Best Comic of My Week:
Terminal #1 – Robert Kirkman has written about how much he wants this new Image series, with cowriter Joe Casey and a few artists, starting with Andy Kubert, was envisioned as a love letter to the X-Men series in the late 80s and through the 90s. When I read it, I was more reminded of the birth of Image Comics, when almost every creator launched a series featuring a team of characters we didn’t know. This issue had a lot of that energy, as we meet Crusher and then her team, and get an idea of the other side, meeting the villain Imp and getting glimpses of his crew. The difference between this book and titles like WildCATS, Stormwatch, Youngblood, and all the other team books that Liefeld pumped out is that Kirkman and Casey are very strong writers who know all about plotting out stories well in advance, and therefore, I have faith that this will take us somewhere like where Kirkman plans. So while the main part of the story felt kind of familiar, Kirkman hits us with two twists towards the end, and this made me even more interested in seeing what’s going to happen. Kubert’s the perfect choice for a book like this, but I like that the other artists lined up (Arthur Adams and David Finch) have different approaches and design picks, as that will help give this book the shared universe appeal it is attempting. I have a good feeling about this one.
Quick Takes:
Absolute Green Arrow #3 – I like how writer Pornsak Pichetshote is building the mystery around the mysterious Green Arrow killer, while continuing to fill in the blanks of Oliver Queen’s life. This series feels like a very modern update – there’s talk of prediction markets and Ollie’s company was basically the Robin Hood investment app. Rafael Albuquerque’s art is very nice, and Dinah’s characterization is terrific.
Absolute Superman #21 & 22 – These two issues show the end of Kal’s fight with Teth-Adam, and then show us the start of his efforts to track down Brainiac. In both, as Kal tries to stop an enraged being with god-like powers on the moon, and on Earth when he tries to put back together a familiar character whom Brainiac broke, we see the depths of compassion Jason Aaron has written into the character. This is not something that is particular to the Absolute Superman, but it’s handled differently than what we see with the mainline Superman. This is one of the gems of the Absolute line, and with art by Rafa Sandoval on one issue, and the incredible Juan Ferreyra on the next, this is a gorgeous comic.
Absolute Wonder Woman #22 – Diana goes up against Scylla to free her mother, while Barbara Minerva decides whether or not to take on the mantle of Cheetah. This issue feels important, as Kelly Thompson sets up some changes in the series for the future. I’ve enjoyed Dillon Snook’s art for the last two issues, and would like to see him cycle back for more issues in the future, if Hayden Sherman’s not available.
Batwoman #5 – This series has been slow to get off the ground, but with this issue, I feel like Greg Rucka’s purpose and intent is a lot more clear. Knowing that her sister has been going around Greece in her identity, Kate has left the hospital and joined up with her father and The Question. She and Renee go to retrieve Alice from their enemies, and it becomes clear that the conflict is going to continue. DANi’s art has garnered some criticism, but I’m enjoying the way she’s playing with the Frank Miller Sin City look in this series; it suits the kind of story she and Rucka are telling.
The Department of Truth #38 – James Tynion IV and guest artist Ben Templesmith wrap up their story about Hunky’s early days with the Department, when he and the Doc investigated a bible-based theme park that ended up with real dinosaurs. It’s a clever story that helps elevate these background characters, but I’m ready to return to the modern-day story. It was great to see so much Ben Templesmith art though.
The Flash #35 – As Wally fights Heat Wave (who doesn’t really want to fight at all), he comes up with a new approach to his new ability to see a few moments into the future. He’s figured out that he can use these abilities to keep everyone in his city safe. Like with his Fantastic Four run, Ryan North is basically just testing out new applications of speed powers, and then building stories around it. I think it’s a little more effective in the FF, with a wider range of abilities to play with, but this is also working nicely here. I would like to see a greater focus on Wally’s family, and to see him being played as less of a dunce (he doesn’t know the difference between weather and climate?), but this is a fun run.
