Sketch Reviews (December 8 2010)

A pretty regular week for me. I did pick up another half-priced Marvel collection at my shop as they had a whole new selection. Was tempted by Marvel Boy, but since no one has ever told me if they corrected the double-page layout printing problems from the trade, I didn't want to chance it. Instead, I got Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Box in hardcover. Haven't read it yet (though I do have the first issue or two, so I have read part of it) but I will say that I'm a little annoyed at how the actual issues of the Ghost Box mini-series had the scripts in the back and this hardcover has zero bonus features. Would it have killed Marvel to include the scripts that were in the singles? Not a big problem or anything, but still irks me. Especially after the last trade I got, Man without Fear had such fantastic bonus material from Miller's scripts/plots, sketches, a Marvel Age article... Ah well. On to comics!

New Avengers #7: A very fun and entertaining issue. Bendis does a good job giving us a breather and focusing on the team getting settled. Luke's weird 'morals' being trashed by everyone was good. Spider-Man freaking out about Victoria Hand was another good scene -- and that he can't get paid (think about it: TWO Avengers paycheques Peter Parker isn't getting...) is a nice touch. The babysitter search was a great mix of one-liners, obscure characters, and Stuart Immonen nailing every single fucking panel. The final page was funny, too. This felt like the capstone to a lot of Bendis's work so far in a few ways. I loved it. [****1/2]

What If? Wolverine: Father #1: Unlike past years when I didn't have the money, this year, I'm buying every What If? issue. I love the book, but have been choosey in the past (I think last year's batch mostly got read in .pdf form... when Marvel still gave reviewers .pdfs). I didn't like last week's issue and this one is an improvement, but still left me cold. The ending is that dark What If? sort of ending that's always good, though. Greg Tocchini's art leaves me with much more mixed feelings. It's both appealing and not. Rough yet fluid. The sort of art that you don't love or hate right away -- you don't know why it compels you but it does. The back-up strip had the odd joke or two that landed, but most didn't. [**1/2]

Later