I know that Marvel Now! isn't complete: a much-hyped Guardians of the Galaxy book and another, prolly pretty bad, Nova book are still coming, as is the Marvel flagship, Uncanny X-Men. Suffice it to say, X-Men will be good, Guardians will be temporarily good (until Bendis and McNiven abandon it after issue 20 -- unless Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning come back to Marvel). Nova will likely suck (Loeb can't really write, McGuiness is a gimmicky artist). I wanted to do a quick run-down on the extant Marvel books for anyone who thinks I'm not even-handed in my criticism of D.C. compared to the House of Ideas. I do, generally, prefer Marvel books, but I think it's reasoned and not programmed. The reason is simple: creative talent. So, I'm going to walk through the books in the new Marvel launch and give them a category: Good, Wait, Bad.
The Good Books:
A+X: Yes, I know, this book is basically Marvel team-up. Look, there's nothing wrong with that. Marvel Team-Up was fun. If its done by good creators and with interesting stories, there's no reason we can't have pint-sized servings of Marvel characters doing stuff they don't normally do, not to drive an arc, but to tell good stories. There are some poignant character moments here (Cap), some cute team-ups (Beast/Spidey), and some weird-o stuff (Psylocke). Generally, though, it's all fun and readable. Compare it to every version of Brave and the Bold since 1978 and you'll see how much better it is.
All-New X-Men: I was intensely skeptical of this book. I thought it would be Bendis's first huge failure. I was sure that people would pan a return of the 1960's X-Men for decades to come. It would be a boondoggle Marvel would be digging itself out of for years, like Heroes Reborn. It was awesome. The premise that something is wrong with Beast's mutation is interesting (even as it's faded to the background for parts of the later story). I generally think Marvel is raising Hank's profile and I like that (he's my favorite original X-Man by miles). But Bendis is also doing an excellent job writing the old team. Mixing them in with modern heroes and villains. You can't deny how good Brian is with dialogue. Immonen's art has improved dramatically in just the last 4 years. I think he can legitimately be considered one of the top of his craft today. I'm looking forward to every issue of this book.
FF: Welcome home Mike Allred. Matt Fraction is an on-and-off writer for me, and a lot of his success at hitting me depends on his collaborator. I'm not sure he and Bagley have hit it off, but he and Allred are right on the same page. I miss X-Force by Allred so much and I love the tone of this book that brings me back to that moment in 2002. This book should be excellent with its quirky characters and association with a red-hot FF universe fresh off of Hickman's epic, historic, amazing run on the book. It's a great time to be writing FF and I suspect that Fraction will embrace all of the weirdness that makes the First Family of comics work. He can write a book Jack Kirby would want to draw, to be sure. I am waiting on Fantastic Four, but I am all in on FF.
Indestructible Hulk: I'm a sucker for LFY. I can't help it. I don't think he'd be my first choice for a Hulk artist, but this is a pretty cool, different Hulk book. The kinetic energy in Yu's art is evident in every panel. It is his best penciling work in recent memory, and I'm very excited to see where this book goes. Mark Waid is at the absolute top of his game right now. Don't even get me started on how good Daredevil is, but I just think Waid is writing hits right now. This book is probably going to be awesome. It will certainly get back to core Hulk concepts for the first time in a while. A very good Hulk book.
Thor: God of Thunder: Esad Ribic is an artist, not a penciler or a comic artist. This book is absolutely gorgeous. It seems like what Marvel has done is to take come criticism and recognize that in some places, it was being outshined by D.C. in art. Not anymore. Ribic doing regular pencils on this book is a huge coup of the House Stan Built. The period-spanning adventure that pits Thor vs. a serial killer of gods has been excellent. It's obviously super tough to write Thor like it's difficult to write for Wonder Woman or Superman. He has very few real threats, he is "out of place" in our world both spatially and temporally, and he's hard to relate to. Jason Aaron is doing a good job or revealing motivations and exploring core concepts in this big beautiful book. Nice work.
Avengers & New Avengers: My favorite writer with two of my favorite artists on the best title of the last ten years. You haven't been following this blog very closely at all if you don't already know Jonathon Hickman. He's the second coming. I am glad the kept the Avengers titles unified under one writer with two artists as they did with Bendis. The two "brands" is a good way to do an Avengers book. And, let's be real here, these books are bigger than the Avengers now. They're the core of Marvel. These books are basically a cross-over and the invention of new Marvel themes in one title. This isn't just a Cap, Thor, and Iron Man book now. It's the centerpiece of the Marvel U. Some of the new characters are exciting (I just read the introduction of the new Shi'ar elite member, Smasher). I am especially intrigued by Manifold, their teleporter, and his connections to Gateway, one of my all-time favorite X-Men. The Illuminati, the Infinity Gems, and the ever-present threat of Thanos (ever-present since the end of May's major motion picture The Avengers) are also looming large. And more Beast, which is awesome.
Savage Wolverine: A pleasant surprise. I'm not often as entirely wrong about a book as I was Savage Wolverine. I drop books, especially Wolverine cross-overs, like it's my job. I love Wolvie, but I'm very protective of what I consider good story-telling regarding our berserking healer with adamantium claws and what I see as Wolv-sploitation. I picked up the first issue expecting to cancel this book. In fact, I was drawn in pretty early. The panels were reasonable. There were words. A story developed pretty quickly. There was, of course, a nearly naked cavegirl (Shanna, The She-Devil -- who else). But, it's Frank Cho so what do you expect. There was, however, a sensible plot device that drew this story together and it appears that there may be an over-arching narrative that doesn't just involve Wolverine fighting a dinosaur (he will do that, however). I enjoyed this book. The Wolverine books have been craptastic since Millar left, even the Aaron stuff took a quick turn for the worse, so hopefully this and the upcoming Cornell Wolverine title salvage what's left of Logan's solo titles.
Daredevil: Mark Waid's run on this book has been awesome. From Kevin Smith, to Bendis, to Brubaker, not so good with Diggle, and now with Waid, Daredevil has seen one of the best, largely uninterrupted, runs of any Marvel title. It's been more consistent than any X-Men book (besides X-Factor, largely awesome because it stays out of the mess of other X-Men stuff). Certainly better than Wolverine. Better than Punisher (although I stand by Ennis's work on the book -- some of the other fill-in has been ass-tastic). Way better than Spider-Man. The artists Waid has to work with are some of the best up-and-comers in the business, including my personal favorite regularly working comic artist, Paolo Rivera (look up the Spider-Man issue he did with Sandman and try and not have your mind blown). This isn't really a relaunch book, but it is one of the very very best comics coming out now and a standard setter in great superhero story-telling.
Wolverine & the X-Men: This is the most borderline, in my opinion, of my Good Book category. I thought that parts of the latest storyline, featuring Frankenstein and a circus, were tortured. The comedy in the book seems strained at times. The best character is Broo, the brood mutant with a conscience. Wolverine is not as central a character as the title indicates; it's largely a New Mutants type, Westchester Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters type book. And that's a good concept. It was strongly beloved when the X-Men were great, for instance, the introduction of Kitty in the Claremont/Byrne era. This book intentionally harkens back to that time (replete with a pint-sized reincarnation of the Hellfire Club, among of the best of the X-Men rogues). This book is not a great fit for Jason Aaron (it would be an excellent fit for, for instance, Bryan K. Vaughn, as indicated by his work on Runaways -- one of the unheralded heroes of modern day superhero comics), but it's still well-done. Aaron apparently loves writing it, but I think it will do well down the line under someone else's watch.
Wait-And-See Books:
Uncanny Avengers: The book I was most excited to see launch has had a tepid start. Jon Cassady is one of the best comic artists in the world when he is inspired, but this book is not his strongest work. Rick Remender can be an absolutely mind-blowing story-teller, but this book has not shown that narrative power off so far. The big reveals have been creepy, but not like "WHOOOOAAAA" moments. Nothing about this feels like Uncanny X-Force or even Fear Agent, Remenders preeminent masterpieces. Hopefully the story will pick up and we'll all look back and say "slow start, but man was it awesome once it got going," but I have concerns at the moment. This is a big criticism for me, because I don't think I've ever put Remender on blast like I'm doing now. This book needs some inspiration and fast. I like Havok as a leader. I think the world needs a Summers brother and I've always considered Havok the more compelling of the two. But we need to see that story develop pretty soon or it's going to lose the readers.
Captain America: Uh oh two straight Remender books, two straight question marks. I like Jr Jr; I know a lot of my close comic book friends don't. One of the first books I ever bought was a Daredevil vs. Punisher drawn by Jr Jr and it was awesome. He can't live up to that today, his pencils are sloppier, but I still generally enjoy his stuff (like on Kick-Ass, for instance). This book looks like garbage in places. It's poorly conceived (why start the book in the middle of something no one gets -- what is this, the new 52?). The dialogue is laborious. Basically, everything about this book needs a shot in the arm. However, it's still got its moments. Cap has a cool battle with a huge beast that he thinks his way out of. The kid is creepy and cool. Sometimes Jr Jr can do as much with one pen stroke as other artists do in ten panels in terms of conveying emotion and meaning. We just need to not go a 4th issue without really understanding what's going on here. It's leaving the reader in the lurch too much at this point.
Deadpool: This book is less a wait-and-see than it's a mixed bag. The art is Tony Moore. Can't complain, ever. He is awesome and delivers one of the most consistent products in comics. Marvel is lucky to have him. Why, however, is he only doing dumb joke books. He's done this and the Franken-Punisher stuff. He should be telling real stories. He's fully capable of it. You'll let Ed McGuiness have a serious series but put Tony Moore on comic relief, that's some bad editorial assignment, imo. This rant aside, the book is pretty funny. My biggest complaint is that the first arc is too long. This, generally, is my complaint about Deadpool: stop telling 5 issue story arcs on a joke book. What is the problem with it? You're telling the same god damned joke for 5 issues. This should be relatively obvious, but that isn't funny. Brevity is the soul of something, I heard. Tell a joke, change the topic, move on. Long arcs make no sense for a book like this.
Fantastic Four: Another book that has just been so slow getting out of the gates. It feels like it's dragging on with nothing happening. I mentioned before the problems I think with matching up Bagley and Fraction. I don't feel like they're thriving with each other. Bagley has largely worked with one guy successfully ever, keep this in mind. His time with the Justice League was uninspiring, for sure. Fraction is a strange man with wild ideas and maybe they're difficult to execute on paper for someone like Bagley who hasn't really been asked to stretch his imagination too much on USM over the last 13 years. That said, the big concept of this book is sound. It has a great lead in tailwind with the Hickman run just closing. I think the book should make it over time. It might see an artist change before too long, however. Don't be shocked.
Iron Man: Iron Man has the single best moment in the new Marvel reboot. I don't want to give the line away, but Pepper says something to Tony that is so awesome that you have to think "Kieron Gillen may've found his book". Of course, without batting an eye I would tell you there were some excellent moments in the Journey Into Mystery run. I also dropped the book, because it appeared to go nowhere and have too weak of a plot structure to sustain a real story. I retain this fear for Iron Man. Two issues are about Tony and "the future" -- because his power, obviously, is being a futurist, as Marvel has repeatedly tried to sell us on over the years. The third issue is about blowback from the Phoenix stuff of late. I know he's going to space and joining the Guardians (the worst kept secret in comic book history). The book is all over the place. Gillen is such a talented writer, but he isn't a talented scripter, I believe, and may need some help over time with big picture direction and narrative structure. Hopefully, he picks this up in enough time to keep from dropping the ball on Iron Man.
Morbius: Yes, Morbius. Wait and see. The first issue is WAY better than I expected, but it's still Morbius so it will, in all likelihood, end up being stupid. The good news: I don't know who in the fuck Joe Keatinge is and I'm relatively impressed with the first issue given that level of greenness. The bad news: Morbius is sort of stupid, historically. I'm going to keep buying it.
Superior Spider-Man: I only list this as a wait-and-see because it's so new. I think it's good so far. I thought the end of Amazing was good. I am fine with Peter dying (he didn't -- he propelled his consciousness into some octo-bot and will be back soon, I'm sure). I'm fine with Ock kissing MJ and even killing someone. Spider-Man has sucked so much for so long that for something to change the status quo just can't be a bad thing imo. The problem for Spider-Man, like any book that has gone on forever without aging or fundamentally changing the characters is that it is incredibly hard to forget what you know and avoid relating all stories to the past. New Spider-Man villains feel like the 1980's villain of the month gristmill; old villains feel like shadows of their former Ditko and Romita selves. What can a Spider-writer do to please the fans? I like this book now more than any time since Stracyzinski. It's a promising new direction. Of course, it could turn out stupid, so we'll wait and see.
Avengers Assemble: KSD is a pretty hot property right now. Of course, comics have a gender problem: it's mostly middle-aged white dudes who make comics and therefore, reaching over 50% of the world's reading market is tough when you're telling stories where women are window dressing at best or titillation at worst. If I were a woman, I'd have trouble trusting comics. Finding fresh voiced young female writers that will work on superhero properties can't be easy. She has a lot of lady books right now -- Ghost, Captain Marvel (Ms. Marvel, if you're nasty) -- but Avengers Assemble is a real mainstream gut-punching superhero effort and it's going well, I'd say. Her Hulk writing is strong. The ladies are portrayed pretty awesomely. Hawkeye is hilarious. Generally, I think this is a good book. Stef Caselli is also solid on pencils. I think Ghost is one of the better books out there right now, so I'm starting to become a believer in Kelly Sue.
Journey Into Mystery: Is a bit of a stretch for the wait-and-see category. I'd say it's my next cut if it doesn't improve soon. So, I am literally waiting and seeing. Sif is awesome. She's my favorite Asgardian by far. This book has trouble with movement. I like the idea of making Sif just a crazy Berserker badass who doesn't care about anything. That's awesome. Now, get on with it. What happens? The last issue is promising -- she meets some other Berserker dudes in Berserker world -- but she needs to, for instance, do some more freaking berserking. Kathryn Immonen does not have much polish as a writer, imo. Her work has always been too slowly paced for comic writing. I'd like to see this book move a bit more.
Uncanny X-Force, Guardians of the Galaxy, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Wolverine, Young Avengers: I haven't read Young Avengers or Uncanny X-Force even though I have them. The others have yet to be released. I'd say these are mostly promising books. I'm more excited about the two Bendis books because, well, he's the most consistent hit writer for me. I suspect I'd rank them in this order:
Uncanny X-Men -- Bendis
Guardians of the Galaxy -- Bendis
Wolverine -- Cornell and Alan Davis
Uncanny X-Force -- Interesting line-up, spinning out of Remender which was awesome
X-Men -- Still expecting Brian Wood to be as great as his potential suggests
Young Avengers -- Kieron Gillen has questions marks, but I like all of these characters, esp. Loki
The Bad Books:
Red She-Hulk: Jeff Parker got the shaft on the transition to Marvel Now! I think his Hulk and Thunderbolts books were both excellent. He got booted from both and moved to a dead end job: writing She-Hulk. No one can write She-Hulk. You want to know the problem with She-Hulk? It sucks. The end. They should put Jeff Parker on a real Defenders book (not the Fearless Defenders, which is really a throwback to a cross-over follow-up no one liked and no one can be sure why they're keeping it around as a plot-device). Red She-Hulk is Betty Ross-Banner (or are they officially divorced now, I dunno) turned into a gamma monster hanging out with Machine Man. Machine Man is the good part. That should really tell you something.
X-Men Legacy: Pure crap. Simon Spurrier has never impressed me much. Tan Eng Huat has been misused consistently since his work on Doom Patrol. This book is a trainwreck. It looks terrible and reads like gibberish. It doesn't help that they've taken a twelfth-rated X-Man and given him, basically, a solo book. Legion is dumb, stop it.
Avengers Arena: Hopeless says it all. He's the writer of this book by the way, but it also expresses the mood of this Hunger Games knock-off, tweener crapfest. The concept sucks. The art is not good. Hopeless is getting big Marvel titles, like the Ultimates, and just crushing them into non-existence. He even ruined an Arcade book for me. I love Arcade. Stupid Dennis Hopeless. If Paul Cornell wrote this book, it would be awesome for like 50 issues. As it stands, unreadable.
Cable and X-Force: Did I mention how much Dennis Hopeless sucks? He took over the best book of the last 3 years and immediately pooped all over it. You know what the worst thing ever about X-Force was? Cable. Who is the worst X-Man? Bishop, obviously, but Cable is close. I expect Bishop to show up any time now. And Stryfe. And everything else bad about the 1990's. The one reason this book has any value is because of how sick Forge is. Forge rules. I'm still reading this crap book in hopes that Forge becomes the badass he should be. But, generally, this book takes everything awesome about X-Force when Remender was on it, forgets it, and restarted Rob Liefield without the eye-popping visuals. Have fun with that, X-Force fans.
Thunderbolts: Daniel Way and Steve Dillon? SIIIIIICCCCKKKKK. To my stomach. What happened to Planet Hulk era Daniel Way (for all that matters, where is Greg Pak?)? What happened to Punisher and Preacher Steve Dillon. This is at worst uninspired and at best a mockery of everything good about comic books. It reminds me of the Wolverine, Punisher, Ghost Rider maxi-series, from, say, 1992. How could this go wrong? Oh everything about it will suck. The story will be bad. Cool looking characters will be drawn poorly. There will be absolutely no overarching plot. It will be soulless corporate crap that everyone wants to forget. And two great creators will be ashamed of themselves. Daniel Way, note to you, stop letting Marvel demand that you make dumb books. You're talented. Steve Dillon, you illustrated what is one of the best 80 issue comic book series of all time; have some respect for yourself. Give Thunderbolts back to Jeff Parker.
