Category: Blogathon

Btw, a copy of the Girl Genius below is one of the prizes for sponsors — c’mon, $25 and you help the animals and yourself!

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Girl Genius, Vol. 7, “Agatha Heterodyne and the Voice of the Castle” (Airship)
w/a. Phil and Kaja Foglio 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

The comedic “gaslamp fantasy with adventure, romance and mad science” continues, with a false Agatha invading the Heterodyne Castle in Mechanicsburg, Gil defending said city from invasion, and the real Agatha realizing she has to go in after the fake. And it’s all hysterically funny and beautifully drawn and terribly complex and brilliantly imaginative and  did I mention hysterically funny? 

When I’m King of the World and wear a shiny hat, I’ll have the Foglios chained somewhere in my palace, cranking out material for me. Triffic stuff. Highly recommended.

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Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns (DC) [collects #7-13]
w. Geoff Johns; a. Carlos Pacheco, Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis. 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Geoff Johns has basically been handed the whole GL mythos and been allowed to do with it as he will. It’s a sign of how much he’s shoved it around that barely anything in this collection published just last October has any bearing on what’s going on in the current storyline. 

That aside, this isn’t bad. Johns is a solid writer, and the villains and related stories here — Mongul, the Tattooed Man, the Cyborg Superman, Manhunters — it all works well, as Hal Jordan tries to reestablish himself in the DCU — and the GL Corps — after his fall from grace as Parallax and his stint as the Spectre.

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Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1, “Legacy” (DC) [collects #1-6]
w. Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning; a. Paul Pelletier 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Continuing on from the Annihilation Conquest event, the new GotG are formed to keep another galactic war from occurring, lest the very fabric of the universe unravel. The ongoing team of folks usually relegated to guest star status includes Starlord, Rocket Raccoon, Adam Warlock, Drax the Destroyer, Quasar, Gamora, and Cosmo the Telepathic Space Dog.

Which sounds goofy, and sometimes it is, but it’s pretty fun, too. I hold out no hope for the title lasting long (I’m still reading it), but it’s a pleasant enough ride while it lasts.

 

Listening to: Elfman, Danny, & Shirley Walker, “Showdown/Reunited” (Dick Tracy – Original Score)) 

I am going to be posting about something other than comics — like maybe my cause — sooner or later. But as long as I’m on a roll …

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Girls, Vol. 1, “Conception” (Image) [collects #1-6]
Girls, Vol. 2, “Emergence” (Image) [collects #7-12]
Girls, Vol. 3, “Survival” (Image) [collects #13-18]
Girls, Vol. 4, “Extinction” (Image) [collects #19-24]
w/a. The Luna Brothers 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

This is a zombie story. Really. It’s a small, rural town, already suffering from secrets and conflicts, hidden and in the open. And then the zombies come. Except …

… except the zombies are young, naked women, all identical. And they only attack the town’s women. The men they seduce, silently … leading to eggs … which lead to more naked women.

And there’s a force field around the town, so nobody can escape.

And then it gets weird.

This is really a very good story (better and creepier than it sounds), because, like all good zombie tales, it’s not about zombies, but about the personal conflict between the survivors, and how that in turn increases or decreases the chance of survival. In this case, sexuality raises its ugly head, unusual for a zombie story, such that the gender relations in the town create the sparks that may doom everyone. And, as with all good zombie tales, nobody comes out looking very good in the end. Everyone cracks to some degree, and always with some degree of tragedy that follows.

Really good stuff. The Luna Bros. know how to write dialog, how to portray real people, and their art is clean and evocative. There’s violence and blood here, but not to much excess, and the on-screen sex is kept pretty well masked. 

It’s a zombie story. And a good one. Recommended.

 

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Girls with Slingshots, Vol. 1 (Lulu)
w/a. Danielle Corsetto 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

The first 200 strips of the web comic. I used to read this fairly regularly, but somehow dropped out of the habit (note to self). Good, funny stories and engaging artwork. Recommended.

