Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: batwoman, Captain Atom, Comics, dancer, daredevil, dc, fury, hardcore, image, Locke & Key, marvel, saga, wonder woman

Nine More Thoughts About Nine More Comics – Batwoman, Saga, Dancer, Daredevil, Fury, Hardcore, Locke& Key, Wonder Woman And Captain Atom

Published Wed, 16 May 2012 13:00:15 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Brian Azzarello does seem to be channelling Neil Gaiman right now, or Robert Graves via Neil at least, and never more than in this issue of Wonder Woman #9, fully immersed in a world of gods and goddesses, of strange lands and Hades, contrasted with the concerns of humanity. This and Journey Into Mystery make a fun double act. Glad this doesn't have to crossover with anything right now. Nothing else in the DCU really fits.

Captain Atom #9 feels more and more like they are creating the Ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail, and I'm wondering if, All You Zombies style, if everyone is going to end up being Captain Atom.

FuryMAX #2 takes us straight into bed with Nick Fury, and apparently he has a penis the size and shape of a cucumber. Sex, violence, grim war, the mindset of those who have to get through it, and the lack of any understanding over what is actually going on by the men on top, and the senseless waste of people who actually know what's going on having to follow the orders of those who don't. You know, a Garth Ennis war comic masquerading as a Marvel superhero comic book. And doing it so well.

Daredevil #13 kicks it up a notch into full out inter-super-gang war over that flash drive of his. And pulls the switcheroo that's been beautifully set up over the last few issues. Khoi Pham was a poor choice for this issue, he excels in the close up, moment to moment storytelling, the flashbacks and forwards and the Daredevil sonic tricks, but doesn't have what's necessary for the big scale scenes, they come over as empty, especially when filled with a blaze of multicolour that fails to ground anything. But then again, maybe empty is exactly what the scenes are… it is after all, all about least predictable options.

Are we human? Or are we Dancer, the new Image book from Nathan Edmondson and Nic Klein? This book is grounded and pulls off some very interesting narrative tricks. Such as a bullet ridden evening where you don;t see the bullets, just the effect they have individually on the objects they pass through, before pulling back to get the big picture. It's a syunningly powerful opening scene and it's always interesting to see new techniques in comics, even now.

Saga #3 continues the survival of a child and its parents in a universe with other plans for them. So we get horrors giving childrearing tips, assassins with baggage and royal television interrogators. So much to love. And with 70,000 sales for the first issue now, many more are loving it as well…

Locke & Key #6 gives us a game of keys, a war of wielders with point, counterpoint and countercounterpoint. With everyone having bluffs and back up plans, it's clear that however this resolves, it will not end. Not until Locke & Key Omega, that is. A stunningly beautiful and intricate book about war, strategy and where people fall and rise.

It's interesting that Hardcore #1 comes out two years late, after I just read Think Tank #1 from Top Cow's Matt Hawkins out in August. Both involve weaponised telepathic science to some degree, and both end on a hell of a cliffhanger that seems to set up the whole concept. Only difference is, that Think Tank will have a second issue… this was the remnant of Top Cow's pilot programme with Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri. And you're out of luck…

Ah Batwoman. How you delight me with your Promethean ways. Snakes eating tails, lips locking and falling head over heels down the winding staircases of this book, even when JH Williams isn't actually drawing the book.

So… what have you been reading today?

Comics courtesy of Orbital Comics of London. Catch them at Kapow this weekend, why don't you?

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