Best Comic of the Week:
Oblivion Song #35 – There is only one more issue of this very exciting series after this one, but for most of this issue, it felt like things were wrapping up. The Kuthaal invasion of Earth reaches its conclusion, but I forgot that this is a Robert Kirkman book, and there’s no way he’s ever not going to stick the knife in towards the end of things. Lorenzo De Felici has done such an incredible job on this series, making the alien Kuthaal so strange-looking, yet also somewhat relatable. This issue had a couple surprises in it, and now I’m excited to see how things are going to wrap up. (Every issue before this one printed the first page of the next issue in the back, but they didn’t do that this time around, which makes me think things are going to get bad for the characters). I’m going to miss this series.
Quick Takes:
Action Comics #1040 – I think that Action Comics, under Phillip Kennedy Johnson, is one of the best books being published right now. Superman continues his fight to free the people of Warworld, but that fight is not going very well at all. Powerless, Superman can’t do much more than survive in Warworld’s gladiatorial games, and a match against Mongul ends badly for him. At the same time, his perspective is spreading through the people he’s come to help. Midnighter’s plans to spark a revolution are too extreme for Superman though, so he’s hoping to make some other moves, while Mongul’s people try to make a deal with OMAC. This book is very well written, and this issue, which features art by Riccardo Federici, is beautiful. Federici gives this book a European look, and Lee Loughridge’s colours are perfect for it. I’m really impressed (although I don’t love the Martian Manhunter backup, which is taking way too long to tell its story).
Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines #2 – Fletcher has been captured by the enemy, which is what his secret mission calls for, so we see Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco’s take on POW life during their magical alternate Great War. I’m very happy to be reading this series, as I love Pacheco’s artwork, and it’s clear that Busiek has taken a lot of care in plotting and pacing this story. Each page has something interesting to look at, and there is a lot of information to take in. I’m curious to learn what Fletcher’s mission is, and how it’s going to play out.
Aquaman/Green Arrow: Deep Target #5 – Things have gotten even stranger, as the entire timeline has been changed and now the guy that Aquaman and Green Arrow have been fighting in their only chance to return things to normal. This series has been disappointingly conventional, as I usually expect more from Brandon Thomas. I also don’t understand why there’d be an Aquaman series that doesn’t fit with what’s happening in his other appearances.
Aquamen #1 – I really enjoyed the Aquaman: The Becoming miniseries, and it got me excited for this series. It looks like both Aquamen, Arthur and Jackson, will be sharing the spotlight in this book, as cowriters Brendan Thomas (you should be reading his Excellence!) and Chuck Brown combine to put together an interesting looking story involving what I guess are Atlantean sleeper agents. There’s a surprise involving an old villain who might be cast in a new role, and the writers have a good handle on these characters. Sami Basri’s art is very nice in this first issue, and definitely has me wanting to come back for more.
Black Hammer Reborn #9 – Lucy and Skulldigger finally figure out what’s going on in the alternate Spiral City, and who is behind the latest threat to their world. Jeff Lemire is channeling both Crisis on Infinite Earths and Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers in this series now, and it’s working very well. I especially like the fact that Colonel Weird wasn’t around for this issue, and that regular series artist Caitlin Yarsky made her return. This Reborn series is very different from the original Black Hammer stories, but I like the way it continues Lemire’s world.
Deadly Class #51 – As this series winds down, we’ve been revisiting numerous characters in their adult lives. That means it’s time for Marcus and Maria to see each other again, which also means that a lot of people are going to die. There is a sense of diminishing returns as these characters age and are still stuck on events from decades earlier, but it’s also nice to take this extended, if someone anticlimactic, tour of Marcus’s failed relationships.
Deathstroke #6 – The title of this series finally makes sense as Slade makes his play to take over the Secret Society of Supervillains, and offers Black Canary a role in the organization. I like the approach that Joshua Williamson is taking with Slade in this series, and am very interested in seeing how it plays out. I also like that Ravager and Respawn have moved from Williamson’s Robin to this book. I am having a big problem with the art though, and it impacts my enjoyment a lot. Howard Porter’s looser, larger style didn’t work for me in the first issues, and now it seems that new artist Paolo Pantalena is trying to do a similar style. It just feels a little too cartoonish and hard to follow for a story like this.
