MattBrady
08-27-2007, 09:34 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Batman668.jpg" border="0" align="right"><i>by The Best Shots Team, courtesy of ShotgunReviews.com
Your Host: Troy Brownfield</i>
Another week . . . another metric ton of reviews!
Batman #668
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by J.H. Williams
Published by DC Comics
Review by Rev. O.J. Flow
If you're like me right now, you’re diggin' the hairy heck out of the latest arc of Batman brought to you by the creative uber-squad of Morrison and Williams. I keep getting the feeling that if All Star Batman was done right (for a change -- take that, Frank!), it'd be done by these guys. So the Dynamic Duo bite on an invitation from an old eccentric to visit an out-of-the-way island for a reunion of sorts with masked vigilantes from all over the world who serve as their respective country's "the Batman of..." It was a tasty concept over 50 years ago (http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=11842), and Morrison makes it all the more delicious by turning it into the most twisted version of Clue. But as I read this -- and over and over again because, like any good murder mystery, you look for the little things -- it occurred to me that poring over the gory details for a comprehensive review in the second act of a quality 3-part whodunit was borderline counterproductive. Get back to me in three to four weeks, yo. So I want to put it to you, the reader, about a couple of things that piqued my interest, and then some, in hopes of seeing if things pushed your buttons as well. Here's where the feedback section of Best Shots, me hopes, can be put to fun, interactive use.
First off, I have been indoctrinated into the work of Williams personally with the work here, one issue of Detective Comics, and the majesty of Seven Soldiers, though I know he's dazzled other readers elsewhere. I don't know how it eluded my eye in the first chapter ( http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=7426), but I believe Williams was intentionally aping the artistic style of other contemporaries to capture specific "Batmen" from other countries. Case in point? I can't look at one panel with El Gaucho (Spain? Or Mexico? Sorry, but Morrison keeps the exposition to a base level -- the ONLY thing I have against Batman #668 -- so I was torn between EG's affiliation to our friends south of the border or across tha Atlantic in Spain) without thinking that it's the work of Howard Chaykin.
Similarly, I thought The Knight, the "Batman of Great Britain," was captured a la Ed McGuinness (http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/110104/jlaclassified1.shtml), along with his young charge, Squire (an absolute asset to this story. I can't believe this all eluded me in the first chapter, I guess there was just so much to take in, but Wingman -- alas, Wingman -- looked a little like he was rendered through the filter of Paul Pope (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/pope.html).
Am I the only one who was taking this concept in, or am I stretching?? I would like to put it to you, reader, as to if any of the other "Batmen," be it the Ranger (Australia), France's lead hero (help me out here, please, with the name), or the Native American Man-of-Bats and his sidekick, Little Raven (Sorry! Raven Red!) were rendered by the multi-talented J.H. Williams as an homage of sort to other artistic talents. I will say this, in no way is any possible mimicry on Williams part to be perceived as lazy of half-a$$ed. From the first page (or PAGES, worth mentioning that a terrific retro coloring format by the extraordinary Dave Stewart is employed early), right down to the last, there are eye-popping layouts, design and draftsmanship to be found throughout.
I’m also curious as to theories held by anyone else following the story as to the identity of the murderous Black Glove. I’d throw out some speculation myself, had Newsarama come with spoiler coding that allowed only those who were cool with extra details to spill. If it is actually someone with whom we’ve been properly introduced, I think I got my man, but I’d like to see some other ideas from you the reader. I’m looking forward to the next chapter within the next thirty days, and I hope you are too!
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Order02.jpg" border="0" align="left"> The Order #2
From: Marvel
Writer: Matt Fraction
Art: Barry Kitson w/Mark Morales and Dean White
Review by Troy Brownfield
The Order has problems, though not many of its own making. Right out of the gate, this Initiative title got caught in the Champions name-change controversy. In the larger picture, it has to perform well set against the various surging Avengers/”Core Marvel” titles and Avengers: Initiative itself. It seems like it's got a deck stacked against it.
None of that matters, though, as we’re two issues in and we’ve already seen that Matt Fraction plans to play this thing savagely clever. Couching the story of temporary super-heroes dealing with of-the-moment foibles and ripped-from-the-headlines mistakes, Fraction clearly aims for something different than a run-of-the-mill super-book. And it helps that he’s got a partner like Barry Kitson. Kitson, who has cranked out stellar work from L.E.G.I.O.N. to JLA: Year One to Empire and more, is completely at home here. Anyone who sees this as just another super-team book is missing some sharp writing.
On the surface, yeah, we’ve got some Big Action. A reactivated faction of Soviet Super-Soldiers strikes, and The Order has to scramble their newbie members while simultaneously deducing the Soldiers motivations and plans. This offers us a chance to see most of the cast at work, though this storyline is crosscut with a more extensive backstory interview that deals specifically with the team’s shapeshifter, Becky Ryan. Turns out that Ryan was a JessiBritney-style pop tart, and she’s had her own share of troubles prior to entering the team program. Fraction gets the balance just right, and Kitson’s smart use of repeat panels to underscore pauses and thoughtful moments is well-considered.
