The Pull-List this week includes four books, all of which I expect to be good. Can't say that every week now can I?
In Fourth Place by a hair:
Supergirl #2
The first thing I notice on issue #2 is the art isn't as good as issue #1. #1 came out of the park with pencils, inks and colors flying. The art this issue felt rushed. Especially the inks which show up fairly heavy and ham-fisted at times. And perhaps its the story that doesn't allow Dave McCaig to really shine with the color palette which is pretty straight forward.
The story though is a direct follow-up to issue #1. Naturally. But there wasn't a natural break. You could read #1 and #2 back to back and feel like you're just reading an oversized issue.
Michael Green and Mike Johnson continue to successfully write Kara's confusion and do a great job keeping he bordering on panic. Its very subtle, but there. Mahmud Asrar's pencils do a good job helping Kara act out this role as well.
This is a book that might have lost a few readers with its initial solicitations of Kara not being as warm toward humans as Superman is. So far, there's none of that seemingly forced negativity and this has been a nice surprise of the New 52.
In Third Place by a hair:
Wonder Woman #2
Brian Azzarello keeps the ball rolling, but this time he does it with the word "cock" and innuendo about penises smelling poorly to the Amazons. Now, these references fit in the story, but it was surprising to see it in a mainstream Wonder Woman book. And unfortunately, it pulled me right out of the story.
Diana takes Zola and Hermes back to Paradise Island where they hideout until Strife comes to wreck the party. This issue is basically a lot of backstory about who all of our characters are and where they came from. It wasn't boring, but it was a lesson in backstory I already knew.
Cliff Chiang brings the art again. My man can draw figures and forms. And he knows when to add detail and when to back off. The variations of color by Matthew Wilson is the work I was hoping to get from Supergirl this week. The art really saved this book from being ho-hum.
With some backstory out of the way, I fully expect Azzarello to fire up the good comic machine for the rest of the arc.
A solid Second Place:
Green Lantern Corps #2
Peter Tomasi has shown on his previous run of Green Lantern Corps that he's able to juggle an ensemble cast. After reading this issue, I think he needs to readdress just how to do that successfully.
There's a whole lot going on in this issue. There are about seven Lanterns trying to stop a black whole from sucking in a race of people while fighting off some space ninjas that seem to work off of the willpower the Lanterns are giving off. There's a lot of moving parts in this issue that Tomasi and artist Fernando Pasarin lose control of a couple times.
Perhaps the jumping back and forth between characters and scenes is intentional to bring the chaos of the situation to the reader. But the intended chaos could have been done in a much neater way.
Despite the busy nature of this book, Fernando Pasarin and inker Scott Hanna continue to draw every panel with care and nothing feels rushed. Of all the artists that have passed through the Green Lantern Universe since Rebirth, I'm really happy Pasarin is one that stuck around.
This issue has escalated the threat without writing itself into a corner of "how do we get bigger than this." And despite the silliness of the term space ninjas, they're kind of frightening by just sheer numbers and relentlessness.
First Place:
Justice League #2
If you like your DC heroes getting to know each other by going through the standard team-up motions of fighting and then being friends, then this is the book for you.
Now, I know that sentence sounds snarky. But I am one of those guys that likes to see my heroes in action together. There are some cool moments between DC's greatest heroes, even though Hal is still kind of an idiot. (I really hope Geoff Johns justifies his change from young brash idiot to the Hal we get in Green Lantern).
Batman, Green Lantern, Superman and Flash duke it out until the Mother Boxes finally open to reveal a ton of Parademons entering Earth via Boom Tube. Its big action and sets up a threat large enough to justify the Justice League's existence.
Jim Lee continues to draw great comic books. Sure, Clark might look just like Hal with black hair and no mask, but Jim Lee has other strong suits... like everything else. I can't offer much else than him, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair combine to create a great looking book.
Two issues in and Johns and Lee are really giving the comic book world a book that defines what comics should be about.
The issue finished with a nice touch: a classified excerpt from an Amanda Waller interview with Steve Trevor post-crash on Themyscira. It gives a nice glimpse of the new world of the DC Universe.
Panel of the Week:
Batman vs. Superman by Jim Lee. You don't get tired of seeing Jim Lee draw this.
-Gint
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