Fearless Defenders: Cullen Bunn is awful. Just terrible. Do you remember when he started to write some of the Brubaker Captain America's and everyone was like "It'll be fine. Brubaker still had all the ideas and he'll just write them."? He couldn't even do that. It was trash. His dialogue sounds like it came from the brain of a drug addled 11 year-old. He apparently asks his artists to produce panels that could bore Nick Cage to sleep. This book adds to that level of skill a concept so obnoxious, so underwhelming, so thoroughly pointless that even Art Adams couldn't pull it off. NO ONE WANTS TO READ A VALKYRIE BOOK. EVER!!!! Misty Knight is cool. Bring back Heroes for Hire. Don't make her a god damned lesser Norse god. That's moronic. This book is stupid out of the gates.
Nova: I haven't even read it and I can't wait to drop it. That's how dumb this book is. I guess they think kids might buy it with McGuiness art and Nova's popularity from the USM cartoon (he is funny there, I'm sure Jeph Loeb will ruin that). I think they're underestimating kids intelligence and overestimating their potential share of comic sales. Maybe they just think they can sell more toys. That's fine as long as you don't mind running a loss on the book.
So, this concludes my full run-down of Marvel Now! stuff. I'll add that I think the Ultimate line is on the ropes. It's basically all terrible except USM, which is likely to be the only title that survives. I'm sure they'll try to re-re-relaunch UXM and Ultimates at some point (maybe in conjunction with their respective upcoming films), but the books are off the rails. Hard to imagine their being saved atm. I think the most unfortunate missteps have concerned Marvel's handling of X-Force coming off of the incredibly well-received Remender book and their basically benching Jeff Parker. X-Force had such momentum and Parker has so much talent it's hard to get what happened to both the product and creator there. I'd say, generally, the biggest risk is that Uncanny Avengers never gets going. That would be a huge problem with two of their top creators on what amounts to an all-star team book. Hard to see how they flub that one without it being considered a huge management error. Overally, Marvel is still winning the product wars but I believe they took a mild step back in the recent relaunch so far. With more promising books to come, hopefully they can get right back on track.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Graphic novels, other new comics, & errata
Everyone is thinking about Star Wars today. J.J. Abrams is doing Star Wars VII after all, in spite of the early announcements that even though he was interested he wouldn't take on the storied franchise. He is at the helm of the 2013 release now. I'll bite and announce my support. If you didn't like his Star Trek, well, your mistake I guess. J.J. Abrams didn't make the Star Trek movie you wanted maybe, but he did give you the Star Trek movie that the franchise needed. It's a super promising start. The new movie, with an unknown villain played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is, frankly, awesome, should rise above all expectations. Star Wars VII will likely be awesome too.
But, I'm not here to talk about movies and stuff. I talk about comics, my particular area of expertise. As it relates to Star Wars, that means I'm talking about the new Brian Wood series simply titled Star Wars. The concept is that Wood will take over after A New Hope and re-write the entire series in perpetuity. Of course, he only has a couple of years before Disney owns the entire product and the licenses move from Dark Horse back to Mighty Marvel. Let's hope he and his team have some books already in the hopper and at least get around 30 issues of this series out before DH loses the rights. The first issue is solid and sold out. It's heavy on Wedge, which will please the shit out of my 30-something make friends who all seem to have a man crush on this bit player in the early SW universe. There's hardly a lightsaber to be found and only a bit of Vader. The story is focused on the rebel's regrouping to locate a new base after losing Alderaan. I won't say that the first issue blew my ears back, but it holds serve on a promising concept, "What if Star Wars was run by someone other than George Lucas?"
I recently read four new graphic novels: the first collection of the new series premised on Alan Moore's old Image product Prophet, the last book of Scalped, Underwater Welder by Jeff Lemire, and Scene of the Crime by Ed Brubaker. Prophet is really interesting. I didn't even know it was happening, much less something I ought to read, until I was informed as such by Bryan at Wizard's Asylum. 90's throwback books don't usually grab my attention, especially given my deep hatred for the 90's comics. Of course, it intrigued me that this had been a Moore project from the early going, and Bryan's rec carries a lot of weigh with me (he's generally more selective than I am). From the opening pages, the artwork has a primal feeling to it. The writing is sparse. It's practically all narration. The imagery is stark and imaginative. It's like dreaming sci-fi from the cromagnon. It has an Aeon Flux feel to it without the clear lines and glossy art. You are left with a tension of never quite knowing what to expect, which is excellent when the late payoff occurs in the story. Sometimes, you get the feeling you're reading Heavy Metal, a series of one-off episodes with no clear connection. But, there is an overarching, unseen narrative that will bring everything together. I would recommend this book -- it's fresh and appealing.
Scalped is one of the greatest comics of all-time. I like Jason Aaron, but I love R.M. Guera. I have other posts explaining what this book is all about, so I'm not going to delve into the concept again, but suffice it to say this is the swan song for Aaron and Guera's Indian Sopranos series. I hate knowing those things going into reading a book because I always have unsaid expectations about what the book ought to produce to finally finish all of the remaining plot lines and satisfy my expectations for the characters. I think Aaron takes some easy ways out in the finales, he takes some unexpected plays with a few other characters, he has a lot of big reveals, and helps to explain why it was all said in the first place. It was a good, not great, ending for an excellent series. In my opinion, it was my satisfying than Y: The Last Man (a real let down), but not as epic as Promethea, one of the better endings in comic series history. It retained the voice of the book, which is a crucial point worth hammering home. Dash's story, Dash's rules. Scalped will be missed.
Underwater Welder is something everyone should read. Why? Because it's an original graphic novel by Jeff Lemire, one of the best comic book writers everyone should be reading. It's about the hauntology of family and the way our myths about our parents affect our lives forever. And it's wonderful. Jeff Lemire is the wildly successful author of the highly acclaimed graphic novel Essex County and the DC/Vertigo series Sweet Tooth. I won't belabor his pedigree, but it's excellent work and all of it deserves your attention. Underwater Welder meets those standards. For readers of Lemire's early work, this will be immediately recognizable. His visual aesthetic is consistent. Here, he opts for some new splash page work that is unlike Essex, but meets with some of his recent opening pages in Sweet Tooth, which I have loved. His writing is precious. No one writes melancholy like Lemire. He expresses the gaps between people in a way few writers of any medium have done well. There are no spandex or laser guns in these books, but the messages are no less heroic in content and epic in scale. If it weren't for Jonathon Hickman, Jeff Lemire would be my favorite new comic book creator.
Scene of the Crime was my favorite of these books. I am a Brubaker hack though, so that's not entirely fair. I also love the modern crime comic. I like big mystery because it gives me a puzzle to solve while I'm reading. Scene is typical of the Bru crime novels we know today, like Criminal or Gotham Central. A gumshoe gets caught up in a case that looks open and shut but turns out to involve drugs, cults, sexual deviance, and family betrayal. The aesthetic from Sean Philips and Michael Lark is readily accessible and consistent with those books. The writing style is similar to the successful Criminal series. The arc is long and the detail is a bit more intricate. I suspect today people would be concerned that this book was too detailed for comics, the pacing too slow. Bru himself might prefer to move the story along a bit quicker for the readers. For me, this was about right. I'm a fast reader and a 4-issue arc goes by in under an hour for me typically. This book was slightly more involved and therefore gave me a bit more to chew on. I'd love to see Bru go back to this book, maybe as a regular series or an occasional on-going (bi- or tri-monthly).
But, I'm not here to talk about movies and stuff. I talk about comics, my particular area of expertise. As it relates to Star Wars, that means I'm talking about the new Brian Wood series simply titled Star Wars. The concept is that Wood will take over after A New Hope and re-write the entire series in perpetuity. Of course, he only has a couple of years before Disney owns the entire product and the licenses move from Dark Horse back to Mighty Marvel. Let's hope he and his team have some books already in the hopper and at least get around 30 issues of this series out before DH loses the rights. The first issue is solid and sold out. It's heavy on Wedge, which will please the shit out of my 30-something make friends who all seem to have a man crush on this bit player in the early SW universe. There's hardly a lightsaber to be found and only a bit of Vader. The story is focused on the rebel's regrouping to locate a new base after losing Alderaan. I won't say that the first issue blew my ears back, but it holds serve on a promising concept, "What if Star Wars was run by someone other than George Lucas?"
I recently read four new graphic novels: the first collection of the new series premised on Alan Moore's old Image product Prophet, the last book of Scalped, Underwater Welder by Jeff Lemire, and Scene of the Crime by Ed Brubaker. Prophet is really interesting. I didn't even know it was happening, much less something I ought to read, until I was informed as such by Bryan at Wizard's Asylum. 90's throwback books don't usually grab my attention, especially given my deep hatred for the 90's comics. Of course, it intrigued me that this had been a Moore project from the early going, and Bryan's rec carries a lot of weigh with me (he's generally more selective than I am). From the opening pages, the artwork has a primal feeling to it. The writing is sparse. It's practically all narration. The imagery is stark and imaginative. It's like dreaming sci-fi from the cromagnon. It has an Aeon Flux feel to it without the clear lines and glossy art. You are left with a tension of never quite knowing what to expect, which is excellent when the late payoff occurs in the story. Sometimes, you get the feeling you're reading Heavy Metal, a series of one-off episodes with no clear connection. But, there is an overarching, unseen narrative that will bring everything together. I would recommend this book -- it's fresh and appealing.
Scalped is one of the greatest comics of all-time. I like Jason Aaron, but I love R.M. Guera. I have other posts explaining what this book is all about, so I'm not going to delve into the concept again, but suffice it to say this is the swan song for Aaron and Guera's Indian Sopranos series. I hate knowing those things going into reading a book because I always have unsaid expectations about what the book ought to produce to finally finish all of the remaining plot lines and satisfy my expectations for the characters. I think Aaron takes some easy ways out in the finales, he takes some unexpected plays with a few other characters, he has a lot of big reveals, and helps to explain why it was all said in the first place. It was a good, not great, ending for an excellent series. In my opinion, it was my satisfying than Y: The Last Man (a real let down), but not as epic as Promethea, one of the better endings in comic series history. It retained the voice of the book, which is a crucial point worth hammering home. Dash's story, Dash's rules. Scalped will be missed.
Underwater Welder is something everyone should read. Why? Because it's an original graphic novel by Jeff Lemire, one of the best comic book writers everyone should be reading. It's about the hauntology of family and the way our myths about our parents affect our lives forever. And it's wonderful. Jeff Lemire is the wildly successful author of the highly acclaimed graphic novel Essex County and the DC/Vertigo series Sweet Tooth. I won't belabor his pedigree, but it's excellent work and all of it deserves your attention. Underwater Welder meets those standards. For readers of Lemire's early work, this will be immediately recognizable. His visual aesthetic is consistent. Here, he opts for some new splash page work that is unlike Essex, but meets with some of his recent opening pages in Sweet Tooth, which I have loved. His writing is precious. No one writes melancholy like Lemire. He expresses the gaps between people in a way few writers of any medium have done well. There are no spandex or laser guns in these books, but the messages are no less heroic in content and epic in scale. If it weren't for Jonathon Hickman, Jeff Lemire would be my favorite new comic book creator.
Scene of the Crime was my favorite of these books. I am a Brubaker hack though, so that's not entirely fair. I also love the modern crime comic. I like big mystery because it gives me a puzzle to solve while I'm reading. Scene is typical of the Bru crime novels we know today, like Criminal or Gotham Central. A gumshoe gets caught up in a case that looks open and shut but turns out to involve drugs, cults, sexual deviance, and family betrayal. The aesthetic from Sean Philips and Michael Lark is readily accessible and consistent with those books. The writing style is similar to the successful Criminal series. The arc is long and the detail is a bit more intricate. I suspect today people would be concerned that this book was too detailed for comics, the pacing too slow. Bru himself might prefer to move the story along a bit quicker for the readers. For me, this was about right. I'm a fast reader and a 4-issue arc goes by in under an hour for me typically. This book was slightly more involved and therefore gave me a bit more to chew on. I'd love to see Bru go back to this book, maybe as a regular series or an occasional on-going (bi- or tri-monthly).
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Top Comic Series of 2012
After having read a series of weak lists for the best comics of the past year, I decided I would do a top 10 list for 2012. This list excludes a few graphic novels I haven't finished yet, included some evidently excellent work in Underwater Welder and Building Stories, both of which are frequently mentioned as top books. I'm also behind by a book on both Sweet Tooth and Scalped, which are excellent books. You should read them. That said, this represents my top ten list. I read around 150 comics a month, so it spans most of the top books that are being produced. A few things slip through the cracks from time to time, but I don't miss much.
10. Punisher -- Replacing Garth Ennis on this book was never going to be easy. No one has written more Punisher than Ennis and he has defined a particular aesthetic for this book that most people both like and now expect. Rucka seamlessly grabbed this book, ran with it, and refreshed it all in one move. It was a singularly impressive work. Marco Chechetto's art is masterful and expressive. The mood is edgy and powerful. Rucka is one of the most under-respected creators in comics, constantly having excellent books cancelled on him. Punisher is no exception.
9. Fantastic Four -- If someone had told me 10 years ago that FF would be at the top of my list of books, I'd have laughed in their face, but after the Millar and Hickman runs on the first family of Marvel, it's hard to argue that FF isn't one of the most exciting books on the shelves. Jonathon Hickman is the innovator. He's the future of comics, period. What he does with Avengers in the coming years will define the industry for an entire era. What he has done for the FF in the last 2 years is comparable to the epic lifting that Bendis did on Avengers in the mid-2000's. The conclusion to Hickman's run on FF was as big a payoff for a series as any book ever written. Ending 2011 with the return of Johny Storm was bound to be a tough act to follow; Hickman raised the bar again.
8. Batman -- The best superhero book coming from the other company. Scott Snyder is an ok writer. Greg Capullo is an amazing artist. If this book was drawn by anyone else, it would not be on this list, period. Court of Owls was, imo, a weak plot with excellent execution and art direction. Other than this book, the x-over was belabored. Here, Snyder shows some understanding of the psychological thriller that drives the Bat and introduces a new Bat-villain that the world didn't particularly need. Obviously, I'm pretty torn about this book. I think that the overall gushing reviews for it are nonsensically gushing. I do think it's a good Batman story from a struggling publisher.
7. Batwoman -- The future of DC comics. JH Williams III is DC comics today. A Vertigo creator on a Vertigo book forced into the mainstream DCU to make up for the lack of quality creators on their other titles. Still, Williams III handles his task with artisan quality expertise, delivering moving stories, jaw-dropping moments, incredible visuals and paneling, and generally top notch work. The arc is a bit long, as have been most New 52 arcs, but that's not his fault; it's an editorial problem. I'm impressed with the book, the creator, and the character even 5 years after it's creation. Kane is still surprising me.
6. Fury: My War Gone By -- Ennis + Fury = homerun. The early 2000's series was amazing. I was visibly thrilled when I heard about this series and pleasantly surprised about the content. Placing Fury all of the way back into his earliest days as a spy and examining U.S. history through the lens of Fury's chiseled visage is classic Ennis. If you enjoyed the Ennis War Stories, you'll enjoy this. If you enjoy the Fury character, you'll enjoy this. If you're a history buff, you'll enjoy this. Goran Parlov is a fantastic illustrator, drawing on Sergio to create accurate, moving depictions of humanity caught in the depths of scandal, massacre, and depravity. It's a tour d'force.
5. Saga -- I don't want to say to much here for those of you that haven't read it, but suffice it to say it's one of the most original sci-fi series of any time. It's smart, beautifully illustrated, and exciting. I can not wait for each new issue, the inevitable movies, and literally everything about this book. There are some "whaaaa" moments, a little shock value, and a few odd plots here and there, but all of it just makes the book interesting and remarkable. Enjoy it. Brian Vaughn may not write many more comics.
4. Mind Mgmt -- Matt Kindt is my favorite new comic book writer of the last year. I read Super Spy in one setting. I bought everything else he's done immediately. When I found out about Mind Mgmt, I treated it like I had Miracle Man: saved it all for one glorious reading. It was exactly that. His art won't be for everyone, but if you can't appreciate what he is doing, then you don't know or care much for comics. The story is a mindfuck, masterfully delivered. The little easter-egg bookends are wonderful little treats. I love this book. I hope we get to follow it for a very long time.
3. Archer & Armstrong -- Let's be clear: Old Valiant didn't appeal to me. The books rolled out too slowly. The plots were tangled. The art was mediocre. Shooter was a hack. I was not clamoring for new Valiant titles. I am now. All of the new Valiant titles are excellent, fresh, beautifully illustrated and excellently scripted. Archer & Amstrong is the best of them. I have seen people gush about X-O (personally my least favorite of the new books), but I can't imagine how they think it holds a candle to Patrick Zircher's work here. This book is awesome. Big Illuminati-esque conspiracies, big action, big buddy story, big family intrigue, big tie-in's to old Valiant favorites -- what more do people want. A++.
2. Daredevil -- Only in this year would Daredevil be #2 to anything. Mark Waid wrote a simple book that was masterfully drawn by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin, frankly, the two best artists drawing comics today. Paolo Rivera is the best most original artist in comics since Steranko. His panel work is epic. Marcos Martin is the classic story-teller, like Jack Kirby. His pencils are simple and solid, but convey action and emotion as well as anyone. Mark Waid is back to his old basics from the days of writing Flash: don't overdo the characters, don't unnecessarily complicate the plots, and tell clean stories. This book is banging.
