Odds and Sods: What's On My Mind

A collection of (at least tenuously) comics-related thoughts on my mind today:

- Gene Ha, in addition to being a very talented artist, is a genuinely nice and patient guy. I met up with him and a whole group of other comics fans last night to discuss Top 10, and he answered all our questions on the project, and even brought along some original art and mind-bogglingly dense and detailed scripts for a couple of issues. (Seriously, the script for page one of issue one was five single-spaced type-written pages long). If you happen to read this, thanks for showing up, Gene.

- Quote of the week, possibly the month, maybe the year. From Gillen's short essay at the back of Phonogram # 5: "[T]he second you create a person who perfectly embodies a philosophy, they cease to be human - they become a cipher. . . . [W]hen dealing with human beings, turning someone into an embodiment of a philosophy. . . well, you might as well be Ayn fucking Rand. It's propping up straw men and bashing the living shit out of them." Just one of the many reasons why people who love Ayn Rand's books are annoying - they think they are intellectual conservatives, but really they just have extremely poor taste.

- I'm currently reading Chuck Klosterman's essay collection, Eating the Dinosaur. The first essay makes a point that, while you might expect famous people to be more guarded or intentionally uninteresting in interviews, the opposite is often true, because the interview session provides one of the only interactions a truly famous person gets to have that approximates the type of every-day personal interactions normal people have all the time. Other interactions tend to place the famous person on an unequal playing field. I'd never thought of this, but it makes some sense - its impossible for Brad Pitt or Bono to really have a normal conversation with a random person at a bar or something. Which is why I think the best kind of famous to be would be something like comic book famous. You'd be recognized, admired (or possibly reviled) by a certain small sub-culture, but you'd still retain a level of anonymity and normalcy with respect to the world at large. I mean, the paparazzi isn't exactly following around even the most "famous" of comic writers or artists.

- You know you are a comic book nerd when the mere mention of the Pixies automatically makes you think of Transmetropolitan. In fact, I first found out about the Pixies through Transmetropolitan, as I hadn't really gotten into the independent or alternative or whatever the heck it was called back then music scene at the time the Pixies were popular. So when Transmet would name its issues/arcs after Pixies songs, I decided to check out the source material (on Napster! Ah, the late '90s) and soon discovered it was awesome.

Big Stack o' Comics: Unabashed Theft and Books from 11/11/09

Good writers borrow. Great ones steal. That's my justification for unabashedly stealing from fellow Chicagoan Brandon Thomas' "Stackology" series over at the Fiction House. For a while here, I've been looking for a good way to convey my weekly comics take in a manageable way. Writing a small blurb about each and every book was unmanageable, and the truth is, I don't always have anything remotely worth saying about even a very good random issue of a comic I'm reading.

When I stumbled upon Stackology, though, I knew Brandon was onto something. He organizes his comics exactly the way I do, and have been doing since I can remember - from worst to best. He throws a few more rules in there that I don't subscribe to, such as staying away from back-to-back's by certain creators, but overall its a similar thing. So from now on, I'll be posting a full list of books I took home, in reading order, and picking a "winner of the week" from that crop. I may also make some other comments, like soliciting opinions on books I'm thinking about dropping, as I've noticed my pull list has grown a bit large lately.

So without further ado, here is the Stack from last week, with the champion of the week in bold:*

Batman/Doc Savage Special # 1
JSA vs. Kobra # 6
SWORD #1
The Amazing Spiderman # 611
Red Herring # 4
Dark X-Men # 1
BPRD 1947 # 5
The Unwritten # 7
PunisherMAX # 1
The Authority: The Lost Year Reader # 1
Batman & Robin # 6
Phonogram: The Singles Club # 5

Amazingly, in a week where I bought two books by Grant Morrison (the God Of All Comics, hallowed be his name), neither of them took home the grand prize. The Authority book was technically a reprint, so though I had never read it and it was new to me, I took it out of the running for best of the week. Had it been new material, it probably would have won. Batman & Robin was sabotaged by some really hard-to-look-at art by Phillip Tan, whose work isn't great to begin with, and really did not fit the tone of the book established by Frank Quitely in the first three issues. I was tempted to pick it anyway based solely on the sheer meta-textual deliciousness of Jason Todd conducting a dial-in phone poll to determine the fate of Batman, but after slogging through a poorly rendered fight scene where I could hardly tell what the hell was happening, I couldn't in conscious crown it the winner.

That thought was only reinforced by the brilliance that is Phonogram: The Single Clubs # 5. Each of the seven issues shows the same night out from a different character's perspective, making each issue a self-contained reading experience in and of itself, but one that gains new resonance when taken in context with the others. Issue # 5 focuses on "Laura Heaven," a phonomancer (music magician, basically) obsessed with the British indie group The Long Blondes. Its a real testament to writer Kieron Gillen and artist Jamie McKelvie that my complete lack of familiarity with that band did not detract from my enjoyment one bit. Instead, I was able to relate to Laura's obsession with the band and her use of their music, lyrics and image as things she can both recognize as aspects of herself and aspire to. While her constant quoting of lyrics is something that the other characters, and the reader, may find annoying, its a pretty accurate portrayal of someone using pop culture to craft an identity when she finds her sense of self in flux. The back-up material in this issue is also great, including a quick essay about the main strip by McKelvie, a critical piece about the Long Blonde's music, and a short strip about ska, of all things. At $3.50, all these quality features give you bang for your buck that is rivaled only by Brubaker's Criminal and Incognito packages.


* I'm only including the Top 12 this time around, as I didn't decide to do this until the rest of my stack from last week had already been dismantled and is now out of order. Plus, I plan to do a separate post on the Blackest Night "ring" books sometime in the near future anyway....

Fabled Prose: Peter & Max

I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first heard about Peter & Max, the new novel set in the Fables universe and written by long-time Fables scribe and creator, Bill Willingham. I've never really been a fan of re-purposing content from a more visual medium, be it comics or television or film, into prose. It seems far too easy an excuse for lazy writing, allowing the author to rely on our pre-formed visual perceptions of the universe and characters in the book. While there have been some good books written in series based on Star Trek, Star Wars, etc., there have also been plenty of books that wouldn't stand up under their own weight if the built-in audience for those properties weren't already along for the ride and eager to snap up anything within a particular brand (of course, the same could be said for most mainstream super-hero comics by the Big Two, but that's a digression best left for further discussion elsewhere).

Willingham avoids the tendency to coast on the built-in audience for Fables, though, by producing a book that is engaging and engrossing in its own right, with no prior knowledge of the Fables comics required. Maybe Willingham is aided by the fact that the Fables comics series is itself a re-purposing of characters with prose origins (or at least origins in oral storytelling traditions that have long been recorded and transmitted in prose form).* Or maybe Willingham is just a good storyteller whose gifts at weaving this kind of tale transcends the medium in which he normally works. **

The book focuses on two storied characters, Peter Piper and Max Piper (better known as the "Pied Piper of Hamelin"), and splits its time a bit unevenly -- both in quality and page-count -- between the present day and the storied past. In the present day tale, Peter receives news that his brother Max has returned to the mundane world, leaves his crippled wife Bo Peep to fend for herself and sets out to find him. Along the way, we see Peter interact with a number of Fables mainstays like Rose Red, Bigby Wolf, Frau Totenkinder, and the Beast, before tracking Max down to our world's version of Hamelin, Germany. I found the present-day story to be a bit tedious, for the most part, but that was partly because the history of Peter, Max, and Bo Peep was so well-told that I couldn't wait to get back to it. The present-day parts of the story are by no means bad, and contain an intriguing comment on modernity and its tendency to reduce the past to a sanitized amusement park that could have been fleshed out a bit more, but they just don't stack up to the back-story.

Moving on to the meat of the tale, the history of the Piper and Peep families and what happens when their land is invaded by a conquering empire is nothing less than brilliant. Willingham's story of sibling rivalry between Max and younger brother Peter, which is only deepened when Peter's father passes down the magical flute Frost to Peter rather than Max, is intercut with a sweeping story of true love between Peter and the youngest of the Peep family, Bo, their separation and reunion, and their eventual conflict with Max. The tale of the Pipers and Peeps stands on par with the old tales and lore evoked, and specifically referenced, by Willingham, which is high praise indeed.

If the back-story consisted only of references to fairy tales and nursery rhymes, Peter & Max might still be an entertaining read. We learn what the deal was with Peter Piper and the pickled peppers, how Bo Peep lost her sheep, the true tale of the meeting between Peter and the Wolf, and the reason why Peter put his wife in a pumpkin shell. We also see how Max became the "pied piper," and how he came to lead away both rats and children from Hamelin in his single-minded quest to find and destroy his brother Peter. Like all good fables, this one also has a moral, one involving the dangers of envy and covetousness, and the arrogance and evil of those who believe they are owed something by the world simply by reason of their mere existence.

