Shipping This Week! - 04.09.29

The 2099 stuff just looks ... eh. Are these miniseries, or a fifth-week event of one shots? The latter so rarely results in anything worth having -- I liked a lot of Amalgam, or at least thought the novelty value was high enough to warrant it, and the Tangent and Silver Age events had good things in them, but those latter two were DC.

Wasn't crazy about the Diggle Adam Strange, but in part because I thought partway through the preview, "You know, this would be much better if it rehashed NOTHING and let us figure out who this jetpack nut is some other way." I think somehow I have used up my ability to appreciate the 3-page recap trope.

So let's see. Daredevil probably -- I liked the last issue I read quite a lot. Dr Spectrum, I suppose. Wow, is that all? I'll probably wait a week, then.

Am I the only one that's been reading Powerless?

I read the first issue of Powerless, but didn't want to read further.

Also, Hellblazer #200. I haven't been keeping up with it, though I like Mike Carey and Hellblazer in general. The one or two issues I picked up had unseeable art and storylines that didn't hook me, but this has Steve Dillon!

This week, I'm hot to trot for the New Frontier conclusion!!! And the final issue of Green Lantern, where Kyle Rayner goes insane, following the death of his mother last issue, and travels to Oa, in order to get enough power to set things right, killing any Green Lantern who gets in his way...

Can anyone recommend this "Beast Trilogy" dingus by Enki Bilal?

xpost - what, Jordan, was an anonymous columnist's recommendation not enough for you re: this dingus?

FLASH #214
- Not bad at all!

CATWOMAN WHEN IN ROME #1 (Of 6)
- These Loeb / Sale books are pretty as all that, and fun, but REALLY quick reads. But, yeah, a Catwoman throwback to when she was a globe-trotting burglar - she's in Italy (duh!), with the Riddler, involved in Mafia shenanigans.

DC THE NEW FRONTIER #6 (Of 6)
- Awesome.

HELLBLAZER #200 (MR)
- A precursor to future shenanigans involving JC's 3 (!!) children (born from a demon) hunting his drunk ass down.

LOSERS #16 (MR)
- Actually just skimmed through this; will definitely read thoroughly at a later date; the colors in here were all messed up, though - very BLOCKY, as if the colorist decided to fudge around his/her PC, slap pale green & brown rectangles all over the place, and send it in.

OUTSIDERS #16
- Meh. Dan Jurgens (guest artist) doesn't do much for me, especially when he choreographs a confusing pissing match / fist fight between Arsenal & Nightwing (two former sidekicks that really should've stuck with their original codenames). Also, Starfire is hooking up w/ the crew

SUPERMAN #209
- Superman takes on mondo-sized elementals with his fists unt brane (including an earth golem formed from Mount Rushmore); Wonder Woman consoles elemental conjurer; more chatting w/ cancer stricken priest' WW / Supes clash eminent; I am loving this book

SUPERMAN BATMAN #12
- HOLY CRAP it's out! Michael Turner can't flee from this book soon enough (women w/ torsos that resemble distended insect thoraxes = what the hell?), and for the love of whatever STOP WITH THE ALTERNATING CAPTION NONSENSE PLEASE. But otherwise, it's still "cool".

WONDER WOMAN #208
- MEDUSA STRIKES! Also, Medusa underling questions whether she likes Raymond or not. And, for all the fans wishing Wonder Woman did some fighting, she does some fighting. Yippee. I miss the minotaur, but then I always miss the minotaur.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #512
- JMS explains it all! And does a decent job w/ the explanation (even w/ the time-related elements re: the age of Spidey's assailants), and manages to once again have an Osborn stick it (har har) to Parker. Has quickly become the "respectably mature" Spidey title, which might make some of you want to kick Denny O'Neil in the groin.

DAREDEVIL #65
- Kind of a placeholder; recaps what's happened before w/ many guest artists; last 3 pages push things forward. Lots of guest apperances and interesting character bits. Has tea w/ Dr. Strange; chats w/ Nick Fury about SHIELD; messes w/ the Punisher. The Greg Horn section didn't do a damn thing for me. Also, Greg Land covers = teh snore. Michael Golden, surprisingly, does a fair job approximating Alex Maleev's style.

Also: has anyone read Oeming's Thor? I was talking to the comic shop guy about it, in the context of a conversation about characters whose titles should be retired except on those occasions when the right creative team happens to be around (Silver Surfer, Dr Strange, Thor, Wonder Woman). Simonson's far and away the best for Thor as far as I'm concerned, with some bright spots in the early runs too (Stan Lee's, and I'm guessing Roy Thomas? I haven't read many of the Journey Into Mystery stories since being too young to pay attention to writers) -- but CSG likes Oeming, too.

