Comics!

It’s been way too long since I did any comic book reviews. So here are (more than) a few, which, for volume’s sake, I’ll keep to minimum length:

And let’s play with the scaling again: writing (A-C (faboo-pedestrian), art (A-C), awaiting the trade paperback collection (Y/N).

Green Arrow #21 (DC) [B/B/Y]
Wraps up “The Archer’s Quest,” Ollie Queen dealing with the preparations he made, long ago, for his death, as well with his duties as a father. Slightly edgy, slightly comfortable, well done for what it is. Non-GA fans won’t find it of any interest.

The Legion #16 (DC) [B/B/Y]
The Fatal Five make their return, kick some butt, then get theirs handed to them, thanks to the new member, Timber Wolf. Nothing that’s going to revolutionize the comics world, but solid entertainment.

The Legion #17 (DC) [C/C/N]
Standard Legion fare, with Ra’s Al Ghul as the new ongoing antagonist. Not a heck of a lot happens, except demonstrations of why it’s a good idea to keep lawyers on retainer.

Fantastic Four #66 (Marvel-PG) [C/C/N]
I like Mark Waid, but his dialog between the FF members still feels too revisionist. Threats occur, powers and/or science thwart them, not much else changes. I seriously considered dropping this a while back, but everyone kept waxing eloquent about it — and, as I said, I like Waid’s writing. Usually.

JLA #78 (DC) [C/C/N]
Joe Kelley keeps trying to be Grant Morrison, but ends up only having the characters sound funny. Ho-hum.

Birds of Prey “Old Friends, New Enemies” TPB (DC) [B/B/-]
Wraps up the mini-series/one-shots, and the first six issues of the book, and demonstrates why I enjoyed Chuck Dixon’s writing (and Greg Land’s art) so much. Nothing earth-shattering here, just cood comics. Makes me wonder about cancelling the current series, in which both writing and art have gotten less impressive.

Birds of Prey #52 (DC) [C/C/N]
Cartoony. And that’s just the writing. I really didn’t care about anyone in this story, and I say that as a Metamorpho fan. It just killed some time. The clock is ticking on this one.

Usagi Yojimbo #63-64 (Dark Horse) [A/A/Y]
Having Jotaro travel with Usagi gives the ronin both a softer side to demonstrate, and an excuse for more explication of what’s going on. Throwing in Kitsune and her traveling companion (in #63) is just icing on the cake. Great stuff, as always.

Master of Kung Fu #5-6/6 (Marvel-MAX) [C-/C/N]
Moench and Gulacy were masters of Shang-Chi’s adventures, back in the day, but they haven’t anything new to add to the mix in the intervening decades except some stereotyped gung-ho black ops types. Glad it’s over.

Brath Prequel and #1 (CGE) [C/B/N]
Chuck Dixon plays with Romans-vs-Celts with the serial numbers filed only slightly. Bran Mak Morn this isn’t, though, and I don’t expect to follow this series much longer.

Green Lantern #158-159 (DC) [C/C/N]
Winick does good dialog, but this Kyle-and-Jade-in-Space tale feels continuity-heavy and interest-light, and the Things-Aren’t-As-They-Seem feels much the same. I’m concerned that Winick’s burning out on the title. I also think the new GL costume is uglier than the old one.

The Crossovers #1-2 (CGE) [B/C/Y]
The idea of a family of four where each member has a deep dark secret — that they lead a double-life in some other genre (super-heroes, vampire-slayer, warrior princess, X-files) is entertaining enough, but still handled a but clumsily here.

Thunderbolts #75 (Marvel-PG) [B/B/N]
The end of an era, as we wrap up all the loose plot lines that Busiek created and Nicieza has unravelled further. Pity, that, since the new series looks a heck of a lot less interesting.

Thunderbolts #76 (Marvel-PG) [B/C/N]
All-new, all-differnt, all-Fight Club. Odd. I give this another 2-3 issues before I (and everyone else) drops it.

