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Snapshots for 7/30
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.
BEWARE THE CREEPER #4
by Jason Hall & Cliff Chiang (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint)
 As Beware the Creeper winds down, the creators unveil the true face behind the mask, and I must admit that while I was hoping for a less predictable choice or a stronger reveal, it becomes clear to me that the story here isn't the mystery of identity, but the tale of what happens when people can't simply live as they are. The complicated dynamics between Inspector Allain, Judith, Madeline, Didi and Mathieu make for intriguing drama and an almost inevitably tragic set of circumstances, and I definitely felt the impact as flighty Judith's decisions started to catch up with her, first with Ric Allain and then with Colette. I felt even worse for poor Didi, little more than a pawn in the larger plot but one of the more sympathetic characters. Hall's intricate story is matched by beautiful, evocative artwork from Cliff Chiang and Dave Stewart, with some strong crowd sequences (the chase through the Creeper costume ball, complete with a cameo of Josephine Baker as the original Creeper, is phenomenal), very expressive smaller scenes (such as the heart-breakingly intense scenes between Ric and Judith) and a spectacular end-piece that brings the book to its explosive (both literally and figuratively) climax. 8/10
THE BLACKBURNE COVENANT #4
by Fabian Nicieza & Stefano Raffaele (Dark Horse Comics)
 The Blackburne Covenant, which started off as a sort of horror pot-boiler, ends its run as something slightly more in the super-hero vein. I'll be honest, things got a little more cosmic than I would have liked, but Nicieza and Raffaele do bring the series to a satisfying conclusion, thanks in no small part to the revitalization of Richard Kaine as a smart and self-sufficient character and Raffaele's beautiful take on the massive powers that Kaine employs. When you're telling a conspiracy story, it's difficult to have one person become a believable adversary, but Nicieza's solution, to give Richard a conduit to godlike power, is a pretty clever way to do it, and I loved his demonstrations of power, from the words on the ground and in the sky to the crashing of the entire castle. Indeed, the action sequences are strong throughout, and Drake's battles with Blackburne assassins have me looking forward to this creative team's Hawkeye series all the more. As well as hoping for more stories exploring the world of Blackburne Covenant, of course. 7/10
DAWN: THREE TIERS #1
by Joseph Michael Linsner (Image Comics)
 From my day job in comics retailing, I know that there's a pretty solid audience for Dawn material. From reading Dawn: Three Tiers, I'm pretty sure I'm not a part of it. Linsner seems to have made the assumption in Three Tiers that everyone reading will be very familiar with the story and characters already, which may be realistic but which seems like cutting his potential audience short. Because while I was enthralled by his beautiful painted artwork, the story of a man with vaguely defined ties to devils and angels and his relationship to a woman who I didn't know at all went completely over my head. The notion of a wanderer trying to find his place in life connected with me, but the specifics of his wanderings, and especially who he was and what his relationship was to Dawn, are left undefined in this issue, and I had a hard time figuring out exactly what was going on or caring very much about the lead character. Dawn is undeniably beautiful, but I'm afraid the story just didn't make much sense. 3/10
INVINCIBLE ED #3
by Ryan Woodward (Dark Horse Comics)
 Woodward's self-published tale of a geek and a jock, both endowed with power, has moved to Dark Horse and changed quite a bit. Gone is the cartoony, animated style, replaced by a colorful, photo-realistic style. Gone is a lot of the fun spirit of the book, replaced with an overly earnest story of might vs. right, tragedy making a hero and a villain who has left one-dimensional behind and seems to be aiming for no dimensions at all. This issue looks more uneven than I remember Invincible Ed being, as some of the dialogue between Ed and his mentor (or his mentor and Lance, his arch-nemesis) is stilted and generic, not uniquely suited to each character, but I can't deny that the darker tone is intriguing. Certainly Woodward should be given credit for being unpredictable, because while the path that Ed is following to be a hero isn't unfamiliar, the amount of tragedy and death that he has seen (or even caused) is unusual, making Spider-Man look positively gifted and lucky by comparison. I'm disappointed by the radical shift in artwork and tone, wondering how the book will hold up in trade paperback form, but I'm still curious to see how it all turns out, and I expect the last issue will make or break the series, which I had been greatly enjoying up to this point. 5/10
JLA #83
by Joe Kelly, Chris Cross & Tom Nguyen (DC Comics)
 In the course of his run on JLA, Joe Kelly has done some interesting things exploring the political scene in America these days with a super-hero spin. While I like a lot of the points he has to make, however, the inclusion of politics often comes across as a little forced, a little too obviously dressing up real political situations in spandex, and it winds up weakening his interesting points. Certainly the tacking on of one of the comics' most cliched cop-out endings doesn't help this issue, even though Kelly hints at something being wrong or off throughout and certainly can't be accused of cheating by introducing the ending. There's an interesting potential story here, and some gorgeous art courtesy of guest artist Chris Cross, but there's not enough room to really explore it in one issue, and it winds up feeling a little jumbled, a little cramped together, as a result. 5/10
