I’m actually reading books that came out this week! I didn’t get through the stack, though, because it was the biggest week of the year. Of course, I’m back to work full time next week, so we’ll see if I end up falling behind again…
Best Comic of My Week:
Escape #1 – Rick Remender has a long track record of delivering killer first issues, but I think this might be one of his best. The series is an anthropomorphized war story, and this first issue follows a bomber crew on their 27th mission together, to bomb a massive cannon that their enemy (who are bats?) has placed in a civilian population. The crew, which has been debating the topic of whether or not all bats are evil or if the soldiers are forced to follow orders they don’t agree with, meets heavy opposition, and it’s clear they’re not going to make it back home. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the title of the book gives a hint as to where things are headed. Remender immediately had me liking these characters, and the pace of the book is suspenseful. Daniel Acuña’s art is perfect for this. His animal characters are expressive, and the war-torn landscape is evocative and forbidding. He colours his own art, and captures the drabness of war very well. I’m already really excited to read more of this series.
Quick Takes:
Absolute Batman #11 – This is a really interesting issue of this series. Pennyworth narrates the story of Bane, and we see how he’s different from the DCU version of the character. This Bane was the son of a freedom fighter, and ended up in prison with his father; upon their escape, he was contacted by the Absolute Joker (I’m assuming that’s who he is), and given the opportunity to chart a new course in life. We learn what Bane wants, and his connection to characters like Deathstroke and KGBeast, which I thought was a cool touch. We also learn his plans for Batman. Clay Mann drew this issue, and it doesn’t look like his typical work at all. He’s following the kinds of layouts that regular artist Nick Dragotta uses, and it made things interesting and fresh. I remain pretty impressed with this series; I didn’t think Scott Snyder had anything more to say about Batman, but I like this more than any other Bat-story he’s written so far.
Absolute Flash #6 – We’re given some badly needed backstory in this issue, as we get a better look at who the Rogues are, and just what kind of business Wally’s dad was doing for the Army. We also get an idea about Barry Allen’s place in things, and even a glimpse at Jay Garrick. I like how Jeff Lemire is assembling important people from the regular Flash mythos, but remixing them in novel ways for this series. It’s good to get more substance in this title, and nice to see artist Nick Robles return.
Absolute Martian Manhunter #6 – The Martian and the White Martian fight over the town of Middleton, but on a non-corporeal level. As has become expected in this book, Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez portray this fight in novel ways (when the White Martian pulls the threat out of a nuclear bomb from a hippy’s mind, the good Martian counters with that same hippy’s faith in the incompetence of the military). This book is a real trip, and can be counted on to be very entertaining.
Absolute Wonder Woman #11 – Diana is still trapped in the maze under Area 42, but she manages to find the Amazon she was looking for. This is the first Amazon she’s ever met, so the scene has great importance to her. Kelly Thompson’s Wonder Woman is an endlessly compassionate and interesting character, and I like the way this story is playing out. Hayden Sherman’s art is wonderful, and I like the way he’s channeling late period Frank Miller on the cover.
Aquaman #8 – Arthur has his big fight with Dagon, the god-like being who captured all of Atlantis and took them to this other dimension. It’s a big fight, with a bit of a body count, but I can’t imagine most of these deaths and rapid aging aren’t going to be reversed soon. This book is enjoyable but I don’t really know where Jeremy Adams is going to take it next. Aquaman is a difficult character to keep fresh, I feel.
Avengers #29 – It’s been a while since anyone has acknowledged the more recent Secret Wars event, and the fact that Reed Richards reconstructed the entire cosmos at the end of that story. It seems that the Avengers have figured out that the ‘missing moment’ that Kang has been seeking is related to this, and now that Jed MacKay is not still tying in to the One World Under Doom event, it’s time to deal with this long-running plotline. At the same time, Myrdden is making his own moves. I don’t like that this story hinges on a villain who is also showing up in another high profile Marvel book right now; it’s not like there are too few characters for someone else to play a part in things…
Batman & Robin: Year One #10 – Two-Face and Clayface are working together, having taken over Grimaldi’s plans for Gotham, and they’re putting a ton of new ‘Clayfaces’ onto the streets. This is a very solid issue, with great work by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee; I like how they show the bond between Bruce and Dick growing more secure over the course of this series. It feels very natural.