Thus far, The Order is a solid book that should be commanding some more attention. As the story gets to open a bit more and the Morturi-esque plot seed of temporary powers plays thru, we should see some interesting cast evolution and the possibility of many stories and approaches. Marvel’s got a sleeper hit on their hands right here.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Five_of_Kind4.jpg" border="0" align="right"><b>Outsiders: Five of a Kind—Metamorpho/Aquaman #1
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Joshua Middleton
From: DC
Review by J. Caleb Mozzocco</b>
I couldn't possibly care less about the impending new volume of <b>Batman and the Outsiders</b>, which will have writer Tony Bedard applying the old <b>Extreme Justice</b>/<b>Justice League Elite</b> formula to a super-team born from the ashes of Judd Winick's run on the last iteration of <b>Outsiders</b>. At least, I didn't <i>think</i> I could possibly care less, right up until the weekly series of one-shots falling under the "Five of a Kind" banner leading up to it was announced. The event seems completely free of drama or tension, in part because DC house ads and cover solicits seem to reveal the line-up already anyway, and in part because the team-ups all seem so horribly pre-destined. Does anyone really think Wonder Woman will leave the Justice League to replace Outsider Grace on a black ops team lead by Batman? Did anyone think Shazamarvel (or whatever Winick is currently calling the Hero Formerly Known As Captain Marvel), who is unable to leave the Rock of Eternity, would be joining a new super-team?
And yet this book was the one I was most looking forward to reading this week. It wasn't just the two characters being featured, both of whom I like quite a bit, but the creators.
The artist was Joshua Middleton, whose lush, painterly interior pages are always too few and too far between for my tastes, and the writer is G. Willow Wilson, a 25-year-old female Muslim journalist making her comics writing debut here. Wilson's background is different enough from most other Western super-comics writers that her debut is automatically interesting for the curiosity factor alone, and her debuting <i>here</i> of all places seems weird enough that it adds another level of curiosity (She also has a Vertigo graphic novel entitled <b>Cairo</b> schedule for release in November).
Thankfully, this is an issue that rewards curiosity. As disinterested as I am in the whole Outsiders side of things, Wilson delivers a complete and self-contained story introducing (or re-introducing, depending on your level of experience), Metamorpho and Aquaman II. The two characters are sent to the desert to stop a war over an underground lake there, one involving Simon Stagg and a mysterious protector named Hyacinth who is in possession of the Orb of Ra. (There's a two-page coda by Bedard dealing with the who makes the cut business, although I don’t know how relevant it is; the one who Batman declines is on the cover of the first few issues).
Wilson nails both characters, laying out just who they are and defining their personalities in relation to the events around them and to each other, and still finding time for a couple of superhero fights. She also shows none of the ticks or overly rough edges of someone still learning the ropes of comics writing, and doesn't seem to be visibly struggling with the medium in the way that some writers from outside comics do (Think Brad Meltzer's overwriting scenes with multiple streams of redundant information, for example, or the wordiness of Kevin Smith or Tad Williams' earlier scripts).
The only real wonkiness in the script side of things comes in a throwaway line from Rex about how his son would be about young Arthur Curry's age, because unless Superboy-Prime punched the heck out of Metamorpho's timeline, his boy probably hasn't even started kindergarten yet. Stacked up next to other recent DC continuity ____-ups, like Aquaman II playing Aquaman I in <b> JLoA #12</b> or Black Canary and Barbara Gordon misidentifing Connor Hawke's mom in last week's <b>Birds of Prey</b>, however, it could certainly be worse.
The art is, predictably, beautiful. Middleton is quite well suited to both of these characters, as well as the desert and underwater settings. Wilson also gives him a couple of neat things to draw, too, particularly a monster made out of whirling sand and another out of water. Each and every panel looks like a water color painting, and the movement between them is perfectly fluid; Middleton doesn't sacrifice storytelling to style one bit.
In both Wilson and Middleton's cases, this seems like a poor venue for their skills, but far be it from me to complain about the creators on any book being a little <I>too</I> good.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/bs2.jpg" border="0" align="left"><b>Black Summer #2
From: Avatar Press
Written By: Warren Ellis
Drawn By: Juan Jose Ryp
Reviewed By: Kevin Huxford</b>
Say what you want about the political fireball that Warren juggles in this book, but he does it deftly.
Reviewing previous issues of this series have demonstrated just what a controversial idea Ellis has fashioned into a comic book…and it is quite possible that the feedback this week will prove it yet again. But I don’t think you can find any cause if you just read what the writer carefully crafted.
As many of you reading this are all aware, the series has to do with a super-hero assassinating the President of the United States. The reasons the character gives basically make clear that the dead president is meant to be George Bush. You don’t really need to know more to know why this is controversial.
On the surface, it makes the book seem like it is just part of the pile on of the PotUS. With how large the assassination (and our assassin’s reasons) loomed in issue #0, it could be easy to find justification for that thought. Ellis, though, has laid out much more for this story in the issues that have followed.
In this issue, the focus is much more on introducing us to the rest of the Seven Guns, which appears to be the only super-human group that exists in this book’s world. We really get to see more of the dynamic of this group unfolding before our eyes. The least important elements of this issue (starkly contrasting previous issues) would be Tom (our entry point character) and John Horus (our assassin). No, instead we get introductions to what is left of the Seven Gun team and window into their personalities largely through how they bounce off Tom or the consequences of John’s actions.
Our writer largely does a great job with showing how fractured and dysfunctional the Seven Guns are. There are a few minor quibbles to be had (like the muttering of “bitch” by the female Guns at each other being either a bit lazy or a bit off its mark), but you get a surprisingly good feel for each of these characters without Ellis having to stop and write anything that was screamed, “listen while I tell you Character X’s backstory!”
The story, thus far, feels like organized chaos. That is meant as the greatest compliment, in this case. The President is dead at the hands of one member of what looks like a six member, super-powered terrorist cell on American soil. This world should be in chaos, while the story should never lose its ability to flow properly. Ellis never gives the appearance of letting the chaos take over his writing, which just might speak to how strong an asset Juan Jose Ryp is to this book.
