Rapid Fire Reviews #2 - Releases since May 24th
It’s been a while since I’ve done any reviews, so I’ll randomly pick issues I’ve bought and read since the last time I did this.
While FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #9 mainly focused on the 2211 characters (last and only seen in the Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man special, one I haven’t yet read, nor knew of until the appearance of Hobgoblin 2211), I thought it was largely entertaining, in no small part due to Wieringo’s smooth, fun pencils. It’s nothing to write home about, but at least I didn’t feel like I wasted my money as I did with the Masks two-parter in #6-7. Lots of cute bits, which is par for the course with Peter David, but I appreciate how solidly set in the Marvel Universe his stories are. This title is painfully slow in gathering steam though, which is a bit of a let-down when one considers it combines my two favorite Peters in comics (Parker and David), not to mention that some of my favorite Spidey stories from the days of old were penned by PAD. This was pretty good, but could and should still be better. Still, he's bringing back Mysterio soon, I'm all thrilled about that. Because I'm a sucker, you see ;)
I haven’t yet read INCREDIBLE HULK #95, the final part of the first arc of the Planet Hulk saga, but I just wanted to mention that I simply adore the cover where gladiator-Hulk and the Savage Surfer go at it. Simply smashing, if you pardon the particularly lame pun :) I flipped through it though and I actually rather like the exaggerated art. Seeing a few pages of Marshall Rogers penciling the Surfer is always a treat as well. One of the rare cases where I feel I already got my 3 bucks’ worth just for the cover alone. I do have to wonder whether anyone at Marvel realizes they've exiled the Hulk before, and that it was Doctor Strange who was responsible for it (the same Doctor Strange who got all miffed about the very notion this time around, because Bendis wrote him like a stupid mook in the Illuminati one-shot, bah). Mmm, I liked those exiled Hulk stories, pretty Sal Buscema and Mike Mignola (!) art with wonderful finishes by Gerry Talaoc. Those were the days, but then along came Byrne... (memory lane in comics is one hell of a walk!) Anyway...
When I reviewed the opening chapter of Brubaker’s BOOKS OF DOOM, lo these many moons ago, I was hoping there’d be some interesting twists, rather than just a straight retelling of Lee and Kirby’s original origin tale from the second FF annual, only stretched over 6 monthly issues instead of just the one-shot they created. Even though in the end this added nothing to the mythos, it was at least respectful of the source material, I thought, and crafted well enough. The highlight is Pablo Raimondi’s art, which was great throughout, with some particularly beautiful pages in this final issue (one of my favorites is when Doom dons his awesome cloak for the very first time after taking it off Latveria’s monarch, whom he had just killed with his not-so-bare hands). Seeing that silly little crown on his armored head in the next scene made me laugh out loud though, can’t imagine that was the intended effect. In any case, between Paolo Rivera’s neat-looking covers and the inside art, I can’t complain too much, but for 18 bucks I would’ve liked some more meat. I’m sure it’ll be a nice-looking trade paperback though, worth picking up if you’re craving yourself some Doom, depending on your knowledge of him.
IRON MAN: THE INEVITABLE (which in Tony Stark's case could refer to taxes just as well, heh) was a mini-series that I think got put on the schedule simply because Iron Man fans weren’t getting to see his own ongoing, slow as molasses (and highly overrated) as Avi Granov was, so this was a way to tide them over. Over the course of these past six issues, Joe Casey mucked about with a new Spymaster and an updated Ghost, while bringing back the Living Laser (only to apparently remove him from the scene again at the end, bah), so by today’s standards, it was pretty packed with classic villainy. Interestingly, Frazer Irving provided the art, which is very sparse, which somehow works for this story. You’d expect his esoteric, self-colored work to be more suitable for a spookier environment (as was the case on Seven Soldiers: Klarion), while the highly technological world of Tony Stark asks for more detail, but for me it was highly pleasing to look at. I did feel a certain disconnect, while reading it in monthly instalments, but I’m looking forward to rereading it as a whole, so I’m mildly recommending it, at least for Iron Man fans (of which there might not be many left, I’m figuring...)
