Best Books of 2006! Woo-Sucker Punch Ninja Kick!

It's not that I haven't been reading a buttload of comics the last two weeks. Because I have. In fact I'm working on a Seven Soldiers of Victory Review, and planning to review Bendis's entire Ultimate Spiderman run. I was going to do that this week, but the thought occured to me that when next I post a blog it's going to be lucky 07, and in that vein, like every other crazy review site, it's time to wrap it up on '06. Time to go back into the year and to the best of my recollection, give you my best books of '06. History holds there should be a nice round number of these . Like five or ten or a hundred. But a hundred would be unwieldy, and honestly, so may be ten. So I'm going with five. Five really good books from the past year that I fully reccomend. And since there is only five, I won't be doing anything silly like ranking them. Just five. Deal with it.

And without much more ado:

All-star Superman
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

In all honesty, there was maybe three or four writers who just completely pwned 2006. Morrison was one of them. He semi-quietly threw out some major good stuff. From Seven Soldiers of Victory to Batman to working on 52--even though it's tempting to give DC's year to Geoff Johns, at the end of the day Morrison's work was what kept me a proud DC fan.

And All-Star Superman was simply his best. As arguably the best book DC put out last year, ASM was no slouch. It's still ongoing, and I'll be sad when it's over. But the premise is kind of those silver age wacky superman stories of old. You've got a very mortal Superman, bouncing around in crazy situations with all the normal cast of characters we all know from the years. I don't even like Superman, in fact I kind of hate him. But that didn't stop this book from being one of the very best out there. Morrison's depiction of Lex Luthor has to be seen. And the art from Quitely is eye-gougingly beautiful. The colors are great. Just fantastic work. If you're looking for a Superhero book to read from the last year, I think this is the one.

Scott Pilgrim
Bryan Lee O'Malley

There's actually three Scott Pilgrim books that are out to get, and one of them came out this year, so technically this is okay. But I read all three for the first time this year and felt like all life to that point must have been empty and meaningless. I now know my purpose in life: To read the next Scott Pilgrim book. Collected in good chunk lollipop sized manga volumes, this book chronicles a slackless canadian layabout (perhaps even a rapskallion?) and his adventures or misadventures in love. He's constantly having to fight his girlfriend's ex-boyfriends so that he can continue to go out with her in wild video game-anime inspire fight scenes.

This is a book for everyone. I actually gave it as a christmas present to my sister and my secret santa, and they both adored the book. It's impossible not to like. It's got a charm and humor to it, that is impossible not to fall in love with. If you haven't read Scott Pilgrim, you are probably an evil doppleganger and I hope they find you and throw you into the sun.

Fell
Warren Ellis-Ben Templesmith
2006 also ushered in a bucket full of really good Warren Ellis writing. The King hath returneth. That he wrote both this and Desolation Jones(which I almost put on the list instead) puts him up there for best of the best for the year.

The concept for Fell is 16 pages, full story, 1.99. It follows Detective Richard Fell who has transfered across the bridge from the big city to Snowtown. Snowtown being something of a hellmouth for human degeneracy. The crimes in this book are often sick, disgusting, revolting, but the way in which solves the mysteries in 16 pages with a little bit of humor even, is remarkable and a testament to Ellis' abilities as a writer. There's a lot ot learn from Ellis on this book as far as how much story you really can cram into a book. There's so many books that are 6 to 7 pages longer than Fell that don't feel nearly as satisfying story wise. When you pick up Fell you feel like you're getting your money's worth. Definitely more than worth picking up.

Phonogram
Kieron Gillen-Jamie Mckelvie

If you read my review of Phonogram from a few weeks back and still didn't go pick up the book, I probably hate you, and we probably can't be friends. If I had to pick a favorite book of the entire year, it is either this or Scott Pilgrim. I would say of the two, Phonogram gave me the most food for thought while still being very entertaining. Read this book. Ponder it. Sit it down for 30 minutes. Go grab some bread or cookies or whatever it is you monsters eat. Then come back and read it again.

Love the concept. Love the art. Love the writing. Love people who listen to me and buy the stupid book.

Don't make me beg. Go buy the book idiots.

Pride of Baghdad
Brian K. Vaughn-Niko Henrichon

Incendiary. Beautiful. Brilliant. Brian K. Vaughn was the man about town in comics this year. There's nothing he wrote that you shouldn't have read. But this was the opus. Straight to graphic novel, this based-on-a-true-story, allegory about a family of lions who escaped from the zoo during the US bombardment of Baghdad dazzled.

This is up there with Dark Knight Returns. The Watchmen. Those great canonical books of the medium. Maus. It's immedietely applicable to the current situation in Iraq, as that is most directly what it is addressing. But the meditation it ends up offering on war, dictatorships, and freedom makes this something on the level of comic's Animal Farm. This book is hopefully just the first in many great works from hopefully the next great shining star of comics.

I've yet to encounter anyone who has read the book that didn't come away staggered.

Honorable Mentions: Ed Brubaker's Criminal; Warren Ellis's Desolation Jones; Rick Spears' Pirates of Coney Island

Here's to '07 folks.

Spider-man Reign # 1; Justice Society of America # 1; Wolverine # 48; Newuniversal # 1

Spider-man: Reign # 1
Kaare Andrews

This little one man band of a show shows a lot of promise promise promise. It's basically, to tell you what you've already heard a million times before reading this review, The Dark Spider Returns. People aren't just saying that either. The degree to which this is derivative of Dark Knight Returns is raither staggering. I like to think it will differentiate itself further down the line and make this really something special. But here's the premise: Peter Parker is an old man, long since retired, living in a fascist state, watching things spiral out of control, until he is called into action once more as Spider-man. And all of this happens in the rain, with lots of lightning. And there's a TV news channel with plastic phases reporting the government news. So I don't know. What's that sound like to you?

I mean, honestly, if all this book ends up becoming is Dark Knight Returns in a Spider-man skin, it will still be worth a read. But Spider-man isn't Batman. They are diffrent characters with diffrent sensibilties. There are certainly feints towards exploring those diffrences, but we'll have to see if they are picked up or this book just follows the already set out cookie cutter story of the Dark Knight Returns.

It is pretty cool though. The whole Reign thing is pretty lame though. We'll see. If I sound all over the map on this review, it's because I really want to like this book, and it hasn't done anything staggeringly wrong. But this book is very close to a misstep into me hating it realm.

The art is kind of cool at times too.

Justice Society of America # 1
Geoff Johns- Dale Eaglesham


This book is really really good. It's actually better than the JLA restart I raved about from Meltzer. Johns presents some really cool new faces to the team, weaves in a mystery, and drops a bombshell at the end. It's good stuff.

Honestly the book should be picked up just for the New Starman character who is already a blast.

The premise of the story is basically The Justice Society starting anew. No more no less. Picking new team members. Introducing old faces. It's a great book to start on and get into what has always been a fantastic series. So don't sleep. Better than advertised. And if the previews for the coming year are any indication, this book is going to have some crazy things go down.

Wolverine # 48
Marc Guggenhiem-Humberto Ramos

I picked this book up mainly to see if there was going to be any hope for one of my favorite heroes, the Flash, since the current team in conjuntion with possibly suspect editorial directives, conspired to put out one of the most putrid piles of piss with the gall to still call itself a DC comic. Heh. I'm a little bitter about that. So rather than review that book, I'm going to do something positive. I'm going to talk about how the next creative team who are going to be writing The Flash, the one currently writing Wolverine--how they are going to do a-okay.

I honestly have been sleeping in this whole Wolverine mess and in particular Mr. Guggenhiem's writing of this book. I mean, I should have known better, a lot of people told me it was decent. But I put it off. Waited. And this issue seemed like the perfect excuse.

Wovlerine # 48 is pretty much a one-shot, that focuses entirely upon just what happens to everyone's favorite hand bladed canuck when he is destroyed beyond recognition, such as in a massive inferno styled plane crash. It's a very probing looking into Wolverine's mindset, and honestly, it kind of makes you wish the poor guy could just die in peace.

The artwork for this book is a lot of fun, bouncing through styles, from anime/mangish looking characters, to full on paint jobs. It's all pretty fun. Some hits, some misses. But good stuff all the same. The transition between Logan's dead world, and alive world is very cool. And I'm excited if Ramos is indeed following Guggenhiem to Flash. And I happen to like the thick neck by the by.

The writing is really quite good. Solid dialouge. Very good interior monolauge. Interesting meditations on life and death, and Logan's history. As with any good Wolverine tale, questions are always met with more questions. It's sad that marvel is having to strip away Wolverine's secrets more and more. It's interesting to know, but once it's gone it's gone. Things like this though, show how with a little imagination, one can still mine the folds.

Good book. Now go fix Flash good sirs.

Newuniversal # 1
Warren Ellis-Salvador Larroca

Strange solar event awakens, or creates in various people on the planet, diffrent kinds of powers. There's a couple white guys from diffrent places. Some scientists. A japanese girl. Violence. Sci-fi mumbo jumbo.

Really I don't know why I bothered with this. I pretty much know what kind of Warren Ellis story I like, and this isn't it. I've got Desolation Jones going on, and that's fantastic. The Phillip K. Dick bend into that world is going to be a lot of fun, I'm a fan. Fell is fantastic. I mean. I should have enough. If that's all Ellis were up to this year, fabu. Good year. Drinks all around.

