Little behind on time today, so I apologize for how long it took to get these out. This was probably the best week for comics in a long while. I think like half my books are Must Reads this week and I can't think of any, that I've read, that have been something I'd advise to avoid. I didn't do a review of Captain America for today. It was still great, but it was basically another build up issue, so pushed it back to give some other books a try. Kick-Ass was surprisingly good and Thor really impressed this month. However, I had to give my Comic Book of the Week to Blue Beetle, which is in the middle of probably its best storyarc and delivered on just about every front. Anyways, the reviews are late enough as it is. Don't need me going on at length in the intro. Hit the jump for the reviews.
ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #9Written by Frank Miller
Art by Jim Lee
One word. Over the top. Yes, much like the book itself, even one word about this book makes no sense and I love it. By now, you've made your decision if Miller is insane and destroying the Batman franchise or are absolutely loving how ridiculous this book is each and every month.
Again, if you've seen the previews for this title, you already know the bulk of it is dealing with Batman, painted head to toe in yellow paint, meeting with Green Lantern, in a hideout painted completely yellow. The best sequence in this is when Batman is drinking some, yellow obviously, lemonade and offering Hal some. As Hal gets frustrated with him, he punches him and the glass goes flying. Instead of maybe helping Batman, Robin is busy catching the glass and refilling it before Batman can get back up. It doesn't get any better than that.
While this sequence is full of lol's worthy moments, the kicker has to be Batman's description of Wonder Woman's heritage. Apparently, she's the Wicked Witch of Lesbo's Island. I couldn't make that up if I tried.
It's not all fun and games though, as Hal picks a fight with Robin, loses his ring and promptly gets a nerve strike requiring Batman to give him the ol' pen tube in the throat trick. This lead to a rather serious, for ASB&RtBW, ending to the book with the duo hugging and grieving in the cemetary over both their parents deaths.
Verdict - Must Read. I'd buy this book for those first dozen pages and would be more than satisfied. Would liked to have seen the Joker or Catwoman at least make another cameo, but it was a goddamn fine goddamn All-Star Batman issue, so no real complaints from me.
BLUE BEETLE #24Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque
Dan Garret fans must buy this issue for that last page alone. This story is impressive on so many levels. It's hard to believe so much happens in so few pages.
Let's recap, since it's a good chance most aren't reading this book based on its sales numbers. Jaime decides to take down the Reach, the creators of the Blue Beetle scarab and general baddies. This results in some awesome ingenuity in finding their phase shifted ship, but results in his being captured as his attention faulters when he sees his home Independance Day'd with a giant freaking laser. Oh, and his scarab? It was ripped from his spine, leaving him powerless and with a gash in his back where it used to be. Captured, powerless and his family assumed dead. Makes for great drama, or so television has lead me to believe.
The issue picks up right where we left off. Jaime is carted off to a cell while they examine how he circumvented the scarab's original programming. His parents and friends are also revealed to be alive. Traci 13, Jaime's wouldbe girlfriend who also brought cookies, was on hand to toss up a magic bubble. This was one of my favourite scenes, as Brenda, who likes Jaime, comments on how unbelievably good looking Traci is. Jaime's sister saying she likes Traci after she mentions cookies was cute, too.
Moving on, the Reach don't take too kindly to anti-laser beam magic bubbles, so they send a hit squad down to finish the job, resulting in an awesome car chase that ends with just about everyone that's ever appeared in the series coming to lend a hand. The Posse, Brenda's aunt's gang, along with their Intergang weapons, Peacemaker and Traci, who is already there. Even in all the chaos of this fight, there's some great lines, such as one of the Posse asking if he could touch Traci's magic staff.
Meanwhile, back on the Reach ship, Jaime apparently has some scarab programming implanted in his head as he starts speaking scarab language and opens the door on command. This entire escape is quite intense and shows how much he's grown as a character over the past 24 issues. While it's not quite a 'Wolverine in the sewers vs. the Hellfire Club', it's still a pretty damn cool beaten, outgunned and no chance in hell of success type sequence. I loved his new 'Blue Beetle' costume and, as I said above, the ending is made of pure win. As Jaime is held at gunpoint on his knees after implanting an unknown computer virus, which looks like his scarab's 'in Jaime's head' lettering, all he has in response before he's killed is, "KHAJI DA!".
