100 Things I Love About Comics

When I first stumbled across the wide world of comic bloggers about five months ago, one of the first ones I read was Mike Sterling’s Progressive Ruin. I was skimming through the archives when I came across an article he wrote in February 2005, entitled 100 Things I Love About Comics! This was based on a couple of comics by Fred Hembeck, and it quickly grew into a meme of surprising proportions. I was only sad that I was unable to put up my own list without looking faintly ridiculous (Hey, look at me doing a meme that died off a half a year ago!). I suppose you could say that I could have just written my list of 100 for myself, but that's much too silly to reply to. So, so silly.

To my delight, Mike put up another list of 100 things he loved on the 14th, and I saw my opening. So I took some time over the past two days to think of a hundred things I love about comics. At 27, periods of lagging interest and low income have limited what I've been able to buy, beg, borrow, or otherwise consume in terms of comics, but this is what generally makes me happy about comics. A character, a series, a writer, an artist, a situation, a line of dialogue, a webcomic, whatever: 100 examples of why I love comics. Just in time to be late for Valentimes Day.

1. The Absorbascon

2. Neal Adams

3. The Adventures of Barry Ween: Boy Genius. (The last 5 pages of the last series made me cry like a baby.)

4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

5. "And a lean, silent figure slowly fades into the gathering darkness, aware at last that in this world, with great power there must also come -- great responsibility! "

6. Animal Man #5 - "The Coyote Gospel"

7. Asterix & Obelix

8. Astro City Vol. 2 #14-20 - "The Tarnished Angel"

9. Atlantis Attacks! (It's not actually very good, but it's the first comics crossover I remember reading, and it never fails to put a smile on my face.)

10. The Authority #1-12

11. Barbara Gordon. (Whether she's Batgirl or Oracle, my biggest comics crush - because she's a big geek at heart like me. Plus, red hair.)

12. Batman: The Killing Joke

13. Beaucoup Kevin

14. Beta Ray Bill

15. Betty & Veronica's trip to West Edmonton Mall. I swear to god, there was a comic where they go to W.E.M., and if I can ever find it, I will buy it for sheer kitch value.

16. Berkeley Breathed

17. Blue Beetle & Booster Gold. (The dynamic duo of my childhood.)

18. Bob The Angry Flower

19. Bone by Jeff Smith

20. The Books of Magic

21. Mark Buckingham on Batman: Shadow of the Bat

22. Calvin & Hobbes

23. Captain America & The Falcon (both series)

24. Captain America: Red, White & Blue

25. The comics spinner we got at work. Part of the continuing reintroduction of comics into the mainstream.

26. A Contract With God

27. Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

28. The Dark Knight Returns

29. DC - The New Frontier

30. DC's old-school bullet logo.

31. Deadman: Love After Death

32. Diesel Sweeties

33. "Don't mess with me lady. I've been drinking with skeletons."

34. Warren Ellis

35. Garth Ennis

36. Fables

37. Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

38. Green Lantern / Green Arrow. (Look, I know it's cheesy, you know it's cheesy. But I absolutely LOVE it.)

39. The Green Lantern Corps

40. Hellboy

41. HeroClix. (The game that lets me team up Mr. Terrific and Mr. Fantastic! For anyone who wanted to write superhero comics but just weren't good enough.)

42. Hitman

43. "I have an orgasm every five minutes. Please do not tell my father."

44. "I'm a nasty piece of work, chief. Ask anybody."

45. Jack Hawksmoor

46. JLA #36-41 – "World War Three"

47. JLA #42-46 – "Tower of Babel"

48. John Constantine: Hellblazer

49. Jughead's Double Digest. (When I was very young, I loved Jughead. A guy who loved hamburgers and hated women? My role model.)

50. Justice League of America #100-102 - "The Unknown Soldier of Victory"

51. Kilowog

52. Kingdom Come

53. Jack Kirby

54. Todd Klein. (The fact that I even have a favourite letterer is testimony to my true geekitude.)

55. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (NOT the movie.)

56. Stan Lee

57. Lone Wolf & Cub

58. Madman

59. Martian Manhunter. (I love the character, but I particularly like the 90s series by Ostrander & Mandrake.)

60. Laura Martin

61. The Metal Men

62. Milk & Cheese

63. Grant Morrison

64. Alan Moore

65. Mr. Fixit

66. New X-Men by Morrison

67. Owly

68. Peanuts

69. Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham

70. Puck

71. Planetary

72. Plastic Man by Kyle Baker

73. Preacher

74. Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin

75. Queen & Country

76. Questionable Content

77. Humberto Ramos drawing Spider-Man

78. Jeffrey Rowland

79. Runaways

80. Sam & Fuzzy

81. Sandman

82. Scary Go Round

83. The Sentry by Paul Jenkins & Jae Lee

84. Seven Soldiers by Morrison et al.

85. "Show me your thumbs!"

