It was an average-sized week, (12 titles, 5 Marvel and 7 DC), with some really good titles and no real stinkers in the bunch. Also, this week, I had to go back and pick-up the Batman: Joker's Asylum: Killer Croc one-shot from last week, since it had been getting such rave reviews, and it did not disappoint. Of course, the talk of the town is the re-launch of Wonder Woman.
The Score Card
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1 ★★★★★
JOKER’S ASYLUM II: KILLER CROC #1 ★★★★★
WONDER WOMAN #600 ★★★★☆
BATMAN BEYOND #1 ★★★★☆
FLASH #3 ★★★★☆
JOKER’S ASYLUM II: CLAYFACE #1 ★★★★☆
WEB #10 ★★★☆☆
THOR #611 ★★★☆☆
CAPTAIN AMERICA #607 ★★★☆☆
NEW AVENGERS: LUKE CAGE #3 ★★★☆☆
SECRET AVENGERS #2 ★★★☆☆
LEGEND
★★★★★ = Really, really good.
★★★★☆ = Better than average.
★★★☆☆ = Average.
★★☆☆☆ = Below average.
★☆☆☆☆ = Not good.
☢ = Unreadable.
Breaking it Down
The Top Dog (Greg’s Top Pick of the Week)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1 ★★★★★ (w: Matt Fraction/a: Carmine Di Giandomenico) This is a big comic with lots of words and subtle scene changes that tell a truth behind the lies the dialogue is presenting. This is a complicated issue that has a complex plot and makes spectacular use of the visual media of comics. This is the origin (sort of) of the Mandarin, from his perspective and the truth, as it can be uncovered. Of course, there is a much to learn about the Mandarin in the framing story (“Mandarin: The Story of my Life” film) as there is in both the lie he tells and the truth that his “biographer” uncovers. On the surface, the Mandarin is Iron Man’s Dr. Doom, or Green Goblin, but has never really been the ever-present villain that other heroes have had. The Mandarin is not exactly the antithesis of Tony Stark, he is not his evil opposite number. Stark has always been his own worst enemy, but the Mandarin is the closest one-on-one nemesis that Iron Man has. This is a fine telling of the very convoluted and often re-written origin of the Mandarin, complete with a nod to Stark’s capture by the “Ten Rings” (in Iron Man the Motion picture). Fraction and Di Giandomencio’s work in this Annual are both solid, with special kudos to the shout-outs to Fraction’s Iron Fist work thrown in for good measure.
The Good
JOKER’S ASYLUM II: KILLER CROC #1 ★★★★★ (w: Mike Raicht/a: David Yardin) This issue came out last week (6/23/10), but didn’t make it home on the first run. However, after good word of mouth, Killer Croc’s drama made it home this week. While, these one-shot series tend to be hit-or-miss, Raicht & Yardin’s “Beauty and the Beast” story is fantastic. The story, which starts with Croc’s escape from Arkham and follows him through a very endearing role as a Gangster’s enforcer has shocks, twists and a solid plot all the way through and Yardin’s artwork is fantastic. In many ways, this is as much of story out of the DC’s old-school House of Mystery as it is a Bat-mythos tale.
WONDER WOMAN #600 ★★★★☆ Wonder Woman #600 features five little stories bridging Wonder Woman’s past, present and future. The issue starts appropriately enough with an introduction written by TV’s Wonder Woma, Lynda Carter.
The first story (w: Gail Simone/ a: George Perez) is a veritable jamboree of female DC super-powers which places Wonder Woman as the matriarch of the DCU and even picks up some loose threads from Perez’s own re-launch of the lassoed herioine back in the 80’s. Amanda Conner’s (writer/artist) little sequence is way too saccharine and cutesy, “girly” for its own good. Having Wonder Woman talk to the kitty is pretty cool, but the “live a balanced” life lecture kind of gets lost in the sappy dialogue. “Firepower” (w: Louise Simonson/a; Eduardo Pansica) is an average back-up story, while “the Sensational Wonder Woman” (w: Geoff Johns/a: Scott Kollins) is interesting, but doesn’t really fit in anywhere… unless it is somehow supposed to lead to J. Michael Straczynski’s re-introduction of the character. If that’s the case, it is a pretty obtuse way to go about it.