As I read through Peter & Max, though, I was struck more at Willingham's ability to create fully form characters we grow to care about, whether we love or hate them, and not merely to put a clever spin on some musty old stories. And while I felt the book was good throughout, it became great at the end, with a final confrontation between Peter & Max that was satisfying in every way -- it flowed logically from what came before while still bearing a real element of surprise, and it provided a real level of emotional closure and climax that a great number of books of this kind lack.

In short, Peter & Max is highly recommended for both fans of Fables and non-fans alike. In fact, if you are looking for a gift for someone who may not be into comics at all, but enjoys books like Wicked or other modern twists on traditional stories, Peter & Max would make an excellent addition to their library.

* For purposes of this review, I'll assume that most everyone reading this is generally familiar with the premise of Fables - characters from various fairy tales, nursery rhymes and other folklore have been driven from their original worlds and have found refuge in a tightly knit community situated in our mundane world.

** Cue comparisons to Neil Gaiman, which I have always resisted when it comes to Willingham, but which are not entirely undeserved. For what its worth, I think Gaiman is a better writer than Willingham, but Willingham is proving himself to be more adept at telling an engaging story than Gaiman.

Slim Pickins

Just finished my monthly trip through the wonderful world of Previews (for any non-comics folks out there who might read this, Previews is the monthly catalog that details what's being released in the comics world a couple of months out) and ended up with a VERY short pre-order list this time out. I don't know if there just isn't that much good new product hitting stores or if I am somehow getting a teensy bit more discerning/jaded, but the only things I ordered this time out were the Hitman Vol. 2, Planetary Vol. 4 and No Hero trade collections, the Joe the Barbarian mini-series, and Marvel's Siege event miniseries.

Am I missing anything mind-numbingly awesome in my Previews perusal?

Smells Like... Comics!!!

Its been a couple of really busy months, with real life and work taking over in a major way, so I have sadly neglected to write on this blog for quite some time. That changes today, with a pledge to do more regular updates. I want to try to post something, even if its not much, at least three times per week. Rather than trying to do a big aggregate post reflecting on the comics I've read that week or month, I think it makes more sense to focus on one issue or collection at a time. So more posts, but shorter, at least until I find the time or the inclination to put down some of the longer, more involved essays I have percolating in my head.

So without further ado, some thoughts on a couple of comics I've really enjoyed recently. Spoilers Ahoy.

Both comics on the list are part of "the List," a series of one-shots released recently by Marvel focusing on current uber-villain Norman Osborn's efforts to deal with a few thorns in his side. The first book I'll talk about is the Punisher one-shot by regular Punisher writer Rick Remender and artist John Romita, Jr. I've been really enjoying Remender's take on the Punisher from day one - he's integrated the gritty, hard-boiled Punisher mastered by Ennis into the regular Marvel Universe in a more seamless and enjoyable way than I, and I'm sure many others, thought would ever be possible. The book has been slipping a little in my estimation recently, though, as I just haven't felt that Tan Eng Huat was a good fit for the book.

Romita, Jr.'s art in the "List" one-shot is gorgeous, as usual -- I mean, really, is there a better Punisher artist than Romita, Jr.? Ennis die-hards might make a case for Dillon, but Romita, Jr. does the definitive Frank Castle, in my book. Its particular fitting in this case, because Remender really ups the ante' here and writes a story that could very go down in history as one of the definitive Punisher issues in history - the death of Frank Castle at the hands of faux-Wolverine, and the son of the real Wolverine, Daken, who, at the behest of Osborn, literally slices him into little pieces. Of course we know from the "Franken-castle" promos, as well as the back-up preview of the upcoming arc in the regular Punisher title (featuring some great work by Tony Moore), that he'll somehow be put back together again and reanimated (because this is comics, after all, and that sort of insane, over-the-top thing is what happens when you die in comics), but Remender and Romita, Jr. still manage to imbue Frank's "final" moments with a level of brutality and emotional impact far beyond what I expected.

The second book on the list is Dark Reign: The List: Wolverine, written by Jason Aaron with art by Esaad Ribic. Jason Aaron is a writer whose acclaim just seems to grow and grow with each month, and based on this book, its not hard to see why. Aaron has a reputation for extremely hard-edged, down and dirty crime stories based on his Vertigo book Scalped. I'm not as familiar with his other Marvel work, but this book really shows that is a big mistake to pigeon-hole him into that category. Aaron writes a relatively light, extremely enjoyable romp through some of the concepts introduced by Grant Morrison in his brief tenure at Marvel, including Kree brat Noh-varr, mutant thief Fantomex, the Weapon Plus program and their fringe-science experimental playground known as The World. Aaron's deft handling of these concepts is particularly impressive given that Marvel has notoriously either shied away from exploring concepts and characters introduced by Morrison, or horribly botched said exploration when undertaken.

Aaron, however, fits these characters in seamlessly with Norman Osborn's attempt to capture The World for himself, and Wolverine's attempt to shut him down. The whole thing is complicated by a mutated religion that affects and controls the part of the human brain that processes faith -- a concept to which Fantomex and Noh-varr are luckily immune. Anyone who knows me knows that a rip-roaring sci-fi yarn that also gets its shots in at organized religion is right in my wheel-house, but that's not the only reason I enjoyed this book. Aaron's plot is filled with Morrisonisms and other wild ideas that stay true to the characters and concepts involved, but are tightly plotted in a way that is extremely satisfying, especially given the fact that this book could have easily bogged down under the weight of the characters and occurrences therein. Ribic's art carries just the right mix of cartoony posturing and realism for the story, making the book very easy to follow visually. I'd love to see Aaron do more with both Fantomex and Noh-varr in the future, but for now I guess I'll just have to settle for his work on Scalped and Wolverine: Weapon X ongoing.

OK, that's it for comics for now. I'll leave you with my top five Nirvana songs (I've been sifting through their back catalogue recently in anticipation of picking up the Live at Reading release and Bleach reissue).

5. "In Bloom" - Smells Like Teen Spirit was the big, over-played and over-hyped hit, but this band didn't really hit home for me until I saw the video for In Bloom, with Kurt Cohbain and company in their dresses on the mock Sullivan show set. People forget that Nirvana were pro-gay rights before being pro-gay rights was fashionable.

4. "Sliver" - pure lo-fi adrenaline from before the hype.

3. "Scentless Apprentice" - Something about that opening drum lick and the total, unapologetic misanthropy of the lyrics makes this my favorite cut from In Utero, the best studio album the band ever did.

2. "Lithium" - I love you, I'm not gonna crack. Sure, Kurt, whatever you say.

1. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" - This track unplugs both the guitars and the usual ironic veneer of Nirvana to reveal the true heart of both Cohbain and the band as a whole. The delivery of the last lines still gives me chills over a decade later.

Big Stack o' Comics: The Penultimate Chapter

So I am finally through with my stack of new books. It felt weird to read pretty much an entire month's worth of stuff in a condensed period, with no prose reading in-between. I will be doing one more post after this, as I have quite a lot of books to cover, as my reading ability outstripped my writing time for the past few days. So without further ado, lets get going with:

Uncanny X-Men # 514, Dark Avengers # 8 and Invincible Iron Man # 16, otherwise as the Might Marvel Matt Fraction Man of Action Triple Feature (cue pulpy b-movie title cards and music) -- No other writer has risen so highly in my estimation in the past few months than Mr. Fraction. Most of this owes to my discovery of Casanova, but part of it is the fact that he is simply rocking these two titles right now. His X-Men is by far the best take on the book since Grant Morrison's, and is arguably the best traditional, juggle five plotlines in the air and resolve them on a revolving basis, pseudo-soap-opera take on the book since Claremont's heyday. While many have grumbled that the Utopia storyline is moving too slowly for their tastes, I find it pitch-perfect. As for Iron Man, Tony Stark slowly losing his marbles never struck me as a great idea, but it is being played exceptionally well by Mr. Fraction, featuring some poignant moments that are actually making me like Tony Stark again (which, I'm guessing, might have been the aim, or at least one of the aims, of this story-line). And Mr. Fraction, did you actually sneak a lyrical reference to The Mountain Goats into this issue?

Wednesday Comics # 5-8: This weekly series is a fun throw-back, a feast for the eyes, and it will be over far too soon. There are some truly great strips included in this thing, including Gibbons and Sook's Kamandi, Paul Pope's Adam Strange, and Gaiman and Allred's Metamorpho, with only a couple of real clunkers (Wonder Woman and Teen Titans, I'm looking at you). I haven't seen the sales numbers on this yet, but I hope its doing well enough that DC tries this again, perhaps taking it in an even more daring and experimental direction next time.

