Alex’s Stack

Hey WCBR readers,

So I’m currently sick as a dog and buried with work.  Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that this past week was huge for comics.  In an effort to at least get some opinions out there, I’m going to break from the norm and offer some quick opinions on everything I bought this week.  This isn’t a regular feature so much as it is a stop-gap for my currently ill and mad-cap life.  Also, just because I give a take on here doesn’t mean that a full review won’t be incoming.  Anyway, here goes:

Wolverine & the X-Men #15 (by Jason Aaron (writer), Jorge Molina (pencils), Norman Lee (inks), and Morry Hollowell (colors)

After a couple of good outings, AvX drags this issue back down.  This was a definition of “mixed bag” as it was an incredibly disparate issue with next to nothing in the way of an overall, unifying plot.  Instead, we just got a scattershot array of short vignettes checking in all the characters.  Some sucked (yet ANOTHER scene of Hope and Wolverine belly-aching about Jean), a couple admittedly shone (Toad and Husk’s quirky romance, an EXCELLENT exchange of barbs between Quire and Xavier), while the rest were completely forgettable.  Also, Jorge Molina’s faces are often ugly as hell.  For instance, Hope looks Asian but with a chin sharp enough cut diamond.  Thankfully, Hollowell’s colors are pretty slick.

Grade: C

FF #21 by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Nick Dragotta (art), and Cris Peter (colors)

I’ve been pretty unkind on this title of late due to a seeming lack of direction.  Thankfully, this far and away the best issue of FF in quite some time.  Put simply, it’s a great cosmic story with epic contests between larger than life character all surrounding a Romeo and Juliet sci-fi romance.  The issue, unlike others, works because it’s Hickman telling a story that needed resolution, tying up a loose end from his run.  As such, it isn’t plagued by the lack of necessity that dogged other issues.  Also, this is BY FAR Nick Dragotta’s strongest performance on FF.  His pop art leanings really come to the fore here and they are fantastic fit for a cosmic story, apparently.

Grade: B

Uncanny X-Force #30 by Rick Remender (writer), Dave Williams (art), and Dean White (colors)

Once again, Remender makes magnificent use of a frequent comic book storytelling device that is so hard to use properly.  Last month it was time travel and this month it’s mind control.  Remender makes devilishly clever and cerebral use of high-level telepathy this month, making for a psychological read in which it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s not….although I will admit that the twist at the end was nonetheless a little obvious.  It’s hard to judge this issue on its own, as it’s clearly the introduction to the next stage in a larger story, but I enjoyed the feel of the carefully orchestrated game that Evan is locked into, playing the rat in a maze of the Brotherhood’s creation.  I will say, however, that the art didn’t do much for me.  Dave Williams is a fine artist and Dean White is as brilliant as ever, but it’s just a case of standards being so high on this book and Williams simply not being quite on the same ridiculously high level of Opena/Noto/McKone/Tedesco/etc.

Grade: B

Winter Soldier #9 by Ed Brubaker (writer), Michael Lark (pencils), Brian Thies & Stefano Gaudiano (inks), Bettie Breitweiser (colors)

Shame on you for not buying this book!  Now Ed Brubaker is going away…or something.  Anyway, Winter Soldier, unsurprisingly, delivers another excellent issue, full of shadowy Cold War espionage action with bullet-casings scattered everywhere.  I found this issue to be a tight, tense outing that flew by and was very exciting throughout.  At times, the tone of this book felt like James Bond crossed with a noir detective fiction story.  Also, there is a really cool twist near the end of the issue that vaguely reminded me of one of my favourite scenes from the Avengers movie.  Also, Michael Lark continues to bring it as only he can, hitting the tone of the book perfectly.  It did leave me wondering, however, just how much better Brubaker’s run on Daredevil would have looked were it colored by Breitweiser instead of Frank D’Armata.  Anyway, I digress.

Grade: B+

Journey into Mystery #642 by Kieron Gillen (writer), Carmine di Giandomenico (art), Chris Sotomayor (colors) 

The first issue of the Everything Burns crossover led to the best single issue of Fraction’s run on Mighty Thor.  Naturally, Journey into a Mystery, a book that, unlike Mighty Thor, has been awesome throughout its run delivers a performance that’s just as good.  Suffice it to say, when it comes to Everything Burns, I am officially a believer.  I’m rarely one to sing the praises of a crossover, but this is awesome.  This month, Gillen really gives us a good healthy chunk of one of those high fantasy genre elements that make those gigantic novels so addictive:  politics.  The various powers, the deal-making, the shifting allegiances, the bluffs, the gambles, and the lies are all in play, making for a colorful, gripping read.  Also, Gillen reminds us that he really GETS the relationship between Thor and Kid Loki, which feels sincere throughout with Gillen reminding us what can at times be forgotten:  Loki is, in the end, a kid.  It’s great character work throughout.  The only thing holding this back is the art.  I’ll admit that it may be a personal thing, but I’ve just never been a fan of di Giandomenico.  I find his work muddy and too indistinct for my tastes.  That said, even that can’t keep this issue down.