Foundations #1 – I signed up for the first year of Jonathan Hickman’s 3W3M substack experiment, and left feeling disappointed at how little comics material there was, compared to world-building bible type stuff. Now it appears that Dark Horse is going to be publishing the comics, and I preordered this without realizing that I’d already read some of it. At the same time, this feels more cohesive and like there is an actual plan in place. We are introduced to the idea of the Three Worlds (and their Three Moons), and that there is a fundamental disagreement between magic and science on that world. We meet Tajo Vallar, who is an explorer who finds himself communing with spirits or gods or something. Things aren’t all that clear, but there is forward motion. The art, largely my Mike Del Mundo and Mike Huddleston, is gorgeous, and I find myself being a lot more interested in this than I was when I read some of it in the first sourcebook.
Grendel: Devil’s Crucible – Sedition #1 – I’m so happy that Matt Wagner is continuing the story of Grendel Prime and his new partner in the fight against the vampires who rule the Earth, X-tine, the clone of Christine Spar. Grendel books that focus on Prime have been my preference since the War Child miniseries (I hate when we revisit Hunter Rose), and Wagner’s vision of the future is so interesting, so I love this series. I like that he takes the time with this issue to examine X-tine’s mind a little instead of diving into the bigger action stuff we know is coming. Wagner’s art is so good.
If Destruction Be Our Lot #3 – This new series by Matthew and Mark Elijah Rosenberg and Andy MacDonald is a lot of fun. It’s set in a world where humans have disappeared or died out, and robots now run the planet. An Abraham Lincoln robot and his new friend Speed are trying to escape their equivalent of a jail, where they are set to be dismantled, because Abe saw a human and won’t stop talking about it. They run into the same human again as they escape, and this has a profound impact on Abe. This series is slowly revealing the state of the world and some mysteries, while also building our understanding of robot society. There are a lot of cool ideas here, and it seems like MacDonald is having a lot of fun with it.
Mind MGMT: New & Improved #2 – It seems that someone is targeting Mind MGMT agents and killing them, but in ways that are almost completely undetectable, except for our two main character agents. We get to watch them investigate some deaths in Arizona, and then get to know them a little better as they return to their motel for the night. Matt Kindt is taking his time setting up this new series, and is not really explaining a whole lot yet. As a fan of his work, I’m enjoying this approach, and am glad that I’m not required to remember a lot of the finer details of the original series, at least not yet.
A Mischief of Magpies #1 – I’ve been looking forward to this new DSTLRY series for a while. Writer Simon Spurrier can be counted on to have fresh ideas and approaches to his stories, and this one is no different. This story is told in two ways – there are diary entries making up the parts of the series that happen in the real world, either shown against a painted backdrop or with a mixed media approach, and then the scenes that take place in another world are drawn in a European comic form. Artist Matias Bergara’s art reminds me a lot of P. Craig Russell in those sections, in all the best possible ways. The story is about a boy named Marinus, who is lonely and bullied, and often ignored by his parents who are more focused on his younger sister, who is battling cancer. At times, Mar falls into a fantasy world (he likens it to dreaming, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case) where he is seen as a prophesied hero of sorts. The fantasy sequences are a bit confusing in places, and are quite jarringly different from the rest of the book, as intended. I like how Spurrier and Bergara are structuring and telling this story; it feels very unique, and is quite beautiful. Bergara is a terrific artist.
Odin #3 – James Tynion IV and Marguerite Bennett are giving us a pretty disturbing story about a small group of White Nationalists who have traveled into the northern forests of Scandinavia with the intention of reviving the god Odin, to help them in their racist (and pretty sexist) goals for the human race. Our point of view character is a journalist who has infiltrated the group, and as things get crazier (one of their number burned himself, and this issue shows them being attacked by a strange wild animal), she has to figure out how much of her own values she’s willing to compromise to stay alive. The beliefs of these characters are pretty awful, as the writers don’t shy away from the nonsense the spout, and this reads like a rebuke of some corners of the manosphere, while also telling a very compelling story. The art, by Letizia Cadonici, is perfect, and often very creepy.
