My money's on Jesus in this one, by the way.
Starting late on account of reading and reviewing a Star Trek book this morning, and of course, it's Easter, with all that entails, so if I manage 20 comics today, I'll be happy. I've gone through 60% of the pile though, so it's actually doable!! Ok, let's start the day skulking in all guilty for having Battle for the Cowl comics...
Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon #1: I like it when Commissioner Gordon can handle himself, and he's got a great fight with Mr. Freeze in this one-shot. However, I do wonder if this crossover event will end up proving that Batman wasn't really needed. I mean, if you show that every other competent hero in Gotham (including the police) is enough to stem the tide of crime and violence in Gotham... But for now:
Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat #1: Can you really blow out Metamorpho's ear drums? Man, I couldn't care less about the Outsiders right now. Man-Bat gets a slightly different status quo (he can change at will), and I'm always happy to catch sight of Dr. Phosphorus, but otherwise, a big fat meh.
Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #1: There's a new Azrael in town and he's one of the substitute Batmen from R.I.P., a cop who lost it. This isn't the same Order as the previous Azrael though, it's the Order of Purity, with a cursed armor and lots of christian myth thrown in. Nicieza does a good job of building interest with his staccato rhythms. Wow, I just enjoyed an Azrael comic.
DOCTOR WHO EASTER SPECIAL BREAK!!!
Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2: Man, I hate Jason Todd. And it's not a case of loving hating him either. No, I truly despise the character. I hate the very idea of bringing back this character from the dead (pointless!), and I hate how he's suddenly a psychotic killer (mischaracterized!), and I hate that he's a Batman that uses guns (boring!). It's just dull nonsense to me. Tony Daniel's art is better than under Morrison's scripts, but he still has trouble drawing age-appropriate body types. Everything with a BftC banner has been better than this.
Gotham Gazette: Batman Dead? #1: The only strand I found interesting is Vicki Vale's.
Air #7: A really interesting way to tell an origin story... Blythe is a passenger inside Zain's head from the time he was 10 years old to now, until she can't tell she's herself. Trippy without being obtuse, and I still have no idea where Air is heading. Love this understated plane shot though:
Unknown Soldier #6: Well-documented as ever, but I think it shines by showing us Uganda, making us understand it visually, whether war-torn or not. The U.N. tarps, for example, is a great detail. The series is creepy without really invoking anything supernatural. More and more, I'm comparing it to the Phantom.
Vigilante #4: Tie-in with the Titans, huh? Is this where Vigilante and I part ways? Well, I really don't want to pick up Titans #12, especially if it's not going to end with Jericho's death. But surely, Wolfman wouldn't participate in that?
Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam #3: Another beautifully drawn, charming issue. I especially love how the "Evils" are cursed with their own sin.
Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam #4: That's the creepiest lobotomy I've ever seen in an all-ages comic!
Solomon Grundy #2: I know Didio thinks Solomon Grundy is the non-Vertigo DC's answer to Swamp Thing, but he's really just its answer to the Hulk. Disjointed, relentlessly violent, and here includes a tonally incongruous fight with Bizarro. Ok, NOW I remember why I wasn't supposed to pick this up anymore.
The Mighty #2: Alpha-One speaks, but he's no less creepy. And the way Captain Shaw's murderers get killed, I'm still not letting him off the hook.
The focus remains on interim Captain Cole, the real heart of the series, which I think will be a lot more about how real people would react to a superhero in their midst. We haven't had a good one of those in a while, I don't think. "Realistic" superheroes in recent years have still focused on the superhero (Manhunter, what's left of Astro City, etc.).
The Mighty #3: So now I trust him more, but his fancy HQ puts the lie to his not so secret origin told in issue 1. So I'm back to not trusting him. Tomasi and Champagne do a good job of making him intense, which is how I imagine a superhero would seem to us normal folk.
House of Mystery #11: My pal Bauble told me he tried the new House and didn't like it. Not enough like the old one. I get that, but I still don't think an anthology would work so well these days. The longer story about people trapped in an in-between place, owing something to Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (or if you like, Sandman's Inn at World's End) is one that's keeping my interest at least (plenty of mysteries, ha!). And sometimes the "guest story" actually has something to do with the larger tale.
House of Mystery #12: The House just has the best drinks!
