Comics I read this week

Here's the round-up on this week's books.

Casanova 14: A very satisfying conclusion to the second album. Secrets are revealed, plots are foiled, and Casanova finally returns (sort of). You know how the Clash was the Only Band that Matters? I think Casanova may be the Only Comic that Matters. For the love of God, do yourself a favor and read this book!

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom: Last week, I read the new Iron Man book by Matt (Casanova) Fraction and the new one by Jon (Iron Man: the Movie) Favreau. Neither one was as good as this book by David (Iron Man back when it was really good) Michelinie and Bob (Ditto) Layton. In this issue, Iron Man has to fight his way out of Hell. Michelinie (along with co-plotter Layton) knows how to write Iron Man and he knows how to write Dr. Doom. This book sings like a mid-80s Marvel comic.

The Twelve 5: The book opens with a vignette focusing on the Witness that reminds me a little of Kirgstein's "Master Race" if it were told from the other guy's point of view. It ends with a shocking (and complletely unbelievable) development for the Laughing Mask. In between, we get more of what we've come to expect from this book -- scenes of the Twelve (most notably, the Blue Blade) adjusting to life in 2008. I came into this book not being a particular fan of Straczynski's comics work, but this book wouldn't work if he didn't have the writing chops to portray these characters realistically. It also wouldn't work if Weston didn't have the ability to translate these characters' emotions into his pencils. Depending on where we wind up by issue 12, this has the potential to be a true classic.

FX 3: This book continues to throw comic-booky ideas out at a breakneck speed. It's not a very deep book, but it is a fun book. I continue to be impressed with writer Wayne Osborne -- if I didn't know the backstory behind this book, I would assume he was a professionaal writer (which I suppose he is now, since he got a whole bunch of people to pay money for a comic he wrote). Artwise, I'm enjoying Byrne's work on this project probably more than I have at any time since his days on Fantastic Four.

Bat Lash 6: And so it ends: the showdown between Bat Lash and Sheriff Brubaker. This has been a great series, a callback to a time when westerns were common place, but at the same time not completely un-modern. The art by John Severin sure doesn't hurt -- I'd buy a shopping list illustrated by that man.

Spider-Girl 20: Every month, I struggle to find something to say about this book. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy it, but it's pretty similar from month to month. I could run down the plot developments (Spider-Girl tries to protect one of her friends from some anti-mutant vigilantes, Peter Parker learns something remarkable about his daughter, the aforementioned Spider-Girl), but let's be honest -- if you care about the plot developments in this book, un-related as it is to the greater Marvel Universe, you're reading this. Instead, I'll just say that I'm really glad that Sal Buscema's got a regular gig. His inks really complement Ron Frenz's pencils.

Project Superpowers 3: We get more introductions to Golden Age characters I'd never before heard of -- in this case, Masquerade and the Mighty Sampson. Plus, the Fighting Yank and his growing cadre of allies fight a bunch of killer androids. Alex Ross and Jim Krueger have been working together for quite some time now, and I think they make a very solid team. I'm curious to see where they go with this -- in no small part, because for the first time, they are working with a batch of characters I don't have preconceived notions about.

Giant-Size Incredible Hulk: Partly this is a reprint of the 1978 Hulk annual (Hulk teams up with Angel and Iceman against the Master Mold). Written by Roger Stern and John Byrne, with art by Byrne and Bob Layton. Partly, this is a new story by Stern with art by Zach Howard and Cory Hamscher. I don't much care for the art in the new story, but I really like the story, which focuses on Fred Sloan, a man who once encountered the Hulk and is now writing a book about him. Sloan travels the country, interviewing others who have encountered the Hulk. I don't know if Sloan and his various interviewees are pre-existing characters, but Stern certainly makes it feel like when Slaon flashes back to his encounter with the Hulk, there should be a footnote at the bottom of the page reading "* True Believers remember it from Hulk #247 -- Smiling Stan"

Amazing Spider-Man 559: Spidey takes on Screwball, and Internet 2.0 villain (no, really!). Then he sinks lower than he ever has, even lower than when he made that deal with Mephisto. Yet this feels more real. Paperdoll, a villain in upcoming issues who is teased here, seems intriguing.

Iron Manual: What can I say -- I'm a sucker for these Handbooks. Now I know the answer to the question "whatever happened to Mrs. Arbogast?" In case you're wondering, it seems she hasn't really made any appearances since John Ostrander's short-lived (and much loved -- by me, anyway) Heroes for Hire revival.

Guardians of the Galaxy 1: There's something about this book that reminds me of the very early days of the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League, back when it was still a mostly straight superhero book with some humor. The setup is that most of the heroes from Annihilation: Conquest have banded together to ... well, guard the galaxy. Best of all, my favorite character of recent times -- Cosmo, the telepathic Russian dog -- is part of the team!

Serenity 3: It's an episode of the TV show (the last third of it, actually) in comic book form. What else can I say? If you liked the show, you should have been reading this. If you don't ... well, then you're a philistine with no taste in good television. By the way, did you know that Joss Wheedon has a new show coming in January 2009? Mark your calendars!

Posted by Jason Fliegel at May 17, 2008 11:14 PM