There are now two, very large stacks of unread comics. These days, there are just too many other things competing for my attention, from actual books to FB games to lots of good stuff on TV year 'round.
But I did read a few things.
To my surprise, I'm enjoying Green Arrow. I read issues 2 and 3 and there was no drop-off of entertainment and intrigue. I have no idea what's really going on, but Krul is keeping things interesting. And I'm enjoying the peeks into Ollie's past. We all know the story of his becoming GA, but we really haven't seen much if anything about his childhood. The art by Neves and Cifuentes has been nicely realistic, keeping this possibly fantastical story grounded. Krul can write some wonderful character bits and his pacing is nice here, which makes me wonder wtf had gone so wrong with the Arsenal mini. I suppose what was done to Roy, from losing his arm and Lian's death to his taking up drugs again and becoming a jerk was editorially mandated. At least, I hope so. Because if it all came from Krul, it makes him an uneven writer. Hell, even if it was mandated, it was unevenly written. He might just be like Judd Winick. Great writing some characters, uneven or awful with others.
Gail Simone ratcheted Secret Six up a notch with issue 25. The two opposing teams and all the intrigue that results with their "cases," coupled with Blake's seeming breakdown, makes for compelling reading. And then throw in Lawton doing a good thing for Alice (even if his methods are questionable), and you've got one dandy of a comic.
I'd hoped Batgirl 14, guest-starring Supergirl and Dracula(!), would've been better. It was fun, mostly due to the dialogue and rapport established for Steph and Kara, but the story was lame, lame, lame, not at all worthy of such kick-ass hero gal pals. I'm also getting tired of starting a story in the middle of the action/story, then needing to backtrack. It's a cliche now. Sure, it can be an effective technique with a lot of impact, but it should be used judiciously and when it makes sense dramatically. For a silly little story like this, there was no good reason for it other than to try to make something small seem much bigger. In actuality, it set this reader up for disappointment. This book has been too good for such obvious manipulations and less than good storytelling. I would like to see Kara visit Steph again, in a story worthy of them both.
I too have been pleasantly surprised with Green Arrow. I didn't have huge expectations, but it HASN'T sucked, which is nice.
ReplyDeleteSecret Six was simply fabulous. My love for Lawton grows and grows.
Yeah, Lawton has really grown on me. He's rivaling Blake now for my affections in the book. It's that complex characterization that Gail excels at that makes the book so special.
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