Wonder Woman, Batman minis, New comics

New comics!

Tales of the Human Target 1

A lame fill-in where Fire, Booster Gold, and Guy Gardner tell their separate tales of how they ruined a Human Target case.  Superhero incompetence write large, rarely a fun thing to read about.

Captain Marvel 41

Carol returns to Earth, somewhat makes up with the Enchantress, and Binary takes to the stars to find herself.  Not bad, but the lack of anything standout is really making me question the continued purchase of this title.

Iron Cat 4

Same thing w/ Jed MacKay’s “ongoing.”  Fun, but not really memorable.  I’ll probably finish out this storyline, then reevaluate.

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods 2

At least Tom Taylor still has it together.  Green and Yellow Lanterns face off against Darkseid and the other New Gods.  Long story short, Sinestro dies and Darkseid has his yellow right now.  Ruh-roh.

Fables 155

It’s five issues in, and Bill Willingham is still doing setup.  It’s very Tom King, but not as effective.  Completionist me can’t bring myself to stop buying this, but I’m really not enjoying myself with this.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Future State: Wonder Woman 1-2

Joelle Jones’ art isn’t enough to save an unlikable character and a nothing story.  I’d cut this if there wasn’t a chance this could increase in value.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Stupid

Batman/Catwoman 1-12

Tom King shuffles Batman/Catwoman stories across four different timelines in an effort to hide the fact that he doesn’t have much of anything to share with the reader.

Plus, Liam Sharp fills in for three issues in the middle, a complete tonal shift that wrecks the fact that at least the series had Clay Mann’s art going for it.

WTF is Sharp doing with those lips?  This is poor Sienkiewicz or Janson.

Yes, those are Joker's body parts decorating the tree.

Back to Mann doing cool looking stuff.

I was all excited to see what King would do with the return of Andrea Beaumont (for the first time since Mask of the Phantasm?).  He wastes it with this muddle of a story involving her adopted son, the Joker, a faked suicide, and a happy ending that isn’t earned at all.

Also a complete fail is the wedding (at last!) of Bruce and Selina.  It’s tacked on to the end of the whole thing, coming out of nowhere and bringing things to an abrupt end.  After spending so much time on their romance, King completely bungles their happy ending.  He’s proven himself to be way more adept at handling their story, it’s a shame to see him end it on this note.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Didn’t suck

Batman/Catwoman Special 1

Case in point; this issue really gets to the heart of what makes the Bruce/Selina relationship sing.  Original review. 

It’s super sweet and sad.  Selina dying alone in an alley - eight months later and I still don’t know how I feel about it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Batman: The Detective 1-6

The concept is cool; Someone’s out killing everyone who Batman’s saved over the years.  The following five issues don’t live up to the initial premise.  I can’t recall a single “Bruce Wayne training to become Batman” story that’s really worked for me, and this adventure w/ Henri Ducard continues that streak.  

Batman: Killing Time 1-6

I was so tempted to re-edit this so that I could read it chronologically from start to finish.  With its rigorous adherence to timestamps, it’s screaming to get reorganized like that.  Instead, as I read it through as Tom King intended, I realized that it wasn’t necessary.  The storytelling is clear and impeccably executed.  I guess I was negatively influenced by the mess that was Batman/Catwoman.  (Maybe that’s the one that needs re-editing…)  

So I’m of two minds about this story.  On the one hand, there’s stunning David Marquez art, excellent action, and a brilliant new villain in The Help.

Heh.

Very Inigo/Westley.

On the other, the whole thing revolves around a stupid MacGuffin.  Why anyone would believe that possessing this “Eye of God” will let them rule the world defies comprehension.  Certainly there’s no reason why the FBI would want it.  It doesn’t help that King rubs it in our faces, saying that absolutely none of it matters at all.  

It’s trying to be clever, but it comes off as insulting.  Still, it’s awfully well done.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Blankets, New comics

New comics, I’ve got like three weeks of issues to catch up on.

