Here 'tis. Small week for me, but a solid one. Really enjoyed Countdown, Atom, JSA, and Buffy.
Yeah, I’m with you on this week, CG.
JSA was a pleasant surprise - I was down on the idea of a recruitment drive so soon, especially with young Wildcat, Liberty Belle, Damage, Starman, Cyclone and Citizen Steel so new to the team - but I like the way these were handled, and the identity of the last one’s “legacy” was quite the surprise. The way Amazing Man was integrated (heh) into “real world” historical events was nice.
Countdown finally gives us some convergence, after all that concentration on the Monarch-Monitors battle. I’m really curious to see how Piper fits in to everything, he seems to have no natural connection to the New Gods.
**Countdown #12: ** Yeah, this one was pretty good. from the marvelously grandiose introduction to Apokolips, to all the threads finally coming together, this one worked. But pity the Source. It went from being a cosmic stand-in for God, infinite, unknowable, creator of all, to a much more petty entity that sneaks into Jimmy Olsen’s bathroom. It still comes off better than Death of the New Gods.
Detective Comics #841: “Seriously?” Plain and simple, good old fashioned fun. Just the way I like it.
Crime Bible #4: Pretty good. This was a nod to the fans of the old Question though, so much of it was wasted on me.
Jonah Hex #28: Very interesting diversion. Basically pointing out that Hex is not a misunderstood hard man what protects those of us that are too soft to do what needs to be done, but just a monster who usually remains a hair’s breadth better than those he’s killed.
A small week for me, as well. JSA was the bright spot. I can’t wait for the inevitable “oh shit” moment when Gog finally arrives.
Since it was a small week, I dug through the back issues and found the entire run of Garth Ennis’ “The Boys”. I’d heard good things about it so I took the chance and bought the first six issues, putting the rest of the run in my pull box. I’m glad I took the risk. It’s a great series.
JSA and All-New Atom were grand. Not to fond of some of the new character designs with JSA, but we’ll see how they go; nice to see some more diversity, though. Atom was great fun tying in all the past continuity.
Countdown was improved, and I can see now where they’ve been heading… but this just really emphasized, to me, that they desperately needed a better start to the whole Countdown series. Because by this point, I’m so annoyed by the whole thing that I just want 'em all Omega Beamed.
Infinity Inc. and Metal Men were just… confusing. Not sure why I’m still buying these. I want to like Metal Men, and more-or-less understand the story that’s going on, but the execution just leaves me bemused.
My only dislike in JSA was Mr. America. He looks like a twit, and there’s nothing interesting about him at all, honestly. I AM happy about Amazing Man, though (name’s a bit of a mouthful).
The Incredible Herc: Maybe I’m just all whiny today, but I also dislike Cho. He’s too dumb to be that smart (or perhaps the other way around).
JSA - Jakeem being back is awesome - and look, they remembered the t-bolt was Johnny! Too bad nobody told Eaglesham. - and the new characters are pretty cool - particularly Amazing Man and Lance - but I’m worried about the fact that the cast is already so huge that some characters are already getting very little face time - Sandman and Obsidian being the most notable examples.
Also, not that I’m complaining, as his panther form is awesome, but does anyone else think it’s mildly odd that Tommy’s not returned to his human form on the page since his first appearance?
Also…insert obligatory ‘I love Maxine’. 'Cuz I do. She is awesome.
’Tec - The best example of using Batman to tell a detective story I’ve read - the clues were there to figure out what was going on (and I got the broad strokes*), but it’s still a good reveal when Batman explains it in the end. And Batman and the Carpenter was a great scene.
-
The complete lack of mind control and the stealing of hats made it obvious right from the first robbery that Jervis wasn’t really behind it all. That it didn’t occur to me that the Tweedles were the real masterminds might just be my lack of familiarity with them.
Countdown - I…have no idea what Piper and the incredible severed hand are going to do on Apokolips. But it’s nice to see him doing SOMETHING, it’s been months since he did anything but babble deliriously at Trickster’s corpse. Harley/Holly/Mary was pretty awesome. Even if the Fury/Furry thing gave me a twitch, while it was making me giggle.
The Twelve - Not bad, but not as good as issue 1. A little much on the exposition. I wish I hadn’t read the descriptions of the characters in the Newsarama previews/issue 0. The bit from the artist about accentuating Dynamic Man’s Aryan features meant his apparent racism just felt a) obvious and b) clichéd.
[Edit - you know, I really overuse the word awesome…]
I’ve had that thought myself… but, I figure, none of the other JSA members are ever lounging around the brownstone in their civvies. They’re always in their costumes ('cept when Kingdom Kal had ripped his suit, and was wearing the bathrobe). Since the panther-form is Tommy’s costume, makes sense he’s always in that form when everyone else is in costume.