Who the hey is CSG?

Done.

CSG = Carla Speed GcNeil

I've been nervous about JMS's take on Spidey-continuity ever since Ezekiel showed up, but so it goes; and making Peter a high school science teacher is one of the smartest things to happen to the character since MJ found out he was Spidey.

"GcNeil" is fucking awesome. I want to change my name.

I was thinking the other day I'd like to see Wally in an Outsiders arc, to see him hanging out with Nightwing and Arseface. But it might be odd, since he's the full-fledged superhero, not the B-lister.

And Howard Porter is doing the Flash art now? I might actually pick it up. I'm neutral about him, but I really disliked the artist when Johns first started writing. (Granted, I'm not nuts about Johns either.)

xpost

Too bad, that would have been brilliant. He would have been an even better addition to the Teen Titans.

Arseface should join the Doom Patrol!

- various Eagle Comics 2000AD reprints (oodles of Judge Dredd - including a story illustrated by JOHN BYRNE! - and Strontium Dog, and some books featuring DR & Quinch stories) (the recent spate of anti-Dredd talk gives me the willies, though)
- Xero (short-lived Priest superhero / espionage book that seems to be channeling Black Like Me)
- Hourman (post-DC 1000000 series featuring the Hourman android from the future)
- Ragmop (indie fave from when I was youngerish, created by former WB animator; features back-up stories about Adam Smith!; could only find the issues Image published, damn it)
- Replacement God (by Smax! illustrator Zander Cannon)

I could also use help in the bagging & the boarding as well, so gimme a buzz if you're in the neighborhood and bored out of your fucking skull.

Priest + ChrisCross = WOOOOO! (plus Priest made a USenet post about a coloring mistake that's possibly the greatest out-of-context line ever produced)

I'm imagining an ILC FAP that consists of mostly this and Cheetos and Dan making me laugh Mt Dew out of my nose. Or beer, I guess. I'm not sure anyone has ever fancied a pint of Mountain Dew.

google 'Christopher Priest' and it should be right there alongside a lot of other straight-from-the-horse's-mouth dirt on the mindbendingly hideous nature of comics creation.

Of interest to me:

Y & the gang finally get to San Francisco!

Last half of the Swamp Thing fill-in, which despite the Richard Corben art I'm going to skip. I really, really think it was a mis-step to have a fill-in story at this stage of the game.

Exiles #53: Ego the Living Planet - a father?! It's up to the Exiles, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four to keep the Earth from becoming Ego Junior!

Okay, I'm not going to buy it, cause it's part 2 of 2 and I don't know who new writer Tony Bedard is, but that is such an old school plot! In a good way. That's like from the JUST IMAGINE GRANT MORRISON AS EDITOR IN CHEF OF MARVEL COMICS FROM 1967 TO 1972 files.

Sabretooth #1! Really? Why? "Guest appearance by SASQUATCH!" But WHY?

Tomb of Dracula #1 Written by Robert Rodi (With Bruce Jones) Penciled by Jamie Tolagson Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz PART 1 (OF 6) Every thousand years, Dracula enters a chrysalis state for four days, leaving him in a vulnerable state. During this time the most powerful vampires from around the world gather in Transylvania to protect him. Now they are about to be joined by an eclectic team of vampire slayers that have gathered to take down the legendary Vampire King - including the best and most dangerous slayer of them all - Blade!

!! Robert Rodi wrote Elektra at one point, didn't he? I only know him from Codename Knockout, which was surprisingly good at times and sometimes very funny -- I don't know if it's more or less funny now that I've seen Alias (the TV one) and realize that he must have been riffing on it. But dude, Tomb of Dracula. Rock.

Except that chrysalis thing sounds dumb. You know what should happen sometime? This:

TIMMY COSTUMEPANTS: Damn! How will we ever defeat the mighty MAGNATOAD? He is unbeatable and immortalated!

DR STRANGE: Not quite, Timmy! For my oracular tulip reveals that the MAGNATOAD must hibernate in the hidden pools beneath scenic Glenfiddich, once every thousand years! During such time, although he is guarded by his MAGNATOADIES, he is unaware of his surroundings, and vulnerable to any manner of mortal weaponry!

TIMMY COSTUMEPANTS: Spiffy! Is he hibernating tonight, or must we wait until tomorrow?

DR STRANGE: We must wait until 2641!

TIMMY COSTUMEPANTS: You suck, Dr Strange.