New comics

New comics!

Wonder Woman 1

Tom King starts yet another title.  (He’s really quite prolific.)  Things get extreme pretty fast as America pretty much declares war on the Amazons.  There’s a rapid escalation that immediately brings Doomsday Clock to mind.  (The part where things go nuts with Firestorm and Superman.)  As always, no idea where King’s going with this.  Also no idea how this exists in the main DC canon, it feels way more like a Black Label kind of story.

Titans 3

This is the “one more issue” that I said I’d give Titans, and Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott don’t do enough with it.  I think it’s the Titans team itself.  They’ve never clicked with me.  Donezo.

Nightwing 106

Thank goodness Taylor’s as good as ever here.  It’s the start of a new story, and apparently Dick goes all pirate.  I’ll keep an open mind.  I hope Bruno Redondo comes back soon, but Stephen Byrne is a decent substitute.

Superman 6

Speaking of sub artists, I hope Gleb Melnikov isn’t permanent.  He doesn’t suck or anything, but his style is so different from the so good Jamal Campbell; There’s an Ed McGuinness/ Humberto Ramos hybrid quality to it.  

The story’s also fine, but nothing super memorable.  I might have one issue left in me.

Rare Flavours 1

Ram V. and Filipe Andrade team up again, and after the joy of Laila Starr, I wasn’t going to let it stay on the shelf.  (Kudos to the distinctive cover, I wouldn’t have checked it out otherwise; I didn’t know about this comic beforehand.)  It’s off to an intriguing start, I’ve already put this on my pull list.

Movies

Tar

Cate Blanchett is truly magnificent in this film.  I can’t say that I liked the movie, but she can (and does) hold the camera like few others.  This film doesn’t work without her.  

Regret watching? No

Would watch again? No

Would buy on DVD? No

Rating: Nice

Blue Beetle

Definitely enjoyable.  It treads familiar ground with the “young down-on-his-luck kid discovers new powers and learns a bit about himself at the same time” bit, but does it with some nice wrinkles.  The Latino take is nice, and while the family focus is a little heavy-handed, it’s still done with genuine heart.  Other notes:

• The grandma’s (Adriana Barraza) pushed a little too hard.  I get what they were going for, but it just crosses over the line from funny to eye-rolling.

• Xolo Mariduena is fine as Jaime Reyes, but he lacks the extra something that someone like Tom Holland brings to what’s essentially the same role.

• As love interests go, Bruna Marquezine is better than most.  She’s got an honest to god arc, and does more than just get into peril.

• George Lopez ain’t bad as the crazy uncle, but making him the tech wizard/guy in the chair is way too much of a stretch.

• Susan Sarandon’s wasted in this bland villain role.  Lump her in with Sigourney Weaver (Defenders) and Glenn Close (Guardians of the Galaxy) in the “generational actresses completely wasted in comic IPs” list.

• Harvey Guillen’s mistreated doctor subplot might have had a point in the original script, but it got truncated to the point of uselessness on screen.

I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this cast, but it also wouldn’t be the worst disappointment if we didn’t get a sequel.

Regret watching? No

Would watch again? Yes

Would buy on DVD? No

Rating: Nice

New comics

New comics!

Penguin 1

Tom King brings back Agent Espinoza (and presumably The Help, if the solicited covers are accurate) from Batman: Killing Time.  But the star, of course, is the Penguin, playing the retired/reformed mob boss that we’ve seen so many times with Marvel’s Kingpin.  We’ll see what twist King brings to the proceedings, I have faith in him.

Barnstormers 3

A completely predictable ending, but Tula Lotay’s art makes it all worth it.

Fantastic Four 11

An excellent Thing solo issue.  Ryan North reminds everyone that as a former test pilot, Ben Grimm would have had to have an excellent grasp of science/engineering, something that I’d completely overlooked in the entire time that I’ve read FF stories.  

Dark Knights of Steel 12

Not one of Tom Taylor’s strongest works, this is closer to Dark Ages than DCeased.  Maybe it’ll read better in one go.

Birds of Prey 1

Kelly Thompson moves over to DC with another girl group, something I strongly endorse.  Things are off to a promising start, even if it’s not the lineup I would have gone with.  (Harley is completely overused and Zealot has no personality (which leaves a lot of room for Thompson to work, I suppose).)  It needs more brains, but we’ll find out why Barbara isn’t on the team soon enough.