though by the end of Killers, that’s pretty much shot to hell.)    

Hers is the story that I stuck around to read.  I cared enough about her to stick around for 21 more issues than I otherwise would have.  I wanted to know what happens to her. And now that I do, I’m glad that I stopped buying where I did (issue 28).  Her world is terrible. And the worst part is that her high school might be worse than anything she had to live through on the streets.  God, I hope my kid doesn’t have to go through any of that.  

By the way, Amy Racecar does nothing for me, except for the issue where she deals with the aftermath of Ginny’s kidnapping.  That was pretty well done.

Stray Bullets deserves the title of magnum opus.  It’s a sprawling beast of a work, executed with amazing artistry by David Lapham.  As a feat of writing, it’s really up there with the best.. But I still can’t give it a very high grade because it’s just not...enjoyable.  Kind of like Y the Last Man.  It’s good, but it doesn’t strike the emotional chord in me that would elevate it to that level of greatness.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good