New Comics for the Week of Wednesday, 1/11/17

All the comics from my pull list for this week :-) 

Last Week's Comics, Ranked. (28/12/16)

A highly subjective ranking of a selection of last week's comics (28/12/16).

1. Wonder Woman #13
2. Mother Panic #2
3. Star Wars #26
4. All-Star Batman #5
5. Dark Knight III: The Master Race #7
6. Deadpool: Too Soon #3
7. Black Widow #9
8. Action Comics #970
9. Captain America: Steve Rogers #8
10. Batman Beyond #3
11. Detective Comics #947

Review: "Green Arrow" #12

While never considerably exceeding expectations or delivering that one special moment, Green Arrow is probably the most consistent of all the "Rebirth" comics. #12 is no exception here, as Oliver Queen needs to cope with the media attention that his reemergence necessarily entailed, while also plotting to antagonise two of his nemeses.  

It is especially Benjamin Percy's love for the character Oliver Queen, thoroughly felt in his playful characterizations, that give Green Arrow this special spark. And even though Percy's take on Queen and his environment are often a bit too superficial (ham monologues included), his insistence on bold and controversial political issues make the comic relevant and challenging at the same time. Combine all that with Otto Schmidt's edgy art and bright and distinct color palette, and you have comic that is satisfying on almost every level.

8/10

Review: "Batman: Annual #1"

What better way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year than with a Batman Annual? And 2016's entry, written and pencilled by some of the finest Batman heads of recent years (King, Snyder, Dini, Finch, Adams) certainly looks like it could give us some of that renowned Gotham Christmas spirit.

By both delivering on the Annual's quintessential promise of telling another story (both narratively and visually) and effectively capturing the uniting, disarming spirit of Christmas, Batman Annual #1 ends up being cheerful and insightful, private and public, grand and intimate, all at the same time. Whether it's the emotional tale of a rescue dog, a road trip with an unlikely companion, the introduction of an altogether new villain or a virtuoso treatment of the unexplored niches and moods of the Batman universe by Scott Snyder, it's an instant Batman Christmas classic. Just like "Merry Christmas From The Joker", this will be another must see/read for many Christmases to come.

10/10

Review: "Super Powers" #1

Not really knowing what it wants to be is probably Super Powers' biggest problem. Rated "E", writers Art Baltazar and Franco want the comic to appeal to children as well as to adults, but make the crucial mistake of imagining a children's story meant for grown-ups, instead of creating a proper one that can be enjoyed by older audiences as well. Ads for the comic that run even as recent as this week suggest the comic was supposed to have an entirely different story in some key areas. An assumption backed up by the comic's frequent lack of cohesion. 

The same, unfortunately, goes for Super Power's art. Although appealingly drawn by Art Baltazar, its simplistic style and crooked lines are again overtly self-referential and self-aware. There is still enough time for this six-part series to turn things around, but Super Powers needs to find a coherent tone and approach to convince.

4/10

Review: "Mother Panic" #1

The first time a new universe or protagonist gets introduced in a comic is always something special, for readers and writers/artists alike. What makes them special? How can they be differentiated from existing heroes/villains? 

DC's Young Animal's Mother Panic, written by Jody Houser and illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards, has a lot of safety nets to fall back on to when doing all the above. Set in Gotham City, the comic has its environment and atmosphere already cut out for it. And what an environment that is. Edwards does an impressive job of capturing the claustrophobia and constant threat that permeates every bit of Gotham's architecture.

The sense of safety and familiarity also pervades the comic's protagonist and hero, Violet Paige. While it is certainly refreshing to see a rich female socialite for a change, she is still a Gotham socialite. While a fresh take on the concept could have still been interesting, Houser, unfortunately, relies too much on well-known stereotypes (including her family "situation) in her characterization of Violet.

A definite advantage for Mother Panic, though, is how clearly and entertainingly it establishes a storyline and villain, letting readers know what this will be about from the outset. It surely is the most straightforward and accessible of the "Young Animal" titles so far, and by adding a few tweaks for its protagonist could be even more compelling in the issues to come.

8/10

Last Weeks Comics, Ranked. (9/11/16)

Another highly subjective ranking of some of last week's comics. Get some of them while still on shelves.

1. "Daredevil" #13 - 9/10
2. "Wonder Woman" #10 - 9/10
3. "Mother Panic" #1 - 8/10
4. "All Star Batman" #4 - 8/10
5. "Doom Patrol" #10 - 8/10
6. "Poe Dameron" #8 - 8/10
7. "Power Man and Iron Fist" #10 - 7/10
8. "Captain America: Steve Rogers" #7 - 7/10
9. "Batgirl and the Birds of Prey" #4 - 7/10
10. "Action Comics" #967 - 7/10
11. "Detective Comics" #944 - 6/10

Review: "Poe Dameron" #8

Agent Terex wasn't necessarily a fan favorite among Star Wars comic readers. Poe Dameron's tight-lipped antagonist checked too many boxes of not just Star Wars, but Sci-Fi baddies in general. While writer Charles Soule managed to establish Poe Dameron as a somewhat distinct and layered character, Terex remained ironically bland at best. 