The meat and potatoes of the book is of course, JMS’ “prologue”, in which we first see Diana’s new outfit that has the internet astir. The story itself is compelling and makes interesting use of Wonder Woman and her history. This short segment is a much, much better introduction to JMS upcoming re-launch than last week’s Superman intro.
Why the internet is so bothered by Wonder Woman changing her costume is beyond me. Her (male) cohorts (Superman, Batman, etc.) change their outfits at the drop of hat, for her to keep up with some kind of fashion sense… just seems, for lack of better terms… about time. There’s nothing wrong with the new costume, except that it looks more like something Donna Troy would wear than Princess Diana.
Regardless, Wonder Woman #600 is a good “catching up with…” issue and an clear jumping-on point, whose value is enhanced by the handful of awesome pin-ups.
BATMAN BEYOND #1 ★★★★☆ (w: Adam Beechen/a: Ryan Benjamin) The six-issue mini-series is a triumphant marriage of the DC Animated universe to the DCU. This isn’t the first time Terry McGinnis has peeked his head into the DCU proper, but this series promises to re-energize the once-popular character. From Bruce Wayne’s back-seat quarterbacking to an appearance by the Justice League, Batman Beyond #1 uses the best elements of the animated series. More importantly the series has a story with some meat on its bones that develops swiftly through the issue. The only drawback is Benjamin’s artwork, which has its moments, but is overall inconsistent throughout.
FLASH #3 ★★★★☆ (w: Geoff Johns/a: Francis Manupal) Another Brightest Day beneficiary joins Barry Allen in Flash #3. The murder mystery takes a backseat as the Renegades from the Reverse Flash Task Force make a second attempt to arrest the Scarlet Speedster. It’s a good thing for Barry that his fellow Brightest Day alum is on hand...though he may not be so quick to agree. The time-bending first story arc keeps rushing forward and keeps picking up momentum along the way. Johns and Manupal are quickly constructing a new place for Barry Allen in this continuity, forget about everything you thought you knew before, this is the new Barry Allen, his new supporting cast and a very good first story arc.
WEB #10 ★★★☆☆ (w: Matthew Sturges/a: Roger Robinson). The Web series wraps up and leads right into the Mighty Crusaders. The real shame of it is that the Web was a very nicely done, original, and creative idea. The remorseful, billionaire, Olympic-level athlete turned super hero may not have been the most clever base, but the technology driven Web-hosts and the whole structure of fighting crime/helping people that they had built for the Web was a keen idea. Unfortunately where the story/series ultimately fell short was with the central character (John Raymond, the Web), who was barely interesting enough but couldn’t get into engaging enough adventures to keep the series going. Web #10 even has a neat new wrinkle as a “side-kick” (?) of sorts finds her way into the series. When it looks like the whole Host concept has fallen victim to the cancelation of the series, the Web and his new buddy wing into action. A little too little and a lot too late. Still, as doomed series go, the Web was one to keep in mind. He would… or maybe the Web Host idea without Raymond, might make a nice addition to Team Batman (since he was already kind of in cahoots with Oracle).
