The Weekly Round-Up #572 With Seven To Eternity #14, Barbarlien: Red Planet #1, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #7 & More Plus The Week In Music!

Columns, Top Story

Best Comic of the Week:

Seven to Eternity #14 – I’ll be honest, I kind of forgot about this title, and so was pleasantly surprised to see it turn up in my pullfile list this week.  Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña have put together a truly fantastic fantasy series here, that explores themes of obligation and morality in ways that feel very new.  The book is set in a truly wonderful world, and Opeña’s art is consistently incredible.  From the beginning, I’ve found this to be a difficult book to write about, as my conception and understanding of the characters kept shifting.  Characters that seemed heroic and noble are deeply flawed, and the evil “bad guy” character is fascinating and very rich with potential.  This issue has Garils, the Mud King, and Adam finally reach their shared destination – the Springs of Zhal, which can cure Adam of his disease, and cut the rest of the world’s ties to Garils.  Of course, things are never what they seem in this book, and it looks like, once again, things are going to get even worse for Adam.  This is a very impressive title, and I’m excited to see where things go now that it’s entering into its home stretch.

Quick Takes:

Barbarlien: Red Planet #1 – Mark Markz, the superhero known as Barbalien, was one of the more interesting characters in the original run of Black Hammer.  He’s a Martian Manhunter stand-in; a shapeshifter from Mars who is both a police officer and a superhero.  Jeff Lemire added a wrinkle in making him gay, and unsure of how to express his interest in human men.  With time, we learned a little more about him, and the fact that he was an exile from Mars.  This new miniseries explores his backstory more.  During the height of the AIDS epidemic, Mark finds himself meeting a young AIDS activist who intrigues him, not long after he misread a situation with his partner and finds his social world upended.  Gabriel Hernandez Walta draws the hell out of this, and new writer Tate Brombal, working off a story he wrote with Lemire, does a fine job of opening up this extended look into the character’s world.  I think it’s going to be as good as the other Black Hammer books have been lately.  I’m glad this world is being expanded to this extent.

Captain America #25 – I’d expected this oversized issue to be a little more monumental in terms of the main story.  Cap and his friends start a rescue mission to save Peggy, General Ross, Misty Knight, and maybe some others from the Red Skull and Alexa Lukin, although it looks like someone isn’t making it back.  The real appeal of this issue came in the form of a backup story by Anthony Falcone and the great Michael Cho.  It has Steve speaking at the funeral of a man he’s known for years, who came to exemplify everything Steve has spent his life fighting for.  It’s touching, if a little pedantic.

The Devil’s Red Bride #2 – I’m really enjoying this demonic historic Japanese comic by Sebastian Girner and John Bivens.  We learn a little more about what’s going on, and get to see Ketsuko in action against a number of raven-themed swordsmen.  This book is pretty cool.

Die #15 – So much happens in this issue of Die, as the main characters come into conflict with each other, and it looks like everything they’ve been trying to do is doomed to fail.  Kieron Gillen really leans into his exploration of the rules and structures of role-playing games in this issue, and I’m left, once again, thinking that if I was a gamer I’d be getting a lot more out of this than I already am.  I’m sorry to see that this book is going on hiatus until the spring, but given the quality of it, I’m okay with Gillen and Stephanie Hans taking as much time as they need.

Die! Die! Die! #13 – Connie has to face the consequences of her actions in this issue, which is one of the more introspective and moral issues we’ve seen of this usually insane comic.  After creating a situation where the leadership of the alt-right all die in a bridge collapse (because they were protesting the fact that gun-cleaner made them impotent), and despite the fact that she was working to find funding for major infrastructure projects, most of Connie’s crew decide she’s gone too far.  It’s another very fun issue, and it contains a scene wherein Barack Obama proves how much of a badass he is, that is a nice counterpoint to current images of a certain soon-to-be-ex-President raging at his loss.  This series never disappoints.

Ginseng Roots #7 – For this issue (and the next), Craig Thompson turns the story over to Chua, a ginseng farmer whose parents came from Laos in the 1970s and became part of the large group of Hmong people who kept the ginseng industry alive.  We get a brief history of the Hmong people in Laos, and what it took for so many of them to make it to America.  I like how young Craig filters this story through the pop culture he was immersed in, with references to He-Man, GI Joe, and Secret Wars popping up throughout the issue.  As always, this book is an interesting balance of reporting, memoir, and history, and I find it fascinating.  I never would have expected to be this interested in the Wisconsin ginseng industry…

Grendel, Kentucky #3 – I am loving this 70s biker gang monster series!  The gathered gangsters and female bikers learn the truth of the town, which turned its back on mining to grow weed decades before, and then resolve to free the town of its curse.  Tommy Lee Edwards is doing an incredible job drawing this book, and the last couple of pages are a masterclass in horror.  This is the best thing I’ve seen from AWA so far.