86. Spider-Man's Tangled Web #5 & 6 - "Flowers For Rhino"

87. Steel

88. Swamp Thing

89. Too Much Coffee Man

90. Transmetropolitan. (The comic that got me back into comics after a long absence.)

91. Twisted Toyfare Theatre

92. Understanding Comics

93. V for Vendetta

94. Warlock by Jim Starlin

95. Watchmen

96. "We had a team-up. You were great."

97. Wednesdays! Circling around the comic stands, looking for a title that jumps out at me that I've never seen before, the thrill of the hunt...

98. West Coast Avengers. (The only superhero team I remember loving from when I was a kid.)

99. X-Force / X-Statix

100. Y: The Last Man

Comics: Playing Catch-Up, Volume Two

I may have been down, folks, but I am certainly not out. Not even a broken computer can keep me away from writing pointlessly about comics!

December 21, 2005

Birds of Prey #89 - "Perfect Pitch, Part Three"
(Gail Simone, words; Paulo Siqueira, pencils)

Compared to last months' mediocre offering, this issue has much more cohesion and thrust; all the plot threads tighten and the story really picks up. Simone handles both emotion and action with ease, and that's one of the great things about Birds of Prey: strong women with well-defined characters, comfortable whether their sharing their feelings, kicking ass, or hanging out. The book's been criticized for furthering female supehero clichés (e.g. unrealistically sexy women in spandex and fishnets, being defined by their sexuality, behaving too 'girly'), but I think that this title effectively uses those aspects of superheroines - and women in general - when the characters demand it. New penciller Siqueira draws a good knock-down fight scene, and his facial expressions add a lot to the story without Simone having to spell things out. A marked improvement over last month, and the two special guests that show up at the end have me eagerly anticipating issue #90.
Expectation: 3.0
Rating: 3.5
Differential: +0.5


DMZ #2 - "On The Ground, Part Two" (Late from previous week.)
(Brian Wood, words; Riccardo Burchielli & Brian Wood, art)

There aren't many comics that have a journalist as the main character (I can only think of one off the top of my head), but it seems like a really smart idea: if you're going to be exploring a strange new place, a journalist would be a good guide. DMZ's journalist (Matty Roth) is thrust into the new Manhattan with little information and he has to explore it for himself, which puts him on the same level as the reader. This issue introduces a few new and interesting characters (I hope to see more of the ex-Marine sniper) and is convincing when showing how people live and die in the Demilitarized Zone. I'm not buying the notion of Manhattan as the middle point between warring groups of states as particularly believable, but I am enjoying the series enough to suspend my disbelief for a while. A good comic that tells an old story in a new way.
Expectation: 3.0
Rating: 3.5
Differential: +0.5

Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #3
(Dave Gibbons & Geoff Johns, words; Patrick Gleason, pencils)

I'm not going to lie to anyone here: I picked up the new GL Corps book because I loves me some Kilowog, and when Patrick Gleason gives me a splash page like he does on Page Five, I'm a happy camper. This book keeps throwing adventure and excitement at us: Kilowog helps two bickering Lanterns work as a team while Kyle and Guy rescue reluctant new recruit Sorak Natu from the Spider Guild. While the "strong men rescue a pretty girl in distress" plot irks me a little, I get past it because Gibbons is telling an interesting story in the bigger picture (much better than I was lead to expect from The Rann-Thanagarian War). Gleason and inkers Prentis Rollins & Christian Alamy put in some great work here, handling both intimidating space vistas and intimate personal touches (I love Guy's face on Page Three). I'm a little confused by all the people that appear in this title; I don't know any of the bounty hunters that pop up this issue, and I don't know if the Spider Guild is a brand new threat or something that's been thought up for this issue - but that really doesn't matter, because GLC: Recharge is good space opera and a good team book.
Expectation: 3.0
Rating: 4.0
Differential: +1.0


Hellblazer #215 – "R.S.V.P., Part Two"
(Mike Carey, words; Leonardo Manco, art)