That said. There is actually nothing wrong with this book. The artwork is pretty good, it's not as stylized as something like The Eternals, but it's good stuff. I didn't like the weird C on the japanese girl's face. I hate face tatoos, especially glowing ones. You've gone and drawn this perfectly wonderful face, and now you've mucked it up with a lame C thingy.

The writing is also fine. There's a fun bit about John Lennon being the beatle who is still alive and McCartney being the one that is dead. There's really not enough to have happened in this issue to really judge how strong it will be or won't be. If you have a lot of confidence in Ellis, and he has never let you down. Then give it a shot. But I definitely feel there are better number ones out there to be picking up. If it were a judgement between all of the books in this review as to what to buy, you'd buy JSA, Spider-man, Wolverine, and then this. But I try to give books a chance. I'm not going to throw something away after one issue, so if this book comes around and ends up being completely diffrent than how it looks like it will obviously be, then hoo-ray.

The Lone Ranger 1-2; MoonKnight 6; White Tiger 1

The Lone Ranger
Brett Matthews-Sergio Cariello

I have to cop to it up front, when I was really little, I used to wake up at 5:30am every saturday morning, just to watch the latest rerun(which for me was brand new) of the old Lone Ranger series. And in addition to that, the actual movie of the series, was pretty much completely awe inspiring to me.

So why it took me two issues to bother with this title I've never fully understand. Maybe I was afraid they would make a childhood fave into something really cheesy. I don't know.

But what we've got here is Lone Ranger: Year One. And it is pretty darn fantastic. The first two issues fly by really quick, but you get the ambush, and the mysterious set up of a larger conspiracy against the Lone Ranger headed by one really evil Black Bart. We even have a very tortured and troubled Tonto on board already. It's a lot of fun. You really don't need to know anything about the Lone Ranger to appreciate the book. I can't really imagine what it would be like to read this book with no knowledge of the series, but it must be nice. Basically what you've got here is the making of a legend.

This is a good western comic, and that makes it a good change of pace if you're looking to branch out of the tighted wonders. Though again, there are a lot of similarities to Batman here, so you won't feel totally adrift. The art is excellent, the story telling is good--just a very solid book to be reading. One minor quibble I had was that the transitions between time periods were needlessly jarring. But I look forward to spending more time in all of these diffrent time periods of the character.

MoonKnight # 6
Charlie Huston-David Finch

Another childhood fave. I have always thought MoonKnight was really cool, and as I've said in my earlier reviews of this book, I am really happy with what Huston is doing here. This book just gets grittier and grittier. With seemingly no end in sight. It almost functions as a horror movie with Marc Spector against himself.

The gore level of this book is amazing, and the art is just flat out grimy. My only complaint is that the issues just won't come fast enough. Basically MoonKnight is becoming a face skinning nutcase who can't distinguish between reality and delusion anymore.

The interior monologue is once again very good and very clever. The dialouge is needlessly complicated and difficult sometimes to process. It's hard sometimes to remember who is related to what, and what they are going on about. But I get the sense that Huston is really feeling the medium out right now with this book. He's trying really hard and really pushing to see just what he can do with the medium, and for the most part it's been a raving success.

This is a great book if you are into delusional gritty gore happy brooding hero types. Dark stuff indeed. But it's good to see MoonKnight back on his feet.

White Tiger # 1
Tamora Pierce, Timothy Liebe-Phil Briones

Well....the cover looks nice. The cover is by David Mack. It's very pretty. I like it a lot. I bought the book because of the cover. Good job David Mack. In fact I had this book lying around and a co-worker saw it and was really interested because the cover was that good. So good job David Mack.

I mean. I like Tigers. And BAM. There's a White Tiger, right there on the cover. Behind a pretty ass kicking lady with dark hair, I'm thinking about getting my hair darkened, so jealous of brunettes. It's really cool how the utility belt on the cover is kind of done in a diffrent style than everything else. Almost cartoony next to the painting water colors of the rest. Just all in all a job well done.

Oh. How's the actual book you ask?

Oh the book? It's a pile of steaming crap. I'd say you might enjoy it if you are a fan of White Tiger, but how many fans of White Tiger are there really out there? Probably less than there were before. The book where it tries to be funny is appallingly not. Where it tries to be serious, it comes off awkward. The art is par the course for anything. The whole trip to the superhero costume store felt entirely out of place(yes I know it exists in the "616", but still...). This book just howls lame. Actually the thing is, it's bad, but it's not really bad enough to get a kick out of as being bad.

That said, I'll give the book a chance. Maybe it will find it's footing a few issues in? It is written by a women, and I like to see more women writing in the business. But really....acck. Instead of buying this book, buy an extra copy of Phonogram and give it to a needy child for this christmas.

Nightly News 1; Pirates of Coney Island 2; Wonder Woman 3

Nightly News
Jonathan Hickman

You have to respect this book. The coolness quotient this one man band of a book oozes, even if you don't like the book, you have to respect this book. Nightly News is Jonathan Hickman's rage against the horrors of modern day conditioning. It's about the two percent that own it all versus the 98 percent who own nothing. It's about violent politcal change. It's about how much the news sucks.

And it's pretty good.

The artistic style of the book can best be described as whatever that mess of information is that you see when you turn on your 24 hour news network. It's information overload. You don't read this book so much as it is shot at you, and you collect what you can. At it's height it's a powerful call to arms. At it's worst it's another in the long line of "You're not your fucking khakis".

And while I enjoyed the first issue immensley the seeds of fight club are there, and it bugs me. I don't feel like this book needs a cult driving it. It would have been enough to be a core of angry men. But to throw this Durden-esque claptrap on top of it...it makes me worry.

But for now, this is a good book to be checking out and I do recommend it. As I said before, even if you don't like, you kind of have to respect it. But you'll probably kind of like it.

Pirates of Coney Island
Rick Spears-Vasilis Lolos

Love this book. If you are at all romantic about the anarchic vibes of the ramones, then this is the kind of book you want to see. It's funny to review this book right next to Nightly News because while Pirates isn't as overtly political a book, it's the kind of book which might be a more successful glamorization of an ideal, and a more successfull call to arms.

Pirates of Coney Island is as near as I can tell about a gang of kids at Coney island who approximate something of a non-sea fairing, group of pirates. It's more akin to Tom Sawyer than anything really, but it wears the clothes of that sort of glue hoffing punk esctatica that even nostalgically will always be in vogue. This is about doing what you want, when you want, and giving the big number one to the authority the whole way through.

What's really fun with the book is how Spears intermarries both pirate and comic book tropes. The Pirates have their own batcave. They have their own roles in the crew, each one a speciality--even though they aren't dressed the part(though one boy does don an eye patch), they do feel like pirates.

I really had a lot of fun reading Pirates of Coney Island and am very excited for the next issue. I actually jumped right into the series without having read issue one, so I still have that to catch up on, but missing that info didn't really affect my enjoyment level of the book.

I guess the diffrence between the two books appeal is that in the end I'd rather drop out with Kerouac, then blow up with Osama. The revolution of Pirates is micro, where the one in Nightly News is more macro. Inward vs. outward.

As a final note, and something I should have mentioned sooner--Vasilis Lolos...just whoa. You can draw my wedding pictures any day sir. Love his art. It slightly reminds me of the gorrilaz animation, but it has this wonderful edge and depravity to it--and the colors just explode off the page. The fun thing with Pirates is reading it after going through a pile of fairly dark grim colored books, and then Pirates just explodes on you with blues and greens and reds and yellows. It's beautiful stuff. I can't wait to see more from Lolos.

Wonder Woman # 3
Allan Heinberg-Terry Dodson

Two things to get off my chest before starting this review. First off, it's something of a minor travesty that a character as important and iconic as Wonder Woman, who is supposedly one of the big three with Superman and Batman, only has one book, and it can't come out on a semi-regular basis. Second of all, if it means Allan Heinberg is going to continue to spin such an interesting yarn, then by all means, take your freaking time.

So yeah, I started this book kind of mad, but ended it ready for more. This is a good old fashioned superhero book with wonderful two page splash pages for battles. Lots of fights, lots of talking and drama during those fights, it's how these things are done when they're to be done right. But what hooks you into this book and makes you strap in for the long haul is contained in the dialouge from Circe to Diana(Wonder Woman): "Power you squandered...battling cyborg centurions and psychic despots...when every day thousands of women are beaten raped and murdered because they have no one to fight for them. Because you were too busy being a superhero to be their champion" Hoo boy. This book just took a turn.

One of my favorite things about Wonder Woman is how political she is. I'm not really interested as much in the greek mythology of the character, but I love when she is wrestling with politics and ideals, and real social change. I really hope this book does go to the streets and connects Wonder Woman to a more grounded place. The character could use that. And I think that's what Heinberg is attempting.

We'll see how it goes, but here's to Heinberg and Dodson telling a story worthy of Wonder Woman. Now about having more than one Wonder Woman book going....

Phonogram # 1; Punisher War Journal # 1; Angry Youth Comix # 12

Phonogram # 1
Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

I actually have issues 2-3, which I plan to read, and also review. But I was so excited by this book, that after reading the first issue I wanted to do a backflip into a moving vehicle at 120mph, before punching my own stunt double in the face. This book is that freaking fantastic.

