The Theatre List – Instagram Bat! What would Bruce say?

So there were some amazingly good books out this week and the ones that failed to make the list were not terrible either. Batgirl is a very difficult book for me to recommend even though I like it despite the masses of problems it contains. There are some good storytelling aspects and delightful art at times but perhaps it is just not marketed towards me. The clothing is frankly ridiculous at times, especially as they head to an evening function and the social media aspects are a little tiresome and are far too in favour of self promotion. I may just be the wrong generation for this book but I need to write a post about it soon. Sex Criminals is a book I am tiring of, even though I liked the idea of a porn star origin in this issue. The main story is incredibly flat and thoroughly uninteresting, and the Wicked + The Divine porn parody was just not enough to keep me engaged. Both Punisher and Rocket were solid books but the stories produces little more than average tales. Im not really sure what the Uncanny X-Men Annual was about but I found Sorrentino a little disappointing. The ideas were there but the execution just wasn’t right, not as good as the work on Green Arrow anyway. I am not ashamed to admit it but Supreme made no sense to me this week. I often try quite hard and grasp the fundamental concepts but this issue just didn’t cohere enough for a recommendation. Last, for a change was Axis, which was actually a better issue than normal and a nice little twist at the end, but Im just not bothered about the inversion. I am not sure if I am able to enjoy this arc given the issues that have come before. But this is more my personal issue than anything else! So let us move onwards!

Marvel

X-Force #13

Let’s face it, there are two reasons why I am recommending this book: Firstly I really like Huat’s art because he was on Legacy for ages before and brings the lunacy well. Secondly the massive information dump reveal was fantastic and very clever to boot. There was even a massive twist that has yet to reveal itself and it has me excited.

 

 

Thor #3

I am in love with the idea that someone has to learn to be a Thor and wield the hammer. It is really impressive how well she is written and the struggles she has to overcome to live up to the legacy. There are some great action moments and the ending sees an inevitable stand off, but it still got me really hooked.

 

 

Amazing Spider-Man #11

Okay it was a secret that I am actually reading this book, because I said I dropped it soon as Superior finished. Okay so I lied and I was wrong to criticise Spider-Verse, it is actually really rather good. It doesn’t feel forced or overly action focused. I really enjoyed seeing Ock and Petey go at it and the outcome to that confrontation was quite clever too. This is an example of how a crossover should be done.

Independent

The Fuse #8

I really love the detective partnership at play in this book and their adventures are so well thought out. The dialogue between the two cops is not only well produced but well articulated on the page. The detective work is pretty solid too and I am pleased to see this book as an ongoing.

 

 

The October Faction #3

What an impressive book. The story is suitably dark and full of quite unexpected moments of horror. There is a brilliant scene of a young jock talking to the son of the Allen family, and you can see ghosts of other jocks behind him. The father then notices and says to his son, does he know he is extremely haunted? Quite harrowing stuff but just phenomenal art!

 

Copperhead #4

This book plays similarly to the Fuse but with completely different character types. The hard ass no nonsense female sheriff is completely fearless and her partner Boo has an amazing double page spread sequence which harks back to his military days. It is quite an impressive juxtaposition of characters and stories.

 

 

Shutter #7

I must say this every month but the texture to this book is so rich and gorgeous. I could look at it all day and I love Kate’s expressions amongst the terror around her. The story is quite fantastical but with a deep streak of violence. Kate gets to meet, yet more sociopathic siblings.

 

 

Southern Bastards #6

Check my review later this week!

 

 

 

East of West: The World

It is just brilliant world building. Not only do we see the Horsechildren of the Apocalypse act like awful bastards, but the Worlds are dissected out and described to encyclopaedic levels. It really ties together some of the characters and adds a new level of perspective to the stories. The timeline looks cool, though Im not sure how much it helps with the story arcs.