1. Uncanny X-Force -- Simply the best writing on an X-Men book in years. I can't even pretend to be interested in practically any character in this book, but Remender demands your attention. Fantomex is gripping. Angel is the best Angel since he got his Apocalypse wings. The evil Nightcrawler is amazing. The new Brotherhood reminds you of why you cared about them in Mutant Massacre 25 years ago. And Apocalypse Kid -- what's there to say. This is a state of nature debate taking place between the ears of the murderous X-Men black ops team. Rick Remender was one of Marvel's greatest pick-ups, not because every book he writes will be as good as Fear Agent, but because some books he writes will be this good. I'm running out of space here but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Jerome Opena, Billy Tan, and even the great Phil Noto have done interiors on this book. If you don't know Opena, you're about to get to know him, since he is doing the art for Avengers with Hickman. Read every issue of this book. You're welcome.
10. Punisher -- Replacing Garth Ennis on this book was never going to be easy. No one has written more Punisher than Ennis and he has defined a particular aesthetic for this book that most people both like and now expect. Rucka seamlessly grabbed this book, ran with it, and refreshed it all in one move. It was a singularly impressive work. Marco Chechetto's art is masterful and expressive. The mood is edgy and powerful. Rucka is one of the most under-respected creators in comics, constantly having excellent books cancelled on him. Punisher is no exception.
9. Fantastic Four -- If someone had told me 10 years ago that FF would be at the top of my list of books, I'd have laughed in their face, but after the Millar and Hickman runs on the first family of Marvel, it's hard to argue that FF isn't one of the most exciting books on the shelves. Jonathon Hickman is the innovator. He's the future of comics, period. What he does with Avengers in the coming years will define the industry for an entire era. What he has done for the FF in the last 2 years is comparable to the epic lifting that Bendis did on Avengers in the mid-2000's. The conclusion to Hickman's run on FF was as big a payoff for a series as any book ever written. Ending 2011 with the return of Johny Storm was bound to be a tough act to follow; Hickman raised the bar again.
8. Batman -- The best superhero book coming from the other company. Scott Snyder is an ok writer. Greg Capullo is an amazing artist. If this book was drawn by anyone else, it would not be on this list, period. Court of Owls was, imo, a weak plot with excellent execution and art direction. Other than this book, the x-over was belabored. Here, Snyder shows some understanding of the psychological thriller that drives the Bat and introduces a new Bat-villain that the world didn't particularly need. Obviously, I'm pretty torn about this book. I think that the overall gushing reviews for it are nonsensically gushing. I do think it's a good Batman story from a struggling publisher.
7. Batwoman -- The future of DC comics. JH Williams III is DC comics today. A Vertigo creator on a Vertigo book forced into the mainstream DCU to make up for the lack of quality creators on their other titles. Still, Williams III handles his task with artisan quality expertise, delivering moving stories, jaw-dropping moments, incredible visuals and paneling, and generally top notch work. The arc is a bit long, as have been most New 52 arcs, but that's not his fault; it's an editorial problem. I'm impressed with the book, the creator, and the character even 5 years after it's creation. Kane is still surprising me.
6. Fury: My War Gone By -- Ennis + Fury = homerun. The early 2000's series was amazing. I was visibly thrilled when I heard about this series and pleasantly surprised about the content. Placing Fury all of the way back into his earliest days as a spy and examining U.S. history through the lens of Fury's chiseled visage is classic Ennis. If you enjoyed the Ennis War Stories, you'll enjoy this. If you enjoy the Fury character, you'll enjoy this. If you're a history buff, you'll enjoy this. Goran Parlov is a fantastic illustrator, drawing on Sergio to create accurate, moving depictions of humanity caught in the depths of scandal, massacre, and depravity. It's a tour d'force.
5. Saga -- I don't want to say to much here for those of you that haven't read it, but suffice it to say it's one of the most original sci-fi series of any time. It's smart, beautifully illustrated, and exciting. I can not wait for each new issue, the inevitable movies, and literally everything about this book. There are some "whaaaa" moments, a little shock value, and a few odd plots here and there, but all of it just makes the book interesting and remarkable. Enjoy it. Brian Vaughn may not write many more comics.
4. Mind Mgmt -- Matt Kindt is my favorite new comic book writer of the last year. I read Super Spy in one setting. I bought everything else he's done immediately. When I found out about Mind Mgmt, I treated it like I had Miracle Man: saved it all for one glorious reading. It was exactly that. His art won't be for everyone, but if you can't appreciate what he is doing, then you don't know or care much for comics. The story is a mindfuck, masterfully delivered. The little easter-egg bookends are wonderful little treats. I love this book. I hope we get to follow it for a very long time.
3. Archer & Armstrong -- Let's be clear: Old Valiant didn't appeal to me. The books rolled out too slowly. The plots were tangled. The art was mediocre. Shooter was a hack. I was not clamoring for new Valiant titles. I am now. All of the new Valiant titles are excellent, fresh, beautifully illustrated and excellently scripted. Archer & Amstrong is the best of them. I have seen people gush about X-O (personally my least favorite of the new books), but I can't imagine how they think it holds a candle to Patrick Zircher's work here. This book is awesome. Big Illuminati-esque conspiracies, big action, big buddy story, big family intrigue, big tie-in's to old Valiant favorites -- what more do people want. A++.
2. Daredevil -- Only in this year would Daredevil be #2 to anything. Mark Waid wrote a simple book that was masterfully drawn by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin, frankly, the two best artists drawing comics today. Paolo Rivera is the best most original artist in comics since Steranko. His panel work is epic. Marcos Martin is the classic story-teller, like Jack Kirby. His pencils are simple and solid, but convey action and emotion as well as anyone. Mark Waid is back to his old basics from the days of writing Flash: don't overdo the characters, don't unnecessarily complicate the plots, and tell clean stories. This book is banging.
1. Uncanny X-Force -- Simply the best writing on an X-Men book in years. I can't even pretend to be interested in practically any character in this book, but Remender demands your attention. Fantomex is gripping. Angel is the best Angel since he got his Apocalypse wings. The evil Nightcrawler is amazing. The new Brotherhood reminds you of why you cared about them in Mutant Massacre 25 years ago. And Apocalypse Kid -- what's there to say. This is a state of nature debate taking place between the ears of the murderous X-Men black ops team. Rick Remender was one of Marvel's greatest pick-ups, not because every book he writes will be as good as Fear Agent, but because some books he writes will be this good. I'm running out of space here but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Jerome Opena, Billy Tan, and even the great Phil Noto have done interiors on this book. If you don't know Opena, you're about to get to know him, since he is doing the art for Avengers with Hickman. Read every issue of this book. You're welcome.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The New 52
I've read some recent posts at iFanboy and other corners of the internet that I have to respond to. WTF. The New 52 is pretty awful. I mean, here's the thing: it's not worse than D.C. was before, but it's not really better. It's a deck chairs on the Titanic thing.
D.C. has a fundamental problem: a central lack of writing. Their writing staff is weak to terrible. Geoff Johns is just not as prolific or proficient as the top of Marvel's talent. He is on par with Rick Remender...maybe (Fear Agent is awesome, but his Marvel stuff so far has only been good, not great -- X-Force though is trending up). Grant Morrison is inconsistent intentionally. He's experimenting on D.C.'s dime right now and it's hurting their product. It's nice to see Pete Milligan getting work. I just cancelled half of his books though. Justice League Dark reminds me of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...the movie. Even Jeff Lemire isn't even saving this foray. While Animal Man is excellent and haunting, Frankenstein is a disaster at best. Paul Cornell, who I've very publicly stated is the most talented writer at D.C., is languishing in the New 52 -- Stormwatch is on the ropes and Demon Knights is awful.
Many of the re-launches were dead from the beginning. I think Birds was terrible, in spite of my love for the first, oh, 70 issues of the regular DC series. I'm not entirely sure what happened to Gail Simone, but right around the time Marvel pulled Deadpool in 2002 (?) she basically fell off for me. Birds sustained a couple more years. But this book is terrible. Suicide Squad was the same way. I love the idea. I even liked the 80s version of this book. But the new launch was trash. It's mostly the same everywhere. Blackhawks? OMAC? All-Star Western? Most of these books don't even deserve a mention.
There are a few stand outs. The Bat family has faired very well. Of course, most of these books didnt really need saving; they were doing well before the re-launch. Superman family books likely improved the most (except, notably, Action Comics -- I think the Morrison Action is worse than Paul Cornell's excellent, maybe historic, version). The Vertigo re-integration of Animal Man and Swamp Thing has been strong for Animal Man, but I have real questions about the viability of the new Swamp Thing book if it needs to go direct to Arkane. Red Hood and the Outlaws looks gorgeous and I like the new Jason Todd, but what IS the story? You could say the same about a lot of the line-up. Green Lantern is solid, but the rest of the line is getting worse (I just dropped Corps). Wonder Woman has some promise, but that's easy for 5 issues and has been hard for more than that for 50 years.
Some other big titles appear to have a flimsy veneer. Flash, for instance, looks pretty good. It's the namesake of the event that kicked off the new 52. It also has _________ going for it? It has an artist on scripts, never a great a idea. It has a new villain that's a lot like Madrox, so that's not going to get the job done. Aquaman? What else needs to be said about that? Justice League will be terrible (and, honestly, it's not very good now) when Jim Lee leaves and the inevitable revolving door of artists starts. Teen Titans won't stay at the level it's performing. It's all coming back to reality at some point. And then, the DC books will be right back where they were: Batman books, Action Comics, Green Lantern, and a pile of discounts at Half-Price Books.
Honestly, which DC books compares favorably to the last 60 issues of Captain America? Nothing. Not even approximately. And I'm including Scalped in that list. If you stick to the main DC universe, it's an even bigger blow out. And here's the thing, I think you have to go pretty deep into the Marvel coffers to find a book that isn't better than the best DC book. Let's say that Detective Comics is the best (it's prolly close -- maybe Batwoman). Here are books from Marvel I think are quite a bit better:
1. Cap
2. Daredevil
3. Fantastic Four/FF
4. Secret Warriors
5. Secret Avengers
6. Avengers
7. New Avengers
8. X-Factor
9. X-Force
10. Punisher
It gets close after this: Invincible Iron Man, Uncanny, Wolverine -- all of these books are ON PAR with Detective Comics. I do not see the "proof" that iFanboy and others do that Marve is in deep trouble and D.C. is doing great.
Sales numbers? Ok, that's fair. But they're a gimmick obviously. A full company-wide relaunch is causing everyone to look at and read these books for a minute. But is anyone reading AND enjoying them? I don't think so for the most part. Marvel's top 20 is a sustainable product. The writers are excellent. The art is good to great. The principals involved (characters, teams, concepts) are top notch. They're pretty too big to fail. And with newly developing titles w some fresh talents popping up (Paolo Rivera is the truth -- the absolute truth -- he is a star FOR SURE), it's hard to see Marvel not gaining strength over time. D.C. staff is aging and generally stale already. Levitz? Lobdell (and his books are some of the gems of this group to be fair -- but for how long can we expect someone who's been out 13 years to continue to produce at a high level)? Perez splitting scripting duties on Superman? It's not getting the effects you want, D.C. There is no buzz.
The New 52 doesn't fix the biggest problem that D.C. has faced for the better part of the decade: a lack of writing talent. Geoff Johns can't do it all and you don't WANT (and neither does he, frankly) Grant Morrison determining the direction of your company. Morrison writes great interesting, thought-provoking retconned stories. But don't make him the DC universes script-writer. You have to purchase some additional writing talent. Guys and gals who can write 40 issues of Nightwing. Some Teen Titans vs. Amazo stories. A Robin and Black Canary team-up. Just some comic book writers. You have not done this so far. And, while I dont work in the industry so I'm not an expert really, I have been around comics a long long time and I'm just guessing this is an editorial issue -- and maybe an EIC issue -- that the brand isn't getting the right talents and when it is it is not applying those talents where they belong.
It seemed like DC was getting better BEFORE it hit the panic button and is getting worse now. For sure, Jeff Lemire was better on Superboy than anything he writes today (except Sweettooth). Paul Cornell was better on Action Comics than any book he writes now. The Bat books are basically unchanged from before the event. Flash is worse now. Green Lantern is better; Corps is worse. The others shouldn't even exist. Wonder Woman is improved. Aquaman exists/is readable. Justice League is temporarily improved. Teen Titans is better. For the most part, the change has been marginal and mixed. And certainly not even close to enough to narrow the gap with a dominant House of Ideas. That suggestion is too crazy to even contemplate.
D.C. has a fundamental problem: a central lack of writing. Their writing staff is weak to terrible. Geoff Johns is just not as prolific or proficient as the top of Marvel's talent. He is on par with Rick Remender...maybe (Fear Agent is awesome, but his Marvel stuff so far has only been good, not great -- X-Force though is trending up). Grant Morrison is inconsistent intentionally. He's experimenting on D.C.'s dime right now and it's hurting their product. It's nice to see Pete Milligan getting work. I just cancelled half of his books though. Justice League Dark reminds me of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...the movie. Even Jeff Lemire isn't even saving this foray. While Animal Man is excellent and haunting, Frankenstein is a disaster at best. Paul Cornell, who I've very publicly stated is the most talented writer at D.C., is languishing in the New 52 -- Stormwatch is on the ropes and Demon Knights is awful.
Many of the re-launches were dead from the beginning. I think Birds was terrible, in spite of my love for the first, oh, 70 issues of the regular DC series. I'm not entirely sure what happened to Gail Simone, but right around the time Marvel pulled Deadpool in 2002 (?) she basically fell off for me. Birds sustained a couple more years. But this book is terrible. Suicide Squad was the same way. I love the idea. I even liked the 80s version of this book. But the new launch was trash. It's mostly the same everywhere. Blackhawks? OMAC? All-Star Western? Most of these books don't even deserve a mention.
There are a few stand outs. The Bat family has faired very well. Of course, most of these books didnt really need saving; they were doing well before the re-launch. Superman family books likely improved the most (except, notably, Action Comics -- I think the Morrison Action is worse than Paul Cornell's excellent, maybe historic, version). The Vertigo re-integration of Animal Man and Swamp Thing has been strong for Animal Man, but I have real questions about the viability of the new Swamp Thing book if it needs to go direct to Arkane. Red Hood and the Outlaws looks gorgeous and I like the new Jason Todd, but what IS the story? You could say the same about a lot of the line-up. Green Lantern is solid, but the rest of the line is getting worse (I just dropped Corps). Wonder Woman has some promise, but that's easy for 5 issues and has been hard for more than that for 50 years.
Some other big titles appear to have a flimsy veneer. Flash, for instance, looks pretty good. It's the namesake of the event that kicked off the new 52. It also has _________ going for it? It has an artist on scripts, never a great a idea. It has a new villain that's a lot like Madrox, so that's not going to get the job done. Aquaman? What else needs to be said about that? Justice League will be terrible (and, honestly, it's not very good now) when Jim Lee leaves and the inevitable revolving door of artists starts. Teen Titans won't stay at the level it's performing. It's all coming back to reality at some point. And then, the DC books will be right back where they were: Batman books, Action Comics, Green Lantern, and a pile of discounts at Half-Price Books.
Honestly, which DC books compares favorably to the last 60 issues of Captain America? Nothing. Not even approximately. And I'm including Scalped in that list. If you stick to the main DC universe, it's an even bigger blow out. And here's the thing, I think you have to go pretty deep into the Marvel coffers to find a book that isn't better than the best DC book. Let's say that Detective Comics is the best (it's prolly close -- maybe Batwoman). Here are books from Marvel I think are quite a bit better:
1. Cap
2. Daredevil
3. Fantastic Four/FF
4. Secret Warriors
5. Secret Avengers
6. Avengers
7. New Avengers
8. X-Factor
9. X-Force
10. Punisher
It gets close after this: Invincible Iron Man, Uncanny, Wolverine -- all of these books are ON PAR with Detective Comics. I do not see the "proof" that iFanboy and others do that Marve is in deep trouble and D.C. is doing great.
Sales numbers? Ok, that's fair. But they're a gimmick obviously. A full company-wide relaunch is causing everyone to look at and read these books for a minute. But is anyone reading AND enjoying them? I don't think so for the most part. Marvel's top 20 is a sustainable product. The writers are excellent. The art is good to great. The principals involved (characters, teams, concepts) are top notch. They're pretty too big to fail. And with newly developing titles w some fresh talents popping up (Paolo Rivera is the truth -- the absolute truth -- he is a star FOR SURE), it's hard to see Marvel not gaining strength over time. D.C. staff is aging and generally stale already. Levitz? Lobdell (and his books are some of the gems of this group to be fair -- but for how long can we expect someone who's been out 13 years to continue to produce at a high level)? Perez splitting scripting duties on Superman? It's not getting the effects you want, D.C. There is no buzz.
The New 52 doesn't fix the biggest problem that D.C. has faced for the better part of the decade: a lack of writing talent. Geoff Johns can't do it all and you don't WANT (and neither does he, frankly) Grant Morrison determining the direction of your company. Morrison writes great interesting, thought-provoking retconned stories. But don't make him the DC universes script-writer. You have to purchase some additional writing talent. Guys and gals who can write 40 issues of Nightwing. Some Teen Titans vs. Amazo stories. A Robin and Black Canary team-up. Just some comic book writers. You have not done this so far. And, while I dont work in the industry so I'm not an expert really, I have been around comics a long long time and I'm just guessing this is an editorial issue -- and maybe an EIC issue -- that the brand isn't getting the right talents and when it is it is not applying those talents where they belong.
