Continued from yesterday, my thoughts on every new comic I bought in February, which I got all at once at the end of the month after neglecting to visit my local shop before then.
Batman Black and White #6: First of all, I did not know this was a mini-series. It makes perfect sense, of course, that they wouldn't put this out indefinitely, but it's still a bummer to learn only now that this is the last issue. There were a few truly godawful stories here and there, but mostly this was an excellent book, and one of my last connections to DC outside of their Vertigo stuff. Ah, well, at least it went out with a strong issue. Cliff Chiang's opening story was particularly good, about Dick Grayson trying to earn the respect of Batman and the Gotham police as Robin. Chiang writes Dick as confident and smart but still young, new to the game and not 100% sure of himself, until the end when it really matters. Chiang's artwork also may have been my favorite in the issue, though Dave Johnson's was a close second, as was his script. Chiang's work was a little inkier/heavier, which I ultimately preferred to Johnson's grayer style, but they were both excellent, especially in their interpretations of Batman. Slim but strong, realistically fit and scary without seeming larger than life. All the artists in this issue had a good-looking Batman, actually. The Olly Moss/Becky Cloonan story that came second was excellent, because I'm always a fan of stories that examine how horrible and fake Bruce Wayne is as Batman's public persona. Also, Becky Cloonan rules always. And the second-to-last story by Adam Hughes impressed me by first bothering me with its Batman-comes-to-the-rescue-of-a-helpless-Catwoman plot but then turning things around by revealing that Catwoman was the one running the show all along. Her reasons for manipulating Batman didn't wow me, but at least she was played as smart and strong rather than a damsel in distress. Dave Taylor's middle story was my least favorite, though his artwork was great, able to capture the chaos of a mad scientist's lab in a very confined space without cluttering things up too much. But I cringed at his interpretation of Alfred as an outspoken, sarcastic skeptic, totally unsupportive of Batman at every turn. Also, having the villain explain his plan in a long self-congratulatory speech was uninspired and unnecessary, since Batman had pretty much figured things out already anyway. I'm grateful that the weakest narrative came right in the middle, though, because it made this issue open and close with things I liked, as good a way to finish Batman Black and White as I could ask for.
Harbinger #21: This issue is exemplary of what I love most about Harbinger—Joshua Dysart's spot on characterization of teenagers. Here, the Renegades have been hiding underground, literally, for too long, and the close quarters are starting to take their toll. Charlene and Torque are drinking a lot, Monica Jim keeps sneaking out when she thinks no one is looking, and tons of pressure have just been piled on thanks to hacktivist @X leaking all of Project Rising Spirit's information last issue. Now @X is hiding with the Renegades, meaning Harada is searching for them harder than ever, so they decide it's time to act. After all this time planning their next move, Peter and Kris figure if they want to carry out their plans, it's now or never, so things are coming to a head. Meanwhile, Faith and Torque lose their virginities to one another, in a very sweet, touching, funny, awkward, utterly teenaged scene. I've been rooting for Faith and Peter to become a couple all this time, but now that she and Torque have connected, I must say, they make much more sense to me. She's the most put-together member of the team, the most emotionally mature, but also the least self-confident. He's basically the opposite, emotionally still a little boy but with all the bluster and swagger that comes with it. If Faith could calm Torque down and Torque could amp Faith up, they'd be even better versions of themselves, so I'm eager to see how their relationship develops from here. Along the same lines, Monica Jim is revealing herself to be something of a malcontent, so I'm curious about her future role in the series as well. She may end up a villain or, at the very least, a major liability, and that's exciting and a little frightening to consider. Harbinger is really in its groove these days. Dysart has assembled this wonderfully dysfunctional team of young rebels, and as their struggles get crazier and more dangerous, the book becomes more and more arresting. And @X is a perfect addition to the cast, another teen with an ax to grind (get it?) but also an outsider and non-psiot, yet with enough hacker skills to make him an interesting and useful expansion to their collective skill set. With Clayton Henry's smooth, clear, expressive artwork also on board, Harbinger #21 was one of the most rock solid issues of one of the most reliably strong series coming out today. An origin for @X, a new romance, and major steps forward in the series' larger plot. That's a lot to get done, but it doesn't feel wedged in. It moves calmly but with determined purpose, a well-oiled machine firing on all cylinders.
Catalyst Comix #8: In its second-to-last issue, Catalyst Comix naturally brings all three of its stories to a head. The Agents of Change finally learn the truth about how Bert has been manipulating and lying to them, and they get appropriately pissed off about it. Bert tries to shut them up by separating them in the simulated environment in which their psyches are currently housed, but the pushback is stronger than anticipated, and it looks like next time they may be busting out and rejoining the real world as a unified group of furious super-people. Frank Wells discovers that it was Grace, not himself, who truly saved the world in December 2012, and coming to grips with his own unimportance in that event is a difficult but necessary step in his path to enlightenment. Now fully in touch with himself, Frank is ready for the final phase of his process of becoming the best superhero he can be. Finally, in her own story, Grace reaches the Reaver Swarm, her true enemy, the real threat to life on Earth. And she finds herself unprepared for its size and power. It destroys her ship and captures her, starting to consume her, so she sends out some kind of psychic distress call to the folks back home. Her survival seems unlikely, but maybe the citizens of her city will save her or, at the very least, succeed where she failed. Hers has always been my favorite narrative, and here in the penultimate chapter, it ends with the most compelling cliffhanger. Joe Casey has done a great job building to these climactic points in all three tales, and hopefully he'll nail the final chapters as well. All of his artistic collaborators continue to produce incredible work, giving the book a single voice while also keeping the different storylines distinct from one another. Catalyst Comix has been a weird, fantastic look at what superheroes can be, and it'll be missed.
Unity #4: The finale to Unity's first arc, and possibly its least interesting issue to date, primarily because all of its major developments were easy to see coming. Aric wasn't going to be separate from his armor for long, because X-O Manowar is still a series. And Harada had to be officially kicked off the team before they could do anything else together, since we'd already seen the rest of them agree he was an enemy. So that's what happens: Ninjak, Gilad, and Livewire steal back Aric's armor, stomp Harada with it, and return it to its original owner while freeing him and his followers from a secret prison. It's inevitable, and though Matt Kindt writes it logically and efficiently, there aren't any real surprises in there. All the characters are used well, the story does what it should, and the ending is tidy but still leaves the road open for the book's future. Also, Doug Braithwaite is still on art duties, and still crushing it. The one new character in this issue, Anchor, was one of my favorites in the whole series so far. He was very simple, like a big ugly thumb with a body, but there's a tenderness to him the undercuts his size and sturdiness nicely. In only a few pages on a single issue, Anchor is given a sad little background, a likable if pathetic personality, and an important but ultimately failed role to play in a key fight. That fight is where Braithwaite really brings in the noise, most of all when Ninjak and Harada face each other. Some intense, expertly-executed violence in those panels. Even the most predictable issue of this series is good comics, but it's too bad Braithwaite is leaving (at least for now) on a somewhat dull note. CAFU's a fine enough artist, but with a less rich style than Braithwaite's, and also, I find, less interesting.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6: This was a very consumable issue, and I'm starting to think that's the main appeal of this book. It's such simple, almost retro superheroics. All the heroes are devoted, hard-working, good. They're not all nice, but they are honest and earnest, they try to do the right thing, they look out for one another, they believe in the cause. The villains, on the other hand, are all mad scientists and cultists and others hellbent on mad levels of power. There have been giant ancient monsters, dinosaur robots, and, this issue, a twelve-year-old evil genius. Even the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents' abilities—speed, strength, invisibility—tend to lean toward the classic, the easy-to-understand. And all of that is refreshing. This is a book that exists outside any continuity or shared universe, where secret agents and superheroes are one-and-the-same, and everything is straightforward and black-and-white. EXCEPT...there's some kind of crazy-old, crazy-secret thing with glyphs on it that holds the secret to deep, mystic power and/or knowledge and/or who the hell knows what else. This one cosmic puzzle that sits at the heart of the series helps it stand out, and is the throughline that keeps the narrative wheels turning. But Phil Hester slow-plays that mystery and uses most of his time to tell awesome, to-the-point superhero adventure tales. That's what this issue is, and what they've all been, and, with any luck, what they'll continue to be in perpetuity. The artist is Roger Robinson, not a name I think I've seen before, but more than earning his keep here. The huge, multi-eyed flying octopus robot emerging from the water was incredible, as was all of the action surrounding its appearance. I also loved the crazy mind-control helmet that got made on the fly out of spare parts assembled by a magnetized robot spider. Rogers managed to show what was happening clearly and quickly, giving the awesome final image of the helmet tuning on enough space for it to come with a great light show. That panel is also a highlight of colorist Rom Fajardo's work on the issue. It's good all over, from both Rogers and Fajardo, smoother in the foregrounds and on the characters, but with subtler details and textures in the backgrounds to give things a bit of depth. This is a blast of a book, always, and this issue is no exception.
