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Superman: Heroes (2020-) #1 by Matt Fraction

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Superman:Heroes and Superman: Villains appear to be the end of my pre-quarantine stack. I may take a break from comics for a little bit.

The news in the DC/Bendisverse is that Superman is telling the World that he's Clark Kent. These purely ancillary bookends could actually be a lot of fun. Essentially, how the Superhero and Supervillain community handle the news.

There's a bunch of people working on this with Bendis and Fraction the writers (with Rucka on Heroes and Jody Houser on Villains) and various artists, colorists, and letterers.

I generally hate these kind of one-offs, but this could be a really, really cool book. Can you imagine?

It's quite dull though, like some of the most pedestrian comic writers hammered it out. Bendis's iconic multi-panel dialogue is here, of course, in its perhaps most uninspired usage ever.

Any memorable moments are likely from Rucka or Fraction, and there's not many of them in Superheroes and less in Villians.

I am probably charitable in reviewing these books together and rounding up to two stars. They are really quite ordinary in something that has so much potential. I don't doubt that the main titles will be at least somewhat worthwhile, but skip this.





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Resistance #1 by J. Michael Straczynski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I wanted to get in on the groundfloor on AWA Comics launch, and though I doubt it's necessary, the universe spins out of this book.

As a wrestling fan, AWA reminds me of the promotion that always lagged behind the Big Two. I don't envy any publisher though trying to make their mark. In this case, Axel Alonso and Bill Jemas are behind it, so they have a better start than some.

It's a decent if not surprising roster- Straczynski, Garth Ennis, Reginald Hudlin, Frank Cho, Peter Milligan, Cullen Bunn and a few other comic writer and novelists. Tommy Lee Edwards, Mike Deodato and Javier Pullido as some of the artists.

It is a shared universe which could work. In any case, there have been worse attempts.

Though, also as they plan their launch, all of the COVID stuff hits.

I am a big JMS fan from back in the day so I didn't want to miss this. Ironically, it's about a global pandemic, which may not be what everyone wants to read about in terms of sci-fi and fantasy.

I liked it. It is certainly the type of story that is in JMS wheelhouse and could fit in with his comic highpoints from (*gasp* 20 years ago) Joe's Comics- titles like Midnight Nation and Rising Stars.

Deodato is a great artist for the type of comic JMS wants to write, and puts it on a level of the previous titles I mentioned.

I got to say I dug it. As with his best work, you can visualize it on the screen. Also, it's not the idea is terribly groundbreaking, but he tells things in an engaging way. I will check more out from this group.




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Hellboy Winter Special 2019 by Mike Mignola

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I have been a more liberal with my comic pick-ups lately. Not sure what will all make it here, but I thought this one deserved a review.

The main Hellboy writers all contribute a story (Mignola, Roberson, Allie). The nature of compressing the three stories into one comicis probably a disadvantage, as these all could use some room to breathe. Each has the crumb of a good ghost story, and work fine as a vignette, though how much satisfaction you will get depends on your expectations.

Mignola's story is the only one featuring Hellboy come to think of it, and is a simple story. Mark Laszlo's art is atypical for the Mignolaverse but with Stewart's colors, it feels right at home, and the expressiveness really is eye-catching, and feels new but also right at home.

Roberson's story is a nice straight set up-story- plot twist that feels right in the Mignolaverse. Perhaps too simple to a fault, but a decent story for the size in an anthology like this.

Whereas Allie has more ambition, it uses its pages for a big set up, and has to end quickly. Some may find this more satisfying, I thought the hurried end distracted.

Decent art throughout. This is hardly essential, but at the same time, if people are looking for a quick snack-sized portion of the Mignolaverse, they will likely find it satisfying enough.



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Frankenstein Undone #1 by Mike Mignola

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I famously (yes, famous!) write reviews of #1 issues. Here lately, I was going to try and review at the end of a series, but books don't always get collected as I expect them to.

So here we go. Is it fair? No, probably not. So, take it with a grain of salt.

Mignola and Allie's new meditation on Frankenstein may still turn out to be great. Reviews are strongly in favor, and no doubt, I will continue to pick it up.

Issue 1 is a mixed bag for me, though. Stenbeck's art (with Wagner's colors et al) is great. Really strong stuff.

This is a five issue arc, so it has room to breathe, but it takes half the book to really get anywhere. The characterization is good (again, Stenbeck probably makes a bit of difference there, too).