Batman #611-612 (DC) [B/A/N]
Jeph Loeb’s tale of Batman, Poison Ivy, and Superman has a fine retro feel to it, which is what Loeb does best. But Loeb’s Batman is nothing like the character in the rest of the DC titles. Jim Lee draws very nicely indeed, but it still makes this feel more like a super-hero comic than a noir detective book. Watching Batman go toe to toe with Supes has been done before, and better.

Invincible #1-2 (Image) [B/B/Y]
Fresh and well-crafted tale of what it would be like to be (effectively) Superman’s son and start coming into your powers in high school. Remarkably light in tone, but not trivial. Best new comic I’ve read of late.

FireBreather #2 (Image) [B/B/Y]
Similar in tone to the above, the protagonist is a half-dragon, thought of as a freak by his high school peers, a weakling by his father, and a threat by the UN. Has a Buffyesque kind of feel to it. Good stuff.

Strangers in Paradise #55-56 (Abstract) [A/A/Y]
Bad dreams, questionable choices, violence, humor, sex and drama — standard SiP stuff, done here with Terry Moore’s usual aplomb.

Queen & Country #13-14 (Oni) [A/C/Y]
Spy tales they way spy tales should be done. Gritty and dirty and noble and corrupt. The current arc regards a blackmail attempt on an English industrialist, pitting French and British intelligence against each other. Fine stuff.

Queen & Country: Declassified #3/3 (Oni) [A/B/Y]
See above.

Ultimate War #3-4 (Marvel) [C/B/N]
This mini-series, which pits the Ultimates vs the Ultimate X-Men, demonstrates why I don’t like the Ultimate universe Marvel is playing with — while there are some elements of welcome realism here, it’s also an excuse for Mark Millar to simply ratchet up the negatives about how humanity (and mutantkind) really would be.

Powers #28 (Image) [A/A/Y]
Still going great guns, Bendis and Oeming continue to keep things clean and fresh — even if they’ve done the which-super-dunnit almost too many times.

Exiles #22 (Marvel-PG) [A/A/Y]
Unlike on GL, Winick is clearly having a ball here, twisting continuity to his own liking, and having all the room in the world to kill off (or de-exile) characters just when you think things are going well for Our Heroes. Great stuff.

Strange Killings #6 (Avatar) [B/B/Y]
Concluding the “Body Orchard” arc, this book is just fascinating on how sorcery (of a battle magic type) would interact with black ops. The answer, from Warren Ellis, seems eerily like The Matrix — if that film had been written by Ellis.

Way of the Rat #10 (CGE) [B/A/Y]
Jackie Chan meets a Chinese Sorcery, complete with the world’s most amusing talking money. Chuck Dixon’s writing is light and amusing, Jeff Johnson’s art is clean and alive. This issue: Things Get Worse.

Hellblazer #180-181 (Vertigo) [B/B,C/Y]
Standard Constantine fare, which is always like watching a train wreck with a sadistic little smile. Nothing bold and exciting here, but what’s here is a good read.

Hellblazer “Haunted” TPB (Vertigo) [B/B/-]
It’s interesting, having visited London recently, comparing it to the vision on Hellblazer. This run, written by Warren Ellis, is both profoundly personal to Constantine and also mildly anticlimactic. But it’s classic John Constantine, and worth reading.

Hulk #60 (Marvel-PG) [B/B/N]
A more pedestrian tale from the Bruce Jones and Mike Deodato, Jr. — which means most folks would be more than happy to write or draw. Looks like the Abomination is on his way back — just in time to break up Banner’s unwitting fling with Blonsky’s ex-wife. It’s better than it sounds.

Daredevil #43-44 (Marvel-PG) [A/B/Y]
Bendis is trying very hard to demonstrate that an “action” hero can be written almost solely via dialog — and succeeding admirably. There’s great stuff going on here.

Gotham Central #4 (DC) [B/C/N]
Entertaining noir police procedural, with occasional visits from the Bat.

Killraven #5/6 (Marvel-PG) [C/A/N]
After five issues, I really don’t care much about Killraven (an old 70s character who should have stayed there), but, damn, Alan Davis could draw pictures of folks reading a phone book, and I’d think it was hot stuff.

