--> Picking up right from where we left off, same stack of books, still in the same order-
- The Immortal Iron Fist #24 (Marvel): Understand- I am looking for excuses to drop titles. In an ideal world I would spend less money on comics, not more. So when something like a favorite writer leaving a book happens, I expect there to be a dropoff in quality, and the decision to stop following can be made for me. Duane Swierczynski screwed this up for me when he followed the all-star duo of Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction on the writing chores of the kung-fu billionare, and kept it kung-fu-riffic. Swizzy, as I call him when I'm feeling punchy, gets the concept behind this book and has proven that he will point the title in the right direction. And by right direction, I mean all directions, because this book has shown us more Iron Fists dying, more futuristic Iron Fists, and more ancient 'Fists than Bru and Fraction. He's not resting idly with these concepts. Plus, due to the unique nature of this book, and the fact that it depicts so many time periods at once, it is the premiere showcase of Marvel's most diverse artistic talent. I don't usually get into editors when talking about books, because it is a weird line to cross. Basically, if you're not right there, you can't really say one way or the other what impact an editor has had to the direction of a book. But hot damn, Warren Simons has made this book soar. Every artist seems to be working to one-up one another, from David Aja to Russ Heath to Kano here, the consequence has been that his is one of the most consistently beautiful books on the stands. So, y'know, bravo guys.
Top Ten Season Two Special #1 (America’s Best Comics): I have been nothing short of stunned at the stellar work of Cannon’s Zander and Kevin (no relation) with Gene Ha on Season Two. It takes a big set to take on the reigns of an Alan Moore book and live to tell the tale, and I mean like Neil Gaiman on Miracleman level shit. Unlikely as it seems, the series hasn't missed a beat. It is just as committed to developing the characters fully, it honors the form of the police procedural as dutifully, and it doesn't forget to sprinkle the whole thing with easter eggs, like the Harvey Birdman sitting in the front row of this issue's cover. Daxiong takes up art chores on this issue, and if I'm not mistaken will be taking over when Gene Ha leaves after wrapping up the first storyline. He's not Gene Ha, but he does good work in this issue. I really dug this special, because where Top Ten is usually just the police half of the Law and Order formula, this issue dug into the courtroom, showing Girl 2 doing her Ally McBeal impression. Not that I've heard of that show...
- Captain America #48 (Marvel): Characters don't always fulfill their promise. What Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Mike Perkins, Butch Guice, Luke Ross, and Frank D'Armata have done is crafted a 48+ chapter story where the dream that is Captain America lives up to its full scope and promise. First, they made Steve Rogers a greater hero than he had ever been. Then, they presented him with his worst nightmare- a sidekick gone astray- and watched him remain optimistic, and persevere. Then, just as he had redeemed his brother-in-arms, they killed him, and gave us the reverberations. Bucky's ascension to the mantle was natural and well constructed, and as soon as he'd finished up with the mega-threat that was Red Skull and evil businessman Aleksandar Lukin, they dug up even older ghosts, and threw him into the fire with the oldest Marvel character there is, Namor the Sub-Mariner. Now, yes, that is a lot of story, but it is also the epitome of good serial. It grows and escalates, but maintains fidelity to a central theme and purpose. I think that what Brubaker has really done is turn Steve Rogers, the orignal Captain America, into another generation's hero. I don't know if he is meant to be a baby-boomer, or to represent the era even before that, but I do think that James Buchanon, the former Bucky, the former Soviet assassin Winter Soldier, and the current pistol-toting Captain America, is most assuredly the Gen-X Captain America. He's a very alt-rock hero, but maybe I'm just letting his longer hair get to me. In any case, I think that what they've accomplished is to transform Cap I into the America we want to believe in, and Cap II into the one we feel we have to work with.
- The Incredibles #1 (BOOM! Kids): The film The Incredibles was too perfectly made to be anything less than adored by anyone who loved superheroes, so it should come as no great surprise that the characters themselves have made it back to the medium that inspired them. Kudos are deserved to artist Marcio Takara, who manages to stay on model while bringing his own sense to the look. Writer Mark Waid thrives playing with familiar toys, and does a great job mixing spot on character with properly adventurous situations. I don't think there's anybody in comics better suited to this job. Michael Avon Oeming on covers is the cherry on top. If this series is done right, I think that it could be a title that stays on the stands a long time, but worst case scenario, they will end up with a collection that can be nicely packaged with any future DVD box set or model and marked up to high heavens. I really dug how Waid took such a familiar superhero convention (Spoiler alert! Someone is losing his or her powers...), because it is in line with what the movies was- a commentary on superhero convetions.
