Lucifer, Mighty Avengers, Honor Girl

Honor Girl

A coming-of-age memoir by Maggie Thrash.  A fifteen year-old girl realizes she’s gay at summer camp.  I love a good teenage relationship story, the kind with angst, romance, and the intensity of new love.  This one’s pretty good, complete with the bittersweet ending that comes with most real-life first loves.  (Blankets is the one that comes to mind as the pinnacle of the genre.)  The art isn’t all that much, but then I discovered that this was the first time Thrash had drawn a comic.  My impressed meter shot way up at that point.

For all its unpolished simplicity, it clearly tells the story and the strength of the emotions still comes through.  

I read this at the bookstore, so slightly different categories.

Would buy? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice

Mighty Avengers 1-20

Brian Michael Bendis spends the first eleven issues chronicling Tony Stark’s attempt at running a post-Civil War Avengers team.  It’s strictly middle of the road Bendis. This team never really gels, and their fights against Mole Man, Ultron, and Doctor Doom aren’t that interesting.  Frank Cho does fine with the first arc, but Mark Bagley struggles with the second. He’s a great artist when he’s on Spider-Man, but I’m hard pressed to come up with another title that he shines on.    

It's just...not awe-inspiring.

The one thing that stands out in these issues is Bendis’ liberal use of thought balloons.  He so rarely partakes in the practice (I think there was an actual Marvel edict forbidding their use for a while) that their frequent appearances here stand out.  He thankfully spares us the interminable inner monologues of the 80s. Instead, they provide instant snapshots into the minds of the Avengers, what they’re thinking at precise moments.  The balloons reveal the insecurities and pettiness in these characters, to an extent that we rarely see nowadays.

The last nine issues of the trade provide a ton of background on Secret Invasion – How and when certain Skrulls infiltrated Earth, Nick Fury’s gathering of his Secret Warriors, etc.  The strongest issues correspond with the strongest artists – Alex Maleev kicks ass (12 and 13) and Stefano Caselli (18) gets warmed up for his run on Secret Warriors.

Lovely to look at.  No need for Bendis words.

Overall, this run of Mighty Avengers is pretty skippable.  Maleev and Caselli’s issues are good, but they could just as easily have been the first three issues of Secret Warriors.  

Ares would get along with Doom.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No (Yes for 12, 13, and 18)

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Fine (Nice for 12, 13, and 18)

Lucifer 42-55    
I’m going to spout out random thoughts, and see how far it takes me.

Issue 42 has some of the laziest word balloon placement I’ve ever seen.  Jared Fletcher and Comicraft complete botch the balloon pointers on a number of panels.  

Okay.  Garamas is the big one.  Gyges is the little one.

Both balloons are pointing at the wrong demons.

Both should be pointing at Garamas.

The balloons in the first panel are pointing to the wrong people.

A lot of Marc Hempel influences in this hand.  (And the coloring by Daniel Vozzo really sells the sequence.)

Peter Gross pencils.

Hempel.

More reinforcement of the inevitability of this title, the feeling that the plot controls all, and the characters are just going with the flow.  I know it’s not a hidden theme or anything, Mike Carey is pretty blatant about it. But there’s something about Carey’s writing style that makes this whole endeavor so cold and clinical.  I still don’t care about any of these characters.

Lucifer looks great in that black trenchcoat.  

I like this cover a lot, but there’s something Lolitaesque about it that also makes me deeply uncomfortable.  

P. Craig Russell draws issue 50, just like he did for Sandman.  He had practice drawing all of those angels when he did Murder Mysteries two years previously with Neil Gaiman.

From Sandman 50

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Murder Mysteries

Lucifer 50

P. Craig Russell is so good at picking projects that play to his strengths.  They all showcase his ability to draw the fantastical.

Contrast that with Ted Naifeh on issue 45.  His excellent work on Courtney Crumrin would suggest an affinity for the world of Lucifer, but most of the script calls for regular people, and his style doesn’t suit it so well.

Eh.  Not a good use of his talents.

That's more like it.

