2004-10-01
Capsule Comic Reviews - 09/29
By: Harold Bloomfield
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Writer: J. Michael Straczynski | ||
For writer J. Michael Straczynski “Sins Past” has turned in “Sins Present.” The father of Gwen Stacy’s children is revealed in this issue and it’s a mistake of epic proportions. About three of four pages from the end after digesting the news and thinking it through Peter Parker screams in rage and demolishes a room full of furniture. This is the one moment in the issue that rings dead on true as I very much also wanted to smash things upon discovering the father’s identity. Anyone in the Marvel Universe would have been a better choice. I’d have an easier time accepting Howard the Duck or Irving Forbush as the father. As it is Straczynski has forever besmirched Gwen Stacy in a truly unbelievable and distasteful scenario and further convoluted the history of a another character with an already ridiculously convoluted history. We’d all be better off if this character was just forgotten by everyone concerned. I’ll give Straczynski this, his solution does solve the problems inherent in the known Spider-Man time line but I’d rather have a somewhat shaky time line than the ruination and misuse of the characters he has left us.
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Writer: Bill Willingham | ||
“War Games” is trying my patience. There’s no rhythm to it, no flow, it just seems to lumber on and on requiring me to buy many more titles than I normally would. While no issues have been truly awful none have been outstanding either. The majority of issues have barely nudged the plot forward and usually feature a baddie who tangles with the hero for what seems like no other reason than to fulfill a misguided requirement that each issue features a smackdown. Spoiler and her predicament are conspicuously absent as the story focuses Black Mask impersonating Orpheus and Zeiss being sent to kill him. Enter Batman and you have your smackdown. I don’t believe for a second that Batman is fooled by Black Mask As for the ace reporter who has soured on Batman I don’t buy that either. His opinion changed after the siege at the high school when he felt Batman and company made the situation worse. What about a school full of ex-hostages who could tell him different? Added to that is the fact that he’s failed to discover that Batman has twice overridden the police communication system and given the men in blue orders which they followed. Some reporter. Isolated this issue with Black Mask inadvertently becoming a target by impersonating Orpheus, the ensuing fight and the bomb sequence is mildly entertaining. It’s as part of this twenty plus story that it frustrates. On the plus side Kinsun’s art is very good with kind of a Jim Lee feel and he along with “Catwoman” penciller, Paul Gulacy are definitely the cream of the crop working on this crossover.
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Writer: Jeph Loeb | ||
More like a spin-off than a sequel to the Loeb and Sale classic “The Long Halloween” this stylish noir mystery has a lot going for it despite some minor problems. Sale’s art is the biggest draw here and he doesn’t disappoint, making great use of shadows and providing many evocative and iconic images. He’s clearly having fun with a sexy Selina as his star. Although the art is the main attraction there are a bit too many splash pages which give the story a skimpy feel. As for the story, the opening sequence gets confusing before it’s revealed to be a dream. Loeb is crafting an enjoyable, retro like take on Selina and come up with a unique slant on the Riddler. Readers need a score card now to keep track of the different characterizations of this guy. Why not just come up with new characters for a change? Once in Rome I was hoping we could get away from the usual recurring suspects but the ending proved me wrong. However Loeb has presented a sassy, sexy, confident and slightly troubled Selina to go along with a murder mystery in a continental setting. Throw in Tim Sale at the top of his game and you have what looks like another winner from the pair.
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Writer: Brian Michael Bendis | ||
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A special issue celebrating the 40th anniversary of Daredevil is the kind of a book the old annuals used to be. For the longest time annuals tried to offer something bigger and/or different than the regular monthly book. For Bendis this type of thing usually means working with a bevy of artists. He’s done it before on this book and the “Ultimate” super special if you can remember that. I’m not entirely sold on the concept as Bendis’ previous attempts resulted in uneven choppy books with the rapid fire art changes disrupting the flow of the story. On this book however he has come up with a way around that problem. The issue is really a series of vignettes concerning how the revealing of Daredevil’s secret identity impacted throughout the Marvel Universe with one artist for each little section of story. Many of them are quite successful such as the ones with Nick Fury, Captain America, the Punisher and Doctor Strange respectively. For regular readers of the series part of the enjoyment is from Bendis expanding upon and filling in spaces from events and scenes from earlier issues. A couple of pin ups are thrown in for good measure. While it’s interesting to see the different artists take on Daredevil only Chris Bachalo and Phil Hester with Ande Parks (maybe Jae Lee but that’s based on a one page poster) show any inkling that they could capture the mood and tone of this book as it is written by Bendis. Strangely enough the net result is a greater appreciation for Alex Maleev who shows up for the last two pages. It took me awhile to get use to his style but he certainly has proven how large of a contribution he makes to the success of this book. Finally, for an anniversary issue wouldn’t you expect a few of the artists to have some connection to Daredevil? How much of a charge would you get out of seeing a few pages by John Romita, Sr. or Gene Colan?
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Writer: Jeph Loeb | ||
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Is this book only two months late? Seemed like we’ve been waiting for it forever. Well it’s here and as with the first four parts of this arc it’s a good read. Sometimes Jeph Loeb is almost the anti-Bendis. Where Bendis fills page after page with dense dialogue Loeb is the master of brevity with short staccato bursts of narrative thought. When it works it can be every bit as character revealing as Bendis’ dialogue but when it doesn’t it seems lazy or even amateurish. He’s used it very effectively in this series to delve into the characters of the two leads and illuminate their relationship. The opening arc of this series started fast but declined and was a mess by the last two issues. This arc has fared much better and the events here don’t seem rushed or contrived. Loeb has a good handle on the big three of the DC Universe and each has their moments here. He has been particularly deft in portraying Batman battling foes of immense power and the Dark Knight pretty much steals the show. Loeb does share a similarity with Bendis in that he can come up with some dandy cliffhangers and he does so in spectacular fashion here. This series seems to have elevated Michael Turner to artistic superstar status and he comes through for the most part. Sometimes I think he’s a little off with the expressions on Superman’s face and someone at DC needs to rethink that Supergirl costume, not in the best of taste for a character who is supposed to be so young.
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