Best Comic of the Week:
Black Cloak #7 – Black Cloak is one of the best new comics to be published this decade. I loved the first arc, and the extensive world building that Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren engaged in to make this fantastical world feel real. With the start of this new arc, five years have passed. Essex is no longer a Black Cloak (they’re kind of like cops), and the city has suffered through calamity, mostly Essex’s fault. Her former partner comes looking for her, though, because there is a serial killer loose in the city and he has to acknowledge how good Essex is at this stuff. This issue doesn’t explain very much – it’s up to the reader to remember both what happened in the first arc and the various relationships between characters and social groups that make up this world. I feel a little rusty (despite having reread the last issue a couple of months ago when I heard this book was coming back), but the story and the fine characterization work immediately drew me in. McClaren’s changed the look of these characters, aging them and making it clear they’ve been put through their paces. It makes for a fascinating and lovely read, and I’m already looking forward to more. I said this when this book first started, and think it’s worth repeating again; I hope this book has a long run to rival Saga, the only other book that this reminds me of, despite their wild differences.
Quick Takes:
Blow Away #5 – Zac Thompson really lands this series well in this final issue. We’ve been watching a nature photographer drive herself crazy when she thinks she sees a murder in the Arctic, and now we’re back in the south, a month after the last issue, as she finally pieces everything together. This was a tight and intricate comic with great art by Nicola Izzo. I usually like Thompson’s work, so none of this is a surprise to me. Still, I like how Boom! has been platforming Canada in its series lately (I’m thinking of this and The Displaced).
Crocodile Black #4 – This series has been an interesting exploration of mental illness during Covid, PTSD, and the desire some people have to remake their lives. Leo has taken off from home, going off his medication, and is now squatting in the home of a dead former soldier (whose body is still in the easychair he died in). Leo, modeling himself on the soldier, killed someone for a cartel drug lord, and now realizes that they’re going to take him out (he was only supposed to scare the guy). This leads him to finally recognize what happened to his little brother when he was a child, and how that event still impacts his perception of the world today. Phillip Kennedy Johnson is writing this series with sensitivity, but the focus is on a unique kind of horror. Som’s art is working for me.
Green Lantern War Journal #10 – I’m tired of series that are only ever meant to tell one story. Phillip Kennedy Johnson did a great job of getting into John Stewart’s head, but after a little while, the story became pretty much all-plot, as he had to focus on an otherworldly threat, and I found I lost some interest. The best part of this book was the way Johnson wrote John’s mother, and it shared a side of superheroing we rarely get to see. I liked Montos’s art a lot, and look forward to seeing him on more books (I know his next title has been announced, but I don’t remember what it is right now).
Jenny Sparks #1 – There seems to be a bit of a Warren Ellis revival going on right now, what with The Outsiders playing with his creations from Planetary and The Authority, and now we have a Jenny Sparks miniseries from Tom King and Jeff Stokes (that completely contradicts some of what’s happening in Outsiders, but that’s beside the point). King gives us a fractured story where Captain Atom has seemed to have lost it, and it’s somehow Jenny Sparks, the spirit of the 20th century, who has to deal with it. The story suggests that this is a job she has, with Batman putting her on this mission. I’m not sure what King is aiming for with this book yet, but it doesn’t seem to be as redefining as some of his other character-focused titles have been. It’s cool to see Jeff Stokes work with these characters, and I was happy to see Captain Atom again, even if he is being set up as the bad guy for this story (I did notice him on some of the art for Mark Waid’s upcoming Justice League book, which I thought was interesting). I’m intrigued by this.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual #1 – I’ve been saying for a while that I wanted to see more of Miles interacting with his family, and that’s pretty much all the lead story of this annual is, as Miles heads to Puerto Rico to spend some time with his abuela, and learns about his family’s history. It’s charming, with nice art by David Baldeón. The backup stories are of varying quality, but at least the one with Bloodline acknowledges this new vampire reality of Miles’s, which I don’t love.
Nightwing #117 – Dick works on his fear of heights in Nanda Parbat, figuring out a few things about both his recent troubles and some old ones. Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s final arc is bitter sweet. On the one hand, it’s wrapping up their run masterfully, but on the other, I wish it was still going. This continues to be the best Nightwing run I’ve ever read.
