Benito Cereno (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} benitocereno) wrote,@ 2006-04-02 18:15:00 |
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I took a two hour nap out of protest for springing forward
I never seem to have equal amounts of sandwich ingredients at any given time. I'll have meat but no bread. Or bread and meat but no cheese. Or bread, meat, and cheese, but no condiments. It always goes that way. What a sad sandwich life to lead.
Anyway, on with reviews!
All-Star Superman 3
by Morrison and Quitely
This is the best book I read this week by far, so if that's the only thing you're interested in, you can skip the rest of this entry now.
For those of you who are still with me: wow, right? This book is so wonderful and so refreshing and so frustrating at the same time. The main reason it's frustrating is that I occasionally think of what it would be like to write Superman. And reading this book, I've realized it would be this, except by me. But my version would never be this good. And that's why it's frustrating. But I suppose that's a good kind of frustrating.
My Superman would have very little Clark Kent. Not that I think there's anything wrong with Clark Kent. But I think for me writing Clark when I could be writing Superman would be like having to eat my vegetables before I could eat dessert. I'd do it because I had to; not because it would be any fun. But Morrison is like, "Boom, here's three issues with only two pages of Clark total so far." And it totally works.
And Superman would be fun, and do fun things that only Superman can do. I was watching the old Fleischer cartoons a while back, and I thought to myself, "Yeah, this is the problem. Superman should spend less time weeping and more time punching lasers." And Morrison brings it. Superman arm wrestles a god and a time-travelling hero of the Bible. And wins. It's so good.
As I've said before, when Morrison writes superheroes, I think he's the heir to Kirby, but with a definite modernist twist. An interdimensional Sphinx puts Lois in a state of Schroedinger's cat-like quantum uncertainty because she's wearing his radioactive crown jewels? That's brilliant and awesome.
It's so perfect. It's so wonderful. And it's layered. There are kids on the Bendis board who have talked about the book being "simple" and "not deep," which makes me laugh, I guess. Let them think that. Because that's one way to read it. But there are layers and threads and mysteries. It's so excellent. I can't imagine a better Superman. That's why I could never write it. I'd better stick to Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. ;-)
Invincible 30
by Kirkman and Ottley
This is a cool issue, and you know what? Not a single punch gets thrown. Kirkman does a solid job of keeping the storytelling varied. Last issue was almost entirely action. This issue is almost entirely plot and subplot development. And none of it's filler, as far as I'm concerned. Character relationships are beginning to evolve and change. What will happen with Mark and Amber? What will happen with Mark and Cecil? It's good, interesting stuff. The characters can and do change. There will be repercussions of past actions in the future. That's cool and kind of exciting to think about. Anyway, it's a good issue. Probably not a great issue to start with if you've never read the book before, as it's kind of an epilogue to a story arc, but Invincible is usually pretty accessible. You can pick a lot up from context clues. You should be reading Invincible by now anyway.
The Thing 5
by Slott and Divito
I've mentioned in the past that this is not my favorite Slott book. This is probably true. I do still feel that he's trying to avoid being branded as the guy who writes goofy comics, so he's doing this book trying to be light-hearted without being goofy, and as a result, it feels a little restrained to me. I wouldn't mind seeing it go broader or goofier. But maybe that's just me. Also, the art is not my favorite. However, Kieron Dwyer takes up the art reins next issue, so that will be awesome. All that said, this issue is another step in the right direction, I think. Slott again shows that, hey, continuity's not a swearword by referencing that well-publicized but probably mostly unread "The Thing's a Jew" issue of FF. I dunno. It's a pretty cool issue. The Thing on Yancy Street, learning lessons. Lockjaw's there, so that's good. The villains who show up are a good choice. I liked it. And the fact of the matter is, even if I weren't liking the book better now than I did before, I'd STILL buy the book, because I'd rather Marvel put out books like this than the Illuminati. More on that later.
Iron Man 6
by Ellis and Granov
And here we are, like two years later. We come to the finish. And, frankly, I was a little let down. I guess I would have to be after the great buildup from the last issue. Nearly anything would pale next to that. But this issue is the ultimate confrontation between Iron Man and Extremis, and it's like, "Yep, it sure is two dudes fighting for a whole issue." And then the requisite twist in the last two pages. Not a poor ending, per se, but he didn't exactly stick the landing either. Overall, still the most interesting Iron Man story I've ever read.
