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This week's digest:
FLASH #116 Writer: Mark Waid Here's what I thought... Well, the kiss sure looked mutual. And what a lovely splash page. I must say it's a real pleasure to see Oscar Jimenez pencilling an entire issue of FLASH once more, but somehow I get the feeling we'll never see him again. :( Jim Cheung is back in #117, and I know Paul Ryan is taking over in a few issues. I'll miss Oscar. I know, I say that with practically every regular FLASH penciller, but I do like Oscar's stuff. His sense of pacing, the little touches he puts in the panels (the guy fishing by the dam was great), and of course the way he portrays speed-- all have served this book well. This issue blew hot and cold for me, no pun intended. I guess I got used to the schizophrenic nature of the parallel time travel stories, and any issue without Wally in it feels kind of-- off balance to me. At least a couple plot points are cleared up, like Linda's true feelings as well as the identity of the "mysterious" third villain in the story, who turns out to be Abra Kadabra after all-- which answers my question as to why he wasn't in the 64th century when Wally got there (among other explanations, he was summoned by Neron, where he first met Polaris in Waid's UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED) but doesn't account for his line about Iris West being "from our century" ("our" meaning the 20th), unless Polaris doesn't know that he's from the future... And here I thought I'd be free of time-travel headaches for an issue. :) Although speaking of which, there's still a major dangler left unexplored this issue-- where's Iris? Kadabra and Polaris make good their getaway, having turned their cryonic technobabble machine on autopilot, but we don't see Ms. West anywhere. One figures she and her knowledge of what's to come have to be the key to solving this dilemma. Besides, everyone else is frozen-- John in fear and doubt and Linda, plus most of the surrounding city by this point, literally. But of course, not before John runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, fantasizing about Linda rather than keeping his mind on the job he has to-- and can't-- do (very chilling-- pun intended-- page 17 as he realizes he's actually responsible for shattering the frozen cops), while Linda (having lost her chance to file a first-person report atop a dam which no longer exists-- kudos to Waid for continually putting in bits like this to remind readers of her profession and mindset and instincts) scopes out K&P's hideout. And after the villains vamoose, John's dealt an even bigger blow, as Linda sets him straight. And what can I say, another terrific page 20, especially the three terrific panels at the bottom. Look at that effect-- the sfx as we creep past Linda's face and focus on the window, through which the lightning, the symbol (echoed verbally on p. 21 as she speaks of "a boy with lightning in his eyes"), growing stronger and louder as Linda's resolve hardens, as she tells John of her disappointment with him, and as she realizes how much she loves Wally. Pow, pow, pow-- very well done. And then to end the scene with a classic misdirection, as we hear the lightning and think "Wally may be coming back" but dash outside with John to see her frozen-- as the villains earlier warned us anyone in that area would be... good cliffhanger, nice flow. I found parts of the issue a little wordy-- I understand the need for wrapup and exposition, and don't get me wrong, I love the issues in which Linda narrates (I believe this is her third, the first being #100 and the second, if I'm not mistaken, being the Frankie issue), but they cramp the panels on pp. 2 and 3 a lot more than I think they should, and I also found pp. 12-13 talkier than usual, as the lettering on the balloons and captions shrinks down a lot. Not a complaint so much as an observation-- in a relatively static scene, you need a lot of words to carry the narrative. But the effect is definitely one of crowding. (Still, four pages out of 22 isn't a bad ratio, and page 20 just made up for soooo much anyway...) There's still a lot to wrap up before this storyline ends, but I don't think Waid will push it more than another two issues. Wally's still unaccounted for, of course; so's Iris, but as I say I think she's the key to #117. Linda needs thawing, John has to get put (yet further along) on the right path to heroism, and of course the world needs to be saved from the next Ice Age. And how did Kadabra get the book thrown into the water in #79? Did Neron give it to him? If he did, then bearing in mind how Neron's deals operate, Kadabra's in for a helluva payback. Terrific colors as usual, but I expect no less from CBG Award winner McCraw. (Expect this tagline in two other books this week. <g>) So, what did y'all think? LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #83 Co-Plotter/Scripter: Tom Peyer * A major credit box screwup this time around, leaving out CBG Award winner Tom McCraw, which is why I put this in all-caps :) Here's what I thought... For some reason this reminded me of a Superman Mxyzptlk story, where things get seriously out of whack and it's kind of funny and it's kind of uncomfortable and squirmy at the same time. I could see it coming last issue (LEGIONNAIRES #39), but I didn't know how far they were going to push the envelope, and the burners are turned up major here. The result is a lot of great little touches, and a whole that's kinda creepy. I love the implied double meaning of the issue title-- "tears" as in "rips" (the team being ripped apart, Triad's inability to reintegrate) or as in "crying" (and the further wordplay in the latter meaning referring to the Emerald Eye at the heart-- or heart's desire-- of the issue). And I like not knowing what's real and what's Eye-induced. Is Regulus actually that powerful, or do the Legionnaires (or maybe even one Legionnaire) just desire him to be so? Or perhaps Regulus is affected by the Eye as well and this power is his desire... And I got one of my heart's desires in seeing more Mike Collins pencils. I don't know a lot about him, but I've spotted him doing other DC stuff here and there recently, and he's definitely one to watch. He has a great take on facial angularity and expression, and his characters are certainly pretty to look at, but I think he needs to work a bit more on far shots (the background of the large page 10 panel needed more definition, although I loved Karate Kid's stance) and