Review: Blackest Night #6

After the bizarre camp of Blackest Night #5, I was expecting #6 to be a letdown.  Despite a few of those old familiar moments of Hal/Barry-wankery (Superman is standing 5 feet away from the ring, but it seeks Barry Allen out as the figure in the world who most inspires hope?), this issue was actually quite enjoyable.  Like the last two (and unlike, in large part, the early issues) there was some forward momentum in the plot, some threads finally converged, and, briefly, the book was about more than how awesome Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are.  It even manages a few semi-inspiring moments – seeing Ganthet don a ring, or seeing the new (and crazier) Rainbow Corps arrive at the end, just to name a pair of examples.

The book’s brightest moments are hindered by some inordinately clumsy set-up, but overall, Blackest Night is finally picking up.  It remains a deeply flawed book, but it has become an exciting, deeply flawed book, and if it is predictable, the predictability of the last few issues has made seeing the events come to pass all the more satisfying, rather than ruining them.  Reis’ art looks much better this issue as we step away from the drab black backgrounds in favor of a mish-mash of color in every panel.  Overall, the book’s improvement over the last few issues gives me hope for the mini’s conclusion.

Grade: B

- Cal Cleary

Read/RANT

Blackest Night #5

Blackest Night #4

Top 5 Best Comics of December 2009

I read 20 comics in December, and these were the best.

5. Hellboy: Bride of Hell

Another classic Hellboy one-shot. Richard Corben, showing the whippersnappers how terrible they are, produces wonderful work that surpasses his Eisner-winning accomplishment on Hellboy: The Crooked Man. That alone makes this comic special. But, Mignola’s there too, providing a riveting, tragic tale.

4. Captain America: Reborn #5

This might as well be the conclusion of Reborn. We all know how it’s going to end. Even before Marvel ruined it, we knew. I’d rather have it end here. Sharon Carter in the hands of Red Skull. Sin destroying Vision with an Arnim Zola contraption. Crossbones, and his army of robotic killing machines, shooting the heroes. Red Skull, in the body of Steve Rogers, battling Bucky on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, while the Red Skull duels Steve in his own brain. This, rendered by Bryan Hitch and written by Ed Brubaker, is good stuff.

3. Astonishing X-Men #33

Ellis & Jimenez make larger-than-life superheroics look easy, when few books actually do it well. Fraction may be writing a great, diplomatic Cyclops over in Uncanny X-Men, but Ellis’ Cyclops is a bitter, war-forged mutant with the power of a nuke in his eyeballs. He cuts through a Brood-fused Krakoa like butter. Ellis provides humor, entertainment, and enough X-history to make the fanboys squeal, and Jimenez makes it all look pretty.

2. Irredeemable #9

Nine issues in and Waid continues to keep things fresh. This is extremism at its finest. Demons crawling out of mouths, villains hiding in friends, and “upgrading” used for torture, are just a few of this issue’s memorable moments. If Waid’s not commenting on Internet trolls, he’s commenting on the corruption of power. But, have no fear, there’s plenty of entertainment to be found. The subtext is just the icing on the cake.

1. Detective Comics #860

The final part of Kate’s origin feels more than a little Year One-esque, and Williams continues to give his best rendition of Mazzucchelli. We see the natural progression of Kate’s vigilantism evolving into so much more. Kate and the Colonel bond over the experience, which makes the issue’s Shakespearean conclusion all the more painful. Of course, Williams and Stewart, the best art team around, are the stars of the show, but Rucka pulls his weight and then some. With Batwoman at the helm, Detective Comics is, once again, the best comic of the month.

-Bruce Castle

Top 10 Artists Of The 00′s!

In such a great decade for comics, you always hear an awful lot of praise for the writers.  When you hear people talk about Watchmen, a great deal of attention is paid to Alan Moore; when you hear people talk about Wanted, lovers and haters all talk about Mark Millar.  But a comic book is primarily a visual medium, and a talented artist can make a so-so book better, a good book great… or a great book only average.  Witness the art problems that plagued, for example, Grant Morrison’s ground-breaking run on New X-Men.

But this decade had its fair number of stars, art-wise, artists whose style and intensity nearly defined the titles they worked on.  These are our picks for the Top 10 interior artists of the 2000′s.

Review: Incorruptible #1

Incorruptible is the companion of Mark Waid’s other BOOM! ongoing, Irredeemable. In fact, they take place in the same world, and the Plutonian’s actions are felt even in this first issue. If the Plutonian sounds unfamiliar, stop reading, and go pick up the first Irredeemable trade. It’s only ten dollars, and it’s a fine comic. If you’re reading this review to find out if you should read Incorruptible in addition to Irredeemable, I’d say yes, based on this first issue.

