Dearly Departed is a semi-regular
column where I look back on recently completed or canceled series.
It begins so simply. Sepia tones, overt narration, a car crash. A woman is dead and the man who's with her is overwhelmed by it. He tells us so, plainly and directly, in his captions. For a page or two, it feels like so much more forgettable melodramatic tragedy.
Then the man is swallowed up by a pile of frogs that appear from nowhere. And then next thing you know, with no warning or introduction or even a time stamp, we're in a whole new place with a whole new color scheme (although it is a limited and muted palette), looking at a brutally murdered body. We also see two men who are looking at the corpse for themselves, one of whom seems to be the man from the car crash (but wasn't he just buried in frogs?) and the other one who appears...to BE a frog? Or maybe like a half-frog? What the hell is going on here?
In this somewhat disorienting opening four pages to its debut issue, Green Wake quickly establishes some of its most important and pervasive elements: the dark and chaotic art that Riley Rossmo utilizes brilliantly throughout the series; the narrative voice of the story's protagonist, Morley; and above all, it lets the reader know that this is not a book to be breezed through, that it will be somewhat unpredictable and deceitful. Not that it is a difficult read, per se, but it is not exactly an easy one either. If attention is paid to each page and panel, it's actually not that complicated a story. For all intents and purposes, it's a crime procedural like any other, except that it is set in a supernatural world built out of people's guilt. And also it's partly a Messiah story. So maybe it is kind of complicated.
It is certainly too intricate to bother trying to rehash or summarize the plot for you here. I highly recommend you read it if you haven't, and I'll talk about why in a moment. But before I dig into my opinions, give it a look for yourself. It is, after all, only ten issues. That's just TWO trades! Go for it.
But if you're unfamiliar with the story, then here's what you should know---Image originally slated Green Wake to be a five-issue mini-series. But it was so immediately well-received, they decided to change it into an ongoing series before the initial five issues had even all come out (if memory serves, the announcement was made between #3 and #4). Then, almost as quickly, it got canceled, after only one other arc (also five issues long) was completed. What results is an interesting kind of narrative. Each arc has threads that are very much self-contained, but they also tell one continuous and complete story together: the story of Morley slowly gaining an understanding of over Green Wake (the titular setting of the series) until, in the end, he is abel to destroy it and free all of its inhabitants.
Looking back on the entire run, I can't help but wonder if this tight connectedness between the two arcs is part of why the series never picked up enough steam to keep going. Morley escapes his guilt and thus escapes Green Wake at the end of the first arc, and then in the final pages of #5 and the opening pages of #6, he comes back again. His only explanation is that his self-forgiveness "didn't stick," and while it is true that guilt is never easily overcome, I'm not sure I buy the idea that a man who worked so hard and long get to a place where he could let go of his pain would immediately slip back into such an overbearing depression.
But even if Morley's return and role as destroyer of Green Wake were inevitable (and it does feel like writer Kurtis Wiebe always knew that's what Morley would ultimately accomplish), he definitely did not need to come back to Green Wake RIGHT AWAY. It's really not that hard to imagine "Lost Children" without him (the first four issues, anyway). It would still be pretty damned compelling. Esther's story could be shown in full rather than related in a few panels of dialogue, and through her Morley's legend would resonate and remain significant. Krieger and his junkie nemesis could still have their escalating battle, leading to Krieger's death. Carl could still show up, sometimes fighting against his new mistress and sometimes doing her killing. And Micah and the children could go through all the same beats, their story remainaing more or less unchanged, with the exception that Micah wouldn't go to Morley for help. In the end, he would declare his independence and return to the schoolhouse on his own, still get seen by Esther, and still get eaten by his original victims, the children over whom he sent himself to Green Wake in the first place. "Lost Children" has legs without Morley, because in many ways Morley's story is separate from the rest of the narrative. He goes through the motions of investigating the new murders, but what he's really doing the whole time is trying to figure out Green Wake itself. His searches never lead him to Esther's lost children, even though she basically tells him all about them. He decides that he doesn't care, that in this case the murders past and the impending murder of Micah are acceptable losses. Because what he wants is the truth about a deeper mystery.
