Shipping This Week! - 04.10.20

??? it says #5 (of 7) there.

Straczynski's penchant for worthy-but-haunted characters and lashings of portentousness works much better without decades of continuity to have to reboot.

So how's about finishing Rising Stars some time this century, you fucker?

No wait, that's Identity Crisis, I'm a fool.

It would be great, from a schadenfreude point of view, if Identity Crisis sugddenly had an extra couple of months stuck on, and a hastily rewritten ending, in a Armageddon 2001 style.

Identity Crisis has already been spoilered by the Doring Kindersley DC Universe book, the one with the Alex Ross cover. There's a thread about it on the CBR forums.

Which is why it needs two extra months!

(I've been reading that "history of the spider-clones" webpage recently, and now I'm convinced that anything beyond one writer + two artists + one editor is a work of monumental folly)

Very light week for me, Human Target & Lucifer (+ last week's books).

1000 Steps to World Domination looks awesome, I'll check for it.

The DC "Ask the Editors" pages debunked the DC Encyclopedia, saying basically that the writers had only read upto the first issue of Identity Crisis, where it does seem apparant that Dr. Light is the killer, as reported in the book. Whether or not this is merely panicky subterfuge remains to be seen.

It is the 'obvious' surprise ending, I suppose.

Aw crap, I was hoping for a new issue of the Flash this week. Am I gonna have to go all the way across town just for Identity Crisis, or do I cheat on my comic shop and stop off at the shitty place downtown?

JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES V2! Yesssss!

Also, The Goon, Human Target and maybe Oceans.

How will Kirby top the Goody/Don Rickles two-parter?

In a manner that only Kirby can! I have great faith.

Eff A Bill:

GOON DH ED #9 $2.99
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #633 $2.50
BOOKS OF MAGICK LIFE DURING WARTIME #4 (MR) $2.50
HUMAN TARGET #15 (MR) $2.95
IDENTITY CRISIS #5 (Of 7) $3.95 (STABBY YAY!)
LUCIFER #55 (MR) $2.50
OCEAN #1 (Of 6) $2.95
PLASTIC MAN #11 $2.95
TEEN TITANS #17 $2.50
FANTASTIC FOUR #519 $2.99
MADROX #2 (Of 5) $2.99
SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #20 $2.25 (GOD PLEASE END THE CRAP MADNESS & BRING BACK THE NON-SUCK PAUL JENKINS!)
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #67 $2.25

I just caught up w/ both Plastic Man & Human Target this weekend. They're doing fine, thanks for asking. That baseball 2-parter (in HT #4 & 5) is one of the best things I've read this year (even if it came out last year). & Plastic Man, after a very shaky start, has most definitely found its voice & is GREAT!

Is Teen Titans good? I seem to really like Geoff Johns, but I'm not keen on kiddies.
And hell, I should probably start picking up Plas again dammit!

It's OK; nothing too spectacular. It suffers from the same sort of geekitis that marked the duller moments of JSA (continuity minutae thrown in w/out much explanation = zzzzzzz), but is functionable.

Previews Review brings you the straight butter from off the Top Shelf (& other places). I'm super happy they're posting semi-regular updates again.

And Now, Short Attention Span Theatre!

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #633
Parasite twins! Convalescing Lois! There seems to be some disconnect happening between either the writer / artist, or the super-hero / civilian bits - the shifts between scenes were a bit abrupt. The parasites draped all over each other are unnerving, though, which is (I assume) the desired effect.

IDENTITY CRISIS #5
More of the same (which I'm enjoying). I fell for the nail-biting ending. And I was UPSET at what Meltzer did. I am such a sucker.

LUCIFER #55
FANTASTIC Marc Hempel art! Mike Carey's Vertigo work doesn't read well from month-to-month, though - I TOLD you this was Short Attention Span Theatre! This just means I'll have to sit myself down & do some re-reading.

OCEAN #1
Warren Ellis "decompression" done right. A very nice introduction. Don't expect me to remember what's actually going on, though. Something about Jupiter and dead bodies.

TEEN TITANS #17
Pretty damn good (if you can stomach the "grittiness" of the Future Teen Titans)!

FANTASTIC FOUR #519
I love comic book science. Also, GALACTUS! FINALLY!

MADROX #2
Excellent stuff all the way around. If you are hankerin' for a Sam Spade murder mystery involving a guy that can copy himself, then start reading!

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #20
I stand by my original pre-purchase assessment - GOD PLEASE END THE CRAP MADNESS & BRING BACK THE NON-SUCK PAUL JENKINS! 6 issues of "oh, no, I am a SPIDER AGAIN!" baloney so that Spidey can shoot his webs in the comics like he does in the movie. I can't believe I bought into all this Avengers Disassembled crossover hooey. I truly am a sucker.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #67
Not as much fun as the first part of the switcheroo arc, but a decent ending. I assume we're back to tightening the screws with the next issue.

Crap, USM never came. My subscription must've run out!

I got the Teen Titans and, uh, fuck, now I'm gonna have to buy the next one. Obv. the grittiness is there for a reason, not merely for grittiness' sake. Which is okay. Why do people (other than Frank Millar and Mike Mignola) always give future or past Batmans such shitty cowls?