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Ah screw it, I'll rant and rave and write meaningless tiny remarks on everything I got this week... even the stuff I reviewed for CBR. These are not reviews, though. Except if they are.]
Ghost Rider #29Sure, I get an advance .pdf for a comic on my pull list... It's like how the week after getting the CBR gig, nothing I'd normally buy was coming out... Odd fun about the gig, I suppose. My review over at CBR for this issue was a little edited to prevent even the possibility of spoilers... I tried, but better safe than sorry. I really enjoyed this run at first and I wonder if the aimlessness of it combined with Roland Boschi's insanely perfect (for the book) art was a big allure. Now that Jason Aaron is focusing on the Story and not random weird shit, and Tan Eng Huat's art is here (and has been for a while), I'm losing interest. This issue has some great moments, particularly how Danny defeats Johnny--he doesn't just beat him, he converts him, really. And there's a logic in many Ghost Riders, but... meh. I find the idea so mundane... so
easy. "Oh, there isn't just ONE Corps, there are many! Oh, there isn't just ONE immortal weapon, there are seven! Oh, there isn't just ONE Spirit of Vengeance, there are many!" Making the character less unique in an effort to make him/her MORE unique is just the current thing, I suppose.
Holy War #7The best issue of the series so far. The sense of dread is palpable and real. The characters are desperate and willing to actually do some fucked up shit. I'm still wondering why Animal Man is in this book aside from the connection to
52. Still not a great book, but Starlin is better here.
Pax Romana #4I reread the first three issues on Tuesday night so I'd be able to follow along fine and, man, this was a great series. Hickman just exploring the idea and morality of changing history to fit with modernity... Characters don't really matter, more the ideas/arguments they represent. It should read for shit, but Hickman makes it work. His art... I'm not sure I can discuss it intelligently. He uses space in a very unique way, one I'm not sure I understand yet... I'm looking forward to him on the new
Holwin' Commandos Secret Warriors book... I also want more from this universe.
Scalped #23I very much enjoy this comic book magazine.
X-Files #1My review for CBR should show up in the next day or two. I ended up buying this for two reasons: 1.
Glamourpuss #4 didn't ship as expected and I needed something else to review. 2. I was already going to buy it for my girlfriend since she's a big
X-Files fan. The book didn't wow me for many reasons, which I discuss in my review. The GF did like it, though... despite agreeing with nearly all of my criticisms. There's probably some lesson about fandom in there.
Enigma #1-8Next to the register was a box with bagged "sets" of comics, so I flipped through while my books were being rung up and I saw this for five bucks. I couldn't say no to it. I grabbed it and added it to the pile saying, "Hard to say no at that price." I'm slowly, and without any purposeful effort, collecting as much of Peter Milligan's work as I can it seems. Earlier this year, I bought the trade for
Screemer cheap at the shop and now this. As a whole, this book is fairly straight forward with few ambiguities by the end, which I didn't expect. It's not a simple book by any means, but anyone who reads the whole thing and then says they don't get it... well, fuck 'em. It's about the absurdity of being a superhero, being gay, being an artist, and being someone you don't like. It's part a critique of comics from the 70s/80s(/90s) and part just a brutal story about a guy trying to figure out who he is. Very good read. I certainly enjoyed myself this afternoon with it.
That does it for now.
I recently reviewed X-Files #2 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Okay, so I only gave the first issue of this series 1.5 stars in my review of it last month, but I wanted to give the book another chance since I would be buying it for my X-Files fan girlfriend -- who loved the first issue and still hasn’t gotten over my scathing review of it. I’m happy to report that the second issue is an improvement and a strong finish to the story."
I recently reviewed X-Files #1 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Writer Frank Spotnitz wrote for the television series and this issue tries to read like an episode, but lacks the depth or mood of the show. Scenes are rushed through, conversations are brief and lifeless, and the plot is barely engrossing. The differences in comics and television obviously necessitate a little compression since a 45-minute episode has more room for dialogue and lingering in scenes, but making it work is the job of the writer, and not the fault of the medium."
