Comic Thoughts - Week of July 5, 2007

Short bursts of thought about comics I purchased and read the week of July 5, 2007.

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #6: I still enjoy this series mainly for the beautiful art, because the story has been told already – with much more depth – in the Dark Tower novels. Still, what I do enjoy are the historical text pieces that run at the end of each issue, delving into the history of Mid-World and the Gunslingers. Next issue is the conclusion of this limited series, but I’ll cross my trigger fingers that we get a return – in comic form – to the world of the Dark Tower.

Countdown #43: For such a somber issue, things are finally starting to pick up. This week featured a pretty standard funeral for a hero, Bart Allen – the Flash. Jason Todd and Donna Troy are off to the Nanoverse in search of the missing Ray Palmer (the Atom); apparently he’s the key to saving the Multiverse. Trickster and Pied Piper are shot down in the parking lot outside of the funeral – although I doubt they’re dead. I am, however, curious as to what happens next with the pair of not-so-rouge rouges. It was also interesting to see Harleen Quinzel – the Joker’s former girl, Harley Quinn – hanging out with the Amazons and chatting with Holly. Jimmy decides to use his powers to become a hero instead of simply snapping photos of heroes. And finally, Forerunner learns that Monarch wishes her to lead his army against the Monitors. Oh, and that some mysterious woman has killed the rest of her race – nothing like the revelation of genocide to fully commit a person to your cause. All in all, a good week of dangling plot threads interesting enough to keep me hooked on the weekly Countdown, even if the art by Manuel Garcia with David Lopez was not so strong.

Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness #5: Seeing as I don’t follow the monthly Army of Darkness series, I won’t know if this crossover will have any lasting effects, but it was quite fun to read. The ending was great, but I’d heard the next Marvel adventure would feature the Marvel Apes, not Marvel Werewolves. Oh well, either way it would be a whole bunch of fun if they ran with one or the other of these zany ideas.

Justice League Unlimited #35: This story gets the series back on track after a few lower-quality issues in a row. It’s the return of kids’ comics with a message – this issue: “With time I’ll find my own place in the crazy old world.” Starring Steel, and Steel’s niece Natasha, the story also had some good old superhero fun, as well. Nice old-fashioned entertainment.

Detective Comics #834: A decent enough conclusion to the two-part team-up between Batman and Zatanna. The best thing about the issue was the nice character moment at the end where Batman forgives Zatanna for mind-wiping him, as seen back during the phenomenal Identity Crisis.

Nightwing #134: A strong issue, but nothing much to write home about. It’s just simple, straightforward, superhero-ing.

Faker #1: An interesting new mini-series from Vertigo Comics, written by Mike Carey, with art by Jock. I couldn’t begin to tell you what the comic is about. No clue. It has something to do with a group of college friends who lie, steal – fake – their way through college and life. By the end of the issue one friend finds that no one but his close friends even knows he exists, while another of the group is left shouting crazy ramblings from the top of a clock tower. Where this will all go, I do not know. And I won’t know until the trade comes out. I can wait until then, when it’s cheaper.

Black Canary #1: Black Canary has been a favorite character of mine since her guest appearance in The Ray, one of those forgotten series – but much loved by me – from the 90’s. She’s one of those “legacy characters” I love so much – her mom having been Black Canary back in the 40’s and 50’s as a member of the Justice Society. In this mini-series, Canary is attempting to decide whether or not to marry her long-time, on-again/off-again love, Green Arrow. She’s also trying to find a “normal” life for her adopted young girl, Sin – who was once being trained to replace the world’s premiere fighter, Lady Shiva, of the League of Assassins. Mix in an ex-husband and a villain from her past and this mini is rocking along (and not just because of the army of Elvis assassins, either).

Outsiders #49: The crossover with Checkmate concludes this issue, setting both series up for some major changes. Next month Batman takes over as leader of the Outsiders, and the book goes weekly while Batman selects his new team. However, if the Countdown promo piece is any indication of the new team – and it appears to be just that – then we are simply looking at two new members – Martian Manhunter and Catwoman – and the loss of Nightwing as leader and Thunder. Even if the roster is spoiled, I still look forward to this amazing series.

All Star Superman #8: An issue set entirely on Bizarro World. The thing with Bizarro is that I am easily annoyed with all the opposite talking that occurs – Bizarro is a messed up duplicate of Superman who speaks only in opposites. While this bothers me to read, the opposite version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that is sung in the issue is genius. This is a Grant Morrison Superman title, so it is well-written, but kind of out there and either amazing or frustrating, depending on your mood.