MONDOmagazine

Batman and Robin #3
Grant Morrison (w), Frank Quietly (a), Alex Sinclair (c). DC Comics.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly wrap up this arc of Batman and Robin in a way that speaks to the true mastery of their storytelling abilities. Together they’ve introduced to Gotham another villain, albeit one a little more sick and twisted than usual, just a little. I think they’ve got the creep factor down pretty well. There was something about Professor Pyg’s “sexy disco dance” that had me intrigued and slightly disturbed for enjoying it so much. The art is just amazing and the pacing of the story is quick and action packed. Quietly’s fight scenes have seamless transitions, with each image capturing the precision and accuracy of every hit. Morrison’s writing is just…awesome. It’s great to see two masters of their craft come together and create something so good. — Sandra Yao

Sandra’s rating: 4.5 out of 5
Isaac’s rating: 4 out of 5

Dark Avengers #8
Matt Fraction (w), Luck Ross (a), Rick Magyar and Mark Pennington (i), Dean White (c). Marvel Comics.

Well, this addressed all the problems I had with the last issue of this crossover. I shouldn’t have doubted you, Matt Fraction. The plan that Cyclops has been talking about for four issues finally becomes more than posturing; double-crosses abound, as does villainy; and we get lots of chest stabbing. Though, I must admit, I feel pretty bad for people who like the Dark Avengers. Daken aside, they only appear on two pages of this comic. It’s really all about the X-Men, and I’m fine with that because they’re my crew. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 4 out of 5
Owen’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

Action Comics #880
Greg Rucka & James Robinson (w), Julian Lopez (p), Bit, (i), DC Comics

For everyone complaining about how intertwined the Super-books are right now, “Codename: Patriot” looks like it only going to make things worse. Up to this point, as connected as the books were, they all had a particular star: Action had Nightwing and Flamebird, Superman had Mon-El, etc. This issue brings everyone together. It also finally gets Superman back in costume. If you haven’t been picking up everything, though (And this is one of the few times you’ll hear me say this), wait for the trade.

On a separate note, I’m a big fan of DC adding back-ups to certain books. Captain Atom isn’t my favorite among them, but it’s a fun, if slightly confusing, story so far. And it’s always a treat to see more from characters who can’t support their own books. — James O’Connor

James’ rating: 3 out of 5

Adventure Comics #1
Geoff Johns (w), Francis Manapul (a), DC Comics

This is the Geoff Johns that I go nuts for. Oh sure, there is an appeal to the creepy, limb-severing, over-the-top stuff too, but I really like the introspective stuff full of quiet moments and careful character work. I’ve never cared too much for Superboy as a character. In fact, my first real introduction to him was when he was being killed off, but Johns’ skills are on display here, because I’m immediately hooked. Not only that, but Manapul’s art skills really step up an already great story. His landscapes are gorgeous and his character work is fantastic. This is a great book and I can’t wait for more. Also Krypto is there. This is great stuff, top notch. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 4.5 out of 5
Isaac’s rating: 4 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

Amazing Spider-Man #601
Mark Waid (w), Mario Alberti (a), Andres Mossa (c). Marvel Comics.

There’s a lot of weird stuff going on with this issue. It’s ALMOST the first time Mary Jane has made her reappearance, but they couldn’t really give us the actual conversation between that meeting except in a brief flashback. Much like her first appearance, it’s an event that can’t possibly live up to it’s own hype. The drunken hook up with Michelle Gonzales, who Peter Parker doesn’t generally get along with, let alone anything else, is the kind of stuff that Peter would be torturing himself about later, but he’s so completely thrown for a loop by Mary Jane that he doesn’t focus on it at all. Kind of out of character — he’s supposed to worry about the consequences of all his actions! I didn’t say it was healthy, just that that’s in his character. And am I the only one disturbed by the use of the word “deets”? A sweet back-up by Bendis and Quesada is a nice surprise. Really, I wouldn’t have expected it. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5
Owen’s rating: 3 out of 5

Agents of Atlas #9
Jeff Parker (w), Dan Panosian (a), Elizabeth Dismang (c). Marvel Comics.

Oh, apparently I missed an issue of Agents of Atlas while I was on vacation. No matter, at least there’s a recap page so that I’m not totally lost on this issue. Thanks, Marvel, I’ll go back and pick up the other one because you weren’t jerks about picking up every issue. Anyway, I wasn’t totally taken with this issue of Agents of Atlas, largely based on the art. I looked up Panosian, mistaking him for a newcomer to comics, and was shocked to learn that he has a 20-year career under his belt. Probably not the best sign. It’s inconsistent and overly lined. But I like the direction the title is following; there’s some nice pay off to some flashbacks introduced in the first issues of the series. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 3 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

Isaac’s Book

G.I. Joe #2
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Robert Atkins
IDW Publishing, 2009

It’s interesting to hear what was “big” to different people as kids. Although there are some classics that everyone can agree on (except for those weird guys that aren’t down with the original Star Wars, I don’t know what their deal is), we’ve all got our personal favourites that tell the story of our youth. For me, things basically boil down to Star Wars, Back to the Future (number three all the way!), and Ninja Turtles.

Not a lot of room for G.I. Joe on that list, is there?

There are lots of names in this comic that I can tell are “name” or “important” Joes, and I should be getting excited that they’re around, but I don’t care who they are. So why isn’t this comic making me care? That’s the problem you always run into with ensemble cast books; the story is so widespread that there’s no narrative focus to reel you in with.

I’m a story guy, but I can get over a certain lack in this department if there’s something cool to balance things out. Explosions, time travel, some kind of time travel explosion hybrid, etc. This issue has a state of the art device that powers a stereo from across the room (that’s the kind of device Reed Richards would create while he’s delirious with fever and blind folded), and a chase scene involving three big army dudes failing to catch a lone nerd who’s running away while they are following in an actual vehicle. You’ve got to set the bar a little higher there, guys.

The art is technically good, but there are some inconsistencies with some characters’ faces, which results in one guy looking eighteen in one panel and thirty in the next. It’s already difficult enough to tell one Joe from another, don’t make it even harder on me. Although the cover by Dave Johnson is pretty cool, with its classic war propaganda thing going on.

There was one other thing cool about this comic, and this is always true for those slightly big comic companies that aren’t Marvel or DC, and that was the ads for other upcoming comic projects. The Life and Times of Savior 28 by J.M. DeMatteis looks like a really cool deconstruction of the superhero genre, and it’s something I’d like to check out. Skrull-faced children telling me to accept change do not get me excited about a comic… not that they were advertising any specific comic, but they wanted me to buy everything with “Secret Invasion” on the cover. To be fair, I did like the ads for Incredible Hercules.

This book wasn’t for me, but if you’re a G.I. Joe fan, maybe you’d be invested in finding out the fate of Bankshot next issue? Yeah, probably not.