Hmm...I didn't plan on this column being one long argument against Morley's return, and still don't. I actually think it's totally appropriate, perfectly so, that the finale of the series would be Morley ripping Hecate/Green Wake's guts out and sending everyone trapped there back to their actual lives. That's always where he was headed, whether he knew it or not; it was always his endgame. Figuring Green Wake out is what drove him, and he had to know that figuring her out would mean pissing her off and having to fight her influence. I just wonder if hurrying him back into the book weakened it overall, and though I don't really believe that a second arc without Morley would have prevented its cancellation...I want to believe it, because I want to believe in a world where it's true that if a more interesting story is told, sales improve.
Of course, the real problem "Lost Children" had was that it was following that first arc, that original five issues. Which, by the way, is a serious masterpiece. And that is ALL about Morley. He's a unique figure in Green Wake from the beginning, and his reasons for being there, as well as his reasons for acting the way he does while he's there, are both incredibly simple and intensely profound. He's a really amazing character in a really amazing world, not to mention what a badass hardboiled detective he makes. Always smoking, always saying cool, gritty shit. Brooding constantly. He's perfect, and that first story---"Green Wake" I guess, would be the name of the arc---is arguably perfect as well. It hits all the right beats in all the right places, and it relies on such simple, universal themes and plot points to build the foundation for such a complex story. Car accidents, lost love, cheating on someone while living abroad, second chances...it's all so familiar. Yet the world that is built up around and because of these things allows the characters and readers alike to reexamine them and really appreciate their power over us. Wiebe captures so many different kinds of anger and depression and sadness in his different characters' distinct voices, and Rossmo captures them all equally well in his kinetic drawings.
It's remarkable how expressive Rossmo's art is even while it helps add to the horror and chaos and confusion. At the end of #2, when Green Wake first takes physical form, we see what something truly ugly and horrible looks like in a world where ugliness and horror are commonplace. And his deliberate use of the color red, in both arcs, brings just the right level of life and vibrancy to Green Wake. Even though, admittedly, the reds are mostly for blood, fire, and the clothing of villains. Still, Green Wake might have survived without Morley, but Rossmo was essential from start to finish.
Wiebe, too, who clearly had a powerful and detailed vision of Green Wake (and non-italicized Green Wake) from the onset, and who is dangerously skilled in both dialogue and pacing. I have not read much else by Wiebe (I should, right?), but his voice is singular and unique as an author here, even as he speaks through so many varied character voices.
Truth be told, I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to Kelly Tindall on letters. A lot of interesting and important cues are gives in the letters as to where and when we are in the story. Not so often that they serve that kind of role, and it makes Green Wake all the more impressive.
And it is an impressive series. Despite my frustration with some of the decisions about how to move forward after the opening story, I throughly enjoyed every issue of Green Wake as it came out, and continue to enjoy them all on multiple re-reads. It is an exploration and celebration of human emotion and its ability to affect the world and the people around us. It is a bloody murderfest set in a nightmare world. It is just another story of a man seeking redemption.
For real, it's only ten issues. Go read it.
Green Wake was published by Image Comics and is dated April 2011-February 2012.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Smatterday 03/31/2012
The Azzarello Amazon Incident
Wow, Wonder Woman #7 certainly rocked the boat, didn't it? From Kelly Thompson's review and subsequent column, to the numerous other outcries and criticisms, people have been extremely vocal in their disapproval of Brian Azzarello's new take on the Amazons. For the most part, I agree with what has been said. The Amazons have never been so hateful and malicious as this issue paints them to be, and there is absolutely no discernible reason in terms of the story so far that this detail needed to be divulged. Discernible, however, is the operative word there, because until we see at least one if not two or three more issues of the series, it's hard to say what the final portrait of the New 52 Amazons will be. For now, though, a definite misstep for the otherwise exceptional title. #8 has a LOT riding on it.
