Rorschach

Rorschach 1-12

The rare Tom King maxiseries where the individual issues are stronger than the overall story.  Usually, King’s mysteries don’t come together until the end, where everything suddenly ties together in a brilliant flash of revelation.  This time around, each issue works remarkably well as a standalone mini-puzzle.  It’s in the final two issues that things fall apart, when the convoluted trail of breadcrumbs somehow convinces the detective to murder presidential candidate Turley for reasons that I can’t quite figure out.  (And I went back to read it again to make sure.)  Maybe it’ll make more sense the more times I read it, and it certainly won’t be a hardship to do so.  Despite my criticisms, this is a really well done comic book.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

New Comics

New comics!

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow 4

This is a special series, even by Tom King standards.  He can be so good at the two-page mini-story, using it to capture yet another aspect of Supergirl and what makes her great.  It struck me today that the writing style he uses is reminiscent of Laura Ingalls Wilder or Lucy Maud Montgomery.  There’s a refined, old school elegance to his language that works beautifully here.

This is very Clark Kent.

But this is where Kara differs from him.  She's harder.

Nightwing 84

Crossing over to Fear State, the event going on over in Batman, I presume.  Robbie Rodriguez does a great job filling in, I love his kinetic, lean style.  There’s Otto Schmidt and Sean Murphy in there.

Batman vs Bigby 1

I got this out of my love for Fables, but even with original writer Bill Willingham at the helm, I have to say that I’m not feeling this.  It reads more like a lesser Jack of Fables spin off than something from the master.  I might want to cancel this before I get in too deep.

Black Widow 11

Lovely art as usual, but this time it’s from Rafael de Latorre.  Between this and Captain Marvel, Kelly Thompson is really cornering the market on awesome all-women teams.  Though it would be really nice if she weren’t the only one.

Seven Secrets 12

I think that’s it for me.  Twelve issues in, and this has done very little for me, despite the colorful, beautiful art.  I just don’t care about any of these people.

Rorschach 12

Annnd, that’s it?  I mean, it’s well done from a craft POV, but it’s a little underwhelming.  I think it’ll be much better on the re-read.  

That’s it for all the non-Spider-Man Ultimates titles, it fills one box!  I’m not sure if I’m moving on to that Bendis run or something else.  It’s a lot of Spider-Man to be starting, no matter how good it is.  

Box summary

Time spent reading: 22 hours, 25 minutes

Issues read: 238

Issues cut: 42

Highlights (Good or better): Ultimate X-Men 1-6, 40-45, 58, Ultimate War, Ultimate Fantastic Four 1-12, Ultimates, Ultimates 4 1-12

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 42 days, 21 hours, 42 minutes

Issues read: 9001

Issues cut: 1074

Skyward, New comics

New comics!

Captain Marvel 31

A fun little banter issue, Kelly Thompson’s usual “single issue breather between arcs.”  Carol’s Kree sister Lauri continues to be an utter delight.

Rorschach 11

The string of excellent issues is broken as Tom King starts to bring it all together in the penultimate issue.  This will make more sense in the re-read, I’m sure.

Seven Secrets 11

I really need to consider the possibility that this series just isn’t doing it for me, despite my general love for Tom Taylor and the gorgeous art by Daniele Di Nicuolo.  The traitor is revealed here, and I have zero emotional reaction.  As colorful and sweet looking as all these keepers and holders are I couldn’t name a single one of them.  Not sure how much longer I’m going to give this.  

Skyward 1-15

This is as good as I remember.  My original reviews are here, but I’m going to repost some art by Lee Garbett because it’s that lovely.

Garbett loves his tiny characters set against huge backgrounds.

Scintillating colors by Antonio Fabela

Literally one of my favorite drawings ever.

He just draws a lovely floating Willa.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Arrowsmith, New comics

New comics!

Batman: The Detective 4

Things are starting to happen as the bad guys make their move and Batman begins his counteroffensive.  Super cute moment from Alfred:

DIE 18

There’s such a dreamlike quality to this book.  I’m not sure if I like this book, but I’m always intrigued by it.  

Seven Secrets 10

There’s no doubt that this will read better all at once.  The art by Daniele Di Nicuolo is always great to look at, though.

Rorschach 10

Tom King reveals the conspiracy here, still somehow making this totally engaging as a standalone issue if you’ve forgotten most of what happened before.  This is really good.