The premise of Phonogram is basically that music is magic. Instead of lame dwarves and elves being draped over a story as the predominant mysticism, it's britpop, and Scout Niblett. It's a world where music casts spells on people. Where being on the list is a magical act. It's so fatsuck cantastic that honestly if you aren't bum rushing your local grocery store and demanding that loaves of bread be replaced by stacks of this book, then something is lacking in your human condition and you should seek high grade medical assistance immedietely.

This is the type of book Jesus would have read before he threw wine on the mobs of idiots outside his church. It just does something to you. You're like, "this book should have been written already, Grant Morrison should have already figured this one out". But it's Gillen and McKelvie, kids. And it's beautiful. Please please please be buying this. Even if you wait for the trade.

Punisher War Journal # 1
Matt Fraction- Ariel Olivetti

This is a Civil War book for right now, but that doesn't stop it from being a lot of fun on it's own right. Ennis's Punisher this ain't. Fraction's punisher owes more to Spider Jerusalem than he does the serious maniac from Garth's book. It's a pretty enjoyable book. The art is some weird balance between cartoony and realistic. It really looks neat.

Fraction has a complete ball with this book. It's Punisher as a running psycho-comic monologue. It's a book with a lot of promise. I don't think it will ever reach the lofty perches of Ennis run, but it might be a lot more enjoyable. It's got that hip self-awareness pop-culture lingo going on for it, which Fraction has somehow woven into the Punisher character very effectively--in that respect the aforementioned art is perfect, as it seems to easily bound between the cartoonish and the serious.

This book is definitely an exercise in the serious and the absurd. With a slight tilt to the absurd.

A book to keep an eye on. If you're not a punisher fan, this book might be for you.

Angry Youth Comix # 12
Johnny Ryan

This book is definitely not for the faint of humor. Think of the most offensive style of humor, the most perverse sick twisted ideas your sad sack mind can imagine, and then realize that you don't even come close to being in the ballpark of Mr. Ryan.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. It is refreshing to read humor that is edgy, without seeming to try to hard. This book reads almost stream of consciousness from someone who is just raging at the way society is. It's really a great book for the repressed liberal, even though most liberals might get very offended at it. It's a book so wrong, it's right.

There's a real sense of traction with this book that I think if someone else was trying to push these ideas, might come off a lot wrong. The Fantagraphic Books seal of approval helps a lot to get this book read in the proper context. Low the humor may seem, this is high art stuff.

If you're looking for something edgy and funny to read, definitely look for it. Johnny Ryan has two collections out of his work, I haven't read either, but I am very interested to give them a try, and I wouldn't begrudge anyone else doing so as well.

Batman and the Mad Monk # 4; Dr. Strange # 2

Dark Moon Rising: Batman and the Mad Monk
Matt Wagner

This book gets better and better with each chapter. It really is a throwback to Miller's Year One, though Batman as slightly farther a long(Year Two-ish). The interior dialouge is well done, the art is pretty good, and the overall supernatural B-movie nature of the villain is just a hoot.

In this chapter Batman actually makes it to the castle of the Mad Monk, which suprise suprise, is booby-trapped galore. I'm kind of hoping for some of those 70's Batman TV show traps in the next issue.

This issue is worth it alone just for the scene where Alfred complains about Batman melting down the silver candlesticks so he can make pure silver batarangs.

Good fun. There's a lot of great Batman work out there these days, and this is another book you can't go wrong with if you're a fan at all of the Dark Knight.

Dr. Strange: The Oath
Brian K. Vaughan-Marcos Martin

More BKV brilliance here. Probably not quite as strong as the opening chapter, but still one of the better books out there. Lots of cleverness. Dr. Strange is a lot of fun with BKV writing him. Love the Night Nurse, who doesn't? The core of this chapter is basically a window back into Dr. Strange's past, after he had the accident that took away his career as a surgeon. This story is book ended by the current search for the man who shot Dr. Strange and took his neato elixir that cures cancer that he was going to use for his trusty asian assistant Wong.

The dialoge is sharp as a scalpel. The magical action is well drawn and interesting to look at. Just in general a very good book. Definitely one you should be reading, as well as anything else Brian K. Vaughan writes.

Good art, good writing, were that every book at bare minimum this good.

Criminal 1 and 2; Cross Bronx 1-3

Criminal
Ed Brubaker-Sean Phillips

By now you've probably already heard a lot about this newish book by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. So take this all with a kind of Out of the Past joy. Book's good. It's damn good. The book is about a coward named Leo who happens to be a brilliant criminal and a "one last heist" sort of situation that goes awry for various reasons.

The book plot wise hits all the right notes we've come to expect from the crime/noir genre. But as in most instances, what separates the best from the rest in this field is whether you can fill in the details in a compelling way, and Phillips and Brubaker definitely do. The art, of which the cover is a very poor indication in my opinion, is perfect for this book, and really sings at times. There's a quote from one of the reviews in the back of one of the issues that says something like, it makes the characters look like they are drenched in the blackest blood from hell, or something to that effect, and yeah that's about right.

Brubaker does a great job on the very first page of the book of building the pathos behind our main character, after finishing issue two, I went back and reread that first couple of pages, and it really is quite brilliant. The way Brubaker both sets up all of the elements that will be involved for the rest of the story, and the way that he pulls you through the page, holding Leo's "rules" out in front of you like a carrot, makes the beginning of this book almost textbook in terms of how to grab a reader by the throat and never let go.

And really, this book doesn't slow down. It clocks in at 26 pages, plus some extras at the back of the book(issue two has a Brubaker article about Out of the Past), so you are talking n about getting real bang for you buck.

I regret that I was so slow to pick up on this book, so if you're like me and kind of slow on these things sometimes, don't waste time. This is definitely a book you want to rush to. It's only going to be five issues, so you better act quickly, otherwise you'll be trade bait. If you are at all a fan of the crime genre, the craft of storytelling, or just like something slick to slip between readings of Civil War, this is your book. You have to hand it to Marvel. This kind of book is refreshing from a company that has mostly stuck to it's tights. Between this and the success they've had with Laura K. Hamilton's book, I think we could be entering a new era with Marvel. It would be nice if they could forge an answer to DC's Vertigo label.

Oh. Also of note, there's a cool Kafka/detective comic strip that serves as a metatexual reference to the overarching story that is going on in this book, ala the Pirate comic in The Watchmen, so if you're into that--well there you go.

Cross Bronx
Michael Avon Oeming-Ivan Brandon

Cross Bronx is a supernatural crime comic drawn and partly written by Michael Avon Oeming of Powers fame with the help of Ivan Brandon. It attempts to have a distinctly Latin flavor to it. I say attempts because if there's a failing of this pretty wonderful book, it's that the attempts to Latinize the book for me fall flat on their face. There is a disconnect between how the characters look and how they speak for the most part, that just proves too much to reconcile for the dialogue.

The main detective of the book, swear to god, looks like a kind of Jim Gordon type detective, yet I'm supposed to believe he is Latin? His partner looks like Dante from Clerks the animated series, and I'm supposed to think he is Latin? There are no visual signifiers in the book to make me think any of the detectives or most of the criminals are Latin. Yet that's what the dialogue tries to hammer home at every chance. And besides that, the dialogue is just terrible. There are times when I literally had no idea what was being said.

There was a joke about fellatio in here, that I still don't really understand, but the characters all thought it was clever, I just felt out of the loop. All of this is of course a shame, because the book looks wonderful, the panels are fresh, the overall concept of the book is good--it's just that the nuts and bolts writing of the book falls flat. Honestly this book would be better if you stripped out the text from the book and just let the pictures tell the story.

Also the whole cop losing or having lost his faith in the world has been done before, and done a lot better. It's something that is alluded to, but not fully developed in the book, and could be dropped altogether from the book, and I don't know if you'd miss it. Though I almost guarantee in issue four it's going to be brought back as the central focus inexplicably.

Frustrating frustrating book. Don't get me wrong though, it's hardly a bad book. My problems with the book are overstated because part of me really does like the book a lot, and so the things holding it back are that much more frustrating. It's not a bad book, but it could have been a lot better.

The Killer; Batman 658; JLA 3; Green Lantern 14

The Killer
Matz-Luc Jacamon

The Killer is a french book that originally came out in 1998 which Archaia Studios Press(the people who put out Mouse Guard and a lot of other high quality stuff) has so kindly translated and brought across the pond to our greedy american comic grubbing digits. It's a cheap comparison to drop Le Samourai as a comparison, but I'll do it anyways, as this book and that movie are both excellent books about assassins who philosophize more than they kill.

The Killer has a really interesting style, that is obviously pretty much unlike anything you've seen in major american comics, so it's pretty cool to look at and a nice change of pace. The writing is hard to judge because it's a translation, but I'll give them a B+ because for the most part it was pretty good. The gist of what is being said is pretty spectacular though. There's a lot in here about how terrible the world is, and how awful man is to man--it's very political and drops many an ignored atrocity from world history, so it's definitely a thinking girl's book.

