My "pull list" entries always get more hits than my others. This is probably due to people performing Google searches for thoughtful, well-written, educated reviews of their favorite comics and, not finding any, accidentally stumbling here instead.So, I will plug here my earlier entry about the fan theory about how the Superman appearing in comics for the past fourteen years is a clone. More people finding out about it can only be for the good.
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight 1
The Long Way Home, Part One
--I was a bit confused as to the official name of this comic. The letters column says "Buffy: The Long Way Home #2 on sale April 4th," which would indicate it's called BUFFY: THE LONG WAY HOME. The cover points in the same direction. However, all the press and fan buzz I've read labels it "Buffy Season Eight" or some such. And the indicia is on their side. So...?
I was trepidatious going into this because of who some of the writers for upcoming arcs will be. I was a little worried that my worry about the future would keep me from really getting into even the current Whedon-written arc.
My fears were put the rest, though, because I definitely enjoyed this issue. Not to the same extent I enjoyed my favorite episodes of the TV show perhaps, but things are just starting to get cooking here, so some leeway can be given.
Some people are saying it's too slow-paced and Whedon is writing in a way suited for TV but not comics, but I'm not sure about that. Right now, it could go either way really. But I don't think devoting one issue to setting up the current status quo and new threat is particularly outside the norm. Nor should it be. Whedon's first issue of FRAY was similarly uneventful, but by the end that mini-series certainly didn't feel ill-suited for monthly comic format.
All that said, this probably would read better in the trade, yes. But that and reading well in monthly installment format aren't mutually exclusive.
The bottom line is this: I enjoyed it, despite the uncertainty about the title's future that was on my mind.
It's certainly interesting to see Whedon's vision of BUFFY freed from the constraints of budget or the technological limits of sfx.
Fables 58
Big Scary Monsters! Part Two of Fathers and Sons
--I feel sad for Mr. North. I thought this arc would conclude in a family reconciliation, but I guess that's not in the cards. I understand why Snow and Bigby would be disgusted, but I still sympathize with the guy; I keep flashing back to those pleading eyes last issue when he asked Mistral if his son had said anything about him. He clearly wanted to patch things up badly, even if he was too proud to admit it. Instead, all he's accomplished is to turn Snow against him, too.
What can I say, I'm hoping reconciliation's still down the line and that Willingham only delayed it so that it will be that much more meaningful when it comes about.
I like that we're starting to see the cubs come into their own distinct personalities. I have trouble visually distinguishing them when they're in wolf form because some of the colors are rather similar, but that's unavoidable, I think. What's the alternative, green and purple wolves?
All in all, another solid issue.
Superman 660
The Art of the Prank
--Simply splendid. With this issue, the Prankster comes into his own, and a unique niche is carved for him within the Superman mythos. Possibly within the DC Universe as a whole, as well.
(One thing I'm unclear on: Does he actually invent his own technology or come by it through other means? He's a former kids' television show host, so it's a little odd if he's also a scientific genius. Then again, it's not impossible, especially in the context of a superhero story... )
The unconventional way this issue begins really works, really pulls the reader in while simultaneously fitting the Prankster's personality.
Busiek once again puts to use his skill at showing what makes a character tick and how s/he approaches life without being too explicit, unnatural, or obvious about it.
I do have two minor quibbles:
One, at one point the Prankster calls "Nitro G" "Harris," but his real name is something else.
Two,"Nitro G" has superpowers without any explanation where they came from. This is actually a small pet peeve I have with superhero comics in general these days. Lots and lots of them do this sort of thing. For example, I think there was an issue of BIRDS OF PREY a while back that had the heroes infilitrating a prison where, hey, one of the guards just happens to have super-strength.
It's not that there's no explanation that irks me so much as that superpowers is being treated as something commonplace and ordinary. (Edited to add: At this point, I seem to go from commenting on the latest SUPERMAN to launching into a screed that uses the latest SUPERMAN as an excuse to do so. Make no mistake, there's no real review past this point.) I'd rather that not be the case because a large part of the appeal of superheroes for me is that they take place in a world so much like our own. It's the juxtaposition of extraordinary people in such a mundane, ordinary world that does it for me. It's *our* world, with super-happenings thrown on top of it all. A world where an ordinary guy showing up with the power to generate nitroglycerin is so unextraordinary that it doesn't warrant the Prankster even asking, "How did you just do that?" is too far removed from our world, at least for me.
From what little of I've read of Silver Age comics, this wasn't the case in them. Unless it was a book like X-MEN where superpowers around every other corner was part of the premise, there was always an explanation for why the newest villain could fly. It might have been a perfunctory explanation but an explanation nonetheless.
That's the approach I'd prefer. Even if the explanation is as unremarkable as being hit by the Gene Bomb, I'd prefer it to no explanation at all.
But, aagh, I'm going on about something that probably belongs more in a separate entry. Like I said, many, many other comics do the same thing, so I can't be too hard about it. My long-windedness on the topic (all too similar to a rant, I fear) is responding to the trend in general, not the instance of it in this one story.
Image pulled from www.comics.org. What *would* I do without them?
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