Positive Feedback - September 12th

Favourite Comic of the Week - The Shade #12 (of 12) by James Robinson and Gene Ha

I have a confession to make. I haven't been reading The Shade. Until this week, I hadn't read a single issue of this 12 part limited series. Instead I saved them all, so that I could read them as one. That is how I discovered Starman, after all - when it was all said and done - so I could read it beginning to end with no waiting.

So this week, after all the other comics were read, I read the entire 12-issue run of The Shade. And I loved it. The change in artists didn't bother me, because they all did a bang-up job. The story worked wonderfully for me. It makes me sad that this series was the last gasp for the old DCU. Does Opal City even exist in the New 52? Does The Shade? The O'Dares? Starman? Time will tell, I guess. We've already seen there'll be a Stargirl showing up soon.

For issue 12 in particular, the story and the artwork were both perfect for the final unveiling of The Shade's origin, but what really won it for me is how the unveiling of who Richard Swift was before that fateful night really finalized the journey his character has made. Richard Swift was naive and gullible and easily led. And in Starman, The Shade talks about his early villainy as something he did because it seemed fashionable at the time, and his supervillain team-ups as being initiated by the other party. In that sense, he was still being led by others. Later in Starman, we saw him help others perform heroic deeds, having grown from naive human, to super villain follower, to helper of heroes. But finally, in this series, he becomes a hero in his own right. Without seeing who he was as a human, that full journey is not as apparent, which, to me, was the real meat of this issue.

The only thing that I would have liked more is for this issue to have also closed the story on who The Shade is now. The narration on the last page did a decent job, but it feels like a lot of content was cut. I would have liked to see The Shade return to Opal, reunite with Hope, tell her his adventure was a consequence of abandoning his wife and family in the past, instead of revealing the truth to them, and he doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of his past. So then he would tell her this story, his origin, and afterwards they would share their love for each other. It was still a great issue, but something like that would have really helped it to feel concluded.

No matter what, I can't wait to get a hardcover to go with my Starman Omnibuses.

Other highlights from this week -

Avengers vs. X-Men #11 by Marvel's writers and Olivier Coipel - Coipel's art is amazing, and they really amped up the action in this penultimate chapter. But killing Xavier like that? Dislike. If I hadn't read the online articles about it, I wouldn't have even known he was supposed to be dead. Although X-Men Legacy starring Legion, Xavier's son, makes a lot of sense now. Can his son be his legacy?

Batgirl #0 by Gail Simone and Ed Benes - I love when Ed Benes and Gail Simone work together. Benes's art looks great, and the story was fantastic. Unlike some of the other zero issues, the Batman ones this week really helped to firm up some of the timeline aspects of the New52, and the characters too. Babs wasn't above a little manipulation and flirtation, and probably still isn't, and her brother James was creepy and probably killing people even back then.

Batman #0 by James Tynion IV and Andy Clarke - I credit Tynion and Clarke because it was their backup story in this issue that I really enjoyed. Where were you the first time they turned on the Bat-Signal? Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake all remember. I loved it.

Captain America and Black Widow #636 by Cullen Bunn and Francesco Francavilla - The story is really interesting, and I like how Bunn has crafted a continuing story in a team-up book while changing characters. But the art got it on my list of this week's best. Francavilla is amazing. It's not flashy art like Coipel or McGuinness or Jim Lee. It's clean lines and the use of light and shadow, and they way he tells a story. Those 3 pages of Cap's shield bouncing around until he catches it are just perfect. I'd hang them on my wall if I could.

Green Lantern Corps #0 by Peter J. Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin - Any time I've been a Green Lantern fan, I've never been a Guy Gardner fan. Geoff Johns taught me to love Hal Jordan. I grew up with Kyle Rayner and he's still my favourite. But I've never thought much of Guy. This issue changed my mind. I probably still won't love him, but I understand him more, and I think that's the point of these zero issues.

Journey Into Mystery #643 by Kieron Gillen, Matt Fraction, and Carmine di Giandomenico - King Volstagg wasn't as funny as I was hoping it would be. But the issue was still amazing. You know Loki's being written properly when you, as the reader, don't know what he's really up to and whose side he's really on. Personally, I like Giandomenico's art more than Alan Davis's on the Mighty Thor chapters. That splash page of Loki looking evil just looked so damn good.

Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks

Dr. Strange Season One Premiere HC by Greg Pak and Emma Rios - This was the last thing I read before The Shade, so all I could think while reading The Shade was, "Wow, Emma Rios would have been perfect for this." I love her artwork. Spider-Island Cloak & Dagger is my favourite project of hers so far, but this hardcover is a close second, and is a really good Dr. Strange story from before he became the Sorcerer Supreme (and before Wong lost all his hair!) Highly recommended.

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters and Green Arrow: The Archer's Quest trades - DC reprinted these good Green Arrow stories for re-release this week. If I didn't own them already, I'd get them. I love old Green Arrow stories, whether it's Mike Grell's mature audiences stuff, or the Kevin Smith/Brad Meltzer/Judd Winick stuff, with the beard and the supporting cast. The New 52 Green Arrow just isn't my Green Arrow.

Positive Feedback - September 5th

September 5th was a great release date for a lot of outstanding comics, to the point that I couldn't pick just one favourite, so instead I give you four favourites, all by the same writer.

Favourite Comic(s) of the Week - The ones by Matt Fraction (with David Aja, Jamie McKelvie, Salvador Larroca, and Alan Davis)



This week, Matt Fraction gave us Hawkeye #2, Defenders #10, Invincible Iron Man #524, and The Mighty Thor #19 (co-written by Kieron Gillen), and I loved them all.

Hawkeye #2 showed us that David Aja is a master of comic book art and storytelling. I love all of the head-shot panels used to show conversations or emotions, each from a different angle, non-repeating. Like the 14 panels used to show Kate saying "Well that's cool" in slow motion. And I loved Kate Bishop. As Clint says, "She's pretty great." I'll be glad to see her develop as part of this series. In just this one issue, she was already made more awesome than in any of her other appearances.

Defenders #10 was a great move towards an end game for this series. If Aja's art in Hawkeye was all about small panels and small moments, McKelvie's art in Defenders was all about big moments and big ideas expressed in grand form. The death Celestial, She-Hulk punching a bird, and those Silver Surfer pages... it was all awesome. I recently re-read the last 9 issues of this series, and it was definitely better on a second read than the first. I'm hoping for a deluxe hardcover collecting the whole series one day.

Invincible Iron Man #524 moves the series closer to its finale, and that last splash page has me super excited for it. Fraction has been a great writer for Tony Stark, and Larroca hasn't missed a beat. I'm curious to see where he will be going next, because his 60ish issues of Iron Man have made me a fan.

Lastly, The Mighty Thor #19 continues the progress of "Everything Burns" nicely. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Alan Davis's art, but having only one artist for the whole 6-part story, or two more similar stories, might have been better. One thought on where they're going - "King Volstagg" has potential.

Other highlights from this week -

Action Comics #0 by Grant Morrison and Ben Oliver - I really liked this story, and Oliver's art worked great for it. It wasn't really about Clark or Superman. It was about how he affected everyone around him, and the first time Lois and Jimmy ever really saw him in action, and how Lois named him. I'm enjoying the new Superman status quo, but it's also good to see some things never change. And now I want to go watch my Lois & Clark DVDs.

Age of Apocalypse #7 by David Lapham and Renato Arlem - I lost interest in this series after the second issue, but this month had Doom in it, and that was enough to make me check it out. Now I want to see more of the story of this Doom and his fight as a rebel human trying to take back Latveria.

Amazing Spider-Man #693 by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos - Part 2 of the Alpha story was great, and I'm really excited to see where Spider-Man's heading. I love the Jackal, and his clone army has a lot of potential. I never imagined him as a "rule the world by killing everyone and replacing them with clones" kind of villain though. Alpha's feeling more fleshed out and realistic as a character, and Peter's reaction to that feels true to his character. And the re-building of a closer relationship between Peter and MJ is something I'm thrilled to see. I saw a lot of good come out of OMD and BND, but I love MJ and feel she always needs to be a part of Peter's life.

Earth 2 #0 by James Robinson and Tomas Giorello - Apparently this Earth 2 Terry Sloan doesn't believe in "Fair Play" like his Golden Age counterpart, but it made for an awesome story that should pay off over the next little while in Earth 2. I'm looking forward to it.