Bug Wars #6 – The concept behind this series sounds a lot like an 80s fantasy action movie – a young boy moves to the place where his father dies only to discover a tiny amulet that shrinks him down and puts him in the middle of conflict between warring insect factions – but Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar really took the concept to interesting places. This last issue shows the united mites and insects of the yard attacking the brother of our main character, who has a change of heart and feels the need to defend him. The action in this issue is pretty crazy, with Asrar surpassing the heights he took this book to in previous issues. I started to really like these characters (Bug, from the original Micronauts, is an all-time favourite of mine, so it makes sense I’d be drawn to these creations), and am happy to see that Aaron and Masrur will be returning to this world for a one-shot and then a second story arc. This will read really well in trade.
Daredevil #24 – Matt’s back in his regular costume (the whole costume change feels ever more forced now for being abandoned so quickly) and is hunting for the organization that hired the Taskmaster last issue. This leads him and Elektra into a confrontation with another classic Marvel villain, and the realization that someone is back in town. Apparently writer Saladin Ahmed is starting to wrap up his run, so I guess we’re moving towards resolving some simmering plot points. It’s starting to feel a little listless, if I’m being honest.
The Department of Truth #33 – This issue rounds up the three-part story about the internet conspiracy theory that claims that if you drink enough cough syrup, you are visited by a man in a black hat. When this story started, I was a little confused as to where it exists in the DoT timeline, but that is explained at the end of the issue in a cool way. James Tynion IV’s work on this book continues to be very timely, and I am appreciating how well-plotted this whole series is. I’m glad it’s been given the space to continue to develop like this.
Detective Comics #1100 – By this point, there are so many eight to ten page Batman stories in the world that you have to wonder why we would need more. But then you read some of the ones in this oversized issue. Tom Taylor and Mikel Janín have Batman help a deaf child find his missing dog in a lovely silent story. Greg Rucka has a couple of ER doctors talking about the impact Batman has on their work in a story with fantastic art by Álvaro Martínez Bueno. Dan Watters puts Bill Sinekiewicz to good use in a story about a fall from a great height. This was a good anthology celebrating a milestone issue number.
Dust to Dust #6 – I’m glad this issue has finally come out. I’ve really been liking JG Jones’s dustbowl smalltown serial killer story, as the killer has been the least prevalent part of the story. Instead, Jones and his cowriter, Phil Bram, have been focused on the people of New Hope, showing it to us through the eyes of the female photojournalist who has now incurred the wrath of the town’s mayor and hotelier. This story would make a terrific television series, with its ensemble cast and multiple character arcs.
Exceptional X-Men #12 – It’s time for some Back To The Future fun, as the kids have to go back in time to rescue Kitty, who was lost in a time portal. The argument that Emma and Bobby can’t go due to their long histories with Kitty doesn’t hold up when Emma can easily alter the perceptions of people around her, but this book is focused on the kids, so… It’s another decent issue that introduces a new mutant, and features a guest appearance by Ironheart. I enjoy this title for the way it keeps the stakes relatively low compared to most other comics on the stands.
Exquisite Corpses #4 – My favourite new comic series about psychopathic killers continues, as the hired killers continue to work to take one another out in the town that’s been sealed off from the outside world. This month’s issue features co-writing by Che Grayson, who is new to me, and art by Adam Gorham, alongside regular creators James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh. This book is a lot of crazy fun, and I like how the writers are slowly building up the surviving characters.
