This is it! The last of my recently purchased comics reviews. Aren’t you happy? I am.
Batman Robin #13: Holy cats this is good. If you are not reading this comic, you are missing out. It’s in my top five every month all thanks to the crazy mind of Grant Morrison. Two things of note: 1) Batman is concerned for the Joker’s safety when Robin is alone in the room with the Clown Prince of Crime. 2) Finally! Gordon says something to Batman about him not being “his” Batman: “The … other Batman called me ‘Jim’.” To which Dick responds, “I’ll call you Commissioner Gordon, sir, if that’s okay.” Also, Gordon tells Dick that most of his cops prefer Dick’s Batman. Heh. Okay, 3) The first 6 pages: WTF?!
Brightest Day #5: I like the BP oilspill allusion in the Aquaman feature (still the best, btw). Mera’s revelation ought to make for some interesting panels next issue. More Dove goodness also in this issue. I find it interesting that the voice that “speaks” to Boston Brand is so familiar with him, calling him by his first name and sounding so … familial, perhaps? Very curious what’s going on there.
Hercules: Twilight of a God #2: This was a disappointment. It’s mostly one long fight scene that dips into cliché when Hercules is fighting for his life until he’s spurred on by the death of a family member and then he can defeat the bad guy. How many times have we seen that?
I, Zombie #3: Three issues in: am I liking this? Yes. How much, I’m not sure. I like Allred’s art, but I’m wondering if this was the right story for him to tell. Or maybe I’m holding on too closely to my preconceived notions of what “horror” creatures should look like in a comic. I will say that I really liked the visual effect that’s used when Gwen has her visions. In fact, it’s used as she comes out of it and is looking at her friends as her sight clears up. That was smart. So I’ll say never mind. I like Allred’s work here. (See? This is better than therapy! :) I also like the small character moments, such as when Gwen tells us that as a zombie she’s resistant to pain, but injuries are a problem since she doesn’t heal like us non-zombies.
Irredeemable #15: Once again the Plutonian escapes defeat because of an incidental thing (if you call a 9.8 chain reaction earthquake incidental), but at least Bette finally decides to do something and follows through. Qubit’s little act of defiance though should have some interesting repercussions. And another of the Paradigm bite the dust, literally.
Scarlet #1: The new creator-owned book by Bendis and Maleev, fresh off their abandonment of the much-loved Spider-Woman comic. I did not want to like this, but Matt at the Comic Book Shop talked it up (damn him) so I got it and it was pretty good (dammit). Based on just this first issue, Spider-Woman was better, but that may have to do more with my general love of that character and the familiar trappings of the Marvel universe. Much of the comic is Scarlet talking to us, which is an interesting choice (though I’m not sure I like it yet), but then we get a flashback and the character came alive for me. In fact, there’s this beautiful three-page spread, done in a nine-panel grid, detailing Scarlet’s life up to the point where everything changes for her. It’s different than what I’ve read of Bendis’s other work, and Maleev’s art is still good, though I still think it fit better in–you guessed it–Spider-Woman. Okay, I’ll try not mention that comic again. I’ll be getting this for now.
Longbox Review 