Every week I go to the comic book store (Comics Ink at Overland and Braddock in Culver City, CA, hey Steve and Jason!) and grab a lot of comics. I sort these into two piles -- the "buy" pile (things I intend to spend money on, most often a small pile) and the "read" pile (often huge, including lots of stuff I don't actually like but wanna stay well informed about). In no particular order, here's some thoughts about all that.
Godland #6:
What happens when you put Kirby-esque madness into a largely modern litigational environment? Well ... mixed results. I liked the subplots more than the tedium of the trial (although that was quite an ending after the verdict), with a nice conversation on the meaning of "Iboga," a secret meeting for Adam's jealous sister, and more domestic wackiness with Basil Cronus and Freidrich Nickelhead. The rest of the issue ... eh. Crashman's surprising admission and then apparent flippancy about it struck me as a wrong note, the weird denizens of Discordia's dad were just plain weird, and the whole mediagenic slant of things came off as more cynical than anything else. Plus, that close up panel of Angie -- ew. Piercings are not Tom Scioli's strong point. I still love this title, but this won't go down as one of my favorite issues.
Marvel Team-Up #16:
How "geeked" am I that the lead villain, who stomped the Avengers and X-Men and FF, is a Black guy? (Yes, I said "geeked," I've been linked with a girl from Chicago and her patois is infecting me) There's amazingly funny banter here, amidst fairly grim circumstances, and the homages and tie ins to Kirkman's recent writing assignments make this even more fun. Like one big fairly inclusive in joke, this is good stuff, if for the direct market alone. Speedball, heh.
Sable & Fortune #1:
Surprisingly entertaining espionage yarn, along the lines of what was happening in that Mystique title. Kind of like the sort of ideas I used to hear dreamed up around comic shops when I was a youngster. The art's a little rougher than I'd like, but still worth your time.
Then there's the stuff on the "read pile" that I don't bring home ...
Honorable Mentions: Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #2 was much like its predecessor in almost making the jump, but missing on some small bit of internal emptiness. I like the action, but think the protagonist is being characterized by shorthand. Iron Man #5 was (of course) pretty, and did some nice things to connect the origins of the character with modern tech (while, possibly inadvertantly, borrowing some thunder from Orson Scott Card in Ultimate Iron Man -- the editorial staff at Marvel should get some help, since Warren needs to be told when he's treading familiar ground), and if we could have cut out the stupid plot, the interplay in Superman/Shazam: First Thunder #3 would have been entertaining. I almost would have preferred to see Clark and Billy just hanging out in their capes. I can't deny I found Arsenal's idea in Outsiders #32 fairly crafty, even while the Starfire subplot ran like a bad video game. Finally, the only good thing about the Day of Vengeance Infinite Crisis Special is the idea that Billy Batson is finally ready to take the next step in the Shazam Cycle of man-hero-wizard-god, especially with his benefactor taking a dirt nap.
Pass These Issues By: Superman #225, JSA #81, Teen Titans #31, Astonishing X-Men Saga #1, Marvel Zombies #2, Supreme Power: Nighthawk #5 -- I'd say why they suck, but this part rarely sees publication, so why bother?
FINAL ANALYSIS: Short but sweet, I'll call it a thin win despite lots of crap lurking around in the unseen sections of the Read Pile. If I'd have spent more than the nine bucks and change, I'd be peeved.
The Buy Pile is a weekly collection of comic reviews done by Hannibal Tabu (www.operative.net), originally published at UGO.com.
