New Comic Day - Buy List for December 22, 2010

Here’s a list of what I’m picking up at my LCS tomorrow. A big pull, looks like an early Christmas present to myself.

Batman Incorporated #2
DC Universe: Legacies #8
Green Lantern Corps #55
Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special #1
Hellblazer #274
Invincible #76
Justice League of America #52
Superior #3
Ultimate Comics Doom #1
Ultimate Comics Spiderman #151
Wonder Woman #605

Comic book reviews for the week of December 8th in six sentences (or less)

Best of the Week

John Constantine: Hellblazer - City of Demons#5
You need five things to have a great Hellblazer story, booze, cigarettes, a cranky English bastard, black magic and a horrific personal tragedy. City of Demons has all of the above, in spades. In this final issue of the mini series Constantine comes up against the architects behind the demon blood infections and has a nasty surprise from them. And of course, this being a Hellblazer story, there's always a nasty surprise waiting for him as well.

There have been a lot of Hellblazer stories over the years, sadly of varying quality, but this particular one manages to condense what it is that makes John Constantine such a captivating character. It distills the essence of the pissy SOB and makes him as compelling and interesting as he ever was. Hats off to Si Spencer for writing one of the best 'blazer tales since Garth Ennis helmed the book. And Sean Murphy continues to blow my mind with his art. His work on JOE THE BARBARIAN and this title have rocketed him up list of personal favourites. I can't say enough good things about him.

27 #1
So, according to this, 27 is supposed to be the next big thing to hit your LCS. Apparently its getting a lot of positive buzz and the first print run of the title even sold out. In fact Bleeding Cool even goes as far as to suggest picking up an issue and flipping it for a quick buck, its just that hot. Usually I’m immune to buying the next big thing, but because it was a light week for me I bought my store’s second to last copy to see if the end product lived up to all the hype.

Sadly, it doesn’t.

The titular 27 refers to the age where several famous musicians died, including Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. Will Garland is simply the latest guitarist to face personal tragedy when hitting that tricky age, contracting a debilitating disease known as sympathetic dystrophy that leaves him unable to play the guitar. Unable to find a conventional cure he starts exploring alternative methods, including contacting crackpot-scientist types, in the hopes they can treat his illness. However, he doesn’t bargain on the strange mechanical device that ends up in his chest, one that actually seems to let him play the guitar again.

It’s a setup issue so there isn’t anything really very attention grabbing here. Writer Charles Soule seems concerned with getting all his pieces in place more than anything else. The lead in issue was interesting but didn’t reach out and really grab me, which is what I want for something as hyped as this title was. I was hoping to hit the ground running with elaborate theories and pseudo-scientific conspiracies and what I got was a slow burn instead. Now that’s patently unfair to the writer who doesn’t need me projecting my expectations on the work sight unseen. But the story hook, the untold tale of 27 and musicians, was such an interesting plot that I started to craft my own plot before I even cracked the cover on the real thing. The art, by Renzo Podesta, is good, but a little too stripped down and cartoony to really be my bag. On the whole 27 was interesting but I don't think I'll have any problems leaving the second issue on the shelf.



The Flash #7
It's another famous Geoff Johns Flash break issue, where we take a pause for the cause from the regular plot line to do a little indepth examination of one Flasher's Rogues Gallery. This time out we're looking into the origins of the Flash's second most deadly White Lantern resurrection, Captain Boomerang. This issue covers Boomerang's start as a poor Australian boy, his time as one of Flash's Rogues and his career on the Secret Six. (Of course it wouldn't be a Johns secret origin tale if he didn't graft a bloody tragedy onto the Rogue's past, in this case having Captain Boomerang murder his own father at his mother's funeral.) There's also a small plot here with Boomerang having a discussion with fellow resurrectee, the Reverse Flash, about what the future holds for him. It's a typical solid effort from Johns and Manapul and as long as they both keep on keeping on I'll be happy to read what they're putting out.

