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I feel that I should mention that I really do like Broken Voice's Shades comic. It's sort of ... mysticism and magic and superheroes in the modern world. The story's really interesting -- the high tea featuring an armed attack that goes dreadfully wrong for the attackers is really kind of perfect, and earlier, they break the British Museum (but who doesn't?) -- and I like the artwork. Plus, the shaman's powers require him to be naked a lot. (... what? What? I never said I wasn't shallow! And it is established as necessary fairly early, so that it's not really gratuitous.) And honestly, in this, our year of the 2d Annual Alex Ross Heterosexual Male Groin Freakout Open (also known as Crotchgate 2008), it's kind of refreshing to see a series that undresses its men -- ok, its man -- with wild abandon and makes no apologies about it. (Seriously, who knew that people who have penises could get so freaked out by drawings of people with penises that actually acknowledge that the characters are supposed to have penises? Is it wrong of me to hope that at some point in the near future, Alex Ross -- who is, I believe, hopelessly heterosexual -- just says, "Oh, the hell with it" and does a cover image of Captain Steel and Alan Scott facing off against each other with absolutely unambiguous and unmistakeable raging erections visible under the spandex?) To be sure, Shades is aimed more or less at your standard superhero age audience, so it's not as if the shaman or his coreligionists actually wave weenie in your face, so to speak.
Which, it turns out, produces periodically problematic artwork.
In the most recent update, one of the shamans does a version of the superheroine twist. You know the twist -- you've all seen it. It's that very strange pose that women get drawn in so as to allow you to get nearly a full frontal shot of the cleavage and a full rear shot of the butt. You can see a version of the pose in the Madame Mirage cover to the left. Despite the severity of her pose (more about that in a sec), it's actually a comparatively mild twist; the butt just isn't that prominent. The shaman's pose in the latest update of Shades, seen to the right of this paragraph, is actually a more traditional Twist, if for somewhat different reasons. 
A more normal shot from the rear would keep you from being able to see the face, while a more normal shot from the front, even up high, would give you a lovely shot of shaman dingus. Problematic either way.
Now, I will say that for the purposes of journalistic completeness, I have, in fact, tried to get into both positions. (No, there are NOT any pictures.) And I can now say two things with authority:
1) Both positions are, shockingly enough, physically possible. (No, REALLY, they are! I know! Who knew!?)
2) Both positions ... Hurt. So. MUCH. The shaman isn't screaming because of the unexpected dragon appearing out of nowhere; he's screaming because his spine is in real and spectacular pain! Granted, my back isn't the most limber, but I can't believe that it wouldn't hurt even a younger and more athletic person. The shaman's position hurt my lower back, and Madame's position hurt everywhere. (Mind, she isn't precisely solid in the story, so she can get away with anatomical improbabilities. In fact, the only reason she's not screaming is that her spine is, quite literally, made of light.)
The other thing I can say with some authority is ... well ...
OK, I'll give 'em the first frame. In that position, with an apparent light source from above, the shadows make sense (... although, honestly? still kind of unusually wee. Most guys, that position, that sort of leap, there'd be danglage.). In the second ... no. Just ... no. The light source, to the extent that you can tell, is from above, his pelvis is aimed toward us, and yet, major shadows. That there is some bad planning and improbable anatomy, that is. (I am not campaigning for full frontal shaman dingus, let us be clear. Frankly, if the artist had just put his front leg up higher to figleaf him, it would have been perfectly reasonable.)
And now, on to actual reviews of hopefully one paragraph or less.
Angel: After the Fall #5 (Whedon/Lynch, Urru; IDW): This story has finally picked up into high gear. I remember that the series used to run like this; there'd be the cliffhanger (if any), then a long, slow ramp into the season proper, putting things into place before it really took off. I like how Lorne has gone from being a supporting character with not a lot to do to being a key player in this "season". And the end was a total shock, despite the fact that they dropped hints here and there about exactly what was going to happen. And now they'll pause for a three issue miniseries, just as the big fight's about to begin. Given that it's got several artists, I'm guessing that "First Night" will be about the first night L.A. spends in hell, from the viewpoint of all the main characters -- the "what exactly happened during the big fight" answer. Anyway, this one's a very good issue.