THOR #611 ★★★☆☆ (w: Kieron Gillen/a: Rich Elson). Stories set in Asgard (even when it has fallen to Earth) are hard to tell well. Stories set steeped in the mythology of Asgard, like with Hela and the weird zombies Loki summoned are even more difficult. Mephisto stories are even more difficult to tell without turning the whole drama into a moronic farce. Those are the background elements for Gillen & Elson’s final story arc. Crammed between JMS and red-hot Matt Fraction’s story arcs, forced to juggle the events of Siege, Gillen and Elson have drew a really bad hand for their run on Thor, but still managed to turn in stories that were better than anyone could have expected. As you may have guessed, Mephisto has double-crossed Hela and let the Disir (the weird Asgardian undead) into the domain he had promised her. What’s a girl to do when crossed by the devil? That’s right turn to the Asgardians for help. Thor #611 isn’t really good, but isn’t really bad either. It is definitely a two-part story that is keeping issues on the shelf while Fraction and Pasqual Ferry’s run is being prepped.
JOKER’S ASYLUM II: CLAYFACE #1 ★★★★☆ (w: Kevin Shinick/a: Kelly Jones) Like the Killer Croc story from last week, Shinick & Jones’ Clayface offering is a well-executed peek behind the mind of the infamous Bat-villain. Jones’ artwork is the real star, though I am an unabashed fan of Jones’ work with the Caped Crusader. Again like the Croc story, the Clayface tale is as much a slice of the horror genre as it is super-hero drama, perhaps as it should be for the denizens of Arkham Asylum.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #607 ★★★☆☆ (w: Ed Brubaker/a: Mitch Breitweiser) The return of Baron Zemo continues, as the Falcon fights for his life (for a few pages), Bucky-Cap fights Nazis (sort of) and the Black Widow and her young Buck(y) go on the hunt for the culprits behind all this carnage. As it turns out, Zemo’s plan is a little more subtle than first meets the eye, as he has already poisoned Bucky with a nanite-virus (remember when super villains just used regular viruses?). Thank goodness, Steve Rogers is on hand to help Cap through the hard times. The Zemo storyline is not off to the rocket-start that the Two Captains arc boasted, there are almost too many players in this little potpourri and not enough Bucky-Cap to satisfy.
NEW AVENGERS: LUKE CAGE #3 ★★★☆☆ (w: John Arcudi/a: Eric Canete & Pepe Larraz) The Cage mini-series concludes, as Luke wraps things up in Philly. Cage faces a battle he can’t just bash his way through (well, mostly) and comes up with a pretty innovative solution to the problem. Canete & Larraz artwork is the real draw to this series, the story is at the very least average, with a few high points. This series isn’t Cage’s Dark Knight Returns and isn’t going to win over any new fans for the character, but is a decent day-away from the Avengers (or Thunderbolts), that allows Cage to use both his brains and his brawn.
SECRET AVENGERS #2 ★★★☆☆ (w: Ed Brubaker/a: Mike Deodato) In the old days, you just kind of accepted that whatever story your heroes wandered into was okie-dokie. If the Fantastic Four ended up in deep space, so be it. If the Avengers ended up in Atlantis or the Negative Zone, you just kind of rolled with it. But when Steve Rogers puts together a “covert action” team with the likes of Moon Knight, the Beast, Ant-Man and the Black Widow, you kind of figure if there was need for the Avengers to go to Mars, that these guys wouldn’t be his first choice. That being said, Steve Rogers leads his team of “Secret” Avengers to the Red Planet in search of the missing Nova and whatever secrets Roxxon has uncovered there. The new Serpent Crown story has a nice mystery unfolding and has the requisite amount of action. So far, this series is slow to warm but the storytelling has potential.
The Reading Order
WONDER WOMAN #600 ★★★★☆
BATMAN BEYOND #1 ★★★★☆
FLASH #3 ★★★★☆
WEB #10 ★★★☆☆
JOKER’S ASYLUM II: KILLER CROC #1 ★★★★★
THOR #611 ★★★☆☆
JOKER’S ASYLUM II: CLAYFACE #1 ★★★★☆
CAPTAIN AMERICA #607 ★★★☆☆
NEW AVENGERS: LUKE CAGE #3 ★★★☆☆
SECRET AVENGERS #2 ★★★☆☆
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1 ★★★★★
Unread
ACTION COMICS #890