flow. Even with all the action, some of Collins' panels appeared more like poses than indicators of movement. Still and all, some drop-dead gorgeous closeups, and overall splendid work to complement Moder's usual fine job. Kudos to Ron for keeping it flowing so well. And of course to Tom McCraw. Have I mentioned Tom McCraw's CBG Award yet? :) Good bits here and there: Jo referring to Tinya as "Angel"; Triad suddenly finding herselves not only unable to reintegrate but totally uncoordinated (leading to my favorite sound effect of the issue, "Whonk!"); decent use of Cham's rubbery abilities; nice display of teamwork during the cleanup scenes; the way you never do see Vi's eyes until the emerald aspect takes over (and I'm still wracking my brain trying to think of when she might have come across the Emerald Eye, since-- as Spark notes-- "She hasn't looked puzzled by any of this!" and she's seemed that way for quite a few issues now); the really eerie moment on page 10 with Cos-n-Imra that's actually Cos-n-XS, and my favorite subtle moment, when a casual wave of Vi's hand creates an impenetrable green force field at the bottom of page 18. Terrific pacing, the way all the heart's desires seem to build up to Gim's apparent death and Vi's sadness and anger at issue's end. And the kind of thing that gives a reader pause. Reminds me of Dorothy Gale, as played by Judy Garland, waxing sappy during the last scene in Oz, where she recites her Life Lesson to Glinda: "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard, because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with... is that right?" To which I never fail to reply, "Huh???" If the heart's desire isn't in her own back yard (i.e., if she can't find it by looking for it, which means she ain't got it), she didn't lose it? My continual inability to suss out this one stupid line has warped me from childhood, so don't y'all try explaining it to me, I'll only get more confused. I can at least be grateful Dorothy's heart's desire was to leave the world of Technicolor for dusty b&w and chickens, not to commit suicide (some would, however, argue it's much the same thing) or achieve an improbable love life or regain an arm or lose solar powers or become unnoticeable or especially hold court with proletarian political pontification! :) Good job all around by the team in portraying the old saw, "Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it." And Vi has it now, and badly. (You can tell she's turned bad, most of her clothing has disappeared. Bet Jeff Moy was really happy to draw L* #40. <g>) I guess it's pretty clear why we need new (reader-driven!) leader elections so quickly... Oh, and the coloring by co-plotter and CBG Award winner Tom McCraw is beautiful as usual; did I mention that yet? :) So, what did y'all think? JUSTICE LEAGUE TASK FORCE #37 Writer: Christopher Priest Here's what I thought... Ah, Christmas in July. And It's a Horrible Life, to boot. "Look, Daddy! Teacher says every time a bell rings, a demon gets his wings!" At its heart, this book (since Priest first began his run) has been about friendship in a sort of makeshift dysfunctional family. So I was extremely grateful, when the ending sort of confused me, to have my friend, rac*'s own net.reviewer.god Dave Van Domelen, help me interpret what I couldn't figure out and/or had forgotten Priest told me (Sieve Brain strikes again!). You see, this is the issue in which Triumph makes his decision on whether to light Neron's candle, thus restoring his lost years per the deal offered him by UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED's demon... and the candle does wind up being lit-- but, as it turns out, not by Triumph. Now I admit to being somewhat perplexed by UU's finer points, but I guess I was given to believe Neron's bargain with Triumph wouldn't work the same way if someone else lit the candle. Dave corrected me thusly: "Ah, but this is Neron's candle, remember. It's not meant to be nice and safe and allow for easy backing out. If the candle is lit, by anyone, it turns out, Triumph gets his lost 10 years back." Okay, that was the first thing I missed. But then Dave goes on, as only he can, to interpret the last page of this issue perfectly: "Now, since he never got trapped for a decade, he had even more time to totally screw up. He's now alone, friendless and poor...and to judge from his expression, he remembers it all. Everything that convinced him he didn't want the decade back. And worse than that, his absence didn't change a thing for the worse...everyone else is in exactly the same position, only L-Ron is back (possibly thanks to Will not being around to screw something up). Even Gypsy's still alive, showing that Will didn't have to be there to save her (possibly Ray went along in this timeline, or J'onn just had to be even more clever). "He just got 'It's A Wonderful Life'-d in reverse." Thanks, Dave. Well, the art did confuse me a bit-- I mean, I'm sorry, I don't much care for Bernado. He makes all the faces look harsh and scowling and weathered. So while it's obvious that Triumph is in bad shape at the end here, it wasn't as obvious to me that he was ten years older. Although granted, I should have picked up the "Auld Lang Syne" cue. This is a very bold choice to make. Priest has said all along that the strength of Billy Mac's characterization lay in his ambiguity-- would he indeed opt to become a hero? Here we almost have it both ways, as we see the only method by which Will could have been redeemed was through the belief of his friends and, when Neron's candle gives him back his lost years, he apparently opts to go it alone and screws up, repeatedly. And yes, he's the only one who remembers; as far as the JL'ers celebrating in J'Onn's cabin know, they're the entire team. Triumph is changed forever, and possibly irredeemable due to actions of the past 10 years the nature of which we'll never know-- in large measure, as Dave points out, because they change nothing in the DCU. Because he changes nothing. He's been retconned out as deftly as he was shoehorned in. And moreover, Priest writes it as a self-retcon. It's extremely emotionally unfulfilling for readers used to an upbeat wrapup, even as the deliberately over-the-top huggy scene earlier in the book reminds one of a fakey-fakey sitcom in which the audience is prompted to go "awwwww" on cue, but I applaud the decision. Not every ending is meant to be happy. Some are just meant to make us think. And what I thought about the most with this was the redemption