Superman returns: two thumbs up!

Superman returns: two thumbs up!

Short Review for 28 June 2006

Superman Returns opens tonight!  I got one free admission coupon with my DVD of the Superman: Braniac Attacks! animated film (which super-sucks, by the way - only worth it if you can get it for super-cheap w/ the free ticket...I like to think that I paid for my admission to Superman Returns, & got a crappy complementary DVD instead of the other way around).  I'm going to see it tonight after work, leaving me little to no time to sit down & read the fairly large pile of books I grabbed today at Cosmic Comics.  So I'll post a brief review of the one book I did read, & later post a super-short thumbs up/thums down style review via Mobile Phone.  Probably won't get a chance to properly review the rest of the books until this Sunda due to dedicating myself to work on this writing thing I told you about for a website far better than anything Josh or Eli would ever be associated with in any capacity. At some point I'll want to write about the "Face2Face"  & "Up, Up, & Away!" story arcs that just finished up today, but for now, I'm busy.  Anyway, here's some actual "content"

Invincible #33

Who's that dude on the cover with the brain-head thing?  That's Angstrom Levy!  I actually considered naming a son after this character, but this issue could potentially have ruined that for me.  Straight off the 2-part "Mark & Amber go to Africa" (not the actual title) which served as a buffer to the intense, action-packed "A Different World" arc (actual title), the conflict between Angstrom & Mark has finally come.   It seems as if this had been set up ages ago, & due to babies being born & comic industry successes, it very well could have been.  But unlike many of the other sub-plots in Invincible, the Angstrom Levy story built to a climax & was never addressed until last issue with a classic Stan-style one-page cliffhanger.  Not much goes on plot-wise that we couldn't have gathered from the now classic Marvel Team-up #14 featuring Invincible & Spiderman (which we do catch a few glimpses of in this issue), but Kirkman's ability to throw in intense drama fueled by high-octane superhero violence is what makes this issue one of the best issues of Invincible I've read since the Guardians of the Globe were killed.  Kirkman's usual style of throwing in highly effective dramatic moments in a sea of Teen-Superhero jokes is inversed to create a very interesting effect.  The final moment of this issue is definately a turning point, & in the context of the "A Different World" featuring Mark's reuniting with his father Omni-man, an interesting twist in Mark's development as a character.  My favorite thing about the teen-hero genre is that we get to watch these characters grow up & become people that they weren't when they started.  This is not necessarily possible with older characters in on-going series for the sake of maintaining a certain ambiguity of their age in relation to the current era & the age of their audience.  Kirkman has pulled out all the stops & in retrospect has not stopped putting Mark through the ringer issue of after issue, forcing him to become someone no average teenager should ever be forced to.  Kirkman makes Mark do things in the name of vengeance that we all want him to, but regret having done so the minute we see it happen.  As usual, definately a must-buy book for good superhero action & violence, as well as the occassional joke & mockery of superheros who don't bother to come up with better names.  Also, pick up Marvel Team-up #14 if you get a chance.

Tonio Is Excited!

I got a confirmation e-mail to try writing something for one of my favorite comic book related websites that could turn into a regular writing gig. Don't want to get into too much detail out of fear that it might go sour somewhere down the line & I'll just look like a bigger ass than I already am, blogging about comic books rather than critiquing them. I'll post links & more information when the first piece is up.

Comic Reviews for 07 June 2006

SPOILERS
(not all of the images presented are the actual covers to the comics reviewed)

