Picks & Pans, April 02, 2008

PICK! Abe Sapien #3 of 5
Writer: Mike Mignola
Penciller: Jason Shawn Alexander
Inker: Jason Shawn Alexander
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse

Ernie: Mike Mignola and Jason Alexander collaborating together should be enough of a draw for this series. If not, perhaps the lure of an early solo adventure with Abe Sapien in a dark, occult story told in the Indiana Jones vein in a quest for a fabled artifact that’s proving to be more difficult to retrieve. It’s fun, it’s ink-black, and Alexander’s opening action sequence is one of those memorable scenes you’ll be talking amongst fellow Hellboy fans.

PICK! Action Comics #863
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciller: Gary Frank
Inker: Jon Sibal
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Publisher: DC Comics

David U.: This was pretty awesome, and a quite satisfactory payoff to this popular arc. Johns is giving himself a hell of a task here by trying to reenergize the original Legion, and it was probably a smart move to reintroduce them through the context of Superman in this way. Much like most Johns books, the arc has a definite theme to it meant to shine light on the main character, but it’s not executed very subtly. Still, a lot of fun and the teaser at the back should get some people excited (and more than a few annoyed).

PICK! Anna Mecury #1
Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciller: Facundo Percio
Inker:
Colorist:
Publisher: Avatar Press

Jason: This is a promising if not completely barn-burning first issue. Ellis and Facundo present us with a neo-pulp scenario - silver dirigibles float over a Scientifictional Art Deco city which our protagonist, Anna Mercury, swings through like Spider-Man in a black leather outfit with big pistols on her hips, resembling Doc Savage re-imagined as dominatrix. There’s mysterious spy skullduggery, technological war-intrigue between such futuristic sounding geographies as “New Atraxia” and “Sheol City”, and a last-page twist which points the book in what I think is going to be a pretty interesting direction. It’s very Ellis-y, which is a plus for me, but I know not everyone shares my predilection for British anti-heroes being generally unpleasant to each other with clever dialogue while juggling violence and high-tech crises like so many chainsaws. And I know that Avatar’s trade-dress and recognizably similar production values can make you feel like every time you buy one of their books, you’re buying Lady Death, but, really, they’re giving Ellis and Ennis and Delano free rein to write what they want, which is what people who like mainstreamy genre comics but want more diversity and more creator control should really be supporting. You can bitch about skrulls online anytime you want - why not take the four bucks you were going to spend on Secret Invasion and give a book like this a try instead?

PICK! Amazing Spider-Man #555
Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciller: Chris Bachalo
Inker: Tim Townsend
Colorist: Chris Bachalo/Antonio Fabela
Publisher: Marvel Comics

David U.: Get rid of the other three guys, put Wells on full-time. Seriously, this is the first issue that really capitalized on the promise of the BND concept for me. The dialogue’s witty, the art is gorgeous, Peter isn’t completely incompetent and the story is going in an interesting direction. Also, the great continuity fuckup with Strange’s house is now the subject of a No-Prize competition. Easily the best part of the new direction so far.

SEMI-PICK! Cable #2
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Penciller: Ariel Olivetti
Inker: n/a
Colorist: Ariel Olivetti
Publisher: Marvel Comics

David U.: Pick up the pace. We’re at the end of issue two and we don’t really know anything more than could be inferred from Messiah CompleX and a cover. I’m really interested in this storyline, but Swierczynski really needs to start dropping some hints as to what’s going on. I’m hoping this is just a new writer finding his footing - it’s not badly written, it’s just very drab so far. Also, Ariel Olivetti’s computer-generated approach to backgrounds just looks *awful*, especially on the last page where Cable is apparently attacked by an untextured Quake III model brought to life. I really want to like this book, but they aren’t making it easy so far.

PAN! Countdown #4
Writer: Paul Dini, Sean McKeever, Keith Giffen & Scott Beatty
Penciller: Jamal Igle & Cliff Chiang
Inker: Keith Champagne & Cliff Chiang
Colorist: Tom Chu & Cliff Chiang
Publisher: DC Comics

Samantha: I mostly don’t bother commenting on this one week to week, because the title took a nasty turn around week thirty or so in which it has almost consistently been a waste of time and money and there’s only so many ways I can say that the plot is boring and the heroes unworthy of their titles before I start to repeat myself. Yet this week, it almost received a pick for three reasons. One, Jason told Donna and the rest of the hypocrites to go screw themselves, something I would have done the first week. Two, mere panels after Donna gives the craziest, most nonsensical lecture in the world to Jason about being selfish (oh, Donna, the mirror is calling your name) Mary Marvel came back more evil than ever to further prove how hypocritical Kyle and Donna are (apparently Jason is selfish, but Mary can take power from Darkseid and still be a poor little dear that needs help.) Karma, it is gorgeous. Three, no one mentioned the god awful virus that turns people to rats that someone thought would make an interesting storyline but is the only apocalypse story that made me actually laugh as people died off.