Towards the end of the book we see that our Killer's sanity is starting to slip, and presumably this is what is going to take up the bulk of the ten issues, is his internal battle with I assume sporatic bouts of violence. Perhaps another comparison to make would be The Professional--though the comparison there is more in terms of pacing. This is the type of book you maybe read on a rainy sunday, with some jazz in the background, maybe a nice drink. It's defintely worth tracking down month to month, but I imagine the experience of reading this as one whole, would be spectacular. But then again, it is kind of nice to have something like this every month for the next ten months.

But yeah, so this is issue 1, so you need to go track it down, because your jumping on point is now.

Batman 658
Grant Morrison-Andy Kubert

I know I've reviewed this series to death, but I love it so. Damian is such a cool character, and I am in love with this notion of Batman setting up a family with his baby's momma Talia, and teaching Damian the ropes of the world. It's time really. How many Robins do we need to cycle through? Batman has been alone for too long. I'm not saying you have to marry them either, though I wouldn't be opposed to it. But Talia and Damian just push all the right buttons for Batman. For one because Talia is kind of an equal to Batman. She can take care of herself. And Damian because he's powerful, but in desperate need for guidance. I just love the dynamics of it, and I hope Morrison decides to explore it further.

So count me in as Pro-Bat family. I mean, Batman has been technically doing this sort of thing anyways, why not have the ties be blood for once?

Apparently we're bringing the Joker back next issue, so we'll see how that goes. I still don't understand what is going on there. When I picked up this book Batman shot Joker in the face. So who knows what's going to happen there.

Oh. Did you know Batman has a rocket? Me neither. If it weren't Grant Morrison doing these things, they might come off as a little silly. But Morrison and Kubert make me buy the whole Batman having a rocket, having a kid, should settle in with his family.

Basically right now if it's got Grant Morrison's name on it, buy it. He's in top form these days.

JLA # 3
Brad Meltzer-Ed Benes

Every review of this book always points out that Meltzer is a New York Times best selling author. I wonder if every review of his book starts out "writer for DC Comics"? I should look into that. I hope so.

We get more character development with this issue, though there's a misconception being perpetuated that this book has no action in it, when it actually is fairly action intensive. There's like 3 major battles in this book, and it's only 20 some odd pages? So there's definitely action.

The cool thing about Meltzer's JLA is that we're getting beyond the main-list JLA people we all kind of associate without thinking for the the team and actually getting to some shine for slightly lesser knowns. Black Lightning for instance is shaping up into a kind of career resurgance reminiscent of Luke Cage under Bendis(am I making that comparison because both characters are black? Probably. Though neither character wears a costume, and though Black Lightning can shoot lighning he seems to prefer to punch people like Luke Cage, so who knows. But he could definitely become a star for the DCU, which is a good thing, because guys like Hal Jordan make the whole experience feel too aryan).

Black Canary kicks some but in this issue too.

The big three do some more voting. They seem to be having a really good time.

Good book, groundwork is being laid for a great book, so you really don't want to sleep on this title.

Green Lantern 14
Geoff Johns-Ivan Reis
I got this because I really like Geoff Johns. It was kind of against my better judgement because I've read Geoff Johns on Green Lantern, and it was...okay. I mean, the big problem is, I just don't really like Green Lantern. He has a cool power. But all of the guys who have been the main green lantern have come off as kind of flaky to me. Plus when the ring talks it makes me think of Iron Man's suit. And honestly Hal Jordan might as well be wearing a robotic suit. The guy just doesn't emote. Very much the square jawed hero with no fear that you've known to expect.

All in all the book is okay. If you are a fan of Green Lantern, in particular the Hal Jordan one, you might like(or you might hate it, I obviously don't "get" Green Lantern). But for the casual reader just looking for something to check out this week, you'd do far better to check out any of the other books I reviewed today.

Desolation Jones: Made in England TP

Desolation Jones: Made in England
Warren Ellis-JH Williams III

Whenever I read Ellis done right, I imagine the feeling is something akin to what a smack monkey feels after a shot of mongolian horse hoof in the vein. And with Desolation Jones, the feces is definitely spittering off the fan.

Desolation Jones is a story about an ex-James Bond type who undergoes a radical experiement of which he's the only survivor, wherein' he is tortured and kept awake for a whole year. What emerges is a gray skinned, white haired, sad sack of a man, who feels nothing emotionally or physically, and slobbers zombie like through Los Angeles(which is a playground in this book for all ex-intel spook freaks like Jones). That said, the book has more in common with The Big Sleep than it does any Bond movie. In many ways this is Ellis perverted psychopath re-imagining of the classic Chandler tale. And frankly, it never misses.

The art is done by J.H. Williams III who I also encountered on Alan Moore's Promethea. He very well might be my favorite artist in the business. The variety of styles he throws on just a single page are incredible. His work is always an esoteric mix of the occult and psychedelia. This is an instance where the art stands on equal footing with the narrative. Perhaps even in some cases overshadowing it.

The Made in England arc of Desolation Jones centers around Jones trying to find a missing porno film that Hitler supposedly made in 1944. I probably could have crammed that into the opening spot, but really, it's just something that deserves it's own mention in it's own paragraph. No real reaction to it, but that gives you a good indication of the kind of depravity you're dealing with in this book.

I definitely reccomend this book if you are looking for something to jolt your system. Or if you like Warren Ellis at all. This is one of his good books.

Incidentally the second run of Desolation Jones just started last month, so it's an ideal time to jump in. You can get this trade, and then the issue from last month, and then you are good to go.

So yeah...

Irredeemable Ant-Man

Irredeemable Ant-Man
Robert Kirkman-Phil Hester

Finally a Robert Kirkman book I thoroughly enjoy with no qualifications. Irredeemable Ant-Man is about "the world's most unlikable super-hero". You know how I know this? Because it says so on the cover of the book.

But it's true. This is a book basically about the kind of schmutz who steals your girlfriend, who doesn't pay for dinner, lies about everything, and just in general only looks out for number 1.

Which makes him a fantastic hero.

The artwork by Phil Hester is a lot of fun. I've always been a fan of his.

One of the things that has really stood out to me about Kirkman lately is his sense of humor. It's not so much in his dialouge, but in the situations he creates. His books won't make you bust out of your gut laughing, but you will have a smile on your face while reading. Kirkman's work could probably be best described as "pleasant"...though I guess Walking Dead wasn't really "pleasant" but maybe in it's own way. I dunno. Just a lot of authors can come off kind of soulless, and whenever I finish with Kirkman, whether I totally like everything he's written or not, I come away with the notion that "here's a nice guy doing good work".

But yeah. Of all the Kirkman I've read so far, Ant-Man is the best. Though I haven't read Invincible which is supposed to be his calling card. I'm waiting for the 800 page Omnibus this christmas.

Marvel Zombies HC

Marvel Zombies HC
Robert Kirkman-Sean Phillips-Arthur Suydam

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the Marvel Universe suddenly went zombie? I haven't. But I wish I had. That's the premise behind Marvel Zombies. Zombie-master extraordinarre Robert Kirkman's epic tale of a Marvel U that hungers for flesh and brains. The artwork, particularly the covers for each book, is amazing. Just things that you never imagine, like the Hulk biting off the Silver Surfer's Head, or Wolverine, Spiderman, and others chowing down on Magneto. It's a horrifically funny book.

The dialouge is at times funny, but on the whole one character's dialouge is pretty indistinguishable from the next. However, the story ideas and concepts are fantastic.

Supposedly they are going to expand this into a fullblown universe within Marvel, I think it would be a lot of fun. There's a lot of cool stories you could tell here.

I reccomend it just for the shock value. It's not a great great book, but it's definitely enjoyable.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes TPB

Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes TPB
Strange Visitor from another planet
Mark Waid-Barry Kitson

Well after reading issue 23 of this series, I knew I had to catch up and fortunately this trade came out only a few weeks back. So really, you read this book, pick up the last two issues of the monthly and you're good to go.

Before reading the book I sauntered over to the Legion messageboard on DC, to see if others were sharing my love of all things Supergirl. And I was shocked to see she was one of the most reviled aspects of the book, second only to Mark Waid himself. I thought "this can't be!".

Well after reading this collection I can understand the beef. But having read issue 23 first, I got to see where Waid was going ahead of time, and was able to see it was worth it.

Honestly after having read the trade, I would recommend just skipping right ahead to issue 22or 23. Supergirl basically just shows up, flies around, doesn't really give much in the way of characterization, and generally upsets what looked to be an interesting balance for the book.

However I think all of the Supergirl haters on Legion will come back around to her side. As annoying as she may have been for what amounts to about 6 months on this book, what they are doing to her in issue 23 is pretty heartless, and I think something good will come of it.

Running down the strengths of this book on it's own, this is pretty much a rebuilding issue after some great catastrophic battle and the death of several members, so reading this on it's own, you'll probably just want to read the book right in front of it.

The Legion is populated with pretty interesting, if somewhat hard to distinguish heroes. The cast is huge. But on the whole considering the size of the cast, Waid does a good job of creating distinct characters. The characters are all pretty sarcastic, and the book is on the whole pretty funny in a team hero dynamic sort of way.

I'm definitely interested in following the Legion even after Supergirl leaves. But I do hope she has finally found a home, as she has pretty much been kicked out of every single team she's encountered. Which is kind of sad. I do hope we see more of her wit down the line, because she can actually be very clever and cutting in her comments.

