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The Savage Critic: February 20th, 2002 By Brian HibbsWelcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends. As some of you will note, I’m late this week – been working on a couple of database projects to try and figure out just how badly Marvel’s books are late. I’m not quite done yet, but it’s really insane. I’m sure I’ll be sharing my findings somewhere on the ‘net next week, so keep your eyes peeled. I’m kinda not in the mood to write the reviews this week either, so I might be shorter and/or pissier than I would normally be... ADVS OF BARRY WEEN 3 MONKEY TALES #6: That ending could have been a cop out, but the last page redeems it all. How often do you get a comic that is both funny AND touching? Excellent. AMERICAN CENTURY #12: *flips around* Am I wrong or is there NOT a blowjob in this issue? Whoa. I still get very confused as to which character is which; and, as Jeff Lester pointed out, Harry seems to come into a situation and instantly know every other character in a pretty implausible way. But, despite that, this issue was OK ANGRY YOUTH COMIX #3: I don’t get it. It’s not only not funny, but it’s not well done either. This is the kind of thing Pat O’Neill points to when he makes dopey statements like "’alternative’ comics don’t appeal to the mainstream American public." In this case he is right. Crap. BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #26: I fear I may be giving up some of my street-cred when I say I loved this, and I’m really liking the "Murderer" storyline overall. Pretty much all talking heads, but solid insights to nearly all of the Batman supporting cast. It is nice to have Alfred back, too. Very good. BIRDS OF PREY #40: Also part of the "Murderer" storyline, and it was decent. I kind of object to "Oh, yeah, and Bruce escaped" being handled off-camera on the very last page. OK CEREBUS #275: Didn’t get it. That’s three weeks in a row that Diamond has shorted us on an entire comic. Man, can’t they keep people who know how to count and/or identify comics? But thankfully we got Cerebus numbers in extra copies of CrossGen Chronicles. Oh, wait, that’s not a good thing.... ESTABLISHMENT #6: The potential I saw in #1 is very much in evidence in this issue. Which means if you wandered away from it, you might want to wander back and take another look. Now if we can get two solid issues in a row, it has a chance. Good. EXILES #10: *shrug* The soap-opera right at the end was really the only interesting bit. Otherwise, just a lot of running and shouting and hitting. Eh GEN 13 #74: And more running and shouting and hitting. Eh. HAVEN THE BROKEN CITY #3: And more... oh, wait, I guess not. Weird technique here: I thought it was pretty damn obvious from page 1 that it was Lois, so why try to make that some sort of surprise by keeping her off-camera for most of the comic? These characters are interesting enough, I suppose, but, in the end, I can’t see how this will amount to anything much. Nice conversation at the back with Lois and Clark, though. Maybe these guys should be given a crack at Superman? Eh. INCREDIBLE HULK #37: Not working for me, and I can’t really say why. Maybe I just want Bruce and the Hulk to be participants, rather than only reacting to everything? Eh. JACK STAFF #7: Loving it more and more with each issue. It’s... quirky, I guess is the best phrasing. Very good. JSA #33: Hrm. Y’know, I don’t really like "and then he took over the world" stories this large. Maybe it’s just that it feels out of place in a shared universe where no other book even mentions it... Eh. LUCIFER #23: Kick ass. Quite possibly the most underlooked book on the stands today. Certainly the most consistent thing Vertigo is publishing today. Excellent. NOCTURNALS DARK FOREVER #3: A bit too talky, and while the backstory was hinted at, it still felt a bit Deux Ex Machina to me. OK ORION #23: Whoa. Now, I think I’ve said before that I don’t really like the Fourth World characters. If only this had been the first or second issue of this title, it might have made it in the long run. THIS is how you do hitting and shooting and exploding. Simonson is absolutely on the top of his game, and there isn’t any of the Kirby baggage here to slow him down. Excellent. OUTLAW NATION #18: Let the shoehorning begin. Two issues left to wrap up all of the threads, and I think Delano will actually make it. Loved that last page. OK PARADISE X O: Most of this was recapping the last series (which I didn’t follow too well) – let’s make some cheese, ‘cause this baby is pure milk! Eh. PETER PARKER SPIDER-MAN #40: Running and hitting and shooting, and not particularly well done at that. The redeeming feature was Ock being a bad ass finally – but it took him being a punk for the last six months to get there, so what does that prove? Awful. QUEEN & COUNTRY #6: I just don’t like the art, but the story is great. I hope Tara gets her shit together soon. Very good, but only because the art brought it down. ROBIN #99: A waste of a crossover issue. Phoned in, and padded. Awful. SAVAGE DRAGON #93: OK SIMPSONS COMICS #67: All Gail Simone issue, and it works a lot better than her last few stabs at Springfield. Solid work. OK SUPERGIRL #67: This is really a stupid idea. Awful SUPERMAN THE MAN OF STEEL #123: Wordy, convoluted, and I just don’t find this "Aegis armor" idea compelling in the SLIGHTEST. Awful. THOR #46: Y’know, all they did was make Thor, Odin, and Tarene, Thor. Woo. Eh THUNDERBOLTS #61: Hawkeye would never stand for that. Eh TITANS #38: Is that stupid kid storyline over now? Please? Eh. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #19: Good as usual, but enthusiasm lessens during a bi-weekly ship. Good UNCANNY X-MEN #403: Whatever. Eh USAGI YOJIMBO #55: Thank good we get a good comic at the bottom of the alphabetical listing. Usagi is always good, but this was an exceptional issue, even for Sakai. Excellent twist there, at the end. Excellent, all around.
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. A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #1
And, for even MORE completeness sake, here’s a list of books, TPBs, GNs, magazines, and other things 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. 2000 AD #1274 This Week’s TPB recommendation is: Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Punisher: Army of One TP. Nasty fun. |
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Average Rating for the Week: 29 books "reviewed" for an average rating of 4.00 exactly (out of a possible 7.00). Those four "Excellent’s" really brought the curve up. Pick of the Week: It’s actually a kind of hard choice this week: Lucifer, Orion, Usagi and Barry Ween all made VERY credible stabs for the title... but I think I have to go with Orion #23, simply because I didn’t expect it to hit the short list, especially so near to the end of the run. Thanks, Walt!! Pick of the Weak: Angry Youth Comics got the lowest rating of the week, but I think I’m going to give the smack to Superman: Man of Steel #123 because the last 3 weeks of super-books had actually started me thinking they might be good again.
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© 2001-2005 by Comix Experience (except the graphic, which was appropriated
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