The Theatre List 4/9 – Take your lenticular covers and….

Villains month has fallen flat on its face. I say this with resentment because I ended up buying over thirty comics this week and only the lenticular covers were the best features of the DC books. I am not sure if it is because the radical scene change in the DCU has occurred too rapidly or whether there are a lot of new writers on the cards, but the standard and direction are poor. Some books feature actual origins, some feature current stories and some do not even feature the promoted villain. e.g. Bizarro! It has been a tiresome read and I have not enjoyed it. The Battle of the Atom had a great initial issue but that joy lasted 10 minutes until  I read the sequel. The characters of the future X-Men and the response of the young X-Men, did nothing but infuriate me. Otherwise Hickman still rocks it and that was my main focus of the week.

DC

Batman: Black & White #1

With the list of creators on this book, there was always going to be some quality in this issue. Wonderful art from Sean Murphy, Chris Samnee and a lovely short story from Neal Adams. Completely from nowhere Adams discusses how Bruce is able to help more in society than Batman, impressive stuff.

 

 

Forever Evil #1

This is a fantastic landscape changing book. Wonderful art, dark colouring and sets an ominous tone for the DC universe. I am interested to see where this goes and how the Justice League were actually taken out. Its quite the impactful issue.

 

 

 

Green Arrow 23.1 – Count Vertigo

Now this was a great origin issue. I expect nothing less from Lemire but he captures the lost youth of Vertigo and bring out the evil in his adult self wonderfully.

 

 

 

The Flash 23.1 – Grodd

Now with Flash gone, Grodd is free to run riot which he does. Grodd city is in the ascendancy and this is a solidly written and well drawn book. I like how it continues in the vein of the series as opposed to a weak villain story.

 

 

 

Marvel

Infinity #2

Just amazing, check out my wrap up if you haven’t been keeping up to date!

 

 

 

 

X-Men Legacy #16

This book appears to be coming to a head with regards to Legion’s ultimate mission. I am unsure as to how this fits into the Battle of the Atom book but hopefully it will give some catharsis to our protagonist. As always a well written personal journal of David Haller, in search of the man who killed his father.

 

 

 

X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1

Now this is what we have been waiting for, a Bendis book where something happened. Check out my review at Comics for Heroes: http://comicsforheroes.org/mann-about-the-racks-x-men-battle-of-the-atom/ Its a damn shame about the awful second issue, that also came out this week.

 

 

 

X-Factor #262

What can I say about the finale of this book? Its been a joy to read all of these years, and Peter David has created one of my favourite characters in Madrox and Layla. I hope we see them again soon and I liked how he resolved the character arcs individually instead of as a team. Goodbye X-Factor I shall miss you dearly.

 

 

The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3

This is a great exposition in villains and comes at a time where DC are failing miserably with their villains month. The story is personal and full of immortality and deception. Nick Spencer is able to tell the story as it should be told, a realistic exploration of ethics as opposed to bad guys being bad guys for the hell of it.

 

 

Independent

Uber #5

Kieron Gillen has researched this book thoroughly and we bring in one of his favourite historical characters, Winston Churchill. It also features the first battle of the Ubermen, one on one as a culmination to the first arc. It is dark, it is grim and it is scary.

 

 

 

Trillium #2

It is a difficult task trying to tell a story from two perspectives when each character speaks a different language. Not only do you retell the story but it has to be interesting from a different viewpoint. Excellent work and lovely art with fantastic colouring.

 

 

 

Satellite Sam #3

Chaykin is producing a seedy and dark underworld environment with this book. His clustered detailed pencil work lends to the scene he is trying to produce. The story of a son uncovering the secrets of his father is quite sad and upsetting, but adds to the disturbed artwork he creates. Excellent

 

 

Chew #36

A sadness washes over me every time I see this cover. This is a background story featuring Toni and it is lovely and poignant. Another wonderful issue.

 

 

 

Absolution Rubicon #3

This book is slowly taking me by surprise. It is similar to the Irredeemable from last year where we are unsure how the villain can be stopped. This booked produced an intriguing atmosphere of desperation and community kinship which I quite enjoyed. Its a unique book but certainly beginning to pull its weight.