Thursday, August 15, 2013

Some Reviews

Captain Marvel 14
One of the two Marvel Comics (the other is Hawkeye) that I'm now reading. To be honest, I picked it up not just because it's been getting good reviews or because I'd read some Ms. Marvel issues way back when, but mostly because a woman is writing it and I want to support female superhero writers. But I wouldn't keep reading unless it was good. And it is. The two collected editions blew me away, and this issue continues that trend. Kelly Sue DeConnick gives Carol Danvers her own voice and challenges, and that the real threat to Carol is coming from inside her makes for a unique choice. If she flies, she risks losing who and what she is. It's a true test for a hero when their choice to save others over themselves becomes so personal. This isn't a mere risk of death Carol is facing, but the risk she could lose herself. All of which makes for a Holy Crap cliffhanger despite the actual story coming to an end. I just wish the art hadn't been so disjointed (two artists worked on it) and cartoonish.

Nightwing 23
One of a half dozen DC comics I'm still reading post-reboot. Remarkably, the tone doesn't seem all that much darker than it had been before, with Dick's challenges deeply personal. The first arc of the reboot had him facing his circus days and dark secrets from that time, and the current arc is rather good, with Dick hunting Zucco, the murderer of his parents, who, as it turns out, is still alive and living in Chicago under a new identity. And it seems that Zucco is either really good at pretending to be reformed, or he really has turned over a new leaf, with a new family and respectable job. And while the ending of this chapter has the feeling of inevitability, it's really the heart of the story. Will Dick agree to work with Zucco to save Chicago? Can he work with the man who took his family from him? I'm really hoping Kyle Higgins can deliver the emotional depth this story deserves, but so far, he's been doing a good job. I've also grown quite fond of Will Conrad's fairly realistic art.

World's Finest 15
I would enjoy this much more if it weren't for the New Gods/Apokolips storyline, something I never liked in the old DCU, either. I keep reading this because I love Power Girl and the original Huntress (I loved the second Huntress, too). This installment seemed to be mostly filler, with the aim to screw up Kara's powers, which is accomplished by the end. Mostly, the issue was a lot of fighting. Not one of my favorite entries in this series.

Saga 13
The gem of this batch. Comics really don't get better than this. The issue backtracks a bit from last time, with Marko still mourning his father, his mother still the ballsy, take-no-prisoners mother-in-law to Alana, and The Will just might be rediscovering his humanity. And that cover of Hazel eyeballing, well, an eyeball, is priceless. The eyeball belongs to D. Oswald Heist, whom our little troupe of heroes have gone to find, and their first meeting is, well, let's just say Vaughan and Staples get in a nice little dig on writers in general. Fun stuff. And if you're not reading it, why not?

2 comments:

  1. Saga was completely splendiferous...which is doubly amazing, because when you think about it...not a whole heck of a lot happened in this issue. But I don't care, there was so much going on character-wise, that you don't need kicks to the head or explosions...although there were a couple of kicks anyway.

    God, I love this book.

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    Replies
    1. Exactly! You *can* have an amazing comic without lots of blood and gore on every page.

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