Blackest Night # 2: In the grand tradition of a good summer movie, this series invites you to turn off your mind, stop worrying so much, and enjoy zombie superheros. On that level, its a resounding success. If you are looking for depth, though, stay away.

Unwritten # 4: Actually, if you are looking for depth, you might want to check in here. Quickly becoming my favorite Vertigo book (especially now that Young Liars is ending), this nice little piece of graphic fiction exploring the nature and power of fiction, and perhaps of genre as well, is smart as hell. This issue is also a bloody good time, emphasis on the bloody, and if you ever wondered what a Harry Potter slasher flick would look like, well, pick this up and wonder no more.

Captain America: Reborn # 2: Even though released and hyped as its own event, this book is really just a straight continuation of Brubaker's years-long run on Captain America. Which means its a whole lot better than any Captain America book has any right to be. The highlight here is Cap's experience traveling through time and reliving his own life. Cap's experience having to go through World War II again, when he points out that most of the men next to him will soon be killed, is pretty harrowing. Brubaker is at his best on this title when he plays up the war and spy elements - indeed, Captain America is arguably one of the least superheroic of the current superhero comics, which is decidedly a good thing. The present-day action here doesn't live up to the Steve Rogers scenes, but it promises to get better as the series progresses.

Big Stack o' Comics VI and Random Thoughts

Some random thoughts before I continue to work my way through my back-log of issues (a back-log which will grow again tomorrow). Life is tough, so I like to focus on the stuff that makes me happy, so here's some random positivity for the comics world:

- I am very happy to hear that Kieron Gillen is going to be writing Thor. Bold choice by Marvel. I have been really enjoying his excellent indie, Phonogram, and it is nice to see him get such a high-profile gig.

- Is there anything more fun in superhero comics than a well-executed fight scene? Scientifically speaking, no.

- I have not read a lot of Marvel from the '70s, but man, everytime I do get into some of that it usually some fun, crazy stuff. Looking through old comics reminds me why, even though I continue to read more and more DC, when push comes to shove, I have to say "Make Mine Marvel!"

- Writing this blog leads to me wanting to write more, both on this blog and creatively. And I count that as a very good thing.

Now, back to the stack:

JSA v. Kobra # 3: Kramer's art continues to be excellent. Trautman's story stumbles just a bit here, as this is the first time this series has felt like a run-of-the-mill superhero comic. But its a well-executed and visually exciting run-of-the-mill superhero comic.

Red Herring # 1: Three words. Bond. Phillip Bond. The story is mostly set-up, but it ain't bad either.

Daredevil # 500: One thing modern Marvel has been doing oh-so-right lately is their anniversary issues. This one is no exception, as everything in this over-sized package is worth your time. Brubaker & Lark's lead story makes me wish I had been reading Brubaker's run from the start. Andy Diggle and Billy Tan's preview of things to come was intriguing. The Frank Miller reprint was mind-blowing - somehow I always forget exactly how good Miller's Daredevil was until it sneaks up on me and wallops me in the head. But the real gem here is a new story by Ann Nocenti and David Aja. Please, please Marvel, do whatever it takes to get Ms. Nocenti back doing more regular work. Or at least have the decency to collect her previous run on DD in a nice Omnibus or set of trades.

Wolverine - Weapon X # 4: Jason Aaron writes bad-ass like no-one else, and Wolverine is the ultimate mainstream Marvel bad-ass. Seriously, though, Aaron really knows what makes Wolvie tick, and writes the best solo Wolverine I've seen in a LONG time. Ron Garney's straight-from-pencils art is pretty good too. And the two-page fight scene between Wolverine and one of the new Weapon X soldiers is just this side of spectacular.

Punisher # 8: No offense to Tan Eng Huat, but I really miss Jerome Opena on this title. He was just a much better fit for the gritty world of Frank Castle. Rick Remender's story here is good, but not up to his best work on the title. It was fun to see Frank face off against a simulated old-school Avengers lineup, though.

Hellblazer # 258: John Constantine really is a right bastard. I am very impressed with Milligan's work on this title so far. Hellblazer is one of those series that gets overlooked and taken for granted, but Milligan deserves a lot of credit for placing it back in the upper echelon of Vertigo titles I look forward to each month.

Big Stack o' Comics V: The Neverending Stack

Wow, this has taken a lot longer than I thought it would. Part of it is the fact that I spent an inordinate amount of time this morning on the latest issue of the adaptation of Phillip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" - the book I have the most thoughts on, as well. Lets start with some other stuff and work our way to that.

Irredeemable # 5: Mark Waid's evil Superman, the "Plutonian", just gets more evil, and more creepy, issue by issue, touching on something that is almost never explored but is blindingly obvious - if Superman really can hear everything everyone on Earth says at any given time, wouldn't it be difficult for it not to warp him in some way? After all, there are some seriously messed up things happening pretty much constantly on this planet, and constant exposure to that would be pretty tough to swallow. The story with the supporting cast trying to figure out a way to stop what is, essentially, a god, is interesting, and finally seems to be moving somewhere, but its not as fun as watching the Plutonian toy with the general population every month.

X-Factor # 47: This book is generally entertaining, but this particular plot-line has dragged on a bit too long. The one additional thought I have on this one is that some complaints I've read about Longshot's lucky shot in this issue seems to miss the point of his character -- his power's are luck-based. Which can lead to either some good storytelling, or become a recurring deus ex machina, depending on the writer. Here, its still leaning toward the former.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep # 2: Fascinating "adaptation." I put the scare quotes around adaptation, because this series is a word-for-word graphic illustration of Dick's novel - no writer is credited other than Dick himself. This leads to a really wordy, and actually almost schizophrenic book, with the pictures alternating between directly illustrating the words and providing atmosphere to some of the more expository passages. When the art actually follows the literal arc of the words, there is a kind of dual tracking feeling that happens, like you are seeing and being told of the same events, yet the perspectives are just a bit skewed and don't exactly match up. I'm not at all sure this is purposeful, but it works really well with this particular story. This issue also includes a very good essay by Matt Fraction (even if he does cheat and talk about the film "Blade Runner," which was based on Androids, rather than the book itself). This book is absolutely worth your time as a celebration of, and way to gain a bit of new perspective on, Dick's works. It certainly has inspired me to go back and re-read some of his other books. If you've never read Androids, though, I recommend you pick up a cheap paperback and do so before committing to this series. As a fan of the book already, though, I have to say I am really impressed by this work, despite some reservations I had going in -- the combination of the original text with visuals, plus the so-far excellent and illuminating essays by top comics creators, really shine new light on the text in a way that is very surprising.

Big Stack o' Comics: Even Bigger

I'm starting to wonder whether these posts are a good idea. There's a reason I usually don't review or otherwise write about every single comic I read - I just read too many, and a lot of time I don't have any real insight or strong reaction to the things. Even a book generally enjoy may not elicit a reaction from me that's worthy of broadcasting to the world. But I promised to write something about every single book in my stack this time, and gosh-darn it, that's what I'm going to do, continuing now.

Mighty Avengers # 28: This book is pretty good, but it has this weird vibe that makes it seem that no matter how big the events depicted are, this is just the off-to-the-side Avengers book thrown in by Marvel as a sop to Avengers traditionalists who hate what Bendis has done/is doing to the books that really count.

Dark Reign - The Hood # 4: Maybe I'm just a Mighty Marvel Mark, and will buy whatever crap they throw at me, but I really think some of these Dark Reign miniseries are being severely underrated. Jeff Parker turns in an excellent story here, portraying Parker Robbins (the Hood), not as pure evil, but a family man struggling to do the right thing for his wife and kid, in too deep in his life of crime, in too deep in his dealings with the demon Dormammu. All the while, the Hood has to deal with maintaining command of his organization, and a hero who seems to be on the verge of going too far and targeting Parker's family. One of the best thing a mini about a villain can do is show another, more relatable side of the character, and this one does that to great effect.

Dark Reign - Zodiac # 2: I'm not as enamored of this one as some in the blogosphere, but Joe Casey does do a good job in this tale of villains bent on pure chaos, making them just as much an enemy of Norman Osborn's new status quo as the heroes. Pure, sociopathic fun is the name of the game in this one, folks.

War of Kings # 6: A satisfying conclusion to this solid mini-series showcasing the oft-overlooked cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. We get a great fight (probably one of the best fights I've seen in a comic this year), a clear victor, and a set-up for future events that doesn't lessen the impact of what went on in this series.