Captain Carter 4

Vampires.  The bad guys are vampires.  Sigh.  I would have preferred a government conspiracy, I think.

Variants 1

Gail Simone and Phil Noto are a team that I can get behind.  I was intrigued by what kind of take they would have on Jessica Jones and parallel universes. 

Despite being one of the best villains ever, I really wish people could tell a Jessica Jones story without using Killgrave.  I’m so sick and tired of her being defined by that experience, as I’m sure she is as well.

The other aspect, with multiple Jessica Joneses, is a lot more promising.  I hope that’s the part Simone chooses to focus on.  (I’m already sighing in exasperation at the idea of multiple Purple Men…)

Iron Cat 1

A continuation of Jed MacKay’s Black Cat run.  Good, clean fun.  Come to think about it, it’s of the same vein as Kelly Thompson, another of the stellar writers at Marvel right now.

Heh.

Captain Marvel 39

Speaking of which.  I used “stellar” just now, but the more I think about it, Thompson’s run on Captain Marvel has been undeniably positive, but ultimately disposable.  Not to say that I wouldn’t happily read it again, but it won’t linger in my mind for very long.  

Batman: Beyond the White Knight 4

Not as engaging as the previous series, but fun enough.  This appears to be a theme with all the new comics this today.

Seven Secrets 18

Wow, did this end poorly.  Something about a godlike being who divided his essence into the titular seven secrets.  Horcruxes, basically.  Blech.  I should have gone with my original instinct to stop buying this.  I’m disappointed by this outing from Tom Taylor.  He’s done way better.  

Batman/Catwoman 12

Another rare misfire from an exceptional Tom.  I hope the re-read proves differently, but this has been a completely pointless series from the beginning.  Was this how Tom King originally planned to end his Batman run?  Such a bummer.  

Batman: Killing Time 5

At least I got a much better Tom King Batman story this week.  King’s description of the massive shootout in the park is a masterclass in narration.

Five pages of this, and I could have used more.

Blankets

I haven’t looked at Craig Thompson’s magnum opus in years, but my feelings this time around are exactly the same as my previous readings; This may be the best thing I’ve ever read when it comes to depicting the euphoria of first love, the sheer joy of emotionally connecting with someone, and the intoxicating thrill of every physical interaction - that first touch, first kiss, first everything.  It’s something that can never be experienced again, is never quite the same again.  It’s absolutely magical.

First touch.

First kiss.

First time sleeping together.

The magic of watching her sleep.

Would I be so understanding?

You never know when it'll be the last time you see her.

The best description of this I've ever read.

I wish that the comic didn’t start with an unbearable mix of bullies, horrible parents, child molesters, and rigid Christians.  But the contrast is needed to further accentuate the impact of Craig’s relationship with Raina.  

The ending of their romance is as abrupt as it is unexpected.  There’s no way it was going to work.  But that doesn’t diminish the potency of the memory or the relationship.  That kind of thing is a formative experience, something that will never be forgotten.  

Yeah, this one hits home.  Obviously.  

 

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Invincible, New comics

New comics!

Batman/Catwoman 11

This had better make more sense all at once, because it’s a freaking mess right now.  Tom King’s weakest in quite a while.

Batman: Killing Time 2

This isn’t much better, a bunch of time jumps and set up that make zero sense in a monthly format.

Seven Secrets 16

Aaaand I’m losing interest again.  I don’t know what it is about this series, but Tom Taylor just can’t make it click for me.  Do I need to read it all together again?

Heh.

Captain Carter 2

Superheroes fighting corrupt politicians is rarely fun to read, but Captain Carter is cool enough that this is still enjoyable.

Black Widow 15

Final issue, and that makes me very sad.  I’ll miss the art by Elena Casagrande and Natasha’s lingering trauma regarding her family.  I’ll miss the support system Natasha built around herself, especially the hilarious Yelena.  The stories themselves are surprisingly forgettable, but I don’t even care.

