The Savage Critic: January 16th, 2002 By Brian Hibbs

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends.

Damn it, I’m behind schedule again (already? Its only my second week back!), so no preamble...

BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #25: Proof that crossover storylines don’t have to suck, I guess. Not that I want to encourage those things, or anything. But here in week 2 I’m amazed how much I’m enjoying the utterly preposterous Murderer? storyline. And what a damn fine cover, huh? Good.

BIRDS OF PREY #39: Ditto, except for the bit about the cover. Good.

CAPTAIN MARVEL #27: Another reasonably funny issue. OK

DAREDEVIL #29: The art was very nice this issue, and Bendis thankfully backs away from the perceived death of the Kingpin. Actually, the scene with Wilson and DD was probably my fave of the issue. Very good.

DEADPOOL FUNERAL FOR A FREAK #2: The riff on the Return of the Superman storyline might have been more interesting a little closer to the publication of that one. Say, in the same decade. Goofy, but harmless, though one really wonders why they’re still publishing Deadpool anyway. Eh

ELEKTRA & WOLVERINE THE REDEEMER #2: I dunno – the art is nice, but it’s just a prose story about Elektra and Wolverine. Which is not something the world was crying out for, now was it? Eh.

FRED THE CLOWN #2: I guess this little review column has now hit the so-called Big-Time – my "review" of #1 made the back cover as promotion. That’s both funny and sad. Kinda like this comic. I hope it generates enough income for Landridge to keep putting it out – he’s really an unsung creator. Good.

GRIP THE STRANGE WORLD OF MEN#3: Not sure how this relates to the first 2 issues, but this was fine, scary, fucked up stuff. Worth every penny, and then some. Very good.

HAVEN THE BROKEN CITY #2: Now that the JLA went away, this became kinda interesting. I still don’t have much of a feel or opinion for any of the lead characters, but that all could be fixed relatively easily. Nice logo, btw. OK

HEROBEAR AND THE KID #4: It is cute and it is charming, and it sorta makes me think of the first year or so of Bone. And this issue we get a lot of back-story, which is always nice. But the pencils are just driving me bonkers. Unlike the lousy coloring in DK2, which I was able to "forget" by the time we got to page 40 or so of #1, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the penciled look. A bit hard to read and follow. Which is a shame, because, like I said it is cute and charming, and even whimsical – and there’s not enough of that in comics these days. OK

HUNTER THE AGE OF MAGIC #7: Nothing would please me more if Tim never ever went back to faerie again. And if they wrap up this hunted story line fast. Funny that a book called "Hunter" is currently mostly about him being hunted. Not "funny ha-ha" though. OK.

INCREDIBLE HULK #36: Sure, that was fine. Nowhere near the joy and power I got from #34 though. OK

KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #63: And yes, I still think this is the funniest comic being published today. And yes, I know I am a geek. Very good.

LENORE #9: Heh, those worm pages were great. Very good.

LIBERTY MEADOWS WEDDING ALBUM: Hrm, odd. This is the "transition" issue between the strips and the comic – but with so much recap, I can’t imagine it being that exciting for either audience. Felt like so much filler to me. I wonder about the next issue, as well – the editorial makes it sound like he’s restarting the story now that it won’t be a strip any longer. Wonder if he can pull it off? Eh.

MARVEL MANGAVERSE NEW DAWN #1: Not as bad as I thought it would be. Apparantly this was a fast sell-out as most stores (us too), even though everyone rejected it during preorders. Oh, well, there will be a trade in 4 months anyway, I’m sure. OK

MONARCHY #10: Blah blah blah. I love Doselle (he was just up in The City, but he came when I was swamped with work, and I didn’t get a chance to hang with him before he went back home), but I just can’t fathom this book at all. Only 2 issues to go, and I think I’m going to move it into the "didn’t read" pile because it seems kinda pointless to review it any longer anyway. Awful.

NOBLE CAUSES #1: The prelude had some zing and pep. This was kinda lukewarm. I didn’t particularly care for the art at all, and I wanted to see something more than just another riff on the FF. OK.

ORIGIN #4: Dunno. Now that we’ve seen his birth and the first claw popping, I wonder what else they can show us. This issue definitely felt like marking time, except for the nekkid shots of the red-head and all of the leering. Eh.

PETER PARKER SPIDER-MAN #39: There was something off about this issue’s pacing – it felt like "but we HAVE to have some super-villain action" to me. I quite liked all the Daily Bugle scenes, though. OK

POWER COMPANY SKYROCKET: Better than the first three, here is the first PCer that I actually like. Super double-cliched motivation (did anyone think the parents would live, once they were introduced?), but the character is reasonably appealing. OK.

POWERS #16: The only problem for a reviewer that Bendis and his 42 comics a month poses is how many time can you write a variation on "Bendis has the best ear for dialogue in the business"? And the hella best letter column. Excellent.

PVP #4: Never a good idea to put your Christmas-themed issue out in the middle of January, but this was an excellent send-up of every Christmas-themed holiday television special, while still being a paean to the holidays itself. Very good.

SIMPSONS COMICS #66: Ian Boothby owns you, mmkay? Why the hell isn’t he writing for the show? He’s got the ear and timing for it. And I liked Gail’s backup this time, too! Very good.