All of these were good points, but ultimately, it gets a pan because the narrative makes it clear that we are actually supposed to think that the “challengers” are good and decent people instead of the horrible creatures that they actually are.

PICK! Detective Comics #843
Writer: Paul Dini
Penciller: Dustin Nguyen
Inker: Derek Fridolfs
Colorist: John Kalisz
Publisher: DC Comics

David U.: People looking for Dini’s disconnected stories to start fitting together would do well to pay attention to this issue - I haven’t pored over previous ones yet, but this one makes clear there’s some kind of conspiracy behind it all. Nguyen’s art continues to impress, and my only real complaint with this issue is that, as fun a character as Zatanna is, turning her into a full-time supporting character in this book might be a questionable idea. Still, good.

PICK! Ganges #2
Writer: Kevin Huizenga
Penciller: Kevin Huizenga
Inker: n/a
Colorist: Kevin Huizenga
Publisher: Fantagraphics

Jason: Ganges #2 (”Pulverize”) is astonishing in how deftly it blends together its disparate story elements - it starts out artistic and conceptual, an extended visual abstraction of the notion of combat, which then shifts a story of everyman Glenn Ganges’ past, focusing on, of all things, video games, and the modern male camaraderie that can be found within them, which in turn blends into an examination of both video games as a human experience and the confused dot-com corporate culture of the late 90s. Huizenga’s semi-cartoony style and monochromatic color scheme manages to convey everything in an intimate, quiet tone, while never being stiff or stilted.
Check out Jason’s full review of Ganges #2 here.

PICK! Infinity Inc. #8
Writer: Peter Milligan
Penciller: Pete Woods
Inker: Pete Woods
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Publisher: DC Comics

David U.: Man, this is like a whole new comic. Pete Woods’s art gives everything a fresh new look, and Milligan’s fairly complex script becomes significantly more readable as a result. This issue also finally really defines the membership and the mission statement, which is a relief. Still, it’s almost definitely too little too late, as this book’s sales numbers are dangerously (I’d say almost irredeemably) low, but we’ll see what happens.

PICK! Kick-Ass #2
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciller: John Romita, Jr.
Inker: Tom Palmer
Colorist: Dean White
Publisher: Marvel Comics/Icon

David U.: Man, this is pure, undiluted Millar, and if that’s your thing, you are going to fucking love this comic and laugh for 22 pages. If it’s not, you’re going to think this is the most obnoxious thing ever printed. I thought it was hilarious, but it’s not because it’s taking potshots at its main character anymore; you can kind of feel this rare Mark Millar optimism behind all the cursing and ultra-violence and semi-cliched badassery.

SPLIT DECISION! Logan #2
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Penciller: Eduardo Risso
Inker: Eduardo Risso
Colorist: Dean White
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Ernie: The action really picks up in this fine Eduardo Risso showcase. In fact, Risso tells a story so well with his art, Brian K. Vaughan is even stepping aside a bit and letting Risso “tell” the story in the panels instead of in the balloons. It’s a crazy World War II story in the lovable, voodoo Logan doll-type story but I’m beginning to wonder just who this war soldier who’s got a bone to pick is. That and the pretty pictures are enough to get me to that final issue.

Jason: Am I the only one who found the second issue of Logan to be a faintly embarrassing disappointment? The first issue wasn’t Shakespeare, but it was pretty decent - a straightforward war story (Wolverine/Logan in WW2 breaks out of Japanese POW camp) with a little battle-torn love/lust thrown in (meets Japanese woman whose father has died in the war) and a tragic curve ball at the end of it (it’s all taking place in Hiroshima in 1945). That first issue was evocative enough that readers were probably writing the rest of the story themselves - un-killable Logan gets caught in the atomic bomb blast and is haunted by it in the future, which ends up with him fighting whatever the demon-ghost thing is in the present-day intro to the first issue. I figured the demon-ghost thing was going to be something a little bit more abstract or poetic, but now it seems that it’s a random mutant who was also caught in the blast and lived on as a giant burning skeleton with special powers, which is infinitely more boring in a book which takes itself this seriously. And the woman Logan meets just sticks around long enough to boff him and then die in a very poorly choreographed fight scene (she jumps at him with a sword, but then he takes the time to attach the bayonet to his rifle before she actually lands? And then she’s suddenly very far away from him but still inside the small house? And then…I’m not sure. Awful.) Oh, and the bombing of Hiroshima turns into an awkward metaphor for Logan sort of losing his virginity, or at least “becoming a man”. Classy! Maybe Vaughan will pull this all together in the last issue, but I can’t say this is giving me much incentive to find out.