It seemed like DC was getting better BEFORE it hit the panic button and is getting worse now. For sure, Jeff Lemire was better on Superboy than anything he writes today (except Sweettooth). Paul Cornell was better on Action Comics than any book he writes now. The Bat books are basically unchanged from before the event. Flash is worse now. Green Lantern is better; Corps is worse. The others shouldn't even exist. Wonder Woman is improved. Aquaman exists/is readable. Justice League is temporarily improved. Teen Titans is better. For the most part, the change has been marginal and mixed. And certainly not even close to enough to narrow the gap with a dominant House of Ideas. That suggestion is too crazy to even contemplate.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Where we're at: Part 2
Going to work at getting this finished even though I realize now that we weren't quite half-way through before. Well, here goes:
1. Generation Hope -- Okay, I've knocked Kieron Gillen a lot here. I'm not sold yet. But, this book turned a corner when it go some new folks on the art and has started to improve. His work on Journey into Mystery and even Uncanny has been solid. I'm going to give it another try. The Teon solo issue was really quite good and explained a seemingly unidimensional character in a complex way that made him more identifiable and much deeper than before. I'm starting to like this book ok. The Schism tie-in from last week was strong.
2. Hellboy -- Always exciting when Mignola is writing and Corben is doing the art. I love Richard Corben, period. There is big payoff at the end of The Fury that is unlike anything we've seen for Hellboy universe characters in a very long time. I can't wait to see what comes next.
3. Invincible -- I finally dropped this book. It was one of the great indie superhero books of all time for around 50 issues. Kirkman's focus must have been overtaken by the TV show and his executive producing requirements, because the book has simply fallen into disrepair. The dialogue has fallen off and the attention to plot details has stalled. I'm sorry to see it go, but I vote with my pocketbook on things like this.
4. Iron Man -- Still great. I can't believe that just a few years after Civil War I like Tony Stark again. Let's be honest: he was the "villain" of that storyline. And he was a villain to Cap, which is a real bad guy, you know? But, today, largely due to Fraction's writing, I like the man in the armor again and I love this book. The American Steel storyline wasn't the finest hour for this book, but the Fear Itself dwarf issues have been great. IM looks like a real hero again, but with some pathos we can identify with for a billionaire genius drunk. I really like the direction of this book. More Pepper, please.
5. Iron Man 2.0 -- A lot of people think Nick Spencer is the 2nd coming. I'm not ready to give him the keys to the kingdom just yet, but his work on this book has been very good. I like Rhodey. I like that some of the Immortal Iron Fist characters are showing up in here (like the other Immortal Weapons, all of whom are cool) and that it's generally a 70's revival book. It's just cool. I think this book is really promising and deserves a bump in profile and sales.
6. Iron Age -- Meh, not what I was hoping for. Some of it is cool, but it's mostly a trashy gimmick book. I've been pretty clear that I'm a sucker for 70's Marvel, and they've been really pushing that era's products, but this book is just not really very good. I wanted it to be; I really did. Not recommending.
7. Justice titles -- Dropped. Dead. I'm getting the Johns/Lee book, but they're not going to be on it for long and we all know that. I suspect 6 issues. If we get to 12, it will be a treat. I'm not holding my breath.
8. Kick-Ass 2 -- Well, the 3rd issue just came out 9 months later, so there's that. Who knows? I'm sure it's good, but buying the loose issues in this is doing nothing for me really. Should just have collected it in trade. Oh Millar, you rich bastard.
9. Where is Warren Ellis? No, seriously, someone find him and make him write a comic book. Sorry, just a quick aside.
10. Mighty Thor -- Really a great book. Fraction and beautiful art. This is really the Volstagg book, and that is not a bad thing. I still say that one of the many Thor universe books should be an Oeming book, but I'm happy with what Fraction has done on these books. I bet he's mighty (no pun intended) proud of them too.
11. Moon Knight -- WTF. Moon Knight, in a book, and it doesn't suck. I'm still a little confused by all of the turning into other superheros or at least looking like them thing (I get that he has multiple personalities, but is that an art trick or a real thing?), but I still like this book. Because of the art, which I love, it reminds me of Alias, and that was a great time for comics, Bendis, and Marvel in general. Good read.
12. Mystery Men -- David Liss, writer of Black Panther and pulp novels, on a pulp era Marvel backstory using characters we don't know about yet. I'll say it: he's not ready. This book isn't bad, The villain seems cool. Some of the plot devices seem ok. But the general tone of the book is too mellow and the dialogue is, frankly, boring. Not a real winner. Could be looked back on fondly one day if Liss makes something of himself, but today it's not really doing work.
13. New Mutants -- Is it 1989? Why am I reading about Dani and Illyana? Oh right, because Abnett and Lanning are writing it. This is a pretty solid book. I like the idea that it's their job to clean-up all of the X-Men's hanging plot threads. HA! Good luck. Hope you guys signed a long-term contract. The recent Nate Grey arc was pretty tight. I think Candyman is super lame, but I liked this arc, I'm liking the characters, and I think the book is promising.
14. Journey Into Mystery -- Aforementioned. It's pretty good, actually. As terrible as Gillen's run on Thor was, and it was the worst major Marvel book for a few months, this story is solid. Kid Loki is just great. He's like tiny evil. And you know he'd going to pork the heroes eventually, but just like watching Lex screw everyone over in Action Comics with Cornell was great, so is this book about Loki boning Mephisto and Hela. Really enjoyed it so far.
15. Powers -- Is this book, what, quarterly now? I get that you're busy making the TV show, but get with the program or put the book on hiatus and let people know. I never have any idea what is going on when I'm reading these, honestly. Too far spaced out. Looking forward to the FX series though. Should be epic good.
16. Punisher -- Yessssssss. A standard Marvel U Punisher where he isn't a monster, just an avenging angel. Welcome back Greg Rucka. Issue one was awesome. Best Punisher in a long time, like since the first arc of Aaron's Max series. Maybe even better than that. Time will tell. This is a must-buy book though. Rucka has done some of the decade's best comic book work, and Punisher promises to be up there.
17. Punisher Max -- Aaron and Dillon. It's a dream team. Maybe they'll re-launch Preacher next. This book is always great because you can tell that Aaron is dreaming up awful shit to happen to Frank just because he knows that Dillon can deliver it is horrifying detail. I love Dillon's facial expressions. He's just a master. Read this book.
18. Deadpool Max -- This book is a take on Deadpool that I just cant get enough of. Being told from the standpoint of the sidekick character that they've invented is a strong plot device, since the story from the inside of Deadpool's brain has been over-done. I enjoy this book and especially Kyle Baker's art.
19. Secret Avengers -- Is it written by Ed Brubaker? Yes. Then it is awesome. Is it super secret spy stuff w Steve Rogers? Yes. Awesome. Does it have a bunch of badass chicks and War Machine? Yes. Then it is awesome. Adding the Prince of Orphans is almost unfair. God I love the Immortal Weapons and the Iron Fist universe. I am so pumped about him getting his own book back soon. Ok, this book rocks. Must read.
20. Secret Warriors -- The best book of the last 2+ years, barring none. It's over now, so start your reading, complete collection people. Prepare to freak out. Hickman, this is no exaggeration, might be the best of this crop of immensely talented comic book writers we're reading today. This is no knock on talents like Brubaker, Fraction, Bendis, Millar, Ellis, Morrison, Johns, Aaron, and others, but Hickman is crazy. Every word he puts on paper is awesome. I am floored at his talent. This is the best Nick Fury book since Steranko. The ending is fantastic and deserving. Hopefully they're back sooner rather than later.
21. S.H.I.E.L.D. -- This book is so weird. Still, I'm drawn to every panel, every image, every word. I suspect it will be studied intently when it is done for clues as to where the Marvel U is going for many many years. The secret ancient history of the Marvel U is here! And it's in Jonathon Hickman's able hands. Beautifully rendered, expertly narrated, love it.
22. Red Wing -- Hickman's new mini. Has a Fear Agent turn to it. Space faring time travel. Generational battles. Identity crisis. Has a real Pax Romana feel to it. Does anyone get the sense that Hickman is really struggling with some quantum mechanics and identity issues? Fortunately, being a science nerd, I love this type of stuff. It feels very cutting edge/bleeding edge of philosophy of science to me, which excites me deeply. Everything he writes is so awesomely well done.
23. Strange Adventures -- Wow. That's all. This is a one-off book that everyone has to read. Some day it will be impossible to find. You should get one while you can. A lot of industry names doing sci-fi short stories. It's very 70's anthology-like and contains excellent little tidbits of great work. Only one bad story out of like 10 is pretty good. A+. Best single book I've read in a long time.
24. Strange Tales -- Indie artists and writers on major Marvel products. I love it. I don't read a lot of indie stuff, really. I get some graphic novels by certain folks I know I can trust. But a lot of it I just expect to be sad bastard stuff, so I shy away. This is a forum for those lesser known talents to mess around in the Marvel sandbox and it works. Works like a charm. Strongly rec.
25. Superboy -- Jeff Lemire. I have to admit, looking at Sweet Tooth, I expected it to be trash and I didn't expect anything from his run on Superboy except a couple of issues, and bad ones at that. I read Sweet Tooth, I like it, and I love this. He gave Superboy a little core of friends with roles to play in his adventures. He is developing a relationship with some mainstay DC villains. He produced a big picture story from an obscure old villain that will now have a strong connection to Conor. I really really like this book. 2nd best DC book on the racks. Only Action Comics is better.
26. Supergirl -- No consistent creative team is killing a promising book. Both of the last two teams (Sterling and the guy that followed him) did solid work. The new team might too. But they're rolling the dice. Supergirl is not a strong product conceptually. If you have a team getting the job done, keep them around for a few arcs. The inconsistency here is just going to harm the book long-term. Who is excited about Michael Green taking over after the new 52 starts? Right, no one.
27. Superman -- Out of frying pan, into the artist as a writer. Straczynski to Perez. I don't know what to say. Maybe they just hate this book. Maybe no one wants to write it. I dunno. But J. Michael has been bad and I expect worse from George. What is the deal with DC's love for ancient writers? Byrne, Levitz, Marz, now Perez. These doods are not the answer to Marvel's exclusive contracts. What is the answer? Get some Warner Brothers money and pay the people. Follow the Image books, see what's working, and snatch up their talent. Jonathon Layman of Chew fame is still out there. You should go after him. But, new 52 Superman is promising to be a lame follow-up to the existing lame book. Cancel it.
28. Spider-Man -- He's back, baby. After a few years of floundering stories and like 100 issues a year, ASM is back in the hands of Dan Slott writing a bi-monthly big arc w Humberto Ramos on pencils. Spider-Island seems like a pretty cool idea, even if some dood named the Jackal (who I've never even heard of) is apparently the impetus for it. I'm looking forward to some of the spin-offs too, especially Cloak and Dagger, a couple of my favs from the 80's (and written by Nick Spencer).
29. Thunderbolts -- Yeah, very yeah. Jeff to the Parker. I left him off of that list of awesome writing talents, but he belongs on there. He's really strong. This book is a top 10'er. Interesting characters who aren't overexposed (except Cage, who is everywhere, I presume because he is black and Marvel is pushing diversity). Great pencils, for the most part (some switching up lately). Strong story-driven tales. Great multi-plotline stories. There's a lot to like here. I think it's Marvels best non-Avengers team book, and that is including ALL X-Titles.
30. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents -- Like I've said, I'm not crowning Nick Spencer just yet. This book wasn't terrible, but it was very mundane. I think maybe that's what people think is so impressive about him. He tells a Bendis like "between the panels" story. But he is no Bendis. He is overusing dialogue and under-using breakdowns. He is working with an artist here who is, frankly, just better than he is. And he is drowning in it. It's hurt the book. I've dropped it, just like I did with his creator owned Morning Glories.
Ok, well, I know I'm short all of the Ultimate line, Walking Dead, and the Feared and Hated crowd, but I promise I will get to them shortly. There is a lot to talk about, obviously, including DoUSM and Schism, so I'll be back soon to do so. I'd also like to talk about the summer movies, esp. X-Men and Cap.
1. Generation Hope -- Okay, I've knocked Kieron Gillen a lot here. I'm not sold yet. But, this book turned a corner when it go some new folks on the art and has started to improve. His work on Journey into Mystery and even Uncanny has been solid. I'm going to give it another try. The Teon solo issue was really quite good and explained a seemingly unidimensional character in a complex way that made him more identifiable and much deeper than before. I'm starting to like this book ok. The Schism tie-in from last week was strong.
2. Hellboy -- Always exciting when Mignola is writing and Corben is doing the art. I love Richard Corben, period. There is big payoff at the end of The Fury that is unlike anything we've seen for Hellboy universe characters in a very long time. I can't wait to see what comes next.
3. Invincible -- I finally dropped this book. It was one of the great indie superhero books of all time for around 50 issues. Kirkman's focus must have been overtaken by the TV show and his executive producing requirements, because the book has simply fallen into disrepair. The dialogue has fallen off and the attention to plot details has stalled. I'm sorry to see it go, but I vote with my pocketbook on things like this.
4. Iron Man -- Still great. I can't believe that just a few years after Civil War I like Tony Stark again. Let's be honest: he was the "villain" of that storyline. And he was a villain to Cap, which is a real bad guy, you know? But, today, largely due to Fraction's writing, I like the man in the armor again and I love this book. The American Steel storyline wasn't the finest hour for this book, but the Fear Itself dwarf issues have been great. IM looks like a real hero again, but with some pathos we can identify with for a billionaire genius drunk. I really like the direction of this book. More Pepper, please.
5. Iron Man 2.0 -- A lot of people think Nick Spencer is the 2nd coming. I'm not ready to give him the keys to the kingdom just yet, but his work on this book has been very good. I like Rhodey. I like that some of the Immortal Iron Fist characters are showing up in here (like the other Immortal Weapons, all of whom are cool) and that it's generally a 70's revival book. It's just cool. I think this book is really promising and deserves a bump in profile and sales.
6. Iron Age -- Meh, not what I was hoping for. Some of it is cool, but it's mostly a trashy gimmick book. I've been pretty clear that I'm a sucker for 70's Marvel, and they've been really pushing that era's products, but this book is just not really very good. I wanted it to be; I really did. Not recommending.
7. Justice titles -- Dropped. Dead. I'm getting the Johns/Lee book, but they're not going to be on it for long and we all know that. I suspect 6 issues. If we get to 12, it will be a treat. I'm not holding my breath.
8. Kick-Ass 2 -- Well, the 3rd issue just came out 9 months later, so there's that. Who knows? I'm sure it's good, but buying the loose issues in this is doing nothing for me really. Should just have collected it in trade. Oh Millar, you rich bastard.
9. Where is Warren Ellis? No, seriously, someone find him and make him write a comic book. Sorry, just a quick aside.
10. Mighty Thor -- Really a great book. Fraction and beautiful art. This is really the Volstagg book, and that is not a bad thing. I still say that one of the many Thor universe books should be an Oeming book, but I'm happy with what Fraction has done on these books. I bet he's mighty (no pun intended) proud of them too.
11. Moon Knight -- WTF. Moon Knight, in a book, and it doesn't suck. I'm still a little confused by all of the turning into other superheros or at least looking like them thing (I get that he has multiple personalities, but is that an art trick or a real thing?), but I still like this book. Because of the art, which I love, it reminds me of Alias, and that was a great time for comics, Bendis, and Marvel in general. Good read.
12. Mystery Men -- David Liss, writer of Black Panther and pulp novels, on a pulp era Marvel backstory using characters we don't know about yet. I'll say it: he's not ready. This book isn't bad, The villain seems cool. Some of the plot devices seem ok. But the general tone of the book is too mellow and the dialogue is, frankly, boring. Not a real winner. Could be looked back on fondly one day if Liss makes something of himself, but today it's not really doing work.
13. New Mutants -- Is it 1989? Why am I reading about Dani and Illyana? Oh right, because Abnett and Lanning are writing it. This is a pretty solid book. I like the idea that it's their job to clean-up all of the X-Men's hanging plot threads. HA! Good luck. Hope you guys signed a long-term contract. The recent Nate Grey arc was pretty tight. I think Candyman is super lame, but I liked this arc, I'm liking the characters, and I think the book is promising.
14. Journey Into Mystery -- Aforementioned. It's pretty good, actually. As terrible as Gillen's run on Thor was, and it was the worst major Marvel book for a few months, this story is solid. Kid Loki is just great. He's like tiny evil. And you know he'd going to pork the heroes eventually, but just like watching Lex screw everyone over in Action Comics with Cornell was great, so is this book about Loki boning Mephisto and Hela. Really enjoyed it so far.
15. Powers -- Is this book, what, quarterly now? I get that you're busy making the TV show, but get with the program or put the book on hiatus and let people know. I never have any idea what is going on when I'm reading these, honestly. Too far spaced out. Looking forward to the FX series though. Should be epic good.
16. Punisher -- Yessssssss. A standard Marvel U Punisher where he isn't a monster, just an avenging angel. Welcome back Greg Rucka. Issue one was awesome. Best Punisher in a long time, like since the first arc of Aaron's Max series. Maybe even better than that. Time will tell. This is a must-buy book though. Rucka has done some of the decade's best comic book work, and Punisher promises to be up there.
17. Punisher Max -- Aaron and Dillon. It's a dream team. Maybe they'll re-launch Preacher next. This book is always great because you can tell that Aaron is dreaming up awful shit to happen to Frank just because he knows that Dillon can deliver it is horrifying detail. I love Dillon's facial expressions. He's just a master. Read this book.
18. Deadpool Max -- This book is a take on Deadpool that I just cant get enough of. Being told from the standpoint of the sidekick character that they've invented is a strong plot device, since the story from the inside of Deadpool's brain has been over-done. I enjoy this book and especially Kyle Baker's art.
19. Secret Avengers -- Is it written by Ed Brubaker? Yes. Then it is awesome. Is it super secret spy stuff w Steve Rogers? Yes. Awesome. Does it have a bunch of badass chicks and War Machine? Yes. Then it is awesome. Adding the Prince of Orphans is almost unfair. God I love the Immortal Weapons and the Iron Fist universe. I am so pumped about him getting his own book back soon. Ok, this book rocks. Must read.