Thor: God of Thunder #19.NOW: What is .NOW? There does not seem to be a separate issue #19 of this series coming out, which is what they used to to with .1 issues, right? It'd go 19, 19.1, 20, or at least that's my memory of it. Not sure what the last .1 issue I read was. Probably an X-Factor. Anyway, I guess all the .NOW is supposed to indicate is that this is the start of something fresh for this series, a new arc for the All-New Marvel NOW currently being rolled out across the line. If so...dumb. There's already the biggest, most obnoxious white "#1" imaginable in the right corner of the cover to say exactly the same thing, so the tiny "NOW" sitting underneath the "19." at the bottom is hardly going to draw anyone in. Ok, that's all I had to say about that idiotic thing. As for this actual comic, it was pretty lame as far as Thor stories go. The real star was an environmentally-focused S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Rosalind Solomon, who is funny and brash and cool, but the main reason she's here is because Thor has a crush on her and is trying to impress her by kinda-sorta helping to save the environment. The result is that there's a lot of Solomon arguing with her boss and then with one of the bigwigs at the evil Roxxon Corporation, while Thor operates more in the background, showing up to save Solomon and ask her out awkwardly. It makes both characters look weaker—Solomon because Thor keeps fighting her battles for her, and Thor because he's diverting all of his energy to getting the attention of a woman, which is not a look Jason Aaron manages to make look good on Thor. There's not enough humor, charm, or self-confidence in Thor's approach. I get that he's trying to be respectful, but it comes across as just acting out-of-character, oddly timid. As evidence of how much less exciting this story is than usual, and how stifled Thor is as a hero within it, I submit the incredibly gorgeous splash page of Thor smashing a frost giant in the face. This moment, while visually beautiful, is forced into the middle of the comic as a full-page punchline to a very weak joke Thor makes in the preceding panel about how he got his hands on a large amount of ice. It is also the only classically Thor-like moment in the comic, and one of only two times Esad Ribic truly gets to shine as an artist, the other being the final splash of Galactus showing up on a desolate, far-future Earth. The rest of the issue is too confined, trapped in environmental debate, Roxxon posturing, and Old Man Thor moping in the future. There are no thrills, no big action, nothing worthy of the might of this character, and nothing fit to display how amazingly majestic Ribic's work can be. This series has been all about doing Thor as an epic warrior, so seeing him brought back down to earth feels like deflation. It's not that human, grounded Thor stories can't work, but they are not what Aaron does well in this title, and I was less than enthused by this first chapter. Hopefully things will become a little more intense now that Galactus is involved, and the Roxxon guy is, I think, secretly a minotaur, based on his nickname and the cover image. So things may be amping up soon as far as power levels, but this issue was underwhelming in that regard.
Kings Watch #4: First things first: Marc Laming is dominating with this book. His invading hordes of monsters and beastmen are especially delicious, but even just the establishing shot of Skull Cave or Lothar firing Zarkov's giant sonic weapon are enough to give me chills. There's a lot of fantastical and/or sci-fi stuff going down, and Laming makes it all look real and, when appropriate, terrifying. And there's a lot of personality in every character, even the expendable grunts in Ming's forces. Laming makes them all detailed, unique, fully-realized animal-people. Shout out to colorist Jordan Boyd, too, who makes all the explosions and magic look lifelike in their lighting, matching Laming's realism. As far as hard-hitting action-adventure comics go, I can't imagine there's much coming out right now that looks any better than this. And because this issue had the most chaotic, widespread combat, it was perhaps the best-looking yet. Jeff Parker's script is excellent, too, smartly paced to keep things lively. The shit officially hits the fan, and the heroes step up immediately to deal with it. Kings Watch is not dissimilar to T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, in that much of its appeal is how simple things are from a morality standpoint for all the main characters. Ming calls himself merciless, he calmly and plainly explains to the people of Earth that he's there to invade them and turn their way of life upside down. He's so comfortable as a villain, and so unconcerned with being perceived as such, that he lays his cards out on the table right away. The heroes, meanwhile, are free from any of the bickering or strategic debate of many teams, trusting one another already and respecting all the voices of the group equally. It makes them extremely efficient, able to believably assess the threat Ming represents and cook up a response in only 24 hours. They haven't won the war, of course, and I'd argue they lost the first round last issue, but round two goes to the good guys for sure.
Rachel Rising #23: I've praised this series a lot, and so have many others, and it's all well-deserved. This issue didn't stand out to me as especially great, but a lot of important things happened, as they pretty much always do. Rachel and Jet met up with Zoe again and, finally, figured out that she's not the little girl she appears to be. All of the masks are falling off, and this was an important one to finally do away with. Rachel also got ahold of her box of witch stuff at last, and the process to return Aunt Johnny's soul to her body came a few steps closer to being complete. All gripping, significant stuff, but also all relatively mundane. The creepiest part of the issue is when Dr. Siemen considers having sex with Johnny's soulless body, which lasts for a few tiny panels before the power goes out and he has to deal with that instead. Other than that, the events of this issue run fairly smoothly, until the final, haunting panel that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I'm not going to waste time trying to describe it because I could never do it justice, but it's probably the most beautiful, unsettling, horrific thing Terry Moore has done in this series up to now. I don't even really know what it means yet, but it has already left its mark. One unforgettable panel is more than most comics have to offer, so this is still a great comic, but it wasn't as bonkers as Rachel Rising can be. Then again, there's been a pattern of calms before storms, so chances are a major storm is a-comin'. My impression of Moore's plan is that the storyline that's been running through this series from the start is about to wrap up, and certainly it feels that way in-story, with Rachel, Jet, and Zoe all headed for Lilith together for what they hope will be the final confrontation. So this was a quick pause before all the scores get settled, which is a structurally sound way to go, and fits with the general pace of this title.