Savage Dragon 124
By Larsen AND NO ONE ELSE
One of the things you can always credit Larsen with, if nothing else, is experimentation with forms and storytelling. We've seen double page spreads that span two issues, an issue where page one had 22 panels, page two had 21, and so on until the issue ended in a splash, an issue of all splashes, and so on. Well, in this case, we have an issue of all double page spreads. And as far as I'm concerned, it works. Also with this issue, we have more experimentation as Larsen more or less achieves his goal in this issue of being a true cartoonist: doing every step of the creative process on his own, even hand lettering the book. Good times.
This was a great conclusion to the presidential arc, and it will be good to move on to a new story now. Obviously the fact that this arc was so tied to the elections brings up the fact that the book ran so late for a while. But does anyone notice that it's now shipped three issues in two months? No, of course not.
Was this issue perfect? No. Was it bold storytelling, an attempt at something new, fun subplots, interesting characters and developments, and a more than acceptable conclusion to a long-running storyline? Yes.
Also: check out that Tony Moore-effect cover. Very cool. More and more people are doing that on covers these days. Will Tony get the credit for being among the first, if not the first, to do so? Probably not. Is that partially my fault? Yeah, probably.
Strange Girl 7
by Remender and Jaten
Hey, cool. A little self-contained issue. A flashback issue. The secret origin of Beth and Bloato's friendship. That's pretty cool, I guess. It's a fun story, pretty standard SG fare: magic, trickery, goofy demons. I dunno. It was nice. It wasn't rock-my-face-off awesome, but it wasn't trying to be. It was cute, it was fun, it was nice. That'll do, pig. And this would be a pretty solid first issue for someone interested in trying out the book. Guest art by Harper Jaten. Next issue is guest art by Jerome Opena to finish up the story arc that this issue kind of interrupted. Then I think Eric Nguyen is back for an issue, and then Nick Stakal takes over. Whew. Also, the Nick Stakal promo art I have seen looks awesome. That's really all.
Walking Dead 26
by Kirkman and Adlard
Nurse, we need an injection of something new, stat! Oh, snap! There it is. Everything changes. I hope you weren't comfortable with prison soap opera. Because the circus train just crashed, and the door to the car full of bad news bears just burst open. And here they come! Nice twist, cool concept, exciting prospects for the future of the book. Nothing predictable. Someone said the book jumped the shark with this issue. That person is wrong. I think this is the best issue in some time. Also, next month, you can make a 28 Issues Later joke if you want to.
Surrogates 5
by Venditti and Weldele
I don't have a lot to say about this issue. It's a very solid ending to a very solid miniseries. I need to go back and reread the whole thing in one sitting now, but this was a very satisfying ending. Every aspect of it felt inevitable without being predictable, which is exactly what you want. Very well written, very well illustrated. Top Shelf should commend themselves for putting out a great piece of hard science fiction to show people they're not just about emo cartoonists. A monthly color sci fi book! Oh, man! It's good, seriously.
Okay, that's all. Don't ask me where my East Coast Rising review is. I don't want to talk about it.
Oh, wait. I forgot to talk about the Illuminati. I didn't read the book, so I'm not going to comment on its quality. But I just want to check on something: this is the group of superhumans making decisions for the whole world and they are supposed to somehow represent the entire world? Right? Am I wrong in this? Because I remember distinctly reading, "Well, Prof X is there to represent the mutants. Black Bolt represents the Inhumans. Namor represents the oceans." Yeah, all right. So here's my question: who's representing black people? Asians? Hispanics? Europeans? Oh, uh, women? Even in a fantasy comic book world, everything is secretly run by wealthy white men? That's so sad. They couldn't even throw Medusa in as the token woman, even in the role of interpreting for Black Bolt? Instead, he's got to sit there and mime for them? Say whaaaaaa? And I know, Black Panther was invited to come but declined. I would too if I were the great Nubian god and I were invited to the Man's spring picnic get together. Anyway, lame.