Max Damage is one hell of a badass. As the opening rap sheet informs us, “Max Damage is the only super-being able to survive physical combat with the Plutonian.” Max Damage has gone missing, and his crew is running a job without him. He returns as a Max unfamiliar to them. It seems Max has had a change of heart. The “why” is answered in this very issue.

Jean Diaz provides the art. He wields a post-Bryan Hitch style that’s quite effective. In fact, it’s safe to say that Incorruptible is a prettier book than Irredeemable. However, Irredeemable shows worlds ending, skeleton people, and all sorts of imaginative brilliance. Incorruptible is, so far, a street-level comic. But, from what Diaz has produced so far, it’s impressive.

We know what the premise is, and it’s intriguing. We’ve met the key players, and they’re interesting, with humorous names like “Jailbait”. And, most importantly, we’ve been entertained. This is a good first issue.

Grade: B

-Bruce Castle

Review: Irredeemable #9

Irredeemable’s focus has shifted. The Plutonian isn’t the star anymore. In fact, he spends the bulk of this issue in the fetal position. I’m not even sure he’s a threat anymore. Try telling that to Charybdis or the military. They’re still taking things seriously, summoning all their power. Speaking of power, with Plutonian out of the spotlight, Waid’s not commenting on Internet trolls anymore. No, he’s more concerned with the corruption of power. One of this issue’s patented two cliffhangers shows just how bad power can be, even in the hands of the good guys.

But, forget about the subtext, and Waid still entertains you. He finds a comfortable blend of the thought-provoking and the fun. What can be more fun than villains making cosmic deals, the military using demons, and the heroes beginning to fight amongst themselves. Oh, and Waid still manages to feed us some more backstory on the Plutonian, and all of Paradigm.

Waid’s firing on all cylinders, and Krause is rendering his writer’s madness with ease. Irredeemable continues to be one of the best superhero comics around.

Grade: A-

-Bruce Castle

Review: Blackest Night: JSA #1

Hey everyone.  Expect another BEST OF list in the next few days.  Until then, we here at Read/RANT will be taking things a little slow for the holiday season.  Hope you all enjoy the next week or two, and we’ll be back with the same excellent reviews in 2010!

The same creative team that brought you Blackest Night: Superman is back for another tie-in mini-series, this time focusing on the Justice Society of America.  Following directly after the Superman mini, Blackest Night: JSA follows the team after the death of Damage in the main Blackest Night book.  While the core group tries to hold off the superzombies that are wreaking havoc on the city, Mr. Terrific and a few others remain hidden inside the JSA compound, examining the bodies of zombie Superman and zombie Lois Lane.

The story here is a little tighter than it was in Blackest Night: Superman and the script is a little more believable, but the action is weaker and the suspense that made the first half of the Superman mini so engaging is all but gone.  Barrows is notably stronger here than he was on Blackest Night: Superman as the action is more straightforward and the atmosphere pretty much amounts to “it’s dark out”.  Robinson and Barrows work together here to put out an enjoyable mediocre action tie-in.  Fans of Blackest Night will probably find much to enjoy.  No one else will care.

Grade: B-

- Cal Cleary

Read/RANT

Blackest Night: Superman #3

Top 10 Writers Of The 00′s!

Welcome!  As the decade comes to a close, just about everyone under the sun begins to bust out their BEST OF THE DECADE lists.  Best books, best TV shows, best movies… well, we here at Read/RANT are nothing if not trend-followers-setters!  So, with that in mind, and with a few weeks left in 2009, we bring you the first of three BEST OFs.

This decade was undeniably good to comics.  Besides seeing old favorites like Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore return in some drastically new capacities, we also saw an awful lot of breakout talents.  Masterpieces were produced.  Internet outrage was shouted from the rafters over everything from implied rape in a Spider-Man comic to Final Crisis being strange.  Both Hal Jordan AND Barry Allen came back to life, while both Batman and Superman left the planet.  Marvel’s ULTIMATE line grew, flourished, weakened, literally drowned, and was reborn only months ago.  Captain America became a vital character.  It was, all things considered, a busy, crazy, wonderful decade of comics.

Who are our Top 10 writers this decade?  Well, read on…

10. Gail Simone

Gail Simone is certainly one of the decade’s breakout creators.  While her name doesn’t pull in the same numbers as a few other creators on (and even off) our list, her creative output still stands up to scrutiny.  Simone’s stories tend to be a little quieter, a little smaller in scale, than many of her counterparts on the list, focusing instead on a bizarre, character-driven combination of humor – sometimes incredibly dark humor – and action.  Books like Birds of Prey, Agent X and Secret Six perfectly exemplify these trends, attracting loyal cult fan bases and critical praise.  At her best, Simone is capable of switching from laugh-out-loud to heartbreak without any warning, and without detracting from either.  Despite an uneven run on Wonder Woman - and even that is leagues above most folks’ handling of Diana – Simone has improved a great deal over the course of the decade.  While a number of her books ended earlier than they deserved (The All-New Atom and Welcome to Tranquility, to name two of the strongest examples), none of them have been anything less than a pleasure to read.  In an era dominated by high-concept, big-action blockbusters, Simone’s quiet humor and obvious love for the craft have been an oasis.