- Thunderbolts #130 (Marvel): This Magnum Opus crossover with Deadpool is exactly the kind of thing I'm a sucker for, because these characters actually match up with one another in the context of the Marvel U. No one really reports villain-on-villain crime. I did think it was interesting that Bong Dazo filled in on this T-bolts issue, because his style is so out of whack with the usual dark, atmospheric tone of the work. It makes sense, though, when you consider that it is matching the much lighter tone of Paco Diaz on Daniel Way's Deadpool book. I think is most impressive is that Way's Deadpool gimmick, the so-called Pool-O-Vision effect of schizophrenia and hallucinations, is now the going bit for the character. He sort of built a tool, and now everyone uses it to make the character go. Anyway, I mostly bought this issue because I knew someone was gonna get stabbed in it. I doubt it will disappoint.
- Madame Xanadu #9 (Vertigo): Again, full disclosure is that having done interviews with both writer Matt Wagner and artist Amy Reeder Hadley on this series as it was in its developmental stage, I may have a vested interest in seeing it succeed. That said, I can't help but enjoy this book. I think it is such a unique book on the stands for a bunch of reasons. I think that Amy is a special artistic talent, and I would feel guilty citing the femininity of her art as a point of merit if it weren't so true. Comics, and superhero comics in particular, but adventure comics nonetheless, have developed very masculin features. Everything from content to contour has been more angled by males than females, and so Amy's work stands distinct from her peers. I really don't mean to say “well she's great, for a woman artist,” I mean to say that I love the perspective she brings to the conversation at large. If I've hidden feelings of misogyny somewhere in that analysis, rest assured, I would feel wicked guilty about it. Plus Matt is just such a great storyteller, and has tapped magic in a way that is different from any Vertigo project before it. The first meta-story wraps up next issue, marking a really prolonged opening to a series, but I have the feeling that the series will stand that even better as a whole.
- Dark Reign: Elektra #1 of 5 (Marvel): I'm going to come up with a better reason that I bought this book than “There was a sweet Lee Bermejo butt-shot cover.” Hold on... I just need a minute. Wait, n-wait, got it. I bought this because Clay Mann impressed me on his Thor stuff, and Zeb Wells is a guy whose work always lingers in interest to me, even if I've yet to find anything by him I absolutely love. I feel like it's coming, but I haven't gotten it yet. I also might have bought it because I generally trust Marvel editorial, and because given that the character is positioned to have some good visibility spinning out of Secret Invasion, I don't think they would push a project through unless it has something good going for it. One thing's for sure, I didn't buy it for the $3.99 price point, but whatayagonnado.
- Planetary Special Edition #1 (Wildstorm): See? Because this book I did buy for its price point. Marked at only a dollar, this rerelease is part of DC/ Warner Bros post-Watchmen comics' buying promotional campaign. After Watchmen... What's Next? is a tool given to retailers to help them push the material that is most in line with the sophisticated storytelling The Watchmen offers, and proves comics' capable of. Planetary is a great selection, because it is a simple hook, and a goddamn great series. Ellis and Cassady are as good as their professions get, so if you can't get a person to read a $1 copy of their opening shot across the bow, you're either a pretty useless retailer, or literacy is doomed. I bought one of these, I'm pretty sure I will buy more of them in my travels. I might leave one on the subway, I'll probably leave a one or two at different friends' apartments, try to find them all good homes. It couldn't be any cornier, but I do kind of see myself as an ambassador of comics, as I'm sure many readers do, and hope to do more than my own share of promoting the medium and its visibility. A buck here or there to get reluctant readers to try one of my favorite series of all times is so easy I can't imagine not doing it. Beyond that, I can't wait for later this year, when the final chapter of Planetary is released, and the story finally completes.
Hopefully, going forward, I'll be able to give a sentence or two on each title I grab, and this will be a nice sort of by-volume conversation about weekly books. Because lord knows, I'll be bored with all those great titles I just listed off by next week.
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