 

Listening to: Elfman, Danny, & Shirley Walker, “Main Titles” (Dick Tracy – Original Score))

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Freakangels, Vol. 1 (Avatar)
Freakangels, Vol. 2 (Avatar)
w. Warren Ellis; a. Paul Duffield 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

The twelve were born in England at the same time. At 17 they did … something. Now civilization has collapsed from the waters rising a good fifty feet worldwide, and, six years on, eleven of them live in Whitechapel, protecting the people there as an enclave against the darkness.

Freakangels is an ongoing web comic, and these two volumes are the first chapters in the tale. They suffer a bit from being rambling, with lots of big frame shots of a flooded London. Like an ice berg, we’ve only seen a few small bits of the characters themselvers, but by the close of the second volume — and having fought off yet another attack by starving outside tribes — the Freakangels are realizing that they need to use their genius and psychic powers to create a sustainable settlement, not just scavenge through the ruins. 

For all that, it’s fun and worth a read. More approachable than some Ellis, there are still a lot of great concepts here to play with and enjoy. Recommended.

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Ghost Omnibus Vol. 1 (Dark Horse) [Ghost Special, Ghost #1-12, A Decade of Dark Horse #2]
w. Eric Luke; a. Terry Dodson, Adam Hughes. et al. 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

In the early 90s, Dark Horse had a go at creating a shared super-hero universe. Much of it eventually vanished without a trace, but one character, Ghost, continues to haunt.

I’d forgotten much of the Ghost story before getting this volume. What I remembered most was the swexy white leather bustier, clothes, and veil. And the guns.

I ought to have left it at that, because in the end Ghost is a rather uncomfortably misogynistic tale, with women (including our protagonist, the amnesiac gun-toter) being either “ball busters,” metaphysical rape victims, or both.

The stories here are not helped by the intermittent and usually gratuitous inclusion of second-rate super-characters from the DH Universe thrown in for a publicity-pumping cross-over. The less said about them, the better: this was the Image era, after all.

All in all, Ghost is great fan service eye candy. There are a ton of posters I’d love to make, esp. from Adam Hughes works. But stick with the visuals — the words will only ruin the effect.

 

Listening to: John Barry, “Overture” (The Black Hole (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack))) 

As of this post, I’ll be a quarter of the way (!) through the Blogathon — 6 hours from my 7 a.m. start. And, coincidentally, just over a quarter of the way through that stack of TPBs. Hmmmm …

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52, Vol. 1 (DC) [collects #1-13]
52, Vol. 2 (DC) [collects #14-26]
52, Vol. 3 (DC) [collects #27-39]
52, Vol. 4 (DC) [collects #40-52]
w. Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, Keith Giffen; a. Keith Giffen, et al. 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

 Speaking of events, was 52 a brilliant experiment in the form, or a huge gimmick? How about, “Yes.”

Taking up the year during which Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were all out of the picture (following the previous Big Event, Infinite Crisis), DC published 52 — a weekly comic book following a number of parallel stories, written by a team of some of the top writers in the business, in an attempt to build some new heroes to take up the slack.

It almost has to be read as a collection, it was so complex — but reading it all at once shows that the complexity was from flying by the seat of the pants. Only these writers could probably have done this — and it will likely never be matched again. And even at that, the segments and story line themselves suffered from uneven quality and follow-through. By the end, it was something of a mess

In the end, there were some changes to the DCU, but events continue so much in flux in DC continuity (Marvel as well), that it’s hard to say what if any of it will be truly lasting. A new Spectre, Bat-Woman, the rise and fall of Black Atom, the fate of Plastic Man, a new Question, a time-traveling Booster Gold …

Remind me to reread this in five years and see if any of it makes sense any more.

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Flash: Mercury Falling (DC) [collects Impluse #62-67]
w. Todd DeZago; a. Ethan Van Sciver, Eric Battle 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

With Impulse graduating up to (briefly) being the Flash, DC decided to reprint some Impulse tales from 2000 under the Flash name. This particular arc has the flighty Bart in his early days, dealing with Max Mercury, his mentor, slowly losing his power and his life. Will Bart step up to the task of saving Max? 

A decent story, if a bit muddled at time. Van Sciver’s cartoonish drawing (Humberto Ramos only exaggerated) does the tale no favors here. There are some interesting growth moments here, but overall not one of the character’s better arcs, and not really worth the original purchase.