20. Secret Warriors -- The best book of the last 2+ years, barring none. It's over now, so start your reading, complete collection people. Prepare to freak out. Hickman, this is no exaggeration, might be the best of this crop of immensely talented comic book writers we're reading today. This is no knock on talents like Brubaker, Fraction, Bendis, Millar, Ellis, Morrison, Johns, Aaron, and others, but Hickman is crazy. Every word he puts on paper is awesome. I am floored at his talent. This is the best Nick Fury book since Steranko. The ending is fantastic and deserving. Hopefully they're back sooner rather than later.
21. S.H.I.E.L.D. -- This book is so weird. Still, I'm drawn to every panel, every image, every word. I suspect it will be studied intently when it is done for clues as to where the Marvel U is going for many many years. The secret ancient history of the Marvel U is here! And it's in Jonathon Hickman's able hands. Beautifully rendered, expertly narrated, love it.
22. Red Wing -- Hickman's new mini. Has a Fear Agent turn to it. Space faring time travel. Generational battles. Identity crisis. Has a real Pax Romana feel to it. Does anyone get the sense that Hickman is really struggling with some quantum mechanics and identity issues? Fortunately, being a science nerd, I love this type of stuff. It feels very cutting edge/bleeding edge of philosophy of science to me, which excites me deeply. Everything he writes is so awesomely well done.
23. Strange Adventures -- Wow. That's all. This is a one-off book that everyone has to read. Some day it will be impossible to find. You should get one while you can. A lot of industry names doing sci-fi short stories. It's very 70's anthology-like and contains excellent little tidbits of great work. Only one bad story out of like 10 is pretty good. A+. Best single book I've read in a long time.
24. Strange Tales -- Indie artists and writers on major Marvel products. I love it. I don't read a lot of indie stuff, really. I get some graphic novels by certain folks I know I can trust. But a lot of it I just expect to be sad bastard stuff, so I shy away. This is a forum for those lesser known talents to mess around in the Marvel sandbox and it works. Works like a charm. Strongly rec.
25. Superboy -- Jeff Lemire. I have to admit, looking at Sweet Tooth, I expected it to be trash and I didn't expect anything from his run on Superboy except a couple of issues, and bad ones at that. I read Sweet Tooth, I like it, and I love this. He gave Superboy a little core of friends with roles to play in his adventures. He is developing a relationship with some mainstay DC villains. He produced a big picture story from an obscure old villain that will now have a strong connection to Conor. I really really like this book. 2nd best DC book on the racks. Only Action Comics is better.
26. Supergirl -- No consistent creative team is killing a promising book. Both of the last two teams (Sterling and the guy that followed him) did solid work. The new team might too. But they're rolling the dice. Supergirl is not a strong product conceptually. If you have a team getting the job done, keep them around for a few arcs. The inconsistency here is just going to harm the book long-term. Who is excited about Michael Green taking over after the new 52 starts? Right, no one.
27. Superman -- Out of frying pan, into the artist as a writer. Straczynski to Perez. I don't know what to say. Maybe they just hate this book. Maybe no one wants to write it. I dunno. But J. Michael has been bad and I expect worse from George. What is the deal with DC's love for ancient writers? Byrne, Levitz, Marz, now Perez. These doods are not the answer to Marvel's exclusive contracts. What is the answer? Get some Warner Brothers money and pay the people. Follow the Image books, see what's working, and snatch up their talent. Jonathon Layman of Chew fame is still out there. You should go after him. But, new 52 Superman is promising to be a lame follow-up to the existing lame book. Cancel it.
28. Spider-Man -- He's back, baby. After a few years of floundering stories and like 100 issues a year, ASM is back in the hands of Dan Slott writing a bi-monthly big arc w Humberto Ramos on pencils. Spider-Island seems like a pretty cool idea, even if some dood named the Jackal (who I've never even heard of) is apparently the impetus for it. I'm looking forward to some of the spin-offs too, especially Cloak and Dagger, a couple of my favs from the 80's (and written by Nick Spencer).
29. Thunderbolts -- Yeah, very yeah. Jeff to the Parker. I left him off of that list of awesome writing talents, but he belongs on there. He's really strong. This book is a top 10'er. Interesting characters who aren't overexposed (except Cage, who is everywhere, I presume because he is black and Marvel is pushing diversity). Great pencils, for the most part (some switching up lately). Strong story-driven tales. Great multi-plotline stories. There's a lot to like here. I think it's Marvels best non-Avengers team book, and that is including ALL X-Titles.
30. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents -- Like I've said, I'm not crowning Nick Spencer just yet. This book wasn't terrible, but it was very mundane. I think maybe that's what people think is so impressive about him. He tells a Bendis like "between the panels" story. But he is no Bendis. He is overusing dialogue and under-using breakdowns. He is working with an artist here who is, frankly, just better than he is. And he is drowning in it. It's hurt the book. I've dropped it, just like I did with his creator owned Morning Glories.
Ok, well, I know I'm short all of the Ultimate line, Walking Dead, and the Feared and Hated crowd, but I promise I will get to them shortly. There is a lot to talk about, obviously, including DoUSM and Schism, so I'll be back soon to do so. I'd also like to talk about the summer movies, esp. X-Men and Cap.
Where we're at: Part 1
I guess I should write this now before all of the craziness at DC starts. Honestly, most DC books are nothing to write about just now (in spite of the DC editorial staff's attempt to get people to care about the pre-new 52 events - rofl). Marvel is pretty busy though w Fear Itself and Schism going on. I have also been majorly behind in the Ultimate line (DoSM) and X-line (I hadn't even read Age of X as of my last post).
I'm going to try and be comprehensive but do this from memory. I read a huge stack of comics when I returned home from summer work, so this is pretty fresh in my mind:
1. Action Comics -- The best run on this book since they introduced Superman I'd guess. I love Paul Cornell. His addition to the new 52 is, imo, the most promising part of the whole re-launch. It will be a step down to add Grant Morrison to this book in Sept. There, I said it. You know if you have been reading this book, you agree.
2. Astonishing Thor -- I really liked it. I should have read it all in one setting, but this is one of the better Thor stories I can think of. Top 5 probably. Of course, around 500 issues of Thor are unreadable. That may be generous, really.
3. Astonishing X-Men -- Another one of the Marvel cautionary tales. This title has been mismanaged. I assume Ellis left them in the lurch here, but you don't let a flagship, industry best title flounder like this. Rotating stories on a semi-weekly basis is not good direction. Also, both stories suck. Weak.
4. Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine -- The least impressive Jason Aaron work around. Kubert looks good though. A sort of 90's-ish premise didn't create a real impressive narrative though. I guess it was written a bit better than average, but plotted poorly.
5. Avengers & New Avengers -- Love it. Only grouped because both are doing the highlights of Fear Itself issues right now, so there is some unity to the stories. I like that Bendis is featuring the female characters. The upgrade for Mockingbird is nice. I was an old West Coast fan, so I always liked her and she has floundered a bit since coming back. The upcoming showdown w Spiderwoman over Hawkeye should be fun. Oh Hawkeye, will you ever learn. Victoria Hand -- great character. Best new Marvel invention in a while.
6. Batman -- Tony Daniel is not really killing it here. This is a mediocre effort I'd say. It's not bad, but it's not good. B-
7. Batman and Robin -- Is solid but not hitting home runs. I think I've previously been pretty clear about how I feel about what Morrison has done w the Bat. It's not my favorite. The new rogues haven't really done much for me. The best thing about this book, and the whole bat-family right now, is Damien.
8. Batman Inc. -- This book is decent because ever issue is new and fresh with some special international bat nerd involved. I don't hate Morrison, and some of these stories are quite good, it's just my general feeling that Batman can be better and should.
9. Detective comics -- The best of the Bat books. The Scott Snyder and Jock story -- about Gordon's son nonetheless -- is one of the better recent Bat plots. I really enjoyed it. This is promising given that this team will be retaining control through the transition to the new 52.
10. Dark Knight -- Not terrible like you'd think. It's probably slightly better than Batman Inc. Written by an artist is usually a sign a book will be unreadable. David Finch is a serviceable storyteller, I'd say. It looks great too. I'm not a big Etrigan fan really, but the first arc is ok, which is a shock I'd think.
11. Black Panther -- Meh, close to losing me. If I didn't like the art so much, I'd prolly have dropped this book. I do enjoy that pulp style though, so I'll give Liss a bit longer to get a handle on the narrative. We shall see. Worth it for the visuals imo.
12. Captain America -- Anything by Brubaker is special. The new books are both great. The newest arc of Cap (as opposed to Cap and Bucky) is really special. This new villain (frenemy?) is awesome, creative, and potentially uber. I know I go all fangirl and squeal every time that Brubaker writes something, but he is just so f'ing good. Tee-hee. The pencils on both books are strong.
13. Chew -- A very solid piece of work. We're on, what, the fifth arc now? It's solid. Funny stuff, always love the backgrounding in the art, creative premises. It will be interesting to see how he weaves the on-going elements about vamps into the story over time. Overall, top level work.
14. Daredevil -- I haven't been this excited about a new artist in a long time. Paolo Rivera is the real deal. His paneling reminds me of Steranko; it's incredibly creative. You heard it hear first: he is the next big thing. If he can deal w the demands of a regular monthly book, he will have a long, strong future in comics. Waid is also the right guy to reintegrate DD into the regular Marvel U after a pretty long hiatus. Love this book.
15. FF -- Hickman. Nuff said! The newest boss of comics. He is above all of them today imo: even Bru and Bendis. FF is a tour de force. For the first time in a long time, it's the greatest superhero comic book in the world (only bc Secret Warriors, also by Hickman, just ended). Spidey, new costumes, a big family, Dragon Man, etc. Gah, I'm just going to gush. Read it.
16. Fables -- Powering on into the future. This book is the energizer bunny of comics. Willingham is no spring chicken, but he continually produces one of the highest quality books and pushes the mood and content of the book to new heights. Deserves to be read.
17. Fear Itself -- Solid work all around. No spoilers, but the big moments are huge and the details are a good payoff for long-time fans. I remember sitting around reading an Iron Fist book and saying to myself "this guy is the truth". Matt Fraction is now in the big time and deservedly so. A massive Thor cross-over is not one of those things you'd have expected just a few years ago. Now we've had two. Nice. I'm only reading the X-Force spin-off, but it's solid so far.
18. Flash -- The book Geoff Johns was born to write. If he leaves this book again, it will be a tragedy. He should write it for 40 yrs or so. Strong pencils too, like the Scott Kollins days. I enjoy this book immensely.
19. Flashpoint -- Ok, I'm gonna try not to alarm people here. Flashpoint is a solid idea. The main book itself is done well. Johns and Kubert, what could really go wrong? Well, there you have it: a smooth marketing trick by DC. Editorial demands. And now we will have a new 52 that, I'll be honest, I have some real concerns about. A number of these creative teams are uninspired. A lot of the spinoffs, while not helmed by the folks who'll be writing the main books, are terrible, frankly. I'm not sure I like this new universe much. A whole year of this could be a real disaster. To be fair, for some of the major DC books, the status quo is terrible so there is not much to lose, but in some instances, there is a real risk that everything gets worse. Ron Marz? Really? That's your creative solution to things. Nicieza? I don't think so. Of course, Aquaman and Wonder Woman couldn't give a book away today, so anything new can only help them. JLA and JSA have been run into the ground. But, what about the Lantern books? Action Comics? Flash itself? I have some concerns about the loss of continuity for some of the better DC titles. That said, the continuity for the Bat books is the right move and should stabilize things. The Azarello Risso Batman mini was great. Cornell is doing more stuff after the new 52 launch, and that's more than positive imo. Stormwatch is coming home to the main DCU, which should be cool. Grifter too. All in all, I don't expect this to "fix" things for DC, but a shot in the arm may be just what they need to start trending up as opposed to down. Over time, though, DC has a systemic problem that they don't have the quality in writing that they need to sustain a whole company, and I think they're underutilizing some of their people (or at a minimum mismanaging them) and overutilizing some others (like Johns, who has to be stressed out like crazy). Ok, well, that was a diatribe. Had to be said.
20. Herc -- Sweet. Always good. Pak is excellent. I really like how this book has developed over the years. Who'd have thought? Great character, accurately depicted, series but not heavy -- good use of humor and levity. I really like Herc.
21. Heroes for Hire -- Guilty pleasure book every month. It's a Bronze Age throwback. Lots of 70's characters, but with writing. Abnett and Lanning are a really proficient team. This book is always tight.
22. Hulk -- I dropped Incredible. I'll read the new Aaron book, but otherwise have little interest in Banner today. But, Thunderbolt RULK is so awesome. Such a stupid idea, so well executed. Jeff Parker is on the short list. 6th best writer in comics? And in a time when comics are pretty well-written too. He should be very proud of what he's doing here. I love the pencils too. It's like Hulk, but red and stuck in the world of Criminal.
23. Green Arrow -- I just realized my Flashpoint rant made me skip an entire letter. Ha. Anyhow, Green Arrow is going away. I'm torn. I thought Krul did a good job with cleaning up after Brightest Day was dropped into Ollie's lap. I actually think he is a promising young writer for DC, comparable to Norman's own Sterling Gates. However, the book floundered after the big Swamp Thing reveal (wow -- still reeling from the implications, and the reintroduction of Constantine into DCU proper). I love Ollie. I'd like to see him make it back soon and done well.
24. Green Lanterns -- Eh, these books are solid. Lots of internal GL politics. All of the Lanterns trying to work together, get along with the Corps, the Guardians, the DCU. I like it pretty well. I have a certain sense that where it goes next is not entirely set. I think the book could use some lightening up. It's been awfully dark for a long time. I'd like to see some superheroism that isn't against pure evil, but maybe some just normal ole bad guys. It's a solid book though.
That's it for now. More soon.
I'm going to try and be comprehensive but do this from memory. I read a huge stack of comics when I returned home from summer work, so this is pretty fresh in my mind:
1. Action Comics -- The best run on this book since they introduced Superman I'd guess. I love Paul Cornell. His addition to the new 52 is, imo, the most promising part of the whole re-launch. It will be a step down to add Grant Morrison to this book in Sept. There, I said it. You know if you have been reading this book, you agree.
2. Astonishing Thor -- I really liked it. I should have read it all in one setting, but this is one of the better Thor stories I can think of. Top 5 probably. Of course, around 500 issues of Thor are unreadable. That may be generous, really.
3. Astonishing X-Men -- Another one of the Marvel cautionary tales. This title has been mismanaged. I assume Ellis left them in the lurch here, but you don't let a flagship, industry best title flounder like this. Rotating stories on a semi-weekly basis is not good direction. Also, both stories suck. Weak.
4. Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine -- The least impressive Jason Aaron work around. Kubert looks good though. A sort of 90's-ish premise didn't create a real impressive narrative though. I guess it was written a bit better than average, but plotted poorly.
5. Avengers & New Avengers -- Love it. Only grouped because both are doing the highlights of Fear Itself issues right now, so there is some unity to the stories. I like that Bendis is featuring the female characters. The upgrade for Mockingbird is nice. I was an old West Coast fan, so I always liked her and she has floundered a bit since coming back. The upcoming showdown w Spiderwoman over Hawkeye should be fun. Oh Hawkeye, will you ever learn. Victoria Hand -- great character. Best new Marvel invention in a while.
6. Batman -- Tony Daniel is not really killing it here. This is a mediocre effort I'd say. It's not bad, but it's not good. B-
7. Batman and Robin -- Is solid but not hitting home runs. I think I've previously been pretty clear about how I feel about what Morrison has done w the Bat. It's not my favorite. The new rogues haven't really done much for me. The best thing about this book, and the whole bat-family right now, is Damien.
8. Batman Inc. -- This book is decent because ever issue is new and fresh with some special international bat nerd involved. I don't hate Morrison, and some of these stories are quite good, it's just my general feeling that Batman can be better and should.
9. Detective comics -- The best of the Bat books. The Scott Snyder and Jock story -- about Gordon's son nonetheless -- is one of the better recent Bat plots. I really enjoyed it. This is promising given that this team will be retaining control through the transition to the new 52.
10. Dark Knight -- Not terrible like you'd think. It's probably slightly better than Batman Inc. Written by an artist is usually a sign a book will be unreadable. David Finch is a serviceable storyteller, I'd say. It looks great too. I'm not a big Etrigan fan really, but the first arc is ok, which is a shock I'd think.
11. Black Panther -- Meh, close to losing me. If I didn't like the art so much, I'd prolly have dropped this book. I do enjoy that pulp style though, so I'll give Liss a bit longer to get a handle on the narrative. We shall see. Worth it for the visuals imo.
12. Captain America -- Anything by Brubaker is special. The new books are both great. The newest arc of Cap (as opposed to Cap and Bucky) is really special. This new villain (frenemy?) is awesome, creative, and potentially uber. I know I go all fangirl and squeal every time that Brubaker writes something, but he is just so f'ing good. Tee-hee. The pencils on both books are strong.
13. Chew -- A very solid piece of work. We're on, what, the fifth arc now? It's solid. Funny stuff, always love the backgrounding in the art, creative premises. It will be interesting to see how he weaves the on-going elements about vamps into the story over time. Overall, top level work.
14. Daredevil -- I haven't been this excited about a new artist in a long time. Paolo Rivera is the real deal. His paneling reminds me of Steranko; it's incredibly creative. You heard it hear first: he is the next big thing. If he can deal w the demands of a regular monthly book, he will have a long, strong future in comics. Waid is also the right guy to reintegrate DD into the regular Marvel U after a pretty long hiatus. Love this book.
