Wednesday Comics 2 (15 July 2009)

632686 So even some of the better ones from the previous issue are losers this week. Specifically Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred’s Metamorpho. They flop on the format.

Still strong are Pope’s Adam Strange, Baker’s Hawkman, Dan Didio and Jose Luís Garcia-Lopez’s Metal Men (no, really) and Catwoman by Walt Simonson and Brian Stelfreeze. Oh, and Kamandi by Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook. The biggest surprise has got to be The Flash from Brendan Fletcher and Karl Kerschl. They split it between Iris and Barry and have a very unexpected, but fun, twist.

Deadman, from Vinton Heuck and Dave Bullock, is another nice one.

The lousy ones remain lousy (or worse). Azzarello and Risso’s Batman stinks; Risso’s art wastes the large size. Arcudi and Bermejo’s Superman is probably worse, just because it’s so poorly written. Berganza and Galloway’s Teen Titans has to be the worst one overall.

Another mixed bag.

CREDITS

Batman; writer, Brian Azzarello; artist, Eduardo Risso; colorist, Patricia Mulvihill; letterer, Clem Robins. Kamandi; writer, Dave Gibbons; artist, Ryan Sook. Superman; writer, John Arcudi; artist, Lee Bermejo; colorist, Barbara Ciardo; letterer, Ken Lopez. Deadman; writers, Vinton Heuck and Dave Bullock; artist, Bullock; colorist, Dave Stewart; letterer, Jared Fletcher. Green Lantern; writer, Kurt Busiek; artist and colorist, Joe Quinones; letterer, Pat Brosseau. Metamorpho; writer, Neil Gaiman; artist, Mike Allred; colorist, Laura Allred; letterer, Nate Piekos. Teen Titans; writer, Eddie Berganza; artist and colorist, Sean Galloway; letterer, Nick J. Napolitano. Adam Strange; writer, artist and letterer, Paul Pope; colorist, Jose Villarrubia. Supergirl; writer, Jimmy Palmiotti; artist, Amanda Conner; colorist, Paul Mounts; letterer, John J. Hill. Metal Men; writer, Dan DiDio; penciller, Jose Luís Garcia-Lopez; inker, Kevin Nowlan; colorist, Mulvihill; letterer, Lopez. Wonder Woman; writer, artist, colorist and letterer, Ben Caldwell. Sgt. Rock; writer, Adam Kubert; artist, colorist and letterer, Joe Kubert. The Flash; writers, Brendan Fletcher and Karl Kerschl; artist, Kerschl; colorist, Dave McCaig; letterer, Rob Leigh. The Demon and Catwoman; writer, Walt Simonson; artist and colorist, Brian Stelfreeze; letterer, Steve Wands. Hawkman; writer, artist, colorist and letterer, Kyle Baker. Editors, Chris Conroy and Mark Chiarello; publisher, DC Comics.

Wednesday Comics (2009) #1

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Wednesday Comics really needs a stronger editorial hand. While some of the creators get the concept, others completely fumble it. The successes (and the mediocrities) make up for the bad patches.

In the “no idea how to do the format” section, the issue has Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso on Batman, John Arcudi and Lee Bermejo on Superman (thumbs down to Bermejo’s interpretation too), Eddie Berganza and Sean Galloway on Teen Titans (Galloway’s art is atrocious) and the Kuberts on Sgt. Rock. At least the art’s good on Rock from Joe.

The best entries are–no shock–Paul Pope and Kyle Baker’s. Pope does Adam Strange, Baker Hawkman. They both gleefully approach the newspaper sized medium, pacing their entries differently–though most of the better stories don’t spend this page setting up a plot. The worst ones do.

The issue’s interesting, but barely half successful. There are some real stinkers.

Wednesday Comics 1 (8 July 2009)

666638 Wednesday Comics really needs a stronger editorial hand. While some of the creators get the concept, others completely fumble it. The successes (and the mediocrities) make up for the bad patches.

The issue’s interesting, but barely half successful. There are some real stinkers.

CREDITS

All-Star Western 3 (January 2012)

There’s something missing from this issue. There’s lots of Western action–including a great scene of a gatling gun taking out Hex’s associates on a Gotham street–and the atmosphere is amazing. So it’s not that part of it… it’s the rest.

There’s no story.

Gray and Palmiotti resolve their lame cliffhanger in a page, so fast I didn’t even realize what happened, and then things race along. There are a bunch of conversations, an action scene, and the revelation Hex has something else to do in Gotham.

All the conspiracy stuff and character development are gone. But the issue’s so fun… I didn’t realize it until I had finished reading.

Moritat is getting a little loose, but he still delivers.

The El Diablo back-up is weak, except for Jordi Bernet’s art. It’s really talky and Gray and Palmiotti seem to be going for an ominous finish. They fail.

CREDITS

No News Is Good; artist, Moritat; colorist, Gabriel Bautista. El Diablo; artist, Jordi Bernet; colorist, Rob Schwager. Writers, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; letterer, Rob Leigh; editors, Kate Stewart and Joey Cavalieri; publisher, DC Comics.

All-Star Western 2 (December 2011)

First off, this comic is good.