Verdict - Must Read. Not sure what's going to happen with this ending, whether he gets a Dan Garret costume or it's some new way to access his Blue Beetle powers or what, but I honestly don't know how I'll last the whole month before next issue.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #9Story by Paul Dini
Story consultant: Keith Giffen
Script by Adam Beechen
Art by Al Barrionuevo and Art Thibert
Well, throw the whole Solaris / OMAC possibility out the window. Piper blows up the planet. Yes, the flute playing nobody blew up all of Apokalips with his Anti-Life Equation song, The Showstopper, from Salt N Pepa. I'm serious. It says he's thinking of a song and that it's The Showstopper before he starts playing.
Piper also, literally, blew Desaad's head off when he found out he was the one that was responsible for everything that happened to Piper and Trickster, which was basically just Desaad talking to Penquin. Let's forget how the two of them helped kill the Flash. That had nothing to do with them being hunted by the law nor did their fleeing police custody having anything to do with Trickster getting some lead poisoning (ie. bullets). Still, pretty badass moment for Piper, depsite it making absolutely no freaking sense.
In other news from Apokalips, Red Robin follows the OMACs back to Eye while the cheerleader brigade of the Amazons, Mary and Challengers follow Red Robin's non-existant trail to find him. This culiminates with Red Robin going one on one with an OMAC, resulting in Firestorm and the others being freed.
Meanwhile, Karate Kid gets dissected and the virus, which should be throughout his blood and organs, gets pulled out of him by OMAC for future use in destroying the universe, I guess. KK was left in a bloody heap, which almost has to be a death for him by now.
The heroes all try to stop Eye, but it boom tubes everyone to the surface, where a million OMACs await them. Piper was left behind for the aforementioned Galactus impersonation. Sadly, Eye gets away as a flying disc as his OMACified Apokalips explodes. Our heroes are left to die and Kyle is out cold from, well, I guess he was tired, because there wasn't any fight to my knowledge to knock him out, so no green bubble of living for everyone.
Verdict - Check It. There's a conclusion coming from somewhere. Why we spent so much time assimilating Apokalips just to blow it up is a bit odd, but makes for decent popcorn style action.
KICK-ASS #1Written by Mark Millar
John Romita Jr
I'll refrain from the obligatory, 'this kicked ass', as I'm sure every reviewer out there that enjoyed the issue is probably saying that already. Suffice to say, this was an entertaining debut for a rather unique, in so far as I can't believe no one has written a book about this yet, way.
In case you've been asleep at the wheel, Millar and Romita Jr decided to team up and do a creator owned project together. Kick-Ass is the culmination of that union.
The premise is pretty simple. What would happen if someone in the real world decided to dress up like a super hero and go fight crime. And by real world, I mean it. This is very much set in a modern day world, with references to Whedon's Astonishing X-Men and Buffy work for example, littered throughout the book.
Story wise, the book flashes back and forth a few times before we get to the actual 'beginning' of the story. It starts out with a copy cat super hero plunging to his death as his homemade wings fail to work like the comics. This is followed up with a glimpse our future hero getting his testicles electricuted by mobsters in his wetsuit cum super hero costume.
Once that glimpse of what's to come is out of the way, we get into a typical comic fan's high school life. Millar's quite blunt and a bit over the top with the information we get about our would-be hero, Dave Lizewski, who's name comes from a charity auction, which the winner got to have his name immortalized in the comic. It does the job of making this book 'real' compared to typical super hero fare, but somethings are better left unsaid, like his masterbating habits or borderline stalker tendancies. Millar goes out of his way to make it be known this kid has no real 'super hero reasons' for becoming a costumed avenger and I found the references to no radioactive spider or alien refugee and so on a bit cliched, almost as if they were put in for the eventual movie adaption or some such, but it's a small nitpick and I digress.
In the end, the book sees young Dave hitting the gym with a high protein diet and practicing his roof top climbing until, one night, he decides to go on patrol and finds some teenagers spray painting a wall after they see him in the shadows watching. This leads to an altercation which ends quite badly for young Dave. Stabbed, bleeding and most likely dying, he stumbles out into traffic, where he is promptly run over and left for dead by the motorists who don't want to stop in that neighbourhood or face penalties for killing someone. I'm not sure how he survives this for future issues based on the ending, but it was a great first issue with an unconvential premise.
My only complaint for this book is the language. There are more F-bombs dropped in this issue than his over the top Wanted series and I can't recall so much swearing when I was in high school a few years back or even in everyday conversation. I'm no choir boy or anything nor do I shy away from harsh language, but it just seemed like a new kid finding out about a bad word and using it every second sentence.
