Sneak Peeks 2/14/06: Now accepting suggestions for a better name

If I haven’t mentioned it eight billion times by now, I work at a comic store. This entitles me to get my books a day early when our shipment gets in; a privilege I abuse constantly because I’m not going to wait an extra day for my comics if I don’t have to. Who would? Here, I will be reviewing all those books I get a day early so that you can know what to pick up and what not to.

Want to know if Superman/Batman #26 is a well-done tribute issue or maudlin garbage? If the Villains United Special gives us any information pertaining to Infinite Crisis? How the art is on the newest issue of Fables? Then read this (hopefully) weekly review, as I’ll try my best to guide you all away from the crap and closer to the gold. I get around thirty titles a month, so I won’t be reviewing everything, but a lot of what I get covers the mainstream and some of the independents. However, I do tend to like pretty much everything I buy, because I logically drop things that I don’t find enjoyable. There can be stinkers from time-to-time, but don’t be taken aback if one week will feature eight highly rated issues. I will try not to include spoilers in my reviews, and I will only use them if they are necessary to describe the story. With that in mind, here are the reviews for the week.

Best of the week: Daredevil #82 (10/10)
This is the first issue of the acclaimed Gotham Central team of Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark, and it does not disappoint. Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev just finished up their long run on Daredevil by putting Matt Murdock in a difficult situation: they sent him to prison, where he is residing when this issue begins. Immediately, Brubaker gives us a mystery as he introduces a second Daredevil – something who is running around Hell’s Kitchen in a costume, doing what Murdock is unable to. This new Daredevil has no connections to anyone, and certainly not any to Murdock’s best friend, Foggy Nelson, who warns the new vigilante to stay away from him and Matt. We are then shown how prison life is for Matt, who has been put in Protected Custody for his own safety, much to his chagrin. Matt is right in the middle of the prison tension, with seemingly everyone after him, from the guards to Hammerhead to Wilson Fisk, who has been placed in Ryker’s by the FBI despite the warden’s protests. Then, when Foggy comes to check up on his best friend, well, some stuff goes down. Anyone who reads Marvel’s solicitations will know what I mean, for the twist had been spoiled for me, but it was still shocking to see Matt helpless, calling for help but receiving none. There’s a lot of stuff going on here, and I was riveted by all of it.

All of these story revelations are shown effortlessly by Michael Lark, who uses many of the same darker tones that Maleev used to perfection. Lark is a more conventional artist than Maleev, as his character models are simple but still unique. The panels are detailed, and Lark makes use of twelve-grid pages in order to present the scenes with lots of dialogue without wasting any space. For a gritty title like Daredevil, the art fits perfectly.

This issue of Daredevil is $2.99 for 40 pages, a bargain in today’s ever-expensive market. It’s a pricetag that I think is worth it in order to check out what promises to be a very good run by Brubaker and Lark. You have to be a little familiar with the events of the Bendis/Maleev run, but not being acquainted with that material won’t make this issue unreadable. I had a lot of expectations for this issue, and not only were they met, they were exceeded. Highly recommended.

The rest of the best:

New Avengers #16 (9/10)
According to Brian Michael Bendis, this issue is a set-up for the Collective story-line, which logically will begin after this issue. That’s how it read: a new bad guy is created, a super team is more or less annihilated while trying to stop this bad guy, and the Avengers are called for help. The only Avenger we see in the issue is Tony Stark, and he’s out of costume. For all intents and purposes, this issue is 100% set-up to something bigger, and that might cheese off a lot of readers.

Of course, I would only be pissed if it wasn’t enjoyable. For the most part, this issue is a display for Steve McNiven’s amazing art, which has improved leaps and bounds over his most recent work on the Sentry arc. The first eight pages are told in wordless, single-panel efforts that effectively showcase just how destructive and potentially powerful this new enemy is. McNiven’s art is so effective thanks to the colorist, Richard Starkings, who clouds the new enemy in a blinding orange that masks everything except his rage as he tears across the world towards America in order to fight something or someone. The art is incredibly good and pushes this issue up to great, in my opinion.

