Free Comic Book Day this year was pretty good for me, and not just for the reasons I've already discussed, but because of the way I justified loitering to see how others were enjoying it at my local haunt: namely, by shopping.
There's a whole bookshelf of titles not published by DC or Marvel, or classified as mature reader material (in this place, that stuff is kept in glass cases by the register), which I haven't really explored before as it's chaotically managed. I spent half the time I browsed it trying to help bring about some order (yeah, I'm that kind of shopper). It was cool, too, because spending that time helped me think up stuff I should be thinking about. There were a couple of people there who stumbled on Chris Burnham's E for Extinction mini-series from Secret Wars, and they mistakenly identified Burnham as Frank Quitely. I corrected them, but it's an easy mistake to make. I mean, Grant Morrison worked with Burnham because he evokes Quitely. Eventually, this made me remember Nameless, and the fact that I never read its final issue, which was released late last year. But more on that later. Here's the stuff I found:
Atomic Robo and the Ring of Fire #5 (IDW)
The conclusion of IDW's first Atomic Robo mini-series (the character was previously published by Red 5, who used to feature him in all its FCBD releases) features his gang of action scientists confronting the notion of science becoming too big for its britches, working for the greater good at the expense of good public relations. You know, the classic Bond Villain dilemma. I love that IDW allows the comic a letters page, in which I am constantly humbled by how much better other fans keep track of Atomic Robo's adventures.
Batman & Robin Eternal #26 (DC)
The conclusion of this half-year weekly was something I wanted to read despite not having read any issue of it since, ah, the first one. The late 2015 attempt at emphasizing the Robin legacy was a welcome one in my books, what with "Robin War" and this series that featured basically every Batman sidekick ever, including most of the ones from the New 52 (Duke Thomas is featured on the cover but absent from the interior, although he ended up playing a key role in Scott Snyder's final Batman arc). Harper Row/Bluebird seemed to be the biggest beneficiary of this story, even as she was easily, otherwise, Snyder's least-utilized creation except in the alternate Eternal adventures. Also featured are Stephanie Brown/Spoiler and Cassandra Cain, a much-loved one-time Batgirl who assumes the identity of the Orphan and thusly becoming the other big beneficiary of the series. Also in the spotlight: Dick Grayson, the first Robin, who also receives some nifty character work. It was nice seeing him, Jason, Tim, and Damian getting along, too, and the whole concept of what brings all of them together, the character of Mother, who provides an alternative to Batman, was a good one, too. So I can say this was a pretty worthwhile affair.
Empress #2 (Icon)
Mark Millar and Stuart Immonen's space opera of a distant past (kind of like Star Wars, or the reimagining of Battlestar Galactica) ramps up. It's hard not to find comparisons with Saga, but I can't help gush over Immonen's return to his more simplistic, evocative style, which for me is the obvious, easy draw of the series.
Huck #6 (Image)
The conclusion of Millar and Rafael Albuquerque's Superman analogy (akin to Tom de Haven's It's Superman! novel featuring a simple-minded Midwesterner) has his mother save the day, but Huck proving to be the kind of hero everyone wants Superman to be in the movies. (Although, folks, we did see that Superman, as portrayed by Christopher Reeve. Four times.)
Klaus #2, 3, 4 (Boom!)
I bugged the owner of the shop I was frequenting in Maine about this title, pronouncing it like "mouse" instead of "claws," Grant Morrison's Santa origin, but kind of drifted away from it after the break I took from being a full-time reader. (And by the way, I'm still on that break, and things may grow sparse here to reflect that, in the coming months.) Yet coming across the second, third, and fourth issues (the covers reflect that the mini-series expanded from six to seven issues somewhere along the line) had me back in the mood. This is very much a fairy tale, or even a superhero kind of story. You can be a fan of Frozen and find much to love about it. Morrison has written few romances, but this is one of them. More and more, I like it a lot.
Nameless #6 (Image)
Morrison's reunion with Burnham (after Batman Incorporated) baffled me as a kind of regression on Morrison's part, horror kind of for the sake of horror. He's not normally so one-dimensional. But I guess that was kind of the point, tapping back into his black magic bag to present a portrait of true human depravity. This will never be one of my favorite Morrison works, but at least I understand it a little better now.
Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #6 (IDW)
The conclusion of this crossover proves once again that it was basically a love letter to the Geoff Johns era in the Green Lantern franchise, which is something I could totally embrace. It's also one of the more readable Star Trek comics I've read from IDW in recent years. After a spectacular start when it acquired the rights, IDW's efforts started to slide. This was set in the 2009 continuity, which worked well for the concept, including its use of Chang (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), who was unlikely to show up in this continuity otherwise.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy #2 (IDW)
Taking a chance, I also snapped this up. Like a lot of IDW's Star Trek comics (including the above), it's written by Mike Johnson, but it's Johnson in excellent mode. While the parts largely borrowing directly from the 2009 film are fairly routine, the ones featuring new cadets are lively, showing what it's like to live in Star Trek, filled with insightful and amusing culture clash material. Honestly, I don't know why there hasn't been more stuff like this, whether from IDW, other comics publishers, or the ongoing series of Pocket Books novels. Also of note is artist Derek Charm, whose blog I have technically been following for years, and although I don't remember now how that started, it's nice to be able to say that I've now bought some of his work.
Tuki #4 (Cartoon)
This latest collection of material Jeff Smith previously serialized on the Internet features the main character and his quirky companions coming closer to facing their destiny: being the first humanoid to leave Africa. The weird ways the group interacts with one another, and Smith's vision of the world at that time continues to be fascinating. I was glad the shop had this. I'd caught another printed issue there, but didn't know if I'd ever see another. Well, now I know.
Showing posts with label Batman and Robin Eternal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Batman and Robin Eternal. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Reading Comics 172 "A final week..."
It always sucks having to tell your local comics shop that you have to close your hold file. But that's what happened last Wednesday...
When I started this blog at the end of 2010, I was headed toward what I thought was the end of a very enjoyable period of reading comics that'd begun six years earlier. Instead, Flashpoint and the New 52 succeeded in sucking me back in. It's always a question of money. I walked away from comics in 1999 because I needed money for college. The intended 2011 break was because I was entering my worst financial period (and it just got worse and worse until finally...it got better). Now, it's because I will be entering a unique period of my life, dedicated to my sister and her baby. I don't know when I'll have comics money again. It's wise to walk away sooner rather than later, without that dangling period like I gave myself the last time, keeping the window open. The window is closed.
It sucks, in some ways, because I would love to read Dark Knight III in its individual installments. I would love to read Klaus from Grant Morrison. And there are other comics I won't have a chance to read, or haven't heard about yet, and...
So it's better to try and not think about that. This was a good year, a very good year, and it was one in which a lot of great stories ended. Which makes all this far more fitting than I could've imagined. If there has to be another moment to walk away, this is as good a moment as there can be.
All that being said, I made sure the last week was a good one, too.
18 DAYS #4 (Graphic India)
This issue is more or less an incredibly abbreviated version of the classic Bhagavad Gita, in which Arjuna and Krishna have an epic heart-to-heart. I've grown to appreciate how this Morrison project has opened up the Iliad of India. This is pretty much what I always hoped Shanower would've done with Age of Bronze (a project that is apparently indefinitely on hold). Shanower, left to his own devices, is far less interesting than the kind of liveliness he exhibited adapting Baum's material in Marvel's Oz series. Even if Morrison himself isn't writing 18 Days directly, his blueprint has proven invaluable, and the results have been continually and even increasingly impressive. I will try and keep tabs on this series, and hope to catch Morrison's other Graphic India project, Avatarex, at some point, too.
ATOMIC ROBO AND THE RING OF FIRE #2 (IDW)
The letters column humbles me as a fan of Robo. Clearly there are fans out there who are much more on top of Robo mythology...
BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL #1 (DC)
The debut of DC's lately weekly (scheduled for half a year) celebrates the Boy Wonder legacy, which as a long-time fan of Robin I'm very happy to see. There's also a "Robin War" crossover coming up, making this an excellent time for Robin fans in general. The story here seems to be clever even if at the same time a little clumsy, one of those "there's new information about the past that we're revealing now and it happens to be a deep, dark secret!" deals that's kind of trademark Snyder (see: Court of Owls, etc.). Dick Grayson is at the center of the action, both in flashback and in the present. Jason Todd and Tim Drake play support this issue, as does Harper Row, the apparent would-be Robin who instead became Bluebird. Stephanie Brown, who was Robin, will be part of the story. Left out so far is Damian Wayne (who will be a part of "Robin War"), as well as Duke Thomas (We Are Robin). The best part of this issue on the creative front is Tony Daniel returning to the Batman family.
BLOODSHOT REBORN #7 (Valiant)
I'm so, so glad I ended up catching up on The Valiant, because this follow-up has just been brilliant.