Knight and Squire #3
Look, I love all things British but for whatever reason KNIGHT AND SQUIRE never really caught on with me. I don't know if it was because I found the humour wasn't universal enough or some of the British motifs were too obscure for me, whatever the reason reading KNIGHT AND SQUIRE was more obligation than enjoyment. Until this week. Reading about British Batman's Twitter battle - sorry, Twunter battle - with a clone Richard the Third, who can seemingly only speak in Shakespearian asides finally snuck its way past my defenses. The whole thing felt like a goofy Silver Age story told through a uniquely British lens and I absolutely loved it. Kudos to Paul Cornell for turning out a great story and now I'm looking forward to reading what else he's got on tap for K&S

Comic book reviews for the week of October 27th in six sentences (or less)

Best of the week

Hellblazer: City of Demons #2

If you’ve read one Hellblazer comic, you’ve read them all. The ‘blazer genre tropes are pretty well worn by this time; so writer Si Spencer just embraces what’s great about the character and rolls with it. As I mentioned when I reviewed the first issue I don’t get why this is being spun out into a mini but artist Sean Murphy’s work is so great that I couldn’t care less. Anyway, Constantine seems to have been possessed by a demon (or demons) and he can pass along this possession like an infection to anyone he meets. Of course normal people don’t deal with being infected by a demon very well and they tend to do lots of horrific and bloody things. I’m enjoying the hell out of the series so far, no pun intended, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

Actions Comics #894

In this issue Lex Luthor continues on his quest to seek the truth behind the black power rings from the Blackest Night event. Only Lex’s journey has been put briefly on hold while he comes to grips with the fact that he is, y’know, dead. Death, making a rare cameo outside of Neil Gaiman’s ever popular Sandman series, shows up to wheel, deal and help Lex accept his sudden change in status. This is a fantastic issue. In Paul Cornell’s hands Lex Luthor is still the same ruthless, irredeemable villain he’s always been, only now for some reason he’s a lot more interesting. Cornell manages to explore some of the seldom seen aspects of Luthor’s personality without invalidating who the character is at this core. And it’s always great to see that Gaiman’s Sandman characters continue to play a role in the DCU. If I thought there was any hope in hell Neil would come back to the characters I’d love to see this issue as a trial balloon to gauge reader interest in the franchise.

Avengers #6

Avengers vs. Ultron vs. Future Avengers vs. Kang. There can be only one. Bendis’s first story arc on the reincorporated AVENGERS comes to a close. And with all things time travel related it was a great opportunity for the writer to drop some hints about future story arcs. I don’t have too much to quibble with here. The art was pretty and the story and dialogue were engaging. That being said, I’m dropping the title. I’ve always been a DC guy at heart and on top of that my budget can’t really float another 3.99 ongoing. But it was fun while it lasted and I have no issue pointing prospective readers towards the book if they’re looking for a good read.

Gravel #21

Wait, is this series over? Because this issue reads suspiciously like a series finale. Being an Avatar release there are always about a hundred pictures in the back of the book, detailing the many variant covers of the company’s upcoming releases. And unfortunately I can’t see a solicitation for issue #22 anywhere. Given that series creator Warren Ellis is supposedly penning a live screen adaption of GRAVEL I find the timing of the title’s cancellation extremely unfortunate. Or perhaps it was always meant to wrap up in this way. Anyway, in this ish Gravel throws down with Bible Jack for control of London’s magic. There’s some magic, some gore, a little of the old ultra-violence and a bit of swearing. Happy Halloween!

Green Arrow #5

Green Arrow fights off an uprising of Blackest Night style super zombies while trying to save the life of an innocent bystander who was injured by the assassin Nix. Typing sentences like that reminds me why I can’t interest my wife in comics. Especially if I were to mention that GA beats the zombies by shooting them with slivers of wood from the God Tree. I enjoy how titles with the Brightest Day banner on them are still touching on Blackest Night plot points six issues later. Too often Big Two events are really just an excuse to mix up the status quo. Once the new status has been achieved the big events are quickly forgotten. I suppose that in the pursuit of new readers this reset button is a necessary evil. But I prefer to think of continuity as a boon and not a hindrance.

Superman #704

If there were a section for most irrelevant comic of the week, you’d be looking at it. DC apparently needed to plug some material into their Superman publishing schedule in order to cover for writer JMS’s ongoing illness. What the reader gets is an unnecessary fill-in issue with Lois reminiscing about the road untaken. Or at least, that was probably the intention. Instead it feels more like 22 pages of Lois whining and complaining about being stuck in Superman’s shadow, which is at completely at odds with her character. The art is flat, feels strangely unfinished and every so often the artist, Leandro Oliveira, throws in a canted angle that sticks out from the page like a chorus line of nuns doing the can-can. If you read just one Superman title this week, well, I hope it isn’t this one.

