Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, green lantern, x-men

Last Week's Comics In Sixteen Pictures

Dr Manolis Vamvounis writes for Bleeding Cool.

Last week in sixteen pictures:

WATCHBOYS

BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS #1 follows the familiar pattern of most of the previous BW #1s. A spread-out rehashing of the character bits cleverly compressed or nuanced in the original book, offering little to no extra insight on the characters, wrapped in such, such beautiful art that you actually find yourself slack-jawed gawking at each individual art piece of a page. It's been a while since I've seen Jae Lee tackled interior art and I find him to have really grown aesthetically, approaching the composition and storytelling of each page with glorious gusto. Did DC really need to wait for this series of books to make use of these amazingly talented artists?

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT LEX LUTHOR"

EDISON REX #1 from Chris Roberson's newfound Monkeybrain Comics studio is the best Superman/Lex Luthor story that DC will never ever get to publish. Their loss. The analogies couldn;t have been more shameless if Mark Waid himself had written this book. The world's greatest hero and his arch-nemesis, the world's smartest man. Their unconvential final confrontation will lead Lex – oops, sorry, I meant "Rex" – to… well, I've already said too much. This is one of the best first issues I've come across, it packs a great story that is instantly classic and tremendous, while also establishing the promise of a very entertaining new series.

MUTANTBALL Z

Apart from the Wolvie/Cap fight in the earlier issues, the action scenes in AVX has been rather "blah". Take #7 for example. A Phoenixed-up Magik versus the returned Scarlet Witch. Marvel's two most formidable mutant witches, at the height of their power. How does it play out? Some funny shaped energy emissions and then Hawkeye shoots an arrow. Where's the imagination? The Scarlet Witch's powers (even before the magic studies kicked in) were all about unpredictability (or rather, improbability). We get a glimpse of that later in the issue, but the main action is a bit of a "blast by numbers". That's more of a general remark about most writers' overreliance on "lightshows" rather than coming up with ways for characters to creatively use their powers.

OH AND ANOTHER THING

Out of all the Great Event Crossovers that Marvel has published during the past decade, AVX is the one that could have most benefited from a companion book like "Front Line" or "Embedded" had functioned for Civil War, World War Hulk and Secret Invasion, examining the reactions of the Marvel civilians to the world-shaking changes of the main book. Since #6 the reader is asked to believe that the X-Men are universally adored as Gods by the public while the Avengers have become… fugitives? It's a great leap for the reader to make without a more compelling case being made than Cyclops coldly stating so.

ALAS POOR SABRETOOTH – HE WOULD NOT FKN DIE

To this whole half-assed explanation for Sabretooth's return in WOLVERINE #310 – which seems to glide between "I always thought his corpse smelled funny" and "oh look, a convenient factory of Sabretooth clones at the old Weapon X complex" – I say:

"BITCH PLEASE".

[GEEK-RANT] Even without the great wave of publicity that Loeb tried to stir up 5 years ago for WOLVERINE #55 – containing the final, conclusive, this-is-the-real-deal-folks, no-kidding death of Sabretooth (which people still refused to believe, but the creators kept insisting about) – this seems to be gearing towards a very cheap and convenient explanation for Greed's non-death, especially seeing as how he was quite recently featured in Jason Aaron's popular "Wolverine in Hell" arc. He was King of Hell and everything! [/GEEK-RANT]

GERBER IS MY MASTER NOW

INFERNAL MAN-THING #1 is unquestionably the best book out this week. Steve Gerber's sequel to his classic Man-Thing story "Song-cry of the Living Dead Man" from vol. 1 #12 (aaaaall the way back in the 70s) is ready to go down in comics history as the comics project that took the longest time (over THREE decades!) to complete, due to the extreme time requirements for the fully painted artwork by the master Kevin Nowlan himself. Reportedly, each page of this book took a whole week to complete. And it's definitely worth it, it's the most beautiful piece of art you've ever seen in a comic in a very long time. The story is haunting and still so current even after its long time in hiatus. A copywriter who becomes jaded and disconnected from the world (and literally haunted) by the lies and pointless drivel he's forced to feed the masses, decides to share his utter misery with the world in the form of a screenplay – and in the process drown everyone around him in his craziness.

BAT-LOVING

 Geoff Johns has a mad crush on daddy Alfred Pennyworth. BATMAN EARTH ONE #1 takes an interesting route, building up the Batman from the early misguided adventurer to the first signs of true legend, but it's Alfred "the Butler" who is the real star of the book, sharing the spotlight with classic bat-alumnis Harvey Bullock and James Gordon. Like Batman, they all start off with rather questionable character traits, undergoing very distinct but organic character arcs through the book, shaping them for their iconic places in the Bat-mythos. The book itself reads like the comic book adaptation of a satisfactory big screen reboot of the Dark Knight. Facts and people have been shuffled around rather too freely, yet everything works beautifully within the confines of the book.

THE GREEN WIDOW

As expected, EARTH 2 #3 sees Alan Scott's fated fiancé perish under the train crash that ultimately leads to him being reborn as the new (?) Green Lantern. Now, call me old-fashioned, but I'm not big on this "silent shock reaction when faced with the death your one true love" thing. I prefer my heroes down on their knees screaming in denial, really pushing the enormity of their loss, especially when we're referring to a character that was felt like such a throwaway in the previous issue as this Sam.