England's premiere magic association the Tate Club is having its bicentennial and the organizers have wrangled Constantine into making the keynote speech, despite the traumas of his recent past (amnesia, hunting his demon children, a death in the family, busting up with his mate, and so on - really, par for the course for John). You just know he's got some surprise cooked up for the crew, but just what it is was actually surprising. John's speech is remarkable for its vitriole and appropriateness, and the ending flourish was classic Constantine. This is Carey's farewell issue, and like Azarello he ends his run with an unexpected twist that is likely going to be undone by the new writer, mystery writer Denise Mina. This issue, like most of Carey's run, got back to what I see as the roots of the character without adding anything to the mystique, and although it was good I would like to see this title be great again.
Expectation: 3.0
Rating: 3.5
Differential: +0.5


Infinite Crisis #3
(Geoff Johns, words; Phil Jiminez, art)

The first time I read this issue, I was nearly stunned at what happened; so many things in so many pages, it boggled my mind. Upon a re-read, however, the story simplified itself a lot. It's not as complicated as I once thought: a lot of "big things" happen, but most of them are part of one larger theme (destruction & reconstruction). There's a nice character moment in Batman and Earth-II Superman's meeting, and a whole lot of mysteries are finally revealed. It's not a bad issue, it's just not as great as I was hoping. The fact that this issue didn't seem as stunning on re-reading puts me in a gloomy mood when I think that it may just be the same for the series as a whole.
Expectation: 4.0
Rating: 3.0
Differential: -1.0


Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer #2
(Grant Morrison, words; Yanick Paquette, pencils)

Issue Two of this miniseries is a little better than the first, but it's still (to me) the weakest of the entire 7Soldiers experiment. The Bulleteer is where Morrison starts really tying the series together and connects them with the Seven Soldiers #0 one-shot, so it's doubly disappointing that I'm not right behind it. Alix is still drawn Super-Cheesecake, but it's less out-of-place and more story-driven when she's put beside Agent Helen Helligan: part of The Bulleteer's power (and her curse) is that her husband saw her only as a sexual object, the same way many comics readers view their superheroines. This issue seemed disorganized and out of sync as well, which was the most frustrating thing of all. It may not be fair to compare it to six other series, but The Bulleteer is the weakest for both art and writing, although its growing importance to the overall storyline is more than I'd initially expected.
Expectation: 2.5
Rating: 2.5
Differential: +0


Testament #1
(Douglas Rushkoff, words; Liam Sharp, art)

The Bible isn't just a religious document, but rather, a collection of archetypal stories collected by a number of authors (in an "open source" collaboration) that keeps repeating over and over again through time, even in a military-industrial future America. This is the kind of book that appeals to me right from the beginning: lots of potential, with mature ideas of both kinds ("mature" as in "thoughful and self-reflective" and "Mature" as in "sex, drugs, and violence"). This first issue is pretty dense in both story and art, and if this is any indication of the overall quality of the book, then I'm in for a real treat. The art is a good fit for this book, I think: Liam Sharp does Biblical past and dystopian future equally well, but his conception of the mysterious Dinah seems hyper-sexualized (then again, that might be the point; see The Bulleteer). Testament has a lot of potential, and the creators seem to have the talent to back it up.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 4.0
Differential: +0.5

December 28, 2005

JLA Classified #15 - "New Maps of Hell, Part Six"
(Warren Ellis, words; Butch Guice, art)

This story just ran out of steam about halfway through last issue, and it never really recovers. I understand and appreciate making Z, the Martian god of Fear, nothing more than an old artificial intelligence that can't possibly begin to compete with the JLA, but it takes all the air out of the final conflict; it needed some tension and had none. This series slowly became Ellis re-hashing a lot of his superhero ideas that he did better in Stormwatch & The Authority: working together as a team, each member contributing their own skills, and each member is incredibly smart (almost too smart). The last three issues of this series could have been combined to make two and then the story beats would have seemed less drawn out, and the ending would have had more of an impact. At the beginning, I finished every issue excited for the next one; now I'm just glad it's over.
Expectation: 2.5
Rating: 1.5
Differential: -0.5


Revelations #5
(Paul Jenkins, words; Humberto Ramos, pencils)

The cover of this issue spells out what's going to happen inside, which spoiled a major plot point for me - not a great idea in a murder mystery. Still, Jenkins and Ramos are leading up to a hell of a closer if this issue is any indication. The mystery surrounding Detective Northern becomes even more labyrinthine, leading both him and the reader to doubt all the suspects' motives, while his character becomes even more clear. With supporting cast dropping left and right, we're moving into endgame, and I can't wait to read issue six, where (I hope) everything's made clear.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 4.0
Differential: +0.5

Comics: Playing Catch-Up, Volume One

A combination of 25% schoolwork, 25% holidaying, and 50% laziness has led me to stop reviewing my comics for...good lord, two months? That can't possibly be right! No, I guess it is. Very well then; as I think that this is an important exercise in writing, deadlines, and critical-thinking skills, I will go back through eight weeks of comic releases and put five sentences down for every single one of them. This doesn't include this Wednesday's newest batch, though...oh, help me Jebus....

