Best Comic of the Week:
Blow Away #4 – So far, this series has been about a nature photographer who has become obsessed with the possibility that she’s witnessed a murder while watching two men climb a remote mountain in the Canadian Arctic. This issue, she’s taken matters into her own hands to investigate, and is blown off the mountain by a storm. What follows is either her uncovering something pretty dark, or a voyage into deep paranoia. The way that Zac Thompson has structured this story, it’s actually pretty hard to tell, and that is what makes it so interesting. He and artist Nicola Izzo have really impressed with this series, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all resolves next issue.
Quick Takes:
Absolute Power: Task Force VII #2 – I didn’t get the first issue of this tie-in series, but I’ve come to realize that each issue features a different creative team and focuses on a different group of heroes. When I saw that this one is written by John Layman, and features both the Doom Patrol and Aquaman’s family, I was in. One of the Amazo robots goes after Atlantis, and it’s up to Tempest and the depowered DP to try to save the day, which doesn’t really work out. I really liked Dennis Culver’s recent Doom Patrol, and am glad to see them here without their being revamped again. Ultimately, this was a bit short, but I’m happy I picked it up. I’ll check future issue to see if they appeal.
Detective Comics #1087 – Ram V’s excellent run continues, with Batman and his extended family fighting back against the Orghams. I like how some of Batman’s foes have joined this fight, and the way that this storyline somehow continues to sprawl and grow, even as it feels like it’s moving towards some kind of resolution. The art in the main story, by Christian Duce and Stefano Raffaele, is very nice. The backup story, by Dan Watters and Francisco Francavilla, is excellent, featuring Azrael and Nightwing, as they work out some of their differences. I really don’t see a lot of discussion around this run, and am concerned that people are missing out on one of the better Batman stories of the last twenty years.
The Flash #11 – I think we got a bit of an explanation as to the full nature of the Speed Force (and the Still Force) in this issue, as it looks more and more like that’s what Simon Spurrier’s focus is on. Wally is still running, and cut off from everything that makes him himself, while his family and other speedsters try to figure things out. It’s all kind of conceptual, and while I enjoy Ramon Pérez’s art here, I’m a little lost. And not in that good Morrisonian way. I’m hoping that the next issue will ground things a little better; this series started off great but is meandering now. I want it back on track.
Green Arrow #14 – With Oliver apparently working for Amanda Waller now, in the middle of the Absolute Power event, Roy, Connor, and the others decide they need to get involved, even though Batman is telling them to sit it out. I like how Joshua Williamson is writing this book, and while there are a lot of similar-looking characters to keep track of, I am really enjoying the dynamics within the larger Arrow family. This is a cool issue, made even more cool for the return of a character I haven’t thought of since Grant Morrison wrote JLA.
NYX #1 – Of all the titles announced in the ‘From The Ashes’ relaunch of the X-Men, NYX was the one that caught my eye as being most unpredictable. Going off the lineup of characters on the cover – Ms. Marvel, Wolverine (Laura), Prodigy, Anole, and a Cuckoo (Sophie, if that even matters) – I saw a lot of potential. I’ve been hit or miss on the writing of Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly. I like their current work in Outsiders at DC, but hated their Captain America and was largely disappointed in their Guardians of the Galaxy, but like Outsiders, this book has fewer entrenched characters, and the premise is interesting. Now that Krakoa is gone, mutants are having to live alongside regular people again, and that means that a lot of younger mutants are living in New York (it’s not too clear how anyone can pay rent). Kamala and Sophie are students at ESU, taking a course taught by David. Victor’s working at a bar, while Laura is doing a vigilante thing. So far, these characters aren’t really a team, but are in one another’s orbits. A threat is introduced, and while I don’t love how a character I’ve always liked gets used here, the explanation for his behaviour works for me. The art, by Francesco Mortarino, is nice enough, but doesn’t really stand out. I can see how this book could go wrong, but want to give it a good chance. I’ll definitely be getting the first arc, and then we’ll see.
Resident Alien: The Book of Life #2 – I was a little surprised to see that Asta’s labour comes half way through this series, but Peter Hogan has never been one for conventional story structures with this book. Harry and Asta spend much of the issue preparing for the coming of their child, and much of this comic is dedicated to portraying the mundane aspects of life for expecting parents, largely leaving aside the fact that Harry is an alien and they have no idea what their child will look like or be. It’s kind of suspenseful and heart warming at the same time. I love this series.