Daredevil #36: The "last" issue of this series before the same creators relaunch it next month as a new volume with a new, higher price (ugh). Mark Waid, true to form, comes up with a very clever way for Matt Murdock to defeat the Sons of the Serpent, by revealing that he's Daredevil and confessing to all the lies he told and laws he broke over the years to keep that a secret. It gives the Sons no moves, nothing they can use to threaten him, so they make a desperate final attack, and Daredevil beats them gleefully. He gets disbarred, and so does Foggy, but that was always part of the plan, a necessary evil to defeat a far greater evil. In the end, at Kirsten's suggestion (because she, too, is now out of a job) the plan is to relocate to San Francisco, since the only chance they have of practicing law again is in a state where they've done so before. A new setting is a good enough reason to reboot a book's numbering, I guess, but really this is just the end of an arc. Still, Waid does a pretty good job of making it feel like a bigger, more final ending than this book has had in the past. Murdock burning his career to the ground, exposing his true identity, and deciding to move across the country are a lot of big, life-changing things to do in one issue, so there is a special flavor to this, a feeling of added importance. It may be manufactured, but it's effective. I'm glad Waid is sticking around, and extra glad Chris Samnee will still be the artist, because he does the best Daredevil ever at this point. Fun-loving, fit and trim enough for me to buy all of his superhuman acrobatics, and solid as a rock. That's a Daredevil I'll never tire of, and everything and everyone else looks just as good when Samnee's drawing them. The Waid-Samnee-Daredevil mix seems to be evergreen, so do whatever the hell you want with the numbering, I guess, Marvel. As long as the quality keeps up, I'll be reading. I'm more than invested now.
Drumhellar #4: I had actually already read a digital version of this in preparation for my recent PopMatters piece on this title. But I always like a hard copy, and I prefer to read things in that format, so I went ahead and gave this another read. It was still great. This series isn't for everyone, but I love the hell out of Riley Rossmo, and his previous series with Alex Link, Rebel Blood, is an all-time favorite of mine. Drumhellar's not quite as amazing, but it's completely its own thing, bold and bananas in ways I respect a lot. It's also very funny and it always looks so goddamn good, because Rossmo is really cutting loose on this title, playing around with every style he's ever used before and mixing them freely and perfectly. This issue has an ideal example of what I mean in the side-by-side full-page splash panels of Drum's vision of using Doc's dead body to house DJ's spirit so DJ will stop aging backwards. Rossmo brings totally different coloring, linework, and inking styles to the two pages, but then uses repeated imagery in them to show how they connect and to make their message clear. It's trippy and a little hard to decipher, but everything you need is there, which is, actually, a good description of this whole series. It moves weirdly, jumps in time and location happening without warning or transition. Rossmo and writer Alex Link trust their audience to keep up, or, as I usually do, go back and figure everything out once we know more. The opening page of this issue, for instance, actually takes place in the middle of it, chronologically speaking, but there's no way to know that until later on. So at first, you just have to soak up the washed-in-blue panels of a rat sneaking in the dark and chewing on wires. Who he is, where he is, and what he's up to will be explained eventually, as all things always are in Drumhellar if you pay attention and let yourself get swept up in the ride. A lot got resolved this time, but then at the end Drum became a werewolf, so...we'll see where this all ends up. Supposedly the first arc ends next issue, but what does that even mean in a series that moves like this? The plot about DJ only came up in issue #2 or maybe even #3, and it's already been taken care of, so I'm not sure what an "arc" really is for Drumhellar. I also don't really care, because Rossmo is my hero and this is a fabulous and impossible-to-predict comicbook I love to read.
Phew...all caught up. G'night!
Showing posts with label THUNDER Agents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label THUNDER Agents. Show all posts
Monday, March 3, 2014
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Nick Spencer & the Poorly-Paced Mystery (Part 2 of 2)
Part 1 of this column can be found 4 entries below, or jumped to here.
When Morning Glories starts out, it seems like it's going to be an awesome supernatural mystery. But it provides too few clues, and slowly at that, so it becomes overbearing with its questions as time goes on. In some ways, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and Ultimate Comics X-Men suffer from the opposite problem. What appear at first to be pretty standard superhero adventure series quickly overwhelm their readers with too much new information too often. Any time an interesting thread is introduced, it is then quickly set aside in favor of some fresh character or concept, and so nothing gets explored or explained satisfactorily. Unlike Morning Glories, Spencer actually manages to complete some of the narratives he begins in these other two titles, but often in ways that undermine whatever made the stories interesting in the first place.
In T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, the problem is primarily one of trust. Double-double-crosses, sides we didn't even know existed, dead characters who aren't really dead...pretty much every single issue of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents contains at least one reveal that undoes or contradicts something previously (and sometimes only recently) established as true. The twists never stop, and you begin to expect them, not due to any well-placed hints, but merely because the plot relies on them to move forward. It's one thing to have a book that keeps its audience guessing, but when you give the readers nothing to hold on to, nothing we know to be definitively true, right down to which characters we are supposed to be rooting for...what are we even reading? Why are we reading? Again, I wouldn't mind as much if it didn't happen so damn often, but we never get to catch our breath between gasp moments, and the overall effect is less having the rug pulled out from under us and more lying on the rug and rolling around aimlessly.
Then in the final two issues, Spencer undoes the entire concept behind T.H.U.N.D.E.R.: that its agents give their lives in exchange for their powers. And, again, why does he do this? What purpose does it serve other than to make one more thing into a lie? Toby and Dunn are still dead, and those are the characters we actually got to know, aside from Colleen. Having Dynamo and Lightning living under assumed aliases does nothing for me, except cheapen the promise I was given when this title started that these men were going to sacrifice themselves for a cause.
The possible exceptions to this rule of a steady stream of misinformation are the four issues that tell the Iron Maiden story, but they have a pacing-related problem all their own. Which is that, basically, they should be combined into one well-written issue, rather than stretched needlessly over four. None of the five-page back-up stories give us any information we didn't already have, nor do they paint a particularly vivid or compelling image of the original Dynamo or Iron Maiden. And the main narrative could lose pages upon pages of uninteresting fight scenes, chase scenes, and vegetable chopping scenes. Not even sure anything in issue #7 is all that important. So while there may not be a lot of big reveals in those issues, it's mostly because there's just not a lot of anything there.
Ultimate Comics X-Men lies somewhere in the middle of the Morning Glories-T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents spectrum. There is definitely an overarching mystery that is taking a frustratingly long time to develop (MG's), having to do with all these supposedly dead characters (TA) returning and doling out pseudo-religious missions. We've seen three of them now---Stryker, Xavier, Magneto---but still have no sense of what they are, what they want, who controls them, how, or why (MG's). But what's even more annoying is that rather than stretch out that mystery only, Spencer switches his focus to entirely new casts and locations (TA), so that there have now been three consecutive issues which, as far as I can tell, don't touch on this mystery whatsoever. So in addition to having to remember all the dead people stuff that came before, there's this whole Camp Angel business as well as Jean Grey/Karen Grant's totally unclear role and motive in Tian. Man, that Karen Grant issue (#8) is an example of Ultimate Comics X-Men swinging way over to the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. side of things. Seriously, what am I meant to believe about her and what should I think is a lie? Because I don't know, and Spencer hasn't brought it up since. And the man only has two issues left before a new writer takes the helm, so my hopes are not high to have all the threads tied up before his term on the title ends.
Most disappointing is that it took a while for Ultimate Comics X-Men to really fall victim to Spencer's pacing and lack of focus. By the time Professor X took up the entire last page of #6, though, things had really started to slip, and it's only gotten messier.
What all three series have in common is this: at the end of the day, I'm just not sure what they are about. Ultimate Comics X-Men seems to be about a whole new thing as often as it feels like. Sure, there's the idea that mutants are a government mistake that has more or less been holding things together, but there's no emotional core or even protagonist, yet, and if you can't find that in ten issues then why would you expect it to ever develop? T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents definitely tells a complete story by the end, putting all the characters thorough their own personalized trials and changes, but it sort of feels like it ended up being about Toby, Colleen, and the Menthor helmet. Which I don't know how I feel about, since Colleen is a big fat liar, Toby's dead, and the Menthor helmet is one of the most ridiculous and vague concepts I've ever had the pleasure of trying to understand. Then there's Morning Glories which, in one more issue than the entirety of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, has yet be about anything other than a weird school with weird people doing random strange and violent shit for unknown reasons.
