Comic Book Timeliness

Okay, I'll try to make this more of a habit, just spend a half hour or so every Wednesday night on this stuff.



Detective Comics #854 -- Holy crap! After pretty much nothing but a passing interest in continuing my Detective sub with Batwoman taking the reigns, Greg Rucka and JH Williams come in and kick my ass and nail it down. Great introduction to Batwoman (I erm, don't exactly know who she is or how she fits into Gotham City -- I should look that up) -- I like that we're already getting some good characterization so I can start to feel familiar with the character. But damn, it's the Batwoman sequences that bookend the story; the otherwise muted color palette gives the reds such a sharp, satisfying sting, and everything from the nice, round lines to the hyperstylish panel composition puts this book on the goddamned A-list from the start. Already I can see the way Batwoman deals with criminals differs so much from Batman himself -- we see this right in the first few etherreal pages. I love this book. Even without the cool Question back-up, I'd say it was worth the $3.99. I don't usually make picks of the week, but Pick of the Week.

Thor #602 -- This is sort of a catch-up issue. Not exactly reader-friendly, per se, but it does the audience a favor and ties up a few loose ends that've been dangling since the series started. We get some progression in other plot threads, but there's the feeling that we're just stopping to tie our shoe before getting on with the rest of the journey.



Guardians of the Galaxy #15 -- I can't imagine how this series reads in trade format. The last few issues have been so full of chock that the staples have started to buckle a little. How is it that hell breaks loose pretty much every issue and Abnett/Lanning are still able to keep the pace. This is not to mention Cory Walker pulling his weight, doing a great job at keeping the chaos in order, along with maybe the best Groot I've ever seen). I feel a bit sheepish gushing about this series so much. Maybe I should talk about how Nova wasn't awesome.

Nova #26 -- Yeah, Nova is usually awesome, but it's sorta like this week's Thor; the big breather between major arcs. Consistent with the series and everything, but sort of a necessarily-evil filler episode.



Fables: The Literals #3 -- This closes out The Great Fables Crossover in grand fashion, reminding us how genius it is and how this really is the perfect format for Fables (though I am interested in the novel coming soon), breaking down pretty much every comic book story arc right before our eyes, winking at us along the way. We get a nice big clean slate for both ongoing series, and we had a lot of fun along the way. Now, wasn't that Event Book easy? Now do you see why Marvel and DC think it's such a good idea?

Green Lantern #42 -- How did this book ever lose my interest? Didn't I ask this a month ago? I'm such a dumb grinning kid when I read this series. I cannot wait for Blackest Night and the myriad of tie-ins. I am a glutton. I should probably have an orange lantern t-shirt or something.



Wolverine: Weapon X #3 -- This book finally picks up as Wolverine gets down to what he does best. This includes shooting a gun that gives you cancer at some special forces dudes who happen to have lightsaber claws. I'll be damned if Jason Aaron does not have this thumb on the pulse of my still-beating heart.

Comic Book MONTH

I'm like a month behind. Forward!



Batman and Robin #1 -- Hot damn! Morrison and Quitely's new series is here, and it it already awesome. I love the characterizations and dialogue of the new duo ("Crime is doomed."), and the art is knocked clear out of the park (the sound effects text blending into smoke and water, that big splash page when Batman and Robin "arrive"). Love the creepy new villain at the end, too. And heck, DC is keeping this series at $2.99, when such a hugely anticipated series with such massive talents would certainly go for four bucks at Marvel. Check this out.

Battle for the Cowl #3 -- The best thing I can say about this book is that it paved the way for the above. The story and telling here (by the same guy) are serviceable, but kind of pale in comparison to what we're getting now (and hopefully what we're going to get from Rucka, Dini and Winick).

Green Lantern #41 -- How did this series ever stop retaining my interest? Fun popcorn action with some gooey lore-expanding additives.



Jack of Fables #34 -- Even though Jack jumped ship to another book, the cartoony sense of humor stuck around as Jack is transformed against his will by what seems like some offscreen Disney genie. Well, it's really omnipotent "literal" (read: demigod) Kevin, who is more or less the star of his own book...

Fables: The Literals #2 -- ...who faces off against his brother in this issue. As Kevin is pretty much The Author, his sibling acts his bane, Writer's Block (talk about inferiority complexes). Kevin finds an... interesting way of dealing with him. It's probably not a coincidence that the "angel" on Kevin's shoulder has a similar way of acting on the actions of his devilish counterpart. Trust me, it makes sense if you've read it.

Guardians of the Galaxy #14 -- This shit is jam-packed. Seriously so much going on. Huge magic battles, kidnappings, explosions, floating heads of dead gods at the edge of the universe, I could keep going here. So so fun.



Nova #25 -- This issue ties up the Worldmind-gone-nutters storyline, so hopefully that means Nova will finally get down to bidness and put some smack down in the War of Kings. Dependable read, always enjoyable, yada yada.