Green Arrow #0 by Judd Winick and Freddie Williams II - I like Freddie Williams II's artwork. Liked it on Robin, liked it on Flash, liked it here. What's he working on right now? The story in this comic was great too, and it seems that it could lead very well into Green Arrow: Year One. Two things that really surprised and pleased me were the introduction of Merlyn, and where he was left at the end of the story, and the cause of Ollie's girlfriend's death. Definitely a different direction than I expected.

Green Lantern #0 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke - So unlike all the other #0 issues that are jumping back several years, this one keeps the present running, first introducing Simon Baz and his origins, and then taking us right up to the point where he gets the power ring in the present. The most interesting part - "Simon Baz of Earth. You have the -- ERROR -- ability to overcome great fear."

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #14 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez - Loved the first page parody/tribute. Loved Gwen's attitude towards Captain America. Loved Mary Jane's stance on things. Loved that Mary Jane was in it (she needs to be more). Loved Aunt May's words of wisdom and gift for Miles. Loved the fight with the Rhino. Loved Cap's decision. Just loved it. Long live Miles Morales. (Maybe introduce a 616 version as a new Prowler... there's an idea.)

World's Finest #0 by Paul Levitz and Kevin Maguire with Wes Craig - Best #0 issue so far. There are so many more stories you could tell with these characters, and I would love to see them. Maguire's art really works for them too. I liked that Selina's Catwoman costume on Earth 2 looks a lot like Helena's new Huntress costume now that she's stuck on Earth 1. If you haven't been reading World's Finest, I suggest getting hooked on this issue and then picking up the rest to catch up.


Trade Paperbacks & Graphic Novels -

Aquaman vol. 1: The Trench Hardcover by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis - I've been telling my friends for years that Aquaman is awesome. This book is proof I was right all along and I am going to shove it in their faces.

New Avengers Omnibus vol 1 by Brian Michael Bendis and various - I already own the deluxe size hardcovers of the entire series, but if you don't, you should buy this. It's absolutely gigantic, collecting everything from Avengers Disassembled through to the discovery of Skrull Elektra, including 8 one-shots or specials, for a total of 42 issues, or 1208 pages. I don't think I own an Omnibus this big yet.

Spider-Man: Revenge of the Sinister Six Premiere HC by Erik Larsen, with backup story by Terry Kavanagh and Scott McDaniel - This is a great, fun story from the early '90s, right after Todd McFarlane left Spider-Man. I was happy to get it in hardcover. I remember they only added the backup story originally because Larsen's house had burned down, he had lost everything he owned, and he couldn't churn out the pages as fast as usual for two issues, while fixing and replacing things. But that just means two stories instead of one!

Starman Omnibus vol 2 softcover by James Robinson, Tony Harris, and JH Williams III - If you weren't lucky enough to get the hardcover (I was), you should at least get the softcover of this - possibly one of the greatest comic series of all time.


Comic news from this week -

There were 4 new Marvel Now! teasers posted. "Lightning," (with cross-hairs aiming at it) by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon. "Survive," (with blood spattered on it) by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker. "Killers," by Sam Humphries and Ron Garney. And "Wanted," again by Dennis Hopeless, but this time with Salvador Larroca. I have no clue what any of these are, but Jonathan Hickman posted on Twitter that "The SURVIVE promo today for [Dennis Hopeless] and Kevin Walker's new book was hands down the best pitch of the Marvel Now books." That's the best endorsement I can think of, and has me very intrigued.

Other than that, the preview of Avengers with Jerome Opena's art was the news highlight of the week. I love that other artists cursed him on Twitter for being so good. It's nice to see that fun and games among them.

Positive Feedback - August 29th

Favourite Comic of the week - Wolverine and the X-Men #15 by Jason Aaron and Jorge Molina

There were a lot of great comics out last week, but this won out as my favourite because it had so much humour and heart in it. Logan and Hope talk about Jean and what she meant to Logan. "Those aren't holes... that's just where the Kung-Fu Power comes in." Broo makes friends with Tony Stark. Iceman proposes he and Kitty go to a strip club for their first date. Professor X endorses Quentin Quire for class president. Kubark has to say goodbye even though he doesn't want to. And that's just a handful of the great things that happened in this one issue.

Other highlights from this week -

Aquaman #12 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis - First off, I love the Robot Chicken variant cover. Beyond that, I enjoyed the rest of the issue too. The opening with Mera claiming she's faster than Arthur, through that big fight scene against Black Manta, to the third last story page; a beautiful splash of friends watching one of their own dying. I really enjoyed it all, only to be disappointed to find the dramatic ending won't pay off for two months, because next month they interrupt our regularly scheduled programming with issue #0. I'm fine with the #0 concept, but it would have been better if they weren't interrupting ongoing stories to do it.