which friendship can bring. When your own resolve and self-image fail, sometimes your friends' belief in you is the only thing that can put you on track. Which I think is, in fact, a positive message. A very bittersweet sendoff to a book that perhaps never found its niche due in part, one might surmise, to examinations of questions just like this. Fortunately, the book's writer has lots of other work coming out soon, to which I look forward. Thanks for the ride, Jim. So, what did y'all think? Writer: Peter David Here's what I thought... Wow, is this baby chock-full of characters. Neptune Perkins? The Sea Devils?? And I hope everyone's got their family trees out, 'cause these generational things get hard to follow. This issue concerns the gathering of forces for the upcoming battle-against-the-aliens (who have stealthily recruited Perkins, now a senator, to their side), and we're treated to a little character development but mostly intros and synopses. A rather restrained issue, actually, but I liked it a lot. Garth is nicely spotlighted in a brief struggle with Koryak (I'm looking way forward to his TEMPEST miniseries by Phil Jimenez, by the way), and the way in which the psychic waves of Orin's mental battle with Kordax affect both other magical and other seafaring creatures is quite interesting and revealing (both about Orin and them). I'm glad Power Girl and especially Arion are involved in the coming battle now, I thought Orin acquitted himself well when Arion questioned his motives and qualifications, and did you catch the look on Garth's face when he first saw Deep Blue? Of course you realize Tula from KINGDOM COME is their child, right? (Thanks to Leah Adezio for giving Alex Ross that piece of KC mythos!) While the transition to from Egeland to AuCoin on page 18 is a little jarring (Aucoin's pencils don't have nearly the definition-- look at the way he draws hair-- but I like his anatomy better), the coloring by CBG Award winner Tom McCraw was gorgeous as usual, and in general everyone seemed extremely in character. I can't tell you how much I appreciate stuff like this. Peter almost never veers from established characterization, and often deepens it. Even the panel Orin tousling Garth's hair was really a perfect bit. This is my favorite aspect of this series. So, what did y'all think? Writer: Paul Kupperberg Here's what I thought... This continues to be one of DC's little gems, although its tone is extremely self-absorbing. It'll be interesting to see how Kupps turns Josh's musings into the sort of outward-directed character he'll need to be in order to accomplish anything of substance. While redundant here and there, this issue is a good start towards that end. And we learn a few things about how Takion works, such as the opening scene in which Josh is so preoccupied reliving the apparent death of his girlfriend Nancy due to his negligence and unpreparedness that he doesn't see the comet that splooshes and disperses him (I mean, what are the odds of any object running into any other one in the vastness of space?). We see, as we suspected, that his corporeality is a whim, an affectation he uses to retain the humanity on which he places so much importance. We also see that he's able to merge his consciousness with any other creature, but he can't necessarily control that occurrence just yet. The bad news is, this issue he gets inside the head of yet another character whom I don't know and about whom I couldn't care less. Kyle "perpetual guest star" Rayner is one thing, but... a Darkstar? Megayawn. In any case, Plot Device Tarant (now with action gauntlets! batteries not included) serves the purpose of jolting Josh out of his melancholia long enough to empathize with and want to help someone else, as well as come to a decision to follow his instincts regarding his powers since he has no roadmap and no experience as yet. An unwise decision, perhaps, but it serves to throw his yang counterpart, Stayne, off the trail for a bit. And a very interesting and somewhat daring ending, as we see Tarant, having given his tormenter what fer at last, left without any real purpose on his life henceforth (so what good did Josh accomplish aside from, as Highfather looks on and unnecessarily muses "this place where I did direct him has done its work well, given him the strength he needs to continue..."?) While I thought the writing needed a little tightening this issue, I understand we're dealing with an extremely self-analytical character (deliberately set up that way) so this sort of inner monologue will probably be the norm throughout the series' run. Well-defined art with great facial nuances by Lopresti, as usual. (Have I mentioned enough times that I think Takion has probably my favorite "costume" design of any new character?) I'm even starting to get into Loughridge's coloring. Looking forward to more. So, what did y'all think? Writer/Artist: John Byrne Here's what I thought... Man, there's definitely something cool about seeing Byrne do Superman again, I gotta admit... Okay, two intriguing little subplots introduced during the last part of this epic battle that, frankly, somewhat fizzles for me (but since I don't like battles I'll leave that for others to judge). The first comes on page 1 - rather unusual for Byrne, isn't it? Anyway, this concerns what would to all accounts appear to be a WW lookalike working in a soup kitchen somewhere in Baton Rouge, who uses epithets like "Hera and Athena protect me!" What's up with that? Is this Diana's mom? 'Twould seem so, as "Polly" is a reasonable nickname for Hippolyta, wouldn't you say? Very nice reintroduction, and I look very forward to John working the mother/daughter dynamic of Hippolyta/Diana into this book to contrast the Helena/Cassie Sandsmark dynamic. The second introduced subplot is pretty typical Byrne-- two pages of a completely new villain from out of the blue (or purple this time, as Trish would have it). She's called Decay, she's appropriately hideous, and she actually plays a small but pivotal role here, trashing Dr. Lazarus' lab after everything's gone out of control anyway. Leaving the battle plot aside (and once more I want to point out how nifty and dynamic and detailed John's art is to me), I like the fact that Supes has a guest appearance that's not really an appearance-- he doesn't interact with WW at all, which is a great twist. I like that John finally remembered to identify Lazarus' assistant Margaret again, albeit on the last page. I like Cassie's continued determination even though, by