Happy New Year! May the new year bring you joy and lots of great comics to read!
Best Comic of the Week:
Penguin #5 – There is such a rich field of little-used characters in the DC universe. Tom King turns his attention to the Black Spider, a cool-looking Batman villain who we learn has been working for the Penguin’s children in their mission to scare off rival drug lords. We really get into Black Spider’s mind in this issue, as King builds up a life mission for him, and a passion for killing addicts while struggling with his own addictions and enabling the necessary addiction of a loved one. It’s a masterful issue, as the Penguin continues to assemble his soldiers and prepare for his return to Gotham. I don’t see much discussion of this book, but it’s really fantastic, and Rafael De Latorre is doing some excellent work on it.
Quick Takes:
Action Comics 2023 Annual #1 – With this book, Phillip Kennedy Johnson finishes his Action Comics run, and I’m pretty sad to see him go. I’m not a Superman fan, usually, but I heard good things about what Johnson was doing with this book, and got really invested in the Warworld saga. What I’ve liked most about Johnson’s tenure was the focus on family, both while Kal-El was on Warworld, and after he returned. I like the idea of the Super-Family working together, and was happy to see Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra become part of things. It makes sense, as Kal gets older, that other people would start to step in to help with his mission, and I love the coordination between everyone’s looks. I also really liked how he ended this run calling back to a smaller moment in the lead-up to the Warworld stuff. This issue has the big fight between Kal and Norah Stone, who is really someone else I don’t want to name. It’s a big action issue with lots of cool moments, and it features an appearance by Bloodwynd, which very few contemporary comics can say about themselves. It was because of Johnson that I ended up reading Joshua Williamson’s Superman, which I also enjoy, but I’m not going to stay with Action when Jason Aaron takes over next month (I’d have given it a try, but I hate Bizarro, so I’m out). I hope that the Super-Family approach gets picked up somewhere else, and the other writers won’t continue to ignore the Kents’ new adopted children. This was a great run, and it ended on a very good note.
Alan Scott: Green Lantern #3 – I’m enjoying this series, but am a little surprised by how much writer Tim Sheridan is retconning about Alan Scott’s life in the early days of his time as Green Lantern. I know that Alan came out in the last few years, kind of reluctantly, and I liked the way DC handled this. Now we see that at least one of his JSA teammates always knew his ‘secret’, and that involves that character acting out of his established norms (I’m talking more Jim Corrigan than the Spectre, although it’s not always been clear how much those were two different entities in the Golden Age). Anyway, this is a good series, and I like how it supports what’s happening in the Justice Society series while still being independent of it.
Avengers Inc. #4 – It’s a real shame that Al Ewing’s plans for this book got truncated due to poor sales. How many times has that happened in Ewing’s career at Marvel? This causes him to rush things a little, as Jan and Vic, accompanied by Moon Knight, figure out who is behind the mysterious Scourge deaths, and we learn a possible truth about Vic at last. This story would have gone a lot better had it had more time to breathe and play out, but I’m enjoying it still. Ewing is good at rehabilitating C- and D-list characters, and I’m sad that there isn’t a place in the modern Marvel stable for a book like this. It’s like people don’t want innovation…
Black Panther #7 – T’Challa takes a little time to get to know the city he’s chosen to spend his exile in, in his holographic civilian disguise, but that leads to him infiltrating one of the crime families he’s investigating, since he doesn’t really know how to take a vacation. I like this series, and Eve L. Ewing’s writing on it, but still think that Birnin T’Chaka is too different from the rest of Wakanda to really fit with established lore. Why are there so many people with cybernetic parts? The art team of Chris Allen and Mack Chater is working for me, and I’m excited about the guest star lined up for the next issue.
Bone Orchard: Tenement #7 – We finally get some clarification and exposition on what this whole Bone Orchard project is all about, as Felix, the old man who everyone in the tenement believes is dead, narrates this issue, showing us how, as a private investigator doing cheating spouse work, he came across the mystery of this building, and watched seven people disappear into the other world. We learn a lot in this issue, not least of which is the scale of the project Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino are working on. I appreciate how interconnected the various Bone Orchard projects are, even if we haven’t been shown the big picture yet. I feel like they timed this info dump correctly too, because I was starting to wonder if there was more to this project than what we’d seen.
