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sdelmonteThree brand new comics and one that is not just very late but also hard to find.
Booster Gold 9 - In the alternate timeline Booster made, he and Beetle track down the one-time members of the JLI for an assault on Max Lord. A simple idea but one very well executed. The JLIers - Guy, Fire and Ice, Dr. Light II, J'Onn (with his old look) and Mister Miracle - each shine. The team dynamic is back but reflects how far some of these heroes - Guy for one - have come. There is also a great surprise twist, a great fight, and lots of humor. Things gets grim but the comic doesn't
But on top of everything else, we get acknowledgment at last that the other pieces of Infinite Crisis happens. And also went even worse for the heroes. And there is something that Geoff and Jeff slip in at the beginning: a bit of narration by Maxwell Lord telling us how he's not a cyborg anymore and hinting that his return to his old scheming ways wasn't quite as out of the blue as it seems three years ago. Why didn't DC do this back then? I don't know, but it only adds to what has been a great thrill ride. Too bad the current writers only have two issues left.
Batman 676 - "Batman RIP " begins with the first meeting of the Black Glove organization (made up almsot entirely of villains we have never met), then jumps to the arrival of the newest Batmobile, Robin and Alfred pondering Bruce's motives and mental state, a chat between Bruce and Jezebel that reveals they have been invited to a shindig being thrown by the Black Glove Society, and ends with the Black Glove inviting the Joker to join their ranks.
Lots of pieces come into play, and while the the parts are intriguing, there is no whole here yet. It's all set-up. It promises to be really good, but it's been promising to be really good for a while. So I can't really say much other than it's a beginning (albeit it one with very good art by Tony Daniel). Check back with me in three months as to whether Morrison brings any of it together.
Serenity: Better Days - Mal is captured by the Feds, and then there's a fight, and then things get really confusing, and then there's this odd implication that Simon slept with Inara that comes totally out of the blue, and the outright statement that Zoe was an Dust Devil without Mal being involved, and then things sorta end. While the character voices are about right, the events feel wrong as well as disjointed. Motivations seem fuzzy or out of character. It just doesn't quite work, and it feels like we are missing about six pages of comic.
It's good to have the Firefly gang back every so often, but this was another subpar miniseries despite Joss' involvement. It's nowhere near as good as the Buffy and Angel comics, and I have to wonder if when Joss said Serenity was over after the film, he meant it and shouldn't have agreed to do more comics. We will see if there are still stories left to tell at year's end, when we are due to get a Book miniseries (co-written by Ron Glass).
Gargoyles: Bad Guys 2 - In the present, the team fights on. In flashback, the disgraced Japanese gargoyle Yama is recruited to join the team, while Servarius is plotting to free Fang. The story is here is not very strong compared to the main Gargoyles book - I think that it could be told quicker - but Greg's script and the art are strong and the characters are well defined. If only this book wasn't four months late. Some things are worth a long wait, like All Star Superman. Some might not be.
Booster Gold 9 - In the alternate timeline Booster made, he and Beetle track down the one-time members of the JLI for an assault on Max Lord. A simple idea but one very well executed. The JLIers - Guy, Fire and Ice, Dr. Light II, J'Onn (with his old look) and Mister Miracle - each shine. The team dynamic is back but reflects how far some of these heroes - Guy for one - have come. There is also a great surprise twist, a great fight, and lots of humor. Things gets grim but the comic doesn't
But on top of everything else, we get acknowledgment at last that the other pieces of Infinite Crisis happens. And also went even worse for the heroes. And there is something that Geoff and Jeff slip in at the beginning: a bit of narration by Maxwell Lord telling us how he's not a cyborg anymore and hinting that his return to his old scheming ways wasn't quite as out of the blue as it seems three years ago. Why didn't DC do this back then? I don't know, but it only adds to what has been a great thrill ride. Too bad the current writers only have two issues left.
Batman 676 - "Batman RIP " begins with the first meeting of the Black Glove organization (made up almsot entirely of villains we have never met), then jumps to the arrival of the newest Batmobile, Robin and Alfred pondering Bruce's motives and mental state, a chat between Bruce and Jezebel that reveals they have been invited to a shindig being thrown by the Black Glove Society, and ends with the Black Glove inviting the Joker to join their ranks.
Lots of pieces come into play, and while the the parts are intriguing, there is no whole here yet. It's all set-up. It promises to be really good, but it's been promising to be really good for a while. So I can't really say much other than it's a beginning (albeit it one with very good art by Tony Daniel). Check back with me in three months as to whether Morrison brings any of it together.
Serenity: Better Days - Mal is captured by the Feds, and then there's a fight, and then things get really confusing, and then there's this odd implication that Simon slept with Inara that comes totally out of the blue, and the outright statement that Zoe was an Dust Devil without Mal being involved, and then things sorta end. While the character voices are about right, the events feel wrong as well as disjointed. Motivations seem fuzzy or out of character. It just doesn't quite work, and it feels like we are missing about six pages of comic.
It's good to have the Firefly gang back every so often, but this was another subpar miniseries despite Joss' involvement. It's nowhere near as good as the Buffy and Angel comics, and I have to wonder if when Joss said Serenity was over after the film, he meant it and shouldn't have agreed to do more comics. We will see if there are still stories left to tell at year's end, when we are due to get a Book miniseries (co-written by Ron Glass).
Gargoyles: Bad Guys 2 - In the present, the team fights on. In flashback, the disgraced Japanese gargoyle Yama is recruited to join the team, while Servarius is plotting to free Fang. The story is here is not very strong compared to the main Gargoyles book - I think that it could be told quicker - but Greg's script and the art are strong and the characters are well defined. If only this book wasn't four months late. Some things are worth a long wait, like All Star Superman. Some might not be.
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(no subject)
Date: May. 15th, 2008 01:29 pm (UTC)Um, what? Are they ending the series? I hope not; this is one of the best books DC is publishing.
(no subject)
Date: May. 15th, 2008 01:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: May. 15th, 2008 03:35 pm (UTC)