December Comics Round-Up

Ultimates #2 (Marvel)

Yes, this is definitely the Avengers-esque title I'm going to follow. Black Panther's team - Blue Marvel might nominally be calling the shots, but it's definitely Black Panther's team - are all incredibly powerful, hyperintelligent, or both, and they're travelling the universe to sort shit out. Dan Brown's art is perfect for this. There's a real cosmic feel to this issue, ending with a complete inversion of what Galactus stands for, that could lead to some very interesting things indeed.

Doctor Who - Eighth Doctor #2 (Titan)

Emma Vicelli absolutely nails her depiction of the eighth Doctor. I prefer this issue to the first; this is the other side of the eighth Doctor, the careworn old man who's trying to remain positive in the face of an overwhelmingly cruel universe. It ends on an optimistic note, but we know that this Doctor is going to have to face his own war soon, which adds depth to the story. Very good.

Doctor Who Magazine #494 (Panini)

Haven't we had sword-and-sorcery planets in the comics quite recently? This is fine, but there's not an original element in it. Adrian Salmon's art style doesn't really work for it, either. I'm going to call this one a miss.

Batman/TMNT #1 (DC/IDW)

Just much more fun than it has any right to be. I like that this avoids going for all out campery. Batman and the Turtles might actually work very well together. And using Killer Croc here is so obvious it would have been foolish not to do so.

Ms. Marvel #2 (Marvel)

This is rather excellent, with Kamala facing the twin evils of gentrification and the exploitation of fame. There are some rather lovely moments with both Bruno and her adorable older brother, and pitting the youngest Avenger against a new, corporate version of HYDRA makes sense. The important stuff is Kamala's entirely believable reaction to the developments, though.

The Mighty Thor #2 (Marvel)

"Just take me to my cell, serpent. I figure it's best I get one now... before all the good ones are filled." That's just a brief line showing how awesome Heimdall is, but this is brilliant throughout. Thor is just excellent right now. The war between the Light and Dark Elves rages, with the incongruous sight of Roxxon tanks mowing down unicorns. Loki is back, all re-grown up and bad again, while the Elves and Jotnar lay waste to the Nine Realms in a beautiful and finely written story. Recommended.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3 (Marvel)

A fairly middling issue for Squirrel Girl, but still way more fun than pretty much any comic series running right now. Retro-Dr. Doom just about works in this context, revelling in the campness of the character, but Nancy isn't quite up to the task of holding the storyline up against him without Doreen. Things work much better once the girls team up again. Digging Doreen's sixties costume. Includes the perfect footnote, "That guy's The Punisher! Like all men who take themselves extremely seriously, he likes to spend his downtime sewing cartoon skeleton heads onto every shirt he owns, so that way everyone can tell right away how extremely serious he is." When a comic running at half-power has lines like that, it's a keeper.

Lucifer #1 (DC/Vertigo)

Well, that wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared it would be. I still don't really see the point of it; the original Lucifer series by Mike Carey was truly brilliant and a closed story, ending in the most perfect and final way possible. I'd expected this to be a reboot, rather than a continuation as it is here, and I'm not sure which is more pointless. Still, Lucifer returning to the Universe in the wake of God's apparent murder has some potential. Not a patch on Carey's work, but approximately 130 times better than the shit they cooked up for TV.

The Wicked + The Divine #17 (Image)

Wow, this has gone off the boil. The last issue of the current "let's look at everyone's backstory" season, this one focuses on cat-goddess Sekhmet, who is only interesting in fucking and drinking and is correspondingly boring as hell. Looking forward to how the series kicks back into gear upon its return in April, as it really needs some forward momentum.

And that's yer lot. I'll be cutting right back on the comics next year - Saga, Squirrel Girl, Ultimates and The Mighty Thor will be on my list, probably along with Ms. Marvel and maybe Spider-Woman. 

Comics Round-up Aug-Sept

The last bits of August, the first releases of September, and a bundle of Comixology bargains that caught me up on some IDW titles I missed. Limited Marvel as Secret Wars rumbles on, before the big relaunch swallows my wallet. Everything I paid to read since the last such post, really.


Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders #2 (Marvel)

An issue of Marvel comics that made it into the British news (the first since Captain America was assassinated, I think). The reason, this time, is that the villains have begun quoting David Cameron. That is, in all truth, absolutely brilliant, and show's that Al Ewing was absolutely the right choice for this title. As he cheerfully sends up his own work with 2000AD, he makes something more of the Marvel characters he's been given to play with. I didn't particularly rate his work on Captain America and the Mighty Avengers, and this is clearly why: he needs to be allowed to be British on these things. With any luck, the feedback for this title will persuade Marvel to give him a new Captain Britain series, ideally with Faiza Hussain in the title role. This is the second alt-universe story with her as the Captain, after all - it's time she took the title in the main continuity.

TMNT/Ghostbusters Director's Cut #1 (IDW)

Arguably a pointless purchase, as I already the previous edition of this issue. On the other hand, this glossy reprint is a fun way of exploring a meeting of two favourite franchises. In spite of my childhood love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja/Hero Turtles, (and my recent binge of Turtles cartoons with my best mate), I have never massively involved myself with the universe the same way as I have with Ghostbusters, say. The commentary on this made me appreciate the story all the more, and the artwork looks even better than before.

Ghostbusters: Get Real #3 (IDW)

Four part stories rarely show their strengths in their third parts, and this is no exception. There's nothing wrong with this issue, and there are some lovely moments and references for the big GB fans like me, but it's still very much an exercise in getting from set-up to climax. Meat and potatoes stuff, really.

The Fly: Outbreak #2-4 (IDW)

To be frank, this is rather tedious. Seifert's script is far, far too talky, comprised mostly of Martin Brundle describing his self-loathing in long, poorly written passages, interspersed with biological technobabbble (biobabble?) A story about people turning into violent fly-monsters should be more exciting than this. Also, the various scenes of cam sex, banging in corridors, descriptions of insect mating habits as they'd apply to humans... it just comes across as tacky. I'll probably grab part five just to see how it plays out, but this is nothing to write home about. Glad I waited till it was discounted.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency #1 (IDW)

Chris Ryall's revamp of Douglas Adams's second-greatest creation. It's definitely good value, this first episode packed with progress and dialogue. There's a lot to enjoy here, with Dirk setting up a new holistic detective agency in a mystery theme cafe in California, which mixes things up a little. There's the occasional bit of Adams-y dialogue - the "souler powered" phone stands out - but otherwise, as enjoyable as this is, it doesn't really feel like Dirk Gently.


Bombshells #2 (DC)

Sadly, much weaker than the first issue. That instalment used its short length efficiently but this issue really doesn't manage to get much more than set-up done. It's irresistible to explore a wartime Constantine and Zatanna - especially as Zatanna was pin-up style in the first place  - but we get very little to go on in this very brief episode, half of which is in German. Frankly, I don't ever see the point of songs in comics - it's a mix of art media that simply doesn't work. Also, Ted Naifeh's art is frequently quite ugly here, which is a problem in a series where the sexiness of the art is a major selling point.

Plutona #1 (Image)

Much anticipated, a new, postmodernist superhero teen coming-of-age story. Coming-of-Golden-Age? Lemire and Lennox tell a story largely through imagery, with limited dialogue. Hard to pull off, but they manage it well, and I enjoy the idea of a world where people are well aware of superheroes and kids go "capespotting." It's a little underwhelming with this first episode, but that's probably an effect of the pre-release hype. Worth following for the four parts.

Ungrounded #2 (Pandemic Meme)

My random pick for the month, and what tremendous fun it is. This is from Comixology's open submissions selection, written by Patrick Gerard, with art by Eryck Webb. With superheroes, super-scientists, magical spaces, time travel, possible worlds, malleable physics and doorways into fictional worlds, this is absolutely packed with imaginative ideas. 

Comics Desperate Catch-Up (January '15)

Scrabbling to catch up on some series, while trying out some new ones. Will I take any further? We'll see.

