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Snapshots for 7/2
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.
AGE OF BRONZE #17
by Eric Shanower (Image Comics)
 Age of Bronze is a retelling of the Trojan War, and anyone familiar with war knows that it has many victims. Even moreso the war that takes place in a culture like that of the Greeks, where certain sacrifices were not just acceptable but expected, and yet they seem monstrous today. The title of this story arc is "Sacrifice," and Shanower has not shied from showing the sacrifices that "the Gods" ask of these Greeks. However, while the destruction of relationships and the abandoning of families and kingdoms in the name of honor have had their tragic elements, the sacrifice that comes before Agamemnon in this issue really hit home. As with the best Greek tragedies, the protagonist is brought to a no-win situation thanks to their hubris, and Shanower does an exquisite job of showing Agamemnon's frustration and pain. There's also a very clever use of a continuous "Shshshsh" lettering bordering the action, so that the ever-present wind causing all the problems is an omnipresent force in the story. This is a powerful issue, one of the most powerful in the Age of Bronze saga. 10/10
BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #169
by Tom Peyer & Tony Harris (DC Comics)
 I may have to revise my opinion on Legends of the Dark Knight as an "inventory story" book if they keep up at this rate. Tom Peyer and Tony Harris are an unusual creative team for Batman, and as it turns out, a really good one. Harris's artwork hits all the detail and realism of the streets, with beautifully-rendered people, cars, guns and backdrops, and Peyer's story of a street thug with an ugly face and a power he's really not capable of fully utilizing is compelling as well. Peyer pulls off a neat trick, as our narrator is a somewhat stupid punk, but he thinks he's a "shark," and Peyer conveys both the protagonist's inflated self-image and the reality of the situation simultaneously, all with a fairly well-realized setting of Gotham, and a nice use of the crime boss version of the Penguin. The colors (or perhaps the separations) are a little too monotone and a little too dark, but in general this looks good and read well, and is the kind of thing I remember from when I used to read Legends of the Dark Knight on a regular basis so many years ago. 8/10
BEACH SAFARI GN
by Mawil (Top Shelf Productions)
 Beach Safari is a translated German tale of a bunny stranded on an island with three beautiful surfer girls. Yeah, it's kind of weird. But it's also very beautiful, and surprisingly easy to relate to, given the weird subject matter. Mawil spends the early part of the book exploring what the bunny does to survive, and his exaggerated movements for the bunny give him an energetic and often very funny feel. His art also has a strong contrast between the slightly timid, nervous bunny and the outgoing surfer girls, even though they share in common not just a locale but an energy and zeal for life. Mawil's story is a little disjointed at times, not really spelling anything out and introducing a strange and not completely connected romance between bunny and one of the surfers, but it's beautifully illustrated and has a surprisingly down-to-earth appeal and light, fun energy to it. 7/10
BLOOD AND WATER #5
by Judd Winick & Tomm Coker (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint)
 The finale of Blood and Water is a surprising shift in tone from the rest of the story, away from the character-based stuff and into something of a slam bang action sequence. To be honest, it's not quite as strong as the rest of the series, but it does come with a surprising revelation about Adam. Some of the character shifts are a little abrupt, including the thing between Adam and Nicky at the end or the sudden change of heart of Adam and Nicky's rescuer, leading me to believe that a sixth issue for an epilogue, allowing this fight some breathing room, might have been nice. I also thought Coker's designs for the big bad vamps come off a little fake, which I know sounds weird, but is more a compliment to the realism that Coker has brought to the art throughout than a real complaint about the design. At any rate, while a little more room to breathe would have been nice, this is a solid ending to what has been a pretty spectacular limited series, and will hopefully be a nice little trade for Vertigo down the line. 7/10
FABLES #15
by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham & Steve Leialoha (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint)
 Plenty of mysteries abound in the new Fables arc, along with an interesting central drama focusing on the burgeoning relationship between Bigby and Snow. The latter gives me some of my favorite moments in this issue, including Bigby's senses picking up on the sniper or transforming into his very powerful-looking wolf form (kudos to Buckingham again on designs). Though Bigby has always been likable, there's always been a sense that Snow White was really the one in charge, but the move from the city to the wild reverses that, and it's interesting to see Bigby coming into his own even more. The story surrounding Snow and Bigby is far from the only interesting one, though. The spymaster behind the Liliputians was a big surprise, and the efforts of Sergeant Wilfred to get back and report are effective as well, as we see his bravery and dedication in what he's having to go through on this mission. Willingham has woven several major characters, each with their own stories, into one single narrative, and it's both an entertaining read and another issue that has me anxiously awaiting the next. 9/10