Story-wise, nothing much happens other than we get a sample of how destructive the enemy is and how troubled the relationship between the New Avengers and SHIELD is. Bendis’ banter is snappy as expected, as the new director of SHIELD explodes at all the incompetent people surrounding her in ways that made me chuckle. The new villain might seem overpowered, but the way in which he was created shows his potential for power. Bendis doesn’t waste time extolling how powerful this villain is, instead having him act and act hard. I’m interested, as this is supposed to also lead into Civil War somehow.

X-Men: Deadly Genesis #4 (of 6) (8/10)
The mystery is finally revealed, and we find out exactly what Professor Xavier did, who he did it to, and how he covered it up. Honestly, there wasn’t much mystery here considering how obvious it was what way the arrows were pointing in following the last issue, but the explanation that follows in this issue is not only informative, but well-characterized as we get to see what exactly it means to be an X-Man. Beast, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler have finally figured everything out, and by the end of the issue, Cyclops and Marvel Girl are both clued in on the secret by the villain himself.

What makes this issue good is how Brubaker does everything with implicit dialogue. Long gone are the cluttered, over-expository ramblings of Chris Claremont’s characters, and instead we have focused, life-like characters who reveal their own personality through mannerisms and dialogue; they show instead of tell. Of course, the expressive art by Trevor Hairsine helps too, for every emotion is conveyed well. Brubaker is an excellent “movie” writer, in the sense that the reader must make informed assumptions regarding the characters and their feelings as opposed to being told outright. At times, the images speak for themselves, and Brubaker doesn’t waste a single page in telling his story. He is also very good at balancing the different stories, building tension as he switches viewpoints between the two groups of X-Men. One group knows what is going on because they have been told, whereas the other group is finding out for themselves how horrible the implications of Xavier’s crime are. This is excellent storytelling.

The back-up story featuring art by Pete Woods is solid as usual, but not as interesting as the previous back-ups have been. Interestingly, this one is about the villain of the story, but considering who he is revealed to be at the end of the issue, his back-story was a little confusing. This mini has gotten more and more interesting with every issue, and now with only two more left to go, the guns are firing on what has become one of the best X-stories in recent years.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #27 (8/10)
I’ve enjoyed Mark Millar and Greg Land’s most recent run on Ultimate Fantastic Four, despite what others might say. I think Millar has done an excellent job of integrating the wild ideas that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby used years ago into the Ultimate Universe, and I enjoy Millar’s complete randomness at times; who didn’t laugh at the miniature Ultimates that Reed Richards has grown in his lab? This issue is the beginning of the third arc in their year-long run, and it’s a little confusing. The best part of this issue is the sterling characterization of the Fantastic Four, and the incredible sadness surrounding Ben Grimm, who is painfully reminded in this issue of how he doesn’t fit in as the Thing. It is because of Grimm that this story involving time travel is started, as the team ventures back in time in order to prevent the accident that gave them their powers from every happening. Along the way, some stuff involving super-powered aliens and the Ultimates happens, and we’re left at the end of the issue a little confused but still interested.

I don’t think it needs to be repeated how good of an artist Greg Land in. He isn’t just a cheesecake artist, bringing humanity to the faces of all his characters and detailing every panel. For all the complaints that his women look the same, it doesn’t make his art any less enjoyable unlike the Michael Turners and the Marc Silvestris of the world who get boring as time goes on. We see the zombie Fantastic Four again, and they are truly horrific and are portrayed as such by Land.

If the first arc was the Reed arc, and the second was the Susan arc, then this is the Ben arc. Some subplots are building up to the final arc, which looks to be a fun ride, as this run has been. Millar brings a boundless enthusiasm to this book, and has propelled it to being the second best Ultimate title along with The Ultimates, in my opinion. This issue is a perfect starting point for anyone, as every reference to his previous stories is explained. Pick this issue up if you are looking for fun, old school Fantastic Four stories put in a new light.

