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COMICS – SHORT TAKES

Its been a busy couple o’ days, but I wanted to eek out something before the weekend (my intention is to not post on the weekends unless something burning comes up). Of my Wednesday reading reading pile, I’ve only read two items, but I thought I’d give them a go.

TERRA OBSCURA, V2 2: I liked the first mini up until it completely fell apart in the last 1/3, but this one is a mess. It is difficult to pull off this type of epic (this story, for some reason I can’t put my finger on, reminds me of the Starlin Warlock stories that ran through the Marvel Two-in-One Annual and seemingly random issues of other Marvel books in the 70’s) with characters that no one has anything invested in. The “superteam fights itself from 40 years ago” trope pisses away all of its potential as metacommentary (which is what this book is about, right??) and, more importantly, is boring in execution. Shouldn’t stripped down melee at least be visually interesting? There are a few good lines in the battle, though, and I like the necessary explanation of why the teams have to impulsively (compulsively?) fight when they first see each other (of course, it must be a “Japanzi” plot!). It may make more sense once completed, but I’m not holding my breath. All in all, it reads like someone trying to explain the idea of a story to you, not as the story itself.

WANTED 5: This was my favorite issue since the first, and I think it was the focus on Rictus (who gets all the best lines) that did it. Plus Eminem and Halle Berry, who are getting on my nerves more as the series progresses, get little screen time, and when they do, they are being shot at. Smelled the twist at the end 4 issues ago, though. This is the only Millar book I’m enjoying right now, and the art (by J G Jones) may be part of it, but I think Millar’s not hacking this out like his is the horrendous Marvel Knights Spider-Man.

I’ve got more TV commentary on the way soon, as I’ve got to cover Hawaii and Father of the Pride, and discuss Big Brother before it goes into hibernation for 9 months. See you next week.

posted by Todd C. Murry @ 4:46 PM