#464 - Three Pull List Comics and an Invisible Lady

My plans this didn't turn out quite as I had anticipated.

For weeks now, after listening to the Shortbox podcast's spotlight episode on them, I had been planning to read the Illuminati mini-series from Brian Bendis and Jim Cheung. Unfortunately, other reads kept catching my eye but I did finally think that this week was going to be the week.

And then the announcement that Dan Slott's run on Fantastic Four is officially coming to an end.

Hearing this threw me a little and not only did it make me consider re-reading the entire Slott run in some sort of retrospective, but it also gave me the itch to reading something First Family-esque.

So, with that, I opted to move away from the Illuminati this week and picked up Invisible Woman, the Sue Storm-centric mini-series by Mark Waid and Mattia De Lulis which delved into the idea that during her costumed crime-fighting career, Sue Storm/Richards moonlighted as a secret agent for SHIELD. However, when her partner from all of those spy missions goes missing, Sue takes it upon herself to find and rescue friend.

Ever since this series has been released, I've heard incredible things about it. As such, this good word of mouth, coupled with the fact that Mark Waid was writing it, was more than enough to sell to me that I would have to buy this series (although it's just a shame it took me until MCM to do so). Unfortunately, the first two issues of this series felt a little underwhelming, almost like the story was very monotonous and, as a result, struggled to hold me. That said, once the third issue began, I really thought the pace began to pick up steam and came across as much more captivating. I think that the key to this was the characterisation of Sue herself. Waid, a veteran of the character thanks to his tenure on the Fantastic Four, really seemed to portray the character as I always think of her. However, what really impressed me was how he evolved Sue's power set in such interesting ways.

Meanwhile, although the story struggled to grab me for the first two issues, Mattia De Lulis' art seemed to have no such qualms. I thought the artwork in this series was absolutely gorgeous from the word go, with a style that made me think of Adi Granov's work mixed with the colour scheme of the covers by Artgerm. Much like the story, De Lulis' depiction of Sue's powers are what really stuck out with me, from Sue making parts of a house invisible to using her powers to subtly change her appearance, the entire series was beautiful from start to finish.

This was another good Marvel read from Mark Waid after having read Ant-Man and the Wasp earlier in the year. While it too didn't feel like it blew me away like with Daredevil, Kingdom Come and a lot of his other work, I enjoyed seeing the Invisible Woman get some time in the spotlight and wouldn't say no if a follow up was made. 

So, that was my big read of the week. However, in a bit of a surprise to the system, I managed to make the time to read it in just a few days. This left me both the time and opportunity to read some pull list comics which I had picked up this past Wednesday.

The first of those was Star Trek: The Mirror War - Sisko #1, which gave some focus on another player to appear in the main Mirror War story as we were re-introduced to Captain Benjamin Sisko, dark reflection of the once and future Emissary we know as well as a loyal soldier to Intendant Kira Nerys, as he completes a mission to remove one of her enemies.

Now, while the mini-series proper has been a bit of a slow burn in regards to getting on my good side, the one-shots that have accompanied it have been pretty good fun. Unfortunately, this one shot just wasn't my thing as the story seemed to lack captivating story, focusing more on the good Captain's views of his place in the galaxy (which did t really connect with me either. The art, was pretty cool and vibrant and something I did enjoy about the issue but it did confuse with scenes of Starfleet officers and Defiant class starship in places. The final page advertises a Troi one-shot and hopefully that can compare more to the prior two. Sadly, Sisko just didn't do that for me.

Next up was Fantastic Four #44, the (seemingly) penultimate issue of Dan Slott's Reckoning War event as the various Fantastic Four continue their respective missions as they begin to come together to face down the Reckoning in a final battle ... one which the Universe's deadliest weapon may be the only way to ensure victory.

Now, I thought this was a good read, although I did feel that, like many of the many issues so far, this story seemed rather truncated. What I mean by this is that, unlike other events or seemingly universe affecting stories, this one continues to almost lack a sense of 'savouring' (for want of a better word) what happens. Still, it does continue to be fun enough with a good moment or two for each member of the Four.

I continue to love the art for Fantastic Four. While, this isn't the same style from Izaakse, Medina or Silva that I adored and seemed to seamlessly flow from one to the next, the work from the three artists on this issue is still so colourful and crazy and totally in keeping with Marvel cosmic trotting First Family. By the end of this issue, the explosive cliffhanger certainly will bring me back. While I'm looking forward to David Pepose getting onto this series, I can't lie that I'm intrigued how Dan Slott will leave everything.

Finally I read, Do A Powerbomb #1, the first issue of a new series by Daniel Warren Johnson about a young, down on her luck would-be wrestler who is given the opportunity to bring back to life the mother she lost in the squared circle 10 years earlier.