TMNT/Ghostbusters #2 (IDW)

The second part is still stuck on introducing the characters to each other, but makes such chores more fun than they have any right to be. Donatello's bromance with Ray is just a joy to behold, while Raphael matches up nicely as a foil for Venkman. Egon becomes more of a challenge for Donnie - one refusing to believe in aliens and the other in ghosts - while April and Janine bond. Most insightful is pairing up Leonardo with Zeddmore, the latter's position as the heart of the team interpreted as a leadership of sorts. That leads Michaelangelo with only Slimer to interact with, though. (Thank you Michele for getting this in for me x)

ODY-C #1 (Image)

Pretty incredible visually, this is Matt Fraction's new vast space opera, a hyper-modernist take on The Odyssey layered with psychedelia and science myth. I'll be honest, there were pages where I had little idea what was going on, but there's some very interesting stuff in this, with almost all the characters juxtaposed to female or gender-fluid forms and a vast galactic history sketched in through the use of fold-out chronologies and star charts. Probably something to admire more than enjoy.

Crossed + One Hundred (Utopia Press)

Ugh. I hadn't bothered with Crossed before because it just sounded like one of those titles trying to be as shockingly nasty as possible. But I thought I'd give this a go on the basis that anything new by Alan Moore is worth at least a look. So, a hundred years after a plague turned 90% of the human race into murderous rapists, we have an ongoing struggle for survival with some admittedly interesting language play. Really though, this isn't just unpleasant, it's really very dull.

Avengers Universe #7 (Marvel/Panini)

This has become my reprint series of choice, the one I'm going to keep buying after dropping Wolverine & Deadpool, Mighty World of Marvel and Batman Arkham. Enjoying the contrast between the relatively small-scale threats faced by the Young Avengers, and the vast cosmic, trans-temporal armageddon that threatens the Uncanny Avengers. Nicely in the middle is Mighty Avengers, and although this issue is mostly ground-based middle-of-the-story stuff, I'm loving Superior Spider-Man basically being a cunt to everyone.

Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor #6 (Titan)

This is undoubtedly the best of Titan's DW series, although I am looking forward to their limited ninth Doctor run. "Space in Dimension Relative and Time" is a truly clever story, running time backwards with only the Doctor aware of the discrepancies and playing with the paradoxes to great effect. I like this short, one-strip stories for the eleventh Doctor; they suit his fast-paced style well. Rob Williams is probably the strongest writer in Doctor Who comics right now, and Simon Fraser's art is just perfect for Eleven. Plus, this brings back the Nimon while ripping the piss out of them.

Ms. Marvel #10 (Marvel)

After a short break, this is back with a finely told, important chapter that sees Kamala rally up some disillusioned youths who have been under the thumb of the evil cockateel-faced villain the Professor. God, this pulls of some weird shit, this comic. It's the young together, very much not a call to arms but a call to live, fighting for tomorrow by dint of living today. This really is an excellent comic for teens, but not to the exclusion of old bastards like me. G. Willow Wilson's writing pitches it perfectly. Adrian Alphona's art is grand, too.

The Multiversity: Thunderworld (DC)

I do enjoy me some Captain Marvel (Shazam! style) and this latest from The Mulitversity, dated February for some reason, takes us to Earth-5 where Fawcett Comics is the still the dominant continuity and it's all about Billy Batson and his Marvel family. The nefarious Dr. Sivana strikes a plan to conquer the Rock of Eternity, breaching the walls of reality and importing time from across the Multiverse to create his own eighth day. Wonderfully high concept while remaining a good, old-fashioned sort of adventure, this is lovely stuff. More please.

Guardians of the Galaxy #22 (Marvel)

I'm enjoying the B-plot in this storyline, with political shenanigans on Spartax and the powers of the galaxy debating what to do with Earth. But really, this is just a series of over-the-top reveals with each character becoming Venom for a few pages. Venom-Rocket, Venom-Groot, Venom-Drax... it's thin, but it's bloody good fun.

Edward Scissorhands #2 (IDW)

I'm going to drop this. I like the idea, with Edward's unstable brother trying to fix himself while Kim's granddaughter searches for the truth about what happened all those years ago, but the telling's bland and the artwork isn't growing on me.

Thor #3 (Marvel)

Really enjoying this one. We still don't know who the new Thor is, but that's working for it, a little mystery alongside the action. Elves and Jotnar all coming for Midgard, and now the Odinson is coming back for his hammer.

Spider-Verse Team-Up #2 (Marvel)

I think these team-ups are the most enjoyable part of the Spider-Verse event. Two stories here, the first of which is just fabulously fun, bringing together Peter Parker from the '67 animated series, Parker from the Ultimate Spider-Man TV series and Miles Morales from the Ultimate Comics universe. It gently mocks each version of the series but ultimately celebrates all of them, and it's very funny. It's followed by Spider-Gwen encountering a version of Parker who took up the mantle of the Green Goblin after his Gwen's death. A clever pairing.