It's just kind of muddled and overdone at times. Sure, I complained about the first half of the book, but filing the second half with lots of dialogue isn't quite the right solution, either.

I still think there is enough interesting content here to make this a worthwhile read. I am a fan of the Monster, and surely placing him in the Mignolaverse is a cool concept. We will just have to see.





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The Batman's Grave (2019-) #1 by Warren Ellis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I somehow missed this, and was lucky I could find Issue #1 still (Issue #2 hit yesterday).

There are a bunch of Batman stories out now. I am reading a bunch, and there's even still more than what I am reading. Still, when I saw Ellis and Hitch attached, I knew I had to add one more.

As I have talked before, Batman. at this point, is America's archetypal character. It is our King Arthur, our Beowulf, our Odysseus, our Mr Darcy.

Also, in Ellis and Hitch's hands here, he's the G*ddamn Batman.

This is a hard-boiled story. Yet, Ellis hits all the right notes. There's characterization. There's nuance. There's a detective story that unravels. It hits all the right notes that a good Ellis story does, but it is always on task. There is quite a bit of action, yet, there's enough story, that it feels well within the $3.99 price point.

At time, Hitch's style reminds me of the 90s art in the Legends of the Dark Knight. It does not seem like an obvious choice, and I don't know that I was going to like it. However, it really does fit the tone quite well. It sells the underlying grit of the story. The LotDK theme feels heavy on this to me- those memorable storylines where writers like Morrison, Wagner, Mignola, Willingham, James Robinson and a literal who's who (including Ellis) would stop by to spin a different kind of Batman tale.

For me, it is only 2 issues in, but as good as a Batman story that I have read in awhile, and Tom King has done some strong work. It just really grabbed me.



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The Green Lantern: Blackstars (2019-) #1 by Grant Morrison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


So if I have this right (which I may not) it is sort of an alt-history of sorts to Morrison's current GL run; which means it's pretty far down the rabbit hole. At what point is this not really a GL book anymore?

I have no complaints though, and I am not really in a position to say if hardcore GL would think Morrison is extra fantastic or somewhat blasphemous. It doesn't really resemble much of a GL story to me. That said, I have no complaints, and it feels like a Morrison story.

I might compare it to his run on New X-Men where it is very much a Morrison story, but the framework keeps things in check.

From there, Blackshirts is probably not essential, but it is still good. It feels very much like the best parts of Morrison. The witty banter is up there with Ellis for some of the best in alt-comics. You also tend to draw out where Millar and Morrison have diverged. Millar could have wrote this, but he never would have put in this much detail.

Personally, I liked it. Some great one-liners. The story is pretty solid, though Morrison has taken so many left turns, I occasionally feel a step or two behind. Xermanico's art is well suited- tying in what DC is currently doing, but also able to catch Morrison's Vertigo-ish feel.

As an aside DC has been running two-page ads that are illustrated in that old 70s Rick Barry/Dr J and Hostess Fruit Pies way, and they are for Snickers and Svengoolie. Just seems a bit of whiplash to see those in there.

In the grand scheme of things, you should check out Morrison's Green Lantern run, if you like Morrison. I suspect this will somehow get collected in there and it will be a fine chapter.



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Trees: Three Fates #1 by Warren Ellis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


For awhile there, comic fans thought we might have lost Warren Ellis. His novels seem to be doing well, and his comic work was intermittent and often, obscure.

The 2014-2016 series was proof that he was back. That led into his Wildstorm series for DC, which was dang good (even if we were left scratching our heads about the point of it all). Trees wasn't perfect, but it was a solid start that was more original than 95% of the stuff on the market, and I don't think anyone was disappointed with it.

However, I do know, it felt anticlimactic, so Ellis going back to revisit the idea seems like the right thing to do.

Previous Trees knowledge doesn't seem essential for this book, but it wouldn't hurt. It does feel like a separate story (though Ellis claims it's a continuation.)

Art by Jason Howard is fantastic. It's that cliche again- it doesn't feel like you're reading a traditional comic.

Since it likely was planned as a story arc and not an actual five issue series, this issue isn't really that flashy.

It opens with a scene that is strong enough. The closing leaves us with a cliffhanger. The pages in between do their part. It is tough, because artistically, it makes sense to do big scenes and hand it over to Howard. The problem is if you do too much of that, then you don't feel like you get enough value for your money (as an aside, for $3.99 with no ads, it's priced right).