Grade: B+

Justice League #12 by Geoff Johns (writer), Jim Lee (pencils), a ridiculous number of other people (art, inks, colors…etc)

At first, I reacted a little defensively to our own Mr. Nguyen’s review and I think that’s in large part because I really do feel that this title has improved significantly since it’s first arc.  Upon reflection though, this still isn’t exactly a game-changing comic book.  Graves just doesn’t doesn’t work as a villain quite as much as I want him to because…well…I still don’t really understand the nature of his powers and what they’re doing, and Johns only complicates that further this month.  It’s a shame, as I do like his back-story.  The whole soap opera romance stuff was another thing that didn’t work for me quite as well as I wanted it to: the Superman/Wonder Woman thing makes sense, but comes completely out of nowhere while Johns is still acting as though he’s given us a reason to care about the Wonder Woman/Trevor relationship when he hasn’t really.  As far as the art goes, I don’t know if it’s Jim Lee rushing or the brigade of inkers, but this felt rough and at times a little dated.  At times, it felt like I’d picked up a bog-standard 90s superhero book that’d been re-colored.  All that said, I thought the ending to the issue was strong, with a great cliffhanger involving Amanda Waller and a very interesting turn for Green Lantern that reminded me a little of Batman at the end of the Dark Knight movie.

Grade: C+

Previews – May 2012

Maybe we’ll start this as a new feature?  I’ll flip through Previews, tell you what I think is worthwhile and you can tell me I’m a moron.  Sound like fun?

DARK HORSE

– Axe Cop: President of the World #1 – At some point, this odd comic that is written by 8 year old Malachai Nicolle and illustrated by his brother, 31 year old Ethan, will lose it’s magic.  Someday Malachai will probably “grow up” too much or become too self-aware, but until that happens we should enjoy the ride.  Here’s a link to my review of last Spring’s Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1.

– Early issues where you can hop on before it’s too late.  Fatima: The Blood Spinners #2 by Gilbert Hernandez, Mind Mgmt #3 by Matt Kindt and The Massive #2 by Brian Wood.

– Eerie Comics #1 brings back the beloved old Warren Publishing title.  It’s really hard to go wrong with a horror anthology in black and white.  Of course, don’t miss the big brother: Creepy Comics #9.

Spaceman #6 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill (colors), Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors)

The Story: Everyone is trying to get Orson and “save” the little girl they think he has kidnapped.

Recap/Review: There are two things really impeding my enjoyment of this issue (and series).  Sorry to say, they’re both art related problems.  From the strict standpoint of aesthetics, I love Eduardo Risso’s artwork.  He works with dark spaces so well, does wonderful eyes and cartoons enough with his characters that I can tell what they’re up to.  But, this issue brought a nagging issue to a head.  Namely, I can’t easily identify two of the main characters in many scenes.  The first problem is with differentiating Tara (the kidnapped little girl) from all the other street-urchins that Orson (the Spaceman) hangs around with.  They’re all small, light of frame and brown skinned with floppy black hair.  In a many panels, I just can’t locate Tara and thus can’t really tell if it is Tara speaking OR one of the other kids.  Would it have killed them to give some of these kids distinctive tattoos or earrings…or maybe make one wear sunglasses all the time…or wear their hair in a pink Mohawk?  Tara is an important character and I couldn’t pick her out of a line-up.

Spaceman #3 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill, Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors), Dave Johnson (cover)

The Story: Now that our titular “spaceman” has rescued the little girl, he has to figure out what to do with her.

Five Things: 

1. The nuspeak is very cleverly done. – The nuspeak adds a LOT of flavor to Spaceman.  Not only is it a subtle way to make it clear on every page that THIS world is not OUR world, but it also leaves a lot to the imagination.  For example, the characters often use the phrase “braining” to mean “thinking”.  But, consider how many synonyms we have for “thinking”: considering, concentrating, speculating, etc.  They all mean roughly the same thing, but not exactly the same thing.  So, when Azzarello uses a word like “braining” he creates a mushy spot for our imagination to work and we get to speculate on what precisely he means.  It’s like in a prose novel where you guess what characters look like or sound like.  Lots of creators feel like they need to show/tell us everything, but comics are always better when they invite the reader to use their imagination to fill in some intentional gaps.

