What was nice about Convergence month was that my Pull-List was down to about three books a week. Nice and easy to review, and nice and easy on my wallet. This week was the opposite of that.
Seventh Place:
Princess Leia #4
This issue wasn't bad. It was just kind of boring. I'm still enjoying it, but this one didn't tip the scales one way or the other. Leia sets herself up to be taken into custody by the Empire, but clearly has a plan to get out of it. Clever, Mark Waid. Clever.
What really stood out in the negative column was some of the art. Where Terry and Rachel Dodson's art is usually incredibly smooth and flowing, some panels were a bad, choppy Alex Maleev impression. Most jarring were the panels that included both styles at once.
Marvel's new Star Wars line has had a real ebb and flow. Some months one book is the best, others its another one. This month wasn't Princess Leia's month.
Sixth Place:
Batman Beyond #1
My first DC book coming out of Convergence is one heavily tied into Futures End. If you didn't read Futures End, I would assume you'd have some questions about what's going on in this book. The rundown is Terry McGinnis (the original Batman Beyond) came back to our timeline, died, and sent Tim Drake back in his place.
On the plus side, I really like seeing Tim Drake get his own book. On the minus, its not a Robin book. And I mean Robin, not that Red Robin bullshit. The writer/artist team of Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang were enough to pull me in with the promise of a Tim Drake book I can enjoy as much as the old Robin series.
So far, the art is top notch as Bernard Chang usually is. I've talked him up here before, but I really love his clean style. The giant eyes on the Batsuit look ridiculous, but I'll let it slide. And Jurgens sets up an interesting story of Tim returning to McGinnis' future which has been taken over by robotic zombies. I'm interested.
Fifth Place:
Nailbiter #13
Man do I love the retro, Archie-style cover of this issue. The beat up distress and type treatment really work with Mike Henderson's art. I hope Henderson is getting the proper hype in artist circles because he's really killing it here. (No pun intended.)
Using flashbacks, we get a little glimpse of Warren and Crane's past relationship. Its actually pretty sweet and almost makes you hope they work it out in the present. Josh Williamson does a fantastic job writing Warren as a charming, likeable guy even though he chews people's fingers before he kills them. smh
I really do like this book and I like Mike Henderson's art more and more every time I see it. Keep up the good work, man.
Fourth Place:
Darth Vader #6
The main thrust of this issue wasn't all that impressive. I don't give a shit about no-name characters that have been cybernetically enhanced to one day replace Vader. They're not all that cool and none of them are Force sensitive. They also have dumb lightsaber colors. What really gripped me about this issue was the dialog between Vader and the Emperor.
There's a lot being said in the dialog that isn't necessarily being said in the words. In the original trilogy you don't get a lot of these two just talking to each other. Kieron Gillen gives us a glimpse of how these two act with each other while they're not in the middle of a movie.
What I thought was really cool was how this issue lined up with the end of this month's Star Wars. These issues are running chronologically concurrent, so you get to see the same scene from two slightly different points of view.
Third Place:
Secret Wars #3
Man, this book wound up a lot higher than I thought it would. It was really interesting though, so there you go. Unlike Convergence, you get to see some characters you give a shit about by issue #3.
Battleworld, run and created by Doom, and we find out this issue Dr. Strange, is a hodge podge of different Marvel Universe eras, timelines and stories. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing it so hard to Convergence, but in a way, this is way easier to digest.
Most interesting is seeing that some characters (Doom, Sue Storm, Mr. Sinister) have been living in this world for years and don't remember the way things were, while others (Spider-man, Star Lord, Captain Marvel) are brand new to whats going on and do.
Second Place:
Star Wars #6
When we left last issue, Luke was about to face down Boba Fett. You can imagine me rolling my eyes to this. Turned out it wasn't so bad. Luke gets his ass handed to him and barely escapes with some help from the Force.
I guess the big news this week coming from this issue was the cliffhanger where a woman shows up saying she's Han Solo's wife. This book is canon, remember, so this is supposed to be real. No one should be freaking out just yet. Could all be a big misunderstanding that isn't really consequential at all. But for what its worth, the Han Solo I know never settled down. #player He also was never an officer with the Empire, so what do I know?
This month Star Wars was the best book of the line. Cassaday's art was spot on and the issue really had a great flow to it. Nice work.
First Place:
Justice League #41
Whoo boy do Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok know how to tell a story. Fabok is falling in place as one of Johns best collaborators. His work is similar to Ivan Reis and I can't get enough of that. Every page is really fucking cool.
My only caveat to liking this issue is the use of the New Gods. Fuck do I hate the new gods. But this issue we don't see any of the dumb ones like Highfather or Lightstar or whatever that guys name is. We see a lot of Mister Miracle, Lashina and Kanto. And the new Apokolips/Amazon hybrid who comes out of Barry Allen's mouth (?!) and hands everyone their asses.
Really interesting stuff to get The Darkseid War rolling.
Panel of the Week:
This Dodson's panel from Princess Leia is the perfect example of the strange smooth/scratchy linework from this month's issue.
-Gint
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