Working my way down the stack … Grades [Writing/Art] Superman #177 (DC) – I only recently got back onto the Superman bandwagon, and Jeph Loeb is a big reason why….
Working my way down the stack … Grades [Writing/Art]
Superman #177 (DC) – I only recently got back onto the Superman bandwagon, and Jeph Loeb is a big reason why. Nothing earth-shattering here — an A plot of giant robots attacking each other, a B plot of Supes answering requests by e-mail, and small advances of the “What’s wrong with Pa Kent?” and “What’s up with Clark & Lois?” subplots. [B/B]
Ruse #2 (Crossgen) – What if Sherlock Holmes were a gentleman adventurer, Watson were a covert sorceress who was actually there to watch after him, and the world was full of subtle magic and real gargoyles on the skyscrapers? Actually, this effort by Mark Waid and Butch Guice is much better than the premise, with a “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” feel about it without the dehumanizing darkness of that series. Good stuff. [A-/A-]
Exiles #7 (MarvPG) – I’ve been enjoying this series of alternate-reality-hopping-X-types, largely because of Judd Winick’s writing. He’s having fun with the Marvel Universe, and the nature of the tales lets him tweak things however he likes. This is the first of the “‘Nuff Said” month December issues, wherein the stories are being told without any dialog or captions. An interesting tale of what the Exiles dream about. For those who want to see how Winick scripts, the first several pages also have the script for them in the back — something Marvel is doing with all its books this month, with the remaining script pages on-line. [A-/B+]
The Authority #27 (Wildstorm) – The story continues to lurch along through creative changers. Mark Millar gives Arthur Adams one of his darkest assignments I’ve ever seen. We continue to see the New Authority basically making life miserable for anyone opposing their G7 masters (including this issue’s brief homage to the Legion of Super-Heroes). We also discover how the powers that be are taking revenge on the Old Authority — and more than just their memories. Fine art, bloody writing, good show — for a while longer. [B+/A]
Giant Sized Mini-Marvels #1 (Marv) – Chris Giarrusso has been doing little four-panel Mini-Marvel strips (think Marvel Heroes as the Little Rascals) for years, tucked into different editorial pages of Marvel’s comics. This is a collection of all of them thus far, plus a new (and less satisfying) full-length story. Charming, in moderation. [B-/B]
Avengers: Celestial Quest #4 (of 8) (MarvPG) – This miniseries lets Steve Englehart continue both the Celestial Madonna storyline of decades past with the latest-greatest villainy of Thanos, with the Avengers (including a romance-seeking Vision) along for the ride. Varying between entertaining and a bit ho-hum (Mantis is, frankly, a boring character, and Thanos seems to be going through the motions), I was pleased this issue to see Starfox (Eros) finally get to do something a bit more interesting than his appearances for several years. He’s a fun, underused character, with a keen costume and a lot of possibilities. [B-/C+]
Uncanny X-Men #400 (Marv) – Issue 400, and all we get is a mediocre story (by Joe Casey) of yet another mutant-hating human conspiracy, drawn by six artists whose only thematic similarity is general ugliness? *Sigh*. Voted “Most Likely To Be Dropped Real Soon Now by Dave” for this month. [C+/D to C+]
Thor: Godstorm #3 (of 3) (Marv) – Kurt Busiek and Steve Rude finish their Lee/Kirby riff with a bang. Good, entertaining fun. Not my cuppa all the time, but the simplicity of this story in both writing and art would be a good lesson for a lot of the other writers and artists mentioned above. [B+/B]
War Story: Screaming Eagles (Vertigo) – Artist Dave Gibbons complements Garth Ennis tale of the closing days of the war very nicely. Garth Ennis has a rep as an iconoclast with a heart of stone, but there’s a humanity to his writing — as in Preacher — that belies that rep, and this whole series has demonstrated it. And while its not spelled out in black-and-white whether this Easy Company and its protagonist Sargent is, in fact, a particular DC war comics icon — it’s certainly nice to think they are. Waiting for the collection of these. [A-/A-]
I checked Winick’s site and he doesn’t even mention his mainstream comics work. He’s doing Exiles and GL — anything else? And is there any site that tracks the writers and artists?
I checked Winick’s site and he doesn’t even mention his mainstream comics work. He’s doing Exiles and GL — anything else? And is there any site that tracks the writers and artists?
Hmmm. Exiles and GL are the only two I can think of off-hand. Damn. I know there’s another one. Just can’t think of it.
Main reason for not mentioning them is probably that they’re not creator-owned?