Spurlock Does Comic-Con
Morgan Spurlock, of Super Size Me fame, has put together a Comic-Con documentary with some help from Stan Lee and Joss Whedon. And so far, the response seems to be fairly positive. I am not a fan of Spurlock as a man or a filmmaker, but supposedly he isn't on frame for even a second of Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, so that certainly raises my interest level to some degree. Until more reviews of the complete film have come in, I'll hold off on viewing it, but from what I've read so far I admit it does seem like he's got the right attitude about the project. Here's hoping...
What Kind of Turtles Are They? Or...Are They Still Technically Turtles?
No doubt you've heard by now, but Michael Bay is producing, arguably, a remake the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I say arguably because, from what we've heard so far, the titular characters will be neither teenage nor mutant nor, in the most literal sense, turtles, because now what they are instead is aliens from another planet that sort of resemble giant anthropomorphized Earth turtles. So not really a remake so much as a retooling. Or, more accurately, a brand new idea (aliens with ninja skills come to Earth to be heros---awesome!) squished together with an old franchise. And even that isn't entirely true, since the title is now just going to be Ninja Turtles.
For me, the problem with this is that the whole charm of the turtles, the thing that set them apart from basically every other hero or superhero in comics, TV, or movies, is that rather than being men who were given turtle-like powers and characteristics, they were TURTLES FIRST, who then grew to take on human-like characteristics. But apparently that concept is lost on Mr. Bay and company. There has been some flacid support for the project, but mostly people are pissed off, and if those behind these decisions really don't understand why people are angry, then they shouldn't have been selected for this project in the first place.
Another Event Is Born...Kinda
Finally, below is a list of reviews I happened to read of Avengers vs. X-Men #0. Just in case you missed any of them, because it is, after all, the event of the year. Because every year has to have an event now. Because that's how we do things.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Pull List Reviews 03/29/2012
First of all, two of my titles were missing this week from my local shop: Astonishing X-Men #48 & Ultimates #8. So those are getting skipped (for now).
Avengers vs. X-Men #0: This is a pretty solid zero issue. Inasmuch as zero issues have any purpose whatsoever (but that's an argument for another time). But if you are going to do a non-essential opening chapter for your story, AvX #0 is the way to do so. Could I have skipped this entirely? You bet. Was it worth the time and money? Sure.
Brian Michael Bendis and Jason Aaron each deliver a clear, complex, and honest character piece. Bendis begins to reintroduce the Scarlet Witch to active superherosim, and in a small amount of space puts Wanda through physical and emotional triumphs and failures. Aaron's Hope story accomplishes a lot of the same things, although in that case it is mostly Hope's triumphs and Scott's failures. We get to see Hope finally confront the issue of the Phoenix, which feels like it's sort of a long time coming. Obviously Marvel has been building up to it by design, but the girl ain't no fool. It makes sense she would have figured out so much already, and it was nice to have her say so out loud after all this time. Also the Serpent Society! Oh man, I have a soft spot in my heart for those clowns, and watching Hope use all of her tactics (including excessive rage-punching) to defeat such a bizarre and ridiculous group of villains was as entertaining as it was unsettling. Frank Cho's art was also solid and consistent. Fun action scenes that had villains which played to his strengths, and good, clear, expressive emotions in the angry-man-talks-sternly-at-woman scenes.
It loses some points because...nothing all that significant happened. No Avengers fought any X-Men. It was issue zero, and it had zero importance. But a fun prologue nonetheless.
