Whatcha Readin'?

[jkcarrier]

An outstanding pile of books this time out...

MICHAEL MOORCOCK'S ELRIC #1: A prequel to the novels, showing Elric's rise to power (and concurrent loss of innocence). The book starts off a bit slow, with all the exposition necessary to set the stage (and even with all that, anyone who hasn't read the books will likely be lost). But once it gets going, it's a wild ride, fantastically illustrated by Simonson. Every page is a stunner, but his renditions of the Phoorn Dragons and the earth-god Grome are especially memorable. Highly recommended, doubly so for Moorcock fans.
"You will pay a price for your lack of mercy, Prince Elric."

DC COMICS PRESENTS HAWKMAN: Bates & Byrne's story is good fun, although being the umpteenth meta-fictional "Julie Schwartz saves the world" story in this series takes away some of the impact (B.O. Schwartz would never have approved of such repetition!). Busiek and Simonson fare much better by delivering a traditional adventure, perfectly evoking the spirit of Fox and Kubert.
"...And there was something about her eyes..."

DC COMICS PRESENTS THE FLASH: An interesting contrast between the two stories -- Loeb uses the cover scene symbolically, while O'Neil goes to hilarious, convoluted lengths to make it work literally. The art's pretty good on both. McGuinness' Flash isn't as lumpy and steroid-swollen as his Superman, thank goodness, although he's still too beefy for my taste. Mahnke's splash page is awful, but after that he settles into a pleasant Kevin Nowlan-ish vibe.
"I think he made more sense when he was saying 'plagel bosh'."

THE RETURN OF ADAM STRANGE #1: I had my doubts about this one... at first it sets itself up to be yet another grim 'n gritty, deconstructionist, hero-dragged-through-the-gutter mess. But then Adam rallies and reminds us why he's the trickiest bastard on two worlds. Kick. Ass. Pascal Ferry's artwork is really nice, although the strange coloring works against it (someone on another forum remarked that the book looked like is was "dipped in root beer"). Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.
"Time to regain the initiative."

ASTRO CITY: A VISITOR'S GUIDE: A very cute short story, lots of background info, and a boatload of nice pin-ups. Bruce Timm's Nightingale & Sunbird drawing (and the hilarious text that goes with it) is probably my favorite.
"This has been the best vacation ever!"

STYX TAXI: A LITTLE TWILIGHT MUSIC: Three short stories operating off the same premise -- a mysterious cab driver gives dead people two hours to put their affairs in order before he conveys them to the afterlife. Sounds a bit goofy, but it leads to some really heartfelt, dramatic tales, and the artwork on all three is excellent. Steven Goldman and co. are definitely talents to keep an eye on.
"I hope this brings lots of luck to you, my baby."

PLASTIC MAN #10-11: Kyle Baker is channelling the soul of all those manic old Warner Bros. cartoons. One brilliant gag after another, all timed perfectly and drawn with style. #11, with Bizarro, mutliple body-swapping, and the hilarious "Superman blows his cool" sequence is the best yet. I hope this runs for a million issues.
"Tell me, Superman. Is every phrase you utter a cliche?"

HERO #21: Lots of different conflicts and agendas flying around in this storyline... looks like we're in for quite a showdown. I like how Robby has to talk Matt "down from the ledge" at the beginning, and then Matt returns the favor later on. Little Andrea is awesome... I hope she manages to get some payback. And holy fuck, that last page... Best. Entrance. Ever.
"You can sit here and tell everyone about the time when you were a kid and you turned into Giant Boy."

THE GOON #9: You never know when Powell is going to go for your funny bone or your heartstrings, but either way he's got a vice-like grip. And while the stories are mostly self-contained, I'm starting to see signs of an ongoing narrative -- the abrupt change in the power structure this issue looks to have long-term consequences. The Goon may be a simple character, but his book works on all kinds of levels.
"There are some pleasures in life you just can't put a price on. Nailing a two-bit hood like McGee good and proper with a bus is one of 'em."

BATMAN: THE ORDER OF BEASTS: Oh, what a blast this was! Campbell mixes old-school Batman with his own quirky sensibilities, and comes up with a winner. Bruce Wayne visits London in the 1930s and runs into a secret society, muliple homicides, and all manner of odd, colorful characters. You can tell Campbell must've had a ball doing this, and if he's going to keep playing around in the mainstream, I hope he gets the chance to do more with Batman.
"And as for you, Mr. Bat, why would we want a bloody yank at our merrie English medieval knees-up?"

DC: THE NEW FRONTIER #6: Wow. Just wow. If I listed everything I loved about this series, I'd just end up reciting the whole thing. The ending doesn't disappoint, as we get the big knock-down, drag-out showdown with The Centre (who isn't Starro after all, but Starro shows up anyway). Brilliant, inspiring, and it shows up drek like "Identity Crisis" for the pandering horseshit that it is. Thank god someone finally remembered how to write a fucking superhero book.
"Let's cook that son of a bitch, Pappy."