Still catching up…
Best Comic of the Week:
One For Sorrow #1 – I’ve been a fan of Jamie McKelvie’s art since I first read Phonogram, and have followed his career faithfully ever since. I was pretty excited to see that he had a new series coming from DSTLRY, that he is writing as well as drawing. This book is masterful. McKelvie’s story is set in London in 1900, and the first issue introduces us to a number of characters. There’s a sham spiritualist and her grifter accomplice, a society woman desperate to prove that she’s part of the aristocracy, a wise and scheming barmaid, a retired detective who was wronged in some way, a masked vigilante type, and a few other interesting characters. McKelvie follows each of their stories separately, waiting until the end of the issue to show us how they are connected, and it’s a revelation that truly surprised me. This is a subtle book, and his clean lines and expressive faces serve it very well. I’m really excited to see where this book leads, now that I know what’s really going on.
Quick Takes:
Aliens Vs. Avengers #2 – Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić have taken this Elseworlds story, set in the future of the Marvel Universe, away from the direction I might have expected. This book is not so much about the Avengers fighting the Aliens as it is about the same kind of weirdness that I feel has tanked the Aliens franchise. There are multiversal elements that have something to do with Prometheus (which I only watched once, half asleep) and the bulk of the issue revolves around Tony Stark’s plans to escape Earth with a small number of humans to help preserve the species. Ribić’s art is gorgeous, of course, but Hickman’s being a little too Hickmanesque for what this type of project is; I’m not sure who it would really appeal to in the end. I’m not saying I’m not enjoying it, but I do find it lacking emotional connection.
Batman #154 – Since the last issue came out, I learned that Chip Zdarsky is stepping away from this book so Jeph Loeb can take over and write a sequel to Hush. This means I’ll be stepping away too, as I have a strict “No Jeph Loeb” policy that I find makes my life much better than one where I read his work. Knowing that Zdarsky is wrapping things up at the start of a new arc is a little off-putting, as he works in some of the same things other writers are doing right now, namely retconning yet another secret thing about Bruce’s parents. Other than that, I enjoyed this book, which has Batman investigating the murder of Gotham’s mayor, and which acknowledges the Court of Owls. Carmine Di Giandomenico’s art has really improved over the last few years, becoming much more fluid in action sequences. I’m going to enjoy this arc I think, and I’m looking forward to seeing where at DC or Marvel Zdarsky turns up next.
Birds of Prey #15 – While Batgirl gets captured on her undercover mission, the rest of the team waits to hear from her, which proves to be difficult for Barda. As usual, Kelly Thompson writes these characters with a lot of humanity, and it’s very effective. I actually prefer the non-action scenes to the exciting ones, just because of how she writes them. Sami Basri continues to impress on this book, amplifying all the things that work best about Thompson’s writing.
Come Find Me: An Autumnal Offering #1 – I can’t really turn down a DSTLRY anthology that centrepieces a Becky Cloonan written- and drawn-story, can I? I didn’t even really pay attention to the names of the other creators on this book, so I was really happy to come across some Vanessa Del Rey art as well. These stories are all too short to really stick with me, but I liked this gorgeous book.
Gilt Frame #3 – Matt Kindt (with plotting assistance from his mother, Margie Kindt) has put together a wonderful little whodunit with this series, which ends with this oversized issue. We learn who is behind the killing of a French antiquities dealer, and as the narrative shifts back to the American aunt and nephew with reputations for solving crimes, we learn a lot more about them and their shared past. This book was a great read, playing with the conventions of writers like Agatha Christie, but throwing some curious twists into the mix. Kindt’s art is always appealing to me, and this is the type of story it works best with. All around, great stuff here.
Green Arrow 2024 Annual #1 – Joshua Williamson says goodbye to Green Arrow with this heart-warming annual, set in the future. An older, more reflective Ollie gets convinced to tell some stories from his career to a bunch of unnamed children who are the next generation of the Arrow Family. One of his stories centres on Firestarter, an arsonist that he was never able to catch over many years and costume changes. This is the right way to wrap up a run that has been so focused on Ollie’s chosen family, and I enjoyed it. The art, shared between Sean Izaakse and Amancay Nahuelpan, is terrific. I’ve really liked Williamson’s run, and am sad to see it ending.