The Department of Truth #16 – We’re in San Francisco in 1968, and Lee is sharing a naked drug session with a woman who seems very interested in understanding him. This issue is a nice return to the comics form after last month’s document-filled issue, but it stays experimental and strange. The artist this month is Alison Sampson, and her art blends the more realistic work of someone like Becky Cloonan with the more psychedelic side of Christian Ward. It’s an effective and interesting issue, but after so much meandering, I’m ready to return to Cole and the main plot. This issue does come close to confirming our suspicions about Lee, which is pretty interesting.
The Human Target #5 – Tom King and Greg Smallwood give us a puzzle box of an issue, as Christopher Chance and Ice continue to interview former members of the JLI to try to figure out who poisoned Chance. This time around, they go to see J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, and things take a nonlinear turn. This is a very strong issue that requires close reading. I enjoy King most when he works on books like this one.
Iron Man #17 – Tony’s friends have recruited Doctor Doom and the Silver Surfer to help them try to reverse the damage that Cosmic Tony has done. For his part, our ‘hero’ sees the necessity of turning all of New York into sycophantic yes-men, because he’s tired of hearing them complain. Chris Cantwell has taken this series in new directions, and his work is pretty interesting. At the same time, I feel like it’s missing characters that the reader can really relate to.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #35 – Miles and Shift continue their fight against the Assessor in this issue, which ties into the Beyond story in Amazing Spider-Man. It’s mostly a fight issue, and ends with Miles heading into his next big adventure. I’ve been enjoying this book, but I usually like the quietest issues best, and it’s been a while since we’ve had one of those.
Orphan and the Five Beasts #4 – James Stokoe gives us a massive fight scene in a restaurant run by a chef who can quickly regrow body parts, and has been feeding them to the local population. It’s as crazy as you would expect, and looks very cool. I feel like this book would look better at a larger scale, as Stokoe’s art is so detailed. I’ve been enjoying the wild abandon of this series, but have no idea if this is the last issue or not, or when another will be published (kind of like Orc Stain).
Radio Apocalypse #2 – I’m glad I decided to grab the first issue of this Vault series on a whim, since it is fantastic. Ram V is telling a story about the remains of American society after a space-borne virus hit the planet and created the Xinos, horrible-looking creatures that kill in the night time. This issue doesn’t even feature the point of view character from the first one, but instead shows us how Daytrippers travel from community to community to spread news, and how the Reaver stations help to maintain safety from a distance. The art, by Anand RK, is sometimes hard to follow, but is also incredibly original and eye-catching. I’m not sure why there was such a delay between issues, but I’m hoping that everything is cleared up, because I want to read more.
Robin #11 – I am loving Joshua Williamson’s take on Robin. The fight on Lazarus Island is complicated by the arrival of Ra’s al-Ghul and his daughter Talia. Damian heads off with his new friends to help wrap up some unfinished business, and the next storyline is set up. Original series artist Gleb Melnikov returns, and excels at the action scenes. Most importantly, Damian’s relationship with Flatline progresses, and that’s kind of nice to see. This is among the best of the new DC titles.
The Rush #4 – This is a pretty pivotal issue in Simon Spurrier and Nathan Gooden’s gold rush horror series. Nettie is convinced to finally leave the cursed town where she’s been searching for her son, but her way back to civilization is blocked by the supernatural being we saw riding a giant spider when the series began. There have been a number of supernatural creatures spotted in this series so far, and we are maybe getting closer to learning what it is they want. Spurrier has grounded this series in both the time period and in Nettie’s strong character. It’s a very good series.
Saga #56 – It’s so nice to have this title back on the stands. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples haven’t missed a step in their years on hiatus. Alanna and her family have been captured by a family of pirates, although it starts to look like she can work with them to make a deal. We also check in on the Robot Kingdom, as the King desires to track down his son’s killers. I’ve really missed these characters, and am so happy to be reading this comic again.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #20 – It took me ages to track down this comic for some reason (my LCS got shorted on a lot of Marvel books lately), and it kind of wasn’t worth the wait. I like how a lot of the threads of the story Ethan Sacks started a couple of years ago are finally coming together, and fitting into the larger Crimson Dawn story, but when this comic doesn’t feature Valance, it lacks heart. I have not yet been able to bring myself to care about most of these other characters.
Teen Titans Academy #12 – When it launched, TTA was one of the stronger new DC titles, but I feel like it tried to do too many things at once, and as most of its biggest storylines culminate in this issue, things sort of fall apart. I’m going to blame some of that on Tom Derenick’s art in this issue, which is kind of stiff, but I also think that a lot of blame falls on Tim Sheridan, who is trying too hard to stick to the blueprint laid out in the Future State miniseries, and wrap things up before next issue’s crossover with Suicide Squad (War on Earth-3). The revelation of Red X’s identity does not hit very hard at all, and the illusions he was working under should have felt more momentous. Likewise, the injuries of some of the adult Titans are not very heart-wrenching, and too many characters just stand around. This book needs to work on its pacing a lot more, as it has a lot to offer, but the dots are not connecting at the moment.
Two Moons #10 – John Arcudi and Valerio Giangiordano bring the second arc of their horror Western series to a satisfying close. Things get pretty wild as the confrontation with Little Knife and the spiritual forces he’s awakened takes place. What I like best about this series are the discussions between Two Moons and Joanna, and the way in which Arcudi pulls out various historical moments and movements to use as the foundation of this series. It’s really very good, and I’m pleased to see that a third arc has been announced.
Vampirella/Dracula: Unholy #3 – Priest’s story continues to play out in this new Vampirella series, which has Matthew facing investigation for a murder, while Ella’s mother maybe returns from the dead already. I’m still adjusting to Donny Hadiwidjaja’s art, which is a lot rougher than what I got used to on the previous Vampirella series, but it’s growing on me.
X Deaths of Wolverine #3 – As this series reaches the half-way mark, we get a much better sense of who the Phalanx-Wolverine hunting Moira is, and see how this story relates to the events of Powers of X, at the very beginning of the Krakoan era. I much prefer this series to its companion, X Lives of Wolverine, as this feels like it’s propelling a lot of Hickman’s story (although I constantly wonder how much of this is different from what he was originally going to do with it).
Comics I Would Have Bought if Comics Weren’t So Expensive:
Snow Angels TP
The Week in Graphic Novels:
Afterlift – Both writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Jason Loo are hometown heroes, so I knew I would eventually have to own this book. Zdarsky is perhaps the better known of the two, having done incredible work on a number of Marvel books, including the current run of Daredevil (apparently he’ll be taking over Batman soon too!). Loo wrote and drew the fantastic series The Pitiful Human-Lizard, which was a real gem of a book, and which is maybe the most Toronto comic ever made. In Afterlift, they tell the story of Janice, a rideshare driver who ends up being hired (without her knowledge) to help deliver the soul of a recently deceased young woman to Hell. As Janice figures out what’s going on, and as demons attack, hoping to gain the soul for themselves, she tries to take control of the situation and help the woman. The concept for this book is very cool, and Zdarsky and Loo work very well together in telling it. The character work in this book is very good, with Janice and Suzanna (the dead woman) feeling fully realized. Loo has levelled up with his art, and has a lot to do with making this over the top concept feel very believable. I was really impressed with this book.
The Week in Music:
Jean-Michel Blais – Aubades – Blais is a neoClassical artist whose previous albums have focused on his own piano playing. For Aubades, his sweeping new album, he plays alongside an orchestra and has created much bigger music. This album swells and recedes, and is quite beautiful. In many places, I’d wished his pieces were longer, as he tends to stick to pop music lengths. It’s cool watching this artist evolve, and while this moves away from the type of repetitive piano music I like (Ólafur Arnalds, Hania Rani, and Sophie Hutchings all sound like Blais’s earlier work in some ways), I still really like what he brings to this release.
