New Comics - Double Dose

So I never posted last week's reviews. Shame on me and no time for excuses. Here are two week's worth in one swell foop (and in somewhat chronological order):

• Chronicles of Wormwood preview (Avatar) – This sampler of pages from the forthcoming series bodes well for fans of Garth Ennis and his inflammatory Preacher-style work. I don’t know if inflammatory is the right word for my reaction to this vein of story – the son of Satan and the Son of God traipse around the modern world – because for me it doesn’t offend my sensibilities. The ideas do still offer some thrill for me, as I recognize the place of these “characters” in the context of myth and history. The Jacen Burrows art (right) is as appropriate as in the other titles by Mr Ennis and Warren Ellis that have appeared over the last several years from Avatar. His art is clean and clear, with a talent for delineating the fantasy and gore aspects of these titles. This is a title I look forward to, a genre piece from a man who can rise above the genre trappings.

• Superman/Batman 26 (DC) – I bought this issue, of a title I haven’t bought regularly in quite a while, based on the format of the story. A 22 page story plotted by series writer Jeph Loeb’s recently deceased son Sam. The format brings to mind a few popular titles from the late 1980’s, such as Heroes Against Hunger and such special issues as Batman 400, which were based on a plot that had a script written by many different writers and pages drawn by many different artists. I’m not sure why these are so nostalgic for me, as they always held more promise that payoff. The hope is that each artist would give a fantastic effort to best their peers leading to page after page of career highlights. What generally happens, however, is that the mish-mash of styles weakens the story flow, and you basically have a pin-up book full of panels rather than splash pages. ¶ The current taste of the comic market allows for a wide variety of styles and talents in any list of “hot” creators, a fact that ensures a showcase issue such as this is filled with varying levels of quality. From the very best in the superhero business -- John Cassady, Ed McGuinness, Jeff Matsuda or Tim Sale -- to the lowest (names withheld – snark on your own), to those whose best work is available elsewhere, such as Art Adams, Jim Lee or Carlos Pacheco. ¶ The fact that this issue is a benefit issue, some of the proceeds going to the Sam Loeb College Scholarship Fund, mitigates any of my hesitation at recommending it, but the strongest point, creatively, is the short story by Sale and Jeph Loeb that closes the issue. It may be a bit sentimental, but not as much as most stories written by fathers about dead sons tend to be, and it wisely makes the sentiment the point of the story, rather than burying it too shallowly.
  

• Ultimate Spider-Man 95 (Marvel) – This issue provides a little wheat of character development before returning to the chaff of introducing some more Marvel stalwarts to the Ultimate Universe.

• Local 5 (Oni) – The first weak issue in this title. If the creators didn’t acknowledge how frequently they rush through an issue in the supplemental pages, I might give the issue more credit, but this is the first one that feels like writer Brian Wood didn’t have enough material for the script and spread out what he did have past its depth. Hopefully, this is just a small detour, because this is one of my current favorites.

• Black Gas 3 (Avatar) – Why the fuck would you end a mini-series with a cliffhanger?

• Apocalypse Nerd 3 (Dark Horse) – I’m enjoying this title, but the drastic lag time between issues tends to lead to a build up in expectation for the story. If the payoff isn’t that great, it will be made worse by the scheduling issues. I can only assume that the blame lies with Peter Bagge. When you’re the auteur, there’s no one to pass the buck to. I like to see the return of long form stories from Mr. Bagge, and find that the wholly fictional is a nice counterpart to his veiled autobiography found in Hate. There’s no shortage of the Bagge-ian characters and the story-driven hijinx that those characters drag themselves into are consistently entertaining.

• Daughters of the Dragon 5 (Marvel) – All my comments for previous issues apply, but I can’t help but feel they spread this series out for at least one issue longer than they should have. Diminishing returns and all that.

• Ultimate Extinction 5 (Marvel) – Another series that lasted a couple issues too long. Build, build, build to this climax and – boom – it’s over in five pages. Oh well, it was a fun ride, and I’m not yet tired of Brandon Peterson’s new art style.

• Daisy Kutter: The Last Train 1 (Viper Comics) – This mini-series from the editor of and contributor to the hugely popular anthology series Flight (Image Comics), Kazu Kibuishi, is beautifully illustrated (see below). The story, however, fell flat for me for one very specific reason, which I’ll explain in a few sentences. Let me start by saying that I believe strongly in the maxim: “write what you know”. Mr Kibuishi, in this first issue, either doesn’t know what he writes about, or is a very poor poker player. The first issue, and from what I can tell, the plot point that sets up the conflict in the whole series, is based on a shallow understanding of how poker is played. All the stranger that this evidence of lack of knowledge comes after the author/narrator spends much time explaining the game as though he were an expert. He grasps the basics, and most of the important information that one could gather from a first reading of a book on the subject, then misunderstands precisely how any good poker player would actually play given the situation he’s set up. I know all this seems quite nitpicky, but the “write what you know” rule would have worked better for me in this situation. If Mr Kibuishi had found something that he had a more thorough knowledge of to set up his plot point, their wouldn’t have been a situation like this to pull me out of the otherwise engaging world that he was creating. The artwork is still beautiful, and the story interesting enough to keep me wanting more, but he wasted several pages convincing me the exact opposite of what a narrator should, namely that he doesn’t understand what his characters are doing.

• Wonder Woman 1 (DC) -- I like Terry Dodson as an artist, and I want to like Allan Heinberg (his Touch being an reading pleasure – dig around for a review), but this title isn’t doing much for me.

• Batman: Secrets 4 (DC) – Sam Kieth’s art is better than ever in this issue. I’ve spilled enough ink (pixels?/bytes?/binaries?) about this title in previous installments, and all of my praise is continued with this issue. I can’t wait for the denouement.

• Detective Comics 820 (DC) – Bah! This better turn into something interesting next issue, because this is a dud of a chapter.

• 52 Weeks Four and Five (DC) – I don’t care anymore. The writing appears to be the difference of its parts rather than the sum. It feels like Grant Morrison minus Geoff Johns minus Greg Rucka minus Mark Waid, rather than the pluses one would hope for. I just don’t care.

…And finally, the book of the week(s):

• Uptight 1 (Fantagraphics) – There are numerous reasons for this title to have earned book of the week, and the amazingly reasonable two-fifty cover price is the least of them. The assured linework, the enticing layout, the attention to production (and on such a budget), the engaging stories, the breathtaking cover; Jordan Crane (below) continues to impress. I do wonder, though, if Mr Crane is as haunted as his characters. You can not spend a more worthwhile three bucks (including tax where applicable).