Comics for August 18

[dvandom]

                    Dave's Unspoilt Capsules and Awards
         The Week's Picks and Pans, plus Awards of Dubious Merit

Standard Disclaimers: Please set appropriate followups.  Recommendation does
not factor in price.  Not all books will have arrived in your area this week.
Shifting crisis types on the fly, whee.  Rants, Capsules can be found on my 
             homepage, http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/Rants 

     Go check out http://www.whiterose.org/HowlingCurmudgeons/ when you're
done here. 

Capsules:
     Short, relatively spoiler-free reviews of books I actually bring home
(as opposed to reading in preview form in the shop or online).  If I get a
book late due to distributor foulups or whatever, I'll put it in the Missing
section.

     JSA Strange Adventures #1 (of 6): DC - I hadn't ordered this initially,
but reading it as a First Look convinced me to pick up the series.  This
first issue has two main plots that are (at the moment) unconnected.  One is
a fairly standard "JSA versus Nazi villain" thing, while the other brings
real life writers Hugo Gernsback and Jack Williamson into the story as part
of a rather interesting conceit.  Written by Kevin J. Anderson, art by Barry
Kitson and Gary Erskine.  Recommended.  $3.50/$5.25Cn
     Batman Adventures #17 (FINAL ISSUE): DC - Well, this doesn't pick up
from #16, which was a bit disappointing, but it's a good issue on its own
merits.  One of the bigger modern debates about the Batman mythos has been
over whether it's better to have Batman bring Joe Chill (the killer of his
parents) to justice, or to never find the man.  The first option gives a
sense of closure, and lets Batman continue as a defender in a broader sense,
no longer fighting crime simply as a proxy for personal justice.  The second
option sees that proxy fight as a good thing, a source of motivation that
makes Batman more than just another vigilante...he can never get justice for
himself, so he substitutes justice for everyone else.  Templeton takes an
interesting third road in this story, and while I'm not going to give away
any more than that, I will say I liked how it played out.  Maybe not the best
story Templeton has written for the animated Batman, but a good one to go out
on.  Recommended.  $2.25/$3.50Cn
     Fallen Angel #14: DC - This one came with a free Sky Captain and the
World of Tomorrow DVD, I'd been hoping one would arrive in a book I regularly
get (despite being in a LOT of DC books, those are almost all books I don't
want to read).  Anyway, on to the actual comic inside the polybag.  This is
pretty much a "pause to catch your breath" issue, as just about every
supporting character in the series who is still alive (with a few exceptions,
one very notable) comes through Furor's and has a chat with Lee.  A bunch of
denounments and transitions, plus a few Big Reveals.  Recommended.
$2.95/$4.50Cn  [Correction, it's not a DVD, it's a CDROM.  And, shock of
shocks, it's Mac-friendly, so I was actually able to watch it.]
     Astro City Special: Supersonic #1 (of 1): DC/Wildstorm - Those who are
into Deeper Meaning could probably get a lot out of this book about the
current retro trends and how what was once subtle and whimsical is now blunt
and brutal.  But I prefer to see it as simply what it is...the tale of how
you can still be physically up to a task, but no longer have what it takes
between the ears.  Not everyone retires because their body gives out, some
just don't have the mental energy to do it anymore.  The story switches
between flashbacks of the Good Old Days and the straightforward brutality of
the Now.  And it ends with a crossword puzzle.  Recommended.  $3.95/$6.00Cn 
     eXiles #51: Marvel - Bedard finishes off his two-part "Big M" arc, and
pretty satisfyingly, as far as I'm concerned.  Sakakibara's art is adequate,
but a lot of his figures seem too much like real people in costumes...which
is to say they look less than impressive.  Recommended.  $2.99/$4.25Cn
     Supreme Power #12: Marvel - Four stories run through this issue, each
getting one horizontal panel per page.  So, while four things happen pretty
slowly, at least four things happen, which is pretty packed for this title.
Actually, because of some of the characters traveling to other slices, it's
more like five or six things.  Still not something to read at Denny's,
though, as Zarda's bare breasts continue to figure prominently, pun
intended.  Still not loving the fact that the main characters are far more
likely to try to kill each other than anyone else.  Mildly recommended.
$2.99/$4.25Cn
     Fantastic Four #517: Marvel - The "Avengers Disassembled" link here
seems to be less an actual crossover and more of what we'd have called
"business as usual" in the 80s...events in the Avengers books are being
referred to and having an impact on events in this book.  Waid continues to
follow up on the ramifications of his Latveria arc here, as the FF works to
dig itself out of its PR hole.  Recommended.  $2.99/$4.25Cn
     She-Hulk #6: Marvel - Slott and Pelletier turn in another excellent
issue, that had me laughing out loud every other page (on average, your
mileage and specific incidences of hilarity may vary).  And while Jen has a
major turning point here, it's also a big issue for Awesome Andy.  Strongly
recommended.  $2.99/$4.25Cn
     Quagmire U.S.A. #4: Antarctic Press - In one way of thinking of it, not
a lot happens this issue...rather, the same sort of thing happens many
times.  On the other hand, there's a definite Turning Point vibe here, as the
tone shifts even as the same things happen.  Recommended.  $2.99/$4.05Cn
     Blue Monday: Painted Moon #2 (of 4): Oni - Ah, adolescence.  A time of
discovering one's sexuality...and thanks to the way Western Civilization has
turned out, discovering deeeeeep shame regarding one's sexuality (and I don't
mean orientation, I mean having any sort of sexual drive).  The characters do
seem a little old to be getting around to it, but I suppose it does happen,
and at least the other characters also recognize how odd it is.  And, since
Chynna has two characters involved, one can have a mostly positive experience
and one can have a mostly negative one.  I won't say which is which, but
regular readers of this series should have a pretty good idea.  :)  Another
issue not to read where a prude might look over your shoulder, though.
Recommended.  $2.99/$4.65Cn
     Girl Genius #11: Airship Entertainment - Foglio resolves last issue's
cliffhanger in the classic matinee serial manner...and that's not really a
compliment, as anyone who's seen a lot of matinee serial cliffhanger
resolutions knows (if you don't know, I'm not going to spoil it here).
Still, it was a good read, focusing mostly on two of the villains of the
cast.  Plus, there's an implication that maybe, just maybe, one of the
romances brewing in this title is Very Doomed for reasons that were not
previously under consideration.  Recommended.  $3.95

