New Comics

New comics!

Fantastic Four 4

Alicia Masters is the hero of this issue, where her blindness is the only reason the alien threat to the family is discovered.  As usual, Ryan North takes a random scientific concept and builds the story around it to excellent, entertaining effect.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 12

The final issue of Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra’s run (with a talented roster of fill-ins at the beginning).  It’s not a masterpiece or anything, and this last issue is filled with a generic fight scene, but the run was always fun and gorgeous to look at.  Not sticking around for Gene Luen Yang’s run; TMNT doesn’t have the childhood nostalgic pull of Transformers or GI Joe, and I only hopped on for Aaron.

Detective Comics 1102

Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin’s run really harkens back to the days of Norm Breyfogle, Jim Aparo, and the pre-Knightfall Batman comics.  Standalone (or short arc) stories that are reliable, fun, and pretty much disposable.  Which I mean in a good way.  It’s all in the craft and execution, and this creative team has it in spades.

Ultimate Spider-Man 22

Setting up the final few issues.  Ultimate Superior Spider-Man shows up as Otto Octavius has apparently been officially recruited by Peter and Harry.  Here’s hoping that Jonathan Hickman can bring this home.  (Which would be a rare feat for him…)

Powers 25 2

God is it nice to be reading vintage Bendis dialogue again.  I love this man’s writing.  (I just picked up Scarlet for cheap in trade, can’t wait to read that for the first time.)

Absolute Wonder Woman 13

Horribly disappointed that Hayden Sherman didn’t draw this one, but Matias Bergara (who I don’t think I’ve seen before) does a fine job.  Still, hopefully this is just for this two-parter and Sherman returns post-haste. 

The War 3

Well that didn’t end the way I expected.  First of all, super happy that Ennis zagged with the home invasion cliffhanger.  The family still dies as expected but in a much darker (even for this story) manner than I imagined.  I don’t think it really works, but that doesn’t diminish the strength of these three issues.  (He lost the shutout, but not the complete game victory.)  Ennis can still bring the heat after so many years.  

Absolute Batman 13

Phew, Selena didn’t get wrecked by Bane, which I thought was the implication with the cliffhanger last issue.  I still love love love this book.

New Gods 11

I don’t love the Ram V story the way I love a lot of his other work.  I think it’s because the New Gods have never worked as more than a plot device for me, and making them the main characters is inherently never going to succeed.  But he does a serviceable job, and Evan Cagle takes the comic on his back and carries it across the line.  His work is flat out gorgeous.  

New comics

Batgirl 11

Batgirl and her half-brother fight the second Sword, then agree to go on a quest with the third one.  (Not sure why the three bad guys were lumped together, they weren’t working together at all.)  I’m done with this, there’s nothing that puts this above replacement level.

Free Comic Book Day: Fantastic Four 1

There’s a cute little FF story by Ryan North and Humberto Ramos here.

Absolute Superman 11

This is such an up and down series. This is a down issue.  The “brainwashing by running the subject through thousands of VR scenarios” story has been done to death, and this iteration doesn’t bring anything new.  The “push the hero to the dark side only to fail” thing has been done even more times, and Jason Aaron doesn’t make it all that interesting either.  Hoping he ends this arc on a high note.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11

Things fall apart for the evil DA as the city rallies around the Turtles.  Cue the final fight.  Gene Luen Yang takes over w/ issue 13, I might actually stick around and give it a shot.

Absolute Green Lantern 6

I’m done.  This is all nonsense.

Mr Terrific: Year One 4

I cancelled my sub, but picked up this issue after it was pick of the week on iFanboy.  It’s fun seeing Bruce Wayne and Michael Holt interacting, but I don’t know if it’s enough for me to get the rest of the series.  I’ll flip through it in the shop next time around.  

The War 2

Garth Ennis is still bringing his A game after all of these years.  This is one of the darkest, grimmest things I’ve read in a long, long time, and it’s so so good.  I only wish Ennis didn’t bring in the armed intruders at the end.  The series is so strong because it’s grounded in realism, and this new element takes me out of that headspace.  

Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League 1-2

Another iFanboy recommendation, and it’s a good one.  It feels like I haven’t read Greg Rucka in a long time, and he’s as good as ever.  The titular characters are still gathering their crew, and it’s a fun ride so far.  

Absolute Flash 7

Not as bad as Absolute Green Lantern, but there’s not enough to keep me around.  I’m done.

Krypto 4

I appreciate the sadness warning at the beginning of the issue, but I’ve read sadder.  This has not been the best of series, but with only one issue to go, I’m going to play it out.

Fantastic Four 3

The FF figure out a way around Doom’s video game save/restore machine, with Ryan North’s typical cleverness.  Lots of fun, how does this guy not run out of ideas?

