Well, we’re one week in to me being back to work, and already I’m not making it through my whole pullfile list before it’s time to submit this column. I was hoping things would be different, but the next few weeks are really busy. Instead of waiting for a week to put out a double column (which I may have to do soon anyway), I figured I’d just report back on what I was able to get through this week.
Best Comic of the Week:
Helen of Wyndhorn #4 – It’s been worth the wait for the new issue of Helen of Wyndhorn, Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s exploration of a Robert E. Howard-type life with some interesting twists. Helen convinces her grandfather, Barnabas, that she wants to learn to fight and live in his world. He has the girl trained by his butler (who is much more of a fantasy Alfred Pennyworth than an Edwin Jarvis) and invites her fully into his life, at least until things take a bit of a turn. I like how King has structured this story, and how the tutor, Lilith’s, voice dominates the book, even though she is the person who least understands what’s happening and has to rely on information the others give her. Evely’s art is gorgeous here, and what helps elevate this book over the other things King has been doing lately. I’m sad that there are only two issues left in this series, but am looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Quick Takes:
Dawnrunner #5 – Ram V and Evan Cagle wrap up this interesting science fiction series with this issue. I’ve really enjoyed this story about giant gundam-style mech warriors who take on mysterious creatures that come through a rift in reality. There was some corporate intrigue, and anthropological questions, as well as a subplot involving the evolution of the technology. It all comes to a head in this issue as Anita’s body disappears from her Iron King while fighting the largest Tetza ever seen. I really like Cagle’s art, and am happy to see that he and V are working together on a New Gods thing at DC, but some of the action sequences were a little hard to follow, mostly because I never really got a sense of the Dawnrunner’s design. Ram V is a writer to watch, and I’m glad I’ve been checking out more and more of his work.
Exceptional X-Men #1 – Of the three new tentpole X-Men books, I think this is the one I was least sure of. I’m of the generation that grew up with Kitty Pryde as my point of view character, and as one of the X-Men I could best relate to. I like the idea of her headlining a title, but when I saw that this was shaping up to be a revamp of Generation X (not even the New Mutants), I got a little worried. I liked Eve Ewing’s recent Black Panther run well enough, but it seemed too focused on creating new environments within the Marvel Universe rather than crafting a story that could sustain an ongoing series. Now we have Kate rejecting just about everything about her Krakoan, and even pre-Krakoan life, trying to live as a normie bartender in Chicago (despite the fact that she’s a computer and electronics wiz), dipping her toe into the dating scene. It feels like too much of a shift for the character, especially given how fervent she was in her defense of Krakoa. When she sees a young mutant being discriminated against she has to intervene, but that whole situation feels very forced. I doubt that even in America many concert security guards carry guns inside of venues. Anyway, I’m not sure this is working for me, but it’s kind of cute. I’ll give it a while, because when handled correctly, the Kate Pryde/Emma Frost relationship can be wonderful. I’m just not in the mood for more generic new mutants, and it seems both Ewing and Simone are going that route.
The Holy Roller #8 – With only one issue remaining after this, we learn the full master plan of the guy who’s created the Hitler app that is making everyone in a small town into rabid racists. Rick
Remender and his co-writers are having a lot of fun pointing out some things about the MAGA crowd in this series, and I like how it’s all coming together. This series is silly, but it also is the kind of satire we need right now. I imagine it’s making some people angry.
The Incredible Hulk #16 – We’re given the second chapter showing what happened between an early gamma monster and The First the last time she tried to take over the Earth. If you like watching big monsters fight each other, an issue drawn by Danny Earls is going to work for you, but I’m feeling like Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s story is getting increasingly stretched out, and I’m tired of how decompressed it is. I’ve wanted to stay with this title, but I’m wondering if maybe it’s time to take it off my pullfile list…
Justice Society of America #11 – Just in case this series hasn’t been messy enough since it started some time ago, now it looks like Geoff Johns was told he had to wrap up all of his lengthy, slowly unfolding storylines in a matter of two issues to make way for the recently announced JSA book by Jeff Lemire that is coming out in November. As such, he wraps up stories involving Mordru and Eclipso, revealing what was going on with Wildcat II, and basically getting Helena Wayne and all of his other new ideas out of the way. Along the way, he’s brought back a different version of the Legion of Super-Heroes than the one DC was minimally promoting lately, and brought back an alternate version of Superboy for all of one panel. It’s like DC just allows Johns to do whatever he feels like (including turning in stories at a snail’s pace) with no thought on how it fits with the rest of the line. As a life-long Legion fan, any appearance of the team gets celebrated, but not when it only serves to further undermine and muddy the already complicated status quo of the team. Atom-Smasher and Colossal Boy are on a first name basis? Also, why spend so much time focusing this book on the reformation of a number of criminal characters only to get rid of them? I feel like this title could have been something with some stronger editing and tighter constraints, but once it was clear it was never going to keep even a bimonthly schedule, it should have been just put down. This book, despite some strong efforts from artist Marco Santucci, was disappointing.
The Penguin #12 – Tom King and Roberto De Latorre finish off their examination of the Penguin’s psyche, returning readers to the scenes that started the series. I like how King has shown us a different side of the Penguin, and how carefully this whole series was plotted, allowing us to only see everything that Cobblepot planned now, at the end. De Latorre’s art was very nice throughout the series, and I was thankful to see characters like the Force of July and Black Spider used so effectively. I’m still confused as to how this series fits in current DC continuity (James Gordon hasn’t been commissioner for a while), but other than that, this was a great read.
Public Domain #8 – I find this series to be a very entertaining read. Chip Zdarsky is continuing to pick at the comics industry, and I’m sure that people who work in it are picking up on things that go over my head, but he’s also spinning out a pretty compelling story about two groups of people who are just trying to get by with some talent and a lot of neuroses. As we get further into the actual making of the Domain comics, it’s fun to see how comics get made, or at least this version of it. Zdarsky is always at his best on independent work, and I love that he’s somehow finding the time to draw this series as well. I’ve missed his art since Sex Criminals ended.
The Ultimates #4 – It’s easy to see why this book is getting more buzz than anything Marvel has put out since House of X, as Deniz Camp makes some interesting storytelling choices. This month he focuses on Doom, the Reed Richards of the new Ultimate Universe, and through the use of four tiers of panels, he fills in his backstory and explains why he’s a bit of a mess. Phil Noto drew this issue, so it of course looks fantastic. I am loving this book, but I do worry that Camp’s use of a countdown won’t limit what he’s trying to accomplish, forcing the book to reach a certain place on a timeline that isn’t allowing as much sprawl as I’d like to see here. (Also, in case you fell for the rumours that were circulating on Twitter and other social media, this issue has nothing to do with Robert Downey Junior.)
