The gritty seriousness of Detective Comics, especially now it featured predominately Bullock, was thrown to the wolves as the ending had a ridiculous twist villain. The lacking confidence Gordon is a little irritating and is a story I am not really enjoying. Green Lantern has been similar but for a while now and the solo warrior Hal is pretty boring. The hints at an overarching plot are quite base and the return of a couple characters is just not enough stimulation. Meanwhile in newer DC books we have Bat-Mite who is a character I am unsure of at present. He seems like a cross between Squirrel Girl and Deadpool but needs some more time to develop. Jurgen’s humour is not quite there yet but its worth checking out a few more issues yet. Otherwise I am just trying to work out where the other DC books have got to. As always the throng of Secret Wars book led to some hits and probably more misses, and I say that despite recommending five books this week. Both Spidey books always seem quite popular but I found both quite average and reliant upon alternate universe quirks, such as the Green Goblin Iron Man outfit and the new Secret Six. As always the creator owned works were generally good with some great issues such as #WicDiv and Outcast but I wanted to discuss We Stand On Guard. BKV uses quite shock tactics with his writing at times and this was no different, with heavy violence and coarse treatment of his characters. The artwork is quite lovely but the dash of female nudity was completely unnecessary. I will await more issues before finally deciding if I like this book but that in itself is not necessarily a good sign. As always, there is much else to discuss!
Marvel Codes
Secret Wars: Amazing Spider-Man – Renew Your Vows #3 – FMCIT0C5PG95
Bucky Barnes: Winter Soldier #10 – FMCHL5M6XC41
Marvel
Secret Wars: Red Skull #2 – THMA7THBA2Q0 The manipulating ability of Red Skull is quite impressive and akin to Magneto, who coincidentally is his colleague in this book. I do enjoy how the characters are written and the drive and determination of Skull in trying to become the dominant force again.
Secret Wars: Civil War #2 – THMWV81TXVD4 Another brilliant issue as the Blue and the Red try to find out who killed Miriam Sharpe. The Cold War dynamics Charles Soule has employed is working brilliantly and he plays the leaders off against one another but their supporters are the ones that allow the tensions come to the surface. Leinil Yu is passionate and emphatic with his artwork.
Secret Wars: The Infinity Gauntlet #3 – THM5PXE3M3RY This is an very intriguing book and has an idea that is quite refreshing. Thanos playing the fool to entice the Infinity Gauntlet is so unique and well written. When you add in a family of Novas and quite exciting artwork, you have a genuinely very well rendered tie in book.
Secret Wars: Little AvX Marvel #3 – FMC5VA2LH4ZI This book is just brilliant and the childish humour of Skottie Young never disappoints. My favourite parts were the ice rollercoaster and Captain America’s lonely gym. The artwork is better than the writing as the expressiveness of children is the key to the book. Always buy a book by Skottie Young.
Ms Marvel #17 It always shocks me that there is no code for this book! Ms Marvel finally meets Captain Marvel and it is a lovely moment as once again G Willow Wilson writes so emotively and captures the idol worship aspects of a teenager. Alphona is fantastic once again in exaggerating the powers of Kamala but also credit must be given to Herring’s soothing pastel colours.
Independent
Deadly Class #15 I do maintain my concerns about the repetitive emotive cycle of this book and it is not enough that that is quite realistic for everyday teenagers. The plot is moving fast, almost too fast but Wes Craig is up to the task and is fantastic in his original panelling and movement.
The Fuse #13 The creators of this book have hit a lovely gumshoe harmony and each arc is exciting from the get-go. This issue has classic criminal chases and great cop cliches but still manages to be an original book in the world of comics. The doll makeup of the victim is very eerie and creepy but such great writing.
The Spire #2 This book reminds me so much of Six Gun Gorilla in that the concept is so hard to grasp and become used to before fully appreciating the story. Once you get there, it is fantastic and the characters are so unique and interesting to read. Stokely’s art is suitably zany and his designs are a cross between post-apocalyptic and steampunk.
Outcast #11 This book becomes more and more disturbing as you go on, especially when you meet a an actual villainous clergyman. What I enjoyed the most was how well Azaceta portrayed the love of Kyle and his daughter, leading to the inevitable feud. So compelling and so devastating.
The Fade Out #8 I struggle to remember the fine print of this book or even who the characters are but the plot has so many twists and turns, that wonder why it even matters! Its a beautiful book and that will always make me want to read it. I particularly like the disdain the attractive women have for writers.
The Wicked + the Divine #13 Check out my review this week!
House Of Flying Scalpels 