Sorry for the lateness of this week’s column. It’s because of site maintenance. There won’t be a column next week (because of me), but then we’ll be back on track.
Best Comic of the Week:
Sins of Sinister #1 – Kieron Gillen has been building towards this story pretty much since the start of his Immortal X-Men. Mister Sinister has made his move, and has gotten himself consigned to the pit for it, but what no one is aware of is that Sinister has been laying a trap for the citizens of Krakoa through his contribution to the practice of mutant resurrection. This has given him control over some key members of the council, and we get to watch as his ten-year plan unfolds. Gillen keeps a lot of balls in the air in this comic, making Sinister’s plans believable enough, and charting a course that leads towards his domination of the world, and then perhaps his downfall. I did pick up on a possible anti-vaccine angle in the story, as Sinister offers a way of giving all of mankind mutant genes to provide them with the option of resurrection, and it turns out to be a bit of a Trojan horse. This launchpoint has art by the excellent Lucas Werneck, as well as guest pages by a number of terrific artists. We can really see how Gillen has taken Jonathan Hickman’s original concepts and made them his own, elevating a character I always despised into one of the great villains of the Marvel Universe. I’m looking forward to the three tie-in series, which will be representing different eras in Sinister’s ongoing story. I was worried this was going to be an Age of X style event without substance, but there’s a lot of cool stuff happening here.
Quick Takes:
Action Comics #1051 – The new Dawn of DC era begins here, with Superman and his extended family being on hand for the opening of a new Steelworks building. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson has been building a few plotlines for a while now, and they make significant moves in this issue, as the Kents adopt the two children that Kal-el brought back from Warworld, and as Metallo attacks. The main story is very good. The backups are more of a problem for me. Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks have a story set during Jon’s childhood that doesn’t seem to have a lot of purpose (although I do love Weeks’s art), and then Leah Williams and Marguerite Sauvage tell a story featuring Power Girl and another character whose name I didn’t learn until most of the way through the story. It seems that Power Girl’s powers have changed because of the Lazarus Planet event, and now Kara has some psychic abilities. She’s using them so she and the other character, Omen (who I know very little about) are opening up a counseling practice, and then try to help Beast Boy, who has been traumatized since the Dark Crisis. This story is a bit of a mess – I think had Omen been introduced and had there been some exposition, I could have enjoyed it more. It’s lovely, but did little for me.
Behold, Behemoth #3 – Writer Tate Brombel finally fills in the gaps and explains how this book that started out being about a child service’s worker with PTSD is also a book about post-Apocalyptic monsters roaming the wasteland, and it’s all done in such a way that things stay believable. I’m so glad I took a chance on this book, because Nick Robles’s art is so good, and I’m enjoying Brombel’s story. These are two creators to keep an eye on.
Damn Them All #4 – Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard are killing it on this book. I love the way this reads like an alternate take on a Hellblazer story, as the main character learns more about how demons fight one another, and makes a bold move to try to fix the situation that has powerful demons under the control of mob bosses and businessmen. Spurrier is one of the best writers in the business, but I worry he doesn’t get enough credit for how brilliant he is. This series helps showcase it, and it’s so nice to see regular Adlard art again – I’d missed him since The Walking Dead ended.
Detective Comics #1068 – I’m really enjoying the atmosphere of Ram V’s run on this title, as Two-Face struggles to decide if he wants to stay aligned with the Orghams or help Batman. V’s Batman is a little hapless, and unable to get out ahead of these powerful villains and their mind control methods. I am also very impressed with the backup story, that has the young man Jim Gordon found walled up in Arkham Asylum chasing a living melody as it moves from person to person through Gotham. I like the art by Ivan Reis and Rafael Albuquerque on the main story, but Dani’s art on the backup is phenomenal.
The Human Target #11 – We’re getting close to the end of this series, and that means it’s time to finally learn just how it happened that Christopher Chance was poisoned while posing as Lex Luthor. This series has been interesting – in addition to being a character study of Chance, it’s also been a love letter to the Justice League International. I don’t think that this is taking place in existing continuity, but it does depend a lot on the stories of the past (god DC is confusing this way). Greg Smallwood’s art is gorgeous, and while this is not as sophisticated as some of Tom King’s other series, it still has a lot going on.
Justice Society of America #2 – I was really torn when I saw this book solicited. On the one hand, I love the JSA almost as much as I love the Legion, and would always want to support a book featuring them, but on the other, I’ve become incredibly wary of Geof Johns’s writing in the last decade, and more or less want to avoid his books now. I forgot about the fact that with him writing, the schedule was never going to be kept, and so things are already behind. This issue held my interest for the first half, then started to lose me again, as he shows a sequence of disjointed events from different moments in Helena Wayne’s timeline. She jumps back to the 1940s, and meets the original JSA, but I still can’t tell if this is taking place on the classic Earth-2, on Earth-Prime, or some other spot in the restored multiverse. I know I should just try to enjoy the story, but when the book features the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, but also references the Miller/Mazzucchelli Year One, I end up thinking a lot about continuity. I also don’t like that he’s retconning in a bunch of new Golden Age style characters, but I did appreciate the appearance by the first Mister Miracle, even if it raises even more continuity questions for me. I’m going to give this more chances, because I do love the JSA, but I hope that Johns lets us in on things soon.
Saga #61 – I’m so happy that Saga is back (although probably not as happy as retailers, since this book is a goldmine). Some time has passed since Hazel and her family lost their home, and they’re managing to get by, even though the world they’re stuck on has become another front of the war between Wreath and Landfall. It’s always nice to see these characters again, and as always, Fiona Staples is the biggest reason why. She never seems to be tired of these characters, and every page is suffused with her love for them. This really is probably the most consistently wonderful comic being published, and the offer made to Alanna on the last page of this issue has me eagerly looking forward to the next one.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #28 – I’m not sure why Aphra is on the cover of this issue, as she’s barely in this issue. Instead, we get a spotlight on Sana Starros as she leads her group on a mission to assassinate Domina Tagge, and show why she’s not all that different from Aphra. This was an exciting issue, and I love that Boushh and they’re crew are in it. This title just keeps getting better and better lately; I really like the work that Alyssa Wong and Minkyu Jung are doing here, even if it took me a while to get into it.
X-Terminators #5 – This series was pretty silly, but based on some of the discussion I’ve seen online, was much loved by a demographic that is not me. I really loved Leah Williams’s X-Factor run, but found this one less satisfying.
The Comic I Would Have Bought if Comics Weren’t So Expensive:
Batman: One Bad Day – Catwoman #1