Miles’ Book

Patsy Walker: Hellcat #5
Written by Kathryn Immonen
Art by David Lafuente
Marvel Comics, 2008

Ah. Dorable.

I love when a recap page is so clever, so funny, and so character-establishing that I can’t help but fall in love with a comic right away. And this is just the recap page. Recap page! (Please, Marvel, continue this style of character-based recap pages, it’s a little extra value in these tough economic times, eh?)

Luckily, the comic lives up to this recap page. A sad fact I’ve realized after writing a year and a half of these reviews is that when you only read a random comic from a random series, a lot of characters read the same — they blend together. Wonder Woman reads like Black Canary who reads like Iceman who reads like Hawkeye and so on. But this is a refreshing case where the main character sounds unique, different than other heroes, and then the supporting cast sounds just as different from each other.

And her adventure is just wacky. The opening has her Cliffhanger-style, trapped in a van stuck on a sheer glacier with an antlered bear, some rabbits, a yeti, a fox, a man encased in stone, and a teenage witch. Antlered bear! And she drops the bear because it’s too heavy. Hilarious antics!

The art was also great. A good fit for the book, and a clean style which I always like.

I have a feeling that this series was overlooked by a lot of people because I have a feeling that not many people are following Patsy Walker’s career. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I’m wrong. This issue is very charming and I’ll be hunting for the first four issues next week.

James’ Book

Eternals #8
Written by Charles & Daniel Knauf
Art by Eric Nguyen, Sara Pichelli, & Andy Troy
Marvel Comics, 2009

This is one of the big problems with superstars. You take someone like Neil Gaiman and give him a book like the Eternals, a book that lets him play with his favorite subjects like Gods and mythology, and it’s fun, and great, and exciting. And then he leaves, because he only signed on to do a limited series.

So, how’s this Eternals? I don’t really know. I’ve only read the one issue, and it was pretty much one big fight. But I will say, if you’re going to re-establish a franchise with one of the premier writers of the medium, you should probably choose someone with a bit more prestige than the dude who created Carnivale and his kid to write the continuing series.

I can tell you this much: The father-son team of Daniel and Charles Knauf don’t know how to characterize the X-Men. They think you can have Beast say “Oh my stars and garters!” and be done with it. The Avengers, or the Defenders, or what the hell, the Fallen Angels could probably replace them in this issue and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.

As for the art, it seems to lack definition and confidence. I wouldn’t mind seeing what Nguyen’s pencils look like without Pichelli’s inks, but I’m not sure that would solve the problem. The book just has a bit of an amateur air to it, but maybe I’m being unfair. I just don’t dig the style, and let’s leave it at that.

After all that, though, there was one thing I was particularly intrigued about in this issue: the ad for Daredevil #177. I hear that Brubaker’s becoming a real superstar.

Decent cover, at least. Who doesn't like crying blood? Am I right James Bond fans?

Miles’ Book

The Authority #3
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Art by Simon Coleby
Wildstorm, 2008

Maybe I’m just tired from the rage I felt from reading last week’s random book, but this issue didn’t effect me. I read it and nothing made me angry or glad or curious enough to read another issue of The Authority. I can’t even rip on the art because it’s solid.

From my limited understanding of the Wildstorm universe — which only exists because I love Planetary and Sleeper more than chocolate cake — The Authority is basically the Justice Leauge plus extreme storylines. Like, I think I heard that at some point The Authority overthrew their government. That sounds cool.

Since then it seems that some sort of apocalypse has happened, and the undead are ruling “Unlondon.” Or something like that. If I’m right, that also sounds pretty cool.

But I don’t know if I’m right. There’s no exposition or recap page to explain who these characters are, their relationships to each other, or even the setting. Not a lot happens either, so I couldn’t dig into the world. You’d think that by the third issue, you’d have some high drama going on, but instead it’s mostly set-up for something that will happen in a few issues.

It’ll probably read better in trade and after you’ve read all the other volumes of The Authority.

I'm waiting for Venom: Feelin' Fine, where he and Power Pack go on trip to the zoo. So innocent.

Isaac’s Book

Venom: Dark Origin #3 (of 5)
Written by Zeb Wells
Pencilled by Angel Medina
Inked by Scott Hanna
Colours by Matt Milla
Marvel Comics, 2008

Most people are familiar with the basics of Venom’s origin, thanks to the movie, TV show, and comics that have tread this well-worn ground. Anyone who fits into a fan of movies/TV/comics will be familiar with Eddie Brock, disgraced journalist, who traveled to a church and proclaimed his hatred of Spider-Man just before getting the symbiote suit and becoming Venom.

It’s not a great story, particularly considering how little progression has been made for the character over the years. He’s popular because he’s a big, strong, Killee McSpider-Guy: he has all the cool Spider poses, without any of the moral restraint that Peter Parker faces.

Has anyone really done a story yet examining Spider-Man and Venom as the mirrored reflections they really are? Spider-Man takes responsibility for everything, while Venom takes no responsibility, blaming all of his problems on others.

Whether that story has been done or not, it certainly isn’t the story to be found within the covers of this book. What we’re given here is a decompressed telling of Venom’s origin from the point of contact between Brock and the suit, until the realization of the true identity of Spider-Man. The psychic give and take between Brock and the symbiote during their first encounters is certainly be fertile ground for storytelling (as just about anything can be with the right touch); however, the whole of the book is pretty much wasted on pretty pictures of the suit taking over, communicating nothing — with one exception.

That exception is the two-page spread detailing a battle during the Secret War: the chaos, action, and history it evokes is unbelievable. When I turned the page to find this staring back, it totally blew me away.

The following page has the story of Spider-Man getting and eventually rejecting the symbiote, but it’s not a very effective series of images. If they could’ve matched the quality of the previous splash page, even if it meant dedicating another two pages to a single picture, then this comic would have been worth the price of admission right there.

Skipping ahead in the book, I see there is another two page splash, but it’s just one of Venom looking all cool and stringy — his trademark.

This comic is about the pretty pictures, and that’s about it. Maybe the first two issues of the miniseries had some cool revelation concerning Brock’s naïve grasp at fame with the Sin-Eater story, and maybe the next issues will have some fun behind-the-scenes stuff following Brock and his plotting his tortuous attacks on Spider-Man, but this was an unnecessary issue.

You could just go read Amazing Spider-Man #300 for some original Venom fun. Not that I know where you can go read a copy of that book. I can’t do everything for you.

You can keep Sage, Mr. Claremont. But can we have Psylocke back?

James’ Book

New Exiles #12
Written by Chris Claremont
Art by Paco Diaz Luque, Norberto Fernandez & Wilfredo Quintana
Marvel Comics, 2008

So, I was supposed to review Meat Cake #17 this week, which Miles figured was probably porn. But, due to what I can only imagine is a print run of, oh, let’s say, five issues, my store didn’t have any copies. So, instead of reviewing something that brings joy to everyone, I’m going to the other end of the spectrum with New Exiles.