November 30, 2005

Fell #3
(Warren Ellis, words; Ben Templesmith, art)

Fell was just voted the #1 series in the Comics Blogger Poll, and although I think a lot of it has to do with the price, the comic itself is very impressive. This issue's probably the weakest of the three that've been released so far, although that doesn't mean it's bad. Ellis & Templesmith take Detective Richard Fell to a different part of Snowtown and introduce us to more interesting and damaged characters, plus: more Evil Nun Nixon. The conflict's supposed to be high-tension and low-key, and the nine-panel format really helps set the tone, but the energy slowly bleeds out because the scene drags on a little too long. Another interesting story about how the city ruins its inhabitants, and gives us a little more information about the central character.
Expectation: 4.0
Rating: 3.5
Differential: -0.5


JLA: Classified #14 - "New Maps of Hell, Part Five"
(Warren Ellis, words; Butch Guice, art)

In this out-of-continuity JLA story, our heroes confront the Martian god of Fear, who spends this issue torturing them in their own individual Hells. Unlike Fell, Ellis's other offering this week, JLA: Classified is filled with widescreen panels that give us a more cinematic feel (the polarizing decompression) that is appropriate for this larger-than-life story. The "hells" that are custom-made for each character range from cliche to startling to surprising, and some of our heroes deal with them better than others. Batman is suitably...Batman, and my man J'onn J'onnz has a great F*@% YEAH! moment in this issue, but those are the only real story highlights in this issue; plus, the way Guice draws Superman really irritates me. After a really great first two issues, this story's hit a stumbling block.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 2.5
Differential: -1.0

Revelations #4
(Paul Jenkins, words; Humberto Ramos, pencils)

This issue marks the beginning of the end of this 6-issue miniseries, and I'm still terribly confused. Everyone's favourite lapsed Catholic English detective is still trying to solve the murder at Vatican, and he's knee-deep in Catholic bureaucracy as well as a few story clichés. Jenkins is telling a really interesting story here, with a number of twists popping up in this issue alone, but the romantic development was telegraphed and out of story necessity rather than story telling. Ramos continues to impress: his cartoony style isn't an obvious fit for the dark murder mystery, but that makes it especially off-putting when things get really gruesome. I think I'm going to like the story when it's all said and done, but right now I'm in a bit of a quagmire - which is what Jenkins & Ramos want, I think.
Expectation: 4.0
Rating: 3.5
Differential: -0.5


December 7, 2005

Jonah Hex #2
(Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, words; Luke Ross, art)

Jonah Hex is an old western serial; every month you pick it up, you get a brand new story with the continued adventures of everyone's hideously disfigured bounty hunter. And if the creative team keeps up the level of quality that the past two issues have had, I'm going to be one happy cowboy. Palmiotti and Gray set up a good story of greed and revenge, complete with a sexy lady sidekick, a two-faced lawman, and a dynamite caper. Usually I focus on a book's writer (or writers), but this title just wouldn't be as good withouth Luke Ross's art; he tailors his panel layout to fit the mood of every scene, and his art is wide in scope with good attention to detail. DC could have a runaway hit on its hands with this one; it's much better than some of the in-continuity titles it's putting out.
Expectation: 4.0
Rating: 4.0
Differential: 0


Powers #15
(Brian Michael Bendis, words; Michael Avon Oeming, art)

Powers is a frustrating book for me; it's usually pretty good, but a few weeks after an issue comes out I get apathetic about it. Although there some titles that only have a couple of issues a year can get me chompin' at the bit, I never shout, "All right, Powers is out!" There's a really good story here, and I don't know where Bendis and Oeming are going with it except possibly to Awesometown. I don't want to 'spoil' anything, but there are some shocking developments in this issue, and after reading this issue I got really excited for Issue 16. Let's see if that feeling lasts until it comes out.
Expectation: 3.0
Rating: 4.0
Differential: +1.0


Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #2
(Grant Morrison, words; Billy Patton & Freddie Williams II, pencils)

A child of the 80s, the Mr. Miracle I knew was a white guy named Scott Free who hung out with the Justice League and had a sexy giantess for a wife, but I knew very little about the rest of the New Gods aside from a few guest appearances. Morrison's Mister Miracle is a different guy, and the New Gods are nowhere to be found - or are they? In this issue, we're re-introduced to a number of New Gods, re-imagined Morrison-style for this seemingly brand-new universe, and there's plenty of zany action in the form of a drive-by smash-up derby. There are a lot of ideas bouncing around in this issue's but because nothing's really made of them, it's more confusing than entertaining (I'd say a 60/40 ratio). With two artists doing work on this issue, the shifts are noticeable but not distracting, and I'm looking forward to seeing Williams take the rest of this series home - I just hope that the next issue is a little less obtuse.
Expectation: 4.0
Rating: 2.5
Differential: -1.5


December 14, 2005

Fables #44
(Bill Willingham, words; Mark Buckingham, pencils)

For one of my favourite titles, Fables has been letting me down lately. First, Willingham telegraphs the Adversary's true identity almost 20 issues in advance, and then in a flash of misdirection reveals it to be exactly who we thought it was; now, we have the worst case of blocking (in improv terms) I've ever seen. There's a lot of set-up in this issue: Prince Charming and Boy Blue discuss the fallout of Blue's adventures, the D'jinn goes crazy in Baghdad, and the Fabletown residents continue to protest their new Mayor's rule. But it's all for naught as the ending is terribly disappointing, and I'm left to realize that very little actually happened. Buckingham and Leialoha hold up their end with another beautiful-looking issue, but ultimately it's a meringue: looks good, but it's basically empty.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 2.0
Differential: -1.5

Comics: Week of November 23

Five sentences just doesn't seem like enough to describe some of this week's books accurately, but I have done my very best and will keep to it until I have some kind of epiphany, or can actually see some improvement. For now, though, here are twenty sentences on some pretty good books.

Ex Machina #16 - "Off The Grid, Part Two"
(Brian K. Vaughan, words; Tony Harris, pencils)

The first issue in this two-part story took Mayor Hundred out of New York politics and on the road in search of his mother, and this issue wraps things up fairly nicely. I like the look of the flashback scene at the beginning of this issue; the panel arrangement and point of view work to create a disjointed feeling that fits the tone of the action. I'm not particularly thrilled with the "Is Mitchell gay?" thread that's popping up again in this title; I think it's an unneccessary plot point in a series that's full of potential. (Personally, I'd love it if he was functionally asexual after his accident, and only feels twinges of love for a nice, dependable Blackberry or a good-looking sports car.) All in all, a fairly standard issue of an above-average series, but I'm looking forward to the next storyline - "March To War" - with great interest.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 3
Differential: -0.5


Jack Cross #4 - "Love Will Get You Killed, Part Four"
(Warren Ellis, words; Gary Erskine, art)

I'm a Ellisoholic - which, in my opinion, should really be "Ellisic"; is there really anything called Ellisohol, and if so, can someone please tell me where can I get some? Anyhow, considering he's putting out 3 different cop/investigator comics right now, and I can't afford to get all of them, I'm afraid Jack Cross, the "Hard Man" himself, gets the boot. There's nothing particularly wrong with it: Ellis has the different characters' clipped, military dialogue down just fine, and in a few places he and Erskine show just how effective decompression can be. Jack Cross is a spy-action movie in comic form, very cinematic and striking, but ultimately it suffers in comparison to the superior art and story found in Desolation Jones and Fell. I gave it four issues, and now I'm afraid I'm going to have to give it a miss.
Expectation: 3
Rating: 2.5
Differential: -0.5


Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1
(Grant Morrison, words; Doug Mahnke, art)

As much as I love Karloff, I like my Frankenstein's monster a little less "monosyllabic and cement boot-dragging" and a little more "philosophical and Paradise Lost-quoting"; Morrison and Mahnke have given me the latter. The main thrust of Morrison's Seven Soldiersseries - interdimensional Fae folk bent on the destruction of this world - is an oddly compatable fit with Shelley's monster-hunting monster, who sort of reminds me of a white-collar Hellboy. This is the best I've seen Mahnke's art; he successfully draws beautiful young men and women, overweight pimply-faced dweebs, and a reanimated corpse with equal success. I would have liked to see more of the monster himself (he bookends his own title), and was a little confused by a publishing error on Page 4, but those are minor complaints. Out of the all seven miniseries was the one I was the most worried about, and yet based on the strength of this first issue, it's probably my second-favourite (after Klarion: The Witch-Boy, and trust me, no-one is more surprised than me about that): "Frankenstein Lives!" indeed.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 4.0
Differential: +0.5

Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #4
(Grant Morrison, words; Ryan Sook, pencils)