Phoenix #2 – I want to like this book, but there are a few things about it that are bothering me. The biggest in this issue is the way both Jean and Scott are describing Corsair, Scott’s father, as someone who is never to be trusted. This contradicts much of the Cyclops series that ran when the original X-Men came to the present as teens, and I haven’t really seen anything since that would contradict that. Jean’s flying around in space, helping people, and ends up rescuing Corsair, who puts her on to a scheme that the Black Order are running. Writer Stephanie Phillips is portraying the Phoenix as incredibly powerful, and that is going to really limit the types of threats she can take on. The Black Order should be beneath her. I’m just not really sure what Phillips is hoping to accomplish with this series, and it bothers me that there isn’t more clarity after two issues. The art, by Alessandro Miracolo, is nice, but after the internet discussion after the first issue, I find myself looking for swipes more than enjoying the art. I’m going to give this a couple more issues, but I’m not sure I want to stick with it, which is too bad, because I love a good cosmic series, especially if it’s going to become home to a number of characters that we don’t get to see too often.
Something Crawled Out #1 – I think Vault must be running huge overprints on their new series, because this is the fourth time one of their first issues turned up either free or for a quarter at my LCS. At those prices, I’ll never turn a book down, and I’ve got some respect for the work that Vault does. That said, this first issue didn’t really grab me. Writer Son M. and artist Madcursed introduce us to two friends, Eddie (who is a woman) and Rainer, who Eddie keeps telling us is the devil. They’ve been friends from childhood, and live in a small town where everyone knows one another. There is a slow build of mystery surrounding Rainer, and whether or not there’s a supernatural aspect to him, and a bit of a suggestion that Eddie’s little sister, like other young people in the town, has gone missing. But then the story is about someone trying to break into the gas station convenience store where they both work, followed by the appearance of a very strange naked woman. I don’t really have a sense of what this series is about. I like Madcursed’s art, but at times I wasn’t sure if I was looking at Rainer or Eddie, as everyone is kind of androgynous. It’s a good start, but I think this might have needed a little more editing or clarity. Apparently this is a “Nightfall Tale”, but I don’t know what that is, or if I’m perhaps missing some larger context.
Star Wars #49 – Leia confronts Zahra, the ex-Imperial she’d left for dead before, as Charles Soule works to wrap up any remaining plotlines before this series ends with the next issue. I’ve liked Soule’s work on Star Wars, but have noticed that Marvel has really diminished the Star Wars line lately. I guess it’s not selling so well, and think that once again, the consequence of over-saturation is quickly diminishing returns.
Superman #17 – Powerless and on the run, Superman and Zatanna attempt to find help at the Oblivion Bar, but it might not be the kind of help they actually want. I like how Joshua Williamson is connecting these issues to the Absolute Power event, and exploring how that impacts characters that aren’t getting much space in the main event. I will go on record as saying that I hate the black suit Superman is wearing, and I always have.
Titans #14 – The team finally moves against Raven, just as Spectre and some of her siblings also go after her. I hate Raven, and always have, and this issue felt pretty decompressed, but I do like how Tom Taylor is moving to wrap up this story. It’s a little surprising that this book is not tieing into Absolute Power, given how prominent the Titans are in this book, but it’s all good. I’d rather Taylor do his own thing.
Ultimate Spider-Man #8 – One common complaint I’ve come across about Jonathan Hickman’s writing is that he’s very plot-driven, but it seems like this series is the opposite of that. Not much happens in this issue – Peter meets Tony Stark, and then attends his kids’ birthday party. The Kingpin gathers forces. That’s about it, and it’s a very good issue. I especially like the way that Hickman is building the relationship between Uncle Ben and Jonah Jameson, making them a bit of a comedic odd couple. Marco Checchetto doesn’t get a lot of space to draw big action scenes, but he keeps this story moving nicely. It’s a really good book.
