Comics

Astro City #2

/ / Comics

Astro City #2Telling peripheral stories to the larger than life heroic adventures in a world populated with super-powered heroes and villains has always been a strength of Astro City. The latest issue gives us a peek at the life of Marella Cowper who answers an innocuous ad for a data position and finds herself working in the super-secret Honor Guard Emergency Contact Line.

Once again the series thinks outside the box to examine the needs of a world filled with super-heroes. A specialized communication hub to prioritize dangers, the regular people needed to staff it, and the precautions to keep its existence and location secret, are fleshed out in this single issue that offers enough possibilities to become its own spin-off. With the need for heroes to only make cameos this would actually make for a cool TV series.

Presented completely from Marella’s point of view, we get her initial awe at her new job, the driven nature and yearning to get that one call to help save the world, and finally the acceptance and understanding of her small role in the larger picture. Without doubt, Astro City #2 is one of the best comics I’ve read this year. Best of the week.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

Astro City #2 Read More »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #1

/ / Comics

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #1Based on the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, this new series jumps right into the action with April heading out on patrol with Donatello for the first time after showing progress in her training as a with Splinter. Although Leonardo raises concerns that April isn’t ready, Donnie underplays the dangers of scrounging in the military junkyard that ends up with April captured and the rest of the team called into to free her (without alerting the United States Government to the fact that human-sized talking ninja turtles exist).

Fans of the current show should feel right at home here as writer Kenny Byerly is one of the staff writers for the cartoon and artist Dario Brizuela stays true to the character designs of the cartoon while also giving them a little more two-dimensional comic book style. The interactions, the occasional wide-eyed blow-up moments, are all carefully recreated here.

It’s nice to see the comic giving April such a large role in the first issue, as well highlight the character’s tendency to get in over her head as well as her ability to prove her doubters wrong.

…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #1Read More »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #1 Read More »

Worlds’ Finest #14

/ / Comics

Worlds' Finest #14I’ve been less than ecstatic with the increased role Apokolips and Desaad have played in this comic over the past few months. Although Worlds’ Finest #14 continues that trend, it refocuses the book better on our two heroines and their friendship (and less of Desaad’s weird experiments and shadowy plans) in a way that’s been lacking in some of these issues (and reminds me a little of what I miss from Gail Simone‘s original Birds of Prey series).

Robson Rocha seems firmly in place as the title’s new artist and he does a pretty good job here (although he gets a little too liberal in the Power Girl boobs shots even when she’s out of uniform in his issue, and the inking is a little sloppy in terms of definition of the characters’ eyes in a handful of panels).

The story finds the pair still under attack as Desaad’s warriors continue to burn down their safe houses and try to grab all of Karen Starr’s research on travel to parallel worlds. The ends in a very public attack on another Starr Industries headquarters as Huntress and Power Girl split up to deal with soldiers and Parademons out for their heads.

…

Worlds’ Finest #14Read More »

Worlds’ Finest #14 Read More »

Detective Comics #22

/ / Comics

Detective Comics #22The beginning of a new arc brings new enemies to Gotham for both Batman and Bruce Wayne. As Wayne staves off the aggression of billionaire weapons designer E.D. Caldwell who desperately wants to acquiring Wayne Enterprises technology to further his fortunes, Batman is presented with a new stable of deadly vigilantes operating in Gotham City under the command of Wrath (who, of course, is also Caldwell).

I’m not sure a late 2000’s Lex Luthor-style ripoff who also enjoys dressing up in tights and armor is a good foil for Batman. Batman dispatches Wrath’s first lieutenant without much effort (although he does have to deal with one cop who mistakes Batman for the vigilante and another intent on killing Scorn).

Although it opens up new possibilities and challenges for Batman, I’m not sold on this storyline (or either Caldwell or Wrath). The comic also offers another less than great Man-Bat back-up story that takes up way too many pages and reveals that Francine Langstrom (to no one’s surprise) is actually the Man-Bat attacking the streets at night. Anytime DC wants to dump this story would be fine with me. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $3.99]

Detective Comics #22 Read More »

Fairest #17

/ / Comics

Fairest #17“The Return of the Maharaja” continues as Nalayani and Prince Charming spend a little time together separated from the rest of the royal entourage and Nalayani learns the series of events that led to Charming becoming India’s latest Maharaja. Although the pair are able to get out of their predicament involving a crocodile and quicksand at the issue beginning, Fairest #17 also introduces a new threat to Charming’s reign as Maharaja.

The quick thinking that gets the pair out of danger in the issue’s first few pages work well. Charming’s flashbacks give us some insight into the series of events on how the prince took power without ever addressing why Charming was in India in the first place. This also forces Nalayani’s story, the arc’s best character, to be put on hold for an entire issue.

The plague which first hits one of Charming’s concubines and later the Maharaja takes the arc even further from the story of Nalayani’s village. The source of the disease and eventual cure might turn out to offer interest insights into both characters, but for now I’m a bit concerned with the shift in direction of this latest arc. Hit-and-Miss.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

Fairest #17 Read More »