So I guess it’s time for Day Two of our quick run-through of very-nearly-stale funnybooks. Tonight, I’ll be looking at super hero comics that aren't owned by the Big Two. Don’t expect that kind of organization every day, though: I just got inspired and stuff…
The Boys #52
by Garth Ennis and John Mcrea
Any in-depth discussion of The Boys at this point in the run (well, any in-depth discussion I’m interested in having, anyway) has to focus deep on plot, and will therefore be riddled with SPOILERS. What follows will be as much an analysis as a review. It might not make a lick of sense if you’re not following the series, and if you are, but you’re not caught up to this most recent issue, you may want to avoid it because… well… as I said: SPOILERS! SPOILERY SPOILERS that SPOIL things! You have been warned…
Showing posts with label Bendis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bendis. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Last Week's Comics Today!
Scarlet #3 by Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev
So sometimes I feel like a tool when I review the latest issue of a book I like and essentially say, “Another triumph!” But, man… Scarlet #3 really is another triumph for the Bendis/Maleev team. Scarlet continues her manipulation of the audience, which is still my favorite aspect of the book. I don’t know how I feel about all the things Scarlet’s up to, and she only confuses the matter, implicating me in her actions by virtue of the entertainment I gain reading about them. She also puts those same skills to use for the first time in-story, on her dead boyfriend Gabriel’s best friend, who she recruits to film the first public step in the revolution: [SPOILER] taking a sniper rifle and putting a bullet through the head of the Chief of Police. This isn’t a random killing, mind you. The Chief is the uncle of the cop who killed Gabriel, and the man responsible for putting that cop back on the street in spite of his drug habit. [/SPOILER]
She’s slowly expanding the ring of responsibility for Gabriel’s death. The question, then, is how far out can she expand that ring before she goes too far? I can’t answer that question just yet, but I’m really looking forward to seeing where I wind up drawing the line.
Grade: A
The Boys #48
by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun
As the action of Hughie and Annie’s oh-so-painful split moves over to the pages of Hughie’s spin-off mini Highland Laddie, The Boys series proper moves on to the new story arc “Proper Preparation and Planning.” We’re heading into the third and final act of the series now, and this arc seems to be about Butcher and the Homelander getting their pieces in place for whatever ultimate play each of them is going to make. And as worrisome as Homelander’s increasingly sociopathic behaviour is, it’s Butcher that’s really got me worried.
So sometimes I feel like a tool when I review the latest issue of a book I like and essentially say, “Another triumph!” But, man… Scarlet #3 really is another triumph for the Bendis/Maleev team. Scarlet continues her manipulation of the audience, which is still my favorite aspect of the book. I don’t know how I feel about all the things Scarlet’s up to, and she only confuses the matter, implicating me in her actions by virtue of the entertainment I gain reading about them. She also puts those same skills to use for the first time in-story, on her dead boyfriend Gabriel’s best friend, who she recruits to film the first public step in the revolution: [SPOILER] taking a sniper rifle and putting a bullet through the head of the Chief of Police. This isn’t a random killing, mind you. The Chief is the uncle of the cop who killed Gabriel, and the man responsible for putting that cop back on the street in spite of his drug habit. [/SPOILER]
She’s slowly expanding the ring of responsibility for Gabriel’s death. The question, then, is how far out can she expand that ring before she goes too far? I can’t answer that question just yet, but I’m really looking forward to seeing where I wind up drawing the line.
Grade: A
The Boys #48
by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun
As the action of Hughie and Annie’s oh-so-painful split moves over to the pages of Hughie’s spin-off mini Highland Laddie, The Boys series proper moves on to the new story arc “Proper Preparation and Planning.” We’re heading into the third and final act of the series now, and this arc seems to be about Butcher and the Homelander getting their pieces in place for whatever ultimate play each of them is going to make. And as worrisome as Homelander’s increasingly sociopathic behaviour is, it’s Butcher that’s really got me worried.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWARE-- Oooo, Powers!
So October was a long spooky month here on the Dork Forty, and the general macabre overtone prevented me from dealing with my usual business of reviewing my weekly funnybook haul. Except for Batman, of course. Because, as I said at the time… BATMAN. But now’s the time to rectify that. I’ve been keeping all my new funnybooks stacked up in a pile awaiting review, and it’s time to plow through it. So, without further ado… FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWARE(once again)GO!!!
Powers #6
by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
Even though Powers won the funnybook battle between itself and Batman, I didn’t feel compelled to break with the Halloween writing to cover it. And why not? Because, unlike Batman, Powers doesn’t call for in-depth analysis every issue. Not that there aren’t matters of character and technique worth discussing; far from it. But Batman’s a literary puzzle, written in such a dense and unforgiving style that each issue needs to be unpacked as you go. Powers is more sprawling, and lends itself to analysis better in the long-form. That more natural flow, with its accompanying reliance on a stronger balance between story and art, is what gave it the nod over Batman. But, you know… The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and all that.
ANYway… This issue begins a new arc of sorts, or at least a new case for Walker and Sunrise.