Ryp’s artwork is a great artist and a perfect match for this book. His pencils aren’t meant for a calm book filled with talking heads. They have exactly the chaotic energy needed for a story like this. You’re gripped by it before you even buy the issue, if you had the chance to look at his illustration for the wraparound cover variant. If you didn’t, you’ll find a very similar scene in the book that really gets across the type of action he can pack into a splash or a panel that overwhelms the senses and works to sell the atmosphere that Ellis works so well at creating in this book.
While it is still possible that the mere subject matter of this series will turn off some readers, I feel they’d really be missing out on something special. Black Summer is a fairly unique concept with what seems to be a nearly perfect meshing of subject matter, writer, and artist. That alone should be worthy of dropping a few bucks to see if it is the kind of ride you can enjoy.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Picture4.jpg" border="0" align="right"><b>Guy Ritchie’s Gamekeeper #4
From: Virgin Comics
Written By: Andy Diggle
Drawn By: Mukesh Singh
Reviewed By: Kevin Huxford</b>
I’m a sucker for the Director’s Cut line from Virgin Comics. I don’t know how they make it financially feasible to work with great Hollywood talent, top comic book writing talents, and unearth surprising new blood for their artwork.
<b>Gamekeeper</b> has been, by far, the most eye-opening of the bunch, in my estimation.
While the first three issues were fast-paced and felt like they were at least 50% action, this issue takes a bit of a breather. Diggle has our protagonist stalking his prey with great patience and study, which allows the writer to better flesh out the antagonists. We get to see that, as often is the case, the bloodshed is being driven by men in shirts & ties with a lot of money. There is, also, the possibility that there is more to the story than meets the eye at this time. One could get the idea that some of what has occurred to launch our tale has as much to do with the mysterious and elusive “equation” as it has to do with Brock. Diggle really spins things in a way that always keeps you watching and sometimes guessing.
The little smattering of violence we get in this issue has to do with the flashback story we’ve been getting in small doses throughout the series. Done in black and white (always a nice touch for flashbacks), it continues telling us the story of some sort of crisis where Brock’s son was kidnapped due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unlike the earlier issues, this takes over about half of the issue. In many other stories, flashbacks can feel like they get in the way of the main story that you’re more interested in reading (or, in rare cases, vice versa). Diggle does a great job at letting the pressure in the final scene build to just the right level before hitting the release valve.
Mukesh Singh is a revelation on this series. His work is so impressive that I wouldn’t be surprised to read on some gossip column that he’s an established professional trying another style under a pseudonym or something similar. There’s just the right balance of roughness (essential to the type of character we’re dealing with) and smoothness (which helps keep to the cinematic feel they seem to be looking for). One of the nicest touches, I feel, is the color given to Brock’s eyes at all times. Even in the murkiest setting, his eyes seem like they are on fire. As the reader, you know he doesn’t have any powers or anything of the sort. So what it sells to the reader is how steely-eyed and focused he is. That he has a gaze that would cut right through a man like he wasn’t there. It establishes the intimidation factor that our hero possesses.
We have three great creators working on a book that grips you and keeps you in for the long haul. The only question I have about their choices is how do they expect Jason Statham to pull off the Chechen accent when he is inevitably cast in the movie version of this book?
The “No, Troy’s Not Paying Him to Write These” Section
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/4thHorseman01.jpg" border="0" align="left"> The Fourth Horseman #1
From: Fangoria Comics
Written by: Jeffrey Nodelman
Art: Tommy Castillo
Reviewed by Tim Janson
The Fourth Horseman is the latest title from Fangoria Comics and perhaps its most unique so far. It is a horrific story although not what one would call a horror comic, at least not in the traditional sense. The book is set in the 1800’s and we are introduced to a savage American Indian warrior named Bear. Bear is worshipped as a God among his own people. But Bear is not the proud, noble warrior of old western lore, but rather a savage, bloodthirsty, and evil killing machine. He thrives on death, consuming the spirits of those he kills, and kill he does…a lot!
Bear slaughters the white man at every opportunity. He kills the men who guard the payroll wagon, stealing the money as the army sits helpless. The violence is graphic to the extreme as heads are decapitated, tomahawks sheer off the tops of skulls, and arrows pierce through eye sockets in a crescendo of blood and gore. There is only moderate dialog in The Fourth Horseman and none of it from the protagonist. We don’t really know what his motivations are unless it is simply to kill as many as he can. However we can surmise that each issue will feature a different member of the biblical Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Bear is described as the White Rider, the others being Red, Brown, and Black. We will meet the Red Rider in issue number 2.
It’s interesting that writer Jeffrey Nodelman used the dynamics of an American Indian raining death on the U.S. military in what many would probably decide as a justifiable act given the treatment of Indians in the 1800’s. I wonder if the rest of the issues in the series will be similarly themed…The art by Tommy Castillo may be the best of any Fangoria title yet. I’ve been a Castillo fan for a couple of years and he’s really adept at working in any genre whether its horror, fantasy, superhero, pin-up art, etc…While I personally prefer Castillo’s work in black & white, colorist Milen Paranov does a great job of not diluting his pencils. As with the other Fangoria series’, The Fourth Horseman is a springboard for a film, this time a fully animated film. I’ll be eager to see how the story builds from here in the upcoming issues.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Bump03.jpg" border="0" align="right"> Bump #3
From: Fangoria Comics
Written by Mark Kidwell
Art: Mark Kidwell and Jay Fotos
Reviewed by Tim Janson
You’ve got to hand it to Fangoria…they haven’t just jumped into the comic book business, they’ve cannon-balled in from the highest platform with titles that are well-written, beautifully drawn, and slickly produced. Bump was their debut title, a four issue mini-series about psycho serial killer Eddie Dill and his equally twisted mother. Dill’s motif is to cut the “naughty bits” off his female victims and place them into small drawers built into the life-size manikins known as tree-huggers, thereby giving life to the creatures. Dill was finally caught and killed back in 1976, and his house in the woods was sealed up and the road covered over so it would be forgotten. But what good is a serial killer if he can’t return from the grave?
