The month keeps rolling on and I find myself looking forward to next week especially. Holy Terror!, people! Hell yes. This was a good week, though, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Avengers #17: Yeah, I bet Noh-Varr is really scared of Tony Stark's reaction to is hacking Stark's system and controlling all of his leftover armour to fight Nazi robot war machines. I get what Bendis was doing there, but... come on. Carol's bit of dialogue about rather fighting something big and scary than facing Stark after that made me roll my eyes. Tell Tony to settle the fuck down and learn to respect his betters. I do love how this cover had nothing to do with what happens in the comic. All in all, a good fight issue with some annoying parts for anyone who doesn't have their head shoved up Marvel's ass. [***1/2]
Batman #1: This was decent. I found the art distracting and a big detraction much of the time. Capullo is fine when he's drawing Batman and Harvey Bullock... the rest of the time, though, I had no idea how old any of his characters were... or if they were actually supposed to be different people instead of strange clones. The writing is fine. I like the cliffhanger. [***1/4]
The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker #3: The engaged sap in me who absolutely adores his girlfriend was all warm and fuzzy inside for much of this issue. The guy who knows what's going to happen to Becky is filled with dread. [***3/4]
Daredevil #4: Marcos Martin did some great work here. Waid's writing just floats along, drawing you in without a hint of effort. A joy to read. [****]
The Red Wing #3: At this point, I'm more interested in where it ends and how it all holds together as this has an odd structure... I'm enjoying it... I do like the idea of an alternate reality travelling to our past to save itself. [***1/2]
Severed #2: I thought my shop had forgotten me last week with regards to this issue, but, according to Scott Snyder, this only shipped to the west coast last week. That means I get it this week instead of in another week or two. Last issue, I wondered if Sam was supposed to be a boy or girl. Glad that was purposeful to a degree. Still unsettling and engaging. Curious to know where this is going. [***1/2]
Ultimate Hawkeye #2: So... Hawkeye is a superhuman... and a former convicted killer... huh... I liked Sandoval's art more in this issue than last. But I also spent more time looking at it in a pdf of the issue, so that probably plays a role in my preference. An entertaining comic, but nothing special. [**3/4]
Wonder Woman #1: One of the first titles to get a 'definite buy' response from me. When I was in the shop today, Tim the Retailer told me that I was the first person he's spoken to this week that likes Cliff Chiang's art (he does, too). I was shocked at this. But, apparently, most superhero comics readers are blind fools. Not a home run issue; an intriguing start. More about mood than character -- with the beginnings of a plot. Effective and evocative. Good stuff. [****]
X-Men: Schism #4: Part of my problem is that I don't buy Wolverine taking this position. He's too pragmatic and too smart to get so pissed off over this position. Scott was fighting Sentinels when he was those kids' age, so how is this any different? Maybe it's that Logan's position isn't being presented as fully as it should. Right now, it comes off as simplistic. Hell, he's never had any problem with the younger students getting involved with bad guys before, what's changed? That one of them had to kill? He was in a snit before last issue, though. This seems like a case of those involved having an idea of where they wanted this to end and needing to come up with a reason to get there. It feels false. Hell, Scott bringing up how Logan blows off every class he's supposed to teach was my favourite line. It just doesn't add up. Beyond that, great art, and a nice rise of tension. That the argument between Scott and Logan basically came down to Jean was good. [***1/4]
Later
Phoenix #5 annotations
18 hours ago