Good, not great

Runaways #13 (7/10)
This is a solo issue focusing on Molly, the youngest member of the Runaways. As the story opens up, she has gotten separated from the rest of the team and finds herself a prisoner of a villain called Provost, or teacher, as he soon explains. The Provost leads a cabal of young children whom he teaches how to be thieves, and Molly is forced to join his gang lest she be turned into stone. Once she reveals her powers, everything gets a little more interesting, as expected.

I honestly found the story to be a little boring. It’s a pretty conventional set-up and has a pretty conventional ending, despite Brian K. Vaughan’s excellent characterization and Adrian Alphona’s vibrant art. On the other hand, this issue is easy for any newcomer to Runaways to follow, because everything that needs to be explained is done so on the one-page recap that is customarily included in most of Marvel’s titles nowadays. On the other, it isn’t the best introduction to the title, and for $5 more one could pick up a six-issue digest. This issue is recommended best for people who are already getting Runaways because they will probably appreciate Vaughan’s characterization more as they’ve been with Molly for the last two years, as opposed to the people just checking out the title for the first time. The next issue looks to be a more interesting look at the world of the Runaways, and this issue is nothing more than a nice filler issue.

Girls #10 (7/10)
I almost don’t want to review this issue because it is impenetrable to anyone not already following the series. As expected of the Luna Brothers by this point, the characterizations are excellent, the art is simple yet pretty, and the plot advances ever so slowly. The problem is that if you haven’t been following this bizarre tale of a girl who mysteriously shows up in Pennystown, USA, bringing problems for the entire town, then you’ll be lost. For fans of Girls (boy, that doesn’t sound weird or anything), this issue is good; for un-fans (a term I have just coined), I recommend the trade collecting the first six issues of this series, then work your way up to the current issue instead of jumping in right now. Like Ultra, the Luna Brothers’ last project (which is also worth a look), or Preacher, every chapter needs to be read in order to fully appreciate and understand the story.

She-Hulk #5 (6/10)
Fans of the Two-Gun Kid, rejoice: the long-time Avengers character gets back to the Marvel Universe after so many years of being out of it. I wouldn’t know because I don’t know the Avengers as well as Dan Slott apparently does, and while the Two-Gun Kid is presented as likeable, his back-story isn’t explained anywhere in the issue. He gets a spot in She-Hulk’s law firm, but to the casual reader he could be swapped out easily for Hawkeye or some other cocky sharpshooter character. While this issue is enjoyable, I suspect it will be moreso for big fans of the Two-Gun Kid, or really, anyone who is familiar with the character.

Juan Bobillo’s art is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoy it. It’s an interesting, non-standard, dynamic style that I prefer over the other main artist on the series, Paul Pelletier. I haven’t enjoyed this second run of She-Hulk as much as I did the first, but it’s still a unique title that deserves to be read. Not the best introduction for any new reader; anyone looking to sample Slott’s wackiness would be best served to pick up She-Hulk #3, the massive 100-page monster that so effectively encapsulated and described Shulkie’s place in the Marvel Universe.

Alright, but flawed

JSA Classified #9 (5/10)
This title has been going down in quality ever since the inaugural arc by Geoff Johns and Amanda Conner. Here, we get the second part in Peter Tomasi and Don Kramer’s story about the Spear of Destiny and JSA-ers Flash and Wildcat, and as was the problem with the last issue and the three before that (Jen Van Meter’s mediocre Injustice Society arc) is that I simply don’t care enough. Geoff Johns’ Power Girl story might have been enraging once it reached its conclusion (she’s from Earth-2, her original origin? Well, that was worth the ten-year buildup!), but his characterization of Power Girl lent real emotional resonance and made me feel for the character. In this issue, Tomasi doesn’t do enough to move me to care about the characters, ultimately resulting in my disappointment. When it’s all done, it ends up being another tie-in to Infinite Crisis, pissing me off even more. I like Don Kramer’s art, but it isn’t good enough to make up for the incredibly mediocre story. There’s nothing wrong with this story: the plot moves logically, the dialogue is good, and the art is clear, but I don’t care.

E-mail me at thegreatmachine@gmail.com (yes, that's an Ex Machina reference) for anything you want to.