Smaller week than last, but still fulfilling. Let’s take a look, shall we?
American Virgin #1
“Head” Part 1 of 4
Published by: Vertigo/DC
Writer: Steven T. Seagle
Artist: Becky Cloonan
Colorist: Brian Miller
I’ve been looking forward to this book for, literally, months. The moment I heard word one of it in San Diego it went on my mental pull list. Why? Well…hard to say.
One factor certainly was the fact that it was taking on the subject of American politics. I love politics and any time a comic has an interesting way of tackling politics it tends to pique my interest. Plus, the politics in question were American sexual politics, which, in addition to sounding cool, is a fertile landscape (no pun intended) to build a story from.
While the first issue did not prove the above hypothesis, it went a long way towards that goal.
First, the very good news (I think) for all parties. This is not a straight satire. In fact, it’s not very satirical at all. If I’m honest, while I have no problem with abstinence as a life choice, I do have serious qualms about the “movement.” However, I still thought that straight satire was the worst direction this book could go in. Instead, Seagle invests humanity in Adam, the titular virgin. He’s smart, funny, and both a pawn and a participant in the “spiritual” endeavor that currently defines his life. He seems to be a true believer, but does it without being judgmental. He loves his girlfriend (who is in Africa at the start of the story) and cannot wait to marry her, but is too focused on the sexual aspect of that to realize what she really means when she says, “It’s really hard…I don’t know how much longer I can‗. In other words, he’s three-dimensional…human.
Sadly, this gift of characterization does not extend to all parties. Adam’s mother and uncle (I think its his uncle) are pretty paper thin televangelist types and Adam’s cousins are deviants who’s idea of giving Adam a bachelor party include kidnapping and nonconsensual sex.
Most of the issue dwells on setting up Adam’s world and while it does it quickly, you might find yourself wondering where the hook of the story is. It’s all very interesting, but is it going somewhere.
As it turns out, yes, yes it is. And its somewhere that I’ll admit I did not see coming. In literally two pages the story is flipped on its head and several themes are introduced. Spirituality, politics, love, promises, responsibilities, and the nature of soulmates are all fair game.
This is the most exciting debut issue of a book I’ve read in some time (probably since Ex Machina). I’m grading it a little lower than you might expect because, as I said, this first issue is a let of setup until the shocking ending. However, my hopes are now very high.
Grade: B
Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #3
“The Water”
Published by: DC
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Doug Mahnke
Colorist: John Kalisz
This’ll sound a bit of a strange compliment, but man, Doug Mahnke was born to draw bloodthirsty cows. And bloodthirsty birds. And bloodthirsty rats. And, well, pretty much everything (most of it bloodthirsty) that he tackles in this issue. I’ve liked Mahnke’s work for awhile now, but I think he’s being outdoing himself with this series.
That is, of course, in part to Morrison’s script. Much like Nextwave last week, this book delights in being a comic (although it does so in a different way). Every caption is excellent; dramatic and overblown but never lapsing into self-parody.
The story returns to the creepy horror roots that the first issue played so well, but nicely twists the paradigm. Now, instead of the evil of the Sheeda destroying a small town, Frankenstein (and we) comes face to face with the evil of men doing the exact same. Frankenstein is no longer a creature out of step because of his monstrousness; he is a creature out of step because of everyone else’s.
Grade: A
Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #4
“Forever Flavored Man”
Published by: DC
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Freddie E. Williams
Colorist: Dave McCaig
I almost ruined this book for myself. I read some early reviews that were less than complimentary. Then, when I bought the book myself I flipped through it (my pre-reading ritual for basically every issue I buy) and it seemed as though the impression those reviews left me with was being confirmed by what I saw.
Then, thankfully, I read the book for myself.
It’s not perfect, but it’s not all that disastrous either. Yes, the past four issues have essentially amounted to a Morrison homage to “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and yes that means we have not really “gone” anywhere in this story. Be that as it may, I still enjoyed the story.
Last issue of this book, I made mention of being sort of disappointed in Freddie Williams debut, that he failed to meet or exceed the hopes I had had after glancing at some of the issue’s preview pages. This time out, however, he met those hopes, especially in the first few pages where he depicts Shilo Norman “waking up” at a family barbecue in different eras of his life. It’s the subtlety with which he age Shilo that impressed me most. He was no slouch the rest of the book either though.
The book is not without faults however. The late addition of Shilo’s older brother’s tragic demise while resulting in a great last page feels tacked on. This is especially the case since I just read Kid Eternity. The mini was also by Morrison and one of the main character’s brother suffers a similarly ill-fated death and the character is similarly restricted by the experience until he can face up to and overcome his (somewhat irrational) guilt. The similarity made the revelation feel stale to me.
