Red Lanterns 3 (January 2012)

This issue is something special. It’s Benes objectifying a resurrected rape and murder victim. At first, I thought it was just his impulse, but then the issue moved on and it became clear Benes does it on purpose. It’s a little creepy. The new DC seems to be a bunch of creators you wouldn’t leave alone with your kid.

Oddly, it’s easily the best Red Lanterns issue. Milligan is able to write this female character, able to set her in opposition to the lead Red Lantern, and to do an impression of an eighties DC sci-fi book.

Benes rips off Phantom Menace for the alien planet this issue, bringing down the issue’s creativity, but Milligan has his own offenses too. In particular, he brings back the two quarreling humans. It’d be so funny if neither becomes a Red Lantern.

It’s not a good comic, but the writing’s not incompetent.

CREDITS

Higher Consciousness; writer, Peter Milligan; penciller, Ed Benes; inker, Rob Hunter; colorist, Nathan Eyring; letterer, Carlos M. Mangual; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

Justice League Dark 2 (December 2011)

Strangely, I don’t care about any of Justice League Dark‘s significant problems. It’s got Janin on the art still and he’s still fantastic, so it can pretty much be about anything. And Milligan isn’t going to write anything offensive. It might get bad, but it won’t offend on any level other than wasting time.

But there’s Janin’s art, so Dark can’t be a waste of time.

Now, it is interesting what a big part Deadman plays here. He’s got this book, DC Universe and Hawk & Dove. I’d hate to think DC is overexposing him just because there’s a TV show in the works.

Sadly, Milligan writes Deadman like he’s a Seth Rogen character. He always begging Dove for sex… and considering she’s not even on the team, it’s strange she gets more page time than the erstwhile principals.

Still, Dove by Janin is awesome.

Dark‘s both bad and wonderful.

CREDITS

In the Dark, Part Two: Dark Matter; writer, Peter Milligan; artist, Mikel Janin; colorist, Ulises Arreola; letterer, Rob Leigh; editor, Rex Ogle; publisher, DC Comics.

Red Lanterns 2 (December 2011)

Wow, what a bargain. Nineteen pages of story.

I think Benes is suited for dumb science fiction. I mean, Red Lanterns is pretty dumb. Milligan introduces about fifteen proper nouns this issue and none of them are consequential. Worse, he doesn’t even expect the reader to remember them. He’s completely non-committal with the whole thing, which begs the question… why bother?

The flashback (I think it’s a flashback) in the issue has nothing to do with the incredibly soft cliffhanger, so what’s the point other than to fill pages?

Oh, wait, the point is to fill pages.

I suppose on a technical level, besides the endless proper nouns, the writing isn’t bad. His first person narration of the lead Red Lantern is decent enough. But Milligan clearly doesn’t have a plot.

It’s also unclear to me why the Spectre isn’t a Red Lantern, if they’re the Lanterns of vengeance.

CREDITS

Pure Rage; writer, Peter Milligan; penciller, Ed Benes; inker, Rob Hunter; colorist, Nathan Eyring; letterer, Carlos M. Mangual; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

Justice League Dark 1 (November 2011)

Who is Mikel Janin and why isn’t he on a better book?

Janin is an exquisite artist. He brings a sense of realism to his figures and settings… and the magical nonsense in Justice League Dark. He’s not an inappropriate artist for the comic at all, he just should be on something much, much better.

Because, so far, Peter Milligan isn’t doing anything interesting with Dark. Some of the problem is the plotting. He’s going to introduce the reader to the whole concept—along with the regular Justice League failing. Now, as far as I know, this comic is the first appearance of the “modern” Justice League.

And Cyborg is apparently Robocop.

Milligan doesn’t even get the cast together, which is a peculiar move. He mostly narrates from Madame Xanadu’s point of view. Either he’s not doing a good job writing it or she’s boring.

Regardless, Janin makes Dark worthwhile.

CREDITS

In the Dark, Part One: Imaginary Women; writer, Peter Milligan; artist, Mikel Janin; colorist, Ulises Arreola; letterer, Rob Leigh; editors, Rex Ogle and Eddie Berganza; publisher, DC Comics.

Red Lanterns 1 (November 2011)

Red Lanterns is DC’s family-friendly title, isn’t it?

I’d sort of heard of the Red Lanterns, but I had no idea they all looked creepy (as creepy as Ed Benes can draw—he’s pretty slick for a sci-fi comic with horror elements). I also didn’t know they hung out near a pool of blood and fought all the time.

As for the writing, Peter Milligan doesn’t commit to the sci-fi aspect. He’s bringing in these two angry young men on Earth and I assume one of them is going to end up being a Red Lantern. It’d be funnier if the kid didn’t, of course, since it would just be Milligan filling pages.

