The Savage Critic: September 19th, 2001 By Brian Hibbs

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

I feel slack. Maybe it’s the whole war thing, maybe not – but I just can’t get any writing done. I only have like 6 chapters left in the novel, and I seem unable to sit down and finish the thing. It’s starting to annoy me.

Blah.

Well, anyway, here are your reviews:

AMERICAN CENTURY #7: It is more of the same... which isn’t bad or anything, just what it is. OK.

ARTBABE PRESENTS LA PERDIDA #1: Wow. That was really superb. Very nice tale of an American who visits Mexico, and shatters her own assumptions about the country and her place in it. Dense and gripping. Strong storytelling from a strong cartoonist, and highly recommended. Excellent.

BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #21: Have I mentioned lately just how nice those Brian Bolland covers are? There is also a Dan DeCarlo Batgirl & Poison Ivy backup as the "black and white" story (which, actually, looks weird – DeCarlo is one of those artists who you ALWAYS see in color, and B&W is a little jarring). What? The main story? Oh... bait and switch from the previous issue, I thought. And the whole "plan" of Ras didn’t make any real sense to this writer. Eh.

BATMAN ORPHEUS RISING #2: Yah, whatever. Like Gotham City needs another superhero. Plus, that ending just made no sense – why would Batman jump to that conclusion? Well, except to provide an obligatory fight scene? Awful.

BIRDS OF PREY #35: Well, I’m certainly pleased Dinah has her sonic scream back. I know, I know that’s a really fanboy thing to say, but there it is. Now all we gotta do is get her back into the fishnets, and life is good again. Though, it was a mediocre comic, in and of itself. OK.

CABLE #97: The "New direction", and it is absolutely different than any Cable comic that ever came before... but it wasn’t interesting, really. Might just be a measure of bad timing. Cable goes to fight Real World (South American) Terrorists... and it just feels wrong to me. "Real" superheroes just seem so much faker these days. Eh.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #47: Thank god it is getting revamped soon, is all I can say. Three more issues, then the hurting stops. Awful.

CAPTAIN MARVEL #23: Lightweight and mildly fun. At least the "Supreme Intelligence" is actually portrayed that way, for once. OK

CEREBUS #270: More of a tied up Cerebus and the 3 stooges. I couldn’t bear to read it, so, no vote.

CRUX #6: Semi-generic superheroes ("...and this one is the strong one, and these are the energy casters, and...") stand around and wait for a plot to show up. Eh.

DAREDEVIL #24: One issue to wrap this story line up, and the plot meanders along. Eh.

ELEKTRA #3: Elektra looks very... aroused on that cover, doesn’t she? Inconsequential insides. I can’t see paying $3 for this, really. And anyone so stupid as to buy the "naked interior variant" (go check the news sites, if you want your stomach turned) deserves to be removed from the gene pool. Eh.

FANTASTIC FOUR WORLDS GREATEST #10: Ugh. Awful

GEN 13 #69: Cute. Posthuman love story. Or something. OK

GHOST RIDER HAMMER LANE #4: Four issues, and we still are only just getting to the point. But Devin knows her bikes, so it is ok, or something. Eh.

GLOOM COOKIE #9: Main story was a vast improvement, but that computer font makes my eyes hurt. OK

GRENDEL THE DEVIL INSIDE #1: A reprint of a 10 year old Grendel story... but, boy howdy does it rock. Excellent.

HOPELESS SAVAGES #2: Fun. Good.

JIST WITH JOHN BUSCEMA CREATING SUPERMAN: Even more of a train-wreck than the Batman one. What’s with that "JIST" abbreviation, though? I know it only appears on my invoices, but shouldn’t it be "JISL"? Anyway, really and truly bad. Compounded by just how much of the original concept was lifted/parodied. Crap.

JSA #28: All set-up. I imagine the next one will be clever as all heck, but this was a big long wait. OK.

KISSING CHAOS #1: Yuck. First problem: The format looks cheap. It looks like something that should be given away at conventions, or something. Second problem: Storytelling was confusing, and the characters were flat. I almost regret ordering ANY copies. Awful.

MAGIC WHISTLE #5: Heh. The prose story of Lois Lane stealing Superman’s ass to prove he and Clark are the same was almost worth the price of admission itself. Perfect little parody of 60s comics. I find Sam Henderson really funny in small doses like this. Good, even if it looks like YOU could draw this.

MONARCHY #7: Its making sense now... problem is I don’t care. At all. Eh.

MURDER ME DEAD #8: Nothing to say but I like it. Good.

ORION #18: Whoosh. That’s the sound of the story going right past me. Feels like it is standing in place so it can wait around for the crossover next month. Hm, mixed metaphors. Oh well. Eh.

OUTLAW NATION #13: Push the button, Frank. Eh.

PANTHEON #9: I know just where it is going, but I’m having a good enough time getting there. If this came out more frequently, and was in color for all of the mainstream comics people, this woulda done real well in the post-Authority marketplace. OK

ROBIN #94: Streeeeeatch. Eh.

