Comic Book Reviews: Week of 01/02/2009
Wolverine #70
Written by: Mark Millar
Art by: Steve McNiven
SPOILERS!!!!!
Continuing in the “Old Man Logan” storyline, Wolverine finally reveals what happened in the past that made him give up fighting or “popping” his claws: himself.
Yep, in the past he was the reason the bad guys won. Being cleverly tricked by a certain Mysterio-us villain, Wolverine unwittingly killed his teammates, giving the upperhand to the villains of the world. After realizing his own berserker-y ways, he exiled himself from the world. Vowing to never hurt anyone again.
Some cool scenes in this book are not only the vicious and extremely bloody (How is this not a Marvel MAX series?) fight scenes, but the conversation between Hawkeye and Logan about what happened in the past. Millar’s writing really conveys that Logan is truly sorry and, in ways, suicidal, about what he has done. Once again, this story arc is proving to be one of Wolverine’s best…evar…
McNiven’s art stands out again. It is cinematic and detailed and all around really, really purty. Fight scenes are fluid and gorgeously brutal. He really has a visual idea of how this broken down Wolverine and his world look.
Millar and McNiven ought to team up much more after this.
Batman Cacophony #2
Written by: Kevin Smith
Art by: Walter Flanagan
Wow. That is about all I can say about this book. Granted, I stood up for the first issue, and that took some balls on my part, but this….this is not good. Where shall I start?
Kevin Smith is funny. Kevin Smith makes some good movies. Kevin Smith is a good writer. Kevin Smith writes good comic books. Kevin Smith sometimes fails.
The writing in this book IS NOT the same as it was in issue 1. Whether that is good or bad, in this case, the writing in issue 2 is bad. The characters don’t seem to have a unique voice anymore. Even Batman doesn’t talk like Batman in this issue. And the Joker? Factoring in that the Joker can be and is one of the hardest to write for and most infinitely unclassifiable, interesting and misunderstood characters EVER, how is it that he doesn’t even know what he is in this book? One second he is a crime genius and the next he looks like he should be cast in a Three Stooges movie. Dissect this Joker and you get one part homicidal maniac with a penchant for theatrics and another part bumbling, dumbass that should be a 3rd string villain in an issue of Teen Titans. Kevin Smith did not understand the Joker in this issue.
So apart from the writing, (and really, thank god this series is only 1 more issue, because so far, it is tarnishing Smith’s comic godliness), the art looks like something you would find on a classroom folder on the playground at recess. Batman never looked worse. One panel he looks like a fucking retarded ape and the next he looks like a fat kid trying to cram his fatness into a Batman costume that is 2 sizes to small. Oh and the kid has stumpy, block legs and a huge overbite. What the fuck? I understand that everyone has a certain style, but this is unacceptable. Walt Flanagan should never draw Batman again. I hate Leinil Yu’s art on New Avengers. He is my most hated artist, but Walt Flanagan just walked into the room and sat right next to Leinil. Not good. I cannot recommend this book and quite fucking frankly, if you can get away with it, go into your comic store and shred the stack of Batman Cacophony #2s on the shelf so that no one else mistakingly picks this up and, god help them, pay for it.
Incognito #1
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Art by: Sean Phillips
I swear that Ed Brubaker is a huge computer that churns out awesome stories every month. How else can one explain how he manages to stretch himself over multiple books, multiple great books, and makes each one change the face of the comics industry every month? Needless to say, Incognito is shaping up to be another winner.
Incognito is similar to Criminal but also not similar. It isn’t a crime story, but it is. It isn’t a superhero story, but it is. The main character is a super villain placed in Witness Protection. The only problem is: he longs to be out causing havoc. Once part of a super villain team, along with his twin brother, Zack, the story’s main character, is now confined to living a “normal” life. He now has to live among the people he once loved to terrorize, or should I not use that word? (read the issue to understand why he doesn’t consider what he does as terrorism) Forced to take pills that can control his powers, Zack has to get his kicks elsewhere, like dressing up as Santa and impersonating some chick’s boyfriend and hooking up with her. But the santa suit ends up making him feel like he did when he used to when he donned the villain costume. Happy. So now he secretly wants to feel the rush again and ends up stopping a mugging, thus sending himself back onto the path that he once walked.
The art is by Sean Phillips, who is also the artist on Criminal. Good stuff. Still has that gritty feel that Criminal has, and the same interesting color pallet.
