Thursday, March 08, 2007

This Week's Haul

Alright, I'm gonna try something new here. I'm going to do what the blog title implies and start writing about my new comic book purchases each week. Unfortunately for me, this week happens to be a rather large haul.

Anyway, here they are in the order that I read them:

Captain America #25

Would you believe I made it through eight hours of a ten hour shift at a comic shop on a Wednesday before I learned the big spoiler for this issue? Then someone came in, grabbed the issue, and said "Is this the one where he dies?" I was like "What?" And he turns to the last page and says "Yep. It is." Noooooooooooo!!! I just started to like Captain America! We were going to be together forever, Steve! This was going to be the week where I start buying your book on a regular basis! And you go and die on me?! Bad manners, Steve.
I guess I'll have to focus on that dreamy Winter Soldier. Mmmm...younger, darker...more bionic.
I give this comic a thumbs up. It was definitely a good read and had more than one big surprise in it.

Detective Comics #829

Ok, first of all: ewwwwwww!!! That cover is so wrong for so many reasons! I love how Batman is skipping into the room.
Beyond the cover, I couldn't decide if I liked Andy Clarke's art or not. I still don't know. I do know that I like it more than Don Kramer's art in the previous Detective run, but that's not saying much. Little things can really bother me, like...I refuse to believe that Bruce Wayne wouldn't be wearing a more fitted suit:

And since the whole story is about how he can't change into his Batman costume, we can assume that he's not wearing it underneath, and thus there is no reason for him to be wearing that ill-fitting off-the-rack affair.
The story is alright. Batman and Robin (in a red-breasted tuxedo...cute) have to save everyone inside the Wayne Tower from a terrorist without being too obvious about their secret identity. Oh, and the terrorist shoots plastic explosives out of a gun, so THAT'S what Robin is covered in on the cover. Still, though, did it have to be dripping off his chin?!

52: Week 44

No word on poor Ralph Dibny's status in this issue. Please don't be dead, Ralph. This issue is Black Adam family-centric, and that's cool. The end seems to be in sight for his character's storyline. Ditto with Montoya.
Probably the most exciting thing for me in this issue was the inside back cover ad for Countdown promising a search for Ray Palmer. Yay!

Superman/Batman #32

Oh dear. Can't these two just get along?
Again, I don't know what I think of the art in this book, this time by Matthew Clark and Ron Randall. Sometimes it looked kinda good. Sometimes it looked all messy. I don't know how I feel about this storyline, either. I was kinda into the idea in general, of all the aliens being turned against Earth, but I think the fact that Superman was "cured" by remembering that he's in love with Lois was pretty damn lame. I actually threw up a little. And why the hell was Lobo in the book? Seriously, it was the most pointless and random cameo ever. Was it just to add an action figure to the next Superman/Batman toy series?
I don't know if you've picked up on this now from reading this blog, but my love for both Batman and Superman is infinite. So this should be my favourite book, right? It really isn't, and that bothers me. From the beginning it's been letting me down on a weekly basis. It's not terrible, it's just not great. Why can't it be great?!

Justice League of America #6

I chose the Adam Hughes cover over the Michael Turner cover because it's the lesser of two evils. Plus I like to support any decision to put a speech bubble on a cover. And, I'll say this for Hughes, this cover really isn't as gross as it could have been. And I've certainly seen worse Black Canary covers:

Like all previous issues of JLA, I liked this comic a lot. It had two big ass battles in it and both were awesome. Plus I always enjoy how Meltzer peppers his narration with fun facts about science and nature. You can really learn a lot from Brad Meltzer. This week I learned about tornadoes, falcons, organ failure, and how to defeat a robot who has the combined powers of the entire Justice League.
My only real complaint is Wonder Woman's shorts, which, once again, are lacking:

Sigh.

Midnighter #5

Ah, Midnighter. I saved you because I love you so much. Midnighter has consistently been my favourite series since it started. It's a lot of fun, and it's totally possible to enjoy it even if you never read a single page of Authority comics. Midnighter is oft called a Batman rip-off, but it's really more of a tribute. Plus, he's Batman + Wolverine + Punisher multiplied by awesome plus gay. This book looks great, is completely entertaining, and has lead me to say "holy crap!" outloud while reading more often than most books. (This week I said it at least three times). I also laugh out loud pretty frequently while reading it. Midnighter, I know you don't like girls, but if you ever change your mind about that...or about being fictional...I am totally waiting for you.