all rights, only comic book luck has kept her from being dead by now. Interesting how Diana has accepted the fact that she's now Wonder Girl. I love the bit with Clark and the tree, that really made me smile. I didn't care for Champion-- I still don't see the point. Mike Schorr felt kind of useless. I wouldn't let a scientist like Lazarus near any more equipment for quite some time. Hmm, male characters seem to get a rather bad shake in this book... well, except for Kal-El, of course. :) (Although it bothered me that they can keep him in continuity but not Wally West from a few issues back... ah well, let it go, let it go...) Another good book for the younger set, but I will admit the art keeps me hanging in there slightly more than the writing does. Trish does a great job as usual, especially on Supes. So, what did y'all think? THE SPECTRE #44 Writer: John Ostrander Here's what I thought... My first SPECTRE review - kewl! I haven't been picking up this title. As I recall, I was rather underwhelmed by the premiere issue of this run, and even more turned off by its enhanced cover effect and what I felt were pretty dark separations. A number of folks have recommended the book to me over the past couple years, but it always seemed kinda dark for me to get into. Then again, I read HELLBLAZER and other mature-readers titles, so I suppose it's high time I started picking this up. And Ed Douglas actually gave me a copy of #43, which pretty much hooked me. At least on this storyline. And again I must plead bias and outside knowledge, as I'm friendly with John and especially with Kim Yale-- my hero, his wife, and the inspiration for this issue (which he sweetly dedicates to her at the end). So I read it on more than one level. I thought it a solid story, if a bit didactic here and there, but I also couldn't help applauding a lot of the underlying points raised about women in the corporate world in general, and certainly the comics industry in particular. In fact, so much of this felt like the debates I hear at monthly Friends of Lulu meetings that I'm tempted to disqualify myself as a reviewer for being too close to the subject (and the subject matter)! But then I couldn't talk about Tom Mandrake's incredible art (I don't recall ever having seen him before, but his panel layouts are exquisite) complemented by some dazzling colors on Feeny's part. Boy, the book sure doesn't look as dark as I remembered it! And Todd is a master craftsman-- the panels never feel crowded by letters. I think the fact that John is trying to use as few words as possible getting his points across so as not to make this sound too preachy or rhetorical helps. To me, the most interesting confrontation of the issue isn't between the Spectre (the embodiment of a male God's wrath) and Hellion (the embodiment of, as the title implies, righteous female anger), but between Hellion and Madame Xanadu, the issue's "guest appearance" and a character with much underused potential in the DCU. Xanadu appears to claim responsibility for Hellion's actions and further education, on the basis of her insistence that her many-times-incarnated spirit and Hellion's are mother and daughter. Listening in on two feminist women arguing the fine points of activism is, to me, more riveting than listening to a woman argue feminism in general with a man, especially one who "doesn't get it." The latter usually only leads to an impasse and nothing is accomplished, as each side goes off to their respective corners resentful and grumbling. The former, wherein the two participants start with many beliefs in common and argue on the proper methods of employing those beliefs, often results in workable compromises and some activity accomplished. Not to mention oftimes overlong FoL meetings, but that's a different story. :) And my loyalties wavered. As the Spectre's first impulse was to judge Helen Belcanto and punish her in a way he saw fit, I could almost dismiss him outright using the "he's a man, he doesn't understand" chestnut, but for the fact that the writer is a man who does understand-- and the character's justified concerns that Hellion is unskilled enough in the use of her powers to cause serious damage anyway, like the waves of temporal distortion that keep hitting Spectre's... um, sidekick?... Nathan Kane as he travels to Salem (okay, a little bit clichéd there, don't you think?) to find Helen's body and distract her spirit back into it. And Spectre makes a good point in that you can't lash out at everyone just because of something like a common gender. All men have certain anatomy, yeah, but they're no more monolithic in their thinking than are women, and Spectre is correct in asserting that "a punishment visited upon the guilty and innocent alike is itself unjust." Besides, Xanadu takes his side in many things, as vehemently as she defends Hellion. He's right in that she's nowhere near his match, through inexperience if nothing else. She also points out that anger, even justified anger, without focus is liable to hurt more than it helps, and Hellion doesn't have the wherewithall to focus her fragment of the Talisman (someone please fill me in on this meta-plot?) correctly as of yet. She has to be talked down, and Xanadu does a great job-- by allowing her to hear the arguments from all sides, see the truth of what she's doing, and finally let her make her own choice. And get the Spectre to agree the choice must be hers. Bravo. Nicely done book, great visuals which keep the dialogue from getting too bogged down in polemics, and I hope some interesting discussions arise from this subject matter. In fact, I already see it happening, not only on Usenet in the zombie "comics and sexism" threads but at conventions and, of course, every month in FoL. And more often than not, the response is the logical one, the course of action Helen takes-- not to become what we hate, to retain our anger over past injustice but to use our intellect and our strength of numbers-- women and men-- and our talent to help shape the industry into one that has more of a place for us within it. One of the most satisfying reads of 1996 for me. Highly recommended. So, what did y'all think? HELLBLAZER #104 Writer: Paul Jenkins Here's what I thought... Well, looks like our boy John is a right bastard again. Ick. I mean, on the one hand I suppose I didn't expect him to redeem himself, and I can see where a nicey-nice Constantine would lead to a somewhat boring book. But on the other hand, he has no choice-- he realizes his arm's still too short