HELLBOY: WEIRD TALES #3
by Alex Maleev, Bob Fingerman, Galen Showman, Sara Ryan, Steve Lieber, William Stout & John Cassaday (Dark Horse Comics)
 A story in dreams, a workplace comedy with a sarcastic edge, a tale of family dysfunction with a demonic twist and a pulp homage with a saucy streak make up the four story offerings in this issue of Weird Tales. For the most part, this is an art showcase rather than a showcase for writers, and the art across the board is fantastic, especially Steve Lieber's detailed rendition of the family home where Helboy does some unusual research or Maleev and Matt Hollingsworth's ethereal and creepy take on Hellboy's fight in the realm of dream. That doesn't mean the stories aren't entertaining... Sara Ryan wowed me with her Me and Edith Head minicomic, and this collaboration with husband Steve Lieber is not quite at those heights, but it's a good use of the short story form with a nice twist and a great sense of dark humor. And Bob Fingerman's "Downtime" is a neat twist on the slice-of-life/workplace comedy he excels at, cleverly tweaked to include the supernatural setting of the B.P.R.D. Throw in a couple pinups, including a stunning piece by William Stout, and you've got a fun outing that should help tide us over while we await more Mignola Hellboy. 7/10
QUEEN & COUNTRY #17
by Greg Rucka & Carla Speed McNeil (Oni Press)
 Queen & Country is one of those series where I'm running out of new ways to say good things about it. I mean, really, you've got the sharp political observations of Rucka, on both a large world scale and a smaller office scale. You've got fascinating characters in a fairly rotten (and yet exciting from the outside) job. You've got imaginative missions, such as the one in this arc that plays off a failed mission during the Cold War era that happened in Queen & Country: Declassified as well as real-world politics, without requiring readers to be an expert in either. And you've got probably the best use of rotating art teams in comics, with only New X-Men coming close. McNeil, known for her work on Finder, brings a softer look to most of these characters, but while the look is completely different from prior artists, it's perfectly keeping with the tone of this story, which is more focused on character stories like Crocker's guilt over his prior mission, Tara's anger and grief over the loss of Ed and the eagerness and trepidation of new Minder Brian. 9/10
ULTIMATE X-MEN #35
by Brian Bendis, David Finch & Art Thibert (Marvel Comics)
 Though this is still a pretty significant shift from Millar's take on the book, Ultimate X-Men #35 is less of an Ultimate Spider-Man issue and more of a broadening exploration of the Ultimate universe as a whole. This has its upsides, such as Bendis getting some hilarious play with the Black Widow and relationships established in the Ultimates and Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, and its downsides, as Spider-Man still doesn't feel like he quite belongs in this black ops world that the Ultimate line has become sometimes. Still, Spidey's banter and high school outlook contrast in often-funny ways with Wolverine's black ops no-nonsense personality, and this arc is letting Bendis show off a side he doesn't get to show very often, the fast and brutal action side. He's helped out considerably in that regard by David Finch and Art Thibert, who do some very nice work showing how effective Wolverine is against the folks who are hunting him and make the character look scary, serious or comical, depending on what's needed for the scenes. There's still not quite enough X-Men in Ultimate X-Men right now for my tastes, but I can't deny that this is an entertaining story well-told. 8/10
WOLVERINE: SNIKT! #3
by Tsutomu Nihei (Marvel Comics/Tsunami imprint)
 Hey! Words! Wolverine: Snikt! gets into the explanation for why Wolverine is in a dark future battling monsters, and I found myself surprisingly interested, even though I really only signed on for the beautiful artwork and the promise of unpretentious action storytelling. Nihei throws out a few concepts worthy of Morrison, specifically the revelation that "The Mandate" is a human-made sentient mutant disease, and he also throws out a reasonable explanation for why Wolverine would be the chosen one to fight these monsters. It's fun with super-heroes and time travel, and though this issue does feature more in the way of exposition than bloody warfare, it still doesn't let down in the visuals department. Nihei's stark, anime-meets-Mignola style is beautiful to look at, and though this may not be the strongest book in the Tsunami lineup, the trade paperback version may be the one that best hits the stated goal of encroaching on manga's dominance in the bookstore market. 8/10
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