Once again, the real world is seriously encroaching on my time to read and relax, but instead of skipping a column (which I’m going to be doing in a couple of weeks), I thought I’d share what I managed to get through this week. Hopefully next week’s column will be a full one before I skip a week.
Best Comic of the Week:
The Deviant #6 – With Michael locked up and accused of committing copycat crimes, his boyfriend Derek sets out to prove that he’s been set up; at the same time, the FBI agent in charge of the case is having doubts as well. James Tynion IV continues to spool out this story masterfully, leaving the reader just as confused as Derek is. Joshua Hixson does a great job of portraying these uncomfortable situations. I’m really enjoying this series.
Quick Takes:
Batman and Robin #10 – Reading this, I started to think that the series was ending, as Joshua Williamson wraps up just about every plotline from the first ten issues. Then he launches Bruce and Damian into some new things, so that is reassuring. It’s interesting to me that Williamson, who is more or less the top guy at DC right now, is neither writing the Absolute Power event, nor is he funneling his Bat-book into it, instead letting Chip Zdarsky do that. This book is at its best when it focuses on Damian’s relationships with his father and his friends; the Batman stuff is a little dull.
Blood Hunt #3 – We’re still in the developing phases of this event, as the heroes figure out how bad the situation is, and split up to try to approach it from a few angles, while Blade’s daughter takes off, pursued by Dracula and Spider-Man. I like how Jed MacKay is basically setting up three or four streams for the story, each of which dovetails with another book, mostly written by him. I don’t care a lot about vampires in the Marvel Universe, but I do like an event that has main parts that fit together, so this works for me. Some of these character changes best not be permanent (I’m talking mostly about Miles here).
GODS #8 – I find it hard to believe that this series was ever intended to run for only eight issues. Jonathan Hickman spent too much time building up the mysteries that surround Wyn, Aiko, and their organizations to just wrap it up like this. He retconned a whole different facet of the Marvel Universe, established that it was well-known and that these groups interacted with heroes for years, and now I wonder if we’ll ever see any of these characters again. Given Hickman’s track record, it’s easy to assume that he got bored and decided to focus on other stuff (I’m still waiting for some of his indie series to conclude after a decade), but it’s also possible that sales on this book were not good enough to keep it alive. I started to think of this series as being Sandman in the Marvel Universe, not because Wyn is like Morpheus, but because I often felt like Hickman was trying to play with some of the same themes and general structures that Neil Gaiman made use of, but less effectively. I did enjoy each issue, and especially enjoyed Valerio Schiti’s art, but the overall effect of this title left me a little cold. This issue wraps up the fight with the In-Betweener off-screen, as Wyn travels through different moments in his long life looking for peace. The story is interesting, but also feels a little paint-by-numbers. This was all kind of weird, really.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21 – I’d thought I’d maybe missed something in Blood Hunt, but this issue is where we see the transformation that Miles has undergone, before he teams up with Hightail to again go fight the same vampire guy they’ve already defeated. It feels like this is going to keep Miles busy in between scenes of the main Blood Hunt event, but I don’t mind when Cody Ziglar takes time to focus on what’s happening with Miles instead of running him through his paces. Art-wise, I found guest artists Brent Peeples and Daniel Picciottos’ work to be the cleanest this book has looked in a while.
The Outsiders #8 – Batwoman is on the outs with the organization, but that doesn’t stop her from taking a call from Jenny Crisis, who sends her to go help Jinny Hex with a ghost problem. This series continues to draw from the more interesting corners of the DC Universe in a way I really like. Robert Carey’s art is a big part of the appeal of this series, and it’s nice to see a less Wildstorm-related issue after the last few. Has this always been a $5 book and I never noticed until now? I hate the price creep that has been happening lately.
Vampirella #669 – Vampirella is still stuck in a time loop, and her efforts to free herself from it aren’t going well. This story arc is maybe the most Priest arc he’s written yet – it’s full of callbacks to things that happened a couple of years ago, and the plot is not really advancing at all, but it’s still hella entertaining. I never thought this would turn into such a long run from one of my favourite comics writers.
The Week in Music:
Charlotte Day Wilson – Cyan Blue – It’s funny how listening to songs performed live can change your relationship with them. When I first heard Charlotte Day Wilson’s new album, I was not feeling it all that much; mostly, I was missing the unique qualities that her collaborations with members of BADBADNOTGOOD provided, as they are absent from the production and playing here. After seeing her perform this last weekend, I feel more connected to what CDW is doing with this record. It feels like she’s working on expressing herself clearly, and collaborating with new people to help focus on what makes her voice singular. I’m not sure of the cover of Over The Rainbow, but otherwise, subsequent listens have given me a lot more to think about and hold on to with this album. I’m also really happy to see an artist that I’ve followed from her earliest days (I remember BBNG bringing her out for her first performance, and her looking so nervous, but then killing it) reach new heights.
Midnight Sons – Money Has No Owners – I’m surprised I haven’t written about this yet, because it’s been in my rotation for a little while now. I feel like people who read this site might especially appreciate this album, which features rapper Zilla Rocca and producer DJ Chong Wizard, but has Ghost Rider and Moon Knight on the album cover. There are tons of references to Marvel comics throughout the album, which is an excellent example of the kind of underground rap I love so much. There are some great features on here, but Zilla is the real star of the show on this one.
Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown – There was a time in my late teens and early twenties where Portishead had a massive place in my life, so I was really happy to get my hands on some new music by Beth Gibbons, the voice of that group. This is a truly lovely album, and her voice has only gotten richer with time. It doesn’t have the experimentation and energy of a Portishead album, but it stands on its own as an artistic statement. Her voice still gets me after all these years.
