|
Snapshots for 5/18/05
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.
BIRDS OF PREY #82
by Gail Simone, Joe Bennett & Jack Jadson (DC Comics)
 Birds of Prey under Gail Simone remains one of my favorite DC reads, and the new art team of Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson are doing a terrific job, with amazingly detailed settings and terrific character work, especially given that they don't often have the shortcut of costumes. There are so many fun moments in this issue, including Black Canary bluffing her way out of a tough situation or getting into a one-on-one fight with a deadly assassin or Helena's perfect insertion into a mafia council, that I almost hate to mention any of my minor gripes. Truly, the good stuff outweighs the bad, and seeing Helena start some sort of caper where she uses the supporting cast that Simone has established for her in her run is worth the price of admission alone, but this book has been one of my oases away from the Identity Crisis-tainted DC Universe, and that taint starts to creep into this issue. Simone earns points from me for doing a little scene that explains how Oracle could have been so callous to her friend Blue Beetle in Countdown (she's sick and in the midst of a crisis with her field operatives), but loses points with Canary thinking maudlin thoughts about "poor, lovely, sweet Sue" and "the heartbreakingly hopeful Spoiler." If the characters insist on referencing these events, it makes it harder to ignore them, and ignoring them is really the only way I can enjoy DC's superhero books at this point. 8/10
EX MACHINA #11
by Brian Vaughan, Tony Harris & Tom Feister (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
 This is the first self-contained issue of Ex Machina, and it's a great sampler for those who haven't tried the book before. All the elements are in place, from Mayor Hundred's winning wit to a flashback to his 9-11 day that made him mayor to the minutiae of city government explored in an interesting storytelling context. I love that Vaughan is able to explore something like fortune-telling, which has something of a history of being "real" in superhero comics, and explore it more from the point of view of what it tends to be in the real world, even when that "real world" features a superhero as well. There's a nice, spooky vibe, as the reader is invited to wonder if there's some truth to Zehala's fortune-telling, but there's also a nice analysis of the practical realities, which is that Zehala is simply reflecting the deeply-buried guilt that still stays with Mayor Hundred over his perceived failure at the site of 9-11. Harris, Feister and Mettler really pull out all the stops in this issue, giving Zehala a beautiful look with mystical allure, perfect for fantasy fortune-tellers or real ones alike, since image is so crucial, not to mention really selling the horror of Mitchell's experiences at building one on 9-11. I was a little distracted to see that Ali G was apparently providing Zehala's security, an in-joke that runs against the mood of the issue, but otherwise, the art performance was spectacular, and the story, as always, fantastic reading. 9/10
SEVEN SOLDIERS: GUARDIAN #2
by Grant Morrison & Cameron Stewart (DC Comics)
 Although Guardian, like the other Seven Soldiers miniseries, is a 4-issue story, Morrison and Stewart really bring their lead story to a close in this issue, with a satisfying chase scene between two subway pirate cars and a creepy, urban legend style ending that fits perfectly in with the "untold tales of the city" vibe that Morrison is going for here. There's a wonderfully ludicrous, over-the-top behavior to the pirates that makes them enjoyable despite their atrocities and keeps things fun despite some actual darkness in the script. I suspect this is due to a dark sense of humor that runs throughout the book, which is present not just in Morrison's writing but in Stewart's lively, action-oriented artwork, which looks a lot like classic John Byrne/George Perez style superhero work tempered with Stewart's clean line animated style and is a perfect match for the story. This is probably the most pure fun of the four initial Seven Soldiers books, and it seems just to the right of DC's continuity, making it the perfect alternative for those of us who find DC's mainstream output right now to be too dark or not fun anymore. 9/10
Email Randy Lander comments about these reviews. |
