Best Comic of the Week:
Superman: Lost #10 – I’m sad to see this series come to its end. Priest has once again put together a very compelling story that loops back on itself in interesting and unpredictable ways. When Hope, the Green Lantern from the world where Clark lived for twenty years, arrives on Earth, she carries with her the information needed to save the people of that planet. Priest wraps up this story very well, as he so often does. Reading this longer miniseries, and the recent Black Adam one as well, tells me that I’m ready for Priest to have a long run on a DC or Marvel book. I’m enjoying his Vampirella stuff just fine, but would love to see him play with familiar characters for a longer stretch of time; he really is my favourite superhero writer.
Quick Takes:
Alien #3 – The Annual that came out in the fall made it clear that there was another strain of Xenomorphs on the ice moon that this series is set on. Now, in this issue, as Zasha reunites with her artificial friend from Declan Shalvey’s last Alien series, and we find out the purpose of the flashbacks we’ve been shown, these other xenomorphs make themselves known. This is an exciting series that is grounded in a few well-written and well-developed characters. It’s different from the typical Alien story, and I’m enjoying it.
Black Hammer: The End #5 – We are getting really close to the end of Jeff Lemire’s years worth of stories set in the Black Hammer Universe, and I can tell that I’m going to miss these characters. Lucy’s family comes together to try to stop the evil Black Hammer, while back in Spiral City, everyone prepares for their last stand. It’s a big issue.
Black Panther #8 – T’Challa and Ibis get into it with Monet for part of this issue, as their investigation into the crime boss of Birnin T’Chaka leads towards her father. I like how this issue gives more space for T’Challa to express how his time in exile has changed him; one thing that I’ve missed in this run is time spent focusing on the main character. I’ve grown to really like the way the art is split between Mack Chater and Chris Allen, and that they have been able to give the book a consistent look while still maintaining their own styles. This run is growing on me.
Daredevil #5 – In a really enjoyable issue, She-Hulk finds Father Matt and takes him out for lunch. That’s not all that happens here, but it’s enough to help prove that Saladin Ahmed is doing some new things with Daredevil. This issue is drawn by Farid Karami, who is someone to keep an eye out for. His art is detailed and very impressive. I was drawn to his depictions of faces, but then noticed that he also did a few things that remind me of Joe Quesada’s DD run. This is shaping up to be a solid run on this book, which is impressive as I still think that Zdarsky’s time on this book was incredible and generally unmatchable.
The Deviant #3 – James Tynion IV and Joshua Hixson continue their creepy series about a Christmas serial killer, and the book is very impressive. This issue doesn’t advance the story much, backing us up to the 70s and showing more detail about what happened after the mall Santa killing. We get to know the characters a little better this month, and really dig into the main character’s boyfriend, and how he feels about their relationship. This is a really mature, masterful series.
The Enfield Gang Massacre #6 – I’ve really liked this miniseries that serves as a bit of a prequel to That Texas Blood, by the same creative team. Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips are a powerful team, and with this issue, they bring to a close their take on Old West savagery. The issue opens with Enfield and his wife in jail, knowing that they are going to be hanged for the crimes Enfield has been accused of. We, the readers, know that he didn’t actually commit these murders, and it’s a little infuriating to see the true perpetrators (or at least the man behind their deeds) get away with it. This book has been great, and I feel that Phillips’s art has been enhanced by the decision to print it on old school newsprint. I feel like the trade of this book won’t have the same satisfying feel to it. I’m looking forward to more That Texas Blood some day.
Fantastic Four #16 – This issue focuses on the Richards and Grimm children, who are starting school in Arizona, where the team now lives. Franklin and Valeria decide to do a little extra credit homework, and that leads to hijinks as the thing they create puts the entire planet at risk. Writer Ryan North loves using this book to explore some weird science, and you can tell that he had a ball writing this issue. I like how self-contained almost every issue of this run has been, while still building on the characters and how their relationships are changing now that they are leading a quieter, more pastoral life. The Fantastic Four is now more interesting to me than it’s been in a long time.