The remainder of these issues are about Fenris and his plot to blah blah end of the world blah blah Yggdrasil the World Tree blah blah.  I think this is where it’s starting to wear thin. I didn’t care about the characters before, and now I’m not caring about the story, either.  It’s not looking good for the rest of this run.

Then, when the title needed it most, Marc Hempel comes in and saves the day in issue 55 with his looks-like-no-one-else style.  That first shot of Remiel immediately catapulted me back to Sandman’s Kindly Ones, not a bad place to be.  Subsequent panels of the Angel of Persecution Complexes just get better and better as his life gets worse and worse.  And Hempel pulls it off like no one else.

He looks constipated in all of these.  Which is actually perfect for Remiel.

A nice, serious moment after all the humiliation he's been through.  I like the curve of the wings.

I suspect this one issue breath of fresh air won’t extend into the next arc, but It was most welcome here.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Starts at Fine, ramping down to Didn’t Suck by the end.  (Pretty good for 55, Nice for 50)

Mister Miracle, World of Tanks, Strangers in Paradise, Catwoman, Superman

New comics!

Strangers in Paradise XXV 5

Blech.  Terry Moore gets into the conspiracy/plot part of the comic, and I find myself not caring a bit about it.  I think it has something to do with Echo, one of his other comics.  (Shared universe and what not.)  Tambi sets up an ancient piece of papyrus covered with Cleopatra’s mathematical scrawlings as what I presume will be the MacGuffin for the rest of the run.  Blah blah fishcakes. Katchoo continues to ignore Francine, and it continues to infuriate me.

World of Tanks: Citadel 4

Really not Garth Ennis’ strong stuff.  It’s not as bad as his horrible work (all the latest Section Eight comics), but it’s completely forgettable.  Do I even buy the last issue? (Assuming there’s only one more.)

Catwoman 2

The Joelle Jones art continues to shine, but her writing isn’t grabbing my attention.  I really like the parts where she hints at her state of mind post-Bruce-engagement, but there aren’t enough of them.  Though...looking back at the issue, there’s actually a decent amount of inner-monologuing about this. Must be that I want even more.  

“My bed won’t feel so empty if my body is too tired to recognize it.  Perhaps it won’t notice that I’m sleeping alone again. I can fight this static buzzing in my brain and hope that the repeating melody of his name will disappear from my mind.”

When you just can't sleep...

Some nice imagery there.  Yeah, taking back what I said about the writing, it’s the plotting that’s not doing it for me.  Mrs. Creel is a visually arresting villain, but I’m not caring about her schemes right now.

Don't think I've ever seen this composition in a splash before.  Love it.

Superman 2

Nooooo, not more Rogol Zaar!!!  When did Barry Allen start acting like Impulse?  Was anyone clamoring for a Nuclear Man cameo? This is such a useless, filler issue, and things are worryingly starting to feel a lot more like Invincible Iron Man Bendis than Ultimate Spider-Man Bendis.  

At least I got the David Mack cover,

Mister Miracle 10

This issue saves the whole week.  Tom King’s mixture of the mundane with the fantastic always creates the tastiest of cocktails, and Mitch Gerads’ mastery of the nine-panel grid results in the most beautiful bits of storytelling.  Congratulations to both of them for their well-deserved Eisners at this year’s SDCC.

This shower breakdown is exquisite in its body language.

The absent-minded hair-stroking!

Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Harry Potter: The Cursed Child, Xerxes

Xerxes 5

Sigh.  I keep hoping and hoping with Frank Miller, and he’s provided nothing but one disappointment after another.  What was his last really enjoyable series? Sin City?  Xerxes started out promisingly enough, but it been on a steady downward trajectory ever since.  By this final issue, Miller’s drawing images seemingly selected at random from the rudimentary plot he’s laid out in his head.  Future me really needs to remember to stop buying his stuff on sight.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

At some point in the future, readers will wonder what I’m talking about when refer to Moviepass.  In any case, this was the first movie in the last 8 months that I’ve had to pay money for; My Moviepass plan had covered everything in the interim.  But the last two weeks was when the unsustainably wonderful deal – $90 for a year’s worth of free movies in the theaters – collapsed under the actually-too-good-to-be-true weight of its own financial insanity.  The biggest releases of each week will no longer be available. Instead of one movie per day, customers are limited to three per month. And this movie was the first casualty.