Hopefully DC decides to make her a main facet of their universe down the line.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-heroes; X-men; 52

Supergirl and The Legion of Super-Heroes # 23
Mark Waid-Barry Kitson
Just when you thought I wasn't going to ramble on and on about Supergirl some more, I read this excellent title. I've never really jumped in on The Legion before, just because I had no real idea of where or what--just pretty much a whole glut of cluelessness. Well I am taking the plunge because in addition to plenty of Supergirl madness, it's also just a damn neat team/concept. I don't know everyone on the team yet, or what is going on exctly, because I'm mid-stream, but the dyanamics of the character interactions is very X-mensy. Or what we all love about the X-men.

It's odd because I usually find Mark Waid really dry. But the characters and dialouge of this book just crackle across the page. I don't know who the characters are, but reading this, I want to know them. And I just found out that the trade collecting the brunt of the Supergirl appearence is out in trade paperback, so I'm getting that toot sweet(means more Supergirl loveage(maybe I should do a Supergirl blog?))

But yeah. This is a really good book. I don't think my Supergirl fangirl-ish is clouding my judgement. The Legion is on the whole a very angsty-snarky group. So those on the lookout for some good old fashioned comic melodrama should apply here(well, not here literally).

X-men 192
Mike Carey-Chris Bachald
I know there are a boot of X-titles out there, and the thought of starting any one in particular can seem daunting, adding into that is the proclivity for the title to have huge scale events seemingly yearly, that radically change the landscape to the point where jumping in suddenly can result in some level of nausea. Frankly while I like the X-men, I find in general that I'm not a fan of most of the writing or storylines, and find it very hard to follow what is going on where.

So it was with trepedation I picked up X-men # 192. I know Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men gets all the pub, and yes, I'm only reading the trades on it so it may have gotten a ton better--but on the whole I feel like I'm reading Buffy the Vampire Slayer in X-men clothes. Whedon like Bendis, in my opinion really only writes one kind of dialouge, and once you get the gimmick, it can sometimes grate. So I'm reading Astonishing but only because I feel I'm obligated to. So maybe my disapointment with that book was coloring my judgement of the X-books. And then the reason I didn't pick up Brubaker's book is because it's some Shi'ar Alien type story, and that's the aspect of the X-men I hate the most. And honestly I kind of hate Charles Xavier.

My favorite X-Men of all-time, in order are: Rogue, Emma Frost, and Wolverine. And some days I like Nightcrawler. So what we have with this X-book is an X-men run by Rogue. She has assembled a really cool team(oh, sometimes I also like Cable, like here in X-men).

So anywho. The current arc is some sort of thing where this one group is all "we're better than mutants and humans, and we want to take over the planet", and then the X-men are all like "nuh-uh". And then they start fighting. So yeah. Re-inventing the X-wheel, this book ain't.

HOWEVER, the art is really cool and the writing is pretty fun, in large part due to the characters that Mike Carey chose. Rogue putting first Cyclops and then Mystique in their place was very cool. At the end of the day X-men is always going to be about the petty personal dramas. So in that respect it probably isn't fair to talk about the action of the story. But that's pretty much all that's in this issue, since I'm reading issue 5 of a 6 issue arc. I guess my reccomendation would be, when this is in trade, and you want a nice light read, there are probably worse X-books you could choose.

52
I figured I should say something about 52. I only started reading it at week 21, so all the ongoing threads are new to me in it, but I was like "what the hey, I want another DC book to read". It's pretty much impossible to review it, and so this may be the first and last time you hear me say anything about it. Judging it like any other book would be entirely unfair to the task the creators are taking.

I've heard they are not going to collect it in a big trade--which I think is a waste.

Meh. What I've read I've enjoyed. Given the talent that is writing it, that's not suprising.

Not much to say on it, honestly.

Happy voting day!

The Boys # 4; Heroes for Hire 1 and 3; Supergirl Power

The Boys #4
Garth Ennis Darick Robertson
We come right to the cusp of having something happen in The Boys in issue four. Think about this, The Boys is like...20 pages, right? So 4 issues in, is 80 pages of book. And we're 80 pages in and we're still just building anticipation to seeing the Boys work. And we still know next to nothing about 80 percent of the group. So that's the downside. But again, it's Garth Ennis, he's said this is going to be a long run, so we begrudge him that.

The upside is there is lots and lots of disgusting disgusting sex. Orgies, rape, violence--and jokes about all of it. Nothing as ghastly as the worst of the preacher, but still lots of "I can't believe they let them put that in bookshelves" moments. With probably the most disgusting for me being the whore house for superheroes, where The Butcher is talking about how the prostitutes have trouble keeping up with the superpowered fuck jobs. Ennis is doing a good job of painting a dark disgusting world in need of a bit of a cleaning off.

But seriously. I'm waiting for the redeeming moment, and it's not happening. I mean, if say Ennis has lost his touch, or isn't as committed to this book as he said...this could be a disaster.

Also the dialouge seems disjointed for Ennis. I feel like I'm caught between accents a lot of times in this book. But that's to be expected with a book that has such a mix of white people from diffrent places.

Honestly after reading The Boys, I needed a book like Heroes for Hire.

Heroes for Hire
Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti--Francis Portela and Billy Tucci

Heroes for Hire is a women dominated, women led, group of b-listers, operating in the seems of Civil War. I missed issue two, so it will take more issues to get a real feel of the book, but honestly I sort of like what I've read by Palmiotti and Gray. My main concern with this book is it falling into a kind of Charlie's Angels type of situation. So far all of the women characters in the book are being presented pretty strongly, which is good. But I'm still not sure what kind of book this is going to turn into.

I kind of want more humor. There's some nice bits in the first issue, that are kind of gone by the third. There is also a problem that many of the female characters seem to sound kind of alike. They seem like the same character drawn with diffrent colors, and so I'll be looking for greater differentiation there.

On the whole though it's not a must must read yet. I'm going to keep reading it just because it is a nice little change of pace, even though it is within the tight wearing community.

Oh yeah this book also kind of shows how poor the pool is for female characters in the comic book world. I honestly think DC does a little better job with female characters, but not by much. Though that's to be expected from the genre. It is very testerone driven. It just seems like there's a lot of duplication and confusion of ideas of what to do with female characters. And obviously I'm not the first person to say it.

That said. I am a SuperGirl fan. I'm going to be catching up on her next, so hopefully that goes well. I saw part of that movie with Helen Slater when I was a kid, and I know now it is basically a bad movie, but when I saw it as a kid, I was like damn she's cool(the part I have burned into my brain is when she kicks the trucker guy's ass in the parking lot). She's been impossible to follow in comics though, so I'm really only now revisting her. But honestly I probably like her even more than Wonder Woman. Someone should make a new Supergirl movie.

Supergirl Power
Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchhill

YES! This is what I'm talking about. Supergirl. Happy dance time. Jeph Loeb hits it out of the ballpark. The book is self-deprecating and campy in all the right spots. It's aware of the poor history of female comic book characters(Actually thinking more on this, X-Men has always had strong female characters) and it uses that awareness with great precision.

The story is basically about Kara Zor-El the new Supergirl figuring out who she is and basically going from place to place in the DCU getting attacked. The first person narrative is a lot of fun, though not flawless, it is enjoyable. Moments like when she and Stargirl watch the JSA fight while having a casual discussion are just plain sublime. This is just a character I really love, and I feel like Jeph Loeb does as well.

I think part of the reason why Supergirl works and Superman doesn't is because Supergirl isn't perfect, she has a temper, she does make mistakes, she's more human than Superman.

On an unrelated note, I don't like Power Girl. Never have. Never will.

Anyways. Back on topic.

Supergirl: Neato.

Other Side, Dr. Strange, Boys, Planet Hulk

The Other Side #1
Jason Aaron-Cameron Stewart
This is it. This right here. This is it. If you were looking for your hard as nails, gothic horror, crazy, told from both sides, timely political piece--Vietnam War comic--then this friends, this is your bag of tricks.
The writer of this amazing series Jason Aaron is going to be huge. It's best to just know that now. He can handle his vulgarity on the level of Ennis and Ellis. He's got an ear for humor. He can switch tones--the guy just flat out has skills. This book is beyond goodness.
The other star of the book is artist Cameron Stewart who is able to slip between the horror and the mundane very easily. He accentuates everything Aaron tries to do, which is how it should work. Things like this are why the word synergy was invented.
If you want a brief synopsis of this book, it's about the Vietnam War, following an american soldier from start to I suppose finish, and a Vietnamese soldier. By choosing to tell both stories it really gets at the main problems we had in Vietnam so much more clearly than many of the works of fiction out there on the topic. And it's so obvious a conciet, one wonders why it wasn't done to this degree before. The book is also full of ghosts and gore--it has this psychedlic horror film quality that can't be escaped, and I'm looking forward to more and more fluctations of the reality of the book.
Tremendous book that is worth picking up now, and then buying again when it comes out in trade.

Dr. Strange # 1
Brian K. Vaughn-Marcos Martin
The other great book of the month is Brian K. Vaughn's Dr. Strange book. Dr. Strange has never been a huge favorite character of mine. Honestly he just kind of shows up and then leaves in a lot of books, I really didn't know that much about him. I knew OF him. Knew he was one of the power houses of the marvel universe, but it feels like his story has never really been told. And in Vaughn we have the perfect voice to tell it.

