BIG WEEK

Short reviews this week since I'm busy getting ready to start working next week, and simply because it was a big week.

DMZ #34

I don't really care about this book anymore. Wood writes the book well, but neither the characters nor the overall situation of the DMZ interest me anymore. Perhaps I am just sick of hearing about politics from everywhere else that I don't want to read about it in my comics. Honestly I'm not sure exactly what it is, but this book no longer moves me. Although, it does seem that the book is about to go in a new direction so maybe I will check out the trades eventually.

Runaways #1

Ramos' art style has never been my cup of tea, but it doesn't bother me here as much as it did on New X-Men. I will never care for the cartoon/anime/manga/etc art but it doesn't detract from the story. Actually I like how he makes Chases look noticeably bigger than the other characters, and Molly and Klara look good too [that sounds bad].

Terry Moore does a good job with all the characters and stays true to what came before him, and even seems to be using an old plot-line as the center of his story arc. Only complaint is that one of Moore's big cultural references seems a bit out of place even for an older member like Chase. Solid first issue. Glad to have Runaways back, let's hope it stays around for a while.

Superman #679

Another solid issue from Robinson and Guedes, but I hope in time his Clark Kent/Superman gets better. As I said last month Superman does not have to be in the spotlight at all times in his book, but right now Robinson has made him a bit too dull for my liking. The supporting cast is great here again, and I like that even more people are getting added to the regular roster. Hopefully the writing of the title character gets better once the big cross-over starts. Also, the last page is great to me, but I understand why some people will hate it. The art here is great too especially in the big fight scenes. 

Kick-Ass #4

Every pull list needs a book like Kick-Ass. With all this nonsense of a Crisis and an Invasion, everyone should treat themselves to some continuity-free fun and violence. And of course fun and violence is that much better when it is drawn by John Romita Jr. If Millar were writing this as well as JRJR is drawing it Kick-Ass would far and away be the best comic book out there. That being said, I like the writing in each individual issue I just think that after four of them the book's main character should be doing more than constantly teetering on the edge of being a regular kid or a "super hero." At this point I am more interested in Hit-Girl, Dave's father, and basically everyone else in the book that isn't the main character. Hopefully these characters' development doesn't stall like Dave's has.

Daredevil #110

As I said in my last review I was afraid that this arc would wrap up too fast and too neatly in this issue, and I was right. I guess Brubaker wanted a nice clean slate before starting his Lady Bullseye storyline which is supposed to be a big jumping on point for new readers. Regardless of the fact that I felt kind of short changed by the ending, still an awesome issue. The art is simply amazing, and so is the writing. Hopefully Brubaker's writing stays at this level now that Rucka is departing. 

The Immortal Iron-Fist #18

I really don't like the art in this book. Granted I'm no art expert, but to me this art just does not look good and some of the panel layout choices seem odd particularly in Danny's first fight sequence. Art aside Swierczynski is doing a great job on this title, and if you decided to drop this when Fraction left you should quickly jump back on board.

Longer, better reviews

Uncanny X-Men 501

Much like Spider-Man the X-Men have gotten a new start although in their case there was no deal with the devil and memory erasing, thank God. What the X-Men do have is a new home town and base of operations. So much for accessibility issues, take that Robert Kirkman.

Like in the previous issue we see the X-Men getting adjusted to their new situation in San Francisco, but this issue is not entirely set up for the new status quo things are starting to pick up. Fraction starts us off right where one of the epilogues in issue 500 left us with Pixie leaving a concert with some thugs from the Hellfire Cult right behind her. We see some action here, but I think the best is yet to come from that situation especially after the light that was shed on the Hellfire Cult in this issue. Aside from the Pixie situation the issue is mostly dominated by quick light-hearted character moments which provide some laughs; each character also received a small introduction box and these also provided some laughs as well as useful information for new readers. The exception to the full on light-heartedness is a nicely done exchange between Emma and Scott which hints towards the possibility of some interesting developments in the future. I am grateful that Fraction and Brubaker are trying to make this title fun again and so far they have been successful. A far from perfect issue but I am confident that in time this book will be great.

Apparently a lot of people really hate Greg Land's artwork, but I am not one of them. Even though I have always been more concerned with the writing bad art can still take some of the enjoyment out of a book for me. Land's art does not come close to doing that.

Captain America #41

Let me start by saying that Steve Epting rules. Normally I do not care much about art unless it is so bad that it distracts me, but Epting's work on Captain America is too good to simply mention in passing. Brubaker is about to wrap up a story for the ages and of course you have to give him all the credit in the world, but it sure does not hurt having a guy like Epting turn your ideas into images. 