Gone Missing:
     Stuff that came out some places this week and that I wanted to buy, but
couldn't find for whatever reason, so people don't have to email me asking
"Why didn't you review X?"  (If it's neither here nor in the section above,
though, feel free to ask, I might have forgotten about it!)

     The Transformers Poster Book did not get shipped to my store, and I
wasn't the only one to order it.  Also, I bought Essential Iron Fist and
Conan Collections v2-4 (Dark Horse's reprints of Marvel issues), but even if
this wasn't the busiest week of the semester for me, there's no way I'd be
able to read what amount to over seventy issues today.  Might have comments
on them next week.

Awards:

Best Book: She-Hulk #6

"Sidekick To Demons, Sidekick To Gods" Award to JSA Strange Adventures #1
     (of 6)

"Chill Out" Award to Batman Adventures #17 (of 17)

"A Taste Of Boston" Award to Fallen Angel #14

"Jet Set-tled" Award to Astro City Special: Supersonic #1 (of 1)

"The Road Not Taken" Award to eXiles #51

"If She Calls Him Kakarot, I'll Scream" Award to Supreme Power #12

"Guess Who Bought The Spider-Man 1967 Cartoon DVD Set?" Award to Fantastic
     Four #517

"Not So Much Punching The Logo As Head-Butting It" Award to the cover of
     She-Hulk #6, about the only disappointing part.

"Iron Fist Meets Rodimus Prime" Award to Quagmire U.S.A. #4

"Ah, The Zeal Of The New Convert" Award to Blue Monday: Painted Moon #2 
     (of 4)

"Mimmoth On A Stick?  NOOOOOOO!" Award to Girl Genius #12

     Dave Van Domelen, "Eightball, you okay?  Say somethin'!"  "rEplY
HAzY...asK AGaIn LatERrrr..." - Powderkeg and Eightball, She-Hulk #6

Comments

[liabrown]

eXiles #51: Marvel - Bedard finishes off his two-part "Big M" arc, and
pretty satisfyingly, as far as I'm concerned. Sakakibara's art is adequate,
but a lot of his figures seem too much like real people in costumes...which
is to say they look less than impressive.
Supreme Power #12: Still not something to read at Denny's,
though, as Zarda's bare breasts continue to figure prominently, pun
intended.

I think Sakakibara's a woman. Bedard called her a "she" in an interview. But yeah, I think she draws great-looking women and kind of chunky-realistic guys. I didn't really care for the way she draws Pyro.

What's with the titty-fest in Supreme Power, anyway? It seems pretty gratuitous by now...put some damn clothes on, woman.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Well, Zarda did put on some clothes this issue, in the second half. And then killed the people who tried to stop her from stealing the clothing, jewelry, and anything else that struck her fancy.