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Snapshots for 3/30/05
There's no way that Don 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.
BATMAN #638
by Judd Winick, Doug Mahnke & Tom Nguyen (DC Comics)
 I'm kind of enjoying the "Red Hood" arc of Batman despite myself. I keep remembering that Black Mask pushed past the limits of what I wanted supervillains to get away with in the pages of Catwoman and Robin, and yet his casual, snarky attitude is so fun in Winick's hands that I can't help but enjoy the repartee between him and Red Hood in this issue. The reveal of Red Hood's identity suffers from easy comparisons to the tease (and ultimate disappointment) of "Hush," and yet the thematic resonance of those final pages, not to mention the shocking question of "did Winick just kill off a major character?" has me riveted and anxious to see what happens next. Then there are the elements of the book where I have no misgivings whatsoever, just a pure love of what the creators have done, such as an excellent action sequence that pits Mr. Freeze and goons against Red Hood and his preparations with Nightwing and Batman thrown in to complicate the mix. Mahnke and Nguyen nail this action sequence, as well as the necessary brutality of the final pages, and they're doing a damn nice presentation of Black Mask, Red Hood and Freeze throughout. This is easily the best pure Batman title running, and at this point I'm definitely in for the trade paperback edition. 8/10
THE FLASH #220
by Geoff Johns, Howard Porter & Livesay (DC Comics)
 This issue of The Flash begins "Rogue War" and I'm as torn about this book as I've been since, well, around issue #200 or so. Johns has always had a good handle on the Rogues, but a subtle re-jiggering of them in light of events of Identity Crisis has put a sour taste in my mouth regarding a lot of them, and it seems like the fun has gone, and now they're just a bunch of sociopaths. More accurate and realistic for criminals, sure, but nowhere near as entertaining to read about. Porter and Livesay have grown into their roles on the book, and the action sequences with the Rogues are very effective (aside from a security guard who seems calm when he should be panicking), but a few good action scenes and Johns's continuing interesting insights into the Rogues' psyches can't really outweigh the taint of Identity Crisis fallout on the book. I'm also wary of Zoom, who has never really been that interesting to me, sad given both what he cost Wally and Linda to give him an air of menace and given that I'm a big fan of the Reverse Flash concept, I'm surprised at how boring and borderline annoying I find the character. I have a little insight into where the Zoom/Wally/Linda thing is going, and that may redeem the book to some large extent for me, but I have to admit that "Rogue War," with its uncertain morality on both sides of the equation and casual approach to supervillain murder and mayhem, seems like The Flash as infected by Identity Crisis, and that tone just doesn't do it for me. 5/10
THE GOON #11
by Eric Powell (Dark Horse Comics)
 Here's a weird thing... I never look forward to The Goon, never see the issue and think "Great, a new issue of The Goon!" the way I do with some of my favorite books. But I always, always get a huge kick out of it when I read it, and this issue is no exception. This one is the weird space adventure issue of The Goon, as Goon and Frankie are enlisted to travel to another dimension in order to save the life of the deteriorating Dr. Alloy, the polite former mad scientist who has helped them out a time or two. In the course of this, Frankie gets amusingly delusional, The Goon punches a bug-eyed monster and Alloy undergoes a disturbing transformation that does not bode well. Before all that happens, Frankie gets in a fight with a cripple, and a Spanish-speaking former giant iguana butler serves tea. Yep, just another run-of-the-mill issue of The Goon, and let's all be thankful to Eric Powell for serving them up on a regular basis. 9/10
OUTSIDERS #22
by Judd Winick, Shawn Moll & Kevin Conrad (DC Comics)
 Winick is two for two (in solo play, at least... Countdown is a different story) with me this week, on books where my interest has been very up and down and the darker tone sometimes reminds me of everything I dislike about the direction of DC's universe right now. However, Outsiders #22 has everything a good superhero comic should, a kickass fight scene, some terrific character-building moments and one hell of a shocker ending that has me chomping at the bit to read the next issue and know the secret. Winick's Deathstroke is terrific, and I love that he can build him up as a deadly foe without having to tear down Arsenal as just a punk. I wasn't entirely sure about the reason Deathstroke spared him, but it does fit the less ruthless (and far more interesting) version of the character that Wolfman wrote as opposed to the generic badass we've been seeing since he took on the Justice League in a contrived fight in the pages of Identity Crisis. I was also quite pleased with the fill-in art by unfamiliar name Shawn Moll, who has some minor stylistic inconsistencies characteristic of a creator still finding his own style but reminds me pleasantly of Doug Mahnke's Batman work and even some of Jim Lee's work on that character as well. Moll is good here, and more than half the reason the extended fight sequence works, but I expect that he's gonna be great sooner rather than later, and I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for his name on future projects. 8/10