Lovely story about loving a person's multi-dimensional doubles! And an Animal Man-like exit from the house for Peter. I gotta say, the plot thickens. I hope other Vertigo heads are grooving on it too.
Mysterius the Unfathomable #3: Fun as ever. Was Dr. Seuss a Satanist? No, but he could have been!
Captain America Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1: James Robinson would have you believe Steve Rogers earned his super-soldier serum and that while he didn't have the physical power, he still had the resources to beat/elude a gang of 5th columnists. Well, he's got me almost convinced. Nice little tale. It comes with a Golden Age story in which Cap and Bucky play baseball. After that cover, not enough interior Hitler punching though. It's also a comic that makes me wonder if Steve is coming back. Its moral is that what made Cap special was Steve Rogers, who is NOT in the role right now. And Marvel keeps coming out with ways to use Steve Rogers anyway - a bunch of specials and Avengers/Invaders). So does that ad with Captain America's star mean he's back in July? Cuz his movie's not scheduled until 2011.
Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #1: Brought back fond memories of Assistant Editor Month back when I started reading Marvel Comics! The framing story is very funny, and you can just tell Eliopoulos is gently taking the piss out of the ass. eds. Three stories here: D-Man in Iraq, very original; a badass American Eagle story, yes, American Eagle, you heard me; and a funny Mini-Marvels spectacular starring Hawkeye and Dr. Strange.
I'll be back for the second half, guaranteed.
Thor #12: The recent Matt Fraction special have reawakened in me an interest in Thor, but Straczynski's comics work never appealed. Still, with #600 coming up, I thought I'd catch up a little and see. (Didn't expect 600 to be a 100-page monster however... and the God-Sized Special is also in my pile.) Anyway, it's a magical time travel story that takes us back to Loki's roots. As such, it's mythical like the Fraction Specials, so I enjoyed it.
Bloodpool - Suicide Kings #1: I'm kinda new to Bloodpool, though I guess I'd personally describe him as Deathstroke meets Ambush Bug. His two voices and spazzed out visions are certainly entertaining. The plot mildly less so. Didn't this guy used to know he was in a comic? I wish there was a little more of that Reality Check power in here.
Starting late on account of reading and reviewing a Star Trek book this morning, and of course, it's Easter, with all that entails, so if I manage 20 comics today, I'll be happy. I've gone through 60% of the pile though, so it's actually doable!! Ok, let's start the day skulking in all guilty for having Battle for the Cowl comics...
Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon #1: I like it when Commissioner Gordon can handle himself, and he's got a great fight with Mr. Freeze in this one-shot. However, I do wonder if this crossover event will end up proving that Batman wasn't really needed. I mean, if you show that every other competent hero in Gotham (including the police) is enough to stem the tide of crime and violence in Gotham... But for now:
Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat #1: Can you really blow out Metamorpho's ear drums? Man, I couldn't care less about the Outsiders right now. Man-Bat gets a slightly different status quo (he can change at will), and I'm always happy to catch sight of Dr. Phosphorus, but otherwise, a big fat meh.Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #1: There's a new Azrael in town and he's one of the substitute Batmen from R.I.P., a cop who lost it. This isn't the same Order as the previous Azrael though, it's the Order of Purity, with a cursed armor and lots of christian myth thrown in. Nicieza does a good job of building interest with his staccato rhythms. Wow, I just enjoyed an Azrael comic.
DOCTOR WHO EASTER SPECIAL BREAK!!!
Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2: Man, I hate Jason Todd. And it's not a case of loving hating him either. No, I truly despise the character. I hate the very idea of bringing back this character from the dead (pointless!), and I hate how he's suddenly a psychotic killer (mischaracterized!), and I hate that he's a Batman that uses guns (boring!). It's just dull nonsense to me. Tony Daniel's art is better than under Morrison's scripts, but he still has trouble drawing age-appropriate body types. Everything with a BftC banner has been better than this.
Gotham Gazette: Batman Dead? #1: The only strand I found interesting is Vicki Vale's.
