The Theatre List 14/10 – Having an off day

You would think I’d find it difficult to complain with a week that was so diverse and varied, but some things change and some things remain exactly the same. Not all the decent books have astounding issues each and every month, as we see with The Wicked + The Divine which had Stephanie Hans’ unique stamp. It was simply that the story took a more banal course this week, perhaps to do with the purposeful dullness of Amaterasu. I must comment that the changes in artist every month is a brilliant insight into the interpretations of different creators. Guardians had a reshuffle in cabinet and saw Grimm and Kitty become permanent on the team. This continues Bendis’ flight of fancy and was a perfectly competent comic but the changes need some background information, especially as we have no idea what has happened to the Fantastic Four post Secret Wars. I still have no idea why Venom is in the team and he feels as out of place as ever. I have to mention that I am very pleased to see Schiti on another main Marvel book. Civil War and A-Force were both top ten Secret Wars tie in books and both had stronger penultimate issues compared to their final ones. The big reveals in story were more important than the final fights which is a shame. Even though I like the idea of having Civil War also be a Secret Invasion homage, I found the execution not given the time it deserved. The bat robot adventures continued in Batman this past week as we saw more plot progression in place of Gordon character transition. The time is move devoted to Bruce who is painstakingly avoiding any potential connection between him being Batman, despite references to his altruistic self. I applaud the invention of a new villain but Bloom is made more from the stuff of nightmares than the psychological torment of disturbed minds. The last couple of arcs including Endgame took the ethos of Batman quite heavily into the fantastical, which once again I praise but it is not to my personal taste. Well not everything can make the list…

Marvel Codes

A-Force #5 – THMAFQCM913M

Civil War #5 – THMGK7IR1ZD9

New Avengers #1 – THMRQJ1MIKZX

Spider-Gwen #1 – THMDPLW4WY2P

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 – THMW83EG7MTK

Marvel

Ms Marvel #19

Have a read of Aaron Meyer’s Honour Roll!

 

Sam Wilson: Captain America #1 – THMSM3NM9AUD

Nick Spencer takes Sam Wilson in a genuinely new direction, one that is becoming of the honourability of the name Captain America. It is refreshing to see Cap in completely new scenarios and everyday problems of living. Nice to see Acuna back too.

Uncanny Avengers #1 – THMI6QKP2S0M

There is one reason why I chose this book and that is Gerry Duggan’s Deadpool. The story was perfectly adequate with the usual issue no.1 twist of a surprise new villain. But it was great to see Deadpool again being his new usual ridiculous self. Stegman’s art is a little amiss with certain characters, especially Steve Rogers but should fit on the whole.

Secret Wars: Marvel Zombies #4 – THM4LG7AXCMU

I knew Si Spurrier wouldn’t let me down with this great finale. There was that delicate blend of psychological revelation combined with zombie warfare, depicted incredibly by Kev Walker. This is how to do a tie in book with independent and interesting character development.

Spider-Man 2099 #1 – THMTCSQFGQIB

Will Sliney thoroughly enjoyed putting Miguel through the paces on a televised assault course. The story was well written and paced as you would expect with Peter David but the obligatory first issue twist was actually brilliant.

Independent

I Hate Fairyland #1

Check out my thoughts on the Cover! It summarises my love for the art and how this little girl is really not so little.

 

Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #3

This comic is uniquely brilliant as two iterations of the same character fight for supremacy in the real world and that of music videos. It is such an interesting concept and McKelvie is devoted to producing accurate and nostalgic reflections of songs gone by.

Ninjak #8

The origin stories of both Ninjak and Fitzy are excellent and rich in the supernatural delights of hidden power. Segovia and Ryp are both great artists for these tales, with great texture and depth.

Diesel #2

I love it when an artist comes along and can draw comedic or childish exaggeratively and is just so wonderful to read. I adore the gusto of the central character and the space pirate story is making excellent progress with an insidious reveal.

The Fuse #15

This comic stands alone in it’s writing as it is convoluted and complicated and takes it time before fully revealing whodunit. Johnston is brilliant in driving us round those plot bends and Greenwood has his own characteristic mark on this title

East of West #21

This book is still brilliantly written and drawn but the plot threads are frayed so far apart that you fail to see the overall picture. It has been a while since we saw Death and his friends but each chapter, though disconnected is throughly well rendered.

Low #10

Check my review later this week!