Comic Reviews For The Week of 6/10/2009  

Posted by Rev. Jacob G. Dodd in , , , , ,


The Pull List This Week:
Action Comics # 878
Batman # 687
Final Crisis HC
Green Lantern Corps # 37
Red Robin # 1
Young Liars Vol. 2 TPB
Amazing Spider-man # 597
Deadpool # 11
Uncanny X-Men # 511X
X-Factor # 44
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Batman # 687
Writer : Judd Winick
Artist : Ed Benes

I was not a big fan of Judd Winick's last run on Batman. In fact I consider it to be one of the most mediocre chunks of writing in the history of the character. It wasn't bad, per se. It was mediocre. It simply existed and its utter blandness resulted in unending apathy on my part. In the end, it was utterly forgettable. This issue is better than most of Winick's last run combined. There is a sense of forward mobility that was not present for Judd's last go-round. He seems to understand the characters fairly well, at least insofar as their actions make perfect sense in the wake of Bruce Wayne's departure. The only eye-rolling moment came in the form of a flashback where young Dick Grayson informed Batman that he had "been served." I mean, come on. That's just groan worthy. But the book is severely readible, and features some great moments that give us a good look at how Alfred the butler is dealing with the whole situation, and exactly it is he has always felt about Bruce. I'd wager to say it's one of the better moments in the Batman book that we've been privy to in a long time.

All in all, I have raised expectations for the book now. I will read on to see if Winick can keep it up or if he'll drop the ball hard.

Red Robin # 1
Writer : Christopher Yost
Artist : Ramon Bachs

I was not originally planning on picking this one up. I think curiosity got the better of me because I did find it on my stack and wound up reading it before some of my established favorites.

I think it may be a little too early to tell whether or not I will personally enjoy this book. I do like the fact that Tim Drake is breaking off on his own the way Dick was able to as Nightwing. I think it's a logical progression for the character. I also think that utilizing Ra's Al Ghul in the opening storyline was a wise choice, because I think Ra's is the bee's knees and should be in more books.

The story moves pretty quick, and we get some flashbacks that fill us in on what we need to know, and to exactly what Tim's mindset will be throughout the story arc. It all feels pretty well prepared and I like where they're going although I think that they could tone down the angst factor because Tim didn't get this whiny even when his own father was killed. I think that could be dialed back and signs that Tim will find ways to cope are presented in the issue so I believe that Yost knows what he's doing with the character. He knows how to write teenage characters after working on New X-Men, so I think he's got a firm grasp on what he wants to do with the book.


Deadpool # 11
Writer : Daniel Way
Artist : Paco Medina
This issue was a quick one. It's an utterly hilarious fight between Deadpool and Bullseye/Hawkeye that features Deadpool dressing up in a suit made of meat and his inner monologue going to gibberish due to brain damage. The meat suit thing nearly had me wet myself.

Deadpool has really been on form since the end of the Secret Invasion beginning arc and this issue is no different. If you like Deadpool in any capacity you should be reading this book right now. I am so serious.

This book really doesn't require much more review than that. So I'll pad it with some Deadpool-esque filler.

Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...

Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...
Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...
Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...
Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...
Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...
Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...Chimichanga...


Final Crisis (Hardcover)
Writer : Grant Morrison
Artist : Various
I felt like if I bought the hardcover, I might be able to understand what in the name of melting Jesus Grant Morrison was trying to accomplish with this thing. I will say that if you want to praise this as the next step in the logical progression of comic books as an art form, go ahead. If you want to paint it as utter tripe, you can do that too.

This book fits no mold. There is no way around that. It fits no niche and adheres to no group. It simply is itself.

It's a good read, the art is amazing and the story seems textured and rich, but it also seems oddly disjointed in places and doesn't have the coherency of the original Crisis, though it does read better than Infinite Crisis ever did.

I think Grant Morrison is a great writer but his mainstream superhero work is not as strong as his more personal writings. I think he was the wrong guy to center your tentpole event around. And while it's certainly an interesting read and may in fact be brilliant, though I don't know if I could proclaim it as suck, it is in no way the kind of book that one would expect as the cornerstone of a company for the duration of its publication schedule.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 12, 2009 at 7:00 PM and is filed under , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

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