PGHHEAD’S 2022 COMIC ODYSSEY, PART 50
Documenting my 2022 comics reading by writing at least a mini-review and aiming for a goal of 1,200 books was a stretch goal for me. Yet, having posted 1,008 reviews in 2021 (with a goal of 1,000) that seemed possible. It’s clear at this point that I’m not going to reach it, but I’m happy to have come this close. I’m considering a 2023 goal of 1,200 books read and documented here, same as 2022. That’s an average of 100 books per month, easy enough to check and update.
# GOAL FOR December 31, 2022 . . . 1200 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 1103 comics documented
What’s more dangerous than a brilliant individual who because of his shyness, peculiarities, and introverted personality never gets the attention he deserves for his hard work, and then goes on to resent the human race because of it? A powder keg waiting for the fuse to be lit. Things start out slowly here and I do believe Dano is going to show how Edward Nashton evolved into the threat he became, layer by layer.
My only concern is that six issues may be too many for a slow burn rise to defining moments as depicted in the film. It could be that readers become bored. However, there’s enough promise here that I’ll definitely pick up Issue #2 before deciding. Both story and art are worthy of multiple readings. FOUR STARS.
The story takes place two years after the fall of Billionaire Island in 2044. Shelly Bly (the unidentified narrator in all the text boxes?) is a newspaper columnist working on a story about the collapse of the world-wide economy in the aftermath of the island debacle. She visits Bel Canto campus where the invalid, shut-in father of the deceased Rick Canto (billionaire villain of BILLIONAIRE ISLAND Volume One) is being manipulated by a bullish male nurse. The beloved Business Dog is hailed as a savior, but is unfortunately missing.
While I laughed in multiple places, this story isn’t as coherent and consistent as I’ve come to expect from Russell. This is long on set-up and back-story and meanders all over the place, which can make it difficult for readers to figure out what the main storyline will be. However, I’m enough of a fan that I’ll definitely come back for Issue #2 with high expectations that all will become clear. THREE STARS.
The Marks family is wealthy (among the elite, two high paying exploitive jobs, able to afford an android maid) and have their lives turned around during a shopping trip when a protest group explodes a building which collapses on top of them. Their teenage daughter doesn’t survive.
The android maid (Which-Where, also referred to as Witch-Were) studies up on pagan rituals, etc and summons a devil. She wants to purchase the soul of the deceased daughter and make a deal.
This is told through a series of flashbacks, which are identified as “now” and “then”. However, neither the “nows” or the “thens” are told in consecutive order. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle. I like a challenge in my reading, but I found this annoying. Cool concept, poor execution. TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#1095 - #1097 BATMAN - ONE BAD DAY: PENGUIN by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli (DC, December 2022)
Writer John Ridley takes a deep dive into the character of Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin and makes him sympathetic, although his frightening side still comes through. I was actually rooting for him at the end of the story.
The Penguin is broken down, despondent after being humiliated by The Umbrella Man who takes over his various enterprises with none of the restraint and balance that Penguin used to bring as crime boss. All the Penguin has to begin his long comeback is a gun and a single bullet. Yet, he manages to put a new together and learns a bit about himself and his limitations while doing so. Very well told and illustrated.
FOUR STARS.
Anabeth Dean is a gifted young fifteen-year-old with art skills, curiosity and a love of nature. She’s trapped in a life where she’s the object of ridicule at school and seen as a servant at home where a busy mother tries to make ends meet by taking on boarders (some creepy and predatory) and taking care of her disabled father (he of the secrets).
Her grandpa gives her a map of a nearby secluded forest so she can find a nest of terns to sketch and this leads to an encounter with a strange young man (Knox) who doesn’t speak like normal folk and seems very naive. She uncovers a unique and beautiful flower in the forest that Knox tries unsuccessfully to persuade her to discard.
Deep underground a race of goblin-like creatures are trying to avoid being eaten by snakes while protecting a relic imbued with unspecified powers. They send an emissary to the surface to obtain needed supplies to maintain their zone’s defenses. Could it be Knox, even though he doesn’t look as pointy-eared and toothy as the goblins?
An intriguing introduction that I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll follow it. I believe this runs three over-sized issues. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
After a violent confrontation with Skunk (the school bully) in which Ted (the only black student in a 1980’s small town) was injured, Ted uses the glasses to wish him away. But to where?
As Issue #2 continues, the boys argue and debate while waiting for Skunk’s disappearance to be noticed. Ted decides to wear the glasses and wish that Skunk hadn’t vanished. Skunk doesn’t show up, but that sets off a series of events where a missing persons investigation begins and Ted becomes the prime suspect (perhaps because he stands out in a white-dominated town). When the police detective zeroes in on Ted, Kenny uses the glasses to wish that Ted could leave Summerton behind. That does not go as anticipated.
What makes this book work is the story-telling and evocative art and colors. Beyond the main premises is a secondary story of prejudice and suppressed feelings of homosexual love. FOUR STARS.
The CEMETERIANS by Daniel Kraus and Maan House reminds me of some of the more off-centered episodes of THE X-FILES and FRINGE. (I miss them both.) Here, human bones keep turning up in unusual places in inanimate objects including a child’s stuffed animals and a woman’s wedding dress. An unspecified government agency teams up a renegade scientist and a disbarred theologian to investigate. They find the bones originating from cemeteries, where the bodies inside the graves are mysteriously missing their skeletal structure. Who or what is behind this is the mystery driving the story. This was especially wordy but as the debates between the scientist and the religious person were so enticing that I didn’t mind taking longer to read this. FOUR STARS.
In DENIZEN written by David Andy and Tim Daniel with art by Chris Shehan (of SPECS), there is an undefined demon hiding inside an abandoned camping trailer that threatens a family’s cross country roadtrip into the woods of Joshua Tree National Park. There is some sort of connection between the new father-to-be of this family and his son, who is scheduled to meet them at the park. However, the story connection is unclear and the art makes me think the son is the person who brought this trailer into the park. THREE STARS.
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