 

Listening to: John Barry Orchestra, “007” (Best of James Bond – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition))

One quick review, then I’m going to go grab some lunch.

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Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America (Marvel) [collects Fallen Son series]
w. Jeph Loeb; a. various 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

As irksome as the big Civil War event was for the Marvel Universe, props to them for having its ramifications still rattling around a few years later. The climax of the Civil War was, of course, the death of Steve Rogers, Captain America.

Loeb wrote a series of tales, collected here, looking at the reaction of some of Marvel’s stars to the death, framed around the states of grief: Denial (Wolverine is sure it’s a hoax and goes hunting for the truth), Anger (dividing the two Avengers teams), Bargaining (Iron Man tries to convince Hawkeye to take over for the deceased Cap), Depression (Spidey mopes with Wolverine), and Acceptance (the funeral … and the real funeral).

It’s all done very well — Loeb is on his game here with the various emotions in play. The artwork varies in each installment, but overall it’s good. In some ways, a book like this makes the death of a major character worthwhile — an event that has impact rather than being a one-off.

Of course, rumors are that Cap is on his way back … in typical resurrected hero fashion. Which, in turn, diminishes this book a bit. But, then, that’s last year’s sales figures, right?

Recommended on its own merits, regardless of where the continuity goes.

 Listening to: a-Ha, “The Living Daylights” (Best of James Bond – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition)) 

Three different looks at the Fantastic Four.

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Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne, Vol. 8 (Marvel) [collects #287-295]
w/a. John Byrne, et al. 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

These 1986 (!) tales marked the end of Byrne’s era on the FF (Roger Stern and Jerry Ordway slip in toward the end). It’s fascinating looking at that time — She-Hulk was on the team, the FF face the Beyonder (who is, here at least, suitably menacing), Doctor Doom keeps changing identities, Iron Man is in his white-and-red armor …

The stories are complex for the time, often with Twilight Zone twist endings, but with plenty of love for the Lee/Kirby era that was a hallmark of Byrne’s run. Aside from some continuity that has passed it by, these stories could be run today with little change, a tribute to Byrne’s vision (as it were).

 

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Fantastic Four by J. Michael Straczynski, Vol. 1 (Marvel) [collects #527-532]
w. Joe Straczynski; a. Mike McKone 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

This was the beginning of JMS’ run on FF, one marked with a lot of high concepts and some nicely personal touches. Joe’s run had some nice events, but was fairly short, and some of the elements he introduced never came fully to fruition, while most were largely dropped by subsequent writers (a problem that Marvel’s had in the last five years on this title). It was good seeing Joe having a chance to play in the FF’s playground, though, even for a little while.

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Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest (DC) [collects #554-561]
w. Mark Millar; a. Bryan Hitch 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Millar reinvents (sort of) the FF, with Hitch bringing an “Ultimate FF” feel to the proceedings. Big, high-concept stuff here, well-executed, very engaging, and definitely worth reading. Problem is, there’s no guarantee that any of it will survive the next creative team to arrive on the book, which diminishes its charm by just a bit. At least it’s collected here for future enjoyment.

 

Listening to: Monty Norman Orchestra, “James Bond Theme” (Best of James Bond – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition)) 

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Dynamo 5, Vol. 1, “Post-Nuclear Family” (Image) [collects #1-7]
Dynamo 5, Vol. 2, “Moments of Truth” (Image) [collects #8-14]
w. Jay Faerber; a. Mahmud Asrar 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

When A-class hero Captain Dynamo dies, his ex-wife gathers together his various adulterous by-blows — none of whom knew the secret of their parentage, but each of whom has inherited one of his myriad power. Now they protect his city, even as they fight with each other, deal with their own issues, and try to stay out of the way of the government.

A great concept, executed pretty well. There are a lot of standard super-hero tropes here, and nothing terrifically innovative (except to make the jock the psychic). Solid, if not brilliant, fun.