THE MISADVENTURES OF GRUMPY CAT (AND POKEY!) #1 (Dynamite)
Yeah. I read this. I love that an Internet star has finally managed to start branching out past their Internet roots. The meme of all memes has already become a Christmas movie, and now Grumpy Cat is a comic book star as well. This issue features three tales. In all of them Grumpy Cat is forced to be more than just, y'know, grumpy. Establishing a working fictional world turns out to be more entertaining than you might expect. I didn't previously have anymore interest in Grumpy Cat than the millions of casual Internet denizens who saw the endless memes, and theoretically this will be about as far as my experience will go, but I'm rooting for the idea. I'd love to see the Christmas movie at some point. Hopefully Grumpy has more staying power than poor Hoops & Yoyo, whose hilarious greeting cards seem to no longer be in stores, and whose own Christmas special joined the heaps and heaps of recent Christmas specials that apparently have no chance at all at becoming immortal in the same way as ones created half a century ago. But things can change, right?
HEROES: VENGEANCE #1 (Titan)
When Heroes debuted, I thought it was a horrible misfire. Ironically, I became a hopelessly devoted fan at the very same time everyone else walked away from it. So I'm glad Heroes Reborn is happening, and checking out this companion comic seemed like a good idea. It was. This issue, anyway, links superheroes with the masked stars of Mexican wrestling. One of the best things for fans of the original series who also happened to be comic book fans was the art of Tim Sale being featured in the visions of various characters, which I believe was later featured among the material DC published at that time. It's unlikely that Sale will pop up again. Or that Jack Black will show up and shout, "Nachooooo!"
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis finally writes Tony Stark. I don't know why this took so long to happen. I mean, I know this technically happened during the many years Bendis wrote Avengers comics, but to have Bendis write Stark directly is kind of one of those dream creative matches. As I've remarked before, the movies so many people love probably wouldn't exist without the tone Bendis set in the comics, and that's especially true of Iron Man. So that's exactly what you can expect here. The best part is that this means there's finally, finally a readable Iron Man comic. As far as I can tell, this has never happened before. I mean, not completely. It's just, Marvel has never attempted to capitalize on the character's momentum, never tried, even in the wake of the huge success of the movies, to make him a true headlining act. How to make this sound better? Bendis is finally writing a Doctor Doom worthy of his considerable reputation, too. Do you need anymore reason to read this one?
STAR WARS: SHATTERED EMPIRE #2 (Marvel)
I appreciate the effort to make the Rebellion's victory less clear-cut, and the comparative restraint Marvel is showing in keeping the Empire around, but I think once again, the results are not exactly to my liking. I have all the faith in the world for The Force Awakens, but I guess I'm glad I won't be reading the rest of Shattered Empire. End of story.
STAR WARS: LANDO #5 (Marvel)
On the opposite side of the spectrum is the remarkable insight Charles Soule brought to Lando. So apparently I did end up missing an issue, but not so much of the storytelling. Poor Lobot ends up with his inevitable robotic lobotomy, but the logic of how and why it happens, and what it means to Mr. Calrissian, is flawless. This ended up being a true highlight of the year.
TELOS #1 (DC)
King and Pagulayan continue where they left off in Convergence, and I'm glad this happened. Telos is a second chance for DC to create a true star from the New 52 era after Pandora didn't quite pan out (I think they just waited too long to pull the trigger on her). To continue weaving Brainiac into the mythology is brilliant.
And...that's it, folks.
When I started this blog at the end of 2010, I was headed toward what I thought was the end of a very enjoyable period of reading comics that'd begun six years earlier. Instead, Flashpoint and the New 52 succeeded in sucking me back in. It's always a question of money. I walked away from comics in 1999 because I needed money for college. The intended 2011 break was because I was entering my worst financial period (and it just got worse and worse until finally...it got better). Now, it's because I will be entering a unique period of my life, dedicated to my sister and her baby. I don't know when I'll have comics money again. It's wise to walk away sooner rather than later, without that dangling period like I gave myself the last time, keeping the window open. The window is closed.
It sucks, in some ways, because I would love to read Dark Knight III in its individual installments. I would love to read Klaus from Grant Morrison. And there are other comics I won't have a chance to read, or haven't heard about yet, and...
So it's better to try and not think about that. This was a good year, a very good year, and it was one in which a lot of great stories ended. Which makes all this far more fitting than I could've imagined. If there has to be another moment to walk away, this is as good a moment as there can be.
All that being said, I made sure the last week was a good one, too.
18 DAYS #4 (Graphic India)
This issue is more or less an incredibly abbreviated version of the classic Bhagavad Gita, in which Arjuna and Krishna have an epic heart-to-heart. I've grown to appreciate how this Morrison project has opened up the Iliad of India. This is pretty much what I always hoped Shanower would've done with Age of Bronze (a project that is apparently indefinitely on hold). Shanower, left to his own devices, is far less interesting than the kind of liveliness he exhibited adapting Baum's material in Marvel's Oz series. Even if Morrison himself isn't writing 18 Days directly, his blueprint has proven invaluable, and the results have been continually and even increasingly impressive. I will try and keep tabs on this series, and hope to catch Morrison's other Graphic India project, Avatarex, at some point, too.