Verdict - Must Read. Excellent premise, solid execution and some of Romita's best art in a long time. I think it might be a new inker responsible for the cleaner images, but, honestly, no one actually notices the 'tracer' (don't hate me inkers, it's a Chasing Amy joke), so it might just be a different style for a different book by JRJr.
THOR #6Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Olivier Coipel
These last couple issues have really turned this book around for me. I was a little weary of JMS's preaching and, basically, using the characters to express his political opinions, but he seems to be focusing on the characters now and just letting things evolve naturally.
My favourite part of the issue was where we spent most of it - in the town diner, which must serve a mean cup of coffee based on the number of people there that early in the morning. JMS does an excellent job here by having the exploits and reactions to the Asgardian neighbours related by the townsfolk to the 'just returned' Dr Blake from his globetrotting a few issues ago. I can't really pick a favourite story, as they were all enjoyable in their own way.
The first one dealt with Volstagg's cake eating town meeting query about what indoor plumbing was and relating to the people that the Asgardians just toss their, um, droppings off the side of the castle walls. The looks on the other Asgardians' faces was pricless during the questioning.
Next up was Hogan's trip to Texas. Well, technically, we get to see him coming back with some bulls over his shoulder as he helps out a resident who's truck sprung a flat. The man's son was perfect and how Hogan relates how he felled the animals made the final panel, where the boy asks the father why he never punched out a bull before, all the better.
The final one was the meeting between Kelda and town local, Bill. I have to say, Coipel and the colourist did an incredible job with Kelda. She basically radiated with beauty and it's easy to see why Bill, born of the Bills, was so stricken by her. I liked the closing comment from Blake when Bill laments about how it's like a fisherman, who loves fish, can't marry a fish, as where would they build the house? There's a hushed silence with no answer before Blake chimes in on the river's edge. The other two were funny, but if I was forced to pick, I think I liked this exploit the most.
Finally, there was actual plot progression in this issue as well. Blake convinces Thor to free all the Norse gods that are trapped in human forms, even the bad ones or pragmatic ones like Odin. I was a bit confused as to why he had to go all out and free them all at once instead of maybe focusing on maybe continent by continent or some smaller division first. Still, should be interesting to see if anyone has to register. That was a joke. A bad one. She-Loki was in this issue, too. Just some random veiled warnings and philosophy to he/herself as he/she sees Thor flying off to free everyone. A bit disappointing, as I was hoping for more, but I was afraid he/she wouldn't even be in it.
Little note, as I know a little Japanese, the sign prominently displayed during the freeing of the gods doesn't say anything important. Meridia is what it says and I can't make out the bottom part, but I'm guessing it's a hotel or random store, probably just pulled from a reference photo. No hidden messages there for the obsessive compulsive people looking for hidden meanings in things.
Verdict - Must Read. I didn't think an issue where so little happened could be so good. Eventually the book will have to deliver some kind of plot progression or conflict, but if it stays like this for a little while, I won't be complaining, either.
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10 comments:
The 'Countdown' Formula:
1) Focus on a certain character/setting/event;
2) Make all your characters and plots settle on it;
3) Drag it out a little;
4) Destroy it forever while making sure that there will be the absolute minimum of chances of it ever appearing ever again.
As has already been said, the formula has already been applied to the Jokester, Lord Havok & the Extremists, Monarch, and now finally Apocalypse. Perhaps this should be retitled "Let-Down To Final Crisis".
Actually the song Piper is playing is "The Show Must Go On" by Queen.
Are his thought bubbles the lyrics to a Queen song? They seemed like inner monologue about what to play and then, he says, "yeah, the perfect song...The Showstopper!".
Your description of Thor - 'Your administrator has not assigned you appropriate rights to this page, feature or function.' - is great, and I totally agree.
Judging from the preview for #7, it looks like things will be heating up quickly, too.
Um, thanks von doom, m.d., I think.
I'm not sure what you mean by the administrator not assigning rights though. Is the page not showing up properly for you or the review not displaying correctly?
Serves me right for posting at work, I was referring to you liking an issue so much where nothing happens.
Boars. not bulls.
Yup, those are the lyrics to the song. It really does make sense, with Piper's references to making one last performance that will count for something.
Ya, I was wrong on the bulls. It was pretty late when I finally got a chance to sit down and write some reviews and I couldnt recall what they were, but I knew they were bulls or buffalo like in appearance, so went with that. Too lazy to pull it out of the longbox to double check + late = sloppy little details. My apologies.
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