The Best Comic of the Week:
Unstoppable Doom Patrol #3 – I’m glad I added this series to my pullfile, as it’s pretty enjoyable. In this issue, Cliff and Larry are trying to keep a guy who has been infected by, but modified, a Starro spore away from some Green Lanterns. Dennis Culver’s writing is clever and sharp, and I like how he’s acknowledging the previous iterations of this team. Chris Burnham’s art is fantastic, and is the main reason why I wish this was an ongoing series, and not just a limited one that is already half over.
Quick Takes:
Action Comics #1055 – Superman and his family have figured out who is behind what’s happened to Metallo, and they want to help his sister. The return of the Eradicator is what it took for me to realize that we’re kind of in the middle of a 90s revival, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s main story is the reason for coming to this book, but I did enjoy the Steelworks backup as well. I still think it’s strange that it’s not made by the creative team of the upcoming Steelworks series, as that would have convinced me to pick it up.
The Ambassadors #5 – I don’t believe that this series is going to end with the next issue, as Mark Millar and his rotating crew of artists (Matteo Buffagni drew this issue) are still introducing characters. We meet the Ambassador for Australia, an old man who has lived his life embracing far right views but is now ready to reveal his true heart to the world, and another character who is going to become important as this series continues, in whatever form that will be. I am enjoying this series, and figure we’ll learn more about what is coming next pretty soon.
City Boy #1 – I picked this up on a whim, as I usually like Greg Pak writing younger characters. The set up is interesting – Cameron Kim is a houseless youth living in Metropolis, who has the ability to find things, or learn things from the city itself. We see his origin, and watch as he runs afoul of a local crime boss who wants to use him for his own ends. Pak sets up a larger villain for Cameron to have to deal with, and makes him a sympathetic character. I like Minkyu Jung’s art, and am interested enough to come back next month for the next chapter.
Dune: House Harkonnen #5 – We continue to move through a wide variety of plotlines, which include Leto Atreides’s first meeting with the Lady Jessica. I like this series, but each issue cannot stand on its own. This is my issue with these kinds of adaptations.
The Forged #3 – I’ve been really impressed with this oversized and chunky series by Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann, and Mike Henderson. The Forged, a group of cloned high tech warriors experience first contact with an alien race that wants to kill them, but the Cassandra they’ve rescued (a cloned being with strange psychic powers) has a plan to survive. This series balances high tech military stuff with strong characterization and bonkers visuals. The larger pages really serve the story well. I’m sad that it will be September before this book continues, but it gives me a reason to look forward to autumn now.
Green Arrow #2 – I’m really loving this series, as Ollie and his companion are being bounced around to different worlds (and maybe times?) for reasons that are not clear yet, and Dinah and Roy are doing all they can to track them down from Earth. That means that they are going after Amanda Waller, and we finally get some acknowledgement of her Earth-3 nonsense, although it’s still not clear how that was resolved. Joshua Williamson is doing a good job of giving all the central characters some good moments, and Sean Izaakse’s art is terrific. I have no idea if this is an ongoing or a miniseries, but I want it to last.
Hellcat #3 – It’s becoming increasingly clear that Christopher Cantwell intends to give us a whole new approach to Patsy Walker by the time this series is done, as she makes another trip to Hell, and talks to Blackheart and Sleepwalker, without really learning more about what’s going on with her. This series is enjoyable, and Alex Lins’s art gives it an indie feel I enjoy.
Justice Society of America #4 – I’m not sure what’s going on with this book and its terrible shipping schedule, but for the first time, I enjoyed this issue from front to back. There was a lot that wasn’t explained in the first couple of issues, but now that I know this is taking place on the main Earth in the Multiverse, and how Helena exists, I can settle in and enjoy the story. I’m not sure how Power Girl’s appearance fits with what we’ve seen of her in Action Comics lately, but I’m pleased to see that Geoff Johns is setting up some subplots involving Wildcat and Dr. Mid-Nite, suggesting that there is a plan for this title beyond a single arc. I love these characters (not that we get to see much of any of them) and am pleased that Johns is taking a respectful approach to them, given his more recent track record. The art in this book is luminous, with both Mikel Janín and Jerry Ordway showing us some of the best of their careers. I’m not sure why this book can’t stick to a schedule (this issue was supposed to be out in February), but I’m hopeful they figure it out soon.
Kaya #8 – Kaya and her small crew continue to travel into dangerous lands to try to rescue Jin from the mutants that have taken him. This book is exciting and fast moving, and full of wonderful Wes Craig artwork. This is one of my favourite Image books right now.
New Mutants: Lethal Legion #3 – Escapade and her friends are in the middle of messing up their planned heist of Count Nefaria’s place, needing a rescue from their friends. As Charlie Jane Anders continues to write these characters, I feel them becoming more comfortable with them, and more secure as a writer, making the comic a lot better. I’m enjoying this more and more, even if it is kind of silly.
Nightwing #104 – Nightwing deals with the temptation of immense power as Neron tries to manipulate him, but we know who Dick really is, don’t we? This looks to be the end of this book being taken over by the Titans, now that their own book is out, and I’m looking forward to seeing Dick focus on Blüdhaven and his work there in future issues. This run is great, but I’m ready to see Bruno Redondo back on the book (and I’d be fine if the backup stories went away).