Return of the Super Pimps #4, "Disco Inferno" (Richard Hamilton, Ulises Carpintero; Dial "C" for Comics): In which we get the origins of our heroes, more or less. I love how the Super Pimps' origin isn't at all cleaned up -- the men really were pimps, and Foxy Mama really was a prostitute. And yet, it all kind of makes sense, in that 70s blaxploitatin "pimps and whores were good guys too" kind of way. Mind, Blackbeard's ancestor being Samson is one of those moments that manages a simultaneous "Oh, that kind of works," at the same time it achieves an "Oh, lord, he didn't really write that, did he?" moment. And the names in their villains gallery incluce Buffalo Soldier (and they really should not have done that), the Super Flyy, the Mo-Foe, One Bad Mutha, and so on and so on.... (I also think that the people who do the TV series "Adventures of Jimmy Neutron" might want to have a word with them about BROBOT.) Even so, it's fun and fast moving, right up to the clearly telegraphed yet still appalling end. A Good issue.
Invincible 49 (Kirkman/Ottley; Image): I realize that I'm asking the wrong person entirely, but a plea: could we please keep the zombies out of superhero comics? Please? Is there no place that's safe from them? In any event, in this issue, the setup for the much ballyhooed, allegedly stupendous issue 50 is finally done. The immediate crisis is dealt with, and in the process, Mark discovers that things have been happening that he knew nothing about. Not a lot you can say without giving away the entire story -- in fact, not a lot of story to give away. Mostly, just an OK issue, with one big thing happening to set up issue 50.
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve 1-2 (Cereno/Bellegarde; Image): A two issue miniseries about how Samantha Wilkins, a.k.a. Atom Eve, discovers she can rearrange matter and what that all means about her past. Writing and art are seriously excellent, and yet, this all highlights a problem with the main Invincible series. In Invincible, Samantha doesn't get to do a lot -- and, yes, I did get the "supporting character" memo -- and honestly, as written by Kirkman, she's just not all that interesting. As writtne by Cereno, she suddenly comes alive -- she's got all sorts of issues and a past, and she's a justifiably angry young woman ... and none of that, not one bit of it, is in the main series. In fact, it's hard to envision, even allowing for a few years' distance, that this version of Samantha could ever have become the one in the main Invincible title. There's some beautiful continuing character work in Atom Eve, linking it to Brit, of all things, along with a massive dangling plot hole at the end, but that's OK. A seriously Excellent miniseries, and I wish there was some way to work this version of the character into the main title. Mark needs more characters with a little bite around him.
Fables 71 (Willingham/Buckingham/Leialoha; DC/Vertigo): In which we discover that Cinderella is not the passive little thing that the tales made her out to be -- but then, all of Prince Charming's once and current wives and paramours are, in fact, kind of awesome in their own ways these days. Like most of this title's recent issues, we've also got a startling last panel reveal. I have to admit, for all that these fables are the ones we've been following all along, I'd really love to have seen what was happening back in Homelands central back before this issue. What did Gepetto do once Ambrose crippled his forces? How did he respond? In any event, this issue is, again, Very Good.
Everybody's Dead 1 (Brian Lynch/Dave Crosland; IDW): You know ... I was kind of expecting this to be horrible, and it really wasn't. A decent setup of a "zombies at college" premise. Westerberg, the narrator and viewpoint character, walks us through what seems to be a more or less typical night at a frat party, introducing us to various people along the way. Aside from Aurora, the girl Westerberg wants, and Greta, the girl who may want him, it's hard to tell who's important and who's going to be zombie fodder at this stage. Given the text and artstyle, it looks like the story's heading for the horror/humor angle. A decent first issue; I'm not sure if I'm going to pick up the second or not. In favor is IDW's trade pricing -- they've never quite gotten the memo that trades should cost a bit less than buying all the individual issues -- against is the fact that this issue didn't quite grab me. We'll see.
