I haven’t actually written about any comics lately. Last week didn’t produce anything that absolutely demanded commentary, but I know you, my loyal readership, demands quality content; here, at least, is content:
Crossing Midnight #4: Mike Carey’s Vertigo fantasy is this close to joining my favourites, but the art continues to hold it back. Jim Fern’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination – though this issue is his weakest yet – and he’s ably assisted by inker Mark Pennington and colourist extraordinaire Jose Villarubia, but he’s still not bringing the wow factor. Yet another supernatural player takes an interest in the twins: Nidoru, the ruler of needles and pins and rival to Lord Aratsu. She helps put Toshi & Kai’s mother back together again, and offers to assist their father, but not without a price. She also dispatches a horde of soul-eating goblins, but that seems to be a freebie. Meanwhile, Toshi is groomed, literally, as Aratsu’s servant.
Carey’s creating a storyline that’s mysterious without being confusing, and introduces an interesting new player with every issue. But Fern’s art still isn’t conveying the magic the story requires, and the big revelations lack the oomph they need to make a real impact. It’s not talent, I suspect, but technique, and hopefully that can be improved; one could probably learn a great deal just from studying J.H. Williams’ gorgeous covers. Crossing Midnight remains a good book with the potential to move into great territory.
Omega Men #5: Apparently this is tying into 52 in some way, which rather annoys me. Also, it explains why everything seems kind of vague and convoluted: Obviously I needed to read a bunch of other books to understand this seemingly stand-alone mini starring a bunch of Z-list characters.
Still, it continues to be a fun ride, even if I’m not entirely sure what’s going on. This issue: Evil alien spider queens, sentient lovestruck gel computers, and Vril Dox being an asshole and dooming the universe. What’s not to like? Mostly, I admit, I’m buying this for the fantastic art by Henry Flint, who’s perfect for this sort of bizarre alien-filled sci-fi. His weaknesses show on the more human characters, like Lianna the Zamaron nun, but thankfully there aren’t many humans to be found: Just alien weirdos. It’s like the Muppet Show in space. (but more diverse than Pigs In Space.
Firestorm #33: I want to like Firestorm, but every time I’ve picked up an issue of this volume, I’ve been bored stiff. Dwayne McDuffie takes over for the final story arc before cancellation and brings the New Gods with him – and thankfully, he’s brought a pretty good story with him, too.
Mister Miracle shows up to explain Something Big and Important to Firestorm. I’m not sure when he got all expository – when last we saw him in Seven Soldiers, he was just getting over being dead – but McDuffie still writes Shiloh as pretty cocky and arrogant. Then Orion – who’s even more cocky and arrogant – shows up, and everyone fights. It’s not the most original plot twist in comics history, but there’s a good fight scene with snappy banter and some creative uses of superpowers. Can you really ask for more than Firestorm hitting Orion with a giant titanium bat?
The art is a tad on the bland side, but it’s a fun superheroes-hitting-superheroes romp.
Blue Beetle #12: Speaking of fun superhero romps, Blue Beetle takes a step down from the past two issues of New Gods craziness, but still turns in a solid story that gets into the business of explaining where the Scarab came from. That’s something of a relief: I was afraid the book would fall into the horrible comic cliché of forever teasing the sordid secrets of the book.
After a nice twist on the usual secret identity schtick – it seems like everyone knows Jaime is the Beetle, but no one wants anyone else to know that they know – we get a partially dismembered cow and a giant alien thingee that goes around smashing and blasting things. Blue Beetle and Peacemaker thwart it and do some snazzy bantering along the way, and then a blue guy shows up to explain everything, conjuring up a nice Manga Kahn vibe along the way. Rafael Albuquerque’s art is a bit fuzzy in the fight sequences, but Blue Beetle continues to be an enjoyable read.
Nextwave #12: The final issue. On the one hand, alas. On the other, better to have loved and lost and all that jive.
There’s no explaining this issue. Nope, not at all. It doesn’t even try to make sense. Unlike previous issues, which tried just a little. This finale ultimately comes out as more of a “Wait, what the fuck is that?” than a “ha ha, he got kicked in the head” sort of humour, but I still love it.
Seriously: Devil Motherfucking Dinosaur. Baby MODOK. You know you want to read it.
Local #8: Hey, there’s no spandex here. What happened?
But seriously, I was happy to see another issue of Brian Wood & Ryan Kelly’s oustanding series hit the stands: I was beginning to fear it had fallen in to Oni’s growing Pit of Disappeared Books. Unfortunately, it’s one of the weaker issues so far. It’s a fairly simple love story, with Megan – happy and reasonably well-adjusted, thank goodness – falling for two men: The poor cook or the rich client. The cook is kind of a jealous jerk, while the rich guy seems kind and sympathetic. There’s some misdirection on Wood’s part, but not enough real direction: We don’t know anything about either potential lover. The story works well in portraying Megan’s dilemma and indecision, but doesn’t really convince us that she ultimately makes the right choice. Still, Ryan Kelly continues to improve with every issue, and #1 was pretty darn good on its own. And if nothing else, it’s nice to actually see Megan happy: As Wood comments, Local has become her book, and she’s one of the better comics creations I’ve seen in several years.
A disappointing issue, but only by the otherwise high standards set by the series.