SLOW NEWS DAY #4: It beats the hell out of me why Andi Watson isn’t selling a bajillion copies every month. You jerks BETTER buy the trade. Very good.

SOJOURN #7: Cliché-filled, but yet I still like it for some reason. Probably one of two CrossGen books that will survive our "subs-only" purge later this winter. (hey, almost none of them can manage to sell more than 1 copy off of the rack!) OK

SUPERMAN #178: That was... discordant. Superman has pie and beats up the Spirit of America. Yup, that’s what I’m looking for in my Superman books. And what the HELL was up with the limited palette for most of the issue? I mean, sure, "only use red white and blue" is an interesting decision – but shouldn’t you follow that through the ENTIRE issue, then? And not just random bits of it? Awful

THUNDERBOLTS #60: ‘Nuff Said apparently made me think I missed an issue. Or two, maybe. Awful.

UNCANNY X-MEN 2001: Ashley Wood is a TREMENDOUS artist, and he actually seem to understand what "widescreen" should mean. But Wood is also the kind of artist who should not only never ever do superhero books, but shouldn’t apparently do comics with a cast that numbers more than four or so. I had no idea, at all, who was talking to whom in most panels. Too damn bad, that. Pick it up for the pretty pictures, but don’t bother trying to read it. OK

X-FORCE #123: Excellent. ‘nuff said?

For Sake of Completeness, here’s a list of all of the OTHER comics that CE got in this week, that I did NOT read (and, therefore, am unlikely to review!). Note, that in most cases this is limited to 1) Manga, which I try to read as it is collected; 2) "Kids" comics like most of the Archies; 3) titles that were subs-only, either by design or accident; 4) Porno [oh, like you need me to REVIEW it!], 5) Things that looked SO bad on the racks that I didn’t bother, and 6) stuff that I’ve assessed before, and I care so little about that I don’t want to waste my time reading anymore. You decide which is which!

10TH MUSE #8
ALRAUNE #3
BASTARD WIZARD #2
BLACK TIDE #2
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER HAUNTED #2
CANNON GOD EXAXXION #3
CHIAROSCURO #2
FUTABAKUN CHANGE VOL 7 #5
HOW TO DRAW MANGA #11
IMPULSE #82
JADE REDEMPTION #3
JUGHEAD WITH ARCHIE DIGEST #172
NEGATION #2
NEO SATANIKA TALES #1
POISON ELVES PARINTACHIN #2
POWERPUFF GIRLS #23
SEVENTH SEA #2
SEXY SYMPHONY #6
SIGIL #20
SIN METAL SIRENS #2
SMALL FAVORS #5
SPIDER-GIRL #43
TALEWEAVER #5
TIGERS OF THE LUFTWAFFE #3
VAGABOND PART 1 #3
VAMPIRE PRINCESS YUI VOL 3 #5
VICTORIAN #12
WARLANDS AGE OF ICE #5
X-TREME X-MEN #9

And, for even MORE completeness sake, here’s a list of books, TPBs, GNs, and magazines that CE got this week. I generally haven’t read any of this by the time I post these reviews. Though I generally attempt to give at least one recommendation amongst the TPBs each week, since I HAVE read the material at SOME point.

ANGEL AUTUMNAL TP
ANIMERICA EXTRA VOL 5 #2
ANIMERICA FEBRUARY 2002 VOL 10 #2
CAPTAIN BRITAIN TP
COMICS JOURNAL WINTER 2002 SPECIAL
DELICATE CREATURES HC
FLIPPED #1
GRENDEL DEVILS LEGACY TP
HAMMER OF THE GODS COLOR SAGA
HEY MISTER THE FALL TP
LUBA IN AMERICA BOOK 1 TP
MAD MAGAZINE #414
NO NEED FOR TENCHI VOL 11 TP
OVERTIME GN
TELLOS VOL 2 KINDRED SPIRITS TP
TOMARTS ACTION FIGURE DIGEST #94
TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN MAGAZINE #13
TOYFARE DRAGONBALL Z CVR #55
WHATS MICHAEL VOL 5 MICHAEL FAVORITE SPOT TP
WONDER WOMAN PARADISE LOST TP

This Week’s TPB recommendation is: Well, in straight reprint, Grendel: Devil’s Legacy wins hands down. Kicks ass. And hard. But, since Diamond put The Comics Journal Winter 2002 special in the books section, and I’m too lazy to cut and paste it, that wins. Unwieldy ass format (we don’t have any store bags that can fit this), and the commentary bits were a little poncy, as usual – but the comics section at the back was a pretty stunning survey both of what comics are capable of, and of the problems of creation. Personal favs: Linda Medley’s meditation on the collective unconscious, and Jim Woodring’s wicked autopsy piece. Superlative work in a superlative package.

Average Rating for the Week: 35 books "reviewed" for an average rating of 4.94 (out of a possible 7.00). That’s a pretty decent rating – more than I thought it would be, for sure.

Pick of the Week: For sheer surrealism, X-Force #123 is your bet this week. Good job!

Pick of the Weak: For sheer crapism, Superman #178 is the book to running screaming from this week. Shame on you!