BT03 – More comics reviews!!

And so it continues!

Review code format: writing (3-1, faboo to mediocre), art (3-1), suitability for jumping on as a new reader (3-1), suitability for giving to a non-comics reader to get them hooked (3-1), and “Eagerly waiting the collected TBP” (Y/N).

Hawkman #17 (DC) [2/2/2/1/Y]
Major chops to Geoff Johns for doing his damnedest to unravel the thickest mare’s nest in the DC Universe — the mythology of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. They’ve undergone four, five, six different major retcons, and everyone’s sort of looked the other way and pretended they haven’t, until their most recent resurrection by Johns and James Robinson, first in JSA, now in Hawkman. This issue wraps up the “What about the violent bodysuited Thanagarian police Hawks from a few iterations ago?” arc, and does so as well as you can when you throw in a Thanagarian shapeshifting criminal and Animal Man (!) into the mix. Good stuff. Rags Morales and Michael Bair on the art do pretty well, too, keeping all the individuals with wings and hawk masks decently distinguished. Hawkman won’t ever be more than a second-tier title, but it’s a very strong one, and this will be looked back on as one of its better runs.

Strange Killings #1 (Avatar) [2/3/2/1/Y]
Not for the squeamish. At all. Really. Here’s a new miniseries with Warren Ellis’ combat mage, SAS Sgt. Major Gravel. It’s as violent and disturbing and somehow enchanting as the previous iterations, what with African magic and dismembered kids and police beatings and race tensions and dark hidden secrets in everyone’s past. Mike Wolfer’s art is simple but effective in its stark, unencumbered realism (this is a B&W series and one that should be). I’d never have the nerve to run a game based on this series (I think Margie would worry if I could actually think this shit up), but Ellis does a great job of doing it as a book. And once Gravel gets back into action, I expect things to pick up even more.

Outsiders #2 (DC) [2/2/3/1/Y]
Judd Winick is doing his damnedest to come up with a new reason for a super-team. After the death of Donna Troy, Titans Nightwing and Arsenal know that there’s still a job to do, but they can’t bring themselves to build another family like they had in the Titans. Fine — they’ll gather up a bunch of outsiders who don’t care at all for each other, and then there’s no emotional investment in case one of them buys the farm. Fine idea, and if we got more character development between the team members, it might even work. As is, the action is overwhelming matters, as Gorilla Grodd leads an army against New York where, amazingly enough, nobody but the Outsiders happen to be. Well, them and the President, Lex Luthor, who gets all the good lines (and good they are). Tom Raney and Scott Hanna’s art is good and solid. I think there’s a lot of potential in this series — decent artists, and Judd Winick — and I hope it gets realized soon. As it is, it’s a decent bit of action fluff, here today, gone tomorrow.

Birds of Prey #57 (DC) [1/2/2/1/N]
Well, if you want to see some nicely drawn women in skimpy outfits drawn by Ed Benes and Alex Lei, here’s the place for it. If you’re looking for good characterization of Black Canary (held captive all issue), Oracle (nattering angrily online all issue), or the Huntress (acting just like Black Canary would, ho-hum, all issue), Gail Simone’s work is probably not your cuppa. It’s not bad, just disappointing. I dropped BoP several issues back, and was brought back by the Huntress playing a big role. But this Huntress doesn’t really tie into any other I’ve known, in dialog or outfit. I’ll let it ride a few more issues, but …

The Norm: The 12 Steps to Marriage GN (Norm.Com) [3/3/2/3/-]
The Norm is one of my favorite syndicated comic strips, and this “magazine” (first of a regular series) fills in the gap between where the series had Norm getting engaged and Norm waking up to discover he’s married. Anyone who had gone through the courtship and marriage process will enjoy this very much — and those who haven’t will probably enjoy it, too. Michael Jantze’s style is simple, his humor quiet but delightful, an heir to Bill Willingham (Calvin & Hobbes), Gary Trudeau (without being political), and Charles Shulz. His characters are — well — normal, believable, and so much more laughable than less realistic ones. In fact, there’s at least one couple I know who remind me a great deal of Norm and Reine. But anyway … read it. Check it out online, and read it.