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Comics! My, what a big week you had!

Wow, this was a pretty big week this week and I’m going to regale, amaze and bother you with my thoughts on this week in comics in the latest edition of THE SHADOW GALLERY. I’m also going to talk about why Grant Morrison is really pissing me off, but just briefly. So…

Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I’ll begin.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #17
Joss Whedon and Karl Moline re-team to bring Melaka Fray back into, well, the fray by magically transporting Buffy to the future. Once Buffy: Season Eight started, I just knew that they were going to find a way to get these crazy kids together. I loved the Fray series and I love the current Buffy series. So what’s not to love here? Well… nothing! I love Buffy’s personal observation about the language of the world she’s currently in. I love how Xander has fully stepped into his role as a leader as opposed to always being the follower, and I really love how Xander ‘rides’ Dawn. That’s just hilarious. The big reveal at the end of the issue might have worked better if there weren’t quite so many hints, but it still was a little shocking. That’s when you know a comic is working: When the cliffhanger/reveal is a little telegraphed, but it still knocks some of the wind out of you. But that’s pure Whedon. And this series is pure Buffy. Plus Moline’s art just rocks.

The Boys #21
There’s a lot of mention of Garth Ennis trying to ‘out-Preacher Preacher’, and I say that he’s not going to make a better comic, but he sure is going to try and amp up the violence and sex parts. That being said, this is another terrific issue for The Boys. As Hughie and The Legend discuss the horrible events that led up to the Brooklyn Bridge being destroyed, you really get to see what total a-holes The Seven truly are when they totally screw up saving of the hostages onboard the plane. It’s refreshing to see a comic book creator who hates superheroes so much that he’s willing to make them out to be just as bad, if not worse, than the villains they go after. Ennis calls them ‘t**ts in tights’ and sometimes, he’s right. And he’s created the ‘supes’ to prove it. I really do love The Boys, but it’s never going to be better than Preacher.

Avengers/Invaders #4
Ooh, this series is going to drive me crazy. It’s not going to be until October until a new issue comes out, but I have a very strong feeling that if they keep up the level of quality that they currently have going, it’s going to be well worth the wait. The series is so tightly plotted with great action and great character work that it’s turning out better than a lot of regular series out there. Ross and Krueger have really outdone themselves with moments like last issue’s battle between young Namor and King Namor, and now we have finally come to one of the moments we’ve been waiting for: The meeting between Bucky as the new Captain America and the WWII Bucky. But what will the adult Bucky have to tell his young self? Will it alter history? And does the older and much more jaded Bucky care, just as long as he doesn’t become the Winter Soldier and Steve Rogers is saved? And will Dr. Strange be able to maintain his shield keeping the new history out and the present preserved? And I have to wait until at least October to find out! Argh!

Storming Paradise #2
This new offering from writer Chuck Dixon and artist Butch Guice is a neat little ‘What If?’ tale of what might have happened if we weren’t able to use the atomic bomb to end the war in Japan. The first issue was really interesting with people like John Wayne having a conversation with Ernest Hemingway about enlisting in the war, and how people like Patton pop up. This issue, however, is a little run-of-the-mill for a war story. There’s your stock translator who people are distrustful of because he‘s Japanese, your stock war sequences, and for good measure, two young Japanese boys who believe they are ‘weapons of the Emperor’ who act without mercy and are killed without mercy. It’s designed to make us disgusted with both the Japanese who have allowed these two little boys to fight, and with the American soldiers who end their lives without a second thought. It’s been done. Dixon is a good writer, but he’s never been terribly original, but Guice’s art here is much better than in our next offering…