Despite having read nothing by him, I've heard so much great praise about Daniel Warren Johnson's comics. Therefore, when I heard about this on a podcast (Blake's Buzz I think), it felt like something I should check out. Thankfully I wasn't disappointed because while this opener was essentially a set up issue, I really felt that it had so much heart and emotion to it that I couldn't help but be drawn into it.

The art is ... unusual, but that wasn't a bad thing in my mind. It was chaotic and dark but with some really trippy colours that really made it an enjoyable thing to look at, as well as really helping get across the emotional beats of the story. All in all, this was a good read but I think that may downplay the series as a whole because I'm confident it'll be an awesome read in its entirety. I'm now really eager for next month.

Alas, that's still a way away and I've got a few more weeks before then and plenty still to read. Next week I might actually (finally) get around to Illuminati, although knowing me something else will catch my eye first.

Good

#463 - Back in Print

It's been a bit of a dull week, as life has once again occupied the majority of my time.

That said, I did manage to read a few small comics (even if they weren't the ones I wanted to read).

Of my collection, this consisted primarily of The Magnificent Ms Marvel Annual #1, the Acts of Evil tie in from a couple of years back where Magdalene Visaggio, Jon Lam and Msassyk pit Kamala Khan against classic FF foe the Super-Skrull, as he attempts to absorb her shape-shifting powers in order to use them to kick start the rebuilding of the Skrull Homeworld.

No, I bought this back when it was first released, as my appreciation of the Super-Skrull had me wanting to check it out, but I recall this being a comic that just wasn't my thing. This time round, however, I took to the issue a little better as I found it more interesting. Overall, it was an ok title because both the art and the story were just that. I mean, the art looked a little rough for my liking and the story was a little 'cartoony' (for want of a better word. However, the latter certainly did manage to entertain me sufficiently and I guess that is all that's needed.

Everything else I read this week found its way to me via my need to review. The first of these was Savant, a Giant-Size one-shot comic about an alien artificial life-form which attempts to help a planet on the verge of extinction.

Unfortunately, this wasn't really for me. It was an interesting concept and it's art had a cool end of the world look like Canopus and Bountiful Garden (which I've also previously reviewed). However, it's problem with me was that it didn't set things up sufficiently in that I felt like the landscape and characters were not properly set up. As a result, this comic just wasn't for me and I couldn't find the words to do a review justice.

The same could be said for Fox and Hare #1, a recent Vault Comics which told the story of two child orphans who grew up to become vigilantes and champions of the downtrodden in a technological future city of Mazu Bay. However, when a new mission brings them in contact with a young hacker, they find themselves targeted by all the worst the city has to offer.

I'm a big Vault fan and pretty much anything they release seems like gold. With this though, I thought it was more a rusty nail than a gold nugget. I liked the art, which made me think of Superman Smashes the Klan in it's Manga-esque vibe. However, while the story and the background was better provided here, I just found that Fox and Hare really wasn't my thing.

My final read of the week was actually a physical comic as I checked out Daughters of Albion #1, which I had picked up at MCM last week. Now, this one has a proper review coming up as I could better find the words to describe it but, to put it simply, this was an interesting comic. While the story took a bit of time to get going and maybe didn't offer enough exposition to start with, the artwork was absolutely gorgeous and, by the end, the plot had me intrigued enough to want to go back for the next issue.

And so that's been my week, very light as I said but it has given me time to think and realise something through the comics I've read.

What I've realised is, as I was reading the three digital comics (Ms Marvel, Savant, Fox and Hare), is that digital no longer appeals to me.

It's been six years since I last thought on the topic and felt like I was going to go completely digital. However, after this week's reads along with my recent collection of pull list comics and the Other History of the DC Universe, I've come to realise that the reading of physical comics is still the more superior method to consume (and they smell better too!!).

Also, given all of the issues surrounding Comixology and their app/company's gutting by Amazon (capped off by the recent news that you can't buy direct through the app), I just feel as if buying and/or reading digitally (well, through Amazon) is just so incredibly tiresome.

Therefore, with a great number of unread trades piled up, I think I'll be taking some time to read (and maybe re-read) those print copies for the next few weeks.

Hopefully, I can make the time to do just that next week. 

#462 - A (physical) comic heavy week. (The Other History of the DC Universe)

What a week the last seven days have been!!

It's been long week but, more accurately, it's also been a hard one. This is down to the fact that I've spent almost the entire time recovery from Saturday and my attendance to MCM Comic Con in London.

Now, I've written a piece on my thoughts about the day which will appear on Pipedream Comics in the near future, but to personalise the occasion a little, I absolutely loved the day. Sure, by the end my legs were exhausted and I could really have done with being a whole extra day (or two), but I got to see and meet a whole bunch of awesome people and witness some really excellent coaplayer as well as pick up a bunch of trades and comics that I just couldn't help but buy.

