Another week, another new comics day.
from Sweety #1
Well said, Sweety, well said.
Boom Studios sent along another review pack of books, including Cthulhu Tales, which actually came out last week. However, if you’ve got the interest in Lovecraft, it’s certainly worth a look…several short, creepy stories of unknowable, unearthly terrors and tentacled things, all suitably illustrated with just the right amount of ickiness. “Quality Time,” by John Rogers and Andy Kuhn, is the high point, keeping just enough of the horror off panel to let us fill in the gaps with our own imaginations…always more effective than just putting it all out there.
Another Boom Studios release is Talent #1 (by Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski, and Paul Azaceta) which the publisher has been ballyhooing as being somewhat similar to the TV show Lost. Well, they both involve a plane crash and mysteries, but beyond that, a closer comparison may perhaps be Matrix…a fellow finds himself with new, unusual abilities, and pursued by various groups who want him for their own unknown reasons. It’s a quickly paced and entertaining book that wastes no time in getting us into the action and wrapped up in the mysteries presented.
Jeremiah Harm #3 was the third Boom Studios book…not much to say that I haven’t said before, aside from he art by Rael Lyra and Joe Prado being nicely detailed, as usual. It’s still a comic about space bounty hunter purusing alien criminals on Earth, as written by Keith Giffen and Alan Grant. We’re not talking high art here, but it is a fun sci-fi shoot-’em-up, told with wit and dark humor.
All-Star Batman and Robin #4 – So, it appears as if the scenes featuring Batman’s seemingly erratic behavior from the earlier issues (including his “testing” of Dick Grayson) are a plot point, as that behavior is beginning to be addressed in-story. Between this and the description of this issue (“Can the Earth’s most powerful heroes rescue the kidnapped Dick Grayson and save Gotham from the clutches of a Dark Knight who has obviously gone mad?”) it’s almost as if Frank Miller knew what he was doing from the get-go. And that multi-page fold-out featuring the Batcave is nice, but for some reason I was even more entertained by the other side of the fold-out, with the multiple DC “One Year Later” house-ads. There they all are, in one place for easy reference:
Fell #5 – Another fine installment of Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith’s series of “done in one” stories, as Detective Fell faces off with a gunman in an interrogation room. Intense and emotional, and surprisingly dynamic given the majority of the action is in one room. Don’t miss Ellis’ back-of-the-book essay about the influence Will Eisner’s Spirit had on this project.
Superman/Batman #26 – I was a fan of this comic early on, with its focus on Big Stupid Superhero Action, and not pretending to be anything but. However, this last storyline, with multiple versions of multiple characters from multiple universes running around and mayhem ensuing…hey, I’m all for craziness in my capes-‘n’-tights books, but for some reason it just seemed to get in the way of pushing the story forward this time around. Anyway, Joker and Mr. Mxyzptlk (and a surprise guest) explain everything, it all gets wrapped up in a perfunctory fashion, and the way is cleared for the new creative team. Overall, writer Jeph Loeb gave us a fun and goofy comic…well, aside from the nigh-unreadable Michael Turner-illustrated Supergirl saga, and the hard-to-follow final storyline…but for the most part, not too bad for what it was.
Shadowpact #1 – The supernatural team from Day of Vengeance gets its own ongoing series, about which I have to say 1) I guess the DC Universe has reclaimed the Phantom Stranger for good from Vertigo; 2) it sure is nice to see Bill Willingham art again; 3) any series that gives me Blue Devil is okay with me; 4) any series that features not one, but two of DC’s Silver Age era animal heroes is a series worth reading.
Castle Waiting hardcover – Linda Medley’s fantasy series is collected into a handsome (and thick) hardcover book by Fantagraphics. Beautifully done, and well worth looking at if you have any interest in fairy tales and folklore.
Innocence & Seduction: The Art of Dan DeCarlo – A very attractive hardcover book celebrating the work of the famed Archie Comics cartoonist (though he did plenty of work besides). Features tons of material from throughout his career, everything from his girlie cartoons to his Archie work to the post-Archie work on the Simpsons comics…plenty of shots of his beautiful original pencil work are also included. (Amusingly, one of the Archie covers represented is this infamous issue.)
Edgar Allen Poe’s Haunt of Horror #1 – Well, put this on the list of “Marvel Titles I Least Expected to Ever See on A Comic Rack” (along with Steve Gerber’s Howard the Duck – The Creator-Owned Series, X-Men: This Series Is Good, Honest, and Ultimate Wolverine Versus Hulk #3). It’s a black and white horror comic, illustrated by Richard Corben, published by the modern Marvel Comics. Wow. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s pretty good, too.
Did I mention this video of pal Ian getting smacked with a book? It’s fantastic.
