Picks & Pans - October 31, 2007

Welcome back to PCS’ weekly rundown of the best and worst new releases. Of special note, Kyle Baker’s Special Forces #1 is the first book to get Picked by two of our tastemakers (Albo of Geekanerd and David Brothers of 4thletter) — so be sure to check that one out! The rest of this week’s P&P crew includes: AHR (also of Geekanerd), Ernie Estrella, Jon Haehnle (Brother J Says Yuck) and Katherine Dacey-Tsuei (Kate no Komento).

PICK: Batman #670

It’s finally here; Ra’s Al Ghul: The Final Resurrection Tour! This issue’s cover indicates a mere “prelude” to the big comeback, but rest (resurr-rest?) assured the man himself does in fact appear in this story, and he’s less than pleased to find his grandson running around in a dead Robin’s costume and talking all sorts of sass. Ra’s Al-Ghul vs Damian Al-Ghul-Wayne? Ra’s for the win, I’m thinking.

Last month marked the end of artist J.H William III’s fantastic three-issue run on this series, and I was all set to talk about how I missed his consistently jaw-droppingly gorgeous art. As it turns out, I didn’t have time to reminisce about artists gone by with everything going in this issue. Morrison sets the scene for a epic-scale story about the struggle for control of the League of Assassins and (sniff) the bonds of family, but instead of feeling like a rev up to a big storyline, the action starts on the first page and doesn’t stop. The issue is filled with actual gasp-inducing surprises, which is something of a rarity when so many DC superhero books simply kill (or appear to kill) a character rather than think of more original plot twists. Here, there’s something exciting on every page, not the least of which is a special appearance by World Public Enemy. Remember that awesome band? Kinda like the Misfits from Jem, but more super-villainous? C’mon, they were featured in issue of Batman from 1966, remember? No, neither does anyone else, except of course for Grant Morrison, Champion of the Forgotten. Here he throws the pop-tart trio into the mix as a mere diversion, but much he did with the men of the Club of Heroes, Morrison gives these flash-in-the-pan villains funny and instantly recognizable characters, and their brief appearance just about steals the show. Shock Value: A - AHR

PAN: Countdown to Final Crisis #26

I hate to write a bad review of Countdown when the book already takes so much flack on the internet, but honestly it was the only book I read this week that I didn’t enjoy, and this feature is called Picks and Pans. But it pains me to pan Countdown, because Paul Dini is one of my all-time favorite comic book writers. Hell, he’s writing some great stuff currently on the stands - get yourself an ish of Detective Comics and Madame Mirage, and that’s a recipe for a good afternoon. Unfortunately, in twenty five issues as Head Writer on Countdown he has not succeeded in shaping this omnipresent series into entertaining read.

We were told this book would have a slow start, and that the issues of exposition were necessary for a big payoff. Accepting that, I’ve been waiting for the twist that would kick start the real action, but here at the halfway mark things have still been moving at a glacial pace in dealing with characters who keep talking about the same thing; Kyle and Jason don’t like each other, causing Donna to roll her eyes. Trickster throws a calculatedly tame gay joke at Piper, who in turn rolls his eyes. Between these repeating character dynamics and the endless fake-science explanations of the Karate Kid and Jimmy Olsen storylines, the overall feeling of this series is sterility, and this issue is no exception. The whole thing is essentially a clinical explanation of the story so far as told by those Ben Stein’s of the DC Universe, the Monitors. If you do happen to be a big Monitor fan, you’re in luck, because the single piece of plot information revealed in this issue relates to them. The tone of this issue can be gleaned simply from a look at the backgrounds; a mail-order typical space-station, two separate planets that consist of nothing but craters and sand, and a whole lot of brick walls. Are we having fun yet? Shock Value: D- - AHR

PICK: Gon, Vol. 2

Let’s all take a minute to thank CMX for reissuing Masashi Tanaka’s wordless classic Gon. (In case you’re wondering how the new edition compares with the Paradox version, CMX has restored both the artwork’s original right-to-left orientation and the original sequence of stories.) Volume two finds our favorite mini-dino going mano-a-dorsal fin with a shark and chilling with some penguins at the South Pole. Though there’s plenty of humor, there are also some surprisingly touching scenes as Gon bonds with his polar pals, helping them fend off encroachments from a hungry tern. Think March of the Penguins by way of Jurassic Park (with a dash of Charlie Chaplin for good measure), and you’ll have some idea of what makes this story so irresistible. Highly recommended whether you’re seven or thirty-seven. Shock Value: A - Kate

PICK: Jack of Fables #16

I found a story that would do well in one of my old stomping grounds of Detroit, Michigan where on the eve of Halloween, Devil’s Night, was the one to fear. The Fables crew came up with a doozy of a Halloween tale. Just when you think that you have all of the Jacks straight in your heard, allow me to introduce, the Jack of the Lantern. The seemingly most resilient fable of them all keeps alive on a little more than just his Mundy popularity. Those who also like a little old-fashioned Halloween hacking will enjoy this issue, Jack redefines dealing with the devil in more ways than one; and like all good Jack tales we get another amazing tale of escape and derring-do. Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges continue to pull rabbits from their bottomless creative top hat. Andrew Robinson strikes it rich with a filthy fill-in, but Lee Loughridge’s work really set the tone with his moody color choices. Holiday issues are always nice breaks from the monthly grind but often age poorly. Not this issue. It’s timeless as any good fable. For ambiance, read this one by candlelight folks. Shock Value: A- - Ernie