The Sacrificers #10 – This issue focuses on Soluna, the daughter of the Sun and the Moon. She’s fallen on the hardest of times, hungry and alone in a very hostile world where no one believes she is who she says she is. This issue has guest art by André Lima Araújo, whose work I’m always happy to see. Rick Remender hits us with a very nice twist at the end of the issue, which I’m excited to see play out. This is a very good series that is not getting enough attention.
The Six Fingers #5 – With this issue, the conjoined miniseries The One Hand and The Six Fingers wrap up, with surprising revelations and a lot of ambiguity. These two series, the first by Ram V and Laurence Campbell and this one by Dan Watters and Sumit Kumar, have woven in and out of each other, telling two sides of the same story. V and Watters work really well together (this week’s Detective Comics proves that too), and I appreciate just how ambitious this story is. It really was masterfully written and told. It’s hard to describe anything about this issue, but if you like Blade Runner and have an interest in serial killers, you’d probably find something to like in these two books.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #48 – As Sabé decides to test Luke Skywalker, the Imperial Schism turns on Vader. It really does feel like Greg Pak is addressing any outstanding parts of this series, as we move towards issue fifty. I am often kind of down on this book, because I don’t feel like it’s added much to Vader’s character, but I do see how Pak has been moving him into position to want to betray the Emperor in Return of the Jedi. The constant stream of characters into and out of this book (whatever happened to Ochi?) has not really helped it. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to care about the MAR Corps.
Ultimate Black Panther #6 – I stay on the fence about this book. On the one hand, it’s the only Black Panther series being published right now, but I’m not sure that it’s doing enough to keep my interest. Unlike the other Ultimate books that I’m reading (Spider-Man and Ultimates), there are not enough fundamental differences between this version of T’Challa and the 616 version. I found that this issue drew me in a little more, as Khonshu works to establish himself as a god and object of worship for the people of Africa, and I like that Bryan Hill has established that Killmonger and Storm are in a relationship, but I still don’t see why this is an Ultimate book or what it brings to that larger table. I was thinking, as I was reading this issue, about how Ultimate X-Men (which I’m not reading) decided to go very unconventional, and have a Japanese mangaka creating the series, which is set in Japan. Imagine if Marvel had done something similar, and Shobo and Shof, the creators of the excellent Afrofuturist series New Masters, had been given the reins for UBP. I am going to give this like one more issue before making up my mind on whether or not this stays on my pull-file. I need to see something change quickly.
Underheist #5 – I’m a big fan of David and Maria Lapham, but this series lost me somewhere around the halfway mark. I was into it when I thought it was a heist book with mild supernatural elements, but as things got more confusing, they lost me somewhere along the way. The end of this was a little too ambiguous for me, but I did enjoy Lapham’s art, and the big ideas behind this series. Maybe it would read better in one sitting; I may have missed something important.
Vampirella #670 – Priest has been writing his demonic version of Groundhog Day for a few months now, but that storyline comes to a close this issue, as Vampirella confronts her mother, Draculina, and most importantly, Shane the First Man, in her effort to close the time loop that has trapped her. Priest’s stories are often layered and complex, and that made this one work, although it really required the reader to have read his whole run, which is increasingly fractured across limited series and relaunches. I really like his work with these characters, especially when Ergün Gündüz is the artist.
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7 – This issue fills in some behind and between the scenes moments from Blood Hunt, as Khonshu returns, and brings all his children with him. I hate Khonshu, and have really enjoyed him not being a part of Jed MacKay’s Moon Knight, but I trust him to handle this properly. I am excited to see Marc back, and want to see where this book goes after Blood Hunt is wrapped up.
Void Rivals #11 – I really like this book, which seems to be increasingly connected to the Transformers, but not that book. This issue shows that Robert Kirkman is continuing to add layers to the story, as the Autobot in the wasteland helps his new friends, but perhaps contributes to their needing to split up. This book is always an exciting read.
The Week in Music:
Hiatus Kaiyote – Love Heart Cheat Code – Hiatus Kaiyote songs are not really about anything (unless there’s a deeper meaning to a song about a long cat that I don’t understand), but they are kind of fun. The Australian psych funk band returns with another off the wall album that is impressive, so long as you don’t think too much about what singer Nai Palm is saying.
