The Savage Critic: September
3rd, 2003
By Brian
Hibbs
Welcome
back, my friends, to the show that never ends...
You
may have noticed the site was down for the last two weeks (it was more
like 9 days, but who is counting?) – someone tripped over the power
plug or something. I have no idea. Anyway, it couldn’t be fixed until
Jeff’s roomies got back from Burning Man and they--and we--are back
now.
If
you sent mail to brian@comixexperience.com in the last
2 weeks, you might want to send it again – a buncha stuff got lost,
but didn’t get bounced back.
We’re
at about 6 weeks from Baby Time (Tzipora is due 10/23), so sometime
in the next quarter expect me to disappear for (estimate) a month or
so while I learn to be a new dad. Hopefully Jeff’ll be able to pinch
hit a week or so in there, but I wouldn’t necessarily count on it.
As
always, don’t forget you can show your glowing appreciation for the
Savaging by finding the little “paypal” button on this page and sending
me some money. Sometime after the first of the year we’re going to be
losing our free hosting, so this will become even more key at that point.
My enthusiasm for writing these every week will drop rapidly once I
have to pay for you to come here!
Anyway,
you want some funny book reviews, doncha? Let’s go....
ACTION
COMICS #807: “Superman and the Hip Hop Hos” continues and the world
is a poorer place for it. I thought THIS one was supposed to be the
revamp that “fixed” these books? Eh.
ALIAS
#26: I’m going to miss this book very very much when it stops. This
was probably the least affecting issue of the batch, though – I totally
recognize that something shitty happened, for a long time, to Jessica,
but I kinda think the internal bits of that weren’t revealed very well.
We were Told that she went from being idealistic enough to throw
on a hero costume and try to fight crime, to bitter and shattered and
unwilling to take the given hands... but I don’t think it was Shown
all that effectively. I also think that showing the ramifications of
violence in the Marvel Universe (her cornea being detached from the
blow) is way more jarring than any of the sex Alias has shown
– that has ramifications for any other Marvel comic you might read,
where as Ant Man shtupping doesn’t, really. Anyway, I give it a Good.
ARKHAM
ASYLUM LIVING HELL #5: This feels off the rails to me – demonology and
whatnot has less place for this reader here then, say, a riot based
on the inmates’ insanities. Eh.
AUTHORITY
VOL 2 #5: Well, the art by Tan Eng Huat is nice, and the one-off plot was fine, but these still seem like pale reflections
of their real incarnations characterization-wise.... still, at least
this is an improvement. OK
BAD
GIRLS #2: Christine Norrie takes over the art (She, like Nick Bertozzi,
was once my DC rep... so it’s great to see her working ON a DC comic),
and it looks fab. The coloring seems less flat than it was. And the
story moves forward past basic “origin”. Y’know Marvel made a massive,
huge deal about how Trouble was an effort to reach out to teen
girls in bookstores – yet this DC book, I think, hits that ball much
farther out of the park. Regardless of how well this book does in the
DM, I really really think DC needs to get this out in TP pretty much
ASAP. Get this to the right market, and it should fly. Good.
BORN
#3: I would have enjoyed this as a war comic, but for that inane narration.
– making Castle’s insanity be an external voice is a horrific misstep.
Ugh. Eh.
CATWOMAN
#22: Really liked this one – both of the two threads of the plot were
excellently handled, and how often do you see that? Very Good.
CRIMSON
DYNAMO #1: The second Epic book, and, I hate to say this, but between
Trouble and this it looks like Epic is DOA – two “meh” launches
are enough to kill consumer confidence in an imprint. While I can accept
the astonishing coincidence of finding Crimson Dynamo’s helmet in a
warehouse, I have a much harder time swallowing that randomly pushing
buttons on it would have the results displayed here. Also, CD was one
of, what, 6? 8? Soviet MU superheroes? So I would think that nearly
any Soviet citizen would be able to recognize that this was CDs helmet,
just like any American kid would recognize Iron Man’s. Eh.
DAREDEVIL
#51: David Mack goes solo. I don’t care much for Echo. But fuck, this
LOOKS so damn damn fine. Good.
DAVID
& GOLIATH #1: Cutish cartoony art, but it doesn’t really suit the
story – which is a mélange of a dozen other stories (or I suppose a
“tribute”... or even a “Swipe”) In a world of Too Many Image books...
this is another. Awful.
