Comics TV Blah Blah

COMIC QUICK TAKES

DEMO #10: The letters page claims that Wood changed the end of the story to make it seem less like the others in the series. This results in confusion on my part, with a lot of “wha? How are they going to explain that” moments that we never get back to. The most interesting thing this issue is trying to figure out what the “power” is this issue, or why it is that this issue alone in the series lacks one. We think the power is the girl’s ability to know so much about him (mind reading? Empathic powers? Omniscience?), but when we see her surveillance equipment (any rational explanation for this?), that jig is up. The cover suggests that the guy might have the powers, until the end (which explains the cover). But wait… isn’t the powered being always on the cover? So does the guy have some power that is subtly hinted at that I missed?

303 #1: I’m a sucker for this. Nice tight military action with uber-confident soldiers and pansy “modern” recruits. I love Ennis in this mode.

CONAN AND THE DAUGHTERS OF MIDORA one shot: I like Texeria more than is fashionable in today’s comic atmosphere, but WHO INKED THIS. The inking killed the art, despite clever use of 2 page panel layouts. Simple effective story, but who cares.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #2: For the kid. Very blah. OK art. Oddly enough, I liked the insert story a little, despite the fact that it was a very thin toy adaption comic.

SWAMP THING #8: Nice art on this and the last issue, but pretty useless story. I’m getting bored with the relaunch already.

Y THE LAST MAN #27: Didn’t expect this, even though it’s so obvious they had to do it somehow. Is the engagement ring the protective device? Can’t be, but still spooky.

NYX #5: Might have been OK if I waited 4 weeks for it, but not enough at this point. What happened to Middleton? Has he left? I must have missed the press release.

SABRETOOTH #1: Much better than expected. The inks really tame Sears into something that looks pretty good, unlike the recent fiasco over in Cap and Falcon. My only problem is if Sabertooth really is in the habit of killing this many innocent people (and maybe he actually didn’t – I’ll wait and see), why doesn’t Logan hunt him down and put and end to him.

WOLVERINE #20: Another pleasant surprise. Millar pulls this off better than I thought he would, and the story somehow feels well paced and substantial. My faith in Millar’s take on Marvel characters has been eroded lately (due to Trouble and Spider-Man MK), but this isn’t half bad.

QUEEN AND COUNTRY #27: Liked this a lot, probably due to the fact that I’m currently reading Gentlemen’s Game: A Queen and Country Novel (great so far), so I kinda’ feel into the characters.

BATTLE ROYALE #9: Back to bidness after last issue’s discharge filled porn. I really like where this is going, and I note some storytelling similarities with Lost (the ABC TV show). I need to write a bit on Lost, as I wonder if I’m the only one who thinks this show is going in a psycho-fantasy direction (is the island in the kid’s mind? Is this a Stephen King-like war between good and evil in idea-space?).

Next week’s gonna kill with the new Comics Journal, Locas, the Punisher arc finale, new Astro City, and Brubaker Tom Strong.

posted by Todd C. Murry @ 4:06 PM