Wolverine: Revenge #1 – As excited as I am to see Greg Capullo back at Marvel and drawing Wolverine, I think had I known that he and writer Jonathan Hickman were cooking up an out-of-continuity, probably in the future title, I might have skipped it. Whenever this is happening, Magneto’s asteroid has blown up, causing an EMP that has taken out electricity around the world. Nick Fury (man, it’s good to see the original version of this character again) recruits Logan to join Captain America and the Winter Soldier to retrieve the only working power source in the world, which just so happens to belong to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, made up of Mastermind, Sabretooth, Omega Red, and Deadpool (not a mutant). Honestly, the story doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’d assumed that this would be a bridge between the Krakoan Era for Logan and what’s going on now in the X-Titles. I guess this is all fun, but there are a few things that just don’t work for me (I don’t want to spoil things, but having Logan regenerate from a pile of ash, but still have his adamantium claws afterwards, makes no sense). Anyway, at least it’s pretty, but the fan service is a bit much for me. Hopefully this does start a conversation about bringing Nick Fury and SHIELD back.
Wonder Woman #12 – Diana and Damian are searching for Amanda Waller’s secret prison, and so we get an entire issue devoted to the two of them alternately trying to frighten or love Captain Boomerang into telling them where it is. As is so often the case with a Tom King comic, the formalism of the plot is more important than a believable story (if heroes are being hunted everywhere, maybe hanging out in a steakhouse in full costume is a bad idea). It’s entertaining, if a little silly. I don’t understand why King keeps writing Diana like she’s just come to man’s world. This is what I don’t get about DC these days – has Wonder Woman been around a long time, or is she new again? And why is she so ESL now, compared to previous depictions. I also struggled with the characterization of Captain Boomerang, simply because I don’t know if the classic Suicide Squad stories I remember him from ever happened in the current DCU. It’s confusing, and I think important (but given how different Amanda Waller is from those days, I guess it’s all academic).
Bargain Comics:
Howard the Duck #1 – For Howard’s fiftieth anniversary, this one-shot was made with a framing story by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones. It’s cute, and occasionally funny, but there’s not a whole lot to say about it. I did like the story set during my favourite period of X-Men and New Mutants.
The Week in Graphic Novels:
Miramar – I’ve been a fan of Simon Roy since picking up his Jan’s Atomic Heart at TCAF years ago, but my esteem for him really solidified when he worked with Brandon Graham on Prophet. Lately, he’s been expanding the world he first showed us in his Habitat story (in the much-missed Island magazine). Miramar is the second of his crowdfunded graphic novels, after Griz Grobus. It tells the story of a small island community that is attacked by its pirate neighbours, who are known to be cannibals. They don’t just steal the island’s baker, though, they also take their sourdough starter (do you think this story might have been conceived during the pandemic?). The villagers, aided by their religious leader robot boat, work to get their baker, and their starter, back. It’s a quick story that has a lot of charm. This book is drawn by Stefan Tosheff, whose work actually reminds me a lot of Roy’s, so it’s a good fit. This is not as ranging a story as Griz Grobus, which is now published by Image and worth checking out, but it was a highly enjoyable story. I’m looking forward to Refugium, the next hardcover Roy has crowdfunded.
The Week in Music:
Kessoncoda – Outerstate – I often sound like a broken record when it comes to Gondwana Records releases, but they really are one of the best labels out there, for gentle jazz or post-rock music. Kessoncoda is new to Gondwana, but their stuff fits very nicely with the other artists on the label. If you’re looking for something soothing but also a little complex or thoughtful, this is a good place to start.
Nicola Conte – Umoja (Joaquin Joe Claussel Sacred Rhythm Music and Cosmic Arts Remixes) – Nicola Conte’s album Umoja came out about a year ago, and it was a very cool, tropical sounding collection of rhythms. Now, he’s invited Joaquin Joe Claussell to remix and reinterpret those songs, giving the whole thing more of a dancehall vibe to it. It’s cosmic, reflective, and more high energy. It’s cool to hear live performers playing along with whatever Claussell is doing on the boards.
Previous Industries – Service Merchandise – One thing that’s been missing in hiphop in the last decade is groups. Sure, we’re starting to see more duos (Paris Texas, Armand Hammer, and ShrapKnel are all doing incredible work), but a trio is rare. Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave, and STILL RIFT have gathered as Previous Industries, and it’s glorious. I love the way they trade back and forth during their songs, and how casual and fun this whole project is. There are terrific beats on this album (mostly produced by Child Actor) that never overpower the songs. I’ve been a huge Mike Eagle fan for years, and am happy to see him platform his friends in a way that accentuates their considerable talents.