The humor in this book is fantastic. Yes Vaughn does lay the seeds for a real pathos to Stephen Strange, but it's the witty banter between the supporting characters and Strange that make the book. Strange plays a really great straight man and Vaughn seems to know this. It's not to say this is a comedy book, but you laugh while reading it. Vaughn has made Strange into an immenietly likeable character and he already is very believeable. It's really a neat little book to get into, and I really do hope that Vaughn stays with it for awhile, as I think once he leaves this character is going to die. I don't think there's anyone in the comic's world who could write Dr. Strange this well....well actually, thinking on it, Jason Aaron might be able to do it...that would be an interesting book...(note to self, send note to Marvel).

The Boys # 3
Garth Ennis-Darick Robertson
I'm begining to think this would be a good book to read in trades. It is taking all parts of forever to get going. Issue three is more of the same from issue two. More blabber about all the bad things the Boys are going to do, a lot of standing around looking menacing--and not a whole lot of doing. I think this might play out better in the pace of a trade. As a monthly the only thing that gets you through are the crude sex and violence jokes. Ennis has yet to really show his hand as to what he might be up to.
We've yet to get the notion that we're a part of a larger more important story and that this isn't just going to be some episodic joke of the month thing. I trust Ennis, but it is certainly possible that the man has lost some of the great romanticism from his early work that made him so great. Preacher wasn't great because of the gore and over the top humor, that was good, but it was the underlying theme of friendship that pulled that book through. I guess I can see that potential with Mother's Milk, but it's tough. Issue 4 will give us the first taste of The Boys doing their business I think, so this story should be off and rocking soon.

Incredible Hulk # 99
Greg Pak-Aaron Lopresti
HULK SMASH!
HULK RIP OFF SPARTACUS AND GLADIATOR POORLY!
HULK DIALOUGE INCONSISTENT!

I wish I could stop reading this title, but somehow I like it. I want to see how it ends. Kudos to Pak for creating a what is on the surface a very mediocre book, but is impossible to put down once you've started the series.

Eternals # 4; Cable/Deadpool 32; Civil War: Frontline #5, 6

Eternals #4 of 6
by Neil Gaiman, John Romita Jr.
I'd love to summarize this book for you. I really would. Give you a feel of just what it's about. But honestly, my brain hurts just trying to think my way through all the crazy jargon. The book is based on Jack Kirby's work by the same name, which I haven't read, but would now like to. At its core the story is basically about some super-powered godheads that had forgotten who they were, now starting to remember bit by bit. Four issues in, and not a whole mess of a lot has happened. The coolest thing that has taken place could have gone down, hell has gone down, in a Flash book.

On the whole, this whole "I forgot who I am" "oh yeah I'm one of the most powerful beings in the universe" trend is kind of annoying. Whatever happened to Spider bites and radioactive waste? Forgetting your powers is lame. Powers aren’t like keys.

The characters in and of themselves are interesting, but we're moving at a snails pace here. There's two issues left, and there's still not a clearly defined conflict here. There's this Russian-like government takeover happening in one of the side stories, I guess, but blegh, even the font they use for the dialogue is boring.

I am being patient though. It's not like Neil Gaiman doesn't know how to tell a story. But frankly, if Gaiman's name weren't on the cover I would have given up at issue two.

The real star of the book is John Romita Jr. I just love to look at this book. Where Neil's story and dialogue are kind of boring and stuck in the mud, JRJR is handling his business. I'd almost recommend getting it just for his sake.

Honestly this is a book for the trade paperback collection. It really doesn't do much as a monthly, there are better things you could be doing, and the story will probably be more enjoyable to read as a big chunk then in a lot of little pieces. So I say...wait for it.

Cable/Deadpool # 32
This is a book that you don't wait for trade to pick up. Hell even if it came out, buying the trade just seems silly. Cable/Deadpool for me is something of a guilty pleasure. It's really not good enough to rave about, but it scratches a nice itch. Deadpool makes me giggle, and he looks cool. I like Cable's god complex, so long as Deadpool is there to challenge him.

It's really not a book you need constant updates on because issue 31 is a lot like issue 32. It's the same sort of situations. Same sort of jokes. But it's the kind of same I like. Like once when I was little my mom used to make these triple decker sandwiches for my lunch, and though it was the same thing day in and day out, I was happy to eat it for a good two years in 3rd and 4th grade. Cable/Deadpool is like that.

I'd probably get tired of it in a trade paperback, but spread out over a month, it's just a nice non-serious book, even if it is Civil War related. In fact the attempts at being serious in issue 32, don't reaaaally work. But I like them, because they are cute.

Civil War Frontline #5, #6
Have to admit up front, don't keep up with Frontline that well. I think I read #2 before this or something. It's a very uneven book. The sleeper cell section I hate. Embedded is sometimes interesting. And the other story, I don't like Speedball, so that's kind of out the window. But I guess at the end of the day what we end up with here, is a book that is greater than the sum of it's parts. If it devoted the entire book to any of these sections, it would get tedious. But since it breaks it up, it's kind of manageable.

I don't think much in this book has to be known to enjoy the regular Civil War book.

And every book ends with some sort of re-contextualization of Civil War into a historical event of the month. All with a nice poem or something over the top. Spiffy. Issues Five and Six used the Civil War, and World War II. And I believe one of the issues I read used the holocaust. And okay...the main thing to note is that these sections suck. There's no way around it. They are a bore to read. They are pretentious as all get-out. And frankly, they are even more than a little offensive—both to the events themselves, and comic books by reflection. It seems like you are either making light of the historical atrocity by comparing it to some men in tights, or you are making fun of the heroes we all love by putting them next to some real world atrocities. Either point is bothersome, and the fact that I think of both while I'm reading the book makes it especially painful.

The strange thing is, the stories I've read about heroes like Wolverine or Captain America in an actual historical setting, dealing with these same events, when they are more couched into the period they are being depicted--doesn't bother me, and in fact it works marvelously (no pun intended). I think the reason why this fails so badly is because there are three elements to all of them: whatever jackrabbit poem is put over the top of the section, the historical event, and the superhero event. And it seems that never shall the three meet. Also it is all very heavy handed. Perhaps if it were done a little more subtly, it might work. But then again, subtlety has never been Paul Jenkins strong point. If ever there were a hit and miss writer it would be him. It seems he only knows one style, and it fails except for those few times when everything happens to match up and it's beautiful. Well right now it's failing. Badly. I'd rather those three pages be used to advertise sea monkeys or something.

So yeah. Civil War Frontline: meh.

Pride of Baghdad

By Brian K. Vaughn, Niko Henrichon

Pride of Baghdad is a straight to graphic novel book based on the true story of a quartet of lions who escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during the American bombing of the city in April of 2003, written by the can-do-no-wrong letters of Brian K. Vaughn(Runaways, Y: The Last Man, Deus Ex Machina), and expertly drawn by Niko Henrichon, whose work I don’t think I’m familiar with.

The book essentially puts under the microscope the whole notion of giving a people it’s freedom at the barrel of a gun. A talking point for the campaign this book ain’t. Pride of Baghdad is always working on several levels like all good allegories, and when it succeeds, it succeeds like a ice block gut shot blowing out the spine—it’s a book that while relatively short, keeps you constantly thinking, grounding every event back into the wider context the book is asking us to—that the conclusion sneaks up on you. And it’s conclusion is so good that it is the primary reason why this book will probably be regarded as one of the most important graphic novels in recent times.

Really this is a no-brainer, and I question why I’m even bothering to review this book. This should be a two word reviews: Go buy.

I think all ages can appreciate this book. It has a timeless quality, that while it is pretty specific to the Iraq War on the surface, it is also, at the end of the day, about issues which will come up, especially with guys like George Bush and Saddam Hussein running around(sadly people like that are also timeless).

At the end of the day, as the Lion Noor rightly quotes, “Freedom can’t be given, only earned”. As the world begins to question more and more the worth of the “liberation” of the Iraqi people, Brian K. Vaughn’s log on the fire, is more than welcome in these quarters, and I would suppose anyone with half a heart would at least be somewhat swayed by the contents of this book.

Oh and the turtle’s speech in the first half of the book, could be easily cribbed out of a Cormac McCarthy novel, it’s that good.

Go buy.

Batman 655, 656, 657

Batman 655, 656, 657
by Grant Morrison, Joe Kubert

Senor Morrison. Opens up with Batman right in the thick of it. Batman pulls out a gun(huh? Wha? Wait a minute) and shoots Joker in the face. It's so surreal that you almost expect it to be a dream. And then when Batman tosses the body into the garbage...Well we know we're dealing with a Grant Morrison book.

The art isn't as good as some of the more stylized takes on Batman that I've seen. But it's passable. The writing is not as strong as some of Morrison's other work. We're missing a certain grit here. I feel like I should be disturbed by Gordon when he's gone nuts, but it's just kinda "meh". Morrison can do loony-bin better.Tim Drake is annoying. I can't pin it down precisely, but his dialogue is so whiny.However the interactions between Bruce Wayne and Alfred are very good. More Alfred this book needs!Anyways.

I'll probably try and follow it because it's Morrison we're talking about here, and right now I think he's just getting things started, the real fun should be a couple issues down the line. Though the next issue's cover has Batman fighting Ninja, Were-Bats on the cover. Which honestly....is promising.