ROGUE #2: Wow, nice Julie Bell cover painting. Where the rest of it? Why would you hire someone like Julie Bell to do covers, then cut them up? That makes no sense! Extremely mediocre insides. Eh.

SANDMAN PRESENTS DEAD BOY DETECTIVES #4: Decent conclusion to a decent mini. OK

SCION #16: The CrossGen equivalent of Olestra. Flies RIGHT through you, leaving nothing behind. Eh.

SIMPSONS COMICS #62: Same funny writer... but completely mediocre retelling of Bible stories. Eh.

SLOW NEWS DAY #2: God, is this well-paced. Why isn’t Andi Watson like supremely popular? Very good.

SPAWN #111: How ever will Spawn escape this time?!? Wake me when it happens, and I’ll see if I care then. Eh.

STAR WARS INFINITIES A NEW HOPE #3: OK, I guess.

SUPERBOY #92: Hey, it is a Lewis Carroll parody. It doesn’t need to make sense! Or something. Eh.

SUPERGIRL #62: Nothing special, nothing poor. Just there. Eh.

SUPERMAN THE MAN OF STEEL #118: "You’re on trial! No... wait, just kidding!" Cosmic gobbledy-gook. Eh.

SUPERNATURAL LAW #31: I swear Bat did this whole story just for that ending pun. At least it has Alana and Jeff in it. Good.

TERRY MOORES PARADISE TOO #3: if we’re already at the "half-finished pencil rough" stage of reprinting the contents of Terry’s rejection drawer... what can possibly be in future issues? Not worth $3, man. Awful.

THUNDERBOLTS #56: So, the "replacement" T-bolts get horribly and painfully slaughtered in the middle of all of this character study stuff of them. Now, is it just me, or would this stuff have been better established in the previous 6 issues, so this had something other than false emotional punch? Whatever. Eh.

TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD #1: Nice cartoony art, and a surprisingly touching tale of the artist meeting the love of his life. If you like Autobio stuff, go give it a look. Good.

ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP #7: Beyond it being GREAT to see Sienkiewicz drawing again, this was a tight little story with real heart. Very good.

UNIVERSE #2: Repugnant people with bombastic (and poorly defined) powers – that there is the Top Cow Way! Yuck. Awful.

US WAR MACHINE #2: A mild improvement over #1, but still basically stiff and too reliant on a computer. Awful.

WAR STORY JOHANNS TIGER: And we end with a strong tale from Garth Ennis and Chris Weston (that boy can DRAW!). Powerful work. Very good.

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!], and 5) Things that looked SO bad on the racks that I didn’t bother.

ACTIONOPOLIS #1
BETTY #104
BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #124
BTVS OZ #3
CREECH OUT FOR BLOOD #2
DEMIS STRANGE BEDFELLOWS #1
DIRTY BOXES
ELVIRA #101
GIGANTOR #12
INKPUNKS QUARTERLY #2
JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #80
MANGAZINE #24
NINJA BOY #2
OH MY GODDESS PART X #5
PALEO TALES LATE CRETACEOUS #4
PAPER THEATER
POWERPUFF GIRLS #19
RAIDERS OF LAST ASS
STAR WARS JEDI VS SITH #6
WARRIOR NUN AREALA DANGEROUS GAME #2

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.

ALTER EGO #10
BATMAN CRIMSON MIST SC
BEST OF FAWCETT COMPANION SC
CHRONICLES OF THE UNIVERSE COLL #1
DARK ANGEL VOL 3 TP
FATHER & SON EVERYBODYS FAVORITE SELL-OUT
FINDER TP VOL 3 KING OF CATS
HEAVY METAL NOVEMBER 2001
HEY WAIT
LIBERTY MEADOWS BIG BOOK LOVEHC
MISFIT TOYS 11 PIECE FIGURE &DLX ACTION BUMBLE SET
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION BOOK 5 TP
ORIENTAL CINEMA #20
STAR TREK MAGAZINE #30
STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL 10 TROPIC OF DESIRE TP
TOMB RAIDER 2002 16 MONTH WALL CALENDAR
WONDER WOMAN MASTERPIECE ED BOX SET

This Week’s TPB recommendation is: Just for the sheer prettiness factor, the pick this week goes to Liberty Meadows Big Book of Love. If you don’t want to spend $30 on a HC.... go pick up Finder Vol 3: King of Cats.

Average Rating for the Week: 44 books ‘reviewed’ for a rating of 3.61 (of 7.00)

Pick of the Week: Artbabe Presents La Perdida #1. Really, this is Jessica Abel’s best work in a strong catalog of material. Just called "La Perdida" on the cover, btw. Go check it out!

Pick of the Weak: As easy as beating on a cripple, I pick Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Buscema Creating Superman. Could not possibly be more formulaic and pedestrian. Bad, bad Stan!