9. Greg Rucka

Greg Rucka, it’s safe to say, has a ‘type’, a fact that quickly became evident this decade.  Filling your books with savvy, ass-kicking female heroes is a surefire way to flop in today’s market, but Rucka has proved time and again an exception to this rule.  Whether it’s writing one of the strongest runs Wonder Woman has ever seen or trusting fans to understand Renee Montoya’s progression from a cop in Gotham Central to P.I. in the excellent 52 on through her new superheroic identity in two or three more books, Rucka spent the years finding increasingly fresh ways to help his heroines grow, change and find an audience.  Meanwhile, over the course of the decade, Rucka also wrote nearly 40 issues of the excellent Queen and Country with Oni Press, netting him an Eisner and a dedicated fan base.  His increased profile is evident from his latest assignment: he’s the first writer ever to simultaneously write DC’s flagship titles, Action Comics and Detective Comics.  Astonishingly prolific, timely and with a gift for espionage and crime comics, Rucka has been a defining voice for the decade’s heroines, as well as a damnably fun writer to read.

8. Matt Fraction

Only writing in the latter half of the decade, Fraction has already proved himself as a cut above the rest.  His breakout work, Immortal Iron Fist, ended up becoming one of those great, character redefining runs that only come around every five years, if that. Besides making Danny Rand cool, Fraction successfully reintroduced Frank Castle into the Marel U proper. Realizing that the Punisher’s not meant for such a zany world, Fraction avoided the grim & gritty. Instead, Frank fought absurdly stupid villains, with hilarious results. Immediately following those successes, Fraction took the Uncanny X-Men reigns, producing the finest work that title has seen in over a decade. And, last but not least, Fraction helmed Invincible Iron Man, following the wildly popular movie. He managed to easily match the quality fans expected after seeing Favreau’s film. So much so, in fact, that Jon Favreau actually consulted with Matt Fraction for Iron Man 2. As if all that wasn’t enough, Fraction’s independent comic, Casanova, is one of the finest works of the decade. Fraction has a fresh, powerful voice, unafraid of filling his comics with women and, most importantly, fun.

7. Garth Ennis

In the beginning of the decade, Garth concluded his magnum opus, Preacher. Most creators take a break after completing something so brilliant. Not Ennis. He just keeps on writing, immediately moving onto another great project. I’m talking about Garth’s Punisher run, of course. Frank Castle’s been around and loved since the 70′s, but nobody’s left a mark on him like Ennis. Hell, both Punisher movies and a video game were inspired by Ennis’ work. Writing around 100 issues with the character, Ennis took Frank to dark, humorous places, creating one of the most reliable comics of the decade. Never missing a beat, when Ennis stopped writing Punisher comics, he already had a start on his next popular series, The Boys. Ennis’ writing is well-known for its intense, human drama, so it’s only natural that Garth’s passion, War Stories, would be so damn good. Utilizing extensive research, Ennis always writes fabulous recreations of often-unknown battles. There are several worthwhile pojects I haven’t even mentioned. Garth Ennis is a true professional, writing great comics month after month.

6. Brian Michael Bendis

Easily one of the most influential writers of the decade, Bendis IS Marvel, and it all happened in the 00′s. Exploding at the start of the millennium,  Bendis wrote several great works that will be remembered: Alias, Daredevil, Powers, and Ultimate Spider-Man. Bendis’ Daredevil is the best work Murdock’s seen since Miller in the 80′s. Ultimate Spider-Man broke the Lee/Kirby longevity record, and it gave Spider-Man fans a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Sadly, Bendis’ work in the latter half of the decade is hated by many, and rightly so. But even if the poor characterizations and decompression are bringing you down, Bendis can still be admired for his wonderful ideas. There’s a reason why he’s been behind nearly every Marvel event this decade. His high concepts are exciting and ambitious. With Bendis’ return to Powers, Ultimate Spider-Man surviving Ultimatum, and that Daredevil project on the horizon, Bendis may have another great decade ahead of him.

5. Robert Kirkman

Breaking onto the comics scene at the birth of the new millennium, Kirkman took the world by storm with Battle Pope! Ok, maybe not, but a couple people at Image liked it, and after a few years, Kirkman was given the chance to write two ongoing books for the company in 2003. Invincible, an amalgam of every superhero trope in the benday dot covered book, and Walking Dead, a George Romero-inspired zombie epic, eventually became two of the most successful Indie books ever. Then, like all fresh-faced comic writers, Kirkman spent some time at Marvel, penning books like Marvel Team-Up and the insanely popular Marvel Zombies. Also like many writers, Kirkman grew tired of Marvel. However, few leave in such intriguing fashion. Along with that startling video came the news that Kirkman was made a partner at the company he loved so much. That was only a year ago, and already Kirkman’s been instrumental in making Image cool again.  Teaming up with Todd McFarlane to create the monstrously successful Haunt, and reuniting all the Image founders on Image United, Kirkman’s like the young D’Artagnan, inspiring the old Musketeers.