15. FF -- Hickman. Nuff said! The newest boss of comics. He is above all of them today imo: even Bru and Bendis. FF is a tour de force. For the first time in a long time, it's the greatest superhero comic book in the world (only bc Secret Warriors, also by Hickman, just ended). Spidey, new costumes, a big family, Dragon Man, etc. Gah, I'm just going to gush. Read it.
16. Fables -- Powering on into the future. This book is the energizer bunny of comics. Willingham is no spring chicken, but he continually produces one of the highest quality books and pushes the mood and content of the book to new heights. Deserves to be read.
17. Fear Itself -- Solid work all around. No spoilers, but the big moments are huge and the details are a good payoff for long-time fans. I remember sitting around reading an Iron Fist book and saying to myself "this guy is the truth". Matt Fraction is now in the big time and deservedly so. A massive Thor cross-over is not one of those things you'd have expected just a few years ago. Now we've had two. Nice. I'm only reading the X-Force spin-off, but it's solid so far.
18. Flash -- The book Geoff Johns was born to write. If he leaves this book again, it will be a tragedy. He should write it for 40 yrs or so. Strong pencils too, like the Scott Kollins days. I enjoy this book immensely.
19. Flashpoint -- Ok, I'm gonna try not to alarm people here. Flashpoint is a solid idea. The main book itself is done well. Johns and Kubert, what could really go wrong? Well, there you have it: a smooth marketing trick by DC. Editorial demands. And now we will have a new 52 that, I'll be honest, I have some real concerns about. A number of these creative teams are uninspired. A lot of the spinoffs, while not helmed by the folks who'll be writing the main books, are terrible, frankly. I'm not sure I like this new universe much. A whole year of this could be a real disaster. To be fair, for some of the major DC books, the status quo is terrible so there is not much to lose, but in some instances, there is a real risk that everything gets worse. Ron Marz? Really? That's your creative solution to things. Nicieza? I don't think so. Of course, Aquaman and Wonder Woman couldn't give a book away today, so anything new can only help them. JLA and JSA have been run into the ground. But, what about the Lantern books? Action Comics? Flash itself? I have some concerns about the loss of continuity for some of the better DC titles. That said, the continuity for the Bat books is the right move and should stabilize things. The Azarello Risso Batman mini was great. Cornell is doing more stuff after the new 52 launch, and that's more than positive imo. Stormwatch is coming home to the main DCU, which should be cool. Grifter too. All in all, I don't expect this to "fix" things for DC, but a shot in the arm may be just what they need to start trending up as opposed to down. Over time, though, DC has a systemic problem that they don't have the quality in writing that they need to sustain a whole company, and I think they're underutilizing some of their people (or at a minimum mismanaging them) and overutilizing some others (like Johns, who has to be stressed out like crazy). Ok, well, that was a diatribe. Had to be said.
20. Herc -- Sweet. Always good. Pak is excellent. I really like how this book has developed over the years. Who'd have thought? Great character, accurately depicted, series but not heavy -- good use of humor and levity. I really like Herc.
21. Heroes for Hire -- Guilty pleasure book every month. It's a Bronze Age throwback. Lots of 70's characters, but with writing. Abnett and Lanning are a really proficient team. This book is always tight.
22. Hulk -- I dropped Incredible. I'll read the new Aaron book, but otherwise have little interest in Banner today. But, Thunderbolt RULK is so awesome. Such a stupid idea, so well executed. Jeff Parker is on the short list. 6th best writer in comics? And in a time when comics are pretty well-written too. He should be very proud of what he's doing here. I love the pencils too. It's like Hulk, but red and stuck in the world of Criminal.
23. Green Arrow -- I just realized my Flashpoint rant made me skip an entire letter. Ha. Anyhow, Green Arrow is going away. I'm torn. I thought Krul did a good job with cleaning up after Brightest Day was dropped into Ollie's lap. I actually think he is a promising young writer for DC, comparable to Norman's own Sterling Gates. However, the book floundered after the big Swamp Thing reveal (wow -- still reeling from the implications, and the reintroduction of Constantine into DCU proper). I love Ollie. I'd like to see him make it back soon and done well.
24. Green Lanterns -- Eh, these books are solid. Lots of internal GL politics. All of the Lanterns trying to work together, get along with the Corps, the Guardians, the DCU. I like it pretty well. I have a certain sense that where it goes next is not entirely set. I think the book could use some lightening up. It's been awfully dark for a long time. I'd like to see some superheroism that isn't against pure evil, but maybe some just normal ole bad guys. It's a solid book though.
That's it for now. More soon.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Exiles
Can we start a movement to get this book back? It's not like Judd Winick is busy. That's all. Write your Congressman. This is another reason I have some concerns about Joe Q. I think this book was ruined unnecessarily. It should be easy to keep fresh and awesome. Bring. It. Back.
Summer comics catch-up
Okay, this has been a long time coming. I have a lot to write about and not that much time to do it in. Let's see if my debater efficiency can pay off here:
1. Action Comics is the best superhero comic in the world again for the first time in a very long time -- like since the 50's. Paul Cornell is amazing. I told you so. The focus on Luthor has paid off. The anniversary issue was strong (especially for a team writing project). And did I mention Paul Cornell is a genius. If you haven't read Captain Britain and MI:13, you're missing out on one of the 5 best series of the 2000's. I'm not prone to hyperbole. Do it.
2. The Astonishing line is boring. There, I said it. Astonishing Thor is ok but is too big on splash pages. Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine is belabored. The whole line never really became what they were hoping. These are two of the softer books I'm reading and I read a lot of crap. I still get Generation Hope.
3. The Avengers line is overwhelmingly solid. I don't count Avengers Academy. I will claim The Children's Crusade. That's a solid mini. If you aren't anxious to see more Young Avengers, you prolly haven't seen any Young Avengers.
4. The Batman line is weak. Detective Comics is the best of all of them. The David Finch WRITTEN Dark Knight series is a close second. The rest is bad. I'm sorry; Morrison is fading for me. I think he's phoning it in. Batman with David Hine is just terrible. Fuck Azrael.
5. The pay-off in Brightest Day was awesome. The last two issues were jaw-dropping to me. The reveals -- no spoilers -- were HUGE imo and very very exciting to a big fan of both characters in their classic form. Any real 80's DC fan should be super thrilled about this.
6. The pencils on the new Black Panther series are awesome. I'm not sure about the story direction.
7. If there were 100 issues of Brubaker's Captain America published every month, I would read all of them. I can't get enough. Secret Avengers is the same to me. They're both Cap books imo and I love them the same.
8. Daken and X-23 -- uhm, yeah. No. Daken was strong as a solo, non-integrated psychological piece. Felt like Wolverine meets American Psycho. Combo with the rest of the Marvel U. and I'm already bored.
9. Daredevil: Reborn -- withholding judgement. I like the look. Waid should bring the book back to fundamentals, but I'm not sure the DD fundamentals are that good. I liked the darker, more risky approach the book took for the last ten years. We'll see where this ends up. I suspect around 20-25 issues and we get a new creator and a re-launch due to flagging sales.
10. Fables: the most consistent book of the last 10 years, bar none. This will go down as one of the best pieces of graphic storytelling ever. Please, never end Fables.
11. Fantastic Four/FF -- I trust Jonathon Hickman. I have loved the adventure so far. Real risks, real change, great for the first family of comics. Love this book. Top 10 imo. White costumes, questionable. Spidey, no questionable. Perfect fit. Great for both books.
12. Speaking of ASM, this book is getting far better. I love the pencils, I support the new direction for the stories. This book has been team written and editor driven for too long. Let's get one book a month and some solid story-telling.
13. Generation Hope -- The worst book I buy. I am majorly skeptical of putting Kieron Gillen on Uncanny as a result. Very very fearful. I nearly dropped it. His run on Thor was epically bad. This book is pure trash.
14. Green Lantern -- group it -- uhm, ok. I'll give it an ok. It's solid, looks good, but not sure I'm up for more gimmicks here. I wish DC would let Geoff Johns just write books instead of tasking him with the big cross-overs. I dont know if it's his best foot forward.
15. Flash -- omg, I love Geoff Johns on Flash. It's awesome. Flash should only always be written by Johns. He has gotten well-known for Green Lantern, but it's obviously not his best stuff. He writes this book passionately and with great humanity. It's awesome. Great art too. 3rd best DC main universe book.
16. Herc -- pretty cool. I loved the Herc series when it took over for Hulk. Not entirely sure about the new series, but it's only two issues in. Urban Herc is pretty good as a concept. I want to know where Cho is, right?
17. Heroes for Hire -- Unsung hero of Marvel. The old book was great; the new book is solid so far. Highly encourage everyone to read both. They're just fun Marvel action books. 70's throwbacks really (hence the title).
18. Incognito -- Makes me hungry for more Criminal (or Sleeper vol. 4). I liked it, but it's not Bru's best stuff. Phillips is always awesome. What a beautiful artist.
19. Infinite Vacation -- One of the best books out there. Top 10 idea. Nick Spencer's best work. You're going to be hearing a lot from him. He's Marvel's new big thing. This book is all quantum mechanics and identity, two things that I'm very very interested in. Every series comic fan has to read it.
20. Invincible -- dropped. That's all I'll say. Robert Kirkman has one book in him it seems. I suspect that Walking Dead tv has been a huge distraction. This book is basically dead imo. R.I.P. one of the best independent superhero books ever.
21.Iron Man -- I like both the Invincible and 2.0 versions. They're solid reads with good art. Nothing flashy, but promising work. Doc Ock and the Sinister Six have always been near the top of my list of villains.
22. Books with Justice in the title -- Well, one of them doesn't suck. It's a pretty big surprise that it's the JLI. Max Lord can drive a book. Some of the best Booster Gold writing ever (low bar). Rocket Red is hilarious (making fun of Russians is always awesome). Justice League is just terrible. I hate every character in the book. Justice Society isn't the worst, but it's close. Teen Titans level.
23. Jimmy Olsen -- speaking of Nick Spencer, pick up this fun one-shot that just came out. A book with some solid writing, good pencil work (the inks aren't great) and introduces Chloe, the annoying girl from Smallville, into the DCU.
24. Kick-Ass 2 -- I'm going to use this to generally rant about Millar. I love his new magazine, but I want comic books. Kick-Ass 2 looks ok, but I suspect that the movie will be better written. I feel a little ripped off. Superior was a cool idea and well executed. Much better imo.
25. Mighty Thor and Moon Knight -- Two brand new books, excited about both. Moon Knight always is a tough sell for me. I hated the character as a kid and I'm still murky on it now. But, Bendis did a good job on reinventing Jessica Drew, maybe he can do the same for Spector. I've been loving Thor since the Oeming book in the mid 2k's.
26. Osborn -- I really enjoyed this series. Some modern American politics, some corporate greed, some dirty rotten Osborn action. The biggest bad of the Marvel U. is retaining that profile even after the Secret Invasion. I love the idea of Osborn as the Luthor of Marvel. It's perfect to me.
27. Superboy and Supergirl -- Lemire on Superboy is fantastic. 2nd best DCU book today. The pencils are very very cool too. Innovative artwork. Supergirl looks great. Chang is knocking it out of the park, but I'm concerned about the writing, or rather the direction. Will Peatty be given time to develop this book? Doubt it.
28. Ultimate Comics -- Besides the Cap book, this line is failing. There's a reason they're killing USM and bringing back UXM; sales are flagging and the line is direction-less. What once seemed to be a sure-fire success is now on the ropes. I haven't read the death of USM yet, so I can't weigh in, but I suspect it's disappointing. This is Bendis's worst work, but I suspect some of it is the event-driven demands of the Marvel editors.
29. Punisher Max -- The shit. That's all. Punisher Max is super good. It should be read. Steve Dillon. Hello.
30. Superman -- Stracyzski had better be working really hard on World War Z bc he is not even trying to write this book. Cancelled.
31. Venom -- I like Rick Remender. Alphabetically, you'll be hearing more about this soon. But this book is good bc he is doing it and he rocks. The pencils are strong, but he is putting together a tight concept and you know it's going to bring Flash/Venom into conflict w Peter/Spidey which is just classic. Great idea for a book.
32. Uncanny X-Force -- Best mutant book today. All of the characters are cool. The writing is good. The action is strong, but there's also a hint of mystery and real sense of the unknown, which is always when the X-Men are at their best. I really like this book. Also looks great.
33. The Walking Dead -- I think that he is going to die. There, I said it. I think the book will fundamentally change focus in the next ten issues and he is going to die. Heroically, maybe? But I think it's possible it will be with a whimper on purpose. To remind us that anyone can die in this post-apocalyptic near future. I think it makes more sense to kill him without theatrics. But we'll see. I think he's going to die. I love this show, uhrm, book.
34. Scalped -- This is one of two books (the other is Sweettooth) that I don't read in loose issues. I'm only on the trades. The last trade was amazing. I liked the book before. I love it with all of my heart now. That last book was a piece of art. Jason Aaron for life. Read Scalped.
35. X-Factor -- 2nd best Marvel mutant book. Incredibly solid. Cool stories. Interesting characters. Not prone to big cross-overs or editorial interferences. I love that it's allowed to change venues without fundamentally relaunching the idea. Thank god they give Peter David a leash and let him run.
36. Secret Warriors, S.H.I.E.L.D. -- SW is one of the greatest series Marvel has ever published. It has some jaw-dropping moments, some moments of gentle humanity, some huge action, new characters, a dude w an eye-patch who fought in WWII and can still beat your ass, and Jonathon Hickman, today's best comic book writer. This book is absolutely perfect. Of course, it's ending. Fuck Joe Q. S.H.I.E.L.D. is so weird but so awesome. I can't wait to re-read everything once it makes sense. It's gorgeous and crazy and everything great comics are about. WTF.
37. Jeff Parker -- Hulk (red one) and Thunderbolts -- I really missed the boat on Parker. I never read X-Men: First Class because I'd never heard of him and didn't expect much to be honest. These two books are very solid. The Rulk is such an obviously idiotic idea that anyone that can make it readable is awesome. This is not only readable, but pretty high up there. Thunderbolts has basically never been bad. Parker writes a mean Man-Thing, I'll say that. This is a top-flight book imo.
A few things I won't cover:
1. Age of X -- Haven't read it. I'm behind on almost all mutant books
2. Uncanny -- I'm behind.
3. X-Men: Schism -- Haven't read it. Excited.
4. Fear Itself -- Too early to judge.
5. Thor -- I will say Journey Into Mystery was a Kieron Gillen book that didn't make me vom, but I am real far behind, like 4 issues, on the main Thor book prior to the name change. I was liking it, though.
General feelings -- Marvel is killing DC. There are like 5 weak Marvel books and like 20 bad DC books. Very few things Marvel is doing doesn't rule. They have all of the writers. Thats the long and short of it. Except Cornell and Johns, they have everyone I'd want to write a book today. Make Mine Marvel.
That said, I have some fears for Marvel as well. Their schedule is becoming too event driven. I'm a little tired of it. I'd like to see a year go by without a big summer cross-over and just do some building. The polybagging thing REALLY irks me. To the point where I wrote my first letter in like 28 years of being a comic book fan. I just think it's the first sign of the apocalypse. Having Disney backing doesn't mean you should try and do what caused you to go bankrupt 15 yrs ago. Killing good books is becoming epidemic. The aforementioned Captain Britain book, the new Secret Warriors book, Iron Fist -- these books are some of the great books of the last ten years and all were killed by Marvel while they let Chris Claremont write terrible X-Men books for 30 issues. With their financial backing, they should have the room to give some people time to develop a story and build a fan base. Also, none of these books received promotion. At all. I read all of the trade journals and Marvel was just not pushing them. That's on their heads, not the writers'.
I'll have a post about movies soon. Thor was awesome. There, I said it.
1. Action Comics is the best superhero comic in the world again for the first time in a very long time -- like since the 50's. Paul Cornell is amazing. I told you so. The focus on Luthor has paid off. The anniversary issue was strong (especially for a team writing project). And did I mention Paul Cornell is a genius. If you haven't read Captain Britain and MI:13, you're missing out on one of the 5 best series of the 2000's. I'm not prone to hyperbole. Do it.
2. The Astonishing line is boring. There, I said it. Astonishing Thor is ok but is too big on splash pages. Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine is belabored. The whole line never really became what they were hoping. These are two of the softer books I'm reading and I read a lot of crap. I still get Generation Hope.
3. The Avengers line is overwhelmingly solid. I don't count Avengers Academy. I will claim The Children's Crusade. That's a solid mini. If you aren't anxious to see more Young Avengers, you prolly haven't seen any Young Avengers.
4. The Batman line is weak. Detective Comics is the best of all of them. The David Finch WRITTEN Dark Knight series is a close second. The rest is bad. I'm sorry; Morrison is fading for me. I think he's phoning it in. Batman with David Hine is just terrible. Fuck Azrael.
5. The pay-off in Brightest Day was awesome. The last two issues were jaw-dropping to me. The reveals -- no spoilers -- were HUGE imo and very very exciting to a big fan of both characters in their classic form. Any real 80's DC fan should be super thrilled about this.
6. The pencils on the new Black Panther series are awesome. I'm not sure about the story direction.
7. If there were 100 issues of Brubaker's Captain America published every month, I would read all of them. I can't get enough. Secret Avengers is the same to me. They're both Cap books imo and I love them the same.
8. Daken and X-23 -- uhm, yeah. No. Daken was strong as a solo, non-integrated psychological piece. Felt like Wolverine meets American Psycho. Combo with the rest of the Marvel U. and I'm already bored.
