Holy Kirby, the weather finally breaks and so does the comic drought. In an effort to say something about everything I purchased this week, I’m making a concerted effort to be concise yet incisive. Although I reserve the right to babble at length if necessary. I think 3,000 words is attainable this week, I really do.
See You Next Wednesday Comics features the return of Fat Guy on Couch, this time starring in a COPS-type recreation of an attempted crime at Jim Mosley’s new job. I really hate to see Fat Guy turn to a life of crime, but I’m glad justice was served. I also really like Mike Harvey’s all-out action pages and their manga-style action lines, and Mike’s announcement that he’ll illustrate stories from readers in future installments is an interesting turn of events. He’s willing to turn his minicomic into our minicomic — how can you not love that?
At long last, Silver Surfer has another monthly book — at least for five issues. Because of his demigod-like power Surfer is a tough character to maintain in an ongoing title, especially because he has no alter ego to carry a subplot. Greg Pak and Stephen Segovia do a nice job of attempting to change all that by bringing in the High Evolutionary to work some genetic wickedness on the Surfer, causing him to revert back to Norrin Radd at a most inopportune moment. I like everything Pak did in his first year with Planet Hulk, so I have high hopes for his work on Silver Surfer — I’d like to see this be more than a five issue limited series — and nothing in this issue makes me believe Pak can’t pull that off. Although, if super smart yet slightly naive Suzie Endo is here to serve a role similar to that served by super smart yet naive Amadeus Cho in Incredible Hulk, I may be a touch disappointed by Pak’s reliance on a stock character. Just sayin’.
Amazing Spider-Man 654.1 is — wait, that can’t be right. It’s called Amazing Spider-Man, but it’s all about the new Venom, the marine formerly known as Flash Thompson? Oh, right. Marvel’s “Point One” marketing initiative is supposed to provide a jumping on point for new readers, but rather than being a ground-floor filler issue of Spider-Man, this issue is actually a commercial for the new Venom series. I hate Venom. There, I said it. I liked him when he was just a black costume Spidey found on the Beyonder’s world (Secret Wars flashback!), but the whole “He’s an alien symbiote! He’s a murderer! He’s got a big tongue! Look at that crazy McFarlane anatomy/webbing/ever-expanding-mandible” stuff from the 90s became tiring quickly. I just can’t get that excited about a sentient unitard. I realize that makes me old and uncool, but there it is. This issue is unnecessary and I regret spending money on it.
Now, Legion of Super-Heroes 10, this is a comic book. Paul Levitz and Yildiray Cinar’s vision of the Legion gets stronger and more compelling every month. Some of that may be because my feverish reading of Legion back issues is making me more invested in the characters and their world, but I think a lot of my fondness for this book stems from Levitz’s masterful handling of the form. Characterization sparkles, the dialogue is crisp, the plot feels like a continuous line rather than an array of points connected in haphazard fashion — it’s a great read. In this issue we discover who’s behind the recent attacks (physical and financial) on the Legion and the United Planets delegates, we get more action to go with the exposition and we’re treated to a couple of witheringly dry exchanges between new deputy team leader Brainiac 5 and Cosmic Boy. It takes me three times as long to read a Legion comic as almost any other title, because the story is so dense. That’s fantastic as far as I’m concerned.
I say “almost any other title” because Magnus Robot Fighter 3 is finally out (long time no see), and Jim Shooter is also a throwback to the era when it wasn’t a crime to have more than 25 words on a page. This month’s story requires Magnus to infiltrate an underground fight circuit in which augmented humans and killer robots battle hand to hand — if you’re suspecting Magnus is required to enter the ring, you’re very astute. Shooter’s big script also features a lot of character development and a further fine-tuning/updating of the Magnus mythology. This includes an adult relationship between Magnus and Cinnette — I know, not Leeja?! — and Leeja confessing her feelings of jealousy about said relationship to her friend Cinnette. Imagine that, adults in a comic talking out their problems with one another. Weird, right? By the time this issue is done, everything in the story has moved forward one full step. I tell you, old guys like Shooter and Levitz are a breath of fresh air if you like a lot of story in your comics — and I do.
A lot of story, swearing, violence and nudity are crammed into each and every issue of Tank Girl, and Tank Girl: Bad Wind Rising 2 is no exception. If you had told me fifteen years ago that Alan Martin would be making a Tank Girl book without Jamie Martin, I would have assured you I would not buy such a thing. But Rufus Dayglo has his own demented charm, and his bizarrely-detailed panels yield up numerous hilarious moments. The only thing you need to know about this storyline is that Martin included a text box explaining that each and every issue of this series is guaranteed to feature someone getting shot in the bollocks — for quality reasons, of course. That’s why you should read Tank Girl. And also for the florid profanity; Martin is a poet when it comes to cursing.
Young Justice 1 — I have no opinion either way about this one. I bought this because Art Baltazar and Franco are involved, and because the DC Kids line seems to be uniformly high quality. There’s nothing wrong with this one, it’s just a first issue that presupposes some familiarity with doings in the related TV series. I have no idea about that, so I was a bit lost. I’ll try a couple more issues.
Superman/Batman 81 starts a new storyline called Sorcerer Kings. This takes place in an alternate, fantasy/magic heavy world where Supes is a sword-wielding knight fighting demons and Batman is his usual ultra-competent detective, with a bit of alchemical wizardry thrown in. Cullen Bunn and artist ChrissCross spend maybe a little too much time with supernatural superhero team Shadowpact and not enough with our actual heroes, but I liked this. For the record, I’m not buying any of the Batman or Superman mainline continuity books, but I buy this title and the kids books — take that into consideration when I say I like something.
Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero 5 is a comic I haven’t mentioned since November, but that’s not because I haven’t been reading it. I have been, but my initial enthusiasm for it has cooled. We’ve entered the second story arc, which features a mysterious shape-changing alien fighting Soldier Zero through the technological magic of a smart phone well-stocked with apps. The phone even announces each app as it deploys them. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are a writing team I like, and this is a goofy enough hook to warrant a mention, but nothing that’s happened in the past four issues feels as feverish or new as it did in the first issue. It’s like the book is moving at half-speed. I keep hoping it recaptures some of that breathless Stan Lee freneticism that was so present in the first issue, but I may have to give up hope of that soon. We’ll see.
Now, on the topic of freneticism, John Rogers and Andrea Di Vito’s Dungeons and Dragons 4 continues to deliver. Our intrepid adventurers press forward in search of the force ultimately behind the evil that imperils their world, which takes them into an abandoned dwarf hold where an underwater battle breaks out against some Shadar-Kai, and then they encounter a very chatty flaming skull. This comic reads very well as a story if you have no familiarity with the world’s greatest RPG, but if you do know your ten-sided dice from your twelve, you’re going to see this as an excellent seminar on role-playing NPCs in your campaign. There’s action a-plenty, but there is also instances of well-placed and -timed character development. I’m not yet convinced Varis the Elven archer is anything other than a stock character, but everybody else in the party is blossoming nicely.
Evil is what’s blossoming in Loki 3 of 4. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s script calls for a real viking funeral for Balder, who’s been killed by Loki in what is essentially a re-telling of the traditional Norse myth, the Death of Balder. I say “essentially” because Aguirre-Sacasa’s not so much re-telling it as he is interpreting the actions from Loki’s point of view rather than that of a third party narrator. Every slight committed by Thor and Odin is underlined, and every one of Loki’s manipulations are seen in a new light. Less noticeable are those things Loki is blind to but nonetheless exist; Odin calls him son even though Loki believes Odin never acknowledges him as such, Thor carefully treads around the issue of how much responsibility Loki bears for Balder’s death and the selfless humbling of the gods by their own tears demonstrate how far Loki is divorced from reality. This is proving to be a book that rewards careful, skeptical reading. And Sebastian Fiumara illustrates the hell out of a viking funeral.
Tiny Titans 37 features extended jokes about the Shazam! Family, particularly Tawky Tawny and his general awesomeness. I’ve only recently dipped my toes into the Captain Marvel corner of DC’s universe, so I have limited experience with the characters and the history. But believe me — I would pay $6 a month for a Shazam! book written and illustrated by Art Baltazar and Franco. Everything about this book is a hoot, from the one page Pet Club gags to the over-arching storyline about Psimon wanting a shirt like the one Freddy and Mary Marvel wear to the frequent appearances of my beloved Tawky Tawny. This comic book is pure bliss. I’ve been waiting for this particular issue for months, and it exceeded my high expectations.
That sure sounds like I wanna call Tiny Titans the Best Thing I Read This Week, doesn’t it? But I’m also very excited to share Dungeons and Dragons with my oldest nephew, and I’ve been waiting since October 14 for this issue of Magnus Robot Fighter, and Legion of Super-Heroes has effectively commandeered all my spare time and spare cash. And then there’s my general excitement about a new Silver Surfer book. It’s a close race, but I’m gonna have to say that Legion of Super-Heroes is the best thing I read this week.
I was genuinely excited to see the book on the rack, and I’m looking forward to sitting down with the preceding issues and reading the whole arc over again to further appreciate how Paul Levitz has fit everything together. It’s after 2 a.m., and I’m seriously considering staying up for the rest of the night to re-read Legion comics despite work starting in less than six hours. That’s the power of a well-written book.
-Paul
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