2. Seeing another Spaceman gives it an Elephantmen vibe. – Towards the end of this issue, another Spaceman pops up and he’s clearly taken a very different path in life since whatever “event” changed this world.  Our protagonist is POOR and seeks out a living digging up things from sunken downtown areas.  The other Spaceman seems wealthy and willing to use his genetic advantages to his benefit.  Clearly these two characters have a past and it reminds me a LOT of the dynamics among the central characters in the Elephantmen series (which is outstanding).

3. Things look bleak for our protagonist. – Maybe it’s a little telegraphed, but the protagonist’s plan (Hide the kidnapped girl at your home until it’s “safe”) isn’t going to work well.  But, even though it is telegraphed, our protagonist doesn’t seem that intelligent, so you kinda cringe the whole time as he’s making what is surely a big mistake.  “GAH!  The dimwitted spaceman kidnapped the little girl!  Did he touch her!?!”

Spaceman #2 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill, Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors), Dave Johnson (cover)

The Story: Our titular spaceman get’s tangled up in a kidnapping plot while having semi-explanatory flashbacks to the past.

Five Things: 

1. Story is starting to round into shape. – Last issue spent most of its time establishing the basic atmosphere of this semi-dystopian, quasi-post-apocalyptic future world.  Here we start to really get into the meat of the story as Orson, our central “spaceman”, stumbles upon a little girl who has been kidnapped while picking for junk out on the open ocean.  It looks like there’ll be a bit of an odd-couple vibe: Hulking spaceman who is a societal outcast protecting little girl (who will doubtless be kind to him because children aren’t burdened with society’s baggage).  But, this issue will make any 100 Bullets fan feel right at home as the whole fight on the ocean is gritty and grimy: dude laying there with his guts handing out, talking all tough, gunplay, violence, slang language….  It’s like sci-fi 100 Bullets.

2. Still a LOT we don’t know. – Although this issue starts to tease things, we still don’t know what really happened to the world to make it this way.  The creators give just the right amount of teasing to keep us interested in that part of the plot.  You know how it is: When the creators keep ending scenes one panel too soon?  If they’d just keep the scene going for one panel longer we’d understand everything?  Sometimes that can be frustrating, but these guys are doing it very well.

3. Love Risso’s art! – Honestly, a LOT of the attraction to this series is the art of Eduardo Risso.  It isn’t just the drawing, but the overall sense of graphic design that pervades the issue.  He always seems to pick a wonderful angle to illustrate a scene from and Risso is also a master of directing the reader’s eyes across the page in the order he chooses.  A fun thing I like to do with a Risso comic is use your hands to cover up parts of a panel, but leave the “main” part alone.  It’s really cool how you still get the idea behind the story that way, but it makes you appreciate how well he constructed the panel to make it a richer experience.

Spaceman #1 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill & Giulia Brusco (colors), Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors)

The Story: In a dystopian future, a genetically altered man must find a way to live amongst the normal humans.

Five Things:

1.  Dystopian Sci-Fi Future.  Is there any other kind of future in fiction these days?  It’s been awhile since I saw any fiction with the future being peaches and cream, but even if we’ve all seen dystopian futures before, it is always fun to try to figure out what happened because these books all feel like they’re from our future.  Compare that to a comic like the Avengers that supposedly happens now (but it clearly isn’t any “now” that we’re familiar with since we don’t really have superheroes), and in addition to enjoying the story of the comic, you also wonder how did we get from “our” 2011 to this.  When is it?  What happened to make it dystopian?  The journey to find these answers can be almost as much fun as the main plot itself.

2. Story is a little unclear right now.  After one issue, I couldn’t really tell you what this story is about.  There’s this main character who was genetically modified for a mission to mars (which seems not to have happened?).  He seems like a big, strong, ox of a guy, but not too bright and he eeks out a living by scavenging metal and artifacts from under the ocean (since the seas have risen due to global warming).  And, there is a kidnapping of some celebrity couple’s kid that seems loosely tied to our main character until the ending.  So, there are lots of niblets of story here, but it isn’t really clear what the main thrust of the story is.  Some of that could be Azzarello and Risso knowing that fans of 100 Bullets will give them a lot of time to develop their story, but it’s also worth keeping in mind that it wasn’t really clear what 100 Bullets was about until around issue #40.  So, I do wonder how the creators will pull off this story in a 9-issue miniseries.

3. Risso’s art is really unique.  If you’re a fan of comic art you’ll know Risso’s name.  Mostly that is due to his work on 100 Bullets (which is “must read” material), but he’s done some other stuff too.  Risso has one of those styles that is immediately recognizable for his page layouts, faces and distinctive use of shadow.  He’s also incredibly gifted at eyes and giving each character unique eye shapes that speaks to who they are and what they’re up to.  The eyeballs he gives the little girl toward the end of the issue are really creepy.  It’s really masterful stuff and I’m really glad to see him back on a book like this.