4. Brian K. Vaughan

Brian K. Vaughan was a relative unknown at the start of the decade, having penned a few single issues here and there.  In the early 2000s, he was still working on a string of small arcs, jumping from book to book, though the profile of the books – Wonder Woman, JLA, X-Men, Batman, Detective Comics – had risen significantly.  Still, it wasn’t until 2002 that he really broke out.  With the release of Y: the Last Man, Vaughan proved himself.  60 issues later, one of the defining comics of the decade came to a conclusion with a few of the most heartbreaking moments we’ve seen.  If Y were all he achieved this decade, it would still be a rock solid body of work, but Vaughan also created Ex Machina over at Wildstorm, an impressive post-9/11 political superhero story, and the powerful Pride of Baghdad.  He also had a successful time over at Marvel Comics with the enjoyable (if ultimately unsuccessful) Dr. Strange: The Oath and Logan, and the vastly more successful The Hood.  Finally, he did something that has become nearly impossible in today’s stagnant modern environment: he created a successful new franchise for Marvel in Runaways.  Vaughan’s work has run the gamut from teenage rebellion to the end of life as we know it, and throughout, he’s kept it honest, emotional and fun.

3. Ed Brubaker

Ed Brubaker’s pre-2000 work largely consisted of a string of mostly unknown independent single issues.  In the late 90s, however, a few small Vertigo projects apparently got him enough attention to net him a few small issues on Batman, Robin and Detective Comics, and it wasn’t long before Brubaker took off from there.  An impressive array of noir-influenced crime superheroics followed, from his surprisingly successful and critically acclaimed relaunch of Catwoman to his collaboration with Greg Rucka on the stellar Gotham Central.  Meanwhile, over in Wildstorm, Brubaker began to push things in a different direction.  Ideas like Point Blank and the following Sleeper began to take a more active interest in meshing the superhero genre with the pulp criminal underbelly.  There, he could push things further and do what he needed to do to his brilliant cast of dark characters and he managed to shape the Wildstorm Universe for a good few years.  His move to Marvel seemed at the time to be a strange fit, but no one can deny that his relaunch of Captain America has been the single most successful take on the character in years, and he proved an inspired choice to follow Brian Michael Bendis on the surprise hit Daredevil.  Working with Matt Fraction, he turned The Immortal Iron Fist into a successful franchise that lasted beyond the creative team’s departure.  And, finally, he reunited with the gifted Sean Phillips to lend some much-needed gravitas to Marvel’s ICON imprint with two books: the pulp supervillain story Incognito and the superior critical darling Criminal.  Following a loosely-connected group of crooks in exciting, heartbreaking standalone arcs, it is almost hard to believe that Criminal has gone on as long as it has, but it remains an impressive accomplishment, and one of the decade’s most enjoyable books.

2. Warren Ellis

Warren Ellis came out of the last decade on an impressive high note: halfway through his stellar Transmetropolitan and having just completed his brief, game-changing run on The Authority.  Transmet was a near immediate success, being taught in Political Science courses, a rare mainstream success for comics, and it would have surprised no one if he’d channelled that success into more high profile, mainstream work at the Big 2.  Instead, he used his new pull to launch a string of relaunches and creator-owned projects that ranged from good to absolutely stellar.  Nextwave was a gloriously fun satire on the genre.  Global Frequency was a brilliant combination of sci-fi and horror, and if the premise didn’t entirely make sense, the execution more than made up for it.  His creation of The Authority in 1999 and run that lasted well into 2000 quite nearly defined how mainstream action comics would work.  Meanwhile, he repeatedly launched increasingly impressive array of books with Avatar Press, from the gritty supernatural Gravel books through the dark examination of super-heroics in Black Summer and No Hero and on into glorious sci-fi worldbuilding books like Doktor Sleepless and Anna Mercury.  Very few writers have displayed the sheer versatility that Warren Ellis has, and the decade saw him gather an impressive array of titles under his belt.  It’s my humble opinion that he could’ve made the list off of nothing but Transmetropolitan and Planetary, but Ellis is hardly the type to rest on his laurels.