And then I read 656. Woo za. This is the book I imagined when I saw Morrison's name on the cover. The bulk of the book is just Batman fighting the aforementioned Ninja Were-Bats(A brilliant combination by the way) but probably the best words for it are: And HOW. The fight takes place in a comic book art exhibit, so there are constant intertextual moments of brilliance between the fight as it is happening and the classic comic book panels presented in the background. The entire thing is delariously delicious, and I reccomend it to children of all ages.

To add further spice to this dish Morrison takes the age old Batman staple of the gritty first person narrative during a fight, and takes it to absurd new heights. The metaphors he has Batman using to describe Ninja Were-Bats weilding katanas are surreal.

All the while Frank Quietly's art just sings across the page in concert. Every note is hit, it's an amazing symphony of the absurd.

All of these things lead up to a dramatic conclusion, which could have a major effect on where the character goes from here...

That conclusion is primarily what 657 deals with. So to say, Batman is a daddy, and his son is an assassin trained psychotic arrogant snarky jerk of a bastard--which kind of erases any doubt as to whether or not Batman is the real father. The boy named Damien(appropriatly) begins to put his wrecking ball to Wayne Mansion, Alfred, and Robin.

657 slows back down to 655 speed, but because of the explosive tastes of 656, the break is perfect. This is a book to be making the effort to check out. Besides having important cannonical things happening, it's also just a barrell of fun. This is the kind of book that you read on a Monday and it feels like a Friday.

As a side note, I absolutely love this kind of Batman story that we're getting right now. This Talia, Ras, Son of Demon type story has been missing from Batman for awhile it feels like, and rather unexpectedly, I'm REALLY enjoying it. I'm actually now hoping the movie goes down this kind of supernatural bend. It's a lot of fun.

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 and 2

If candy were Jesus then Scott Pilgrim would be a tootsie roll. Presented in the format normally reserved for things with Japanese telepaths, samurai, schoolgirls, and pirates is a book with big eyed Canadian kids--chiefly among them, one Scott Pilgrim: Slacker-nerd extraordinary.

To say this book is funny and imaginative, is to say Superman's sperm has a kick. This stuff is fantastic. The book follows Scott Pilgrim around and builds a rather well developed world of girlfriends/ex-girlfriends/bandmates(Scott has a sucky band)/family/gay roommate(Wallace Wells: 25(as of the second book)). The panels do their darndest to build really great comic timing. It's manic in the way a Japanese manga might actually be, but also feels very grounded in it's real world angst.

Bryan Lee O'Malley has created something wonderful with this book which I can only hope will go on and on into forever, and bring him untold riches.

These are the kind of books you hurl shuriken style at the back of unsuspecting friends.

BUY SCOTT PILGRIM! (Which one? (All of them (Gotta catch 'em all, right?(righhht)))

Wonder Woman 1, 2; The Flash 4; All-Star Superman 5

Today's DC time. Yesterday I filled up on Marvel, now it's time to dash back into DC.

I actually consider myself a DC fan moreso than a Marvel fan, so I'm admitting my biases up front. Wonder Woman is my current favorite character in DC. Batman is numero dos. I'm an avowed Superman hater. Just plain don't like him.

With that said:

Wonder Woman 1 and 2
by Alan Heinberg, Terry Dodson
Honestly it was Greg Rucka's run that made me fall in love with Wonder Woman. I read his run in trades, and absolutely loved the balance of action, politics, and just general angst. So crisis happened. Diana justifiably killed Maxwell Lord. Everyone gave her a hard time about it, and so she has disappeared, leaving the Wonder Woman mantle to Donna Troy, her sister. And these books written by Alan Heinberg start off there in the whole One Year Later relaunch shindig.

Right now this is a book with a huge identity crisis(pun not intended). And I know Heinberg realizes it because he keeps throwing in that title "Who is Wonder Woman?" This book could go in any number of directions. It could be about Donna Troy trying to fill Dianna's boots. Diana as a secret agent trying to continue to fight crime. Diana as some sort of Clark Kent dual persona thing. Or it could just devolve back into the same character we all know and love, and pretty much continue down the path it was already on, just with the minor annoyance of the whole crisis/one year later shindig.

For my money the track that is working the best and has the bulk of my interest is Donna Troy as Wonder Woman. I like to see her struggling to get out of Diana's shadow and actually live up to the ideals of Wonder Woman. I don't know. Is it wrong to like Heinberg's Donna Troy more than his Diana?

I think this is a decent relaunch title. I think it's a good starting point for someone looking to jump in to Wonder Woman, because you don't really have to know as much about the history of Diana. Heinberg does a good job of catching you up. I don't know though. It's not amazing. I've certainly read a lot of better books. But I'm such a fan of Wonder Woman that it really just has to be decent, and this book is. So it's definitely a book I plan to keep up on.

The Flash #4
by I'm doing us both a favor
Awful.
Terrible.
Burning this book would be a waste of good fire.
The artwork somehow manages to look both weird and cliched.
The writing makes the art work look like Frank Quitley.
Why oh why does this book suck so bad?
What have you bastards done to my flash?
I've got no beef with Bart Allen. I think he'll do fine as The Flash.
But this book is just stupid.

All-Star Superman 5
by Grant Morison, Frank Quitely
Clark Kent goes to visit Luthor in jail, and hilarity ensues. Kent bumbles his way through stopping a prison riot, and saving Luthor's life multiple times, while Luthor babbles on about his obsession with superman.

The book is fuggin' brilliant.

Quitely's art is so perfect to look at. And Morrison is laugh out loud funny. This book has a kind of golden age innocence to it that is just infectious. After reading this book, I love comics more.

With that said. This book has a massive tinge of saddness running through the background.

Superman is dying, and his knowledge of this fact, and the things he does in what he knows are his final days, make the character. I usually hate Superman because he feels so blank. But morrison, while staying true to the character, has embedded a working pathos for this book. We can have our fun, and still feel like something serious is happening.

For my money this is the best thing DC is putting out right now. Every issue gets better.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are beautiful for making this book.

This is a book that you will pick up when it comes out as a trade. But it also works great as a monthly. This is the kind of book that if you plan to have children, you owe it to them to read. Because after you read it, your genetics and breeding stock will be improved. It's just that good. So think of the children, read All-Star Superman....shave a whale.

Civil War Shenannigans

Civil War # 4
I believe this is my first word on Marvel's uber-event, Civil War, to this point. So some quick summarization if you have in fact been living with a small family of badgers under a rock. Civil War starts off with a 9/11-like catastrophe, where hundreds of people, mostly children are killed in an accident involving the New Warriors(who have their own reality TV show ala Mike Allred's X-Factor) and there's a big outcry against superheros(this catastrophe coming on the heals of several other major disasters which have caused people to distrust heroes). As usual, politicans come in to save the day with laws, laws, and more laws. Working in conjunction with Tony Starks(Iron Man) the government has drawn up a superhero registration act, wherein all superpowered folk who intend to use their powers to fight crime, must register and recieve training like any police person might. This way there is accountability and oversight, and hopefully less a chance for a disaster. This is a very idealistic plan built out of a desire for security.

But like all security based ideas, the question of how much liberty should be given up comes into play. The other side of the coin, led suprisingly by Captain America, is that the registration act is a bad idea, and could lead to a terrible orwellian police state.

A deadline is set for all heroes to register, anyone who doesn't register is considered a criminal and sent to a secret prison built by Reed Richards(secret prisons, where have we heard that before? I'm sure nothing bad will ever happen there). Captain America takes a small group of heroes underground with him to continue to fight crime and fight against Tony Stars pro-registration group, which includes a now-unmasked Spiderman/Peter Parker.

That's the gist of the setup. It's a brilliant idea, which brings in many of the key debtates going on in this country right now over security vs. liberty, and just how much you can trust the government with your lives. I love that Millar is taking this book and making it politically relevant. I think comics, especially Marvel comics, since they are situated in the real world, owe us as the reader to engage the realities of the day. I'm not saying we need polemics from Peter Parker on every political issue, but I think it's wrong to ignore in art, what's going on in the world. The trick is to engage the ideas more than per se the specifics, so that you have something that is kind of timeless. And Millar is doing this brilliantly.

Civil War is an excellent book to read and then take with your friends and discuss and debate about. I don't know how it will work as a trade(probably still be good) but it has a wonderful power as a monthly. There's an audience aspect to the monthly comic that really enriches the experience when everyone is literally on the same page. You can kind of get the same thing with television. But I like that we've got something literary to discuss like this going around.

As far as Millar's execution of the event, he has a lot to cover. It's a huge undertaking, and I just wonder if in the end it won't end up feeling rushed. I just wish the main book could slow down in a few more places and kind of ruminate on things. Where Civil War is at it's most powerful is when Cap or Tony are engaged in the debate of the ideas. There's a part in issue four, that I don't want to spoil, but issue four is the first time I've ever started to question what Cap is doing. Cap right now is slipping dangerously into a kind of Osama-like mindset...It makes me cringe, because I want to support Cap, and I want to think Tony is evil...but I'm having questions. And that's the work of a great artist.