The Authority #2

And onto Authority, for this week I get a double shot of my baby's love (my baby being Midnighter. Keep up).
Yes, it's been, what, two years since the last issue of this came out? I don't even remember what happened last time. But who cares? Grant Morrison + Gene Ha = quality. I can tell this is going to get awesome. It's already pretty damn fun.
Can someone answer me this because I'm too lazy to check: have they always bleeped out the swearing in the Authority comics? I was sure that they were leaving it in. But it's all bleeped in this one. Boooo. But yay for putting all the ads in the back so Ha's amazing art isn't interrupted by that damn Final Fantasy quiz ad (although, I also noticed that there are only two ads in the whole book that aren't for DC. Aw. No one wants to advertise in Authority? Sounds like Wildstorm needs a plucky young advertising sales rep. I just so happen to have my resume handy...).

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #2

Aw, man. Is this really only going to last 4 issues? I am so in love with this book. It should be at least as long as, say, Omac. Oh well.
Yep, I don't even know what to say. Looks great. Seriously fun. Seriously funny. And totally adorable. And the aligator monsters yelling "We've lost! Quick! Eat the children!" is definitely one of my favourite comic book quotes in recent memory. This comic is doing everything right. Well done, Mr Smith.

Scalped #3

And we go from totally adorable to totally...not.

I figured it was about time that I get on on the ground floor with a Vertigo title, so I've been picking up Scalped since the first issue. Despite an over-reliance on creative profanity, this is a really good read. I don't really have much to say about it, other than I feel that it's going to keep getting better as it goes on. And, seriously, the apparent need of writer Jason Aaron to come up with cool new R-rated insults only distracts from the high quality of the story. Like, yeah. I had a Scarface poster in my dorm room too, Aaron.

So that about does it for this week. I didn't pick up Jonah Hex because I buy that in trade format. I'm sure it's great, though.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I love JLA-Meltzer's writing is fantastic and it's a great line-up (yay, Hawkgirl!) but this Image-style artwork has got to go. That gratuitous gi-normous heinie shot of Diana was ridiculous. Totally took me out of the story. She's the Spirit of Truth! She doesn't wear a thong!!

Captain Infinity said...

Wow. I had no idea Bruce Wayne bought his suits at the same store as David Byrne.

Skeleton Munroe said...

It's a little place called "Overly Large Suits for Eccentric Men With a 'y' in Their Last Name."

It's a bit of a niche, but they've filled it well.

Jeffrey Hardy Quah said...

Believe it or not, that's Ed Benes toning down the cheesecake. I've seen a LOT worse from him.

Anonymous said...

Yes, the Authority, once upon a time, was prticvally filth from cover to cover. Swears and sex and violence from cover to cover. Apparently the realucnh is trying to have more appeal and availability, so i guess now they're bleeping it and not showing any boobies. I can't remeber what happened in issue #1, but I'm pretty sure it was nothing. Haven't read #2 yet... but it's at home waiting for me.

Anonymous said...

My co-workers still make fun of me because I called Midnighter "Nightrider" once...okay, twice. Is he still with Apollo?

rachelle said...

brian - I know. I can accept, say, Fire wearing a thong. Or even, like, Huntress or someone. But NOT Wonder Woman! Come on! A little respect!

jonathan and captain infinity: nice.

jeffrey - Oh, I know. That dude has a problem. It's too bad because generally I really like his art. His faces are nice. And his proportions. But he draws women like a horny 14-year-old.

toons - thanks. I was pretty sure there used to be swear words. I guess they want to sell more ads.

anonymous - Midnighter is still with Apollo. Except in my dreams where he is with me.

1 Right Opinion Comics said...

Wow, it looks like you read as much as I do.

I also missed out on the whole Cap's dead thing. Not because I didn't hear about it, but because I read The Initiative first. After Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman's talk I just assumed he wasn't dead. I guess we still don't know, huh?

Richard
1RightOpinion-Comics

Anonymous said...

Thanks for picking up the slack for dave in the comic reviews.

I really feel like I should have read more civil war stuff now OTHER than Civil War (Cap dead, Aunt May dead, etc.) Any chance you wanna do a best of, or some kinda summary of important tie-in events for us lazy bastards?

Love the site.

Peter273

Anonymous said...

I've got that JLA issue, I have to admit I don't exactly mind how Wonder-thighs looks there but I can that apreciate other people do. While not quite a "thong" it's pretty gratuitous, seems odd someone would walk around with her butt on display all the time, yet there is alot of that going around in comics.