ATOMIC ROBO AND THE RING OF FIRE #2 (IDW)
The letters column humbles me as a fan of Robo. Clearly there are fans out there who are much more on top of Robo mythology...
BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL #1 (DC)
The debut of DC's lately weekly (scheduled for half a year) celebrates the Boy Wonder legacy, which as a long-time fan of Robin I'm very happy to see. There's also a "Robin War" crossover coming up, making this an excellent time for Robin fans in general. The story here seems to be clever even if at the same time a little clumsy, one of those "there's new information about the past that we're revealing now and it happens to be a deep, dark secret!" deals that's kind of trademark Snyder (see: Court of Owls, etc.). Dick Grayson is at the center of the action, both in flashback and in the present. Jason Todd and Tim Drake play support this issue, as does Harper Row, the apparent would-be Robin who instead became Bluebird. Stephanie Brown, who was Robin, will be part of the story. Left out so far is Damian Wayne (who will be a part of "Robin War"), as well as Duke Thomas (We Are Robin). The best part of this issue on the creative front is Tony Daniel returning to the Batman family.
BLOODSHOT REBORN #7 (Valiant)
I'm so, so glad I ended up catching up on The Valiant, because this follow-up has just been brilliant.
THE MISADVENTURES OF GRUMPY CAT (AND POKEY!) #1 (Dynamite)
Yeah. I read this. I love that an Internet star has finally managed to start branching out past their Internet roots. The meme of all memes has already become a Christmas movie, and now Grumpy Cat is a comic book star as well. This issue features three tales. In all of them Grumpy Cat is forced to be more than just, y'know, grumpy. Establishing a working fictional world turns out to be more entertaining than you might expect. I didn't previously have anymore interest in Grumpy Cat than the millions of casual Internet denizens who saw the endless memes, and theoretically this will be about as far as my experience will go, but I'm rooting for the idea. I'd love to see the Christmas movie at some point. Hopefully Grumpy has more staying power than poor Hoops & Yoyo, whose hilarious greeting cards seem to no longer be in stores, and whose own Christmas special joined the heaps and heaps of recent Christmas specials that apparently have no chance at all at becoming immortal in the same way as ones created half a century ago. But things can change, right?
HEROES: VENGEANCE #1 (Titan)
When Heroes debuted, I thought it was a horrible misfire. Ironically, I became a hopelessly devoted fan at the very same time everyone else walked away from it. So I'm glad Heroes Reborn is happening, and checking out this companion comic seemed like a good idea. It was. This issue, anyway, links superheroes with the masked stars of Mexican wrestling. One of the best things for fans of the original series who also happened to be comic book fans was the art of Tim Sale being featured in the visions of various characters, which I believe was later featured among the material DC published at that time. It's unlikely that Sale will pop up again. Or that Jack Black will show up and shout, "Nachooooo!"
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis finally writes Tony Stark. I don't know why this took so long to happen. I mean, I know this technically happened during the many years Bendis wrote Avengers comics, but to have Bendis write Stark directly is kind of one of those dream creative matches. As I've remarked before, the movies so many people love probably wouldn't exist without the tone Bendis set in the comics, and that's especially true of Iron Man. So that's exactly what you can expect here. The best part is that this means there's finally, finally a readable Iron Man comic. As far as I can tell, this has never happened before. I mean, not completely. It's just, Marvel has never attempted to capitalize on the character's momentum, never tried, even in the wake of the huge success of the movies, to make him a true headlining act. How to make this sound better? Bendis is finally writing a Doctor Doom worthy of his considerable reputation, too. Do you need anymore reason to read this one?
STAR WARS: SHATTERED EMPIRE #2 (Marvel)
I appreciate the effort to make the Rebellion's victory less clear-cut, and the comparative restraint Marvel is showing in keeping the Empire around, but I think once again, the results are not exactly to my liking. I have all the faith in the world for The Force Awakens, but I guess I'm glad I won't be reading the rest of Shattered Empire. End of story.
STAR WARS: LANDO #5 (Marvel)
On the opposite side of the spectrum is the remarkable insight Charles Soule brought to Lando. So apparently I did end up missing an issue, but not so much of the storytelling. Poor Lobot ends up with his inevitable robotic lobotomy, but the logic of how and why it happens, and what it means to Mr. Calrissian, is flawless. This ended up being a true highlight of the year.
TELOS #1 (DC)
King and Pagulayan continue where they left off in Convergence, and I'm glad this happened. Telos is a second chance for DC to create a true star from the New 52 era after Pandora didn't quite pan out (I think they just waited too long to pull the trigger on her). To continue weaving Brainiac into the mythology is brilliant.
And...that's it, folks.
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