Friday, Friday, Friday! Comics Reviews! You’re going to pay for the whole seat, but you’ll just need the edge!

Finally getting around to getting a moment or two to talk about this week’s books and since everyone’s noticing that 900 gorilla in the corner, I guess I should go ahead and discuss it, eh?

Wonder Woman #1 shouldn’t make me as intensely happy as it does, because I find it pretty hard to get excited about the character. Yes, she’s strong and dynamic and exactly the sort of feminist icon that should go a long way with me, but I’ve never been interested in her as a solo character – at all. Not even with George Perez drawing it and not even during the six-issue Simonson/Ordway run when she donned the Emma Peel whites in a modern context. In fact, here’s the really odd thing – only the Ellis pastiche of the character from Planetary and the Elseworlds version that showed up in JLA/Planetary have even tickled lobes at all.

Oh, there’s been moments with her that I loved – the bits with her and Arthur in Morrison’s JLA showed us a smart, funny side to the character that’s usually lacking in my observation and Diana always held her own in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon – but reading a monthly book featuring the character has been anathema to me, especially with someone like Greg Rucka writing. Then Allan Heinberg shows up with a restrained Terry Dodson and knocks my socks right off. The first issue of the new series hits the ground running – Donna Troy’s taken over the role, Steve Trevor’s in trouble, and there’s going to have to be some name-taking and ass-kicking. Backstory? You get six panels of exposition that cover the period leading up to Infinite Crisis, maybe three pages of “Oh, hey don’t trust me because I’m not Diana,” and then the Superhero Action As I Like It starts. Giganta, Cheetah, Dr. Psycho? Nemesis? Oh, yes, thank you!

It’s loud, day-glo and pop and exactly the sort of thing that I think should sell shedloads. Perfect for people (like me) who don’t care for uber-crossovers and super-serious takes on the spandex fare while throwing even the most rabid fanboy a bone or two, this is a great little comic and I look forward to further installments, which is something I couldn’t have imagined saying a few months ago.

Strugglers is “a little graphic novel” by fellow Somerville resident Tim Fish, based very, very loosely on the time he spent in St. Louis. Originally part of the Modern Tales Longplay site and presented under the name of Meet Me In St Louis, the 100-page graphic novel fills in the backstory of Tighe from Fish’s Cavalcade Of Boys series and is a pretty good read. I won’t say great – some of the characters never rise about near-skeletal caricatures (especially Tighe’s roommates) and the “Six Months Later” jump near the end feels like someone wanting to just get it over with already, but there’s plenty of funny, true-to-life moments and a sincerity that I appreciate. You should note that there’s a Cavalcade Of Boys omnibus solicited from Poison Press in this month’s Previews that I highly recommend – that material’s much more satisfying to me and Fish’s art is just delightful in it versus the rougher material presented here.

In Super-Brief, Because I Have To Get To Work:
Jonah Hex is a lean, mean comic as usual. Consistently entertaining and a title that rewards new readers with its episodic format.

The latest issue of Justice League Unlimited is a Very Special Installment where Gypsy learns a lesson. And fights giant robots. Everyone wins!

52 reminded me that, despite the editorial mandates that created him and the supremely silly stories that have featured the character, I really am quite taken with the idea of Steel. Sure, he suffers from uberdoctor syndrome and has a costume that’s just shy of being outrageously stupid, but a working-class Tony Stark with a giant hammer has always appealed to me. Also: Starfire’s boobies!

I have this to say about Fury: Peacemaker’s next issue: Nicky better shoot him up a ton of Nazis or I am going to walk away supremely unsatisfied. I have the feeling Ennis is going to oblige.