[N.B. This post was started but never finished.]
Been a while since I did any reviews. Let’s see what I’m reading these days …
Grades: writing (A-C (faboo-pedestrian), art (A-C), awaiting the trade paperback collection (Y/N).
Gotham Central #8 (DC) [A/B/Y]
Greg Rucka’s manage to sneak a police soap opera into a comic book. Aside from a little Bat-logo on the front, and a single name mentioned in the final panel, you’d never know this was a DC comic. The ongoing story about a Gotham cop (Renee Montoya) who’s been facing harrassment and blackmail, suddenly finding herself in a very neat, very career-destroying frame. Good stuff, not unexpectedly, even if the colors are muddy and the art makes it occasionally difficult to distinguish characters.
Sojourn: The Warrior’s Tale TPB #3 (CrossGen) [C/A/-]
Ron Marz is evidently leaving this title as writer in the near future, but who care? it’s Greg Land’s pencils that make this extraordinarily pedestrian fantasy something worth reading. Every page — heck, every panel — is pin-up material, delightfully beautiful. The story — quest for a magic weapon against a tyrannical wizard who’s conquered the world, in this case focusing on a Egypt-like land of winged folk — isn’t bad, it’s just not anything we haven’t seen before, done both better and worse.
Hulk #55 (Marvel) [B/C/N]
Bruce Jones’ paranoid fantasy rumbles along, somehow not nearly as effective this time out as previously. Leandro Fernandez’ art can’t decide if it wants to be slick or dark, and thus doesn’t satisfy either. I find it vaguely ironic that after CBG’s Mr Silver Age gave a rather scathing article about Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man, Hulk’s new adversary seems to be … you guessed it. But, jeez, aren’t we getting tired about folks suddenly behaving abnormally, glowing eyes, and, yes, more underground government labs?
The End #6 of 6 (Marvel) [B/B/Y]
Is it my imagination, or is Jim Starlin only writing/drawing one series these days? I mean, Thanos gets absolute power, a bunch of heroes and cosmic forces try to take him on, he defeats them, and in turn is defeated/turns away from power because of his own inner flaws. Starlin still manages to pull it off, albeit a tad perfunctorily, and there are signs (never to be trusted) that this is the Last Thanos Story. But, still, even I get tired of my favorite dishes after a while,
The Silken Ghost #2 of 5 (CrossGen) [B/C/N]
A disappointing supporting series for Way of the Rat, making me realize how much I miss the artist on that series, since Will Rosado simply can’t carry it off. Band of Martial Artists on Mysterious Quest, facing Ninjas Sent by a Maniac Who has Captured Their Master. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.