to box with the devil, and he needs his harder edges back. He needs his wits about him. He's just sown too many seeds to pretend the fruit they bear isn't going to poison him if he's not careful. And so he confront his evil side on the mountain, learns a little more about hell (some great concepts Jenkins plays with here, hell as "an incessant mutilation of the soul" and its denizens "whipping boys for the Almighty's dirty conscience"), and asks to be reintegrated. No can do; the First would grab 'em both in a heartbeat. And off wanders Hellbound John with the wormy face and the frighteningly long nails, tossing Earthbound John a condom as he goes. And this is where it turns skeevy. I realize the being with whom John deals in the next scene is a demon and a succubus, but I've always kind of liked Ellie. And John tells us through the entire scene that he's using her, manipulating her conflicting emotions, screwing her in more ways than one. The fact that he would do something this despicable tells me he doesn't need to do it in the first place-- the evil edge he wants to retriever through intercourse with her already dwells within him, in abundance, for him to go through with this to begin with. I was very, very uncomfortable with this scene, as the reader is meant to be. I hated it. I hate John for doing it. If the writing weren't so bloody right, I'd drop this book right now because I have such little sympathy and compassion for its protagonist. As it is, I'm torn. I want to see what happens next. I want John to get his comeuppance but good-- I don't think I want to see him redeemed any more at all. You lie with the demon, you deserve hell. You lie with and to a demon, especially one who's trusted you, you deserve much worse. But it's going to take the full 30 days before I'm ready to look at the next issue. So, what did y'all think? UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN #12 Kurt Busiek wrote: "So here I come back from ten days on the road and log on to Usenet to see what people have been saying about UNTOLD TALES #12, only to find that there were no reviews of it, or at least none that I could find. Even Elayne, who is UNTOLD's most dependable reviewer, has taken the week off to be in Chicago... So how about it? Reviews solicited, folks..." Like I could resist after such a compliment. Sorry it's late, folks! Writer: Kurt Busiek Here's what I thought... In keeping with the fact that this issue necessarily weaves into the old Spidey mythos a bit more than many previous ones, Kurt came up with a great Silver Age-y title, exclamation point and everything. In fact, the splash page, which turns out to be part of Betty's nightmare, is very reminiscent in feel of those old issues, deliberately I'm sure. (I'd be curious, Kurt and/or Tom, as to whether either the splash or the cover is an actual homage. The cover in particular looks familiar, but I don't have the trivia acumen of This Man, This Busiek.) It's tricky to retain a reader like me with this kind of title, because there are so many little details about Spidey's history and that of his supporting characters with which I'm unfamiliar, and I'm never sure what Kurt researched and what he's inserting. But the thing of it is, if it's well written-- and it is-- it shoudnl't matter. It should be accessible and enjoyable, and so it continues to be. I can't say it enough, this is the best 99-cent bargain out there, and I fail to understand why anyone short of a JJJ-type Spidey-hater wouldn't be buying it. Of course, I admit I also love the series because of the way Kurt focuses on the female characters, and #12's spotlight of course features Betty but also Sally aka Bluebird, quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. (Why do I get the oddest feeling in the pit of my stomach that it's Sally's grave over which Peter's crying in the full-page panel preview from #13?) Even though Sally and Peter are of an age, their battle against Clifford the Big-- tee hee, sorry, the Scarlet Beetle is a great way to show his relative experiential level and, let's face it, intelligence/honed instinct over her headstrong charging into danger. Meanwhile, Betty is just a conflict of emotions bubbling out all over the place but which she still manages to hide, young professional that she is, from everyone but herself and the readers-- and Peter, towards the end of the issue (although she's still keeping secrets from him that we now know, a great device for achieving reader sympathy for her). Betty's back-story is positively heart-rending, as it simultaneously serves the purpose of explaining how she came to work for Jameson. Like Peter, she has quite a bit on the ball (witness her questioning Peter's motives vis a vis Spider-Man on page 8); I'm curious as to whether she ever figured out his identity within the overall mythos told so far. Most of all, the back story gives insight as to why she's so reluctant to date Peter, and why she puts up with JJJ-- that one panel with him smiling at her in genuine affection and calling her "practically family" is worth the price of admission. Another stellar issue all around, and I hope Tom can fill us in more on this upcoming SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP title; Tom, you should know better than to dangle names like Waid, Stern, Perez and Jurgens in front of us and not have us ask! And I'm thinking, maybe the reason there are so few reviews of UTOS on the 'net is that we've come to expect continued excellence from this team, and it gets kind of boring to keep saying "great issue, great issue, great issue." But I have faith in y'all to use more vocabulary than that, and I'm sure I'll see more reviews next month besides my own. Don't make me (and Kurt) tell you twice, folks. :) So, what did y'all think? AVENGERS #401 Writer: Mark Waid Here's what I thought... Between the Onslaught garbaggio and Deodato's "I am woman! Punish me, hurt me, but let me pose seductively while you're doing it!" breakdowns, I wasn't sure I was going to care for this very much. But it's a serviceable tale that moves the plot along, and there are some nice moments throughout, as Waid concentrates most heavily on the two female characters (always an excellent choice). Wanda finds the spine she obviously didn't own during the aforementioned torture scene (neither does she seem to have room for any internal organs, and the breasts are bigger than the head and the thighs are bigger than the waist and let's move on), and Rogue appears to find honest-to-gosh love with an