Another week, another grab bag comics. Thankfully, this week was mainly good to me, as I reviewed Streets of Gotham #14, X-Factor #207, Supergirl #54 and New Avengers #2. As usual here’s our rating scale for those that are new to the site:
0: Uwe Boll will direct the adaptation of this comic
0.1 – 1: Burn upon touching
1- 1.9: Abysmal
2.0 – 2.9: Art. Writing. Editing. All bad.
3.0 – 3.9: You’d be a masochist to pick this up.
4.0 – 4.9: “I’ll give it another month…but that was not good.”
5.0 – 5.9: “Really? The Watcher? In the face? I guess it was fun.”
6.0 – 6.9: “Hmm. That was decent.”
7.0 – 7.9: Well made but a few problems
8.0 – 8.9: Nearly flawless
9.0 – 9.9: Outstanding
10: Perfection. Issue of the year contender
Got it? Good. Let’s get on with the show.
Streets of Gotham #14
I, like most people who read Heart of Hush, have been anxiously awaiting the start of this story arc since Streets of Gotham was launched. The Mr. Zsasz arc was cool and all, but this was why I was buying the new title. Heart of Hush was easily the best story featuring Hush (not that it has much competition), and one of my favorite Batman stories of all time. Having the same creative team working on a sequel was, in my opinion, well worth waiting through a few too many guest writer issues.
At first, it seemed I was right. Dini continued to make Hush 100% more interesting than he was under the pen of anyone else, there was some very engaging foreshadowing and Dustin Nguyen’s art was even better than it usually is. What I found most interesting was the first meeting of Martha and a very different Thomas Wayne, and the return of a great yet underused character, who I can see working excellently with the reinterpreted Hush. My only real disappointment with this issue was when it was over.
That’s not a good thing, though. Upon finishing, I asked aloud “is that it?” I flipped back and counted from the beginning and found out that the so-called “main feature” was only twelve pages, while the Two Face co-feature (which wasn’t even that good) was approximately eighteen. The issue, as solicited, still cost $3.99. I was not pleased. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the industry revisiting anthological comics (that’s why, in my opinion, anime has had huge commercial success in America), but when you change a comic so drastically with no announcement, you can bet that fans are going to be unhappy. I’m sure this isn’t a permanent change, but it is still a huge tip in the wait-for-trade direction, especially when it comes to price.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – Save a few bucks and buy it in trade.
X-Factor #207
If you’ve been reading Peter David’s X-Factor, I’m sure you will agree with me that it is the best X-Men title on the shelves, and has been since it started. David is the master of large, ongoing sagas, and even with cross-company crossovers he is able to find a way to push his story while addressing the event in question (see the past few months’ Second Coming tie-ins). While this makes X-Factor very interesting to read, it can be hard to jump into because even the beginning of a new arc (like this issue) still deals with a lot of leftover plot threads from earlier issues.
With #207, David is back to being on his own, which, as great as his tie-ins can be, is excellent news. As usual, this issue was an absolute treat, tying up some threads while opening up some new ones. I particularly loved the opening sequence to this issue, wherein David’s imitation of noir-style narration was spot on and just incredibly fun to read.
Continued belowThe nist interesting part though, however, was the end, wherein (spoilers ahead) a pregnant Rahne returned from the pages of X-Force only to find her previous lover Rictor and Shatterstar in bed and shirtless. Many people have been wondering when this encounter was going to occur, and Peter David announced at the convention this weekend that when it happened, one of the three would be leaving X-Factor. My guess? It’s going to be Rictor. I doubt David would re-introduce Rahne just to have her turn around and leave the book a second time, and I think leaving Shatterstar on the team would just create and interesting dynamic.
Overall, this is a great start for the next chapter of X-Factor, and I’m just as excited for the next one as I have been for each. One question, though: does anyone have a guess as to who the woman that hired the team is?
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy it!
Supergirl #54
I swear, this is one of the most fun books on DC’s shelves. Newcomer Sterling Gates took a book that was in its death throes and made it a favorite ongoing of mine and some of the other Multiversity writers. This issue marks the first time that Gates doesn’t have to work within the boundaries of the New Krypton saga, which was something I was very much looking forward to (as much as I loved New Krypton).
The comic started with one of my favorite scenes of the month: Jimmy Olsen saving a kid while riding a motorcycle. I never thought I would see the day, but I sure as hell didn’t mind. As the kid said, “Jimmy Olsen is cool.” It only got better from there. The emotion that Gates conveys through Kara regarding the loss of New Krypton feels very real and unforced,while still leaving room in the issue to progress the plot in its new direction. The new arc focuses on a Bizarro-Supergirl, and Gates comes up with an interesting new ability that, as far as I know of, hasn’t been used before regarding the Bizarros.
I suppose this is a minor thing, but I really like the way that Gates ties in what is going on in the current status quo. While some writers blab on and on about what is happening what is going on in other books and others don’t regard current continuity at all, Gates gives a nod to the current events of the DC Universe while not distracting the reader from the story at hand. There were lots of instances of this during New Krypton, and Perry’s mention of Lois being in Pennsylvania was another good example of how to handle such things.
If you haven’t been reading Supergirl so far, now is an excellent place to start. I see Gates going places, and would personally want him to follow up either JMS or Paul Cornell on Superman or Action Comics, respectively (whoever leaves their title first, I suppose).
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy it!
New Avengers #2
For those of you who missed when we chose New Avengers #1 as our book of the week, here was my general opinion on the relaunch: I loved the idea of Bendis writing a street-level team. I was, however, wary about the first arc being magic-oriented when The Search for the Sorcerer Supreme was easily the weakest arc of the previous volume of New Avengers. With the first issue being good but not great, this issue would decide whether or not I continued to read the first arc or just wait for the next.
I’m glad I waited until now to decide that. This issue was a real page-turner, keeping me entertained from beginning to end. Even some of the best comics have a page or two that slows down the excitement, but Bendis managed to avoid that completely with this issue. The action in this was superb, and most of my fears regarding the use of magic were assuaged. I particularly enjoyed the captions showing what the names of the spells each of the magic characters used were, as it reminded me a bit of The Immortal Iron Fist (speaking of him, I’m glad to see him back on the team). I’m not sure how much was made up on the spot, but I do recall Bendis mentioning on Twitter all the research he was doing regarding Marvel’s magic history, so if that’s where he got all the names you can color me impressed.
Continued belowNow, if you’re an admitted disliker of Bendis’ style, then this won’t be too good for you. The style of writing that garners Bendis as much flak as it does admiration is in full force in this issue, so if you have already decided you don’t care for his “walls of text” (as some detractors call it), I would just read something else rather than complain about something that you already know you won’t like. Myself? I love his snarky quips, and there were some excellent ones in this issue.
Between the two Bendis-written Avengers titles, New Avengers is (in my opinion) leagues ahead of the adjective-less book. Not only does Bendis seem more comfortable with the characters and the story direction, Stuart Immonen makes most artists in the industry look like toddlers playing with crayons, and I’m saying that with full knowledge that there are a lot of amazing artists in the industry currently. He’s that good.
Final Verdict: 8.1 – Buy it!
