Scouring out the weekly singles scene … in comics!
As I was writing this edition, I got to thinking about some of the random, bargain-bin back issues I tend to buy, and it got me to thinking: Maybe I should do a spin-off column, something where I could review some random comics I picked up that were $2 or less. What do you think? I mean, I have a copy of THE PUNISHER VS. ARCHIE just begging to be unwrapped and read. In the meantime, let’s get it on with my usual SERIOUS ISSUES…
ACTION COMICS #845 (DC) Richard Donner’s stellar winning streak continues in the second part of his Superman story arc, and this time, he’s brought back Bizarro! Gone is the blundering, dumb-as-rock, “Me am Bizarro!” wearing the “Bizarro #1″ necklace – they’ve done the impossible and turned him into an actually menacing badass that will fuck some shit up! A young boy is found who speaks Kryptonian, leading Supes to believe that the kid must be another escapee from his doomed home planet. He rescues the boy from the hands of the government, only to have Lex Luthor send Bizarro to capture the boy. And how does Bizarro figure out who the boy is? By breaking the arms of innocent boys! “You am not Super-boy! You break!” Sure, eventually the menace is contained, but it only opens the door to an even bigger one, that – as revealed on the last two pages – will send you into multiple geek-gasms! What are you doing? Buy this book now!
BUCKAROO BANZAI #3 (Moonstone) God, I really wanted to like this book. I am a huge fan of the film THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION – it’s probably my favorite sci-fi flick ever – so I had huge expectations for this book, especially since the storyline, “Return of the Screw,” is written by one of the movie’s original screenwriters, Earl Mac Rauch. Instead, I got a very unfleshed-out tale, confusing artwork that didn’t seem to go along with the story and an erratic publishing calendar that – after about a little less than a year since the first issue – is just now coming out with the third and final issue. In its favor, the comic does capture the film’s whimsical wackiness, but if only I could tell you what was going on. This title, if they decide to continue with it, has so much potential, as yet unrealized.
CRIMINAL #1-2 (Icon) BOOKGASM readers love crime. Look any day of the week and chances are, you’ll find a mystery or crime novel reviewed. But not by me. I’m honestly not the biggest fan of mysteries and crime novels, except for the occasional true-crime exploitation paperback about Satanic killers in Milwaukee. But after reading the first two issues of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ seminal CRIMINAL, I’m willing to change my tune. Simply put, if you are a BOOKGASM regular, you’ll want to start getting this book ASAP. It’s the tale of career criminal Tommy and his latest heist, complete with intricate plotting and a rare insight into the underworld not usually seen in comics, if at all. By issue two, something goes rotten in Denmark, leading to a bloody twist I didn’t expect, and actually making me gasp a little. A comic book made me gasp. Amazing. DAREDEVIL’s Brubaker has concocted a sly, white-knuckle tale that even outdoes some of the best heist films of the past 10 years. It’s as gritty and realistic as they come, with no expense spared on the blood and bullets. MARVEL ZOMBIES artist Phillips, one of the five best artists working in comics today, delivers a wonderfully menacing noir work of art that perfectly captures the heightened sense of dread throughout the proceedings. Altogether, CRIMINAL is a true masterwork that’s on the verge of being a comics classic.
MARVEL LEGACY: THE 1980S HANDBOOK (Marvel) Boy, Marvel sure was stupid in the ’80s. Yeah, that’s when they had some of their best stories: Frank Miller’s run on DAREDEVIL, “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” etc., but they also had an intergalactic space trucker with a CB in his brain! I love Marvel’s OFFICIAL HANDBOOK series, ever since I was a kid. I almost prefer them to regular comics – to actually read in-depth biographies about the heroes and villains instead of actual stories containing them has always appealed to me. I even just bought all four ESSENTIAL volumes of the collected HANDBOOK. So, of course, I loved this 1980s addendum. But still, Marvel was pretty whacked-out back then: Crystar, a warrior encased completely in crystal; Hercules of the 24th century; sexy private eye Dakota North; the kid-friendly atrocity of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham; dear lord, the interstellar laser-toting rodent Rocket Raccoon; and, most astonishingly, the ill-fated New Universe lineup, including such characters as D.P. 7 (which sounds like a porno film starring Belladonna), Nightmask (which sounds like an erotic thriller starring Shannon Tweed) and Psi-Force (which sounds like a Sci-Fi Channel Pictures original starring Corin “Corky” Nemec). Fun all the way around.
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #1 (Marvel) Judging from the newly relaunched PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL, this one may be better than the plain ol’ PUNISHER title. In this CIVIL WAR tie-in, we open with Big Pun blowing the ridiculous Stilt-Man apart with a rocket launcher, perfectly setting up why Punisher is back in the regular Marvel Universe: With all the heroes fighting each other in the Civil War, no one is left to protect the law-abiding citizens from the super-villain menace, which is running rampant. And, Frank being Frank, he just doesn’t send them to Riker’s or the Vault – he puts a bullet between their eyes. Writer Matt Fraction has crafted a tale that, not only makes perfect sense, but is actually incredibly funny, too, with the Punisher becoming a very ’80s-style action hero, and Ariel Olivetti’s artwork is stunningly beautiful in its quasi-cartooniness. Hope this keeps up.
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE #1 (WildStorm) In the last installment of SERIOUS ISSUES, I raved about WildStorm’s new take on Freddy Krueger, and damned if they didn’t replicate that success with their vision of Leatherface and the whole Hewitt clan in THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Once again, I have to compliment the company for taking the series in a direction away from “let’s gets some naked girls slaughtered” and, instead, actually trying to create a cinema-worthy tale. In this title, the FBI, trying to solve the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history, come to the small, inbred Travis County, only to find a certain lovable chainsaw-wielding maniac and his insane redneck family waiting for them. This is how you do a horror tie-in, folks.
And don’t forget to pick up these perennial SERIOUS ISSUES faves:
• HELLSTORM: SON OF SATAN #2: Hellstorm’s demon-slaying in New Orleans continues! And Satan has a cell-phone! Talk about roaming charges!
• EXILES #88: The conclusion of the evil Silver Surfer, life-giving Galactus alternate universe storyline! Sabertooth fucks up some Surfer!
Next issue: Iron Fist! Jason Voorhees! And a new NEW UNIVERSE? –Louis Fowler
Related posts:
- LOUIS’ SERIOUS ISSUES >> 10.13.06
- LOUIS’ SERIOUS ISSUES >> 11.22.06
- LOUIS’ SERIOUS ISSUES >> 9.29.06
- LOUIS’ SERIOUS ISSUES >> 9.21.06
- LOUIS’ SERIOUS ISSUES >> 11.10.06
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }