Speaking of first issues, among the books on my pull I missed, I really wanted to grab Nonplayer #1 and be on top of these books every other critic, blogger and fan is telling me to read for once. Sadly, though, by the time I got down to the shop tonight there was a nice, big gap in the N section mocking me. If I'm around any other shops over my weekend, I'll try and grab it. In the meantime, I take a look at Doctor Who #3 from last week, which I missed then because I am an idiot and got fooled by variant covers.
Comics for 4/6:
Infestation #2 (of 2)
B.P.R.D.: The Dead Remembered #1 (of 3)
Daomu #3
Ozma of Oz #5
Secret Six #32
Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever #3 (of 5)
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #38
Herc #1
Chew #18
Fear Itself #1
Infestation #2 (of 2) from IDW
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, pencils by David Messina, additional art by Claudia Balboni, inks by Gaetano Carlucci, colors by ScarletGothica, letters by Robbie Robbins.
"We're done."
After eight issues of Britt gathering technologies from the four other universes, they didn't utilize a damn thing from the other franchises in the crossover. This was more or less the epitome of wasted potential as this grand, climactic battle mostly took place in flat exposition and presented ideas exclusively to springboard into two more upcoming books (Outbreak and Zombies Vs Robots: Undercity), albeit with at least more of a conclusion than Transformers: Infestation had offered. The greater waste, however, is that this is probably the best looking of all ten Infestation books; Messina and crew really killed it on this one.
Doctor Who Ongoing #3 from IDW
Written by Tony Lee, art by Tim Hamilton, colors by Phil Elliott, letters by Shawn Lee.
"Amy the psychic, me as the gritty, cynical detective and The Doctor, a mad genius that always blows things up. We fight crime."
Lee's writing a good book with some great ideas behind it, intertwining a story of the Whitechapel police in the midst of the Ripper murders with an intergalactic crime drama and a nice, scaly, slimy monster that wouldn't feel out of face in the Who TV series. The art duties has changed from Rayner to Hamilton, and while it's not as distracting as I found the last issue it's still probably the weakest part of the issue. Some parts look absolutely fine, but others, especially characters (and creatures) not based on the actors of the series seem sloppy and uneven throughout a lot of the book.
B.P.R.D.: The Dead Remembered #1 (of 3) from Dark Horse
Written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie, pencils by Karl Moline, inks by Andy Owens, colors by Dave Stewart, letters by Clem Robins.
"Why don't you tell us a ghost story."
Lately, B.P.R.D.'s flashback issues have been their best, and it's especially nice seeing Hellboy in one of these books, even if it was 35 years ago, and while interesting this book feels tonally different than I think any other book in the series so far while still being firmly rooted in the series' mythos. Like Abe Sapien's Drowning series, we're seeing Liz Sherman's first field mission, although unlike Abe she is a mentally-fragile teenage girl and as much focus is on her coping with her unique position and powers as it is a witch's ghost haunting a Massachusetts home. Moline's art, while excellent, is less weighed down by the heavy shadows usually found in Hellboy/BPRD titles, and the entire book feels lighter and Stewart's colors come off more vibrant for it.
Daomu #3 from Image
Written by Colin Johnson based on a story by Kennedy Xu, art by Ken Chou, letters by Hamilton Cline.
"Nature wants to reclaim what was once hers."
With this issue we're seeing some of the threats the Daomu are liable to encounter, both from other, less honorable treasure hunters (led or funded by Americans, of course) and the monsters of the tombs themselves. Unlike the first two issues, this was more exposition without an equal amount of action; the character work isn't bad but it didn't feel quite as well balanced as it had been so far. The art remains great, one of my favorite looking books coming out right now, but as almost the entire issue was set in a dank cave, the colors didn't stick out nearly as much as they usually do.
Ozma of Oz #5 from Marvel
Written by Eric Shanower based on a story by L. Frank Baum, art by Skottie Young, colors by Jean Francois Beaulieu, letters by Jeff Eckleberry.
"You have little idea of the extent of the task you've undertaken..."
An excellent all-ages series so far, I'm not all too familiar with the extended world of Oz so it's fairly out there but I'm sure the Wizard of Oz would seem so too if it hadn't been hammered into me since childhood. The strongest draw is Skottie Young's art on the book, which is some of my favorite he's ever done; his work on facial expressions with some of these characters is absolutely amazing. Like Daomu, I've been loving Beaulieu's coloring work on the series but this issue mostly set in dull grey canyons and darker grey caverns, his work, still excellent, didn't shine quite so brightly this time.
Secret Six #32 from DC
Written by Gail Simone, art by J. Calafiore, colors by John Kalisz, letters by Travis Lanham.
"All manner of loathsome things may have had their way with me. And I missed all of it!"
Although the story of characters descending into the underworld to retrieve a loved one is a bit played out at this point, it's usually the noble hero taking the journey, not this eclectic group of villains, and in this literal hell we get to see how the idea of eternal damnation affects each of them facing the inevitable end waiting for them someday. The book balances this out with a good amount of both introspection and humor intrinsic to the characters and the way Simone writes them (and also featuring a conversation between two Rhyming Demons). There's some beautiful artistic choices in here, especially the repeating-skull backgrounds and fairly unique look of the fight scene where the characters are sporting some heavy outlines, giving the book a style that stands out well.
Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever #3 (of 5) from Dark Horse
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, art by John Severin, colors by Dave Stewart, letters by Clem Roberts.
"More'n one way to kill a dead man."
This book is seeing a fair amount of action and plot each issue, I'm certainly enjoying it so far, but I'm almost tempted to say this is one that's better to hold off for the trade instead of picking up the singles. After three issues it continues to ramp up the action and set up the story without much resolution, only more questions raised, and it might be a more satisfying read when you have the whole story to tear into in one sitting. For the meantime, though, each issue has been a fun read on its own, Arcudi doing an excellent job combining the supernatural and the Western elements, all well-complimented by Severin's art.
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #38 from Marvel
Written by John Layman, pencils by Lee Garbett, inks by Mark Pennington, colors by Fabio D'Auria, letters by Clayton Cowles.
"With great power, son, comes a responsibility to stay powerful."
Alternate-universe dopplegangers is in no way a new idea, at this point it's basically one of the foundations of comic storytelling (to the point that Spidey is rather self-aware of the whole thing), but Layman still manages to make this story of, ostensibly, what if Spider-Man was Batman and/or Superman fun and interesting before taking it on some further twists along the way. The story is fairly simple and straightforward, but never entirely predictable, giving us a look at how Peter can handle being presented with a "perfect" world, and how the Parker Luck can even manage to transcend universes. Also, the set-ups for Hulk and Deadpool(s) getting stuck in this same world show a lot of great potential, although we won't see them fully explored until their respective annuals.
Herc #1 from Marvel
Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, pencils by Neil Edwards, inks by Scott Hanna, colors by Jesus Aburtov, letters by Simon Bowland.
"Looks like divinity ain't what it used to be!"
While Pak and Van Lente have been doing some of their best work on the Incredible Hercules titles and its tie-ins and spin-offs, Herc is there chance to really make the character their own, pulling off a soft-reboot while remaining in-continuity to everything they've already built up around the character. Heavy on premise-building, we see the tools and skills Hercules still possesses, the cost of the divinity he's lost, and where exactly in the world he's been left after the events of Chaos War; some solid world-building introduces us to the supporting cast, and some villains both new and old. The status quo has definitely changed, we're seeing Hercules eking out a living in Brooklyn, living on a much smaller scale that the space-faring, god-bashing hero we're used to, but at the same time still wholly in the realm of myths he came from; there's plenty potential for some great stories in what they're building here.
Chew #18 from Image
Written by John Layman, art by Rob Guillory, color assists by Steve Struble, letters by John Layman.
"Concentrated mayhem."
This issue jumps around a fair amount before settling into the main story, a USDA raid against a North Korean general developing a weaponized form of the avian flu. The bulk of the issue is fairly decompressed storytelling, but this really gives Guillory a chance to shine, between the various (suicide) missions Tony and Colby get sent on, the boobs character work in the USDA mission briefing and the additional boobs action sequences in the actual raid, especially after deploying the "last resort" weapon, and the return of an old favorite character (who gets an absolutely amazing recap page). Really not sure if the Flambé arc is getting continued or not right away, or at all, as the next issue jumps to #27, with the story skipping ahead an equal amount of time, so we'll have to wait and see exactly how they're playing this or if/when they go back.
Fear Itself #1 from Marvel
Written by Matt Fraction, pencils by Stuart Immonen, inks by Wade Van Grawbadger, colors by Laura Martin, letters by Chris Eliopoulos
"ARE YOU HERE TO SEE A GOD DIE?"
Without really understanding what the point of the series is going to be, I picked up this issue because, even though I habitually rail against event comics, I trust Fraction to tell a good story and I love me some Immonen art. Still not one-hundred-percent clear on what's going on, but it seems to be convienently tying together this summer's hottest movie stars, Steve Rogers and Thor, in a story concerning elements of Norse gods, the volatile political situations of the world, and what happens when the two come to clash. I can't really bring myself to care if after all is said and done, "nothing will ever be the same" in the Marvel universe, but it looks like it's at least going to be a fun trip getting there.
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