Now that's really all.
I never seem to have equal amounts of sandwich ingredients at any given time. I'll have meat but no bread. Or bread and meat but no cheese. Or bread, meat, and cheese, but no condiments. It always goes that way. What a sad sandwich life to lead.
Anyway, on with reviews!
All-Star Superman 3
by Morrison and Quitely
This is the best book I read this week by far, so if that's the only thing you're interested in, you can skip the rest of this entry now.
For those of you who are still with me: wow, right? This book is so wonderful and so refreshing and so frustrating at the same time. The main reason it's frustrating is that I occasionally think of what it would be like to write Superman. And reading this book, I've realized it would be this, except by me. But my version would never be this good. And that's why it's frustrating. But I suppose that's a good kind of frustrating.
My Superman would have very little Clark Kent. Not that I think there's anything wrong with Clark Kent. But I think for me writing Clark when I could be writing Superman would be like having to eat my vegetables before I could eat dessert. I'd do it because I had to; not because it would be any fun. But Morrison is like, "Boom, here's three issues with only two pages of Clark total so far." And it totally works.
And Superman would be fun, and do fun things that only Superman can do. I was watching the old Fleischer cartoons a while back, and I thought to myself, "Yeah, this is the problem. Superman should spend less time weeping and more time punching lasers." And Morrison brings it. Superman arm wrestles a god and a time-travelling hero of the Bible. And wins. It's so good.
As I've said before, when Morrison writes superheroes, I think he's the heir to Kirby, but with a definite modernist twist. An interdimensional Sphinx puts Lois in a state of Schroedinger's cat-like quantum uncertainty because she's wearing his radioactive crown jewels? That's brilliant and awesome.
It's so perfect. It's so wonderful. And it's layered. There are kids on the Bendis board who have talked about the book being "simple" and "not deep," which makes me laugh, I guess. Let them think that. Because that's one way to read it. But there are layers and threads and mysteries. It's so excellent. I can't imagine a better Superman. That's why I could never write it. I'd better stick to Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. ;-)
Invincible 30
by Kirkman and Ottley
This is a cool issue, and you know what? Not a single punch gets thrown. Kirkman does a solid job of keeping the storytelling varied. Last issue was almost entirely action. This issue is almost entirely plot and subplot development. And none of it's filler, as far as I'm concerned. Character relationships are beginning to evolve and change. What will happen with Mark and Amber? What will happen with Mark and Cecil? It's good, interesting stuff. The characters can and do change. There will be repercussions of past actions in the future. That's cool and kind of exciting to think about. Anyway, it's a good issue. Probably not a great issue to start with if you've never read the book before, as it's kind of an epilogue to a story arc, but Invincible is usually pretty accessible. You can pick a lot up from context clues. You should be reading Invincible by now anyway.
The Thing 5
by Slott and Divito
I've mentioned in the past that this is not my favorite Slott book. This is probably true. I do still feel that he's trying to avoid being branded as the guy who writes goofy comics, so he's doing this book trying to be light-hearted without being goofy, and as a result, it feels a little restrained to me. I wouldn't mind seeing it go broader or goofier. But maybe that's just me. Also, the art is not my favorite. However, Kieron Dwyer takes up the art reins next issue, so that will be awesome. All that said, this issue is another step in the right direction, I think. Slott again shows that, hey, continuity's not a swearword by referencing that well-publicized but probably mostly unread "The Thing's a Jew" issue of FF. I dunno. It's a pretty cool issue. The Thing on Yancy Street, learning lessons. Lockjaw's there, so that's good. The villains who show up are a good choice. I liked it. And the fact of the matter is, even if I weren't liking the book better now than I did before, I'd STILL buy the book, because I'd rather Marvel put out books like this than the Illuminati. More on that later.
Iron Man 6
by Ellis and Granov
And here we are, like two years later. We come to the finish. And, frankly, I was a little let down. I guess I would have to be after the great buildup from the last issue. Nearly anything would pale next to that. But this issue is the ultimate confrontation between Iron Man and Extremis, and it's like, "Yep, it sure is two dudes fighting for a whole issue." And then the requisite twist in the last two pages. Not a poor ending, per se, but he didn't exactly stick the landing either. Overall, still the most interesting Iron Man story I've ever read.