A lot has been said about the fact that Chris Claremont doesn’t live up to the standards he set for him self a few decades ago. I disagree with that sentiment rather strongly, though. It’s not that Claremont has declined: it’s that he’s stayed the same, while the industry has gone on without him. His dialogue is stilted and expository, and he sticks to antiquated conventions.

Exiles was a pretty fun book when it started. The thing that always excited was the potential to combine a million different What If? scenarios into one book, and then have them fight each other. But now, it just seems like Marvel gave Claremont the book so he couldn’t screw with the mainstream continuity too much. He’s got his pet characters to play with (Here they’re Sage and Psylocke along with alternate versions of Kitty Pryde, Sabertooth and Rogue), and his primary means of exploiting the myriad alternate universes he has at his disposal is to make characters you don’t normally expect to be evil totally evil.

The art is hopelessly generic and glossy. I generally try to find one thing I liked, or at least found interesting, but there’s nothing here. It’s a completely serviceable job, but it’s in no way interesting or compelling.

With this book, Marvel just seems to be keeping one of its old legends happy out of service to his great, old stuff. And that’s fine. But at least when John Bryne went crazy in his old age and started rebooting stuff left and right it was interesting. This stuff is just boring, and that’s inexcusable.

Miles’ Book

Everything wrong with comics can be found within these pages.

All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder #10
Written by Frank Miller
Art by Jim Lee and Scott Williams
DC Comics, 2008

Every now and then, society is right. I don’t think I’m that much of a crank, but there’s a lot of things that people like or dislike where I’ll feel the exact opposite about it. I hate the writing of Alan Moore, I think The Matrix is garbage, and that Spider-man 3 wasn’t so bad as everyone says.

But everyone is right to hate this comic book. It’s more vile than a public execution on a pile of raw sewage.

This is a hateful book. It’s a hateful piece of junk that the publisher should not have committed to print. I’m actually thinking about taking DC Comics off the “Random Comics of the Week” rotation — this book offended me that much.

Basically, it boils down to this being one of the most misogynist things I have ever read, on par with Alan Moore (that would be why I hate his writing). Women fit into the roles that Miller is comfortable with: sex objects, things to be protected, fatales. The women in this book include a drunk, suicidal wife; Catwoman beaten to a bloody pulp, looking for Batman to save her; Black Canary as an under-dressed thief; and a pubescent heroine who is constantly swearing and doesn’t seem all that smart. Even Gotham City is “feminine” object to “Batman” and is something he needs to save. Seriously? The city is a woman too? Fuck you, Frank Miller.

And Jim Lee, you’re not helping here either. Did the female doctor need to be wearing that mini-skirt? Most doctors I’ve had don’t dress like they are about to go clubbing — they’re at work saving lives and dress accordingly. Also, that Batgirl you’re drawing is supposed to be 15, you perv.

Seriously, DC Comics employees, why the hell are you working for a company that produces this? It makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it.

MONDO wants Brian Wood's bald babies.

Isaac’s Book

Northlanders #10
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Dean Ormston
Vertigo Comics, 2008 

Though it says this is part two of the story, the whole issue is beautifully self-contained. I think I’d almost be disappointed if I had read the first part, as it would probably explain too much, just plainly showing us why certain things happen in this comic.

As it stands, we open on 793 A.D. Northern England, in the town of Lindisfarne, a peaceful enough setting — until you notice the dead trees, circling birds of prey, and the sickly wave of dread the yellowed atmosphere inspires. Then you turn the page where the true, bloody chaos is revealed as the Saxons are slaughtered by the Northmen.

I’m not necessarily a history buff, so I’m not sure if this would be part of the Norman invasion of England, or if it’s about Vikings pillaging the land. Maybe those are one and the same. I don’t know. That’s why simply calling them Northmen (or “Northlanders” as in the title of today’s comic) is so appropriate. You don’t need to know any grand history to appreciate that these are strangers come to attack and take what the Saxons have.

The narrative is told to us from the perspective of a young Saxon boy who witnesses the carnage towards his people, yet roots for the Northmen. He feels estranged from his family, land, and religion, and held firmly to a vision of a warrior way of life. When a blond and bearded Northman with blood on his face winks at the boy, it’s as though Thor has cast his approval towards him.

The Saxons eventually make an incredibly stoic attack on the Northmen, with faith that whatever happens is what must happen. A young man, Cerdic, stands against the wall, unsure of himself. Cerdic is called to by the watching boy, who is his brother, and in that moment of distraction Cerdic is killed. This sends their father into a berserker attack, he shrugs off a dagger in the back in his rage, but ultimately he stops to reflect on his son. He allows one of the Northmen, bearing what may as well be Mjöllnir as his weapon, to silence him, so that he can be with his son.

Two days after the battle, the boy comes out hiding. This lone boy challenges the Northmen when they reappear, but not to fight them — for the right to go with them. He’s given his father’s sword to attack with, but when the Northman he fights swings at him it’s as though the boy rejects his family, dropping the sword and snatching the dagger from the towering man’s belt to stab him in the back.

The story shifts to years later, when this boy has grown to an adult in the company of the Northmen, still holding the silver cross he’d been tossed by the Thor-like warrior at the start. Is this a form of sentimentality towards his old people? Or a constant reminder of everything he doesn’t want any part of?

X-Men and angst are better than peanut butter and jam

James’ Books

Angel: Revelations #5 (of 5)
Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Art by Adam Pollina and Matt Hollingsworth
Marvel Comics, 2008

Avengers: The Initiative #17
Written by Dan Slott and Christos N. Gage
Art by Harvey Tolibao and Jay David Ramos
Marvel Comics, 2008

So, I was given a choice between two books to cover this week, since the first one I drew, Angel, was a bit pricey. But, instead of choosing one over another, I’ve decided to do both, in an attempt to make up for missing last week. So, let’s get to it. 

In case there’s any confusion, Angel: Revelations is a mini-series about Warren Worthington the Third’s origin, not a spin-off of IDW’s Angel series. I took a look at it when the first issue came out, but decided against it. I’m a fan of the character, but the series just looked a little too teenage-goth for my tastes — a little too angsty. This issue has surprisingly little of that vibe, though. And you know what? It’s an X-Men origin book, I think I’d be disappointed if it was completely angst-free.

The art is actually the gothiest part of the book, but, I have to say, I enjoyed it. It’s moody and impressionistic, and Hollingsworth nails the colours. Each page looks less like a comic and more like an illustration from a children’s book, which is a novel stylistic choice.

My only real complaint about the book is continuity-wise, I’m not sure it makes sense. If the characters are graduating from high school at the end of the book, wouldn’t that mean Warren joined the X-Men much later than was previously accepted? Also, if his powers only stared appearing seven months ago, as we’re told here, wouldn’t he have hit puberty fairly late? Maybe they’re actually graduating from middle school. That would solve pretty much everything.

na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Ant-Man!