Arrowsmith 1-6

Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco tell a story of World War I but with magic.  There are plenty of cliches, including letters home from the country hick who enlisted with dreams of glory.  But the art is peak Pacheco and the elements of sorcery keep it fresh enough to stay engaging throughout.  The promised sequels never happened, and I’m not sure if I would buy them at this point.  Maybe for the Pacheco art.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Batman: Halloween Special, New Comics

So many new comics!  It’s a day for Toms, with three Taylor and two King issues to start:

Nightwing 81

The combination of lovely art by Bruno Redondo and wonderful writing by Tom Taylor continues.  This will be a delight to reread.

Babs is wearing the Slap Shirt!!!  How do the two Robins feel about it?

Batman: The Detective 3

The history of Bruce Wayne and his relationship with Henri Ducard.  Nothing particularly interesting, I hope there’s a point to it when all of this is done.

Seven Secrets 9

This really needs to be read all at once.  There are just too many characters and each issue doesn’t stand on its own.  (It’s the opposite of Rorschach…)

Rorschach 9

...Which continues to entertain despite me having no clue of how it all fits together.  This’ll be a fun re-read as well, as are most King stories.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow 1

This is the most straightforward, linear story Tom King may have ever told, which doesn’t diminish its quality in any way.  Artist Bilquis Evely gives off major Kevin O’Neill vibes in a good way.  Looking forward to the rest of this.  

Batman: Halloween Special 1-3

The Tim Sale/Jeph Loeb stories that started it all.  (Actually, I’m wrong.  They did Challengers of the Unknown before this.)  The first two stories, with Scarecrow and Mad Hatter, are pretty sweet.  The last one is a disappointing, uninspired Christmas Carol riff that brings nothing original to the table.  

I always got so mad whenever my mom said the Batman logo looked like baby teeth. I guess she wasn't the only one.

There's something old school about running along the gears.

Great pose.

Aww.

This reminds me of Heath Ledger's laugh.

Love how he draws the teeth.

This is all an appetizer for the Long Halloween to come.  Can’t wait for tomorrow.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good (Nice for the last one)

Maus, New comics

New comics, three weeks worth!

Seven Secrets 8

Some super sweet looking action from Daniele Di Nicuolo, but with 14 Keepers and Holders to keep track of, I’m getting a little lost with all the characters.  This’ll read better at once.  

Rorschach 8

I almost never remember what happened last issue, so I’m having a ton of trouble keeping track of the plot.  But Tom King is so adept at making each of these issues stand alone that I’m still having a blast.  

The transition to this page is so creepy.

Shadecraft 2

I’m not nearly as taken with this as I was Skyward.  The plot is still taking its time to develop, and it’s going pretty slowly.  Still, Joe Henderson’s crafted an exciting cliffhanger for the second issue in a row.

Batman: Detective 2

Not bad, but not stand out.  

Die 16

I’m always impressed and grateful when I can enjoy an issue even when I can’t remember the last issue.  (See Rorschach.)  Kieron Gillen does a great job here of immersing me back in the world of DIE, and I’m looking forward to the dungeon crawl that starts next issue.

Black Cat 6

A set up issue as Black Cat looks to reverse the deal Black Fox made last month.  Still fun.

Maus 1-2

For some reason, I had the urge to read this during my midnight snacking last night.  There’s not much for me to say.  It’s Maus.  I’ve read this many, many times now, and it’s always great.  The subject matter is the only thing keeping this from the highest rating.  It’s hard to say that a story about the Holocaust brings me Pure Joy.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Superman, New Comics

New comics!

Batman: The Detective 1

Tom Taylor and Andy Kubert, sounds great to me.  I could do without the Knight and Squire appearances, but the premise is solid - Someone is killing all the people Batman’s saved throughout his career.  I’m in.

Black Cat 5

The Black Fox reveals the endgame behind all of these heists, and there’s no doubt it’s not going to end with a win for him.  Writer Jed MacKay continues to entertain.

Rorschach 7

More conspiracy theories, and now Frank Miller (yes, that one) is the latest Rorschach.  It’s all heading somewhere, and unlike some of his other current titles (Strange Adventures, Batman/Catwoman), each individual issue strongly stands on its own as well.

Action Comics 1001-1007, 1015

It’s the same as his work over on Superman; Brian Michael Bendis nails the little character moments, but I could not care less about the main plot of low level criminals trying to outwit Superman.  I just don’t care at all.  Red Cloud?  Boring.  The gossip columnist at the Daily Planet?  Boring.  All the internal mafia drama?  Etc.

See my previous posts from when I first bought these issues to see the moments that worked for me.  Turns out they’re all just as good the second time around.