Nick Spencer is not a bad writer. His characters are usually quite rich, his dialogue full of humanity and humor, and his ideas are often bold and big and bright. But he can't seem to get the reins on them, for one reason or another, and his writing is worse for it. If he could see the difference between having readers be confused and surprised and having them be genuinely interested in or impressed by a story, I think his work might greatly improve. But of course, he already has my money, and the money of so many others, so there can't be much incentive to change.
Then again, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents has ended, Spencer is soon departing Ultimate Comics X-Men, and Morning Glories concludes its current arc next issue. Perhaps there's never been a better time to give up Nick Spencer for good...
When Morning Glories starts out, it seems like it's going to be an awesome supernatural mystery. But it provides too few clues, and slowly at that, so it becomes overbearing with its questions as time goes on. In some ways, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and Ultimate Comics X-Men suffer from the opposite problem. What appear at first to be pretty standard superhero adventure series quickly overwhelm their readers with too much new information too often. Any time an interesting thread is introduced, it is then quickly set aside in favor of some fresh character or concept, and so nothing gets explored or explained satisfactorily. Unlike Morning Glories, Spencer actually manages to complete some of the narratives he begins in these other two titles, but often in ways that undermine whatever made the stories interesting in the first place.
In T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, the problem is primarily one of trust. Double-double-crosses, sides we didn't even know existed, dead characters who aren't really dead...pretty much every single issue of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents contains at least one reveal that undoes or contradicts something previously (and sometimes only recently) established as true. The twists never stop, and you begin to expect them, not due to any well-placed hints, but merely because the plot relies on them to move forward. It's one thing to have a book that keeps its audience guessing, but when you give the readers nothing to hold on to, nothing we know to be definitively true, right down to which characters we are supposed to be rooting for...what are we even reading? Why are we reading? Again, I wouldn't mind as much if it didn't happen so damn often, but we never get to catch our breath between gasp moments, and the overall effect is less having the rug pulled out from under us and more lying on the rug and rolling around aimlessly.
Then in the final two issues, Spencer undoes the entire concept behind T.H.U.N.D.E.R.: that its agents give their lives in exchange for their powers. And, again, why does he do this? What purpose does it serve other than to make one more thing into a lie? Toby and Dunn are still dead, and those are the characters we actually got to know, aside from Colleen. Having Dynamo and Lightning living under assumed aliases does nothing for me, except cheapen the promise I was given when this title started that these men were going to sacrifice themselves for a cause.
The possible exceptions to this rule of a steady stream of misinformation are the four issues that tell the Iron Maiden story, but they have a pacing-related problem all their own. Which is that, basically, they should be combined into one well-written issue, rather than stretched needlessly over four. None of the five-page back-up stories give us any information we didn't already have, nor do they paint a particularly vivid or compelling image of the original Dynamo or Iron Maiden. And the main narrative could lose pages upon pages of uninteresting fight scenes, chase scenes, and vegetable chopping scenes. Not even sure anything in issue #7 is all that important. So while there may not be a lot of big reveals in those issues, it's mostly because there's just not a lot of anything there.
Ultimate Comics X-Men lies somewhere in the middle of the Morning Glories-T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents spectrum. There is definitely an overarching mystery that is taking a frustratingly long time to develop (MG's), having to do with all these supposedly dead characters (TA) returning and doling out pseudo-religious missions. We've seen three of them now---Stryker, Xavier, Magneto---but still have no sense of what they are, what they want, who controls them, how, or why (MG's). But what's even more annoying is that rather than stretch out that mystery only, Spencer switches his focus to entirely new casts and locations (TA), so that there have now been three consecutive issues which, as far as I can tell, don't touch on this mystery whatsoever. So in addition to having to remember all the dead people stuff that came before, there's this whole Camp Angel business as well as Jean Grey/Karen Grant's totally unclear role and motive in Tian. Man, that Karen Grant issue (#8) is an example of Ultimate Comics X-Men swinging way over to the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. side of things. Seriously, what am I meant to believe about her and what should I think is a lie? Because I don't know, and Spencer hasn't brought it up since. And the man only has two issues left before a new writer takes the helm, so my hopes are not high to have all the threads tied up before his term on the title ends.
Most disappointing is that it took a while for Ultimate Comics X-Men to really fall victim to Spencer's pacing and lack of focus. By the time Professor X took up the entire last page of #6, though, things had really started to slip, and it's only gotten messier.
What all three series have in common is this: at the end of the day, I'm just not sure what they are about. Ultimate Comics X-Men seems to be about a whole new thing as often as it feels like. Sure, there's the idea that mutants are a government mistake that has more or less been holding things together, but there's no emotional core or even protagonist, yet, and if you can't find that in ten issues then why would you expect it to ever develop? T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents definitely tells a complete story by the end, putting all the characters thorough their own personalized trials and changes, but it sort of feels like it ended up being about Toby, Colleen, and the Menthor helmet. Which I don't know how I feel about, since Colleen is a big fat liar, Toby's dead, and the Menthor helmet is one of the most ridiculous and vague concepts I've ever had the pleasure of trying to understand. Then there's Morning Glories which, in one more issue than the entirety of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, has yet be about anything other than a weird school with weird people doing random strange and violent shit for unknown reasons.
Nick Spencer is not a bad writer. His characters are usually quite rich, his dialogue full of humanity and humor, and his ideas are often bold and big and bright. But he can't seem to get the reins on them, for one reason or another, and his writing is worse for it. If he could see the difference between having readers be confused and surprised and having them be genuinely interested in or impressed by a story, I think his work might greatly improve. But of course, he already has my money, and the money of so many others, so there can't be much incentive to change.
Then again, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents has ended, Spencer is soon departing Ultimate Comics X-Men, and Morning Glories concludes its current arc next issue. Perhaps there's never been a better time to give up Nick Spencer for good...
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Nick Spencer & the Poorly-Paced Mystery (Part 1 of 2)
I want to like Nick Spencer more than I actually like him. The pitches for his series tend to hook me, but more often than not I find myself disappointed by the actual thing. Now, Spencer hasn't been around all that long, and I haven't read everything he's ever written, so maybe it's too early for me to generalize like that (or to generalize in the ways I'm about to). But I have read all of his work on of Morning Glories, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Ultimate Comics X-Men, and those are the titles I want to talk about here. On the surface they seem pretty distinct and disparate. The first is a creator-owned series from Image, the second a reboot of a classic DC superhero/spy series, and the third a major title from Marvel's Ultimate Universe. But I found all three to be equally frustrating letdowns, and when I examine them together, the reason becomes clear: Nick Spencer has terrible pacing. Not just because he dramatically decompresses his narratives, which he does, but so do many other writers to varying degrees of success. Spencer's problem is that even while slow-cooking his stories, he can't stop himself from constantly adding new ingredients, and the result is a dish with so many combating and confounding flavors that you can't tell what it was supposed to be in the first place. In their own ways and for their own reasons, all three of the above-mentioned comicbooks suffer from this problem, but the clearest and most aggravating example is Morning Glories, Spencer's own creation.
In its very first issue, Morning Glories doesn't seem like it's going to be the infuriatingly slow, muddled story it has since become. We actually get a whole lot in that initial installment: we meet our six protagonists and get clear, succinct introductions to their personalities; we learn that Morning Glory Academy is full of evil and lies and has an unseen Headmaster behind the wheel; we see that weird giant spinning thing for the first time; and we discover that the school is looking for a particular kind of child (also born on a certain day) and that anyone who doesn't fit the bill---"The boy's not one of them," says Gribbs---is expendable. We also end up with a vast list of questions, like, what does "For A Better Future" mean? What was happening on the first page? What, exactly, does the school want from these kids? Who's that ghost-looking guy and why'd he kill somebody? What is the giant spinning thing? Are Casey's parents really dead? And why? And how could the school get away with that? In fact, how does it get away with ANY of this while simultaneously being so reputable?
