Thursday 1 January 2015

Comics Desperate Catch-Up (January '15)

Scrabbling to catch up on some series, while trying out some new ones. Will I take any further? We'll see.

TMNT/Ghostbusters #2 (IDW)

The second part is still stuck on introducing the characters to each other, but makes such chores more fun than they have any right to be. Donatello's bromance with Ray is just a joy to behold, while Raphael matches up nicely as a foil for Venkman. Egon becomes more of a challenge for Donnie - one refusing to believe in aliens and the other in ghosts - while April and Janine bond. Most insightful is pairing up Leonardo with Zeddmore, the latter's position as the heart of the team interpreted as a leadership of sorts. That leads Michaelangelo with only Slimer to interact with, though. (Thank you Michele for getting this in for me x)

ODY-C #1 (Image)

Pretty incredible visually, this is Matt Fraction's new vast space opera, a hyper-modernist take on The Odyssey layered with psychedelia and science myth. I'll be honest, there were pages where I had little idea what was going on, but there's some very interesting stuff in this, with almost all the characters juxtaposed to female or gender-fluid forms and a vast galactic history sketched in through the use of fold-out chronologies and star charts. Probably something to admire more than enjoy.

Crossed + One Hundred (Utopia Press)

Ugh. I hadn't bothered with Crossed before because it just sounded like one of those titles trying to be as shockingly nasty as possible. But I thought I'd give this a go on the basis that anything new by Alan Moore is worth at least a look. So, a hundred years after a plague turned 90% of the human race into murderous rapists, we have an ongoing struggle for survival with some admittedly interesting language play. Really though, this isn't just unpleasant, it's really very dull.

Avengers Universe #7 (Marvel/Panini)

This has become my reprint series of choice, the one I'm going to keep buying after dropping Wolverine & Deadpool, Mighty World of Marvel and Batman Arkham. Enjoying the contrast between the relatively small-scale threats faced by the Young Avengers, and the vast cosmic, trans-temporal armageddon that threatens the Uncanny Avengers. Nicely in the middle is Mighty Avengers, and although this issue is mostly ground-based middle-of-the-story stuff, I'm loving Superior Spider-Man basically being a cunt to everyone.

Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor #6 (Titan)

This is undoubtedly the best of Titan's DW series, although I am looking forward to their limited ninth Doctor run. "Space in Dimension Relative and Time" is a truly clever story, running time backwards with only the Doctor aware of the discrepancies and playing with the paradoxes to great effect. I like this short, one-strip stories for the eleventh Doctor; they suit his fast-paced style well. Rob Williams is probably the strongest writer in Doctor Who comics right now, and Simon Fraser's art is just perfect for Eleven. Plus, this brings back the Nimon while ripping the piss out of them.

Ms. Marvel #10 (Marvel)

After a short break, this is back with a finely told, important chapter that sees Kamala rally up some disillusioned youths who have been under the thumb of the evil cockateel-faced villain the Professor. God, this pulls of some weird shit, this comic. It's the young together, very much not a call to arms but a call to live, fighting for tomorrow by dint of living today. This really is an excellent comic for teens, but not to the exclusion of old bastards like me. G. Willow Wilson's writing pitches it perfectly. Adrian Alphona's art is grand, too.

The Multiversity: Thunderworld (DC)

I do enjoy me some Captain Marvel (Shazam! style) and this latest from The Mulitversity, dated February for some reason, takes us to Earth-5 where Fawcett Comics is the still the dominant continuity and it's all about Billy Batson and his Marvel family. The nefarious Dr. Sivana strikes a plan to conquer the Rock of Eternity, breaching the walls of reality and importing time from across the Multiverse to create his own eighth day. Wonderfully high concept while remaining a good, old-fashioned sort of adventure, this is lovely stuff. More please.

Guardians of the Galaxy #22 (Marvel)

I'm enjoying the B-plot in this storyline, with political shenanigans on Spartax and the powers of the galaxy debating what to do with Earth. But really, this is just a series of over-the-top reveals with each character becoming Venom for a few pages. Venom-Rocket, Venom-Groot, Venom-Drax... it's thin, but it's bloody good fun.

Edward Scissorhands #2 (IDW)

I'm going to drop this. I like the idea, with Edward's unstable brother trying to fix himself while Kim's granddaughter searches for the truth about what happened all those years ago, but the telling's bland and the artwork isn't growing on me.

Thor #3 (Marvel)

Really enjoying this one. We still don't know who the new Thor is, but that's working for it, a little mystery alongside the action. Elves and Jotnar all coming for Midgard, and now the Odinson is coming back for his hammer.

Spider-Verse Team-Up #2 (Marvel)

I think these team-ups are the most enjoyable part of the Spider-Verse event. Two stories here, the first of which is just fabulously fun, bringing together Peter Parker from the '67 animated series, Parker from the Ultimate Spider-Man TV series and Miles Morales from the Ultimate Comics universe. It gently mocks each version of the series but ultimately celebrates all of them, and it's very funny. It's followed by Spider-Gwen encountering a version of Parker who took up the mantle of the Green Goblin after his Gwen's death. A clever pairing.









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