Reviews! Yay!
Unfortunately(or fortunately, you tell me) it might be short because I have recently cut down my pull list to 5 monthly titles with an assortment of bi-monthly, tri-monthly, almost quarterly, and god-awful-waiting-for-the-next-issue-of-a-comic-I-probably-don't-really-like-but-the-fanboy-in-me-just-won't-let-it-go-almost-quarterly-but-closer-to-bi-annually.
Basically I'm going to trades on most stuff, which gives me an opportunity to pick up all those books that I couldn't afford because I had 483194723983 floppies to buy that week.
The snazzy trade of the week?
The Push Man & Other Stories by Yoshihiro Tatsumi. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from this, but I'm hoping its gonna be just as great at Karasik and Mazucchelli's City Of Glass. That will have to wait for now, as I'm currently making my way through the 4th Sandman trade.
What I did read is..
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror # 11
I decided on being adventurous with this one. And when I saw the spiffy Swamp Thing spoof story by none other than LEN FUCKIN' WEIN AND BERNIE DANG WRIGHTSON, I bought it.
Now, I've never ever purchased a Simpson's comic, because well...there's the TV show, right? And the comic seems like a bastard son to the TV show, which I don't even really watch anymore. However, there are people who make comments about how good the Simpson's comic is, especially at the little knocks they make at comic books in general. So why hell not.
Reading this Simpsons comic is a little weird. When you read it you just hear the voice actors in your head. And the shift in quality from the different artists just makes you think you're watching stuff from earlier seasons. Check it out:
Last sunday night
Season Two DVD
Look how goofy and amateurish Kount Krustofski looks. That's only amateurish in the context of TV show. Not necessarily bad, but certainly not as polished as what you would see on TV nowadays. The exception, is the two stories by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, and Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, who definitely add a very stylized look to both of their stories.
All in all, I'm not a big fan of Halloween themed comics, I guess. Or Simpson's comics. It was an ok read, but nothing great beyond a small chuckle or two. I think I'll pass next time.
Gotham Central # 36
This is one of the few comics that I still pull. Its a fairly new discovery for me and I love the shit out of it. I have this things about super hero comics that focus on non-super hero aspects of the super hero world. Or super hero comics that take themselves seriously. And not serious in the sense that grittier = serious. Serious as in they deal with real life problems. Super hero dramas, I guess.
Living in the 20th century utopia created by omnipotent super heroes and the problems that this "perfect world" creates, in MiracleMan Golden Age: Good stuff. Daredevil's identity being revealed in a tabloid newspaper(OMG, Spoilers!): Good stuff. The Sandman story with the female Metamorpho in which her powers are more of a curse than something that would be used to fight evildoers: More good stuff, and that was only one issue. (A hell of lot better than that Midsummer's Night Dream thespian drama club wack off shit. Sorry, but I did not see why it won that Fantasy Award.)
You get the point.
Gotham Central is about cops and what their life is like living under the shadow of the Bat in Gotham City. And its more good stuff. This issue, we have the big wrap up of the current story arc: Who's been killing kids dressed up like Robin? Is it Batman?! Well, the cover has Batman in a classic pose with the words "Wanted For Murder" below it. Holy hell, I think its Batman! Figures, because he's a prick! Probably kidnapped a bunch of random kids, dressed them up, then pushed them off really tall buildings and stuff, just to show that uppity sidekick what could happen to him if he doesn't cut that obnoxious 'tude. See!? What a dick!!!
Actually, its a really bad cover. Let's look at it again:
Yeah, that's lame. Maybe a picture of Batman in some dead end alley with headlights on him, hiding behind his cape, ready to shot a Bat-Grappling Gun up to unknown gothic statue off panel while police look on. Or even better: have some people eating at a cafe, with one person pointing to the sky with their fork where you can see Batman swinging between buildings, saying "Isn't that the Batman?" while the other person replies with "Yes. Isn't he WANTED FOR MURDER?!?!" with that last part in some super actiony intense looking speech balloon. That would have been good. This cover just looks like sub par Batman. Sorry Ryan, but after thinking about it, I disagree with your observation that this cover is awesome.
Which brings me to the next item up on the list of Things That DC Should Have Done To Make Their Only Good Book Even Better: Don't show Batman working the Bat-Interrogation on the Bad Guy. Should have just kept it on the police who were observing, with all the commotion coming from off panel being heard. Maybe make one of the cops a bit freaked out to show that they're not comfortable with the idea of the Goddamn Batman doing his thing. And have another cop totally picking their nose, as if, meh, its just the Goddamn Batman....whatevs. But no.
And last but not least, the big reveal of the actual killer? Lame. I like the motivation behind him, but not the execution. Its been done before and we all know where you ripped it off from. Way to go, Ru and Bru.
All in all, I would have to say that this was probably the only story arc of GCPD that ended not so good. Not horrendously bad, but nothing like all the other stuff that's come before. Can this be the beginning of the end?
Well, next month we have a Day! Of! Judgement! Tie! In! which should be interesting as it deals with Spectre fighting Shazam while all the GCPD are running around like little sissy la las. I think. I'm not really sure.
Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur # 1
Only one word can describe this comic:
Go buy it. 'Nuff Said.
PS : Don't get too mad when you realize the Hulk reprint story that they allude to on the cover is not the Hulk story you think is.
1 comment:
Photoshop is fun. And evil. Definitely evil.
I... took a few liberties.
(And I got 'telaq' as the word verification thing. I swear, that's a Star Trek character.)
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