#381 NEGAN LIVES! one-shot (Image Comics, July 2020) Get yourself a copy of this before they are all gone. It’s worth it. Just don’t get too excited - - Robert Kirkman is not reviving THE WALKING DEAD or a NEGAN mini-series - - just putting out a book to help draw customers back into local comic shops and give them an event to get excited about.
This is a great stand-alone story that actually adds to the Negan mythos and gives readers some new character insights. Touching. He’s the character you love to hate. FIVE STARS.
#382, 383, 384 BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo (DC Comics, July 2019 - February 2020) Book One, Two, Three
While I enjoyed the art immensely, the story was a mess. Greg Capullo's amazing illustrations lift this above the mediocre and is the only reason I rated this as high as three stars.
Scott Snyder's story is all over the place and meanders around before finally settling into an Elseworlds-like setting with alternate and/or aged versions of Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and the Batman family of super-heroes. Batman/Bruce Wayne (or is it a different version of him entirely?) has to defeat the Omega Batman before he can revive the Anti-Monitor and turn everything to crap. For me, the story had already turned to crap at the point in Book One where Snyder decides to abandon what he set-up and go off in other directions.
I was thoroughly engaged in the story put forth in Part One: The Cave in Book One, where Batman is surprised by a reenactment of the fateful alley shooting of his parents, gets zapped by a robotic/zombie version of young Bruce Wayne, and wakes up in Arkham Asylum sans costume and in a straight-jacket strapped down to a gurney. Turns out he's been a patient there for years, as he suffers from delusions that he's Batman.
Things get even more heated in Part Two: The Right Hand where it appears that Bruce is diagnosed as incurable and Alfred can no longer bear to visit him, says his farewells, and embraces Bruce one last time. Where might the story have gone from this point? I can only imagine the interesting possibilities.
However, next page Batman is back in a costume of sorts in the middle of the desert carrying around the disembodied head of Joker who converses with him (in extremely annoying fashion - - you'll want him to shut up by the middle of Book Two). From there the story morphs into this Elseworlds story with Omega, etc. The art is fascinating and worth lingering over. Too bad the story becomes boring and confusing.
Not the way I expected Snyder to write his last Batman story, after such a promising beginning in The Court Of Owls storyline way back when. However, I doubt very much this is the last time he writes a Batman story. Let's hope the next ones are an improvement on this.
#385 JOIN THE FUTURE #3 (Aftershock, July 2020) A compelling science fiction western with a gutsy, determined, empathetic main character. Two issues to go, and the next one looks to be a barn-burner! FOUR STARS. The promotional info on the Aftershock web page summarizes it best:
As Franklin’s residents finally move to the seductive ultramodern megacity, Clementine Libbey, the Mayor’s strong-willed daughter, is the last left in the small town. Alone, she tracks down the gruff and mysterious technology scavenger known as the Trader and earns his gunslinger training in her quest for revenge. But will she compromise her ideals and accept using advanced technology or will she go up against the hi-tech weapons of the local law enforcement with nothing but her six-shooter?
#386 SCARLET WITCH #1 (Marvel, 2016) I’m inclined to read most comics in trade paperback collections these days, unless I’m so involved in the story that I have to continue with it monthly. (Although there are several books I’m currently reading in singles.) I use a lot of #1 issues to decide if I want to pick up the eventual collection. And, as often happens, I never got around to reading this until now. Writer James Robinson has established himself as a fairly reliable teller of super-hero tales (especially on JSA) and he tackles the Scarlet Witch here, adding the ghost of Agatha Darkness as a companion/confidante, and a Scottish-based ancient threat to witchcraf titself that demonically manifests in the slaughter of elite by servants driven mad, and the killing of cats. This marks the first time I remember Wanda performing an exorcism. Vanessa Del Rey’s art as been better than seen here, as it appears she’s altered her style to give this an urban, Jessia Jones kind of vibe. It seems kind of sloppy, especially the lack of definition in the eyes of the characters. I’m not continuing, even though the story was interesting. THREE STARS.
#387 FINGER GUNS #3 (Vault, July 2020) I think this book is aimed at teens and middle-grade readers, but older folks like me can enjoy it. Sadie and Wes have bonded over discovering they both can affect moods and influence actions by specific placement of their fingers in the shape of a gun. They experiment with Wes’ dog Chester to learn some other possibilities, and teach the dog new tricks. Sadie is concerned that her abusive father is developing an immunity to her calming finger gun, so she turns her fingers in a different configuration towards her battered mother hoping to give her courage. FOUR STARS
#388, 389, 390 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #37, 38, 39 (Marvel, March-April 2020) I’m not a regular Spider-Man reader (although I still like the character - I’ve just read way too much over the years), but I still pick up an issue on impulse from time to time to see if I’m missing out. While these issues were entertaining, I’m missing nothing special. The focus of these three issues is more on J. Jonah Jameson, who is no longer an adversary of Spider-Man, but a real advocate and supporter. No longer a newspaper publisher, he’s entering into a job with a social media news conglomerate to share his viewpoints in a new format. There are short side stories with Silver Sable, Norman Osborn, etc. that are foreshadows of things to come. The super-villain Chance opens The Palace, a casino for criminals where bets are placed on super-hero battles in real time, although Chance of course is influencing the outcomes in the house’s favor. Issue #39 is the best of the trio, with center stage given to the J. Jonah Jameson Podcast with special guest Spider-Man. Their little trip down memory lane turns into some amusing arguments. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
No comments:
Post a Comment