Immortal Hulk #40 – Leonard Samson returns, more or less, and explains some of what’s going on to Gamma Flight, who then have to deal with the fact that their fancy restraints are not going to be able to hold the Hulk.  Al Ewing’s massive reimagining of the Hulk continues to draw me in, and remains completely unpredictable.  It’s one of Marvel’s best books.

Once & Future #13 – This issue opens with a terrific scene involving a bunch of magpies and some old rhymes.  It’s one of the funnier moments in this series so far, which has often felt like it wasn’t living up to its potential.  I find this book is growing on me more and more now, and my interest in the characters keeps me wanting to read it.

Rorschach #2 – I really like this series, which is amounting to a very systematic exploration of the mystery around the man who tried to assassinate a Presidential candidate while wearing a Rorschach mask.  The detective (I don’t know if I know the guy’s name) spends most of the issue digging into the apartment building where the guy lived, almost completely as a recluse, and we are along for the ride in a very procedural way.  Things like that often appeal to me, especially when they are handled as well as Tom King and Jorge Fornés handles them here.

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #7 – I’m quickly starting to lose interest in this series.  I like the idea of Beilert having to fight off successive waves of bounty hunters coming after him, but I don’t find myself very invested in this story.  It looked like writer Ethan Sacks was aiming to do a bit of a Lone Wolf and Cub thing with him and the girl from two different crime syndicates, but it looks like she’s written out of the story with this issue.  I keep looking for an emotional centre to this book, but can’t find it.  I might be dropping it soon…

Stillwater #3 – I continue to be impressed and drawn into this series.  Chip Zdarsky really has thought through the ramifications of living in a town where no one ages or gets sick, as he applies that logic to food cultivation and eating meat, as well as the legal implications that could come with immortality.  Danny is not too happy about having to live in this town forever, but quickly learns that his escape attempts are not going to work, and has to come up with a new plan.  Zdarsky and Ramón Perez are putting their all into this book, and it looks great.

X-Force #14 (X of Swords Pt. 17) – Early on in this massive event, I was concerned that we’d end up with ten or so issues of repetitive sword fights between the champions of Krakoa and Arakko.  Now that the contests have started, and they involve dance-offs, eating contests, and other ridiculous things, I wish that there was more sword fighting (especially if they were all as cool as the one that Storm finds herself in this issue).  This event has just gotten silly, like it is trying to recreate the challenges of reality TV shows like Survivor, and while it’s clear that Saturnyne is tipping the scales, I don’t know why, and still can’t fully bring myself to care.  I usually have enjoyed the issues co-written by Ben Percy and Gerry Duggan, but this one lacked heart.

Hellions #6 (X of Swords Pt. 18) – This chapter is a bit of a surprise, as Mister Sinister’s plan to steal the swords of Arakko fails due to how long it takes his team to get to that world.  Sinister has other plans in mind though, but more surprising is the way in which the team gets torn up in this issue.  It’s been established that X-Men who die in Otherworld might not get resurrected properly, and I suspect that means that this book is going to have some new cast members soon.  In a lot of ways, Zeb Wells is making this the Suicide Squad of the X-Family, and I’m okay with that.  It’s a weird, weird book.

Cable #6 (X of Swords Pt. 19) – This ended up being a big chapter in X of Swords, as Nate faces a fight to the death, and then so does Gorgon.  So far, it’s really felt like Saturnyne was stacking the deck against the Krakoans, but things look up a little in this issue (just not for Nate).  Phil Noto does a great job with the art on this issue, giving us a lot of cool action sequences, but also letting us see how things are on Krakoa.  Nate hasn’t been a big focus of this event, but he is growing on me more and more as he becomes more vulnerable.  I’m looking forward to seeing how this all wraps up next week.

Comics I Would Have Bought if Comics Weren’t So Expensive:

Fantastic Four #26

Firefly #22

Ludocrats Vol. 1

Teen Titans #47

The Week in Music:

Okan – Espiral – Does your life need a little more Afro-Cuban rhythm in it?  You could not do better than Okan, a Toronto-based group that perfectly captures the sounds and feel of Cuban music.  These ladies are incredible performers, and I’m still sad that I wasn’t able to attend a release show for this terrific album.

Niklas Paschburg – Svalbard – This album from the German electronic/classical composer Niklas Paschburg came out a while ago, but somehow got past me.  Paschburg mostly makes very pretty ambient music, but this new album has more edge to it than his last one, with tracks towards the end feeling a little more menacing, while still being very beautiful.  I’m glad I found this.

Dougie Stu – Familiar Future – Ropeadope Records has been putting out a steady trickle of great releases over the years, and this debut from Doug Stuart (aka Dougie Stu) is another fine addition.  It’s a more traditional jazz album, with some nice guest work by guitarist Jeff Parker on a few tracks.  Stuart plays keys and provides percussion, and creates a nice, laid back Saturday afternoon kind of album.  It works. 

Get in touch and share your thoughts on what I've written: jfulton@insidepulse.com