The problem is, not only have none of these questions been answered, but virtually every issue that's followed has served only to pile on the confusion and mystery. So now we're seventeen issues deep, and still have little to no understanding of the school's purpose or goals. Meanwhile, the six main characters who seemed so familiar at first have each been given their own twists and revelations, shrouding them now in uncertainty. Hunter has a problem telling time when it matters, but the significance of him always seeing 8:13 is unknown. Zoe's a murderer, but we can't tell if she's aware of it. Casey went back in time somehow and is going to do something to save everyone, maybe. Jun is actually his own twin and the school doesn't know about it. Jade can talk to herself from the future, apparently. Ike killed but also didn't kill his dad who is also Abraham. And yes, all of that is pretty cool...but what does any of it mean? Why do I care? Couldn't these seemingly disconnected facts about the characters be greatly enhanced by telling us why they matter? At all?
It's an awful lot of story space to use up without shedding any light on what's really going on, and it makes it extremely difficult to keep track of the innumerable tiny but supposedly significant hints Spencer drops along the way. Like the nine random images flashed before Casey and the reader's eyes in issue #13. Or the shit Hunter mutters before the explosion in #15. Or literally anything that happens in the whole of issue #6 (by far the most aggravating and unanswered chapter to date). If I were to try and list ALL of the small details provided and the big questions raised by the series so far, my fingers or my keyboard would probably break. Every plot beat is another mystery, but nothing ever gets solved.
I understand that all of this is by design. Rather than give us a few questions, then some knowledge, then some questions, then some knowledge, Spencer chooses to bombard us with the questions first. Then, in theory, somewhere down the line there'll be a turn and suddenly we'll be showered with answers. And it is clear that Spencer does have something planned, because even though we don't know what the fuck is going on, things are confusing in a consistent way. Lots of cryptic phrases are repeated and we see characters like Abraham showing up in the lives of all our main characters, so it's evident that a destination exists. But the longer we go without so much as a snippet of what that destination might look like, all the while dealing with a steady stream of new but not helpful information, the less I care to stay on for the ride. No matter how fully-formed and fun to watch the cast may be, when the stakes of the game they are playing remain so obscure, my emotional investment and interest naturally tapers off.
Spencer has said on more than one occasion that he imagines Morning Glories running for something like 100 issues, which means we're not even though the first twenty per cent of the overall narrative yet, so perhaps I am being impatient. And of course part of the main thrust of the story is the very fact that the kids don't know what's going on at Morning Glory Academy and are trying to figure it out before the school...does whatever it's trying to do to them. So a certain amount of the answers, I am certain, must remain secret for now out of necessity. But Spencer spends pretty much all of issue #17 in a conversation between Ike and Jade that is almost entirely recap. Then there's #12, where all we really get is the briefest of introductions to Miss Hodge---she's popular and helpful but her history and motives are just as unknown as the rest of the staff's---who then acts as a vehicle to check in for a page or two with each of our six kids, offering no new insights into any of them, just sort of reminding us who they are. And as I've said, the worst of the bunch is #6, which takes place entirely in what seems to be the future, uses almost all new characters who we haven't seen since, and devotes its entire last page to a splash image that is an obvious, meaningless dud of a reveal. Even if you have 2,200 pages to work with, that is a waste of space.
So Morning Glories trudges along, inch by baffling inch.
Next time: The more enjoyable but just-as-annoyingly-paced T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and Ultimate Comics X-Men
In its very first issue, Morning Glories doesn't seem like it's going to be the infuriatingly slow, muddled story it has since become. We actually get a whole lot in that initial installment: we meet our six protagonists and get clear, succinct introductions to their personalities; we learn that Morning Glory Academy is full of evil and lies and has an unseen Headmaster behind the wheel; we see that weird giant spinning thing for the first time; and we discover that the school is looking for a particular kind of child (also born on a certain day) and that anyone who doesn't fit the bill---"The boy's not one of them," says Gribbs---is expendable. We also end up with a vast list of questions, like, what does "For A Better Future" mean? What was happening on the first page? What, exactly, does the school want from these kids? Who's that ghost-looking guy and why'd he kill somebody? What is the giant spinning thing? Are Casey's parents really dead? And why? And how could the school get away with that? In fact, how does it get away with ANY of this while simultaneously being so reputable?
The problem is, not only have none of these questions been answered, but virtually every issue that's followed has served only to pile on the confusion and mystery. So now we're seventeen issues deep, and still have little to no understanding of the school's purpose or goals. Meanwhile, the six main characters who seemed so familiar at first have each been given their own twists and revelations, shrouding them now in uncertainty. Hunter has a problem telling time when it matters, but the significance of him always seeing 8:13 is unknown. Zoe's a murderer, but we can't tell if she's aware of it. Casey went back in time somehow and is going to do something to save everyone, maybe. Jun is actually his own twin and the school doesn't know about it. Jade can talk to herself from the future, apparently. Ike killed but also didn't kill his dad who is also Abraham. And yes, all of that is pretty cool...but what does any of it mean? Why do I care? Couldn't these seemingly disconnected facts about the characters be greatly enhanced by telling us why they matter? At all?
It's an awful lot of story space to use up without shedding any light on what's really going on, and it makes it extremely difficult to keep track of the innumerable tiny but supposedly significant hints Spencer drops along the way. Like the nine random images flashed before Casey and the reader's eyes in issue #13. Or the shit Hunter mutters before the explosion in #15. Or literally anything that happens in the whole of issue #6 (by far the most aggravating and unanswered chapter to date). If I were to try and list ALL of the small details provided and the big questions raised by the series so far, my fingers or my keyboard would probably break. Every plot beat is another mystery, but nothing ever gets solved.
I understand that all of this is by design. Rather than give us a few questions, then some knowledge, then some questions, then some knowledge, Spencer chooses to bombard us with the questions first. Then, in theory, somewhere down the line there'll be a turn and suddenly we'll be showered with answers. And it is clear that Spencer does have something planned, because even though we don't know what the fuck is going on, things are confusing in a consistent way. Lots of cryptic phrases are repeated and we see characters like Abraham showing up in the lives of all our main characters, so it's evident that a destination exists. But the longer we go without so much as a snippet of what that destination might look like, all the while dealing with a steady stream of new but not helpful information, the less I care to stay on for the ride. No matter how fully-formed and fun to watch the cast may be, when the stakes of the game they are playing remain so obscure, my emotional investment and interest naturally tapers off.
Spencer has said on more than one occasion that he imagines Morning Glories running for something like 100 issues, which means we're not even though the first twenty per cent of the overall narrative yet, so perhaps I am being impatient. And of course part of the main thrust of the story is the very fact that the kids don't know what's going on at Morning Glory Academy and are trying to figure it out before the school...does whatever it's trying to do to them. So a certain amount of the answers, I am certain, must remain secret for now out of necessity. But Spencer spends pretty much all of issue #17 in a conversation between Ike and Jade that is almost entirely recap. Then there's #12, where all we really get is the briefest of introductions to Miss Hodge---she's popular and helpful but her history and motives are just as unknown as the rest of the staff's---who then acts as a vehicle to check in for a page or two with each of our six kids, offering no new insights into any of them, just sort of reminding us who they are. And as I've said, the worst of the bunch is #6, which takes place entirely in what seems to be the future, uses almost all new characters who we haven't seen since, and devotes its entire last page to a splash image that is an obvious, meaningless dud of a reveal. Even if you have 2,200 pages to work with, that is a waste of space.
