Falling further behind again…
The Best Comic of My Week:
The Ultimates #16 – This might be one of my favourite issues of The Ultimates yet, and it doesn’t really feature a single member of the team. Instead, we meet Wren, a young woman who has figured out over the course of her life that things are just wrong in the world. She’s always kept her observations to herself, but once she learns about the Ultimates’ network, she finally feels vindicated and like there is something worth fighting for. Deniz Camp’s story feels more relevant today than it would have when this series started, and like with his Assorted Crisis Events series, he makes perfect use of the done-in-one format. I love this series and am a little surprised by how subversive it really is.
Quick Takes:
Absolute Flash #7 – The Rogues meet up with Wally again, as a very unnatural storm rages, and this time, and they begin to realize they have more in common than what divides them. Jeff Lemire introduces another key Flash character, and keeps the story interesting, but I’m not getting the same level of engagement from this series that I’m getting from the rest of the Absolute line. I don’t really see this reimagining as having the same kind of impact that the other books are giving me.
Aquaman #9 – Aquaman and his allies have returned home, but things are vastly different for them. Arthur has all sorts of new powers, and they find that Superman has been possessed by some sort of creature that only Aquaman and Zan can defeat. With Mera dead, Arthur is at a loss, and it’s unclear what his friends are going to do. (It’s also unclear if he brings everyone from Atlantis back with him, and where they are through this issue). I like what Jeremy Adams is doing with this book, but it seems like DC is canceling a lot of books lately, and I can’t see this surviving past K-O.
Bronze Faces #5 – I continue to be deeply impressed with this story of art thieves attempting to repatriate museum pieces to Nigeria, while navigating complicated sibling relationships. I’m most interested, though, in the story of the law enforcement officer that’s been chasing them, as she’s got a lot of depth to her. Shobo and Shof are truly interesting creators, and I really like the art by Alexandre Tefenkgi. I’m glad that Boom took a shot on this very unconventional comic.
Exceptional X-Men #13 – The kids have gone back in time to find Kitty Pryde, but along the way, they meet Kitty Pryde at thirteen. It’s a good issue, although it’s a bit odd that they appear to leave a Sentinel on Kitty’s parent’s doorstep without resolution. My feeling is that Eve L. Ewing had to rush her story here a little to get everything done in time for the Age of Revelation next month, and something had to get cut. I do like the scene between adult Kitty and Trista. I am not sure this title is going to be returning after Age of Revelation, but if it is, I’ll come back to it. I like how low-stakes and character focused it is, and I feel like Ewing has more to do with these characters.
Fantastic Four #3 – The team is trying to figure out how to stop Emperor Doom from constantly resetting and correcting any time he loses in his battle with Earth’s heroes. As is typical for this book, the solution is a little odd and involves ingenuity. I like this series a lot, and what Ryan North has done with it, but this book feels a little jokey and silly compared to the more serious tone of the One World Under Doom event.
The Hero Trade: Project Chimera #2 – We saw at the end of the first issue that the two agents of Project Chimera, who have basically raised the twin superpowered teenagers that their bosses use on deadly missions, were attempting to turn one another in to their bosses as moles. What we learn in this issue is that one of the two actually is the mole, while the other works to stop them. Matt Kindt is very good at writing stories that hinge on the paranoia inherent in big evil organizations, and David Lapham is the perfect guy to keep up with this story, making some of the crazier moments feel ordinary and believable. I am liking the current Bad Idea slate, and would gladly support more Hero Trade comics. (I could do without the silly Bunsen Beaver backup stories though).
The Jungle #1 – I liked The Humans, the Image series by Keenan Marshall Keller and Tom Neely that this book, now oversized, mostly black and white, and published by Uncivilized, is a continuation of. Johnny and two of his fellow bikers have been sent to The Jungle, a notorious California prison, where they face a life sentence. Aside from the fact that everyone is an ape, this is more or less standard prison fare. We meet the mobster who runs the place, the religious freak that makes it uncomfortable, and the conniving warden. The part of me that enjoyed the early seasons of Oz found stuff to like, and I really enjoy Neely’s art, but I didn’t feel like I was reading anything new. I did like the coloured pages (I’m not sure if this is a manga homage, or if it’s not a coincidence that all the colour went away when Johnny went through processing and entered the prison), and am curious to see how Kelly and Neely finish this story.
One World Under Doom #7 – The last issue of this event revealed the secret behind Doom’s near-limitless power, and as this series is an allegory for the current political climate, we see that many people are willing to sacrifice millions of strangers so they can live the new, more comfortable life that Doom has afforded them. Maria Hill helps the heroes plot against Doom, but their big attack, as it must, ends up culminating in a fight between Reed and Doom on the astral plane. Ryan North is one of the smartest writers working at Marvel, and I find it disturbing how this book is mirroring events in our world.
Transformers #24 – It was only recently that I’d found out that Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona were leaving this title with this issue, which features a big show-down between Optimus Prime and Megatron. I never thought I’d be reading this book as an adult, but I’ve really liked the approach that Johnson has taken to these characters. There are aspects of this issue that are confusing to me, largely due to my inability to remember who most of the Transformers are, but I like the sense of resolution that comes with this issue, and the way Johnson has left things in a good place for Robert Kirkman and Dan Mora to take over next month. I’m also impressed that they aren’t relaunching the book, but are instead maintaining the numbering.
Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion #4 – Miles Morales’s tour of the Ultimate Universe continues with a stop in Russia. His sister’s trail has taken him there, so he and Maystorm confront Illyana Rasputin, who plans on using Billie to open the City and confront The Maker, knowing that this will result in Billie’s death. This story has worked well, and has me more interested in Peach Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men than I was before. I’m looking forward to seeing how things resolve themselves in the next issue.
Ultimate Wolverine #9 – Wolverine and the Resistance attack a Sentinel factory, using a carrier Sentinel as their transport. I like the way Chris Condon has been building this series, but have to admit that I found some of the storytelling here confusing. There’s a giant Sentinel that our heroes can hide in, but there are also man-sized Sentinels? When they fight, I wasn’t always sure who was who (and was that Cyclops’s head embedded into one of their chests?). Maybe had we seen the different classes before, that would have been clearer. This book could stand for a little more exposition at times.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
Refugium – I’ve been a fan of Simon Roy’s work since before he worked on Prophet with Brandon Graham, which resulted in one of my favourite runs of this century. This is the third Roy book I bought through Kickstarter, which is really an expensive proposition, and the third book he’s set on the planet Altamira, in what is sometimes referred to as the Griz Grobus universe, after the first of his Kickstarter books. This all follows on from his excellent Habitat graphic novel, originally serialized in the much-missed Island magazine. Anyway, Altamira has been extensively terraformed over thousands of years, and is now host to human civilization, who are a bit stuck in low-tech communities after arriving hundreds of years prior in legacy ships. As Altamira was terraformed, many of the indigenous flora and fauna were able to adapt to the changes their world underwent, making the planet strange and unfamiliar. In the main story in this handsome hardcover book, the Scribe, who we met in the Griz Grobus book, accompanies a trapper to a far-north community that is being plagued by a massive and rare creature. As they work to protect a logging camp from attack, our two heroes discover some interesting things about the world, and wrestle with some big questions around colonization and adaptability. Roy wrote and drew the comic story, while pages of a fictional ‘guidebook’ to plant and animal life are interspersed throughout. These are by Jordan K. Walker, and show the depth of thought that went into building this world. A second story, also by Roy, features a human community that has had to adapt to having ever fewer resources and trouble holding on to their traditions. Rounding out the book are guidebook pages created by a number of different creators, all putting their stamp on Altamira. I really liked this project and the larger universe that Roy is building, and realize that I didn’t pledge for his latest book (I’m hoping I’ll be able to get it at TCAF). He really is a unique voice in modern comics, and I love his aesthetic.
The Week In Music:
Greg Spero – Tiny Room Sessions – For the last however many years, Greg Spero has been releasing a song a week on DSPs, which have had him collaborating with an ever-shifting cast of talented musicians. I was pleasantly surprised to find this twenty-six track album in Japan which collects some of his ‘Tiny Room Sessions’, mostly with bassist MonoNeon, and drummers Sput Searight and Ronald Bruner Jr. Spero’s piano playing is always on point, and while this lacks the cohesiveness of a proper album release, it is an impressive collection of jazz pieces.
Yaya Bey – Do It Afraid – I’ve been a fan of Yaya Bey for a minute, and it’s nice to see that this album has brought her more acclaim. She’s produced most of the tracks here, but the ones she hasn’t are by the likes of Corey Fonville (Butcher Brown), BADBADNOTGOOD, and Karriem Riggins. Even without their involvement, I’d find Bey’s voice and songwriting alluring enough to draw me to this project. I think she’s going to be a big artist in the future.
Chicago Underground Duo – Hyperglyph – This album is a collaboration between trumpeter Rob Mazurek (who also plays a ton of different instruments on it) and Chad Taylor, who plays drums and Mbira. It’s a very loose and freewheeling album that is mostly uptempo jazz, with some quieter and more introspective moments. It’s very much the product of the incredible International Anthem record label, which has given us other interesting works by Mazurek.
Venna – Malik – Malik Venner, who goes by Venna, first came to my attention when I saw Yussef Dayes’s incredible band. Venna was his sax player, and on a stage filled with immense talent (Dayes, Elijah Fox, Rocco Palladino, and others), he stood out. With this album, he’s confirmed that he’s one of the most exciting artists in the UK jazz scene. This album continues his collaborations with the artists I’ve already mentioned, giving it a feel that would be very familiar to Dayes’s fans. It also brings in some exciting features from rappers MIKE, Leon Thomas, and Smino, and vocalist Jorja Smith. This has been a great year for music, and this album is standing out as one of the better ones I’ve listened to.
Curtis Harding – Departures & Arrivals: Adventures of Captain Curt – On this latest release, soul singer Curtis Harding is giving us a concept album that sees him alone on a spaceship, reflecting on things. The songs work really well on their own, and are perfect distillations of the best of modern soul music. It’s funky and a little rootsy, in just the right proportions. I like Harding’s voice a lot, and this record feels timeless. I really hope he tours this here, because I’d love to see him live.
