New comics

New comics!

Fantastic Four 17

The “team’s lost their memory and need to figure out their powers and interpersonal dynamics” thing feels a little overused, but Ryan North does a good enough job with it.  And it works without the reader needing to know anything about the DNX crossover it’s tying into, so bonus points for that.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 24

I just love this title so much when Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman are together on it.  It’s a perfect mix of exhilarating action, character beats, and gorgeous art.  I need to find the time to read it all at once, I still haven’t done that.  

Alien vs X-Men 1

This reminds me a lot of Warren Ellis’ WildCATs/Aliens, where the xenomorphs kill off a bunch of mainstays early on, setting up the main event to follow.  Kieron Gillen gets things off to a good start, but hopefully it doesn’t fall apart the way Aliens vs Avengers did.

Wonder Woman 2026 Annual

Tom King lets Stephanie and Leah Williams tell the origin of the Matriarch.  Blah blah she’s been selfish as a kid blah blah.  It’s competent enough, but doesn’t make Matriarch any more of an interesting character to me.  

Absolute Batman 24

I’m honestly surprised at how much my enthusiasm for this title has plummeted.  There’s something going on w/ the introduction of Absolute Batgirl, but I find myself just not caring at all.  A few more months of this and I’m likely to drop it.  

Batman of Two Worlds 1

Something DC put out for Batman Day, which I didn’t know was a thing.  This reads like a Free Comics Book Day kind of issue with short stories featuring the Matt Fraction Batman and Snyder’s Absolute Batman.  Totally not worth paying three bucks for.  

Last Driver 2

I’m totally in this for the art, because Sean Murphy’s writing isn’t holding up its end of the bargain.  

Flash 37

Flash gets into an ethics debate w/ this JLA teammates, and comes across as a simple-minded idiot when he’s unable to even acknowledge the gray area of his Minority Report actions.  It’s all a moot point when a catastrophe he supposedly prevented occurs anyway.  I hope his failing precog doesn’t let him off the hook for his philosophical failings.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees Halloween Special

I was saddened to discover that creator Patrick Horvath only did the wrapper scenes for this anthology issue. But the various teams all do a great job, and certainly capture the same creepy spirit Horvath brought to the original two miniseries.  Looking forward to the next arc when it comes out in 2027.  

Superman: The Stranger 2

Wes Craig nails the 1920’s vibe with this story.  It really feels like a spiritual companion to For All Seasons.  Can’t put my finger on why, but that’s the feeling I get when I read this, even though it isn’t as Norman Rockwell.  

Batman 14

Batman looks for Mr Freeze while Verity Pennyworth takes on a trio of cop looters at the mansion.  Eh.  

Death Vigil 3

More of the same.  Again, not Stjepan Sejic’s best, but it might be growing on me.

New comics

New comics!

Six of Us 1

When I finished reading this issue, I couldn’t help myself from saying, “He’s so freaking good” out loud.  Tom King absolutely nails it with this first issue, which isn’t always the case with his titles.  (Not that they don’t almost always end up spectacularly.)  

It’s wonderful pitch: A member of this thinly-veiled cast of Friends (it’s Matthew Perry, RIP) is murdered by one of the other five.  Who dunnit?  King does a wonderful job of starting to flesh out the six actors, clearly tying them to their real-life counterparts while setting them apart with original relationships and motivations.  I can’t wait to read the rest of this.  

And who doesn’t wish that the Friends could have made a movie out of this?

Death Vigil 2

This is probably the weakest of Stjepan Sejic’s series that I’ve read.  It’s probably no coincidence that this is the most plot-heavy of his titles as well, with far less emphasis on the relationships between his characters.  I just picked up the first volume of this, and I’ll decide from there if I want to keep buying this.  

Doomquest 4

Doom lives through his own “Inner Light” (the legendary Star Trek: TNG episode).  He forswears his life of domination in order to live out a traditional family life with his childhood soulmate, Valeria.  By his own admission, it’s fulfilling, full of love, and unlike anything he’s ever experienced before.  The twist comes at the end, as Valeria’s dying of old age.  He decides that it still isn’t enough.  That’s he’s meant for more.  For he is Doom.  So he repudiates his life to her face before moving on down the timestream.

It’s heartless, cruel, cold, and utterly Doom.  A masterpiece of an issue by Ryan North.

Parker Girls 1-10

The Parker Girls, now run by Tambi, take down faux-Mark Zuckerberg.  Because he’s a murderous psychopath.  I said this last time with Five Years, but Terry Moore is such a master of the craft at this stage of his career.  The writing and art blend so seamlessly into a reading experience that’s just a joy to sit through.  

Dr Strange and Dr Doom: Triumph and Torment

A colleague recently recommended this to me, and Marvel coincidentally happened to reprint it a few weeks later.  It’s got 80’s era Mike Mignola illustrating this Roger Stern story.  Dr Strange is forced to grant Dr Doom a boon, so they journey together into Hades to confront Mephisto and save the soul of Doom’s mother.  The story is solid, and Mignola channels P Craig Russell way more than his own distinctive style (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).  But it suffers from the 80’s wordiness that can be such a momentum killer for a banger comic.  I don’t regret buying this, but it doesn’t rank among the top tier of that decade.

Legion of Super-Heroes 1

I bought this solely due to Hayden Sherman’s name on the cover.  As long as he keeps drawing Absolute Wonder Woman.  Joshua Williamson writes a good-enough start that has the potential to be excellent.  (This looks to be a reboot of the team.)  And if it’s at all serviceable, I have no doubt that Sherman’s beautiful art will take it the rest of the way.

Superman: The Stranger 1

Wes Craig (of Deadly Class and Kaya fame) writes and draws this take on the 1920s Superman at the start of his career.  It’s lovely to look at, evoking Tim Sale’s work, but with a flavor of its own.  This is on my sub now.