PICK: Justice Society of America #10

I’m a sucker for Kingdom Come. It seems like ages ago we were talking about Alex Ross and Mark Waid’s tale of a DCU run amok with metahumans that tarnished the image of the superhero, so much that Superman decided to step away from his duty to protect. But that was just a Elseworld’s story and Crisis, 52 weeks, another Crisis and now a Countdown later, the two worlds have come together. Ross’ cover of JSA #10 depicts the Kingdom Come Superman standing and bowing his head signals the merge and Geoff Johns juts us right to JSA stunned at the arrival of another gray-streaked Supes. The last time that happened the world nearly saw its end. So there’s a lot of apprehension in the Society.

DC’s able to recycle some of Ross’ art to save on production cost as this version of Superman has flashbacks trying to piece together how he’s coming face-to-face with people he saw died in his world. It’s a solid beginning to what could be the next big DC story. There’s enough there to keep the intrigue and Starman fans will remember that this is not the first time Kingdom Come found its way to regular continuity. But this could also fall badly flat with more talk about multi-verses and parallel worlds. My head’s already hurting from that last sentence. So I curb my enthusiasm enough to let this story breathe. But I’m really enjoying what DC is doing with their two flagship team titles as the tightening the bond between the JSA and JLA so call it blind faith when I give this a solid recommendation. Shock Value: B - Ernie

PICK: Kyle Baker’s Special Forces #1

What do you want out of comics? Comedy, violence, cheesecake, social commentary, or heroes up against impossible odds? Special Forces #1 has all of the above and more, successfully blending a bit of true-to-life commentary with an absurd angle on the war in Iraq. Baker employs a great art style, reminiscent of his Nat Turner work but even more detailed, and isn’t afraid to play with panel layouts. Everything is in here, from rapid-fire multi-panel layouts to single (and double) page splashes to picture book-style prose and art mixes. Imagine a military unit made up of the worst dregs and losers you can find and double it, and you’ve got the cast of Special Forces. This is a great comic, period. Shock Value: A+ - David

Usually when comic books reference real world politics, both directly and allegorically, I cringe so hard my testicles crawl up into my ears. For some reason, it seems to be a really hard thing for a comics writer to pull off without appearing to be a neophyte fishing for a couple of “hell yeah!”s. This book, by notoriously political Eisner and Harvey award winner Kyle Baker, is all about politics (specifically troop enlistment), yet somehow manages to keep my gonads mostly clear of my cochleae.

The story starts with a desperate Sergeant Ramirez, who scrapes some wretched souls (psychos, criminals, the physically unfit) from the bottom of society’s barrel and enlists them in the military in order to reach a recruitment quota that will keep him from having to go back to war himself. Unfortunately for him, one of his recruits gets killed attempting armed robbery the day he is set to ship out and Ramirez finds himself back in Iraq, assigned command of the miserable lot he sent to war.

The book is drawn in Baker’s usual cartoony style, with exaggerated action, bold color choices and a busty protagonist whose clothes become scantier and scantier as each page turns. Aside from the naked girl running around, though, Special Forces is the grittiest, most emotional and meaningful war comic I’ve ever read. I’m not claiming to have read many, but this sure beats all that Garth Ennis schlock. There is palpable danger threatening the squad, a point made clear by the fact that almost all of them die by the end of this issue. My heart wept for these people as things kept getting worse, and I can’t wait to pick up next issue and cheer for them as things get better. If they get better. Shock Value: A - Albo

PAN: Wizard #194

For those who missed my blog post earlier this week, it seems Wizard has begun billing itself as The #1 Men’s Pop-Culture Magazine. The fact that Wizard wishes it was Maxim isn’t exactly breaking news, but the blogosphere is predictably riled up, particularly the blatantly excluded fangirls. Let’s let the ladies vent about sexed up Kristen Bell pinups and juvenile features like “Match The Rack” features; I’ll just shake my head at their worthless “Annual Videogame Buyer’s Guide”, which wasted numerous pages and consequently turned the two good articles they had into more lite reading. Shock Value: D- - Jon

PAN: X-Men: Messiah Complex

I’m a huge Brubaker booster. He’s got a great track record. Captain America, Iron Fist, and Criminal are all top tier books. Messiah Complex, though, feels off. As the lead-in to the big X-event of the winter, it comes off a little empty. There is a lot to like. It’s nice to see little character touches like Nightcrawler and Wolverine boxing, for example. The conflict is set up neatly and the battle lines are well-drawn, but never really feels urgent. We watch the X-Men react and explore, which can be cool, but doesn’t feel like it here. Marc Silvestri’s art varies from great (the aforementioned boxing panel) to uninteresting (Professor X’s nosebleed or a tearful woman).

As a lead-in to an event, Messiah Complex doesn’t work for me. It’s a perfectly competent comic, but it doesn’t come together enough to make me want to finish the event. A last page reveal that seems like it should deepen the mystery but just muddies the story didn’t help at all, either. Is that thing new? Is it the big threat? Why should I care? Shock Value: C+ - David