Two weeks back at work, and I’m three-quarters of a week behind. Oh well…
Best Comic of My Week:
Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow’s Hand #1 – I really enjoyed this one-shot by Che Grayson and Matías Bergara, which introduces Cassandra Cain more fully to the Absolute Universe, and gives us the story of The League of Assassins. We see how Lady Shiva has had past dealings with the Joker, and how that ended for her and her League. We also get to see Cassandra, as she tries to navigate her upbringing. This was a cool look into another side of the Absolute world, and helps to round out the current Absolute Catwoman series a little better. Bergara’s art is really nice, and Grayson has been impressing me lately as a writer.
Quick Takes:
Avengers: Armageddon #4 – I’d mistakenly seen the last page while flipping through the issue, so the surprise was spoiled for me, but I’d been wondering just whose powers David Coulton got from the origin box, and see that my original guess, Hyperion, was wrong. This issue should have interesting ramifications. I did find this whole issue a little too chaotic, as various heroes scrambled to protect America from a nuclear attack, while Coulton and Winter Soldier squared off against the Winter Guard and the Red Hulk. It’s really a very strange event series, in that it’s more serving to set up a new status quo in the Marvel Universe without worrying a lot about telling a single story.
Batman & Robin: Year One – Dynamic Duos #2 – Mark Waid and Chris Samnee have Robin going undercover to investigate the youth crime ring that has been targeting rich Gothamites. At the same time, Catwoman is investigating the same thing. I like how Waid and Samnee work on stories like this; it feels comfortable and familiar, and has a great handle on all of the characters.
Deathstroke The Terminator #7 – Much of this issue is given over to an adventure that Slade shared with Wintergreen and Adeline when she was first pregnant with Grant, and we see it all from her perspective. I find it interesting that writer Tony Fleecs is re-litigating things that were covered so well in Priest’s excellent run years ago, but I do like how he’s approaching this book.
Spider-Man: Long Way Home #3 – When I read the first two issues of this miniseries, I was confused as to why anyone would choose to base an out-of-continuity book on Spider-Man beefing with the Hulk and the Punisher. At the time, I didn’t know they’d be in the latest Spider-Man movie, so now I get it – Marvel was once again convincing itself that there was synergy money lying on the table. This book is not very good. Sure, Adam Kubert’s art is great, but he makes you turn the book sideways for no good reason, and the plot is pointless. I wish I hadn’t preordered this. It is definitely not typical of Jonathan Hickman’s writing.
Supergirl #17 – The Kingdom of Zod storyline has gotten a little more interesting as Kara, Young Clark, and Ursa end up on Krypton, where Ursa is trying to alter the fate of her home planet. This is interesting, but Kara’s insistence on protecting the timeline, extending to keeping vases from being broken, seems silly on a planet that’s going to explode soon. I don’t think that breaking that vase would have altered history all that much…
Action Comics #1102 – This was a great issue of this crossover, largely because of Montos’s art. Young Clark has to try to rescue Supergirl, while experiencing Krypton for the first time, while the heroes left on Earth in the present start to join up and work together to figure out how to deal with the threat of the Kryptonite plague. Big events can be kind of fun sometimes.
Transformers #36 – I found this issue a little disjointed, as some of the Autobots fight the defenders of Cobra-La, we check in on a bunch of other characters, and see that Megatron is about to emerge from his cocoon or whatever that is. It’s an alright issue, but it lacked any kind of central part to care about.
Viking Moon #4 – After a delay, it’s good to see this series return. We learn about the political structure of the Indigenous tribe that’s been attacking the Viking settlers, although we don’t yet know what’s going on with the werewolfism. This book reminds me of a lot of Vertigo series (it’s the Marcello Frusin art), and that makes me like it even more.
The Week In Music:
Black Milk – Ceremonial – I was fortunate enough to get to see Black Milk perform many of the songs on this album the other week, and was happy to be able to buy my copy of it directly from him. Black Milk is one of those rock-solid hiphop producers and rappers who has been in the game for a good amount of time, but keeps refining his sound and lyrical ability. I first heard his production on a Slum Village song (one of the last to feature J Dilla on the mic), and have been a fan ever since. His music carries such a reverence for the diversity of Detroit music, and is always a pleasure to listen to. This album calls back to some of his earlier sounds, and rewards fans of good production and lyrics.
