Sinestro was the big winner and Hawkeye was the big loser on this last week of July.
Seventh Place:
Hawkeye #19
I almost couldn't believe it when I saw this book in the Pull-List this week. Its been so long since we've seen an issue. And ultimately I think that hurt this one. Its been so long, that you spend most of the time reading this issue remembering all that's going on instead of just enjoying it.
Also, if you don't read sign language, its a tough puzzle to put together. Last issue Clint Barton lost his hearing. So this issue is spent mostly of his brother, and artist David Aja showing sign language hand motions through out the book. More often than not it just makes the story harder to follow. For as groundbreaking as this book has been in regards to its storytelling, this issue falls flat.
I heard a rumor writer Matt Fraction and Marvel have been at odds, and I don't expect too many more issues of this book before it wraps. With a tighter schedule, and traditional storytelling, this book could wrap up the way it started: excellent.
Sixth Place:
Aquaman Annual #2
There are few larger disappointments in comics than paying $5 for an annual and having it be a boring story. I'm not even sure why companies are still doing oversized annuals. I guess to get a couple more bucks a few times a year.
Jeff Parker and a handful of artists wrap up the story of the Giant-Born that started in Aquaman. I think this could have been a cool story to play out over the title, but here it all gets wrapped up in one annual.
What could have been some really nice moments between an Aquaman/Wonder Woman team-up in Part 1 and then a Mera/Wonder Woman team-up in Part 2 come off as rather pedestrian. Parker has been phenomenal on Aquaman but this annual felt like he just threw it together.
Fifth Place:
X-Men #17
So, for as threatening a bad guy as The Future was, he's wiped out in three quick panels, by vines of his own making... not even the X-Men? The huge throwdown for the life of baby Shogo and Jubilee never happens. No just retribution. If you wanted an anticlimactic finale to Brian Wood's time on the title, this is the book for you.
Paco Diaz and Phil Briones tag team the art, and neither stands out as being much more than adequate. The slow decline of artistic quality since the Dodson's launched the book was sorely felt. The general feel of this issue was "hey Brian, you've got a lot of balls in the air, lets wrap them all up in twenty pages."
A disappointing ending to what was ultimately a really entertaining run by Brian Wood and a host of artists.
Fourth Place:
Justice League #32
For all of Geoff Johns magic touch with revamping DC characters, he sucks at writing the Doom Patrol. If what he's going for is a team that you never want to see because they're so lame and unlikeable, then - bullseye. But if he wants you to give a shit about these characters - uber fail.
What saves this issue is the brief appearances of Lex Luthor, who Johns DOES have a knack for writing. He's also capable of telling a really good Justice League story around the shit sandwich that is his Doom Patrol.
Hawkeye #19
I almost couldn't believe it when I saw this book in the Pull-List this week. Its been so long since we've seen an issue. And ultimately I think that hurt this one. Its been so long, that you spend most of the time reading this issue remembering all that's going on instead of just enjoying it.
Also, if you don't read sign language, its a tough puzzle to put together. Last issue Clint Barton lost his hearing. So this issue is spent mostly of his brother, and artist David Aja showing sign language hand motions through out the book. More often than not it just makes the story harder to follow. For as groundbreaking as this book has been in regards to its storytelling, this issue falls flat.
I heard a rumor writer Matt Fraction and Marvel have been at odds, and I don't expect too many more issues of this book before it wraps. With a tighter schedule, and traditional storytelling, this book could wrap up the way it started: excellent.
Aquaman Annual #2
There are few larger disappointments in comics than paying $5 for an annual and having it be a boring story. I'm not even sure why companies are still doing oversized annuals. I guess to get a couple more bucks a few times a year.
Jeff Parker and a handful of artists wrap up the story of the Giant-Born that started in Aquaman. I think this could have been a cool story to play out over the title, but here it all gets wrapped up in one annual.
What could have been some really nice moments between an Aquaman/Wonder Woman team-up in Part 1 and then a Mera/Wonder Woman team-up in Part 2 come off as rather pedestrian. Parker has been phenomenal on Aquaman but this annual felt like he just threw it together.
X-Men #17
So, for as threatening a bad guy as The Future was, he's wiped out in three quick panels, by vines of his own making... not even the X-Men? The huge throwdown for the life of baby Shogo and Jubilee never happens. No just retribution. If you wanted an anticlimactic finale to Brian Wood's time on the title, this is the book for you.
Paco Diaz and Phil Briones tag team the art, and neither stands out as being much more than adequate. The slow decline of artistic quality since the Dodson's launched the book was sorely felt. The general feel of this issue was "hey Brian, you've got a lot of balls in the air, lets wrap them all up in twenty pages."