Another Seven Soldiers mini draws to a close with this issue, and I must admit I'm sad to see it go; this Zatanna is the most effective and enjoyable of her many incarnations, and I hope she isn't relegated to "deus ex machina" or "plot point" status after this. Sook's Zatanna is sexy without being vulgar, but more importantly in this issue, his pencils give the reader an excellent look at both the mundane and the mystical - and beyond. Here Morrison mines one of his favourite story veins, what I like to call "the comic book as conscious cultural construct", something he's done in The Filth, Doom Patrol, and most effectively, Animal Man. It's well-done here, and it highlighting the massive intensity of the magical confrontation by suggesting that not even the all-powerful Fourth Wall can contain this fight. This issue finishes off the miniseries with style, and even though I'm irked that the story won't be quite over for another few months, this is a good enough place to pause for now.
Expectation: 4.0
Rating: 4.5
Differential: +0.5

Comics: Week of November 16

This past week's haul of comics was a fairly mixed bag for me. It stuck to my pattern of "Mostly Good, Mostly DC", but there were a couple of things that really surprised me. Let's hit the rundown.

All-Star Superman #1
(Grant Morrison, words; Frank Quitely, art)

I'm still limiting myself to five sentences here, so let's start off with the following statement: All-Star Superman is almost wall-gnawingly good. Morrison and Quitely have taken what they feel are the essential elements of the Superman mythos (Superman is self-sacrificing and loves Lois, Lois is brilliant and witty, Lex is capital-E Evil, Jimmy is a keener and mildly annoying), distilled them and deliver it in super-concentrated form. After a deceptively simple one-page origin recap, he dialogue and plot run past fairly quickly, the near-absurdity of the story just another example of Morrison's "pharmaceutically-charged Silver Age" writing style. My favourite part of the book is the take on Clark: he's still as huge as Superman, but a slouching, clumsy, plain-looking guy that reminds me of Christopher Reeve's take on the character. It's not as strong a start as some of his Seven Soldiers #1s earlier in the year, but it's a breath of fresh air that makes me seriously re-examine some of my previous purchases of the past few months.
Expectation: 4
Rating: 4.5
Differential: +0.5


Birds of Prey #88 - "Perfect Pitch, Part Two"
(Gail Simone, words; Jack Bennett & Eddy Barrows, pencils)

I started picking this title up a few months ago after hearing nothing but good things about it, and after really enjoying Simone's work on Villains United, but this issue really left me with a bland taste in my mouth. The many plot threads are let to go a little slack, so it's more than a little disjointed: Calculator gets his buddies to torture one of the Birds' allies, Ollie & Dinah fight gangsters and discuss their love life, the Birds go shopping, Huntress works to get in with the mob...a number of interesting but there's no uniting thread through the issue. The art doesn't help matters any, as the looks change along with the scenes. I do like the way Gail Simone writes dialogue that's character-specific and makes for a number of cute little scenes. However, that's not enough to redeem this issue: it was spread too thin over too many stories, which I hope get tied a little tighter in the next issue.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 2.5
Differential: -1


Fables #43 - "Arabian Nights (And Days), Part Two"
(Bill Willingham, words; Mark Buckingham, pencils)

This issue sees the continued interactions between Sinbad & the Arabian fables into the mostly-European Fabletown, as well as some more interesting political maneuvering in the Mayor's office. I must say, even though I miss Deputy Mayor Snow White and Sheriff Bigby, the Prince Charming-Beauty-Beast dynamic is really starting to grow on me; Willingham allows more subtlety and less moral absolutism in their characterizations, which makes for more entertaining interactions as well as a better fit for a confused and conflicted Fabletown. Plus, King Cole has shown more ingenuity and intelligence in his limited role these past two issues than his previous tenure as Mayor. The clash of culture is played out quite well here, and although the ending didn't really catch me by surprise, it sets the reader up for an entertaining next issue. Combine that with the creativity of Willingham's page layouts and his iconic pencils (a good fit for the books fairy-tale characters), and Fables remains a book to keep your eye on.
Expectation: 3
Rating: 3.5
Differential: +0.5


Hellblazer #214 - "R.S.V.P., Part One"
(Mike Carey, words; Leonardo Manco, art)

This is the penultimate issue of Carey's run on the title, and it is rather obvious: he's setting a number of things up here that shout "It's the beginning of the end, folks!" Hellblazer #214 is characterized by the two main strengths of Carey's tenure: his John Constantine is intriguing because it's a Gestalt made from the interpretation of previous writers, and he effectively uses all the supporting characters, both living and dead. I'm not sure where John's going to end up after this story is over, but he rarely does either, so in that sense, I'm in respectable company.
Expectation: 3
Rating: 3
Differential: 0