Batgirl: Year 1 #3 (DC) [B/C/N]
Babs gets serious about being Batgirl, and Bats gets serious about being concerned about her. Entertaining.

The Power Company #12-13 (DC) [B/C/N]
Busiek does the best old-fashioned “team” book out there today, and the concept, even as tweaked, still works. Issue 12 shows the dangers of being too dependent on sorcery, while issue 13 is worth reading just to see Manhunter beating himself up over being such an idiot.

Detective Comics #779 (DC) [B/C/N]
Didn’t I see this issue in a Batman animated? Ho-hum. Clock is ticking.

Captain America #8 (Marvel-PG) [C/B/N]
Yet another “Cap faces disillusionment in the face of government conspiracies and the evil that the US has done” story line. Ho-hum.

Dork Tower #21 (Dork Storm) [A/B/Y]
Funny, funny, funny stuff. Really. Especially without the backup material.

Wonder Woman #188 (DC) [B/A/N]
Phil Jimenez wraps up his run — and sub plots — on WW. I almost sort of wish that the rest of the DCU paid more attention to Thymiscara and what Jimenez has done with it, making it an international center for world peace — even if it would complicate things, some.

Wonder Woman #189 (DC) [C/C/N]
It’s Walt Simonson’s debut issue on the writing, but, jeez, you could never tell. Well, you could tell it’s a debut issue, as everything — situation, personalities, even costumes change. But it’s an inauspiciously dull start. The best thing about the ish is that Adam Hughes is still doing the covers. Hey, about about a trade paperback of AH! WW covers? I’d buy that!

Avengers #63 (Marvel-PG) [B/B/N]
Thor vs. the Avengers. And it feels a lot more real than the last twenty times it’s happened. Good stuff from Geoff Johns on plot, Alan Davis on pencils.

Avengers #64 (Marvel-PG) [B/B/N]
The two most unlikely bedfellows, Falcon and Gyrich, are the focus here. And interesting things may follow.

Private Beach #7 (SLG) [B/C/N]
I really wish I could figure out this book. Part teen angsty day-in-the-life, part X-files weirdness.

Supergirl #79 (DC) [B/A/Y]
Wins an award for Most Deceiving Cover of the Year (but Best Homage). David is rushing his arc to a conclusion, since the book’s cancelled as of next ish. A shame, because there’s a lot of stuff Here I’d like to have seen. Poop.

Amazing Spider-Man #50 (Marvel-PG) [A/B/Y]
Resolves, for the moment, the Peter/MJ storyline, rather nicely (even if JR, Jr., doesn’t know what the inside of DIA looks like). Like what Bendis is doing on DD, we’re learning that what makes these characters interesting is how they feel and interact with others, not how hard they punch. That said, there’s some nice action with Captain America and Dr. Doom, too.

Liberty Meadows #30 (Image) [A/A/Y]
Funny stuff, and well drawn to boot.

Pantheon #12 (Lone Star) [B/C/Y]
Bill Willingham finally gets to finish his super-hero armageddon tale. Kind of worth the wait, I guess.

Fables #10 (Vertigo) [B/B/Y]
Bill Willingham again, wrapping up the “Animal Farm” story line quite nicely. I can’t decide whether I love this series or am unimpressed by it. It almost tries too hard, and nearly succeeds.

Hellboy: Weird Tales #1 (Dark Horse) [varies/varies/N]
Despite some mildly intersting stuff, this demonstrates why it’s dangerous to turn your franchise over to other folks, no matter how talented: Hellboy is Mike Mignola’s baby, and letting others play too much with him dilutes his specialness.

Alias #19 (MAX) [A/B/Y]
As in DD, Bendis emphasizes dialog over action, but unlike there, he has a lot more room to play with his characters, and it shows. The story lines aren’t much — it’s the protagonist who’s interesting. Sort of like real life.

JSA #45 (DC) [B/A/Y]
A bit of a filler issue, with Kobra facing trial, and the team facing a break-up. The stories in this series, from David Goyer and Geoff Johns, have been getting weaker — hopefully that will turn around soon.

