Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Here they are... rantin’ and ravin’ ‘bout them funny books. Like a buncha damn comic readin’ virgins, I tells ya. I mean, the way they go on and on, you’d think comics was good readin’ or some such bullstuff. Check this noise:
Cormorant here, y'all, and I'd like to take a moment to point out that while the TalkBack League of @$$holes is no one's bitch, we do take your comments into account.
And then dismiss them.
But sometimes, just every once in a while, a reader makes an eloquent plea that touches our collective hearts. Such was the case last week when a TalkBacker named "Dalton_Is_007" bitched as follows…
"You guys will take up a huge amount of space for some indie garbage that 9/10ths of us won't be able to find except for direct order (and we'd probobly get screwed on anyway) and you have no compunction about reviewing Bendis' latest daredevil 3 months in a row, but we can't get a frickin' review of Batman?"
Dalton, yes you can. Bitching in the TalkBacks is everyone's right at Ain't-It-Cool-News, and since you've gone through the proper political channels, we're actually going to open the column with said BATMAN review. At the same time, I'm gonna use the intro pulpit to call you out for the "indie garbage" line. Open your eyes, my man. Some of the best guys in even mainstream comics came from or work in the indie scene – Brian Bendis and Alan Moore, for starters – and if you like their mainstream work, doesn't it stand to reason that they might've produced some kick-ass shit when they had no corporate restraints on them? Shop around. Check out Vertigo and Dark Horse and Oni and see where it leads you. And as for shops who fail to order the small press goodies, dammit, exert some pressure on them too! A good comic shop not only can, but should re-order based on customer requests. You're outta luck with Marvel books because they don't overprint 'em, but with any other company, there's a good chance the material is available and just waiting for a customer to have the balls to say to their retailer, "Hey. Retailer. Can you order that for me?"
Have those balls, Dalton_Is_007. Now here's your review:
BATMAN #616
Jeph Loeb – Writer
Jim Lee – Penciller
Scott Williams – Inks
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
One of the best analyses of Loeb and Lee’s run on BATMAN that I’ve heard yet was offered by frequent TalkBacker “Bizarromark” when he compared the series as to the old milestone/anniversary comic book issues of past eras, “where everyone from the hero's life finds a reason to show up during the story.” Story-wise, this is not an entirely bad strategy: It’s actually nice to have the gang all here, so to speak. The downshot is that the threat level of the villains has to be readjusted in order for them to fit into the story, skewing their relative value.
Luckily for Loeb, he isn’t shoehorning everybody into a single issue. But he certainly is taking the grand tour, giving everyone their moment in the spotlight; and in fact, there seem to have been some accommodations made along the way. For example, in last month’s issue, the Riddler seemed to be taken care of so easily by Batman and Nightwing, it hardly seemed worth the trouble. But hey, he got a little face time.
For BATMAN #616, this week’s special guest star is Ra’s Al Ghul. And all things considered, I thought Loeb did pretty good by Ra’s. He and Batman have a standard but well-crafted sword fight; and in my mind, he sounded appropriately enough like David Warner. (Yes, I know, it’s a superficial standard, but one that works for me.) In telling the story, Loeb employs his usual technique of playing the caption boxes separate from the action; sometimes even against the action. At best, this technique adds dynamism to the story, with the main character’s inner life in constant and close proximity. At worst, the disconnected narration is a discordant distraction. In BATMAN #616, and indeed, for most of this story arc, the tendency has fortunately been more towards the former. The captions and the action seem to harmonize pretty well; but curiously enough, not that deeply. Perhaps deeper investment requires more undivided attention.
But Ra’s isn’t the only guest star this time out: we also have al Ghul’s daughter Talia, Lady Shiva, and Batman’s costar in this arc, Catwoman.
Which brings us to Jim Lee.