The more surprising (and definitely welcome) it is now that we get such a well-executed and entertaining origin story of the First Order agent, which even manages to tie in with some of the motives explored in The Force Awakens. The character goes through such a substantial and engaging transformation that one has to wonder why it took the comic eight issues to finally tell it. 

Poe Dameron was already the best Star Wars comic around, where intelligent storytelling, fresh characters and Phil Noto's wonderfully varied art make the galaxy feel truly alive. Now we got ourselves a credible villain as well.

8/10

Last Week's Comics, Ranked (2/11/16).

A highly subjective ranking of some of last week's comics, so get some of them while they are still on shelves.

1. Batman #10
2. Green Arrow #10
3. Cyborg #4
4. Catwoman: Election Night #1
5. Nightwing #8
6. Deadpool & The Mercs For Money #5
7. Justice League #8
8. Superman #10

Cover Watch #1: "Batman" #10

Mikel Janín cover for Batman #10 is quite remarkable in how it evokes notions of 18th and 19th century Gothic novels. The way the Fortress of Santa Prisca withstands the waves of a stormy sea, brilliantly captured in grey tones, will immediately remind readers of book covers such as Bram Stoker's Dracula or Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. The grim looking Batman towers over everything here, further emphasizing the Gothic spirit of Janín's cover.

The only element here feeling a bit out-of-place is the cover's orange background, which unfortunately contrasts with the darker colour tones of the cover and disrupts its coherence.

All in all an excellent cover, which by the way comes with a comic that is an absolute blast as well.

Review: "Catwoman: Election Night" #1

Catwoman: Election Night has a lot of what you'd want from a Catwoman comic, or any comic at all in that matter: a compelling main character that combines brawn, brain and heart, an engaging story, a fitting villain, some relevant (albeit quite blatant) social commentary, and some absolutely astounding art by Shane Davis. 

The more disappointing it is then, that this all over in the blink of an eye. Although its light tone lends itself rather well to the one-shot format, the sheer potential of interesting ideas and story lines Meredith Finch creates will leave readers wanting more. What could have been an excellent 3 or 5-part series feels slightly rushed and incoherent at times, even though never as much as to confuse readers.

After all, this is still a highly recommendable and entertaining read, with a Catwoman that I definitely want to see more of.


7/10

PS: Definitely worth mentioning is Mark Russell's and Ben Caldwells mini story "Trigger Warnings", that has one of the funniest and most clever punch lines I have seen in comics recently. 

Retro Review: "Detective Comics" #514 (1982)

80's comics are a lot of fun, even though one can't deny that it's often nothing more than nostalgic irony that makes us come back to these issues. From the bubble gum ads to the amateurish classifieds, everything seems wonderfully antiqued, a time capsule that manages to capture the sentiments and images of this era. But would one have actually liked the comics?

The most apparent issue of almost every comic of that time is how little the writers actually trust and value the very medium they are creating. Afraid to let the art do some of the storytelling, every panel that doesn't feature dialogue instead features the narrator's voice in captions, only describing what you've just seen anyway. And oh, these captions. The constant urge to sound overly poetical does not only disrupt the flow and dynamic of the comic, but also lays bare another crucial issue. For many writers (and editors) of that time, high quality content could not be conveyed by art and dialogue, but had to come from text in a more classic and literal sense. "Hey, it's just a comic, but you know, we're using really fancy words and syntax here."

All this is even more unfortunate since the actual story of Detective Comics #514 is actually not bad at all. The premise makes for an entertaining Batman adventure (although he tends to be a righteous dick sometimes), and especially the titular Haven makes for an excellent deus ex machina/(anti-)hero, whose characterisation goes as deep as a single title story can provide. 

Comics have come a long way since then, and mostly for the better.

Review: "Superman" #9

The "Escape from Dinosaur Island" story line began with a quite charming, albeit not flawless first chapter. The more surprising (or call it confusing) it is that Tomasi and Gleason have already concluded this story arc for now. 

Consequently, character developments and story elements feel overly rushed here, as Superman #9 tries to do too many things at once. It wants to be a Halloween-inspired Dinosaur/Monster rampage with detective story elements and a WWII aesthetic that also treats Clark's and Jon's father son relationship. Nothing here is a real failure, and Mahnke's aerial battles are deserving of a special nod, but a lack of focus and a supporting character that is both doomed by tiring clichés and a development that is way too rushed make this a rather underwhelming affair.

5/10 

Review: "Deadpool" #20

Admittedly, it's sort of difficult to write a review of Deadpool #20 after that excellent epilogue by writer Gerry Duggan himself. As he already goes into detail about the positive impact even unstable anti-heroes such as the Merc with a Mouth can have on people in need, I feel everything relevant has been said about this already. But the comic does something else as well...