Of The Earth #3 – I like how Chris Condon and cowriter Andrew Ehrich have built this story, giving us only glimpses of what is going on and letting the secrets and surprises reveal themselves slowly. A young woman has returned to her grandmother’s ranch in Texas, only to find her covered in oil and basically comatose. Now, she and the roughneck that was sent to check on the oil well on the property are dealing with some very strange things. This is the first issue to mention the rural legend of the Wildcatter, an entity that has killed a number of oil workers over the years. It’s so great seeing Charlie Adlard’s art again; he’s the perfect artist for this type of story, where we keep getting glimpses of the entity that is putting the main characters in danger.
The Olympus Saga: Megalith #0 – I always find it curious when Bad Idea decides to release a zero issue part-way through a miniseries, and use it to help fill in characters’ backstories or to provide some context to everything else that’s going on. This issue has three stories in it – one to help us get to know a character better, another to show us how the Megalith has been travelling, and the third to take us inside the White House as it became clear that an alien object was on its way to Earth. Kindt writes these well, and the artists are great. Ramon Villalobos bookends the book, with his detailed style, while Jonathan Marks Barravecchia gives the alien story an otherworldly look. I am happy that Bad Idea has become a less annoying company and is focusing on telling good stories.
Wolverine #24 – Saladin Ahmed’s latest storyline, which has Logan’s healing factor on the wane, is a good one, but I’m kind of fed up with the way Alpha Flight keeps being misused. I don’t like that they are (mostly unwilling) pawns of Department H, although I am curious about the new Vindicator. I also thought that Snowbird couldn’t leave Canada, but that may have changed at some point.
X-Men #33 – I’m liking this book more and more now, as Jed MacKay writes the Beast well, and puts Quentin Quire and Ben in a situation where Quetin gets to be the adult and the hero. There’s a lot of noise that comes with the X-Men titles these days, but I feel like MacKay has been steadily building this series, and steering us towards this DNX event that is starting soon. I’m optimistic.
X-Men: The Hellfire Murder #1 – I never expected to see another Hellfire Gala in the post-Krakoan era, so this special came as a bit of a surprise when it was announced. Sebastian Shaw wants to gather the prominent mutants together one more time to announce the restoration of the Hellfire Club, but the party takes a turn when someone prominent is murdered not long into it. At that point, Logan and Jubilee do their Agatha Christie thing, and make it their mission to solve the crime. The issue runs pretty smoothly, especially given that different writers handle different pages (Saladin Ahmed seems to be driving this, but Gail Simone, Jed MacKay, Eve L. Ewing, and Erica Schultz all get sections). It’s a little odd that Shaw would invite mutants from the 3K organization, currently the villains in the X-Men series, but it allows for some interesting moments as Cyclops and Psylocke plan to kill them (this is not the titular murder though). I liked this book, and the way the different artists (Joëlle Jones, Luciano Vecchio, Aaron Kuder, Tony Daniel, Federica Mancin, and Cory Smith) were able to do their thing in a way that felt cohesive. There were a few characters I’ve missed since Krakoa, so it was nice to see them again.
The Week in Music:
Hania Rani – Sentimental Value – Original Music for the film by Joachim Trier – It’s always a little weird to listen to soundtrack music from a movie you’ve never seen and likely never will, but I’m such a fan of Hania Rani’s work that I wanted to own this anyway. Rani usually works alone, or with a small number of collaborators, so hearing her music performed by a larger group on some of these tracks is pretty nice. There are still plenty of solo piano pieces as well, that showcase her strength at exploring pensive moments or tentative emotions through her music. It’s lovely, and listening to it reminds me of the powerful performance she gave with an orchestra in Montreal last month.
cropscropscrops & Wiser Times – Sink Me To Bits – cropscropscrops, a rapper from Montreal, has been on my radar for a while, but his producer for this album, Wiser Times, is new to me. This is a really solid underground rap album by someone who is continuing to grow with each new release. It fits squarely in the realm of stuff I dig the most, and with a guest appearance from Jesse The Tree, it guaranteed to catch my ear. There’s a lot of replayability on this one, and I like the fact that the instrumentals are included on the back half of the CD release. It helps show off just how nice Wiser Times is.