Several stranded motorists take refuge from a storm at the old Dill place, they are welcomed warmly by Mrs. Dill and her sweet son, Eddie. As the third issue opens, only three of the guests are still alive, hiding from Eddie in the house. They are hardly safe, though, as the head of one of their friends comes crashing through the window, courtesy of the ghoulish, wooden tree-huggers, who make escape from the house impossible. Meanwhile, Sheriff Lundy is forced to postpone his retirement to go in search of the missing motorists but can he survive a woods full of tree-huggers, not to mention Dill himself? I have to say I am eagerly awaiting the final issue of Bump to see how it all plays out.
Bump is soon to be a major motion picture and the comic reads very much like you are watching a film. The composition of the panels and the sequential action have a Director’s feel to them. As one of the females hacks at the arm of a tree-hugger with a cleaver we draw in closer and closer to her face in a fit of rage until we see just her eye and part of her cheek. To the next panel we have another close-up of an eye, but this time it is Sheriff Lundy’s. This was an abrupt and very cinematic cut-away in the action. I also loved the sequence with on of Lundy’s deputies as he’s in his car with the rain pounding down upon the windshield. The rain drains down the window in the shape of Dill’s face, scaring the bejeezus out of the Deputy. Again, a really well done sequence.
Kidwell and Fotos’ art is “bloody good” and their tree-huggers are some of the most unique and terrifying creatures that I’ve seen in a comic in a long time. Great series!
Pellet Reviews!
Spider-Man Visionaries: Roger Stern vol. 1 (Marvel; by Mike): Roger Stern is one of the great, and under-rated, superhero comic book writers of all time. This collection is certainly proof of that. Stern shows an amazing knack for not reinventing established characters. He recognizes the aspects of Spider-Man that first appealed to readers when Stan and Steve spun their first webs twenty years before Stern got his chance, and Stern echoes those classic elements amidst a sea of new circumstances and characters. Cooing-over-Peter Deb Whitman feels alive on the pages, and Spidey’s wisecracks are genuinely witty. The villains push Spider-Man hard, yet never feel gratuitously dangerous. They have goals and ambitions beyond wanton destruction. Plus, best of all, Stern understands comics and makes room for the classic imagery that first attracted us to superhero comics – the hero breaking free of chains, fast-paced chases, amazing feats of strength and agility. It’s all paced and scripted nearly pitch perfect. Plus, miraculous Marie Severin provides amazing artwork to bring the stories to life, and top-notch talents Jim Mooney, Denys Cowan and John Romita, Jr. pinch-hit when Severin’s talents were needed elsewhere, so the art never misses a beat.
<b>Blue Beetle #18 (DC; by Caleb)</b> Hey, wait a minute—Is this book <I>always</I> this much fun? I’ve tried the current volume of <b>Blue Beetle</b> twice before (#1 and #7, to be exact) and was less than impressed both times. I’d been hearing increasingly good things about it increasing often though, so thought this week’s Teen Titans team-up against Lobo seemed like it would be a good time to check it out, and man, it was a ton of fun. A very accessible done-in-one (I knew and still know very little about Blue Beetle III and his costumeless sidekicks Paco and Brenda, and this was still an easy read). The Titans go undercover to make sure a rocket meets its appointed launch; someone hires Lobo to stop it. So BB and the Titans fight, realize it was a misunderstanding and that they all have a common enemy, and they then team up against Lobo. Nothing revolutionary, obviously, but writer John Rogers writes fun, funny teenage banter, and some of the best scenes featuring these Titans I’ve read in—well, since forever, actually. Kid Devil’s take down of the control room is absolutely priceless, as are Paco and Brenda’s reactions to the supergirls on the Titans’ costumes (“Wait, those other girls are out there flying in <I><b>skirts?!</b></I> Personally, <b><I>I</I></b> approve” and “Who fights in a belly shirt?”, respectively). Is this issue a fluke or is it always like this? Because if the latter, it sounds like I really need to hit the back issue bins.
Astonishing X-Men #22 (Marvel; by Troy): No, I don’t think he is, and no, if he is, I don’t think that was the appropriate way to do it. Vague enough? Potential spoilers aside, this book is still clicking for me. Granted, I wonder every time I read it where it fits, but Whedon has a firm hold on the characters and John Cassaday’s art is superb.
X-Men #202 (Marvel; by Troy): This one’s growing on me. I wasn’t completely taken with #200, but the longer that the “Blinded by the Light” arc goes, the better that I think it is. The X-Men certainly need to rethink their rules on who joins the team, but most of that takes a back seat to some strong teamwork between Cannonball and Iceman and good bits with Kitty, Peter, and the kids. I’m not totally sold that Ramos is the perfect artist for this title, but I think that he’s doing all right. A decent enough story, but I’m still waiting for the core-X-books to catch up to the level of excitement and drive that the Avengers titles have had lately.
