Sketch Reviews (July 7 2011)

On Friday, my girlfriend Michelle and I got engaged. That's to say that I asked her to marry me and she sadi 'yes.' I don't know when she'll come to her senses and realise she can do far better, but, until then, I'm pretty fucking happy. Then again, I did get engage and turn around and give a comic zero stars, so who knows with me, right?

The Boys #56: Something didn't click with me. I know things aren't like they used to be, but it felt like they were and that sense of a step back threw me off a little in this issue. The sex stuff also felt like a retread, something Hughie points out. Never a good thing when a character points out that this is the same ol' shit. Sure, there are some differences and some advances... but... just fucking get to it, eh? Very nice to see Russ Braun back, though. [**3/4]

Fear Itself #4: So, the Serpent is Odin's older brother? That... that just seems so fucking boring, I must say. That's quickly becoming my reaction to this series: it's fucking boring. More than that, I still don't have a sense that it knows what it's going for beyond just bouncing the fuck around, dropping little hints here and there about stories you can read in more fucking detail elsewhere. You know what made Final Crisis work quite well at doing that? Morrison was rarely dropping in a moment that he knew was going to be explained elsewhere. He didn't have that crutch to fall back on, so, when he dropped in a quick moment, he made it fucking work in and of itself, because you weren't getting anything else. Those few panels were it. No one else picking up the slack. Yeah, there were spinoffs and tie-ins, but the only ones that seemed to matter to Morrison and influenced how he wrote the book were the ones he was writing. That isn't Fraction's approach here and that's what turns this into just another event in the mould of Civil War. Except lacking in the big moments that at least kept the attention of the reader. Look at that, Tony Stark took a fucking drink and tried to pretend it was a noble thing to do... a cool page construction by Immonen to balance the Serpent with Odin that doesn't really work because Odin also appears in a regular panel on his page... Steve is Cap again... Thor is gonna throw down... just tell the fucking story and stop reminding me that any other comics exist. [*3/4]

Flashpoint: Batman, Knight of Vengeance #2: Why didn't I see that coming? Lots of fun twists and turns and playing with everything we know to be true. A damn fun and entertaining comic. [****]

Flashpoint: Secret Seven #2: Well, Perez lasted a nice long time, didn't he? Whatever. This is a crazy comic that, like the Batman book, is just taking the freedom afforded and running with it, fuck what Flashpoint is really about. The smart approach, because what's the fun of an alternate reality if you don't spend some time walking around inside of it? Let Geoff Johns take care of the plot and just have fun. Not as good as the Batman book, but rather entertaining. [***1/2]

Later