Best Comic of the Week:
Rorschach #12 – I enjoy these series where Tom King takes an under-utilized character and explores their psyche for a year or so. Vision and Mister Miracle were modern classics. Strange Adventures has been great. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is off to a good start. Rorschach has been different from those books from the beginning. First off, the actual Rorschach never once appears in this comic, which is instead interested in exploring, in an oblique way, how he continues to impact the world of the Watchmen, through the paranoia and distrust that manifests itself in different parts of society. Our investigator goes to the Presidential candidate whose attempted assassination he’s been looking into, ostensibly to report all that he’s found. Things turn out a little differently than expected, and in a key moment, King and artist Jorge Fornés turn the camera away. This book has relied a lot on the structural formalism King always brings to the table, but I’ve found it to be effective here in a way I haven’t seen before. This is a very solid closing issue, even if it leaves us with more questions than answers. I’m looking forward to the Human Target book King has launching soon.
Quick Takes:
Eternals: Thanos Rises #1 – I’m guessing that Esad Ribic needs a little time to catch up to things on the regular Eternals series, so Kieron Gillen has a couple of one-off stories coming out to help fill in some gaps. In this one, he teams up with the always amazing Dustin Weaver to provide the backstory needed to explain why Thanos is the only Eternal to have been born of other Eternals. I’ve never been a big follower of the Eternals, and realized that I’ve never given any thought to that issue before. It’s a fine issue, with a lot of exposition. It’s nice to see Weaver’s art, always.
Iron Man #12 – Tony has to deal with the automatic defences on Taa II, while also preparing for Krovac’s arrival. I’m liking this run, and the idea that Tony is on morphine throughout the issue, but Angel Unzueta’s art is pretty muddy on many pages, making it a little hard to follow. I think it’s coloured a little too darkly.
Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem #4 – There’s a lot of muddy, dark colours in this week’s comics. This book is a little hard to read too, because figures blur into the backgrounds in places. I’m enjoying this series, but can’t help thinking that maybe Mark Millar is reaching the end of things to say about these characters, which is why he’s pulling in all sorts of new aliens. I find that I’m mostly just interested in the pages featuring Hutch.
The Last Annihilation: Wakanda #1 – Bridging the end of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Black Panther and the next relaunch, which is happening soon, comes this issue, which has M’Baku (the intergalactic one), Shuri, Manifest, and Vibraxas getting involved in the fight against Dormammu in Shi’ar space. It’s a good issue, with writer Evan narcisse doing his best to incorporate the new Wakanda with the larger Marvel universe.
Marauders #24 – A former associate of Emma’s comes looking for her on Arakko, hoping to reclaim the ship that Emma stole from him. It’s nice to see Phil Noto moving over to this book after his Cable run; I really enjoy his art, and am happy to get regular doses of it. This issue is a bit odd, and once again focuses on the accoutrements of the Marauders and how they got them, instead of working to build character. It’s a crutch that Gerry Duggan relies on too often.
Ninjak #3 – I’m not sure why, if you’ve got an artist like Javier Pulido drawing a book, you’d use more traditional cover artists. This book doesn’t really stand out on the stands, but inside, it looks amazing. Valiant seems to have moved to an even thinner interior paper than what other companies are using, making this issue feel uncomfortably delicate. I’m enjoying Pulido and Jeff Parker’s work on this book, but something about this issue felt off.
Primordial #1 – Fans of Department of Truth or The Manhattan Projects will be interested in this book, which tells an alternate history examining the cancelled American and Soviet space programs of the late 50s, after something strange happened after each country’s first test flight using animal subjects. An engineer is hired to help dismantle the remains of Cape Canaveral in 1961, but stumbles on some secrets. It’s cool to see Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino working together again (I never read their Joker comic, but liked Gideon Falls), and this looks like a promising start to this series. I’m intrigued and drawn into the story already.
Scumbag #10 – The earlier issues of this book were more amusing. I feel like Rick Remender is floundering a little with this, as he tries to poke fun at superhero team fights, and has moved away from the silly social commentary that made the first arc of this book so delightful. I enjoy this comic still, but I think it’s lost its focus.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #16 – Vader’s attempts to chase down Luke Skywalker outside the Crimson Dawn party goes wrong when various factions make moves against him. The War of the Bounty Hunters is starting to sprawl a little too much, but it’s still working for now. I love Rafaelle Ienco’s artwork.
Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters – Boushh #1 – As a kid, during the first Star Wars trilogy, it was the bounty hunters that intrigued me the most. Boba Fett was easily the coolest thing I’d ever seen, but I was also drawn to Boushh, and was shocked when they turned out to be Princess Leia. I don’t know if Boushh, and the other Ubese exiles he’s with, have appeared in other Star Wars properties over the years or not (it’s strictly comics and movies for me), but when I saw he was getting his own one-off, I was intrigued. Boushh and his crew are hired to go after Domina Tagge, a character from writer Alyssa Wong’s Doctor Aphra book. I like that this book ties into Aphra’s series, as I’m hoping we’ll see more of Boushh there. I also like that we don’t see him (them?) with his helmet off, preserving some future mystery. This book has me wanting to know a lot more about Uba IV, and the society there.
Superman And The Authority #3 – I’m still not too clear on the purpose of this book, especially as, three quarters of the way into it, we are still just assembling the team. I thought this was going to be tied in with the mainstream DCU continuity, but it’s not, or not entirely, and so I find myself spending a lot of time thinking about purpose while reading it. It also doesn’t read or feel like a Grant Morrison book, which is disappointing. It’s cool to see some of these characters (I love the Enchantress), but I’m left feeling cold. This is the first miss in the DC books I’ve been reading since Infinite Frontiers.
The Swamp Thing #7 – I started reading this book because it was tying in to the Suicide Squad, but I’m starting to find it more interesting than that book. Ram V has found a new angle on this character, making him a guilt-ridden son who has caused strife in his homeland by helping it open up to resource extraction from a corporation. Mike Perkins’s art is fantastic in this book, and I like the way the Squad’s b-list is drawn a lot.
X-Men: Trial of Magneto #2 – This issue has a couple of surprising moments in it, as the Avengers come to Krakoa to retrieve Wanda’s body, making them the island nation’s first official visitors. Many characters are acting strangely – it’s hard at this point to read Magneto’s actions, but also Xavier is being a little strange too. Leah Williams is building on her excellent X-Factor run, and keeping a lot of balls in the air here. I find it impossible to predict where any of this is headed, but I am enjoying the ride. The last page left me confused, and excited for the next issue. I’m sure Vision feels the same way…
Comics I Would Have Bought if Comics Weren’t So Expensive:
Fantastic Four Life Story #4
Kang the Conqueror #2