So Morning Glories trudges along, inch by baffling inch.
Next time: The more enjoyable but just-as-annoyingly-paced T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and Ultimate Comics X-Men
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Pull List Reviews 04/19/2012
Big fat stack of comics this week so let's get to it.
Avengers vs. X-Men #2: What a misfire. Really across the board, this issue was a letdown. John Romita, Jr.'s pencils were highly inconsistent and never impressive. For a book all about two teams fighting, he sure had a hard time drawing more than a couple members of either team in any given panel. But even worse, I am sad to say, was Jason Aaron's script. From the out-of-place, over-the-top, unnecessary narration to some laughable moments of dialogue (e.g. Storm screaming about a marriage counselor in the middle of combat) Aaron failed to make me the least bit interested in what was going on. Which was not much, anyway, just some rehashing of the weak, half-baked "reasons" each side has for fighting this fight, lots of punching and smack talk, and Hope continuing to be sort of a brat about the whole situation. The end. This event needs to pick up some steam real fast, because it's gotten worse each issue so far.
2.5/10
Batman #8: This whole Court of Owls thing is getting a bit tiresome, so I am excited for the crossover to get rolling and get over with. I don't hate the Court as villains, but I'm not wowed by them either, and there have been some very questionable decisions and reveals along the way from Scott Snyder and company. Luckily, Batman #8 mostly avoid those kinds of developments, telling a very brief and effective story about Wayne Manor coming under attack and how Bruce and Alfred work together to save themselves, their home, and their city. It's a lot of fun and very fast paced, with the tension and action ramping up quickly and then staying quite high for the rest of the issue. The partnership between Bruce and Alfred is very natural, and Greg Capullo makes their fear in the face of their enemies and their concern for one another come through in his art. He does a better job with Alfred than Bruce, but they each have some great moments. The best visuals, however, come from the army of slightly varied but still somehow uniform Talons. An impressive and frightening group.
I was not wild about the closing page of the main story---we'll see where it goes before passing final judgement, I guess---or any of the back-up tale (although YAY for Rafael Albuquerque Batman art!) but up until those final pages, a definite win.
6.5/10
Birds of Prey #8: This title is nothing if not reliable. Solid superhero entertainment every month, with this issue acting as a particularly nice example, if only because it more or less stands alone. Not that everything is neatly resolved at the end, but the bad guys which the Birds deal with this issue have nothing to do with Choke, the evil mastermind of the first arc. And though some larger developments are left to be resolved later, the immediate threat of the issue is handled all in one fully-contained and very well-done fight. That threat, a team called The Infiltrators who has it in for Black Canary, is a bizarre group in both their powers and personalities, but Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz introduce them deftly and rapidly and in a way that never slows the story or detracts from the fun. Indeed, one of The Infiltrators, Napalm, was the funniest and most enjoyable part of the issue. I have yet to be truly floored by this title, but also yet to be at all disappointed.
6.5/10
The Defenders #5: Matt Fraction's story was a bit up-and-down here, but I thoroughly enjoyed Mitch Breitweiser's art. Particularly in the underwater sequence that makes up the first half of this issue. In fact, that first half was much stronger than the second in almost every way. It had all the action and humor and mystery this title is always seeped in, but somehow it was still a bit calmer than usual, less frantic and overwhelming, and I think Breitweiser's art is a huge part of that. Once our heroes came out from the sea and began to excavate the Nautilus, things started to get a little bit jumpy, and while nothing was all that confusing, it definitely became a few degrees more muddled. Still, from cover to cover, Fraction did a great job with Namor's voice (more than anything this made me wish Fraction could just do a Namor series) and for the few lines he had, Danny Rand's voice, too. I wish it had been a steadier story, but I suppose it was really none too shabby, and perhaps the best looking issue of this incarnation of The Defenders so far.
7.0/10
Hellblazer #290: A really good ending to a pretty good storyline, Hellblazer #290 continues to add to the ever-growing dysfunction of John Constantine's family. John's relationship to his sister Cheryl, his niece Gemma, and his father-in-law Terry all go through some pretty significant developments here. Not to mention his wife Epiphany's own relationship to Terry. And we get set up for yet another appearance of the Demon Constantine in coming issues, which is good news for us as readers. Peter Milligan has definitely found a groove on this title, and even when nothing spectacular happens (like here), he keeps me coming back for more, always anxious to see what might go down next.
6.0/10
Prophet #24: This was EXACTLY what I wanted to see after the incredible opening three-issue arc of this Prophet reboot. A brand new John Prophet in a brand new world, but still a story that builds on the notion of a universe full of these men working toward some mysterious, cosmic common goal. Farel Dalrymple provides exceptional artwork throughout, especially the little girl guide and what she turns out to really be, but the true star of this book as always is Brandon Graham. His captions are so excellently written, so deliciously paced, and always know exactly what and how much to leave to the art. It's pretty uncommon that this kind of stylized-yet-understated narrative voice is so expertly employed in the comicbook medium, because so much of the comicbook world is filled with bombastic, over-powered archetypes. John Prophet is none of those things, and it makes his book all the more worth reading. It creeps closer to the top of my list of favorite titles every issue.
Also, much better back-up story than last time. A bit of an old lesson, perhaps, but told in a very fun and simple new way. And just like in the main story, really interesting and reliable art.
9.0/10
Rachel Rising #7: While not as strong an installment as many of the preceding ones, Rachel Rising #7 certainly isn't weak, either. It's just that rather than having any new deaths or very much new horror, this issue takes some time to set up important stuff for the future. Jet is undead just like Rachel, which can't be anything less than hugely significant. There's now a local detective involved in all this madness, which is bound to add some tension to the whole scenario. And then there's the final sequence, which I won't spoil, but is higher up on the insanity scale than perhaps anything Terry Moore has given us in Rachel Rising so far. And that's most certainly a good thing. Perhaps a bit slower than what came before it, but still full of rich, compelling characters trying as hard as they can to deal with an impossible situation. That's good fiction, no matter what.
6.0/10
The Shadow #1: Essentially what Garth Ennis offers us in this debut is a chilling character study of the titular "hero." And it's the perfect way to kick off The Shadow, a character who has been reinvented and interpreted numerous times over the decades. It doesn't matter what, if any, preconceived notions you have of Lamont Cranston going into this book, because Ennis and artist Aaron Campbell make it brutally clear what their version of the man is going to be like: unrelenting, unforgiving, brilliant, deadly, and arrogant. Even when dealing with his allies, he's intentionally a pain in the ass. Hell, even with Margo Lane, maybe especially with her, his I'm-above-it-all attitude shines through. But from what we've seen so far, he can back that attitude up all the way, and it makes me thrilled to see what else this new series has in store.
8.0/10
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6: Pretty weak sauce. The worst Wes Craig art to date on T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (which is really saying something) and also the least interesting script of Nick Spencer's entire run (yes, all 16 issues, not just the six that make up his second volume). Not the worst script, maybe, but by far the dullest. Mostly just Colleen talking to whoever it is she was seen talking to in Sri Lanka waaaaaaaay back in the first issue of the first volume, info-dumping so the reader doesn't have any hanging questions at all. And in a spy series, that kind of sucks. Everything gets so neatly tied up that it feels too neat, almost out of place for a title that has been hard to slow or pin down since it began. Cafu draws the Sri Lanka segments and does a really great job, but he has so little to draw (again, pretty much just Colleen's face or the face of her companion) and it is cushioned by such wonky Wes Craig nonsense that the overall effect is weakened. I've been a bit cool on this title for a while now anyway, I suppose, but at the very least I expected the finale to be dynamic and adventurous and full of fatalities. I got zero from that list.