No matter.  This was not one of those “eh, I’ll watch it because it’s free” films.  I was watching this regardless. This entire franchise is ridiculously entertaining, even more than, I daresay, the Fast and Furious movies.  (And I love me some family.)

The sixth installment was quite fun, but it didn’t match Rogue Nation, which is my favorite one.  (Though I hadn’t realized how difficult it was to rank them until I went through the exercise.  They’re all so rewatchable, even the much-maligned second John Woo piece.)

Rankings sidebar:

1) 5 - Rogue Nation

2) 3 – Ghost Protocol

3) 1

4) 6 - Fallout

5) 3

6) 2

Fourth place is perfectly respectable for Fallout.  It’s got amazing set pieces – The HALO sequence, the bathroom fight scene, and yet another breathtaking motorcycle chase (Which matches the exhilaration of Rogue Nation’s, which I didn’t think was possible).  Rebecca Ferguson, the best part of the previous film, returns as Ilsa.  I like the resolution of Michelle Monaghan’s arc. Tom Cruise runs!

On the other side of the ledger, the movie felt long on this first viewing, which is a first in the series.  The helicopter duel was amusing from a Top Gun flashback standpoint, but otherwise left me cold. There was far too little of Ilsa kicking ass, and I could have done without her burgeoning romance with Ethan Hunt.  Henry Cavill was fine but uninspired as a character. Alec Baldwin leaves the show just as he was getting into the fun of it all.

I’m still going to buy it.  I’m still going to watch it over and over a ton.

Regret watching? No

Would watch again? Yes

Would buy on DVD? Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Harry Potter: The Cursed Child

Shout out to my friend for getting me house seats for a Sunday showing.  And an even bigger shout out to her work on the lighting team of this Best Light Design Tony award-winning production.  As far as I’m concerned, my dear friend also won the Tony.

I had a lot of doubts about the story for this show.  I read the synopsis when it first came out. I was disappointed by the stupidity of Harry Potter and his son, Albus Severus.    

That part of it was completely borne out – Harry makes some very questionable decisions, and there’s no question about the idiocy of the things Albus does.  But everything else about the production more than balances it out. What can I say without giving things away?

• All-around great performances by the majority of the cast.  Particular kudos to [Draco actor], [Scorpius Actor], and [Harry actor] for nailing some of the most heartachingly monologues.  The Malfoys were also surprisingly hilarious. Honorable mentions to [Myrtle actor] and [Ron actor] for their comedic talents.
• The magic effects were great.  Can’t say more.
• The music by Imogen Heap and the accompanying choreographed movement.
• The gasps and applause of recognition from the audience whenever a beloved (or reviled) character from the books was referenced.
• The staircases.
• The masterful lighting.  So much of the mood, tricks, and scenes could not have been accomplished without it.
• The efficient scene changes and the wooshes that went along with them.

To quote Ferris Bueller, “if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

Regret watching? No

Would watch again? Yes

Would buy on DVD?  N/A, but now waiting for the inevitable movie version once Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson hit their forties.

Rating: Pure Joy

Lucifer

Lucifer 29-41

I’m going to focus on the done-in-one issues today.  Mike Carey is a little more successful in telling emotionally engaging stories with those, in contrast to the plot-first mindset of his longer story arcs.  

Issue 33 recounts a day in the life of Sabah Al-Dabagh, a humble grocery store proprietor.  It’s a not a particularly good day - He’s just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and his shop’s being robbed at gunpoint.  He’s always tried to do the right thing, because that’s how he’s been raised, but he’s starting to wonder about the point of it all when bad things keep happening to him.  Fortunately for him, the robbery is interrupted through the intervention of one of his regular customers, who just happens to be a creature from the Pain Realms. Ironically, after a lifetime of prayer, it’s a demon that proves to be his salvation.  And when she asks for something in return, it’s not the stereotypical soul that she’s after. She wants something dark, something sinister. Criteria that Sabah’s tumor fits perfectly.