6.5/10
Daredevil #10: Daredevil against Mole Man is a pretty interesting match up. Mole Man's natural dimwittedness means that, except for arguably the first page or two, he never puts Daredevil in any real danger, but he's also smart enough to point out that the whole fight is useless because Daredevil has nothing to gain. And it's true. As the narrative captions so kindly point out to us, everybody loses this time. Mole Man may not be a threat to Daredevil, but he's already done all the damage he could do with his little grave-robbing scheme to Matt Murdock. And it is, appropriately, Murdock whose name is attached to the construction of the replacement headstones, granting him the only real victory for any of the characters. A thoroughly satisfying ending to this two-parter.
Then there's the weird part at the very end where...I guess maybe he's going crazy? Or he's overly paranoid? Something's up. Of course, The Omega Effect is next, as we already know, so his paranoia is probably not misplaced. But it was a sort of jarring ending to what was otherwise another great issue from Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera.
8.5/10
Justice League Dark #7: Blech. If they hadn't already announced Lemire taking over, I'd be dropping this title for good as of this week. I have a theory that Peter Milligan never wanted this job or, at any rate, once he got it he regretted the decision for some reason. Because we know damn well he is capable of writing a John Constantine with actual charm and some sliver of likability, but every month in this book all Constantine does it bitch. Bitch bitch bitch. At Xanadu and, sometimes, Deadman, who isn't even bold enough to bitch back. Instead, all he does is whine (yes, there is a difference, but they are equally obnoxious and wrong for these characters). As if that wasn't enough, Shade's only role this month was to be confused and scared. Xanadu, too, until she abandons everybody. Also Zatanna, basically, although she may not have been so scared. A few vampires did get killed, but mostly Xanadu barked orders and the others begrudgingly obeyed. Like always. I get it, Milligan, you can't think of one damn reason this group would be formed, so you just have a magic lady force them together. Stop pointing it out and just tell me a story.
The art was serviceable, but also felt a little bit rushed or...cramped, like maybe Admira Wijaya and/or Daniel Sampere might have liked an extra page or two. A lot of M-Vest activity happened off-panel, and we jumped around from Bat-people back to the main cast in a rapid, disorienting, unsatisfying way.
Basically, boo.
3.0/10
Moon Knight #11: I will be so sad to lose this title next month. The craziest hero in the game, that's the angle Marc Spector has chosen for himself, and it is working on every level. Alex Maleev draws the shit out of what is mostly just one great and sometimes humorous fight scene between Moon Knight, Madame Masque, and Agent Buck Lime over control of, you guessed it, the head of Ultron. And Bendis continues to develop the interesting partnership between Moon Knight and Buck, as well as hanging onto the Echo and Nefaria threads, all of which makes for the perfect push to what will be the inevitable final showdown in issue 12. Definitely the best title to get the axe from Marvel all year.
8.0/10
Morning Glories #17: Jade and Ike talk to each other. End of plot summary.
This was not a bad issue. This was not an impressive issue. There was some insight given into the minds of both characters, but I would argue that, for the most part, it's not a lot we didn't already know. Jade has some secret knowledge, and it is connected to her killing herself. Yep, knew that. Ike is a prick, but only sort of, because really he's kind of nice and sad and smart and understanding. Duh. Other than Jade's mom's death, which only raises more questions than it answers, nothing was really to be gained from this issue. And that, I think, is a problem with Morning Glories in general. Nick Spencer loves to throw weird and/or unexpected shit at us (see the last page of this issue) and then just makes us steep in it without any conclusive payoff. Example: Jade finally asks out loud what the school is, vaguely says it might be a test, and then...nothing. End of topic. Not helpful.
My interest shrinks with this title more and more. But Joe Eisma always brings his A-game. His A-game is not necessarily dazzling, but it's always right there, looking the same and therefore creating a real sense of consistency to the world of the book. And that is as true here as always.
5.0/10
Scalped #57: Another title which, when it ends, will be every so dearly missed. I must say, I honestly thought we'd be done with all the Diesel stuff. I guess maybe that was stupid of me, but if so I'm glad to be stupid, because I really enjoyed the surprise of it coming back into play here, at the end of everything, in such an enormous way. Diesel's murder (and the whole story surrounding it) was such a key part of the greater arc of Dash's character, really getting him in with Red Crow in a way he hadn't quite accomplished before that, so it seems fitting it would be the thing that might undo Dash in the end.
