Clue 1-3
Such an odd little comic. Completely quirky and unlike anything else I own. I don’t know that I’d call it good, but it’s definitely intriguing and amusing. It starts off better than it ends. Original reviews.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Nice
Alice in Leatherland 1
Nothing's changed in the last three months. Cutting.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: No
Rating: Fine
Betty and Veronica 1-2
This is a weird series. The rare Adam Hughes interior art doesn’t disappoint, it’s technically flawless and gorgeous while keeping the traditional Hughes good girl pinups to a minimum. The writing, also by Hughes, is jam packed with jokes, gags, and tons of fourth-wall-breaking asides that actually elicit chuckles. But the combined package fails to impress me. It’s too self aware of its own cuteness, and rubs both past and present me the wrong way. I didn’t get the final issue back then, and I really don’t care about how Pop’s Diner gets saved, or how Betty and Veronica mend their relationship. Keeping ‘cause the art.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Fine
Tales from the Bully Pulpit
Teddy Roosevelt steals HG Wells’ time machine, enlists the help of Thomas Edison’s ghost, and battles Hitler’s descendent, Jorge. Yeah, it’s that kind of book. My sense of humor appears to have shifted a few notches in the last couple of decades, because I don’t find this or other silly books like Rex Mantooth as funny any more. It’s still more amusing than most of the other comics I have with similar sensibilities, but it’s not the uproarious good time I remember it being.
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| When in doubt, just add science. |
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| I have never forgotten Chairman Meow. I love him. |
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| Lincoln always shows up in silly time travel stories, and he always kicks ass. |
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| Okay, sometimes he's just silly. |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Nice
Archie 13-17
Veronica’s trapped at a Swiss boarding school, the heinous Cheryl Blossom joins the cast, and Archie mopes around. Not bad, but I’m here for the excellent interactions between Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica. (Kind of like the core OC cast. Except for Marissa, couldn’t stand her…)
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| Dilton Doiley. DD. Perfect Daredevil callback. |
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| From the classic Born Again by Miller and Mazzucchelli. |
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| Tula Lotay makes Cheryl look like a psycho here. Appropriate. |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Nice
Archie 18-27
This is more like it. Betty gets in a major car wreck, and the repercussions for our gang are mesmerizing. Definitely a case where I couldn’t stop reading. Mark Waid nails the humor, shows the strength of Veronica’s character, poignantly demonstrates why Betty is so beloved in the community, and illustrates how Jughead is the not-so-secret weapon of the group. This was on the cusp of hitting Good, juuust barely missing it. (It comes down to the fact that if my collection went up in smoke, I wouldn’t feel the need to buy this again.)
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| Heh. "Write on brain." |
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| Great Greg Smallwood cover. |
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| A full issue of when people realized how special Betty was. |
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| I'm all on board with it. |
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| Of course Archie gets the 2-page splash. |
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| Jughead rules. |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Pretty good
Archie 28-30
Blech. You’d think a school dance would be a perfect venue for love triangle drama, but Waid chooses to waste it on Reggie, the Blossom siblings, and their criminal dad instead. It’s a complete dud, and no wonder that I quit with two issues to go in Waid’s run. (Keeping it because there’s some great Moose/Midge stuff, and Waid does a wonderful job of showing how Betty and Veronica don’t let their feelings for Archie keep them from being best buds.)
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Fine
So many new comics, and yet again, it’s a reaffirmation of why I love this medium so very much. A ton of great stuff.
Die 19
Lots of stuff happens here, and it’s all entertaining, but I’m honestly ready for this to be over with the next issue. Depending on how it ends, I might not be back for any follow ups.
Old Guard: Tales Through Time 5
Yeah, this series wasn’t worth picking up. There’s no meat to any of these short stories. I got suckered in by the first issue. Mistake. And now I’m committed, there’s only one issue left.
Black Widow 10
This arc has been generic from the story side, but the art continues to be incomparable. Elena Casagrande!
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| Awesome reveal. And Kate Bishop is always welcome. |
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| Dude. This is insane. |
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| Hee. |
Superman: Son of Kal-El 2
Some nice character moments, mostly set up for future confrontations. It’s still weird seeing Wildstorm properties like Gamorra and Henry Bendix in the DC universe.