The Stand - American Nightmares # 5: If you like the Stephen King novel, you'll probably like this adaptation. That's really as far as I'll go on this one, except to say that while I understand the strategy behind breaking the massive novel into several mini-series, the break points aren't necessarily intuitive. Seems they could have just as easily had an on-going series and broken it up into multiple trades, as there is so much carryover in the story (after all, its all one novel) the breaks seem really artificial. Its a minor quibble, though, for an otherwise well-done adaptation.

Greek Street # 2: I really love Peter Milligan, and want to like this series, but so far I'm on the fence. There are good bits, there are bad bits, and hopefully it will come together into something greater than the sum of its part as it goes on. In my experience, some of Vertigo's best series don't really gel until almost a year in, and I'm willing to give Milligan a chance to show me more with this, as there are glimpses of greatness in the general averageness of this issue. Part of the problem is the very large cast, which means that no character really gets a chance to engage us before we move on to another one.

The Boys # 33: Being edgy and transgressive means walking a line between the truly shocking and the so-over-the-top-it-becomes-mundane. The Boys too often finds itself on the wrong side of that line for my taste. The total evisceration of Avengers analogues "Payback" just came off as flat and ho-hum for me, though I was intrigued by the promise of more on Stormfront, who is basically, if I'm not mistaken, Thor as a Nazi.

The Amazing Spiderman # 601-603: Mary Jane is back. The Chameleon is actually menacing (which should really put to rest any question as to whether the Obama story was in-continuity, right? Right?) Peter Parker's personal life is interesting again. Things are humming along very, very nicely in this title right now. The book, for once, lives up to its billing - amazing.

Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape # 4: The reveal at the end of this series better be damn good, because as much as I love random mind-bending events in my pop entertainment, this series is starting to wear on me after a good start. Kind of like a TV series where the premise sets up well, then about halfway through the run you realize they are making it up as they go along and none of the stuff set up earlier will ever be satisfactorily answered, this thing is starting to worry me. Maybe Brandon will pull out the good stuff in the next two issues, tie it all together, and make a masterpiece. But right now I'm not holding my breath.

Ultimate Avengers # 1: Like a good summer blockbuster, Millar and Pacheco invite you to bring the popcorn, turn off your mind for about 10-15 minutes, and enjoy the spectacle. This is the book Millar was made for, and he shines on it in a way he doesn't quite stand out in his regular Marvel Universe work. Good stuff.

Big Stack o' Comics III: Muddlin' Through

Lots of ground to cover in this post, and lots of ground left to cover in catching up on my weekly books as well. Lets get started with the issue-by-issue musings:

Tiny Titans # 19: I get this book mostly for my daughter, but I make sure to give it a read on my own before sharing it with her, and its always a lot of fun. Silly stuff, but if you have young children (or want to re-capture some of the fun of childhood), you can't do much better than this.

Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers # 4: Similar to Tiny Titans (though perhaps for a slightly older audience), this mini-series has been one of the most fun books on the stands. Seeing a bunch of the most famous animals of the Marvel Universe take on Thanos (and win!) - and the creative teams ability to sell it convincingly - was a real treat. I'm glad we'll be seeing more of this group in the future.

Viking # 3: This over-sized book is a real value at $2.99, for the art alone. Nic Klein's work here is simply gorgeous, making great use of shadows and other hues to set the mood and convey the action contained herein. The story has been far out-paced by the art thus far, but that started to change a bit this issue, with the characters taking better shape, and the events becoming more compelling, meaning I'm actually starting to care about what's going on here rather than staring at the pretty pictures. Still the second-best Viking comic on the shelves, but well worth a look.

Blackest Night - Superman # 1: Not bad, but not great. Probably my least favorite Blackest Night tie-in so far, but maybe that's because I'm not all that steeped in the recent Superman mythos.

X-Men Legacy # 227: Another auto-pilot X-tale from Mike Carey. This book is about one month away from disappearing from my list altogether (and I give a LOT of leeway to the X-books).

BPRD 1947 # 1 and 2: I've never gotten into Hellboy and his associated titles. Just never enjoyed the few of them I flipped through all that much, didn't really enjoy the movie, never did it for me. I picked these up solely for Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, and boy, am I glad I did. These were surprisingly good reads, with lots of creepy atmosphere, a compellingly spooky story, and yeah, some fine drawing by Moon and Ba. I actually liked these so much I'll probably be picking up some of the older BPRD trades as well.

Batman - Streets of Gotham # 3: I had really hoped this title would be something more like Gotham Central than just another Bat-book, but alas, this one centers firmly on Batman and Robin. That issue aside, this is pretty good for what it is. If you enjoyed Dini and Nguyen on Detective, this won't disappoint.

Blackest Night - Batman # 1: This issue is everything a tie-in mini should be. It's firmly focused on the Batman family, and shows how the big events in Blackest Night specifically impact the Bat-corner of the DCU. Plus, as an added bonus, Deadman plays a major role. We see the relationship between Dick and Damian, how they are still dealing with the absence of Bruce, and how they deal with the concept of death generally. A great first issue of a solid mini, with nice scripting by Tomasi and Kubert-like art from Syaf. Highly recommended for Bat-fans.

Big Stack o' Comics, Part II

Well, since yesterday, I have made a fairly substantial dent in the pile of comics waiting for me. I always hate to be put in the position of playing catch-up on serialized monthlies. Reading scads of unrelated comics in a row, for me at least, can often lead to said comics blending into each other, lessening my enjoyment of the really good ones. So once I miss a few weeks reading, and I have a big pile to go through, I am torn between slowing down, taking my time, and making sure I appreciate each one, or rushing through to finish them all so I don't get even further behind. One reason I'm blogging about "the stack" now is that by writing something (anything) about each book, I'll be forced to step back and evaluate it somewhat, thus lessening the blurring effect I get by sitting down and plowing through a big bunch of graphic wonder.

Green Lantern Corps #39 - Decided to pick this up on a whim, as I've been following the rest of Blackest Night. Super-hero zombies played seriously is a pretty decent concept, and one I'm surprised hasn't been done already, so I've enjoyed every piece of the Blackest Night pie so far. This issue of Green Lantern Corps is where some diminishing returns set in for me, though. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm not too steeped in Green Lantern lore - so I felt like I was definitely missing something when some of the fallen Green Lanterns were resurrected, as I had no idea who most, if not all, of them were. Otherwise, an enjoyable issue -- I liked the interaction between Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner, I LOVED Guy bringing his date to Wrigley Field as a "romantic" dinner, and there were other nice touches thrown in. But, overall, this didn't provide enough for me to justify sticking around for the next issue -- this is one part of the Blackest Night tapestry I feel content in foregoing for now.

G-Man: Cape Crisis # 1 - This book is a lot of fun, and brought a welcome bit of whimsy after all the darkness of GLC and Blackest Night. This is an all-ages book that kids and grown-ups can enjoy equally, with a suitably action-filled plot AND something to laugh at on every page. The back-up strips that ran after the main story were all enjoyable as well. Well worth every penny.

Batman # 689 - I really don't get the extreme hate for Judd Winick. He writes Dick Grayson exceptionally well in this issue, highlighting real differences between he and his Bat-predecessor. Dick tends to be less focused on staying in the shadows, and more interested in being out in the open and operating flamboyantly, than Bruce Wayne ever was, a difference that is 100% consistent with his character and background. I like that Winick shows this new Batman focusing more on protection and rescue than Bruce did as well. The character moments certainly shine brighter than the plot, however, as the conflict between Two-Face and the Penguin (with Two-Face intentionally leaking details of the Penguin's operations in order to gain an advantage for his own criminal organization), comes off as a bit by-the-numbers.

Batman Confidential #32 - I'm picking this up because I really like Peter Milligan's writing, but the art by Andy Clarke is a welcome surprise. Those looking for a fix of "classic" Bruce Wayne Batman, operating this time in Russia, of all places, shouldn't be disappointed with this book.

War Machine # 8 - Because maybe three people in the entire world demanded it, a West Coast Avengers reunion! Seriously, I started getting this book for Leonardo Manco's art, and said art is still a major draw for me, but I am having to seriously consider dropping this title. The story just did nothing for me -- a muddled mess of fights, explosions, a self-defeating villain, and Norman Osborne purposelessly skulking in the wings (I guess its because he's required to do so in every in-continuity Marvel book these days). There just wasn't anything here for me beyond the gritty style of Manco's pencils that makes me want to come back.

Adventure Comics # 1 (or #504, depending on who's counting) - a solid debut issue from Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul, starring Superboy (with a back-up feature featuring the Legion of Super-heroes that I couldn't really care less about). Johns' story doesn't quite live up to the beauty of Manapul's art, which is truly worth the price of admission alone. Geoff does plant the seeds of some good stuff to come, though, at least enough to insure I'll stick around for next issue. Superboy's attempt to discover who he is by tracing the footsteps of his biological "parents" (for those not familiar with the character, Superboy is a clone featuring genetic material from both Superman and Lex Luthor) is an interesting way to start the series, but I do hope that it doesn't linger too long, and we can get into other stories beyond the Superman/Luthor thing.

