Harleen, Criminal Sanity

New comics!

Gotham City: Year One 1

Slam Bradley gets into the middle of the kidnapping of the baby Helen Wayne during the 1960s.  It’s a straight up noir mystery.  As always, a good start by Tom King, this time with Phil Hester on art.

Batman: Beyond the White Knight 5

The whole alter ego switching places with the main personality thing was weird when it was the Joker in previous series.  It’s just as strange here with Jack Napier in Bruce Wayne’s head.  I think Sean Murphy’s firmly on the diminishing returns curve now with the White Knight series, but it’s still good enough for me to stay on, at least for the duration of this arc.  

Human Target 7 

It’s back after a short hiatus, yay!  This is still one of King’s best series, and he’s doing it all through mood.  He and Greg Smallwood have created something perfect here.  

That dress shirt look.  So hot.

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity 1-8

A crime thriller reimagining of the Harley/Joker relationship, complete with creative serial killer murder scenes and psychological cat-and-mouse back and forths. 

I’m so happy that Kami Garcia didn’t go with the expected “Harley is seduced by Joker” ending.  Looking at my past reviews, it seems like that’s all I was really hoping for with every issue.  Mission accomplished, I guess.  

The part where Harley lets Joker go still makes no sense to me.  If she wanted to kill him, she should have just done it.  If she wanted to send him to jail, she should have told the cops.  If she wanted to catch him in the act, she was criminally inept at it.  It’s a really clumsy way of setting up a disappointing final confrontation.  

Still, I really liked the original take on the dynamic.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Harleen 1-3

Stjepan Sejic is a comic-creating god.  He’s got some of the loveliest art out there, and everything he writes is top notch.  The only problem is that he’s got so many ideas that he can’t stay with one for long, moving between them as inspiration dictates.  It’s frustrating in that I want to know what happens for all of them, but if this is how he stays fresh and keeps everything good, I’ll happily live with that trade off.  

Unlike Criminal Sanity, this is a flat out retelling of the Harley Quinn origin story.  But it’s so exquisitely done that I dare say it surpasses even the original Mad Love by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini.  Harley’s fall is slow, inevitable, and all the more tragic because Sejic really takes the time to make her a relatable, likable protagonist.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

New comics

Two weeks of new comics!

Punisher: Soviet 2

After a somewhat generic start last issue, Garth Ennis puts his stamp on this Punisher story with one of his “soldier tells another soldier a flashback war story as they sit there chilling” scenes.  No one does them better, this is what I came for.

American Jesus 1

I didn’t know that Mark Millar and Peter Gross were doing a follow up to Chosen.  This time, the child really is supposed to be Jesus.  Of course, Millar ends the issue with a trip to Waco, Texas, so there’s still plenty of room for expectation subversion.  I’m not sure if I care enough to pay for this anymore. Will see how I feel about it next month.

Old Guard: Force Multiplied 1

Same for this follow up to Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez’s Old Guard - Not bad by any stretch, but my memories of both the original series and this first issue don’t extend beyond, “Eh, nice.”  I have yet to want to reread the first series, don’t know why I should buy more of this second one.

Spider-Man 3

Aaaannnnd I’m out.  This has been on a steady decline since issue 1, and zombie heroes are the last straw.  Not that they can’t be well done (see the phenomenal DCeased), but this is just no good.  Also, I’m still mad at JJ Abrams from Rise of Skywalker.  

King Thor 4

Eh.  An underwhelming finish for what was, at times, an amazing run on Thor.  Kudos to Jason Aaron for his lengthy stint, but when I look back on this, it’s Jane Foster Thor that I’m going to remember, not this final arc.

Captain Marvel 13

Kelly Thompson reveals Carol’s dilemma far earlier than I expected.  Standard blackmail stuff, but Lee Garbett’s art and the execution of the story will keep me around for a little while longer.

Batman: Curse of the White Knight 5

Love the cover.

I find myself not caring about the story at all, and just sinking into Sean Murphy’s gorgeous art.  And I’m totally happy with that. 

Great take on the Azbats costume.

Lovely action sequence.

Really creative visualization of diving.

Doomsday Clock 12

I’ll need to reread this in its entirety to have any clue as to what just happened.  I’m pretty sure it wasn’t good, but there’s a chance that it wasn’t bad.

Harleen 3

Jesus moly, this is a masterpiece.  I’m trying to come up with a list of creators who are at this level of proficiency on both writing and art.  Is it sacrilegious that Frank Miller is the first person that I thought of? Is Stjepan Sejic just that good?  In any case, I want the Poison Ivy followup that he’s toying around with. Between this and Sunstone, Sejic is now on my list of tier one comic masters.

Harrowing final page.

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, New comics

Three new comics this week!

Ironheart 11

I’d be down with Riri staying in Wakanda forever.  This is an awesome team:

Harleen 2

Simply phenomenal.  Between Sunstone and this, I haven’t read anything less than stellar from Stjepan Sejic yet.  