Gehenna: Naked Aggression #3 – This fun series continues to be a whirlwind of comics ridiculousness. The main character (Gehenna?) has to fight a superhero to get away with the boy she’s kidnapped, while the boy’s aunt decides that her men should kill both of them. Not much happens in these comics, in terms of forward progression of its very simple plot, but Maurizio Rosenzweig’s art makes this so much fun to read.
Green Lantern Corps #7 – The Starbreaker Supremacy crossover (with the main GL book) continues, and it dives a little too far into the emotional spectrum stuff for me. Starbreaker has left the galaxy without emotion, somehow, and it’s up to the non-carbon based, emotionless beings in the GLC (such as John’s ring, the Amazo robot from Absolute Power, and some android being that I don’t know about) to try to set things right. This issue depends a lot on things that happened before Jeremy Adams’s GL run, so I don’t know about them. It’s all good though, and I am really liking the art by Fernando Pasarin and Oclair Albert (some pages appeal more than others, but I’m not sure who is drawing what).
Imperial #3 – This issue reveals who is behind all the manipulation and deceit that has launched the latest round of galactic space battles in the Marvel cosmic space. I was pretty sure of who one of the conspirators will be (if you have a space chess board, you are contractually obligated to use this guy), but the other one was a surprise. The exposition made for a slower issue than the first two, but it did seem necessary to help show how Jonathan Hickman thinks and works. It did get me thinking about how inherently unstable all empires are in the Marvel Universe. It’s like the last ten years of American politics happens on a six-week cycle for these technologically advanced civilizations. It kind of defies logic, but makes for some exciting stories. I’m curious to see how this story continues to play out over the various one-shots that are being released before the final issue.
Imperial War: Black Panther #1 – I don’t mind that there are a bunch of one-shots attached to Imperial, especially since Jonathan Hickman is showrunning them. For this Black Panther issue, he worked with writer Victor LaValle and artist Cafu to show us what T’Challa’s been up to after the races that attacked Wakanda Prime all realized they’d been duped by Skrulls. I don’t know if anything that happens here actually matters for the larger story, but I’m always happy to see T’Challa turn up. I’m really enjoying this event.
Imperial War: Planet She-Hulk #1 – I think that this one-shot serves as a proof of concept for the upcoming Planet She-Hulk series, set to spin out of the Imperial event. Jen has been left in charge of keeping the peace on Sakaar, the planet where Hulk’s son was recently the ruler, and she’s called upon to solve the mystery of the murder of one of the king’s advisors. It’s a cute story, but Hickman and co-writer Stephanie Phillips keep things light to the point that Jen reminds me of the way she was depicted on TV (it’s not the same slapstick humor that John Byrne used with this character). This was a fine comic, but it’s not one I see myself investing in long-term, especially given that I’m not really enjoying Phillips’s work on Phoenix at the moment. It seems like no one really knows what to do with She-Hulk these days.
Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #4 – I’m enjoying this miniseries a lot. I’ve missed Invincible, and while this is pretty different, it’s nice to see a familiar character and especially to see Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley collaborating again. This is the type of thing that could only work in comics, and it works great.
Justice League Red #1 – Red Tornado is running simulations and has decided that because the League exists, the world is doomed. To counter this, he secretly recruits Simon Baz and Power Girl to go on missions for him, but there might be some problems with this whole model. It’s a cool concept, and gives the chance for some under-utilized characters to have more exposure. I think this is a miniseries, and can guess from the cover who else is going to show up as this plays out. I’m in.
Minor Arcana #10 – Jeff Lemire returns to drawing this issue, as we look at the years that Budd, the book’s main character’s grandfather, spent in prison after killing someone in a car accident. Lemire is good at portraying the interior lives of quiet men, and he shows us how Budd ended up getting involved in the occult, still without having explained the place of magic in this world. I’m enjoying this series and the slow pace with which it’s revealing itself.