Crossed #5 -- Funny thing about this issue. We get a look at the survivors as they cope with the world after the Crossed hit, how decimated everything and everyone is. There isn't a single infected in the entire chapter, but their presence still haunts every inch of this book. I can't imagine much of a happy ending here.

Battlefields: The Tankies #2 -- After a first strong first issue, I got kind of lost here. We meet up with more tankies (as um, the rest of them are kind of dead), and they yammer back and forth for a while, but we don't really get any advancing story with the characters we spent time getting to know during the last 22 pages. Hoping this one has a strong finish.



Scalped #29 -- This issue is why they say Scalped is just like (or should be) an HBO series, and why it's destined to be a classic and a benchmark for the comic medium. It is just that good.

Deadpool: Suicide Kings #3 -- I'm warming up a lot to this series. Silly, zany fun with Deadpool and some Marvel superstars (Spider-Man, Daredevil, Punisher). The art is just right for the character, too -- reminds me just a little of Ed McGuiness' stuff during Joe Kelly's run.

War of Kings #4 -- Another mini that's picking up steam for me. I've liked each issue more and more, and while the "shocking" death at the end of the book means little to me in general, I'm interested to see what it means for the cosmic Marvel as a whole.



The Boys: Herogasm #1 + 2 -- It's easy to pass off this mini as a crude collection of dick jokes and boobie doodles, but halfway into the second issue I sort of realized its genius. We've got a bunch of these superheroes just standing around completely naked, talking about this or that. Sure, all sorts of dorks and lady parts are hanging out, but how far is that really from the skin-tight cape comics from the big two? Herogasm literally strips away any delusions we have about what we're really looking at when we read superheroes (or at least, when Garth Ennis reads them).

The Boys #31 -- Finally, shit gets real. Can't wait to see how The Boys (the rest of 'em, anyway) react to what happens here. Not diggin' Robertson's sub-in, though.

Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #1 + 2 -- A potentially cool series about a Japanese superhero team that really wants to do good but is sort of taken over by corporate interests. It's sort of like The Boys, but a bit more optimistic. It's fun so far. The Twitter narration boxes are just a hair out of touch -- the closer you get to real life, the easier it is to screw up the details. I like the poppy art, though. I'll read this through to the finish.



Air #9 + 10 -- Nine was good, but god damn, ten was great. Perker outdoes any previous work in this series with a one-off shot set centuries in the past. Props to G.Willow Wilson for somehow sticking a Star Wars analogue in a book like this.

Captain America #50 +600 -- I love Bru's Cap, but it hasn't been great lately. I mean, it's really good, but I'm missing that drive, that overarcing story that really pulls things together. I have a feeling that we're getting that very soon.

Wolverine: Weapon X #2 -- Love this series already. I don't know that this first arc can measure up to Get Mystique quite yet, but it does have a few issues to step up.



Walking Dead #61 -- I recently read an interview with Kirkman that basically spelled out this whole Most Dangerous Game arc, including who will probably die. I kind of wish I hadn't read it.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 -- I don't know whether I want another Batbook on my pull list, but I figured I've gotta give Paul Dini Batman a shot. It's pretty cool so far, but like I read in a review, I wish it kind of pulled back from Batman and Robin and just gave me the peripheral characters and their viewpoint. I think I'll check out the next few issues to see if it sticks.

The Trial of Thor -- My local comic shop likes to sign me up for everything under the sun for a certain character whose series I've subbed to. If I don't explicitly state otherwise, I end up with stuff like this one-shot. And this time it's not too bad! Sort of a murder mystery set in Asgard, with a really great last page. I'm maybe a little ashamed that this is the first of anything I've read of Peter Milligan's. Really looking forward to his Greek Street series, along with the reissue of the first Shade the Changing Man trade.



Young Liars #16 -- Ugh, to think that this issue is the third-to-last. Ever! Seriously, we probably won't ever get such a creepy/funny one-off about a background character from this series ever again. I blame everyone but me. Pay your respects and buy the trades or issues and read this series.

Incognito #4 -- This series is too good to end in two issues. I can't see how things can't come to a conclusion soon, given the chest-deep shit Zack Overkill is drowning in, but I've got to wait out Criminal's single-issue run (only trades for me with that one) before I get more Incognito. I suppoose I should just be grateful that there's a cool series as successful as this one. I mean, it could be another Young Liars.

Ghost Rider #35 -- Can Jason Aaron and Tony Moore just do this series forever? This three-issue arc is just way too tiny! I could do with a few more chapters of batshit-crazy gonzo/grindhouse madness. I hope Roland Boschi keeps some of the magic these two had for the Ghost Riders mini (it seemed like it was there when he worked with Aaron earlier on his run, at least).