I don’t plan on getting too negative sounding, but in case I do… I wanted to open saying it’s good. Gray and Palmiotti have found their niche with Jonah Hex.

And this issue has an El Diablo backup, which is extra nice because it provides a great example of what I wanted to talk about. The cliffhanger on the Hex story is terrible. He’s in danger. A giant is about to pop his head off.

Now, I do not believe for one moment Hex is going to die. It’s a waste of a page. The El Diablo backup, on the other hand, has a rousing soft cliffhanger—El Diablo is about to kick ass.

It’s strange to have both in the same issue, by the same writers.

The puzzling cliffhanger problem aside, it’s great stuff.

Moritat opens the Hex story with a fantastic shootout.

CREDITS

Showdown at House Arkham; artist, Moritat; colorist, Gabriel Bautista. El Diablo; writers, Gray and Palmiotti; artist, Jordi Bernet; colorist, Rob Schwager. Writers, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; letterer, Rob Leigh; editors, Kate Stewart and Joey Cavalieri; publisher, DC Comics.

All-Star Western 1 (November 2011)

Probably foolishly, I always ignored Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti’s Jonah Hex. They relaunch the title here, in All-Star Western and it’s one of the best DC relaunch books.

Maybe because Gray and Palmiotti aren’t really relaunching anything.

The issue takes Hex to Gotham City as it’s being founded and gets him involved in a mystery with Professor Arkham. Or Doctor Arkham. I can’t remember. Arkham narrates to great effect, spinning his wheels about Hex’s psychology while laying out the developments in their investigation too.

It’s really… neat. Gray and Palmiotti sort of embrace the idea of being a DC fan. There’s all sorts of mentions of ancestors to familiar cast members–Mayor Cobblepot, a Wayne, maybe something else. It feels more like a DC limited series from the nineties, Jonah Hex travels through DC’s history, and it works really well.

Of course, having Moritat’s excellent artwork doesn’t hurt.

CREDITS

Writers, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; artist, Moritat; colorist, Gabriel Bautista; letterer, Rob Leigh; editors, Kate Stewart and Joey Cavalieri; publisher, DC Comics.

Xombi (1994) #0

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What a goofy way to launch a series. This zero issue of Xombi—introducing the character—doesn’t just take place during a crossover, it also takes place eleven issues into the regular series run. Except the series hasn’t started its regular run yet. John Rozum explains it all in the letters page, but avoids mentioning how difficult it might be to understand.

But, given the constraints, he does a fine job introducing the character. He does the important stuff—establishing the superpowers, his identity—not much else. It’s actually a nice way of being dropped into a situation.

Besides a rocky start with the crossover mastermind, the issue’s good. Rozum has a lot of fun with the two guys trying to recruit Xombi. The bickering is a definite plus.

On the art, Denys Cowan and Jimmy Palmiotti do a nice job. Cowan’s frantic style makes it an atypical superhero book.

Sci-Spy (2002) #6

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Are there any real surprises? Nope. Moench doesn’t even resolve the questions he raised last issue. It’s not a particularly good issue of the series—though far from the worst in terms of Moench’s expository dialogue. He’s got a bunch of it here too, but since it’s the last issue, he gets some leeway.

There’s a huge battle scene and Gulacy and Palmiotti do well with it. The battle has an unlikely setting, at least in terms of physics, but it looks good. It’s not particularly dramatic—again, it’s the last issue and even Moench’s surprise is expected. Actually, not even the big final dramatic moment has much drama.

Sci-Spy mixes a lot of sci-fi movie plot points—not much spy stuff, except Q and then only in the second issue—and Moench and Gulacy do an okay job regurgitating it all into something workable.

It’s decent enough.

Sci-Spy (2002) #5

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Now, how’s Moench going to get himself—and the cast—out of the not insubstantial hole he dug for them?

Creatively.

I mean, it’s sort of simple—kiss, kiss, bang, bang simple—but it works. Gulacy and Palmiotti eventually have a lot to do this issue, but even at the open… they do well making the unbelievable seem somewhat reasonable.

Moench has one big surprise for the issue and it’s not a bad one. It does leave something to be desired in terms of background. While the reveal is certainly plausible, he’s leaving out what leads up to the event and that sleight of hand is obvious. He doesn’t need it, but it would be nice just to feel like he took the time to figure it all out.

Maybe the next issue will reveal all.

After a couple definite trips, it looks like Sci-Spy will finish pretty well.

Sci-Spy (2002) #4

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Coming off the highpoint of last issue, it shouldn’t be a surprise this one has problems. Moench spends the first half of it unveiling the “true” ground situation. Loads of expository dialogue, but some really nice flashback summary art from Gulacy and Palmiotti. Not sure what’s up with the weightlifting fetishizing, but whatever….

Then Moench moves on to the action, sci-fi part of it. It’s well-plotted and interesting, even if the dialogue’s terrible. He’s got to fill the pages with something, so he choses weak dialogue between the two protagonists. They’re an established couple now and a lot less interesting. Once again, the orb provides a lot of needed comic relief.

As for the conclusion—and the very hard cliffhanger—it’s good. I have no idea what to expect, given the situation Moench saddles on the protagonists.

Only one severe problem—Gulacy’s Predator-influenced alien designs are weak.