KISSING CHAOS: 1,000 WORDS
by Arthur Dela Cruz (Oni Press)
 In 1,000 Words, Dela Cruz returns to Angela and Damien, two of the three lead characters from the original Kissing Chaos mini-series. Unfortunately, while Angela's narration was a big part of the first mini-series, these two characters are the least interesting of Dela Cruz's creations to me, and the delusional nature of Angela's thoughts often makes it hard to work out exactly what's going on. I miss the sharper edge that characters like Raevyn or Jersey brought to the book, and I feel like I'm just to the left of understanding what's going on with the actual story. Did Damien kidnap Angela? Who is he talking to on the phone? Just how much of the relationship that they have did Angela make up entirely in her own head? The dreamlike, strange tone of the book is intriguing, but the downside is that it keeps the reader at arm's length from the story. 4/10
THE LEGION #22
by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Chris Batista & Mark Farmer (DC Comics)
 "Dream Crime" should go down as one of the classic Legion stories, right alongside the "White Triangle" story that kicked off the post-Zero Hour Legion and the famous "Great Darkness Saga." It takes a classic villain, misdirects another classic villain (with hints remaining that he may yet be involved) and makes use of both the enormous size of the team and the scope that a 31st century galaxy-sweeping super-hero genre offers. This issue is the penultimate part of "Dream Crime," following the path of so many super-hero epics before it, pitting a small band of the less-powerful heroes against a menace no one else can stop. The formulaic elements are not bothersome, though... in fact, though Abnett and Lanning are following the general path of a super-hero epic, the interesting characters, well-written foes and engaging action sequences make it anything but routine. In addition, they're helped out by Chris Batista and Mark Farmer with some of the most gorgeous art to grace the pages of the Legion in a good long while. His Universo is sinister and mad, his Karate Kid a paragon of physical combat and his newly-redesigned Sensor a truly alien-looking alien who remains recognizable enough to relate to. Bottom line: If you're a super-hero team fan, and you're not reading Legion, you should be. 9/10
SOUL OF A SAMURAI #2
by Will Dixon (Image Comics)
 After an interesting if flawed beginning, Soul of a Samurai manages to completely lose me in the second issue. Dixon hinted that more was going on than met the eye in the previous issue, but instead of adding a mystical element to the story, this issue reveals that old cliche, that a character must face a physical incarnation of his fear, and that plays right into my personal story pet peeves. It doesn't help that Dixon's artwork, though intricate, doesn't distinguish easily between Shinzu and his fear, and thus the climactic conflict between them isn't the easiest thing in the world to follow. Though the previous issue of Soul of a Samurai was full of samurai honor cliches, it was at least clear and easy to follow, unlike this issue, which is a blur of motion and dime store philosophy that boils down to a character physically confronting his own fear in mortal combat, and the physical representation of such an internal conflict has never worked for me, and doesn't work for me here. 2/10
THOR: VIKINGS #1
by Garth Ennis & Glenn Fabry (Marvel Comics/MAX imprint)
 It's pretty easy to guess, going into this, both what you're going to get and whether or not you're going to like it. It's not so much for the Thor fans as it is for the Ennis fans, but if the basic concept of "Thor fights a horde of zombie vikings with an R-rating" appeals to you, as it does to me, you'll probably have a great deal of fun with this issue. Ennis and Fabry spend most of their time on developing the vikings, how they became undead and what utter bastards they are, before loosing these merciless killing machines on New York. As you'd expect from these two (and their partner in crime, colorist Paul Mounts), the vikings are not at all nice or toned down, and the phrase "raping and pillaging" has never been so clearly demonstrated visually. Surprisingly, Ennis plays all of this fairly straight, and while the over-the-top tone of Preacher or Punisher is there in the flying decapitated heads or swords and axes being plunged through various body parts, it's never in doubt that these are the bad guys, and someone has to stop them. Enter Thor. Cue the second issue. I can't wait. 8/10
VOLTRON: DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE #3
by Dan Jolley, Mike Norton, Clint Hilinski & Clayton Brown (Image Comics)
 Three and a half issues in, counting the zero issue, and the title character has finally made his appearance, albeit in his component parts of giant flying robotic lion mecha. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but the slow burn on introducing the titular giant robot has resulted in a pretty interesting cast, a solidly dangerous-looking set of villains and an impressive climactic moment as the afore-mentioned cast hops into the afore-mentioned lion mecha and kicks some alien invader butt. Norton, Hilinski, Brown and colorist Brett Smith are to be commended for their exciting aerial combat sequences and for making giant lion mecha appear proud and noble rather than just silly, Jolley is to be commended for instilling a sense of danger and mystery in the book with the clever inclusion of sacrificial lamb Sven (I hadn't even caught that the team had an extra member until this issue) and the entire team is to be commended for making me interested in Voltron. It's a damn sight more than the original creators of the animated series could ever manage. 7/10
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