A huge week for me this go ’round. Seven single issues plus two of Dark Horse’s plump anthologies makes the equivalent of fifteen comics. And you know what? I really have no major complaints with any of ‘em. It’s weird when that happens. I mean, I try not to buy any crappy books on a regular basis, but if you’ve been buying comics for any length of time, you know that you not infrequently have complaints with the storytelling, or the fill-in artist, or the characterization, or the coloring — there’s a lot that can and does go wrong. Those weeks when nothing goes wrong with any of your books are a happy surprise every time.
Savage Sword 3 is one of those plump DH anthologies I mentioned, and it really feels like they’re making this book just to please me. I’m a devotee of the works of Robert E. Howard, so I’m definitely the target audience, but each issue of this is stronger than the last. I think the diversity of the stories is the source of that strength. We get a nice Conan adventure, the start of a western starring the Sonora Kid, a self-contained detective story starring Steve Harrison, the first of a serialized Brule the Spear Slayer tale and a classic reprint from the Marvel days of Alan Zelenetz and Tony De Zuniga that’s absolutely gorgeous. Jeremy Barlow and Tony Parker also do a bang-up job on that Sonora Kid story, which is nothing more than set-up and the preamble to a saloon-clearing brawl, but their story has the spark and speed of the best of Howard. I’d love to see these two take on the picaresque adventures of giant cowboy, Breckenridge Elkins.
Herc 9 marks the start of a new arc for everybody’s favorite Greek demigod/bartender, and it’s also quite entertaining. Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, with penciler David Hahn, are free of their Spider Island obligations so they start something that begins with Zeus being reduced to a fat and sloppy drunk mortal by his vengeful wife Hera, and ends with Herc fighting ninjas in Brooklyn with Elektra. It’s a fun story, particularly in the interplay between Herc and Zeus; Herc’s the last person you’d expect to be scandalized by his father’s behavior, but it just goes to show that even demigods can be embarrassed by the things their father says in mixed company. This has grown into one of the most consistently enjoyable books in my rotation — I actually did a little hop of joy when I saw it in the racks this week. I maybe hopped a little more when I read a drunken Zeus slurring “You can’t please ‘em, but I sure love watching them go,” at Herc’s maybe- girlfriend Rhea as she stormed out. This could be the beginning of the first successful father/son comic in … maybe forever. Hercules works best with an intelligent partner, and who knows more than the father of the gods/his dad?
Legion of Super-Heroes 2 is another action-packed chapter of Paul Levitz’s ongoing run. Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy and Chameleon Boy and their new recruits Dragonwing and Chemical Kid discover a rogue Daxamite behind last issue’s troubles on a watchworld, and he (Res-Vir of Daxam) intends to lead his people out into the larger universe (Daxamites are allergic to lead, and so are quarantined on their own planet for their safety). We get quite a bit of action, more development of Brainiac’s role as leader of the team and a further sense of how complicated the 31st century is in terms of socio-politics. The Legion really is its own thing in terms of continuity and background, and you either embrace the diversity or get lost in the complexity. I’m in the embracing camp, so I’m pleased to see that Paul Levitz has already left the ugly seam imposed on the story by the New 52 far behind.
Warlord of Mars 11 is also exhibiting a bit more complexity than it once did. Arvid Nelson and Stephen Sadowski have our titular warlord, John Carter, back on earth and out of the picture at this point. Instead, Dejah Thoris and Carthoris, her teenage son with John, are attempting to get to the bottom of some funny business at Barsoom’s atmosphere plant. Carthoris is a slightly-less confident John Carter, but he’s growing into the mantle of being the great man’s son, especially with the mighty Tars Tarkas acting as mentor. This arc is leading up to John Carter returning and taking on the gods of Mars, and is suffers a bit because we don’t have his narration explaining how death works on Barsoom and why everyone’s seemingly immortal until they’re not, and why they’re all so fatalistic as a result. We’re getting there though, and this issue’s not terrible, just a little talky and lacking in John Carter action.
Dungeons and Dragons 12 is back on the shelves, so I feel safe reviewing it — some of you fine folks might even consider buying it. Our brave dwarven paladin, Khal, suspects his sweetie back at home is in some trouble, so he drags the party back to his place to sort it out. The dwarven stead has a serious bug problem (kruthik, for you gamers), Khal’s prospective mother-in-law hates him and wants him dead, and it turns out Khal is something of a rock star poet to his people. I’ve praised John Rogers’ strong characterization and sense of D&D party dynamics before, but I’ll do it again because he’s so good: Rogers writes these characters so well that you can tell who’s saying what without the word balloon tails. Andrea Da Vito is sadly not the artist on this one, but his fill-ins (Andres Ponce, Nacho Arranz and Vicente Alcazar) do a fine job carrying the load. I miss Da Vito’s expressive art, but it’s still a great comic and a fun read.
Sergio Aragones’ Funnies 4 is another brilliant example of cartooning in the traditional sense. Aragones relates another tale from his youth, explaining his enduring love of marionettes, and a offers a brief re-telling of the Pinochio story with his usual flair, plus a couple of spot-the-difference pages and pantomime stories. I dunno how to explain it. Aragones puts a lot of heart and soul into these funny stories, offering his view of the world with humor and a sense of wonder. The guy’s a treasure, and his book is like nothing else out there — if you’re not picking this up, you’re missing out on one of the most unique, pure comic book experiences.
Tiny Titans 45 is the Batgirl issue, which is a timely reminder that there are a lot of Batgirls in the DC universe, and they’re all kinda boss. Also totally boss is Pantha, the soccer-loving cat-girl who thrashes Lobo’s Secret Six in a game. Then the Robins lose a game to the Just-Us League Cows by a huge margin — ’tis a silly book, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Pantha is just about the cutest character I’ve ever seen in Tiny Titans, and I want her featured more prominently in further issues.
Dark Horse Presents 5 is a big, fat book full of great stories. I praised Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder in an earlier installment of this, and now I think I’m hooked. Our man decides to go through the dead letter office and return all the abandoned mail he possibly can, because he can. It’s a straight-forward, slice-of-life story that hangs together very well. Eric Powell’s “Isolation” is also kinda epic, a classic sci-fi story about a robot sent on a five-century journey to a nearby planet to aid humanity, and how the solitude and his only diversions — religion, a gun and porn — help to humanize him, which helps him slip into dementia and drug abuse. It’s like an Asimov Foundation short story, but with Powell’s demented sensibilities, which is to say, highly enjoyable.
And then comes Conan: Road of Kings 9. I’ve like the stories but grumped about Mike Hawthorne’s pencils for eight months. This month, I get to like Roy Thomas’ story and like Dan Panosian’s pencils — it’s a jarring change of pace, but I’m all right with it. Conan and a gang of would-be assassins of Nemedia’s king fight their way out of the catacombs the king’s men have trapped them in, which results in a very solid story with art that finally matches the mood. Panosian’s Conan is far less pretty than Hawthorne’s, his action scenes are more dynamic and better laid-out, he knows how to scale a sword in comparison to Conan — everything is better with Panosian on the pencil. It’s like I’m getting a whole new Conan book unexpectedly in the middle of an arc. No longer burdened by sub-par art, I can fully appreciate Thomas’ story, which seems much more vibrant and less static than what’s come before. I’m sure a lot of that is to Panosian’s credit, and some of it is because Conan has to hack his way through an army of hungry undead, which is pretty metal. I’d love to see Panosian finish this arc up.
So there you have it. Conan: The Road of Kings is the best thing I read this week, which I don’t think has ever happened in its nine month run. That’s crazy, because I love Conan, but that’s how much affect the wrong artist can have on a book. I’d been tolerating Conan: ROK up to this point, but now I’m enthusiastic about it. Thanks, Dan Panosian. Thanks, Roy Thomas.
-Paul
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