Captain Marvel #3 – I’m both enjoying Alyssa Wong’s approach to this book, and am finding it a little frustrating as she relies on a lot of coincidences and easy plotting. Carol and her new soul mate (they keep swapping places, with one always in the Negative Zone) meet with the Stranges to try to get help with their problem, and things fall pretty neatly into place a few times too many to stay credible. It’s a fun comic, but it seems a little too easy to me.
Detective Comics #1080 – Catwoman and what remains of her team move to get Batman out of Gotham, and into the hands of a less-than trusted ally. With him gone, things start to change quickly in Gotham, and we see just how far some of the Orghams are willing to go to consolidate their control. This has been a terrific arc, with Ram V writing a long and involved Batman story that isn’t going to turn into a crossover; that’s such a nice change of pace. Jason Shawn Alexander’s art is terrific, and the pages provided by Mike Perkins are gorgeous. This run should be getting way more discussion than it is.
The Flash #4 – Simon Spurrier is channeling his inner Grant Morrison with this series, as Wally continues to explore the deeper reaches of the Speed Force, where things are kind of abstract. At the same time, Irey starts investigating how people are developing speed powers, assisted by Jesse Quick. Spurrier has a lot going on in this series, and some sub-plots are put on the back burner for too long to stay fresh (like what’s going on with Jai and Linda), but it also gives me hope that this run might be a long one. I was worried that the shift in tone would be too big after Jeremy Adams’s run, but I like the more mystical direction Spurrier is taking this in. I love the way Mike Deodato is drawing this run, and using such a unique page layout. It’s seriously good stuff, even if it’s a little slow moving.
Green Arrow #7 – One of the things I like most about DC right now is how there is more coordination between titles than we’ve seen in a long time. In this issue, Ollie, freshly returned from his time adventures, goes looking for his friends in the Justice League to understand why they’ve disbanded, and it works as a survey of what’s happening across the line. Ollie doesn’t know where Roy went, and suspects that Amanda Waller is involved, and this sets up the next storyline really well. I like how Joshua Williamson is writing this series, and the approach he is taking to Ollie’s family.
The Holy Roller #2 – After getting into a scrap with local anti-Semites last issue, Levi returns to his dad’s home, but the tough guys come looking for him, and he has to act. Rick Remender and his cowriters are giving us a weird take on the Kick-Ass model of comics, but are working in white supremacy and bowling, which makes this book pretty unique. They don’t pull any punches in showing what middle America is like these days, and also don’t spare the humour. It’s not hard to see this being developed as a movie soon.
Immortal X-Men #18 – I guess we’ve come to the end of this title, although the upcoming X-Men: Forever looks to be a continuation of it. We learn a lot this issue, as Mother Righteous reveals her plans and how her powers work, sort of, and as Xavier and Sinister gain access to the records that came from the future. I’ve really enjoyed this title, and how Kieron Gillen found space to examine the various members of the Quiet Council while still advancing a large, complicated, and highly interconnected plot. I feel like all of the X-titles are on the precipice of large changes, and I’m hoping that some of the characters that have been elevated and/or redeemed in this title, such as Exodus, Destiny, and Hope, stick around in whatever the next incarnation is. I really hope we don’t see the X-Men return to the Xavier School and become a throwback to what they used to be; this family of titles has earned the right to continue evolving in fresh ways. I really hope that Gillen is still around when all the dust settles.
Justice Society of America #8 – Now that this book is coming out more regularly, I’m starting to get into it a lot more. Huntress is still trying to recruit the people who were in her future JSA (despite the fact that one of them is only five at the moment), but not everyone thinks that’s a great idea. The biggest controversy surrounds the new Red Lantern, with Green Lantern being very much against including her, until he goes to meet her. This is odd to me – Alan insists that her father died in 1948, yet he isn’t questioning why this girl (she’s twenty, at the most) is alive in 2023. These types of things really bother me, even after Geof Johns just retconned a whole group of teen sidekicks in the Stargirl miniseries I didn’t read. I was most excited by the appearance of a certain character on the last page who gives me hope that Johns is bringing back another beloved team of mine. Mikel Janín’s art on this book is lovely, and all together, this book is starting to give a feel similar to that of Johns’s great JSA run.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14 – This run of Miles Morales is really very chaotic. A lot of that is due to the artists who work on this book; their names vary, but there’s a consistency to their kinetic energy that gives the book a unifying look, but also makes it hard to read sometimes (this issue is by Federico Vicentini). Miles is caught fighting the Cape Killers, and then is recruited to help them fight Prowler and the Enforcers. Of course, it’s odd to see Miles’s Uncle Aaron going after him, and that’s the focus of much of this issue. I like how Cody Ziglar is making it unnecessary to follow the main thrust of the Gang War storyline, which I’m not reading, in order to understand this series. There are a few more characters who show up at the end that guarantee that the next issue is going to be even more chaotic.
