Best Comic of the Week:
The Forged #2 – The second issue of this new oversized (in page size and count) series by Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann, and Mike Henderson continues to impress me. This series follows a group of cloned special ops mech suit wearing warriors who have been sent to a distant corner of the universe to retrieve something. This issue has the squad landing on a planet moments before the massive ship that brought them crashes, and they soon find themselves trying to stay ahead of some local mini-sandworm things that keep trying to pull them apart. Rucka and Trautmann are masters of worldbuilding, and the effort they put into this series shows on every page. Henderson has come up with some wild tech designs, and makes this book visually engaging. He makes very good use of the extra-large pages, without cramming something into every square inch. I would say that it’s a little hard to differentiate the characters still, but I’m always in the mood for a wide-scale science fiction thing, and this is working for me.
Quick Takes:
Black Adam #10 – We’re getting close to the end of Priest’s miniseries, and he’s still tossing in some new concepts and ideas. Teth-Adam is just kind of in a mood, while his various foes and antagonists plot against him. We see a fight with Ibac that doesn’t go very well, and then another foe’s actions are going to test his already tenuous relationship with Malik. This series has been very good, although it’s lately had trouble keeping a regular artist (there are two working on this issue). I remain hopeful that Malik will get his own book after this is over.
The Flash #797 – Knowing that Jeremy Adams has only a few issues left on this series, it makes each new issue kind of bittersweet. This issue has Kid Flash babysitting the twins, but promptly losing them to multiversal shenanigans involving a character they met in the arc before the One Minute War. It’s a cute issue, but I do want to max out the time Adams gets to spend with Wally, especially after some of the revelations of the last issue.
Hellcat #3 – Christopher Cantwell is really putting Patsy through her paces with this series, as our hero tries to figure out who killed the man she was dating. So far, her suspects are Sleepwalker, Daimon Hellstrom (who is inhabiting a stuffed animal), and herself, and she really has no clue which it might be. Cantwell is weaving into this some long-held resentments between Patsy and her friend Hedy, and I think this might be the most interesting the character has ever been to me. I really like Alex Lins’s art, which is pretty rough, matching Patsy’s spirits and situation. I’m glad I decided to pick this up.
Immortal Sergeant #4 – The last time that Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura collaborated on a miniseries, the incredible I Kill Giants, it took me a little while to piece together the subtlety and heft of what they were doing. When this series started, I thought that it was a little silly, and that some of the stereotypes portrayed were a little simplistic. This issue, though, is a bit of a turning point, as Michael, who has been taken on an impromptu road trip by his father, who is avoiding his own retirement, starts to finally see something other than the loud and abusive parent who has shaped his entire life. Kelly is starting to let us see what’s really going on inside Sarge’s head, instead of just showing him as a brash throwback to another era. Niirmura’s art, which is so minimalist, is also very good at showing us how characters are feeling with very little information. This is a very notable series, and I expect to see it end up on some best of lists at the end of the year.
New Mutants: Lethal Legion #2 – While Escapade, Cerebella, and Scout arrange a heist at Count Nefaria’s estate, Wolfsbahne and Morgan romp through the sewers and tunnels of Manhattan, being chased by a creature of some kind. I’m not sure why this series had to be relaunched as a miniseries that continues from where the ongoing title left off, and I find this all kind of silly, but at the same time, I am enjoying it. It’s cool that lower-tiered characters get some chance to shine, but it also reminds me of how badly the Krakoan era New Mutants need some kind of purpose.
Nightcrawlers #3 – As I was reading the end of the last of the Sins of Sinister miniseries, I was thinking about how rarely we get positive visions of the future now. This issue takes place a thousand years after Sinister’s rise to power, so of course things are kind of bleak, but I’m starting to fear that my tired soul needs something more like the classic future of the Legion of Super-Heroes, because to think that things never improve from where we are right now as a species is really sad. Anyway, Mother Righteous’s thousand years of scheming are about to pay off for her, yet when you base everything on manipulating people, it has a way of coming back to bite you (or stab you). I like how Simon Spurrier built this out of his Legion of X series, and love the way he uses the Juggernaut in this issue. I’ve been enjoying these Sins series (bleakness aside) and am ready to see the big finish next week.
