by Brandon
Two days late and many, many dollars short, the third and final installment of Spring Break Reading comes to a grinding halt. I read over one hundred issues during my spring break last week. It definitely put a dent in my reading stack, but I still have a log way to go. In this final installment, I'll astonish and astound you with reviews of Doom patrol, Queen & Country, Justice League, Suicide Squad, The Spirit, and Grendel. And guess what? I think I loved nearly everything I read while I was camping. That was awesome! 
Doom Patrol #'s 26-50
Ever since DC announced Kieth Giffen would be starting a new Doom Patrol series, I got the urge to go back an re-read Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol, probably the undisputed high point for this property. In fact, every time a new reboot of this title has been announced since the Vertigo run, I have gone back to these original issues. What can I say? Part of me lives in the past. When you read these issues, you really do get a sense of how gutsy DC was when they let Morrison go off the deep end with these characters. Doom Patrol had always been billed as being the world's strangest heroes, but they had often come off as being the most mundane, especially in the 1980s. Morrison gave the Doom Patrol a purpose by embracing the weird. The characters were so great, especially Crazy Jane and Danny the Street. Cliff Steele always remains the emotional heart for the team, but Morrison was able to give the character a voice beyond being good ol' stable Cliff. This comic book is not for the passive reader. Morrison challenges you with each absurd turn. There is more psychedelic super-heroics in these pages than you could probably shake some LSD at. The art was just as appropriately trippy as the writing was. If you haven't given this title a spin, what are you waiting for? Just think of the X-Men on mind boggling drugs and you'll be getting close. Chin-chin.
Queen & Country Definitive Edition Volume 1
I'm a huge fan of the television show 24. Or should I say I was a huge fan? While the past two seasons have been less than entertaining, many Q&C fans have told me I should try this book out to scratch my counter-terrorism itch. I found a copy of this definitive edition dirt cheap on Amazon a couple of months ago and it was worth every penny. I sat down under a tree Friday afternoon with a few beers and this book. The afternoon just breezed away. Everything just seemed to meld together perfectly. I'm not terribly familiar with Greg Rucka, but this book just blew me away. He was able to mix savvy dialogue with great action without all the clumsiness that plagues many counter-terrorism shows and books. The language never gets bogged down in procedural or technical matters, but it never once feels dumbed down or trite. 
Justice League International #'s 7-25
I've expressed my childhood (and adulthood, for that matter) love of the Giffen and DeMatteis Justice League era books. They just mix action and comedy so well. These comic books were fun. As a kid, I probably never owned more than five issues at a time due to my restrictive $2 a week allowance. I traded these issues out like hotcakes for new issues every chance I got. Now that I'm an adult who can actually afford to buy and keep these issues, I've made it my goal to go back and get some of the issues I traded away back in those fabled days of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Justice League just happens to be one of those titles. These titles are just fun to read. I can guarantee at least a couple laugh out loud moments in every issue, and many more chuckles. These guys knew how to keep a joke rolling without it becoming forced or overdrawn. The interaction between the characters is just golden and definitely make the book. The bad guys are pathetic, but in a lovable way. God, I hate the term bromance, but I'll be damned if it doesn't aptly describe the unique and hilarious friendship between Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. It makes you wonder what the hell crawled up Dan Didio's ass to make him dislike these characters so much. I know many people love the buff, flawless, iconic heroes to populate their Justice League books, but give me Beetle and Booster nyuk-nyuking it up while Martian Manhunter just sighs any day of the week. 
Suicide Squad #'s 11-15
This was another book from the same era in DC history as Justice League and it is equally as good. I believe Doug recommended this series to me and I am eternally grateful to him for doing so. Unlike Justice League, there's only a smidgen of humor here, but the real story with this comic book is villains doing bad things. Sure, Captain Boomerang's costume is less than stellar, but the book reads like a frantic action movie. As a reader, you find yourself rooting for the bad guys to kill people. You don't often see that in comic books. Heroes are supposed to kick the crap out of the bad guys before they get too carried away. Just ask a Superman fan. B-O-R-I-N-G! The amoral area of the DC universe is so much more interesting than the white bread, might-makes-right side of that company. Ostrander is one of those writers who is never lauded as being a superstar comic book writer, but he has quietly become one of my favorite writers. Like Justice League of the same era, this book doesn't have to use the best and brightest of the DC Universe to pack some punch. I look forward to completing my collection and reading the remaining issues. 