1. Grant Morrison

I don’t think it’s a secret that we’re all big Morrison fans. We could produce a “Top Ten” list using Morrison’s work alone, and that list would have more quality than half the lists you’ll find on the Interwebs. Kicking off the decade with the most radical X-Men run ever produced, breaking away from the dusty, old Claremont mold and replacing it with a new shadow for the franchise. Many fans prefer the safe, crowd-pleasing Whedon run, which is amusing, since Whedon’s run couldn’t really exist without Morrison’s. Before leaving Marvel, Morrison wrote Marvel Boy, a wonderful Marvel love letter, while maintaining that Morrison freshness. Many people have forgotten it, especially since Noh-Varr has recently been bastardized, but Marvel Boy is a great example of what Marvel’s Ultimate Comics line should’ve been. Returning to his beloved DC, Morrison produced the experimental Seven Soldiers, a bold comic introducing several great, new characters. Moving into the latter half of the decade, Morrison began his run on Batman, pitting Bruce Wayne against madness, Satan, and his bastard son, Damian. Morrison also helmed his first major company event, Final Crisis. It’s a summation of nearly every Morrison work to date, and it was too earth-shattering for many to handle, but it’s one of the finest events ever produced. Though Morrison’s known for being odd and extreme, few could complain about All Star Superman, a work so tender and pure. Not only is it Superman’s finest adventure, it somehow enriches every other Superman comic. So much accomplished, and I haven’t even gotten to Morrison’s fabulous Vertigo work, which includes We3, The Filth, and Seaguy. Morrison remains one of the strongest, boldest voices in the medium, and his enormous amount of successful output makes him a perfect candidate for best writer of the decade.

… and there you have it!  Our TOP 10 list has what I’m sure many people will consider to be some significant omissions.  Like any Best Of, it’s limited by what we read, how we assessed it, the context in which is was read.  It was limited by the consistency with which they produce their best material, and how much we keep talking about it, months or even years later.

So, anyone who’s interested: what’s your Best Of list look like?  Who were comics’ strongest writers, this decade, and why?

Join us next week as we bring you our Top 10 Artists of the decade, and have yourselves a happy holiday season!

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: The Unwritten #8

The Unwritten #8, billed as an Interlude to “The Inside Man” arc currently running, runs concurrently to issues #6-7, this time following the family of Governor Chadron.  Chadron’s two children are Tommy Taylor superfans, to the point that the daughter has trouble separating the real world from Taylor’s fictional one, while Chadron himself nurses their fantasies as the last, precious remnants of their childhood innocence.  In a continuing theme of The Unwritten, the line between fantasy and reality blurs, and people get hurt.

Gross continues to do excellent work, ably illustrating the children’s world.  The Unwritten #8 is an interesting twist on the story, further setting up the climax of the “Inside Man” arc and setting up a potentially tragic endgame.  As the cover suggests, this issue follows two children pulled too far into the wonder of Tommy’s world, left to deal with the darker side of a conflict they have no part in.  Carey has alluded before to the immense popularity of the Tommy Taylor books, and later to the possible negative effects his arrests might have on the fans, but this is the first time he’s dealt with either issue directly.  The results are suitably chilling.

Grade: B+

The Unwritten #6

Review: Secret Six #16

While Nicola Scott takes a few issues off to work with Greg Rucka on Blackest Night: Wonder Woman, Gail Simone keeps pushing forward with one of the best mainstream comics on the shelves today, joined now by Peter Nguyen on art.  Reintroducing one of Simone’s favorite characters, Black Alice, Secret Six #16 deals with her attempts to join the team, willing to make a little money at any cost – an idea that intrigues the greedy, underpowered team.

Nguyen does fine fill-in work here.  If he doesn’t fill Scott’s rather impressive shoes completely, he at least proves himself a good choice to follow her, managing to successfully emulate her style without resorting to mimicry.  From the father’s fear and terror early in the issue to the fight at the strip club, Nguyen illustrates a fair amount of diversity with the issue.  While Scott’s absence is felt, of course, Nguyen proves to be an able replacement.

This is a fairly slight issue, but then, Secret Six has always been more about the characters than plotting, and this one had a number of good character moments.  It also had supervillain-themed strippers, torture, a little superpowered violence, some more strippers, and the reintroduction of Scandal’s new girlfriend, Liana.  With Black Alice on the team, things are sure to go downhill quickly, and, as always, the worse off things are for the Six, the more entertaining things are for us.

Grade: B+

- Cal Cleary

Read/RANT

Secret Six #15

Review: Daytripper #1

Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, twin brothers probably best known as the art team behind Casanova, team up here on Vertigo’s 10-issue limited series Daytripper as both sides of the creative team.  Daytripper follows Bras de Olivia Domingos, an obituary writer who aspires to follow in the footsteps of his novelist father.  The first issue follows him through a single day, largely acting to set up the story and introduce the supporting cast.  Despite that, Daytripper #1 remains a relatively engaging opening issue, despite a few minor slip-ups.

The art is seems a bit shaper than their work on Casanova, though stylistically, of course, it remains largely the same.  Ba and Moon’s crisp, exaggerated style (nonetheless toned down from Casanova) works exceedingly well with the script, giving all the characters distinct physical personalities.  Moon and Ba’s frantic style is surprisingly well-suited to the slow-paced drama they’ve built here, and they do an respectable job distinguishing the lush Brazilian setting from a million other cities we see in comics.