Screamland 1 of 5 (Harold Sipe/Hector Casanova; Image): I picked this one up by accident. Much to my surprise, it was very enjoyable. The premise is that all the old horror movie monsters were real, that the movies were sort of fictionalized biography, and the monsters were frequently playing themselves. Issue 1 contains the story of the Frankenstein monster, and the depths to which he has been reduced before one last offer comes through. (Let me just say the words: Ed Wood. Transvestite Porn. The horror ... the horror ...) I have to admit, it's some of the odd little details that I liked as well. For example, one of the Monster's abiding irritations is that everyone calls him Frankenstein, but that's not his name, it was the doctor's. (I don't think we ever do learn his own name, come to think of it.) Really Very Good; that said, since it's a 5 issue mini, I may let it drop to trade.
The Circle, "The Goliath Trap", 5 of 5 (Brian Reed/Ian Hosfeld; Image): In which the Goliath Trap is finally sprung, and everyone's roast chickens finally come home to roost. Including, unfortunately, the creators', since this is the last issue of the series due to low sales. I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised. I'd have thought an interesting, well-illustrated spy/action/adventure series would have been the sort of thing that people would love, but apparently not so much. I suspect that the series was a victim, in part, of the "wait for the trade" mentality. (See Screamland, above.) I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't a certain sort of serial storytelling that may work better these days on the web, with no paper version at all until it's collected for the trade. The problem with that is that you don't get paid until the first trade, unless you can get some advertising on the website, and it's a lot of work for possibly very little payoff. In any event, regarding this issue in particular, it's a very satisfying wrap for the first -- and apparently, only -- story arc, in which villains are thwarted (a few with malice aforethought) and stuff blows up real good, and the next story arc is set up, in which it turns out that our hero is more important that we, or he, knew. Very Good, but alas, the last.
Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson #3 of 4 (Caravajal/Borstel; Ape Entertainment): In which the aliens continue to persecute the fort -- apparently we humans are just damn tasty! Various and sundry internal bodily fluids and organs, both human and alien, continue to appear. Our heroes continue to toss off snappy quips, although the jarring anachronisms from issue 2 have thankfully mostly disappeared. Honestly, if you're going to get me to read a western, there'd better be aliens or something unusual going on. Thankfully, we have sufficient here, including a brief homage to Alien, of all things. (I'm even more or less used to Jefferson's sidekickery and the fact that the captain looks like Custer.) It's a fun action/adventure series, and the artwork is very good. Good, overall; if you like Westerns, you'll probably like this. (Unless you don't like aliens in your westerns.)
Atomic Robo 6 (Clevinger/Wegener/Pattison; Red 5): In which the first arc, "Atomic Robo and The Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne", comes to a satisfactory end. It's basically an issue-long fight sequence, in which Baron Heinrich von Helsingard gets to demonstrate to Robo all the things he's learned in their various encounters through the years, and Robo eventually figures a way around them anyway. In true hero versus villain style, everyone, even the sidekicks -- pardon, the action scientists -- get great lines, like
- We're all a little captured...
- ... Why do I even bring action scientists, anyway
or the following exchange
- Why must we resort to brutalizing each other? Are we not men of SCIENCE?
- What the ... I'm a robot and you're a brain in a jar. Is this a trick question?
Very Very Good, and highly recommended. (Like you can find the other issues anywhere at this point. At least they've confirmed that a trade is planned, so anyone who missed out on it the first time can hopefully catch up before the second arc begins.)
New Dynamix 1 of 5 (Allen Warner, J.J. Kirby; DC/Wildstorm): or, whatever happened to the great heroes of Wildstorm? A radio DJ sort of notices that, even though a lot are still around, a lot of the old heroes have disappeared. Some retired (to Tranquility, but she doesn't know that), some died (like Gen13 and many others), but most just vanished. In any event, this issue is mostly about a hostage situation that winds up bringing one of the vanished heroes out of his obscure retirement. It's ... OK, I guess. Interesting enough to make you wonder, not necessarily enough to make you care, unless it winds up being relevant for the big Wildstorm universe reboot, "Number of the Beast" (yes, they went there -- after Armageddon and Revelations, where else could they go?). OK.