9. Daredevil: Reborn -- withholding judgement. I like the look. Waid should bring the book back to fundamentals, but I'm not sure the DD fundamentals are that good. I liked the darker, more risky approach the book took for the last ten years. We'll see where this ends up. I suspect around 20-25 issues and we get a new creator and a re-launch due to flagging sales.
10. Fables: the most consistent book of the last 10 years, bar none. This will go down as one of the best pieces of graphic storytelling ever. Please, never end Fables.
11. Fantastic Four/FF -- I trust Jonathon Hickman. I have loved the adventure so far. Real risks, real change, great for the first family of comics. Love this book. Top 10 imo. White costumes, questionable. Spidey, no questionable. Perfect fit. Great for both books.
12. Speaking of ASM, this book is getting far better. I love the pencils, I support the new direction for the stories. This book has been team written and editor driven for too long. Let's get one book a month and some solid story-telling.
13. Generation Hope -- The worst book I buy. I am majorly skeptical of putting Kieron Gillen on Uncanny as a result. Very very fearful. I nearly dropped it. His run on Thor was epically bad. This book is pure trash.
14. Green Lantern -- group it -- uhm, ok. I'll give it an ok. It's solid, looks good, but not sure I'm up for more gimmicks here. I wish DC would let Geoff Johns just write books instead of tasking him with the big cross-overs. I dont know if it's his best foot forward.
15. Flash -- omg, I love Geoff Johns on Flash. It's awesome. Flash should only always be written by Johns. He has gotten well-known for Green Lantern, but it's obviously not his best stuff. He writes this book passionately and with great humanity. It's awesome. Great art too. 3rd best DC main universe book.
16. Herc -- pretty cool. I loved the Herc series when it took over for Hulk. Not entirely sure about the new series, but it's only two issues in. Urban Herc is pretty good as a concept. I want to know where Cho is, right?
17. Heroes for Hire -- Unsung hero of Marvel. The old book was great; the new book is solid so far. Highly encourage everyone to read both. They're just fun Marvel action books. 70's throwbacks really (hence the title).
18. Incognito -- Makes me hungry for more Criminal (or Sleeper vol. 4). I liked it, but it's not Bru's best stuff. Phillips is always awesome. What a beautiful artist.
19. Infinite Vacation -- One of the best books out there. Top 10 idea. Nick Spencer's best work. You're going to be hearing a lot from him. He's Marvel's new big thing. This book is all quantum mechanics and identity, two things that I'm very very interested in. Every series comic fan has to read it.
20. Invincible -- dropped. That's all I'll say. Robert Kirkman has one book in him it seems. I suspect that Walking Dead tv has been a huge distraction. This book is basically dead imo. R.I.P. one of the best independent superhero books ever.
21.Iron Man -- I like both the Invincible and 2.0 versions. They're solid reads with good art. Nothing flashy, but promising work. Doc Ock and the Sinister Six have always been near the top of my list of villains.
22. Books with Justice in the title -- Well, one of them doesn't suck. It's a pretty big surprise that it's the JLI. Max Lord can drive a book. Some of the best Booster Gold writing ever (low bar). Rocket Red is hilarious (making fun of Russians is always awesome). Justice League is just terrible. I hate every character in the book. Justice Society isn't the worst, but it's close. Teen Titans level.
23. Jimmy Olsen -- speaking of Nick Spencer, pick up this fun one-shot that just came out. A book with some solid writing, good pencil work (the inks aren't great) and introduces Chloe, the annoying girl from Smallville, into the DCU.
24. Kick-Ass 2 -- I'm going to use this to generally rant about Millar. I love his new magazine, but I want comic books. Kick-Ass 2 looks ok, but I suspect that the movie will be better written. I feel a little ripped off. Superior was a cool idea and well executed. Much better imo.
25. Mighty Thor and Moon Knight -- Two brand new books, excited about both. Moon Knight always is a tough sell for me. I hated the character as a kid and I'm still murky on it now. But, Bendis did a good job on reinventing Jessica Drew, maybe he can do the same for Spector. I've been loving Thor since the Oeming book in the mid 2k's.
26. Osborn -- I really enjoyed this series. Some modern American politics, some corporate greed, some dirty rotten Osborn action. The biggest bad of the Marvel U. is retaining that profile even after the Secret Invasion. I love the idea of Osborn as the Luthor of Marvel. It's perfect to me.
27. Superboy and Supergirl -- Lemire on Superboy is fantastic. 2nd best DCU book today. The pencils are very very cool too. Innovative artwork. Supergirl looks great. Chang is knocking it out of the park, but I'm concerned about the writing, or rather the direction. Will Peatty be given time to develop this book? Doubt it.
28. Ultimate Comics -- Besides the Cap book, this line is failing. There's a reason they're killing USM and bringing back UXM; sales are flagging and the line is direction-less. What once seemed to be a sure-fire success is now on the ropes. I haven't read the death of USM yet, so I can't weigh in, but I suspect it's disappointing. This is Bendis's worst work, but I suspect some of it is the event-driven demands of the Marvel editors.
29. Punisher Max -- The shit. That's all. Punisher Max is super good. It should be read. Steve Dillon. Hello.
30. Superman -- Stracyzski had better be working really hard on World War Z bc he is not even trying to write this book. Cancelled.
31. Venom -- I like Rick Remender. Alphabetically, you'll be hearing more about this soon. But this book is good bc he is doing it and he rocks. The pencils are strong, but he is putting together a tight concept and you know it's going to bring Flash/Venom into conflict w Peter/Spidey which is just classic. Great idea for a book.
32. Uncanny X-Force -- Best mutant book today. All of the characters are cool. The writing is good. The action is strong, but there's also a hint of mystery and real sense of the unknown, which is always when the X-Men are at their best. I really like this book. Also looks great.
33. The Walking Dead -- I think that he is going to die. There, I said it. I think the book will fundamentally change focus in the next ten issues and he is going to die. Heroically, maybe? But I think it's possible it will be with a whimper on purpose. To remind us that anyone can die in this post-apocalyptic near future. I think it makes more sense to kill him without theatrics. But we'll see. I think he's going to die. I love this show, uhrm, book.
34. Scalped -- This is one of two books (the other is Sweettooth) that I don't read in loose issues. I'm only on the trades. The last trade was amazing. I liked the book before. I love it with all of my heart now. That last book was a piece of art. Jason Aaron for life. Read Scalped.
35. X-Factor -- 2nd best Marvel mutant book. Incredibly solid. Cool stories. Interesting characters. Not prone to big cross-overs or editorial interferences. I love that it's allowed to change venues without fundamentally relaunching the idea. Thank god they give Peter David a leash and let him run.
36. Secret Warriors, S.H.I.E.L.D. -- SW is one of the greatest series Marvel has ever published. It has some jaw-dropping moments, some moments of gentle humanity, some huge action, new characters, a dude w an eye-patch who fought in WWII and can still beat your ass, and Jonathon Hickman, today's best comic book writer. This book is absolutely perfect. Of course, it's ending. Fuck Joe Q. S.H.I.E.L.D. is so weird but so awesome. I can't wait to re-read everything once it makes sense. It's gorgeous and crazy and everything great comics are about. WTF.
37. Jeff Parker -- Hulk (red one) and Thunderbolts -- I really missed the boat on Parker. I never read X-Men: First Class because I'd never heard of him and didn't expect much to be honest. These two books are very solid. The Rulk is such an obviously idiotic idea that anyone that can make it readable is awesome. This is not only readable, but pretty high up there. Thunderbolts has basically never been bad. Parker writes a mean Man-Thing, I'll say that. This is a top-flight book imo.
A few things I won't cover:
1. Age of X -- Haven't read it. I'm behind on almost all mutant books
2. Uncanny -- I'm behind.
3. X-Men: Schism -- Haven't read it. Excited.
4. Fear Itself -- Too early to judge.
5. Thor -- I will say Journey Into Mystery was a Kieron Gillen book that didn't make me vom, but I am real far behind, like 4 issues, on the main Thor book prior to the name change. I was liking it, though.
General feelings -- Marvel is killing DC. There are like 5 weak Marvel books and like 20 bad DC books. Very few things Marvel is doing doesn't rule. They have all of the writers. Thats the long and short of it. Except Cornell and Johns, they have everyone I'd want to write a book today. Make Mine Marvel.
That said, I have some fears for Marvel as well. Their schedule is becoming too event driven. I'm a little tired of it. I'd like to see a year go by without a big summer cross-over and just do some building. The polybagging thing REALLY irks me. To the point where I wrote my first letter in like 28 years of being a comic book fan. I just think it's the first sign of the apocalypse. Having Disney backing doesn't mean you should try and do what caused you to go bankrupt 15 yrs ago. Killing good books is becoming epidemic. The aforementioned Captain Britain book, the new Secret Warriors book, Iron Fist -- these books are some of the great books of the last ten years and all were killed by Marvel while they let Chris Claremont write terrible X-Men books for 30 issues. With their financial backing, they should have the room to give some people time to develop a story and build a fan base. Also, none of these books received promotion. At all. I read all of the trade journals and Marvel was just not pushing them. That's on their heads, not the writers'.
I'll have a post about movies soon. Thor was awesome. There, I said it.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Summer Comics Breakdown
So, it's been forever since I posted, but I just caught up on a ton of summer reading.
I'm pretty happy with the summer comics seen this year. No huge crossover junk was a bonus. Some exciting new creative teams took floundering books and made something of them. And, some new books on the horizon are really getting me excited.
It seems like everyone wants to know what's bad first so I'll start off with the worst hits of the summer:
1. Thor: I'm sorry, but this book has taken a turn for the terrible. The beats are slow. The art is sub-par. Mephisto is boring. Thor trudging through hell is over-done. I hate this book now. Get Michael Avon Oeming back and do this character right.
2. Adventure Comics: Why is it that everyone that writes the Legion is a boring old 70's-80's writer? WTF is Paul Levitz? Stop. Just get rid of the Legion unless Geoff Johns or Abnett/Lanning want the book. I can't really see what the impulse is to make this book with people that you know can't sell comics. The one saving grace of this book is the short backups by Jeff Lemire (of Essex County and Sweet Tooth fame).
3. BPRD & the other non-Hellboy Mignola-esque books: I'm sorry. The 5 year experiment on expanding the Hellboy universe is not working without Mignola writing these books. Guy Davis's art pisses me off. The stories are dry and boring. I'm done with these books, forever.
4. JSA: This book is on the brink for me. I'm super close to just dropping it. I have every issue since it was re-started earlier this decade or I'd already have scrapped it. I just can't feel anything about any of the characters. The things that were great about the book when Johns wrote it are practically completely missing in the modern "Kingdom Come" link-up stories. I think if this book doesn't go back to basics, and soon, it will be done for within a year.
5. Straczynski: Over. Rated. I think both Superman and Wonder Woman (so far) have been aimlessly boring. I get it. What "real" challenge does Superman face? Why make him fight more villains instead of dealing with real human problems? And how does Wonder Woman make sense as an anachronistic medieval (pre?) warrior in the modern day? But, I also don't care. Fix the problem. Do it quickly. But don't make it the point of the entire storyline. Frankly, JMS work usually starts strong and ends stupidly (if at all). These books aren't even starting well, which is a really bad sign.
6. Claremont: I don't even know if he's writing a book, but I'd like to add that he sucks.
Ok, that's kind of a handful for badness, but it's really only the tip of the iceberg of the good books that were out this summer. And, I think some bad books got far better.
1. Avengers: Every Avengers title is awesome. Plain and simple. I don't care what you think about the Avengers characters, the concept, their over-exposure, their continuity problems, etc. The books are rad. They couldn't be more fun. I wish that there was a new one every week. Even Avengers Academy is really strong. The new kids are good and the training staff is just cool. I've been into Quicksilver since his old X-factor days and he's making some great impact here.
2. Action Comics: Paul Cornell is like a god. He's one of a crop of new creators from the last few years that just can't do any wrong. His Action Comics starring Luthor is priceless. No Boyscout is a bonus. But Cornell's penchant for good story-telling, a mix of dialog and action, some good intrigue thrown in there, produces a great book.
3. Brightest Day: I guess I said that there was no big crossover. I lied. I guess compared to Blackest Night and the Marvel industry-wide crossovers, this one was pretty mild. But, and I'm not reading most of the spin-offs (any, really, if you don't count Green Arrow -- and I'm not), this series is great. The art is strong. The story is complex and mysterious. It involves cool characters, even Aquaman, that I'd like to be able to care about and is giving me hope that I'll have a reason to.
4. Green Arrow: I'm feeling really positive about this book. The Brightest Day weirdness aside, I like the idea of making Queen into a Robin Hood, replete with Merry Men. Krul (reminds me of the movie with the Glave) seems to have a good hand on this book. Add to it the problems with Arsenal's Limbaugh-esque drug problems and Queen's off-again relationship with Black Canary and I'm excited to see where it will go.
5. Green Lantern books: Actually, all of these titles came out of Blackest Night as strong or stronger than before. I was worried that there would be a hangover where every issue was just some stupid lingering plot line, but they have resisted that temptation. Even the new Guy Gardner series seems to have some promise. I was not reading these books prior to Blackest Night and I'm now gladly continuing each series. Hopefully, they don't kill the books by pacing them for the summer movie.
6. Birds of Prey: Love Gail Simone on this book. It's what she was meant to write (since they won't let her have Deadpool anymore, which is beyond stupid). Ed Benes's art is odd here (it's actually very bad -- the detail he demonstrated on the 2005 Supergirl series is just...missing). But Simone's plots and dialog are awesome. I love the roster on the team and their banter is worldclass. I could deal with fewer ninja stories, but whatever.
That's it for now. I'll probably have a more complete rundown later when I'm bagging everything and more stuff comes to mind.
J
I'm pretty happy with the summer comics seen this year. No huge crossover junk was a bonus. Some exciting new creative teams took floundering books and made something of them. And, some new books on the horizon are really getting me excited.
It seems like everyone wants to know what's bad first so I'll start off with the worst hits of the summer:
1. Thor: I'm sorry, but this book has taken a turn for the terrible. The beats are slow. The art is sub-par. Mephisto is boring. Thor trudging through hell is over-done. I hate this book now. Get Michael Avon Oeming back and do this character right.
2. Adventure Comics: Why is it that everyone that writes the Legion is a boring old 70's-80's writer? WTF is Paul Levitz? Stop. Just get rid of the Legion unless Geoff Johns or Abnett/Lanning want the book. I can't really see what the impulse is to make this book with people that you know can't sell comics. The one saving grace of this book is the short backups by Jeff Lemire (of Essex County and Sweet Tooth fame).
3. BPRD & the other non-Hellboy Mignola-esque books: I'm sorry. The 5 year experiment on expanding the Hellboy universe is not working without Mignola writing these books. Guy Davis's art pisses me off. The stories are dry and boring. I'm done with these books, forever.
4. JSA: This book is on the brink for me. I'm super close to just dropping it. I have every issue since it was re-started earlier this decade or I'd already have scrapped it. I just can't feel anything about any of the characters. The things that were great about the book when Johns wrote it are practically completely missing in the modern "Kingdom Come" link-up stories. I think if this book doesn't go back to basics, and soon, it will be done for within a year.
5. Straczynski: Over. Rated. I think both Superman and Wonder Woman (so far) have been aimlessly boring. I get it. What "real" challenge does Superman face? Why make him fight more villains instead of dealing with real human problems? And how does Wonder Woman make sense as an anachronistic medieval (pre?) warrior in the modern day? But, I also don't care. Fix the problem. Do it quickly. But don't make it the point of the entire storyline. Frankly, JMS work usually starts strong and ends stupidly (if at all). These books aren't even starting well, which is a really bad sign.
6. Claremont: I don't even know if he's writing a book, but I'd like to add that he sucks.
Ok, that's kind of a handful for badness, but it's really only the tip of the iceberg of the good books that were out this summer. And, I think some bad books got far better.
1. Avengers: Every Avengers title is awesome. Plain and simple. I don't care what you think about the Avengers characters, the concept, their over-exposure, their continuity problems, etc. The books are rad. They couldn't be more fun. I wish that there was a new one every week. Even Avengers Academy is really strong. The new kids are good and the training staff is just cool. I've been into Quicksilver since his old X-factor days and he's making some great impact here.
2. Action Comics: Paul Cornell is like a god. He's one of a crop of new creators from the last few years that just can't do any wrong. His Action Comics starring Luthor is priceless. No Boyscout is a bonus. But Cornell's penchant for good story-telling, a mix of dialog and action, some good intrigue thrown in there, produces a great book.
3. Brightest Day: I guess I said that there was no big crossover. I lied. I guess compared to Blackest Night and the Marvel industry-wide crossovers, this one was pretty mild. But, and I'm not reading most of the spin-offs (any, really, if you don't count Green Arrow -- and I'm not), this series is great. The art is strong. The story is complex and mysterious. It involves cool characters, even Aquaman, that I'd like to be able to care about and is giving me hope that I'll have a reason to.
4. Green Arrow: I'm feeling really positive about this book. The Brightest Day weirdness aside, I like the idea of making Queen into a Robin Hood, replete with Merry Men. Krul (reminds me of the movie with the Glave) seems to have a good hand on this book. Add to it the problems with Arsenal's Limbaugh-esque drug problems and Queen's off-again relationship with Black Canary and I'm excited to see where it will go.
5. Green Lantern books: Actually, all of these titles came out of Blackest Night as strong or stronger than before. I was worried that there would be a hangover where every issue was just some stupid lingering plot line, but they have resisted that temptation. Even the new Guy Gardner series seems to have some promise. I was not reading these books prior to Blackest Night and I'm now gladly continuing each series. Hopefully, they don't kill the books by pacing them for the summer movie.