Renato Guedes is another one of those self-coloring artists, whose latest work in ACTION COMICS #839 I didn’t like as much as I had hoped. I’ve been more fond of Pete Woods’s work on other parts of this “Up, Up, And Away!” arc. That is not to say I disliked it, because there were several pages which were simply awe-inspiring, but a bunch of others seemed “off” somehow, a bit unfinished in the faces sometimes, I’m not quite sure how to define it. I was particularly happy though with the splash page where Superman looms over the gathered villains and the page where he hovers over Metropolis. Both are inspiring images with quality coloring, so they deserve a mention. Writing-wise, I was dismayed to see Clark returning to the old “faking weakness to go play Superman” routine, but I dare hope that Busiek and Johns are planning for a new twist with Perry finally looking into this strange behavior after a year of Clark being a class act. Luthor’s artefact/weapon isn’t setting my imagination on fire either, but maybe the next chapter will change that. Compared to the kick-off point, this was pretty middling.
Even though “Parental Guidance” is in the middle of the arc as well, things are coming to a nice boil over in the pages of RUNAWAYS #16, with the teen drama escalating (pleasantly so!) and the machinations of the bad guys spelling certain doom for our young heroes (trying to stay vague here so I don’t spoil anything for Sequoia, whose last issue was #8 or so, I think, so she has to catch up as soon as she gets here!) The dialogue is as sparkling as ever and of course the art by Alphona, Yeung and Strain remains unique and compelling thanks to its expressive nature and unusual color palette. It’s a crying shame not more people are reading this, but I’m happy Marvel’s seen fit to already give us 34 issues with hopefully many more to come. The only disappointment is the cover, because I loved Jo Chen’s work and even though I’m generally a fan of Marcos Martin, this just doesn’t really work for the Runaways. When this series was first announced, 3 or 4 years ago now, I scoffed at the notion of a book about kids of supervillains, but after trying out the first issue, I rapidly became a fan of its realistic depiction of super-powered youngsters who are trying to deal with the dangerous, exciting situations they find themselves embroiled in. Pretty much excellent.
Sadly, I cannot say the same for JSA #86, the penultimate issue of the current series. Upon first hearing about Paul Levitz writing a Gentleman Ghost arc, penciled by both Rags Morales and Luke Ross, I was excited. I don’t know if it’s the Ordway guest art that made the weaknesses stand out (I usually like his work though) but this issue felt decidedly weak. Usually any story featuring my favorite oddball DC villain will automatically get a pass, so when I feel let down by said story, something’s seriously amiss. It comes across as the decidedly glorified fill-in story it is, only stretched over five issues instead of the usual one. I’m also less than appreciative of DC’s tendency to ignore its own (recent!) continuity. Geoff Johns, aided and abetted by James Robinson, came up with an origin for Gentleman Jim Craddock’s ghostly existence only a few years ago, which ties him closely to Carter Hall, the once and future Hawkman. My knowledge of that story, which I rather liked, seriously hampers my enjoyment here, Superboy punches be damned. All in all, this series is hobbling to a sad demise, but it won’t stop me from picking up the retitled and renumbered JSA ongoing in a few months. So I guess DC still wins ;)
Speaking of continuity, the new SPECTRE mini-series by Will Pfeifer and Cliff Chiang doesn’t appear to adhere to it either, which irks me to no end, despite the really nice art. Over in the pages of Infinite Crisis, it was clearly shown that the Spectre was already merged with Crispus Allen (and still as hell-bent on unholy vengeance as he ever was). In this opening chapter, he instead gives Allen an offer to think about it for a year, acting all calm and sedate. Editor Matt Idelson should be ashamed of himself for not coordinating this better just so it can fit in the “One Year Later” mold (which isn’t even shown on the cover, so I don’t see why they couldn’t just run with it as set up in IC). This feels painfully generic, with writer and editor alike evidently not having a clear grasp of the character, as there is no reason given for why the Spectre would need or want Allen as a host at all (on the contrary, both recent and older stories have shown the Spectre preferring to be hostless) or why he would lay low for an entire year just so the dead cop can make his long-delayed decision. The art is the redeeming element, as Chiang is highly talented, although once again I’m left wondering why on earth the Wrath of God would wear green boy-shorts. I can dig the cloak and gloves, but the shorts are just silly. Not to mention the goatee! Although I guess it did get established during Ostrander's run that the Spectre takes the appearance (somewhat) of his host body. But still!
