Best Comic of the Week:
Underheist #2 – Something very strange is going on with this David and Maria Lapham series, that at first appeared to be a kind of straight-forward heist story, but is now showing supernatural elements as well. David recovers from being shot very quickly, but his cousin is not so lucky. After that, things start to fall apart quickly, as Doc maybe dies (maybe more than once?) and David starts to question his sanity. The Laphams are so good at books like this, and I found each page gripping.
Quick Takes:
Antarctica #9 – Increasingly, I feel like I should have dropped this book after the first arc. It’s not that it’s a bad comic, but this second arc is a prequel to the first, and feels like a different series, one that is more or less running out pretty standard action movie tropes. I’m kind of bored. I know not to mess with Top Cow comics, yet I find myself here again.
Avengers #11 – I’m not enjoying this Jed MacKay title as much as I am his work on Moon Knight (which also has an ensemble cast) and Doctor Strange. I feel like MacKay is balancing a desire to be serious with a craving to keep things light-hearted and silly, and it doesn’t exactly work. This issue has Edwin Jarvis and his assistant coming to the Impossible City, the Avenger’s new massive orbital sentient base, to help set things up for the team, but the Mad Thinker uses the assistant to attack. It’s a serviceable issue, but it doesn’t exactly click. I think the fact that everyone on this team is a powerhouse (and almost all of them have their own title) makes it hard for him to do anything interesting with the characters. The best Avengers runs have featured characters who don’t have their stories told elsewhere.
Batman #145 – The Batman of Zurr En Arrh has taken over the Failsafe robot, and has locked Bruce away. Now he puts himself out there to Gotham as Batman, and starts taking his own approach to their shared mission. It’s a dark issue, as the Bat-family has to decide where they stand on things, and it looks like Damian might see it all differently. I like what Chip Zdarsky has done with this book, but I’m starting to wonder just how this older, more tired portrayal of Batman will compare to his other titles, or how he comes back from it.
Birds of Prey #7 – Javier Pina joins Kelly Thompson on this book, as Dinah, Maps, and Barbara try to figure out just who is coming after them through time. They reach out to Vixen for help, since they are able to link the time travel with The Red, but learn that she has a problem of her own that needs to be fixed before she can help them. I enjoy this book, and how Thompson recaptures some of the best feelings from Gail Simone’s run (although I miss Huntress). It’s a thrill to see Vixen in this book, and I’m glad that Cass and Barda have stuck around. Pina’s art is very nice, but the slightly offset colouring that Jordie Bellaire is using on this title is starting to annoy me a little.
Doctor Strange #13 – A magical role playing game has manifested itself in Manhattan, and in order to deal with it, Strange needs to put together a ‘party’. This ends up consisting of Black Cat, Hunter’s Moon, and Taskmaster, which makes it kind of a fun issue. It’s odd how much writer Jed MacKay stays loyal to the characters he’s written or is already writing in other series. I’m not sure how this story fits into the larger story he’s writing for Strange; it all feels like an interjection, especially when we learn which villain is behind all of this. Still, it was an enjoyable read, as I do enjoy team-up issues, and I love Taskmaster.
Kaya #16 – Jin tries to save himself from the threat of the demon he sees when he shape-changes by taking a big risk, and while he hovers between life and death, the rebels make a move against the King. Wes Craig gives us another exciting issue in this excellent fantasy series. This is a bit of a decompressed issue, but it’s still very effective.
Love is Everlasting #13 – We continue to engage with Joan’s romances, and while she narrates the book, we see most of it from the point of view of the Cowboy who always turns up at the end of the issue. We get a little more of a look at the office where Joan’s future is decided, and meet the ‘best friend’ who is often sent into the story ahead of the Cowboy to try to fix things. Tom King and Elsa Charretier’s story is definitely getting more complex as it leads us towards a more full explanation of what is going on; I’m not sure if this is going to be the final arc or if there will be another one after this. I do want to get to the culmination of this story.