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Echo, Vol. 1, “Moon Lake” (Abstract) [collects #1-5]
Echo, Vol. 2, “Atomic Dreams” (Abstract) [collects #6-10]
w/a. Terry Moore 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Having completed his epic Strangers in Paradise, Moore has turned to a new tale. A young woman photographer is taking photos when a strange explosion in the sky pelts her with shiny pellets of metal. When she awakens, she finds it’s formed a partial sheathe over her torso — a covering that can unleash tremendous force against anyone who threatens her. Now she’s being pursued by the Army, by an agent of the laboratory, and by a mysterious stranger with similar power but a tenuous grip on reality …

(Ever notice how a lot of comics these days deal with government conspiracies and flight/fight against same?)

Moore does his usual masterful job of dealing with personalities first. Most of the characters here are layered and nuanced — a few cartoonish standers-by, but anyone with more than a few moments in-panel tends to show unexpected depths. People have backgrounds and pasts and families and interests in Moore’s works, beyond stereotypes and simple present actions.

Good stuff. An ongoing series, highly recommended.

 

Listening to: McCreary, Bear, “Battlestar Operatica” (Battlestar Galactica: Season 1)) 

 

 

 

I really do read a lot of things by Warren Ellis. By the way, Doktor Sleepless, below, is one of the potential prizes that my sponsors can win. How about giving up some love for the animals?

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Crecy (Apparat)
w. Warren Ellis; a. Raulo Caceres 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Ellis tells the tale behind the Battle of Crécy, part of the Hundred Years War in 1346. It was the death of perhaps a third of all French nobility, fighting a small marauding British army, and demonstrated that cavalry, honor, and armor were of little use against massed bowmen. Ellis goes didactically into all the gory details from the perspective of the British troops, everything from camp medical care to the treatment of prisoners to the weapons used. Crecy marked the end of warfare as focusing on mounted knights, and the birth of much of modern tactics of firepower and maneuver.

Remarkably educational and entertaining, I’d recommend this to anyone with an interest in medieval warfare. I’d love to see it used in a classroom (though I suspect the language and violence would have a teacher thrown out of school on his ear).

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Doktor Sleepless, Vol. 1, “Engines of Desire” (Avatar) [collects #1-8]
w. Warren Ellis; a. Ivan Rodriguez 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Another case of Ellis throwing a zillion concepts at the reader making it difficult to figure out what’s going on. In a somewhat dystopic near-future city of Heavenside, genius inventor and nihilist Doktor Sleepless has arrived, pursuing dark secrets of his past and an agenda that few in the city are likely to enjoy. We’ve got high tech, conspiracy, magic, and everything in-between. 

Unfortunately, the story takes about half the volume to really get going, and even then it fails to delight. This is mediocre Ellis (which is a cut above anything else out there for starters), and I won’t be following this series along any further. What it lacks in immediate narrative, though, it holds tight in atmosphere and concept. People who like, though, Ellis’ more trippy and anarchistic work will certainly enjoy this.

 

 Listening to: McCreary, Bear, “Two Funerals” (Battlestar Galactica: Season 1)) 

Note: One of the one-shots in the Courtney Crumrin book below, Courtney Crumrin and the Fire Thief’s Tale, is one of the prizes that my Blogathon sponsors can win.  

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1, “The Long Way Home (Dark Horse) [collects BtVS Season 8 #1-5]
w. Joss Whedon; a. Georges Jeanty 
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 2, “No Future for You” (Dark Horse) [collects BtVS Season 8 #6-10]
w. Brian Vaughan; a. Georges Jeanty 
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 3, “Wolves at the Gates” (Dark Horse) [collects BtVS Season 8 #11-15]
w. Drew Goddard; a. Georges Jeanty 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

I really wanted to like this series, a “Season 8” follow up to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Certainly Whedon (who also “executive produced” the second two volumes), Vaughan, and Goddard have good writing chops, and there are some truly great moments, lines, and scenes here.

But the temptation in a series like this — a temptation Whedon gives in to — is to “do what you couldn’t do on TV” in terms of big special effects. The problem is, that distracts from what Buffy’s always been about — teen angst and friendship. With Buffy overseeing a world army of Slayers, and the ability to show Big Magic in a Big Way, the story loses itself.

Jeanty is a good artist, but not great. He does a decent job of trying to make the characters look like their actors, but the many-female cast sometime overwhelms him, leading to difficulties in picking out who’s who.