Cable # 17 - This issue left me really wondering where this series is going. I've generally been enjoying Cable, but by the time the recent "Messiah War" cross-over with X-Force rolled around, I had started to wonder exactly how many post-apocalyptic futures there were for Cable and Hope to jump to. From the ending of this issue, it appears Swierczynski may have them sticking around and exploring this one for a bit longer, which I hope is the case. I should also note that Gullacy's art fits the tone of this book much better than Olivetti's ever did, so that too is a welcome change.

Destroyer # 5 - I'm almost ashamed to say that this series is the only thing I've read by Kirkman. Not that its bad -- its actually much, much better than it has any right to be. It has me thoroughly convinced that I should be reading Invincible and the Walking Dead as well, though, rather than just this tale of a nonagenarian who is so bad-ass he survives a heart attack by beating Death (actually, three "Deaths") to a bloody pulp.

Red Robin # 3 - I want to like this book, but I can't fully commit to it untili Chris Yost decides what he wants it to be. If it is the tale of Tim Drake growing out of his role as Robin and using his detective skills to prove he is correct in surmising Bruce Wayne is indeed still living, then I'm all for that. If it is the tale of Emo Boy and his infinite sadness reluctantly teaming up with a cookie-cutter team of super-assassins, then count me out. Unfortunately, its leaning toward the latter right now, but I'll give it at least through next issue to convince me otherwise.

North 40 # 2 - Love the concept - Lovecraftian evil unleashed in a small town. Love the art - Fiona Staples is a major new talent. Can't say I love the execution of the story - there are way too many characters that I simply could not remember the significance of in the story from issue # 1. Sadly, this may be a book that reads better in the collected edition than month-to-month, as while I could easily figure out what was happening in this issue, the significance to the continuing story was somewhat lost on me on the first read. I may be dropping this soon and picking up the eventual collection instead.

Around a dozen down, and I can't say I'm blown away by anything so far (with the possible exception of G-Man). I tend to save the best for last when I'm putting my books in reading order, though (which is why, after tonight, I'll be savoring the prospect of reading three issues of Wednesday Comis in a row), so there's plenty of room for things to turn around.

Big Stack o' Comics

Hello out there, everyone. It seems the day job took over for the past few weeks (and turned into something more like a 24-hour-a-day job), leaving me no time to blog. Indeed, not only did I have no time to blog about comics, I had no time to read comics, so as a result, I have a big stack o' comics (somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-3 weeks worth) to plow through, with more coming this week. As I go through them, I'll try to share a few thoughts about each, leaning much more toward instant impressions than in-depth analysis. I was able to make it through a couple on my commute in this morning, so let's take a look at them now:

Ultimate X-Men: Requiem # 1. Wow, that was horrible. I've always been a sucker for all things mutant, but this was too much even for me. I actually tend to enjoy "requiem" retrospective issues for dead characters (the Martian Manhunter Requiem book was one of my favorite Final Crisis tie-ins), but in order for them to work, their has to be some reminder as to why we should care whether they lived or died in the first place. This book has none of that - just a bunch of dead bodies laid out on the ground, and various "Ultimate" X-Men survivors sulking around basically saying, "It sucks they all died in that crappy cross-over". For a line with a lot of promise when it debuted, Marvel's "Ultimate" books are probably up there for the worst wrap-up/re-launch in history.

Marvel Comics # 1. I find these Golden Age reprint books fascinating. They are definitely more illuminating than they are entertaining, though. One thing I noticed was how long it took me to read this thing. There are a ton of captions explaining exactly what happened in the pictures, but nothing really has that great of a flow. It's also interesting to note the level of violence and death found in this book from a supposedly "simpler" time. The strip featuring "the Angel" is basically a Punisher-type character who chokes the bad guys to death rather than shooting them. This book also features re-prints of the first appearances of the original Human Torch, and Namor the Sub-Mariner, a masked-man Western, and a couple of jungle adventure stories (one of them is Ka-Zar, though it seems doubtful this is the precise same Ka-Zar still running around the Marvel Universe). If you are looking for a compelling story, you might want to skip this. If you are interested in tracing the roots of Marvel and comics story-telling in general its worth your time. Also, if you are picking up Brubaker and Epting's "Marvel Project" mini, the Human Torch and Sub-mariner stories do dovetail nicely with that and provide some good context for what Brubaker is doing with that story.

And that's all I got through so far. Two down, dozens to go. I'll be back with more thoughts later this evening.

Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear

No, this isn't the sub-title for the Final Crisis hardcover (though it definitely could be), its a song performed last night at the Pitchfork Music Festival by those fabulous fearless freaks, the Flaming Lips.

Aside from being a comic book fan, I'm pretty well-versed in independent and alternative music, so I go to the Pitchfork Festival every year. For those who don't know, the Pitchfork Music Festival takes place in Union Park in Chicago, IL, and for my money, is a much more pleasant and entertaining (not to mention affordable) experience than the bloated Lollapalooza. The bands are a little farther off the mainstream than those appearing at Lollapalooza, though there is some cross-over -- I would say that the bands that usually headline Pitchfork would be a mid-day/early evening slot at Lolla. This means Pitchfork can also spotlight a lot of relatively unknown, up-and-coming bands that you might not have heard of before.

I always enjoy the festival, but this year was special, because this year the headliner was my favorite band in the universe, the Flaming Lips! The Lips have been around a long time, and had a lot of different incarnations over the years, so their songs feature run the gamut from heavily distorted guitar riffing to spaced out beats and synths. The common thread, though, is positive energy and songs that really bring out a sense of joy, wonder, and adventure. Their music acknowledges that life can be tough and horrible, but that it can also be amazing and joyous, and that the positive energy we can create may just be enough to counter-act all the negativity out there. I guess it sounds a little hokey written out like that, but when you see their show, it can be a truly transcendent experience.

I guess its also not surprising that the Lips resonate with me as a fan of mainstream comics. I mean, superhero books have been mining the same ideas, including the battle between good and evil, for decades. Upon reflection, and while basking in the glow from last night's show, I've come up with five reasons why comics fans should love the Flaming Lips:

1. Comics have no shortage of fun, anthropomorphic animals. Neither do the Flaming Lips live performances, with randomly picked crowd members being chosen by the Lips crew to don furry animal costumes and dance on stage while the band does their thing.

2. The Flaming Lips have a song in their catalogue called "Waiting for Superman". Its depressing and uplifting at the same time - who among us doesn't wish that Superman could swoop in and save us? But in the end, we know that there are some things in life that really are too heavy for Superman too lift, and that we have to hold on as best we can and do it ourselves.

3. They did a song cycle about a Japanese girl named Yoshimi who has to train hard to fight "evil-natured robots" who are "programmed to destroy us." But of course, one of the robots develops emotions and falls in love with Yoshimi. You can't tell me that wouldn't make an awesome comic.

4. Their music, and show, is truly cosmic in scope. From the heavy metaphysical themes I mentioned above, to more light songs like "Kim's Watermelon Gun" and "The Guy Who Got a Headache and Saved the World," they really are out there in a way most long-time comics readers can really relate to. Plus, they've been known to arrive at shows in a giant "spaceship" they constructed in their backyard - how cool is that?

5. They just rock.

One more comic-related thing to cap off my Lips post - if you've read Final Crisis, you know that Superman defeats Darkseid in the end with a song. That moment was my favorite of that entire book, and it really encapsulates the potential of what comics can be, and should be. Well, I think the song Superman sings should be whatever you personally want it to be - whatever music you think has the potential to break the Anti-Life Equation once and for all. For me, that song is "Do You Realize" by the Flaming Lips. If you don't check out any other song by them, check out that one - after all, it did save the Universe.

Reason # 1,573,921 That Comics Are Awesome

When you are having a really bad day, and that really bad day happens to be a Wednesday, you can always look forward to picking up a nice shiny pile of new comics later that afternoon!

Comics may not heal all wounds, but they do provide a nice band-aid that is fun to look at!

Comics Countdown . . . FOR JUSTICE!

I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist. I know its in the name of the book, and it is just part of the DC Superhero milieu, but having characters regularly just shout random stuff about JUSTICE cracks me up every time. At least Cry for Justice features three specific types of justice - Tiny Torture Justice, Insufferable Hal Jordan Justice, and Gorilla Justice!

