Comics for November 30

[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.
Thanksgiving okay, but choked on a mint.  Rants, Capsules can be found on my 
             homepage, http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/Rants 

First Looks:
     Every so often, I'll have the time (either while waiting for comics to
be sorted on Wednesday, or over the weekend) to pull out my PDA 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.  If I don't
give it a recommendation, I'm probably not buying it.
     If I read the First Looks on Wednesday, I won't include them in the next
week's review.  But if I don't get around to them until the weekend, I'll
include them in the next regular post.

     There were no Marvel First Looks this week (they'll probably arrive
Friday or something), and I wasn't interested in any of the DC ones.


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.

     Flare #30: Heroic Publishing - Feh, this is a Chrissy Claus comic sold
as a Flare comic.  One of the drawbacks of having a store subscription.  The
main story tried to be goofy fun, but was mostly groaners and confirmation
that I was right in not buying the series back in the 90s.  The backup with
Flare was okay, but the art was kinda wooden.  Neutral.  $2.99/$3.99Cn
     Flare Adventures #15: Heroic Publishing - I'd say this is all reprints
of stuff I already have, but I ditched all my old Flare stuff when I cut my
collection down by 4000 comics in 2000.  It's decently-placed reprints (with
new coloring) though, giving background on the current timeline stuff.  Kinda
heavy on the sort of "isn't it titillating?" tease stuff typical of the 90s
Flare comics.  Mildly recommended.  $2.99/$3.99Cn
     Captain Universe/Silver Surfer #1: Marvel - Kinda anti-climactic,
although that's in part because this whole thing is just a prelude to an
ongoing Captain Universe series.  Mildly recommended.  $2.99/$4.25Cn
     Amazing Fantasy #15: Marvel - Seven stories by six writers (Slott does
two), all but one are new character tales, the last takes a look at a VERY
old and noted, but unknown, guy.  Mastermind Excello: cute comcept and visual
bits.  Blackjack: only 2 pages at a time, but fun.  The Great Video: ehn.
Monstro: Interesting sorta retro look story looking at the sort off thing
supers can do without fight scenes.  Heartbreak Kid: Done in 60s style dot
coloring to evoke the original AF15.  An interesting addition to Parker's
backstory.  Positron: so-so.  Pretty run of the mill.  Guy In Spider-Man's
Armpit: cute.  Recommended.  $3.99/$5.75Cn
     eXiles #73: Marvel - Not much to say here, it's a middle bit.  A few
things SEEM to be resolved, but I can't shake the feeling they aren't.
Recommended.  $2.99/$4.25Cn
     Marvel Holiday Special #1: Marvel - I ordered this on the strength of
Shaenon Garrity's name in the credits, but her sorta-homage to Citizen Kane
was only okay...the ending felt kinda weak.  However, Jeff Parker's holiday
party story may go through well-trod territory, but it treads it very well,
and is worth the price of admission.  The final piece, done to look kind of
like an old woodcut-illustrated Christmas story, was okay, but the rather
forced narration and dialogue go from bad to verse.  Recommended.
$3.99/$5.75Cn 
     Legion of Super-Heroes v5 #12: DC - On the one hand, there's a number of
revelations this issue, and a definite climax.  On the other, there's no real
resolutions to any of the plot threads, which feels wrong in a "one year
mark" issue.  The backup story is decent, although it's unclear whether it is
set several issues ago, or several issues in the future...it definitely
doesn't happen at the same time as the main story (unlike the backup in
#11).  Recommended.  $2.99/$4.00Cn

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!)

     Current list as of 11/23:

     Transformers Way of the Warrior TPB (which shows as "backordered" on
Diamond's system, meaning they're out) Bone Sharps, Cowboys and Thunder
Lizards GN, Exalted #1, Transformers Fallen Star TPB.  And, I suppose, Keif
Llama V2.1.

Awards:

Best Book: Marvel Holiday Special #1

"Shouldn't The Horns Be More Staglike?" Award to Flare #30

"Goddess Of The Barbie Breasts" Award to Flare Adventures #15

"Cosmic Plot Device Caper" Award to Captain Universe/Silver Surfer #1

"It's Not Enough To Know The Equations, You Have To Know How To Use Them"
     Award to Amazing Fantasy #15 

"Miscarriage of Justice" Award to eXiles #73

"Candy Kane" Award to Marvel Holiday Special #1

"A Growing Problem" Award to Legion of Super-Heroes v5 #12 (I had a cleverer
     one, but it was a clear spoiler)

   Dave Van Domelen, "See, there's -- wait, I'm not good at speeches. CAP! (picks up Cap, places him in front of Virgie) This is Captain America." "Hi." - Spider-Man, Virgie, Marvel Holiday Special (Cap speechifying follows, of course)