Whatcha Readin'? 7/2/05

[jkcarrier]

Lots of capsule reviews behind the cut:

FREEDOM FORCE #6: This miniseries has been a mixed bag, but it ends on a strong note. Bookending the story with Man-Bot's origin on one side and his eventual fate on the other made for a tighter focus, plot and theme-wise. The big showdown with Timemaster was a special treat for fans of the game, since all the characters who got skipped over in previous issues turn up for cameos here. Having Supercollider be the one to defeat Timemaster made me smile, since I have a soft spot for the big lug. The backup story is good too -- Robb Waters works that Kirby mojo better than Scioli, IMHO.

"Time for a beatin'!"

VIMANARAMA #3: You gotta love a story that starts off with a suicide, and ends up being both life-affirming and hilarious. Ali, Sofia, and co. maintain their essential humanity in the midst of all these gods and aliens mixing it up, and come out on top. Phillip Bond's work is predictably terrific. I had a blast with this.

"Just because you're dead, doesn't mean you have to be so morbid all the time."

THIEVES & KINGS #46: Man, my head is reeling from all these revelations, reincarnations, and reversals of fortune. But even when I lose the thread of the plot (easy to do, with the sporadic publishing schedule), Oakley's vivid characters manage to carry me along on the sheer strength of their personalities. Heath is awesome. Soracia is awesome. Basil the cat is double awesome with a cherry on top. These are just interesting folks to hang out with.

"The pure are always tested harder than anybody else."

DARK DETECTIVE #3-4: Damn, it's good to have the real Batman back. Smart, compassionate, supremely competent but not infallible, supremely dedicated but not psychotic. The lack of histrionics in his hook-up with Silver (and her break-up with her fiancee) really pleases me -- imagine, comic book characters that act like mature adults! And look, there's even a cameo by Dr. Double X, one of my all-time favorite grade-b Bat-villains... it's like Englehart was writing this just for me. Of course, it's going to end badly for our two lovers (and Bats will go back to being a sullen thug under lesser writers), but I'm sure enjoying it while it lasts.

"I'm the Batman's girlfriend. That's completely bizarre."

DESOLATION JONES #1: Cranky old hermit, complaining about his aches and pains? Check. Hot young goth groupie following him around? Check. Rambling monologues about "futurism" and bizarre sex? Check. Hey, it's "Bad Signal, the Comic"! (no doubt he'll work in something about podcasting before it's over). Mary Sues don't get much more blatant than this, and yet it's also one of the funniest, cleverest things I've read in a while. But then, I always find Bad Signal to be hilarious as well, and can't understand why it seems to inspire such white-hot loathing in people (who nonetheless can't bring themselves to unsubscribe). After toiling away in the Promethea salt mines, J.H. Williams is clearly having a blast drawing a story with absolutely no redeeming social value whatsoever.

"Jones, Jones. Everything goes better with bukkake."

ZATANNA #2: Nice to see Zee pull herself out of her funk and take charge of the situation. The dialogue between her, Cassandra, and Misty is priceless. Sook's art is great, and this is overall just a really solid, entertaining issue.

"Is this the Golden Age Shapeless One, or some guy you've made up?"

KLARION #2: I didn't enjoy this quite as much as Zatanna -- it's paced a bit slow, and the tie-ins to the other 7 Soldiers books are more blatant and intrusive. But it's still pretty interesting, and I really like the character of Klarion: He comes across as this babe in the woods, but then reveals that he has a real vicious streak. I look forward to seeing him cut loose in New York.

"It's just a world, Klarion... you'll soon get bored."

SHINING KNIGHT #3: I'm beginning to think our boy Justin is a bit of a pussy. He sure gets knocked around a lot (having him grab the gun was a nice bit, though). I'm rooting for the evil queen, she's smarter, funnier, and sexier. That opening sequence, with the atom bomb (or whatever the heck it was) going off in Camelot was trippy. There's a lot going on here, it'll be interesting to see if Morrison can deliver sufficient closure with just one issue to go.

"Ask him about time travel and let's get this over with."

POWER PACK #2-4: It's not a patch on Louise Simonson's version, but this was a decent, fun little comic. The Fantastic Four guest-shot in #3 is a definite highlight. The genius of the original PP was that it was about young kids, but it wasn't aimed at them (at least not exclusively). But even this somewhat "dumbed down" version maintains the essential themes of family and responsibility, so hat's off for that.