Comics Round-Up: October (3)

Here are the comics I've been reading at the end of October. Christmas is coming, which means a tightening of the belt, so I'll be dropping some titles soon. Some titles are coming to an end anyway, others I haven't followed up on some promising first issues (or not found them easy to come by). On the other hand, there are some interesting miniseries starting up, so we'll see what we see. Last issue of the current run of Saga is due out tomorrow, and is going to get lumped in with the November reviews.

TMNT/Ghostbusters #1  (of 4) (IDW)

My local comic shop are struggling with the whole putting aside comics for customers when they say they will, so I buckled and downloaded this. It's worth it, although I'll still look out for a print copy so that I can fully appreciate the artwork (I mostly read downloads on my phone, which is convenient, but hardly ideal). If you're a child of the 80s/early 90s, this has got to be an exciting prospect, a Turtles/Ghostbusters crossover.  I really like the set-up they've used, using three different artists to differentiate between the various dimensions and time periods. Given that this jumps from mediaeval Japan to modern day New York, then to a different New York, introducing a new villain and bringing the characters together, it's surprisingly coherent. Very good fun so far.

Amazing Spider-Man #8 (Marvel)

An unremarkable issue this week. The interplay between Spidey and Ms Marvel is still great, but the story itself is nothing special. It ties into yet another Spider title that I haven't followed, so the significance is probably lost on me, Still, the improved focus on Silk is good stuff, and I'm very pleased that the creators have made a conscious decision to change her costume into something with a bit more class. There's another "Edge of Spider-Verse" installment, this one set in the MC2 universe and following May Parker, Peter's daughter. Given that this is an established character and reality they can hit the ground running, but it's still just a vignette as opposed to an actual story. It's all building up to the main event kicking off this month.

Rocket Raccoon #4 (Marvel)

Aw, poor Rocket. This finally gets into some actual story alongside the silliness, as Rocket faces another member of his people... or so it seems. It's still great fun, especially when all of Rocket's ex-girlfriends turn up for the reckoning (he used to date a Galactus lady?!) There's even a tiny bit of gender politics thrown in. Briefly.

Wild's End #2 (Boom!)

What's so good about this title is how seriously it takes itself. It's an absurd premise told completely straight, and is really quite gripping for it. That's not to say there aren't some really sick jokes in there too. A straightforward tale about the horrors of war... with talking pigs.

The Multiversity: The Just (DC)

The third release in Morrisson's Multiversity series is the first misfire. The idea behind it - a reality where all crime has been stopped and superheroes are nothing more than bored, attention-grabbing slebs - is cute, but doesn't really have much mileage for a story. Earth-Me is populated by the offspring of the Justice League and its enemies, and while seeing the different characters' relationships play out has some appeal, the whole thing runs the risk of being as vacuous as the culture its parodying. Still, the ongoing plot, with a force breaching the dimensional walls through a cursed comicbook, is moving on nicely.

Thor #1 (Marvel)

I've finally got hold of this - it, predictably, sold straight out - and while it's a decent enough read, it's not the new beginning it was marketed as. In honesty, I doubt Marvel is really capable of doing a fresh start on any of its titles, they're all so bogged down in continuity. So, while this is the new issue one, it's very much continuing on from the previous volume, albeit with enough handy exposition to roughly get what's going on. Hoping that it improves next issue as we actually get to meet the new Thor.

Edward Scissorhands #1 (of 5) (IDW)

IDW continues to prove it's the publisher that owns the media tie-in market, with a not-particularly-timely sequel to the classic 1990 film. Kate Leth's story shows promise, dealing with Kim's nearly grown-up granddaughter searching for the truth about Edward, and Edward's misguided decision to awaken one of his maker's other creations. I'm not sure about Drew Rausch's artwork though. It's certainly very Tim Burton-y, but not really in keeping with the tone of the story. Eli is an interesting creation, with his mechanical claw hands - could Vincent Price's character just not do hands? - and it has the confidence to go for pages with virtually no dialogue, but this has yet to prove itself to me.