Last week was dominantly Marvel pick-ups for me. DC is the alpha male this week. I'll start with the underdog just as I did last week.
Is it really accurate to say underdog, though? The only Marvel comic I bought this week is FF #1 and bro, it's my favorite of the whole bunch.
The art is stupendous! Oh my glob guys! It has this kind of retro, goofy look to it, and it's packed with color and personality. It's very expressive and quite wonderful. Jesus!
The overall tone of the book is not quite what I was expecting. I was more or less expecting straight-up comedy and cheese but it's really not taking that angle, and I actually appreciate that given what this book actually seems to be. It's fun, and moderately light-hearted, but there's more than enough serious undertone to set the stage for legitimate drama and sweet moments. This is going to be a wonderful comic, and it ties into the main Fantastic Four book in clever fashion. I skipped Fantastic Four #1 last week (or was it two weeks ago?) but after reading this issue I'll be getting it and keeping up with these both for the long haul. It seems too special not to jump on, right at the start.
On to DC.
I was pretty excited to read Batman Inc. #5, as this is an issue that continues upon a possible dystopian future for Gotham, first introduced in Batman #666 (which I unfortunately haven't read), in which Damian Wayne becomes Batman and things take a turn for the worst.
I read it, and you see, Grant Morrison's Batman work is incredibly dense and often times hard to follow. But it's just so interesting. There's a lot to chew on, and it's such high concept, strange stuff. I liked what was here a lot, but I'm still so confused. I've read all of his Batman Inc. work and half of his Batman and Robin stuff, but I still feel like I'm missing a lot.
I like reading his work despite feeling perpetually lost, and hey, his boy Chris Burnham knows how to draw.
What else, um... I read the new issue of Batman: The Dark Knight, which is up to #14 now. I've been reading ever since Greg Hurwitz jumped on board and I've been consistently enjoying myself, but this issue is kind of lame. Batman escapes the Scarecrow's dungeon but it's very sudden and anticlimactic. The girl who was stolen by Scarecrow is stupidly sympathetic towards the baddy and heavy-handedly skeptical of Batman. And then the ending very quickly sets up the Scarecrow's next plan, which is absolutely nothing that hasn't already been popularly done before.
There's what I believe to be a subtle reference to Penguin: Pain and Prejudice here that I enjoyed, and the art's great, but that's just about the most positive I can be about this book.
Pretty lame.
I picked up Aquaman #14, which I was very glad to do. I loved the first five issues of The New 52's Aquaman. Great stuff. Then all the "The Others" crap started and I bailed. Read like a sterile history textbook to me, albeit with some nice artwork. Not my cup of tea.
This is a lead into a Justice League/Aquaman crossover and it's looking pretty cool so far. I missed quite a bit skipping from what, I think I skipped 9-13? I read the zero issue. But yeah I missed a lot but I figured it all out I think. The new artist isn't nearly as nice as the old one but it's not bad.
Lastly I read Talon #2, which I have mixed feelings on. The Court of Owls remains an awesome clan of assassins, and this issue ushers in new and vastly superior art. This issue clearly paints Calvin and his old-guy assistant as interesting, morally-grey individuals, which I like even though it feels partially artificial at times. Calvin is depicted as quite selfish here, caring only about saving two friends of his that just sort of pop in out of no where. His actions and thoughts are arguably justifiable, considering what he's been through, but I feel like it's quite a leap from his heroic characterization of the first two issues. And it's something that I can just sort of forgive, but really, this one assassin with no super powers is really a threat to the entire Court? Freaking Batman got his ass kicked!
I suppose that's all. Bye. Go read comics and eat your vegetables.
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