Comics, hark!

Been a while since the last round of reviews. Here’s a summary of what came in the bundle this week.

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).

Dork Tower V: Understanding Gamers (Dork Storm) [3/2/3/2/-]
The latest collection of John Kovalic’s gaming (etc.) series is a melange of strips from various sources, as well as a (re)compendium of the LotR special he did (itself a recompilation of material). The result is perhaps a bit of a cheat — and, in fact, the same comic is repeated twice in the book — but it’s still just jaw-droppingly funny. At least it is if you (or your loved one) are into RPGs, CCGs, console games, or geeky fanboy TV/movies. And if you/they aren’t — well, you’re probably not reading this blog, so who cares? Triffic stuff.

Fables: The Last Castle (DC) [2/1/2/2/Y]
This one-shot tells an “untold tale” of the Fables universe — the final battle, slaughter, and flight before the forces of the Adversary by the last fables in the Old Lands. Told by Boy Blue, with far more maturity than the character has shown thus far, it’s the usual entertaining mix of storybook characters and brutal reality, without the (essential?) leavening of real-world concerns that makes Fables such a good book. The story is by Bill Willingham, but he has Craig Hamilton penciling layouts by P. Craig Russell (who also inks). The result is a mix of magical and cartoony, and doesn’t quite work. And, aside from watching various heroic figures get cut down by faceless hordes of bad guys, there’s not a lot of there there — the story might have been better told in a single issue, or even just a series of flashbacks.

Strangers in Paradise #60 (Abstract) [3/3/2/3/Y]
It’s Francine’s wedding day. Will everything go right? Well, knowing Francine’s luck, will anything go right? Especially when Katchoo crashes the party. The usual mix of slapstick comedy and throat-ripping melodrama. It’s almost going to be a relief to go to a 3-issue David mini-arc next ish. Both Francine and Katchoo have been through so much — and finally seem to realize that they are through — that behind the typical wedding humor, you almost want to shout at the two of them, but don’t know what to say. Which sums up their sitch quite nicely, thank you.

Amazing Spider-Man #58/499 (Marvel) [3/2/2/1/Y]
JMS surely wants to write Dr. Strange, and, frustrated in the attempts, simply has Doc keep intersecting with Spidey. The banter between the two is hysterical, which helps leaven this End of the World saga as Dormammu returns, and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, its Sorcerer Supreme, and a certain Wall-crawler are all that stand in his way. Spidey makes mistakes of the heart in this one, as things go from bad, to weird, to worse, lining up for the next issue, which will, as I understand it, have AS going formally to its “old” numbering scheme, with #500.

Batman #619 (DC) [2/3/1/1/Y]
Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s “Hush” mega-arc finally ends, but more with a “Huh?” than a cheer. Secrets are revealed (except they were secret only to the characters, not to the readers, at least not to this one), villains are trounced, and things go — kinda — back to normal. I guess that’s a good thing, but if sure feels like this 12-part maxi-series could have been told just as entertainingly with the pretty gatefold poster the cover turns into, rather than dragging things out into a Chris Claremontesque muddle of revisionism and Soul-Searing Drama™.

The Legion #24 (DC) [1/1/2/1/N]
Shadow Lass, having lost her shadow powers, returns to her homeworld to battle for them. Ho-hum. But, hey, did you see that they’re (somehow) bringing Superboy back next issue? Heh. That should throw the continuity into still further fits.

Exiles #34 (Marvel) [2/2/2/1/Y]
Nocture and Sunfire are scattered from the rest of the team back on the Vi-locks world. Which means Sunfire can make nookie with the Spider-girl of that world, and go through all the angst of knowing that it’s all eventually going to be ripped asunder when they move on. A mild ho-hum. Not one of Winick’s better issues, and Jim Calafiore’s art seems particularly clunky this time out.

Hellblazer #188 (Vertigo) [2/1/1/1/N]
The weakest issue so far of Mike Carey’s tenure, and a let-down from the first half of the arc. Things look like they may pick up next ish, but between overly-sparse explication of what’s going on, and minimalist Mignola-Lite art by Doug Gregory, this ish s nothing to write home about.

The Losers #4 (Verigo) [2/1/1/1/N]
This series has been slowly declining since its premiere — which is a shame, because it was a fine kick-off, with a rogue special ops unit, targeted for termination by the authorities, deciding to strike back. It’s turned now into just a big shoot-out and double-cross fest. Ho-hum.

Punisher #32 (Marvel) [2/2/2/1/N]
I’m sure Ennis and Dillon have done this story before — loser type demonstrating he’s a loser as he sits at a bar and tells his life story. If they did, they probably did it better that time, because the whole Detective Soap thing is getting very, very, very old.