New books for 10-26-05:
Many of us have felt, at least since the “Golden Age” storyarc that Brian Michael Bendis’ Daredevil, once as timely and dependable as a freight train on a clear track, has been running out of steam. That said, “Decalogue” made for great drama, and the second part of “The Murdock Papers” in Daredevil #78 promises that the rest of this arc is going to be a great slam bang end to the run: all the major players in Matt’s life are here: the Kingpin, Milla, Ben Urich, the new White Tiger, the Widow and Elektra showed up last issue. This issue Iron Fist, Luke Cage and the Owl, put in quick appearances, and capping it off (actually, “Kicking it all off” would be more accurate) Bullseye makes his entrance! This is going to be great. All we need is the return of Night Nurse! … Oh yeah: “Murdock for Mayor!” 8/10.
Wow! Brubaker’s and Epting’s “Winter Soldier” Part III (in Captain America #11 is a great read: we get a good chunk of the answers about the former-Bucky Barne’s past, and a brief, but extremely evocative epilogue, as Steve Rogers tries to process the information. Admittedly, I’m often on the fence about this title. I’ve found Brubaker’s first two arcs slow going at times (though not nearly as unnecessarily drawn out, as many stories are these days), but every four or five issues, Brubaker & his collaborators lob an issue like this in our laps, and the book drags itself back onto the “pull and hold” list. (I’m still trying to figure out why I didn’t feel this way about his previous work for DC and Vertigo.) Damn good read. 8/10.
Another book that’s often teetering on the edge for me is Waid and Kitson’s Legion of Superheroes. Not that there is anything wrong with the book. I just find stories about teams as large as the Legion hard going. As hard as it must be to fit all these characters into a story and keep it moving, it’s also hard to keep track of, and maintain strong interest in all of them. However, Legion #11 is one of the better issues, wherein the divided Legion, makes varied degrees of headway in their desperate attempt to hold the UP alliance together, and forestall Elysion’s allies’ planned invasion. Waid also plays with some nice sci-fi concepts, such as ideas and notions taking humanoid form and coming to life as full fledged concepts. And I loved the extra short story at issues’ end, evoking the simple positive lessons about heroism that comics can impart to the young. Good solid issue. 8/10.
It’s great to see Azzarello and Fruscin working together again: while their run together on Hellblazer was uneven, there were more good arcs that bad, and the two men’s storytelling styles complemented each other almost perfectly. In Loveless #1 we’re introduced to “Grey Rider’ Wes Cutter, a Confederate soldier returning home after a stretch in a Union prison, shortly after Sherman’s punitive march through the southern states. Echoing half a dozen Clint Eastwood characters with every jingle of his spurs, he mows down a bunch of old friends, who I figger’d simply stood by while northern soldiers abused his woman and took over his land. All well and good, if a bit predictable. Then Azzarello throws us a last minute curve-ball: one that upends every expectation of the role to be played by Mrs. Cutter. Good start! 7/10.
Speaking of great starts, up ‘til now Geoff Johns’ and Amanda Conner’s four-part “Powertripping” arc in JSA Classfied has been a barrel of laughs. Readers have been treated to the fun comic spectacle of Karen Star, Powergirl, stumbling through the varied origins offered up for her since Wolfman & Perez’s landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths “maxi-series” thirty years ago. It’s kind of a shame that the Psycho Pirate’s impromptu therapy session didn’t come to the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for all these past four issues. I can understand why Johns chose to defer gratification in this case, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Boy, that was disappointing. Hope he makes up for it when Karen shows up in Infinite Crisis. 6/10, for the letdown, however minor.
One result of the DC Countdown miniseries and storyarcs (including the all-too protracted dissolution of the League in the “Crisis of Conscience” story arc in JLA #113-116) has been a gradual movement of the B-list League members away from the “clubhouse” mentality of old, to something akin to the social dynamics of Marvel’s Defenders. In JLA #121 we watch as, like Jenny Sparks did after the fall of Stormwatch, Aquaman, Green Arrow and Green Lantern (John Stewart) attempt to recruit an ad hoc “covert JLA” to deal with ‘big league’ threats in the absence of the ‘big three’ (Supes, Bats and WW) – led League. This leads, in this issue, to an interesting exchange between the Canary and the Green Arrow over Ollie’s history of infidelity, Aquaman stepping forward as a new kind of “moral center”, filling the role Superman often played in the past, and an attempt to recruit Nightwing . They’re all so busy confessing their failings or being noble to notice Manitou Dawn freaking out in the next cavern over, a harbinger of the big threat coming their way… fortunately Batman, operating in a very Oracle-like mode, hasn’t (of course).
Confusing continuity issues aside (I won’t even go into them here), I’m really enjoying what Bob Harras is doing with this story (besides, the continuity issues have to do with what’s going on in other titles, a coordination issue that is simply not his fault), and his dialogue shines, this issue. Dan Green finishes make Tom Derenick’s pencils look better than ever. I’m already enjoying this more than “Crisis of Conscience”, which I honestly feel suffered too much from the manufactured, contrived quality of the conflict between Batman and the League. I just don’t buy Batman making such a big issue of this: he’s much smarter than that. JLA #121 may not be the “book of the week”, but it’s certainly one of the weeks pleasant surprises. 7/10.
Back in the day (sounds funny to say that – it wasn’t that long ago) many of us referred to the Ellis/Hitch Authority as “the Avengers (or the JLA) finally done right”. Three years late, DC gives us Ellis and Guice’s very “Authority-like”, “New Maps of Hell” storyarc, the fourth part of which just came out in JLA: Classified #13. Here, six of the A-List League members, “the Big Three” plus Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), the Martian Manhunter, and the Flash, act (and just as importantly, sound) meet the threat, head-on, like the seasoned professionals they should be, each one complementing the other, instead of behaving like whining, divided and belligerent brats, and the change is both refreshing and welcome. The only drawback to this issue, is Jackson “Butch” Guice’s art. Like last issue, the layout is still fine. Even inspiring. The problem are the finishes, which have a sketchy, dry brush quality, that serves fine on some panels, and detracts from others. 7/10.
A bit too tired to cover my last book of the week, David Mack’s much anticipated continuation of Kabuki’s travels in Kabuki: the Alchemy #5, but it looks great. There’s something about this title that reminds me of very much of some stories in Alan Moore’s celebrated run on Swamp Thing. Both he and Mack can take their dear sweet time telling a tale, but they do so in a way that doesn’t feel excessively “decompressed”. That and the art always puts me in mind of John Totleben’s work on “Swampy” however different the two men’s style. I’m looking forward to getting to this over the weekend.
Anyone Else?