As a one-shot where Deadpool takes a suicidal girl on a eventful night out to ultimately make her changer her mind, it's the comic's stripped-down nature that makes it stand out in comparison to the rather over-blown Deadpool instalments of late. Being left without any gadgets and teams to fall back on to, Duggan very impressively captures the helplessness, fragility but ultimately also humanity of both Deadpool and the unnamed girl. For the comic medium as a whole it shows that less is sometimes more, where putting our heroes in more grounded situations can ultimately lead to such great achievements as this one.

10/10

Review: "Daredevil" #12

The cover of Daredevil #12 proclaims, quite luridly, that our blind hero is up "against the Inhumans" this time. There's undeniably some ironic boldness in that, even though we get a pretty decent (and entertaining) fight between Daredevil and an Inhuman. 

However, what writer Charles Soule tries to convey more than anything else is that this is not a struggle against something, but for something. In an unusually diplomatic approach, the Man Without Fear tries to build bridges rather than unnecessarily burn them in what is ultimately one of the more clever treatments of the relationship between Humans and Inhumans in a while. The hunt for the wonderfully haunting serial killer/artist named Muse serves here as the perfect platform to show where both sides may find common ground, but also where they ultimately still differ.  

And yes, I've mentioned it before, but I'll happily to it again. Ron Garney's art and Matt Milla's colors combine to what is probably the best looking comic of 2016.


9/10

Review: "Han Solo" #4

Han Solo #4 confidently confirms the impressions of the first three issues: this is the best Star Wars series on sale at the moment. Why? Because writer Marjorie Liu does what may sound easy, but is actually hard to achieve: combine the traits of proven Star Wars characters and environments, but add new layers to it. 

Thus everything in Han Solo feels fresh, even though it gives readers a certain sense of familiarity which is certainly desired in any Star Wars publication. All that comes with a story that very effectively combines combat, racing and detective story elements, and art and colors by Mark Brooks, Sonia Oback and Matt Milla that manage to convince both on the small and large scale with its beautiful, realistic approach. All in all, Han Solo #4 makes for a thoroughly enjoyable experience. 

8/10

Review: "Superman" #8

"Escape from Dinosaur Island" is the title of this new Superman story line. At best, you might think, this could be full of vintage B-movie charm. At worst, it might be an embarrassing oddity. But writers Peter J Tomasi and Patrick Gleason actually manage to do neither, and instead craft a story that (so far) is also intelligent and insightful.

It's especially the warm and close relationship between Clark and Jon, impressively drawn by artists Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza and Will Quintana , and the latter's careful curiousness that steer the story towards more serious topics. It's not what you'd expect, and it's all the better for it.

7/10

Review: "Deadpool: "Back in Black" #1

Admittedly, the sheer influx of Deadpool titles recently didn't do the character much good. The "Mercs for Money" proved to be a welcome change in the beginning until, well, they weren't anymore and just bored everybody (don't have any high hopes in the new outfit either). And the Gambit crossover? We shall never talk about it again.

And now? An 80's inspired Deathpool/Venom story. So much to go right, but so much more to go wrong. But you know what, this isn't actually half bad. It's really good actually. Even some rather generic villains can't hide the fact that Deadpool and Venom make for a good combo and the comic is actually quite funny (especially the fake footnotes, more of that please in the next issues). 

The only problem: it doesn't really feel very 80's, and if it wasn't for the title or the intro, one might probably never even guess that it takes place then at all. So, Bunn and Espin: up that 80's vibe a bit in the next issue, and we could be in for a real treat.

7/10

Further Links:

Deadpool #19
Deadpool #18

Review: "Tank Girl: Gold" #1

If you like lewd, vulgar and loud "adult content", Tank Girl #1 might be right up your street. But if you just like a good comic, then this one is definitely not for you, as it constantly makes the crucial mistake of confusing bad language and sexual content with actually being gritty, not offering anything beneath its shallow surface of stereotyped attitudes. 

All this is a shame, because Tank Girl #1 just looks absolutely amazing, with Brett Parson giving it an absolutely unique and stylish appearance throughout. Shame though it doesn't come with better writing.

4/10 

PS: I've awarded an extra point for the rather good additional mini chapter at the end.

Review: "Deadpool" #19

Even if Deadpool wasn't exactly hitting its stride in the last couple of issues, these "Warda Wilson/Deadpool 2099" interludes will remind you why you actually like Deadpool. Because this one here simply doesn't have any of these things.

If, after 6 months after the last part, you don't have any clue where this actually left off, rest assured, the writers do neither. Warda Wilson and Ellie Preston were probably fighting and shouting overly-clichéd bon mots at each other, because that's pretty much all they're doing here. Geezer Deadpool is good for a couple of laughs, but becomes more and more unbearable as this drags along. 

Admittedly, some more heartfelt moments towards the comic's conclusion are smartly written and do work, but after all, these Warda Wilson interludes do nothing more than actually heighten the quality of the regular series adventures. And hey, isn't that a good thing.

4/10