A disappointing ending to what was ultimately a really entertaining run by Brian Wood and a host of artists.
Justice League #32
For all of Geoff Johns magic touch with revamping DC characters, he sucks at writing the Doom Patrol. If what he's going for is a team that you never want to see because they're so lame and unlikeable, then - bullseye. But if he wants you to give a shit about these characters - uber fail.
What saves this issue is the brief appearances of Lex Luthor, who Johns DOES have a knack for writing. He's also capable of telling a really good Justice League story around the shit sandwich that is his Doom Patrol.
I've read quite a bit of Doom Patrol in my comics-reading career. Keith Giffen's run from a few years ago was the best iteration of that team. It maintained the quirkiness of the characters but allowed them to interact so naturally with each other you couldn't help but like them. If we're going to keep seeing the New 52 Doom Patrol in this book, Johns should go back and read Giffen's run.
Futures End #13
If its dialog you want, this is the place. Some issues of Futures End are a nice, quick weekly read. Others are a little more plodding. I understand with all the cooks in the kitchen putting this book together that organizing has got to be a logistical nightmare. Weeklies are their own beast and you're not going to get a homerun each at bat.
So what happened this week? The mystery of Fifty Sue continues as we learn she can be in two places at once to go along with her telepathy. Tim Drake beats up some bums to get a stolen necklace back. Big Barda gets captured by Deathstroke. And Terry McGinnis gets dropped by Plastique.
You'd think some G-list villains like the Key, Plastique and Coil would be the boring pages of this book. But teaming them up with Terry McGinnis has made them one of the most enjoyable reads. They're given a depth not usually given to villains of their pay grade. For the most part, the writers are taking some seldom-used or forgotten characters and breathing new life into them.
The Wake #10
This is an example of when my tiny squirrel brain won't let me enjoy a larger message. What began as a small, claustrophobic horror story, The Wake eventually spilled out into a larger space and time-spanning tale about human evolution.
In this final issue, Leeward finally gets an explanation from Lee Archer about what's happened to the world in the last 200 years that the Mers have taken over. Honestly it doesn 't make a whole lot of sense to me. I could read this issue again and probably still be like, "huh?"
At the end of the day (and storyarc) I'd put issues 1-5 up against any comic out there. The back half though lost a lot of steam and my interest. My biggest take from this series is being introduced to Sean Murphy's artwork. He's made me such a fan that I'd consider picking up a new book based solely on his doing the art. Very good stuff.
An incredibly strong start, and a mediocre finish is what I will take from The Wake.
First Place:
An incredibly strong start, and a mediocre finish is what I will take from The Wake.
Sinestro #4
Writer Cullen Bunn, with artists Dale Eaglesham and Rags Morales have been at this Sinestro business for 4 issues now. This was the issue that Bunn convinced me he should be part of Team Green Lantern with Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi. The current Green Lantern books are hit or miss. Mostly misses. But Bunn really seems to understand the tone and character that makes this line of books really sing.
The Sinestro Corps is under assault from The Paling, an anti-emotion religious group scouring the cosmos of Lanterns of all kinds. They're super creepy and give Sinestro all he can handle. What really impresses me is the natural way Sinestro Corps member Dez Trevius and Rigen Kale fit into this universe. They may as well me initial creations of Ethan VanSciver. Unlike some recent characters created in other GL books.
Sinestro's river runs deep. There's a lot of facets to his character to mine. So far its been about Sinestro and not about what he's up against. This book is going in all the right directions.
Page of the Week:
A sample of David Aja's ASL work on this month's Hawkeye.
-Gint
Writer Cullen Bunn, with artists Dale Eaglesham and Rags Morales have been at this Sinestro business for 4 issues now. This was the issue that Bunn convinced me he should be part of Team Green Lantern with Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi. The current Green Lantern books are hit or miss. Mostly misses. But Bunn really seems to understand the tone and character that makes this line of books really sing.
The Sinestro Corps is under assault from The Paling, an anti-emotion religious group scouring the cosmos of Lanterns of all kinds. They're super creepy and give Sinestro all he can handle. What really impresses me is the natural way Sinestro Corps member Dez Trevius and Rigen Kale fit into this universe. They may as well me initial creations of Ethan VanSciver. Unlike some recent characters created in other GL books.
Sinestro's river runs deep. There's a lot of facets to his character to mine. So far its been about Sinestro and not about what he's up against. This book is going in all the right directions.
Page of the Week:
A sample of David Aja's ASL work on this month's Hawkeye.
-Gint
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