Sunday, June 04, 2006
Recent Comics I Have Read
52 #1, 2, & 3: Okay, I like these stories. I was prepared not to, but I actually like them. Booster Gold as a conniving self-promoter again is great, even though they ripped the concept of covering his costume with endorsement labels off "Mystery Men." Art is still shaky and I'm not sold on Luthor's media rehabilitation, but then if today's politics teaches us anything, it's to never underestimate what some people will believe. Also, the ripping people into shreds bit gets old. Fast.
Batman #653: Okay, we have pretty much one issue to get used to the idea of Harvey Dent as a normal-looking good guy before he goes insane again. I guess it's supposed to be all explained in 52, but this seemed way too abrupt. Artwork is very stiff and uninspiring.
Captain America #18: Arrgh! Another Bucky cameo! The agony! And why did we have to "de-age" Spitfire? Can't ANYONE from the Golden Age actually stay old? Doesn't that detract from Cap's uniqueness? Nice to see Union Jack and Cap together again.
Green Arrow #62: A sword? A samurai sword? Why? Good Lord in Heaven, why? And just how powerful is Deathstroke supposed to be? In Identity Crisis he was taking out half the League; now Green Arrow by himself can take him down with his tricky new ninja moves and some glue? A sword...good Lord and butter!
Iron Man #6: Yeah, really don't care for the Zircher/Hanna artwork. At all. Tony Stark is still an asshole. Someone is, apparently, controlling the armor. Why is Nick Fury there seeming like he's back in charge of SHIELD?
Ms. Marvel #3: Pretty good story. We still don't have any idea who Cru is, but that's okay. Life isn't always resolved in one story arc. Art is still hit or miss.
New Avengers #19: More of the mysterious Michael with powers leftover from House of M. Personally, I think it would've been better if he had been Michael Korvac, like Iron Man originally thought. I like the way SHIELD acts under Maria Hill, like a real spy agency would and not a goody-two-shoes operation as it often was under Nick Fury. I think I have decided my problem is not so much with Deodato's pencils as Joe Pimentel's inks. Seems...I dunno...sloppy? Unfocused?
Powers #18: Enough with Club Cinderella already! Deena has superpowers, Christian has superpowers--why? Why? Why?
Squadron Supreme #3: Ya know, I really don't mind when writers put their politics into their work. Really. If done right, it can be interesting and add to the story. But here, we get four solid pages of nothing but exposition by African superheroes who are otherwise completely unidentified and indistinguishable. Putting aside the bizarre, liberal conspiracy rant politics, was there no way to work that into the story other than through a four-page-long sermon? The entire plot just ground to a halt for this political science deus ex machina. Bad.
Batman #653: Okay, we have pretty much one issue to get used to the idea of Harvey Dent as a normal-looking good guy before he goes insane again. I guess it's supposed to be all explained in 52, but this seemed way too abrupt. Artwork is very stiff and uninspiring.
Captain America #18: Arrgh! Another Bucky cameo! The agony! And why did we have to "de-age" Spitfire? Can't ANYONE from the Golden Age actually stay old? Doesn't that detract from Cap's uniqueness? Nice to see Union Jack and Cap together again.
Green Arrow #62: A sword? A samurai sword? Why? Good Lord in Heaven, why? And just how powerful is Deathstroke supposed to be? In Identity Crisis he was taking out half the League; now Green Arrow by himself can take him down with his tricky new ninja moves and some glue? A sword...good Lord and butter!
Iron Man #6: Yeah, really don't care for the Zircher/Hanna artwork. At all. Tony Stark is still an asshole. Someone is, apparently, controlling the armor. Why is Nick Fury there seeming like he's back in charge of SHIELD?
Ms. Marvel #3: Pretty good story. We still don't have any idea who Cru is, but that's okay. Life isn't always resolved in one story arc. Art is still hit or miss.
New Avengers #19: More of the mysterious Michael with powers leftover from House of M. Personally, I think it would've been better if he had been Michael Korvac, like Iron Man originally thought. I like the way SHIELD acts under Maria Hill, like a real spy agency would and not a goody-two-shoes operation as it often was under Nick Fury. I think I have decided my problem is not so much with Deodato's pencils as Joe Pimentel's inks. Seems...I dunno...sloppy? Unfocused?
Powers #18: Enough with Club Cinderella already! Deena has superpowers, Christian has superpowers--why? Why? Why?
Squadron Supreme #3: Ya know, I really don't mind when writers put their politics into their work. Really. If done right, it can be interesting and add to the story. But here, we get four solid pages of nothing but exposition by African superheroes who are otherwise completely unidentified and indistinguishable. Putting aside the bizarre, liberal conspiracy rant politics, was there no way to work that into the story other than through a four-page-long sermon? The entire plot just ground to a halt for this political science deus ex machina. Bad.