(And, geez… I know I’ve said this before, but “Enki Sunrise” is such a fantabulously horrible name that I find it difficult to even refer to her with a straight face. I mean, DAMN. Maybe I’ll just stick with “Enki” from now on. Though I can’t say that I like her enough to, you know, be on a first-name basis with the silly bitch. I mean, I LOVED Deena Pilgrim, and I still refer to her mostly as “Pilgrim.” Grr, Bendis! GRR!)
Where was I? Oh, right! New issue, new story arc, new case. I hesitate on the “story arc” label, though, because much of the issue was spent moving the third volume’s various on-going plots and themes forward. How many of you had forgotten that Enki (grr) was spying on Walker for Internal Affairs, for instance? I kind of almost had, and I pride myself on paying attention to things like that. Thinking back to that really awkward conversation she had with Walker back in issue one about partners and trust and all that… Well, it seems a lot less awkward now. She was, in a very unsubtle way, trying to pump Walker for information. Because Enki could give two shits about the sacred bond of cop partners. She only cares about outing corruption and getting to the truth of things. She’s said as much. So good on ya, Bendis! I take back any bad things I had to say about that conversation at the time.
But we were talking about the new issue. In addition to Enki talking to IA, Walker gets a call to go out and use those super powers he’s not supposed to have to stop some horrible alien things from wreaking destruction on the Earth. He takes Calista along, and so we’re reminded, in one fell swoop, that 1. Walker’s got alien-fighting powers, and 2. He’s training Calista to be the new Retro Girl. It’s one hell of a sequence, too. Walker goes down beneath an ancient temple in the Andes to fight these weird-ass alien lamprey-worm thingies and Oeming goes nuts with the giant splashy panels full of giant splashy action. It’s awesome. If Oeming drew Bendis’ Avengers books, I might still be reading them. The centerpiece of the sequence (and of the issue, I suppose) is a really nice two-page spread that gives the whole scene this feeling of Lovecraft filtered through Kirby, Steranko and MC Escher. No, seriously! Check it out:
I suppose this is the point where I should say something about SPOILERS, isn’t it? Or was that back before I ruined the best spread in the book? Sorry. But this thing came out weeks ago. If you cared, you’d have read it by now!
Powers #6
by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
Even though Powers won the funnybook battle between itself and Batman, I didn’t feel compelled to break with the Halloween writing to cover it. And why not? Because, unlike Batman, Powers doesn’t call for in-depth analysis every issue. Not that there aren’t matters of character and technique worth discussing; far from it. But Batman’s a literary puzzle, written in such a dense and unforgiving style that each issue needs to be unpacked as you go. Powers is more sprawling, and lends itself to analysis better in the long-form. That more natural flow, with its accompanying reliance on a stronger balance between story and art, is what gave it the nod over Batman. But, you know… The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and all that.
ANYway… This issue begins a new arc of sorts, or at least a new case for Walker and Sunrise.
(And, geez… I know I’ve said this before, but “Enki Sunrise” is such a fantabulously horrible name that I find it difficult to even refer to her with a straight face. I mean, DAMN. Maybe I’ll just stick with “Enki” from now on. Though I can’t say that I like her enough to, you know, be on a first-name basis with the silly bitch. I mean, I LOVED Deena Pilgrim, and I still refer to her mostly as “Pilgrim.” Grr, Bendis! GRR!)
Where was I? Oh, right! New issue, new story arc, new case. I hesitate on the “story arc” label, though, because much of the issue was spent moving the third volume’s various on-going plots and themes forward. How many of you had forgotten that Enki (grr) was spying on Walker for Internal Affairs, for instance? I kind of almost had, and I pride myself on paying attention to things like that. Thinking back to that really awkward conversation she had with Walker back in issue one about partners and trust and all that… Well, it seems a lot less awkward now. She was, in a very unsubtle way, trying to pump Walker for information. Because Enki could give two shits about the sacred bond of cop partners. She only cares about outing corruption and getting to the truth of things. She’s said as much. So good on ya, Bendis! I take back any bad things I had to say about that conversation at the time.
But we were talking about the new issue. In addition to Enki talking to IA, Walker gets a call to go out and use those super powers he’s not supposed to have to stop some horrible alien things from wreaking destruction on the Earth. He takes Calista along, and so we’re reminded, in one fell swoop, that 1. Walker’s got alien-fighting powers, and 2. He’s training Calista to be the new Retro Girl. It’s one hell of a sequence, too. Walker goes down beneath an ancient temple in the Andes to fight these weird-ass alien lamprey-worm thingies and Oeming goes nuts with the giant splashy panels full of giant splashy action. It’s awesome. If Oeming drew Bendis’ Avengers books, I might still be reading them. The centerpiece of the sequence (and of the issue, I suppose) is a really nice two-page spread that gives the whole scene this feeling of Lovecraft filtered through Kirby, Steranko and MC Escher. No, seriously! Check it out:
click to embiggen
I suppose this is the point where I should say something about SPOILERS, isn’t it? Or was that back before I ruined the best spread in the book? Sorry. But this thing came out weeks ago. If you cared, you’d have read it by now!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWAREGO!!