As I said the Death of Captain America epic is finally about to come to an end next month so this is the penultimate issue and like almost all the others it does not disappoint. Most of the major developments in this issue have to do with the bad guys, and who could possibly be upset about that considering how well Brubaker has crafted this rogue's gallery over the past fourty issues. Hopefully the end of this story next month does not mean that these guys will be sitting on the shelf for an extending period of time.

After slowly, at times too slowly at least for my tastes, moving along this grand storyline Brubaker has things ready to boil over and explode next month and I can not remember the last time I was so excited and eager for an issue to hit.

Scalped #20

If they decide to give out an award for "Most Depressing Single Issue" at the Eisner's next year Scalped #20 is a goddamn shoe in. This issue up out the two issue arc centered around Red Crow's daughter Carol and her relationship with our favorite undercover reservation police officer Bad Horse. We get to see how the cliffhanger from last issue finishes out. Depressing. Then we catch a glimpse of the start of one of Carol's many dangerous habits. Depressing. Meanwhile in the present Dash has to deal with even more aftermath from the tragic death of Shelton. Depressing. Sense a pattern yet? 

Kudos to Jason Aaron for making me care this much about his characters. In addition to that "Most Depressing Single Issue" award which may or may not come to pass, Scalped has got to be at the top of the list for "Best Ongoing Title". I have noticed a lot of people lump DMZ and Scalped together when they talk about the current Vertigo titles, but Scalped is truly in a league of its own leaps and bounds above DMZ and the rest of Vertigo's roster. 

The sketchy art style of this issue is fine with me aside from a few close ups of characters' faces which just looked weird. However, at other times, thankfully in the more important panels, the same person looks a hundred times better. Regardless of how one feels about the sketchy art style of Furno and the few miscues mentioned above I hope all can agree that he perfectly captured the emotions Aaron was trying to get across with this issue. Many of the more poignant scenes in the issue feature almost no text leaving Furno all on his own, and he knocked them out of the park especially in the last few pages.

Some big titles

Batman #679

If you haven't been enjoying the Batman RIP storyline thus far this issue will not change your mind. However, those of you who enjoyed the first two issues but were slightly let down by #678 will be pleased with this. Morrison fills us in on the Batman of Zur-en-Arrh and I like what he did with it, but based upon who we receive the information from I'm not so sure we can totally believe it just quite yet. Similarly, we find out more about the Black Glove and Doctor Hurt, but who knows what will actually end up being true after another two issues. Regardless of whether it turns out to be true, which I highly doubt, it adds to the character of Doctor Hurt and the overall devilishness of the Black Glove which is important to this story. After multiple readings this issue began to feel more like set up for the big return of you know who, but a lot still happened and even if we can't believe it all as being true, it was entertaining, thought-provoking, and above all worked within the story. However, even though a lot happened and things were flushed out some more Morrison is still leaving a lot of things in the closet which is fine by me because he has me wanting more and believing that it will pay off. Relax, realize you don't need to know all the answers in advance, and enjoy the ride.

Secret Invasion #5

In my review of Batman this week I talked about how Morrison hasn't laid everything on the table even after four issues yet he has me confident it will all pay off and wanting more right away, but I can not say the same about this event. While this issue was an improvement over the previous two and has given me some slight hope I'm still not that interested in where Bendis is taking me nor am I totally confident that the ultimate pay off will have been worth the slow tedious wait which these first five issues have been. Like I said, this issue was an improvement even though the pacing was still far too slow, but maybe just maybe I'll be singing a different tune after next issue; I'm not totally dismissing that possibility like I did after issue #4. As many others have stated, a lot of things happened in this issue and they did .. sort of, but ultimately when I get to the last page too many characters are still in the same place. However, at least now we know they are FINALLY moving on. The highlight of this issue is a two page spread of very familiar faces which gives the Invasion the epic scale it should have had from the beginning before Bendis spent more than half the event in the Savage Land and a few blocks of Manhattan. Like in previous issues the scenes with Agent Brand and Maria Hill were very well done especially the one with Maria. The less said about the Savage Land the better. One final thing if you are going to tease something then please deliver, that was just annoying.

Astonishing X-Men #26

I'm not a huge fan of Bianchi's style on this book, but what makes the art really bothersome for me is the coloring. Everything on the page just has this sort of sameness to it, and I simply don't like the overall dark look they are going for on this title. I wish I had more positive things to say about Warren Ellis' writing but I don't it just isn't that good here. His handling of the characters is fine and I especially like how he wrote Cyclops in an exchange with Storm at the end of the issue, but the story he is telling with said characters just isn't interesting after these first two issues. I'll probably stick around for one more issue then drop it if things don't turn around.