amnesiac Magneto (now Joseph). The scene at the mechanic was precious, and something (probably his 'Bama upbringing) told me the writer would have no problem with the delightful characterization of Rogue here. (Question: Palmer's Garage? Did he finish himself into that scene as the mechanic?) Of course you know that as soon as Rogue, the poor dear, finds herself a modicum of happiness and peace, someone just has to come along and mess it up-- in this case, the Avengers, come to beat up on Magneto first and ask questions later. Way to be headstrong, Pietro. Even Captain America can't calm Quicksilver down; I suspect much of the reason has to do with his anger over his sister's revelations re: Magneto in the previous scene. The Avengers proceed to make their own beds and lie in them, having refused to listen to reason and Rogue trying to tell them not to trigger Joseph's memory, lest he become in reality the threat they all perceive him to be. Alas, it's comics, that trick never works. Cue big fight. Very dynamically rendered, by the way. ("Repels the iron in Quicksilver's blood?" Ewww, I never thought of that. Once again, Waid makes a good new use of an old power.) Wanda's Deodato-rendered writhing (=sigh= wake me when it's over) snaps Joseph back to calmness and stops the fight-- except for Pietro, charging headlong to save his sister. Who Doesn't Need Saving. Wonderful, touching scene; well done three pages, esp. 19 and 21. A standard fight-then-team-up scenario fleshed out well by a bit of well-timed characterization. Too bad there's only one more issue for that. So, what did y'all think? X-MEN #55 Writer: Mark Waid Here's what I thought... Has there been an opening scene in Waid's X-MEN run so far that hasn't been incredibly high impact? As with Jean's shopping day in #53, he takes an ordinary event-- a normal man waking up in his high-rise shoebox of an apartment pissed about the high rent he's paying, and pulling the curtains open to check out the early dawn view-- and turns it to extraordinary scope (thanks in large measure to Kubert's magnificent two-page sideways splash) as the man comes face to incredibly giant face with one of a teeming number of Sentinels who have taken over New York City. As they secure the city (one of them pausing to look almost quizzically at Lady Liberty in the harbor) they fill resident and reader alike with an almost hopeless sense of dread. This sense doesn't abate. The Avengers, FF and X-Men regroup and recap on the roof of Four Freedoms Plaza-- Rogue is now keeping company with the amnesiac version of Magneto calling himself Joseph, who has joined the cause; and Franklin Richards has been kidnapped by Onslaught using his aspect of "Li'l Charlie" (cringe cringe). Cap leads the way as the majority of the combined team defends the streets (some nice interplay here among Rogue, Gambit and Joseph) and Reed, Pym, Iron Man (whoever he is now, who can keep track?) and Bishop head down to the lab to construct weaponry with which to fight Onslaught. Fortunately, before his madness Xavier encoded a series of Protocols to help the X-Men dismantle rogues (pun unintended) among them, including himself. Unfortunately, apparently with help from a misguided and scared Franklin Richards (whose reality-bending powers will, I suspect be the key to ending Onslaught's reign, but not without certain consequences yadda yadda), Onslaught descends upon them all (great use of colors and lettering in this scene), paraphrases C.B. DeMille and, instead of parting waters, pretty much destroys everything functioning in the city (including the computers whereon the Protocols were stored) with no more than a casual gesture. Now that's power. Not a fun way for a comic to end-- hopeless and helpless. Not even a small victory. No glimmer of hope on the horizon. Just figures in far shot in despair, and readers in limbo and probably disgust as there are plugs aplenty for the coming world of Liefeld and Lee. It really does feel like nothing matters, like people are going through the motions. It feels like death, not rebirth at all. I'm glad there's only one more issue, this stuff's damn depressing, no matter how well written and drawn some individual chapters (like this one) are. So, what did y'all think? HEROES #4 Writer: Matt Wayne Here's what I thought... Until such time as Milestone can get back on track with ICON's schedule and STATIC's writing, this is the best book the company has to offer, in my opinion, and it's a damn shame it's not a regular monthly. I hope that, when the miniseries ends, the powers that be would at least consider an ongoing HEROES quarterly. Amidst the settling into their new Chrysler Building headquarters, and before Iota's latest crisis takes center stage, comes probably my favorite scene of any comic out this week. Yep, including FLASH and AKIKO and all the rest. This takes place at 6am on a Saturday morning about ten minutes south of where I live, on a relatively deserted section of Coney Island (don't remember any tall buildings bordering the boardwalk, though, Chris), where Static has convinced Blitzen, after presumably reading copious issues featuring everyone's favorite speedster, that she ought to try her hand (or her feet, actually) at running on water. The theory is, she can skip across "like a stone." Well, of course, after stones skip-- you know the rest. Pages 9 and 10 are absolutely precious... Static muses "Hmm... guess I'll save the time treadmill for later" as Blitzen emerges onto the beached, soaked and angry, and we're given a full shot of her looking down on him, water dripping from her mouth, pronouncing "That wasn't useful." (The only thing that would have made this better would have been three separate word balloons on that sentence, but that's just a stylistic thing with me.) The interplay between the characters remains the most delightful part of the book, and enables Wayne to get in serious subjects such as Iota's background and her current emergency-- her shrinky-dinks have become unstable, and she believes it's her late husband (who supposedly died in the accident that gave her her powers-- wow, not a Bang Baby!) as well as the pain behind her facade. I'm a very happy camper; Iota's my favorite character of the bunch, although I could wish for a little more hint of a personality from Payback (his erudition this issue in talking with Starlight is a nice start). And I hope Matt makes these press conferences a regular occurrence; they're darling. Voters considering casting ballots for XS as Legion