Worst to first: 4/4/07
Lots of stuff going on this week, with nine books under my belt. You may think it’s strange that I put comics under my belt. Well, it eases the digestion, so back off. A pretty even split, with four to Marvel and five to DC. Also, a nice mix of new series and the expected fare. Mostly, this week’s books saw a lot of action and death. Not so much as a few months ago, but plenty all the same. Now, to the reviews…
Nine: Omega Flight #1
Whoops, I just about typed in “Alpha Flight.” Like everyone else, I had pretty serious spite for that crummy team, but a couple of things amped me up for this series. First, Michael Avon Oeming is writing, and he’s always fun. Mostly, Beta Ray Bill and US Agent are going to be on the team. Of all the lame heroes, those two are probably my favorites. (I read their series during my formative years, okay?) Only problem is that neither shows up in this incredibly slow first issue.
Oh, and the art is crummy.
Eight: Jonah Hex #18
This series is quickly becoming irrelevant, which is very sad. I guess that great Western revival has already run its course. After two issues of woman-brutalizing torture porn, Palmiotti and Gray follow up with another story of an abused woman. And cannibals. There’s a twist, but it’s not much of one and revealed without much impact. A big problem here is that nothing affects Hex. He’s this relentless killing machine with no emotions. It’s about as fun as watching Duke basketball.
Seven: Avengers: The Initiative
This is our choice for the Book of Doom. Come back Saturday and see what I have to say. Oh, and what the other Doomers thought.
Six: Robin #160
Apparently I missed this last week. Not a lot to say here, other than reminding you all that Robin is the most consistently enjoyable bat-book post-Crisis. Adam Beechen balances the personal/crimefighter stuff as well as anyone, and also keeps the book both fun and serious. It feels a lot like Ultimate Spider-Man, though I probably enjoy it more than USM because it’s not set in an alternate universe and doesn’t feature a main character with quite as much baggage.
Five: The Incredible Hulk #105
The folks at Marvel should be proud. Merriam-Webster now includes this issue in reference to the entry for “deus ex machina.” Just as Hulk has found peace on this alien world, the ship he arrived in mysteriously explodes, and the planet is destroyed, and for some reason Hulk blames this on the people who sent the ship, as if they blew up the planet themselves, and this sends him hurtling for earth, just in time for World War Hulk. And yet…
Despite the forced setup, I enjoyed this issue. Greg Pak gives the world that no one cares about a touching sendoff and he sells the Hulk as a big, pissed off monster ready to do some damage. The action moments of this book reminded me of the Hulk’s potential and power. It struck at the conflicted and tortured nature he’s always had. It made me excited about WWH, which is no small feat.
Four: Fallen Son: Wolverine
I think Leinil Yu could illustrate the directions to programming a VCR and I’d be won over. The guy is good. Really, really good. And this book, while a bit superfluous, is a step above VCR instructions. Also, it was nice to see Wolverine in true badass form. That happens far too little anymore.
Three: JLA #7
Can we just pretend that first storyline didn’t happen? Really, nothing of any importance occurred that wasn’t quickly summarized in this issue. And if you ignore the past six issues, this one works really well as an introduction/team-up issue. Especially for the first three-quarters, it was great. The rest turned a bit helter skelter (damn you and your 15-viewpoint narration, Brad Meltzer!), but it didn’t sink the whole.
Now, did anyone else notice the scene of the JLA’s collection of villainous weapons, and that Skeets was floating in the background? Hmm…
Two: 52 #48
Like Doom DeLuise, I really enjoyed this issue, despite the annoying chicken scratches of Darick Robertson’s art. This book would’ve been an instant classic in Phil Jimenez’s hands.
One: Detective Comics #831
The little touches are what make Paul Dini such a great writer. On the first page, he sets up this extremely insightful dive into the mind of Harley Quinn with her split personalities going back and forth. She’s trying to stay in control, but the dark half dredges up an old spelling bee and the word “conciliatory.” Or as Harley spells it, “C-O-N-S-I-L-L-Y…”
Throughout this latest issue in his remarkable run, Dini fleshes out her character in unexpected ways, thrusting Harley into tough situations and seeing how she reacts. Playing off of her, he also further fills out the mysterious woman behind the revived Scarface and Batman/Bruce Wayne. Everything builds up to a classic “villain isn’t so bad as you think” endings that’s as touching as it is surprising.
A bonus note goes to Simone Bianchi, who has done such great work on the Detective covers to overshadow his work on Wolverine of late.
I like how Paul Dini’s created his own little Batman continuity universe, where he basically is ignoring everything going on in the actual “Batman” book. The mention of Robin’s last encounter with the Joker was very nicely done.
I think Leinil Yu used to be better the first time he was at Marvel, before he made the jump to DC. It certainly doesn’t help that everything I’ve read that he’s worked on since returning to Marvel has had a bad writer attached, or didn’t finish coming out.