The New Gods #9 – Things are moving quicker now, with Orion taking leadership of the New Gods, without taking on the staff and name of Highfather; with the Nyctari, the aliens that drove the gods from their home, pursuing them; with a Green Lantern on New Genesis connecting with Forager and raising the alarm; and with Max Lord’s associate making his move to secure the child from Izaya’s prophecy. This issue reverses the guest artist feature, with Evan Cagle only providing a few pages, and Pye Parr drawing the rest. I prefer Cagle’s work, but Parr does a good job. I like how Ram V is approaching this series, which I realize is increasingly tied in to the bigger DC picture at the moment. It’s a good series.
Nightwing #129 – Thankfully this Nite-Mite story is kept short, as Dick tries to work his way through the altered Titans Tower, and figures out who the Kryptonian Nightwing he’s met really is. Dan Watters does a good job of using this short story to further both the story of Spheric Industries, and of the young kid that Dick’s been trying to help out. This run is not as good as Tom Taylor’s, but it’s working for me more and more.
Psylocke #10 – The Psylocke series draws to a close with a big fight in Tokyo involving Greycrow, some yokai, and Kwannon’s oldest friend. This series struggled almost from the beginning – I kind of thought that Alyssa Wong was bringing together a bigger story, but I’m also guessing that her plans got cut a little short. Kwannon is an odd choice for a solo book – I doubt she’s got enough built-in popularity, so without a really cool take or a big name creator, this wasn’t likely to last longer than this. It’s nice that Marvel tries stuff like this, but I think the X-Line needs some serious re-examining after the Age of Revelation event.
Resident Alien: The Book of Changes #1 – When the last Resident Alien series ended, we learned that Harry and Astra were going to be having visitors from beyond. Now four of Harry’s people have arrived on Earth, with an old friend, and they’re there to assess the planet to see if they should join the ranks of the other civilized worlds. I love this series, which has been chugging along at a slow pace for years, building a well-realized world where an alien visitor has been posing as a human. Now that he’s got a child which is half-human, his world is interested. At the same time, the government agents that Harry had hoped would leave him alone are sniffing around again, as is a tabloid journalist. Things are always better when this book is on the stands.
The Seasons #7 – Spring and Winters Seasons flee the psychedelic circus that is taking over their town (there are a lot of chases in this series), and end up getting pursued right to their home. I think it might be time for Rick Remender to reveal just what this circus is, or why they are mesmerizing the townsfolk with hand mirrors that show them their hearts’ desires. I can just accept things for a while, but eventually, some backstory is needed.
Sonja Reborn #1 – It already feels like we’re living in the best possible timeline when Priest, one of my all-time favourite writers has a monthly (ish) Vampirella series and a high profile Marvel book that harkens back to his best series ever (Marvel Knights and Black Panther, respectively), but now we get another monthly (ish) book from him and the people at Dynamite? Priest is revising Red Sonja for the modern age with this story, which is about a young upper crust British woman who has travelled to New York to kill the woman who took her boyfriend away from her. As she pursues her through the subway tunnels, she falls into a hole and wakes up in Sonja’s body, having only a vague memory of where she is and what’s going on. It’s an interesting take on the classic character, and Priest keeps things much less confusing than he does in Vampirella’s book. The art, by Alessandro Miracolo is decent, and Priest has me intrigued. I’ve never been a Robert E. Howard fan, but I’ll read this book as long as Priest is writing it.
Star Wars #4 – Alex Segura’s story is moving along, but still suffers from the same faults as before. There are a lot of new characters being added to this book who aren’t particularly memorable, as Leia, Luke, and Han navigate different aspects of this story about a planetary system that doesn’t want to join the New Republic. These new enemies have a character that I think is the same generic blonde lady from the Battle of Jakku series, but I’m not sure. I’ve figured out that the Stormtroopers aren’t Imperial, but belong to these new bad guys. I haven’t really found myself invested in this story, despite Phil Noto’s great art. I want and expect more from the main Star Wars book.