Battle Action 6, 7, 10

Apparently real-world comic distribution problems created this gap in issues.  Issue ten finishes off this Johnny Red arc with a happily-ever-after.  Fine, but not up to Ennis’ best.  

New comics

Battle Beast 2

This is just beautifully drawn and stupid fun.

Absolute Batman 10

The indomitability of Batman is on full display here.  It’s stunning to behold, a wonderful issue from Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta.

Wonder Woman 23

Tom King introduces us to the creepy inner workings of Mouseworld (or whatever it’s called).  All setup for what’s to come.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 10

More setup, this time getting us to a satisfying final splash page of April O’Neal dressed in Casey Jones’s mask beating the crap out of some soldiers.  Two more issues of this before Jason Aaron, and probably me, take off.

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton 2

Turns out Lex is a shitty dog owner.  Who would have thought?

Absolute Flash 5

I’m worried that I’m only sticking around because of the “Absolute” on the title.  This isn’t bad, but is it really good enough to keep reading?  Maybe a few more issues.

Detective Comics 1099

Old school in the sense that it’s a solid, self-contained arc that leaves Batman where he started with no real consequences.  At least Lee Garbett’s art is still great.

New comics

Batgirl 8

I love that Tate Brombal found a way to tie Richard Dragon into Shiva’s origin story.  Other than that, I think I’m done w/ this series after this arc.  

Absolute Superman 8

Kryptonite makes its debut in the Absolute Universe, and Superman gets a nice fight scene.  Still the weakest of the original three Absolute titles, but it’s up against some truly exceptional material.  

Runaways 1

Rainbow Rowell returns, and this time she’s brought Elena Casagrande with her!  It’s always fun to return to this group of kids, and how wonderful that Doombot takes center stage with this “One World Under Doom” tie-in.  Embrace the duality!

One World Under Doom 5

All the heroes fight Dormammu, which is great.  Then Thor brings up the honest question of whether or not Doom’s really doing a bad job as global dictator.  It’s a surprisingly valid question, and I enjoyed the heated discussion.

Absolute Batman 9

This is a truly grotesque Bane.  Nick Dragotta draws him with Otomo-like bulbous sinews, completely inhuman and disgusting.  It’s so cool.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9

More raving about Juan Ferreyra.  He’s such a freaking good artist.  Marvel needs to put him on something. 

New comics

New comics!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7

Juan Ferreyra’s art is so good.  I want to see him on something more high profile.  On the story-side, Jason Aaron has been spending way too much time on the turtles being mad at each other.  They should have reconciled by now, this thing has dragged on past its shelf life. 

DC vs Vampires: World War V 8

I’ve previously written about how impressed I was by Matthew Rosenberg’s ability to juggle multiple engaging plotlines.  With this issue, the pendulum’s swung to the other side.  Nothing’s given enough time to breathe and develop, and it’s hard for me to enjoy any of it.  Also, it’s usually not a good sign when the New Gods show up.  

Absolute Flash 2

Not much happens this issue; Wally tries to run away from the Absolue Rogues’ Gallery with no real development, and I was hoping for much more.  This is the weakest of the Absolute titles, and I don’t see myself sticking around for much longer.

Wonder Woman 20

Diana enlists Batman’s assistance in solving a murder mystery on Olympus.  Tom King utilizes a strict 9-panel grid.  Guillem March is on pencilling duty.  

Detective Comics 1096

Things end in a rather unsatisfactory manner.  Batman prevents Joe Chill’s murder.  Tom Taylor’s addition to Thomas and Martha Wayne’s past doesn’t make things any more interesting.  Mikel Janin is still an amazing artist.  

Absolute Batman 7

A wonderfully creepy take on Mr. Freeze.  A completely unnecessary, gross death that I did not need to see.  Marcos Martin is too good of an artist for his own good, in this rare case. 

New comics

One World Under Doom 1

Ryan North begins his first (?) Marvel event.  He’s off to a good start, as Doom finally makes his move and takes over the world.  I suspect his eventual downfall will be self-inflicted, much like with Thanos all the time.  

Fantastic Four 29

Tie-in to the previous title.  Part of Doom’s plan is to give everyone a minority to hate.  The daywalking vampires from the previous Marvel event are the target here.  They’re an easy target, since they, you know, suck your blood and everything.  In order to remove the fear, Mr Fantastic develops a blood substitute that will sustain them.  It all comes a little too easy, and Cory Smith is not a league average artist.  This was one of North’s weaker efforts.  Too obvious.  

Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween 5

Love the Bill Sienkiewicz art.  Not so much with the Jeph Loeb story, but that’s nothing new.  