Action Comics #868

My most highly anticipated book of the week does not disappoint at all. Geoff Johns is writing the hell out of this arc and Gary Frank sure is keeping pace with the pencils. On top of getting the awesome revelation about the true identity of Brainiac we get bits and pieces from all the other plot points Johns has set up. He didn't spend too much time in one place but instead left at just the right moments. The scenes with Supergirl are great again, and the cast of the Daily Planet perfectly adds just the hint of humor this arc needs because after all this is a gloomy story Johns is telling. Above all else this is perhaps what Johns is doing best in this arc, creating that sense of coming terror which we see on the faces of everybody including the Man of Steel himself. 

Changing of the guard?

Obviously the San Diego Comic Con is not a competition, but if you ask anybody who came out the winner they will most likely understand what you mean and answer DC Comics. Of course Marvel is still dominating the market-share, but perhaps DC is closer to evening the score than many people myself included would have thought. 

Okay, maybe I am reaching there, but I can speak to my own personal thoughts and feelings and personally I am definitely more excited about DC than Marvel these days. This would not be very note-worthy if I had been reading DC Comics for a long time, but up until recently I was reading almost strictly Marvel. Throughout the aforementioned Con I kept waiting for some exciting news to come out of the Marvel camp, but it just did not happen. Of course Marvel did have some big news, but none of it mattered to me since the big stuff revolved around Stephen King, the Ultimate Universe, and War of Kings. I am sure a lot of people are excited over these three, but based on conversations I have had and things I have read I was certainly not the only person who felt like Marvel was light on big announcements this year. The lack of more announcements might have had a lot to do with the fact that Marvel has to be tight-lipped until after Secret Invasion is over, but since I am not enjoying Secret Invasion I doubt I would have been excited over Post-SI spin-offs and changes. On top of having nothing exciting in the pipeline and a major event that has fallen on its face after starting off strong many of my favorite Marvel titles have recently taken a step back in quality due to a change of creative teams; Astonishing X-Men, Immortal Iron-Fist, and Thunderbolts. Meanwhile, DC has me dying to get my hands on all their recently announced Post-RIP books, the upcoming Superman cross-over, Green Lantern Blackest Night, and Flash Rebirth. Do not think I am saying that Marvel has stopped publishing books I enjoy, but rather that my enjoyment of comics put out by the big two is starting to become more even and in upcoming months will actually favor DC.

Based on IGN's recently released Most Wanted List and the general vibe I get from some other comics sites and boards I think perhaps my original comment about DC finally starting to even the score might not be so off-base. Only time will tell, but in the meantime I will sit back and enjoy all the wonderful books that both publishers are putting out right now. At the end of the day, closer competition between the big two will most likely mean better quality books for us.

Two books this week

Invincible Iron-Man #4

I think I have been too easy on the artwork in this book, and I guess I can attribute that to the fact that I enjoy reading it so much I don't stop to look for things that might bother me. Another part of it is that last issue many of the pages featured Tony in uniform, and these scenes are usually drawn and colored wonderfully. The same can not be said about this issue which has barely any panels of Iron-Man in action. Like many, I have problems with some the faces Larroca draws, but I feel like that situation has progressed over these first four issues. In fact, his pencils on this issue were really solid. My only complaint is with how young he made Reed Richards look. Well then what is the problem that I've been glancing over? The coloring. For example, why do characters particularly Tony sometimes seem to look like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? I suppose it is an attempt at hyper-realism but it just doesn't work in these panels and many others. As I said the pencil work is getting better, but for the artwork as a whole to really shine the coloring needs to find its groove. 

On to the story. Not too much to stay here, Fraction moves the story along nicely although slowly while staying true to the themes about Tony's fears that he has built up. Not bad by any stretch although probably the weakest of the four issues so far, but to be fair there is usually at least one slower one in six issue arcs. 

Criminal #4

Sex. Violence. Booze. These three things are fun in real life, but honestly I think I'd rather be   reading about them in the Criminal universe than sitting at the bar with some sexy dames and bruised knuckles. Not to mention the fact that this book comes out once a month and sexy dames hang out at the bars I frequent every ... never. The combination of Phillips' perfectly gritty artwork and Brubaker's excellent character narration and dialogue make the seedy underworld infinitely more interesting than it is when I find myself stumbling into it. All these things have been part of the series from the start and they are certainly here too, but this issue still feels different from all the others. This issue has much more humor and the main character here is more of a nerd than a tough guy with a mysterious murky past, but it still works perfectly. When we met him in a previous Criminal arc I didn't really feel either way about Jacob but after this issue I'm fully on-board for this Jacob-centric arc. The guy is pretty pathetic, but not so much so that he becomes completely unlikable or un-relatable. I'm sitting here skimming through this issue again, and I still can't think of anything more to say. Criminal is the best comic book being published.