PICK! Nightwing #143
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller: Don Kramer
Inker: Christian Alamy & Mark McKenna
Colorist: Nathan Eyring
Publisher: DC Comics

Samantha: It’s possible that this one issue has more character development (of the positive nature) in it than both the runs of Chuck Dixon and Devin Grayson combined. Nightwing manages to tease his kid brother, share with us his thoughts on coconuts and Stark Trek, and show us that all the nasty wounds Judd Winick imposed upon the Grayson-Harper friendship are healed while simultaneously freeing a group of enslaved minions. Dick is both smart and smart-alecy, and it’s a combination that works to show just how much the character has grown since his days in short pants, especially with Robin next to him. There’s a very casual teasing between Dick and his cohorts that makes him even more of a lovable and relatable character than he already was.

The panels between Dick and Roy were my favorites, mostly because I hated what was done to them during Outiders. I do hope this is the kind of characterization that Judd Winick will use in his Titans, particularly between Dick and Roy, though given his past performances and love for drama between team members, it is unlikely. That’s too bad, because those few panels in this comic showed how Titans should treat each other, something that has been missing for some time in the actual Titans title.

PICK! Scalped #16
Writer: Jason Aaron
Penciller: R.M. Guera
Inker: R.M. Guera
Colorist: Giulia Brusco
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo

Ernie: This is fast becoming my favorite monthly grind because of well-paced story that sucks you in from the first page and doesn’t let you go until the last. The characters of the Rez are three-dimensional, and as they carousel in and out each month, I think back to the last time I had this same sense of character intrigue was back in the pages of Preacher when it originally came out. Certain players will crawl under your skin while others you want to stand in front of you in street brawl. In this latest issue we Dash has just as much brains as he does brawn, and we get to see who the big man in town really is. Seemingly a shuttle issue that gets us point C to point D, we really get to peel the layers back on Dash and Red Crow. And for those waiting for trades on Scalped, don’t. Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera give you an episodic comic so brutal that it’s best taken in bites. For your health, pick up this comic.

PICK! Secret Invasion #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Leinil Francis Yu
Inker: Mark Morales
Colorist: Laura Martin
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Samantha: I was actually fully expecting not to like this story, so it had a long, long way to go to make me be interested and it actually delivered. There are certainly parts that make me shake my head, such as when Iron Man is trying to arrest people for violating a stupid law when he should be far more worried about the invasion, and Reed Richards should be smarter than to fall for the trap he falls prey to at the end of the story. But overall, the story sets a very appropriate tone. There is a scene in which Iron Man calls for the Avengers to assemble, and it comes across as a very joyless command, in contrast to the rallying battle cry it has been in the past. Likewise, when Luke Cage is expressing his frustration at the world he lives in, I was nodding my head right there with him. Those are the kind of character moments that make a large scale crossover worth the effort, and why, for now, I’m on board to see where the Secret Invasion takes us.

PICK! Supergirl #28
Writer: Kelley Puckett
Penciller: Drew Johnson & Ron Randall
Inker: Ray Snyder & Ron Randall
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Publisher: DC Comics

David U.: This is completely great, and finally Puckett’s run is starting to pick up, really rolling with the premise of Supergirl trying to make a more positive and proactive difference in the lives of everyday citizens. A lot happens in this issue, and it’s all both highly amusing and completely unexpected, while also carving out a unique niche for this book in the DC Universe. I hope it gets the attention it deserves, but after the borderline abrasive beginning of Puckett’s run people might just not care anymore. I hope I get the chance to see this story through to its conclusion, though - it’s quirky and different and I’m worried the market won’t reward it for that.

SEMI-PICK! Young Avengers #3
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Penciller: Alina Urusov
Inker: Alina Urusov
Colorist: Alina Urusov
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Samantha: Oh, how it hurts me to say anything negative about this story at all. I love the Young Avengers, and I love Wiccan as a character. Moreover, I really wanted to see a story in which they actually go and search for their “mother,” the Scarlet Witch, and that’s exactly what this promised to be.

But that’s not what this is. This is page after page of background that anyone who read Young Avengers and Avengers already knew, with a few extra panels of filler where we learn that Billy has a really great boyfriend, which again, we already knew. The dream sequence at the beginning is interesting, but it’s a plot point that is hastily dropped.

The overall result is a very frustrating read. The characterization is great, but nothing actually happens in this story and in a superhero comic, I want something to happen.

SEMI-PICK! Young X-Men #1
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Penciller: Yanick Paquette
Inker: Ray Snyder
Colorist: Rob Schwager
Publisher: Marvel Comics

David U.: Also a disappointment, as Guggenheim plays everything by the numbers except for a mildly interesting (read: almost definitely temporary) last page reveal. Paquette’s art looks great, but there just wasn’t much in this issue to grab me - again, it wasn’t bad by any means, just fairly mediocre with some truly awful ‘urban’ dialogue from one new character. I’ll stick with it for a while to see if it improves, but this first issue just didn’t grab me.