The Spirit #'s 6-10
I've been trying to purge the memory of the awful Spirit movie by going to the source, the original Eisner comics. After reading the first ten issues of the Kitchen Sink reprints from the 1980s, I have to confess that my mission has been accomplished. I started reading some of the older Spirit strips back in June when I picked up the Best Of collection from DC. I never thought in a million years that I would enjoy a golden age comic book. I always assumed golden books were all cheesy and lacked any depth. And guess what? The Spirit is cheesy. However, reading these issues just proves what treasure Will Eisner was to comic books. Eisner manages to capture the gritty side of life with glee. There are so many great characters that populate these issues that it's hard to pick a favorite. Commissioner Dolan stands out as a solid funny man, his Barney Fife to the Spirit's Andy Griffith. The art is crisp and clean, but always evocative. Eisner tried some pretty wild styles out, especially the dream sequence from the "Pool's Toadstool Facial Cream" story where Spirit imagines a future where he has to marry Ellen. Put through the modern viewing lens, Ebony White stands out like sore thumb throughout every story. But outside of the exaggerated minstrel art and dialogue, he actually is treated with respect by all the characters in the story. Just be advised of the existence of this character if you decide to go poking around in the Spirit's past. Kitchen Sink did such a wonderful job with these reprints and they are definitely worth seeking out if you don't feeling paying the exaggerated price for the hardcovers DC offers. 
Grendel: Black, White, & Red TPB
Though I like all the Grendel books I've read thus far and the various takes on the character, my favorite version of the character is still the first devil, Hunter Rose. I found this trade at a used bookstore for a reasonable price and picked up for some nice, bloody reading last week. The stories were all solid, but what really amazed me about this book wasn't the writing, but the artists. Represented in the pages are some of comic book's finest artists. Off the top of my head, I remember seeing art from Tim Sale, Mike Allred, Guy Davis, Tim Bradstreet, David Mack, Duncan Fegredo, and Chris Sprouse. The simple color pallet works well for this character. Matt Wagner knows how to write a good tale of criminal minds. Probably my favorite story here was "Devil's Vagary" with art from Dean Motter. The idea of having Grendel lead a type of criminal board meeting was simply delicious and creepy to read. The stories in this book are short. They are also very powerful. I think I got a better sense for Hunter Rose out of these short stories than I have from anything else I have read. Grendel remains one of the better indie character in comic books and I hope Mr. Wagner stays true to his word and brings more tales of the devil quite soon.
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4.22.2009
Spring Break Reading, Part 3 - Oldies
5.29.2008
Patrick's Hat Trick: Samuroids, Sightings, and... Justice League goes CONDITION AMBER?!?
By Patrick
Click the link and the knowledge you seek shall be yours! (This knowledge does contain some spoilers, so consider yourself warned.)
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #13: Last month I complained that Jerry Ordway was no George Perez. But by no means is he a bad artist. Last issue just didn’t play to his strengths. This month, we have no such problem, as Jerry Ordway is one of, if not THE, definitive artist of Golden Age DC 
characters. And Mark Waid finds a really cool hook for this issue, comparing and contrasting at Batman and Jay Garrick as mentors. Who would have thought that two pages of Bruce Wayne and Jay Garrick in the Batcave talking about protégés would be such good reading? Also, it has bio-electric Ninja Samurai robots (AKA Samuroids) that are powered by a hybrid strain of bacteria. And all good fanboys and fangirls know that ninja robots rock! GRADE: B+ If you are a fan of the characters, you’ll really enjoy the issue, and there is enough meat there for the rest of you as well.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #21: We start off with the “trinity” getting together for a little secret meeting to discuss the happenings of the JLA and the DCU. Meanwhile, Hawkgirl and Red Arrow get taken down by Libra while trying to defeat The Human Flame. This book would have been a much better DC Universe #0 than the book they published a few weeks ago. Another thing I didn't quite get about the book: It had this big "Sightings" banner on the book, but I was not all that clear on what I was suppose to see. Grade: C+ If you want to get every beat of the coming crisis, or you are a Carlos Pacheco fan grab this, but otherwise, keep your three bucks in your pocket. 