Best Shots is brought to you by Newsarama and ShotgunReviews.com. In addition to reviews and articles across the pop culture spectrum, The Shotgun hosts “Shots in the Dark”, a weekly internet radio show. Check out www.shotgunreviews.com, www.shotgunreviews.com/shots and www.myspace.com/shotgunreviews.com at your leisure.
Your Host: Troy Brownfield</i>
Another week . . . another metric ton of reviews!
Batman #668
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by J.H. Williams
Published by DC Comics
Review by Rev. O.J. Flow
If you're like me right now, you’re diggin' the hairy heck out of the latest arc of Batman brought to you by the creative uber-squad of Morrison and Williams. I keep getting the feeling that if All Star Batman was done right (for a change -- take that, Frank!), it'd be done by these guys. So the Dynamic Duo bite on an invitation from an old eccentric to visit an out-of-the-way island for a reunion of sorts with masked vigilantes from all over the world who serve as their respective country's "the Batman of..." It was a tasty concept over 50 years ago (http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=11842), and Morrison makes it all the more delicious by turning it into the most twisted version of Clue. But as I read this -- and over and over again because, like any good murder mystery, you look for the little things -- it occurred to me that poring over the gory details for a comprehensive review in the second act of a quality 3-part whodunit was borderline counterproductive. Get back to me in three to four weeks, yo. So I want to put it to you, the reader, about a couple of things that piqued my interest, and then some, in hopes of seeing if things pushed your buttons as well. Here's where the feedback section of Best Shots, me hopes, can be put to fun, interactive use.
First off, I have been indoctrinated into the work of Williams personally with the work here, one issue of Detective Comics, and the majesty of Seven Soldiers, though I know he's dazzled other readers elsewhere. I don't know how it eluded my eye in the first chapter ( http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=7426), but I believe Williams was intentionally aping the artistic style of other contemporaries to capture specific "Batmen" from other countries. Case in point? I can't look at one panel with El Gaucho (Spain? Or Mexico? Sorry, but Morrison keeps the exposition to a base level -- the ONLY thing I have against Batman #668 -- so I was torn between EG's affiliation to our friends south of the border or across tha Atlantic in Spain) without thinking that it's the work of Howard Chaykin.
Similarly, I thought The Knight, the "Batman of Great Britain," was captured a la Ed McGuinness (http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/110104/jlaclassified1.shtml), along with his young charge, Squire (an absolute asset to this story. I can't believe this all eluded me in the first chapter, I guess there was just so much to take in, but Wingman -- alas, Wingman -- looked a little like he was rendered through the filter of Paul Pope (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/pope.html).
Am I the only one who was taking this concept in, or am I stretching?? I would like to put it to you, reader, as to if any of the other "Batmen," be it the Ranger (Australia), France's lead hero (help me out here, please, with the name), or the Native American Man-of-Bats and his sidekick, Little Raven (Sorry! Raven Red!) were rendered by the multi-talented J.H. Williams as an homage of sort to other artistic talents. I will say this, in no way is any possible mimicry on Williams part to be perceived as lazy of half-a$$ed. From the first page (or PAGES, worth mentioning that a terrific retro coloring format by the extraordinary Dave Stewart is employed early), right down to the last, there are eye-popping layouts, design and draftsmanship to be found throughout.
I’m also curious as to theories held by anyone else following the story as to the identity of the murderous Black Glove. I’d throw out some speculation myself, had Newsarama come with spoiler coding that allowed only those who were cool with extra details to spill. If it is actually someone with whom we’ve been properly introduced, I think I got my man, but I’d like to see some other ideas from you the reader. I’m looking forward to the next chapter within the next thirty days, and I hope you are too!
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Order02.jpg" border="0" align="left"> The Order #2
From: Marvel
Writer: Matt Fraction
Art: Barry Kitson w/Mark Morales and Dean White
Review by Troy Brownfield
The Order has problems, though not many of its own making. Right out of the gate, this Initiative title got caught in the Champions name-change controversy. In the larger picture, it has to perform well set against the various surging Avengers/”Core Marvel” titles and Avengers: Initiative itself. It seems like it's got a deck stacked against it.
None of that matters, though, as we’re two issues in and we’ve already seen that Matt Fraction plans to play this thing savagely clever. Couching the story of temporary super-heroes dealing with of-the-moment foibles and ripped-from-the-headlines mistakes, Fraction clearly aims for something different than a run-of-the-mill super-book. And it helps that he’s got a partner like Barry Kitson. Kitson, who has cranked out stellar work from L.E.G.I.O.N. to JLA: Year One to Empire and more, is completely at home here. Anyone who sees this as just another super-team book is missing some sharp writing.
On the surface, yeah, we’ve got some Big Action. A reactivated faction of Soviet Super-Soldiers strikes, and The Order has to scramble their newbie members while simultaneously deducing the Soldiers motivations and plans. This offers us a chance to see most of the cast at work, though this storyline is crosscut with a more extensive backstory interview that deals specifically with the team’s shapeshifter, Becky Ryan. Turns out that Ryan was a JessiBritney-style pop tart, and she’s had her own share of troubles prior to entering the team program. Fraction gets the balance just right, and Kitson’s smart use of repeat panels to underscore pauses and thoughtful moments is well-considered.
