My new Intuos3 finally arrived and it’s massive. I’m actually shocked by how large it is. It’s the size of a 19″ widescreen monitor! Sadly, it doesn’t have a built-in monitor, because those are like $2000, but nonetheless, it’s lovely.
Now I just gotta get used to the damned thing. My previous one had half as many levels of pressure, and was only a quarter of the size.
Anyway, here’s a doodle, with a Photochopped backgroun thrown in:
This is a pretty cool new feature they’ve just recently added. I’d embed a video to show it off, but it doesn’t work in embeds right now, so you gotta follow a link, like a sucker.
Captain America #40 - Cap vs. Cap!
As usual, Brubaker leaves me angry and wanting more! This is a great issue. The promised knock-down, drag-out brawl between 50s Cap and new Cap takes place, and they really go at it. Fight delivers! Meanwhile, at evil HQ, Sharon is trying to get free and has a fight with Sin.
This issue is an action beat in the ongoing Captain America serial, and Epting’s back to give it his best. Good stuff, and, yes, another cliffhanger. Damn Brubaker.
Mighty Avengers #16
It’s funny: I almost thought I’d bought this book before, but I realized it was just that I’d recently read the first issues of New Avengers, so the Electro conversation that starts it was so fresh in my mind. Elektra hires Electro. We finally know.
It’s a decent issue. It’s mostly action, with a big Elektra fight, and more of the Secret Invasion-patented “side issue fill in”. We find out the whens and hows of Skrullektra.
Like the previous ones, it’s enjoyable, but not really necessary to the main storyline.
Moon Knight #20
This one’s a giant-sized issue, also containing the two issues of Werewolf by Night where Moon Knight debuted. Those books are from 1975, so set your expectations to lots of expository dialogue and old-school art. To be honest, I got tired of reading after the first issue. I’ll finish it later.
The actual issue of Moon Knight is pretty good. It’s a flashback from 1994, so it really has nothing at all to do with the current Moon Knight status quo, and is basically just a one-off featuring Werewolf by Night as a kind of tribute to Moon Knight’s debut thirty-three years ago. All that aside, it’s actually a decent story, if pointless overall.
I’ve got a nice little queue of art going, and it’s keeping my free hours busy. It’s pretty cool, really. As always, my latest pics are available under the Mission link to the left, or at my DeviantArt site, but ‘cos I’m nice, here’s a few:
Annular Eclipse
GREEN ARROW AND BLACK CANARY #10
It’s still awesome. Batman’s awesome. Green Arrow’s awesome. Black Canary’s awesome. Even Plastic Man’s awesome. The whole thing’s basically one long fight scene, Team Arrow vs. “The League of Assassins”, but it’s a good fight that does what really good comic fights do: it advances plot and shows off the characters involved. This isn’t just people knocking heads; it’s people knocking heads in ways that show you who they are, including Batman using a number of sneaky moves and planning, and Canary showing that she’s more than capable of being a threat.
Good stuff.
SECRET INVASION #4
I’m still diggin’ this. Sure, it’s not as high-brow as Final Crisis is (trying to be), but it’s got enough twists and turns so that it’s keeping my interest and not just dealing out brawls for the sake of brawls.
This issue follows four basic plotlines:
1) Nick Fury and his Howlin’ Commandos
2) The Skrull armada (and Agent Brand floating outside), who’ve got Reed Richards stretched out like a bedsheet
3) our heroes in the Savage Land pulling themselves back together
4) The return of… well, that would be telling, right?
Fury’s a real battlefield general, making the hard decisions and making his new Commandos into a real threat, and I’m dying to see what he’s got planned next.
Oh, and the two heroes making their entrance into the fray at the end? I can hardly wait.
ETERNALS #2
To be honest, I mostly buy this for the art. I like Daniel Acuña’s art. Which is funny, given that I bought the previous series for the exact opposite reason. Surprisingly, I like the writing in this one better than Gaiman’s. This one just feels more streamlined.
Anyway, it continues from the first issue, with the Eternals and the bad Eternals racing to find the protoform Transformers… I mean Eternals, in order to recruit them to their side. We also get more backstory about what the whole Eternal/Deviant thing is about, most of which kinda went over my head, but I think is related to Annihilation.
I like it well enough to keep reading.
JSA #17
This book is still better than JLA’s been, and there’s no “action” in the entire thing! Gog’s making good on his promises, and the JLA comes to check in with the JSA. All in all, this is really just more setup for whatever inevitable twist is to come, but it’s an effective setup, because I’m kind of interested in just seeing what miracles Gog can accomplish, even if I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a dark turn to come.
I think this is just about my favourite DC book right now. The characters are interesting and have little quirks about them that the JLA seems to lack. Even the Golden Agers seem more interesting than their modern counterparts have been written lately. It’s good to see substance winning out over flash. (Not THE Flash.)
