Comic Book Review Power Rankings for 09/30/09

I only carried 8 books with me out of the comic book shop this week, which means a shorter Comic Book Review Power Rankings this week, but fear not, true believers, that just means longer reviews!  Plus, as luck would have it, none of the books "earned" an Avoid It verdict!  But which one of these books would earn the Top Spot?  Could it be frontrunner Runaways?  Perhaps the debut of the new ongoing writer on Teen Titans?  Heck, it could even be the long shot, X-Force!  There is only one way to find out!

For the uninitiated, the Comic Book Review Power Rankings is a countdown from worst-to-best of my weekly comic book haul. Before reading the issues, I preRank them based on the creative team, previous issues, solicitations, and gut instinct. The final Ranking number is based upon how the issues actually turned out. I attempt to keep everything as spoiler free as possible, but keep in mind that there may be the occasional minor spoiler that I overlook. As always, I can be reached via responses to this thread or at ryanreviews@gmail.com.

08. TEEN TITANS #75

Lead Written by Felicia D. Henderson

Lead Art by Joe Bennett, Jack Jadson, and Rod Reis

Co-Feature Written by Sean McKeever

Co-Feature Art by Yildiray Cinar, Julio Ferreira, and Rod Reis

Letters by Sal Cipriano

Cover by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson

preRanking: 07

• Co-executive producer of the hit TV show Fringe, Felicia D. Henderson, makes her debut as the ongoing writer for Teen Titans in this issue, which finds the Titans dealing with the death of Kid Devil and the unexpected arrival to the team of Beast Boy.

• I hate to say it, but I’m really not impressed with Henderson’s debut. Her take on all of the characters is rather wooden and she has a hard time tackling the pace of her dialogue, making some scenes hard to get through.

• Of course, it doesn’t help that the plot of the issue isn’t tremendously interesting. The non-battle of the Titans leadership felt very unnatural and the Raven storybeats started off strong, but lost me somewhere around Doctor Mid-Nite telling the Titans that she could be purged of evil spirits with the help of happy thoughts and prayer.

• Beast Boy being forced into the story as the new “leader” of the team doesn’t work at all, especially since he comes across as more obnoxious than ever. He is a character whose obnoxiousness can work to help make him a sympathetic character when written well, but in this issue he is so downright unlikable that I found myself just not caring about any scene that he was in.

• To make matters worse, the art team of Joe Bennett, Jack Jadson, and Rod Reis have an uncharacteristic “off” issue. Their character designs were all of the place (especially Beast Boy, who shows up with three or four different facial designs), their overall anatomy was inconsistent, and the inking seemed haphazard.

• The issue was almost saved by the co-feature, which follows up on Ravager trying to escape from an icy grave and vowing revenge upon her attackers.

• This was my favorite of the Ravager story installments, with Sean McKeever doing some really cool things with the character. I was especially impressed with how he handled the interplay between Ravager and Miss Martian—especially since it isn’t 100% clear if Miss Martian was part of Ravager’s subconscious or if she really was telepathically connecting with her.

• Yildiray Cinar did a fantastic job with the art in this story, showing off some really impressive expressions. I was very impressed with how well he can portray Ravager as both incredibly vulnerable and ruthlessness with ease. Once this co-feature story is completed, I hope that DC offers Cinar some higher profile work—he certainly deserves it.

Verdict: Read with Caution. Truthfully, the main story in this issue earns a big fat Avoid It verdict, with Henderson having a very unimpressive debut that isn’t helped by the art team having one of their worst outings in some time. The only reason it was bumped up is because of the Must Read nature of the back up, but a handful of awesome pages can only do so much to save such a weak main story.

07. GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #4

Written by Paul Dini

Art by Guillem March and Jose Villarubia

Letters by Steve Wands

Cover by Guillem March

preRanking: 04

• After last issue’s unexpected fill-in story, this week’s Gotham City Sirens returns to the previously solicited story following the odd relationship developing between Harley Quinn and Hush (who has taken over the persona of Bruce Wayne), as well as the reaction from Harley’s former flame the Joker, who makes a surprise appearance.

• This is simple, but fun issue. The Joker was a surprising addition to the story and his insane reaction to Harley and Hush was fairly enjoyable.