Jim Lee is about as famous an artist as you can get these days, known for his appealing realistic and vivid style. And he can draw some really beautiful women, let me tell you. I honestly had to take a moment to wonder why Batman can’t find the time to work something out with Talia. I mean, she obviously digs him. And come on, just look at her. What’s the hang up? (Oh wait, that’s right, she’s kind of evil or something.) Beautiful women aside, in this issue I found myself noticing more of the details in panels, especially, for some reason, the cats in Catwoman’s lair. On the other hand, there were a couple of spots where the sword clangs and impacts in the sword fight seemed oddly presented (like where there wasn’t any swords), and I almost left a page without realizing that Batman’s ears had just been sliced off. But these are very minor grievances for what was a very pretty issue. And you know what? The shiny paper makes it even prettier.
But besides the technique and presentation, there’s the matter of the plot itself. Things are getting a little tricky, what with dead suspects and the resurrecting “Lazarus pits” brought into the picture. “Hush,” the name of the larger story arc, is supposed to be a mystery: Who is outsourcing Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery to try to kill him? In #616, Batman seems to have left the finer points detective work behind, and has now begun to focus on a somewhat violent process of elimination, a process that leads him to al Ghul. But even with the less graceful detective work, I’m still interested to see how the mystery is resolved. And although this issue comes in the middle of the arc, I think it’s still a fairly accessible jumping on point.
As a final note, I’m not a particularly longtime fan of Batman, but I’m beginning to notice a recurring pattern in the Batman stories that I have read: Batman gets mad and goes after the criminals with extra verve, and his comrades, usually Oracle, try to pull him back. How? They nag him. Nag, nag, nag. In fact, that seemed like the entire storyline of “Batman: Fugitive,” and now it’s found its way into “Hush.” The problem is either one of two things: Either A) Batman is overly prone to extremism these days, or B) his underlings need to lighten up and trust the guy. Either way, I’m beginning to feel like I’m seeing this same situation a little too much, and perhaps the writers are reaching for it a little too often.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed BATMAN #616. Exciting, somewhat engaging, and not bad to look at. If you’ve got that itch for Batman, BATMAN #616 will probably give you the scratch you’re looking for.
BLACK PANTHER #61
Writer: Priest
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Norm Rapmund
Publisher: MARVEL
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Well, it happens every time. Every single time I get into a comic book, the damn book gets canceled. During the late eighties and nineties, this occurred with great frequency. I was beginning to fear that I was a jinx, destined to show my love for comics only to have my beloved titles shut down by low sales and bad word of mouth. Back in those days, in a disgraceful attempt to over-saturate the market with their product, Marvel put out scores of books hoping to edge out the competition. They didn’t really care about the quality of the books, just the quantity. I worked in a comic store back then. I saw all of the Marvel UK crap come and go. The Midnight Sons shit. All of those books that exasperated the letter X. I saw people flock from one title to the next, leaving the books with true talent behind, overlooked, and ready for the chopping block. I’d just get into a title and then it would be edged out by the latest Spidey miniseries or Punisher spin-off.
Well, MARVEL is doing it again. There are at least one or two first issues from Marvel in every week’s new shipment; most of which, like WAR MACHINE, and the majority of the Tsunami line, are pure, fly-ridden, donkey-smegma, serving absolutely no purpose but to overshadow the competition by taking up valued space in the new comics rack week after week. Am I bitter? Damn straight. In a day and age when Wolverine hardly pops a single claw in his own title and Bruce Banner Hulks-out once every four months, it sucks to see a well-done comic put to pasture.
BLACK PANTHER is one of the few comics in the MARVEL line that gets almost everything right. I was ready to drop the title. The over-abundance of guest stars every month left me cold. The plots were wearing thin. Then uber-writer, Priest, introduced us to Kevin “Kasper” Cole and this title turned into one of my absolute favorite books. So of course, it’s scheduled to be canceled after next issue.
Kevin “Kasper” Cole is a cop. He’s got a pregnant wife and a nagging mother at home. He’s got a father rotting away in prison. He’s got bills to pay and little funds coming in. He’s a down-to-earth guy with down-to-earth problems. And then he comes across a Black Panther costume. Instead of turning the high tech suit in to the authorities, Kasper decides to keep it and try to do some things - some good things - that he is unable to do while wearing a badge. In recent issues, we’ve found out something that those who have been reading this title since its beginning have known all along: nothing happens by accident in the Panther’s world. Kasper received the Panther costume for a reason. He just doesn’t know what that reason is. In the meantime, Kasper has been the pawn of T’Challa (the original Black Panther), his corrupt police chief, The White Wolf (T’Challa’s arch-nemesis), and now, in issue #61, Kasper is being manipulated by classic Black Panther villain, Eric Killmonger. For the last year, Priest has been writing a slow evolution of a soon-to-be classic character in Kevin “Kasper” Cole and I for one am grateful for these extremely entertaining stories.
Issue #61 is the 3rd part of “Ascension,” the final arc of the series. The story began with a great guest appearance from the Falcon. Kasper tries to keep up with the winged protector, but his inexperience gets the better of him and the new Black Panther falls on his face when it matters most. Bruised and humiliated, Kasper seeks out T’Challa and wants to be trained to be a better Panther. T’Challa is not a willing teacher and sets him up to face impossible odds. Kasper must run a gauntlet; facing old foes and fierce challenges. At the end of this quest is the mystical root which gives T’Challa powers beyond any normal human. Kasper wants it. He wants it bad. Issue #61 shows how far Kasper will go to get what he wants.
What I like about this series is the accessibility of the hero. Gone are the high and mighty regalities that made Black Panther a character that was hard to relate to. Priest has deftly taken a classic character and updated him for the better. He’s made this hero more down-to-earth. Kasper has problems that a lot of young adults have and he reacts to them as any desperate man would. Kasper does these extreme things for his family, but he just can’t get things right. Fallible heroes are interesting. They aren’t blue-eyed boy scouts that always win in the end. There’s more of a risk. You don’t know who will live or who will die by the end of the tale. Priest’s superb writing keeps you guessing and wanting more. This series was lagging a few issues ago, but with the introduction of Kasper, Priest seems to be back on top of his game. The “Frasier-esque” chapter titles never fail to amuse and entertain. The tiny vignettes offer a distinct scene transition, one that is much more amusing than a simple “Meanwhile” caption. These tiny details have become Priest’s signature.
I’ve always liked Jim Califiore’s art. I remember his issues of AQUAMAN that depicted the undersea world with much imagination and style. His thick, stylistic pencils are highlighted nicely by Norm Rapmund’s inks. Califiore’s art seems to have no bounds. His gritty street-wise world is just as strong and effective as his creative details of Aquaman’s undersea kingdom.
I shouldn’t be too mad. Priest is going to continue to tell Kasper’s story in new book, THE CREW. Those reading that superior title know how this series is going to end – Marvel's “always-on-the-ball” editorial team released the first two issues of that series before BLACK PANTHER came to a conclusion. We know Kasper is going to receive a new cat suit, a white acolyte suit with many of the same abilities his current suit possesses. We know that Kasper will survive this rite of passage he has been undergoing in the final issues of this title. I’m glad that the character will have life after this series conclusion, but I can’t help but feel a bit sad when I think back on this truly unique series. I remember the fight between T’Challa and Iron Man, the trip to the Old West. I remember the fights with Doom and dragons. I remember Friend Ross and Klaw and the ever evolving cast. I remember T’Challa walking up walls and slicing foes with his claws. It was a fun ride and now it’s about over. Pick up the last few issues of this series. If anything, it is a worthy prelude to my next favorite Marvel comic, THE CREW. I just hope that my jinx doesn’t follow Kasper over to that title.
PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #57
Written by Zeb Wells
Art by Sam Kieth
Published by Marvel Comics
A Jon Quixote Review
Reaction to Zeb Wells’s run on PETER PARKER has, thus far, been pretty mixed. Ever since he took over while Paul Jenkins prepares for the title’s transition to SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (oh goody, another relaunch), the reading audience has responded with a resounding ‘ehh.’
I hate people.
What does a guy have to do to get his props? How good a Spider-Man does he have to write before people take notice and go ‘holy shit, this guy is really bringing it’?
Using classic villains, in new and exciting ways? Check. High-octane action? Check. Based on a story-foundation that shows an actual brain? Check. A wise-cracking, energetic Spidey? Check. Laugh-out-loud funny-as-hellness? Fuckin’ Check!