Young Justice #54 (DC) [B/B/N]
Secret isn’t running amok any more — she’s definitely out to kill everyone. And, under Darkseid’s tutilage, not doing badly at it. And some of the best dialog that anyone has ever put in Lobo’s mouth, sort of. Another soon-to-be-cancelled Peter David series, dagnabbit.

Hawkman #12 (DC) [B/C/N]
Geoff Johns is laying the groundwork for this to be Hawkman’s most successful modern-era series. Even if the art is a bit weak, we still get a glimpse into Carter Hall’s head that explains a lot.

Bast #2/3 (Vertigo) [B/C/N]
A “Sandman Presents” tale, but more just generic Vertigo. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

The Punisher #21-22 (Marvel-PG+) [A/A/Y]
Every now and then, Garth Ennis slips something into this nearly-self-satirizing title that makes you realize how he’s earned his rep. This arc, about a pair of possibly dirty cops, is just such a time.

Nodwick #19 (Dork Storm) [B/B/Y]
How to start — and stop — a fad. Nodwick isn’t as funny a title as Dork Tower, but it’s always in my “best for last” stack.

Lady Constantine #3/4 (Vertigo) [B/C/N]
Neither as edgy as the actual Hellblazer, nor as intersting as Lady Constantine’s Sandman appearance, this title has a few moments, but will be little remembered a decade hence.

Dominion #1 (Image) [C/C/N]
Keith Giffen tries to do Kingdom Come, portraying a world in which supers fight while cities dissolve around them, and take what they want. Ho-hum. Giffen’s art is so loose as to be more incomprehensible than Kirby’s in later years, and his plotting is not only difficult to follow, but it’s not clear it’s there at all.

Sojourn #20 (CGE) [B/A/Y]
More drop-dead-gorgeous sword-n-sorcery action, along with the Year’s Most Expected Plot Development.

Aquaman #3 (DC) [C/C/N]
Bad news for this title — it’s too complex, too boring, and doesn’t yet have a strong “feel” to anchor it. If this makes it to 12, I’ll be surprised. I strongly suspect I won’t make it that long.

Elektra #20 (Marvel-PG+) [B/C-/Y]
Y’know, you’d think that with the DD movie out, Elektra would be getting star treatment. So why the heck do we have the hip-hop pencil scrawlings of Carlos Megelia ruining an otherwise fine tale by Greg Rucka, as Elektra’s turn away from the past is interfered by the Hand catching up with her? Bleah.

Black Panther #54 (Marvel-PG) [B/B/N]
Christopher Priest continues his hopefully-temporary morphing of BP into a police corruption drama. It’s not bad, as that, but it’s lost a lot of what made me want to read it.

Ruse #16 (CGE) [C/B/N]
Scott Beatty gives us an oddly light-weight outing by some supporting characters in Arcadia. Ho-hum.

Star Wars: A Valentine Story (Dark Horse) [B/C/N]
I don’t buy SW comics, but a one-shot written by Judd Winick and drawn by Paul Chadwick ought to be something special, right? Well, this tale of Han and Leia, just pre-Empire, is okay and perhaps even a decent explanation of the relationship we see between the two, but it’s not nearly as spiffy as you’d expect from the creative talent.

Catwoman #16 (DC) [C/C/N]
Wraps up the “Relentless” storyline. Ho-hum. I’m not long for this title.

Lucifer #35 (Vertigo) [B/B/Y]
The protagonist is at his proudly amoral best, bettering those who think to be sneakier or nastier than he is. There’s something darkly inspiring here, the spirit of Milton still infusing the title. I like it.

Out There #16 (Cliffhanger) [B/B/Y]
I might change over to just collecting the TPBs of this. The tale seems to be wandering a bit, and the chunks of it we get each issue seem to be rather spare for the money. Still good stuff, mind you, just not enough of it.

Astro City: Local Heroes #1/5 (Wildstorm) [A/B/Y]
Astro City is back! Busiek’s tale of what sort of people stay in Astro City, and what sorts leave, is a classic. Here’s to another successful run.