As for Avengers, this is what I’ve been wanting from Secret Invasion. It seems like the main book can’t shove everything in, so it gives us the basics, while the tie-ins cover all the awesome specifics. Here, we get to see how the skrulls are dealing with Camp Hammond, the Initiative’s training camp, and we get to see how the neophyte heroes deal with them.

One thing I loved about this book — the amoral version of Ant-Man is the protagonist. I love that instead of just forgetting about him after the Robert Kirkman penned Irredeemable Ant-Man series, Slott and company are trying to make him a real hero. Plus, one of Slott’s main strengths has always been humor, and Ant-Man gives him a good, in-character outlet for it.

There’s a lot happening on every page of this book, and Tolibao shows just how crazy things have gotten at Camp Hammond by packing every single panel with as many characters and as much action as he can. It gives the book a good, frantic energy that serves it well, considering the chaotic subject mater. Tolibao also seems to have an almost caricature like style, which fits. Aliens have invaded a superhero training camp. That’s not supposed to be realistic. It’s supposed to be big and awesome and crazy, and it is.

This book just proves that the best part about “Secret Invasion” is not Secret Invasion. It’s even almost got me reconsidering my stance on registration.

Isaac’s Book

Marvel Apes #1
Written by Karl Kesel and Tom Peyer
Art by Ramon Bachs and Barry Kitson
Marvel Comics, 2008

It’s abundantly clear that as a society we don’t fear an intelligent ape uprising. Is that good? I’m just thinking that maybe Doctor Zaius wouldn’t be so down on humans if not for the one ancient, barely legible remains of Marvel Apes #1 he found tucked away in the Forbidden Zone. It’s also clear that this is perhaps too politically correct a way to start a comic book review, if I’m trying not to insult our monkey brothers and sisters.

The issue starts off with the Gibbon, bane of the Spot, attempting to foil a bank robbery by the Red Ghost and his Super Apes. Gibbon is mostly ignored while the Avengers arrive to save the day. Dejected by the fact that nobody respects him, or even cares if he stars in a comic or not (my words here, this isn’t a Keith Giffen penned “tail” after all), he goes and lets young Dr. Fiona Fitzhugh run some experiments on him.

Things go awry at the Inter-Dimensional Experimental Access pad, Gibbon gets zapped, and this sends both Gibbon and Fiona to a jungle covered New York. It doesn’t take long before Apes in clothing show up and the inevitable puns start flying, which I’m always in favour of.

It isn’t long before Marty (the Gibbon’s real name… should probably refer to him by that since, as Ape-venger members Ape X and Iron Mandrill point out, on this planet calling yourself “Gibbon” is essentially the same as calling yourself “Man”) aids Spider-Monkey, Ape X, and the monkey version of Speedball in defeating Dock Ook with some Batman type strategy.

This gets Marty an invite to Ape-vengers tower, and ultimately an invite to join the Ape-vengers. Which makes them just about the easiest team in the multiverse to join up with, but hey, they really seem to like Marty.

Meanwhile the deformed looking Fiona has been taken to meet Reed Richards about her condition; until she gets the message across that she’s from an alternate universe. As usual, I’m sure mentioning parallel universes to a Reed Richards will prove to be one dangerous banana that can’t go back in its peel. Maybe this whole series will culminate with a battle with Ape-nihilus. It could happen.

The main story concludes with Marty being shown what ape justice is all about, and it’s not pretty. Plus we’re given part 1 of “The Official History of the Marvel Apes Universe: When Simians Clash”. The line “Galactus- him to whom entire worlds are but savory roots and sweet, sweet berries!” is worth the price of admission alone.

Listen, I liked this book, but I like stupid puns and stuff that make most people roll their eyes so far back into their head they go blind for an hour. Give it a shot if you’ve got the right attitude for it, otherwise go climb a tree.

James’ Book

Manhunter #34
Written by Marc Andreyko
Art by Michael Gaydos & Jose Villarrubia
DC Comics, 2008

This issue is packed. Not so long ago, I hated picking up a book I wasn’t reading mid-arc to review. I hated not having any context, and I hated trying to critique something that held no meaning whatsoever for me. But here, I didn’t mind it. Maybe it’s because there was so much going on, with so many separate stories that I didn’t have time to question anything. Maybe it’s because the book is just too darn pretty. Or maybe I’m just a little too willing to give any book with the original Phantom Lady a pass.

If I had to pick out one element of the book that caught me off guard, it would be the humor. I really don’t expect most books to be really funny. Even if they’re trying, usually the most they’ll elicit from me is a smile. But Manhunter got me laughing. Especially the part where Iron Munroe traumatizes his great-grandson.

One thing I find very interesting about this series is its protagonist. A divorced single mother, Kate seems like the kind of main character executives are convinced could never work. In a world where Catwoman was just cancelled and Spider-Man’s kid was probably murdered to make him more appealing, she’s a refreshing lead. Let’s all hope she doesn’t wind up in a fridge at some point.

Gaydos’ art is simply great. He makes all the characters seem human, and has a real gift for subtle emotion. I wish the Alias omnibus from Marvel was still in print so I could really see what he can do with a continued narrative. Miles mentioned in his Manhunter review a while back that he wasn’t crazy about Gaydos’ action sequences. I agree that they’re a little stiff, but the rest of the book is so swell to look at, it barely warrants mention.

Like I said, this book has a lot going on. And while I may not have understood all of it, or even most of it, I certainly didn’t feel like I had been slighted for my three bucks. And that’s a nice feeling when most series seem like they’re waiting for the eventual trade paperback publication to be satisfying.

Miles’ Book

Jack of Fables #25
Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Pencilled by Russ Braun
Vertigo, 2008

Sometimes the first page of a book is enough to know that you’re going to love it. In this case, a strikingly composed shot of a woman in white sitting in a room, introducing the story with humourous narration, while a painting of the page sits above her left shoulder, and in that picture there’s the page and so on to infinity. In one page, with its combination of quirky and crafted, I knew that I was in the right hands.

Luckily, I knew enough about the Fables universe not to be intimidated by the curious mix of fairy tale and human characters intermingling. I must admit, I’m not following Vertigo’s flagship book at the moment. Many would call this a serious lapse in my judgement, but I just didn’t get into it the first time I tried. I don’t know anything about these characters from what little I have read of Fables, and in particular I don’t remember Jack, but, honestly I didn’t need to – there was enough good in this issue for me not to care about the past.

First, the art is to my taste: it’s clean and thoughtful; his characters are expressive and district; but, most impressively, the characters who are cartoons don’t look cartoony. There’s a respect for all the fables, animal or man. It’s touching, really. And I must plug that opening page again because it’s so wonderful.

