Month: November 2014

The Question’s Never Far from the Answer | Thoughts on The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1

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The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1 (DC) – There’s good Grant Morrison (The Multiversity #1 and The Multiversity: The Just #1). And there’s bad Grant Morrison (The Multiversity: Society of Superheroes #1and this issue), where he drops you in the middle of a story without a parachute and you bang your head and find yourself a little disoriented and wondering what the hell is going. That was my reading experience this time again with the multi-universal event (the ratio is now 2:2). I’ve seen a lot of chatter online and in the comic book media that lauds this issue as a Watchmenredux. I know it’s been a while since I read Watchmen (although I’ve seen the too-faithful movie adaptation in recent years), but I didn’t feel it was all that “Watchmen-like.” Perhaps an homage, sure, but a “retelling” or “reimagining”, I just didn’t get that feeling. Were it not for Frank Quitely’s herculean effort on the art, I don’t know that I would have read as far as I did. After nearly 30 pages, I was rather bored …

Not How It Was Before | Thoughts on Outcast #5

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Outcast #5 (Image)– This issue was perhaps the series’ most focused to date and contains a fair amount of action and plot development (so far this series is even less about character than The Walking Dead or Invincible). Knowing that Kirkman is going for his usual 6-issue story arc break for collected trade editions of his comics just confirms suspicion that the story is being unveiled in a very decompressed method. Decompression, as you well know, is the bane of the comic book medium in these modern times. Since the four issues prior spent little time developing character, the events in this fifth issue would have been very welcome at, say, issue #3 or #4 at the latest. Yeah, yeah, I know the economics behind writing-for-the-trade, but that doesn’t mean each issue can’t in fact be worth its cover price. That said, this issue was perhaps the most entertaining of the series so far. Unsung heroes here are artist Paul Azaceta’s atmospheric and stylish images and Elizabeth Breitweiser’s colors. – Rating: 3.5

You Never Had a Daughter | Thoughts Wytches #2

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Wytches #2 (Image) – Scott Snyder should not be writing horror stories for comics, tasking an artist to translate them into compelling images. He should instead be writing short prose stories like he did before coming to comics. Despite Jock’s art and the Matt Hollingsworth’s astounding color work, this is the last issue of Wytches I purchase. – Rating: 2.0

Comic Book Fetish Favorites | October 2014

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Running late. Already into the second week of November. At any rate, here’s the rundown and commentary of the 19 comics released in October that I read. There a few new number ones on here so let’s see how they stacked up against the usual suspects. 1. Sex Criminals #8 (Image) 5.0 – SexCrimz never seems to disappoint and it’s undeniably my highest rated series since I’ve started doing the Fetish Favorites here, scoring 5.0 issues more than any other series I read. And it’s never earned a rating lower than 4.0 (out of 5) from me in all its eight issues-so-far run. Just as Velvet is Ed Brubaker writing at his best, Sex Criminals is easily Matt Fraction writing at his very best. Of course, I would be remiss not to mention Chip Zdarsky’s equal contribution to the greatness of this series as its artist (love the way he portrays Suzie Dickson). It’s amazing that despite its rather high concept SexCrimz manages to be a very grounded story thanks to its character-driven qualities. This …

The Volatile + The Profane | Thoughts on The Wicked + The Divine #5

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The Wicked + The Divine #5 (Image) – This is the second comic I’ve read in recent months where I’ve witnessed the demise of a comic’s apparent lead character (the other being Southern Bastards). I may need a re-read of the earlier issues because I don’t quite buy the other main character’s reaction, as if in so short a time some super-strong deep bond was formed. Then again, that character is young and impressionable with 15-minutes of fame goals, so I suppose that’s the point: idolatry. Her new larger-than-life, god-like idol was just executed before her eyes. I will say that writer Kieron Gillen’sheartfelt editorial address in the backpages helped curb my overall criticism of this series a bit. At 38, he claims to not be that 28 year old who wrote Phonogram a decade ago, and that unlike Phonogram, which was about being a consumer of art, Wic+Div is about what you do to become a creator of art. So beneath all the violence and foul language, there’s a deeper message to be had, …

The Justified | Thoughts on The Multiversity: The Just #1

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The Multiversity: The Just #1 (DC) – This third installment was a lot more fun than the previous one that focused on the Society of Superheroes (S.O.S), the old-school Golden Age contingency of characters. The characters of The Just (and Justice League) are all younger, legacy variants of the ones we know so well. Damian Wayne is Batman, Chris Kent is Superman, Alexis Luthor is Batman’s once secret girlfriend and whose dad had killed the original Superman – it all makes for awkward relations between the two “World’s Finest” best friends. Many characters abound here, as per The Multiversity usual standard. The running theme in this issue is that this new generation of heroes is bored due to a lack of interesting or even truly threatening villainy and activity. Batman is especially unimpressed, saying: “What this world needs is an old-school super-villain like my mom or my gran’dad to liven things up.” The overarching plot and meta-concept of the series thickens here as the comic books from our world are fully exposed to be sinister …

They Killed Earl Tubb? You Bastards! | Thoughts on Southern Bastards #5

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Southern Bastards #5 (Image) – Well…I guess I’m out. Fuck. I’m pissed off. Just like Game of Thrones with Ned Stark, my gateway character – in the case of this series, Earl Tubb, the sympathetic protagonist of the “Here Was a Man” story arc (a telling title), the apparent star of this series’ first four issues, actually *** RARE SPOILERS *** diedin that fourth issue (okay, so “died” is a bit of an understatement, considering). Meaning he wasn’t even in this issue; hell even at his funeral it was a closed casket (y’know, given that hellacious beating he took in #4…). As of now, I’m undecided on getting #6. Maybe after the shock wears off, I’ll come around. But I don’t know. This dramatically changes the story for me – it’s less about one man and his awful plight and more about Craw County, its rival neighboring counties and all the bad denizens that live (and die) there. Minus one Earl Tubb, the whole reason I bought into the series. Damn you Jasons Aaron & …