Civil War: Frontline #1
Now I've never really been that big a Marvel Comics fan. As a kid I liked Spiderman, X-men, & the occassional Daredevil story. I do have to say, as much as I have been looking foward to this particular book, two of the listed mythologies are what makes my fan-boy bone tickle upon reading. Ben Urich as a central character is something I never really considered until Bendis' final Daredevil arch did it so damn well (in my mind, even better than Miller's "Born Again"). Paul Jenkins does a fairly good job of capturing what I see to be the essence of this character, but the book Ramon Bachs' attempt to capture Urich's neurosis & unassuradeness by making him the spitting image of Woody Allen. Robbie Robetson's eulogy was touching, but not as touching as Spiderman's interview. That, in my mind, is Spidey at his best: self-depreciation & obsessive worrying over the well-being of his loved ones masked by his trademark witticism. & how great is it to see someone actually make a pass at him? However, the story seemed a little trim & the big reveal at the end was something I've seen coming since before Civil War began making its ways onto the racks of my comic shop. Similarly, Jenkins' back-up story focusing on the tragedies of Executive Order 9066 (the relocation & detainment of Japanese Americans to West Coast wartime facilities during WWII) seemed a little contrived & unnecessary. The strip's saving grace was Kei Kobayashi's art wich is just gorgeous. I did appreciate the middle strip wich focused on the body of Speedball being found in upstate NY after the Stamford explosion which preciptated the story of Civil War. Honestly, I just like to see Joe Quesada's public image be openly contradicted, even if his meanderings about Speedball dying was blatant misdirection for marketing purposes. Plus, Steve Lieber & June Chung do a bang-up job on the art & actually force me to care about this story. All-in-all,the plot seems potentially good, while the execution can be lacking at times but with some really great character moments, & the art does cause the bug me in a lot of places. Definately worth a download to test the waters & see if this is your cup of tea, but not a must-buy.

Silver Surfer: Annihilation #3
I really like the Silver Surfer. & I appreciate Giffen's "Annihilation" interpretation, versus his "Defenders" interpretation. Overall, this has been a pretty good book. Some good cosmic battles, rampant continuity references, & good 'ol Thanos. That's right motherfuckers: THANOS!!! However, as someone who did not follow the Marvel Cosmology faithfully, I do find the story a little muddy due to its inevitably strong ties to past continuity & character history. That being said, I feel that the convolution of dialogue is perfect for the kind of story it is, & the character depiction has been pretty spot-on. Surprisingly, this story was the first time I have ever seen Galactus painted in such a sympathetic light & I applaud Giffen for pulling it off so damn well. I just hope he doesn't muck it all up by making the Surfer kick too much ass. I've always loved how reluctant the character was to violent confrontation, & he always seemed to be weighted by the burden of his own nobility. So far this book has done a pretty good job of sticking to the things I like about this character, but the end of the story marks a potentially great shift. Recommended monthly buy if you are a fan of the Marvel Cosmology, or specifically the Surfer himself. Definately going to be worth picking up as a collection. & did I mention: MOTHERFUCKING THANOS!!!

Y: The Last Man #46
Brian K. Vaughn has to be one of the best writers in the medium of Comics I have discovered in the past 6 months. I admit, I was a fan of the original "Runaways" story, but not big enough to go out & follow the series upon relaunch. For years I had heard good things about this Vaughn guy & his "Ultimate X-Men" stuff & this interesing new Vertigo book he had been doing. Warren Ellis once commented that he felt similarly about Vaughn's writing, but felt that he "hid behind his artist" too much & that his exploration of ideas & craftsmanship, in terms of getting a particular point across beyond it's initial presentation or pitch to the reader, was lacking. However, as a big a fan as I am of Ellis' stuff, he is not really one to talk. Vaughn's writing, in my opinion, is at the very least, on par with Ellis. Ellis' only boon is that his execution is a little more extreme & "ballsier" if you will. Ellis will spend 5 issues presenting & vaugely exploring point A with great care & refinement, & the immediately jump to point B on page 22, only to leave the last issue to sum everything up with an extended monologue. Vaughn on the other hand is much softer & tends to take much longer to fully explore thins. "Y", the adventures of the young Yurich Brown & his mottley crew, seems to be coming into clear view for the first time since the series beginnings, with the series approaching it's end with issue 60. Yurich finally has a real moment of honest dialouge beyond his defensive "fuck you, bitch!"es & witty pop-culture references. This issue handles these characters in such a way that we can truly see the protagonist & the elusive antagonists for not only who they are & what they are, but what they signify in a grander scheme. For those of you who have been following the series, the shit has finally hit the fan. Everything up until the final panel has been nothing but a slow soap-operatic build-up & we finally are beginning to see our pay-off on the horizon. Definately, a must-buy book.