But the real highlight is the witty script. A friend of mine called Jack of Fables “fun, silly stuff” but I don’t agree with that. It’s fun, for sure, but the word “silly” undermines the cleverness of the story and dialogue. It’s a well crafted comic and I really should address that lack of judgement problem I have when it comes to Fables.

Isaac’s Book

Ultimate Iron Man Vol. 2 #5
Written by Orson Scott Card
Art by Pasqual Ferry and Leonardo Manco
Colours by Dave McCaig
Marvel Comics, 2008

It’s important to keep in mind that Orson Scott Card is more of a novelist than a comic book writer when reading this book. In novels, you can write ten pages describing a scene to the reader, capturing our imagination, and leading us carefully forward in the story; in comics, there’s an image and an artist (or two) to convey the scene. So in this issue of Ultimate Iron Man, without the descriptive buffer zone a novel would have between action scenes, we’re left with non-stop action.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing — no one wants a really slow story to follow — but it does result in a very different pacing to this comic than you’ll find in most anything else on the shelves. Although, I haven’t read the previous four issues in this series and couldn’t say if this pacing irregularity is consistent. It is also possible that Card is just in a rush to accomplish everything in the story that needs to happen for this to be the miniseries’ last issue. I prefer my first guess, which gives Card the benefit of the doubt.

I love Pasqual Ferry as an artist; there’s a youthful energy to everything he does, which was a great fit for Ultimate Fantastic Four, his run on Superboy (back in the day), and yes, this incarnation of Iron Man who is a very young guy playing the hero in the suit. A problem though is that, with so much happening, often the scene changes without getting a chance to really see what’s around at that moment; it’s the quickest glance at emotion, or the setting, before we run off somewhere else. It can be pretty limiting for the artists to work that way. Sure are a lot of cool drawings of Iron Man though.

Speaking of cool drawings of Iron Man: the cover. Non-ultimate Iron Man doesn’t need a gun, his suit is weapon enough for anything, and the same is really true for the Ultimate version. Then why does Ultimate Iron Man have a sweet looking gun on the cover of this comic? Because it’s awesome! I know I wouldn’t argue with his choice of accessories.

This was a really cool comic, but if they could have slowed things down a bit, maybe made an issue six in this miniseries, spent some more time with cool sci-fi settings, it could have been more. Really cool cover though.

James’ Book

Black Panther #40
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Jefete Palo and Lee Loughridge
Marvel Comics, 2008

Black Panther always suffered from “Superman Syndrome” in my eyes, inasmuch as he seems to have a dearth of flaws. The perfect king of a perfect nation, he doesn’t even have a kryptonite allergy. That said, by the second page of this issue, I wanted to move to Wakanda. Why? Because apparently, the military uniform there is a panther costume. That’s right, not only does their king dress like a panther, but every single soldier does too. If I had known that, I would have been reading Black Panther since it’s relaunch.

I want you to think about how awesome this idea is for just a minute longer. Think about the psychological brilliance of having every single soldier dress like a giant cat. Think about seeing that on a battlefield. It’s no wonder Wakanda won every war it ever fought. I’d start killing my own men if I saw that.

This issue takes that level of rad from the second page and carries it pretty well through the whole thing. The main plot follows the Black Panther fighting a couple new Super-Skrulls. The main event has the powers of Wolverine, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Bullseye, and Moon Knight. And by Moon Knight powers, I mean he has some crescent darts. Also, though it does nothing but announce his power, he has Bullseye’s bullseye on his forehead. Like I said, rad.

Aside from the ridiculous parts, I really enjoyed how Black Panther fought smart in this issue. Something you learn in even the most basic writing class is to show, not tell. By having T’Challa take down the Moon-Skrull with his wits, Aaron lets us infer everything we need to know about the character. It’s a nice, quick way to reinforce what we know about the protagonist.

There’s a definite animation influence in the art. It has a nice, simple look, that, when taken with the stark backgrounds and the solid colours, evokes a fable. It’s a good fit for the book, and actually might be my favorite part of it. And I’ll say this for Palo: he can draw one hell of a panther soldier.

And you thought he'd have regular clothes or ribs under there, you were wrong.

Miles’ Book

Amazing Spider-man #568
Written by Dan Slott
Penciled by John Romita Jr.
Inked by Klaus Janson
Marvel Comics, 2008

I’ve talked a couple times about this series, but to recap I generally like Amazing Spider-man in 2008. With the exception of Bob Gale’s issues, which are cheese-filled and I no longer buy, the series has been telling fun Spider-man stories and sticking to a fantastic three-times-a-month schedule. And I swear to readers of this column, this issue was chosen for me by the random number generator and not by an editor looking to comment on the biggest Spider-man story since the devil ate his marriage.

The hype has been building for months: the return of Spidey’s classic villains, the return of Norman Osborn, the return of Venom, the return of John Romita Jr. You see, common reader, superhero comic book readers like it when characters return over and over again, and then we like to complain that they’ve returned too many times; it’s our thing, make peace with it. The surprising, and great, thing about all these elements returning to the series is that they don’t feel like they came out of nowhere. It really is a continuation of the many, many plot threads that the writers of Amazing Spider-man have laid down, and it looks like many of them are about to pay off.

Slott has a real mastery over Peter Parker inside and outside of the costume. Peter’s character, especially, is well-written in this issue: you get to see him act like a smart man for a change. He goes to his friends for help, he listens to their advice, and he does the right thing right away, instead of doing a few douchebag-y things first. It’s refreshing. He’s getting it together. Of course some things are going to fall apart, and that brings you to the nice cliffhanger at the end of this issue, but it was nice to feel proud of Peter and not shake your head at him in the interim.

Speaking of shaking your head at someone, prepare to do it at me — I don’t like Romita’s art. I know he’s a superstar but I don’t get why. His art has its moments, but there are too many inconsistencies from panel to panel. That said, for Romita, I think this is a good issue. You can tell he took his time with it (his style is often called “the deadline style,” meaning that he was good with whatever he got out in time for deadline). Most of the characters have a unique look to them, and he’s working on strong panel composition. I have a couple of nitpicks, but that’s exactly what they are so they aren’t worth mentioning.

So, I think if you like Spider-man and are making a trip to the comic-book store, you should buy this series. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but its batting average is really good. In general, it features good writing and better art. Forget about the insult that was Brand New Day and give Spidey a try. Come on, you know I’m good for it, you know the web head’s good for it, what’s the problem?

A Classic in the Making

Isaac’s Book

Guardians of the Galaxy #4
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Pencilled by Paul Pelletier
Marvel Comics, 2008

I get tired of the introductory page a lot of Marvel comics have these days. The graphic on the Avengers: Secret Invasion tie-in stuff hurts to looks at, all swirly and magic-eye-like. And in my more cynical moments, the intro comes across as nothing more than a way to package and sell a graphic novel before it actually becomes such.