We also get a glimpse at the new costume. And it's just so… well, GREEN. Green armour, with a green mask and green boots and a green chest piece with a green emblem on top and bright green glowing edges… SHEESH. We get it already. A black cape or any sort of black colour blocking could have salvaged this. The other new designs, for Hawkgirl and the surprise villain on the last page were more creative and modern, even if the latter is hinting at a VERY different character concept than the one fans could be familiar/comfortable with.

P.S. Please DC, do something about the lettering in this book. The amateurish choice of (free online) fonts and photoshop effects was close to ruining the entire reading experience of this book.

ACTION STORYTELLING 303

I'm just sayin', you gotta love George Perez. Simple, expeditious and damn right smart. Sure, the villain in WORLD'S FINEST #3 isn't anyone we'll still remember in a few weeks/days/hours, but the action itself is so fun. The dialogue between the two girls, Power Girl and the Huntress, really sells their deep personal relationship and their chemistry, the two "daughters" (or, you know, younger cousins) of the World's Greatest heroes that have grown up together and are now braving a bold new world on their own. It's quippy and sassy, well reminiscent of Gail Simone's best work on BIRDS OF PREY. Not too bad, mr Levitz.

EVEN WITH BANDAGES OVER ONE EYE THIS IS RIDICULOUS

Let's take a moment to REALLY examine this scene from ACTION COMICS #11. Superman has just faked the death of Clark Kent and is visiting this guy that he knew as Clark, disguised in his new secret identity of firefighter Johnny Clark. His ingenius new disguise? A wool cap. Well, it's working against a man who knows him as both Kent AND Superman, how stupid can it be?

Morrison seems to be in a confused state lately, I can't fathom where he could hope to get with any of the plotlines he's exploring here, given the limitation that he's still (unexpectedly) still working in the "five years ago" time period. Morrison's voice is overpowering the character. The backup story this month with "the guy who's printing Superman's T-shirts" is actually much more enjoyable and coherent .

SO IF ANGEL IS THE WRITERS OF BUFFY SEASON 8…

… then Willow must be the voice of the united, exasperated fandom who are still scratching their heads over that whole Twilight mess. I could've told you, nothing good could EVER come from that name. No matter how often they try to revisit and rationalise Angel's actions from that series, it will NEVER make sense. I will admit that their repercussions in Season 9 are making for a thrilling read. ANGEL AND FAITH #11 sees the welcome addition of Willow to the cast and a further influx of beloved supporting characters from the Angel TV series (thankfully unscathed by the turmoils of the forgettable – or is that regrettable – IDW series).

OCCUPY DCU

GREEN ARROW is at his best when there's a political edge to him and when he's referencing current events (or you know, when Kevin Smith is writing him fighting Vertigo villains). With issue 11 Ann Nocenti examines how the original Robin Hood inspiration for Oliver Queen lives up to the current financial crisis and how the character would react to a more radical take on his premise. Enter: the "Dark Arrows".

YOUR MONTHLY DOSE OF GAY MEN IN LOVE

Sure, STORMWATCH #11 actually had lots more interesting stuff going on beyond their alloted gay panel. Milligan is playing around with the new Legacy aspect of the team concept and is trying to flesh out the team's currently most bland character, the Engineer. But I still mostly buy it for Midnighter in heat.

EVEN GRANT MORRISON WOULD CALL THIS SHIT CRAZY

DIAL H #3 gives more hints at a larger mythology behind the seemingly random (and surely certifiably insane) heroic incarnations of the H dial. It's only the third issue, but it's already difficult to narrow down a top ten of made-up superheroes. What sort of powers would the Open Window Man actually have anyway?!? The book is so bursting with the creative energy, the flashback sequences are drawn in John Byrne!

A JOKE EIGHT YEARS IN THE MAKING

That took you long enough. As an aside, I still find it odd that the X-FACTOR agency's two newest recruits/rehires, Havok and Polaris, have kept their regular spandeX-uniforms, rather than opting for a more street-level design like the rest of the team. Seeing Havok in a very casual house-call (like the one in the opening of X-FACTOR #239) in full spandex really drives this point home. Couldn't they at least make like the 90s and throw a jacket over that thing?

FEAST YOUR EYES

FAIREST #5 must be Phil Jimenez's dream book. He gets to reimagine sexy, sassy, bitchy fairies in dozens new fantastic outfits posing like insane(ly fabulous) fashion queens EVERY. SINGLE. ISSUE. It's a gay man's dream book. Especially now that the story has started to finally take shape, with the elements of the seemingly endless retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale tying into the present narrative.

Lots of great art this week, from Jae Lee to Phil Jimenez and of course the masters Kevin Nowlan and George Perez.

Morrison seems to be under some creative strain in ACTION COMICS, but DIAL H is growing into quite the healthy alternative for any readers still hungry for their graphic psychotropics.

EDISON REX is my recommendation of the week to anyone looking for a fresh new take on the Superman/Lex dynamic, while INFERNAL MAN-THING is a reminder of the true innovation and honed craft behind Gerber's classic Man-Thing run.

On the other end of the scale, I would not even bother poking WOLVERINE #310 to check for a pulse.

Dead does mean dead there.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!