Green Lantern War Journal #5 – I’m becoming more and more impressed with this title, which doesn’t surprise me with Phillip Kennedy Johnson writing it. He has John and his extradimensional ally heading out to track down the Radiant Dead, a pretty major threat, but first John has to address his mother’s growing dementia. I like how Johnson is balancing the fantastic with the more mundane, and probably much harder part of John’s life; it’s handled with sensitivity. Montos’s art is growing better every month, and this book looks incredible. I never would have thought I’d be buying three GL books again, but DC is really killing it right now.
Guardians of the Galaxy #10 – As Peter Quill’s sister leads the Spartoi fleet into Grootspace, our heroes prepare to face them. It’s nice to see the team acting together again, and working on another big scale problem. This has not been my favourite Guardians run (aside from Kev Walker’s art, which I’ve loved), but it’s started clicking with me over the last few issues, and I’m not sure if it’s going to continue after the upcoming Annual that is going to wrap up this storyline. Truthfully, I’d rather see more of the team in the vein of the classic Abnett/Lanning run, or Al Ewing’s more recent run. I would be very happy to see more Kev Walker art.
Invincible Iron Man #14 – Gerry Duggan continues to build on the events taking place in X-Men and Fall of the House of X in this book. Tony spends some time with Emma Frost while Ironheart and Forge build ships in space to help their plans. This issue helps build some of the suspense for the main event, but it definitely does not stand on its own as an Iron Man title. It’s pretty much just a tie-in book now.
Jay Garrick: The Flash #4 – Jeremy Adams retcons some things into Jay Garrick’s origin this issue, while also tying him to the villain in this series, and revealing Judy Garrick’s origin as well. I’ve been enjoying this series, and like how this issue really focuses on Jay instead of his daughter. I’m still not sure we need all these new “Golden Age” sidekicks attached to the Justice Society, but like Adams’s writing enough to go along with it.
Kaptara: Universal Truths #6 – I’m thankful that Chip Zdarsky and Kagan McLeod returned to the wild world of Kaptara for this second series, which has now ended. Kaptara is a really fun book, but beneath the surface there’s actually a pretty sweet story about love and obligation. Zdarsky is a really good writer, and McLeod clearly had a ball drawing this series. It’s stuff like this that makes me love Image Comics so much.
Nightwing #110 – Amidst everything he’s doing in Beast War and in Titans, Dick also finds time to go looking for Damian, who has turned into a beast and gone missing. Dick takes Superman (Jon Kent) with him, and I’m always happy to see that team-up. This was a solid issue that introduces a new potential villain for Dick to deal with (at first I thought she was Rose Tattoo, and got excited about that).
Phantom Road #8 – I kind of expected more answers from this issue, which has our heroes running across the guy in a Hawaiian shirt again, but he doesn’t tell us much. I am really enjoying this mysterious series about a pair of people tasked with taking a strange egg across a post-Apocalyptic wasteland filled with zombie-like creatures. Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s art is great in this book, and Jeff Lemire is dribbling out clues masterfully.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #42 – I am kind of stunned that this book lasted this long. At times, I found it to be kind of pointless, but with time, I grew to really like many of its characters, and the way the cast stayed pretty fluid. I’m not familiar with anything else Ethan Sacks has written, but he did a good job with this book, and wove it into the various Star Wars events that happened over the last few years quite well. This issue has Valance heading to Jabba’s palace with a mission in mind, and when we realize why he’s doing it, it’s kind of heartwarming. I hope we see more of Valance at some point, as he’s a great character.
Superman #10 – Joshua Williamson has left Superman in the Old West, and he and Marilyn Moonlight have to figure out how to get home. Luckily, an old foe of Clark’s is also there, and he has time travel tech. It’s cool that we get to see more of Marilyn’s story, as she’s been a mysterious character since being introduced in this book. Bruno Redondo does a lot of the art in this issue, and while he’s fantastic here, I think he’s better suited to a book like Nightwing, where he can play with acrobatics and more fluid action sequences.
Titans: Beast World #2 – My comics store didn’t get this issue when it first came out, so it’s taken until now for me to get a copy, causing me to have a bit of a Beast World backlog to work through. Tom Taylor does a good job of establishing the threat posed to the world in this issue, and shows Batman being taken by one of the spores, and transformed into a beast. I like how Amanda Waller is using this disaster to try to take power. Ivan Reis’s art is nice, but the printing of the colours left things kind of muddy.