• I’m really not sure why Paul Dini chose to use so many inner monologues in the beginning of the issue—we are really beat over the head with Harley’s flightiness and Hush’s plot to kill her. This would’ve been much for effective if Dini wasn’t telegraphing every move they made through veiled narration.

• There were also a number of little story points that felt a bit forced to me, including the Joker’s really dull henchmen, Hush’s unmethodical approach to killing Harley, and the fact that the Sirens were so quick to dismiss the fact that Hush is getting away with impersonating Bruce Wayne without much question.

• Guillem March continues to grow as an artist with this issue, using much fewer cheesecake shots than he did in his early DC work and putting together some very strong expressions.

• He really needs to work on his design consistency, though. Most of the character’s designs and facial features shift throughout the issue—most notably Harley’s eyes and nose. His overall style was also inconsistent; at times he used a style reminiscent of Michael Turner while at other times his work was eerily similar to Dustin Nguyen’s recent work. It was very distracting.

Verdict: Read with Caution. The odd storytelling choices and the “work-in-progress” art hold back this otherwise fun story. If you are a big fan of Harley and Joker, you should get a kick out of the Joker’s typically overblown reaction to her being out on the town with Hush, but otherwise you aren’t going to find a lot to love about this issue. It has its moments and shows promise, but ultimately falls flat.

06. X-FORCE #19

Written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost

Art by Mike Choi and Sonia Oback

Letters by Cory Petit

Cover by Mike Choi and Sonia Oback

preRanking: 08

• As a huge fan of the cast and of the creative team, I’ve been really struggling with X-Force, as it’s knee-deep-in-continuity approach has been hard to take without constantly returning to the internet to keep the story straight. While this issue doesn’t do much to clear things up for me, it is an enjoyable read that is worth checking out.

• The issue mostly focuses on X-23—who was captured by her “handler” Kimura last issue—and her daring “rescue” by former SHIELD Agent Morales, with bits of other story beats thrown in for good measure.

• The biggest stumbling block for me is keeping some of the characters traight. I’m a huge fan of the general direction of where the story is going, but I’m not familiar enough with characters like Selene, Destiny, and the Leper Queen for this issue to be fully effective.

• The character work on the characters I did recognize was solid, though the issue moves forward at such a quick pace that only Morales and X-23 were given enough ‘screen time’ to show much personality.

• I seriously have no interest in Woflsbane prancing through the snow with the Asgardian guy and the two pages the story takes up in this issue does nothing to help the problem. This could’ve been used to explain why I should be concerned with what the Leper Queen is doing.

• The art by the team of Mike Choi and Sonia Oback looks really great, thanks mostly to the gorgeous colors by Oback. The biggest problem with the art is that, while incredibly lush, it has a major tendency to look stiff and lifeless. Plus, at times, Kimura and Morales look way too much alike, with the biggest difference between the two being that Kimura is covered in blood throughout the issue.

• Finally, and perhaps I missed something in X-23’s origin that I’ll need to revisit, but aren’t her bones covered in adamantium too? How could Kimura chainsaw her arm off, then?

Verdict: Check It. There are some cool things being set up here, but the plot moves too quickly at times, undercutting the character work, which is traditional Kyle and Yost’s strong suit. The art looks good, but has some stiffness. The main problem is that you really have to be continuity hound or an X-encyclopedia to get the full impact of some of the story beats, otherwise you might be a bit lost at times.

05. BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS #2

Written by JT Krul

Art by Ed Benes, Scott Williams, and Hi-Fi Design

Letters by Rob Clark. Jr.

Cover by Ed Benes, Rob Hunter, and Pete Pantazis

preRanking: 03

• The first issue of Blackest Night: Titans was very similar to pretty much every other tie-in for the event—undead Black Lantern versions of characters showed up to make life uncomfortable for our heroes and carnage ensued. This issue does little to change that formula.

• The strength of this issue lies in how deeply the Titans have been affected by lost; this issue has Donna being faced with her dead husband and child, Dove dealing with her now dead sister Hawk, and Beast Boy being harassed by his former love Terra. There is already a deep emotional resonance built into the emergence of these Black Lanterns that longtime Titans fans can connect with instantly.