Ultimate Avengers 3 #3

Mark Millar. Blade. Ultimate Universe. Vampires. Mix liberally and apply to the infected area twice daily. Add a healthy dollop of Steve Dillon and enjoy.

Ultimate Comics Mystery #4

I forgot to pick up this issue. What can I say, it was a heavy week and it slipped through the cracks.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #15

Only one more issue to go before this title goes back to it’s new, old number. Wait, did I say that right? Anyway, in this issue Peter Parker is attempting to regroup and pick up the pieces of his life after almost dying at the hands of the Chameleon Twins. His relationships with MJ and Gwen are falling apart. And even though he’s be lauded as a hero by the Daily Planet, somehow fighting crime seems to have lost its appeal. This is the first real pause for reflection this title has taken since it was rebooted fifteen issues ago. This is Bendis at his best, portraying complicated, nuanced character relationships with depth and feeling. Unlike so many other heroes in the spandex set, what makes Spider-man one of the greats is how he deals with his life when the mask comes off. Bendis has done a great job here reminding us of the timeless nature of the character.

As an aside, Marvel needs to pack in those absolutely terrible Spider-man\Mazda ads on the back over. I'm all for companies making a buck with cross promotions. I just don't think the serious car buyer is going to be won over by an ad on the back of his or her funny book.

Wonder Woman #604

This is how we do it! Unlike his work on SUPERMAN I’m enjoying JMS’s turn on WONDER WOMAN much more. I suspect a lot of that has to do with the fact that essentially Straczynski has been given a clean slate to play with the character. What you’re looking at when you pick up this book is the Ultimitized version of the character and, in my opinion, its really starting to come together. There are just enough familiar elements here to be comfortable to returning readers, but the take is fresh and new enough that new readers don’t feel hemmed in by decades of stifling continuity. In this issue, Wondie throws down with Ultimate Steve Trevor who, without Diana’s influence, has become a horrifically scarred mercenary for hire responsible for the deaths of all the Amazons.

Comic book reviews for the week of October 20th in six sentences (or less)

Apparently its Love your artists week here at Iceberg Ink. Because, with one notable exception, I’ve been raving enthusiastically about every artist to put pencil to paper this week. They’re just that friggin’ good.

Best of the Week

Walking Dead #78

You know what makes this series so great? The fact that its an ongoing tale of the zombie apocalypse and the zombies are probably the least interesting thing about the story. Seriously, the characters, the pacing, the dialogue all mesh seamlessly with the art to create a near flawless experience. The story is fresh, interesting and month in and month out it’s always at the top of my pull list. In this issue a shootout at the compound draws the attention of a herd of nearby zombies, neatly setting up a story arc that writer Robert Kirkman has been building too since Rick and the gang escaped from the prison complex. If you haven’t seen it already, be sure to check out the premiere of the WALKING DEAD television series next Sunday. My only complaint is that I’ve read the comic so many times that there won’t be (m)any surprises for me. But I’m looking forward to seeing what Frank Darabont does with the source material.

Batman and Robin #15

Sniff. Grant Morrison’s ultimate Batman story is almost over. If you haven’t picked up a Morrison bat-title in the last few years, well, you’d better save yourself some time and skip to the next review; because there’s nothing for you here. Dick gets shot in the back of the head, Damien teams up with the Joker, an ancient Wayne ancestor is masquerading as Bruce Wayne’s deceased father and BW himself shows back up again after traveling thousands of years through time. Throw in some beautiful looking Frazer Irving art and you’ve got a damn good reason to read comic books.

Brightest Day #12

A Martian Manhunter-centric issue with just a dash of Firestorm thrown in for seasoning. J’onn J’onzz is one of those character who I don’t know all that well. I know his basic backstory and I’m familiar with his personality traits from his time on the JLA. But for a guy who’s managed to float his own ongoing series on a couple of occasions I know hardly anything about his past. Which is why an issue like this is a helpful info dump and provides some useful character context. Apparently D’Kay, our mystery Green Martian (yes, another one,) is an unscrupulous scientist who undertook immoral experiments on her own people and then tried to purge any who’s thoughts couldn’t be read by telepathy. It’s a good, solid issue with some gorgeous art by Patrick Gleason. Bonus points though to any reader with the eagle eyes who can spot the art slip up on page 7.

