Okay, I admit it — I enjoy doing the TPB reviews because I like all the pretty little Amazon pictures. Except for the odd one where either no image is available or, for some strange reason, the normal picture link code fails.
Review code format (ranked 1-5, blah to faboo): [writing / art / new reader? / non-comics reader?]
Rann-Thanagar War (DC) [3/4/1/1] (collects #1-6)
w. Dave Gibbons; a. Ivan Reis, Marc Campos
Just to demonstrate that DC can produce Massive Cosmic Wars that are ultimately as “sound and fury, signifying nothing” as Marvel, this “Countdown to Infinite Crisis” tale didn’t really have any impact on the Infinite Crisis, nor am I aware that we’ve revisited that whole situation since then.
The artwork is detailed, even dynamic, though sometimes murky and overly busy. Gibbons pulls in, with some complexity, nearly all of the major space-faring races into the big war between these two worlds. We get plenty of Hawkman/girl action, Adam Strange action, and Green Lantern action, not to mention the Omega Men … and it’s still not a hill of beans by the time it’s done. Indeed, the final page is a cliff-hanger that basically says, “You know all the stuff you just went through?
You’d be in the same situation if you’d just sat on your thumbs and done nothing.”
Not encouraging.
Sandman Mystery Theatre: The Scorpion (Vol. 4) (Vertigo) [4/4/4/4] (collects #17-20)
w. Matt Wagner, Steven Seagle; a. Guy Davis
Continuing the long-belated reprinting of this classic noir series, this arc involves the grisly whip-and-poison deaths of wealthy investors — investors who are seeking Wesley Dodd’s participation, too. Will the Sandman crack the case before Dodds becomes the next victim? (Cue organ music.) While the plot in this installment was a bit threadbare, the overall quality of this series, with its gritty Depression-era NYC, corrupt yet sensuous, and the growing relationship between Wesley and Di, remain
engaging. I hope DC keeps publishing these.
Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (DC) [*/*/4/1]
w. various; a. various
It’s a mook’s game to define the “greatest’ Superman tales, but this is a good cross-reference of some of the major tales from the 30s onward. We get Superman bringing Hitler and Stalin to justice; the classic “Last Days of Superman;” Supes on trial before the Guardians of Oa who convince him not to make the world a better place; a bizarre Steranko tale of Superman’s descendents across time; Byrne’s reboot of the character; and Superman’s nightmare of what might have happened had all of Krypton evacuated
to Earth.
The last story in the book is the new classic, “What’s so funny about Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” where Joe Kelley stacks Supes up against a thinly-veiled Authority.
It’s still an mixed bag — trying to compress seventy years of a character into a dozen key stories. The best that can be said is that the ones given here are at least interesting glimpses of some of the key takes on Supes over time. Folks who are interested in his history could do worse than this volume.
(listening to: McKennitt, Loreena, “Marrakesh Night Market” from Mask and Mirror)
(listening to: Courage, Alexander, “Star Trek End Title” from Star Trek Orig TV Sdtrk – II)
(listening to: Bangles, “I’ll Set You Free” from Everything)
(listening to: Sting, “Fragile” from Nothing Like The Sun)
(listening to: Armstrong, Louis, “We Have All the Time in the World” (Barry) from Best Of James Bond – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition)
(listening to: Mediaeval Baebes, “This Ay Nicht” from Salva Nos)