Batgirl 5

Cassandra Cain fights some more as she attempts to save Lady Shiva from the blue ninjas.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7

The brothers’ relationships remain fractured as they fight the Foot and amongst themselves.  Juan Ferreyra’s art is still awesome.  

Detective Comics 1094

Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin are a wonderful team for one of DC’s flagship books.  Taylor makes Damian Wayne not-annoying, which is a nigh-impossible task.  He’s such a good writer.

Black Canary: Best of the Best 4

This month’s in-fight flashback shows us how Dinah and Ollie first meet.  Their meet cute is more of a meet-kicking-the-crap-out-Ollie.  I said that I like Tom King’s more linear stories, but this one’s too slight for me so far.  I expect more complexity from a King story, and there’s none of that here.

Absolute Wonder Woman 5

Man, do I love this title.  It’s beautiful, epic, touching, and overall breathtaking.  At the end of the day, the Tetracide is just another big monster, but Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman manage to make it the scariest thing in the world.  

This and the next title are why I love comics.  

Wonder Woman 18 

Sometimes you just need to see the hero be so much better than the bad guy.  Diana’s ROFL stomping of everyone in front of her is so satisfying, given everything that’s happened to her so far.  It’s completely earned, which is what makes it work.

New comics

New comics!  With this I’ll actually be caught up for once.

Caravaggio

Milo Manara’s take on the life of the famed artist.  The art is stunning, no surprise there, and the gallery of Caravaggio’s work at the end is much appreciated.  The story is so-so, but when it looks this good…I’ll get the second one when it comes out, I think.  But if I miss it, I won’t be too bent of shape about it either.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 6

After a string of top-notch artists, Juan Ferreyra takes over as regular penciller.  I haven’t seen his work before, but I’m very impressed.  He draws kinetic, exciting action scenes, and it’s good to see Jason Aaron’s main plot start in earnest.  

One Hand 1-5/Six Fingers 1-5

These parallel miniseries were on a lot of end-of-year best-of lists, so I thought I’d check them out.  It’s about a serial killer and the cop trying to catch him, a tale as old as time.  It’s a moody, surreal mix of Blade Runner, Matrix, and Seven, and it largely succeeds.  It got a little too weird for me at the end, but I think another read would only improve the experience.  I’ll see how it goes when I revisit this, whenever that may be.

New comics

It’s been a month since I’ve been to my LCS.  Here’s some of what I bought:

DC vs Vampires: World War V 5

Matthew Rosenberg does a great job of weaving multiple storylines together.  And like Tom Taylor did with DCeased, he manages to squeeze in an “oh shit” moment with just about every issue.  This month, it’s what Nightwing’s been doing with the Flash this whole time.  Chilling.

Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter 6

This was one of the prettiest comics I’ve read in a long time.  Tirso’s work is flat out gorgeous.  

Fantastic Four 27

I get the same thought reading this that I do w/ Mark Waid’s current work: I feel like I should be liking this more than I am.  Not prepared to quit on it yet, though.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 5

By far the weakest issue of the run.  It focuses on the villain, not the Turtles, and though it’s well written, I just don’t care as much about this guy.  

Absolute Superman 2

Rafa Sandoval is channeling major Steve Epting vibes here, which isn’t that bad of a thing.  This is still my least favorite of the new Absolute titles.  (Not a strong month for Jason Aaron.)  But it still has promise.  

Batgirl 2

Still a fun, action-oriented comic that feels like a throwback to the 2000’s.  

Detective Comics 1092

Can’t get over how much I love Mikel Janin on interiors.  Also surprised by how un-Tom Taylor this title feels.  It could have been written by any competent writer, and lacks that Taylor flair.  Giving it time.  

Batman: Long Halloween: Last Halloween 4

Cliff Chiang!  This series continues to illustrate just how massive a difference an artist can make on the tone, feel, and success of a comic book.  It’s truly a collaborative effort. 

New comics

New comics!

Battle Action 1

I’ve never heard of Rebellion Comics before, but I’ll go anywhere that Garth Ennis is writing war comics.  Here, he continues his work on Johnny Red.  It’s as good as it was before.  I may have to pick up the earlier Battle Action trades, it looks like Ennis did more Johnny Red stories there.

Absolute Wonder Woman 2

Wonderful.  I don’t know if I’d like Hayden Sherman’s art anywhere else, but it’s perfect for this.  Ready for more.

Detective Comics 1091

I didn’t expect Bruce to take the de-aging drug.  But I guess when Superman gives his blessing, it’s okay.  I’m just so happy to see Mikel Janin’s art again.  