Still don’t regret my decision to stop buying.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Superman: Up in the Sky 1-6

I suspect my original posts from 2019 will show that my opinion of this title has not changed; Some really good stuff from Tom King and Andy Kubert.  Over half of the twelve segments in this series are among the best Superman stories I’ve read.  They can all be described in one word: Setup.  Boxing.  Healer.  Phone call (Okay, two.).  Euthanasia.  Temptation.  Questions.  

What keeps this from hitting Pure Joy?  Despite his obvious humanity, this Superman is too perfect.  He doesn’t screw up, he says all the right things.  He lacks a warmth, a relatable quality that marks the absolutely best Superman stories (For All Seasons, Secret Identity).  But it’s really darn close.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Walking Dead, Archer and Armstrong, Bloodshot, New comics

New comics!

Rorschach 6

I don’t remember enough about what’s gone before to know where this comes in the timeline of the story.  The letter exchange between Laura and WIl is fine enough, as are the snippets of the presidential debate, but this is one of the slighter issues of the series so far.

Taskmaster 4

More fun than the previous issue.  The fight between Taskmaster and Okoye is well done, and I like how Taskmaster was constantly thwarted in his attempts to look at her.  (He can’t copy her movements until he sees her.)  One issue to go, looking forward to his showdown with Black Widow.  

Walking Dead 97-193

For the majority of my time reading this series, I’ve been giving the issues a Pretty Good rating.  But I’ve had to change my assessment after finishing the whole run - My collection initially ended with issue 168 (The emotional death of Andrea).  But I had to know what happened next, and bought the last four trades to finish up the story.  (That doesn’t contradict the Wouldn’t buy again rating; I wanted these issues to finish up the collection.  But were I to lose my whole collection, I wouldn’t buy Walking Dead over again.)  

In the final analysis, I tore through the last 97 issues of the story in 3 days; There’s no way a comic that’s only ‘pretty good’ can grab my attention like that.  A couple of final thoughts about Walking Dead:

There are few villains in comics as compelling as Negan.  An amazing job of writing by Robert Kirkman to make him so sympathetic after the horrors he’s performed.  George RR Martin’s the only other writer I can think of off the top of my head who can do that so well.

The spreadsheet I made keeping track of all the deaths.  (I stopped after TPB 28.)  Kirkman killed 68 out of the 111 characters I tracked.  The majority of the survivors were introduced at around the halfway point of the series (The discovery of The Hilltop).  

The introduction of the Commonwealth was a little too far fetched for me; That society was way too developed from what we’d seen up until then.  

The status of the world in the flash forward, which was as implausible as the Commonwealth, still felt earned.  I was ready for the happy ending after so many issues of death.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good 

Archer and Armstrong 1-4

Moving on to the Valiant comics in my collection.  (Except for Ivar, Timewalker, which somehow wasn’t grouped with them.)  Archer, which has the same creative team as Ivar, elicits pretty much exactly the same comments - Well done humor, good action, interesting plot, but not enough to keep me reading.

(Archer reads as a clone of Connor Hawke, which is a point for, not against, the series.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Bloodshot 1-4

An entertaining but forgettable story about a superpowered agent rebelling against the government that created him.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

All-New X-Men, New comics

New comics!

Taskmaster 3

Not bad, but it hasn’t reached the same humor levels as issue 1, which was the whole reason I subscribed to the titles in the first place.

Heh.  Nice parody.

Marvel Action: Chillers 4

Sadly, this written-for-kids series bored the heck out of me, even with nice art by Gretel Lusky and Jeremy Whitely on writing.  

Future State: Wonder Woman 2

A complete waste of my money, even with Joelle Jones’ art.  The story is nonsensical and this new WW character does nothing for me.  Not a good week for the sub box.

Rorschach 5

The usual Tom King goodness.  

All-New X-Men 18-21

A less-than-scintillating story with the Purifiers.  Luckily, it’s just a blip in the radar of Bendis’ strong X-Men writing.

Nice to get Brent Anderson to do the God Loves Man Kills flashback pages.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

All-New X-Men 22-24

Guardians of the Galaxy 11-13

The Shiar put Jean Grey on trial for the Dark Phoenix genocide she hasn’t committed yet.  It’s fun.

Love how David Marquez (?) fits a whole splash page into a tiny panel in the middle.

I'd forgotten how much I love the Angela/Gamora relationship

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

All-New X-Men 25

A waste of time splash page jam session extravaganza.  Blech.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Didn’t suck

All-New X-Men 26-30

The Brotherhood from Battle of the Atom returns.  Lots of well done action.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good