After having mercilessly made fun of a book that I actually didn't hate - I didn't love it either, but I found it to be an average cape comic with a couple of questionable dialogue choices that it made it seem worse than it really was - I must now confess that I am terrible about doing these Comics Countdown posts. It was easy the first couple of weeks, because there were a ton of books I was buying that I was excited to write about, but lately I have had too little time to write and frankly not a lot to write about. I am still going to try to keep it going, but it may skip a week here and there depending on output, etc. So without further ado, here is a ten-item countdown of books spanning the past two week. Additionally, this week I am going to try to keep my thoughts on each issue to a single sentence, just to see if I can....

#10. Uncanny X-Men # 513: Matt Fraction's mutant riots sneak onto the list by virtue of a weak couple of weeks and very nice Dodson art.

#9. Irredeemable # 4: Waid's evil Superman analogue causes destruction (in a fun way), but the story better start moving a little faster, or this one is due to plummet.

#8. Invincible Iron Man # 15: An overlooked storyline in which Tony Stark loses his real superpower - his intellect - provides some surprisingly touching moments to make the list.

# 7. The Boys # 32: The "We Gotta Go Now" arc lagged, but the last couple of issues have put this book back on track as a monthly must-read.

# 6. Green Lantern # 43: I picked this up for the Mahnke art, but it was a really impressive story that has me anxious for Blackest Night, which I was previously on the fence about - kudos, Johns & Co.

# 5. Greek Street # 1: Not as strong a start as I had hoped, but I'll stick around for a few more issues as the potential is definitely there for something epic.

# 4. Wednesday Comics # 1: Its almost not fair for this to be part of the countdown, because it feels like a thing apart unto itself, but its a very exciting and entertaining project that I hope succeeds wildly.

# 3. Unwritten # 3: As much as I loved the previous issues, this one is where Carey and Gross really hit their stride - plus, I love me some Frankenstein.

# 2. Captain America: Reborn # 1: So it goes (if you don't get that reference, get thee to a library and pick up Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, which parts of this issue owe a LOT to).

# 1. Batman and Robin # 2: Morrison and Quitely - pretty damn near unbeatable.

How Did I Miss This?

Every once in a while, a comic comes along that it is perfectly suited to your tastes. It hits all the right buttons for you - the subject matter aligns with stuff you enjoy reading about; the tone and aesthetic of the book is one you enjoy immensely; the artist might as well have been sitting next to you asking, "Hey, buddy, what would you like to see me draw today?" And sometimes, when such a comic comes along, you completely miss out on it until years later, at which point you kick yourself for not reading it, living it, breathing it, and pushing it in the faces of anyone who will listen, all along.

Well, that happened to me recently, when I picked up some old issues of Darkhawk from a quarter bin..... No, seriously, it happened when I finally got around to reading the first (and as far as I know, only) trade of Casanova, by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba'. I had read some of Fraction's Marvel work, and I had seen Ba's art on Umbrella Academy, but man, this book blew me away from the opening page.

The conceit is this: Casanova Quinn and his twin sister Zephyr Quinn are involved in all sorts of crazy, psychedelic, hedonistic spy intrigue involving travel between parallel timelines, work as double and triple agents, sex-toy robots, transcendental meditation, people getting murdered for not like the Beatles (a particularly satisfying scene for this fan of the Fab Four), pop-star assassins, and lots of other completely insane and unbelievably awesome stuff thrown in for good measure. Casanova is a double agent working for both his father, who is head of the world police agency E.M.P.I.R.E., and for W.A.S.T.E., which is E.M.P.I.R.E.'s evil foil.

The book is packed with action and ideas - most of the stories are only sixteen pages long, and more happens in each chapter than in six months of your average mainstream superhero book. Casanova owes a lot to both Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius stories and novels, and Steranko's Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (one of the characters working for E.M.P.I.R.E. basically is Dum Dum Dugan), but its still its own animal, and stands up well whether or not you're familiar with any of that material.

Fraction's Casanova changes his allegiances, and the status quo of the book, almost as often as most people change their underwear. You'll spend more time absorbing the goings-on on each page, usually in wide-eyed delight, than you might spend reading some full comics. Aside from the constant barrage of action, what comes through the most is that Fraction is having fun with this. There is a level of playfullness that is truly infectious - the knowing swipes at comics as a genre, pop music, and tropes of the spy genre and '60s psychedelia always fit snugly within the narrative and only enhance the story elements.

And the art - I enjoyed Ba' on Umbrella Academy, but I love his work on Casanova. Its stylish, sexy, fluid and distinctive without ever being confusing or stilted. It is in black and white, but the book also employs a green tone (and purple on a single page, to very interesting effect) in order to give the art even more depth and character. Casanova Volume 1 comes with my highest recommendation, whatever that's worth. I hope I never miss out on anything this good again.

The Pains of Having Painted Art

JLA: Cry for Justice # 1 has produced some of the most widely varying reactions I have seen in a long time. Some critics love it - witness CBR's Five-Star Review for the issue. Others find it so horribly bad as to be ripe for instant and unstinting mockery - Douglas Wolk's "Crying Congorilla", Digital Femme's "Superman Smackdown," and, best of all, Every Day Is Like Wednesday's "Misfits Remix". It seems that everyone thinks this is epically good or epically bad - with no in-between.

Without having even read the book (though I'll probably have to read it now, just to say how good/bad it really is), I had to wonder why this is the case. Why would this book be hailed as a conqueror or mocked mercilessly, with no one stating a case for mere mediocrity?

My theory is that its all about the art. Painted art, or even "painterly" styled art, simply cries out to be taken seriously. When the accompanying story is epic enough to justify these heavy, portentous images, the entire package can be elevated (a la Marvels, or Kingdom Come). When the story isn't very good, or even if the story is good but more limited in scope, this artistic style can collapse under its own weight. What might otherwise seem epic now seems pretentious. What might otherwise exude real gravitas now only signifies an inflated sense of importance just begging to be punctured by, say, a photoshopped version replacing actual dialogue with lyrics by Glenn Danzig.

It seems pretty likely to me that some of the people who read this book believe that the story justifies the epic treatment, and half the people don't. This is one instance where all press is good press for DC, because without these wildly divergent reactions, I would have been unlikely to buy this book. As it stands, I am curious enough now that I have to read the whole thing.

Oh Batman!

From The Daily Batman, here's irrefutable proof that Batman didn't like Robin "that" way:

Giant Size Comics Countdown, Part 2

I'm back again, and ready to provide part 2 of this week's massive Comics Countdown post. Last night I shared a look at five of my picks for the best 10 issues of the last two weeks (hope you weren't told there would be no math). Now I'm back with the cream of the cream of the crop, rising to the top in 3... 2... 1... NOW:

5. Young Liars # 16. This series blows my mind in a way that no other comic being published right now even approaches. Series writer/artist Lapham is constantly shifting the status quo and revealing everything we thought we knew to be, well... a lie. With so many shifts of perspective and reversals of reality, the fact that Lapham has us caring at all about any of these characters is a major feat. This issue, he pulls back a little and focuses on the story of a bit character we've never seen before (or perhaps only seen briefly, I'm not sure). It seems like it could be a throw-away, but instead it ends up being a tightly narrated, dense tale focusing on duality - from the main character's obsession with yin and yang, to the case of mistaken identity that lifts him up from nothing and eventually brings him crashing back down, to the cruel twist of a town called "Freedom" being remade in the image of a faceless mega-big-box corporation (think Wal-Mart on steroids). I often find these little slice of life tales interspersed within a larger, mind-warping narrative to be particularly effective, and this one is no exception.

4. Incognito # 4. Brubaker. Phillips. Pulp. This would probably be higher if this didn't have the super-hero stuff thrown in (I really miss Criminal), but its still really good stuff, just as you would expect from these guys. I don't really have much more to say about this particular issue - except get it, or at least pick up the trade when it gets collected.

3. Uncanny X-Men # 512. I have found Matt Fraction's run on Uncanny X-Men to be enjoyable overall, yet markedly uneven. I don't completely blame Fraction for this, as much of the unevenness is the result of the rotating artists on the book, and probably to some extent to the inevitable editorial meddling that has to occur with a flagship title like UXM. But if the overall output of this book has been uneven, this issue stands as the absolute pinnacle of Fraction's run so far. Beast's X-Club of scientists, along with Psylocke and Angel, travel back to 1912 to get a sample of DNA from Dr. Nemesis' parents. Once they get there, they have to square off against both an early iteration of the Hellfire Club and a proto-Sentinel. It may sound like goofy action, but it is goofy action carried off with style and wit, with a little pathos mixed in for good measure in the form of some revelations concerning Dr. Nemesis' upbringing. In other words, its got everything you could possibly want from an issue of Uncanny X-Men, and then some. If a meandering and poorly rendered arc about the umpteenth resurrection of one of Scott Summers' wives is the price we have to pay to have Fraction turned loose on a story like this, then I say it was well worth it.

