Shipping This Week! - 05.02.09

FABLES #34 (MR)
GOTHAM CENTRAL #28
STUCK RUBBER BABY SC
VIMANARAMA #1 (OF 3) (MR)

NEGATIVE BURN VERY BEST FROM 1993-1998 TP
WALKING DEAD #15 (MR)

AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES #7 (OF 8)
CAPTAIN AMERICA #3
CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON #12
DISTRICT X #10 $2.99
INCREDIBLE HULK #78
MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #11
NEW THUNDERBOLTS #5
ULTIMATE X-MEN #56
ULTIMATES 2 #3
YOUNG AVENGERS #1

And hopefully the shop will have managed to get the Bizarro h/c this week.

Aldo, I'm surprised you don't have Captain America on your list - what gives?

GOTHAM CENTRAL #28 - holy shit, are we at #28 already! oh well, DEAD COMIC WALKING!
GREEN ARROW #47 - the Duke of Oil! Arsenal! Grooming tips!
JSA #70 - how on earth can a time travel story written by Geoff Johns be so boring?
NIGHTWING #103 - Nightwing, meet Deadman; Deadman, Nightwing.
OUTSIDERS #20 - Arsenal! Nightwing! Grooming tips!

xpost

So I guess Captain America is good or something, huh? If anyone wants to sell me on it, I'm receptive right now (ovulating).

Also, SOMEONE DIES (and is still dead, according to the previews I've seen)! And yr boy Brubaker is the writer.

Also, I suspect I don't quite feel the love for Yer Man Brubaker as much as the rest of you do.

I'll look at the preview though - but it'll have to go some way to top the Marvel Heroes Coach The Ryder Cup Team! preview about halfway down this week's LitG...

I don't think that was Cap - wasn't that Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Is the GCPD buke a reprint of the one that came out already? why don't they get on with it and release volume 2???

Looks like it. I think DC hates this book. Now that Brubaker and Lark are gone (both recently signed exclusives with Marvel), I can see DC putting GC trades even lower on their priority list. I fucking hate DC this week.

Really, I have no idea - DC's TPB release philosophy is all sorts of wacky, though that mostly pertains to their Vertigo collections. I think I'd prefer their sporadic release philosophy over Marvel's "GOTTA COLLECT IT ALL" mentality, where they TPB any damn thing regardless of quality or demand. (Then, again, Marvel's range of goods pales in comp. to DC's, so if DC actually DID TPB every damn thing, it'd be a more welcome glut.)

Is the Deathstroke/Black Adam thing just the two pages seen in the preview?
I'm strongly considering dropping JSA, there's only so much reminding of the power of legacy I can take. Especially when you consider how shitty those old 40s comics actually were.

Yeah, I'm thinking of dropping it too. It is quite boring these days and I am just not that interested in discovering how the 1940s Two Fisted Avenger can be shown to be related to the present day Dr Fate's gardener or what have you. I would probably still look at in the shop though, for old times sake

GOTHAM CENTRAL #28: Lark's replacement = top notch. (I'm gonna mulch his name - Stefano Guardiano? Very Lark-like, of course, yet not - Lark was more of a 2X4 panel guy, wasn't he? SG's more willing to break stuff up, spread things across 2 pages, use different sized panels, etc.) HUK-L alert - the villain of this story is a Flash Rogue! Greg Rucka's pushing things along nicely, doing more Montoya-related character development. A nice little start, probably the best issue of GC I've read this year (ha).

WOLVERINE #24 / ULTIMATES 2 #3: Who's up for some cynicism? It's in these books, and it's in the following blah blah, too! Last time I pitched an anti-Millar fit, it was about his handling of Spidey's supporting cast (MJ, mostly), which was less about making salient critiques and more about fanboy pouting. But, now - in Wolverine, 2-3 pages of Logan's interior monologue concerns his jealousy (yeah, JEALOUSY) over Daredevil's ability to score w/ the XX assassin types. And then in The Ultimates, there's Betty Ross banging against a glass pane, desperate to kinoodle w/ Mr. Banner's schluppy self (after showing BB the high hat and the Freddy Prinze last "season"), there's the brazenly promiscuous Black Widow thankfully sighing something like (and I paraphrase, but not really), "God, and to think I almost THREW myself at that freaky hippy", and there's Ms. Van Dyne, ever the submissive, suffering, meek victim standing behind her big strong American gladiator and saying sweet FA during the whole issue. (There's also Jarvis' expression of libido re: Thor's musculature, if you're looking to be real catty about everyone being in heat.)