Vinyl Underground 5-6 (Spencer/Gane/Stewart; DC/Vertigo): I tell you what-- they seriously screwed the pooch with this series. They should have started it with an amalgam of the beginning of issue 1, the end of issue 4, and all of issue 5. They started it instead with a casefile as a way of introducing characters and concept, but the problem is that paranormal detectives just aren't a unique enough concept these days. In order to make it work, they need you not only to buy the concept, but the characters, and they're all pretty much just one quirk after another. On the other hand, the end of issue 4 and all of issue 5 deals with Morrison's search for the mother who seems to have abandoned him; given the premise of the series, it's clear that there's something more. On top of that, the search itself, with Morrison being haunted by his juvenile selfe, is a way of making you care about and get you invested in the lead character, since this is clearly a storyline that's going to be brought back again and again; all the quirks of the supporting charactesrs could have been brought in later. (Seriously, guys, a virgin prostitute? Really?) Gane's art works well for the series -- though, honestly, not as well as it does in Paris -- but I don't expect that it'll be enough to rescue it. OK, overall.
Pogrom 1 of 7 (Mathew Tomao/Josh Medors; Devils Due): ... I have no freakin' idea what that was. Basically, it seems to be about a near future in which Washington and the Vatican have merged -- It's called the Watican, and it's ruled by the Presipope, so that's all I can guess -- Italy has fractured back into the Papal States, of all things, and then a former grand inquisitor -- who died in the current century, and yes, the Holy Office of the Inquisition is still around, although the head of the Office is now called the Prefect of the Congregation, and not the Grand Inquisitor -- Anyway, he gets brought back from the dead and then the seven deadly sins turn out to be real metaphysical creatures, and they wander through and ... seriously, that was just 48 pages of sheer confusion. Part of that's deliberate, since the characters don't know what's going on either, but that doesn't help the reader understand the story. The artwork is good but overall ... Not Recommended. (EDIT: According to this review at Broken Frontier, Pogrom is meant to be a commentary on the hypocrisy of organized religion. Which, actually, I can sorta kinda see. Still an unspeakably dense and confused issue, though.)
Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury #295 (Brandon Thomas/Lee Ferguson; Archaia): Awesome like an awesome thing. Miranda Mercury is a space adventuring young woman, whose adventures have been recounted in 294 previous issues (in another dimension, it seems). She and her sidekick, Jack Warning, rescue people and recover important artifacts. Jack loves Miranda -- though I'm not sure whether or not he's in love with her, and it's clear that they'd both do anything for each other. That said, they have a strong disagreement when Jack wants to do something to help Miranda with a problem, and her ethics simply won't allow it. The writing in the first issue does a great job of introducing the characters and the situation, and the art is strong and vivid, and helps convey the story. (Also, and this an entirely personal observation, Miranda Mercury may be the only black woman in comics today drawn with kinky hair. I realize that this isn't a big thing for most people -- and she does also have the most bizarre ponytail in comics as part of the bargain -- but it's just something that you very rarely see in a female main character -- or in most supporting female characters, for that matter. Black men get to have kinky hair or dreds or shaved heads -- part of the American cultural idea that Real Men may cut or shave their heads, but they don't usually do things to their hair like straightening them. [The jheri curl days are but a greasy memory.] Misty Knight over in Marvel's Heroes for Hire/Daughters of the Dragon used to have natural hair -- afro-puffs, even -- but she's recently gotten trimmed and straightened. And we will not speak of what's happened to DC's Vixen, although, to be fair, she's pretty much always had fairly straight hair; it's just the sudden acute lack of melanin that's noticeable these days.)
Overall, Excellent and Highly recommended.
Which, it turns out, produces periodically problematic artwork.