In my opinion, the paradigm of a “classic” comic doesn’t need any intro, it tells you everything you need to know in that issue as you go along. Often this results in cheesy, expository dialogue, which I love. With a little luck you may even end up with asterisks in your word balloons that lead to editor’s notes in boxes, which then tell you how “It’s true! It happened in issue such and such!”

There is just such an asterisk to be found in Guardians of the Galaxy.

The first thing you see when you open up Guardians of the Galaxy issue four? A punch is thrown, followed by a retaliatory shield to the face. That’s pretty awesome. The third physical page of this issue is a “what has happened before” intro page, so if you love it, it is in fact there, but it has no bearing on this issue whatsoever. I read the pages around it, find it seamless, and concluded that the inclusion of the intro page was an editorial mandate that serves no purpose in the issue. I don’t need to know about the Guardians fighting with the Universal Church of Truth in the previous issue, cool though it may have been, when it has nothing to do with this issue at all. It never comes up; the characters have more than enough trouble walking down the halls without getting attacked by crazy-looking aliens to bother going back to fighting off this Universal Church business.

But you know what else is on that intro page? Little pictures of the main characters’ faces with their names written underneath. Knowing who your heroes are is pretty important for a comic book, and it can be difficult for a team book to get across, so this is a pretty classic touch that I’m glad to see. It could only have been better if the faces had been plastered along the border of the page with this issue’s opening title and credits, which happened to be a page with a giant explosion! Maybe if they did that in the new New Warriors comic I would still be buying it. Though it would probably still suck. Anyways…

I love this character Star-Lord, he’s like what the storm troopers would look like if they were created by the rebel alliance — and he’s the team leader! I dared not hope for that, but he is! He’s not even a jerk of a leader — he seems like a cool guy. I’m quite happy about that. Plus, while defending one of his teammates (a temporally displaced Lance Astro, from the original Guardians of the Galaxy comic!), he says, “Touch him again and I’ll turn that baton into a concealed weapon.”

Oh, now I get that.

The Abnett and Lanning team just does great comics. I’ve been picking up their Nova book (though I missed the last issue for some reason), and it’s great, and I would have loved to get their large Annihilation books if I had money.

What I’m saying is, if YOU have money, you should get this stuff.

I don't get it. I mean, they didn't even get on a plane or a train in this issue.

James’ Book

X-Men: First Class #15
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Karl Kesel and Val Staples
Marvel Comics, 2008 

I think you could probably replace Fist Class with Adventures in the title of this book and no one would really notice. That’s not a bad thing. Parker gives us a nice, self-contained issue with a simple plot that takes place in-between classic Fantastic Four stories. It’s a little slight, but, hey, it’s a kid’s book — right? 

That said, it does have some decent character insights that you might not expect. Young Iceman shows that he’s always been an insensitive jerk with a tirade against women drivers, and we’re shown the first seeds of Angel’s deep-seated fear of commitment. Sure, they’re treated as joke, but us adults know the truth. 

Speaking of jokes, this issue is pretty funny. My favorite touch is the way Medusa, this issue’s very special guest star, used her giant opposable hair for everything. From pouring tea to opening doors, it was like she didn’t have hands. It felt like a nice throwback to the days where a character was completely defined by their powers. 

This book actually reminded me of the Adventures books Marvel and DC put out in the 90s along with their animated series. Karl Kesel’s clean, unremarkable art also feels like a throwback to those days. Again, I mean that as a compliment. Kesel’s not going to win an Eisner for this issue, but he presents the story well. 

Obviously, I don’t wish every book was this simple and lighthearted, but it’s a nice reprieve from more serious fare. And it’s nice to know there are still books out there for kids.

You know your world is jaded when the civilians in the background seem unfazed by a goddess fighting a devil in a fountain.

Miles’ Book

Wonder Woman #23
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan
DC Comics, 2008

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever read a Wonder Woman comic book. I’ve heard tell of good Wonder Woman stories, but I’ve never felt a drive to search out those works. But this comic was pretty good, so maybe I should.

This is a case where I didn’t understand everything that was happening — in fact I didn’t understand a lot of it — but there were enough good things that I could ignore this and enjoy what I was reading. Mainly, the good thing was Simone’s writing, and, in particular, her dialogue.

In this issue, Wonder Woman has red eyes, steals Hellboy’s stone arm, and fights something that may or may not be the devil. Not sure why. There’s a lot of talk of dimensions, so I’m not really sure if he’s a devil here or in a different dimension or whatever. But it doesn’t matter because his dialogue is hilarious and awesome. Examples are his calling a television crew in a helicopter a “Gnats and nuisance” or goading Wonder Woman with “No living thing has wounded me without eternal regret.” It’s exactly the kind of thing that you want to a flaming horned giant to say. And it’s a delight.

Lopresti’s art is pretty good for Wonder Woman. She’s pretty foxy and amazonian-looking (though not as good as Cooke’s version), and I’m happy to say that she’s wearing full bottoms. For some reason whenever Wonder Woman hangs out with the Justice League, she feels the need to change into a string thong to fight evil. Comparatively, she wears granny panties in this book, and it’s just so much more sensible not showing the enemy your labia.

But I digress. Anyway, people are right to talk highly of Simone’s writing Wonder Woman. She writes her as strong and smart as an icon of her magnitude should be written. But, more than that, she made me like Wonder Woman a lot more than I did when I started reading this issue.

Isaac’s Book

In this issue, Spawn is torn between the man and the monster. Sadly, it's an internal battle.

Spawn #181
Story by David Hine and Todd McFarlane
Pencils by Brian Haberlin
Image Comics, 2008

The best comics are the totally insensible ones. I’m sure there are some who would disagree with that sentence right there, but here’s the thing: when I first started buying comics it was Spider-Man at the tail end of the clone saga, just before my man Ben Reilly was going to be the main spectacular Spider-Man for a year. It’s all pretty confusing for a ten-year old, but through the years I got to piece everything together by getting older comics, continuing with the story arc, and reading up on the internet (this process of figuring everything out took years. And of course there’s still the question of Kaine and the spider-skeleton in the smokestack, so, um, yay for Brand New Day?). Of course the individual comics were still chock full of action and good guys to root for, so the end product would be a great comic and great series to follow.

So here I am, holding Spawn #181 (that’s a high number). I think I’ve seen all of the live action movie, and I watched a bunch of the cartoon, and we’ve all run across the cool action figures from McFarlane toys in comics stores and wherever, so I’m braced for an insane story that makes no sense but will be awesome.

So, where’s my Pirate Spawn^TM!?!?!

There was none of that action. In the cartoon you see Spawn hanging out in his wife’s bedroom staring at her because he misses being alive with her (wouldn’t you?) and he does that here, the only difference is he kidnaps her to a romantic little getaway where he had proposed to her in life, and was going to kill her so he wouldn’t have to feel like he was ever human.