• Of course, it wouldn’t be nearly as effective if not for the strong character work by JT Krul who makes each reaction to the Black Lanterns as genuine as possible. The sense of pain and emotional distress feels natural thanks to the strong sense of voice and strong dialogue from Krul.

• I hope that some of the other writers in the Blackest Night event pick up on some of the things going on with Dove and her non-reaction to the Black Lanterns as it is one of the most interesting developments in the entire event.

• On the subject of Hawk and Dove, Krul does such a great job with these characters that it is a real shame that Hawk is now a Black Lantern, as Krul could write one awesome miniseries or ongoing with these characters that I’d totally be on board for.

• I’m really surprised by the strength of Ed Benes’s art here; it is some of the better work he has put out in the last few years.

• Benes’s layouts are really strong. He plays with the pace and keeps things fresh by using a variety of layouts that actually strengthen the storytelling. The only problem is that there are some pages with excessively large amounts of blank space between and around the panels. Why not use the whole page?

• There is still a large number of unnecessary cheesecake shots—many of which detract from the scenes there are placed in. Is there any sense in distracting readers from the arrival of Black Lantern Hawk with a butt shot from Dove? No, not really. I know it is Benes is trademark, but its totally unnecessary.

• I do need to point out that Black Lantern Terry (Donna Troy’s husband) wearing a Black Lantern version of his 1980’s tux was simply awesome and one of my favorite moments of the week. That cracks me up, especially since his character design is so dated that any flashback to the character that doesn’t deviate from Perez’s original design in a strong way immediately looks ridiculous. Kudos to Benes for going in a fun direction with that.

Verdict: Buy It. The shock-and-awe of characters returning from the dead in Blackest Night is starting to get a bit tired, but JT Krul and Ed Benes put some fun spins on it in this issue. It’s nothing too far off from what the other creators have done, but Krul and Benes really sell it, especially for longtime Titans fans. Plus, you may not find any comics outside of this series where the female Hawk and Dove actually catch on (even if Hawk is dead-ish).

04. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #607

Written by Joe Kelly

Art by Mike McKone, Adriana Melo, Various Inkers, Chris Chuckry, and Jeromy Cox

Letters by Joe Caramagna

Cover by J. Scott Campbell and Edgar Delgado

preRanking: 06

• Joe Kelly and Company bounce back from an interesting, but ultimately mediocre issue of Amazing Spider-Man last week to deliver a much stronger and more coherent tale this week, tracking the interesting relationship and alliance between Black Cat and Spider-Man.

• The majority of the issue follows Black Cat and Spidey as they team up to uncover and stop a highly complicated and longstanding plot by the villain Diablo. Thankfully, Kelly takes mercy on readers by pushing Diablo to the background since he is really a pretty lame villain.

• Instead, we see a lot of interaction between the two lead characters, which was a lot of fun. Black Cat’s incessant flirting and the mix of frustration and haplessness from Spider-Man are good foils.

• I’m also glad to see that we do get some explanation/reminder of Black Cat’s bad luck powers—especially after they were glossed over last issue. We are beat over the head with him, which gets frustrating by the end of the issue, but I’m glad that they don’t go unexplained to the confusion of more casual readers.

• Is it just me or is Peter’s recent upswing in the bedroom really forced? He just seems oddly hypersexual lately just for the sake of plotting. It seems like the creative teams are almost rubbing readers noses in it, which seems weird to me.

• Mike McKone’s art has ago do overall look and does a decent job of storytelling and design. The lack of backgrounds is annoying, but ultimately forgivable.

• The only major problem with the issue is that there are five inkers, all working with different styles. Towards the end of the issue there is one inker in particular who works in a much heavier style than the others, which does not work at all with the rest of the book. I’m glad we are getting McKone for two issues in a row, but consistency is still a problem for this one.

• I also can’t see any reason why the five inkers do not get their full names listed in the credits. Everyone who works on the book deserves to get their full name mentioned, so I think this is in poor taste.

