jkcarrier | Whatcha Readin'? 1/25/05

PLASTIC MAN #14: A quick read, but lots of laughs. A note-perfect homage to Tom & Jerry, but with a wicked little twist at the end that even they couldn't have gotten away with. Baker is having too much fun here.
"Every girl should have a pet."

ELRIC #2: The young prince, fighting for the throne, growing into his power, grappling with his destiny, yadda yadda yadda... It would be pretty standard fantasy fare (albeit brilliantly executed), except we know how it ultimately winds up. The young Elric is so appealing and full of promise, you want to yell into the book, "No, you fool! Turn back before it's too late!" But then Arioch turns up, and you know he's completely fucked. That extra layer of tragedy really makes the book (and Simonson delivering some of his best work ever sure don't hurt either!).
"And sweet Melnibone shall know peace and security again."

FREEDOM FORCE #1: On the other hand, familiarity with the source material kind of takes the fun out of this one. It's a straightforward (if highly compressed) adaptation of the video game, which means I've seen it all before. I was hoping it would be more of a "bridge" between the first game and the upcoming sequel, but maybe we'll get some of that later on. It's well-done enough, and it's fun to see all the bits of dialogue, battle-cries, etc. from the game incorporated into the script. Scioli's art is serviceable, but like a lot of Kirby-wannabes, he focuses too much on the surface technique and is kind of weak on the structure.
"Fried bad guy, coming up!"

BLACK WIDOW #5: Yeesh, not another "Everything you thought you knew is wrong!" origin retcon. It's not that big a deal, since Natasha's background was always kind of vague and generic anyway. But making her superhuman kind of detracts from the character for me; I liked her better as a female James Bond, superbly skilled, lots of gadgets, but still more or less human. Ah well, the plot's still twisting and turning in interesting ways, and the bit with Stefanya's hyped-up immune system interfering with her pregnancy was clever.
"You be sure and scream if they show up."

THE GOON #10: I wish this had been out in time for Christmas -- I could have used an antidote for all the fake sentimentalism that always floats around that time of year. In any event, it's the best send-up of Dickens since the movie "Scrooged" -- and unlike that one, it doesn't cop out and get all sentimental at the end. The prose story in back is great wicked fun too.
"I've been beaten, abused, bludgeoned, shot, and now a mentally deficient Tiny Tim just took a crap on my leg!"

JLA CLASSIFIED #3: Pretty much everything I require from a superhero comic: Sharp and funny dialogue, ingenious gimmicks, headlong action, and Gorilla Grodd kicked in the 'nads. A sense of wonder and a sense of morality. Why oh why can't THIS be the template for the DC Universe, instead of Brad Meltzer's Rape-a-palooza? The art is some of the nicest stuff I've seen from McGuinness, and the colorist decided to actually let us see what was going on this issue, so it's all good.
"Vixen. Fleur. Shall we begin negotiations?"

B.P.R.D. THE DEAD #3: Kind of a slow issue... the plot threads from previous issues get put on hold, while we find out more about that old scientist who was hiding out in the basement. Interesting enough, and I'm sure it all ties in somehow, but I find myself agreeing with the zombie captain... shouldn't they be out there killing frogs? The urgency of that, plus Abe's situation, kind of gets diluted with all these digressions. Oh well, still a pretty good read, and great art from Davis.
"I guess those must be some mushrooms."