Captain Marvel #3 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy (with others) - Dexter Soy's art is getting more beautiful with each issue, and the colours have gotten a lot brighter since the first issue, which is working a lot better for me. Kelly Sue's writing is great too, and I loved Carol issuing her challenge to the enemy soldier. Totally bad-ass.

FF #21 by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta - Having recently read Hickman's entire F4/FF run again, I have to say that I'm enjoying these one-off wrap-up issues more than I enjoyed the big, reaching arc that ended in "Forever". This issue was the runner-up for my favourite this week. Hickman and Dragotta's interpretation of Black Bolt makes him scarier than I've ever thought him to be before. Dragotta's Susan is cute and doe-eyed and just looks great. The Spider-Man "big butt" moment was priceless. The resolution of Crystal and Ronan's relationship was sad. But my favourite moment of the issue was when Reed suggested to Sue that they call the Inhumans and tell them they're running late. It was a beautiful moment between husband and wife that felt absolutely human and true to life. You don't see that a lot.

The Flash Annual #1 by Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Marcus To, Scott Kolins, Diogenes Neves, and Marcio Takara - I hope nobody who's reading the Flash missed this Annual, because it is absolutely essential to the story (I personally would rather they wrap the story in regular issues than an Annual). Manapul handled all the breakdowns for this whole issue, and the other artists handled pencils & inks beyond that, and it worked really well. The book flows consistently from start to finish, and consistent with the monthly series that Manapul draws regularly. How the Rogues got powers is explained, supporting character stories are continued, and a new story is launched in a cliffhanger ending. Artistically, "New 52" Flash is shaping up to be my favourite run on the character. Story-wise, it's good, but Mark Waid's Wally West stuff still wins for me there.

Green Lantern Annual #1 by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver and Pete Woods - I hate myself a little for liking this. On principle, I disagree with the New 52 reboot not affecting Green Lantern. Everything Johns has done with the character since Rebirth has been kept in continuity. Superman is getting a complete rewrite. Wonder Woman too. And Flash. But GL? Picks up right where it left off. And that bugs me. But, on the flip side, everything Johns has done with the character has been fairly good, and this issue has me excited for what's still coming. Especially Black Hand, who can raise the dead, being locked up with a dead Guardian. That should lead somewhere good.

Justice League #12 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee - The dysfunction within the League is fun to see, and it was really cool to see Green Lantern volunteer to play scapegoat and Batman try to stop him. That's completely different behaviour than we would have seen pre-New 52. Superman and Wonder Woman kissing was nice art, and may be a good story as it develops, but I was way more intrigued by some of the other upcoming stories they teased, especially that 2-page splash of a different League which included the Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Hawkman, the new Green Lantern Baz, and what clearly looks-to-be Stargirl, among others.

The Sixth Gun #24 by Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, and Bill Crabtree - This was my first issue of The Sixth Gun. I've been enjoying Bunn's work on Captain America, Venom, and other stuff for Marvel, and he talks about this series on his Twitter, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I really enjoyed it, and will be looking for trades of previous runs. It's a great idea - like a mix of medieval fantasy and western genres - and I could imagine it being adapted into a pretty good TV series or video game.


Hardcovers & Graphic Novels -

The Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns vol 3 - I'm an Omnibus guy. Love 'em. Want more of 'em. So this one's a no-brainer. Johns had a great run on the Flash, and did some amazing work with the classic Rogues gallery. After Waid's run on the character, and throughout this run, Wally West became the better character, the one, true Flash, as far as I was concerned. Still wish they hasn't brought Barry back, and I hope to see Wally show up in grand fashion someday in the New 52. Maybe in a big event with Linda and the kids, and he remembers how everything was before Flashpoint. Seems like it would be the right role for him.

Guarding the Globe vol 1 by Kirkman, Cereno, Getty, & Anka - This series was a fun read as an Invincible fan, and I really liked a lot of the characters in it, both heroes and villains. I'll get it just for something fresh to read that's not one of the big 2.


That's all for last week. There wasn't any news I felt was absolutely necessary to comment on, and I've decided to save my pitches and ideas for separate posts. See you in a day or two for this week's post.