"Dolly isn't interested, Jack. She's focused on a career. Plus, boys are icky."

CONCRETE - THE HUMAN DILEMMA #6: Yow, that sure didn't end like I thought it would. I figured, if anything, Baby Concrete would conveniently die, while Larry would be stuck dealing with his own bundle of illegitimate joy. Good on Chadwick for not being afraid to shake up his status quo. The back half of the book, where everything's going to hell, is some of his most intense stuff since "Killer Smile". Now I'm really dying to see what happens next, and God only knows when the next miniseries will be. Shit.

"Never expect wisdom from an exhausted man."

CONAN AND THE JEWELS OF GWAHLUR #1-3: I always thought this was one of the more memorable Conan stories, because it's so atypical: light on action, heavy on intrigue and double-crosses (Conan goes through most of the story without ever drawing his sword). There's also a good bit of humor, mostly involving ditzy slave girl Muriela. Craig Russell does it up real nice -- he's not the first artist I would've thought of to draw the brutal, brawny Conan, but as I said this isn't your typical Conan tale. Neat stuff.

"The only good enemy is a headless enemy!"

AGE OF BRONZE #20: Shanower continues to take these remote, ancient fairy tales and infuses them with a genuine humanity that makes them vivid and fresh. You really feel for these characters, caught up in events bigger than themselves, bound up by ancient traditions and obligations. Really powerful.

"Easier to stop a river in flood, Mnemon. This is what he was made for."

GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #3: What is it about good guys fighting each other that's so compelling? We love it so much that we'll accept the flimsiest excuse for it to happen, and these stories definitely qualify. Whedon and Adams' new story is so completely moronic that it makes the reprints look like Shakespeare. Still, it's a kick to see Adams drawing the X-Men again (although he seems to enjoy drawing topless Wolverine just a little too much -- and what's up with that pink shirt?). The two Lee/Kirby reprints were ones I hadn't read before, so that was a treat. Again, the excuses for the X-Men to fight the Avengers and FF are contrived and stupid, but the saving graces here are the clever gimmicks and fun dialogue. I love that giant fishing reel they use to restrain Mr. Fantastic. And how big a motormouth is Beast? He's such a motormouth that Hank Pym and Reed Richards both tell him to shut the fuck up already. Big stupid fun all around.

"Go fly a kite, Curlylocks! You're too square to scare anyone!"

SOLO #5: No surprise, Darwyn Cooke delivers a gorgeous-looking package. I think I enjoyed the bridging sequences, with Slam Bradley in the bar, more than most of the individual stories -- The Question vs. the Terrorists is downright cringe-worthy. And the by-the-numbers remake of a 1970s Batman story kind of left me flat as well. But the two-page "intermission" in the middle is worth the price of admission all by itself. "Roy Raymond, TV Detective" -- snerk. And damn, that man can draw like nobody's business.

"My beloved vacuum cleaner -- is trying to kill me."

STRANGE GIRL #1: Picked this up on a whim, and it's not half bad. A pretty clever (and nicely cynical) twist on the whole "left behind" thing. The art's kind of chaotic, but it has a nice style. But that colorist should be arrested for sabotage -- large sections of the book are nearly unreadable because of the random, nonsensical use of color. The b&w sketches in the back look ten thousand times better.

"You maybe wanna throw up one a dem green shieldy things?"

CITY OF TOMORROW #1: Took me a couple of readings to warm up to this, but it's shaping up to be pretty interesting. It's classic Chaykin; sci-fi as social commentary, abrupt scene changes, flawed hero vs. corrupt government, chicks in lingerie. Definitely worth a look.

"They just unwrapped her like a party favor... and it's a big party."

ASTRO CITY - DARK AGE #1: Does a good job building that sense of impending doom, and then hits you with a pretty wicked cliffhanger. And it's kind of an interesting switch to have the patented Busiek Bystander Point of View Character(TM) be this complete sleazeball with (so far) no redeeming qualities. After the kinda lukewarm "Local Heroes" series, I'm hoping this series will be back up to the usual Astro City standards.

"Their own damn fault for being stupid. I don't owe them anything."

SHAOLIN COWBOY #3: The story (if you can even call it that) is paper-thin, but it's a fun ride. That mule cracks me up, and the bit in the back, with the synopses of mythical back issues, had me rolling. That Darrow is one sick puppy, but 'tis a glorious madness.

"You could'a just ducked. It wasn't like it was napalm."