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| Heh. |
Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem 3
This is...fine. Do I really want to stick around for another nine issues? Kind of torn on this one.
Batman/Catwoman 6
Probably the weakest Tom King story since Heroes in Crisis. It’s not bad or anything, but there doesn’t seem to be any point to this, even for a King story. He doesn’t appear to be setting the groundwork for anything, it’s just some disjointed scenes that don’t contribute much of anything. I could be wrong, though. I’m hoping I am.
Black Cat 9
Not really feeling this caper so far. Maybe it’s because I’ve found Star to be a boring villain, both here and over in Captain Marvel. (I just discovered that Kelly Thompson wrote a Star miniseries, but I can’t be bothered to pick it up. And this is as a recent Thompson convert.)
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| I didn't think much of this Pepe Larraz cover until I examined the faces. |
Moon Knight 2
Not as strong as the first issue, but I’m in for at least a few more issues; Jed MacKay deserves that much.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow 3
Loving this. The strengths of this issue lie in the moments, not the plot (which is the standard “town hiding a genocide” trope. (Is that really a trope? It didn’t feel new to me, in any case.)).
It’s in the way Bilquis Evely draws the outline of Supergirl’s hair with solid, impossible curves:
It’s in the protective way she shields the narrator during an assassination attempt:
And it’s the way she brushes aside a bullet to the eye, very reminiscent of Superman Returns:
Nightwing 83
No one masters the “moment” like Tom Taylor. The thing is, none of these instances are that surprising; they’re actually pretty obvious. But the point is that Taylor’s the only one who actually takes the time to realize them. That’s the magic.
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| Power pose! |
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| Alfred getting the proper respect. |
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| *Squee!* |
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| This literally brought tears to my eyes. |
Archie 1-12
Such a funny, wholesome book by Mark Waid and a host of artists. Sure, it’s mostly the hijinks of unreasonably clumsy Archie Andrews and his pal Jughead, but his love triangle with Betty and Veronica has some real emotion behind it. There’s no slapstick when it comes to the feelings of the three of them, and it makes Archie something to be taken seriously.
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| When Veronica decides to show she cares, it's pretty special. |
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| Love this cover by Paul Renaud. |
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| Artist Veronica Fish having fun with animals. |
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| This cat reminds me of one Amanda Connor did... |
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| ...in Power Girl. |
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| Gud boy! |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Pretty good
New comics!
Injustice: Year Zero 1-14
Well, new kinda. I got the hardcover collection a couple of months ago, and just got around to reading it.
Tom Taylor. I mean, what can I say about him anymore? He’s so freaking good at DC Elseworlds, unafraid to kill beloved characters in service of a nail-biting story. His Joker is calculated and terrifying, even more so when he’s given mind control abilities. The chaos and horror he sows is legit disturbing.
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| *Shiver* |
Also, Taylor knows how to write character moments and humor.
This next box is more indie stuff, the books that managed to stay on my shelf the longest as the arrival of my daughter and the resultant interior decorating changes forced more and more things into boxes. So this should be a combination of good stuff and newer books.
300 1-5
Yeah, this is good stuff. It’s what one would call a ripping good yarn. Not much substance, but damn does the style of Frank Miller’s later years work for this story. This is a laser-focused tale that does exactly what it sets out to do. Certainly not Miller’s best work (a high bar indeed), but still deserving of a spot in his higher pantheon of titles.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: Yes
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Good
Xerxes 1-5
This follow up comes twenty years later, and it’s clear Miller’s lost a step, both with the art (not pretty) and the plotting (an incoherent mess). It starts off well enough with the Battle of Marathon, but then jumps around with no apparent rhyme or reason between Xerxes, Darius III, and Alexander. The leaps between timelines make no narrative sense, and the scenes depicted don’t tie together into any kind of understandable story.
And yet, it’s worth keeping for the spectacle of it all, for which Miller has not lost an inch of his flair.
Regret buying: Yes
Would buy again: No
Would read again: No
Rating: Fine
(Is this my first Yes/No/No/Fine ever? It’s such an odd combination.)