It’s hard to say where the series will go from here thanks to a strange late-issue twist, but up until then, Daytripper suggests a fairly sharp drama about the influence of family and writing.  While the issue doesn’t offer enough to give a firm view of where it’s going or what it wants to do, the issue’s natural dialogue and excellent, stylistic art offer a solid reason to stick around.  Daytripper, which does not yet have any intimations of horror, the supernatural, or any other extraordinary element (and no sex, language, and little gore), may not seem like a standard choice for a Vertigo mini, but Ba and Moon make a pretty good case for giving their 10-issue series a chance.

Grade: B+

- Cal Cleary

Review: Superman: World of New Krypton #10

After last month’s surprisingly disappointing entry, Superman: World of New Krypton is largely back on track.  Rucka and Robinson’s entry still feels more formulaic than the often unpredictable early issues did, but it’s still reliably fun and still capable of stepping out of its established trend to tell a decent story.  WoNK #10 returns us, lightly, to some of the Kryptonian intrigue that made the early issues such a joy as Adam Strange is quickly cleared of his murder charges and enlisted to help Superman solve New Krypton’s first murder.

Rucka and Robinson do a good beginning to sell New Krypton’s increasing tensions, as merely showing up to question Labor Guild representatives very nearly causes a riot to break out, but the story lacked the weight it should have had, thanks to the need to shoehorn another through the revolving door of cosmic guest stars.  New Krypton’s first murder (and, potentially, first assassination) does not come across as as big a deal as it probably should have, but the story was otherwise better than the book’s had in months.

Woods, this time with help from Randall, continue to do fine work on art, improving with almost every issue.  With the next event in place – War of the Supermen with, sadly, Barrows on art for the opening issue rather than Woods – it seems that World of New Krypton is pretty definitely leading towards war.  Hopefully, the impending crossover won’t distract Rucka and Robinson from continuing to tell a decent story here, as World of New Krypton has, last issue’s failures aside, been a remarkably enjoyable examination of Superman and his second home.

Grade: B+

- Cal Cleary

Read/RANT

Superman: World of New Krypton #9

Superman: World of New Krypton #8

Review: JSA All-Stars #1

With the surprise success of the relaunched Justice Society of America, it was perhaps only inevitable that we’d be in for a spin-off.  Headed by Matt Sturges, longtime collaborator of the main book’s Bill Willingham, and Freddie Williams II, JSA All-Stars puts itself in largely the same place about a hundred previous books (almost uniformly terrible) did: a semi-militant team of young heroes with a more proactive mindset.  Sturges brings nothing new to the concept, nor to the great JSA mythos with their ‘Ivy League military school for young superheroes’, instead offering a fairly muddled story that is clearly jumping off from somewhere else with little worthwhile explanation.

JSA All-Stars offers little reason to stick around.  The last page reveal of the issue’s true enemy isn’t particularly engrossing, and while I’m sure that each of these characters HAVE personalities – indeed, I’ve seen evidence of this in other books – here they largely seem to be powersets engaging in a series of beat ‘em ups.  There are a few brief moments of potential, but the overall book is a cluster of buff folks fighting straightforward enemies for straightforward reasons, with mundane, static art from Williams II failing to even make the overlong action segments exciting.  Bad characterization and so-so art combine to make this spin-off worse than your average beat ‘em up.

Grade: D+

- Cal Cleary

QFT: A fan reaction to Cry for Justice

I saw this response from heffison over at Newsarama in response to an article on the maiming that occurs in the lastest issue of Cry for Justice:

“When did people start reading DC comics to see the realistic possible outcomes of fighting crime?  I’ve always wanted to read stories where the superheroes win, and the world is a better place for having them.  I want to read about a wonderful world that would be more fun and exciting than this one.  Instead, we see too many stories about the superfolk as victims rather than heroes, set in a world where just about anyone is likely to be slaughtered by some nut trying to get a superhero’s attention. The heroes themselves look like serial failures, having few clear victories instead of “Oh, that’s who’s really behind it” arc endings.  The DCU isn’t as much of a fun place to spend fantasy time anymore.”

Quoted for truth.

Review: Siege: The Cabal

Brian Michael Bendis, for all his massive talent on books like Powers, Alias, Daredevil, etc… has a serious and fundamental problem with event comics.  Specifically, with the ideas of ’cause’ and ‘effect’.  Which is to say, his conclusions have nothing to do with the stories that precede them.  After a few issues of exciting or emotional storytelling, it often peters off into a confused mess of nonsense meant to have ‘gravity’ that really just functions as a way to say “This is where Marvel wanted the status quo to be at the end of the story.”  But with Siege limited to four issues, I figured it was worth it to give one of my formerly favorite writers another shot.