Thus far, The Order is a solid book that should be commanding some more attention. As the story gets to open a bit more and the Morturi-esque plot seed of temporary powers plays thru, we should see some interesting cast evolution and the possibility of many stories and approaches. Marvel’s got a sleeper hit on their hands right here.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Five_of_Kind4.jpg" border="0" align="right"><b>Outsiders: Five of a Kind—Metamorpho/Aquaman #1
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Joshua Middleton
From: DC
Review by J. Caleb Mozzocco</b>
I couldn't possibly care less about the impending new volume of <b>Batman and the Outsiders</b>, which will have writer Tony Bedard applying the old <b>Extreme Justice</b>/<b>Justice League Elite</b> formula to a super-team born from the ashes of Judd Winick's run on the last iteration of <b>Outsiders</b>. At least, I didn't <i>think</i> I could possibly care less, right up until the weekly series of one-shots falling under the "Five of a Kind" banner leading up to it was announced. The event seems completely free of drama or tension, in part because DC house ads and cover solicits seem to reveal the line-up already anyway, and in part because the team-ups all seem so horribly pre-destined. Does anyone really think Wonder Woman will leave the Justice League to replace Outsider Grace on a black ops team lead by Batman? Did anyone think Shazamarvel (or whatever Winick is currently calling the Hero Formerly Known As Captain Marvel), who is unable to leave the Rock of Eternity, would be joining a new super-team?
And yet this book was the one I was most looking forward to reading this week. It wasn't just the two characters being featured, both of whom I like quite a bit, but the creators.
The artist was Joshua Middleton, whose lush, painterly interior pages are always too few and too far between for my tastes, and the writer is G. Willow Wilson, a 25-year-old female Muslim journalist making her comics writing debut here. Wilson's background is different enough from most other Western super-comics writers that her debut is automatically interesting for the curiosity factor alone, and her debuting <i>here</i> of all places seems weird enough that it adds another level of curiosity (She also has a Vertigo graphic novel entitled <b>Cairo</b> schedule for release in November).
Thankfully, this is an issue that rewards curiosity. As disinterested as I am in the whole Outsiders side of things, Wilson delivers a complete and self-contained story introducing (or re-introducing, depending on your level of experience), Metamorpho and Aquaman II. The two characters are sent to the desert to stop a war over an underground lake there, one involving Simon Stagg and a mysterious protector named Hyacinth who is in possession of the Orb of Ra. (There's a two-page coda by Bedard dealing with the who makes the cut business, although I don’t know how relevant it is; the one who Batman declines is on the cover of the first few issues).
Wilson nails both characters, laying out just who they are and defining their personalities in relation to the events around them and to each other, and still finding time for a couple of superhero fights. She also shows none of the ticks or overly rough edges of someone still learning the ropes of comics writing, and doesn't seem to be visibly struggling with the medium in the way that some writers from outside comics do (Think Brad Meltzer's overwriting scenes with multiple streams of redundant information, for example, or the wordiness of Kevin Smith or Tad Williams' earlier scripts).
The only real wonkiness in the script side of things comes in a throwaway line from Rex about how his son would be about young Arthur Curry's age, because unless Superboy-Prime punched the heck out of Metamorpho's timeline, his boy probably hasn't even started kindergarten yet. Stacked up next to other recent DC continuity ____-ups, like Aquaman II playing Aquaman I in <b> JLoA #12</b> or Black Canary and Barbara Gordon misidentifing Connor Hawke's mom in last week's <b>Birds of Prey</b>, however, it could certainly be worse.
The art is, predictably, beautiful. Middleton is quite well suited to both of these characters, as well as the desert and underwater settings. Wilson also gives him a couple of neat things to draw, too, particularly a monster made out of whirling sand and another out of water. Each and every panel looks like a water color painting, and the movement between them is perfectly fluid; Middleton doesn't sacrifice storytelling to style one bit.
In both Wilson and Middleton's cases, this seems like a poor venue for their skills, but far be it from me to complain about the creators on any book being a little <I>too</I> good.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/bs2.jpg" border="0" align="left"><b>Black Summer #2
From: Avatar Press
Written By: Warren Ellis
Drawn By: Juan Jose Ryp
Reviewed By: Kevin Huxford</b>
Say what you want about the political fireball that Warren juggles in this book, but he does it deftly.
Reviewing previous issues of this series have demonstrated just what a controversial idea Ellis has fashioned into a comic book…and it is quite possible that the feedback this week will prove it yet again. But I don’t think you can find any cause if you just read what the writer carefully crafted.
As many of you reading this are all aware, the series has to do with a super-hero assassinating the President of the United States. The reasons the character gives basically make clear that the dead president is meant to be George Bush. You don’t really need to know more to know why this is controversial.
On the surface, it makes the book seem like it is just part of the pile on of the PotUS. With how large the assassination (and our assassin’s reasons) loomed in issue #0, it could be easy to find justification for that thought. Ellis, though, has laid out much more for this story in the issues that have followed.
In this issue, the focus is much more on introducing us to the rest of the Seven Guns, which appears to be the only super-human group that exists in this book’s world. We really get to see more of the dynamic of this group unfolding before our eyes. The least important elements of this issue (starkly contrasting previous issues) would be Tom (our entry point character) and John Horus (our assassin). No, instead we get introductions to what is left of the Seven Gun team and window into their personalities largely through how they bounce off Tom or the consequences of John’s actions.
Our writer largely does a great job with showing how fractured and dysfunctional the Seven Guns are. There are a few minor quibbles to be had (like the muttering of “bitch” by the female Guns at each other being either a bit lazy or a bit off its mark), but you get a surprisingly good feel for each of these characters without Ellis having to stop and write anything that was screamed, “listen while I tell you Character X’s backstory!”
The story, thus far, feels like organized chaos. That is meant as the greatest compliment, in this case. The President is dead at the hands of one member of what looks like a six member, super-powered terrorist cell on American soil. This world should be in chaos, while the story should never lose its ability to flow properly. Ellis never gives the appearance of letting the chaos take over his writing, which just might speak to how strong an asset Juan Jose Ryp is to this book.