Overall, this was probably one of the lesser Seven Soldiers minis. However, it made me like the New Gods which no one has managed to do until now. Thus, overall, I’d place the mini above Shining Knight (my least favorite) and around the same level as the soon-concluding Bulleteer. And this issue nets a…
Grade: B
Teen Titans #33
Published by: DC
Writer: Geoff Johns and Marv Wolfman
Penciller: Todd Nauck
Inker: Sean Parsons, Norm Rapmund, and Mario Alquiza
Colorist: Richard and Tanya Horie
This issue starts off by warning us not to it until we had read Infinite Crisis #5. Unfortunately it fails to mention that we should also read the ill-timed Teen Titans Annual (it comes out next week) because a rather important revelation about what two Titans have recently been up to is outted. There is also some stuff about Wonder Girl’s powers that (I assume) will make more sense after taking in the Annual. But that doesn’t ruin this story, I just thought it was worth mentioning.
The highlight of this story for me? The return of the blue and yellow Nightwing costume! When I first started reading comics, Nightwing was done with the disco suit but had not yet adopted his blue and black outfit. I like the blue and black, but I love the blue and yellow. So it was cool to have it back, even temporarily.
Beyond that, the story was a perfectly fine done in one about two heroes trying to do the right thing but are being consumed by their own issues, guilt, fears, and insecurities. In the end, of course, they overcome them and arrive at their destiny. We’ve seen this sort of tale before, certainly, and the familiarity of it is only enhanced by the use of the dueling narrative device that Loeb has all but rendered parody through overuse in Superman/Batman. However, like its predecessors in this sub genre of sorts, it hits the right notes appropriately and you’ll end up liking it in spite of yourself.
Plus, it has some nice Nauck art and that’s never a bad thing.
Grade: C
Powers #17
Published by: Icon/Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mike Avon Oeming
Colorist: Peter Pantazis
Wow. As of late, this book has evolved from telling us stories of how Powers change the world we live in to how powers (as in having them) change us. This installment provides the starkest dichotomy yet.
On the one hand is Walker who has joined the Millennium Guard (think Green Lantern) and in doing so, regained powers. He celebrates by stopping a killer alien and passing out. His simple, “I got them back. They gave me my powers back,” revelation is the face of pure bliss. Although he hid it well, its clear that he has been praying for something like this since he had to retire Diamond and join the police force.
Pilgrim, on the other hand, is miserable and has fully lapsed into self loathing. Her powers have brought her no joy and she now seems hellbent on sustaining that momentum. Whereas Pilgrim seemed to have gained back a part of his heart, Pilgrim has most certainly lost a piece of her soul.
It’s better than that clichéd tripe of a sentence I just typed, I promise.
The only sour note in the whole affair is the comedian/spoken word performer commentary that Bendis once again weaves into this issue. The tone of the performer clearly reflects Pilgrim, but is that the only point. If so, mission accomplished but it overstates it. If not then…I’m missing the point.
Still, Powers has been a great book since issue #1 (vol. 1) and this installment keeps the streak alive.
Now bring back the damn letter column!
Grade: A
The Pulse #17
Published by: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Gaydos
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
This book has had a rough road to hoe from the beginning. It’s first storyline was good, but suffered under a bi-monthly schedule and the loss of Alias artist Michael Gaydos (who has returned for the closing chapters of this book). From there, things got worse as issues became less frequent and a merry go round of artists brought less than stellar results (anyone else remember Brent Andersen’s work on the book?). Plus, the storylines became the deleted scenes of other major Bendis storylines (Secret War, House of M and thanks to Tim Sheridan for first making that observation). That might be a neat thing to tuck in a trade but as its own book, it was often less than compelling.
In the past few months, quality moved on an uptick but it was largely too little too late. We all knew that Bendis was leaving soon and it was clear that The Pulse had failed as a worthy successor to Alias and in its mission to be a sort of news-eye view of life in the Marvel U. In some ways, this “indefinite hiatus” is a sort of mercy killing. The book ends on a high note with a return of focus to Jessica Jones letting go of the past and accepting her new life. If we could somehow edit out the intervening issues between the Jessica’s baby arc and the first one, you’d have a pretty quality maxi-series.
Anyway, history lesson aside, this issue was a nice capper as Jessica relates to heretofore unnamed baby girl the story of her first encounter with the man named Cage. It’s nice and sweet and feels sort of right to end on. It is not anything to write home about either, but that’s okay. Sometimes a little emotional salve and a nice conversation is just what the doctor ordered. I can’t give the issue a higher grade because, really, it does not deserve it. However, I hope you understand what I mean when I say that, when all is said and done, this issue feels like an “A” even if it really is just a…
Grade: C
Ultimate Spider-Man #91
“Deadpool” Part 1 of 4
Published by: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Mark Bagley
Inker: John Dell
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
I am rarely blown away by Ultimate Spider-Man, but I nearly almost enjoy it. The reasons why are all on display here. Creative uses of familiar characters, great interpersonal encounters (the Kitty-Peter relationship has just been note perfect so far), and funny Spider banter.
Also, somehow Bagley succeeds in giving The Ringer a nice looking update of his costume. He’s still a lousy villain, but he looks better doing it now.
Grade: B