Titans: Beast World #3 – The stakes keep raising as some heroes get turned into human/beast hybrids, Donna has to try to contain Gar, who is stuck in his giant space starfish form, while Amanda Waller continues to make moves. This is a nice big action movie event, of the kind that used to only come out in the summer, and I think it’s doing a good job of making the case for the Titans to be the top dogs in the Dawn of DC era. I like how Tom Taylor found a place for Jon Kent in all this, as I’ve missed him lately. I was a little surprised to see that Ivan Reis didn’t draw this issue, but Lucas Meyer did a fine job of sticking to the DC house style.
Titans #6 – With the Beast World event focusing on some big moments, Tom Taylor finds some in-between moments for the Titans to deal with, which includes Brother Eternity coming for Titans Tower. I enjoyed this issue, but was left wondering just when Starfire’s origin got retconned. It’s not that long ago that I read the classic Wolfman/Pérez NTT, so know that her parents initially survived Tamaran’s invasion, and that it was her father that traded her into slavery for peace. I don’t see how any of the changes we’re shown here make her a better or more interesting character. Aside from that, this was a solid issue with very nice Travis Moore art.
Titans #7 – Tom Taylor and Travis Moore wrap up their two parter, revealing a few things about Starfire’s past (I’m still not comfortable with the retconning that’s happening here) and positioning the team to return to the main stage for the rest of the Beast World miniseries. It’s a solid issue.
Titans: Beast World #4 – I have to say that I like catching up on this event in short order like this. This issue raises the stakes further, as a Beastified Giganta tears up a major city, and Waller makes her big move. I was excited to see the return of Chunk at the beginning of the issue, and noticed that no one really calls him that (I guess he was created in a less sensitive time), but feel bad about how things end up for him. Tom Taylor is doing good work with this series, despite its silly premise.
What’s The Furthest Place From Here? #18 – Prufrock and Sid lead their friends in an attack on the Zoo in an attempt to rescue Alabama. The chaos they cause becomes the backdrop for a serious conversation between the two friends that haven’t been together since the start of this series. Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss keep this series kind of confusing, and out of sequence I think, but it does allow for some interesting character work. Boss’s art is terrific, and he uses a pair of double-page spreads very effectively. I really enjoy this book.
Wonder Woman #5 – While the Sovereign gathers a group of supervillains to oppose Wonder Woman, Diana goes around trying to impress upon her sidekicks (the various Wonder Girls) the importance of not getting involved in her fight. Tom King makes the parallels obvious, but that makes his approach to storytelling more effective. I especially like the way the main story ends, before we’re given another silly story featuring Trinity, Damian, and Jon. Daniel Sampere’s art on the main book is gorgeous – he makes each of Diana’s legacy ex-side-kicks look so good.
X-Men #30 – It always feels like a special occasion when Phil Noto draws an issue of this book. As the X-Men prepare to make their moves on Orchis, they realize they need to head back to Counter-Earth to get something from the High Evolutionary. The timeline feels a little strange on this issue, with it not being clear how long Synch and Talon are on the other planet. This was a solid ending, but I don’t love the ending. It’s starting to feel like Gerry Duggan is really working to be able to erase much of the Krakoan era from the timeline.
The Week in Music:
Aesop Rock – Integrated Tech Solutions – I often get a little worn out by Aesop Rock, as his rapidfire delivery and intricate wordplay can get dragged down by the similarity of his songs. That’s not the case with this album, though, which is as technically proficient as everything he’s done, but has more heart and soul than I’m used to. There are very funny songs on here, and on ‘Aggressive Steven’, the best song on the album, he turns from funny to poignant on a dime. Maybe I’m just finally catching up to Aesop, but I feel like this is the best album he’s ever made, and I’m impressed by it (even though I think it could be about five songs shorter). It doesn’t hurt that billy woods has a fantastic feature on ‘Living Curfew’… Also, I think anyone reading this site would appreciate the song 100 Feet Tall, about the time he met Mr. T as a child.