The recap tells of a huge battle between the forces of heaven and hell that had torn our plane asunder, and that Spawn managed to recreate the world and separate it from that war which had destroyed it, protecting it from such devastation in the future. I read that, and I think “That is awesome. So does Spawn rule the world now, does he protect against stray villains/demons that somehow got cast away into Earths realm, can people even die?” I guess I didn’t really get that.

The art was pretty cool though; you just know that these guys would love to do a Venom story, what with all the living costume flowing around. The backgrounds tended to be a little sparse, again – I would have liked to see more of this world Spawn inhabits – but it could have been done for effect, and I don’t assume that these guys just ignore backgrounds.

It wasn’t really a bad comic; it just wasn’t what I wanted. Plus it should have been like, issue #9 of the series with the meagre depth of the character we’re given, not #181.

James’ Book

In this issue, Beast gains the powers of the Invisible Woman.

Astonishing X-Men #26
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Simone Bianchi, Andrea Silvestri & Simone Peruzzi
Marvel Comics, 2008

I dislike this book. A lot. Not because it’s bad. It isn’t, really. It’s just really bland. As a critic, bland doesn’t give you a lot to work with. If I hated it, or even if there was one tiny, small thing I hated about it, I’d be fine. Same goes for the reverse. But I had no emotional reaction to this issue what so ever.

Normally I enjoy Ellis’ work, particularly Planetary. That’s a book that deconstructs genre comics while still managing to provide an engaging, funny, action-filled story. Astonishing doesn’t. It seems like Ellis has a bunch of concepts he wants to bring to the X-Men, but instead of incorporating them subtly, he has the characters talk about them for 22 pages. And they’re not bad ideas. I just wish there was more of a story to go along with them.

The book also suffers in comparison to what came before, which, while not really fair, can’t be helped. It’s not Ellis’ fault the last writer on the title was Joss Whedon. But Whedon was writing touching comics that understood the characters and moved them forward in ways that felt right. This is just a standard superhero comic with a better vocabulary.

The art is competent, and I’m sure Bianchi has legions of fans, but he’s a little overly realistic for me. You combine it with Peruzzi’s boring, brown colour palette, and everything seems a little too rooted in reality. And how does that make this book feel, boys and girls? That’s right! Bland.

I hope the new creative team is just finding their sea legs. I hope that after Ellis gets all his neat ideas out there he’ll start telling some fun, kick-ass stories. But I think I’ll wait for the trade to find out.

I'm sorry Deepak Chopra, but this is beyond me.

Miles’ Book

Deepak Chopra’s Beyond #3 (of 5)
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Edison George
Virgin Comics, 2008

Sorry everyone who made this comic, but I didn’t like it. This issue, taken by itself, is bullshit. Maybe there’s something awesome I’m missing that happened earlier, but this is told as a serial and you shouldn’t have issues that are totally bullshit.

In the world of Beyond, a couple of really deep-thinking guys have found out how to fracture reality and influence dimensions to bring them to our world. Or something like that. All this issue does is take our main character through a trippy, dimension-hopping escape, where all he does is complain and say “I don’t understand.”

I sympathize, pal, I don’t understand either. This comic is poorly explained even with a recap page. At first I thought the colouring was just really bad, because colour schemes would change for seemingly no reason. Then I clued into the fact that reality seems to be having an off day and that our hero was probably shifting in time and space. At least I hope that’s what was happening, because otherwise this is a badly coloured comic.

I think Edison George will be an amazing artist in a few years. He’s got talent, some of these pages have amazing layouts, but he’s not consistent panel to panel — primarily in the shape-of-the-main-character’s-head department. He’s made a unique-looking character, and I dig that, but his jaw violently fluctuates from time to time. Also, the character design for his son is straight out of 1994. Shaved bowl cut? Come on man, look out a window!

Ron Marz? Sorry to say man, but your dialouge must have just come from Easter dinner because it’s hammy. Hammier than my last sentence. Hammertime! Especially the scenes between the protagonist and his wife who feels like she’s a hanger to drape a plot point on rather than a person. She’s just hollow and painted with numbers. But, then again, she does seem to have some reality shifty thing going on with her, so maybe that’s what’s supposed to be happening — she’s supposed to feel hollow. If so, good work Marz. If not, bad work Marz.

Everything about this cover says "Wacky!"

Isaac’s Book

Isaac went off the rails this week and reviewed a book that came out three weeks ago. We’re going to allow this because that’s pretty random and this is Random Comics of the Week.

Ambush Bug: Year None #1
Plot and pencils by Keith Giffen
Dialogue by Robert Loren Fleming
DC Comics, 2008

I’ve been waiting a while to try this comic out for size, and it didn’t disappoint. Do you ever want the zany stylings of Keith Giffen, but you’re just not in the mood for the ultra violence that comes with a Lobo Para Military Christmas special? Well, Ambush Bug is the book for you!

The whole of the book is like a love letter/inside joke to long-time comic fans, discussing topics from the loss of thought bubbles to the frequency of female characters getting killed in DC comics. The story is disjointed, but that’s not what this book is about. It’s about slapstick gag after slapstick gag, and it delivers on that front no problem.

The art almost has a faded look to it, and I bet that’s just what they’re going for, making it look like it’s a comic from the ’80s that’s been lying around fading in the sunlight and oxygen. Curse that sunlight and oxygen! How many JLI back issues and Invasion crossover copies have these scourges destroyed?

Even while I know a good amount of what’s being referenced in these pages, I know there’s a whole bunch more that’s out of my depth. I’ve seen ‘Mazing Man (a goofy-looking cartoony hero) before, but I don’t really know what his deal was. So maybe I don’t enjoy his being on death row as much as an older fan would — but I still enjoy it quite a lot! His stubble is a good touch.

While investigating the murder of Jonni DC, DC’s continuity cop of days gone by, as well as that of another female character, Ambush Bug interviews a host of characters. When he goes to this guy the Glop, the smell causes him to vomit profusely (where an arrow helpfully points it out, telling us “More gags than any previous Ambush Bug story!”), and Ambush Bug teleports away. He still needs to talk to this Glop guy, so he immediately calls him up on his cell phone, explaining that he had to leave, not because of any “stench” but because he received a telepathic distress call from Superman who needed Ambush Bug’s help fighting off space vampires. Glop is incredulous towards this notion, but before fully expressing this Ambush Bug cuts him off with a “GLOP, I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE BANSHEE WAIL OF THESE SPACE VAMPIRES!” Then proceeds to ask him about the Jonni DC murder.

That is merely a tiny fraction of the hilarity contained within these 22 pages. It’s old school. It’s got a lot of dead people lying around, and it has a pointless appearance by the Jack Kirby Sandman. Clearly, I enjoyed this book a lot.

Nothing to see here, folks.

