Here’s a quick rundown of what I picked up at the comic shop yesterday, and some brief thoughts on each:
Astonishing Tales #1
Writer/Artist: Various – Pubsliher: Marvel Comics
I picked up this new Marvel anthology comic primarily because Jonathan Hickman had a story in it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun it was to me. Essentially its a modern Marvel pulp comic, featuring their heroes fighting giant monsters, being teleported to other worlds, and having adventures in the year 2099. Its a lot less boring than the most recent incarnation of Marvel Comics Presents, if nothing else. If a fun action/adventure Marvel anthology sounds like your cup of tea, give Astonishing Tales a try.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #22
Writer: Steven S. DeKnight – Artist: Georges Jeanty – Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
After a few slow issues, Buffy finally returns to form and gets back to the Twilight plot (sort of). This issue sees Kennedy heading to Japan to evaluate how Satsu is fairing as a leader. In the process, the slayers end up having to fight an entire line of evil Hello Kitty dolls (or the fictional equivalent of). This is exactly the kind of crazy and fun adventure that Buffy does best, and its nice to see the series get back to that and finally acknowledge again that there is an evil villain lurking in the background. An enjoyable issue all around, but one thing I’m not sure how I feel about is that suddenly the public at large knows about slayers and vampires. I understand that an army of slayers would attract the attention of the covert military types, but happened to vamps and slayers being the kind of things that fought in the shadows? A better transition into this phase may have helped, and perhaps thats what the previous Harmony story was trying to accomplish, but I’d have to say that if it was going for that, it failed.
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3
Writer: Geoff Johns – Artist: George Perez – Publisher: DC Comics
Much like Geoff Johns’ other contribution to the Final Crisis event, Rage of the Red Lanterns, Legion of 3 Worlds has very little to do with the main plot of Final Crisis, but a whole lot to do with Geoff Johns’ personal projects. Rage of the Red Lanterns was pretty much just a bonus issue of Green Lantern, but Legion of 3 Worlds feels like a mini-Geoff Johns crossover event in itself, but in the future. I find this tie-in series to be much more difficult to follow than the ain Final Crisis series, mostly because I have no experience reading any of the three iterations of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and with the apocalyptic events going on in the series, its hard not to feel like I came in at the last act of the show and maybe I should have waited for the rumored Geoff Johns Legion reboot to surface (if there’s truth to the rumor). Despite all that, its still a fun read, with Perez being the perfect artist for this kind of large-cast chaos. In truth, if you’re a fan of Johns’ DC work at all, you should pick up this series, as it somehow manages to tie Johns’ runs on Action Comics, Green Lanter, Flash, Teen Titans, and maybe even vaguely Justice Society of America together in a futuristic endgame. If your a Johns of Legion fan, this is a must read. If you’re only interested for the Final Crisis banner, you can probably skip this one. If your not interested in either, then be aware that you’re jumping in at the deep end.
The Invincible Iron Man #10
Writer: Matt Fraction – Artist: Salvador Larocca – Publisher: Marvel Comics
Matt Fraction continues to write the definitely version of Tony Stark for a new generation of fans, and Salvador Larocca’s ugly artwork continues to drag it down. At this point, I’ve practically just started blocking out the art, because Fraction is telling too good of a story to pass up. Tony and his cohorts in crime, Pepper Potts and Maria Hill, all prepare themselves for what they have to do to combat Norman Osborns “Dark Reign,” and at the end of the issues…well, the captions say it all. Some great setup, some great character development, some horrible art, but its still one of the best boosk Marvel is publishing.
Secret Warriors #1
Writer: Jonathan Hickman – Artist: Stefano Casseli – Publisher: Marvel Comics
The best book I read this week was one I’ve been anticipating for a while: Secret Warriors by Jonathan Hickman, creator of The Nightly News. The series is off to an excellent start with basic character and plot introductions followed by a real jaw dropper of an ending. Fans will surly be vocally divided over this ending, but it’ll certainly get the book some attention if nothing else. Casseli’s art works if it doesn’t blow anyone’s mind. There’s no page that will drop your jaw, but his clean, modern style brings a fitting youthful energy to the books, while nice shading by his color artist Daniel Rudoni keeps it dark, moody and tense. A fine first issue to what should be one of Marvel’s biggest books in 2009.