Siege: The Cabal is for the most part utterly disposable.  While some things of note happen, the only BIG one is telegraphed on the book’s cover – the falling out between Doom and the overstepping Norman Osborn.  Still, Bendis actually does a good job here of giving people motives and then following through on those motives, making the proceedings believable, enjoyable and intense.  Each of the main players are distinctly characterized, the dialogue is quick and functional, and the brief action is exciting and surprising, though he plays a particularly obnoxious game in his efforts to hide Osborn’s super-weapon from us.

Lark turns in good work, as Lark always does.  While most artists have little trouble keeping action scenes energetic and exciting (and Lark is definitely capable of that), a strength of his art here is that he (along with Gaudiano and Hollingsworth on inks and colors respectively) also does an excellent job with Bendis’ extended talking heads scenes, using the layout, shadows and angles to help keep the reader’s attention where it needs to be.

Siege: The Cabal also provides a brief, unnecessary preview of the upcoming event that does little to flatter it.  Even Loki essentially says, “This is how Civil War started – let’s do it again!”  If you enjoy minis with dimwitted heroes accidentally murdering thousands of people in an effort to start a frankly unbelievable witch hunt against a subsection of the population, well, then it looks like you can either read Siege or just go read your back-issues of Civil War.  For now, however, those who are excited for the upcoming event will probably find something to get excited about in Siege: The Cabal.  It may be disposable, but it’s still well-crafted.

Grade: B

- Cal Cleary

Review: Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1

Much like Blackest Night: The Flash #1, Wonder Woman #1 is set entirely in the build-up to Blackest Night #5.  And much like Blackest Night: The Flash #1, Wonder Woman #1 offers a fair bit of continuity reminders, though it never stops the story completely to give them and they’re never unnecessary.  Unlike the week’s other Blackest Night mini, however, Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1 also offers a fairly interesting look at one of comics’ hardest heroes to write, and it does so with very, very few flaws.

Narrated to mimic Simone’s current run, Rucka makes a good impression right off the bat.  It continues throughout, as he combines a narrative that cuts to the character’s core with plenty of enjoyable banter.  Few writers have grasped Diana quite the way Rucka has, and even working off of Simone’s recent model of the character, there’s little doubt in this single issue what she stands for.  An enemy that would give most heroes a great deal of pause for angst is instead dealt with in a logical, strangely mature manner here as Wonder Woman displays that she’s more than come to terms with killing Maxwell Lord, and Rucka leaves me genuinely curious as to how he’ll deal with Black Lantern Diana next month.

Nicola Scott does absolutely lovely work here, as she always does.  Her action segments are smooth and clear without ever seeming static, her characters are all distinct.  Brief sigh gags, like Lord meditating, head on backwards, introduce brief moments of levity, but Rucka mostly uses the issue as a character study of Diana, and Scott is game to provide all the drama and emotion he wants underlying the large scenes of mayhem and carnage.

With “Life is much more than seven simple colors,” Rucka cuts closer to the heart of Blackest Night and the War of Light than any writer thus far.  Wonder Woman is a complex character, and Rucka smartly acknowledges that completely independently of where she exists on the emotional spectrum.  Wonder Woman cares, and that in no way hampers her ability to fight the Black Lanterns.  Rucka and Scott do more with Wonder Woman in this one issue than the last three events combined have managed.  I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Grade: A-

Cal Cleary

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Review: Blackest Night: The Flash #1

Geoff Johns, at his best and at his worst.  Blackest Night: The Flash #1 seems utterly trivial to the overall mini, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it stayed that way, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.  Following, alternately, Barry Allen in the events leading up to the Coast City reveal of Nekron and the Rogues, pissed that someone is defiling their legacy, Blackest Night: The Flash writes its title character into something of a corner for this mini, though the reintroduction of Eobard Thawn could have ramifications down the line, by setting itself BEFORE the last issue of Blackest Night we read.

That would be less of a problem if it focused more heavily on the Rogues.  Undoubtedly the book’s strongest segments, the all-too-brief moments with the Rogues shine here.  While Barry’s by-the-books struggle moves at a snails pace, especially since Johns, quite literally, pauses every few pages to give us in-depth information about utterly inconsequential continuity tidbits, the Rogues promise an exciting blend of horror and action.  Every one of the book’s memorable moments comes from one of the Rogues’ moments, which makes it a shame they share so little of Barry’s spotlight.

See, for example, the page where they decide to go confront the undead old Rogues terrorizing Iron Heights – while Kolins’ tense, overly-posed segments with Barry Allen look strangely static for a book about the fastest man alive, he seemed to have fun with a brief appearance by Black Lantern Mirror Master, who had been spying on the Rogues’ meeting and, as soon as they left, destroyed the mirror they would use to return to the lair.  Creepy and well-styled, it very much fits the tone the book badly wants, but Kolins frequent Flash pages, outside of a few moments near the end of the book, are uninspired.