Recommended for Buffyphiles and Whedon fans, but only the big ones. I’d rather remember the series as-is rather than tack these tales onto the memories.

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Courtney Crumrin’s Monstrous Holiday (Oni) [collects CC and the Fire Thief’s Tale and CC and the Prince of Nowhere]
w/a. Ted Naifeh 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

The fourth volume detailing tales of Courtney, a very unusual girl dealing with having been sent away to her mystic Uncle Aloysius’ care. In this book, Uncle has taken Courtney to Romania and Germany where she deals with romance, both others’ and her own, and with werewolves and vampires as well. 

Naifeh’s tales are simple on the surface, and his moody art reminiscent of Mike Mignola (I’d love to see a collaboration between the two). But there’s complexity behind the scenes. Courtney gets into trouble because Uncle’s too busy with his own machinations to watch her properly. She acts out of a strong moral sense that’s usually right — but which often has unexpected (and often unpleasant) ramifications. Uncle, too, continues to show hidden sides of himself, especially in how much he’s come to care for his charge. We’re watching Courtney grow up over time, and that process is rarely painless or not fraught with danger, nor is it here. What she will grow up to be remains a troubling question …

Very good stuff — kids can read it, but adults will parse many layers here as well. Highly recommended.

 

 Listening to: Horner, James, & the London Symphony, “Bishop’s Countdown” (Aliens – Original Motion Picture Sound Track)) 

First, a shout-out to Steve who faced a Blogathonner’s worst nightmare: sitting down to the computer and finding it’s not working. Yikes! He’s worked around it, but nobody shouldd have to deal with that extra burden during the ‘Thon. Consider giving him some sponsorship to make him feel better …

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BPRD: 1946 (Dark Horse) [collects #1-5, Hellboy: Free Comic Day]
w. Mike Mignola, Joshua Dysart; a. Paul Azaceta 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Returning to the earliest days of the BPRD, in post-war Berlin, founder Trevor Brutten investigates with a troop of soldiers an as-yet-undiscovered vampire plot by the Nazis (of course). It’s decent-enough fun, helped by Azaceta’s period sketchy style, with a bit of Aliens overlaying the usual Mignola haunted house motif, but it’s nothing tremendously exciting.

 

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Brit, Vol. 1, “Old Soldier (Dark Horse) [collects Brit, Brit: Cold Death, Brit: Red, White & Blue]
Brit, Vol. 2, “AWOL” (Dark Horse) [collects #1-6]
w. Robert Kirkman; a. Tony Moore, Cliff Rathburn, Val Staples 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Kirkman has established his chops as an excellent writer, and his tales of Brit are part of his extended Kirkman corner of the Image universe. Brit’s a standard high-strength, nigh-invulnerable hero who’s been around for … well, a lot of years. He’s ready for retirement, but keeps being pulled back into the thick of things by a government that needs someone who can be swallowed by a dinosaur and punch his way of the critter’s stomach. Add some modest gore, some family conflict, a few dabs of government conspiracy, and Kirkman’s sense of humor, and you have a fun series worth reading and rereading. 

Brit won’t win any awards, and it’s not as good as Kirkman’s Invincible, but I’d recommend it.

Listening to: Horner, James, & the London Symphony, “Main Title” (Aliens – Original Motion Picture Sound Track)) 

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Black Summer (Avatar) [collects #1-8]
w. Warren Ellis; a. Juan Jose Ryp 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Ellis throws out more concepts in passing in most of his tales than most writers use in a year’s worth of writing. Here we have a band of supers, the “Seven Guns,” all enhanced with tech, but over time falling aside into retirement. Until John Horus, the team’s founder, kills the President, and all hell breaks loose. Now the remaining Guns have to fend off the army, decide what to do about Horus, the strongest of them all — and whether they are called to do anything at all about the increasingly violent situation.

So, yes, lots of violence, lots of high concept, lots of philosophizing dialog, lots of cynical politics — pretty standard Ellis writing, with more than a touch of the epic tragedy to it. the art is Avatar’s usual standard — well-polished but workmanlike, with enough detail to count every wrinkle and bubble in the spilled guts and burnt flesh.

Recommended, though not for the squeamish.