Ryp’s artwork is a great artist and a perfect match for this book. His pencils aren’t meant for a calm book filled with talking heads. They have exactly the chaotic energy needed for a story like this. You’re gripped by it before you even buy the issue, if you had the chance to look at his illustration for the wraparound cover variant. If you didn’t, you’ll find a very similar scene in the book that really gets across the type of action he can pack into a splash or a panel that overwhelms the senses and works to sell the atmosphere that Ellis works so well at creating in this book.
While it is still possible that the mere subject matter of this series will turn off some readers, I feel they’d really be missing out on something special. Black Summer is a fairly unique concept with what seems to be a nearly perfect meshing of subject matter, writer, and artist. That alone should be worthy of dropping a few bucks to see if it is the kind of ride you can enjoy.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Picture4.jpg" border="0" align="right"><b>Guy Ritchie’s Gamekeeper #4
From: Virgin Comics
Written By: Andy Diggle
Drawn By: Mukesh Singh
Reviewed By: Kevin Huxford</b>
I’m a sucker for the Director’s Cut line from Virgin Comics. I don’t know how they make it financially feasible to work with great Hollywood talent, top comic book writing talents, and unearth surprising new blood for their artwork.
<b>Gamekeeper</b> has been, by far, the most eye-opening of the bunch, in my estimation.
While the first three issues were fast-paced and felt like they were at least 50% action, this issue takes a bit of a breather. Diggle has our protagonist stalking his prey with great patience and study, which allows the writer to better flesh out the antagonists. We get to see that, as often is the case, the bloodshed is being driven by men in shirts & ties with a lot of money. There is, also, the possibility that there is more to the story than meets the eye at this time. One could get the idea that some of what has occurred to launch our tale has as much to do with the mysterious and elusive “equation” as it has to do with Brock. Diggle really spins things in a way that always keeps you watching and sometimes guessing.
The little smattering of violence we get in this issue has to do with the flashback story we’ve been getting in small doses throughout the series. Done in black and white (always a nice touch for flashbacks), it continues telling us the story of some sort of crisis where Brock’s son was kidnapped due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unlike the earlier issues, this takes over about half of the issue. In many other stories, flashbacks can feel like they get in the way of the main story that you’re more interested in reading (or, in rare cases, vice versa). Diggle does a great job at letting the pressure in the final scene build to just the right level before hitting the release valve.
Mukesh Singh is a revelation on this series. His work is so impressive that I wouldn’t be surprised to read on some gossip column that he’s an established professional trying another style under a pseudonym or something similar. There’s just the right balance of roughness (essential to the type of character we’re dealing with) and smoothness (which helps keep to the cinematic feel they seem to be looking for). One of the nicest touches, I feel, is the color given to Brock’s eyes at all times. Even in the murkiest setting, his eyes seem like they are on fire. As the reader, you know he doesn’t have any powers or anything of the sort. So what it sells to the reader is how steely-eyed and focused he is. That he has a gaze that would cut right through a man like he wasn’t there. It establishes the intimidation factor that our hero possesses.
We have three great creators working on a book that grips you and keeps you in for the long haul. The only question I have about their choices is how do they expect Jason Statham to pull off the Chechen accent when he is inevitably cast in the movie version of this book?
The “No, Troy’s Not Paying Him to Write These” Section
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/4thHorseman01.jpg" border="0" align="left"> The Fourth Horseman #1
From: Fangoria Comics
Written by: Jeffrey Nodelman
Art: Tommy Castillo
Reviewed by Tim Janson
The Fourth Horseman is the latest title from Fangoria Comics and perhaps its most unique so far. It is a horrific story although not what one would call a horror comic, at least not in the traditional sense. The book is set in the 1800’s and we are introduced to a savage American Indian warrior named Bear. Bear is worshipped as a God among his own people. But Bear is not the proud, noble warrior of old western lore, but rather a savage, bloodthirsty, and evil killing machine. He thrives on death, consuming the spirits of those he kills, and kill he does…a lot!
Bear slaughters the white man at every opportunity. He kills the men who guard the payroll wagon, stealing the money as the army sits helpless. The violence is graphic to the extreme as heads are decapitated, tomahawks sheer off the tops of skulls, and arrows pierce through eye sockets in a crescendo of blood and gore. There is only moderate dialog in The Fourth Horseman and none of it from the protagonist. We don’t really know what his motivations are unless it is simply to kill as many as he can. However we can surmise that each issue will feature a different member of the biblical Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Bear is described as the White Rider, the others being Red, Brown, and Black. We will meet the Red Rider in issue number 2.
It’s interesting that writer Jeffrey Nodelman used the dynamics of an American Indian raining death on the U.S. military in what many would probably decide as a justifiable act given the treatment of Indians in the 1800’s. I wonder if the rest of the issues in the series will be similarly themed…The art by Tommy Castillo may be the best of any Fangoria title yet. I’ve been a Castillo fan for a couple of years and he’s really adept at working in any genre whether its horror, fantasy, superhero, pin-up art, etc…While I personally prefer Castillo’s work in black & white, colorist Milen Paranov does a great job of not diluting his pencils. As with the other Fangoria series’, The Fourth Horseman is a springboard for a film, this time a fully animated film. I’ll be eager to see how the story builds from here in the upcoming issues.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/BestShots/Aug07/Bump03.jpg" border="0" align="right"> Bump #3
From: Fangoria Comics
Written by Mark Kidwell
Art: Mark Kidwell and Jay Fotos
Reviewed by Tim Janson
You’ve got to hand it to Fangoria…they haven’t just jumped into the comic book business, they’ve cannon-balled in from the highest platform with titles that are well-written, beautifully drawn, and slickly produced. Bump was their debut title, a four issue mini-series about psycho serial killer Eddie Dill and his equally twisted mother. Dill’s motif is to cut the “naughty bits” off his female victims and place them into small drawers built into the life-size manikins known as tree-huggers, thereby giving life to the creatures. Dill was finally caught and killed back in 1976, and his house in the woods was sealed up and the road covered over so it would be forgotten. But what good is a serial killer if he can’t return from the grave?
