Your new comics round-up for the week (SPOILERS ahead, maybe):
That darling of the comicsweblogosphere, Street Angel, had a new issue this week…a little more down to earth than the previous issues, as it’s just S.A. and another homeless friend spending the day together. The work on this particular issue reminded me of a slightly less frenetic Paul Pope. Each issue manages to be significantly different in tone from the previous one, and yet each issue is equally enjoyable…well done.
Superman/Batman #15 – after the interminable Supergirl storyline, it was nice to have this comic get back on track with the Big ‘n’ Loud stories I’d come to expect. This issue kicks off with 100% full-on geekiness…the DC Universe version of Uncle Sam wearing Green Lantern’s ring. Yeah, that’s right, you heard me. That’s pure nerd-nirvana, my friend, in its full four color splendor.
Firestorm #8 – I believe that Jamal Igle and Rob Stull are the new regular art team, and they do a fine job…the art is clean, the characters recognizable and expressive. There’s also a treat or two for the longtime Firestorm fans as well.
Fallen Angel #18 – Peter David’s strength in this series is making the “bad” guys just as sympathetic as the “good” guys, which (without giving too much away) gives this issue a little more of an emotional punch. Oh, and some things that were previously inferred are now pretty much made explicit about the nature of the Fallen Angel herself and the city she lives in.
Ultimates 2 #1 – gosh dang it, forgot to take it home with me. Well, I did like the previous series, which pulled off the neat trick of keeping you interested in all the team’s characters even though practically none of them are sympathetic in the slightest. Thor’s the most (only?) likeable one of the bunch, and he might very well be nuts. Pal Dorian flipped through the new #1 and I believe he mentioned that something about Thor was revealed, but I guess I’ll just have to wait ’til this evening to find out. Ah, well. Oh, and that big “2” on the cover had me convinced that someone was going to wave a copy of this in my face and ask me where the first issue was. This happened a lot when Ghost in The Shell 2 came out…you know, the series with the giant “2” on the front cover, and the actual issue number in small type along the spine.
Love & Rockets #12 – L&R is always the best comic of the week whenever it comes out, and this issue is no exception. Jaime and Gilbert’s work is always a real treat.
Question #2 – the Question is more or less a guest-star in his own mini-series this issue, but Rick Veitch manages to give us a Lois Lane far more interesting than the Lois that’s in the regular Superman books.
Swamp Thing #10 – actually, I read it last week, thanks to DC’s advance peek program. Grotesque as all get out, but a hoot as well. We also get a throwaway bit of dialogue giving as much of an explanation as I expect to get regarding the change in Arcane’s status quo between the end of the Millar run and this series.
Other new releases that I didn’t buy:
New Avengers #1 – okay, so the variant cover thing is a little annoying (1 for every 20 copies we ordered, or something like that), and they plan on doing this for the first six issues? That’s sorta pushing the patience of both fans and retailers…I expect the novelty will wear thin by the time variant #3 or #4 rolls around. As for the actual content…Marvel’s given up entirely on getting kids to read this comic, it seems.
Hunter Killer #1 – so far, not too many bites, even with a 25-cent cover price. Now, Mark Waid is writing, and I generally like Mark Waid. But the Marc Silvestri art doesn’t really do anything for me…it just looks to me like every other Top Cow comic ever published. I know some people really like his art, but I guess I’m just not the target audience.
Fatty Arbuckle and His Funny Friends – any time Kim Deitch draws anything, I gotta take a look. He only provides the cover, as the insides are reprints of period Fatty Arbuckle comic strips…still good stuff, and I’m probably going to break down and buy it anyway. And, by the way, Fatty Arbuckle was almost certainly innocent of…well, you know.
Mage Vol. 1 The Hero Discovered hardcover – Matt Wagner’s Mage is one of my favorite comic book series…but I’m afraid this new hardcover printing is almost certainly of the most recent release of this series. You know, the one with the new lettering and the Photoshopped art effects that…um, didn’t do it any favors. I realize that there were probably production reasons for this, but I still consider myself lucky that I managed to get the old Starblaze/Donning softcover reprints when I did.
The new batch of Justice League action figures came out this week…and you know, it’s a shame they didn’t include a separate “sad” head in the Elongated Man package so you could reenact your favorite scenes from Identity Crisis.
Basil Wolverton Reader Vol. 2 – if I weren’t saving scratch for Christmas, I probably would have grabbed this as well…a big ol’ softcover jam packed with crazy Wolverton comics.
I hope I’m not the only person to draw any kind of comparison between the TV show Desperate Housewives and the Eros comic Hot Moms, because I’d hate to be the first.