I’ve got quite a few more to do, so I’ll just put these up already and tackle the rest later today (hopefully, with me you never know :p)
While FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #9 mainly focused on the 2211 characters (last and only seen in the Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man special, one I haven’t yet read, nor knew of until the appearance of Hobgoblin 2211), I thought it was largely entertaining, in no small part due to Wieringo’s smooth, fun pencils. It’s nothing to write home about, but at least I didn’t feel like I wasted my money as I did with the Masks two-parter in #6-7. Lots of cute bits, which is par for the course with Peter David, but I appreciate how solidly set in the Marvel Universe his stories are. This title is painfully slow in gathering steam though, which is a bit of a let-down when one considers it combines my two favorite Peters in comics (Parker and David), not to mention that some of my favorite Spidey stories from the days of old were penned by PAD. This was pretty good, but could and should still be better. Still, he's bringing back Mysterio soon, I'm all thrilled about that. Because I'm a sucker, you see ;)I haven’t yet read INCREDIBLE HULK #95, the final part of the first arc of the Planet Hulk saga, but I just wanted to mention that I simply adore the cover where gladiator-Hulk and the Savage Surfer go at it. Simply smashing, if you pardon the particularly lame pun :) I flipped through it though and I actually rather like the exaggerated art. Seeing a few pages of Marshall Rogers penciling the Surfer is always a treat as well. One of the rare cases where I feel I already got my 3 bucks’ worth just for the cover alone. I do have to wonder whether anyone at Marvel realizes they've exiled the Hulk before, and that it was Doctor Strange who was responsible for it (the same Doctor Strange who got all miffed about the very notion this time around, because Bendis wrote him like a stupid mook in the Illuminati one-shot, bah). Mmm, I liked those exiled Hulk stories, pretty Sal Buscema and Mike Mignola (!) art with wonderful finishes by Gerry Talaoc. Those were the days, but then along came Byrne... (memory lane in comics is one hell of a walk!) Anyway...When I reviewed the opening chapter of Brubaker’s BOOKS OF DOOM, lo these many moons ago, I was hoping there’d be some interesting twists, rather than just a straight retelling of Lee and Kirby’s original origin tale from the second FF annual, only stretched over 6 monthly issues instead of just the one-shot they created. Even though in the end this added nothing to the mythos, it was at least respectful of the source material, I thought, and crafted well enough. The highlight is Pablo Raimondi’s art, which was great throughout, with some particularly beautiful pages in this final issue (one of my favorites is when Doom dons his awesome cloak for the very first time after taking it off Latveria’s monarch, whom he had just killed with his not-so-bare hands). Seeing that silly little crown on his armored head in the next scene made me laugh out loud though, can’t imagine that was the intended effect. In any case, between Paolo Rivera’s neat-looking covers and the inside art, I can’t complain too much, but for 18 bucks I would’ve liked some more meat. I’m sure it’ll be a nice-looking trade paperback though, worth picking up if you’re craving yourself some Doom, depending on your knowledge of him.IRON MAN: THE INEVITABLE (which in Tony Stark's case could refer to taxes just as well, heh) was a mini-series that I think got put on the schedule simply because Iron Man fans weren’t getting to see his own ongoing, slow as molasses (and highly overrated) as Avi Granov was, so this was a way to tide them over. Over the course of these past six issues, Joe Casey mucked about with a new Spymaster and an updated Ghost, while bringing back the Living Laser (only to apparently remove him from the scene again at the end, bah), so by today’s standards, it was pretty packed with classic villainy. Interestingly, Frazer Irving provided the art, which is very sparse, which somehow works for this story. You’d expect his esoteric, self-colored work to be more suitable for a spookier environment (as was the case on Seven Soldiers: Klarion), while the highly technological world of Tony Stark asks for more detail, but for me it was highly pleasing to look at. I did feel a certain disconnect, while reading it in monthly instalments, but I’m looking forward to rereading it as a whole, so I’m mildly recommending it, at least for Iron Man fans (of which there might not be many left, I’m figuring...)Renato Guedes is another one of those self-coloring artists, whose latest work in ACTION COMICS #839 I didn’t like as much as I had hoped. I’ve been more fond of Pete Woods’s work on other parts of this “Up, Up, And Away!” arc. That is not to say I disliked it, because there were several pages which were simply awe-inspiring, but a bunch of others seemed “off” somehow, a bit unfinished in the faces sometimes, I’m not quite sure how to define it. I was particularly happy though with the splash page where Superman looms over the gathered villains and the page where he hovers over Metropolis. Both are inspiring images with quality coloring, so they deserve a mention. Writing-wise, I was dismayed to see Clark returning to the old “faking weakness to go play Superman” routine, but I dare hope that Busiek and Johns are planning for a new twist with Perry finally looking into this strange behavior after a year of Clark being a class act. Luthor’s artefact/weapon isn’t setting my imagination on fire either, but maybe the next chapter will change that. Compared to the kick-off point, this was pretty middling.Even though “Parental Guidance” is in the middle of the arc as well, things are coming to a nice boil over in the pages of RUNAWAYS #16, with the teen drama escalating (pleasantly so!) and the machinations of the bad guys spelling certain doom for our young heroes (trying to stay vague here so I don’t spoil anything for Sequoia, whose last issue was #8 or so, I think, so she has to catch up as soon as she gets here!) The dialogue is as sparkling as ever and of course the art by Alphona, Yeung and Strain remains unique and compelling thanks to its expressive nature and unusual color palette. It’s a crying shame not more people are reading this, but I’m happy Marvel’s seen fit to already give us 34 issues with hopefully many more to come. The only disappointment is the cover, because I loved Jo Chen’s work and even though I’m generally a fan of Marcos Martin, this just doesn’t really work for the Runaways. When this series was first announced, 3 or 4 years ago now, I scoffed at the notion of a book about kids of supervillains, but after trying out the first issue, I rapidly became a fan of its realistic depiction of super-powered youngsters who are trying to deal with the dangerous, exciting situations they find themselves embroiled in. Pretty much excellent.Sadly, I cannot say the same for JSA #86, the penultimate issue of the current series. Upon first hearing about Paul Levitz writing a Gentleman Ghost arc, penciled by both Rags Morales and Luke Ross, I was excited. I don’t know if it’s the Ordway guest art that made the weaknesses stand out (I usually like his work though) but this issue felt decidedly weak. Usually any story featuring my favorite oddball DC villain will automatically get a pass, so when I feel let down by said story, something’s seriously amiss. It comes across as the decidedly glorified fill-in story it is, only stretched over five issues instead of the usual one. I’m also less than appreciative of DC’s tendency to ignore its own (recent!) continuity. Geoff Johns, aided and abetted by James Robinson, came up with an origin for Gentleman Jim Craddock’s ghostly existence only a few years ago, which ties him closely to Carter Hall, the once and future Hawkman. My knowledge of that story, which I rather liked, seriously hampers my enjoyment here, Superboy punches be damned. All in all, this series is hobbling to a sad demise, but it won’t stop me from picking up the retitled and renumbered JSA ongoing in a few months. So I guess DC still wins ;)Speaking of continuity, the new SPECTRE mini-series by Will Pfeifer and Cliff Chiang doesn’t appear to adhere to it either, which irks me to no end, despite the really nice art. Over in the pages of Infinite Crisis, it was clearly shown that the Spectre was already merged with Crispus Allen (and still as hell-bent on unholy vengeance as he ever was). In this opening chapter, he instead gives Allen an offer to think about it for a year, acting all calm and sedate. Editor Matt Idelson should be ashamed of himself for not coordinating this better just so it can fit in the “One Year Later” mold (which isn’t even shown on the cover, so I don’t see why they couldn’t just run with it as set up in IC). This feels painfully generic, with writer and editor alike evidently not having a clear grasp of the character, as there is no reason given for why the Spectre would need or want Allen as a host at all (on the contrary, both recent and older stories have shown the Spectre preferring to be hostless) or why he would lay low for an entire year just so the dead cop can make his long-delayed decision. The art is the redeeming element, as Chiang is highly talented, although once again I’m left wondering why on earth the Wrath of God would wear green boy-shorts. I can dig the cloak and gloves, but the shorts are just silly. Not to mention the goatee! Although I guess it did get established during Ostrander's run that the Spectre takes the appearance (somewhat) of his host body. But still! I’ve got quite a few more to do, so I’ll just put these up already and tackle the rest later today (hopefully, with me you never know :p)
posted by Peter at 7:07 AM
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