Not a huge amount of stuff to review this week, but that’s partially because I’m making a conscious effort to not say anything at all about a book if I don’t have anything new to say about it. For example, Game of Thrones condenses almost 100 pages of novel into 22 pages of comic book, so a lot is left wanting, and I can’t see fans of the book or the tv show being thrilled by the skimming — I’ve said that every month, there’s no point saying it again.

[HERC GOES OUT FIGHTING]

Herc 10, however, is a whole new can of worms. Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente continue the story of Hercules and his now-mortal dad, Zeus, attempting to bust up the Russian mob. I really enjoy the light-hearted tone of this book, and Pak/Van Lente have an entertaining take on Zeus as a mortal — he’s basically a blue-collar dad in interested in booze and loose women, and he’s somehow the king of the gods. Oh, and he expects more from his son. It’s a very human story, as tag-along dad offers all sorts of unwanted advice to his boy. The problem here is the art. David Hahn can’t string together a cohesive action scene — I kept thinking pages were stuck together as someone like Herc is being blasted stupid by a ray in one panel, and then in the next he’s punching his tormenter out. It’s a visually confusing issue, and it lessened my enjoyment. Still, Herc has become one of my secret favorites – can you see where this is going? That’s right, Herc’s canceled. Maaaarrrr-vel (shakes fist wearily in direction of NYC), why do do you do this to me?

[HAL'S BULKED UP FOR WINTER]

I’m surprised to be saying this, but I was also disappointed by Green Lantern the Animated Series 0. Art Baltazar and Franco do the script, and I love them. Dario Brizuela does the art, and I don’t know him, but I know I’m not keen on this barrel-chested Hal Jordan — Hal’s always been a slimline superhero, if you know what I mean. There’s stuff I like about this, such as the fact that Baltazar and Franco skip the idea of origin story or set-up to instead throw us right into the action; it also co-stars Kilowog, which is perfect as far as I’m concerned. The story just left me cold however. There’s some Red Lantern scheming, a high-tech piece of equipment the bad guys are misusing, and that’s about it. There’s little of the humor or high-octane action I expect from a Baltazar/Franco team-up, and Hal seems borderline stupid. I was hoping for pure superheroics from this, like what the DC Kids line has done with Batman Brave and the Bold; instead, it’s just a standard GLs in space story, with no flair or big moment. But I guess there’s nowhere to go but up with this, so I’ll give it another shot.

[RAPH AND CASEY ARE THE CENTER OF ATTENTION]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4 however is right on the money, right now. The Kevin Eastman/Tom Waltz/Dan Duncan team wraps up their first major arc in style, as Casey and Raphael face off against Hob’s gang in the park, while Raph’s three brothers head out into the night in search of some action. These two plot points converge, by the way, but I don’t want to ruin anything for you. I will say that the Casey & Raph Royal Rumble is well depicted — there’s a kick to the face that’s just brutal — and the heroes behave in a suitably heroic manner. There are also more flashbacks to what was going on in Baxter Stockman’s lab, and we’re well set-up for the eventual (and impending, I hope) reunion between the turtles and April O’Neal. Oh, there’s also a catchphrase shouted by one of the turtles that made me cringe and laugh at the same time; it’s not “Cowabunga, Dudes!,” but it’s awful close (I kinda liked it). I definitely like this series. It has a lot of the energy and vibe of the original run, but it’s been updated and — dare I say — improved in several ways. Next month is a new arc, so jump on now if you haven’t already.

[NOW THAT'S A CLASS PHOTO]

FF 12 is a puzzler. In the wake of Fantastic Four 600 last week, we have a lot of background (in the book’s continuity) and real-world stuff to piece together. *SPOILERS* abound from here on out, so be careful if you didn’t read 600.
Ok, we know Johnny’s alive and coming back. We know Marvel’s resuming Fantastic Four with issue 601, and that FF is continuing in some format, most likely as a book focused on the kids of the FF — that’s all fine, except that Johnny’s death meant absolutely nothing. Go figure.

This issue has very little to do with any of that, however. Instead we have the FF kids translocated to Latveria and planning a team-up with Doctor Doom and the last surviving alternate timeline Reed in order to bump off the invading bug army of Annihilus. Jonathan Hickman is working many angles and plots at the moment, and the book feels as grand and sweeping and important as it did more than a year ago. Issue 600 seems to have righted the ship, and now we’re racing to a glorious future. Except that Doom is clearly planning something terrible … and the success of Val’s plan rests on Doom, so maybe that terrible thing will be beneficial … and Val has something up her sleeve and planted deep in the lab, as well … and I’m not sure we can trust Nathaniel Richards as the happy, helpful grandpa he’s playing at (remember about 14 months ago when older Future Franklin kicked him back to the point of universal creation?). On the whole, I really like this issue. In fact, I’m prepared to name FF 12 the best thing I read this week. My problem with doing so is this: I resent the fact that the “death” of Johnny Storm derailed Hickman’s magnificent run for a full year. What’s happening right now in this book is great, don’t get me wrong; I just wish I didn’t have to wait 11 months to get to this point. Johnny’s death didn’t help Reed come to grips with his fallibility or his own mortality, it didn’t make Sue a more protective mother or a more determined superhero, it didn’t make Ben reassess his life or approach to fighting evil. It changed nothing at all in their lives or characters, it just put an 11 month hiccup in the story. Also, if this is your first issue of the book – say you picked up Fantastic Four 600 last week and it inspired you to buy this one – I’m sorry that this makes no sense. That’s the main problem with Hickman’s intricate, clockwork plots. If you come to the party late, you have a lot of required reading to plow through to get up to speed.

Ah, well. I’m a grudgeholder, but I’m also a comic lover. FF 12 is a great comic, and it is the best thing I read this week. Now let’s see how this big bad story finally shakes out.

-Paul

---

Both comments and pings are currently closed.