leader take note-- Blitzen "decide(s) faster. Smells like leadership to me." Hey, who can argue? She beat 'em to the punch there. And the bit with the phone call from Giuliani-- very smartly done. What's not to like about this book? Got me. Next issue, the continuation of the fantastic voyage! So, what did y'all think? Story: Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett Here's what I thought... As I get further into the story, it becomes easier for me to follow; I think part of the key is kind of skimming through the technobabble and just accepting certain things as a given. (The "story so far" caption box atop page 1 doesn't hurt either.) Vector has not only revived Cen using the Paracelsus Matrix, she's employed the matrix to re-create a new Heartbreakers corps-- nice two-page splash of the identical women all with slightly differing personalities and modes of dress. Good and subtle. While she heads off to try to secure weapons, Tex spends a little time training the new clones; nice looking stick-fighting scenes. The most intriguing scene for me came when one of the clones, Sludge, is spotted by the technobio-enhanced Rusk, and we get to see an example of the madman in action-- very well done scene by Guinan and Delsol, especially showing Rusk jumping. Real despicable critter, too, but he finds out where Queenie's headed. Lovely irony with Queenie getting captured trying to stop a brawl instead of start one, and it was great seeing Rusk get his comeuppance with the virus, but was there anyone who didn't guess Rusk was a clone as well? And so much the better that what goes round came round for Malinthe. Meanwhile, Queenie's in Ward's clutches and the Heartbreakers are comin' to get her. He doesn't stand a chance. :) Fun little contributions from Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Terry Laban, Jill Thompson and Mike Allred-- clearly a lot of pros are into this series. I'm glad I got into it too; a solid, accessible sf tale with interesting female and male characters, clearly delineated good guys and bad guys, fascinating moral questions and not so much violence that one wants to put it down. I'd recommend picking it up. So, what did y'all think? CONCRETE: THINK LIKE A MOUNTAIN Writer/Artist: Paul Chadwick Here's what I thought... I don't think one can ever have too many advocacy comics. If you think about it, most comics stand for something anyway-- truth, justice, etc. I see nothing wrong with a comic that stands for environmental protection, consideration of a fragile ecology and exploration of options whereby folks can achieve more harmony with our planet. This issue Chadwick, and Concrete, come down squarely on the side of Earth First!, and even though Concrete realizes he's been subjected to a rather hard sell (and we as readers tend to agree we've been equally subjected to Chadwick's view), he must concede that the EF!ers make sense-- even the abrasive Roland Sanger. This is actually an interesting counterpoint to this week's SPECTRE, which also features a number of characters with differing views conversing about a political hot button (feminist activism). Here Chadwick runs the gamut from moderate (Concrete) to radical (Sanger), whereas I think Ostrander's spectrum (pun unintended) was a little broader (pun definitely not intended)-- but it's not like you expect Concrete and a bunch of Earth First!ers to invite corporate environmental rapists to dinner, so the narrower, sharper focus is understandable. And as with SPECTRE, we get a huge amount of panels featuring people sitting around seriously talking, but Chadwick's little touches keep our eyes from wandering and getting bored. The way the candlelight reflects in Penny's glasses, the cutaway view of the cement-filled barrel with the donuts inside the PVC pipe "for cops when they hammer it apart" (tee hee), historically accurate scenes involving the bombing of Judi Bari's car, Redwood Summer and other EF!-related situations, and of course the watching of the videotape, where Chadwick and Chalenor lighten the colors and forgo dark inks as we see Concrete's contemplative state during the viewing. My favorite scene comes towards the end, when Concrete goes outside to clear his head and spies an eagle, which sets him to musing about perspective and relative size. As someone who's played the same kind of mind games, I appreciated Chadwick's depiction of the world tree and the Composite Human, bearing and eating millions of tiny children and pissing "enough to turn this inland strait into a cesspool" (shades of the scene in Gulliver's Travels that wherein Lemuel puts out a Lilliputian fire by relieving himself upon it). Concrete can't decide whether he's gaining or losing perspective after all he's learned and been fed, but he's ready to take the EF! oath of "No compromise in defense of Mother Earth!" However, there may in fact be huge consequences to pay. Notice the sky in the background on that final page. Remind you of anything? Looked quite a bit to me like Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night," a supposedly peaceful night scene until you look more carefully and see all the frantic, concentric, maddening swirls. Will the stars here light Concrete's way, or is he descending further into the morass of advocacy from which he's tried hard as an "objective reporter" to elevate himself? It is awfully fun, though, not being objective. Another good letters column wherein Paul talks about the Judi Bari story and prints more thoughtful letters (spotted one from RAGMOP's Rob Walton; yay!) The issue ends with yet another sick scene in a line of "100 Horrors" which I'm really, really glad was short. Excellent effort as always, and I look forward to more. So, what did y'all think? Story and Art: Mark Crilley Here's what I thought... Need you ask? I mean, really, need you? This lands consistently in my top three comic books; it's one of the best books out there, especially for kids, especially for girl kids who might have a huge sense of identification with the nominal protagonist. But letting alone the fact that it's a comic we desperately need in this industry in terms of its broad demographic, it's also a rip-roaring story and I'm fascinated by all its twists and turns. Mark Crilley decided he wanted to draw a roller coaster, but I doubt they have too many of them on the planet Smoo, so a dream sequence is required. An interesting choice in a book with already dreamlike qualities, but I think he pulled it off well, not the least because of the way he depicts