Of course, it's all really because of Carol's abortion, which is another plotline I wasn't sure we'd ever hear from again (although I was less surprised by this one). And I really, really hope we get to see Red Crow and Carol talk about it before the title comes to a close, because I just think Jason Aaron is going to write that scene into space.
Trail's End is shaping up to be one hell of a closing arc. And I didn't even talk about how it's probably one of the top ten covers Jock's ever done for the series, or how brutal Catcher gets to be one last time before it all comes to a close, or how R.M. Guera does such a great job decaying Diesel's body you feel like you're watching Bones. Only three to go, so Aaron and Guera better already have their next project locked and loaded.
8.5/10
Secret Avengers #24: I am having a hard time pinning down my feelings about this one. I have been enjoying this story, by-and-large, but under Rick Remender's pen, Secret Avengers has started to feel kind of like Justice League Dark, where the biggest common theme from issue to issue is how much everyone dislikes and fights with each other on the team. Now, there is certainly more of a sense in Secret Avengers that, eventually, some of this griping and sniping will resolve. Hawkeye obviously wishes he was doing better, Beast has been trying to keep the peace, etc. but for now I find it sort of grating. Captain Britain and The Torch bicker, Hawkeye apologizes to Beast for last month's bickering, and Flash Thompson just complains out loud to himself for a page. Enough.
However, Gabriel Hardman could not be a better fit for the title right now, I think in some ways because of all the in-fighting and negativity. His lines are rough but always clear, his characters so expressive even when they're not as detailed, and it fits the somewhat gritty and uneven feeling of the team. And he makes Father quite the imposing villain, while still letting some of the humor of a room full of arguing robots come through.
Still, mostly just more losing to Adaptoids and failing to get along for the Secret Avengers this issue. Same as last issue.
6.0/10
Spaceman #5: Coming right in the middle of this nine-issue series, Spaceman #5 is a bit of a slow burn. Each of the various seeds Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso planted in the previous four issues continues to grow. Orson and Tara get one step closer to getting her home once they are spotted by, and then spot, a camera crew from her show. The story of Orson's past on his space mission takes a fatal and, no doubt, highly significant turn. And by the end of the issue, Orson's past gets incrementally closer to catching up with him in the present. Steady as she goes with this story, as well as Risso's art. What can be said that hasn't been said already? He captures the gloom of the world so perfectly, while both Orson and Tara stand out as more innocent and hopeful figures. Even when compared to the other "spaceman" on the last page (whose name escapes me at the moment), Orson is far less imposing or hard in his appearance. It keeps us on his side, even as we learn that his greed led to another's death, or we wonder whether he's the best guardian for Tara at the moment. He may not be, but it's clear he's doing his personal best, and that's good enough (for me, anyway).
7.5/10
Teen Titans #7: Teen Titans is such an insane romp of a comic book, sometimes it zips by so fast it barely leaves an impression. I mean, what even happens this month? The Titans win and win and win but don't get anywhere, argue with each other a bit (Red Robin is a total dick in this issue), and then get attacked by a scary-looking villain. Not the first scary-looking villain to attack them, mind you. Not even the scariest-looking, which sort of detracts from the ending. And something so weird happens to Kid Flash for like half a page that I am guessing will be important down the line.
It wasn't bad, per se, just a bit fluffy. I will say that I found myself actively cheering on Solstice when she was scolding Red Robin, who, again, was such an ass about it. He's really not that great a leader, or even, in this issue, that great a hero. But the rest of his team are such a lively and interesting-looking group, that even when it's not doing much, Teen Titans continues to entertain from cover to cover.
