This week's comics

Added the list of comics I buy regularly to my user info. It's sad when I had to go running all over the house to remember everything I buy. :p

On Wednesdays, I pick up the week's comics as soon as the store opens at noon. By 2:00 p.m. if not sooner, I've read a number of them. There's no waiting in my world.

Thusly, brief notes (which may contain SPOILERS):


BEST OF THE WEEK: Alias #25. And I can say that without even having read through the rest of the pile. (LATER: Still say it, having finished the pile.) This is an amazing book. Bendis is the best dialogue writer in comics, hands down, but sometimes he utterly knocks my socks off. Only one response to this: holy shit. If you've been following Jessica's story, everything about her falls into place. If you haven't...dude, why NOT?

*still shivering*

Batman/Superman #1: *laughs helplessly* They HAD to know the title of this book means something else entirely. They're just teasing, now. Right, so; this is already better than Loeb's plot in Batman, which is an exercise in pretty art and prettier splash pages. I'm not complaining much, but it's nice to see an actual story developing with these characters too. Liking the McGuinness art, too, though I'd previously characterized it as 'puffy'. Loeb uses a nice device to 'introduce' our heroes and a fittingly dangerous villain, and uses both dialogue and captions effectively to compare/contrast Our Heroes and what they think of each other. Very intriguing end scene, too, even if Luthor is beginning to rival the Joker for over-exposure. Identity guesses: [obvious] Captain Atom, Major Force (!!!), [shadowed] John Stewart, Faith, Katana, Black Lightning, and...Starfire? hm.

Formerly...JL #2: Pretty much what you'd expect, which isn't a bad thing. We're right back to the bwah-ha-ha, light on plot, all a setup for the jokes. Really do like that Beetle retains his maturity, even back with Booster again. I'd been worried.

JSA All-Stars #4: Focus on Court, who finally officially gets the Stargirl name. It's a fine story, but I have to admit to double vision while reading: this is Spoiler's backstory, too. Short and sweet Ted Knight backup.

Ultimate Spider-Man #44: Bendis again. Enough to say I adore everying he writes? His Ult-X-Men are a lot of fun, much more engaging than Millar's, but it's Aunt May who rocks this book the hardest. Yes, Aunt May. :) Bagley's art is beautifully suited to the mood and style. Gorgeous from start to finish.

Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #4: Not as instantly engrossing as the previous three issues, but there's a more complex structure here. And mmm, Jason Blood. Plus more Ivy next issue! So very happy to see a mini-series that's really worth the cash.

Supreme Power #1: JMS takes on the Squadron Supreme, and to no surprise, it's a lot like his (still unfinished) Rising Stars. Same themes in play. Subversive, creepy, well-paced (yes, I'm a B5 fan), and featuring beautiful Gary Frank art. Loved Frank on Hulk during the PAD era, and I'm extremely pleased to have a monthly book by him to look forward to again.

Detective #785: It's a Batman + Sentinel story. Bliss. Okay, I'm weirded out at how...nice Bruce is being--of course he respects Alan, but I hadn't expected him to be so open about it. Or for Alan to know Bruce's ID. But the interaction is so lovely, I don't care. This book is SO much better than the higher-profile Batman. New backup has potential; if we're very lucky it will be as good as Josie Mac, and it's already better than the wretched Spore.

Batman: Death and the Maidens #1: Rucka and Bendis can do no wrong. I adore Rucka's take on Ra's (as opposed to Dixon, who made him a cackling serial villain), and Nyssa is fascinating. [Sidebar: Rucka is the best male writer of female characters, not only in his comics--see both Queen and Country and Whiteout in particular--but in his novels as well, which are well-worth finding.] Janson's art isn't my favorite, but it fits the mood--I particularly like his Nyssa portraits.

Addendum:

Fray #8: Last issue. Due to the long lag between issues I'll have to go back and reread the series as a whole, but it ends well. Mostly got a kick out of seeing the Shiny Red Axe, which appeared here first. :)

Dr. Fate #1: Mneh. They're not going to make me like Hector, no matter what they do, so they should just stop trying. >_< I haven't an objective view on this one; picked it up just to say I had, but really, I'm not buying Hawkman's book because I'm not a Carter fan, and I tolerate Hector even less, so I'm not buying this again.