2. Captain America # 600. The brilliance of this issue was diminished greatly by the hype surrounding it. The early release, combined with the supposed "big news" from Marvel that was met with a resounding sigh from everyone inside the comics community, and not a whit of interest whatsoever from those outside it, made this issue feel like a bit of a let-down on first read. And that's a damn shame, as this issue continues the great pacing and wonderful character work that is the hallmark of Brubaker's run on Captain America, no matter who is in the costume. This is an anniversary issue not just because of the number on the cover, but because it truly is a look back at Captain America in his various incarnations, as Brubaker checks in on a lot of supporting cast members from past, present, and even alternative realities (the "Girl Bucky"). The result of these perspectives is a wonderful gestalt showing, not telling, why both the concept of Captain America and the life of Steve Rogers should be celebrated. The back-up pieces included here are nice as well, as Roger Stern contributes a story about characters from an era of Cap's history I am not too familiar with, and Mark Waid provides a really well-told story about a collector of Captain America memorabilia who sells his collection in order to prevent Cap's good name from being besmirched by an obnoxious publisher. Finally, we get a repring of a golden-age story where Cap and Bucky take on the Red Skull. In other words, a ton of content, all of it good, some of it truly great.

1. Detective Comics # 854. The writing is good, but nothing special. Nothing spectacular. But the art.... well, the art is phenomenal. This is bar none the best-looking comic, superhero or otherwise, that has been released so far this year. J.H. Williams work is nothing short of stunning. The only downside is that after this arc is done, I can't imagine that anyone else who draws Batwoman will be able to live up to the ridiculously high standards set by Williams. The action pops off the page. The page layout and design is innovative yet easy to read and straight-forward. The figures are beautifully rendered. A captivating artistic performance that leaves you wanting to read it again immediately because it is just that beautiful. Head and shoulders above anything else on the shelves.

Giant Size Comics Countdown, Part 1

Not a dream! Not a hoax! Comics Countdown is back after an off week, providing you my admittedly biased take on the best books of (in this case) the past two weeks. Over those weeks I bought a ton of comics, and really enjoyed them all for the most part. I won't be doing my "dog of the week" this time, because it really seems unfair to pick on any of the books I deigned to purchase. Instead, I'll just pick the best of the best and ignore the rest. So without further ado, let the Countdown begin.

10. Dark Reign: Young Avengers # 2. This book has been seemingly slipping under the radar, as I haven't heard much buzz about it whatsoever, but it is really, really good. Paul Cornell's writing on this is at least the equal of his work on Captain Britain, and the art isn't too shabby either. Much as Cornell's opening Captain Britain arc carved out an interesting and different take on the major marvel event at the time (Secret Invasion), this mini has a refreshing take on the effect of Dark Reign on the Marvel Universe.

The "Dark" Young Avengers team that are the focus of this book don't have a direct connection to Norman Osborn and his "Dark" Avengers, but they are inspired by him to some extent. The idea of super hero team as performance art attempting to expose the inherent contradictions in the term in a world where one of the most notorious super-villains is in charge is a novel concept that is being handled quite deftly here. And after this issue, it is still entirely unclear whether these "Dark" Young Avengers will become true heroes, or tragic failures. Cornell does an excellent job of portraying the uncertainties and insecurities of youth, and has us really caring about the future of these characters (whether we are rooting for or against them). This is far and away the most impressive of the Dark Reign minis so far, and it deserves more recognition.

9. Northlanders # 18. This issue continues the general excellence of Brian Wood's Viking-themed anthology. This time, we get the first of a two-part story involving three women fighting to survive in an inhospitable world. It's a fascinating look at the role of women in that historical period, and Wood really invests these characters with identifiable and realistic personalities. So often in historical comics, the women are presented as nothing more than objects, or as completely independent modern women of a type at odds with any concept of historical accuracy. The women presented in Northlanders # 18 are fully realized women seeking independence, but within the confines of the harsh realities of their time. All of this is nicely rendered by Danijel Zezelj, making for a particularly strong issue of this consistently good series.

8. Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia. As set-ups for a six-part crossover between the X-Men and Avengers go, this one is about as good as you can hope for. That might seem like faint praise, but this is really an enjoyable issue if you've been following either Dark Avengers or Uncanny X-Men lately and are at all invested in the characters. Its really nice to see Marc Silvestri drawing these characters again, and Matt Fraction does a nice job moving the story along. I won't give away the twist at the end, but suffice it to say that it is both shocking and entirely logical in the context of the story and characters, which is a rarer feat than one might think. Too often this type of twist either is easy to see coming, or is shocking without making much sense in terms of the story or characters. That Fraction's ending hits the perfect tone and has me anxiously anticipating the next installment earns this book my #8 spot.

7. Phonogram 2: The Singles Club # 3. This issue gives us another look at a single night at a single dance club in London town, and the fact that Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie are able to make such a concept work without it being either repetitive to those who've been reading the entire series or incomprehensible to those who pick up a single issue is a real testament to their craft. There are a lot of musical references, and they enhance the story if you get them, but prior knowledge is not necessary for enjoyment. There are also some nice back-up stories and some good text material (giving a full run-down of the aforementioned musical referents and a full interview with electronic group "The Knife"). Definitely more than worth your hard-earned $3.50.

6. Punisher # 6. Scoff if you like. Chuckle, snort, snigger, point and say "HA HA." But I defy you to show me a book that is more fun right now than the Punisher. Rick Remender has hit all the right notes in his short run on this book, and it just keeps getting better. Want to see Frank Castle using an Ant-Man helmet and other Marvel tech creatively? You've got it. Want to see the Hood resurrect some skeevy and cheesy Marvel D-List villains to go after ol' Frank? You've got it. Want to see Frank suffer through lectures about the straight-edge lifestyle and crack jokes about PETA? You got it. Want to see a really talented writer mesh with pitch-perfect art for an engrossing take on a character you thought couldn't be made engrossing in the mainstream Marvel Universe? Start buying Punisher.

The Art of the Review

I usually don't just provide linkage, but I had to share this really well-written piece by Tim Callahan over at CBR, about the art of reviewing comics. Definite food for thought for me personally, or really for anyone who writes or reads reviews of comic books (and a lot of applies to movie reviews or any other type of criticism, really).

Random Musings

-- I didn't do a Comics Countdown post last week because my pull list was enormous (I think I bought something like 23 singles), and I didn't have time to finish all the books until Wednesday, when we were treated to another round of new stuff - and another pretty big week at that. Sometime in the near future, probably Sunday or Monday, I plan to do a double-size countdown that encompasses the past two weeks, and features a Top 10, not the usual Top 5.

-- I never really did think of a list of interrupted runs I'd like to see hypothetically continued, a la X-Men Forever. I think maybe, rather than that, it would be fun if Marvel just picked a top-shelf creator, like Grant Morrison or Paul Pope, and just said "write a single, ongoing comic that is your take on the entire Marvel universe." Kind of like the Multiversity thing Grant is currently working on for DC, but on a more expansive scale.

-- I guess it must help sales, or they wouldn't do it, but I kind of think Marvel might be shooting itself in the foot a little by lumping all their recent mini-series under the Dark Reign banner. It makes it really easy for anyone who isn't digging Dark Reign to dismiss all of them out of hand, even the really good one. I am particularly loving Paul Cornell's Young Avengers mini right now. Its surprisingly compelling stuff, with lots of grey areas about what it really means to be a superhero, and about the nature of art in a world populated by super-beings. Yet I recently overheard someone who I think would probably like this series say that "all those Dark Reign minis are shit," or something to that effect. DC's Final Crisis Aftermath minis face a similar problem, with people who didn't like Final Crisis refusing to give them a look just because they are under the "Final Crisis" banner.

-- Detective Comics # 854 is probably the best looking mainstream comic I have seen in a very long time.

-- Under the category of simple joys, watching Batman: Brave and the Bold with my four-year-old daughter is a beautiful thing. As is reading that almost-destroyed-from-use issue of DC Superfriends with the Super Pets to her for the 57th time.

-- The trailer for Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" is simply amazing. I cannot wait to see that film.

-- "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and make a change." R.I.P., Michael.

The Curious Case of X-Men Forever

I have to admit, my primary interest in X-Men Forever has nothing to do with the actual contents of the book. Despite the fact that the Claremont-era X-Men were a big part of my induction into the world of comics in my youth, I don't have a lot of interest in seeing him continue that story at this late date. His barely readable return to Uncanny X-Men in the late '90s acted as a vaccine that prevents me from ever being excited about Chris Claremont writing the X-Men again, despite my continuing love for his initial run.

