Best Comic of the Week:
Unstoppable Doom Patrol #4 – For this issue, Dennis Culver takes a bit of a break, and has each of the main members of the team visit with Jerry, the five 5th dimensional beings that combine to serve as their therapist. This gives us some insight into each of the main characters, and helps to explain how things work with this latest incarnation of the Doom Patrol, and how the various previous reboots fit together. David Lafuente guest-drew this issue, and it looks pretty nice. I like how Culver has leaned into the team’s similarities with the X-Men, giving them the same general mission, and really wish this was more than a seven issue miniseries; I would gladly keep reading this.
Quick Takes:
Action Comics #1056 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s Superman writing continues to interest me, as we get to the end of the Cyborg Superman storyline. I like how he’s leaning into Clark’s best qualities, but also keeping the focus on expanding the Superman family. The Dan Jurgens/Lee Weeks backup is pretty but doesn’t interest me a whole lot, and the Steelworks backup left me a little cold too. I’d rather this be a $4 book with just Johnson’s story in it.
Alien #3 – Things keep getting worse on the remote planet where Weyland-Yutani is trying to take over a scientist’s research. There’s a lot more xenomorphs on the planet than we knew, so we can kind of already guess that only one or two characters are making it to the end of this story. I like how Declan Shalvey has plotted this story.
Captain America: Symbol of Truth #14 – It’s a shame that Tochi Onyebuchi didn’t get more time with this title, as I think that Sam Wilson as Captain America could be really interesting, and she wasn’t given enough space to spread Sam’s wings. This series was always too connected with Steve Rogers’s title, which has been disappointing. This issue shows some of the potential in the character, as he endures a surprise birthday party full of family, and as Joaquin struggles with the possibility of being cured, but also of losing his abilities. I hope Sam gets another book soon, but am pleased that he’s featured prominently in the Avengers right now.
Carnage Reigns Omega #1 – This crossover event was a disappointment. Honestly, I feel like it was one of those 90s crossovers where things never really made sense. Why was Cletus Kasaday rampaging? What was his goal? And he’s not even Carnage now? As you can tell, this whole thing was confusing. I don’t like that Tony Stark, who is being portrayed as having lost his fortune and his Iron Man suits in his own book, shows up with a specialized suit of armor, and also lends Miles Morales a version of the Iron-Spider armor, saying he’ll need to use it for days to recover from his injuries (although he then takes it away immediately). This is a mini-event that needed a lot more editing and workshopping. I kind of wished I’d just skipped the related issues of Miles’s series, instead of being a completist (although, I am left a little curious about Red Goblin, and will be looking through the next issue of his series to see if I want to give it a shot).
City Boy #2 – I liked the first issue of this series, so decided to come back for another. I found that Greg Pak didn’t fill this with as much character work, preferring to get young Cameron into the middle of a situation involving Intergang and the doctor who originally gave him his powers. I want to know more about what Cameron can actually do, and want to see more of who he is, as we often don’t get unhoused street kids as main characters in mainstream superhero books. Minkyu Jung’s art is less dynamic here than it is in this week’s issue of Doctor Aphra, which I thought odd, but also makes sense if he’s having to do two books a month (I’m not sure when this book was actually drawn).
Detective Comics #1073 – While the Orgham’s make their move, trying to mesmerize everyone in Gotham, they take a more direct approach with Batman, having one of their Azmers attempt to take control of his mind. This series has been really interesting since Ram V took it over, and I like how he again weaves in an appearance by one of The Vigil. There are two artists on the main story this month, and the split between Ivan Reis’s art and Goran Sudzuka’s is pretty jarring.
Green Arrow #3 – Nothing could have made me happier than seeing the Legion of Super-Heroes make an appearance in this issue, as Ollie and Lian end up in the 31st century and come across the current versions of these beloved characters. We learn a little more about why Ollie can’t reunite with his family, and is instead being tossed around to different worlds and times. Back home, Roy and Dinah continue to hunt for Amanda Waller to figure out where Ollie and the others are. Joshua Williamson is telling a good story in this book, although I’m still hoping it will be extended into an ongoing series soon. Sean Izaakse’s art is very nice, although I still wonder about Connor’s hair…
Hairball #3 – I’m late in getting a copy of this issue, but it was worth it. Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins are telling a creepy story about a young girl and her cat, who might be a demon intent on causing her harm. The girl is determined to kill the cat, and goes to increasingly extreme measures. Jenkins’s art (and Hilary Jenkins’s painting) are gorgeous, but create a lot of menace in this very good series.
Predator #4 – Some of the people Theta rescued are plotting against her, and taking over her ship, but no one realizes until it’s too late that there’s a Predator onboard. Ed Brisson has been doing a great job with this series; it’s exciting and a little unpredictable, and I’m hoping that there will be a third series after this one ends.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #33 – Aphra and Luke working together makes for an amusing change in this title. Together they are trying to unlock the secrets of a Jedi temple, and typically, they’ve completely misread the situation, and have put themselves in great danger. This book is fun.
W0rldtr33 #3 – This new series about the being that lives beneath the Internet, and how it is trying to spread into the world, is pretty fascinating and creepy. James Tynion IV continues to expand the scope of the series, as a group of computer hackers who faced the threat once before continue to investigate, as do the government operatives we met last issue. At the same time, the naked woman continues to move against them. This series, which has great art by Fernando Blanco, is a perfect recommendation for anyone who grew up loving Vertigo comics from the first few waves.
X-Men: Before The Fall – The Heralds of Apocalypse #1 – Anyone curious to know what’s going on with Apocalypse since the X of Swords event ended will be quite happy with this book. Al Ewing shows us that being reunited is not always blissful for Apocalypse and Genesis, as they learn some truths about one another, and plan their next moves. Al Ewing is so good at making events like this feel more cohesive, and the various artists on this book do a good job. I’m not really clear what the Fall of X is going to be about, but it’s starting to feel pretty epic.
Comics I Would Have Bought if Comics Weren’t So Expensive:
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #2
Star Wars: Darth Vader – Black, White, and Red #3
Bargain Comics:
Hulk: Grand Design – Monster #1 & Hulk: Grand Design – Madness #1 – I’m a fan of Jim Rugg, and was surprised by how disappointed I was by his two-part Grand Design treatment of the Incredible Hulk. It did not do any of the things that Ed Piskor did with the X-Men Grand Design project, which posited that there was a large, overarching storyline for all of the X-Men comics. That the hundreds of stories over decades made by hundreds of creators had, in effect, a grand design to them, and that they were telling one long story. No attempt was made to give the Hulk’s history that kind of treatment, and instead we are shown a whirlwind of events that have Hulk and Banner rotating between periods of madness, rage, separation, integration, death, more madness, etc. When viewed like this, the Hulk’s history is a mess of recycled ideas and the occasional sojourn in Las Vegas or a suburb. Rugg does a great job of aping the art styles that were prevalent in different eras of Hulk’s existence, but this doesn’t say anything new about the character or give me any reason to look at these different epochs in a new light.
The Week in Music:
Witch Prophet – Gateway Experience – On this new album, Witch Prophet explores the roots of her own experiences with epileptic seizures, and how they connect to her dreams and view of the world. Her voice is always beautiful, and for these songs, her producer, SunSun, has created layered and textured beats that are just as beautiful. This is not as groundbreaking as her last album, DNA Activation, which played with Ethiopian sounds, but the more I listen to it, the more I find deeper meaning in her words.