James’ Book

NYX: No Way Home #1
Written by Marjorie Liu
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky and John Rauch
Marvel Comics, 2008

Usually, super heroics and teenagers go well together. It’s a pretty accepted trope that the heightened emotions present in adolescence and the heightened emotions inherent in the genre compliment each other nicely. Both Runaways and Young Avengers use and play with this convention, to great effect.

The problem with NYX is it gets rid of the super heroics, at least in this issue. It mostly concerns itself with reintroducing the main characters and establishing their status quo. But up until the last couple pages, nothing happens. Nothing. The kids go to work, the kids can’t pay rent, and then out of nowhere, someone’s murdered. Liu is so concerned with showing us what’s happening in these characters’ lives that she forgets to show us why we should care. It’s just boring up until that last page, and by that time it feels like too little, too late.

I haven’t read the original NYX, but I know Wolverine’s younger, female clone X-23 was introduced in it. And after reading this issue, I can’t help but feel like she was the main reason the previous series existed. Without the editorially mandated introduction of a new character, there doesn’t seem to be much here. Liu makes an interesting choice focusing on the everyday struggles of the kids instead of their powers, but they’re just not interesting enough for it to work.

On the upside, the art is fun, with bright, sunny colours. What I really appreciate, though, are the backgrounds. The whole book really feels like it’s happening in New York, and that really helps keep the story grounded. I might not like the overly mundane tone of the writing, but at least the art keeps the tone consistent.

Martian Manhunter, we hardly knew him. Or it, I guess.

James’ Book of the Month

Final Crisis: Requiem
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
DC Comics, 2008

On the whole, I haven’t been enjoying Final Crisis so far. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been paying enough attention to what’s been happening in the DCU lately. Maybe it’s because I have a love/hate relationship with Grant Morrison. But I think it’s because DC has been lying to me for the past few years.

I recall DC saying, around when Infinite Crisis was staring up, that this was going to be the beginning of a brighter, happier DC universe. Infinite Crisis was to be the last dark night before the beautiful, fun new day. And then they killed Blue Beetle, Rocket Red, and a whole bunch of other characters I loved. But it was okay. It was all going to be better soon.

Well, that didn’t happen. 52 had me kind of hopeful, but then DC did the worst possible thing: they killed my beloved Question. And Elongated Man. And I’m told lately Superboy-Prime has just been killing planets full of people.

Understand that I’m not advocating a return to the comics of the Golden Age, where the good guys always won and nothing really bad ever happened. I’d just like a universe where I’m not worried about my favourite character dying every time I open a comic. Something that’s hard for me to do when every Batman book I pick up is subtitled “R.I.P.”

Anyway, one of my biggest complaints about Final Crisis was the way in which it dealt with the death of the Martian Manhunter. I understand that having it seem like an afterthought was probably part of Morrison’s master plan, but c’mon. It’s the Martian Manhunter. He’s been in every incarnation of the Justice League, and has been a part of the DCU for over 50 years. We should see people mourning him.

And that’s what we get in this issue. We also see the seeds being sown for James Robinson’s upcoming Justice League series, something I’m very excited for. And we see Batman act like a human being, which is always appreciated. It’s a nice, touching eulogy for a character I’m going to miss. And considering the flippant treatment his death received before, that’s enough to make this my Book of the Month.

In this case, justice is blind and holding an automatic and wearing an awesome costume.

Miles’ Book of the Month

Daredevil #109
Written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka
Art by Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano
Marvel Comics, 2008

Next month I’ll probably pick Uncanny X-men as my Book of the Month and I’ll have finally run through all of Brubaker’s excellent monthlies. I can’t help it, he just appeals to all of my sensibilities as a reader.

This arch of Daredevil has Matt Murdock and his law firm/crime-solving buddies attempting to get over Matt’s wife’s recent insanity by trying to get an innocent man off of death row even though he doesn’t want to get off. I think this is the kind of Daredevil that Brubaker has been trying to write since he took over the book. One that focuses more on Murdock taking on crime, rather than fucked up things happening to him and focusing on how he reacts. It’s a refreshing change.

It’s also great to see the Gotham Central (Brubaker, Rucka, Lark) team put back together because the three of them make such wonderful crime together. The best part? You don’t feel like there are two writers working on this book — it’s seamless.

The real reason, though, that this book gets top pick is because the last three pages made me make an audible noise, which the true test of any literature. There’s a potential death at the end of the book: one that is both really well executed and really sad for me. It’s a death sequence that shows the real power of comics — it allows moments that hang forever.

Here’s hoping this Daredevil team stays on the book forever.

Isaac’s Book of the Month

Barry Allen, on the other hand, we knew very well.

Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #1 (of 3)
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Scott Kolins
DC Comics, 2008

Since Identity Crisis there’s been a shift in the DC Comics universe to try to reincorporate Silver Age ideas with modern sensibilities. Unfortunately this often results in a dismissal of storylines and events from the good old ’90s up to Identity Crisis printed in 2004.

Pre-Identity Crisis the Flash comic by Johns and Kolins was riding high, with a well-rounded protagonist in Wally West who didn’t agonize over his mentor Barry Allen’s legacy, while adventuring in a fully realized environment of Central and Keystone cities. The most explored aspect of the Flash comic during this era was the hidden motivations of the Rogues: Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, and a number of others, elevating them to stars in their own right.

But when the Identity Crisis kicked in, editorial necessities (I assume) cut short the “Rogue War” storyline and the comic was never the same. Soon after Infinite Crisis Bart Allen became the Flash in his own series, Flash: Fastest Man Alive, which was overall a disappointment, especially in how it just couldn’t keep up the intricacies of the Geoff Johns’ Flash environment, dropping supporting cast and even moving Flash from his home in both Central and Keystone cities to Los Angeles. Ultimately Bart Allen was killed off in issue #13 by the Rogues (I actually liked this issue a lot; it was a very heroic adventure that didn’t let one of my favourite characters go out like a total punk) — a crime that didn’t quite fit with the Rogues modus operandi and left readers going “whuh?”

Since then Wally West has been back as the Flash, his series hasn’t been going too well, and we haven’t even heard from his Rogue enemies (maybe in Salvation Run? Didn’t read it).

But Rogues’ Revenge is Johns and Kolins’ return to the world they perfected, a little darker and grittier for their absence, but that’s almost like an acknowledgment of everything the readers have had to sit through in the meantime, like these creators were feeling how bad and “away” the Flash stories had gotten and had to step in to set things right.

Captain Cold says it best: “We’ve been on the run for months with no help from any of ‘em. And I hate running.”

I won’t tell you what happens between Inertia and Zoom, beyond the fact that those two are in the comic, and that it was awesomely cool to the max. Plus a little bit weird.

The pictured flashes of lightning all throughout the book herald either Barry Allen’s imminent appearance, or Zoom’s — a picture whose clarity is like a signal that the Flash is headed for another revival, and it’s about time.