Nightwing #103 – As much as I love Tom Taylor’s Nightwing, I’m finding myself getting a little bored with this Titans-focused story involving Neron, whom I’ve always hated. I was looking forward to seeing Taylor’s upcoming Titans series, but instead of hyping me up for it, this arc has me losing enthusiasm. I want to see this comic get back to focusing on Dick and what he’s doing in Blüdhaven. I’m also resenting the backup story and extra dollar in the cover price.
Star Wars: Sana Starros #3 – Justina Ireland has a lot of moving parts in this story, including the requisite big creatures this month, and it’s getting a little hard to keep up with everything. I’m enjoying this story, but sometimes writers confuse filling out a character’s family with developing their character. I don’t feel like I’m getting to know Sana any better by reading this series.
Superman #3 – The idea of Superman having to work with Lex Luthor isn’t exactly new, but Joshua Williamson is taking a new approach to it that I do find interesting. I like Jamal Campbell’s art a lot, but do find his colours are a little muddy and dark; I kind of expect Superman to be brighter and more optimistic, and I’m not sure that the darker look matches the tone of this series. This is working for me for now, but at the moment, I still prefer Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s Action Comics.
Terrorwar #1 – I like Saladin Ahmed’s writing. His Miles Morales run was good, and his Abbott series at Boom! was even better. This was a bit of a disappointment at the beginning, but I’m hoping things pick up. It’s a science fiction series set in Blue City, and the main character lives in a neighbourhood that’s a little better than a slum. We learn quickly that he’s a Terrorfighter, one of a handful of people who can help protect the city against the Terrors, large creatures that take the shape of your greatest fear and rampage through the city. The earliest part of this issue was most interesting, as we see that the city pumps propaganda into everyone’s homes and the cars of public transit, and I thought that we were going to dig into that. Instead, this ended up being a mix of Ghostbusters and a reality TV show where bounty hunters compete with one another. I’m hoping Ahmed is going to take us back to the more sociological aspects of this story as we move forward. The art, by Dave Acosta, is serviceable, but I didn’t expect the Terrors to sometimes look so cartoonish. I trust Ahmed and assume this will grab me more soon.
The X-Cellent #2 – There’s a certain discomfort to watching Peter Milligan and Michael Allred, two legendary creators who are older than me, produce a series that is so focused on channeling youth culture in the 2020s. Being of a certain age myself, I don’t know that I’d be qualified to judge whether or not they’re getting it right, but at the same time, I work with young people… Does anyone care about interracial celebrity couples anymore? Wouldn’t mutant status supersede race anyway? This book is good – I always love Allred’s character designs and art – but it’s odd and doesn’t really have a place in the current Marvel universe. And if you wanted to create an AI to scour the internet to dox people, why would it need a big robot body? It’s things like that that don’t really work for me.
X-Force #39 – After the recent events happening in Wolverine’s book, it’s time to rebuild X-Force. Sage is given the leadership role, and Colossus is put on the team as a liaison to the Quiet Council (no one knows that his brother has control of him yet). Wolverine (Laura Kinney) is also recruited. It’s nice to see a new direction in this comic, as it’s been more or less without one for a very long time, but I’m having a hard time with the idea that Xavier and the rest of the Council are okay with just letting Beast roam around in his giant walking fortress.
The Week in Music:
Alexandra Stréliski – Néo-Romance – Alexandra Stréliski is a composer and pianist from Quebec, who creates lovely neo-classical music. This album showcases her talents very well, as it moves from the kind of soundscape explorations I love to more traditional forms of classical music. Some pieces have her accompanied by strings, while others are solo. In all, it’s nice to see new work from Stréliski. I feel this album is not as cohesive as her last one, but it’s still a very beautiful album.