Unfortunately, I since then haven't been able to crack open any of these comics because I've still ve working through (and, in fact, finishing) John Ridley's The Other History of the DC Universe. This series, written by Ridley while the art was created by Giuseppe Gamuncoli, Andrea Gucchi and José Villarrubia, tells the history of the DC Universe (as the title implies) but from the perspective of Heroes from disenfranchised groups. Black Lightning, Renee Montoya, Katana, Mal and Karen Duncan and Thunder, all heroes who are not the white, straight male stereotype of superheroics, each spend an issue describe the trials and tribulations of their respective superhero journey against a backdrop of various historical and political events.

Ever since it was announced, this was a series which I seriously wanted, a fact which kicked into overdrive once this Black Label comic was released in its collected format. However, despite receiving the collection as a Christmas gift during the last festive period, I've continued to push this book further an further down river and instead opted for other (predominantly digital) comics on my to read list. The reason for this was, like many comics I REALLY wanted to read, I feared that it's content wouldn't live up to my expectation.

Thankfully, my fears proved unwarranted because after nearly two weeks burning through the Other History of the DC Universe, I discovered by the end how much I loved this book. I wasn't sure what to expect when i first read, at least not beyond the assumption that it was going to be a hard hitting read (because I expect nothing less than from the director of 12 Years A Slave). However, Other History had this very expose feel to it as I went through the issues, like I was reading multiple autobiographies or a sort of Panorama-esue exposure. Ridley certainly must have done an absolute tonne of research for this series as he really shone a light on events and situations which, while maybe innocuous from one perspective, when told through a these different lenses, it really gave a heartbreaking feel.

That said, while Other History gave centre stage to characters the superhero stereotype might usually ignore, it also gave focus to some great storylines throughout DC's history. From the Judas Contract to the formation of the Outsiders to the events of 52, this series touched on so many events which seeing them here in just a few references gave me greater interest in those stories. This is further helped by the art, which is consistently gorgeous throughout and helps provide the feel of the specific time period in each issue. That said, I did find it difficult to determine whether the art was original or simply utilised from the comic issues past. This is all because of a single image in which saw Renee Montoya dressed as the Question, which I'm sure was ripped direct from 52. Of course, it would certainly make sense if the images were taken from comics of the specific story/time period and it doesn't change how amazing it works.

Unfortunately, if the Other History of the DC Universe had one flaw for me it was simply the fact that this comic series was just so dense. Now normally, I would read a 24-30 page comic in 15-20 minutes. However, with the issues of the Other History, it felt like getting through a single issue was taking hours. This is maybe because the collected edition readore like a prose book with illustrations rather than a comix book, the out of text was that large. Also, while Other History was a captivating and engrossing read, it was a lot like 12 Years A Slave in that it's heavy subject matter made me think I might not return to reading it again (at least for a good while).

Still, despite its emotionally heavy content, the Other History of the DC Universe was, to me, an exceptional read that i kind of wish I'd checked out sooner (although  glad I did it now after my recent break). And although I have just said I might not read it again for a while, it's definitely going on my shelf in the hope that I will return to it again one day.

Oh, and before I forget ...

While I didn't exactly read it in the last seven days, this week saw a review I had written a few weeks back get put up over at Pipedream Comics. Journee #1, as I hope my review attests, is a really interesting comic. I thought that it struggled from all of those things first issue's have, you know ... set-upitis. However, the concept and the cliffhanger at the end, makes me intrigued about where this comic goes next.

I also thought the art was solid work, if a little inconsistent in places. That said, I still found it to be a lovely style and the rare inclusion of colour enhances the questions I have, thus making me want to return all the more.

So, if it this short statement (and the review) doesn't make it obvious, I really want to come back to this comic. I'm not sure if I can class it as good (although it can't be by much), but it certainly leaves me interested and very much wanting to see how it all plays out.

And so that brings the comics part of my week to an end, although I also filled my time with (like everyone else) the first three episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi. At this point, it feels I'm just preaching to the converted but I have absolutely loved the first half of the series so far. There has been so much great stuff, from episode two's very noir vibe, the casting of young Leia, a cameo in episode 2 and even the fact the Obi-Wan knows Aikido.

Of course, I like everyone else does have one story niggle, but it doesn't change the fact that I found this awesome series so far, with such a brutal end to episode 3 reallyaking me regret this weekly release schedule of Disney's.

Anyway, thats now officially the week done. A very physical comic heavy week what with what I read and all I bought. To be honest, this was a nice change of pace as I found myself drawn back to print comics (with help of Comixology, who recently announced that their comics could no longer be purchased through their app due to Google Play Store's high in app charge. Funny the same doesn't apply to the Amazon proper app). As such, I'll probably try and read plenty of print comics in the next few weeks.

Although, my planned read for next week might be some physical comics that have been out for quite a while.