What really bugs me is that he has no pants while “in costume.” And although it plays up the visual similarity to his dad’s costume… it makes me think that his winkie disappears in were-panther form. Which is distractingly silly.
Well, most mammals have retractable bits, and testes aren’t that prominent in house cats, at least. While I haven’t seen a panther’s undercarriage firsthand, I’d be surprised if they were significantly different. So, it’s easily written off as ‘just another panther feature’. Yeah, I can’t believe I’m talking about cat genitals here either…
Onto other topics. >_>
Atom - Ryan has a rich…and bizarre*…fantasy life. Nice resolution - unexpected, but it does hang together well. I love Nemesis’ bits. ‘Nossir, I’m not drunk. Nossir, I’m not that, either.’
- Granny Goodness? REALLY? In fishnets, even?
Teen Titans: Year One - I really hate how Aqualad’s getting drawn here. Otherwise, I’m enjoying this a lot. Especially the art-that’s-not-Garth. Wonder Girl Kid Flash, and Speedy look great.
I thought the fight scene in Buffy looked too much like a Quiddich match.
Hi, folks. I’m hijacking this thread…a bit.
I used to be a Marvel fanboy back in the 80s, but I grew out of it. At least, I thought I had. Now my love of all things Whedon has drawn me back into the world of comics. So I’m looking for recommendations.
Caveats: I only want to get trades. Things I’ve been digging lately: Buffy/Angel/Serenity (obv), Y: The Last Man, Astonishing X-Men, Fables, Proof, Hellboy.
What else am I going to want to get into, especially series that are well under way?
You might like the Daredevil TPB’s by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Bendis has mastered a kind of pseudo-David Mamet dialogue and has a very good grip on superhero politics.
Bendis also wrote New Avengers: Illuminati, where a cabal of very influential superheroes (Iron Man, Black Bolt, Namor, Dr. Strange, Reed Richards and Professor X; between them, these men control or influence virtually every superhero in existence) who try to mold the destiny of the superhero community and set off some fascinating unintended consequences, mostly bad. Drawn by the amazing Jim Chueng.
Chueng and TV writer Allen Heinberg made their first mark on comics with the wonderful Young Avengers series, worth a look.
Irish writer Garth Ennis wrote two extended runs on The Punisher, one done for laughs, one not. At his best. this guy is real good. Especially fine are his collaborations with Steve Dillon and Goran Parlov (Parlov and Maleev are both from eastern Europe, possibly both are Bulgarian. Former Eastern bloc is to millennium comics what the Phillippines were to 1970s comics).
Astro City: Life in the Big City, and sequels
PS238: With Liberty and Recess for All, and sequels.
New Frontier, vol 1 and 2 (complete in 2)
Blue Beetle, vols 1 and 2.
The neck scratch seems like a hint that the masked guy was someone who lost his head at some point during the series. No one comes to mind though.
Well you’re reading good stuff for the most part so you’ve got a good start. I’m going to pick a few options for you that are complete (who wants to start something that will never be finished?) and started after you stopped reading comics.
I’m not the biggest fan of Whedon’s run on Astonishing but since you like that then I would strongly recommend Grant Morrison’s New X-Men series. I gave up on the X books shortly after you stopped reading comics because I was getting sick of the wheel spinning and constant repetition of the same four or five plots Claremont set down in the early 80’s. Morrison essentially threw out the garbage and started a spectacular run that might as well be a coda for the X-Books. It’s available in tiny trades but there’s also a 1100 page monster hardcover that gives it all to you in one shot which is how I recommend it. Some of Whedon’s stuff builds on what Morrison did so it’s a natural choice.
Whedon has also taken over the book Runaways (though it’s been a long time since the previous issue; come on Joss I want to see how the Yellow Kid does on a superhero team) and the initial volumes are well worth reading. They’re a superior example of the superhero teen drama. Again I would recommend the hard covers for convenience: the first one contains the entire first series so you get the complete extended storyline in one package.
Another title to look for is Jeff Smith’s Bone. Originally printed in black and white there are more options for reprints than I can shake a stick at: individual soft cover B&W, hard covers, mass market hard covers that have been colored, a giant collection of all sixty issues, and more. Smith was an animator before he started this project and had more story telling ability in his little finger than most popular artists have in their entire body. Bone is… well… complicated. Initially it’s a comedy book with fairy tale elements but the fairy tale moves toward the front. It doesn’t end as well as it starts but the whole thing is quite a ride.