Terrorwar #2 – Saladin Ahmed’s new science fiction series with Dave Acosta and Jay Leisten is an entertaining read. It’s not breaking ground in any way, but this story about a group of independent contractors who fight terrors, weird beings shaped from people’s fears, is decent. It feels like those comics that are made as proof of concept for a movie, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
What’s The Furthest Place From Here? #13 – Alabama and Lafayette are trapped in the Zoo, captives of the Keepers, actual adults who are determined to break their spirits. We watch as they try again and again to escape, but Alabama’s schemes aren’t quite working. I love this series, and how Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss’s weird future world operates under its own unlikely logic.
The X-Cellent #3 – As this series continues, I’m left wondering if writer Peter Milligan is perhaps less connected to the current culture than he knows. In his original X-Statix run, it felt like he had a good handle on the way that the world was operating, and that his critiques and observations of pop culture were accurate. Now, it’s starting to feel more and more forced and a little awkward. There’s still lots to like here (especially Michael Allred’s art), but it feels a little anachronistic.
Comics I Would Have Bought if Comics Weren’t So Expensive:
Fury #1
Star Wars: Darth Vader – Black, White, & Red #2
Free Comic Book Day Offerings:
Conan the Barbarian #0 – I guess Titan Comics has the Conan license now, and they’ve got Jim Zub writing his adventures. This preview issue depicts Conan’s first battle as a young man, and has him leaving his homeland to travel the world, setting up his next adventures. I’ve never been a fan of Conan, but I can admire the way Zub and artist Roberto Dela Torre put this together, and might take a look at the things Titan is going to do with this character.
Crimebuster – I’m not sure what’s going on with the company that used to be called Chapterhouse, and now seems to be called Comic House. This is the first issue of a new series featuring a teenager who wants to learn the truth about his mother’s death. It involves him teaming up with a couple of other teen heroes and a tech wizard that lives in the foster home he stays at to infiltrate a cosmetics company with high tech security. It’s an exciting comic, so long as you don’t pause to ask too many questions, and comes with a backup story featuring the Golden Age Crimebuster, which is kind of unreadable. I admire these people for still trying to position remakes of old Canadian comics for today’s market.
Shadowman: Darque Legacy – I miss Valiant comics. I know they are publishing some things, but it’s not the same as it was ten years ago, and that’s too bad, as they did some good work revitalizing some interesting properties. Shadowman is not one of them, but I did enjoy this primer story by Bob McLeod. I guess they have a lot of back catalogue in-stock to unload.
TCAF Purchases:
Cabbagetown #5 – I can never decide if Jason Kieffer is chronicling the lives of the downtrodden of Toronto out of kindness, affinity, or just to make fun of them. This issue of Cabbagetown, his anthology series, is mostly made up of one page strips that show life on the streets of Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood, focusing on people living in parks and asking for money on the street. There’s nothing particularly redemptive about any of these strips, and they do nothing to humanize the people in them. I feel like I should stop picking up his books, but I always come back for more…
Bargain Comics:
Batman: The Knight #1-10 – I loved this series by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. It tells the story of Bruce Wayne’s years of training, as he traveled the world to work with masters of various arts and techniques that helped Bruce develop the skills he’d need as Batman. For many of those years, he traveled with Anton, who we now know as Ghost-Maker, and their relationship makes the series a lot more fraught with tension. Zdarsky slipped this retcon into Bruce’s known history seamlessly, and this series in turn fueled the first arc of the current Batman Incorporated series. Di Giandomenco’s art is very nice, although some of the colouring choices were strange (lights shine in peoples’ eyes a lot in this book). I enjoyed this, especially once R’as Al Ghul entered the story.
The Week In Music:
El Michels Affair & Black Thought – Glorious Game – I will not allow any debate about Black Thought’s place as one of the greatest emcees to ever touch a microphone, and I think it’s amazing that it’s taken to this point in his career that he’s releasing music separate from his work with the Roots. For this album, the second in about a year, Thought teams up with the El Michels Affair, the funk band led by Leon Michels, and gives us an album that ranges widely in terms of its sound. The band sounds terrific, and as Thought considers his age and place in the world, we’re taken on quite a ride. It’s a very good album.
Skinny Pelembe – Hardly the Same Snake – Skinny Pelembe’s new album sounds very different from his first, as he leans into more of a psychedelic soul sound. It’s a very nice album, showcasing his growth as an artist as he pushes into bigger and more expansive sounds. There are some very lovely tracks here.
Alfa Mist – Variables – Alfa Mist is an incredible piano/keys player, and his latest album really showcases that. He gives us a few approaches to jazz, raps on a few tracks, and also gives space to his collaborators, like the wonderful bassist Kaya Thomas-Dyke. This is one of my contenders for album of the year, it’s so smooth and wonderful I find more each time I listen.
Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Lonnie Liston Smith – Jazz Is Dead 017 – After seventeen (!) of these Jazz Is Dead albums, it’s hard to find anything new to say about them. I love the formula, and this one, featuring legendary pianist Lonnie Liston Smith, holds up as well as any of them. It’s good stuff, and it’s remarkable that this series is still running. Soon, it’s going to have its own drawer in my CD cabinet.
