BT05 – Where Blogs the Balding Blogathonner?

Continuing with a look on what I’ve recently read.

• Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder #1 (DC): Frank Miller and Jim Lee take on Batman & Robin from the get-go. Some of Lee’s best work, and Miller’s no slouch — but I’m not sure we need an updating of the canon as to how Robin became Batman’s faithful ward. Sabotage of the Flying Graysons’ trapeze lines is evidently now passe — instead, they have to be sniped to the head. Huh? Judgment reserved.
• Black Panther #5 (Marvel): This retelling of the early years of the Panther’s reign (I think — elements seem retro, others seem quite contemporary, esp. having to do with the US opposition) proceeds apace. I think Reginal Hudlin’s story will read more coherently in collection, and the number of characters lurking about is daunting for someone not 100% up on his Panther lore. John Romita, Jr. and Klaus Janson’s art works very well here, though. This series is doing okay, even if I was sorry to see the old one end.

• Captain America #5-6 (Marvel): Ed Brubaker’s smoke and mirrors are working well here, with SHIELD, Hydra, Zemo, the Skull, the Cosmic Cube, the “Winter Soldier” project from the USSR, and even lonely Jack “Nomad” Monroe doing an elaborate shadowy dance around Cap. I hate to see Cap become a “dark” character, but the world around him has certainly darkened, and Marvel seems determined to make him “relevant” to world geopolitical affairs as they seem them. Whatever. Steve Epting’s art is solidly realistic. Good title, but not enthusiastically so.

• Conan #18 (Dark Horse): Kurt Busiek still amazes. This issue includes the tale behind a very familiar helm, with, as a backup, “Conan’s Favorite Joke” (which would indeed have been pretty funny).

• Conan and the Jewels of Gwahlur #3 (of 3) (Dark Horse): Decent writing and beautiful art by P. Craig Russell, not surprisingly. This tale of a younger Conan’s raid on a mysterious temple doesn’t quite measure up to Busiek’s efforts, but I plan on getting the TPB when it comes out.

• Concrete: The Human Dilemma #6 (of 6) (Dark Horse): The story wraps as unsatisfactorally as it must, with carefully crafted betrayal and philosophical maundering taking over from a solid plot. Chadwick isn’t much for plot vs. message, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing — the intrinsically untidy nature of existence and human nature themselves is one of this themes, it seems — but this all seems just too carefully contrived in its uncertainty. Not going for the trade on this one.

• City of Heroes #1-2 (Top Cow): While the new Mark Waid series is better than the one that preceded it, it’s still awkward. The main characters remain stiff and difficult to relate to, and Waid seems unable to make Paragon City a decent backdrop. I really want this comic to work (given my own City of Crack addiction, and my general admiration of Waid), but so far it really doesn’t gel.

• Daredevil #45/455 (Marvel): The conclusion of the muddled “Decalogue” arc. Bendis’ dialog is less coherent than usual, and Meleev’s art is more difficult to follow than usual, and the whole story just never quite works. Oh, well.

• Daredevil vs. Punisher: Means and Ends #1-2 (Marvel): A bit more traditional treatment of both characters, I got this inadvertently by the “automatic cross-over” subscription through Mile High. Nicely done by David Lapham — nothing that’s going to win Eisners or be remember as a high point for either character, but a good read nonetheless.

(listening to: Battlefield Band, “The Tail o’ the Bank” from Celtic Hotel)
(listening to: “Isotoxin – Necros _ Fm” from Unreal)
(listening to: Mouth Music, “Bratach Bana (White Banners)” from Mouth Music)
(listening to: Biggs, E.Power, Organ/Boston Brass Ensemble/Richard Burgin, Conductor, “Frescobaldi – Canzon quinta in G minor” from Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli)
(listening to: Sinatra, Frank, “Someone to Watch Over Me” from Classic Sinatra)
(listening to: lang, k.d., “Big Boned Gal” from Absolute Torch and Twang)
(listening to: Cockburn, Bruce, “Riu Riu Chiu” from Christmas)