Star Wars: Dark Droids #5 – As is so often the case, the Scourge’s story comes to a pretty abrupt ending, as it faces attacks from multiple sides just as it finally learns how to take over fully organic hosts. This event has been very well coordinated and fun to read. I feel like things are about to change in the Star Wars titles, like maybe it’s relaunch season, as some of the secondary titles are coming to their end. We always knew that the space between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was going to be relatively short, and I’m left wondering if Marvel is going to be allowed to tell stories set after that film. Anyway, I liked the Dark Droids event, and will be watching to see what comes next.
Star Wars #41 – I held off reading this so as to not spoil the end of Dark Droids, and I’m glad I did. I am more interested in what Charles Soule has in store for Lando, as he has no choice but to expose the lies he’s told and ways he’s manipulated Leia and the others in order to try to save Lobot. I like this series best when Soule focuses on the development of these characters, and works to connect the dots between the different films.
Star Wars: Revelations #1 – This is the most disappointing of these annual-ish preview books that are meant to get readers excited about what’s coming for the Star Wars line in the year ahead, because it feels very lazy. Previous outings have tried to give the stories a framework, but this time around, we just get a bunch of story fragments meant to be continued in future series. The first story, by Charles Soule, is the best, as it builds on the trial of Lando Calrissian notion, but the others did nothing to make me want to read these series. Jango Fett fights a monster. Some new bounty hunter tells a story about fighting a monster. Mace Windu goes swimming. Some guy works for Jabba. Whatever. The Star Wars line is in trouble I think.
Terrorwar #8 – Saladin Ahmed has taken this story to the place that I thought it was originally going, as Cho and his team are forced to face the deep inequality that props up the government and ruling class of his city. This series has been inconsistent, as Ahmed struggled at the start to meld his class analysis with the kind of goofy-looking horror elements, but it’s all coming together nicely now as the series moves towards its conclusion.
W0rldtr33 #6 – After the end of the first arc, the world is struggling without the internet, and various characters are dealing with what’s happened. Agent Silk is visited by her partner’s friend, while her superior at the FBI meets with a tech mogul. Ellison returns home, in a way, and we meet more of his family. James Tynion IV has created a really compelling series here, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Fernando Blanco’s art is great, and the book stays unpredictable.
X-Force #47 – The team is all back together, and establishing a secret base in the Arctic. The call goes out to any mutants still free, and we see some favourite characters turn up, but Colossus is struggling to figure out his place in the team, and another former teammate comes calling. I liked this issue, which helps to congeal some resistance to Orchis, but found that Daniel Picciotto’s art was uneven (I didn’t even recognize Aurora and Northstar at first).
The Week in Music:
Thandi Ntuli w/ Carlos Niño – Rainbow Revisited – This is such a beautiful and beguiling album. Thandi Ntuli, a jazz artist from South Africa, plays piano and keys and sings, while Carlos Niño does some things in the background with various percussion instruments. It’s all very delicate, with Ntuli’s music being minimalist, and Niño’s contributions being barely perceptible at times. With each listen, this pulls me in more and more. It’s one of the most unique albums of the year, and I love it a lot.
Web Web – Web Max II – This album marks the second collaboration between the German jazz group Web Web and the multi-instrumentalist producer Max Herre. I remember their first album as more break-beat driven, but I haven’t listened to it in a long time. This album features a more traditional approach to spiritual jazz, giving it a timeless feel (or one harkening back to the seventies, I guess). It’s really very nice.
Green-House – A Host For All Kinds of Life – I love Green-House’s previous two albums of ambient music, but feel like they’ve really leveled up with this one. The pieces on this one have more structure to them than their earlier works, and the music is really very beautiful. This is a great album to zone out to.
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 15: A Tribute to Trane – The curatorial geniuses at Jazzmen Records have done it again, with a collection of John Coltrane covers and tribute tracks. As with many volumes in the Spiritual Jazz series, I don’t recognize any of the names on the back of the case, but that would never stop me from tapping in and seeing what gems they’ve found. This has given me some new catalogs to explore.