Superman #29 – I’m a bit surprised by some of the turns Joshua Williamson is taking in this Legion of Darkseid arc. First, we get the return of Superboy Prime, who is now a fourth-wall-breaking character like Deadpool (which I never love). Then we learn the fate of multiple versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes, one of my all-time favourite teams, and finally, we follow up on the disappearance of Booster Gold after the All-In special about a year ago. Things are moving really quickly, and it feels like some of what’s happening here is going to be significant for the entire DC line. It’s an exciting issue, with the ever-amazing Dan Mora handling a lot of design and character work. It just also adds to my fear that DC is moving towards shaking things up again, and I’m currently very happy with their publishing line, so I don’t want that to happen, or at least, not too dramatically.
Titans #26 – After some caretaking (Vanadia leaving, the team putting their headquarters back together), Gar and Vic take off for a visit to the Doom Patrol, which in turn leads to them being recruited to go rescue Beast Girl and Negative Man. It’s nice to see the DP again, although it seems their status has changed a little since their recent miniseries, which I really liked. I like how DC is actively building continuity between its titles these days, and enjoyed seeing these characters who have so much history with one another interacting. John Layman’s run has a real old school vibe to it that I appreciate.
Transformers #23 – This is a really big issue, as the Decepticons attack (okay, that’s almost every issue), but the Autobots rally to defend the unconscious (offline?) Optimus Prime. For his part, Prime is trapped in the Matrix, and gets some help from an unexpected source. The action sequences in this book are fantastic – I think that Jorge Corona’s art is approaching the quality of Daniel Warren Johnson’s when this series started, and I like how worn all the characters are starting to look after all the chaos they’ve endured.
The Ultimates #15 – Deniz Camp introduces another character to this book – Shen Qi, an Immortal Iron Fist who has lived for hundreds of years, but has spent most of that time in meditation. Now he’s been reincarnated, and has drawn the attention of both the Ultimates network and that of the Hulk, who sends another Immortal Weapon to retrieve him. It’s curious that Camp is combining the classic Shang-Chi character with Iron Fist aspects, but I’ve learned to trust him. This is a good issue for She-Hulk. Von Randal supplies the art; I’m not familiar with the name, but like the darker, scratchier art compared to what I’m used to seeing on this book.
Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion #3 – Miles Morales continues to search the Ultimate Universe for his missing sister, and his quest takes him to Japan where he meets Nico and Mei, two characters who, I guess, are central to the Ultimate X-Men comic I’m not reading. This is a good issue, as Miles connects with these two girls, but also ends up fighting the Silver Samurai and Viper to get his sister back. Deniz Camp and Cody Ziglar are keeping the pace just right for this project, and I like Jonas Scharf’s art.
We’re Taking Everyone With Us #5 – I like the way that, on one hand, Matthew Rosenberg’s story in this book is completely over the top and ridiculous, a parody of the spy and criminal mastermind genre, but on the other, it’s kind of touching too. Annalise is now with her mother, a criminal tsarina, while her father, who is inhabiting the body of one of his robotmen, is the prisoner of Rook, the often naked superspy. This is a pretty packed issue, with a lot happening. Stefano Landini’s art is really nice here.
Wild Animals #2 – Fans of Criminal should be checking out this excellent Mad Cave series by Ed Brisson and Andy Kuhn. A young man is seeking the dirty cops who killed his father (who was also a cop) after just learning that he and his mother have been in witness protection for most of his life. He’s gone to the town where he used to live, but is low on resources and struggling to find these men. Brisson is really good at this type of story that gets into the psychology of victims of violence, and Kuhn is a skilled artist. Mad Cave really has some good books these days.