In the most recent update, one of the shamans does a version of the superheroine twist. You know the twist -- you've all seen it. It's that very strange pose that women get drawn in so as to allow you to get nearly a full frontal shot of the cleavage and a full rear shot of the butt. You can see a version of the pose in the Madame Mirage cover to the left. Despite the severity of her pose (more about that in a sec), it's actually a comparatively mild twist; the butt just isn't that prominent. The shaman's pose in the latest update of Shades, seen to the right of this paragraph, is actually a more traditional Twist, if for somewhat different reasons. A more normal shot from the rear would keep you from being able to see the face, while a more normal shot from the front, even up high, would give you a lovely shot of shaman dingus. Problematic either way.Now, I will say that for the purposes of journalistic completeness, I have, in fact, tried to get into both positions. (No, there are NOT any pictures.) And I can now say two things with authority:
1) Both positions are, shockingly enough, physically possible. (No, REALLY, they are! I know! Who knew!?)
2) Both positions ... Hurt. So. MUCH. The shaman isn't screaming because of the unexpected dragon appearing out of nowhere; he's screaming because his spine is in real and spectacular pain! Granted, my back isn't the most limber, but I can't believe that it wouldn't hurt even a younger and more athletic person. The shaman's position hurt my lower back, and Madame's position hurt everywhere. (Mind, she isn't precisely solid in the story, so she can get away with anatomical improbabilities. In fact, the only reason she's not screaming is that her spine is, quite literally, made of light.)
The other thing I can say with some authority is ... well ...
OK, I'll give 'em the first frame. In that position, with an apparent light source from above, the shadows make sense (... although, honestly? still kind of unusually wee. Most guys, that position, that sort of leap, there'd be danglage.). In the second ... no. Just ... no. The light source, to the extent that you can tell, is from above, his pelvis is aimed toward us, and yet, major shadows. That there is some bad planning and improbable anatomy, that is. (I am not campaigning for full frontal shaman dingus, let us be clear. Frankly, if the artist had just put his front leg up higher to figleaf him, it would have been perfectly reasonable.)
And now, on to actual reviews of hopefully one paragraph or less.
Angel: After the Fall #5 (Whedon/Lynch, Urru; IDW): This story has finally picked up into high gear. I remember that the series used to run like this; there'd be the cliffhanger (if any), then a long, slow ramp into the season proper, putting things into place before it really took off. I like how Lorne has gone from being a supporting character with not a lot to do to being a key player in this "season". And the end was a total shock, despite the fact that they dropped hints here and there about exactly what was going to happen. And now they'll pause for a three issue miniseries, just as the big fight's about to begin. Given that it's got several artists, I'm guessing that "First Night" will be about the first night L.A. spends in hell, from the viewpoint of all the main characters -- the "what exactly happened during the big fight" answer. Anyway, this one's a very good issue.
Return of the Super Pimps #4, "Disco Inferno" (Richard Hamilton, Ulises Carpintero; Dial "C" for Comics): In which we get the origins of our heroes, more or less. I love how the Super Pimps' origin isn't at all cleaned up -- the men really were pimps, and Foxy Mama really was a prostitute. And yet, it all kind of makes sense, in that 70s blaxploitatin "pimps and whores were good guys too" kind of way. Mind, Blackbeard's ancestor being Samson is one of those moments that manages a simultaneous "Oh, that kind of works," at the same time it achieves an "Oh, lord, he didn't really write that, did he?" moment. And the names in their villains gallery incluce Buffalo Soldier (and they really should not have done that), the Super Flyy, the Mo-Foe, One Bad Mutha, and so on and so on.... (I also think that the people who do the TV series "Adventures of Jimmy Neutron" might want to have a word with them about BROBOT.) Even so, it's fun and fast moving, right up to the clearly telegraphed yet still appalling end. A Good issue.
Invincible 49 (Kirkman/Ottley; Image): I realize that I'm asking the wrong person entirely, but a plea: could we please keep the zombies out of superhero comics? Please? Is there no place that's safe from them? In any event, in this issue, the setup for the much ballyhooed, allegedly stupendous issue 50 is finally done. The immediate crisis is dealt with, and in the process, Mark discovers that things have been happening that he knew nothing about. Not a lot you can say without giving away the entire story -- in fact, not a lot of story to give away. Mostly, just an OK issue, with one big thing happening to set up issue 50.