Overall, a great start to another series. Not too sure where it will go from here, but with a cool introduction like this, the sky is the limit.
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Tags: batman, comics, criminal, ed brubaker, incognito, kevin smith, mark millar, wolverine
January 5th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Oddly enough, I shit all over the first issue of Cacophony but I actually was able to swallow the second issue. I guess the Joker was killing people again instead of asking for it up the pooper. So that helped.
Also, I started to see that Smith is making the Joker a pawn and not a major player in this arc. That doesn’t excuse the fact that I think Onomatopoeia is a crappy character. While still a terrible book, the second issue was far more..tolerable for me. But that still doesn’t explain why the hell I’m still reading this shit series.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Jesus, man, you guys are harsh. I just read the second issue and thought it was good, definitely better than the first and certainly better than the a lot of the trash that’s out there and most of the Batman stories I’ve read in the past year. I think Smith developed his version of the Joker pretty well in this one, mostly in that scene with them on the top of the Police Department. Onomatopoeia is a silly character, sure, but I like that he’s turning out to be a bit of a psychopath and Batman also sees him as a bit silly. It’s not the best Batman story I’ve ever read, but it’s hardly terrible.
I will say that I noticed that Bruce Wayne was a bit ape-ish in this book, but I’m never one to get hung up on shit like that. Everyone’s got their own take, and that’s fine by me. Perhaps I’m just easy to please when it comes to comics? I did hate Secret Invasion, though…
Oh, and Incognito is going to be brilliant. I can’t wait for issue two.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
I picked up Incognito along with Kick-Ass #5 on Saturday. I enjoy comics, but am not a huge comic guy. Since I heard you guys talking about Ed Brubaker, I just picked up Incognito because I saw his name on it. I’m going to have to search for more of his stuff, because it has already grabbed me.
And K-A still K’s A.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Most of Brubaker’s stuff is incredible. Captain America has become my second favorite book and his work on my all time favorite, Daredevil, has to be some of the best in years. It almost tops the Bendis run.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
You know, I don’t read comics for the art, so I’m typically focused on the writing. Sure, good artwork can bolster the quality of a book, but bad art can really help detract. I’ve read books with bad art and good writing and vice versa, but the art in this book, especially a “ZOMG! Kevin Smith returns to comics!!!1!” Batman story, I was really let down.
You’d think if you are working on a Batman story, having a consistent Batman and one that doesn’t look like a friggin chud might be required.
And Im still waiting for that Kick Ass trade to come out. Everytime I want to read it, i can never find the first issue. Its just my OCD kicking in that stops me from jumping in the middle of something without starting at the beginning.
January 5th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Oh, you’ll definitely want to start from the beginning on Kick Ass.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Walt Flanagan?! Kevin Smith has so much pull that he was able to talk DC into letting Fanboy do art on Batman? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always liked Walt & enjoy his visits on Smodcast, but seriously?! It’s difficult as hell to get a guest artist position on a third-rate obscure book at the big two & now they have to worry about Kevin Smith buddy nepotism? Watch out Johns, you might get bumped off of Green Lantern if Jason Mews suddenly gets the writing bug.
On to stuff I did read, though… Old Man Wolverine is really something special. It’s such a weird thing because it’s obviously never going to be a part of continuity, yet they made it a part of the main run all the same. Broke my heart to see what broke Wolverine. Only thing I hate now is that I have to wait again for more of the story. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t fizzle out on the back end of the story.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:51 am
To be fair, Walt’s not exactly new at this as he has drawn other comics in the past.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Y’know what? Yeah, that was maybe a bit of a snap-judgement. The impression that I’d gotten from hearing Walt on Smodcast was that he’d done some third-rate work on some self-published horror comics. Looking up some of his actual work online, he’s not half bad. Looking over his works on Wikipedia, however, shows that pretty much all of his more prolific work was done on titles that Smith was writing at the time. I’ll admit, Flanagan has talent, but it still irks me somewhere inside that a guy can get such cherry artwork gigs that will, most certainly, sell well simply by virtue of growing up with Kevin Smith.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I’ll agree with you, Jake. Flanagan is fine but not at the caliber of someone who works as a DC mainstay. The gig was a gift and for that, he does a good job. But Adam Kubert’s covers simply destroy any work that Flanagan does on the book.