Ultimate Origins #3
“It’s all connected,” said Bruce Banner, and now we see what the connection is physically, which is a large obelisk with a red eye. Pretty ominous, to be certain. And it’s popping up all over the place, like The Ultimates HQ, the Triskelion, The X-Mansion, The Baxter Building, Peter Parker’s Attic… you get the idea. But this issue is really about the first meeting between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, and how they came to start discussing their rival ideals about the future of the Homo Superior race. It’s also now revealed that, unlike regular Marvel continuity, Lehnsherr’s parents were not victims of Nazi atrocity, but actually victims of him. His mother was on the team conducting tests on ‘Mutant X’ aka Wolverine, and Erik freed him just before killing her. The father’s death was self-defense. I appreciate that the attempt that Bendis is making here to give an origin to the Ultimate U., but I also feel that Mark Millar should have some input as well, since he essentially paved the way for Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates. Is it a disservice? Probably not, because Millar had already bowed out of both titles, but I just feel that he should have a lot more input than he’s got right now, which is nil. Also Guice’s art just doesn’t feel right here. It’s a little too unpolished, and that doesn’t really work for this book.

Criminal 2 #4
Brubaker and Phillips are back doing what they, as a team, do best: creating hard-luck characters, the femme fatales that pull them in, and the forces they have to go up against. This time around, it’s an insomniac artist named Jacob who is actually the cartoonist of the ‘Frank Kafka, Private Eye’ comic strip that has appeared in both the “Coward” and “Lawless” arcs. He’s having trouble with his deadlines and hits the local all-night diner all the time. One particular night at the diner, he finds himself in trouble for looking at the beautiful woman with the freaked-out psychopathic boyfriend. He finds the girl on the side of the road later, and like any hard-luck case, he picks her up and takes her back to his place where she unexpectedly shows him a very good time. The next morning, she’s still there looking at a printing press in his basement. He tells her, bragging, that he was once a counterfeiter. Oops. Because the psycho boyfriend is there the next night with an offer that is hard to refuse. Brubaker and Phillips just keep kicking ass so hard on this book. We feel every blow that the protagonist has to take, and we’re just immediately sucked into the same vortex of sex, violence and darkness that Jacob is in. Luckily for him, Frank Kafka just might help him out of this “Bad Night”. Still one of the best books on the stands, and maybe of the last several years.

Punisher War Journal #22
G.W. Bridge and Frank Castle have one of the more intense face-offs in recent comic memory here when Bridge asks Castle simply if he even remembers what his wife looked like, or if it’s just his justification for murder. This can only end badly. Fraction and co-writer Rick Remender are crafting a tight-as-a-drum story here, and I love the addition of Howard Chaykin’s art. In the “Jigsaw” arc, Frank has been through some hellish moments, like fighting ninjas of The Hand, fighting the SHIELD she-squad of Silver Sable, the Contessa, and Domino, and finally getting caught by Bridge. Stuart’s initial impulse is to fight like hell to get Frank out, but that is an impulse that is unfortunately put to, perhaps, a permanent rest by Jigsaw’s girl, who’s been posing as the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold Di. And Jigsaw has rented out The Wrecking Crew to kill Castle. So it looks like the ‘defiant ones’ of Castle and Bridge aren’t going down without a fight! Bring on the next issue!

Hulk #5
Well, it looks like Red Hulk, or simply Rulk now, can kick the ass of pretty much everyone in the Marvel U., and the latest casualty is Thor, who just gets his clock majorly cleaned. And to solve the problem of Rulk, who may or may not really be Doc Samson, Tony Stark has assembled his own team of The Thing, Ares, Shulkie, The Human Torch and Namor to help out good ol’ Greenskin to kick Rulk’s own ass. Loeb and McGuinness are working overtime to make some really big action here, and for the most part, it’s working. Loeb is a clever writer when he wants to be, and here his work on the quips and the humor work. McGuinness’ art is also really strong in this issue, but my absolute favorite part of this comic is the “Hulk Splash” mini-comic at the end. It cracked me up. Other than that, this book is a lot better than most of Loeb’s recent stuff, but that isn’t saying a whole lot.

House of Mystery #4
This is a creepy little book that I want to be as successful as the reboot of House of Secrets from a few years back but it’s not really there… yet. I was in love with the original House of Mystery series because it was an anthology, but I appreciate the work that Matthew Sturges is doing here in breathing new life into the concept. I love the story-within-a-story elements of the book and I really liked the story in this issue. It’s not as creepy as the first issue with the girl getting it on with the giant fly, but with it’s homicidal talking tiger who is like Hobbes on speedballs, it’s close. I’m really liking the way this book is shaping up because it really is a good mystery. Who are these people and why are they trapped? Why does Fig know this house? Who could possibly divine something through ham? Also, Luca Rossi’s art is killer. I’m liking where they’re taking this book. I just hope that Cain makes an appearance.

Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #2
Foom! This comic, while not breaking any new ground, is fun as hell to read. First of all, Adi Granov’s art is just absolutely gorgeous. As is Elsa Bloodstone. I could look at his renditions all day long. And I have to admit, I didn’t think that Jon Favreau had it in him to write a really fun Iron Man tale. I knew that he could swing with the best of them, and he can direct the heck out of an Iron Man film, but this caught me pleasantly off-guard. It’s just good fun stuff. And he brings out the Foom! Yeah, beeyatch! Sorry. Couldn’t help it.

Patsy Walker: Hellcat #2
This comic is just waaaay too weird for words. It’s like the bastard love-child of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alan Moore‘s run on Captain Britain: Self-referential cleverness meets dimension-hopping insanity. But I really like it. I don’t get it… but I’m enjoying the ride. Kathryn Immonen and David Lafuente are doing some really freaky-bizarre-wacky-cool work here. But I don’t think I could tell you what is really going on… I don’t remember Hellcat ever being this ultra-spunky, but again, I like it!

Spike: After The Fall #2
This is a really interesting book. I like the fact that Spike is getting his day… ahem… in the sun here because, after all, he’s probably one of the greatest characters in the pantheon of Buffy and Angel. Brian Lynch, like Brett Matthews, really has a feel for Whedon’s style and pacing. And as opposed to the Angel counterpart to this series, this is a one-man show overall. And who is the Big Bad here? Where does she hail from? Because that’s one serious bitch. I’m hoping that Illyria can step up and really pull her tab.

And finally,

Final Crisis #3
Remember when big event comics meant that you had to know something about the characters, but not every single thing, and you could still enjoy it and understand what the frak is going on? (Sorry… been watching a LOT of BSG lately) Because I am pretty much getting nary a clue here. Now Morrison has gone so far as to add some of his Seven Soldiers cast. Ok. Grant, this book is beginning to feel less like an event and more like character nepotism. It’s like he doesn’t even give a crap anymore that he’s writing the book that DC has been building up for over FOUR YEARS NOW! I do like the fight between Mary Marvel and Wonder Woman. I do love J.G. Jones’ art. I do like the assembly of heroes… but under the guidance of Alan Scott? Come on. Pull the other one. Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis… these were books I could read and not have to be clued in on every single moment if I hadn’t been a faithful reader of every character involved. But now I have to go back and get the entire run of Seven Soldiers to understand this? If I wasn’t reading Green Lantern regularly, I wouldn’t understand what’s going on with the Alpha Lanterns. It’s just too many demands on the reader, Grant. Much like your other current work on Batman and the “R.I.P” storyline that’s supposed to change everything about Batman forever. I can appreciate the desire to revisit incredibly obscure storylines from the 50’s and 60’s… wait… NO, I CAN’T! Grant, what the hell are you doing? Everything you used to have your hands on was like gold! From Arkham Asylum to Animal Man to We3 to All-Star Superman and at least the beginning of New X-Men… it was all genius! Now, we’ve got to research the past to get as much out of it as we need to. That’s not really working for me here, Morrison. Let’s throttle back a bit and give us something that we don’t feel like tearing our hair out because of the frustration. You can be a big Grant Morrison fanboy and tell me what an idiot I am, but I really think that I’ve got my finger on the pulse of a lot of people, fans included, who have told me that they just aren’t getting it.

See? It was a big week. So don’t forget to read my reviews of Invincible Iron Man #4 and Detective Comics #847 here, as well as the other reviews from the other great reviewers!

Tune in next week for another edition of THE SHADOW GALLERY, courtesy of me, the King of the Twentieth Century, the Bogeyman, the Villain… the Black Sheep of the Family.

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