Feeling refreshed and excited! Lets’ get to it!
(Well, delayed a bit by Teen Titans being on TV … more about that later … and Jackie & Doyce dropping by …
Review code format: writing (3-1, faboo to mediocre), art (3-1), suitability for jumping on as a new reader (3-1), suitability for hooking a a non-comics reader (3-1), and eagerly waiting the collected TBP (Y/N).
Lucifer #40 (Vertigo) [2/1/1/2/Y]
It’s tricky, writing an ongoing comic about Lucifer. I mean, either he’s automatically the villian, or else you’ve got a blatantly obvious anti-hero thing going on. So far this series — an extension from Gaiman’s Sandman stories — has managed to duck both of those extremes. But the current story arc, under Mike Carey as writer, and with Peter Gross continuing as artist, is verging on biting off more than it can chew. The supporting cast has gotten ungainly, the need to understand backstory is becoming overburdening, and while it’s one thing to personalize a fallen angel, throwing in dialog (not to mention actions) from God become a bit difficult to, well, accept. One hopes that future arcs will mellow out just a bit.
The Legion #21 (DC) [2/2/2/1/Y]
The Legion is an acquired taste — and has been as long as the LSH have been around. The current iteration and creative team are doing a nice job of it, though. The appearance of Darkseid — something that happens way too often — is handled well and imaginatively. The LSH remains continuity-heavy, and starting it anew requires a serious time investment. But I think it’s worth it.
Queen & Country #17 (Oni) [3/1/2/2/Y]
Q&C is a very fine British spy series, about as brutally authentic as James Bond is a product of Hollywood. In the current story arc, the art by Carla Speed McNeil is … well, awful … but the story by Greg Rucka is, as I might expect, triffic. Drama, danger, intrigue, and fighting the bureaucracy. It’s all good. Pick it — or the earlier collections — up. Even with the (current) art.