The preeminent internet comic book reviewer anointing Wells as one of the best comic book writers working today?
~ cough ~
Where’s Paul O’Brien when you need him?
Back to the issue at hand. It was a good week for comics. In a week where some of the best comics by some of the biggest names in the industry hit stands – Busiek & Anderson’s ASTRO CITY, Johns & Kolins’s FLASH, Loeb & Lee’s BATMAN, Waid & Wieringo’s FANTASTIC FOUR all delivered their usual excellence – Wells & Kieths’ PETER PARKER stood out as one of the best of the lot.
One of the best thing about Wells – and I’m assuming the credit is Wells’s because I’m not really noticing this degree of simpatico anywhere else – is the way he’s able to tailor his scripts in such a way that they play to the strength of his artist. I wasn’t a big fan of the Wells/Jim Mafhood collaboration a few months back, but the kooky beach-blanket-bingo story blended nicely with Mafhood’s style. When teamed with the goofily energetic pencils of Francisco Herrera, Wells wrote a goofy, energetic story. And now that Wells has linked his word processor to the peculiar draftsmanship of Sam Kieth, he’s delivered a tale that’s dark, strange and borders on the twisted.
And it’s wonderful! The two-part “Reborn” has been one of the best Spider-Man stories to see print since Straczynski knocked the first pitch out of the park in his AMAZING SPIDER-MAN debut. The tale of Spidey dealing with multiple Sandmen, each one comprised of fragments of the criminal’s fractured psyche, has certainly been one of the most inventive. And the scene where Sandman’s feminine side hits on Spider-Man, while Sandy’s neurotic conscience side looks on, had me laughing louder and harder than I have at a Spider-Man comic since God-knows-when. And Wells even manages to bring credibility to the disappointing reversion back to criminal-of-the-month of the once-reformed Sandman that took place a few years back.
For the duration of his fill-in run on PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN, Wells has delivered issue after issue of everything a Spider-Man comic should be. Inventive, exciting, and hilarious – you can’t really hope for more than that.
I appreciate what Wells has done during his tenure here. He deserves the chance to keep doing it. He’s earned a spot on my list of writers I will buy no matter what they write, alongside such luminaries as Kurt Busiek, Gail Simone, J.M. Straczynski, and Ed Brubaker. I hope he’ll be getting my pocket change for a long, long time.
THE LOSERS #1
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Jock
Publisher: Vertigo / DC Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
I love it when a plan comes together.
-Lt. Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith (George Peppard), THE A-TEAM
Normally, if you go into a review that begins with a quote from a schlock 80's show, you better brace yourself for trouble. This time, though, you can unclench and relax. Vertigo's new book, THE LOSERS, is far more accomplished than that nostalgic chestnut that gave us "B.A. Baracus," but it's hard not to think of it as you read THE LOSERS, and hard not to reflect that, "Damn, this is THE A-TEAM done right!"
You've got a team of six black ops soldiers, betrayed by their superiors, cut loose and disavowed. And they're fucking pissed. They want some payback, and as luck would have it, they're trained so well that they're in a unique position to bring on said payback in some pretty creative ways. At one point, as the team's discussing options and their own motivations, one of them makes their mission statement clear: "Hell, let's just say it out loud. We're talkin' about declarin' war on the Central Intelligence Agency."
And so they are. The book opens with an action sequence that sets the pace for everything to come, an ultra-slick helicopter heist from a military base in White Sands. It quickly establishes the leads through their particular quirks and specialties, and anyone who's seen THE USUAL SUSPECTS or similar flicks will recognize the unique energy generated when a team of professional badasses does their thing – when a plan really does come together. It's got the snap, it's got the crackle, and it's got the banter. And here's something interesting: even though the leads are hardly what you'd call nice guys, I appreciated that they weren't out-and-out amoral killers. These guys are closer to a foul-mouthed Mission Impossible team, willing to do almost anything to achieve their goal, but not quite willing to risk innocents in the crossfire. In the team leader's words, as he has his men position tranquilized soldiers such that they wont choke on their own vomit while unconscious: "We got no beef with these assholes."
That's a nice guy!
And I really like the characters. They're a colorful lot in the best Hollywood tradition – again, the analog is THE USUAL SUSPECTS - but honestly, Hollywood will be lucky if it can pull off a caper flick that's half as entertaining as THE LOSERS is shaping up to be. Writer Andy Diggle is a new face to me, with previous works like HELLBLAZER: LADY CONSTANTINE, having slipped under my radar, but this guy writes a tightly-paced first issue. If you can believe it, he actually manages to work in three action sequences between all the introductions, making THE LOSERS #1 the most collar-grabbing intro issue I've read since the debut of Y: THE LAST MAN. If a few dialogue exchanges feel a little overly-contrived (like the speechifyin' intro of the team's lone female member) or too self-consciously hip, I'm inclined to forgive 'em as I reflect on all the moments that got my inner-geek jazzed. The dialogue could use a little reigning in, though.
I'm not quite as fond of the art as I am of the writing. The artist goes by the name of "Jock," which gave the "Beavis and Butthead" in me some snickering in conjunction with writer, "Diggle," and he's got an angular, slightly rough style in the tradition of Sean Phillips on SLEEPER. Now I like Sean Phillips' art, and I like Jock's stuff too, but I just can't get too excited about it. Technically, there's not a damn thing wrong with it – there's fine storytelling, varied characters, and a particular affinity for the military vehicles and gear the genre brings into play. I guess I'd just like to see a Vertigo project with a little more artistic virtuosity working for it. There's no denying that the art suits the story, though, and this is certainly the kind of book you could put into a non-comic reader's hands, knowing that the art would instantly inform them that there's nothing corny or juvenile about the book.
In fact, you should do just that. Buy this book yourself, gentle comic reader, because it's slick and energetic and there's nothing cooler than watching the team sniper picking off targets as his big ol' cowboy hat keeps his face in shadow, and THEN…pass it on to a friend who doesn't normally read comics. Give it to someone with a fondness for Michael Mann movies or James Bond books or the TV show, '24'. Hell, give it to someone who once watched the A-TEAM. The crew in THE LOSERS would steamroll those chumps.
EMPIRE #0
Mark Waid: Writer
Barry Kitson & James Pascoe: Artists
DC Comics: Publisher
Vroom Socko: Your Loyal Servant
Oh.
My.
God.
How the hell did I miss this book the first time around?
This book collects the two issues of Empire published by Gorilla Comics four years ago, and will be followed by a six-issue mini-series. I say screw the mini; give me an ongoing series.
The story begins at the tail end of a super-villain’s successful attempt at world conquest. Known only as Lord Golgoth, he’s what I would expect Dr. Doom would be like if there had been no Fantastic Four. He’s cold, vicious, and even his closest friends and allies are expendable if they show even a hint of weakness. The only person he shows even a semblance of emotion to is his daughter Delfi, who he keeps sequestered like a superhero Rapunzel.
I don’t want to say too much about these two stories, simply because going into detail will ruin much of their sense of mystery. The first part involves the setup of the various characters and a potential assassination attempt. The second involves the attempts of one of Golgoth’s ministers to learn the source of his power. If you want to know any more, you’ll have to read the book.
While the expert setup and twist endings would have gotten me buying the book, it’s the moments between Golgoth and Delfi that make this book a must read. There’s a sense of real tenderness and caring in these scenes, thanks in no small part to Barry Kitson’s artwork. It’s all in Golgoth’s eyes, you see.
I know this isn’t much of a review, but I don’t want to spoil this reading experience for anyone. That the book in question was published initially back in ’99 isn’t the point. I didn’t read it back then, did you? In any case, this was one of the best comics to come out this week, second only to that other book Waid’s been writing.
Buy this book. Then buy the one after that. And the one after that. This is what an excellent comic book looks like.
FANTASTIC FOUR #70 (499)
Writer: Mark Waid
Pencils: Mike Wieringo
Inks: Larry Stucker
Publisher: MARVEL
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
I have a ritual I do after reading each and every comic I purchase from week to week. When I finish a satisfying comic, I place it in a pile by my nightstand. When I finish a particularly horrid book, I toss it in a pile across the room. Lately, the pile of tossed books have been growing and, for the most part, the pile is primarily made up of Marvel comics.
There are those who say that we @$$holes have an anti-MARVEL bias. This may be true, but it is not due to some insidious scheme. I can’t speak for the rest of the @-holes, but the thing that really chaps my @$$ is the way MARVEL disregards its characters. Marvel seems to be ashamed of what it is. Gone are colorful costumes and large scale battles. Gone are stand-alone issues. Every story must be drawn out to fit into a meaty trade. The phrase “Because you, the fans, demanded it!” is now banned from the Marvel offices and has been replaced by “Because Jemas says so.” For me, the golden days of Marvel are long over. The thing is, I love Marvel's characters. I grew up reading them. They are some of the most vivid and three-dimensional characters in comics. But I’m afraid those days are gone. Does that make me a dinosaur? Does that mean that I don’t understand this new Marvel “evolution” of comics? Maybe. But I remember a time when I had fun reading about Captain America, Iron Man, The Thing, and Daredevil. I remember battle royales in every issue. I remember when comics had sub-plots that developed over the span of a year and when it finally came to an end, the payoff never left a bad taste in my mouth. I remember all of these things fondly, but lately, when I read Marvel, I simply cringe. As I said in this week’s BLACK PANTHER review, there are very few comics published by Marvel that I feel are done right. FANTASTIC FOUR is another comic from Marvel that represents the original concepts behind the characters and makes them interesting for today’s fickle comic book audience.
By now, most of you know about Marvel's bonehead move to fire Mark Waid from the FANTASTIC FOUR series. Say what you will about Waid, but he’s brought his A-game to this title. He’s brought back the magic and wonder to the title, highlighting the family aspect of the series and accentuating the bond this amazing group of heroes share. He has also brought back the scientific wonder that Reed Richards and his family immerse themselves in on a daily basis. For the first time in a very long time, the FF has been represented correctly. Sure Waid drops the ball by throwing in a lot of nonsensical pop culture references and swears at inappropriate times, but for the most part, the title has been tops since Waid came on board.
Issue #70 is the third chapter in the “Unthinkable” story arc. The story features the long anticipated return of Doctor Doom and anyone who isn’t reading this book is missing out on some truly classic storytelling. Doom has dropped science in favor of the mystic arts. He has trapped Franklin Richards in hell and possessed little Valeria Richards. Doom has made his ongoing battle with Reed Richards personal by attacking that which Doom will never have: Reed’s family. Last issue, the FF traveled to Latveria to take the battle to Doom’s home turf. This issue shows just how powerful Doom has become and what Reed must do to defeat him.
I like the way Waid has created a problem that Reed cannot wrap his brain around. Ben Grimm can’t punch a hole through this one. Johnny can’t burn this problem away and Sue can’t make it disappear. This new, all powerful Doom has the FF on the ropes and, being the cocky sumbitch that he is, Doom even gives Reed the key to their survival. All Reed has to do is deny everything he has ever learned. He must accept that he doesn’t have all of the answers and that there are things that defy all logic and scientific reason and his family can be saved. All he has to do is admit that Mr. Fantastic is not so fantastic after all.
Waid has put together a truly horrific tale of revenge that perfectly illustrates why Doctor Doom is the baddest of the bad guys in the Marvel Universe. The reversal of the FF’s powers in this issue has been done before, but never this horrifically. This is classic, old school storytelling done in the old-school Marvel manner. Waid should give some sort of in-service in the Marvel bullpen to re-educate these posers how to write a good super hero book. The pacing is fast, but not rushed. There is action, intrigue, and danger on every page. The story is filled with details and twists, but doesn’t seem drawn out for the sake of the eventual trade paperback. Waid’s FF run is setting the standard of the way super hero books should be written today.
Waid’s partner in crime, Mike Wieringo, is another reason why this book is the best of the best. His style is cartoony, but it makes the horrific events depicted in the storyline more accessible. A more somber artist like Jae Lee or Alex Maleev would push this comic over the edge of doom and gloom and make it too much to read, but Wieringo’s pencils and Stucker’s inks capture the family feel of the book, even when the story takes a turn towards the sinister side. A good comic should read like a series of storyboards. Wieringo’s layouts flow seamlessly from panel to panel, accentuating the actions and reactions at the most appropriate of times. Tension builds in this issue and a lot of that has to do with the patient exposition of scenes drawn by this talented artist.
All good things must come to an end, I guess. If you haven’t been reading FF, you really are missing out on a good one. Get it now and savor it because whoever takes over after Waid’s departure faces the ominous task of following an amazing, albeit short, run. Waid is at the top of his game. Wieringo’s art has never been better. Doom has never been more evil and the FF face a challenge that is both original and thought provoking. At this moment, this book truly is The World’s Greatest Comic. How ironic that it took the deletion of that tagline from the cover to make the phrase true once again.
THE FLASH #199
Geoff Johns – Writer
Scott Kolins – Penciller
Doug Hazlewood – Inker
Published by DC Comics
Briefly Discussed by Village Idiot
By now, I feel like I’ve written so many FLASH reviews, I’m expecting an e-mail from Geoff Johns telling me ease up. But last week’s issue was so good, not telling you about it would be unfair. So don’t think of this as a review, think of it more as a Public Service Announcement.
You’re going to be reading several reviews in this weeks column about many comics; some bad, some very good. But I’m going to give you three reasons why FLASH #199 was one of the best, if not THE best. And I’m going to have to do it with heavy duty SPOILERS. And if you can, try to pretend that Stan Lee’s voice is reading this:
1) The Flash’s pregnant wife Linda is trapped alone on the roof of a building by Zoom, The Flash’s viciously crazy, disturbingly surreal, yellow doppelganger. Zoom has incredible speed powers to the point where all he has to do is snap his fingers in order to cause a shockingly deadly sonic boom. Now that he has Linda where he wants her, all she can do is watch helplessly as he puts his fingers together for the kill when VOOSH!, out of nowhere comes a HUGE BOOT headed right for Zoom’s head!, a boot connected to IMPULSE, the Fastest Boy Alive, madder than hell! Zoom won’t be killing anyone just yet! But instead of connecting with Zoom’s skull, Impulse lightning fast flying kick hits nothing but air – Zoom disappeared. He was too fast for him.
2) Zoom holds Linda’s chin from around the back of the head, ready to snap her neck at light speed. But The Flash IS the Fastest Man Alive: if anyone can stop Zoom, it’s him. With all the fury he can muster, The Flash rains a flurry of punches at Zoom, a wall of punches, krakkrakkrakrakkrakkrak! But Zoom blocks every single one, keeping his hold on Linda, and viciously taunting Flash at the same time. If The Flash is the Fastest Man Alive, what is Zoom?
3) Zoom gets the drop on Flash almost too easily. He’s too fast. He holds Flash in a choke hold, telling him that an instant ago, he visited the hospital where The Flash’s wife was staying, where he learned some very dire news. The Flash, held tight in Zoom’s grip, can only listen helplessly to this monster. “I’m teaching you how to be a better hero Wally,” says Zoom. “Lesson one is over. Time for lesson two.”
Intense and exciting stuff. I urge you to check it out.
WOLVERINE #2
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Darick Robertson
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
When fellow @-Hole, Ambush Bug, reviewed WOLVERINE #1 a month back, I was right there with him as he took the book to task for failing, as a first issue, to really hook readers. It was a concept issue, revealing popular badboy Wolverine from the point of view of a down-on-her-luck, small town waitress who took notice of him at the diner where she worked. Not a terrible concept in principle, but it certainly blunted the punch of the first issue to actually distance the reader from the lead character. It was a victim of the "paced for the trades" concept that's endemic to Marvel these days. And oh yeah, the artist drew Wolverine like a troll.
But some books deserve second chances, especially when they're written by folks as talented as Greg Rucka. I read the second issue of WOLVERINE, which thankfully hands the narrative over to our hero his own bad self, and it was good enough that right now I'm planning on picking up the trade when it hits. And you know what? After hearing that Marvel put the heat on artist Darick Robertson to "prettify" Wolverine to appeal to the Hugh Jackman-lusters, I'm now encouraged to like the shaved-ape portrayal. It's not that there was ever any question that Robertson was a talented artist – his detailed, gritty images are practically tactile – but like many, I just thought he went a little nuts in making Wolverine a stumpy Neanderthal. Well consider me officially flip-flopped. Any sexiness coming off Wolverine should be based on the hairy little bastard's animal charisma, not pretty-boy good looks.
So Wolverine's on the trail of the gun-toting bad guys who killed the waitress for reasons as yet unknown in the previous issue. She had a room across from the cheap flophouse he'd been renting to drink some beers and work his way through a pile of books (I had liked that angle), and when they came gunning for her, they'd also given him a bellyful of lead through the door. Wolverine's first stop on the road to payback? The local gun shop, where Rucka creates an interesting friend and contact in the shop's owner. He I.D.'s the caliber of a flattened bullet that Wolverine brings him, a bullet Wolverine happened to have removed from his own body. Wolverine's pretty sure the bullets came from a modified MAC 10, too, even though he never saw who capped him through the door. "Get shot enough," he explains to the shopkeep, "You learn to tell the difference."
Next stop's a local gun show, with Wolverine going undercover to try and catch the trail of shady characters dealing in the modified guns that chewed up his lungs the previous night. Here, too, Rucka's gift for characterization and research shine through, capturing the creepier elements of gun shows and the undercurrent of "militia" that you can spot with a little poking around. I'm not the biggest fan of Wolverine handling more street-level stuff like this – never been too fond of the approach that keeps him out of his costume and sorta pretends he's a different guy than the one who also carves up Sentinels – but I have to admit that Rucka brings a realistic sense of danger to the proceedings that I found very appealing. Reminded me of the very human stakes in Rucka's prose novels, actually, and that's a compliment. I do hope we might see the ol' costume at some point though. It's been credibly depicted as Wolverine's "time to get serious" battle togs in the past, and the fans who somehow see it as an embarrassment need to come to terms with the nature of superheroes or move the hell on.
Sidebar: the continuity cop in me wondered how Wolverine can pull off undercover work considering that Grant Morrison outed the X-Men publicly as mutants, meaning that Wolverine's probably a recognizable face from the news. I don't sweat the small stuff, though. Just thought it was amusing.
So how's the book's future looking? Well, Rucka drops a few interesting surprises by the end of the story, so he's got me hooked just wanting to see the mystery uncovered. I like his general take on Wolverine, reminiscent of Grant Morrison's angle in that it's all about the aura of menace as opposed to gory, demonstrative outbursts. His Logan is confident enough that he doesn't need to take up every challenge, and he notably walks away from a beefy redneck who tries to get his dander up:
Redneck: Maybe you want to do something about it, huh? Huh?
Logan: Don't need to. Darwin's on my side.
I like it, and Darick Robertson's rendition of Wolverine shows him to be such a scary-looking little man-ape that you never doubt for one minute that he could carve this guy up if he wanted to. As long as Rucka avoids going to Bruce-Jones-on-INCREDIBLE-HULK levels of understatement, I think it's a strong approach. And speaking of the art, this is one of those books where the coloring really stands out. The coloring team is Studio F, currently among the best in the biz at finding a book's particular mood and bringing it to life with lush-but-never-gaudy colors. Just look at the detailed, watercolor-style effects they bring out in the gun shop or just a cheap hotel room - you can almost smell these places. When I grouse about the need for Vertigo books to bring some life to their drab visuals without compromising the darker approach, coloring teams like Studio F spring immediately to mind. Damn they're good.
The final word is that WOLVERINE's shaping up to be more interesting than expected, and those who felt alienated by the first issue owe the second a look. And ladies, just to let you know - he's buck naked on the first page. Not quite Hugh Jackman's looks though…