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The Boys, Vol. 2, “Get Some” (Dynamite) [collects #7-14]
The Boys, Vol. 3, “Good for the Soul” (Dynamite) [collects #15-22]
The Boys, Vol. 4, “We Gotta Go Now” (Dynamite) [collects #23-30]
w. Garth Ennis; a. Darick Robertson 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

In contrast with Ellis — who deals with many of the same power/responsibility issues found here — Ennis just has more fun with the subject, a cocky smirk on his face as his “Boys” — a CIA (barely) super-team that covertly rides rein on the corporate-sponsored supers of this world. In a world where supers are treated like super-stars (and treat everyone else, each other included, like dirt), the Boys keep them in check, much to Ennis’ mocking glee.

The story is mostly told from the perspective of “Wee Hughie,” a newly minted Boy, modeled physically after Simon Pegg and the usually-but-not-always naif on the team. In contrast, there’s a strong subplot following along a newly promoted super-heroine to the exalted ranks of the Seven, where she learns that a perky smile, a virtuous nature, and a desire to help humanity are not what Earth’s pre-eminent super-team is about. 

Naturally, these two find each other, without knowing each others’ secrets.

Meanwhile, over the bloody pages of these books (violence leavened with plenty of sex and other bodily fluids in Ennis’ iconoclastic style) we have a prominent hero implicated in the murder of a gay youth; a Russian mobster trying to grow a super-army to take over the country; the secret behind how 9-11 turned out in the Boys’ world (answer: not prettily); and an investigation into the mutant family called the G-Men (and other related G-teams). 

Ennis mixes in personal tales in all of this. Each of the Boys has secrets, as things that have brought them to this career. It adds a simple touch that’s missing in Ellis’ more intetionally grave story — and which masks that both of them treat questions of power and corruption equally seriously. Only Ellis does it with a glower, and Ennis with a smirk and a whiskey chaser. 

Highly recommended, though not for the queasy.

(Volume 1 of the series was reviewed here.)

 

Listening to: Korngold, Erich, “Robin and Marian” (Adventures of Robin Hood)) 

A copy of Astro City: Local Heroes is one of the prizes that sponsors of $25 or more can potentially choose from.

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Astro City: Local Heroes (Wildstorm) [collects AC vol 2 #21-22, AC:LH #1-5, AC Special #1, 9-11 vol. 2]
w. Kurt Busiek; a. Brent Anderson, Alex Ross 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Astro City’s forte has always been telling tales of “normal people” in a world full of super-heroes and villains. The super-powered types sometimes make an appearance, but Busiek makes it clear that what the series about is not flash and plots and bustiers and fisticuffs, but about people.

Local Heroes tells tales as mundane as what life’s like for a door man at a major downtown hotel where the street out front can see everything from normal criminals to giant robots; for writers of comic books in a world where they’re real; for an actor on a super-hero TV show who gets a little too close to the action; for the unrequited lover of a super-hero; for the agonies of a young girl forced to summer at her uncle’s farm so far away from the excitement of the big city … and more.

All are well-crafted, enjoyable, little mini-parables and myths in terms of both telling a story and conveying a lesson. Busiek loves comics; that comes out in every word and nuance, and makes the whole AC series a joy to read. Highly recommended to anyone, including folks who think comics are all about big boobs and muscles.

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Astro City: The Dark Age, Book 1 (Wildstorm) [collects AC/Arrowsmith #1, AC:DA Vol 1 #1-4, AC:DA Vol 2 #1]
w. Kurt Busiek; a. Brent Anderson, Alex Ross 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Busiek does both one-offs, as with the previous book, and collection-long tales. In this case, he’s even more ambitious, pulling together a long story from the “Dark Age” of Astro City, the 50s and 60s, as the social forces that threatened to tear apart the rest of the country are reflected here as well. Told from the perspective of two estranged brothers — one a cop, the other a petty criminal — the story is long, tortured, and not nearly as fun as much of what else Busiek has done here. It does fill in some gaps, as we see the oft-mentioned end of the Silver Agent, and the rise of some other heroes that the contemporary AC tales take for granted. All of this takes place against the backdrop of racial tensions, youth-vs-establishment tensions, and a gang war.