Wolverine #12 – I wonder if the upcoming pause for the Age of Revelation is the reason why we reach the end of the story about the return of Logan’s mother so quickly. A story like this should have played out a little longer, with the reader in on what’s really going on. Writer Saladin Ahmed could have done something that melded the Dark Phoenix Saga to Enemy of the State, in a way. I normally decry stories that go on too long, but this was a good idea (I don’t want to spoil the twist) and should have had more room.
Wonder Woman #24 – Tom King must be enjoying writing dialogue for this story arc, as most of it consists of repetitions of “Mice have ears,” and, “Mouse Man knows.” Diana is trying to figure out what’s going on on the island that Mouse Man rules, and we get a look at how the hierarchies of power work there. I can’t help but read a lot into this portrait of an authoritarian society where language is both policed and kept artificially unintelligent, as I’m sure King was thinking about a particular world leader when he wrote this. It’s an odd story, but I’m enjoying it.
The Week In Music:
Adrian Younge & Hyldon – Jazz Is Dead 23 – I’m not all that familiar with Brazilian music, but so much of what Adrian Younge has been doing lately has these Brazilian flavours, and I feel like his choice of collaborators for this latest season of Jazz Is Dead is really helping educate me. Hyldon is a legendary singer in Brazil, and on this album he joins Younge and the crew at Linear Labs to put together some very nice songs. I notice that Ivan “Mamão” Conti is credited with the drums on these songs, which is curious given that he passed away in 2023. I wonder how long Younge sits on some of these tracks before releasing them.
Pharoah Sanders – Thembi – I’ve been slowly trying to build up my collection of Pharoah Sanders albums, and this was on the top of the list of ones I wanted. Thembi has Sanders working in a spiritual jazz tradition, and from what I can decipher of the Japanese packaging (I know I could just Google), these six songs were recorded in 1970 and 1971. I don’t have the knowledge to put this in chronological context with his other work, but I know that it’s a beautiful piece of work.
Moses Yoofee Trio – MYT – This German jazz trio caught my attention with the release of their first album, a fantastic collection of breakbeat jazz that I found thrilling. I was disappointed when they canceled their scheduled appearance at the Montreal Jazz Festival this year, but was elated to find this album on CD in Japan (where it’s an exclusive). They remind me a bit of early BADBADNOTGOOD, or Sons of Kemet (without the saxophone). This is an exciting new band that people should be checking for.
Somewhere Soul – Rituals Vol. 1 – The Somewhere Soul Instagram account has been the source of a lot of great music recommendations for me over the last year or so, so I was excited to see that Josh, the account owner, was putting out a compilation of some of his favourite artists. This has twenty songs on it, from a number of different artists in soul, jazz, and related genres. Some of them are known to me, but I’d say that more than half are new artists, so this is going to be a gateway compilation, I can already tell. I do think that Chip Wickham’s track stands out the most, but each time I play this, I find myself noticing someone new, and then looking for more of their work. It’s a great comp.
Adrian Younge Presents Samantha E Adrian – Adrian Younge has been deep into his Brazilian bag in the last year or so, and this collaboration between him and vocalist Samantha Schmütz is at least the fifth Brazilian album he’s put out. He’s got the Linear Labs Orchestra accompanying him, and the vibes are very nice. I like Schmütz’s voice, and appreciate the occasional English lyric or song. As the nights start to get colder, this record keeps things warm and inviting.
Nater Mercereau, Josh Johnson and Carlos Niño – Openness Trio – The three musicians that make up Openness Trio are people I admire a great deal. I’ve been following Carlos Niño the longest, and was introduced to the others through his music (Johnson recently came through town playing with Makaya McCraven). This album is like a lot of Niño’s music; it flows freely and kind of randomly through gentle tracks suffused with water sounds or random chimes. Mercereau plays guitar, Johnson the saxophone, while Niño knocks on things, rustles leaves, and does other random things. The result is an album that is soothing while hard to predict. I appreciate that this music has moved onto Blue Note Records, which seems like a stamp of approval on the ambient jazz scene.
