Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (DC)
The big push Dan Abnett takes in this Rebirth reintroduction issue is poking fun at all the people who make fun of Aquaman, the superhero who "talks to fish." As Abnett points out in the captions, "This is untrue. He has a telepathic gift that allows him to compel marine life, but fish do not possess enough intelligence to conduct meaningful dialogue." But such subtleties are hardly likely to convince people who like their reactions pithy and pointless...
Empress #3 (Icon)
The adventures of the escaping queen continue in this Mark Millar/Stuart Immonen comic rife with breakneck adventure. Look, I read Saga for years, but after a while, it kind of seems like a soap opera, like The Walking Dead, where the thrust of the story is lost in just kind of keeping it going. Empress is punchy, even while at its heart it kind of is a soap opera. Millar is far too impatient for full-on soap opera, though, so there's not a chance of Empress becoming another Saga.
The Flash: Rebirth #1 (DC)
I was kind of shocked that DC allowed this property to all but go to complete waste in the New 52 era, after reviving Barry Allen with Geoff Johns at the helm just before it. The New 52 Flash was one long attempt at struggling to catch up with better material that had come before it. Josh Williamson, previously best known for Image comics like Nailbiter, seems to have been chosen precisely because he's both capable and willing to reverse this trend. And thank god, because as the issue fans will be reading post-DC Universe Rebirth to see what happens next, we don't need another post-Flashpoint disappointment. A story that makes Flash look like one of DC's most important characters needs a decent follow-up. This time that's exactly what happens.
Superman: American Alien #7 (DC)
The finale of this mini-series sees Max Landis brilliantly reimagine, essentially, the scenario J. Michael Straczynski featured in his first volume of Superman: Earth One, wherein an alien comes to Earth, causes a lot of trouble, and helps Superman find out where he came from. Where Straczynski settled for a surprisingly dull new creation, Landis chooses Lobo, as fans recognize him from pre-New 52 continuity (the good ol' bounty hunter bastiche with the bike and everything). It's brilliant, as everything has been about American Alien. Lobo is here to send a message to Hawkman (alluded to, which is even better), and ends up provoking Superman into his first big brawl. I know I tend to sound fairly dismissive of Straczynski's creative output, but in this instance, a clear parallel can be found, and I think Landis does it better. However, I'd still recommend Straczynski's Superman: Earth One work for those interested in less complicated Superman continuity.
Action Comics #957 (DC)
Interestingly, Lex Luthor is the star of this title, but the Convergence (and new Rebirth) Superman is a co-star, too, so Dan Jurgens gets to continue his recent storytelling along with Tomasi & Gleason's Superman, which I hadn't really anticipated. The rivalry between Luthor and Superman has kind of been turned on its head, which is brilliant. There's also Clark Kent running around (how? this continuity's Superman is dead, right?), and the threat of Doomsday once again. After "Doomed," is it too early? Who cares! This is Jurgens' (ugly, ugly) baby. It's about time he gets to revisit him again...
Wonder Woman: Rebirth #1 (DC)
It's interesting that so many Wonder Woman stories, from about Jodi Picoult onward, have dealt with a fairly insular world, and that once again, her origin (kind of like Donna Troy, actually) is causing all sorts of continued drama. That's what Greg Rucka, returning after too many years to follow-up on his brilliant Infinite Crisis-era work, will be dealing with, all over again. I trust he'll have some interesting stuff to say about all of this.
Showing posts with label Empress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Empress. Show all posts
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Reading Comics 187 "Catching up on Atomic Robo, Batman & Robin Eternal, Empress, Huck, Klaus, Nameless, Star Trek, and Tuki"
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.
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.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Reading Comics 183 "Bloodlines 2016, Empress"
I was in another comics shop recently, and picked up a few things...