My only complaint about this book is that I noticed a typo and a case of aural homonymism. (At one point, Starman mentions someone’s “repetoire” with someone else; the word should’ve been rapport. And, no, it wasn’t due to his craziness.)
Oh well. Just more proof that even the best writers need good editors!
DETECTIVE COMICS #846
I already like this more than the actual Grant Morrison RIP. Dini builds a character portrait of Hush that is somehow believable, despite the fact that he’s constantly mutilating himself just to sharpen his focus. He also introduces a character that recites Aesop’s fables and has him act as counterpoint to Hush.
I’m not sure why this is all listed as an RIP tie-in, as the events of that book are only mentioned in passing and Batman is clearly not in the super-retarded Zur Enh Arrr place he is in Morrison’s book. If anything, this seems to take place before the events of RIP really started up. Bruce and Jez Jet (I still hate that name) are an item, but she’s not around and Bruce isn’t drugged up and crazy.
That’s probably why I like it.
BATMAN #678 RIP
What the fudge, Grant Morrison? Someone get the man an editor, now. After a confusing first issue, and a less confusing, but overly-suspension-of-disbelief-demanding second issue, we’ve got this. Apparently, Batman has been given drugs and is left in the street in regular clothes to, what? Break his will? Chip at his sanity? Destroy the Dark Knight? I dunno.
I had a hard time with the art, too. Robin looks like he’s 20, so I thought he was young Bruce. I guess Tim’s following leads and trying to track Bruce down. He asks Nightwing for help, but that doesn’t seem to work out and something happens with Dick. By the end of it, the Black Hand have “won” and it looks like 3/4s of the Bat-team (including Alfred) are down and out, and some crazy crap happens and I’m just left scratching my head.
What the hell. This thing is totally disjointed and utterly unintelligible if you’ve not read the preceding issues and probably all the weird old Batman issues that he’s referencing, and I honestly think I hate Grant Morrison a little bit right now.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #16
It’s pretty good, but the “Return of Fray!” thing is almost a lie. This is a bridge issue between the previous arc and this arc, and it unfortunately feels like a bridge issue. Things happen, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot of stuff that I felt could’ve been replaced with the Indiana Jones red line and dot on a map. It’s worth picking up, if only to see what happens to Dawn, and to find out how Buffy ends up meeting Fray.
AVENGERS INVADERS #3 (OF 12)
This one keeps pace with the previous issues. Namor has a showdown with himself, and Bucky continues his plan to break Cap out of their cells on the SHIELD helicarrier. I’d prefer it if they released these as 6 double-sized issues rather than 12 issues, because it feels like relatively little gets accomplished, but the whole thing is interesting enough to keep in reading.
SECRET INVASION FRONT LINE #1 (OF 5) SI
This book isn’t like Civil War Frontline, in that it’s only one story, and focuses solely on Ben Urich. I didn’t read World War Hulk Frontline, so I don’t know if that was like this, too. It’s a decent enough read, giving more of the man on the street view of the big invasion event, and setting up a few tangentially-related stories that I assume will play out against the back drop of the Skrull Invasion. Definitely not necessary to those only interested in the main SI plot.
ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #10
I’ve been of mixed opinions of the After the Fall series. I feel like they haven’t really gotten back to the feel of the series as well as the Buffy comics have, but I also recognize that that’s kind of the point, too. It’s not the same. They’re in hell, Gunn’s a vampire, Angel’s not, and Wesley’s dead. Oh, and they have a dragon. The story finally picks up after the battle against hell’s lords, and I suddenly realize that I missed issue 9. Nonetheless, I soldier on.
As best as I can tell, Lorne’s now the master of Hell.A., and Angel’s determined to do what he always does: help people that need it, despite no longer being vampire strong, and using magic to cover this fact up. Anyway, the whole thing twists and turns like a Whedon story should, and offers some snappy dialogue, like a Whedon story should, and the end of the book makes me want to keep picking up the series.
Wow, this one comes as a surprise. People that know me no doubt realize that I didn’t hold Turner’s work in very high regard (I often referred to him as this era’s Rob Liefeld), but this news comes as a complete shock:
CBR - Michael Turner Passes Away at 37
We here at Comic Book Resources are very sad to report that artist Michael Turner has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 37. Aspen Comics’ Vince Hernandez told CBR News Saturday morning that Turner passed away Friday night at 10:42 Pacific Time at Santa Monica Hospital in Calfiornia. The news spread quickly at Wizard World Chicago, during what would have otherwise been a riotous night at the hotel bar, the mood suddenly turned somber with remembrances of Turner from friends and acquaintances. A minute of silence will be observed during Wizard World Chicago Saturday afternoon.
Rest in peace, Mr. Turner.
