Short bursts of thought about comics I purchased and read the week of July 18, 2007. (Sorry these are so late, but RAGBRAI, a job interview, and the final Harry Potter ate up a lot of my reading time.)
All Flash #1:
This is the Flash I know and enjoy. Wally West is back! This issue acts as the bridge between the Bart Allen series and the start of the new Flash series (back with its original numbering – next issue: #231). Wally catches up with Bart’s killer, Inertia – an evil clone of Bart – and as much as he wants to kill him for what he’s done, Wally can’t. Instead, he slows down time for Inertia so that the villain will be forced to stand as a statue in the Flash Museum for all time, alive and frozen, staring at the hero Bart in all his glory. There’s also a bit of foreshadowing with the Rogues in hiding being mysteriously gathered up, and of Wally’s kids and their possible heroic destinies. All just
great stuff.
Countdown #41: Denis Calero on pencils for a DC book? Whoo! His shadowy pencils remind me a lot of Ryan Sook’s – no surprise since they both worked on Marvel’s
X-Factor book, which is
all about a dark, noir attitude. It’s great to see his style on some of the
Countdown characters I’m beginning to enjoy. Piper and Trickster survive their fall in a manner reminiscent of one of my Great Escapes – a pair of flying boots stuck in the pack of goodies Trickster managed to snag as they jumped from the plane. Landing in Gotham – probably not the safest place to land – has put the pair close to a source of help: the penguin? Jimmy Olsen decides on a costume and superhero name – Mr. Action – while he struggles with maintaining a secret identity. Mary Marvel questions her new powers while Eclipso notes her potential from afar. Holly and Harley watch as a mob converges outside the Athenian Shelter. Ryan Choi – the Atom – Donna, Jason, and “Bob” (as Jason has named the Monitor helping them) continue their search for Ray Palmer. With Beechen writing this story, the issue moves along and the dialogue comes both quick and funny.
Robin #164: While Dodge recruits a team to take down Robin, Tim Drake is offered a spot on the tennis team. It’s a light issue featuring very little Robin-ing, but still engaging enough because of the script and images.
Checkmate #16: The calm before the fall. “The Fall of the Wall” and the revival of the Suicide Squad are coming soon in
Checkmate, and this issue sets up some of the pieces while mainly focusing on relationships – those of the Black Queen and Mr. Fantastic, and Fire and Ice. A good, strong read with some nice pencils (something the book was occasionally lacking during the Outsiders/Checkmate crossover).
Justice League of America #11: Wow! This issue is an example of why Brad Meltzer is one of my favorite authors. Buried and trapped in a fallen building as a result of a super-villain attack, Red Arrow and Vixen struggle to stay alive. Impaled by rebar and cut by glass and debris – bones shattered – these two heroes fight to survive. The fear and desire to live feel
real, and that’s due to Meltzer’s ability to create “real” characters and emotion in his writing. You simply believe. And as an added bonus, the issue features the fully-painted artwork of Gene Ha. I’ve been a fan of his work since his guest stints on
Starman. At first you might feel a bit cheated by the massive amount blank, black space on the page, with every panel just a thin sliver of art – mostly because the art is so good – but the layout and design are intentional. It all works to create a lack of space – constriction – the feeling of being buried alive. And it works
very well. This has to be one of my favorite single-issue stories of the year. Very highly recommended.
Amazons Attack! #4: The thing I enjoy about war (reading and watching
fictionalized war) is the complexity of it all. Two sides, both fighting for what they believe to be right and just. It makes for compelling reading and viewing.
Attack! is doing a better job of presenting these sides – these conflicts and differing beliefs. It really helps to make the book more interesting. Pete Woods also contributes some fantastically consistent art that helps too.
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #54: It was good enough. We learned a little more about the sinking of San Diego, and saw the appearance of the villain, Vandal Savage to this series. The art by McManus is still quite cartoony – but visually unique – and pleasantly enjoyable.
Catwoman #69: Catwoman is sent by Batman to infiltrate the Bana, a renegade band of Amazons acting as terrorists across the country during the Amazon’s Attack. While always seeming to find herself in situations such as this,
Catwoman is still a smartly written book with a strong, witty, quick and enjoyable main character. Turning Catwoman into a mother has also added some humor to lighten up the book.
Catwoman: Okay. Just let me ask you one question. It’s got nothing to do with whatever the topic at hand is.
Batman: What?
Catwoman: Just when did you install the car seat?
A car seat with a giggling baby in the back seat of the Batmobile: priceless.
World War Hulk #2: The battle rages on! This is by far one of the best “events” Marvel – or any company – has done in a long, long time. The art is stunning and the words just fly by. It’s all captivating stuff – in much the same way I was describing being fascinated by war earlier on. Just when you think that the Hulk might listen to reason, some dumb “good guy” goes and blows it all by attacking him. It looks like next issue features the return of General Ross – one of the Hulk’s oldest adversaries – and a ton of helicopters loaded for bear. Support the war – BUY HULK!
Black Canary #2: I know this is all just a way of milking the upcoming Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding, but I am enjoying this mini-series. I like the characters – and they’re written well here – and the amount of action. Makes it all worthwhile.
Birds of Prey #108: The fight between Oracle and Spysmasher was great. There was even a new move for me: pounding fists down on someone’s eyes while their head rested face up on the floor. Yikes! It was also cool to see the four page spread of all of Oracles allies and friends assembled to help. It would have been even better if the four pages all folded out for a continuous image.
The Programme #1: Super-soldiers and war. A dude with amnesia, of sorts, and a couple of flashbacks to the end of WWII. It’s all still a little vague, but the series does have potential. I’ll wait for the trade where hopefully things will make a little more sense. The colorful and photorealistic artwork by C.P. Smith is something of a wonder, though.