It’s good stuff, and I’m glad Busiek is going for a stretch goal here. I can’t rate it quite as highly as his other tales, but it’s still a hell of a lot better than a lot of other pieces out there. Highly recommended.

 

Listening to: Kamen, Michael, “Vulcan and Venus: A Little Fodder?/Venus Rising/The Munchausen Waltz” (Adventures of Baron Munchausen)) 

I got two pair!

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All-Star Superman, Vol. 1 (DC) [collects #1-6]
All-Star Superman, Vol. 2 (DC) [collects #7-12]
w. Grant Morrison; a. Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Morrison takes Superman for a spin, cranking the Silver Age wonderment up to 12, and seriously and provocatively taking on subject matter that’s rested peacefully since then and giving it a twist that will either have you marveling or mocking. Sometimes that results in some dead-ends — the extended Bizarro sequence goes for about two issues too long — and sometimes that results in highly memorable and (go figure) imaginative triumphs. The Silver Age stereotypes of the Superman Family are dealt with, too — Lois, Jimmy, Clark, even (especially) Luthor. 

Dying of a solar radiation overdose thanks to Lex’s cunning plans, Superman must put his affairs in order, performing twelve herculean feats before he dies. As I said, very Silver Age, but with a lightly contemporary spin that keeps it balanced neatly between camp and revisionism.

Overall, very strong stuff, with some outstanding artwork. Morrison can be more than a bit trippy (wait, did I miss a panel in there somewhere? or a whole page?), but All-Star Superman is a great set of stand-alone books, and something that even a non-comics reader (who, culturally, knows enough of the source material here to be able to follow along) might enjoy.

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Annihilation Conquest, Book 1 (Marvel) [collects AC-Prolog, AC-Quasar #1-4, AC-Starlord #1-4, Annihilation Saga]
Annihilation Conquest, Book 2 (Marvel) [collects AC-Wraith #1-4, Nova #4-7, AC #1-6]
w. various; a. various 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

Marvel has long had problems with its cosmic — or at least space-born — characters. Usually one-off second bananas to lend a frisson of the fantastic to an Earth-bound series, they fly off back to the stars when all is over, only to be brought back in another 5 years as guest stars (or guest dead bodies, showing the stakes of whatever new threat is threatening).

The Annihilation Conquest series was intended to change that, bringing together some otherwise-unused characters into a star-spanning saga that would combine epic grandeur with The Dirty Dozen. Moondragon, Nova, Quasar, Starlord, Bug, Mantis, Broot — even Rocket Raccoon (a fave of mine) are here.

It works — barely — as the story bops between titles, character focus, writers, and artists. Not to mention some extended “what’s come before / during / after this” filler. The new Guardians of the Galaxy series that came from this holds together much better. These are not high on the re-reading scale, but worth having gone through, if only to see Rocket Raccoon again.

 

Listening to: Kamen, Michael, “Town (In the Theatre): The Statue in the Square/The Land of Cheese/WH” (Adventures of Baron Munchausen)) 

Hmmm. My iTunes installation is showing Trojan Horses? What the –? No time to work on it right now, but I may need to later on. Gotta have my tunes sooner or later.

UPDATE: Hrm. It’s my AV program, dammit. Fixed.

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Abe Sapien: The Drowning (Dark Horse) [collects #1-5]
w. Mike Mignola; a. Jason Shawn Alexander 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

A first solo adventure for the watery member of Hellboy’s BPRD, “The Drowning” gives us some additional insight into Abe and his origin. Mignola’s moody horror works well as usual, but Alexander’s art is too stylish and mainstream; this book demands Mignola’s shadows and half-glimpsed symbols of madness. Decent book for any Hellboy fan, comics or movies.

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Aetheric Mechanics (Avatar) 
w. Warren Ellis; a. G. Pagliarani, C. Dreier 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

One of the few items I have that was actually released as-is, a full Graphic Novella, Ellis plays here with steampunk-like alternate history, in which Brain wars with Ruritania and various Edwardian-tech devices escalate the cost of the conflict. Throw in some thinly-masked Holmes-Watson protagonists, some nature-of-reality play, and you get something that is entertaining and thought-provoking, as Ellis is wont to be, but more of a passing fancy than anything to rave eloquently about.