I bought comics in two cities, none of which was New York. New York can kiss my ass for I have lovely Windsoria and London to go home to. As I'm tired and lazy, here are quick reviews (quicker than usual):
Captain America #34, 37
Finally got a copy of #34 and it wasn't anything that special--beyond being a typically high-quality issue of Captain America. For the record, I officially hate everyone who bought it just because Bucky shows up as the new Captain America and didn't continue buying the book after. I hate you all so much--if only because my not being able to find a copy until now would be offset by more people realising how great this comic is, but if you didn't buy an issue before or after, fuck you. Although, I suppose not liking the book would be a good reason, but then I'd have to question your taste in comics and the aesthetic criteria you use to judge which books you buy and which you don't and so on and so forth. So, basically, I don't like anyone who bought issue 34 and nothing else for a variety of reasons. Issue 37 is good, too.
Doktor Sleepless #6
I like this comic. It's crazy with big ideas and hidden character motivations and seems important. Also, it's weirdly entertaining as Warren Ellis comics are wont to be. Ivan Rodriguez draws pretty pictures, but played horribly against the Blue Jays today--I don't think he got a hit, but I could be wrong. His ability to draw well while playing professional baseball is astounding. The Jays/Tigers game, by the way, was pretty great. I had seats seven rows from the field (back and to the left from the visitors' dugout) and, damn, it was a good game. The Jays won 5-3. I got sunburnt on my arms. And I'm fairly certain this is a different Ivan Rodriguez, but I only just made the connection tonight and figured I'd use it to discuss the game quickly.
Ghost Rider #22
Ghost Rider versus a haunted highway. Fuck yes. And it looks like Danny Ketch may be back and working on the other side. Shit, I hope so. Jason Aaron is very good. So good that I bought the first two Scalped trades in London. I read the first one last night and it was good. Haven't gotten around the second one yet.
The Order #9
I hope Matt Fraction kills them all. Kill the whole fucking team. Why? Because, that's why. End the series with the death of them all and a victory for Stane that leads into Fraction's Iron Man book. And because people may not like that at all. Yeah.
The Programme #9-10
CP Smith's art is more clear in these two issues. The rush must be on a bit for him to finish. Consequently, these two issues are the best-looking of the series as he maintains his slightly-obscure style, but in a more coherent and easy to understand way. And Peter Milligan seems right on track. I'm liking the book, but two more issues are left, and they'll determine a lot.
Punisher War Journal #18
Wow, that was not worth an entire issue. I'm sorry, but it wasn't. That was a third of an issue at most. Much of this issue was unnecessary and a waste of time. I have decided that this storyline with Jigsaw determines if I keep buying this book and, so far, it's not looking good.
War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #2
I should probably reread this issue as I read it last on Thursday just before drifting off to sleep in the afternoon for a brief nap. See, I had only slept, like, an hour-and-a-half the night before and was very tired. Most of this issue was read with me forcing my eyes to stay open and I probably didn't understand a lot of it as a result. But, I trust it was decent since Garth Ennis wrote it.
Batman: Dark Victory
Wow, this didn't make The Long Halloween seem better at all. Nor was this all that good. Better character work a lot of the time, but also some forced explanations for the behaviour of characters that was already established elsewhere (Catwoman). An almost interesting intellectual exercise about the replacement of the gangsters by the freaks, but not really--the fact that Two-Face got rid of the gangsters was a good touch, though. And for all the talk of Robin, he was barely in the fucking thing and didn't contribute much. The mystery also did nothing for me. Again.
That does it for now. Maybe more posts this week, but probably not.
Phoenix #5 annotations
3 hours ago
