New Comics, Richard Dragon, Shazam, Solo

New comics!

Criminal Sanity 5

Harley meets Joker for the first time, perhaps setting things up for the standard dysfunctional relationship we’re all accustomed to. I hope writer Kami Garcia resists that temptation, as I like where this different take has been going so far.

Seven Secrets 2

An issue-long training montage, and a super fun one at that.  Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo give us a tiny bit more insight into the various Keepers and Holders of the secrets, and I’m still on board.  There’s something about both the writing and art style that reminds me of Excellence by Brandon Thomas and Khary Randolph, but I hope this is good enough to last a little longer on my pull list than five issues.

Stringbags

I had no idea this Garth Ennis war graphic novel existed until I read about it in a random interview.  (It’s published by Dead Reckoning, whom I’ve never heard of.)  This one’s about the pilots of the Fairey Swordfish biplane (an archaic aircraft that nevertheless saw service in WWII).  The information turned out to be more interesting than the story or the characters, but that’s not a bad thing.  I love learning about this era.

Old Guard: Force Multiplied 1-5

I got the trade after watching the movie.  And as with the first volume, I think the (hopefully) sequel film will be better than the comic source material.  Really one of the few times that’s true.  Not that the comic is bad or anything, just that the movie brought out so much more nuance.  

Richard Dragon 1-12

This is what I’m hoping the upcoming Shang-Chi comic is going to be - A fun comic about a martial arts master constantly getting into fights with just a touch of character development.  Chuck Dixon teams up with Scott McDaniel once again to tell the story of the man who trained just about every empty hand fighter in the DCU.  (And like in Nightwing, Dixon has his protagonist get involved with a neighbor in his apartment building.  Why is he such a fan of that trope?)  It’s a shame this only lasted a year, I would have liked more.

Regret Buying: No

Would Buy Again: Yes

Would Read Again: Yes

Rating: Good

Shazam: Monster Society of Evil 1-4

Oh my god Jeff Smith.  I’d forgotten how purely delightful this is.  His art is a thing of magic, he draws everything so well.  Here, it’s especially the kids that he nails - Billy Batson is immediately someone that I empathize with due to how he’s depicted, and Mary is the unquestionable MVP of the series.  So much, so much fun.  It just misses out on the Pure Joy rating due to the so so story.  But the art is just about perfect.  

The range of emotions in these panels!

That hoodie!  Cute and honest storytelling.

Regret Buying: No

Would Buy Again: Yes

Would Read Again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam 1-4

I bought this because I love Mike Kunkel’s work on Herobear and the Kid.  But unfortunately, something about this just doesn’t click, same as the latter issues of Herobear.  I think it’s a number of little things - Kunkel’s writing is just a little too earnest, and definitely too exposition-heavy.  There do not need to be so many words each page.  It also doesn’t help to follow Jeff Smith on stage; He’s certainly a talented creator, but few people can match up with Smith.

Regret Buying: No

Would Buy Again: No

Would Read Again: No

Rating: Fine

Solo 1

Spotlight on Tim Sale.  This is such a strong showcase of his work; The For All Seasons short story is just as beautiful as the original series, and the last page of the Supergirl bit made me tear up for personal reasons.  Lovely.

Sigh.

Regret Buying: No

Would Buy Again: Yes

Would Read Again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Solo 5

The usually wonderful Darwyn Cooke art, but the writing lets it down.

In love.

Regret Buying: No

Would Buy Again: Yes

Would Read Again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Solo 8

Teddy Kristiansen.  Few people capture the dreamy mood better than he.  I like Neil Gaiman’s idea of two ghosts constantly hooking up by possessing a variety of people.

Regret Buying: No

Would Buy Again: No

Would Read Again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Batman, Superman/Shazam: First Thunder

Batman 58-60

Batman Annual 3

Batman Secret Files 1

The ninth Tom King Batman trade.  Batman discovers that Bane’s passivity is an act, and that he’s secretly running Arkham Asylum from within.  No one, not even Jim Gordon, believes him, which leads to Batman punching the commissioner in the face. It’s a little far-fetched, considering the history and trust between the two long-time friends.  The trade only gives us three issues of story, so there’s not much to judge.

Secret Files is an anthology issue, much like Batman 1000, and it’s just as meh.

Batman Annual 3 is exceptional.  It’s an Alfred-centric story, showing the things he does and has done for Bruce since the fateful night he got the phone call telling him the Waynes had been murdered.  It’s touching and full of heartfelt emotion. Superb work by Tom Taylor and Otto Schmidt.

Superman/Shazam: First Thunder

Judd Winick and Joshua Middleton give us the story of Superman and Captain Marvel’s first meeting.  I’ve never been a Billy Batson fan. The “child in an adult body” angle doesn’t do anything for me, and I’m unlikely to watch the movie when it comes out later this week.  (Thinking about the similarities between Shazam and Big, I would have loved to see Tom Hanks from the 80s play the role.  I love Zachary Levi, but I don’t buy him in the part. Though I suspect a lot has to do with the padded suit.  It looks ridiculous.)

Too much suspension required.

So the story itself is fine.  Standard team up against Sivana.  (Which does yield a great line from an exasperated henchman:)

But the ending gives me chills every time I read it.  The compassion and trust that Clark shows Billy, who can clearly use a friend and mentor at a very difficult time in his life, gives me goosebumps.

That scene alone merits this miniseries the Major Feels rating, moving it out of my usual grading system.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Major Feels