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve 1-2 (Cereno/Bellegarde; Image): A two issue miniseries about how Samantha Wilkins, a.k.a. Atom Eve, discovers she can rearrange matter and what that all means about her past. Writing and art are seriously excellent, and yet, this all highlights a problem with the main Invincible series. In Invincible, Samantha doesn't get to do a lot -- and, yes, I did get the "supporting character" memo -- and honestly, as written by Kirkman, she's just not all that interesting. As writtne by Cereno, she suddenly comes alive -- she's got all sorts of issues and a past, and she's a justifiably angry young woman ... and none of that, not one bit of it, is in the main series. In fact, it's hard to envision, even allowing for a few years' distance, that this version of Samantha could ever have become the one in the main Invincible title. There's some beautiful continuing character work in Atom Eve, linking it to Brit, of all things, along with a massive dangling plot hole at the end, but that's OK. A seriously Excellent miniseries, and I wish there was some way to work this version of the character into the main title. Mark needs more characters with a little bite around him.
Fables 71 (Willingham/Buckingham/Leialoha; DC/Vertigo): In which we discover that Cinderella is not the passive little thing that the tales made her out to be -- but then, all of Prince Charming's once and current wives and paramours are, in fact, kind of awesome in their own ways these days. Like most of this title's recent issues, we've also got a startling last panel reveal. I have to admit, for all that these fables are the ones we've been following all along, I'd really love to have seen what was happening back in Homelands central back before this issue. What did Gepetto do once Ambrose crippled his forces? How did he respond? In any event, this issue is, again, Very Good.
Everybody's Dead 1 (Brian Lynch/Dave Crosland; IDW): You know ... I was kind of expecting this to be horrible, and it really wasn't. A decent setup of a "zombies at college" premise. Westerberg, the narrator and viewpoint character, walks us through what seems to be a more or less typical night at a frat party, introducing us to various people along the way. Aside from Aurora, the girl Westerberg wants, and Greta, the girl who may want him, it's hard to tell who's important and who's going to be zombie fodder at this stage. Given the text and artstyle, it looks like the story's heading for the horror/humor angle. A decent first issue; I'm not sure if I'm going to pick up the second or not. In favor is IDW's trade pricing -- they've never quite gotten the memo that trades should cost a bit less than buying all the individual issues -- against is the fact that this issue didn't quite grab me. We'll see.
Screamland 1 of 5 (Harold Sipe/Hector Casanova; Image): I picked this one up by accident. Much to my surprise, it was very enjoyable. The premise is that all the old horror movie monsters were real, that the movies were sort of fictionalized biography, and the monsters were frequently playing themselves. Issue 1 contains the story of the Frankenstein monster, and the depths to which he has been reduced before one last offer comes through. (Let me just say the words: Ed Wood. Transvestite Porn. The horror ... the horror ...) I have to admit, it's some of the odd little details that I liked as well. For example, one of the Monster's abiding irritations is that everyone calls him Frankenstein, but that's not his name, it was the doctor's. (I don't think we ever do learn his own name, come to think of it.) Really Very Good; that said, since it's a 5 issue mini, I may let it drop to trade.
The Circle, "The Goliath Trap", 5 of 5 (Brian Reed/Ian Hosfeld; Image): In which the Goliath Trap is finally sprung, and everyone's roast chickens finally come home to roost. Including, unfortunately, the creators', since this is the last issue of the series due to low sales. I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised. I'd have thought an interesting, well-illustrated spy/action/adventure series would have been the sort of thing that people would love, but apparently not so much. I suspect that the series was a victim, in part, of the "wait for the trade" mentality. (See Screamland, above.) I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't a certain sort of serial storytelling that may work better these days on the web, with no paper version at all until it's collected for the trade. The problem with that is that you don't get paid until the first trade, unless you can get some advertising on the website, and it's a lot of work for possibly very little payoff. In any event, regarding this issue in particular, it's a very satisfying wrap for the first -- and apparently, only -- story arc, in which villains are thwarted (a few with malice aforethought) and stuff blows up real good, and the next story arc is set up, in which it turns out that our hero is more important that we, or he, knew. Very Good, but alas, the last.
Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson #3 of 4 (Caravajal/Borstel; Ape Entertainment): In which the aliens continue to persecute the fort -- apparently we humans are just damn tasty! Various and sundry internal bodily fluids and organs, both human and alien, continue to appear. Our heroes continue to toss off snappy quips, although the jarring anachronisms from issue 2 have thankfully mostly disappeared. Honestly, if you're going to get me to read a western, there'd better be aliens or something unusual going on. Thankfully, we have sufficient here, including a brief homage to Alien, of all things. (I'm even more or less used to Jefferson's sidekickery and the fact that the captain looks like Custer.) It's a fun action/adventure series, and the artwork is very good. Good, overall; if you like Westerns, you'll probably like this. (Unless you don't like aliens in your westerns.)
Atomic Robo 6 (Clevinger/Wegener/Pattison; Red 5): In which the first arc, "Atomic Robo and The Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne", comes to a satisfactory end. It's basically an issue-long fight sequence, in which Baron Heinrich von Helsingard gets to demonstrate to Robo all the things he's learned in their various encounters through the years, and Robo eventually figures a way around them anyway. In true hero versus villain style, everyone, even the sidekicks -- pardon, the action scientists -- get great lines, like
- We're all a little captured...
- ... Why do I even bring action scientists, anyway
or the following exchange
- Why must we resort to brutalizing each other? Are we not men of SCIENCE?
- What the ... I'm a robot and you're a brain in a jar. Is this a trick question?
Very Very Good, and highly recommended. (Like you can find the other issues anywhere at this point. At least they've confirmed that a trade is planned, so anyone who missed out on it the first time can hopefully catch up before the second arc begins.)
New Dynamix 1 of 5 (Allen Warner, J.J. Kirby; DC/Wildstorm): or, whatever happened to the great heroes of Wildstorm? A radio DJ sort of notices that, even though a lot are still around, a lot of the old heroes have disappeared. Some retired (to Tranquility, but she doesn't know that), some died (like Gen13 and many others), but most just vanished. In any event, this issue is mostly about a hostage situation that winds up bringing one of the vanished heroes out of his obscure retirement. It's ... OK, I guess. Interesting enough to make you wonder, not necessarily enough to make you care, unless it winds up being relevant for the big Wildstorm universe reboot, "Number of the Beast" (yes, they went there -- after Armageddon and Revelations, where else could they go?). OK.
Vinyl Underground 5-6 (Spencer/Gane/Stewart; DC/Vertigo): I tell you what-- they seriously screwed the pooch with this series. They should have started it with an amalgam of the beginning of issue 1, the end of issue 4, and all of issue 5. They started it instead with a casefile as a way of introducing characters and concept, but the problem is that paranormal detectives just aren't a unique enough concept these days. In order to make it work, they need you not only to buy the concept, but the characters, and they're all pretty much just one quirk after another. On the other hand, the end of issue 4 and all of issue 5 deals with Morrison's search for the mother who seems to have abandoned him; given the premise of the series, it's clear that there's something more. On top of that, the search itself, with Morrison being haunted by his juvenile selfe, is a way of making you care about and get you invested in the lead character, since this is clearly a storyline that's going to be brought back again and again; all the quirks of the supporting charactesrs could have been brought in later. (Seriously, guys, a virgin prostitute? Really?) Gane's art works well for the series -- though, honestly, not as well as it does in Paris -- but I don't expect that it'll be enough to rescue it. OK, overall.