6.5/10
Uncanny X-Force #23: The Otherworld story finally ends, and not a moment too soon. Man, so much about this was a disappointment. Tocchini's art, as has been pointed out elsewhere, is all wrong here. Uncanny X-Force has, to my mind, always been its best when the art has been as down-to-earth as possible. It is a team of grim characters doing dirty work, even when they are battling goat monks from the future and skinless judges, and they need an artist who can show it. Having such blurred and uneven art is a huge drawback.
The story, alas, was only the tiniest bit better. I did like the very, very end of the issue, where Betsy gets to put each of her brothers in their respective places, because Psylocke is a badass and should get to act like one as much as possible. But Mr. Skinless or Weapon III or whatever he's called just runs off, and the reveal about the goat monk's identity, while semi-interesting, was not all that inventive and made the bulk of the fighting in the last few issues seem like a lot of wasted time.
Also, the whole trial of Fantomex thing hasn't really been resolved, has it? I mean, the plan was to erase the guy from existence, and that did not happen. Is the Captain Britain Corps NOT going to come after him again for murdering kid Apocalypse? And if not, why not? And if they are going to come after him again...lame. I don't want to see those British pricks in Uncanny X-Force ever again!
EVER!
4.5/10
Avengers vs. X-Men #0: This is a pretty solid zero issue. Inasmuch as zero issues have any purpose whatsoever (but that's an argument for another time). But if you are going to do a non-essential opening chapter for your story, AvX #0 is the way to do so. Could I have skipped this entirely? You bet. Was it worth the time and money? Sure.
Brian Michael Bendis and Jason Aaron each deliver a clear, complex, and honest character piece. Bendis begins to reintroduce the Scarlet Witch to active superherosim, and in a small amount of space puts Wanda through physical and emotional triumphs and failures. Aaron's Hope story accomplishes a lot of the same things, although in that case it is mostly Hope's triumphs and Scott's failures. We get to see Hope finally confront the issue of the Phoenix, which feels like it's sort of a long time coming. Obviously Marvel has been building up to it by design, but the girl ain't no fool. It makes sense she would have figured out so much already, and it was nice to have her say so out loud after all this time. Also the Serpent Society! Oh man, I have a soft spot in my heart for those clowns, and watching Hope use all of her tactics (including excessive rage-punching) to defeat such a bizarre and ridiculous group of villains was as entertaining as it was unsettling. Frank Cho's art was also solid and consistent. Fun action scenes that had villains which played to his strengths, and good, clear, expressive emotions in the angry-man-talks-sternly-at-woman scenes.
It loses some points because...nothing all that significant happened. No Avengers fought any X-Men. It was issue zero, and it had zero importance. But a fun prologue nonetheless.
6.5/10
Daredevil #10: Daredevil against Mole Man is a pretty interesting match up. Mole Man's natural dimwittedness means that, except for arguably the first page or two, he never puts Daredevil in any real danger, but he's also smart enough to point out that the whole fight is useless because Daredevil has nothing to gain. And it's true. As the narrative captions so kindly point out to us, everybody loses this time. Mole Man may not be a threat to Daredevil, but he's already done all the damage he could do with his little grave-robbing scheme to Matt Murdock. And it is, appropriately, Murdock whose name is attached to the construction of the replacement headstones, granting him the only real victory for any of the characters. A thoroughly satisfying ending to this two-parter.
Then there's the weird part at the very end where...I guess maybe he's going crazy? Or he's overly paranoid? Something's up. Of course, The Omega Effect is next, as we already know, so his paranoia is probably not misplaced. But it was a sort of jarring ending to what was otherwise another great issue from Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera.