Polly & The Pirates #2 (An October comic, but I got it this week)
(Ted Naifeh, words and art)

I picked this title up because, as an all-ages comic book about a sweet ten-year-old girl's adventures with pirates, it satisfies both my need for pirate comics, and Peach's need for sweet all-ages comics. I must say that I've really taking a liking to Polly Pringle, timid schoolgirl and dubious heir to a pirate empire, and root for her through all her adventures, be them with salty sea dogs or conniving classmates. Naifeh gains big points for humour, adventure, excellent dialogue ("Thank you for your kindness. You may keep the rowboat."), and the use of one of my favourite historical figures. He loses points for sometimes falling into clichés, although much less so than last issue, and for Polly's lack of feet (seriously, she runs around on peglegs). This issue takes all the great things of last month's and improves on them, and I'm really happy that I took the chance on this one, and you should too, especially if you are (or have) a comic book girlfriend.
Expectation: 3
Rating: 4
Differential: +1

Comics: Week of November 9

And now, the second installment of my paragraph-length reviews. The three comics I bought this week don't have much in common (aside from the over-arching publisher), but I was fairly pleased with each of them.

DMZ #1 - "On The Ground, Part One"
(Brian Wood, words; Riccardo Burchielli & Brian Wood, art)

The premise for this series is intriguing: a group of states (including New Jersey) seceded from the United States five years ago, and we see what it’s like to live in Manhattan Island, the titular de-militarized zone, through the eyes of photography intern Matthew Roth. The series starts in medias res, so I’m not getting as much information as I would like; I know that’s part of the point, that we’re just confused as Roth is, but it means I’m having a hard time really getting into this issue. It’s a good story, and the artists do a good job showing just how decrepit, crumbling, and dirty the city has become. Bottom line: it’s a good first issue, and my interest is suitably peaked.
Expectation: 3
Rating: 3
Differential: 0


Infinite Crisis #2
(Geoff Johns, words; Phil Jiminez, pencils)

For myself and the thousands of fans of DC Comics, this is the biggest event of the last 20 years, but the first issue left me a little underwhelmed. This one is better, mostly because we get a little more forward momentum amidst all the exposition (and there's a LOT of exposition). Johns has recieved a lot of flack for his writing over the past year or so, but I'm enjoying his story so far. Jimenez's art is pretty good; I don't like the way he draws some of the feature characters (Power Girl, Earth-1 Superman), but that's two out of about two hundred, and the art chores in this book would have killed a lesser man. I liked this issue, even moreso for the inclusion of Animal Man and Booster Gold (with SKEETS!), and it's raised the bar for issue 3.
Expectation: 3
Rating: 4
Differential: +1

Jonah Hex #1
(Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, words; Luke Ross, art)

I know it’s technically one of last week’s comics, but Devon’s glowing endorsement of it made me curious enough to pick it up, and let me tell you, I’m glad I did. The Western genre can be predictable and lame, but Gray and Palmiotti tell an interesting – and self-contained – story that acts both as a good introduction to the character and the world he inhabits. The panel layout echoes the visual style of the great Western films; “widescreen” panels frame the setting, while series of smaller panels move along conversation and action. Ross’s version of Hex looks a lot like Clint Eastwood at times, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but threw me off the trail once or twice on the first read-through. From the looks of the first issue, I’ll be getting the next few issues of Jonah Hex, but we’ll see if it has the chops to knock one of my titles off my monthly list permanently.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 4
Differential: +0.5

Comics: Week of November 2

I'm not very comfortable writing reviews. Sure, I can rant like the dickens, but I don't think I can use those abilities to make a competent review. So for the next while, I'm going to experiment with writing paragraph-length reviews about the comics I picked up during the week. No more than five sentences, plus The Doc's Patented Ratings Systen: marks out of five for both Expectation and Rating, and the Differential. Because more comics reviews are just what this fine Internet of ours needs. I'll try and keep them fairly spoiler-free, but there's no guarantees, folks.