the background buildings in that sequence, especially the blurring effects. Yeah, I've had hyper-real dreams just like that... great use of perspective as well, especially the when Akiko and the Prince run out of roller coaster track and are falling. Crilley's art style continues to blow me away. The framing for the dream is the Sky Boat journey to find the presumably mean Alia Rellapor, the Prince's mot-- uh, kidnapper. The night sky depicted on pages 4-5 is absolutely gorgeous, and the Skugbits are inspired (I'd hate to see a full-sized Skug if those are bits!). Naturally the Sky Boat gets trashed, and our heroes wind up floating on driftwood about to meet a very, very large sea creature which I hope for their sakes is related to Dr. Doolittle's large pink snail... Way nifty. What can I say? Keep 'em coming, Mark! I'm crossing my fingers you get that Eisner this week. So, what did y'all think? Story/Art by Jenni Gregory Here's what I thought... Wow, the pacing's really improved from last time. I read through it so effortlessly I couldn't believe it was over so soon! I kept saying, "no, double sized, make it larger next time!" We open with Karen Brinson in Mrs. Tobias' dreamscape again, come to solicit advice from the older woman on what's been happening to her. She interrupts Mrs. T's self-directed dream (damn, I wish I could do that more often) to tell her about what happened with Matthew and his parents, how she all brought them together so Matthew could bid them goodbye as they all slept before he died. This freaks Mrs. T out-- apparently Karen's created a Nexus. Silly me, I thought that was Baron and Rude. :) In any case, Mrs. T is angry enough to banish Karen forcibly from her dream, and Karen's at a loss-- she still perplexed, and nobody's giving her any answers. She and Cori decide they're going to try their own little experiment-- that night Karen's going to attempt to enter Cori's dreams, and together they might be able to figure something out. Cute scene at the mechanic's, although I'm not sure how much it advances the story. Although it does give us one more possible "target" for Karen to explore in her dreamwalking. And it appears Mrs. T might be helping her after all, if her late husband's dream persuasion has any effect. Nicely done, much better pacing, although I could wish for shorter scenes and more of them. This book is coming along quite well, and I continue to be intrigued by the concepts. Recommended. So, what did y'all think? EMMA DAVENPORT #8 Words/Pictures: Gina and Richie Prosch Here's what I thought... This is about the strangest crossover I've seen since Archie Meets the Punisher. And I'm not sure it works as well as that one did. On the one hand, it's very fitting and whimsical to have Emma, a die-hard comics fan, meet her heroes in the Femforce along with her friend Fangirl. On the other hand, it's pretty jarring to suddenly see a more detailed depiction of Emma and Fangirl in the land of Goodgirl Art. It just doesn't seem to mesh for me. Maybe it's because I have very little tolerance for or interest in Femforce myself, so their appearance comes off to me more like a plug than a collaboration. Maybe it's that the two art styles are so incredibly different. The story was okay, but really made no sense in context-- no "it was all a dream," no "imaginary story" (well, okay, they're all imaginary). Just "yes, this really happened, I met my fictional heroes" and playing around with other sorts of reality. But I liked the rest of the book. Emma pinning a bath towel around her neck as a cape and fashioning a makeshift sword, then running around calling herself the Emforcer, was inspired and rang very true. The scene with her and fangirl discussing the legality of selling old comics with their covers ripped off was great. So there was still enough to enjoy without the intrusion-- and it's obvious the Prosches feel the Femforce thing worked, or they wouldn't have done it. (They even provide a rather complete history of the Avenger and Femforce comics, promising more such crossovers in the AC stuff.) So good luck to 'em, I'll probably pass. A so-so recommendation this time around, I'm afraid. So, what did y'all think? by Scott Roberts Here's what I thought... The lead story, "The Best," was a lovely tale of sibling rivalry, as Dad attempts to break up the ever-fighting, ever snarling Sandy and Patty by promising that whoever behaves the best will win the leonine present of their choice-- either the majestic adult lion or "a puny, scrawny little cub." The ending is probably telegraphed from a mile away, but I had great fun enjoying seeing the two young menaces really, really trying to behave and failing miserably at it. Patty pouring Dad his beer was hilarious! And Roberts' art continues to be very evocative with easy-to-read emotions (and not as much stippling, thank goodness; it really doesn't seem to work well for this book, for whatever reason). The Jose page didn't do too much for me, the Patty-n-Irving story "That's the Way the Ball Bounces" was suitably adorable, but the one that really tore my heart out was the last, "No Rhyme or Reason," in which Patty comes up with a perfect, beautiful little haiku and nobody believes she's written it because she's so young. Just exquisite. Made me weep. This little gem continues to amuse and amaze. Get one for your little girl. Or big girl. Or boy... Very recommended. So, what did y'all think? by Masashi Tanaka Here's what I thought... Great, great book. Tanaka's naturalistic style is so precise you're really transported into this world of no captions or balloons but soaring imagination, as one of Japan's favorite little dinosaurs finds himself fighting bears, flying with eaglets and defending... Australian animals? Very easy to follow narrative that needs no translation and can be appreciated by just about anyone who picks it up. Some scenes might be a bit harsh for kids (hell, even I felt sorry for the poor dingoes in the last sequence), but chances are they'll love it. Incredibly detailed and absolutely wondrous. Buy it. So, what did y'all think? [These reviews are reprinted, with permission, from the rec.arts.comics Usenet newsgroups and are copyright 1996 Elayne Wechsler-Chaput <firehead@panix.com>, who will be taking next week off from reviewing again to attend the Comic-Con International in San Diego - I'll be at the Friends of Lulu booth again, as well as flitting about greeting friends old and new! Hope to see you there!] |
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