The majority of the comic follows the Red Lantern leader, who’s got some dumb name I’m not committing to memory, as he waxes nostalgically about his long-dead family.

It’s crap, but inoffensive crap.

CREDITS

With Blood and Rage; writer, Peter Milligan; penciller, Ed Benes; inker, Rob Hunter; colorist, Nathan Eyring; letterer, Carlos M. Mangual; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

The Mystic Hands of Dr. Strange 1 (May 2010)

This issue is an homage to Marvel’s old black and white magazines, though at the regular, modern comic size. And, with the exception of including a text story (I don’t care who wrote it, why’s it there?), the issue is a complete success.

The feature story, from Kieron Gillen and Frazer Irving, is set in the late seventies and deals with contemporary social issues. It’s a “place in the world” superhero story for Dr. Strange, even though he’s not exactly a superhero. Gillen’s writing is strong and Irving draws a scary Mephisto. With it, the issue’s off to an excellent start.

The next story, from Peter Milligan and Frank Brunner, is also good. Brunner’s artwork lends itself, on a whole, better to the form than Irving’s does. Milligan writes fine dialogue.

Ted McKeever’s action story is really a moody introspective addiction piece.

It’s all great. But why the text story?

CREDITS

The Cure; writer, Kieron Gillen; artist, Frazer Irving. Melancholia; writer, Peter Milligan; artist, Frank Brunner. So This Is How It Feels…; writer and artist, Ted McKeever. Duel In The Dark Dimension; writer, Mike Carey; artist, Marcos Martin. Letterer, Joe Caramagna; editors, John Barber and Jody Leheup; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Girl (1996) #3

Milligan brings Girl to its unexpected and fantastic finish.

In some ways it’s the least visually outlandish issue of the series. Fegredo is confined to a very realistic rendition now. The result is something a little more visually engaging than the other issues. Because the reader finally knows exactly what Fegredo’s supposed to be drawing so he or she can appreciate it better.

Milligan comes up with a great narrative for the issue—it takes place over a couple days—and he still manages to surprise the reader every few pages. Once he sets up the last issue, he still has a couple more revelations in store for the reader and for Simone, the protagonist.

Simone, a first person female narrator written by a man, is one of the strongest female comic book characters I can think of. Milligan doesn’t just masterfully write a comic, he masterfully writes a person.

Girl (1996) #2

Milligan delivers an outstanding issue. One of the greatest things about Girl is how unpredictable he makes the narrative. But it’s more than just coming up with a great cliffhanger to this issue, it’s coming up with a great resolution to the previous issue’s cliffhanger.

In between, Milligan fills in a bunch more about main character Simone’s life. He doesn’t spend a lot of time implying history, more giving her a revealing situation to move through. The final revelation (of this issue)—which Milligan even foreshadows, before playing with the idea of foreshadowing it—forces the reader to reexamine Simone.

Still, with an issue left, Girl is still somewhat up in the air. Milligan’s second issue is even better than his first, so I’m very anxious to see what he does in the third.

Fegredo excels again, making the people outlandish but real. Not to mention his fantastic panel design.

Girl (1996) #1

I suppose there is a little sensationalism in Girl. It takes place in a town called Bollockstown and there’s a lengthy dream sequence and a couple mammals going out a window and plummeting to their deaths.

But Milligan makes the whole thing feel everyday. The comic’s about a–you guessed it–girl named Simone. Her family’s awful, so’s the town and she’s fifteen and stuck there. So her self-awareness generally hinders more than helps.

Though this issue ends on a big moment, the rest of the issue is rather quiet, even when she’s doing something loud. It opens in a flash forward, about two weeks after the majority of the issue; I’m guessing the series will fill in the difference. It’s a big open, but even it’s a little quiet.

Fegredo’s artwork is wonderful, giving Simone’s reality a lot of grim, but occasionally showing comfort.

It’s a great read.

After Dark (2010) #1

Wesley Snipes helped create After Dark. There’s no mention of if he did it before or after debtor’s prison. I imagine if the comic had a tax evader as a character, it might be a lot more interesting. The story, if I can figure it out, is about an atmosphere destroyed earth with no real sunlight (Snipes apparently saw the Matrix) and the people in power decide to send a mission out to find a cultural icon to inspire the masses. Unfortunately, it’s not Elvis.

A really lame team assembles and there’s eventually some dramatics, et cetera.

It’s basically like every other lame sci-fi story. I read it because of Peter Milligan, who doesn’t necessary do crappy work for hire. His writing here is terrible, so I guess you’ll have to trust me on that last statement.

There’s not much he can do with this awful, unintelligible art.

Simply dreadful.