And that leads us to DC's "BIG BOOK" of the week...FINAL CRISIS #1: Grant Morrision and JG Jones are out to give the DCU the ultimate bad day. And how does the bad day start? The skies are turning red…again. New Gods are being found dead… still. Villains are uniting under a common banner…again! A lot of the beats of this story felt like repeats from other storylines. These events have become so everyday in the DCU, how does the Justice League respond?
JUSTICE LEAGUE CONDITION AMBER! What the hell is that?! Are they going to go around looking for rocks with flies in them? Are they going out looking for missing children? If so, John Walsh will be so pleased. And I'm sure the Question will be happy to have some help, since one of the subplots seems to be her looking for missing super-powered kids.
Final Crisis is a great looking book, but like last week's Justice League, the story is missing some punch. I have faith in Grant Morrison's storytelling that this will end up being a heck of a read, but the first issue left me a little underwhelmed. But I will channel my inner Randy Jackson and say JG JONES could draw the phone book and it would still rock. GRADE: B- For a big event and the extra dollar in price, I want a bit more bang for my buck.
That's all I have today friends. Thanks for reading. Let me know if you like my title for my three pack of reviews, "Patrick's Hat Trick," if you think it sucks, or any other thought you'd like to share in the comments section. Thanks again!
5.23.2008
Patrick's Hat Trick: Patrick Peers into the Past
by Patrick
...See you after the jump!
ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #11: Adam Kubert draws his heart out, and really, with the book being over a year late, he should. There are some cool moments, mostly with the villains (Lex Luthor kills a Phantom Zone escapee and compares it to what will be like to kill Superman, we see different colored Kyptonite for the first time in decades, and Bizzaro fights Non). But for a book that came out so late, it really doesn't pack any emotional punch. I pretty much forgot that Chris Kent even existed and didn't much care what happened to him after more than a year. If this book had come out on time, it might have been a B. But, in this case, late work gets penalized a grade, earning only an average C.Our next book isn't late, but it does take place in the past. That's because it's DC newest timecop...
BOOSTER GOLD #9: It's chapter four of Blue and Gold, as Booster and the not-dead Ted "Blue Beetle" Kord deal with the after effects of Booster entering the time stream and preventing Blue Beetle's death. It's a "What If" Set in Infinite Crisis. The old JLI gets ready to make its last stand against a mad Max Lord who has Superman in his pocket and the world pretty much conquered. Johns has been spinning a fun tale, and Jurgens is an artist who has only gotten better as time has gone on. This book is shaping up to be the Exiles of the DCU, but with a higher stakes. If you are a fan of time travel, paradoxes, or DC countanuity, this is book you want don't want to miss. Grade: BAnd our last look into the past comes via the reprints packaged as...
DC UNIVERSE SPECIAL: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1: Go ahead, try to say that title in one breath. I dare you. I'm out of breath just typing that dang thing. Anyway, all this book is, is an attempt to separate you from that five dollar bill hiding in your wallet. The first story is the first Secret Society tale from Justice League of America #110, important today because it is the first (and only before DC 0) appearance of Libra. And that Libra issue is pretty forgettable outside of a scene in which the JLA decides they are tired of beating up the same old villains all the time and decided to choose who they will defeat next by pulling the villain's name from a hat:
And now that I have shared this moment, you can save yourself the five bucks I spent on this reprint with a very long name. To make matters worse, the Libra reprint ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. Does the next book reprinted close that story? No. Instead we get issues that were the basis for Identity Crisis, then the book closes with a Martian Manhunter reprint from the '50s.None of the stories reprinted here are really that good, so unless you intretest in reading the 30 year old comics that inspired Grant Morrison and Brad Meltzer, there is not much reason to pick this book up. GRADE: C-
That's it for today. I'll be back before Wednesday with reviews of three books that came out this week.
5.16.2008
Driveby Comic Reviews (April '08, Part 1)
by Chris
I buy my comics online at Mail Order Comics and have them shipped to me on a monthly basis. I'll be posting reviews of the previous month's comics in batches of five or six. I won't be reviewing every single issue...just the ones about which I have something to say. This time around, I've got Secret Invasion #1, Checkmate #25, Justice League of America #20, Fables #72, and Hulk #3. 