Verdict: Buy It. After a serviceable, but ultimately disappointing romp last week, Amazing Spider-Man is back with a solid issue this week. Joe Kelly’s character work is a lot of fun and the art team puts in a solid effort. There are some nagging issues with the craft and plot at times, but this issue certainly redeems the rest of the arc. Plus, there is a surprise appearance in the end by my favorite new post-One More Day Spider-Man villain, which always helps.

03. RUNAWAYS #14

Written by Kathryn Immonen

Art by Sara Pichelli and Christina Strain

Letters by Joe Caramagna

Cover by David Lafuente and Christina Strain

preRanking: 01

• I have to admit, I probably over-hyped myself on this issue, as I’ve been going crazy waiting for it to come out ever since the solicits dropped a few months back. Gert Yorkes was always, by far, my favorite member of the Runaways, so the cover implying her return had me super jazzed about this issue.

• That being said, it is incredibly unfair that Marvel is putting the book on hiatus after this issue. The cliffhanger, which finds one character on his/her deathbed, and the return of Gert being so unclear, it is totally cruel of Marvel to leave readers hanging.

• Kathryn Immonen continues to do a great job with her character writing, as all of the characters worked incredibly well here. From Nico’s exhaustion over her leadership role to Molly’s manic response to potential change to Chase’s hotheaded reaction to just about everything to Potential-Gert being just like Brian K. Vaughn’s Gert, every character is pitch-perfect.

• The dialogue does get a bit awkward at times, mostly due to the strange pacing of the issue—sometimes the dialogue is moving really fast while the art and plot doesn’t seem to correspond, which undercuts a lot of the emphasis that Immonen seems to be going for.

• I really can’t get over how spot-on Immonen’s take on Gert was, even if she only appeared for just a few panels and may not actually be Gert, Immonen nailed the character so perfectly that I felt the gut-shot that was her death all over again. Simply awesome work.

• Sara Pichelli’s artwork was as gorgeous and energetic as ever. Her chemistry with Immonen is so evident that there are no problems with the art not working in concert with the tone of the script. I can’t wait for future collaborations between the two during the hiatus for this book.

• Pichelli could use some work on her angles and perspectives though, as there isn’t much variation which causes some awkward pacing and weakens some of her expressions.

• I was a bit confused by the coloring at times, most notably with Nico having much browner hair than normal—did I miss something last issue where she went brunette? Seems odd that the ever-amazing Christina Strain would make a mistake on a character she has been coloring for years.

Verdict: Must Read. It isn’t the spectacular return of Gert Yorkes that I had hoped for, but instead it is an incredibly heartfelt and fast-paced closer to this volume of Runaways that closes out a few hanging story points, opens up a new status quo, and leaves readers breathless in anticipation for the next chapter. It is incredibly unfortunate that Marvel decided to put the book on hiatus just as they found a creative team that could return the series to the level of awesomeness unattained since Brian K. Vaughan’s departure from the series, but Immonen and Pichelli go out with an issue that should leave readers wanting more. Plus, seriously, the semi-return of Gert was handled perfectly in an incredibly minimalist manner that was so powerful that immediately email Pichelli’s art broker hoping I could get early info on the page with Gert’s return (Which will probably be out of my price range, but is something I’d so love to own. In other words, if y’all want to pitch in together to buy me an early first wedding anniversary present (10/25), feel free. Haha, just kidding—or am I?).

02. STAR WARS: LEGACY #40

Written by John Ostrander

Art by Jan Duursema, Dan Parsons, and Brad Anderson

Letters by Michael Heisler

Cover by Dan Scott

preRanking: 05

• Star Wars: Legacy, one of the most reliable good-but-not-great books on the stands really lives up to its potential this week with an incredibly dense and enjoyable comic that excels on nearly ever level.

• This week’s issue covers a ridiculous amount of story beats, including an escape from assassins on Tatooine, dirty dealings with the Black Sun, double-crossing Imperials, the virtues of Imperial Ministry, and some great scenes between Cade and his estranged mother Morrigan. I actually had to go back and count to make sure that there were only 22 pages in this comic, as it feels like there is no way John Ostrander could cover so much ground in a standard-sized comic.