DETECTIVE
COMICS #786: A satisfactory ending to the arc. Bored by the backup.
OK
ELEKTRA
#27: And now she’s super-ninja again. *shrug* This has fine Sexy
Ninja Death, I suppose, but I can’t get over the inconsistencies here.
Eh.
ETERNAL
#4: Cancelled at #6, I guess I’m not the only one who finds this yucky
stuff. Any chance of a happy ending is thrown away this issue, too.
Awful.
EXILES
#33: I really wish Marvel’d clear up its fucking shipping so that you
didn’t get books like this weekly. It’s really insane. A fine enough
flashback look at this version of Sasquatch, but I sorta have a hard
time believing that end. Seems like THAT Logan would have gutted her.
Eh
FORMERLY
KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #3: Almost no ha-ha using the really-doesn’t-hold-up-if-you-think-about-it-too-long
version of Roulette from JSA. Great Kevin Macguire art, but otherwise,
this was sorta only OK
HAWKMAN
#19: That was a very very very clever way to nod to Kingdom Come. I
also liked the moral conversation, and the JSA setup. Good
JLA
AVENGERS #1: It’s lovely. Really, it’s everything you could ever want
in a inter-company crossover artwise. And it has some clever clever
scenes and moments (I especially like the reactions to the other universes
– “They have a museum for their speedster?!?!”), but plot-wise...
well, it’s got a lot of familiar elements we’re all read far too many
times in other comic books. Hell, it even opens with scenes that are
effectively from Crisis. I really really liked this, and I think
it’s worth the $6 (and I don’t say that too often, do I?), but I’m going
to go with Very Good, rather than Excellent here. This is most
certainly me being old and Jaded.
KNIGHTS
OF THE DINNER TABLE #83: I think it’s getting even funnier – although
the threads could move a lot faster. Bob talking Crutch through the
robbery as though it were a RP game was just priceless. I really do
wish they’d just spin-off the gaming stuff over into it’s own magazine
and drop the price back down on the comics, but this is still fall-down-funny
and Very Good.
MADMAN
SUPER GROOVY KING SIZESP #1: I still haven’t read it – and the choice
is finish writing the Critic (this is my last entry written... even
after Picks section....) or going and reading this. “It looks good on
the flip test” is about all I can offer you, then. Incomplete.
NEW
MUTANTS #4: Perfectly adequate in every way. OK
NEW
X-MEN #145: It’s a natural idea, but Cap is “Weapon 1”? Hrm, not sure
if I like that too much, really. Especially given that any overt anti-mutant
feelings didn’t seem to exist in the Marvel Universe prior to the 1960s.
There’s a lot to digest here (and more next issue, or so I am told),
but the art really works against the Big Ideas here. Good.
SANDMAN
ENDLESS NIGHTS INCENTIVE SPECIAL: This is one of the seven chapters
of the Endless Nights HC, coming in 2 weeks – the Dream story with art
by Miguelanxo Prado – and, oh my god was it wonderful! This is as at
least as good, and probably very much better than any of the previous
Sandman work. There’s also some exceedingly clever DC universe
tie-ins that you’ll find adds another layer if you’re a Big Comics Geek.
Absolutely Excellent in all ways, and this is going to be a long
two weeks wait....
SENTINEL
#6: Pretty clever, that. I think I even liked this better than my version
of the arcs end (where the robot murders everyone in town) – still,
that’s not something a kid is going to think up on his own, I don’t
think.... OK
STARTLING
STORIES THING NIGHTFALLS ON YANCY ST #4: Big fight scene ending, with
more “adult” concepts than you’d expect to see in a non-Max book. Yup,
startled me there at the end. OK
STREET
FIGHTER #1: It reads just like a Street Fighter comic should. I used
to be pretty decent at SF2, and actually enjoyed this licensed book.
OK
SUPERMAN
BIRTHRIGHT #3: See, now that’s what I wanted to see in the first two
issues. Tippity-top-notch “Ultimate Superman” stuff from Waid here,
though I’m afraid a chunk of the audience gave up after #2 if the pile
on the rack at the store is any indication. We’ll have to hand-sell
this one again, I think. Very Good.
THREE
STRIKES #4: Very well done for a morality play. Good.