SECRET INVASION #1
I've seen comments from people after the reveal in this issue about "Poor Aunt May". Guess what? There's no need to feel sorry for her. Why? Never happened. Peter & MJ never got married. Aunt May never found out out Peter being Spider-Man (or did she just conveniently "forget"?). Peter never moves his family into Avengers tower. So, don't feel sorry for Aunt May. My One More Day rant over, this issue could have used some tightening up. For an introductory issue, we only really get teased as to what's about to happen. Four pages to show all the inmates from superpowered prisons breaking
up? Was that really necessary? Bendis is just abusing his decompression tendencies here. That aside, I enjoyed the issue. We're treated to a sense of impending doom, the heroes start to realize just how big this problem is, and we get a couple of pretty big WHAT THE--?! moments in the last couple of pages. Add in some gorgeous Leneil Yu artwork (sure, he can't draw women's faces, but he excels at drawing action scenes) and you've got a pretty entertaining book. Looking forward to issue 2 and I really hope that Bendis will find some way to avoid his usual "all buildup with no real payoff" results. Grade: B+
CHECKMATE #25
I'm really going to miss Greg Rucka on this book. He brings a very strong military sensibility to this book that I just can't see Bruce Jones duplicating. While Checkmate hasn't been my favorite book since it launched two years ago, it's been very solid. The rotating art teams didn't hurt the book since most of the artists had quite similar styles. That said, I really enjoyed this issue's focus on the Rooks. These were brand new characters that hadn't been seen before and was a really nice change of pace from seeing all the big guns in action. Rucka's sense of cutting edge military technology here added a sense of gritty realism enhanced by the fantastical elements that go along with a superhero universe. My one complaint is that Kobra seems to have been overused in this series. They seem to pop up every few months. It would be nice to populate the book with more variety in terms of antagonists. Grade: A-
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #20
I've been enjoying Dwayne McDuffie's run on this book, but this issue was disappointing. It didn't even read like a Justice League book. It felt more like a fill in issue of The Flash with a guest appearance by Wonder Woman. It was competently written and McDuffie certainly captured the distinct voices of the two heroes and I know it's important to get those character moments in between all the action, but there was something missing here. When I'm reading a JLA book, I expect the threat to be of some massive scale and Queen Bee stealing transporter technology just
didn't give me the feeling of impending doom. On the bright side, it had some gorgeous artwork by Ethan Van Sciver. That fact doesn't save this issue from mediocrity, however. Grade: C
FABLES #72
Month in and month out, Fables is consistently one of the best books on the stands. This month is no exception. This is the conclusion of the story arc wherein Cinderella, the ass kicking super spy, extracts Pinocchio from the Homelands. This arc being the first one where we really see Cinderella (at least to my recollection), it is an amazing debut. I am already fascinated by
this character. She's beautiful, she's smart, and she can kick the crap out of you. As usual, Willingham does an excellent job of smoothly blending character moments in with the action. In addition, while action isn't really Buckingham's strong suit, he's more than up for the job in this case. Grade: A
HULK #3
His collaborations with Tim Sale aside, Jeph Loeb is the Michael Bay of comic books. His stories are big, loud action blockbusters (remember, he did write the screenplay for Commando). Some people complain about the fact that his stories have no substance. Yeah, well, sometimes I just want to shut off my brain and read a book where things get blowed up. This book delivers that in spades. Sure, some of the dialogue might be kinda corny and Rick calling himself A-Bomb sounds like he's trying too hard, but dang it, this book is fun. A red Hulk that uses a gun? Rick suddenly turning into a new Abomination? What the heck is going on here?! I have no idea, but I look forward to finding out. The pace so far has seemed slow, but that could be due to the late shipping. Grade: B
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4.23.2008
What's The Buzz on Justice League of America #20?
Posted by Patrick
So I wandered into my local comic shop today and, sadly, none of my normal books were out this week. But there was that pretty looking Ethan Van Sciver drawn Justice League that came out today. And you can't leave the comic shop without buying anything, so I bought it. And while Mr. Van Sciver does draw some pretty pictures, I found the issue kind of dull. Wonder Woman scolds Flash for putting his family before the League. And then they fight Hive and the Queen Bee. And really, that's about all there is to this very light and kind of boring story. But the pretty pictures from Ethan Van Sciver elevate the book to a grade of B.
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