Mud And Madness #1 – I can’t resist a good World War One story, so when I saw this book, published by Blood Moon Comics, I was intrigued. I have to admire the creators, writers Peter and Jaden Breau, and artist Brian Maikisch, for their enthusiasm, if not for their actual comic. This issue has two stories featuring the same group of Canadian soldiers serving in the Great War. The first story, in colour, has the young soldiers facing and defeating Dracula on the battlefield, and coming across a Forest Gumpian number of cameos. The second story doesn’t really end well, and I suspect that it might be an ongoing story, but it similarly has the same soldiers facing other demonic enemies on the battlefield. Maikisch’s art shows some promise, but it’s a little stiff. The comic is full of typos and grammatical errors, as well as slang that wouldn’t have been used in the 1910s. It threw me out of it. I don’t think I’ll be back for any more issues.
Public Domain #10 – In an oversized issue that wraps up the second arc, we see the secret history of Candy, Syd’s wife, and Cynthia, his editor, and see how it impacts him at the end of the San Diego comic convention. Chip Zdarsky continues to do very fine work with this comic, and its exploration of a family and how the comics industry has impacted them. It’s much less of a parody series than it first was, as often happens with comedy books. I’ve really grown to like these characters.
Saga #70 – It’s another great issue of this series, as Squire heads off to a camp to help him with his mental health, Petrichor makes plans, and we learn that someone is going to betray Alana and Hazel. This comic is always entertaining and satisfying, as we continue to follow these characters longer than I’d ever expected possible. I don’t see myself ever getting bored of this series.
Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku – Insurgency Rising #3 – My complaint about this series, so far, is that it gives very little space or time to established Star Wars characters, and is instead focusing on a bunch of new characters (or ones ported over from other media I don’t engage with). There’s some Imperial maintaining control of a small sector of space, and for some reason, this is really important to the New Republic, but it’s not really clear why. We’ve got new secret societies, and none of it is grabbing me yet. As a bridge out of the original trilogy, this is not really making a case for itself yet; I don’t know if that’s the fault of writer Alex Segura, or due to Lucasfilm decisions, but it’s a disappointment.
Wolverine: Revenge #3 – I’m not going to deny the appeal of Greg Capullo drawing a series about Wolverine tracking down and killing some former enemies and a friend or two. Capullo’s art is as good as it’s ever been, and he’s very good at stories like this. At the same time, Capullo and co-writer Jonathan Hickman are not taking the opportunity this Elseworlds story provides to explore or say anything about Wolverine’s character. He’s just hunting people down to take them off the board; there’s no real reflection or depth to it. I really feel like there could have been more to this.
X-Factor #4 – It’s increasingly unclear just how much time passed between the end of Krakoa and the start of the various From The Ashes titles, but this issue suggests that a lot of time has passed, as Cecilia Reyes managed to have a pretty serious relationship with a teleporting mutant who then started ghosting her. In the middle of a mission to rescue some scientists from deep inside the Earth, Cecilia and her ex have to spend some time together, and it’s a little hard to buy. Beyond that, this is a pretty standard issue. I’m pretty sure I’m not impressed with this book, but I don’t dislike it either. I just wish a little more was happening here.
X-Force #5 – The team, combined with a version of the Avengers from another reality, have to work together to stop Nuklo from unleashing monsters across the Earth. This issue works better than some previous ones, but there’s an unnecessary death that didn’t get enough buildup to make it truly noble. It annoys me, because in the post-Krakoan status quo, character deaths should go back to being rare and impactful, and aside from causing one key member of the team to quit, I’m not sure that’s happening here. Writer Geoffrey Thorne needs to take more time to build with these characters, as they are all just stand ins that could be anybody at this point in the series. It definitely doesn’t feel like a team yet.
The Week in Music:
BADBADNOTGOOD – Mid Spiral – BADBADNOTGOOD are among the most important bands in my adult life, and it’s always great to get a new record from them. On Mid Spiral, the band takes on a new form; adding a conga/bongo player (Juan Carlos Medrano Magallanes) and a trumpet/trombone/oboe/electric valve instrumentalist (Kae Murphy) as permanent members of the band. They are now less muscular than they were in their earlier recordings, preferring to explore psych oriented grooves and more tropical rhythms. When I first became a fan, they preferred to play jazz versions of hiphop songs, or constructed their own beat- and keys-driven soundscapes. This feels like a more mature version of the band, but they can still throw down and sweep you away when they need to. Their last album leaned more into Brazilian sounds, but this is less indebted to any one place. It’s very good, even if it leaves me nostalgic for the old days. (I’m especially endeared to this because I managed to attend a free release party for it that ended with an hour long performance in a small, sweaty space, just like when I used to catch them in small venues before they blew up).
