Pre-reviews: The Week of February 28, 2007
Comments Off | Posted: February 26th, 2007 | Filed under: UncategorizedFebruary 28
Blah Blah Blah.
My picks are below.
Yes, I ignore a lot of the “regular” titles.
DC Comics
NOV060242 SHOWCASE PRESENTS GREEN LANTERN VOL 2 TP $16.99
You know, I have this love/hate relationship with early Green Lantern, just like most of the DC Silver Age output. I hate the lousy plots, inconsistant characterization, and plagues of stupidity that these stories frequently have. They make up for all of this with this gleeful, almost machiavellian disregard for logic that turns reading the entire affair into some sort of meth-crazed fugue where, no matter how moronic things get, you have to see how it ends because, goddamn, that giant yellow dragon’s fucking some shit up.
Marvel Comics
DEC062305 DAREDEVIL #94 $2.99
It’s a highly dubious honor, but I think this may well qualify as the best single issue that Marvel’s put out all year. Brubaker has Milla retell the last couple of years of Daredevil continuity from her point of view and it’s a fascinating exercise. It’s the first time I’ve seen the writer use a female narrator since his run on Catwoman1 and the cadence and rhythm are distinctly different from his “typical” style. There’s a lot to learn from this book for people interested in writing and craft: how to modernize the romance comic and make it work, how to present a “recap” in an interesting fashion, and how to open your book to new audiences without alienating the original readers. This can be picked up by anyone who’s interested in the character and they’ll have a grasp on what’s happening without feeling cheated.
DEC062387 ESSENTIAL PETER PARKER SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL 3 TP $16.99
I really like Spider-Man right up until the late 80s an awful lot. I just noticed I’ve never talked about that. There’s something about the character that just appeals to me. I wasn’t a regular reader as a kid, but reading these books now is pretty darn pleasurable. The subplots are just soapy enough and even when the action’s dull, Spider-Man, like The Thing (my nearest and dearest Marvel hero), manages to shine through a bit.
Other Companies
DEC063558 ACTION PHILOSOPHERS #8 SENSELESS VIOLENCE SPECTACULAR $2.95
Is there anything that can’t be solved with some of judicious use of the titular element that sets this volume of the best ongoing comics series about philosophy apart from its brethern? I say “No, not a single one.”
NOV063398 HERO SQUARED ONGOING #5 $3.99
As always, I have to inform you that if you don’t buy a BOOM! Studios comic when they become available, Ross Richie places a kitten into a woodchipper.
(That may be a lie.)
Wow, a pretty short list for me so maybe I’ll get around to my review of House of Sugar later this week.
1Thanks for the reminder in comments, Anun.
