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Snapshots for 10/1
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.
ASTRO CITY: LOCAL HEROES #4
by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (DC Comics/Homage imprint)
 This is a two-parter, the first in the Local Heroes mini-series, but it's still a pretty self-contained story, a story of a lawyer in an impossible situation who comes up with a pretty bright solution to save his client. His guilty, mob-connected client, which is a pretty nifty twist, and which gives the story its chilling ending. Busiek once again creates a story of real, believable people living in a super-hero world and explores the ramifications of superhuman abilities on the court system in a clever and surprising late in the game development, as well as fleshing out the interesting Astro City world at the same time. Anderson also delivers as always, with well-designed normal characters and settings as well as impressive super-hero and super-villain displays. Astro City is a series that has earned a reputation for excellence, and it's issues like this one that have earned that reputation. 9/10
CURSED #1
by Fiona Avery, Tippi Blevins, Romano Molenaar & Kevin Conrad (Image Comics/Top Cow Productions)
 Cursed is another new series from Top Cow that deals with mystical conspiracies, a hot female protagonist from a noir world (this one's a journalist who acts more like a detective) and pseduo-horror infringing on the modern world. I was actually somewhat interested in this one, largely because of the Egyptian trappings, which are a particular interest of mine, but this first issue does nothing to fan those embers of interest into an actual flame. Instead, the book is damn near unreadable, with sloppy artwork whose panels don't lead the eye clearly from one panel to the next, dialogue that seems to have been dropped in randomly and a bunch of characters who are introduced at such a rapid-fire pace that there's never any chance to really get to know them. Half the time I wasn't sure who was talking, and Avery and Blevins are trying to provide a mystery-filled story, but instead they've created somethat completely bewildering, without enough of a hook to make me want to figure out what comes next. There's enough of a visual and genre similarity that I think fans of Top Cow's other books like The Darkness or Witchblade will probably dig cursed, but there's not enough here to hook me. 2/10
NEW MUTANTS #5
by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Mark Robinson, Aaron Sowd, Wayne Faucher & Scott Elmer (Marvel Comics)
 The recruiting storyline for the new New Mutants book has seemed a bit overlong, and combined with Keron Grant's mismatched artwork, I had grown more than a little disappointed in the new book. However, while the artwork by guest artist Robinson this issue is not quite as big an improvement as I've hoped, the story seems to have taken a considerable upturn in terms of pacing and direction, and I'm glad to see a little bit more of a mix between super-hero and school activities, reminiscent of the original New Mutants series. The reappearance of an old X-Men villain in a somewhat new role that makes him more of a youth threat was also a nice twist, and gives the story a lot of its action quotient. I'm still not completely sold on the series, largely because the manga-style artwork in this issue is as ill-suited as Grant's style was, but if the regular artist is a better fit, it looks like the stories may be shaping up more to my tastes. 7/10
NEW X-MEN #147
by Grant Morrison, Phil Jimenez & Andy Lanning (Marvel Comics)
 After much online discussion and a particularly well-done examination of the Xorn revelation by Paul O'Brien, I find myself completely jazzed to see where Morrison takes this unexpected reveal from here. This issue is largely given over to Ultimates-style mass destruction and villains in revelry, and it's entertaining but mostly from a "setup for a heroic ride of the cavalry" kind of point-of-view. I love Jimenez's designs for the younger, newer Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (especially Angel's sexy look and Toad's mixture of tradtional grotesque and Ray Park movie cool) and while Chuckry goes a little too far on the reds in trying to make the point, in general I thought the mass destruction was pretty impressive. Morrison's style, old favorites meets new style, has worked really well for me on New X-Men, and "Planet X" looks like a very entertaining take on the classic Magneto vs. X-Men conflict. 8/10
POWERS #34
by Brian Michael Bendis & Mike Avon Oeming (Image Comics)
 This may be the only comic you'll read this year that features a major guest-starring role by Albert Einstein. Bendis again takes the unexpected road in his exploration of Powers through the ages, and instead of a riff on pulp-era mystery men, as you might expect from the covers, this is largely a further exploration of the seemingly immortal Walker as he seeks answers about his existence. As a side benefit, him seeking answers facilitates the reader getting their own answers, and this diversion away from the police procedural has been a surprisingly entertaining story arc, one that sheds more light on Walker's mysterious past than I had expected, and reveals that it's a great deal more than just "he used to be a super-hero." It also lets Oeming and Pantazis show off their versatility, and the work done on a 1930's era Chicago here is just phenomenal. Oeming's Einstein in particular fits perfectly with his stylized artwork, but also seems a little more realistic, with more wrinkle and expression lines, and I loved the transition from the relatively tranquil and brightly-lit conversation in the hotel to the red-tinged horror of the last few pages. 9/10
PVP #4
by Scott Kurtz (Image Comics)