The artwork by Mcniven is great, I think he's doing a good job of showing doubt in some of the main players. Their words may say one thing, but their faces say another. And that's really using the medium to it's fullest. I feel like Millar and Mcniven are working in concert on this book wonderfully.

To call this a must-buy would be a huge understatement. This may end up being Marvel's Watchmen. This could be one of those books that ushers in a new era for the funny pages. Don't wait for the trade to come out. Pick up the monthly and then go find a friend and make them pick up the monthly, then start talking about the book.

Cable/Deadpool #31 (Civil War Tie-In)
This is Fabian Nicienza's book. It's been awhile since I've checked in on everyone's favorite merc with a mouth, and mutant with a messiah complex, and honestly not a lot has changed. Deadpool is still a goofball who is constantly attacking the fourth wall. Cable is still annoying. the art doesn't seem as bombastic as I remember in the first trade.

But yeah. It's a decent book. I always enjoy a little deadpool. It also has a confrontation between Bush and Cable/Deadpool that should be seen.

What's weird is that Fabian's Deadpool is really the kind of character that Warren Ellis wants for his Nextwave book. I don't think there's anyone in Nextwave who is as bonkers as Deadpool...blah blah blah. I should get off Nextwave's butt. But it's such a popular book, that it boggles my mind. Deadpool is a hundred times funnier than anything in Nextwave--and it's the same type of humor. I don't know. Deadpool's humor has that extra kick because he talks to the reader more and since he's also in the book, maybe I connect more with what he says, than anything in Nextwave.

Cable/Deadpool is kind of a middle of the road book though. I'd pick it up for a laugh every now and again. Everyone needs their Deadpool fix. Which by the way, a Ryan Reynolds led Deadpool movie....is a FANTASTIC IDEA. Make it happen marvel.

Moon Knight #5
This is a book I really like. Or want to like. The artwork is gritty. The characters are all drug-maniacs in deep deep mental traumas. It's sort of got that Dark Knight Returns vibe to it. And Huston does this really cool trick constantly where similar to the Pirate Boat comic chapter in Watchmen, he'll have the dialouge bleeding over captions, and other dialouge from diffrent times and places in the story, and he'll have other characters dialouge fit for--well the example in this book is the Taskmaster is beating the crap out of Marc Spector(Moon Knight), giving a lengthy speech complaining about his problems while doing so. Meanwhile over the top of this is this group that's been watching Spector for the last 5 issues, talking about Spector and what they're going to do to him and his family. And the whole thing for the most part fits. You can read the Taskmaster's speech as responses to the committee video tape that is playing in the background, and those responses seem to fit what Spector would say, or you can read it as two diffrent things going on at the same time--it's just this very cool comic book trick playing with context. And Huston does it every book. I don't know when I'll get tired of the trick, maybe never. But it gives every page a denseness that it wouldn't otherwise have. It's like getting twice the book.

That said, Huston needs to hustle it up. It's issue 5 and Marc Spector is still in full wallow. I'm questioning whether Huston has enough plot lined up once the inevitable happens and Moon Knight is back and kicking.

Also as a side note...when Moon Knight says "Vegengence" in full page splash...so so so corny. Don't do that again. A book like this that is written by such a talented guy, should come up with better things to say. This is not that kind of book.

Right now Moon Knight is in that top bracket of books I look for every month. But if Huston doesn't pick it up, I could quickly get tired of the whole thing. Right now this book is being carried by the strength of Huston's writing and the artwork. But the plot is about as interesting a wake for that relative you only sort of know, with a family you would rather not. PICK UP THE PACE WRITER GUY!

Walking Dead, Next Wave

Walking Dead HC Vol 1

Well so I finally sat down and slogged through the remaining half of Robert Kirkman's zombie epic Walking Dead. And while I was encouraged enough to probably want to check out the next chunk of story, it's really been kind of disappointing. I like the artistic style. I like the plot. I love Kirkman's overall vision for the book being a zombie movie that never ends, I think it's a wonderful concept for the book, and it will be interesting to see it develop. For those wondering just what I'm talking about, Kirkman's Walking Dead is a book about people post-zombegedon trying to survive. You've got the typical multi-cultural swath of people you normally see in these sorts of things(intentionally so), black guy, cop, Asian guy, old guy, teenage girls, some kids--yada yada. Kirkman's idea for it is a "zombie movie that never ends". Which is a really good idea for which the monthly setup of comics is perfect.

HOWEVER. The dialogue sucks. Plain and simple. It doesn't characterize. All of the characters talk the same, say the same things--and the bulk of all of the dialogue is expository in nature, which is bad in and of itself, but even worse when you are talking about panels completely taken up with expository talk bubbles that could be edited down to a well written piece of dialogue, rather than chunk. The strength of this book is in it's long term build. Getting to sit and stew with the characters in these different environments letting the claustrophobia build. And though Kirkman has laid some interesting threads in the first twelve issues presented here, I just hope they don't happen in the very clichéd annoying way that they could very well happen. I also think there have been more than a few missed opportunities to throw in some really shocking, disturbing stuff. The time they spent at the farm...it was sort of shocking what they had done with the barn...but if say this was an Ennis book, we could have had something special at that farm. I just feel like the characters are too muted, too sterile. I have to hand it to Kirkman though, he's got me through twelve issues of a story where there's not a single character I’m really interested in.

I don't know. Like I said, I will probably try and read the next chunk. But this isn't something I'd rush out to read every month though. But it is a book since it's such a large large idea in scope that I'd like to give a chance. Like I'd like to see where this book is at by issue one hundred.

So it's not a book I'd tell people to rush out and buy unless you are bored for something to read. But you could do a lot worse. Now I need to read Invincible by Kirkman, before I can fully decide on him. He might be another writer in comics that is really popular that I just don't enjoy (like Bendis).

Next Wave: Agents of H.A.T.E. # 1-6

As for Next Wave. It's staggering to me that this pile of crap is written by the same genius that is currently doing Fell, and who wrote Transmetropolitan and the Authority. Because god does this book suck. It's about this organization called H.A.T.E, which stands for something anti-terroristy, but is actually backed by a group called The Beyond, which used to be a terrorist group called S.I.L.E.N.T. Anyways. There's a super group working for H.A.T.E(run by a Nick Fury gone crazy guy named Dirk Anger) who find out about this, defect, and the book is basically about crude jokes, smashing things, blowing things up--and every arc is two issues long. Blegh. Problem is I'm supposed to be laughing throughout the entire book. I'm reading this book, remembering the reviews I read about it, saying it was the funniest book out there, and I'm sitting here telling myself "I'm supposed to be laughing". I almost chuckled once in the entire first 6 issues. The jokes are formulaic, almost madlib-like. The characters are all boring. I hate them all. I almost like Dirk Anger. Almost.

Honestly this book would probably make a better cartoon than comic book. I think the book is supposed to be manic-paced. But it seems to flow about as much as pool of piss in sand. The artwork is sort of cool. But on the whole, this is a book I will never be picking up again for any reason at all. I hate myself for giving it 6 issues. This is the exact reason why I stopped reading Warren Ellis. Which sucks, because for every steaming pile like this, he writes something brilliant like Fell. You just don't know what Warren Ellis is going to show up in each book.

My review for Next Wave: Instead of buying one copy of Next Wave, buy two copies of Fell.

Fell Issue 6, The Runaways Hard Cover

Fell# 6

Did I mention that Fell was a must read book? Because it's a must read book. I just finished up to book six(though I'm still waiting to get issue three, and it burns me that I am missing it--anywho. Fantastic stuff. Issue six revolves around this really sick child abuse case, with Detective Fell on a date with Myako as the side plot. Even though each issue is single shot, we're definitely growing with the characters. I thought Warren Ellis was dead on at the back of the book when he was talking about I think the art, how you pick up this book, and though it is only 16 pages, you are IN snowtown. It's completely absorbing, and what's more satisfying. We talk a lot right now in american comics about the "satisfying" chunk. How much do we need to give a reader to validate cost. Warren Ellis' 16 pages of Fell is a satisfying chunk.

Runaways HC (“Season One”)

Speaking of satisfying chunk, the hardcover collection of "season 1" of Runaways, is oh so satisfying. I sat down with it the last two nights and plowed right through it. Brian K. Vaughn knows how to make characters I'm interested in and root for, and the book is just really fun. The surprise twist at the end was...well...surprising. I was sitting there in the back of my mind going over scenarios for all the different characters trying to decide who the mole was, but I never thought, it was who it was. It was literally the only person I didn't suspect. Right to the very end of the characters life I kept expecting the character to turn everything back around. I'm not entirely sure what makes that work for BKV and not work for others. Because like M. Night Shamamamamaamlandocalrissian--he can't write a surprise ending to save his life(or career apparently). But here BKV(oh yeah in case you didn't notice, cool short hand for Mr. Brian K Vaughn) makes the surprise twists work consistently and believably. I guess you just get so wrapped up in the characters that you don't have time to fully analyze the plot, and just, you develop feelings and biases for the characters that cloud your judgment. Something that is kind of analogous and on the same level to this would be a show like Veronica Mars, which similarly manages to keep you on your toes. I think it's something about the slight of hand which I thinnnk I read David Mamet explain, or maybe it was Ebert talking about Mamet--it's very much "hey look over here". A lot of people think that's just tied to plot, but I think in the case of Runaways and Veronica, it's more tied to characters.