Comic Reviews
I had a really good stack of comics come in this week.
Batman, Inc. #2 - Batman and Catwoman are still in Japan trying to recruit Mr. Unknown to be the Japanese Batman. During this, they are fighting Lord Death Man, an immortal killing everyone he comes across. All of this is good. All the characters get in on the action, and their personalities come through with how they handle the situation. The ending is nice with Lord Death Man locked in a safe orbiting Earth in a satellite and Catwoman's secret heist failing in a clever way.
The Boys: Highland Laddie #5 - Another (the second) good Highland Laddie issue, again because it focused on Hughie and Annie and not the stupid, stupid drug dealer plot. Even when it mentioned the drug dealer stuff, it was kinda clever and action packed.
Nemesis #4 - So this series is over. It was all spectacle and twist ending was actually clever, which is about what I'd want from a Millar book. The biggest downfall of the series is the booby-trapped vagina, which is so stupid it almost ruins the whole thing. Unfortunately, it's addressed in this issue.
Strange Tales II (2010) #3 - The last of the second Strange Tales series from Marvel. Like the first series, the third issue is the weakest, but there's still some gold to be found. Highlights include why Thor has a strap on his hammer (and how he got those circles on his chest), a really awesome Silver Surfer story about some Skrulls dealing with the destruction of their planet, a story by Kate Beaton where Rogue using her powers to take the cuteness of a cat, and a cute Spider-Man that treats super-fights like kids coming out to play.
Rabbit Shadows (2008) #1
Sunward (2009) #1
Who is Amy Amoeba? (2010) #1 - A trio of mini-comics I got from Jason Viola. Rabbit Shadows is about a rabbit who makes art out of his shadows, then deals with rejection. Sunward is about a guy who is being inexplicably drawn to the sun, physically, and dealing forces beyond ones control. Who is Amy Amoeba is about an amoeba that splits in two, and eventually millions, and they invent war and religion and fanatics, destroying themselves in the process. A nice little moral about how we are all the same and the violence we cause is stupid and illogical.
Grant Morrison's Animal Man - Dan let me Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man. I'm not going to do a compressive review other than to say that issue #5 should be required reading for all comic fans. Here's what I wrote to Dan upon finishing.
"Pretty good. I like how he dropped in subtle hints and foreshadowing which calls back brilliantly at the end. I also like the conversation about why Animal Man went through all the shit and the literal breaking of the fourth wall in the Crisis issues. It gets a bit hokey/preachy at times and the drug issue wasn't that interesting and it requires a bit of knowledge of comic history to really get what Morrison is rallying against. Still, well worth the read."
Batman, Inc. #2 - Batman and Catwoman are still in Japan trying to recruit Mr. Unknown to be the Japanese Batman. During this, they are fighting Lord Death Man, an immortal killing everyone he comes across. All of this is good. All the characters get in on the action, and their personalities come through with how they handle the situation. The ending is nice with Lord Death Man locked in a safe orbiting Earth in a satellite and Catwoman's secret heist failing in a clever way.
The Boys: Highland Laddie #5 - Another (the second) good Highland Laddie issue, again because it focused on Hughie and Annie and not the stupid, stupid drug dealer plot. Even when it mentioned the drug dealer stuff, it was kinda clever and action packed.
Nemesis #4 - So this series is over. It was all spectacle and twist ending was actually clever, which is about what I'd want from a Millar book. The biggest downfall of the series is the booby-trapped vagina, which is so stupid it almost ruins the whole thing. Unfortunately, it's addressed in this issue.
Strange Tales II (2010) #3 - The last of the second Strange Tales series from Marvel. Like the first series, the third issue is the weakest, but there's still some gold to be found. Highlights include why Thor has a strap on his hammer (and how he got those circles on his chest), a really awesome Silver Surfer story about some Skrulls dealing with the destruction of their planet, a story by Kate Beaton where Rogue using her powers to take the cuteness of a cat, and a cute Spider-Man that treats super-fights like kids coming out to play.
Rabbit Shadows (2008) #1
Sunward (2009) #1
Who is Amy Amoeba? (2010) #1 - A trio of mini-comics I got from Jason Viola. Rabbit Shadows is about a rabbit who makes art out of his shadows, then deals with rejection. Sunward is about a guy who is being inexplicably drawn to the sun, physically, and dealing forces beyond ones control. Who is Amy Amoeba is about an amoeba that splits in two, and eventually millions, and they invent war and religion and fanatics, destroying themselves in the process. A nice little moral about how we are all the same and the violence we cause is stupid and illogical.
Grant Morrison's Animal Man - Dan let me Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man. I'm not going to do a compressive review other than to say that issue #5 should be required reading for all comic fans. Here's what I wrote to Dan upon finishing.
"Pretty good. I like how he dropped in subtle hints and foreshadowing which calls back brilliantly at the end. I also like the conversation about why Animal Man went through all the shit and the literal breaking of the fourth wall in the Crisis issues. It gets a bit hokey/preachy at times and the drug issue wasn't that interesting and it requires a bit of knowledge of comic history to really get what Morrison is rallying against. Still, well worth the read."