Thursday, June 22, 2006

Short Stack

It's a small buy this week, but only in the amount of issues, and not in the quality of the work.

All Star Superman #4 was a blast and I really liked the way Morrison weaves elements from different eras together. Jimmy as Doomsday was just... breaktaking in a totally geek way. They finally made Doomsday cool. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but I believe that Morrison has been working to bring back the Silver Age for most of his career, and it's never been more evident on this title.

I found Eternals #1 nicely understated. I've always had that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach when I read Gaiman back in the day, especially as he progressed on Sandman. It always felt like I was reading "literature", with all the baggage that entails. Not that it's not enjoyable, but it requires a whole different mindset when I sit down to read. To be honest, I got to this book last, figuring that the tone would be a lot different than everything else in my pile. I'm glad I was wrong. It's a comic book, like all the others. I remebered Kirby's characters from their original series, and I liked the way Gaiman sticks to conitnuity. This doesn't seem to be a whole-cloth reinvention, which I applaud. I even like the reference to events in Civil War... proving that this series doesn't exist in its own little Vertigo-like bubble. And the art... that Romita has really come into his own.

Astonishing X-Men #15... I just about, what's the term the kids today use?... lost my sh** with this issue. Whedon and Cassaday are killing me with goodness. I loved what's done to neutralize Wolverine... that reveal was probably the best comic moment of the year for me. "Terribly pretty" indeed. Also, that last panel... just awesomeness.

And Ultimates 2 #11 was good at setting the stage for big reveals/big battles for the final issue. Looks like Millar and Hitch are going out with a bang on this one.

2 Comments:

At 7:17 PM, Blogger Chris said...

"I've always had that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach when I read Gaiman back in the day, especially as he progressed on Sandman. It always felt like I was reading "literature", with all the baggage that entails."

You've summed up my reactions nicely. I adore Gaiman's prose, but I steer clear of most of his comics because I don't want my brain to have to work that hard.

(That and none of his comics have any detectable sense of humor these days.)

That said, I may have to give Eternals a shot.

 
At 11:13 AM, Blogger MD said...

I think his comic work is well worth the effort (though I have yet to read 1601). I was a huge fan of Sandman back in the day, and reading it probably ket me from giving up on comics altogether in the nineties.

As far as prose, I read Good Omens, but I've yet to pick up any of his other books. I suppose part of that was because it seemed like a lot of good writers in the mid-to-late 90's were giving up on comics altogether for other opportunities (Gaiman, Moore, Robinson), and I resented them a little for it. Of course they've all returned (and, in Moore's case, left again).

 

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