6. Birds of Prey: Love Gail Simone on this book. It's what she was meant to write (since they won't let her have Deadpool anymore, which is beyond stupid). Ed Benes's art is odd here (it's actually very bad -- the detail he demonstrated on the 2005 Supergirl series is just...missing). But Simone's plots and dialog are awesome. I love the roster on the team and their banter is worldclass. I could deal with fewer ninja stories, but whatever.
That's it for now. I'll probably have a more complete rundown later when I'm bagging everything and more stuff comes to mind.
J
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Iron Man 2
I'm starting to freak out a little bit about it. I can't believe I won't be seeing the premier (I'm on call for work). I may have to completely disconnect from the internet until Monday. In fact, I may have to turn off the TV too because the BK commercials are getting to be too much. I can't believe that I'm relatively sure that this movie will be even better than the first after losing two Academy Award-winning actors. Don Cheadle and Mickey Rourke are going to rock though. And I'm sure I don't have to point out that Scarlett is awesome. This could be the best movie ever, basically.
I'm shocked that there is no Demon in the Bottle plot-line. After talking to friends, we'd surmised that The Avengers movie likely needs a sober Tony, which makes sense. But, let's be honest, telling good Iron Man stories without bringing up his history with the sauce is going to be tough. The human failings that define Marvel characters are as big a part of their success as their gadgets, their villains, and their heroic beats. Battling alcoholism has always been Stark's greatest weakness and his victories over his inner demons have largely defined his greatest successes. Marvel will squander this character if they never do anything but make him fight other guys in armor.
I'm shocked that there is no Demon in the Bottle plot-line. After talking to friends, we'd surmised that The Avengers movie likely needs a sober Tony, which makes sense. But, let's be honest, telling good Iron Man stories without bringing up his history with the sauce is going to be tough. The human failings that define Marvel characters are as big a part of their success as their gadgets, their villains, and their heroic beats. Battling alcoholism has always been Stark's greatest weakness and his victories over his inner demons have largely defined his greatest successes. Marvel will squander this character if they never do anything but make him fight other guys in armor.
Scalped
I finally read Jason Aaron's Indian Sopranos. The bad news: it's not changing the face of comic books like all of the industry blurbs say. It's not the best book on the shelves, but that's not because it's not good. In fact, it's largely because it's in line with a lot of very good things being published today, like Criminal, Powers, 100 Bullets (R.I.P.), and the rest of the modern noir (not to be confused with Marvel noir -- which is crap) books that are seemingly everywhere today. Hyperbolic drivel about the transformative nature of the book doesn't serve anyone. This isn't a particularly good single issue book; I'm a comic collector, I read everything in single issues, and I would have been bored if I'd gotten this book in any other format than the trades.
The good news: it's very good. The characters are well designed. Aaron gives them time to develop, makes them multi-dimensional and evolving, and breaks them. Much like The Wire or The Sopranos, there are no happy endings for the players in Scalped.
The plot is ok and getting better. I'll admit that after reading the first couple of books I thought "I'm already pretty familiar with Leonard Peltier and AIM; this is going to be derivative." But then the plot shifts and switches. The good guys start to seem bad; the bad guys seem variously worse and less bad. Motivations become murkier. I rarely find comics' plots twisty, but this one is.
The art grew on me over time. It was always appropriate to the mood, but the skill in the execution of facial structure and emotion improved greatly from book one to book five. It became one of those icing on the cake touches that really makes a book fun to read by the end. I expect good things in the future.
I suspect that this will be a long running book. It doesn't appear to be close to ending. There isn't any reason it would. I'm sure one day we'll see it on the big screen or TV. It would lend itself well to a "No Country for Old Men" treatment. It feels cinematic at points.
I've been in the mood for fewer capes/cowls books lately and this book filled a needed void for that. It was an enjoyable read. Would I trade Captain America for it? No, for sure not. Is any of it better than the first Irredeemable trade? No. Pax Romana? Not even close. I'm not even sure it's the best Jason Aaron book I've read (I like Ghost Rider and Punisher better), but it is good.
The good news: it's very good. The characters are well designed. Aaron gives them time to develop, makes them multi-dimensional and evolving, and breaks them. Much like The Wire or The Sopranos, there are no happy endings for the players in Scalped.
The plot is ok and getting better. I'll admit that after reading the first couple of books I thought "I'm already pretty familiar with Leonard Peltier and AIM; this is going to be derivative." But then the plot shifts and switches. The good guys start to seem bad; the bad guys seem variously worse and less bad. Motivations become murkier. I rarely find comics' plots twisty, but this one is.
The art grew on me over time. It was always appropriate to the mood, but the skill in the execution of facial structure and emotion improved greatly from book one to book five. It became one of those icing on the cake touches that really makes a book fun to read by the end. I expect good things in the future.
I suspect that this will be a long running book. It doesn't appear to be close to ending. There isn't any reason it would. I'm sure one day we'll see it on the big screen or TV. It would lend itself well to a "No Country for Old Men" treatment. It feels cinematic at points.
I've been in the mood for fewer capes/cowls books lately and this book filled a needed void for that. It was an enjoyable read. Would I trade Captain America for it? No, for sure not. Is any of it better than the first Irredeemable trade? No. Pax Romana? Not even close. I'm not even sure it's the best Jason Aaron book I've read (I like Ghost Rider and Punisher better), but it is good.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Human Target
I'm not going to push too hard here, because this isn't the greatest TV program, or even the greatest TV program based on a comic. BUT, Human Target is better than you might think. This series is loosely based on the Wein and later Milligan work on Christopher Chance: bodyguard, detective, and general badass. The character is cool. The concept is cool, but the books haven't exactly been gang busters. The heady Milligan run was cool; Chance is a master of disguise who loses his own identity. This exploration into the post-modern self was well-executed with a mix of intrigue, noir, and philosophy.
Enter the Mark Valley series on Fox. This Christopher Chance isn't a master of disguise. Valley is Valley all of the time (and who besides me is shocked he ISN'T playing Cap in the First Avenger movie?). His entourage is well done. Chi McBride plays Winston well, the level-headed jack-of-all-trades former cop who screens and preps Chance's assignments. And Jack Earle Haley is an excellent Guerrero, combination smug, effective, and batshit crazy intel guy for Chance Investigations ("Dude!").
The cast has a good synergy. The banter plays well. It has a bit of an Indiana Jones feel to it (the old ones -- the good ones). Of course, Valley is stiff, which feels weird for Chance who isn't portrayed in this series as a robot who has lost his personality but as a man defined (haunted?) by a sordid past. But in spite of his Chance, you still feel like these guys are over-matched, but can win when the deck is stacked against them, as it always is.
The action is really well done. McG produces, so you know what you're getting there (if you've seen Alias, or any of the other handful of excellent McG action series). There's hang-gliding, plane rescues, train fights, and a variety of other strong action beats throughout the series.
The damsels in distress are hot and cool. These aren't your old Batman babes who can't defend themselves; they're largely butt-kickers in their own rights. They're typically genius professionals in trouble with bad elements for doing the right thing. The episodes have a stand-alone plot typically driven by the girls' stories, but unified by Chance's mysterious past, only partially revealed in the final couple of episodes of Season 1.
I expected Human Target to be a throw-away series. I didn't predict it'd last a season, much less that I'd watch and enjoy every episode. It did, I have, and it was good. I think most people would like it. It reminds me of the old action shows from the 80's: nothing that will blow your mind, but some good clean fun, like TJ Hooker, Magnum, or Airwolf. Check it out.
Enter the Mark Valley series on Fox. This Christopher Chance isn't a master of disguise. Valley is Valley all of the time (and who besides me is shocked he ISN'T playing Cap in the First Avenger movie?). His entourage is well done. Chi McBride plays Winston well, the level-headed jack-of-all-trades former cop who screens and preps Chance's assignments. And Jack Earle Haley is an excellent Guerrero, combination smug, effective, and batshit crazy intel guy for Chance Investigations ("Dude!").
The cast has a good synergy. The banter plays well. It has a bit of an Indiana Jones feel to it (the old ones -- the good ones). Of course, Valley is stiff, which feels weird for Chance who isn't portrayed in this series as a robot who has lost his personality but as a man defined (haunted?) by a sordid past. But in spite of his Chance, you still feel like these guys are over-matched, but can win when the deck is stacked against them, as it always is.
The action is really well done. McG produces, so you know what you're getting there (if you've seen Alias, or any of the other handful of excellent McG action series). There's hang-gliding, plane rescues, train fights, and a variety of other strong action beats throughout the series.
The damsels in distress are hot and cool. These aren't your old Batman babes who can't defend themselves; they're largely butt-kickers in their own rights. They're typically genius professionals in trouble with bad elements for doing the right thing. The episodes have a stand-alone plot typically driven by the girls' stories, but unified by Chance's mysterious past, only partially revealed in the final couple of episodes of Season 1.
I expected Human Target to be a throw-away series. I didn't predict it'd last a season, much less that I'd watch and enjoy every episode. It did, I have, and it was good. I think most people would like it. It reminds me of the old action shows from the 80's: nothing that will blow your mind, but some good clean fun, like TJ Hooker, Magnum, or Airwolf. Check it out.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Kick-Ass
Does indeed kick ass. From the beginning, I was pretty sure that this movie was better than the comic. The pacing felt right. The early changes in the story were good even when they were subtle. The dialogue was improved. The look and feel were appropriate. But everything about the comic I thought hadn't worked was initially touched up.
Then, Big Daddy and Hit Girl showed up. Movie magic begins. They're frankly awesome. Every action scene with the kid that plays Hit Girl is spot on. It recreates all of the best of JR Jr.'s art with cinematic flare. She's also hilarious. The action starts pretty late in the movie, but rocks your socks off. I can't imagine anyone complaining.
The interactions with Red Mist are repaired from the comic. I thought that his flip flopping in the book was just done poorly. All of the motivational questions make way more sense in the script. And McLovin is pretty funny, but doesn't try and steal the show. He's actually under-selling his regular schtick.
The end game of this film is a nergasm that the book was missing. I loved it. I refuse to spoil anything, but suffice it to say, if you thought the build was slow, the ending won't be. It's about 20 minutes of kicking ass and taking name. Cool stuff you've never seen before. Big payoffs you won't expect.
After a long streak of movies that have disappointed me, I've finally seen one that's exceeded my expectations in every way. Check out Kick-Ass. Love it.
J
Then, Big Daddy and Hit Girl showed up. Movie magic begins. They're frankly awesome. Every action scene with the kid that plays Hit Girl is spot on. It recreates all of the best of JR Jr.'s art with cinematic flare. She's also hilarious. The action starts pretty late in the movie, but rocks your socks off. I can't imagine anyone complaining.
The interactions with Red Mist are repaired from the comic. I thought that his flip flopping in the book was just done poorly. All of the motivational questions make way more sense in the script. And McLovin is pretty funny, but doesn't try and steal the show. He's actually under-selling his regular schtick.
The end game of this film is a nergasm that the book was missing. I loved it. I refuse to spoil anything, but suffice it to say, if you thought the build was slow, the ending won't be. It's about 20 minutes of kicking ass and taking name. Cool stuff you've never seen before. Big payoffs you won't expect.
After a long streak of movies that have disappointed me, I've finally seen one that's exceeded my expectations in every way. Check out Kick-Ass. Love it.
J
Recent Comics
I wanted to do a post that emphasized the best of new books. I've really liked some new series. Some of the highlights:
1. Jason Aaron on Punisher -- I've already got an entire post about how cool this book is. Just a reminder. The new issue about Bullseye is on the top of my stack and I'm anxiously awaiting some time to read it.
2. Hickman on S.H.I.E.L.D. -- Also already repped here. Get em while they're hot.
3. Daytripper -- Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon are top talents. While Casanova made no sense, I always got the sense that literally everyone on that book was destined for bigger things. Fraction was ahead of the curve, obvi, landing big critically acclaimed work on Iron Fist, Iron Man, and Uncanny X-Men. Ba was involved in one of the bigger projects of the last couple of year with Umbrella Academy. But this book seems to be a labor of love book that showcases what these two really have to offer: personal stories, told elegantly and passionately. There are no heroes. There's no real intrigue. It's just great writing and art with heart-warming content. I can't wait to see where these guys go next.
4. Chew -- Incredibly original story. Cartoony but functional art. Great dialogue. And a plot with twists and turns but a central controversy. It's really good. I remember panning it when it was plugged in previews only to intensely regret passing it up. I'm probably going to feel the pain of not ordering a number one for a very long time when this book continues to produce. I think it has legs. It's an easy read and would be enjoyed by most anyone.
5. Sandman: The Dream Hunters -- P. Craig Russell + Neil Gaiman = magic. It's so formulaic that it's probably not worth adding to this list because anyone that knows anything should have already read this unless they just missed it. It's one of the top 5 Sandman stories, imho. But, like I said, this book probably doesn't need my rec to move product.
6. Flash -- Oh man. I read the first issue of the new Geoff Johns series last night and had a literal nerdgasm. The Rogues are there. Barry's back and getting grief from the CSI. There's allusion to a grand, time traveling conspiracy. I hope it involves killing all them Flash babies of Wally's. They suck. This book is setting us up for a grand Flash x-over for 2011. Thank god. It's good to have a legit Flash book back. Long live Johns on the Flash.
7. Upcoming GN's -- Captain Long Ears & Red Tide -- These books are as close to opposites as you can get, but I'm anxiously awaiting both of them. Captain Long Ears concerns some heady material (facing up to the consequences of one's actions and reality in general) but with traditional indy "who gives a damn" art direction. It reminds me of Kochalka but trying a little harder. Looks good. Red Tide is serious Philip Marlowe noir done by one of the absolute best comic creators of all time -- Jim Steranko. His work on Nick Fury is priceless (http://forum.valinor.com.br/attachment.php?attachmentid=17796&stc=1&d=1210696579); his impact on future avante garde art in comics is MORE valuable. This piece of original work should blow all of our minds.
Stay away from:
Greek Street -- This book is aimless crap. It's an attempt at doing True Blood with Greek myth, but it just ends up as drivel and gore with no real impact (much like the aforementioned crap TV show -- I have no idea how anyone likes that show). I love myth, but this book is not getting the job done at all. I was simultaneously bored and annoyed.
Crossed -- I don't get why this book is being made into a movie. I mean, I guess horror movies do well even when they're junk, but why that is remains a mystery to me as well. Anyway, don't be seduced by Garth Ennis's name appearing on the title. It's trash. Try American Vampire or the upcoming iZombie instead. Or just re-read your Walking Dead trades. Or just look st Suidam pics on the web.
1. Jason Aaron on Punisher -- I've already got an entire post about how cool this book is. Just a reminder. The new issue about Bullseye is on the top of my stack and I'm anxiously awaiting some time to read it.
2. Hickman on S.H.I.E.L.D. -- Also already repped here. Get em while they're hot.
3. Daytripper -- Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon are top talents. While Casanova made no sense, I always got the sense that literally everyone on that book was destined for bigger things. Fraction was ahead of the curve, obvi, landing big critically acclaimed work on Iron Fist, Iron Man, and Uncanny X-Men. Ba was involved in one of the bigger projects of the last couple of year with Umbrella Academy. But this book seems to be a labor of love book that showcases what these two really have to offer: personal stories, told elegantly and passionately. There are no heroes. There's no real intrigue. It's just great writing and art with heart-warming content. I can't wait to see where these guys go next.
4. Chew -- Incredibly original story. Cartoony but functional art. Great dialogue. And a plot with twists and turns but a central controversy. It's really good. I remember panning it when it was plugged in previews only to intensely regret passing it up. I'm probably going to feel the pain of not ordering a number one for a very long time when this book continues to produce. I think it has legs. It's an easy read and would be enjoyed by most anyone.
5. Sandman: The Dream Hunters -- P. Craig Russell + Neil Gaiman = magic. It's so formulaic that it's probably not worth adding to this list because anyone that knows anything should have already read this unless they just missed it. It's one of the top 5 Sandman stories, imho. But, like I said, this book probably doesn't need my rec to move product.
6. Flash -- Oh man. I read the first issue of the new Geoff Johns series last night and had a literal nerdgasm. The Rogues are there. Barry's back and getting grief from the CSI. There's allusion to a grand, time traveling conspiracy. I hope it involves killing all them Flash babies of Wally's. They suck. This book is setting us up for a grand Flash x-over for 2011. Thank god. It's good to have a legit Flash book back. Long live Johns on the Flash.
7. Upcoming GN's -- Captain Long Ears & Red Tide -- These books are as close to opposites as you can get, but I'm anxiously awaiting both of them. Captain Long Ears concerns some heady material (facing up to the consequences of one's actions and reality in general) but with traditional indy "who gives a damn" art direction. It reminds me of Kochalka but trying a little harder. Looks good. Red Tide is serious Philip Marlowe noir done by one of the absolute best comic creators of all time -- Jim Steranko. His work on Nick Fury is priceless (http://forum.valinor.com.br/attachment.php?attachmentid=17796&stc=1&d=1210696579); his impact on future avante garde art in comics is MORE valuable. This piece of original work should blow all of our minds.
Stay away from:
Greek Street -- This book is aimless crap. It's an attempt at doing True Blood with Greek myth, but it just ends up as drivel and gore with no real impact (much like the aforementioned crap TV show -- I have no idea how anyone likes that show). I love myth, but this book is not getting the job done at all. I was simultaneously bored and annoyed.
Crossed -- I don't get why this book is being made into a movie. I mean, I guess horror movies do well even when they're junk, but why that is remains a mystery to me as well. Anyway, don't be seduced by Garth Ennis's name appearing on the title. It's trash. Try American Vampire or the upcoming iZombie instead. Or just re-read your Walking Dead trades. Or just look st Suidam pics on the web.
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