No, what excites me about this book, and makes me hope that it is successful, is that its basic structure is an extended - nay, more than extended, indefinite - riff on another Marvel concept near and dear to my heart: "What If?" I've loved those type of imaginary, alternate universe stories almost as long as I've loved comics. I love that "What If?" always starts with a turning point or event in the Marvel Universe at large, or at least a big event for a particular character or team, and can go anywhere from there. Its the sense of total unpredictability, and therefore limitless possibility, that always had me hooked. No matter what happens in the "real" Marvel Universe, we all know Spiderman isn't going to die (at least not permanently). In a "What If?," Spiderman might die on page 2.

Regular "What If?" stories were always told in a single, self-contained issue, or occasionally a two-parter. X-Men Forever, on the other hand, is a different animal completely. It has the same "anything goes" possibility as a normal "What If?" tale, but this time the question being asked isn't "What if event X had gone differently?" but "What if creator X had stuck around?" This time, though, Creator X gets to tell a long-form, potentially unlimited story, without the constraints of working in a shared universe. If Claremont wants to have Wolverine go nuts and kill Tony Stark, he can. Heck, if Claremont wants to go nuts and kill off Wolverine, he can do that too.

While I'm not too interested in checking out Claremont's vision in this particular case, there are certain creators I would love to see do a project like this. We all have our favorite runs by various creators, and I'm sure that we'd all love to see what would have happened next if those creators had stayed on their respective books. Barring that, I'm sure there are creators we'd love to see handed the keys to the entire Marvel Universe, whether in the present day or in a particular era, and given the freedom to do whatever they feel like with it. While it may seem like an odd idea for a comics series when you first think about, if X-Men Forever eventually leads to a project or two like that, it can only be a good thing.

P.S. Oddly enough, I'm having kind of a tough time thinking of examples of this type of thing I'd like to see. I'll try to mull it over a bit and post a Top 5 "continuation series" I'd like to see happen sometime in the very near future.

Curses, Foiled Again!

I was all ready to swing by my friendly neighborhood comics shop later and pick up my copy of Captain America #600, when I realized that said shop closes an hour earlier than usual on Mondays and will not be open by the time I get home from work.

Oh well, its not like I was really that excited to read it today - it was just an excuse to drop by the shop and pick up some new stuff on a day I wouldn't have otherwise. It will be waiting patiently for me in my pull box when I make my usual Wednesday run.

Return of Comics Countdown

Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not technically too late to do this, since we still have a couple of extra days until new comics come out and the cycle begins anew. As always, I will use this space to count down my personal top 5 of the books I bought this week, and maybe also share some thoughts about other books that didn't make the cut.

Dog of the Week - Fantastic Four # 567. I was so excited when I first found out that Millar and Hitch were going to be the regular team on FF, and had high hopes for their run. But at this point, I am unfortunately just as excited for their exit from the book. Their run hasn't been bad, per se, but it hasn't been great either. In fact, more than anything, its seemed kind of insubstantial - something that is especially bad because of the "big events and big ideas" expectations engendered by Millar and Hitch. This issue was nothing more than a slight "what if Dr. Doom became a good guy" sandwiched into the middle of the main plot. It was set up as if the events might be real at first, but it was pretty obvious from the outset that things were not as they seemed. When we finally found out what was going on - "Doom's Master" was simply showing Doom what is was like to be happy, then cruelly ripping it away - the explanation felt a bit hollow and trite. I mean, does anyone think that Doom's heart desire is to be a good guy (albeit one who is on top of the world)? The big destruction of Latveria here also seems like a bit of a ploy, and I'm almost certain we'll see some way out of it in the upcoming issues. On the bright side, I've really been enjoying Hickman's Dark Reign: FF mini, so the book seems to be in good hands once again in a couple of months.

Other stuff I bought: This week was really kind of a "meh" week for me, comics-wise. I don't have any real complaints about any of the books I picked up (even my "Dog of the Week" was actually a fairly enjoyable comic), but none of them really blew my mind, either. In other words, all this "other stuff" isn't much below the Top 5 in terms of quality. X-Factor #44, Uncanny X-Men # 511, Red Robin # 1, Final Crisis: Escape # 2, Red Robin # 1, Amazing Spiderman # 597.

Honorable Mention: Wolverine # 74. If this had all been penned by Jason Aaron (which I will now focus on exclusively), it would have probably made the top five. He seems to really have a good handle on the Wolverine character, something that is rarer than you might think given the large numbers of Wolverine appearances month in and month out. His story does an admirable job of trying to explain why Wolverine is in at least 3 different team books, along with his solo adventures. Aaron does a pretty decent job with Spidey as well, which is surprising given that Aaron's sensibilities don't seem like they would be a great fit for the web-head. This is my last issue of this title, at least for the foreseeable future, as I am not much for Daniel Way's work, and changing the book to focus on Wolverine's son, Daken, while Wolverine goes off into Aaron's "Weapon X" book really seems like a particularly crass move by Marvel. If they had wanted to give Daken his own book, they should have done so as a new # 1, and allowed Aaron to simply tell his Weapon X story in the main Wolverine title. I'm sure that wasn't done because Marvel correctly figured that not many people would pick up a new title starring Son of Wolvie. So rather than launching that book upfront, they just switched over the main Wolverine title, hoping enough people would keep picking it up out of habit that the absence of... well, Wolverine... wouldn't hurt sales. In my case, they figured wrong, but in the overall picture, they sadly were probably right.

# 5. Batman # 687. I picked this book up with a sense of dread in my heart. I have read very little, if any, of Winick's superhero stuff before, but had always heard mostly bad things about it. Further, I'm not a big fan of Benes' artwork. I thought I'd give this book a try for a while, though, and Winick's first issue did not disappoint. It was a bit odd to read a story about Dick Grayson struggling with his decision to become Batman, since we had just seen an event mini-series covering pretty much the same ground, but I thought Winick pulled it off very well, and captured the emotional weight of losing Bruce Wayne in a way that Battle of the Cowl never really did. I really got the sense, in the scenes with Dick and Alfred, that they were really hurting, grieving in their own personal way that had little to do with a bat-suit. If Winick continues to write Dick Grayson this well, and this comic becomes the place for solo Batman, I think I will be sorely disappointed when the inevitable return of Bruce does occur.

# 4. Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers # 2. This book was a breath of fresh air. A lighthearted, fun romp featuring various animals from the Marvel Universe being chased by Devil Dinosaur - what more could you ask. This was a comics equivalent of a good Dreamworks animated film like Shrek or Kung Fu Panda - light fun for the adults, and appropriate to share with the kids. A welcome break from "Dark Reign of Blackest Shadows, Oh Did We Mention Its Also at Night?" or whatever the latest "serious" superhero stuff is.

# 3. Resurrection vol. 2, # 1. Oni, your Free Comic Book Day offering worked enough of its magic on me to get me to pick up this book, and it followed through. Its a bit too early to tell if there will be much to separate this story from other post-apocalyptic band of survivors fare, but even if not, this is a well-told version of that basic premise, with a bit of a mystery at its heart (what DID happen to all the aliens?) On second thought, I guess maybe that mystery was revealed in Volume 1, since I haven't read it, but heck, its a mystery to me.

# 2. JSA v. Kobra, Engines of Faith # 1. I have been waiting for this book to arrive ever since I got a sneak peek at Don Cramer's art a few weeks back. Most of us had seen his work before, but I know my jaw dropped at those pages - this series is a real leap for an already good artist, and the finished pages are just as gorgeous. The story isn't bad either. Even though I am not all that familiar with Checkmate or even the JSA, I had no problem following what was going on. Troutman seems to be setting up some interesting points about the destructive potential of fundamentalism, as well as how far we will go to combat it. These points are introduced in service to the plot, though, and never come off as preachy or heavy-handed.

# 1. The Unwitten # 2. Mike Carey and Peter Gross set the bar high for this series with the $1.00 first issue, but they clear that bar with room to spare in this issue. This is one of those series that throws a lot at you out of the gate, but it never seems jumbled or confusing. Instead, this book is a nice puzzle, with Carey making you work to try to solve it while assimilating new facts along the way. There are a lot of serious goings-on here, but this book also has some funny stuff in it - I laughed out loud at the first dialogue of the issue, a cocky unicorn saying "you can stroke it if you like." As a confirmed bibliophile, I also love the literary trivia that is constantly being dropped by Tommy (and which I'm sure will figure into the plot prominently later on). Vertigo has really hit the ground running with this one, and I can only hope it continues to garner enough interest for a long run that fully explores the concepts teased in the first couple of issues.