Lots of books this week! Reviews added as I finish reading. First up:
New Avengers #42 / Mighty Avengers #15
I’m basically treating these as one book, since they’re both really just filling in the backstory of the Secret Invasion. NA deals with Spider-Woman, and MA with Hank Pym.
Like I’ve said before: I really like these SI fill-in issues. I know some people are sceptical and think Bendis is just making shit up as he goes along, but even if that’s the case, all these events tie together very very well, and are making for an interesting story.
NA is good, and pinpoints when Spider-Woman is replaced (in a panel that should be very familiar to red-blooded, women-loving fans), though it is hazy on exactly what happened to Jessica Drew afterwards. I’m particularly interested in seeing how the Skrulls handled House of M.
MA is less interesting than NA, but I suspect that’s because Hank Pym isn’t very interesting in and of himself. Basically, we see how he was replaced, though the when of it is less clear than Spider-Woman’s, as well as how Skrull Pym shares human Pym’s obvious inferiority complex. (C’mon, GIANT MAN? Dude’s overcompensating!)
Anyway, they’re both interesting, though not really necessary to the overall Secret Invasion storyline. I prefer NA to the MA, but, again, that’s ‘cos Pym isn’t really all that interesting. Both stories show you the very strange process that the Skrulls undergo in order to become undetectable versions of their targets, though neither shows what becomes of the victim.
I wonder if we’ll find a Skrull prison at some point in SI, or if everyone who has been replaced is (comic book) dead?
Secret Invasion: Runaways / Young Avengers #1
The two teams get thrust into one book where they don’t actually meet up, save for Xavin and Hulkling. It’s pretty much the story from Secret Invasion, where we saw the YA get their asses handed to them by the Skrull invaders, with a little bit tacked on about the Runaways.
It’s pretty good, but needs to diverge from the main book a little more to be worthwhile. I wish I’d been following Whedon’s Runaways run a little closer.
Final Crisis #2
I still don’t know what’s going on. Half the book reads like a Morrison-esque version of [i]Kingdom Come[/i], while the rest seems like a regular comic book. There’s no explanation of who anybody is, and I actually forgot about an entire subplot from the first book.
In short: more of Morrison’s stream-of-consciousness writing, with an uncertain future to come.
Iron Fist #16
God, I was dreading this issue all month, and now that it’s arrived, I see it’s still Fraction and Aja, and it’s glorious. It’s actually quite great, and confirms for me that Fraction wasn’t the script monkey for Brubaker. (Protip: check Brubaker out in Times Square when Danny’s talking to Luke!)
It’s great, it’s grand, it’s glorious, and has a few laugh-out-loud dialogue bits for me. (”Yay, nunchuks! Yay, math!”)
Next month is the beginning of the new team (Duane Swierczynski, whom I’ve never heard of, is writing), and I dread it, especially after the awesome set up that Fraction gives us and Danny. By all that’s good and holy, I hope they don’t screw it up.
Mythos: Captain America
This books is great. I’m quite impressed with Paul Jenkins. He takes a simple retelling of Cap’s origins and (unlike the original version) paints a picture of the 98 pound weakling Steve Rogers that’s believable not only as a frail child of the depression, but also as the seed of the heroic and morally upright Captain America.
We see him at his sick mother’s bedside, drawing her pictures to raise her spirits, and expressing a desire to simply forget his life and its hardships. Her reply is simple, and really sums his adult self up: “Always be proud of who you are and where you came from. Never forget the people who helped you get to where you’re going.” From there, the book continues through the administration of the super-soldier serum up to him being rediscovered in present times, and the whole thing caps off in a moment that (painfully) illustrates the depth of the man’s commitment to his country, his comrades, and shows just how much of a man out of his own time he feels. The whole thing is fantastically sentimental and emotional.
On top of that, the art is gorgeous. Paola Rivera paints the book in a realistic and almost Rockwellian style that well fits the era.
Apparently Mythos is a series of one-shots in this style, but I don’t recall having seen any of them before. Based on this book, I think I’ll look them up.
Captain America #39
What can I say that I don’t say every month? It’s, again, a great pulpy, spygames, noirish yarn that ends like an old serial with a big tease leaving me wanting more. more! MORE!
The Red Skull-backed “Third Wing” political movement is picking up support with the American public, and all it needs is a boost to get it going like a steam train. So, how about an endorsement from a newly-resurrected Captain America? Meanwhile, Sharon’s predicament is not forgotten, and Cap (Bucky) is on the trail of the Third Wing.
We know the whole arc is going to culminate with a big rumble between the Caps, and we’ll quite probably see an eventual hard-fought and well-earned acceptance of Bucky by the American people, but I’m really eager to see it get there and the “next episode” stuff is totally making me crazy with anticipation!