DC Universe: Legacies

It’s like reading a Wikipedia entry on comic book plots you already know. Years worth of stories condensed into 22 pages, only with really pretty pictures. Kudos to Len Wein for trying to keep it interesting by framing the whole thing through the eyes of an ordinary man. But that’s a trope that’s been overused in comics for years. Unfortunately the story doesn’t really add anything new to the DCU, then again, it was never meant to. The backup story, featuring the umpteenth retelling of Clark’s first visit by the Legion, is good for a chuckle though.

Green Lantern Corps #53

Chapter One of the new story arc, The Weaponer. One of Sinestro’s former Qwardian allies comes to Korugar, which looks suspiciously like Earth, in search of the former Green Lantern’s daughter. The Weaponer plans to take his revenge through Sora for some crime that never seems to be explained. Unable to find her, he decides to throw down with Kyle Raynerin an obligatory fight scene. This was a fair issue although it certainly had its low points. The artist, Tyler Kirkham, chose to portray the clothing and architecture of an alien world an awful lot like Earth, right down to the baseball caps and hoodies. Kyle spends a lot of time boasting about his credentials as a galactic warrior and then gets taken out in six pages. For a man who’s defeated every A-list baddie in the DCU he goes down quickly and quietly. If you’re a rabid fan of the Green Lantern world, this issue will hardly turn you off. For a fan just passing through it’s a bit like listening to the elevator music version of one of your favourite tunes.

Hellblazer #272

Britain’s favourite street magician is going through some hard times. John Constantine is one of the few character’s in comic books who actually ages with the years. Lately he’s gone mad, hacked off a thumb, nearly sliced off his arm, lost one girlfriend (dead), lost a second girlfriend (abandoned in the past) and now’s he the target of some very bad people who reside in a very tropical hot spot. It all sort of feels like it’s building to something doesn’t it? After 272 issues Constantine’s life has gone through some drastic changes, but in the end he’s still the same cynical (and lonely) mage he’s always been. Thank god Brian Buccellato is around make even a grizzled old fart like Constantine seem rugged and fabulous.

Justice League of America #50

I love Mark Bagley. Getting to watch him draw the hell out of the JLA-lite for 50 pages is a treat for me. This issue is all big dust up. The Crime Syndicate of Amerika is trying to take over the world and the JLA is naturally duty bound to stop them; with their fists. There’s a sub plot here with Dr. Impossible and some dark version of the New Gods that I know nothing about. Presumably it came during the time I temporarily abandoned the title.

Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates #4

For a line that was supposed to eschew restrictive continuity, line wide reboots and unnecessary character revisions the Ultimate Universe has proven its not immune to these overused plot devices after all. In this issue Jeph Loeb continues to tinker with the Ulti Uni by reimagining Ultimate Thor more along the lines of his 616 version. Gone is the peace loving hippie and in his place is the rage filled warrior. Perhaps there will be an interesting and compelling reason for the change. More likely, brawny Nordic warriors with squinity-yelly faces and a propensity to start brawls are considered to be more interesting than one who chooses to use his powers for unconventional means. I suggest reading this comic just because you like to watch Frank Cho draw the hell out of things. I mean, that’s a pretty good reason right there, isn’t it?

Comic book reviews for the week of October 13th in six sentences (or less)

Hey everyone, these are 24 hours late because we suffered a power failure last night (which feels like the modern equivalent to 'the dog ate my homework').

Best of the Week

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5

The current chapter of Grant Morrison’s Batman epic is drawing to a close. And even the most casual fan of either the writer, or the character he’s playing with, has to respect the lengths to which Morrison has gone to mine the lesser known aspects of the franchise and reconcile some of its more fantastic elements. Suddenly, everything is on the table, because it all happened. Every cockamamie Silver Age story that was wiped away by CRISIS OF INFINITE EARTHS with an embarrassing shrug actually took place. It’s like the Batman franchise has been rebooted on the sly and decades worth of stories are now relevant again, or at least deserve a chance to be re-examined in the wake of Morrison's stint.