And so his harrowing day comes to an end.  He’s now cancer-free and home in the arms of his wife.  “His heart swelled with love for her. With the sudden dizzying lightness that comes when you put a burden down after carrying it a great way.  And the sun came up. And the world began again.”

Does it trouble him that he owes his extended life to a creature of “evil”?  Does he care that Zim’et saved his life where God did not? Or perhaps this was God’s way of rewarding Sabah for his faithful devoutness?

I loved the inversion of the standard ‘deal with a devil.’  Sabah didn’t set out to haggle for his life. He made all of his actions with the welfare of other foremost in his mind.  And he ended up rewarded. Except it was by a demon. So many twists to appreciate.

Issue 41 wraps up the arcs of Elaine Belloc and her best friend Mona.  They realize that they have no place as living girls on Earth, and Lucifer dubs them the guardian angels of his world - Mona as the God of Hedgehogs, Elaine as the God of Everything Except Hedgehogs.  It’s a surprisingly light moment in a very straitlaced title. (Well, apart from Gaudium and Spera.)

Their juvenile sniping cracks me up.

A couple of other comments:

I love Carey’s depiction of Remiel as the perfect middle manager.  Remiel’s that guy who thinks way more highly of himself and his purpose than anyone else does.  Everyone is openly contemptuous of him, and takes every opportunity they can to get their digs in.  I have to imagine that, one day, that facade of self-importance is going to shatter, and the fragile ego behind it is going to do something desperate to stay intact.  Man, what a putz.

I like this visual sequence by Peter Gross:

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice (Pretty good for issue 33)

Lucifer

8/2/18
Lucifer 21-28
I've been thinking about why my posts for Lucifer have amounted to little more than extended recaps.  Why haven't I been able to come up with anything more interesting to say?

I have no answer, but let's see if I can work my way towards one.

My first thought is to compare it to Sandman.  At 75 issues, they're both of equal length.  Both star beings of immense power, with an understanding of the universe that we couldn't possible comprehend.  Each of their story arcs are entertaining and well told, interspersed with done-in-ones that build out the universe in unexpected directions.

So why does Sandman rank among my favorite comics ever, while Lucifer leaves me with no emotional reaction above "I liked it"?

I don't care about what happens to any of the characters in Lucifer.  I read about them dispassionately, with no investment how the outcomes will affect them.  Is it because Mike Carey didn't spend enough time humanizing them?  Elaine Belloc and Jill Presto feel more like plot devices than people.  All of their actions feel like they're going through the motions of furthering the story, not the natural behavior of people I can relate to.

Neil Gaiman gives his creations motivations that make them relatable and understandable - Hob Gadling wants to live forever, and his reactions when given that opportunity are completely believable.  We can understand the desires of the sultan who wants the memory of his city to live forever and Shakespeare's wish to write plays the likes of which will never be written again.

What do we get from Carey?  A lounge singer who's driven by the commands of power hunger tarot cards.  A demon who leads her people to war because they tell her to.  A teenage archangel who gets chased around from place to place and does whatever people tell her to.

Perhaps, like The Matrix says, it's a matter of choice.  One of the main themes of Lucifer is the Morningstar's Sisyphusian fight against the fact that everything he does is preordained by God.  Perhaps Carey is purposefully extending this to all of the other characters as well.  They're all slaves to their stories, and don't have a say in how they unfold.

It's very meta, but taking away that chance to decide makes them far less interesting.  There's a feeling of inevitability to this epic that robs it of any tension, even though I don't know how it's going to end.  Sandman is about choices, while Lucifer is about the exact opposite.  Destruction chooses to leave his siblings.  Desire makes the conscious decision to lead her brother to his doom.  Dream ultimately opts to walk down the path to his own end.

The beings in Lucifer never had any say in the matter.

Lucifer

Lucifer 5-20

Lucifer’s machinations begin in earnest.  He travels to the house of Izanami, mother of Susano-O-No-Mikoto, looking to take back possession of his wings.  The members of the household are opposed to this aim, and the ensuing battle of wits is a joy to watch. Lucifer parries each thrust of court intrigue with a deft touch, leaving with his wings and a trail of bodies behind him.  He also gains a valuable ally in the form of the demon Musubi. (Though unbeknownst to him, Izanami has infected his wings with bile that’s sure to cause problems in the future.)

