Worst to First: 9/12/07

Every comic but one on the list this week falls in the same category: mostly good but held down by serious shortcomings. Not bad, in other words, but it could’ve been a lot better. Ain’t that just the way…

Worst: Green Lantern #23

It’s not that I didn’t like this book, it’s just that I didn’t like it nearly as much as I liked the Sinestro Corps special. As expected, that humdinger of a book (in which pretty much every major villain was trotted out) left a bar so high that even Giganta couldn’t reach it.

The problem is that these villains are sooooo tough, it’s impossible to believe they can’t just wipe out everything in the universe at will. It’s implausible for Hal and pals to storm the baddy base, free the captives and storm out. Especially since a stare-down with ol’ Anti-Monitor only netted one casualty??? C’mon.

What made the book still a worthy read (and hard to put so low) was Geoff Johns sticking to his thesis of fear corrupting power. Not only did this create Sinestro, it’s forcing weaknesses in the heroes (Hal putting on the yellow rings, the Oans rewriting the book and allowing lethal force). It’s an obvious parable to our current environment (the reaction to a threat causing more problems than the threat), but it reads better without attaching the political commentary.

Preachy: Thor #3

As I said before, the image at left sold me on buying this book. Tony Stark’s comeuppance has almost made Civil War worthwhile, and it hasn’t been done any better than here. JMS’s Thor is eloquently harsh (and then just harsh) to the resident Marvel a-hole, and the story does a good job of delivering a climactic confrontation while still leaving loose ends.

The problem with this book continues to be the hollow way in which Gods return to life. They just… do. Granted, I’m never one to expect a great explanation for the ol’ Phoenix routine (and hasn’t that taken on a nice double meaning?), but I expect a bit more than this. Whatever this is. Also, the treacly exchange between Thor and the little girl sent throbs through my sweet tooth. Still, man that was a fun butt-whooping.

Bendis is back: The New Avengers #34

It’s probably been two years since I gave up all comics by Brian Michael Bendis. I did so for pretty much the same reason as everyone else (every issue written the same, Secret War, snail’s pace, etc.). At the urging of Jim Doom, I’ve been reading a bit of this book lately with the thought of giving it a try. This was the week.

Well, my eyes didn’t bleed. Actually, as expected, this was a pretty fun read. I like the team, I like the dialogue, I like the mix of fun and drama. I love Leinil Yu’s art (though it was a bit uneven this issue).

My feeling’s on BMB remain pretty unchanged. He’s a great writer at what he does, which is character interplay. With this team, it seems like everyone has their own voice better than some previous BMB titles. And the action is more dense, another welcome change. Still, there were places that strayed too far into cuteness, none worse than the single page with three breaking-the-fourth-wall comics culture references: Spider-Man and his clones, Mxyzptlk and Wolverine being everywhere at once. Those jokes commit a worse sin than just being distracting. They’re lame.

Warming up: JLA Wedding Special #1

It’s pretty amazing that in a single issue, new JLA writer Dwayne McDuffie has more fun with the team than Brad Meltzer did in his entire run. Heck, he might have even had more fun on the first page (at right).

This is to say, things are looking better for the JLA, well, for us fans at least. The JLA themselves are at the mercy of a serious butt-stomping, courtesy of the Injustice League. (I need a dose of Joker poison before I’ll laugh at that one.) The highlight of this issue is the pitch-perfect exchange between Batman and Hal, but there’s plenty else to admire. For the first time ever, I almost cared about Firestorm (though it was fun seeing him stomped). And page 13 has one of the funniest misplaced dialogue bubbles I’ve seen in years. Oh, and that was a pretty classy 300 reference.

What’s not to like? Well, maybe it’s just me, but this feels like a song I’ve heard before. Bad guys team up, create nefarious scheme, take out JLA in ones and twos… That’s the exact plot description of this book and Justice, that crapball of a series that took two years of my life. Note to Mr. McDuffie: Come up with a good wrinkle, because I don’t have that much patience anymore.

First: X-Factor #23

Let’s just rename this “Worst to X-Factor.” Seems like it’s just a guarantee that every week it comes out, X-Factor earns the top spot.

Well, the book’s just that good. Really. It kind of pissed me off to see the August sales numbers and find this book in 41st place. Forty first! For the best book in comics! Are you kidding me?

This particular issue is typically chock full of developments that serve to only deepen the mysteries. We learn that this strange Mr. Huber is pulling all the strings (evil strings, mind you) and is mind controlling the mutants into setting up a million-mutant march. Sounds like a way to get all the muties together and kill them, right? Yeah, my thoughts too. Huber really does snap, unleashing the powers of the classic X-Men and whipping around X-Factor in the process, with a nice cliffhanger.

Oh, and Layla is still alive, which made my week. And then she beat up Quicksilver, which made my week again. Good times all around.