Bloodlines #1 (DC)
Watch out! The '90s are starting to receive the nostalgia treatment. Are you ready for that? Among the things I never expected to see resurface was the Bloodlines generation, the new superheroes DC unveiled through its 1993 annuals. This was the most recent new character initiative undertaken by the company, but most of the superheroes that resulted became hapless victims to the perception that the whole event was a shameless attempt to mooch off the Image Comics momentum then still sweeping the medium. So a lot of great characters who didn't deserve to be forgotten were. I'm happy to report that the best of them (sorry, Hitman) is the first one to return. In this debut issue of the mini-series finally rectifying the gross injustice done Bloodlines, Loose Cannon returns. This was a kind of Incredible Hulk superhero whose human guise was a guy who got around on crutches. His early stories were written by none other than Jeph Loeb. This new version is a teenager in high school, but he remains a blue goliath in his transformed state. I was both eager and leery about Bloodlines when I first heard of it, dreading that it would be kind of exactly what everyone thought the original version was, something quickly dashed off and without the necessary quality to justify it. But seeing Eddie Walker as the lead character quickly allayed my concerns, and writer J.T. Krul nailed his new iteration. Krul is a DC veteran at this point, and this marks his homecoming. I last wrote about him way back in 2011 in the Brightest Day era of Green Arrow, which was equally surprisingly good stuff.
Empress #1 (Icon)
Mark Millar is constantly generating new ideas for his Millarworld imprint and snagging some of the best artists out there to draw them. So it was only a matter of time before he went knocking at Stuart Immonen's door. Actually, this is their second collaboration, as Millar was tasked with the dialogue of Immonen's later Superman issues, so this is kind of full circle for both of them. The concept is that 65 million years ago a different species of intelligent people ruled Earth, and that the ruler himself is a douche, and so the woman he convinced to give up her life (I mean, completely; he said she couldn't even bring it up) to rule at his side decides she's had enough, so she finally runs away. This is a full-blown sci-fi epic in a different way from Millar's previous Starlight, a bit more like Saga. Immonen is coming off Marvel's Star Wars, so anyone who is most familiar with him there will feel right at home. It's good stuff, and Immonen is once again going for that more minimalist (though appropriately grand) style that I loved so much from his Superman, after years toiling at Marvel with a more hard-edged one that presumably someone thought he should adopt to keep up with expectations. But clearly his work stands on its own.
Bloodlines #1 (DC)
Watch out! The '90s are starting to receive the nostalgia treatment. Are you ready for that? Among the things I never expected to see resurface was the Bloodlines generation, the new superheroes DC unveiled through its 1993 annuals. This was the most recent new character initiative undertaken by the company, but most of the superheroes that resulted became hapless victims to the perception that the whole event was a shameless attempt to mooch off the Image Comics momentum then still sweeping the medium. So a lot of great characters who didn't deserve to be forgotten were. I'm happy to report that the best of them (sorry, Hitman) is the first one to return. In this debut issue of the mini-series finally rectifying the gross injustice done Bloodlines, Loose Cannon returns. This was a kind of Incredible Hulk superhero whose human guise was a guy who got around on crutches. His early stories were written by none other than Jeph Loeb. This new version is a teenager in high school, but he remains a blue goliath in his transformed state. I was both eager and leery about Bloodlines when I first heard of it, dreading that it would be kind of exactly what everyone thought the original version was, something quickly dashed off and without the necessary quality to justify it. But seeing Eddie Walker as the lead character quickly allayed my concerns, and writer J.T. Krul nailed his new iteration. Krul is a DC veteran at this point, and this marks his homecoming. I last wrote about him way back in 2011 in the Brightest Day era of Green Arrow, which was equally surprisingly good stuff.
Empress #1 (Icon)
Mark Millar is constantly generating new ideas for his Millarworld imprint and snagging some of the best artists out there to draw them. So it was only a matter of time before he went knocking at Stuart Immonen's door. Actually, this is their second collaboration, as Millar was tasked with the dialogue of Immonen's later Superman issues, so this is kind of full circle for both of them. The concept is that 65 million years ago a different species of intelligent people ruled Earth, and that the ruler himself is a douche, and so the woman he convinced to give up her life (I mean, completely; he said she couldn't even bring it up) to rule at his side decides she's had enough, so she finally runs away. This is a full-blown sci-fi epic in a different way from Millar's previous Starlight, a bit more like Saga. Immonen is coming off Marvel's Star Wars, so anyone who is most familiar with him there will feel right at home. It's good stuff, and Immonen is once again going for that more minimalist (though appropriately grand) style that I loved so much from his Superman, after years toiling at Marvel with a more hard-edged one that presumably someone thought he should adopt to keep up with expectations. But clearly his work stands on its own.
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