The Amazing Spider-Man #’s 521-522 - Read these together and I tell you there’s barely enough material here for one issue let alone two. Straczynski spends far too much time trying to be clever and not near enough developing a plot. And does he get a complete pass on the whole HOUSE OF M thing? Apparently.
Fantastic Four #529 - JMS is stumbling around on this book too, although lack of action isn’t so much the problem here as is flawed plotting and poor character development. I like the twist with the cosmic rays but was it really necessary to bankrupt the FF and then send Reed to some super secret government research facility to move the plot in that direction? So far this book appears way over plotted - kind of the opposite of the Spider-man issues. Guess I wouldn't be happy with anything JMS does.
GLA #4 - This turned out pretty weak. But in Slott’s defense, straddling a book between the real Marvel Universe and Not Brand Echh is difficult at best. Unfortunately the humor of this series felt forced. Better luck next time.
GØdland - A book like this is tough for me to enjoy. I couldn’t tell if I should read it as a faithful Jack Kirby homage or a deft send-up. Since it lacked any sort of wink or nod cueing me to the latter, I’m assuming it’s an attempt to channel Kirby. Artist Tom Scioli has the Kirby thing nailed and Joe Casey’s script is certainly reminiscent of those humorless, over-the-top cosmic saga’s Kirby was famous for. So on that order this book is a roaring success. Unfortunately, it’s not my cup of tea, so I’ll leave future issues to the Kirby fans, who should love it.
JLA Classified #10 - Great start, but it had the feeling of being only that, a start. Maybe it was just that I immediately wanted to read more or maybe I’m so sick of the whole OMAC plotline I’m ready for something that isn’t “83 Days Until Infinite Crisis”. I don’t always like Ellis when he’s working on properties that aren’t his own, but this is off to a good start and I sure like Butch Guice’s work here. I’ve read he’s been around a while – where’s DC been keeping him?
Silent Dragon #1 - This was good. Sci-fi Samurai. I’ve kind of had a whole feudal Japan thing going lately. The other night I finally got around to watching THE LAST SAMURAI, I’ve been ripping through a box of LONE WOLF & CUB books (more on those later) and a few days ago I parked next to a Suzuki Samurai (I was careful not to exhale and send it tumbling away) when I was having lunch at a sushi place. And now this - perfect timing. Andy Diggle is solid as usual, Leinil Francis Yu is a star in the making - he, inker Gerry Alanguilan and colorist Dave Stewart combine to give the book exactly the right texture.
Superman Batman #21 - Oy.
Twilight Experiment #6 - You know how, when you get to the end of a mini series, you realize that it has so much depth and so many layers that there’s no way to get everything reading it spread out over six or seven months and you just have to reread the whole thing in one sitting right then? This isn’t one of those series. I reviewed the first four issues back in May and my opinion wasn’t changed by the conclusion. Uninspired and unoriginal.
Ultimate Iron Man #3 - An interesting spin on the Iron Man mythos but seems a bit out of step with the Iron Man we’ve seen in other Ultimate titles. Or maybe not. It’s hard to keep every thing straight these days. Anyway, it’s fun but will eventually need more than what amounts to an extended origin tale to keep it afloat. Andy Kubert is excellent but I’m hoping he gets as little more to do as this progresses.
OMAC # 4 & JLA #116 - I’m afraid I’ve got pre-Infinite Crisis Fatigue. OMAC is just giving me a headache right now and JLA is only marginally better. I didn’t pick up any of the Superman or Wonder Woman tack-on nonsense and feel none the worse for it. I just keep thinking, God, INFINITE CRISIS hasn’t even started yet.
You now what I think would have been cool? Take one issue of Breach or Manhunter or some other semi-obscure DC title and -- with no marketing or fanfare whatsoever -- kill off everyone who’s currently on the chopping block, blow up Rann or Thanagar or whatever; in one panel Max Lord kills Blue Beetle, then Donna Troy shows up in the next, just in time to see WW kill Max while Captain Marvel and the Spectre beat the snot out of each other in the background and the OMACS…forget the OMACS, that whole concept is just dumb. Basically upset everyone’s tea kettle and then BOOM! it’s one year later in every other title. And they all have little breadcrumbs leading back to that one backwater DC book – how great would that have been?
I actually had an idea for something like that where as the mini series/crossover gets closer to the finish everything would appear to move faster and faster and each issue would be a quicker read. Characters like Spider-man and Wolverine and such would be killed in one panel, maybe two, or maybe even off panel. As things reach a climax, BAM!, reboot the whole universe. I guess it's similar to Crisis, but no one remembers a thing and Crisis didn't have that whole speeding up thing. The last issue would just be double page spreads and the first issue would be packed with panels to make it a slow read.
Posted by: Shane | August 16, 2005 at 07:23 AM