4.0/10
Thunderbolts #173: No question, this was a better chapter than the first of this Thunderbolts vs. Thunderbolts story. Fixer has been a highlight of this title under Jeff Parker's writing all along, and watching him interact with his younger, wilder self is both a lot of fun and quite poignant, and takes the story in at least one unexpected direction as we prepare for the last issue before the change to Dark Avengers takes place. The best part of Thunderbolts #173, though, was Baron Zemo, not just because Declan Shalvey makes him look so awesome with his mask off, but because everything he does perfectly in character while still moving the story of the current Thunderbolts forward in great strides. He's the smartest guy in the room, and that means he can aid a team he was just fighting while simultaneously serving his own wicked goals, and it makes his solution to the long-running time travel conundrum of this title come quickly while still feeling natural. Only one issue to go before a change in name, cast, and, presumably, focus for this book, but Thunderbolts #173 renewed my faith that Jeff Parker will bring us something enjoyable and at least partially surprising for the closing chapter.
6.0/10
Uncanny X-Force #24: It's back! After a rare misstep in the "Otherworld" arc, Uncanny X-Force returns to its former glory. Phil Noto on pencils, a clear target for the team to kill, and major advancement on the always interesting Psylocke-Fantomex romance. The main thrust of the issue is AoA Nightcrawler (can we just call him "Nightcrawler" yet?) killing AoA Iceman, with a little help from Wolverine and Deadpool. Rick Remender does a really great job fleshing out this Nightcrawler through not only his captions but also his tactics during the fight against his old friend. It is an inventive and emotionally powerful battle, for the reader and the characters, and it serves as a reminder of the true potential for greatness in this book. According to Remender in recent interviews and whatnot, another major mega-arc is about to kick off, and this standalone tale (also acting as a grat epilogue to "Otherworld") is the perfect way to transition into whatever Remender has planned. It brings the cast closer together, helps completely establish the newest member, and brings back the grim and awesome violence and assassination this title does so well. Bravo!
8.5/10
Wolverine and the X-Men #9: As far as tie-ins to major events go, this was a pretty satisfying effort. It begins before the first issue of Avengers vs. X-Men, chronologically speaking, and takes us all the way to the end of that same issue seamlessly, which is an impressive accomplishment. And Jason Aaron manages to give Wolverine's choice the necessary gravitas without losing the lightweight, humorous tone that Wolverine and the X-Men has established for itself. I loved the opening sequence on Planet Sin, and had a few smiles during Captain America's visit, the brief moment of tenderness between Toad and Husk, and the conversation between Logan and Idie. All good, believable, engaging stuff. Chris Bacahlo, for his part, delivered some of the clearest art I've seen from him, which was a pleasant surprise, since I typically find myself confused for at least one whole page when he is on art duties for this book. Not a lot of big important story beats (except for maybe the last page) as far as the whole AvX conflict goes, but a solid tie-in issue nonetheless.
7.5/10
Wonder Woman #8: While Brian Azzarello's work on Wonder Woman has been really good all along, one thing I've noticed is that a lot of the time, Diana is overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Not because she isn't awesome, it's just that she is so steady and consistent and, in many ways, familiar, while the rest of the characters in her world are new and strange and full of insights and/or knowledge which she does not posses. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but the truth is Wonder Woman doesn't always feel like the star of her own title. This month, however, that all changes. In an awesome issue that sends Diana and Hermes to Hades in the hopes of rescuing Zola, we get a great version of the underworld, some really spectacular action, and most of all we get to see Wonder Woman in the spotlight. He new armor, brilliantly designed by Cliff Chang (who kills it on every page like usual) and her confident swagger make her stand out in all of her panels, and while Hermes kicks plenty of ass himself, it is Diana who leads the charge and fights the hardest. A somewhat obvious "twist" at the end, but one which makes me super excited for next month all the same. Even though it didn't deal with the controversy from last issue (and that does need to be addressed at some point for sure) Wonder Woman #8 did just about everything else right.
Also, "In its brevity is where life's importance lies." YES!!!
8.0/10
Avengers vs. X-Men #2: What a misfire. Really across the board, this issue was a letdown. John Romita, Jr.'s pencils were highly inconsistent and never impressive. For a book all about two teams fighting, he sure had a hard time drawing more than a couple members of either team in any given panel. But even worse, I am sad to say, was Jason Aaron's script. From the out-of-place, over-the-top, unnecessary narration to some laughable moments of dialogue (e.g. Storm screaming about a marriage counselor in the middle of combat) Aaron failed to make me the least bit interested in what was going on. Which was not much, anyway, just some rehashing of the weak, half-baked "reasons" each side has for fighting this fight, lots of punching and smack talk, and Hope continuing to be sort of a brat about the whole situation. The end. This event needs to pick up some steam real fast, because it's gotten worse each issue so far.
2.5/10
Batman #8: This whole Court of Owls thing is getting a bit tiresome, so I am excited for the crossover to get rolling and get over with. I don't hate the Court as villains, but I'm not wowed by them either, and there have been some very questionable decisions and reveals along the way from Scott Snyder and company. Luckily, Batman #8 mostly avoid those kinds of developments, telling a very brief and effective story about Wayne Manor coming under attack and how Bruce and Alfred work together to save themselves, their home, and their city. It's a lot of fun and very fast paced, with the tension and action ramping up quickly and then staying quite high for the rest of the issue. The partnership between Bruce and Alfred is very natural, and Greg Capullo makes their fear in the face of their enemies and their concern for one another come through in his art. He does a better job with Alfred than Bruce, but they each have some great moments. The best visuals, however, come from the army of slightly varied but still somehow uniform Talons. An impressive and frightening group.
I was not wild about the closing page of the main story---we'll see where it goes before passing final judgement, I guess---or any of the back-up tale (although YAY for Rafael Albuquerque Batman art!) but up until those final pages, a definite win.
6.5/10
Birds of Prey #8: This title is nothing if not reliable. Solid superhero entertainment every month, with this issue acting as a particularly nice example, if only because it more or less stands alone. Not that everything is neatly resolved at the end, but the bad guys which the Birds deal with this issue have nothing to do with Choke, the evil mastermind of the first arc. And though some larger developments are left to be resolved later, the immediate threat of the issue is handled all in one fully-contained and very well-done fight. That threat, a team called The Infiltrators who has it in for Black Canary, is a bizarre group in both their powers and personalities, but Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz introduce them deftly and rapidly and in a way that never slows the story or detracts from the fun. Indeed, one of The Infiltrators, Napalm, was the funniest and most enjoyable part of the issue. I have yet to be truly floored by this title, but also yet to be at all disappointed.
6.5/10
The Defenders #5: Matt Fraction's story was a bit up-and-down here, but I thoroughly enjoyed Mitch Breitweiser's art. Particularly in the underwater sequence that makes up the first half of this issue. In fact, that first half was much stronger than the second in almost every way. It had all the action and humor and mystery this title is always seeped in, but somehow it was still a bit calmer than usual, less frantic and overwhelming, and I think Breitweiser's art is a huge part of that. Once our heroes came out from the sea and began to excavate the Nautilus, things started to get a little bit jumpy, and while nothing was all that confusing, it definitely became a few degrees more muddled. Still, from cover to cover, Fraction did a great job with Namor's voice (more than anything this made me wish Fraction could just do a Namor series) and for the few lines he had, Danny Rand's voice, too. I wish it had been a steadier story, but I suppose it was really none too shabby, and perhaps the best looking issue of this incarnation of The Defenders so far.