So I’ve fallen behind on my comics reviews of late. My apologies. After a ferocious week of new books for the week of July 4th, I became totally obsessed with Grant Morrison’s Batman & Robin, and have spent most of my “blog” time re-reading and making notes on that amazingly complex series. An in-depth write-up will be coming soon. But in the meantime, I really feel like I should play a little catch-up. And what better place to start than the two books that made that July 4th comics week so very spectacular…
Monday, June 28, 2010
Funnybook Battle: Powers vs Batman!
So last week was one hell of a week for funnybooks. I got two of my favorite current on-going comics, two of my favorite “pulp” comics, a new issue of a mini from my favorite funnybook writer, and tried out a new mini-series. All this equals happy me.
But! As I sat down to write my usual one-week-later reviews, it hit me: I held in my hands the most recent issues of the two best on-going series currently in print. Now, I’m not talking about mini-series here, or six-issue storylines by top-notch creative teams, or even annual OGNs like Scott Pilgrim. I’m talking about on-going funnybook series. Books with dedicated creative teams working at long-form serialized storytelling. Now, that sort of thing is still pretty much the industry standard, and I still read a good bit of it (Daytripper, Fables, the Boys, etc), but two books really stand head-and-shoulders above the rest to my mind, and I’m hard-pressed to say which is the better on-going funnybook. So I decided to just work it out in front of you, my adoring audience. And thus, I give you…
Bendis vs Morrison!
Marvel vs DC!
Realism vs Fantasy!
Or, more to the point…
POWERS vs BATMAN!
But! As I sat down to write my usual one-week-later reviews, it hit me: I held in my hands the most recent issues of the two best on-going series currently in print. Now, I’m not talking about mini-series here, or six-issue storylines by top-notch creative teams, or even annual OGNs like Scott Pilgrim. I’m talking about on-going funnybook series. Books with dedicated creative teams working at long-form serialized storytelling. Now, that sort of thing is still pretty much the industry standard, and I still read a good bit of it (Daytripper, Fables, the Boys, etc), but two books really stand head-and-shoulders above the rest to my mind, and I’m hard-pressed to say which is the better on-going funnybook. So I decided to just work it out in front of you, my adoring audience. And thus, I give you…
Bendis vs Morrison!
Marvel vs DC!
Realism vs Fantasy!
Or, more to the point…
POWERS vs BATMAN!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
CAPSULEREVIEWSAREGO!!!
Last week's funnybooks, today! For your active lifestyle!
CAPSULEREVIEWSAREGO!!!
New Avengers #1
by Brian Bendis and Stuart Immonen
The last of the big Avengers launches (at least, the last of them I was interested in). We get to see Luke Cage's full reaction to Cap's Avengers offer, and it's pure gold. As is Luke pulling his team together, including the Thing, Iron Fist, and Victoria Hand.
Unfortunately, the rest of the issue deals with Brother Voodoo and some kind of demon invasion, and I'm not the biggest fan of Bendis writing the Marvel magic characters. I kind of like his narrative quoting of the esoteric names of all the spells, but it seems like a better idea than it works out to be in actual practice. The names feel fairly authentic, but they lack pizazz, and that annoys me to no end. I mean, "The Longorian Spell for the Battle of an Astral Incursion Into the Corporeal World" has got NOTHING on "The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!"
CAPSULEREVIEWSAREGO!!!
New Avengers #1
by Brian Bendis and Stuart Immonen
The last of the big Avengers launches (at least, the last of them I was interested in). We get to see Luke Cage's full reaction to Cap's Avengers offer, and it's pure gold. As is Luke pulling his team together, including the Thing, Iron Fist, and Victoria Hand.
Unfortunately, the rest of the issue deals with Brother Voodoo and some kind of demon invasion, and I'm not the biggest fan of Bendis writing the Marvel magic characters. I kind of like his narrative quoting of the esoteric names of all the spells, but it seems like a better idea than it works out to be in actual practice. The names feel fairly authentic, but they lack pizazz, and that annoys me to no end. I mean, "The Longorian Spell for the Battle of an Astral Incursion Into the Corporeal World" has got NOTHING on "The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!"
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Floppies for Trades 1: Torso
So I recently did that thing that aging funnybook dorks sometimes do, where I traded in a big chunk of my comics collection and replaced the good stuff with trades. It’s a great deal for the discriminating fan-man (even at pennies-on-the-dollar trade-in value). You rid yourself of a few hundred pounds of unsightly storage boxes filled with staple-bound pamphlets you may never look at again, and replace them with an attractive bookshelf filled with square-bound volumes you can discuss with your snooty literary friends.
Or, you know, at least you can find an old funnybook you wanna re-read without having to move a mountain to get to it…
Or, you know, at least you can find an old funnybook you wanna re-read without having to move a mountain to get to it…
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