Daytripper #9 – Review

By: Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba (creators), Dave Stewart (colors) & Sean Konot (letters)

The Story: We finally get some answers to what is going on with Bras and why he keeps dying at the end of each issue.

What’s Good: For a change, Bras doesn’t die at the end of this issue.  I had kinda assumed that Ba & Moon wouldn’t make the entire series about scenes from the guy’s life and then have him die at the end.  Even though all of those issues ranged from good to spectacular, I was wondering what the bigger point was, but then each successive issue would come out without any hint that it would be tied together.  I was frankly getting a little worried (which is silly given how incredible the first 8 issues of this limited series have been).

I won’t say that this issue makes it “clear” because it is very metaphysicial and if you wanted this series tied up with a neat bow on the top, I think you’ll be disappointed after issue #10 next month.  But, we do start to get some clarity on what this series is about.

Not surprisingly, it is about life and the human condition.  In life, Bras works as an obituary writer who tries to do a good job.  He isn’t happy just writing up a date of birth and summary of family members and jobs held, he really tries to capture the essence of what made that person special and who they were.  I think what we are getting here at the end of Daytripper is that Bras is dead and has been dead for the entire series and before his spirit can move on, he has the opportunity to re-experience the poignant moments from his life and that is what we have seen in issue #1-8.  He dies at the end of each issue because he is, in fact, dead and nothing can change that.  In a way, he is kind of writing his own obituary or the book of his own life.  Imagine if after you died, your whole life was basically laid out before you and you were asked to edit it down into a 300-page book to tell the story of your life.  It’s kinda like that.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Brightest Day #7 – Brightest Day #7 was a lot of fun with a whole lot of reveal. If you’re into classic superhero stories, done right and modern, check out Brightest Day.

Most Anticipated: The Thanos Imperative #3 – Anything featuring the former champion of death makes it onto my short list pretty quickly. I’m looking forward to seeing him take apart these alternate Avengers…or be taken apart by them!

Other Top Picks: Batgirl #13, X-Men #2, Adventure Comics #517, Birds of Prey #4, Titans #26

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: SHIELD #3 – “Blah, blah, blah…..I don’t understand what is going on.  Blah. Blah. Blah.”  Sigh… This comic just showed us Galileo harvesting the life essence of his fellow SHIELD members to fight Galactus and the subsequent strickening of 10 days from history.  Very cool!

Most Anticipated: The Walking Dead #76 – It seems like this comic is coming out every few weeks recently and that is a very good thing.  Very eager to see how the survivors deal with Rick’s inevitable cracking up.

Other Top Picks: Daytripper #9, Dungeons & Dragons #0, Morning Glories #1, Invincible Iron Man #29, X-Men #2

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: SHIELD #3 – In a week of comics that actually ended up being somewhat underwhelming overall, SHIELD #3 was the best of the underachieving pack.  While there were solid reads, it was the only book to come close to “wowing” me.

Most Anticipated: Morning Glories #1 -I think I’ve just bough into Nick Spencer’s hype on this one.  The concept sounds cool, the creative team is solid, and I hope I’m not disappointed.  This looks like it could very well be the next big Image series to stand alongside the Walking Dead and Chew.

Other Picks: Birds of Prey #4, Daredevil #509, DMZ #56, Invincible Iron Man #29, Superman #702, The Unwritten #16, Zatanna #4

Joe’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #2 – Talk about a dark horse!  I fully expected to not even have a best of the week, but this one snuck in at the end and gave me loads of entertainment.  Gage and Alberti knocked this out of the 1980’s lovin’ park!  Mr. Fantastic joined with the Venom symbiote?  80’s era FF blue and white costumes?  She-Hulk squeezed into clothes 2 sizes too small for her?  Franklin Richards zapping stuff? Spidey, well, being Spidey?  It’s like I found a forgotten back issue from my childhood!  Awesome.

Most Anticipated: X-Force: Sex and Violence #2 – That’s right, I am soaking up all the Kyle and Yost X-Force goodness that I can before it disappears for good.  The first issue was a wild ride filled with fun and, yes, sex (well, kissing) and violence.  Here’s hoping they up the ante for this issue and things get even crazier!

Other Picks: Birds of Prey #4, Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #1, The Walking Dead #76, Daredevil #509, Incredible Hulk #611, Steve Rogers Super Soldier #2, Thanos Imperative #3, Ultimate Comics Avengers 3 #1, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #13, X-Men #2, The Calling Cthulhu Chronicles #2