The stack is getting smaller.
And, yes, I buy way too many comic books. On the other hand, it provides some delightful fodder for this.
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).
PVP #3 (Image) [3/2/3/3/Y]
Okay, I’m a latecomer to PVP, which started off as a (computer) gaming strip, but now pokes fun at all geeky stuff in general. Sort of Dork Tower crossed with Liberty Meadows — it’s hard to go wrong with that, and Scott Kurtz doesn’t.
Detective Comics #784 (DC) [1/2/2/1/N]
I’ve dropped Detective already, previous to this issue (the drawback to pull lists is that there’s a time lag in changing them). Ed Brubaker’s story here is pretty conventional, noteworthy only for its recollection that, once upon a time, Green Lantern (the Alan Scott version) hung out in Gotham City, too. Patrick Zircher and Aaron Sowd’s art is serviceable, but uninspired.
On the other hand, the Josie Mac backup story [2/2/-/2/N] is a fine one. Judd Winick’s clairvoyant detective is finally graduating out of a backup feature in Detective and into Gotham Central, so that should be fun (as long as the weirdness doesn’t get too much in the way). Cliff Chiang provides decent DC noir art. Good stuff.
Ruse #21 (Crossgen) [1/2/1/2/Y]
Not wildly happy with the direction Scott Beatty is going with Ruse; pity that Crossgen and Mark Waid came to a parting of the ways on it. Simon’s accused of murder and has to survive incarceration with various dark felons, while Emma figures out the whodunnit (which turns out to be rather more goofy than it ought to be). Ho-hum. I think Ruse is going on the “buy the trades” list — it’s still readable, but there’s no point in overdoing it.
Black Panther #61 (Marvel) [2/2/2/1/Y]
Christopher Priest is finally bringing this title around, just in time for it to be cancelled. His tale of the new Black Panther — a NY cop named Kasper Cole, caught in a fog of dirty cops, the plots of T’Challa, and the plots of T’Challa’s enemies — have finally begun to gel. Pity, that.
JSA All Stars #3 of 8 (DC) [2/2/2/1/Y]
Geoff Johns and David Goyer write a stand-alone tale of the new Dr. Fate learning of his final destiny. Chilling, in a pedestrian way, but told well enough for what it is, and, with Barry Kitson on the art, pleasant on the eye. The backup retro Dr. Fate tale is less impressive, even as an homage.
>Detective Comics #784
I still enjoy ‘Tec. Most of the back-up features in this and Gotham Knights don’t work for me; Josie Mac was an exception. Glad to see her in GC.