Star Wars #44 – Lando’s trial gets under way, but his lawyer doesn’t quite seem up to the job. I know that writer Charles Soule is (was?) a lawyer, so figure that he’s having a good time with this storyline. It’s interesting that he has to move Lando from his current standing in the eyes of the Alliance to the place of trust he has in Return of the Jedi. I can tell that the story is getting close to the next movie (and probably the next relaunch), and that this is one of the last subplots left to address.
Subgenre #4 – Matt Kindt has a lot to say with this series, and if I’m being honest, I’m not sure I got all of it. This series builds on a few other series he’s written, mostly at Dark Horse, and uses a meta-narrative approach that seems to have a lot to say about people who read and enjoy genre fiction. Verve has the ability to jump between worlds, and in this issue returns to the start of his journey, attempting to put things to right. There’s a lot that’s left ambiguous in the ending, but I like that. I wonder if we’ll see any of these characters or concepts turn up in a future Kindt book.
Void Rivals #7 – Darak and Solila are making their way across the wasteland that divides their worlds (they live on either side of a giant planetary ring thing – I don’t really get it). Solila’s people have sent a cybernetic operative after them, as this second arc gets underway. I like what Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici are doing with this book, and look forward to seeing where it goes.
X-Men #32 – The resistance is making its move, and while Emma drives around in a limo and coordinates things, Kate and Illyana reunite while trying to clear an Orchis prison. This issue is a lot more bloody than I would have expected (the sacred laws are gone, it seems), but there is something satisfying to that given what’s happened to the mutants. I’m happy that Phil Noto is drawing this part of the Fall of the House of X.
The Week in Music:
Keyon Harrold – Foreverland – If you’ve been missing Robert Glasper lately, this album will help tide you over, as trumpeter Keyon Harrold runs in those circles. This album blends jazz with r&b well, and features a few rap tracks as well. Harrold is using these songs to help him process the state of the world and how he’s responded to some personal situations. It’s lovely and very cohesive.
Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer – The Closest Thing To Silence – I loved the album that Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer made together (Recordings From the Åland Islands), so was excited to see that they were collaborating again, this time with Ariel Kalma. The resulting album is a little less ambient than the first, but still hauntingly beautiful. Chiu provides a backdrop of electronics for Honer to play strings on. I’m not sure what all Kalma brings to the table, given his facility with electronics, sax, and recorder. The end result is that these electronic and acoustic sounds blend perfectly, constructing small worlds.
Philip Glass – Philip Glass Solo – Glass’s 1989 Solo Piano album is one of my all-time favourite pieces of music, and it’s probably the one that I return to the most in my life. Recently, Glass released this album, which has him revisiting those pieces, with a few changes. He recorded this in his own home in 2021, during the height of Covid lockdowns, and it’s incredible. There’s a warmth to it that is lacking in the original recording (warmth is a theme this week), and you can feel Glass putting a different level of thought into it. Granted, he’s in his 70s now and may just be slowing down, but this feels much more contemplative and lived in than the pristine original recording. You get a sense of the room he’s in, and that makes this unique to me.
Helado Negro – Phasor – Like his last album, Phasor has Helado Negro basically embracing us in his lush, warm soundscape. These songs are sung in a mix of Spanish and English, and ultimately create a comforting atmosphere that I really love. It’s impressive that he plays almost all of the instruments on this album, given how layered the music is. It’s really quite lovely.
Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist – Voir Dire – Is there any hiphop producer working today who is as consistently good as The Alchemist? Al has been working with mainstream and underground cats for years now, stitching together various threads of the genre. As good as Al always is, he’s at his best when he teams up with Earl Sweatshirt. Earl’s laconic, thoughtful flow sounds so good over these beats. Earl was at the end of his twenties when he released this album last year, but he’s always sounded so much older on his records, sounding like someone who has crammed a lot of living into his life. This album really is fantastic, with features by Vince Staples and MIKE, but on each track, I can’t figure out who sounds better, Al or Earl. This is a good gateway to the underground for anyone who is interested in checking out the scene.
Everything Yes – Volume 1 – Everything Yes are a young, up-and-coming five-piece jazz fusion band out of Chicago who put on a great live show. I got to see them play a week ago, and they were a lot of fun to watch. This album does a good job of showcasing their talents and approach to music, and I recommend checking them out. I think we’ll see a lot more from them.