Hellblazer: City of Demons #1

I’m not sure why the Hellblazer franchise decided to spin this story out into a miniseries, because right now there’s nothing taking place in these pages that can’t be handled in the main title. Is Vertigo sitting on a backlog of ‘blazer stories and wanting to see some return on their investment? Anyway, I would have passed on this if it wasn’t being pencilled by the fantastic Sean Murphy. You might remember him from his work on JOE THE BARBARIAN and Learning with Wolverine. There’s nothing here that you don’t see in a straight of ‘blazer story. John Constantine drinks, smokes, acts like a dick and is apparently still British. All good in my books, but I’m still curious to see what makes this story so special.

Knight and Squire #1

Combining Paul Cornell, the current writer of ACTION COMICS, with Knight and Squire, one of Grant Morrison’s great reinventions seems like a recipe for printing money. In reality it’s neither good nor bad, but just kind of...there. The writing is solid, the art passable but not spectacular and its full of British-y goodness. Surprisingly, it does nothing for me. The story deals with heroes and villains that gather to socialize once a month at a local pub, prevented from fighting each due to the influence of ‘truce magic.’ As you might expect, the truce is broken and chaos ensues. I’m willing to stick with the story for another issue, but this title will really have to up its game if it expects to keep me as a reader.

Green Lantern #58

One of things that impresses me about Geoff Johns is the man’s ability to stick with a title. In today’s comic book market, some writers can’t stay with a book longer than an arc or too. Yet Johns frequently manages to write on a title for years, a rarity in any age and practically unheard of today. With Doug Mahnke rocking the pencils and Johns continuing to pen the story he’s been working on for the last five years this title is consistently at the top of my pull list. This month we’re treated to the continuing adventures of the Rainbow Raiders. Johns is doing an admirable job portraying the disparate personalities that banded together after the events of THE BLACKEST NIGHT in a realistic and believe manner. (Well, as realistic as a group of aliens with multicoloured magic wishing rings can ever hope to be)

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors

Peter J. Tomasi might not be gracing the pages of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS anymore, but he’s not too far from the GL franchise thanks to his work on EMERALD WARRIORS. I get the impression that Johns uses the main GL title to tie the franchise into the DCU and move events forward. This leaves GLC and now EW to pick up some of the dangling plot threads and flesh out the larger world of the Corps. Its a system that works really well for all the titles involved. And Fernando Pasarin is just killing it on pencils. I’m not used to seeing art this great on a book that I consider to be part of the expanded DCU and not a core title.

Superman #703

I’m conflicted. On the one hand I respect what J. Michael Straczynski is attempting to do with the Superman franchise. He’s trying to approach the character in a fashion that he believes has never been done before. And I respect that. On the other hand, I’m not sure he’s been entirely successful in his aims. Let’s face it, when you have a publishing history as long as Superman does there aren’t very many unexplored angles. While readers may never have seen it in such an elongated form, the concept of a reflective Superman has been done before, many times over. Done properly in the course of a single issue it can be a powerful tool. Spread it across an entire story arc and it can border on tedious. This month, Superman continues in his mission to walk across America. He gets in a fight, wins it and everything looks pretty much the same as it has in his world for the last 70 years. I’m not willing to write JMS off yet. But at this point I’m look forward to his SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE book more so than I am his work on the main title.

Superior #1

Say what you will about Mark Millar, and the man certainly has his fair share of detractors, but the man knows how to make the most of what he has. If he’s not promoting himself, or his work, he’s name dropping his Hollywood connections or stepping outside his traditional box to try new things, like directing a film for pete’s sake. The man is a shameless huckster and the comic world is better for it. Whether you like or dislike his writing most people seem to have an opinion about it. Which means you’re probably reading what he puts out and that’s the point of the whole thing. Anyway, SUPERMA…I mean SUPREM…er…SUPERIOR #1 is a straight up origin tale with Superman like overtones. Most origin tales are limited by what they can do as they’re too busy checking off the obligatory narrative plot points. With any luck the second issue will allow Millar to start monkeying around with conventions of the genre.