 Quite honestly, I was a big PVP fan before it came to print comics, but somewhere in the middle of the Dork Storm run Kurtz took what I perceived to be some inaccurate, unfair and (most importantly) unfunny shots at small press creators, and I swore off the book. However, in reading the latest issue of PVP, I remembered why I liked the strip so much in the first place. It seems silly for me to hold a grudge based on what somebody said online, given that I'm sure I'm guilty of putting my foot in my mouth online (go ahead and skim the archives, I'm sure you'll find something) and really, whether Kurtz and I agree on the merits of small press has little to do with whether or not PVP is any good. In fact, it's quite funny, and this issue revisits one of my favorite stories, when young gamer Francis met young cute female gamer Marci, with sidebar stories involving Skull's attempt to pass as uber-gamer Francis online or Cole briefly trying to relive his teen years with scatologically funny results. It allows Kurtz plenty of room to explore gender politics and gamer politics while providing more than a few good laughs. The cast of the book is about as quirky a group of geeks as you're likely to find in comics, and what might be frustrating or annoying in real life makes for endearing and funny stories in the pages of PVP. 7/10
SHREK #1
by Mark Evanier, Ramon Bachs & Raul Fernandez (Dark Horse Comics)
 Following up on the clever, truly all-ages Shrek might have been an impossibility, so I can't judge the Dark Horse comic sequel too harshly. However, this take on the characters by renowned Groo co-writer Mark Evanier and unfamiliar (to me) artists Bachs and Fernandez is just a shallow echo of the funny, pop-culture laden movie that spawned the property. Evanier's take is more of a goofy kids-only take, lacking the corporate potshots at Disney, the smart and funny topical references (as close as we get is a dated and forced Blues Brothers reference) and the story that had any sort of real danger or consequences, emotional or otherwise. It's probably not a bad book for the really younger set, as it has plenty of action and goofy, dumbed-down gags, but given the appeal of the movie to both kids and adults, I was disappointed to see this toothless comic-book version. 3/10
SUPREME POWER #3
by J. Michael Straczynski, Gary Frank & Jonathan Sibal (Marvel Comics/MAX imprint)
 Here's what I'll say about Supreme Power, three issues in: Clearly, Rising Stars was just a warm-up. Straczynski has put a lot of thought into remaking the Squadron Supreme as a realistic vision of what might happen if super-heroes showed up late in the game, during the 70's, and interacted with a world much more real than the standard DC or Marvel universe. The emphasis on military, politics and journalism covers a lot of the same ground as we're used to seeing in super-hero comics, but it seems like exactly the arenas where this kind of thing would take place. I love the way Hyperion is being played, as a terrifying ultimate weapon who really seems pretty polite and obedient and all that good stuff but who still just gives you the screaming willies because you know that if he changed his mind and decided to stop listening, there's pretty much nothing you could do about it. Straczynski's story is tinged with conspiracy elements, but it's mostly an exploration of the application of power, whether that's political, physical or otherwise, and the reason for the title becomes abundantly clear. And while I'm still unsure of some of Frank's designs for the revamped Squadron, which look fairly generic and retro especially in light of the more realistic writing style, in general the work here is terrific, capturing every nuance of the somewhat dark and dangerous world that Supreme Power is meant to represent. 9/10
ULTIMATE SIX #2
by Brian Michael Bendis, Trevor Hairsine & Danny Miki (Marvel Comics)
 Bendis has revisited an old Marvel favorite in Ultimate form with Marvel Team Up, and Ultimate Six could just as easily have been called Supervillain Team Up. It's all about the villains, and while the Ultimates do play an important if small guest-starring role, the focus of the story is on Norman (Green Goblin) Osborn and Otto (Doctor Octopus) Octavius, and how they deal with captivity and examination by a shady part of the U.S. government. Bendis's villains are absolutely ruthless and dangerous, as best portrayed by Octopus's demonstration of power but also quite clear in the methodical madness that defines Osborn's personal style. In amidst the nastiness of super-villainy, Bendis gets his usual quirky dialogue, nailing the cynical and black humored tone of the Ultimates with their dialogue and having a bit of fun with SHIELD's Sharon Carter as well. Hairsine's work, while definitely different from Hitch's, can hold its own beside that artist's definitive work on Ultimates, and while I could use a little more expression and humanity in the normal human characters, the big stuff looks great. Bendis closes this one out with the revelation of the sixth member of the Ultimate Six, and it puts a new spin on where the story goes from here, as well as being someone I wouldn't have guessed, despite how obvious the whole thing seems in retrospect. Those who are jonesing for some more Ultimates-like stories in the long wait between issues would do well to check Ultimate Six out. 9/10
Y: THE LAST MAN #15
by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra & Jose Marzan Jr. (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint)
 The conclusion of "One Small Step" is just packed full of story moments. Vaughan explains the answer of what happens to the story when there's more than one man with a surprising twist, and even though the outcome wasn't entirely unforseeable, there is a more than a little bitter irony in how the whole thing turned out, as well as a clever little glimmer of hope amidst the whole thing. Meanwhile, the sense of humor that has kept this book more than just your average post-apocalyptic tale is here in spades, with the moment between Yorick and 355 that shows a crack in 355's serious facade and Yorick's quip about Natalya's English, which is in itself pretty funny. Guerra's artwork looks a little more rushed than usual this month, as the detail to be found in her faces is not quite as sharp in the last half of the book, but the storytelling is still plenty strong, and you can get the sense of emotional response from the artwork as much as you do the dialogue. The ever-changing status quo of Y is one of the big selling points of the series, and that doesn't seem likely to change if this story is any indication. Nor does it seem likely that we're going to lose the cliffhangers that the book has become famous for, as the last couple pages feature a reunion that should make for a very interesting opener to the next arc. 9/10
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