Desolation Jones #4
(Warren Ellis, words; J.H. Williams III, art)

This is my favourite Warren Ellis title out there right now, and seeing as how I can count four off the top of my head (six if you count Iron Man and Planetary), that's a fairly high rating. This issue puts out quite a bit of plot in between two instances of decompressed violence, and I was very happy with it, on the whole. Ellis doesn’t always give the reader well-defined characters (some that have character traits and dialogue that are fairly interchangeable), but Michael Jones is the most well-rounded character he’s put out since Spider Jerusalem. Williams’s art is not quite as breathtaking as his work on Promethea, but the grittier tone is an excellent fit for the book; I was also particularly pleased with Jose Villarrubia’s use of color in the opening fight scene. My only complaint is that I really wish it was a monthly book, but if as long as it continues with its high level of quality, I’ll keep patiently waiting for the next issue.
Expectation: 4
Rating: 4
Differential: 0


House of M #8
(Brian Michael Bendis, words; Oliver Copiel, pencils)

I have a love-hate relationship with this series: I thought a number of issues were very good, but I also felt that few were un-necessary or, at the worst, just plain bad. I stuck it out, though, because I had an investment after the first four issues and wanted to see how it all turned out. This issue sets up a very different – and interestingly enough from a DC fan’s perspective, not retconned – path for the Marvel Universe, and I was actually shocked by a few of the developments. While the overall storyline felt a little padded, this issue was tight and well-plotted, and it’s in no small part thanks to Bendis’s approach to the key characters. However, this issue did not do the one thing I hoped it might do, which is make me care about Marvel again on a monthly basis; I’ll stick to reading D!’s books when I go to visit.
Expectation: 2.5
Rating: 3.0
Differential: +0.5


Marvel Team-Up #14
(Robert Kirkman, words; Cory Walker, art)

Two Marvel books in one week is an extremely rare occurrence, but I just couldn’t pass up on the Spidey-Invincible combo, especially when it brings Cory Walker back to the character he helped create. The issue has plenty of jokes, a number of which involve the inherent silliness of superhero names, and almost all of them work just fine. The action sequences are good too; I particularly enjoyed the way Invincible decided to deal with Doctor Octopus. However, the book’s main failing is that the inclusion of the teenaged Invincible really points out just how far Spider-Man has fallen from the way I feel he works best: a loser teenager with great responsibility and an incredible secret. He’s just not as effective as a handsome guy with a supermodel wife, which is why I’ll stick to my Ultimate Spider-Man trades – at least, as long as Ultimate Peter Parker remains under-25.
Expectation: 4
Rating: 4.5
Differential: +0.5


Powers #14
(Brian Michael Bendis, words; Michael Avon Oeming, art)

The second chapter in the current storyline opens with another stand-up comedian, this time ranting about the sniping cowards on the Internet (as a non-sniping Internet coward, I take no offense), although I don't know how - or if - it ties in to the rest of the story. Pilgrim and Walker's investigation of the victim / suspect's home with the "assistance" of a mysterious federal agent is interesting, but I was chilled by Pilgrim's chat with Internal Affairs. Bendis's ear for dialogue is almost as good as Elmore Leonard's, which is praise that I don't give out lightly, and Oeming's work this issue is some of the best I've seen him do. Although I don't know where they're going with this storyline, I'm glad Pilgrim's getting some close scrutiny, and I'll be watching this with a great deal of interest.
Expectation: 3.5
Rating: 3.5
Differential: 0


Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer #1
(Grant Morrison, words; Yanick Paquette, pencils)

I've found the Seven Soldiers miniseries consistently above-par, so I was shocked when I found The Bulleteer to be simply "okay". Just like in the previous series, the book has it's share of crazy-but-brilliant ideas; much less so than some of the others, but that's not neccessarily a bad thing. Morrison's Bulleteer, Alix Harrower, is a twist on the reluctant hero; a woman who's gained her powers (strength and invulnerability) thanks to her husband's twin obsessions with beauty and superheroes. The psychosexual themes of the book are consistently mirrored in Paquette's art, and that's where the biggest trouble comes in: every image of Alix looks like a pinup, which makes the book look more like a collection of cheesecake shots than a series of panels intended to tell a forward-moving story. My first impression of this series is that in both writing and art it's a straight-ahead middle-of-the-road superhero book, and as such it doesn't quite live up to the expectations that the previous miniseries have laid out for it.
Expectation: 4
Rating: 2.5
Differential: -1.5

Event Announcement - Pop Culture Fair

Ladies and gentlemen...ah, who am I kidding. Gentlemen. This Sunday, October 2nd marks the Fall 2005 Pop Culture Fair, an event that I heard through the grapevine was being cancelled this year. But thankfully, I heard wrong. So head down to the Alberta Aviation Museum any time between 10:00 and 4:00, with $4 in your pocket, and scan an airplane hangar for comics, records, cds, figurines, and other collectibles. Surround yourself with nerds in scenes like these. And give me a ride: ETS service sucks on Sundays.