• I loved the character interaction in this issue, especially between Cade and Yage with their at-odds flirting and Cade’s reactions towards his mother. Ostrander knows these characters backwards and forwards, but most importantly he knows how to craft the dialogue so that it has a similar tone and gravitas as the dialogue in the original Star Wars trilogy.

• I was really impressed with the progression of Morrigan’s character here, especially with her soft-spoken lines about Cade’s father, Kol Skywalker, loving her for what she was and how she always loved Cade and his father. It was extremely natural and incredible heart wrenching.

• Ostrander built some interesting parallels in this issue between Cade’s struggles to find his place in the Universe and the turmoil that both Deliah Blue and the Sith are facing.

• This is one of Jan Duursema’s strongest issues. She does amazing work on the action as always, but also did great work with her expressions and the body language during the character interaction. There is very little to complain about with her art here.

• I’m glad to see that Morrigan is being drawn a bit older in this issue. In past issues, she was drawn so that there is no way she could be Cade’s mother, but this issue has her featuring some age lines. As odd as it sounds, that really helped with how she came across so sympathetically in this story.

Verdict: Must Read. You can always count on Star Wars: Legacy for an enjoyable story, but its not very often that it rises above simply “good” status into something great, but with this issue it finally begins to live up to its potential. The impressive character work and the great chemistry between the writing and the art helped make this issue incredibly compelling, while the amazing amount of story crammed into the issue gives it the best value of any story this week. I just hope that Ostrander and Duursema can use the success of this issue to keep the momentum going for this series.

01. GREEN LANTERN #46

Written by Geoff Johns

Art by Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Tom Nguyen, Randy Mayor, and Gabe El-Tred

Letters by Rob Leigh

Cover by Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, and Hi-Fi

preRanking: 02

• Hal Jordan takes a backseat to his rival Sinestro in this week’s Green Lantern, which sheds more light (pun not intended) on the Indigo Tribe, finds Sinestro battling Mongul for leadership of the Sinestro Corps, and an unlikely alliance building amongst the key members of each Lantern Corps to stop the Black Lanterns.

• Geoff Johns covers a lot of ground and sets up a lot of important items in this issue without shortchanging anything thanks to his great pacing throughout the issue.

• The trio of Hal, Sinestro, and Carol is extremely interesting, especially with Sinestro only agreeing to the team-up if he takes the lead. I’m looking forward to seeing how they manage to get Larfleeze, Saint Walker, and Atrocitus on board.

• Johns does an amazing job of presenting Sinestro as both a monster and a hero in this issue, all depending on the outlook of the scene. Johns has been building Sinestro this way for the last few years, but this is the first issue where I felt he was fleshed out as more than just a one-dimensional villain, but rather as one of DC’s richest characters. It reminds me a lot of how Marv Wolfman built Deathstroke.

• I’m still not interested in anything that John Stewart is doing and his few pages in this issue are really the only downside for me.

• Doug Mahnke is, simply put, effing amazing on this issue, especially considering there are three inkers working on his pencils in this issue (himself, Christian Alamy, and Tom Nguyen). After this issue, there is no reason he shouldn’t be considered one of the premiere artists in the industry.

• The two-page spread of Sinestro using the multiple rings to impale Mongul is one of the coolest looking spreads I’ve seen in ages. The moment I turned to those pages, it was an immediate fanboy geek-out on my part and, if you’ve seen it, I’m sure you had a similar reaction.

• Mahnke’s expressions and his sense of energy makes every page in this issue look fantastic.

• What really impressed me most, though, was the epic sense of scale in the art. Mahnke sets up each panel for maximum effect so that every story movement feels incredibly grandiose. With each page, Mahnke makes the story bigger and bigger, which is something that few artists could pull off.

Verdict: Must Read. Geoff Johns brings his A-game for writing both action and character development in this issue, giving Doug Mahnke an amazing story to work with. While Mahnke’s usual level of quality would have been enough to make this a Must Read book, he too steps up his efforts and produces what is easily one of the finest issues I’ve ever seen from him and certainly my favorite issue of his since Final Crisis: Requiem or his great work on StormWatch P.H.D. This is an incredibly intense, incredibly well-thought out, and incredibly executed story that brings the goods in terms of action and doe such amazing character work that you’ll be cheering on Sinestro by the end of it.

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