7.0/10
Hellblazer #290: A really good ending to a pretty good storyline, Hellblazer #290 continues to add to the ever-growing dysfunction of John Constantine's family. John's relationship to his sister Cheryl, his niece Gemma, and his father-in-law Terry all go through some pretty significant developments here. Not to mention his wife Epiphany's own relationship to Terry. And we get set up for yet another appearance of the Demon Constantine in coming issues, which is good news for us as readers. Peter Milligan has definitely found a groove on this title, and even when nothing spectacular happens (like here), he keeps me coming back for more, always anxious to see what might go down next.
6.0/10
Prophet #24: This was EXACTLY what I wanted to see after the incredible opening three-issue arc of this Prophet reboot. A brand new John Prophet in a brand new world, but still a story that builds on the notion of a universe full of these men working toward some mysterious, cosmic common goal. Farel Dalrymple provides exceptional artwork throughout, especially the little girl guide and what she turns out to really be, but the true star of this book as always is Brandon Graham. His captions are so excellently written, so deliciously paced, and always know exactly what and how much to leave to the art. It's pretty uncommon that this kind of stylized-yet-understated narrative voice is so expertly employed in the comicbook medium, because so much of the comicbook world is filled with bombastic, over-powered archetypes. John Prophet is none of those things, and it makes his book all the more worth reading. It creeps closer to the top of my list of favorite titles every issue.
Also, much better back-up story than last time. A bit of an old lesson, perhaps, but told in a very fun and simple new way. And just like in the main story, really interesting and reliable art.
9.0/10
Rachel Rising #7: While not as strong an installment as many of the preceding ones, Rachel Rising #7 certainly isn't weak, either. It's just that rather than having any new deaths or very much new horror, this issue takes some time to set up important stuff for the future. Jet is undead just like Rachel, which can't be anything less than hugely significant. There's now a local detective involved in all this madness, which is bound to add some tension to the whole scenario. And then there's the final sequence, which I won't spoil, but is higher up on the insanity scale than perhaps anything Terry Moore has given us in Rachel Rising so far. And that's most certainly a good thing. Perhaps a bit slower than what came before it, but still full of rich, compelling characters trying as hard as they can to deal with an impossible situation. That's good fiction, no matter what.
6.0/10
The Shadow #1: Essentially what Garth Ennis offers us in this debut is a chilling character study of the titular "hero." And it's the perfect way to kick off The Shadow, a character who has been reinvented and interpreted numerous times over the decades. It doesn't matter what, if any, preconceived notions you have of Lamont Cranston going into this book, because Ennis and artist Aaron Campbell make it brutally clear what their version of the man is going to be like: unrelenting, unforgiving, brilliant, deadly, and arrogant. Even when dealing with his allies, he's intentionally a pain in the ass. Hell, even with Margo Lane, maybe especially with her, his I'm-above-it-all attitude shines through. But from what we've seen so far, he can back that attitude up all the way, and it makes me thrilled to see what else this new series has in store.
8.0/10
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6: Pretty weak sauce. The worst Wes Craig art to date on T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (which is really saying something) and also the least interesting script of Nick Spencer's entire run (yes, all 16 issues, not just the six that make up his second volume). Not the worst script, maybe, but by far the dullest. Mostly just Colleen talking to whoever it is she was seen talking to in Sri Lanka waaaaaaaay back in the first issue of the first volume, info-dumping so the reader doesn't have any hanging questions at all. And in a spy series, that kind of sucks. Everything gets so neatly tied up that it feels too neat, almost out of place for a title that has been hard to slow or pin down since it began. Cafu draws the Sri Lanka segments and does a really great job, but he has so little to draw (again, pretty much just Colleen's face or the face of her companion) and it is cushioned by such wonky Wes Craig nonsense that the overall effect is weakened. I've been a bit cool on this title for a while now anyway, I suppose, but at the very least I expected the finale to be dynamic and adventurous and full of fatalities. I got zero from that list.
4.0/10
Thunderbolts #173: No question, this was a better chapter than the first of this Thunderbolts vs. Thunderbolts story. Fixer has been a highlight of this title under Jeff Parker's writing all along, and watching him interact with his younger, wilder self is both a lot of fun and quite poignant, and takes the story in at least one unexpected direction as we prepare for the last issue before the change to Dark Avengers takes place. The best part of Thunderbolts #173, though, was Baron Zemo, not just because Declan Shalvey makes him look so awesome with his mask off, but because everything he does perfectly in character while still moving the story of the current Thunderbolts forward in great strides. He's the smartest guy in the room, and that means he can aid a team he was just fighting while simultaneously serving his own wicked goals, and it makes his solution to the long-running time travel conundrum of this title come quickly while still feeling natural. Only one issue to go before a change in name, cast, and, presumably, focus for this book, but Thunderbolts #173 renewed my faith that Jeff Parker will bring us something enjoyable and at least partially surprising for the closing chapter.
6.0/10
Uncanny X-Force #24: It's back! After a rare misstep in the "Otherworld" arc, Uncanny X-Force returns to its former glory. Phil Noto on pencils, a clear target for the team to kill, and major advancement on the always interesting Psylocke-Fantomex romance. The main thrust of the issue is AoA Nightcrawler (can we just call him "Nightcrawler" yet?) killing AoA Iceman, with a little help from Wolverine and Deadpool. Rick Remender does a really great job fleshing out this Nightcrawler through not only his captions but also his tactics during the fight against his old friend. It is an inventive and emotionally powerful battle, for the reader and the characters, and it serves as a reminder of the true potential for greatness in this book. According to Remender in recent interviews and whatnot, another major mega-arc is about to kick off, and this standalone tale (also acting as a grat epilogue to "Otherworld") is the perfect way to transition into whatever Remender has planned. It brings the cast closer together, helps completely establish the newest member, and brings back the grim and awesome violence and assassination this title does so well. Bravo!
8.5/10
Wolverine and the X-Men #9: As far as tie-ins to major events go, this was a pretty satisfying effort. It begins before the first issue of Avengers vs. X-Men, chronologically speaking, and takes us all the way to the end of that same issue seamlessly, which is an impressive accomplishment. And Jason Aaron manages to give Wolverine's choice the necessary gravitas without losing the lightweight, humorous tone that Wolverine and the X-Men has established for itself. I loved the opening sequence on Planet Sin, and had a few smiles during Captain America's visit, the brief moment of tenderness between Toad and Husk, and the conversation between Logan and Idie. All good, believable, engaging stuff. Chris Bacahlo, for his part, delivered some of the clearest art I've seen from him, which was a pleasant surprise, since I typically find myself confused for at least one whole page when he is on art duties for this book. Not a lot of big important story beats (except for maybe the last page) as far as the whole AvX conflict goes, but a solid tie-in issue nonetheless.
7.5/10
Wonder Woman #8: While Brian Azzarello's work on Wonder Woman has been really good all along, one thing I've noticed is that a lot of the time, Diana is overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Not because she isn't awesome, it's just that she is so steady and consistent and, in many ways, familiar, while the rest of the characters in her world are new and strange and full of insights and/or knowledge which she does not posses. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but the truth is Wonder Woman doesn't always feel like the star of her own title. This month, however, that all changes. In an awesome issue that sends Diana and Hermes to Hades in the hopes of rescuing Zola, we get a great version of the underworld, some really spectacular action, and most of all we get to see Wonder Woman in the spotlight. He new armor, brilliantly designed by Cliff Chang (who kills it on every page like usual) and her confident swagger make her stand out in all of her panels, and while Hermes kicks plenty of ass himself, it is Diana who leads the charge and fights the hardest. A somewhat obvious "twist" at the end, but one which makes me super excited for next month all the same. Even though it didn't deal with the controversy from last issue (and that does need to be addressed at some point for sure) Wonder Woman #8 did just about everything else right.
Also, "In its brevity is where life's importance lies." YES!!!
8.0/10
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