Air #7: A really interesting way to tell an origin story... Blythe is a passenger inside Zain's head from the time he was 10 years old to now, until she can't tell she's herself. Trippy without being obtuse, and I still have no idea where Air is heading. Love this understated plane shot though:
Unknown Soldier #6: Well-documented as ever, but I think it shines by showing us Uganda, making us understand it visually, whether war-torn or not. The U.N. tarps, for example, is a great detail. The series is creepy without really invoking anything supernatural. More and more, I'm comparing it to the Phantom.Vigilante #4: Tie-in with the Titans, huh? Is this where Vigilante and I part ways? Well, I really don't want to pick up Titans #12, especially if it's not going to end with Jericho's death. But surely, Wolfman wouldn't participate in that?
Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam #3: Another beautifully drawn, charming issue. I especially love how the "Evils" are cursed with their own sin.
Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam #4: That's the creepiest lobotomy I've ever seen in an all-ages comic!Solomon Grundy #2: I know Didio thinks Solomon Grundy is the non-Vertigo DC's answer to Swamp Thing, but he's really just its answer to the Hulk. Disjointed, relentlessly violent, and here includes a tonally incongruous fight with Bizarro. Ok, NOW I remember why I wasn't supposed to pick this up anymore.
The Mighty #2: Alpha-One speaks, but he's no less creepy. And the way Captain Shaw's murderers get killed, I'm still not letting him off the hook.
The focus remains on interim Captain Cole, the real heart of the series, which I think will be a lot more about how real people would react to a superhero in their midst. We haven't had a good one of those in a while, I don't think. "Realistic" superheroes in recent years have still focused on the superhero (Manhunter, what's left of Astro City, etc.).The Mighty #3: So now I trust him more, but his fancy HQ puts the lie to his not so secret origin told in issue 1. So I'm back to not trusting him. Tomasi and Champagne do a good job of making him intense, which is how I imagine a superhero would seem to us normal folk.
House of Mystery #11: My pal Bauble told me he tried the new House and didn't like it. Not enough like the old one. I get that, but I still don't think an anthology would work so well these days. The longer story about people trapped in an in-between place, owing something to Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (or if you like, Sandman's Inn at World's End) is one that's keeping my interest at least (plenty of mysteries, ha!). And sometimes the "guest story" actually has something to do with the larger tale.
House of Mystery #12: The House just has the best drinks!
Lovely story about loving a person's multi-dimensional doubles! And an Animal Man-like exit from the house for Peter. I gotta say, the plot thickens. I hope other Vertigo heads are grooving on it too.Mysterius the Unfathomable #3: Fun as ever. Was Dr. Seuss a Satanist? No, but he could have been!
Captain America Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1: James Robinson would have you believe Steve Rogers earned his super-soldier serum and that while he didn't have the physical power, he still had the resources to beat/elude a gang of 5th columnists. Well, he's got me almost convinced. Nice little tale. It comes with a Golden Age story in which Cap and Bucky play baseball. After that cover, not enough interior Hitler punching though. It's also a comic that makes me wonder if Steve is coming back. Its moral is that what made Cap special was Steve Rogers, who is NOT in the role right now. And Marvel keeps coming out with ways to use Steve Rogers anyway - a bunch of specials and Avengers/Invaders). So does that ad with Captain America's star mean he's back in July? Cuz his movie's not scheduled until 2011.
Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #1: Brought back fond memories of Assistant Editor Month back when I started reading Marvel Comics! The framing story is very funny, and you can just tell Eliopoulos is gently taking the piss out of the ass. eds. Three stories here: D-Man in Iraq, very original; a badass American Eagle story, yes, American Eagle, you heard me; and a funny Mini-Marvels spectacular starring Hawkeye and Dr. Strange.
I'll be back for the second half, guaranteed.Thor #12: The recent Matt Fraction special have reawakened in me an interest in Thor, but Straczynski's comics work never appealed. Still, with #600 coming up, I thought I'd catch up a little and see. (Didn't expect 600 to be a 100-page monster however... and the God-Sized Special is also in my pile.) Anyway, it's a magical time travel story that takes us back to Loki's roots. As such, it's mythical like the Fraction Specials, so I enjoyed it.
Bloodpool - Suicide Kings #1: I'm kinda new to Bloodpool, though I guess I'd personally describe him as Deathstroke meets Ambush Bug. His two voices and spazzed out visions are certainly entertaining. The plot mildly less so. Didn't this guy used to know he was in a comic? I wish there was a little more of that Reality Check power in here.
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