Recent Comics
Oct. 16th, 2009 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sdelmonteCut mainly for length. - Adventure Comics 3 made me angry. Why? Because DC decided to end the Superboy part of the book after issue 6, and transfer writer Geoff Johns and artist Francis Manapaul to duties on the new Flash comic. I would gladly take a chance on someone else doing the Flash (in part because Flash: Rebirth has been so forgettable) and keep the Superboy series going. This issue in particular, featuring Superboy and Tim Drake (as well as a great LSH back-up tale), was absolutely amazing. It's a shame DC brought Kon-El back and then kicked him of his own book (again). For now, though, I am glad to have comics like this one.
- I'm also still loving Red Robin. The narration and a sense that things are really off-balance carry a lot of the book, but the main thing is still that this is the same Tim Drake who used to be Robin. It puzzles me that there are people who have read this book and can't see that.
- Picked up the most recent Secret Six trade paperback. It's a very good comic, but I am not quite on board with those who think it's DC's best series. I have two big problems: the plot doesn't really make a lot of sense; and even though the Six are very well written characters, I find myself not really caring about them here. In their guest appearance in Birds of Prey, they were fascinating interacting with the good guys. Here, they are just really conflicted bad guys and if any of them were to die, I doubt I'd be upset. Still, this is a very different kind of comic with strong art and a strong script, and I'm glad DC is publishing it.
- I stumbled onto Sleeper, Season 1 at the library. Normally, I don't tend to read R-rated noir super-hero comics, but I took a chance and I am glad I did. This series from 2003-04 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips stars a super-powered Black Ops man sent undercover into a super-villain syndicate. And it's really, really dark. But because it's in the already-dark Wildstorm universe and not DC or Marvel, the darkness works well for me. So does the lead's edgy, uncertain narration. As do the perverse but oddly heartfelt relationships between the lead and his fellow villains. This is a strange but gripping mix of super-hero fantasy, LeCarre-esque espionage drama, and action film. And it's the best thing I've ever read by Brubaker, who does a good job at Marvel but seems to be in his element here. I can't wait to find the second "season" and also maybe some of Brubaker and Phillips' other collaborations.
- I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that the latest issue of Fables was a bit scattered but quite entertaining. The series continues to be unpredictable again, and the spotlight has been shining on some faces long overdue for their moments. Also looking forward to getting my hands on the Fables novel.
- I'm also still loving Red Robin. The narration and a sense that things are really off-balance carry a lot of the book, but the main thing is still that this is the same Tim Drake who used to be Robin. It puzzles me that there are people who have read this book and can't see that.
- Picked up the most recent Secret Six trade paperback. It's a very good comic, but I am not quite on board with those who think it's DC's best series. I have two big problems: the plot doesn't really make a lot of sense; and even though the Six are very well written characters, I find myself not really caring about them here. In their guest appearance in Birds of Prey, they were fascinating interacting with the good guys. Here, they are just really conflicted bad guys and if any of them were to die, I doubt I'd be upset. Still, this is a very different kind of comic with strong art and a strong script, and I'm glad DC is publishing it.
- I stumbled onto Sleeper, Season 1 at the library. Normally, I don't tend to read R-rated noir super-hero comics, but I took a chance and I am glad I did. This series from 2003-04 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips stars a super-powered Black Ops man sent undercover into a super-villain syndicate. And it's really, really dark. But because it's in the already-dark Wildstorm universe and not DC or Marvel, the darkness works well for me. So does the lead's edgy, uncertain narration. As do the perverse but oddly heartfelt relationships between the lead and his fellow villains. This is a strange but gripping mix of super-hero fantasy, LeCarre-esque espionage drama, and action film. And it's the best thing I've ever read by Brubaker, who does a good job at Marvel but seems to be in his element here. I can't wait to find the second "season" and also maybe some of Brubaker and Phillips' other collaborations.
- I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that the latest issue of Fables was a bit scattered but quite entertaining. The series continues to be unpredictable again, and the spotlight has been shining on some faces long overdue for their moments. Also looking forward to getting my hands on the Fables novel.
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Date: Oct. 16th, 2009 05:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Oct. 16th, 2009 06:20 pm (UTC)Around the same time, DC also announced Johns and Manapaul shifting to Flash, and there was further confirmation that Superboy would be leaving the book.
Well, it's not the first time that Superboy has lost Adventure Comics to the Legion. (I seem to recall that John Byrne's partial antipathy to the Legion was because of this.)
Superboy is reportedly slated to return to the Teen Titans, and also play a role in the Superman books next year, but there is no definite word about this yet.