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Quick Critiques for 9/15
There's no way that Randy and I can cover all of the material we have for review in full reviews, so these capsule reviews will offer some brief comments on other recent releases.
BIRDS OF PREY #74
by Gail Simone, Jim Fern & Steve Bird (DC Comics)
 The art is a bit disappointing this month, as Fern and Bird's collaboration comes off as a little stiff. It reminds me of C.P. Smith's work on Marvel's new Invaders series, but it's much clearer, anyway. The opening scene is a riot, a real hoot, with a great running gag to keep the reader laughing. The closing scene is diametrically opposed, bringing a darkness to the action. The book opens on an idealistic note, but it ends on an angry, vengeful one... but it works. The friendship between the Canary and the Huntress rings incredibly true. I'm not really struck on the characters of Savant and Creote yet, but there's no denying that the dynamic they bring to the book is original and dramatic. Simone is offering up some incredibly originaly super-hero stories in this series, so much so that times, it seems more like an espionage book or law-enforcement drama. 7/10
HAWKMAN #32
by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Joe Bennett & Ruy Jose (DC Comics)
 Nazis. Aliens. Antarctica. What's not to love? Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray offer up an entertaining tribute to the Silver Age of comics. This is the super-hero team by the numbers, but the script boasts a lot of personality. The grim Hawkman is set aside for this issue, and in his stead, we get a version that's a little more fun. Palmiotti and Gray demonstrate they write a great Atom, and all of the pseudo-science talk is surprisingly entertaining. Bennett does a great job of filling in, though his style here seems quite a bit different from his work on Marvel's Captain America and the Falcon. The art here seems a lot less cramped and dense. I really enjoyed his take on the Psions; he makes the obscure DC Universe aliens seem much more malevolent and powerful. This is far from required reading for those keeping up with the Hawks, and it doesn't really introduce new readers to the ongoing plotlines. But it's a fun, accessible, self-contained super-hero story. Nothing more, nothing less. 7/10
JSA: STRANGE ADVENTURES #2
by Kevin J. Anderson, Barry Kitson & Gary Erskine
(DC Comics)
 I love DC's Golden Age heroes, and just about every major JSAer is to be found in this book. And yet still, I'm not enjoying it. The two-pronged plotting -- featuring the Johnny Thunder writing plotline and the Lord Dynamo villainy -- is scattered and uncompelling, and furthermore, I think some visual cues give away where the writer is going with the story. Johnny Thunder comes off as the most annoying and clueless guy in the world, the Pauly Shore of the super-hero set. And I don't know about you, but I hate Pauly Shore. The art here is fun and clear, but it's a bit crowded at times as well. Anderson incorporates too large a lineup of heroes here, and there's really no need for just about every member of the title team to play a part. The art is solid, but really doesn't grab the reader's attention enough to sustain any interest in the substandard plot. 3/10
ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE #2
by Warren Ellis, Trevor Hairsine & Nelson DeCastro (Marvel Comics)
 This is far from the most exciting issue we're going to see in this limited series, that's for sure. The players are established in this issue, and we learn more about the new Ultimate continuity incarnation of the Falcon, AKA Sam Wilson. Ellis's dialogue for the character is brilliant, and I love how perceptive and intuitive the character is. However, there's a key element missing: personality. Aside from being an ex-army officer, we really don't learn much about him. His dialogue could really emerged from just about any character. Ellis has Wolverine playing a video game and getting frustrated with it, but it just doesn't seem to be in his character. He comes off as young and impulsive here, and it just doesn't seem like Wolverine. The military and tech speak throughout the issue rings incredibly true, though, and it's a lot of fun. Hairsine's art is capable, but inconsistent. Our first glimpse of Colossus makes him appear Asian, for example. Like Ellis, though, he handles the military and tech aspects incredibly well, and the demonstration of power at the end of the issue makes for a striking visual. 6/10
WOLVERINE: THE END #5
by Paul Jenkins & Claudio Castellini (Marvel Comics)
 This penultimate chapter of the limited series is the strongest of the run thus far, for a couple of reasons. The story takes on a greater focus and clarity here, but more importantly, Jenkins gives the reader a wider view of this vision of the future. He hints at radical changes in the geo-political scene, and the X-Men is a much different sort of organization here. Those small elements take the story beynd the typical bad-ass Logan hunting down an enemy, something we've seen oh so many times in the past. Castellini continues to channel the spirit of accomplished artist John Buscema here, and it's fitting, given that the late Buscema was the first regular penciller on the ongoing Wolverine series that launched in the late 1980s. Castellini adds some futuristic and alien touches to the backdrop as well, setting it apart from the world of today even more. The plotting here is standard, but the sense of finality and change makes the story more interesting. 6/10
Email Don MacPherson with your comments about this review.
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