Savage Dragon 124
By Larsen AND NO ONE ELSE
One of the things you can always credit Larsen with, if nothing else, is experimentation with forms and storytelling. We've seen double page spreads that span two issues, an issue where page one had 22 panels, page two had 21, and so on until the issue ended in a splash, an issue of all splashes, and so on. Well, in this case, we have an issue of all double page spreads. And as far as I'm concerned, it works. Also with this issue, we have more experimentation as Larsen more or less achieves his goal in this issue of being a true cartoonist: doing every step of the creative process on his own, even hand lettering the book. Good times.
This was a great conclusion to the presidential arc, and it will be good to move on to a new story now. Obviously the fact that this arc was so tied to the elections brings up the fact that the book ran so late for a while. But does anyone notice that it's now shipped three issues in two months? No, of course not.
Was this issue perfect? No. Was it bold storytelling, an attempt at something new, fun subplots, interesting characters and developments, and a more than acceptable conclusion to a long-running storyline? Yes.
Also: check out that Tony Moore-effect cover. Very cool. More and more people are doing that on covers these days. Will Tony get the credit for being among the first, if not the first, to do so? Probably not. Is that partially my fault? Yeah, probably.
Strange Girl 7
by Remender and Jaten
Hey, cool. A little self-contained issue. A flashback issue. The secret origin of Beth and Bloato's friendship. That's pretty cool, I guess. It's a fun story, pretty standard SG fare: magic, trickery, goofy demons. I dunno. It was nice. It wasn't rock-my-face-off awesome, but it wasn't trying to be. It was cute, it was fun, it was nice. That'll do, pig. And this would be a pretty solid first issue for someone interested in trying out the book. Guest art by Harper Jaten. Next issue is guest art by Jerome Opena to finish up the story arc that this issue kind of interrupted. Then I think Eric Nguyen is back for an issue, and then Nick Stakal takes over. Whew. Also, the Nick Stakal promo art I have seen looks awesome. That's really all.
Walking Dead 26
by Kirkman and Adlard
Nurse, we need an injection of something new, stat! Oh, snap! There it is. Everything changes. I hope you weren't comfortable with prison soap opera. Because the circus train just crashed, and the door to the car full of bad news bears just burst open. And here they come! Nice twist, cool concept, exciting prospects for the future of the book. Nothing predictable. Someone said the book jumped the shark with this issue. That person is wrong. I think this is the best issue in some time. Also, next month, you can make a 28 Issues Later joke if you want to.
Surrogates 5
by Venditti and Weldele
I don't have a lot to say about this issue. It's a very solid ending to a very solid miniseries. I need to go back and reread the whole thing in one sitting now, but this was a very satisfying ending. Every aspect of it felt inevitable without being predictable, which is exactly what you want. Very well written, very well illustrated. Top Shelf should commend themselves for putting out a great piece of hard science fiction to show people they're not just about emo cartoonists. A monthly color sci fi book! Oh, man! It's good, seriously.
Okay, that's all. Don't ask me where my East Coast Rising review is. I don't want to talk about it.
Oh, wait. I forgot to talk about the Illuminati. I didn't read the book, so I'm not going to comment on its quality. But I just want to check on something: this is the group of superhumans making decisions for the whole world and they are supposed to somehow represent the entire world? Right? Am I wrong in this? Because I remember distinctly reading, "Well, Prof X is there to represent the mutants. Black Bolt represents the Inhumans. Namor represents the oceans." Yeah, all right. So here's my question: who's representing black people? Asians? Hispanics? Europeans? Oh, uh, women? Even in a fantasy comic book world, everything is secretly run by wealthy white men? That's so sad. They couldn't even throw Medusa in as the token woman, even in the role of interpreting for Black Bolt? Instead, he's got to sit there and mime for them? Say whaaaaaa? And I know, Black Panther was invited to come but declined. I would too if I were the great Nubian god and I were invited to the Man's spring picnic get together. Anyway, lame.
Now that's really all.