Maybe this is just needless kvetching - clearly Millar's established from the outset that these characters are super-flawed exaggerations of their lesser qualities and/or flaws (Banner's meekness, Pym's obliviousness, Cap's jingoism, Iron Man's jet-setting proclivities, even Jarvis' fey & cultured Britisnness), and sometimes this works as meta-commentary on what these characters are & what they represent & how messed up these books & characters are at their foundation. But, then, he's also reveling in this debauchery to the point that he's not showing any sort of scruples with regards to making these critiques and then feeding into the stereotypes he's critiquing, and brazenly using the most ridiculous exaggeration of these stereotypes (manly men with barrel chests paired w/ busty shapely women in need of a man and a good rogering and not a damn thing else) to sell his wares. This is seemingly what Millar's MO is nowadays - to beat the reader over the head w/ notions like, "YOU BOYS & MEN ARE REALLY MESSED UP FOR READING THESE VIOLENT OVERSEXUALIZED ANTI-MORALITY FANTASIES [but please buy the Director's Cut next week] [& look at the boobies!]".

I don't know - this is me just thinking aloud & spouting out stuff that probably says more about me than the work. I'll still buy these books (for the art - Romita & Janson & Paul Mounts on the former, Hitch & Co. on the latter - and for the story aside from the character bits I just blathered about), but it's a little disquieting nonetheless. At least, in The Ultimates, the characters aren't just devices for spitting out plot points - you could probably switch dialogue balloons between DD & Elektra & Wolverine & not have it make a damn difference (excepting the few times where Wolvie offers a "bub").

Oh, and about the stories - the Hand got their target, and Bruce Banner is now Hannibal Lecter.

I'm picturing a hot Mississippi lass in a full-body red jumpsuit moving REALLY FAST while trying not to touch anything.

The premise: Daily Bugle writer & Ms. Jones (actually doing something besides crying and yelling for the first time since either the first few issues of The Pulse or the last Alias arc) are sent out by JJJ to investigate these young carbon-copies of established ex-Avengers. Meanwhile, JJ also hooks up w/ Cap & Iron Man to do a little super-powered sleuthing. Yes, it's a boys' club right now, but it's understandable, given that the YAs are made out to be super-geeky fanboys. The Legion of Super-Heroes began as a tribute to the heroes the Legion idolized, right? This concept's pretty similar (in more ways than one), and, like I said, it's done rather well. Not worth the uber-hype (as if anything is), but definitely worth a look.

people doing non stop impossible bendy kicks like in X Force, dammit!

* (tee-hee-hee)

OUTSIDERS #19 & #20: Perfunctory downbeat resolution to the John Walsh kidnapped kiddie storyline - Arsenal's kid is scarred for life, kiddie-kidnapper has crap punched out of him (over 3 pages!), lots of glowering & weeping. (Carlos D'Anda's art looks MICH better in #19 than the previous two issues.) And then, in #20, robot sex in Outsider vehicle leads to throwdown w/ pre-GM Doom Patrol villanous mort Shrapnel. And it's Batman's fault, the cheeky bastard! Next month's cover = Nightwing giving Brucey the stinkeye.

FABLES #34: Nice! Nice guest art by David Hahn (previously of Bite Club) Jack Be Nimble (w/ wee li'l Jill) goes to Hollywood w/ truckfull of treasure, & then name-drops Peter Jackson while making me nostalgic for The Player. And, of course, TO BE CONTINUED.

CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON #12: Priest's run of getting snakebit by subpar artistry continues, as Joe Bennett runs to the greener grass on DC's side of New York, leaving the book in the hands of some chap that tells a decent story, but doesn't exactly impress w/ his draftsmanship. (Anyone remember Tom Grindenberg? Would-be Neal Adams clone that drew folks a bit lumpen & misshapen? Yeah, like that.) And, of course, what you want when you're concluding a 5-part story (that's actually part of a story that began w/ the first issue) is a jarring shift in artistic style for the final chapter. Because, y'know, THAT sort of continuity doesn't mean a damn thing. Dan Jurgens is on board for the final 2 issues of the series, & then lord knows what.

re: Outsiders - I forget who's on the next next cover; all I know is I got to type "stinkeye", so I'm happy.

1) Longshot is now a persecuted mutant on the isle of Genosha for a crime (an assassination, actually) he didn't commit; still a lucky SOB, despite his bad luck re: getting INTO messes
2) Mojo is now a plus-sized TV executive producing a reality show where mutants are hunted down & killed for sport; bless you & your dubious morals, Genosha! (&, of course, you can guess who's being hunted, & you can guess that you-know-who is making like Ken Jennings) (&, yes, this is a Brian K. Vaughan book, so the KJ reference was acounted for in the first part of this arc)
3) Arcade is a video-gaming geek turned gadget-happy bounty-hunter brought in to try & take down you-know-who
4) Spiral is, um, Spiral - 6 arms, lots of weapons. No funky helmet, though.

Half the team is there to rescue Longshot & perform recon; half the team is there to exact revenge & kick some oversized albino ass. Art by Stuart Immomnen (sic?) - very nice. Cliffhanger this issue involves a nod to Fall of the Mutants (&/or x-ploits involving the Morlocks). I'd like to think BKV's run on UXM is easily appreciable by folks that don't know mutant from mute ant, but I'm entering Year 20 of Severe X-Story Damage, so I can't say that for sure.

Bleh. I don't understand who's who any more or what's going on.

FABLES #34

It's nice to get away from the main characters for a bit. This could be a lot of fun, but needs developing before I'm completely hooked. The Player comparisons are OTM.

GREEN ARROW #47

Back to the meh. Despit emy scepticism, the Mia HIV story has been really well handled, and last month's Titans issue was great. This is just... wallpaper as Roy joins in.

VIMANARAMA #1

It's 1988 again! This looks and feels straight out of Deadline and is none the worse for it. WELCOME TO THE FUTURE, 'MERKINS!!!

INCREDIBLE HULK #78

Bang, thump, bang, thump, bang. Hulk FITE! With himself! This island is very, very strange and PAD throws in a couple of nods to King Kong to show us what we should be thinking. I can't help loving where he's taking us though.

MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #15

The first story in a new arc shows Franklin beginning to manifest strange time-changey powers. The time detective thingy is kinda naff, but I really like this book so I'm prepared to ride with it.

MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #11

Boo! Other heroes turn up and save the day! BUT OMG!!1!!WTF!!1!!!!11 THE LAST PANEL!!!!1!11

THE PUNISHER #17

A bit of a cop-out to get out of the corner the last issue had written itself into, with the little martial artist despatched with no difficulty in the end. Guns, blood, shooty-kill. Then a decent last couple of pages leading to a thrilling conclusion next issue! I hope. Fury is very badly written here.

ULTIMATE X-MEN #56

David R has it spot on. I've never liked the X-Men much (there, I've said it), but I enjoy UX-M just fine.

ULTIMATES 2 #3

Bleh. At least the art is nice. This isn't a patch on Ultimates 1.

JSA bleh. The best thing was the first page (which I had mystifyingly remembered as two in the preview).

Green Arrow Tom Fowler's art has tightened up since last issue, and I think he's finding his voice for GA. I think things are gonna be all right. While I appreciate the relationships focus that Winick has brought to GA, it's feeling a little exploitative. I don't mean the HIV business, I mean he plays all the sidekicks/children as mere angst-fodder for Ollie.

Nightwing bleh.

Outsiders I can't believe 3 out of the 5 comics I read this week featured either Nightwing or Arsenal, and none of them turned my crank. The art was a nice step up from last issue, but the whole Winick relationshipsploitation gimmick is wearing thin on me today. Normally, a comic about relationships at least pretends to be about something else (cf: New Teen Titans, Wolfman/Perez), but Winick is at best writing stories that pretend to be about relationships but are really about relationships.