Detective Comics #820

I've had mixed feelings about James Robinson's One Year Later Batman/Detective cross-over story "Face the Face". At times it seems like a wonderful updated throwback classic Batman & Robin story, which, being a long-time Batman & Robin fan, I appreciate greatly. I'm just concerned that the future direction of the Batman mythos will loose the edginess that kept me a loyal fan throughout my troubled adolescence & obessesions with gothic noir. Regardless, as an establishing storyline, Robinson's arc has been good at presenting a new easily accesible status quo for readers of all levels & perspectives to appreciate & enjoy. That is something that I appreciate greatly. I am a little concerned about the actual story, however. Often times it feels as if the plot itself is only obligatory. It is the little moments of this story that has made it shine. The openning sequence of this issue with Batman & Robin facing the Scarecrow who has taken to manifesting deep seaded references to older Batman mythology I have not read about since I was a young child first becoming interested in these characters, while in matter of factly explaining the details of the current case with Commissioner Gordon on the other end. It is refreshing to see that Batman can sometimes express his inner thoughts through superflous dialouge instead of constant inner monoluge that takes up half the panel only to illiterate his sentiments with a clumsy phrase like, "I'm the goddamn Batman!" & Andy Clarke's art, which I often felt was a hinderance & distraction in previous episodes, actually captures something wonderously unexplainable in this action sequence, with help from John Kalisz's colors accentuating the proper aura of the dark warehouse environment better than the well lit Police Station. If you are a fan of classic Batman, this storyline has been a pretty refreshing shot at reestablishing the mythos of these characters, but, perhaps, at the cost of some of the great obtuse characterization over the past 10 years. May make a descent collection to at least read, & definately worth a download if you are even a mild Batman fan.

Walking Dead #28Man, do I love zombies! You know what I love most about all my favorite zombie stories? People! Yeah, people really make a good zombie story a good story regardless. Kirkman has spent a great deal of time getting us to care about the cast of "Walking Dead" for 24 issues. The end of issue 24 could not have been any better & would have been the perfect stopping point for the story. But Robert Kirkman has expressed that he is in it for the super long haul with this book. "The zombie movie that never ends," as Kirkman has described it. Unfortunately, the shelves at my comic book store have been so oversaturated with zombie related material in the past couple of years that it's hard for me to care about a zombie book unless it's really just a good book that happens to include zombies in it, & "The Walking Dead" has done a pretty good job so far. This most recent story-arc has been a bit of a disappointmen in its laxadazical pacing. It's made me decide to go back to reading the story in trade-paperback format rather than buying the individual issues monthly. Almost all the questions of what could possibly make these characters interesting as more than just potential victims for flesh-eating undead have been covered. Even the question of the "mysterious" new character's orgin seems a bit contrived at this point. Kirkman seems to have rectified this situation with the previous issue by taking a small subset of the cast out of their familiar environment & throwing them into a completely unexpected situation. This issue really follows through on a lot of the themes & ideas that were just pearing over the edges of the previous issue's cliffhanger with great gusto & I love to say that Kirkman did not disappoint me with this issue. It has caused me to re-think the TPB policy on books that do not read well as single issues. Definately a must-buy for fans of this book who have begun to wain in interest & definately a must download for fans of a good fucked-up human story.

Invincible #32
Man, another Kirkman book?! My buddy & ex-roommate turned me onto Invincible a few years back & have been a loyal fan of the book ever since. Unfortunately, untimely schedule issues with Kirkman's mainstream writing gigs picking up & the birth of Ryan Ottley's baby, the impressive pacing, the real strength of the book in my opinion, seemed to suffer. I'll have to go back & re-read all those past issues, but over the past couple of months the creative team seems to have gotten back on track as far as scheduling & as a result, so has the feel of the story. The past two issues were mostly dealing with the aftermath of Mark's reuniting with Omni-Man & battling the Viltrumites far from Earth, something that the series needed very much. It allowed for some great character moments which have been lacking in the previous story-arc. One of the things I love about "Invincible" is that there are never moments of overt story set-up. There are generally so many sub-plots moving at the same time & you are never quite sure how any of them will pan out. This allows for quick jumps between major story-arcs while not loosing the reader's interest by driving a single point too hard or too consistently. The past 3 issues have really allowed the supporting cast to shine once again, which in some ways points to being the ultimate story set-up, when we are confronted with a Villain who's story was initiated long ago threatening the well-being of Mark's family. This has been the story-arc many fans have been waiting for & it is so fulfilling to see it actually reach to this point. If you are a fan of great superhero stories "Invincible" is a must-buy series. No buts about it. Do not download. The trades are nice, but for a series that reads so damn great in single issues, why would you want to wait that long to read it?