QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 10-07-09
By John Judy
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #608 by Marc Guggenheim and Luke Ross. In which we re-visit the glory days of Spidey history known as "The Clone Saga." Because who doesn't want to be reminded of that?
ASTONISHING X-MEN #31 by Warren Ellis and Phil Jimenez. It's X-Men versus Aliens! I mean "The Brood." Yes, that's what I meant. Never want to confuse the two. Because they are totally different. Marvel's lawyers assure me this is true.
BATMAN AND ROBIN #5 by Grant Morrison and Philip Tan. The Red Hood and Scarlet think they're so tough. Yeah, a lot of fools in Gotham used to think that…
BATMAN: THE UNSEEN #1 of 5 by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones. Nobody does The Bat quite like these guys. In this one the Dark Knight gets to fight a guy who is turning himself invisible, one layer at a time. "Educational visuals." That's what you should tell your parents, kids. Recommended.
BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2009 HC edited by Charles Burns, Jessica Abel and Matt Madden. The editors read a lot of comics from all over the place. This is what they like this year. Chances are you will too. Recommended.
BLACK PANTHER #9 by Jonathan Maberry and Will Conrad. And now Black Panther is fighting a villain called "Predator." Oh, Marvel…!
BLOOM COUNTY COMPLETE LIBRARY VOL. 1 HC written and drawn by Berkley Breathed. From the days when Reagan was President and the weird looking penguin was funny. Or was it the other way around?
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #29 by Jane Espenson and Georges Jeanty. If you have to fight a demon army without using slayer magic it is a good thing to have guns, missiles and grenades. I think Sun-Tzu said that…
CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD: LAST BATTLE #1 of 6 by Garth Ennis and Oscar Jimenez. The anti-Christ and Jesus team up and Pope Jacko takes over Hell. Soooooo not for kids. Fun stuff though.
CRIMINAL: SINNERS #1 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Tracy Lawless is back, solving a crime only a guy who's not a cop can solve. Highly recommended.
DAREDEVIL #501 by Andy Diggle and Roberto De La Torre. Exploring what it means to be half lawyer, half super-hero and half ninja crime lord. Nevermind the math, just read and enjoy. Recommended.
DOCTOR VOODOO: AVENGER OF THE SUPERNATURAL #1 by Rick Remander and Jefte Palo. Brother Voodoo is now the Sorcerer Supreme of this universe. Somebody once suggested this would be a good idea and Marvel Comics published it. Remember this the next time you're ready to give up on your crazy little dream.
DOOM PATROL #3 by Giffen, DeMatteis, Clark and Maguire. Mento is not a breath mint and Metal Men is not the name of a band. This is what we learn from comics.
EC ARCHIVES: FRONTLINE COMBAT VOL. 1 HC by Various Geniuses. Collecting the first six issues of this masterful series of war comics from 1950-51. Still some of the best ever done. Highly recommended.
FINAL CRISIS: AFTERMATH: RUN #6 of 6 by Matthew Sturges and Fredie E. Williams II. Even though he helped roast the Martian Manhunter like a green marshmallow, I have come to love the Human Flame and hope he will not die forever in this final issue of his mini-series which has read like CRIMINAL if it were written by Mel Brooks. Recommended.
HAUNT #1 by Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane. A man must solve his brother's murder with the help of his ghost! It's sort of like "Captain Triumph Meets Spawn." Hey, anything by Robert Kirkman gets a look.
IRREDEEMABLE #7 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause. So Tony the super-hero was responsible for the sound plague that killed all those people. But was that what pushed him over the edge into villainy? Great stuff by Waid. Recommended.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #4 of 7 by James Robinson and Mauro Cascioli. The series is more than half over but we are getting really close to having the entire team in the same place at the same time. Plus, some of the heroes debate using torture to save lives. Don't they know torture only works for Batman? Who knew Dick Cheney was writing comics?
KILL AUDIO #1 of 6 by Claudio Sanchez and Sheldon Vella. An immortal man seeks his purpose in life amidst a "musical landscape." From the author of AMORY WARS.
MASTERPIECE COMICS HC written and drawn by R. Sikoryak. This one is a true Must-Have if you are a fan of classic literature, classic comics and ingenious mash-ups. This one lives up to its name. Highly, highly recommended.
PLANETARY #27 by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. In April of 1998 the first issue shipped. Eleven years and change later here it is: The final issue, three years after #26. For those of you who wait for the trades, I admire your discipline. Gotta look.
STRANGE TALES #2 of 3 by Various Creators. Indy creators take on the Marvel heroes and there are no lawsuits because Marvel hired them to do it! Featuring variant Red and Green Hulk covers so it must be good! Recommended.
SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #8 of 12 by James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Pete Woods. Supes and the Kryptonians have to face down the Thanagarian Army, all of whom have the power of… Hawkman? Ummm, how to put this delicately? "Much as I respect the power of flying and swinging a mace…?"
TORCH #2 of 8 by Mike Carey, Alex Ross and Patrick Berkenkotter. The Mad Thinker tortures Toro, who is no longer dead, in order to learn more about the original Human Torch who is dead. Mostly. Watch out for low-flying continuity!
WAR HEROES #3 of 6 by Mark Millar and Tony Harris. If distant memory serves this is a comic about super-powered soldiers in the middle east. Hard to say. Issue #2 came out in September of 2008. I imagine Mark Millar sitting in a bar looking at Kevin Smith, muttering "Damn, that guy's fast…"
X-BABIES #1 of 4 by Gregg Schigiel and Jacob Chabot. Let's say the Devil appeared to you one night and said he'd give you a shot at writing or drawing a book for Marvel featuring non-traditional versions of their iconic characters. The catch is you'd have to drink yourself into unconsciousness every night for the rest of your life. At least you can console yourself knowing that two other guys have already taken that deal.
X-MEN VERSUS AGENTS OF ATLAS #1 of 2 by Jeff Parker and Ed McGuinness. For some reason these two groups are engaged in a Big Fight!
"The catch is you'd have to drink yourself into unconsciousness every night for the rest of your life."
ReplyDeleteI don't see a downside to that deal!!