Awesome interpretation of Harvey's new vision.

This is the comic I want to read.

Sunstone flashbacks.

Final submission.  Beautifully done by Sejic.

Superman Smashes the Klan 1

I passed on this last week.  The art (Gurihiru from Unstoppable Wasp.  So nice to see them again!) is lovely, but I wasn’t in the mood to read about white supremacists and discrimination against a Chinese family.  But I picked it up this week after a glowing review on iFanboy.

Turns out both things are true - The high praise is well warranted, and I still dislike reading about racism.  My stream-of-consciousness problems with it as a comic book plot point: 1) I want to be entertained when I read comic; Racism isn’t entertaining.  It’s far too real to be escapist, regardless of the presence of Superman. 2) I already know this problem exists, and I’m on board with it as an evil that would ideally be eradicated.  I don’t need to read examples of why it’s horrible.

Given that, I’m still glad I picked this up.  This is (surprisingly) my first exposure to Gene Luen Yang’s work.  His reputation is deserved, if this is any indication of his body of work.  And let’s be honest, I really would like to see Superman smash some Klan assholes.  

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Sith War 1-6

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Redemption 1-5

Bullet point thoughts:

Ulic Qel-Droma is one of the best names ever.  

Nomi Sunrider is a great character.

Main artist Chris Gossett fluctuates wildly in quality from page to page.  Some of his highlights below:

Sweet dual wielding pose.

Just a really solid drawing of Ulic Qel-Droma

How is this the same artist?

I wish the interior art for these comics was as great as the covers.

Double-bladed lightsaber years before Phantom Menace.  It caught my eye on the shelf, to say the least.

Redemption is the best part of these issues, a quiet epilogue to the sweeping vision of the previous arcs.  (The art is also stronger. Better coloring?) Alas, it’s marred by the worst example of the fool trope, the bumbling out-of-his-depth idiot who does stupid things and gets away with it because he isn’t worth the trouble to kill.  I’ve never liked that type of character, and he mars an otherwise solid story.

Hate this fucker.

Generally, this is an epic saga that could have benefited from better execution, but it holds up pretty well from when I first read it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine.  Nice for Redemption

Second Coming, New Comics

I am so far behind it’s ridiculous.  I expect it’ll get even worse once the baby show up.  Anyway, let’s see how much I can keep this going.

New comics!

Action Comics 1015

Seeing the continuation of Naomi’s story and her first interactions with the Dynamic Duo enticed me into buying this issue, after an eight month hiatus from this title.  (No regrets on that pause.) Bendis continues to show his remarkable ability to write Superman as an inspirational big brother for ever other hero in the DCU and Batman as Orin from Parks and Recreation.  

I might stick around for another issue, but this initial meeting may be all I really need for now.

Batman/Superman 2

The art by David Marquez may keep this in rotation for a few more months, but Joshua Williamson’s words alternate between pretty decent and a little too on the nose.  

Looks so damn good.

It's true, but I don't think he'd ever say it out loud.

I’m still bored by The Batman Who Laughs, I’m not sure if I’ll last through this story arc.

Batman: Curse of the White Knight 3

Sean Murphy continues to draw a stunning book with another brilliant action scene at the end of the issue.  I’ll pay more attention to the plot when I read this in its entirety.  

Ragnarok: The Breaking of Helheim 2

Good clean Walt Simonson fun.  Reminds me a lot of Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo.  Though if I think about that, I stopped buying Usagi when I realized that as good as it is, I’ve never needed to re-read it - Each trade is pretty much interchangeable with the next.  Is Ragnarok the same?  Will I ever want to revisit this?  Something to consider when the next issue pops up on the shelves.  

Five Years 4

I think I like the practice of buying the issues of this series that have both Katchoo and Francine in them.  Theirs is the story that I want to follow, not the bigger “quest to stop development of the world-ending bomb” plot.  I’ll flip through this each month. If Francine shows up, I’ll consider it. She’s great in this. (A testament to the strength of Terry Moore’s creations that I’m evaluating the characters as if they’re real people.)

Harleen 1

Sunstone’s Stjepan Sejic tackles the origin story of Harley Quinn.  It’s as stunning and intricate as I hoped it would be. He’s telling the story at a slow, tense pace, ratcheting up the horrors inside Harleen’s mind as her inevitable first interview with Joker draw closer.  It makes the final line on the last page an absolute gutpunch. My heart breaks for Harleen, who has no idea of what’s to come, what that small acquiescence portends.  

Chills.

Second Coming 1-3

My decision to stop buying this means that it can slot right into Misc Box number five, the one I’m in the middle of reviewing.  Looking back at my reviews of the past two issues, it’s clear that my concerns were borne out.  Reading these issues a second time confirmed my original critiques - A great start that lacked a strong follow up.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice