Four Color Funnybooks for 06-13-07
I don’t know why I keep complaining about the lack of comics coming out every week, since they save me so much money. I suppose I’m just upset that two of my favorite books, All Star Superman and Astonishing X-Men basically come out whenever the hell they want.
Twelve bucks a week is very not bad, and considering the quality of the books this week, it’s twelve bucks well spent, so let’s get to it.
Green Lantern Corps #13 - I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I love the wide array of Lanterns, and that they hold true to what Geoff Johns tried to emphasize that every Lantern wields the rings differently. More than that, every Lantern brings something new to the table. Sarn the Rannian commando and Kol the Thanagarian lizard warrior, are both soldiers and use constructs of more traditional weapon;, Sarn making big-ass guns, and Kol using more melee weapons. Natu is a doctor, and she relies on her knowledge to make her a great Lantern.
I like the space-cop feel. Not every case will be an attack by Sinestro. Homicide, viral outbreaks, and political coups all happen in space and the Corps has to deal with them.
I like the cast, and I almost wish that it came out twice a month to make room for everyone, but not at the expense of Patrick Gleason. He has a very unique and wonderful style, and is fast becoming one of my favorite artists. He’s got a bit of Eastern influence, but I’d say his style is a touch like Leinil Yu over in New Avengers minus the excessive cross-hatching.
However, I don’t enjoy the fact they kill like 8 Lanterns every issue. They’re trying to rebuild the corps, but at this point, they’re killing so many rookies that they have to be in the hole in terms of bolstering numbers and protecting sectors. It’s kind of been done to death, and now, any time you see a new Lantern, you know they’ll die.
Second, Gleason’s been taking lots of breaks and there has been zero effort to find an artist that isn’t glaringly different. I know Dave Gibbons is a legend, but there’s no connect at all.
Anyhoo, in this issue, some Green Lanterns die.
Other stuff does happen, for example we meet the partner of Mogo, the Corps member who’s an entire planet, Bzzd, who is a space bee with a power ring. It makes the kind of sense that only works in comics to have a tiny bug be partnered up with a planet. The book gives us a special insight into our Lanterns as we see what they fear the most. Nothing surprising with a few of them, but I did giggle a bit when I saw, very close to the bottom of the panels, the bug Lantern Bzzd being attacked by a gang of yellow spiders.
The book does a great job of using the Lanterns’ other skills to help fight, be it Sarn and Kol’s military backgrounds, or Natu’s medical skills to solve the problems rather than out powering or out willing a foe. The book builds on the characters, and we’re starting to get a cohesion to the unit as a team, just in time as this arc was a nice preview of the Sinestro Corps war that starts up next month. A good book when firing on all cylinders, and this month, all cylinders.
Nova #3: Oh my stars and garters (a million bonus points if you can tell me who says that) a rendition of Tony Stark where he’s not either an outright dick, or a goateed Dr. Doom? Oh my, I feel faint. I’m overcome with the vapors.
I do love Stark taking offense at Nova calling his life’s work of forcible registration, building a superhero army that only he controls, and murdering giant black people with Aryan ubermensch robots a “squabble.” Only Nova could really say that to him, having fought in the cosmic equivalent of World War II.
This is shaping up to be a really solid comic, but this issue was a bit of a letdown. The cover promises a throw down between ex-teammates Nova and Pen-ball (Speedence).
Instead we just have a pow-wow that makes Nova decide Earth is now crazy-town that fighting a team of government sanctioned, “reformed” super villains in the middle of a crowded street at one in the afternoon somehow didn’t accomplish.
Rich Ryder is a good hero for Marvel to have in its ranks. He’s beyond the young Peter Parker insecurities of youth, but still not quite to that Captain America, Captain Marvel, or Cyclops level of leadership and prestige which makes rooting for him a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to seeing him in action in the new galactic crossover.
One complaint: The art. It’s fluid and does action very well, but anyone not in costume has a lazy eye. I noticed it the second time through the book, and now I can’t stop looking at it. It’s especially bad when Nova and Iron Man are at the old high school for their little talk.
World War Hulk #1: I really don’t want to hype this. I got really excited at the beginning of Civil War and got let down in a big way. There are a lot of ways for Marvel to cop out in this series. Namely, it’s revealed that the warp core going off wasn’t a safety measure put in by the Illuminati, by caused by the tampering of Meik and Brood and that the gray area of the event is removed. Or they somehow manage to de-power the Hulk and Banner decides to call everything off.
Or maybe Skrulls. Skrulls are the new “Scarlett Witch did it.”
It is with great trepidation that I announce that this is my favorite comic in the past couple of weeks. We hit the ground running, with the Hulk laying out Black Bolt, and for those of you not familiar with the Inhumans, that’s a huge deal on par with taking down a Wonder Woman level powerhouse.
I like that the Hulk immediately broadcasts and makes clear why he’s attacking and why Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt, and Dr. Strange need to get their shit worked. Most writers would have them fight, and then when one side is about to win, the news comes out about Sakaar and Hulk’s wife and child. No, the Hulk is a king and this is a formal declaration of war. His anger, while limitless, is not unrefined, and he even lets all civilians evacuate from New York.
Then it’s just non-stop action in the Might Marvel Manner. John Romita Jr. is one of Marvel’s best artists, with the exception of draing women with long hair. They all look like they just arrived in 2007 via 1986. Anyway, the action is well paced, well presented, and just damn exciting. Stark comes off as sympathetic, but still a dick. Yeah, he’s doing what he felt was right, but his “what was right,” dictates the lives and fates of billions, and I don’t care how smart or how much of a “futurist” he is; he has no right. He wants superheroes to be monitored, have oversight, and be responsible? Okay, let’s start with the Illuminati. Very big of you to stand up and take responsibility for the Hulk as he is in free fall over NYC.
In the course of the battle, it becomes clear that Stark’s brilliant strategy of wearing armor over his armor doesn’t work, even though the super armor restricts his vision, and movement, requiring external boosters which can easily be crushed by the Hulk to move his arms, somehow doesn’t pan out, and I’m sure everyone was really surprised when he got his ass kicked.
Honestly, if Stark is the symbol of man’s achievement in bending technology to our will, and the Hulk is the metaphor for primal power and nature’s fury, and we all see how well tech does against extreme nature, what the hell was Stark thinking?
I’m really looking forward to the Green Scar going to war, I just hope they don’t cop out and Iron Man wins again. God, that guy’s a dick.
Some people found out that I graduated, and I got a bunch of gift cards for Borders and you know what that means, trade paperback round-up.
Fables vol. 9: Sons of the Empire
Arguably the best book on shelves newest collection continues its fine tradition of making other writers look like enfeebled simpletons.
I’d like to buy books like Fables and DMZ on a monthly schedule, but I can’t bear the cliffhangers.
They read better as a cohesive whole, as wonderfully illustrated here. The grand council of the Empire meeting to discuss attacking our world and burning it to the ground, is interrupted to show Grand Inquisitor Hansel (of Hansel and Gretel fame) arrival in NYC and the fallout of having agents of the Empire so close to the residents of Bullfinch street. In a movie or a book, this would be breathing room built into the narrative to advance a b-plot, but in a 22 page book that comes out every thirty days? It’s a killer to cohesion and pace.
Not to mention that whole cliffhanger heartache thing, which while frustrating, is the hallmark of damn good comics.
In addition to looking in on the Empire, we also meet Santa, whose status as a myth or a fable is answered, and we get to see a bit more of Bigby Wolf and his immediate family, and as a special bonus, the trip back to the Homelands to see Bigby’s dad is drawn by Mike Allred who gave us Madman and the X-Statix. A great collection of a great series, and if you haven’t checked out this series yet, what in the hell’s the matter with you?
So, what did you read this week?
Matt