REX MUNDI #13
by Arvid Nelson & Eric J (Image Comics)
 This issue brings the same borderline confusing but ultimately fascinating conspiracy elements as every issue of Rex Mundi, as the possible true motivation of the villainous Duke of Lorraine comes to the fore. At the same time, we get a sinister glimpse at the Duke moving pawns into place to complete his plans, and a terrific team-up between Rex Mundi protagonist Dr. Sauniere and the first protagonist from Nelson and J, Brother Matthew. That's not the only element that returns from the past, though, as a mysterious monster makes short work of a key player in a familiar and brutal fashion that hearkens back to the first issue of the book and makes it clear that there are plenty of mysteries still out there. Given its sporadic publishing schedule and complex plot, Rex Mundi could really use a clear (bordering on "written for the slow-witted") "what has gone before" page and maybe Nelson could serve to tone down the complexity of the plot just a touch and amp up the character interaction a bit, but I'm still fascinated by this mystery. And even as I'm a bit disappointed that Eric J will be leaving the book, I'm still onboard thanks to Nelson having snagged Jim DiBartolo (of the wonderfully moody horror comic The Drowned) for future art chores. Rex Mundi won't be the same, but it will hopefully continue to be must-reading for fans of a good suspense/horror mystery with alternate historical overtones. 7/10
TEMPORARY #2
by Damon Hurd & Rick Smith (Origin Comics)
 Envy St. Claire, the temp who found herself temping at an insane asylum in the first issue of Temporary, is back. And no, her second assignment ain't much better, as she finds herself filing at a police station where their best detective has about five personalities in his head. Hurd's quirky sense of humor and sense of the surreal plays out most effectively in the scenes where we see Detective Kaswalki's many personas dueling for control, and Hurd and Smith bring new life to the tired interrogation room cliche with the very real unpredictability of the detective's character. The only downside is that Envy's office temp routine runs the risk of seeming boring by comparison, but Hurd and Smith spice that up to with Envy's amusingly weasely boss and a sense that her temp agency is given to this kind of flakiness ("Are they going to shoot me out of a cannon?" "You want to switch with Leo?") and a low-key but intriguing office mate with a crush that Envy doesn't even notice. The two-part nature of the story means it's a little less satisfying than the brilliant bait-and-switch of Temporary #1, but I really like the unique sensibilities of this creative team and the concept they've created here. 9/10
ULTIMATE SECRET #1
by Warren Ellis, Steve McNiven & Mark Morales (Marvel Comics)
 Why do I get the feeling that when all is said and done, the "Ultimate Galactus" trilogy of miniseries is going to wind up being 5-6 issues of story stretched out into 18? It could be because Ultimate Nightmare, the lead-in to this mini, was unbelievably slow and padded and served up memorable moments mostly in its opening and closing chapters. It could also be because this issue shows much the same lackadaisical pacing, with Ellis (or his mouthpiece character Dr. Lawson/Ultimate Captain Mar-Vell) expounding on the pseudo-science of zero point energy and how it relates to space travel as if Ultimate Secret were nothing more than an illustrated textbook for Comic Book Science circa 2005. It might also have to do with a really mucked-up action sequence where, despite McNiven's generally gorgeous artwork, I can't tell you what the hell happened, except that there's a big explosion at the end and apparently some aliens don't want humans getting off the Earth. Silent storytelling and no sound effects render the whole thing kind of passionless and unclear, and there's more energy from the long-winded explorations of a fictional science concept than in an alien betraying his race in the name of humanity, which is just kinda sad. There some cute moments, including a bit of schtick early on where the guard bemoans the silliness of his high security protocols, but mostly this is Ellis and McNiven spending an entire comic on enough story material to fill about six pages. 4/10
USAGI YOJIMBO #82
by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse Comics)
 The genius of Usagi Yojimbo, and one of the reasons for its longevity, is that Sakai can do stories that border on cliched and are even somewhat predictable, and yet the reader is still engrossed, wanting to know what happens, and more importantly, emotionally involved enough to care about what happens. The secret of Priest Hiroshi is pretty clear early on in the story, but there's some really nice tension when Usagi confronts the reality of it, and Sakai really does play up the possibilities of that scene as if anything could happen from there. It doesn't hurt that Sakai isn't afraid to steer away from tragedy, and so there really were all sorts of possibilities, but the story really ends in the most obvious way, which doesn't make it any less satisfying. In the space of 24 pages, Sakai introduces a new character, reintroduces an old one, puts them into conflict and resolves it, all while engaging the reader emotionally and intellectually... and there's a terrific sword fighting action scene that kicks the whole thing off to boot. Enemies of the decompression trend should look no further than Usagi Yojimbo for an alternative. 9/10
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