A long night of comic reading
Oh, hello. It’s been a while, I guess. I’ve still been reading comics. I just haven’t been writing about them.
Tonight, though, Wife and son watched Glee and some other garbage I don’t watch, so I was able to repair to my man-cave (actually more of a man-corner-of-the-basement) and get some reading done. Playlist of some stuff I listened to is available at 8tracks, if you’re interested.
Doc Savage #1
Creators: Paul Malmont and Howard Porter (backup by Jason Starr and Scott Hampton)
First Wave, I guess, is supposed to be set in a super-power-free reality. Doc Savage is apparently a 30s-style adventurer, but apparently set in a 21st century that has zeppelins and cellphones and fedoras and digital thermostats. Not a lot is explained in terms of background, which I often enjoy. The setting and back story are either really well thought out or completely haphazard. Can’t tell from the first installment, but worth reading more of. The B-story is set in the same reality and is slightly more interesting initially than the Doc.
Batman #698
Creators: Tony Daniel and Guillem March
Tony Daniel continues as writer, but hands off art to Guillem March, late of Gotham City Sirens. March brings with him Edward Nigma, one of the more interesting and complicated figures in the current Bat-mythos thanks to Paul Dini’s work. Daniel has the flagship title, but is still probably the third best writer on the Bat-books. He seems to enjoy straightforward whodunnits that feel a bit like Scooby Doo episodes. I was hoping that not having to work on art and story both might change some of his tendencies, but the last 4 or 5 pages of this thing are pretty muddled. Maybe Daniel needs to learn to communicate with the artist better when the artist isn’t named Tony Daniel. The “Zur En Arrh” graffitti and visual quote from Dark Knight Returns in the last couple pages keep it kind of intersting, but it’s still a bit difficult to tell what’s going on. If we’re to understand from disjointed thought boxes and badly laid out art, Nigma may or may not lie dead at the end, and I may or may not be interested in finishing this story.
Brightest Day #0
Creators: Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi, and Fernando Pasarin
Things I can tell from reading Brightest Day #0
- somebody likes redheads
- wings get in the way of lovemaking
- somebody thought that whole DC Universe #0 thing was good for another go
- also, the whole “silent witness” thing from Kindom Come? Pure gold. Hit it again.
Still, though, this is a nice setup for what will start out as a really interesting storyline. I say “start out as” because Blackest Night started out that way, but collapsed under its own weight in the third act. But here’s hoping.
Flash #1
Creators: Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul
I’m not big on the Flash. I am a big fan of Geoff Johns, however, and I have a lot of confidence in his ability to tell a good story and build a good set of characters. This first issue is just a lot of moments. Flash taking time to talk to a little kid, the relationship he has with Iris, and the great street-level take on the rogues are all dead on and could make for a very good book.
Johns took Green Lantern’s convoluted backstory, cut out the chaff, defined the basics of the characters, and built a franchise that is currently one of the best in comics. I’m sincerely hoping that he can do that with Flash, a property that’s suffered and meandered for a number of years.
Daredevil #506
Creators: Andy Diggle, Antony Johnston, and Marco Checchetto
It’s been a DC-heavy week, but I’m a DC-heavy kinda guy. What better way to balance it out than with some Marvel written by a guy who got famous at DC?
There’s not much to say about this storyline except that it’s pretty awesome. Daredevil, martial arts, politics, and enough ninjas that you have to check the cover to make sure that Mark Millar didn’t write it.
The book is starting to move a bit too slowly for my taste. The reveal at the end of this one should help that issue, however.
The evening’s music.
I was thinking of the excellent Vertigo title Daytripper (which I’ll hopefully write up later) and decided to listen to the Beatles song. I did, and then left it running. The library was sorted by name, but it wound up making for a kind of cool playlist. Unfortunately, I can’t embed an 8tracks player on wordpress.com, so I’ll just have to link to 8tracks.com
