Hello everyone, and welcome to Batman on an Elephant, a weekly comic review blog. Every Wednesday, I will be publishing reviews of the comics that I read over that last week; while I do on occasion dip into back issues, reviews of back issues will be lumped together into features (for example, "Batman on an Elephant reviews Stan Lee's Spider-Man"), and the weekly reviews will be based on my pull list. With that in mind, what better way to start my blog than with an introduction to the books I'm currently pulling?
All Star Western - After hearing good things about the creative team on Jonah Hex, and being something of a history nut, I picked up All Star Western when the New 52 launched. After just one issue; I was hooked. By placing the action in Gotham City, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti sidestep many of the cliches and conventions of the rather tired western genre, and present a fresh take on the time period. Hex and Arkham also make an excellent duo, and with Hex out of his element, Arkham is able to be a valuable member of the team as he helps Hex navigate the high society of Gotham, rather than just a sidekick or comic relief. Filled with compelling plots and smaller character moments, All Star Western has been one of DC's most consistently great books of the relaunch, and one of my personal favorites.
Amazing Spider-Man - I've been reading Amazing Spider-Man longer than any other ongoing; I started picking it up when I first got into monthlies following Civil War, and have been reading it ever since. As One More Day was only my second story arc with the character, it didn't traumatize me as it did long time fans, and it didn't taint the fantastic Brand New Day run with the character.
Dan Slott writes the book with the same kind of urgency was seen during The Gauntlet storyline from awhile back; it seems every arc alters Peter's world in some way, keeping every issue of the book feeling as new as it did when Brand New Day launched. Slott has a talent for evolving classic elements of Spider-Man comics in a way that feels natural, be it Aunt May getting re-married or Peter's job at Horizon, the book never feels as if it's retreading old material. Amazing Spider-Man has, appropriately, remained on of Marvel's best titles since I started reading it in 2007, and shows no sign of decline as Slott builds up to a big change in issue 700.
Avengers vs X-Men - Avengers vs X-Men has been an event built upon fantastic set pieces; Captain America's confrontation with Cyclops on the beaches of Utopia, Iron Man's attack on the Pheonix and the birth of the Pheonix 5, the Avengers' infiltration of Utopia, Namor's destruction of Wakanda, Professor X telling Scott he's gone too far, Spider-Man fighting Colossus and Magik, the battles in issues 10 and 11, and so on. Each of these moments, and those like them, have been enthralling, but this focus on specific moments leaves the scenes in between them lacking. The tie ins help to alleviate this problem somewhat (New Avengers #29 along with Wolverine and the X-Men #15 have been particularly fantastic), but the main book on its own is a string a disconnected action scenes. While the main book could have a greater emotional impact, its action scenes are so well executed that I'm willing to look past its failings.
Before Watchmen: Minutemen - A short note about Watchmen and Before Watchmen: reading Watchmen in 2008, already immersed in modern comics, it didn't have the same impact on me as it would on someone reading it in 1986 who was used to the comics of the 70s and the 80s. I didn't really see anything wrong with DC creating Before Watchmen, and picked up most of the number 1s, but Minutemen and Silk Spectre were the only ones to make it onto my pull list.
Minutemen makes better use of being a prequel than most prequels do. Anyone who saw the opening credits for the Watchmen movie knows that all of these characters, save for perhaps Hollis Mason, end up in very dark places before the main Watchmen series begins, and Darwin Cooke is employs the readers knowledge of this very well. The reader is already aware that Mason's love for Silhouette will end in tragedy, which adds a poignancy to their scenes together that elevates their relationship beyond a normal romantic engagement that would end with a shocking twist at the end. This sense of Shakespearean permeates throughout the book, making it far more fulfilling as a prequel than its peers.
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre - Silk Spectre contains what may just be some of the best characterization that I've seen in a comic. From the very first issue, Darwin Cooke and Amanda Conner work in lockstep to make each character feel like wholly alive; these strong characters made something even as mundane as flirtations between Laurie and Greg as engaging as any action scene in later issues. The first issue relied heavily on the characters and the sharp dialogue to carry it, but the series' plot improved over the next two issues, and while not great, provides a solid backdrop for Cooke's characters and Conner's art to intermingle and create an ultimately great book.
Daredevil - I'm not going to talk very much about Mark Waid's Daredevil here, because there isn't much praise I can give it that isn't eclipsed by what it has already received. Waid proved here that a comic can be art without having to resort to making all the characters dark, and that joy and triumph can be just as artistically relevant as sadness and despair. Waid also has a talent for using Daredevil's powers in fascinating and innovative ways; from having him fight Klaw, a being of solid sound, to briefly making him rely on his long lost sight, Waid uses the concept of a blind superhero far, far more effectively than most writers. A book that appeals to virtually every comic reader, Daredevil is perhaps one of the greatest superhero comics ever published, and certainly the greatest being put out by any publisher right now.
Earth 2 - Upon a first look, Earth 2 shouldn't be that good of a comic; despite great art, the characters are weak and lack distinctive voices, and the plot so far isn't anything different from any other origin story that has come before. Earth 2's greatest strength is in its world building; each issues reveals a new quirk about the world that further separates it from the main DC Universe Earth. It is great fun to see a Green Lantern who isn't powered by space magic, and a Flash given his super speed from the Gods, but sadly the alterations aren't used to elevate the book beyond merely being a fun romp through a slightly different world. However, I feel like the book has potential, and I'm willing to give it a few more arcs to fully win me over. If Robinson can make the characters more distinct and use the differences in the world to enhance them instead of the other way around, then this could become something truly special.
These are only half of the books I'm reading currently (although 3 of them are ending with the next issue), but they seem to be meaty enough to be worthy of a single post. Check back in tomorrow for part 2 of my pull list, from Hawkeye to Wolverine and the X-Men!
No comments:
Post a Comment