8.5/10
Justice League Dark #7: Blech. If they hadn't already announced Lemire taking over, I'd be dropping this title for good as of this week. I have a theory that Peter Milligan never wanted this job or, at any rate, once he got it he regretted the decision for some reason. Because we know damn well he is capable of writing a John Constantine with actual charm and some sliver of likability, but every month in this book all Constantine does it bitch. Bitch bitch bitch. At Xanadu and, sometimes, Deadman, who isn't even bold enough to bitch back. Instead, all he does is whine (yes, there is a difference, but they are equally obnoxious and wrong for these characters). As if that wasn't enough, Shade's only role this month was to be confused and scared. Xanadu, too, until she abandons everybody. Also Zatanna, basically, although she may not have been so scared. A few vampires did get killed, but mostly Xanadu barked orders and the others begrudgingly obeyed. Like always. I get it, Milligan, you can't think of one damn reason this group would be formed, so you just have a magic lady force them together. Stop pointing it out and just tell me a story.
The art was serviceable, but also felt a little bit rushed or...cramped, like maybe Admira Wijaya and/or Daniel Sampere might have liked an extra page or two. A lot of M-Vest activity happened off-panel, and we jumped around from Bat-people back to the main cast in a rapid, disorienting, unsatisfying way.
Basically, boo.
3.0/10
Moon Knight #11: I will be so sad to lose this title next month. The craziest hero in the game, that's the angle Marc Spector has chosen for himself, and it is working on every level. Alex Maleev draws the shit out of what is mostly just one great and sometimes humorous fight scene between Moon Knight, Madame Masque, and Agent Buck Lime over control of, you guessed it, the head of Ultron. And Bendis continues to develop the interesting partnership between Moon Knight and Buck, as well as hanging onto the Echo and Nefaria threads, all of which makes for the perfect push to what will be the inevitable final showdown in issue 12. Definitely the best title to get the axe from Marvel all year.
8.0/10
Morning Glories #17: Jade and Ike talk to each other. End of plot summary.
This was not a bad issue. This was not an impressive issue. There was some insight given into the minds of both characters, but I would argue that, for the most part, it's not a lot we didn't already know. Jade has some secret knowledge, and it is connected to her killing herself. Yep, knew that. Ike is a prick, but only sort of, because really he's kind of nice and sad and smart and understanding. Duh. Other than Jade's mom's death, which only raises more questions than it answers, nothing was really to be gained from this issue. And that, I think, is a problem with Morning Glories in general. Nick Spencer loves to throw weird and/or unexpected shit at us (see the last page of this issue) and then just makes us steep in it without any conclusive payoff. Example: Jade finally asks out loud what the school is, vaguely says it might be a test, and then...nothing. End of topic. Not helpful.
My interest shrinks with this title more and more. But Joe Eisma always brings his A-game. His A-game is not necessarily dazzling, but it's always right there, looking the same and therefore creating a real sense of consistency to the world of the book. And that is as true here as always.
5.0/10
Scalped #57: Another title which, when it ends, will be every so dearly missed. I must say, I honestly thought we'd be done with all the Diesel stuff. I guess maybe that was stupid of me, but if so I'm glad to be stupid, because I really enjoyed the surprise of it coming back into play here, at the end of everything, in such an enormous way. Diesel's murder (and the whole story surrounding it) was such a key part of the greater arc of Dash's character, really getting him in with Red Crow in a way he hadn't quite accomplished before that, so it seems fitting it would be the thing that might undo Dash in the end.
Of course, it's all really because of Carol's abortion, which is another plotline I wasn't sure we'd ever hear from again (although I was less surprised by this one). And I really, really hope we get to see Red Crow and Carol talk about it before the title comes to a close, because I just think Jason Aaron is going to write that scene into space.
Trail's End is shaping up to be one hell of a closing arc. And I didn't even talk about how it's probably one of the top ten covers Jock's ever done for the series, or how brutal Catcher gets to be one last time before it all comes to a close, or how R.M. Guera does such a great job decaying Diesel's body you feel like you're watching Bones. Only three to go, so Aaron and Guera better already have their next project locked and loaded.
