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Snapshots for 1/22
There's no way for Don and I to 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.
A.K.A. #2
by Steve Black & Dara Naraghi (Ferret Press)
 If Alias is the seedy side of private investigators as viewed through the lens of the Marvel Universe, A.K.A. is the same thing viewed through the lens of a grown-up Nancy Drew (and friend). There's an innocent, almost fun tone to the way that Katie and Alison do their jobs, but at the same time there's a mystery building up based on the more serious notions of marital infidelity and lying clients, and I'm as curious about the mystery as I am drawn in by the solid characterization. Black's artwork in this issue sports some inconsistency and his characters could use a little more definition, but his inky style in general is pretty effective and he's especially skilled at conveying the relationship between the two leads, which is really where A.K.A. gets its real strength. 7/10
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #49
by J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita Jr. & Scott Hanna (Marvel Comics)
 When it comes to straightforward action stories, nobody is doing Spider-Man better than Straczynski, Romita Jr. and the rest these days. This issue, however, is not an action issue, it is instead the buffer between the previous action arc and the "big relationship defining" issue #50. Straczynski goes a little too far in trying to present the meeting of Peter and Mary Jane as a big dramatic event, pushing coincidence to the limit and basically padding out an idea that doesn't support an entire issue, and he also spends some time early on confirming my fears that we'll be seeing another retread of the Spidey/Morlun story, all the while almost breaking the fourth wall to tell readers how they should take the underlying avatar stories in context. Basically, this issue is mostly all about the few quibbles I have with the book as opposed to all the things I like about it, and even with the great-as-usual Romita Jr. artwork, it winds up feeling like one of the weaker issues. 6/10
BATMAN #611
by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee & Scott Williams (DC Comics)
 I want to like this book a whole lot more than I do, but everybody else seems to love it, so I suppose one guy not being all that wowed isn't really all that important. Loeb's decompressed storytelling, a big facet in his mini-series with Tim Sale, is in full effect here, meaning that we're four issues in and still in search of more than the barest hint of the plot. However, the overall style of the book is quite entertaining, and I really like the character interaction of this issue, particularly between Lois, Clark and Bruce, but also with the intriguing relationship of Batman and Catwoman. The star of the show, though, is Lee's artwork, whether it's the beautifully-painted look at Metropolis of the past or the shiny and expansive Metropolis of the present. Along with Williams's inks and Sinclair's colors, the warm and inviting tone of Metropolis stands in stark contrast to the more gritty and nocturnal Gotham, and I find that this "fish out of water" element to the story really grabs my attention. 7/10
FANTASTIC FOUR #65
by Mark Waid & Mark Buckingham (Marvel Comics)
 The second big story arc in Waid's Fantastic Four comes with a guest artist and a focus on what is the most interesting aspect of the new book for me, Johnny Storm's role in the company. As expected, Johnny is nowhere near as dumb as he seems, and the way that Waid plays out the story of Johnny's deal and the trouble that is caused is an entertaining read, as well as providing another plot based on the dangers of Fantastic Four technology in mass production. In addition to providing some neat stories custom tailored to the team, this also answers one of the perennial fanboy questions of why super-heroes don't mass-produce their technology and build a better world. A nifty subplot provides some rarely-seen friendly banter between Reed and Ben, as well as a hilarious line that shows that Reed does possess a sense of humor after all, and while I missed Wieringo's artwork, Mark Buckingham does an able job of filling in and keeping the fun tone of the book intact. 9/10
THE INVINCIBLE ED #2
by Ryan Woodward (Summertime Comics)
 The Invincible Ed is produced by an animator and storyboard artist, which means that in addition to having strong fundamentals, it only comes out once in a blue moon. So far, however, it seems to be worth the wait, as Woodward is telling a story focusing on high school students granted great power, unusual for its sense of humor and a touch of darkness, not to mention being in full-color, which is not something you see from most self-published comics. Woodward's art is beautiful, especially as colored by Mike Garcia, and I'm especially impressed by the spot red color in the grayscale sequence or the overclocked pink in the splash page that delineates Ed's relationship with Robin. The story is a little rushed in places, as Woodward makes pretty significant changes to Ed's status quo in the space of a couple pages, but the likable character of Ed makes up for any pacing shortcomings, and the surprisingly dark finale of the book has me anxious to read the next issue. 8/10
JLA/SPECTRE: SOUL WAR #1
by J.M. DeMatteis, Darryl Banks & Paul Neary (DC Comics)
 JLA/Spectre is something of a mixed bag, a straightforward super-hero epic in a style that reminds me of 1980s super-hero comics while also having a degree of DeMatteis's usual ramblings about consciousness and philosophy tied to it. The actual writing approach is a bit clumsy, first-person narrative with an over-expository nature that seems dated in comparison to modern super-hero comics, and the questions of souls and psychic entities is a bit too out there and ill-defined for me. What I did enjoy in the book, however, was the artwork, as Banks teams with Neary and colorist Carla Feeny to produce some of the best work of his career. DeMatteis's script does think big, and as a result there are some big flashy storytelling sequences, not to mention the chance to play around with these iconic characters, and the artwork is pretty spectacular. 3/10
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