Several stranded motorists take refuge from a storm at the old Dill place, they are welcomed warmly by Mrs. Dill and her sweet son, Eddie. As the third issue opens, only three of the guests are still alive, hiding from Eddie in the house. They are hardly safe, though, as the head of one of their friends comes crashing through the window, courtesy of the ghoulish, wooden tree-huggers, who make escape from the house impossible. Meanwhile, Sheriff Lundy is forced to postpone his retirement to go in search of the missing motorists but can he survive a woods full of tree-huggers, not to mention Dill himself? I have to say I am eagerly awaiting the final issue of Bump to see how it all plays out.
Bump is soon to be a major motion picture and the comic reads very much like you are watching a film. The composition of the panels and the sequential action have a Director’s feel to them. As one of the females hacks at the arm of a tree-hugger with a cleaver we draw in closer and closer to her face in a fit of rage until we see just her eye and part of her cheek. To the next panel we have another close-up of an eye, but this time it is Sheriff Lundy’s. This was an abrupt and very cinematic cut-away in the action. I also loved the sequence with on of Lundy’s deputies as he’s in his car with the rain pounding down upon the windshield. The rain drains down the window in the shape of Dill’s face, scaring the bejeezus out of the Deputy. Again, a really well done sequence.
Kidwell and Fotos’ art is “bloody good” and their tree-huggers are some of the most unique and terrifying creatures that I’ve seen in a comic in a long time. Great series!
Pellet Reviews!
Spider-Man Visionaries: Roger Stern vol. 1 (Marvel; by Mike): Roger Stern is one of the great, and under-rated, superhero comic book writers of all time. This collection is certainly proof of that. Stern shows an amazing knack for not reinventing established characters. He recognizes the aspects of Spider-Man that first appealed to readers when Stan and Steve spun their first webs twenty years before Stern got his chance, and Stern echoes those classic elements amidst a sea of new circumstances and characters. Cooing-over-Peter Deb Whitman feels alive on the pages, and Spidey’s wisecracks are genuinely witty. The villains push Spider-Man hard, yet never feel gratuitously dangerous. They have goals and ambitions beyond wanton destruction. Plus, best of all, Stern understands comics and makes room for the classic imagery that first attracted us to superhero comics – the hero breaking free of chains, fast-paced chases, amazing feats of strength and agility. It’s all paced and scripted nearly pitch perfect. Plus, miraculous Marie Severin provides amazing artwork to bring the stories to life, and top-notch talents Jim Mooney, Denys Cowan and John Romita, Jr. pinch-hit when Severin’s talents were needed elsewhere, so the art never misses a beat.
<b>Blue Beetle #18 (DC; by Caleb)</b> Hey, wait a minute—Is this book <I>always</I> this much fun? I’ve tried the current volume of <b>Blue Beetle</b> twice before (#1 and #7, to be exact) and was less than impressed both times. I’d been hearing increasingly good things about it increasing often though, so thought this week’s Teen Titans team-up against Lobo seemed like it would be a good time to check it out, and man, it was a ton of fun. A very accessible done-in-one (I knew and still know very little about Blue Beetle III and his costumeless sidekicks Paco and Brenda, and this was still an easy read). The Titans go undercover to make sure a rocket meets its appointed launch; someone hires Lobo to stop it. So BB and the Titans fight, realize it was a misunderstanding and that they all have a common enemy, and they then team up against Lobo. Nothing revolutionary, obviously, but writer John Rogers writes fun, funny teenage banter, and some of the best scenes featuring these Titans I’ve read in—well, since forever, actually. Kid Devil’s take down of the control room is absolutely priceless, as are Paco and Brenda’s reactions to the supergirls on the Titans’ costumes (“Wait, those other girls are out there flying in <I><b>skirts?!</b></I> Personally, <b><I>I</I></b> approve” and “Who fights in a belly shirt?”, respectively). Is this issue a fluke or is it always like this? Because if the latter, it sounds like I really need to hit the back issue bins.
Astonishing X-Men #22 (Marvel; by Troy): No, I don’t think he is, and no, if he is, I don’t think that was the appropriate way to do it. Vague enough? Potential spoilers aside, this book is still clicking for me. Granted, I wonder every time I read it where it fits, but Whedon has a firm hold on the characters and John Cassaday’s art is superb.
X-Men #202 (Marvel; by Troy): This one’s growing on me. I wasn’t completely taken with #200, but the longer that the “Blinded by the Light” arc goes, the better that I think it is. The X-Men certainly need to rethink their rules on who joins the team, but most of that takes a back seat to some strong teamwork between Cannonball and Iceman and good bits with Kitty, Peter, and the kids. I’m not totally sold that Ramos is the perfect artist for this title, but I think that he’s doing all right. A decent enough story, but I’m still waiting for the core-X-books to catch up to the level of excitement and drive that the Avengers titles have had lately.
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