JLA Unlimited 1

I was certainly going to give this Mark Waid/Dan Mora collaboration a shot.  It’s a take on the excellent cartoon series, where every hero in the DCU is a member of the team.  The result is fine, but nothing more.  I won’t be getting more.

Question: All Along the Watchtower 1

This ancillary miniseries is more of what I’m looking for.  I’ve always been a Renee Montoya fan as a detective.  I watched her downward spiral and subsequent transition into the Question with skepticism, but I’m on board for this interpretation by Alex Segura and Cian Tormey.  Montoya’s got a great look (cowboy detective!) and delicious interpersonal drama lined up (Kathy Kane’s the team!).  This should be fun.

Batgirl 1

This reads like a Chuck Dixon comic: Lots of action, just enough plot to tie it all together.  Cassandra Cain and her mother, Lady Shiva, are forced to team up against ninja.  That’s more than enough for me.

Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween 3

What a difference an artist makes.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mark Chiarello’s work.  I knew he was an artist, but mostly knew him as an editor.  Jeph Loeb is definitely a writer whose work rises and falls with the quality of his penciller.  All of a sudden I’m way higher on the rest of this series, especially w/ Cliff Chiang next in the lineup.

Jenny Sparks 4

I’m prepared to call this mini the rare Tom King piece of trash.  This is just plodding along, boring, pointless, and a negative on the entertainment scale.  Off my list, I think.

Black Canary: Best of the Best 1

Luckily, King is back on track with this much simpler story.  Black Canary versus Lady Shiva for reasons yet to be disclosed.  Ryan Sook is almost amazing here, but some of his drawings are a touch stilted.  This would probably be better w/ a different artist, but I’m not really complaining.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4

TIme for Donatello.  A fun, twisted single-issue tale from Jason Aaron and Chris Burnham.  An excellent start to this mini, and now we’ll see where things go with the brothers reunited.

New comics

New comics!

Detective Comics 1090

So this is where Tom Taylor went after finishing off Nightwing.  And with Mikel Janin, most recently seen by me doing a drive-by on Wonder Woman.  Hopefully he stays longer than the one? two? issues he lasted that time.

Taylor kicks things off w/ a massive retcon; Thomas Wayne once saved Joe Chill’s life on the operation table.  Dun dun DUN!  Doesn’t feel necessary, but there’s no question of me sticking around.

Babs 3

A lot more fun than the previous issue, where I had dropped the title from my pull list.  (Too late to keep this from making it into my box.)  Not enough for me to bring it back, I think.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House 5

The plot’s been a bore for the entire story, but the character moments and art have sparkled throughout.  It averages out to an above average effort from Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodriguez.

Absolute Wonder Woman 1

I’ve never heard of artist Hayden Sherman, but this is stunning work.  Kelly Thompson has me intrigued with this take on Diana, and the unanticipated Absolute line at DC is now two for two.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3

Cliff Chiang is the next top shelf artist to draw this title.  It’s Leonardo’s turn for Jason Aaron’s treatment.  This is super fun.

Plastic Man No More! 1

Christopher Cantwell puts a human face on the happy go lucky hero, forcing him to deal with his mortality in a world where no one takes him seriously.  I don’t read all of Cantwell’s work, but I’m always impressed when I do.

Jenny Sparks 1-3

Not Tom King’s best work.  I’m not digging the “Captain Atom-as-immature-Doctor-Manhattan” hostage situation, and Jenny Sparks isn’t much more than an attitude right now.  At least this is a shorter series.

New Comics

More new comics!

Batman: Dark Age 5

This is still not bad, but I’ve pretty much lost all interest.  Only one issue to go.

Jenny Sparks 1

This fits in the “starts off a bit incomprehensible” camp of Tom King’s books.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2

Jason Aaron’s really nailing it.  It’s a very generic “I have everything that I want now that I’m rich and famous, why am I so unhappy?” story.  (Listen to Britney Spears’ Lucky.)  I suppose mixing in ninja and diamond nunchaku separates it from all the others 🙂

Transformers 12

This story arc ends, and I’m done with the title as well.  A month after saying I’m going to stick around for the full 24 issues, I’m tapping out.  It’s missing something.  Can’t explain it, but it’s definitely lacking something crucial.

Helen of Wyndhorn 4

So effing good.  This is why I love Tom King.  And he collaborates so well with Bilquis Evely.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House 3

I know it’s magic and all, but this is getting too psychedelic for my taste.  Still, the art by Javier Rodriguez is good, and maybe Mariko Tamaki can turn it around.  The arrival of John Constantine is a promising addition.

Fantastic Four 23-25

I so wish that Ryan North’s excellent run was paired with a better artist than the perfectly fine Carlos Gomez.  North’s scripts don’t always land perfectly, but the originality of the ideas deserves pencils of equal quality.