Uninspired seems like a good way to describe most of the issue, in fact.  There’s a lot of set-up, but most of it just told us things we already knew – in fact, it showed us things we’ve already seen.  Rather than telling a story, Blackest Night: The Flash #1 seems to be meticulously noting continuity and timing, a perfectionist’s dream that makes for some dreary storytelling.  The remarkably low-energy start to this three-issue mini isn’t promising, but the last-page splash of the Rogues’ walking into their old prison, intent on shooting up some zombies, suggests that maybe Johns knows what he’s doing after all.

Grade: C+

- Cal Cleary

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Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #3

Top 5 Best Comics of November 2009

I read 19 comics in November, and these were the best.

5. Astonishing X-Men #32

Yeah, that’s a badass sentinel, a badass, brood-shooting-from-fingertips sentinel, the bastardization of Beast’s theoretical research. It’s Ellis being Ellis, writing pitch-perfect X-Men. Each issue is episodic, building a plot as it goes. This chapter involves the aforementioned sentinel, with lines like, “We don’t need weapons. We have science!” It’s glorious fun.

4. Fantastic Four #573

Hickman’s Fantastic Four is even better than his Secret Warriors? How’d that happen? But it’s true, even when Dale Eaglesham takes a break, and we’re left with a “filler” issue. Neil Edwards fills Dale’s shoes, and it’s a fine fit, with Edwards’ post-Bryan Hitch style and Paul Mounts’ colors, you’ll hardly notice the difference. But Hickman’s distinguished voice is the star here, penning a done-in-one adventure that could’ve easily sustained a four-issue arc. Hickman plays with, and adds to, Millar’s toys, exploring a black hole-ravaged Nu-World. This is a dense, grand adventure, and the new letters page, hosted by Franklin and Val? Absolutely adorable.

3. Invincible #68

The regular art team is back with a vengeance, allowed the opportunity to create Kirkman’s zany, new Dinosaur villain. This is about as playful and unique as villain dialogue gets. Kirkman then continues to show off his dialogue skills when he gives Atom Eve’s father the scariest monologue Mark could ever imagine, concluding with one hell of a funny sight gag. The issue concludes with a few classic Kirkman twists. All in all, this is one hell of an Invincible issue.

2. Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #8

Another Hellboy chapter concludes, and Alice sums it up best, “Well, I didn’t see that coming.” Mignola embraces Hellboy’s entire mythology here, Alice herself being the baby from the beloved “Hellboy: The Corpse.” What occurs within these pages has been a long time coming, and it unfolds unpredictably, yet resolves with the doomed conclusion we all knew was coming. Every major Hellboy player progresses, even poor Gruagach, who’s almost as tragic a character as “Big Red” himself. A stunning effort from Mignola and Fegredo.

1. Detective Comics #859

Since Rucka & Williams’ run began, almost every issue of Detective Comics has made my “Best of the Month” list. This issue is the best of the run, so it’s only natural that Detective finally tops my list. We’re still taking a trip down Kate’s memory lane, this issue containing another episode of her life. We learn of Kate’s rise and fall at West Point, her utter loss of purpose, how that leads to trouble with the love of her life, and what finally makes Kate’s life whole again. And there, making it all epic poetry, is Williams and Stewart. And as you can see in the above scan, when Kate’s Mazzucchelli-styled life clashes with Batman’s rich, painted aura, it’s beautiful and profound.

-Bruce Castle

Review: Wonder Woman #38

With its third issue, Simone kicks “Warkiller” into high gear with one of the book’s strongest issues.  Trapped in an impossible situation by the whims of the gods, Themyscira is on the verge of all-out war.  Alkyone, now Queen of Themyscira, is fomenting war with her every move.  The Bana-Mighdall are threatening rebellion, the apes have been betrayed, and Diana is scheduled to be executed in a matter of days.  And that’s far from the worst.

As with the best issues of her run on Wonder Woman, Simone deftly combines exciting action beats with notable character moments that add to the issue’s flow, rather than detracting from it.  Much of the set-up of the previous two issues comes to fruition as the climax strikes, though part of the excitement is derailed by two strange twists that almost detract from the thrill of seeing everything fall apart – the return of Genocide’s spirit, and a monstrous entity living on Paradise Isle.  Though the book loses a little bit of momentum with those moments, there’s still an issue left to see how they play out.

With Lopresti and Ryan continuing to do stellar work on art, Wonder Woman #38 is certainly a success.  Simone’s run has been uneven, but between the action-packed “Rise of the Olympian”, the fun-but-slight “Birds of Paradise” and the impressively condensed “Warkiller”, an argument could be made that Simone has finally found the book’s sweet spot.  Few books get second chances with today’s audience. Wonder Woman deserves one.

Grade: A-

- Cal Cleary

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Wonder Woman #37

Wonder Woman #36