Comics legend Brian Michael Bendis does noir. This was the first title published under Marvel’s “R-rated” MAX imprint, and the very first word of the book is “FUCK!” Which sets the tone pretty well–the heroine is a world-weary private detective…
Category: comics
Comic Book Report: Final Crisis Aftermath: Run
Dark, ironic, and hilarious. Writer Matthew Sturges tells the story of the Human Flame, a second-rate criminal who was involved in the murder of the Martian Manhunter, and manages to make him completely human, if not wholly sympathetic. Plus, actual…
Comic Book Report: Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance
Strangely overwritten, with stilted dialogue, flat characters, and abstruse plotting. Follows the adventures (so-called) of Super Young Team, a group of inexperienced Japanese superheroes, but I can’t tell how much of this is parody and how much is just bad…
Comic Book Report: Star Trek: Spock – Reflections
This, in my opinion, is a rare example of good fanfic. As the title indicates, it’s a very introspective story about everyone’s favorite Vulcan, and it succeeds by using small moments in Spock’s life to build up a larger, character-revelatory…
Comic Book Report: Checkmate Vol. 1: A King’s Game
I was still in high school in 1988, when Action Comics #598 introduced Checkmate to the DC universe, and I remember being intrigued by the high-concept, high-tech James Bond riff. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite live up to the promise–from…
Comic Book Report: Scalped Vol. 5: High Lonesome
I don’t usually think of myself as a specialist, especially when it comes to entertainment. I like to sample media from lots of different genres. Consequently, I know a little about a lot of things, but don’t have true expertise…
Comic Book Report: X-Men: Magneto Testament
This coming Sunday is the start of the Days of Remembrance, so it’s fitting that I just read the excellent X-Men: Magneto Testament. I came to this book by another route–that of researching writer and filmmaker Greg Pak’s oeuvre, the…
Book Report: I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President
Like Jon Stewart (the Daily Show host whose blurb appears on the cover–not the Green Lantern), I loved this book. It’s got a very PS238 feel, albeit on a smaller scale. Author Josh Lieb does a nice job of balancing…
Comic Book Report: World War Hulk (Various)
That’s it? Really? The above is my overall reaction to this recent Marvel line-wide crossover event. I mean, first of all, the title is completely misleading. The story doesn’t involve the whole world (it’s only Manhattan), and it’s not actually…
Comic Book Report: Batman: False Faces
As comic book writers go, Brian K. Vaughan has a pretty solid batting average. He created the Eisner Award-winning Y: The Last Man, the singular Ex Machina, and Marvel’s Runaways, all of which are great titles. (I have some quibbles…