Pogrom 1 of 7 (Mathew Tomao/Josh Medors; Devils Due): ... I have no freakin' idea what that was. Basically, it seems to be about a near future in which Washington and the Vatican have merged -- It's called the Watican, and it's ruled by the Presipope, so that's all I can guess -- Italy has fractured back into the Papal States, of all things, and then a former grand inquisitor -- who died in the current century, and yes, the Holy Office of the Inquisition is still around, although the head of the Office is now called the Prefect of the Congregation, and not the Grand Inquisitor -- Anyway, he gets brought back from the dead and then the seven deadly sins turn out to be real metaphysical creatures, and they wander through and ... seriously, that was just 48 pages of sheer confusion. Part of that's deliberate, since the characters don't know what's going on either, but that doesn't help the reader understand the story. The artwork is good but overall ... Not Recommended. (EDIT: According to this review at Broken Frontier, Pogrom is meant to be a commentary on the hypocrisy of organized religion. Which, actually, I can sorta kinda see. Still an unspeakably dense and confused issue, though.)
Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury #295 (Brandon Thomas/Lee Ferguson; Archaia): Awesome like an awesome thing. Miranda Mercury is a space adventuring young woman, whose adventures have been recounted in 294 previous issues (in another dimension, it seems). She and her sidekick, Jack Warning, rescue people and recover important artifacts. Jack loves Miranda -- though I'm not sure whether or not he's in love with her, and it's clear that they'd both do anything for each other. That said, they have a strong disagreement when Jack wants to do something to help Miranda with a problem, and her ethics simply won't allow it. The writing in the first issue does a great job of introducing the characters and the situation, and the art is strong and vivid, and helps convey the story. (Also, and this an entirely personal observation, Miranda Mercury may be the only black woman in comics today drawn with kinky hair. I realize that this isn't a big thing for most people -- and she does also have the most bizarre ponytail in comics as part of the bargain -- but it's just something that you very rarely see in a female main character -- or in most supporting female characters, for that matter. Black men get to have kinky hair or dreds or shaved heads -- part of the American cultural idea that Real Men may cut or shave their heads, but they don't usually do things to their hair like straightening them. [The jheri curl days are but a greasy memory.] Misty Knight over in Marvel's Heroes for Hire/Daughters of the Dragon used to have natural hair -- afro-puffs, even -- but she's recently gotten trimmed and straightened. And we will not speak of what's happened to DC's Vixen, although, to be fair, she's pretty much always had fairly straight hair; it's just the sudden acute lack of melanin that's noticeable these days.) Overall, Excellent and Highly recommended.
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no subject
You might very well be right, but on the other hand it might be an issue I can address. What might you be referring to?
(Also, thanks for the kind words.)
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Invincible presents Atom Eve 1-2
Samantha went ballistic inside a big government facility, and since it was the type of laboratory it was, there should have been cameras and all sorts of security recording what happened. They would have had all sorts of records of the research kept in that lab and elsewhere. (Government labs are nothing if not paranoid about certain types of both data security and redundancy.) She also altered the memories of the people who brought her in, removed the knowledge of herself and those siblings they created, but left behind a thoroughly destroyed lab. They're going to want answers -- clearly something happened not only to the lab, but to them, since they have no memories of anything happening there, including the original research -- and there are all sorts of clues left behind to figure them out. Once they reconstruct the records, they'll realize that their information is wrong, that Samantha can affect animal matter given sufficient provocation. Given the way those people are acting in Brit and now in Invincible, they wouldn't stop until they'd gotten her under their thumb, or killed her if they couldn't.
So, yes, not so much a plot hole as massive consequences set in motion -- and given the main Invincible title, unless they came after her and she altered their memories again, it seems that nothing actually happened after that.
Does that all make sense? Or did I miss some details that explained how she took care of that? (I admit that it's entirely possible; I read it once to read it, then once more for the review, so I might have missed the explanation.)
I do think that this is a much more interesting look at Samantha than anything that we get in the main title, so I hope that there might me one or two more miniseries like this in her future and yours.
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Re: Invincible presents Atom Eve 1-2
Additionally, you could probably time it so that they didn't even have time to finish investigations before the events of Cold Death. I don't know.
Anyway, I'm always glad to discuss my books, so if there's more you want to talk about or if I didn't satisfactorily answer anything, feel free to ask away.