TRANSFORMERS
GI JOE #1: Another licensed book that I liked more than you might imagine
– 1940s Gi Joe versus the robots shouldn’t play, but it’s got scrummy
Jae Lee art. He’s just belting out the comics lately, ain’t he? And
yet they still all look so damn fine. OK
TROUBLE
#3: Because of the “summer camp” setting, and because we’ve taken the
turn towards “Now, see? Pre-Marital Sex is BAD!” territory (Irish Catholic
guilt, there?), I will be absolutely disappointed if the hockey-masked
character doesn’t step out of the woods and slaughter them all with
a meat hook, for having sex. THAT would be “trouble”! This is merely
Awful
UNCANNY
X-MEN #430: It’s pretty astonishing how little I care about any of this
despite the fact that it is at least competently done. Eh
WONDER
WOMAN THE BLUE AMAZON: Going further afield from the original film,
this completes the Classic Silent Film DC Trilogy with some class and
style. Seeing this at the store, it even made my wife ask about the
Nosferatu one. OK
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
[this can include being shorted by Diamond as well]; 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. There’s also the occasional “whoops we forgot
it!” in here as well...
21
DOWN #12
AMERICAN CENTURY #27
BART SIMPSON COMICS #13
BEAR #2
BETTY & VERONICA #192
BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR #62
BRIAN PULIDO LADY DEATH #7
BURGLAR BILL #2
DARKMINDS MACROPOLIS VOL 2 #1
EVENFALL #4
EXTINCTION EVENT #3
FUZZ & PLUCK #3
GI JOE FRONTLINE #14
HARLEY QUINN #36
KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE ILLUSTRATED #26
KORE #4
LOONEY TUNES #106
MAD MAGAZINE #434
NEGATION #21
OH MY GODDESS #101
PEE SOUP #1
ROBOTECH LOVE AND WAR #4
SAVAGE DRAGON #110
SCURVY DOGS #2
SEX WARRIOR ISANE #2
SHONEN JUMP VOL 1 #10 OCT 2003
SIGIL #39
SILKEN GHOST #4
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #127
SPIDER-GIRL #64
THOR #68
TUPELO #2
VIOLENT MESSIAHS LAMENTING PAIN CVR #4
VOLTRON DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE #4
WITCHBLADE #68
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.
100
BULLETS VOL 6 SIX FEET UNDER THE GUN TP
2000 AD #1351
2000 AD #1352
AVENGERS LEGENDS VOL 3 GEORGEPEREZ BOOK 1 TP
BATMAN ILLUSTRATED BY NEAL ADAMS VOL 1 HC
BEN KATCHOR THE BEAUTY SUPPLYDISTRICT TP
BILL WARDS GLAMOUR GIRLS HC
CASTLE IN THE SKY VOL 4 TP
DC/MARVEL CROSSOVER CLASSIC IV TP
DOT HACK SIGN VOL 1 GN
FANCY FROGLIN VOL 1 SEXY FOREST GN
G FAN #64
GREEN LANTERN EMERALD TWILIGHT NEW DAWN TP
GRRL SCOUTS VOL 1 TP
JADE SCREEN VOL 1 #6
JUDGE DREDD JUDGE CHILD QUESTDLX HC GN
JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #209
KATY VOL 1 SEXY MAGIC
LOVE HINA VOL 14 GN
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ICONSOF EVIL TRAP JAW #1
METAMORPHOSIS GN HC
MR MONSTER MINI BUST
PROHIBITED #3 HC
RANMA 1/2 TP VOL 3 2ND ED
STARLOG #315
SUPERMAN END OF THE CENTURY TP
TANK GIRL GN APOCALYPSE
TANK GIRL VOL 1 GN NEW PTG
TOM STRONG BOOK TWO TP
UNCANNY X-MEN VOL 3 HOLY WAR TP
WHISKEY DICKEL INTERNATIONAL COWGIRL GN
X-STATIX VOL 2 GOOD GUYS & BAD GUYS TP
This
Week’s TP recommendation is:
Definitely the funniest thing I read was Fancy Froglin’s Sexy Forest.
Ahahahahahaah! But it’s a relatively short read for that $13 (!!!) price
point. So either let me recommend Jim Mahfood’s Grrl Scouts V1 reissue
if you want something a bit closer to real life, or X-Statix V2,
if you don’t.
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