One last gorgeous fight splash.

Invincible 127-144

An extremely satisfying ending as the survivors of the final Viltrumite Civil War get to live out their happily ever after.  Casualties include Oliver, Nolan, Anissa, and Thragg.  To be honest, I’m a little OD’d on massive battles with hundreds of participants in Invincible at this point, there’s definitely diminishing returns as I binge this whole run.  But they all feel like organic extensions of the overall plot from Robert Kirkman, so I’m not really complaining.  They just lack the wow factor of the earlier epic fights.

BTW, I love Terra across all of her ages.  A solo series starring her would have been a great spin off.  

So much personality.

This re-read of Invincible was everything that I hoped it would be.  It was fun, brutal, jaw-dropping, and impressive in all the ways I would want a superhero comic book to be.  My thanks to Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley, and the whole creative team.

Nice ending.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good to Really Good

Strangers in Paradise, New comics

New comics!

Seven Secrets 14

I still don’t remember anyone’s name, but the betrayal by guy-in-mask and his bad boy boyfriend continues.  Still fun.

Batman/Catwoman 10

Tom King has a lot to do in the last two issues to salvage this incoherent tangle of timelines.  Not his best work.

Strangers in Paradise v2 14

Molly & Poo.  Terry Moore’s ill-advised erotic gothic novella…thing.  Less said the better.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Hated

Strangers in Paradise v3 1-5

Terry Moore starts volume 3 in color at Homage Studios with a Jim Lee action sequence.  (Can’t blame him.  If Jim Lee offers to do some pages for your comic…)  Then he jumps into a flashforward where Francine is trapped in a loveless marriage (but she does have an adorable kid).  Where she sees Katchoo for the first time in ten years…

What happened in the meantime?  The rewind back to present day starts off poorly, as Moore spends the first five issues putting Francine and Katchoo through the ringer.  Francine is basically Charlie Brown and Peter Parker wrapped up in one, and it’s completely unfun to read.  Katchoo is in one of her “reacts poorly to the tiniest offense” modes and blows up at David.  At this point, my faith in SiP is being sorely tested.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Strangers in Paradise 6-12

Things get a little bit better as Darcy Parker returns, once again dragging Katchoo into her schemes.  And contrary to my comments in my previous post, the crime stuff is way more interesting than the relationship stuff right now, which makes me sad.  

Heh, I like the PAs.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Strangers in Paradise 13-15

The High School arc.  This is wonderful, seeing Francine and Katchoo bond from the get go.  Then things get horrible when Katchoo’s home life is revealed.  It’s heartbreaking and a phenomenal read.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Strangers in Paradise 16

The fluffy Xena issue.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Strangers in Paradise 17-22

Seeing Francine’s sobbing agony and Katchoo’s stoic pain affects me way more than the drama of their younger selves.  Maybe because I’m older as well and can relate to it more, just as younger me was far more taken by the pouring-rain-confessions of volume 2.

And then Katchoo comes back and she sees her…

All the emotions.

Back in the present, the two get into a massive fight over Katchoo’s nude paintings of Francine.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Strangers in Paradise 23-27

Wacky hijinks with our trio, Freddie, Casey, and the paintings.  David inherits Darcy’s fortune (1.4 billion dollars!).  Katchoo and Francine get into another fight, and while I understand Francine’s indecision, I’m on Team Katchoo with this one.

Then David and Katchoo survive a plane crash…

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Strangers in Paradise 28-30

Katchoo’s pulled back into the power plays of the Big Six.  Again.  And pushes Francine away.  Again.  While the plotting and scheming is fun to read, Moore’s finally crossed my threshold of “how many ways can the writer artificially keep the OTP apart before I get sick of it and call bullshit?”

That said, I’m happy that after a slow start to the series, things have gotten good enough that I read thirty-one issues in the past two days.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good