While her boss is off on this quest, Mazikeen guards the open rift against two Jin En Mok (ancient Shapeless gods, whatever that mean).  She’s destroyed in the battle, and the Jin En Mok are only defeated through the intervention of Jill Presto and Basanos. (Though I’m not sure why she’s helping.)  Jill heals Mazikeen, but makes the well-intended mistake of “fixing” the mutilated side of her face. Makizeen is not pleased by this.

Mike Carey takes what seems like a tangent to tell us the story of a Chaldaean who’s been cursed to relive the same miscarriage every day for the last four thousand years.  Like Musabi, she also longs for death. Lucifer grants it to her in exchange for the miscarried baby, who has evolved over the centuries into something...else.

Elaine Belloc discovers her true parentage - Her father is the Archangel Michael, who’s been trapped by Sandalphon, another fallen angel.  Sandalphon wants to use Elaine to breed a new generation of archangels. Lucifer’s next quest rescues both Elaine and Michael.

With Mazikeen off trying to restore her face to its former look, Lucifer has left Musubi to defend the gate, this time from Amenadiel and his army of angels.  As with her predecessor, Musubi falls. But Lucifer’s backup plan picks up the slack when the angels enter the portal with assured victory on their minds.

Angel-eating Demon Baby.  Love it

Lucifer kills Michael (also wishing for death. Lots of deathwishes here.) in the void on the other side of the gate.  The ensuing explosion acts as a new Big Bang, giving Lucifer the means to create his own universe, apart from the jurisdiction of God, free from a world where the Lord’s omniscience prevents the existence of free will.

Michael immediately comes back. Lucifer agrees to battle Amenadiel in a year’s time.  

Through trial by combat, Mazikeen becomes war leader of the Lilim.  

We’re introduced to Christopher Rudd, a dead human sinner from the 18th century who finds himself rising through the ranks of a kingdom of hell.   

Lucifer spends six days to give form to his own Creation.  He opens countless portals between this world and his, and extends an invitation to anyone who wants to make the trip across.  

I particularly like Ormston’s work here. (Observe his magnificent demon babies.)  There’s a striking resemblance to Teddy Kristiansen, which means that it isn’t suitable for a wide variety of comics.  It’s a very distinctive style. But it’s an excellent fit for Lucifer.  

Ormston

Kristiansen

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice

Lucifer

Lucifer 1-4

Recapping events, since they’re all part of Lucifer’s plan.

Susano-O-No-Mikoto last seen in Sandman, bargains w/ Remiel and obtains Lucifer’s wings.  (Left behind in Hell after Morpheus cut them off in Season of Mists.)  

Lucifer approaches Meleos for a divination in order to ascertain the truth behind the letter of passage Heaven paid him in the previous mini-series.  He wants the reading done with the Basanos, a living Tarot deck that Meleos created eons ago.

In order to prevent the Basanos, now powerful beyond his control, from getting loose, Meleos tries to destroy them.  But he completely fails, the Basanos escape, and imprint themselves on Jill Presto. Lucifer gets his augury, and learns that the letter can only be opened in one direction.  In a bit of outside the box thinking, he uses the letter to create a portal but leaves it open, attracting the attention of supernatural beings from all over. (It’s similar to Dream obtaining the key to Hell in Season of Mists.)  

Aside: Meleos’ life work is the collection of every book written in human history.  (The mirror image of Lucien’s library of every book ever dreamed.) As retribution for attempting to thwart his plans, Lucifer causes all of the words in Meleos’ collection to melt away into ink.  It’s truly cruel, the entirely of human thought dissolved into rivers of black.

We’re introduced to Elaine Belloc, who has the ability to talk to dead people.  Lucifer saves her life at the suggestion of the Basanos.

This arc wasn’t that good - The Meleos/Basanos plot was diluted by neo-Nazis, the men who love them, and Chris Weston art that doesn’t work nearly as well as the artists who follow him.  But things are going to pick up soon enough.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Fine