Comics for the second week of September

[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.
This has been a really long week.  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. 

First Looks:
     Every so often, I will take my PDA and its folding keyboard down to the
comic shop on the weekend and type up reviews of the stuff I read out of the
First Looks pile.  Books I end up buying will be moved down to the Capsules
section on Wednesdays.

     Helios #1: Dakuwaka - A promo copy of this got sent to my shop, so I
decided to give it a look. I'll start by saying the cover is awful,  Murky,
wooden, and while it does represent a scene from the issue, it utterly fails
to show the mood of that scene.  Also, if this issue explains who or what
"Helios" is, I missed it.  As far as I can tell, the high concept of this 30
issue maxiseries is "What if the Suicide Squad was created via less than
straightforward means?"  The art by Gabe Pena is okay (although faces tend to
go weird a lot), the layouts are often experimental without being unclear,
and the scripting by Jason Rand is decent.  The plotting and pacing could use
work, though, and the pretention level of the blurb in the back is a turnoff
(although it will presumably not be present in the non-preview copy).  Might
be worth checking into, but I probably won't, mainly due to a general dislike
for Government Conspiracy stuff.  $2.99/$4.60Cn
     X-Force #2: Marvel - First things first: hell no, I'm not buying this.
But it's one of those trainwreck things, I gotta look.  Anyway, let's just
take the lame, talky plot and weirdly proportioned figures in overly detailed
yet still boring outfits as read.  The one notable thing here is that Liefeld
seems to be experimenting with a painted style for his future flashback
sequences.  It's a bit different, but not really better.  More like a
mediocre fan artist discovering all the things Photoshop can do, and
producing slick crap.  Do I even need to say "avoid"?  $2.99/$4.25Cn
     Warlock #1: Marvel - I like the character.  I've bought his previous two
series.  But the previews for this version didn't inspire me to order this
book.  Well, this version has an interesting conceit...it SEEMS to be set in
a sort of Earth Prime deal, a few years down the road, with Adam Warlock
being created in this issue.  Pak's writing is okay, and Adlard's stylistic
choices don't thrill me (although he shows he can do other stuff).  Probably
won't be picking this series up.  $2.99/$4.25Cn

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.

     Captain America #31: Marvel - Meanwhile, this title's ending so that it
can be rebooted post-Zero Survivors.  And I think it's showing in the
writing, stuff getting wrapped up overly quickly, a lot of almost breaking
the fourth wall, etc.  The big combat scene was almost farcical, and compared
to other work I've read by Kirkman, this is phoning it in.  Mildly
recommended.  $2.99/$4.25
     She-Hulk #7: Marvel - Hey, a cover that's not just generic She-Hulk on a
blank background!  Of course, it has at least one dead character on it, but
since it also has Forbush-Man, I wouldn't worry too much about the continuity
issues.  Bobillo is back, and MAN he stinks on toast at drawing aliens.  And
since this story has a lot of aliens, this is a problem.  Storywise, it's
something of a derailment, but since the main loose end got dragged along for
the ride, it's okay.  Recommended.  $2.99/$4.25Cn
     Pulse #5: Marvel - Okay, in the interest of disclosure, I'm dropping
this series at the end of this arc, mostly because of Avengers Disassembled.
And since this is the end of the arc, it's my last issue.  I must say I'm
pleasantly surprised...Bendis fails to live up to his reputation of petering
out on a storyline.  It's a strong ending, both internally (it's dramatic and
puts a solid emotional climax on things) and externally (it *matters* in
what's laughingly called the Marvel Universe).  I may read #6 if it's in the
First Looks next month, but for now I'm going to drop this book on a high
note.  Recommended.  $2.99/$4.25Cn
     Green Arrow #42: DC - The exposition (both in captions and in dialogue)
is a little thick this issue, but not in a Claremontian way.  This arc
continues to show what can happen when the badguys get serious, hopefully it
won't just be a descending arc of pain and torment, though.  Obviously, the
heroes have to also kick it up a notch, but there are good ways and cliche
ways to do that.  While a lot of how good this is will depend on where things
go, provisionally Recommended.  $2.50/$3.85Cn
     JSA #65: DC - The ongoing Hourman subplot gets made the main plot this
issue, and I rather like how one of the villains of the piece sets things
into motion with but a few words.  Johns does break up an otherwise talky
issue with a quick fight scene, which helps.  Recommended.  $2.50/$3.85Cn 
     Teen Titans #15: DC - The cover was turned from good to iffy by how the
artist drew the eyes of most of the characters...kinda disturbing, and not in
a good way.  I liked the advancement of Wonder Girl's subplot in this issue,
and of course I look forward to the crossover shown on the final page.  A
decent issue overall.  Recommended.  $2.50/$3.85Cn
     Outsiders #15: DC - Okay, the plot is pretty weak.  But this issue
stands strong on the dialogue, which is a bit arch and ironic, but it works.
I was laughing out loud several times while reading this issue, and that's
always a Good Thing (unless I'm laughing at the art, as in X-Force).  One
flaw, though...the inking is murky on a level that makes me wonder if this is
a Dreamwave book.  Strongly recommended.  $2.50/$3.85Cn
     Fallen Angel #15: DC - Man, it's a week for #15's.  Anyway, the title
double splash is great.  Very creepy, and it explains a lot about the town
(including how easy it is to get lost...that sort of geometry on the main
streets is a royal pain to navigate).  Also, this issue makes it totally
clear in-story that this is NOT set in the DC Universe.  Good "setting up the
next phase" story.  Recommended.  $2.95/$4.50Cn
     NHS #119: Antarctic Press - There's a bit of clunkiness in transitioning
to the flashback that is the core of this issue, but a lot of good "schtick"
both in the framing and in the flashback.  Clever use of fonts to indicate
changes in language.  Overall, a good issue.  Recommended.  $2.99/$4.05Cn

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!)

     Still no Transformers Poster Book.  Legion #38 finally showed.

Awards:

Best Book: Outsiders #15

"Guess Who's Coming For Dinner?" Award to Captain America #31

"When Did Champion Get Fat?" Award to She-Hulk #7

"Solomon Grundy Want Unbreakable Pants Too!" Award to Pulse #5

"Ay, Mama Mia!" Award to Green Arrow #42

"Trust Your Key To The Man With The Dee" Award to JSA #65

"Yesssss" Award to Teen Titans #15

"Oh, Canada" Award to Outsiders #15

"What's Called A Messy Hit" Award to Fallen Angel #15

"Parental, um, Units" Award to NHS #119

   Dave Van Domelen, "Especially since you idiots are dressing so much better now -- I mean except Jinx. You look like a 16th Century Middle-Eastern hooker." - Arsenal, who I suppose knows his historical hookers.