8.5/10
Secret Avengers #24: I am having a hard time pinning down my feelings about this one. I have been enjoying this story, by-and-large, but under Rick Remender's pen, Secret Avengers has started to feel kind of like Justice League Dark, where the biggest common theme from issue to issue is how much everyone dislikes and fights with each other on the team. Now, there is certainly more of a sense in Secret Avengers that, eventually, some of this griping and sniping will resolve. Hawkeye obviously wishes he was doing better, Beast has been trying to keep the peace, etc. but for now I find it sort of grating. Captain Britain and The Torch bicker, Hawkeye apologizes to Beast for last month's bickering, and Flash Thompson just complains out loud to himself for a page. Enough.
However, Gabriel Hardman could not be a better fit for the title right now, I think in some ways because of all the in-fighting and negativity. His lines are rough but always clear, his characters so expressive even when they're not as detailed, and it fits the somewhat gritty and uneven feeling of the team. And he makes Father quite the imposing villain, while still letting some of the humor of a room full of arguing robots come through.
Still, mostly just more losing to Adaptoids and failing to get along for the Secret Avengers this issue. Same as last issue.
6.0/10
Spaceman #5: Coming right in the middle of this nine-issue series, Spaceman #5 is a bit of a slow burn. Each of the various seeds Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso planted in the previous four issues continues to grow. Orson and Tara get one step closer to getting her home once they are spotted by, and then spot, a camera crew from her show. The story of Orson's past on his space mission takes a fatal and, no doubt, highly significant turn. And by the end of the issue, Orson's past gets incrementally closer to catching up with him in the present. Steady as she goes with this story, as well as Risso's art. What can be said that hasn't been said already? He captures the gloom of the world so perfectly, while both Orson and Tara stand out as more innocent and hopeful figures. Even when compared to the other "spaceman" on the last page (whose name escapes me at the moment), Orson is far less imposing or hard in his appearance. It keeps us on his side, even as we learn that his greed led to another's death, or we wonder whether he's the best guardian for Tara at the moment. He may not be, but it's clear he's doing his personal best, and that's good enough (for me, anyway).
7.5/10
Teen Titans #7: Teen Titans is such an insane romp of a comic book, sometimes it zips by so fast it barely leaves an impression. I mean, what even happens this month? The Titans win and win and win but don't get anywhere, argue with each other a bit (Red Robin is a total dick in this issue), and then get attacked by a scary-looking villain. Not the first scary-looking villain to attack them, mind you. Not even the scariest-looking, which sort of detracts from the ending. And something so weird happens to Kid Flash for like half a page that I am guessing will be important down the line.
It wasn't bad, per se, just a bit fluffy. I will say that I found myself actively cheering on Solstice when she was scolding Red Robin, who, again, was such an ass about it. He's really not that great a leader, or even, in this issue, that great a hero. But the rest of his team are such a lively and interesting-looking group, that even when it's not doing much, Teen Titans continues to entertain from cover to cover.
6.5/10
Uncanny X-Force #23: The Otherworld story finally ends, and not a moment too soon. Man, so much about this was a disappointment. Tocchini's art, as has been pointed out elsewhere, is all wrong here. Uncanny X-Force has, to my mind, always been its best when the art has been as down-to-earth as possible. It is a team of grim characters doing dirty work, even when they are battling goat monks from the future and skinless judges, and they need an artist who can show it. Having such blurred and uneven art is a huge drawback.
The story, alas, was only the tiniest bit better. I did like the very, very end of the issue, where Betsy gets to put each of her brothers in their respective places, because Psylocke is a badass and should get to act like one as much as possible. But Mr. Skinless or Weapon III or whatever he's called just runs off, and the reveal about the goat monk's identity, while semi-interesting, was not all that inventive and made the bulk of the fighting in the last few issues seem like a lot of wasted time.
Also, the whole trial of Fantomex thing hasn't really been resolved, has it? I mean, the plan was to erase the guy from existence, and that did not happen. Is the Captain Britain Corps NOT going to come after him again for murdering kid Apocalypse? And if not, why not? And if they are going to come after him again...lame. I don't want to see those British pricks in Uncanny X-Force ever again!
EVER!
4.5/10
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