It doesn't though - good deal of dialogue and action. It should satisfy readers of Trees



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The Green Lantern (2018-) Annual #1 by Grant Morrison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have been reading Morrison's Green Lantern and not sure what others think. For me, it is exactly what I hoped for.

That said, I don't have a particular preconception of the title, so I might be more open-minded than most. For me, it hits a nice balance of Morrisonesque weirdness without being some obscure unreadable mess.

The things that have worked well for the ongoing monthly are all here in the Annual. The best thing is the clever Morrisonisms (knowing nod to conventional tropes, snappy dialogue by characters too clever by half, lines that make you smirk). The plot is action driven- simple, Blockbuster movie style action. Art is well within the normal Green Lantern/DC universe, but pretty clean.

The annual is a stand-alone issue that lays outside of any current storylines. I have no problems with the Annual. It's main problem is it's a bit of a throwaway- in short, the monthly is better. Not bad, by any means, but maybe not the kind of memorable story that an annual might warrant.

There's enough moments here that this is required reading for DC fans. More casual comic readers and financially/time-strapped readers should hit up the Morrison Green Lantern collections which should come along soon.



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Lois Lane (2019-) #1 by Greg Rucka

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Since reading the Event Leviathan Special, I have been looking forward to this.

I am sure it all has been dine before, but this really feels like something new. In this case, a comic that cares about Lois Lane and what she does, and not just as Superman supporting character.

It is true that Batman has been used as a detective, but it feels fresh in using it in a Superman title.

Ironically perhaps, I thought Bendis had a clunky way of getting us here and it didn’t always work, but the current situation works well for Rucka to spin off from.

He does a great job with the Lois-Clark dynamic, he does well with what is essentially a political espionage style plot and elements related to that, and then weaves in some traditional superhero action. It all works rather well

I am not familiar with Perkins but it’s a good pairing. The cover is striking. My Comic Shop Guy said if he didn’t know better he would think it was Carmen Sandiego. It is an easy accessible modern look in tune with what I would expect from a good Marvel title and works well in this context.

Goodreads doesn’t like people to do single issue reviews, so the Devils Bargain is that if I review it, I have to assign a rating to it.

I am going to give it five stars because it’s pretty dang good. I am really excited in where this might be going, and kudos to Rucka for delivering a story where Lois is the main character and Superman is in the background. Also falls into that category of ‘comics for people who normally wouldn’t read comics’.



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Lazarus: Risen #1 by Greg Rucka

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have a fond rememberance for 2013.

It seemed to me like one of the high points in comics. Image seemed to be moving in a spot that Vertigo user to occupy. I am not sure if it’s a cloudy rear view but I have no trouble defending it (standout titles by Rucka, Remender, Seeley, Fraction and Brubaker followed by memorable titles by Williamson, Kirkman, Aaron, Gilles, and Brubaker in 2014). It sure feels comparable to that creative time in the early to mid 90s.

It didn’t appear that Image did a whole lot to capitalize on this, in retrospect. The biggest effect was most of these writers went to steady jobs at The Big Two. Of course, how much of this is personal recollection and relation to my personal comic shop, I am not sure. In any case, it was a strong impression.

Of 2013-14, Rucka’s Lazarus is one of the few things that still remain. It has now been relaunched in a sort as a longer now quarterly format. Seemingly, this feels like a good modern move, bridging the best features of the weeklies and Graphic Novels.

Lazarus is easily one of the best comics of this decade. The relaunch doesn’t exactly work as a starting point, although it certainly tries.

It does allow a big chunk of story which works in favor of Lazarus. Not that it ever had an issue, but this is a bigger story and it should not be tied to size limitations.

Of course, the team of Rucka, Lark, Bowland and Arcas are near peerless. Every detail- story, art, color is top notch.

If I have to nitpick, I do think at time it suffers at its overambition. I am afraid at times it may get to Game of Thronesy with so many subplots. Of course, this is for most intents, a first issue. I also suspect some of my issues may have to do more with some fatigue of what’s roughly a good three years or more of material.

It’s a minor quibble of course, since Rucka works well at both micro (characterization, dialogue) and macro (world building) levels.

The addition of a strong prose story by Lilah Sturges as well as a few related content (cool fake ads) and a top notch letters page would make me feel I was getting my money’s worth. (At $8, I doubt I would have flinched either way)

For those not familiar with the title, it is a well thought Dystopia that seems much more related to the real world than modern Dystopia stereotypes would suggest. Certainly, a worthy inclusion to the "What comics should I be reading?" discussion



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