Animal Man #7
Written by: Jeff Lemire
Drawn by: Travel Foreman and Steve Pugh
-Story: Buddy and Cliff get some alone time together for a father-son day while the girls get tense back at the trailer. Jeff Lemire progresses the story whilst adding nice character work and a large measure of conflict. Plus, he writes in a great trippy dream sequence that’s both effectively creepy and grim foreshadowing for the future.
-Writing: Jeff Lemire pulls off what is probably his best issue yet in the writing department. His character beats and development of Cliff are fantastic, and we get to see a cool father-son moment that feels like the start of a great character relationship. Lemire mixes his newfound talent for horror with his old talent for family dynamics and we get something that is truly worthwhile. I particularly liked Cliff and Buddy’s dialogue and I can see Cliff becoming one of my favorite characters in DC.
-Artwork: I can honestly say I’m going to miss Travel Foreman a lot when he leaves on #9, but Steve Pugh is fairly good at imitating his style while remaining distinctive and unique. Travel only draws 4 pages here but they are really good. However, Pugh’s work stands out more because it’s fleshier and more detailed, and he adds facial expressions to the characters along with an enjoyment of drawing backgrounds.
Final Grade: 4.5/5
Swamp Thing #7
Written by: Scott Snyder
Drawn by: Yanick Paquette
-Story: After seven issues of (admittedly fun) death and decay, Alec Holland finally becomes the Swamp Thing. While I will miss the development of Alec Holland as a character, its finally time we saw him become Swamp Thing. Snyder writes the first half of the issue as torturous and hopeless but the second half is like a grand epic that sets things in motion. Knowing Snyder, the story will probably get downbeat and hopeless again, but this is just majestic in a way.
-Writing: Snyder’s random outbursts of words here are poetic and grim, and they show his knack for flow and rhythm as well as horror writing. The poetic aspects of this make it a particularly repetitive but enjoyable read. The Parliament of Trees comes off as real dicks but Holland manages to convince them to make him Swamp Thing again and the final words are a really great way to end the issue.
-Artwork: This is where Swamp Thing #7 really shines. It’s been a while since Paquette has drawn a full issue of Swamp Thing, but now he’s back, and damn is it good. From the amazing psychedelic cover to the gruesome attack on Holland to the transforming of Holland into Swamp Thing, Paquette never lets up on his barrage of hyper-detailed, psychedelic, and horrific artwork. He might be one of my favorite artists ever now.
Final Grade: 4.5/5
Fatale #3
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Sean Philips
Story: More mysteries are uncovered as more mysteries are solved in this issue. Basically, Brubaker opens more plot threads and closes another, and it’s entertaining. His slow-paced story beats keep you on edge and in your seat as he builds a horror story deeply rooted in the noir camp of storytelling. I found this to be a highly enjoyable story
Writing: Brubaker is a master of noir-everything. He has the dialogue elements, the story beats, the mystery aspects and the dark sides of it all wrapped up in one neat little package. Sure he may leave a little too much exposition here and there but for the most part his wordplay is masterful and much more subtle than the noir of say, Sin City.
Artwork: Sean Philips is one of the reasons why indie books are so good. The simplistic artwork is easy on the eyes and conveys a scene to a reader without unnecessary things like too much crosshatching and angular muscles. His characters all have well defined looks and he keeps things a touch creepier than usual. The shading is a fairly important aspect of this as well.
Final Grade: 4/5
Supercrooks #1
Written by: Mark Millar
Drawn by: Leinil Yu
Story: Millar’s gang of villains all get into trouble in one form or another, and in classic heist movie tradition, they all get back together. This is essentially a heist movie plot filtered through Millar’s brain and given some twists and turns that keep things interesting. There are aspects of realism present here among all of the super-powered beings and the story feels realistic if there were super-powered people in the world. It’s fairly fun and exciting reading that keeps you on your toes.
Writing: Most people hate him for this but to me; one of Millar’s ultimate strengths is in his writing. He knows how to convey real human emotions, even in super-powered characters. It’s what made his runs on Ultimate’s and The Authority so damn fun. He has a knack for simplistic yet strong character development. The Heat is an old-school robber with a heart of gold and a gambling problem, Johnny Bolt is a life-loving thief addicted to his job, etc. Case in point: Millar is good at characterization. The dialogue here feels very human and he also loves to write in badass moments of many kinds, like when Gladiator punches Bolt in the face or when the casino owner knocks the Heat down a few pegs. It’s excellent fun for the reader and is just plain awesome.
Artwork: Millar may be the star writer, but his books would be nowhere without the art. He always works with top-tier artists and Leinil is no different a choice; his work is so detailed and complex that he fits right up there in that category. His panels are cinematic and masterful in their storytelling and his characters are hyper-detailed and look almost real. He does bring a fun, cartoony edge as well.
Final Grade: 4.5/5
Justice League Dark #7
Written by: Peter Milligan
Drawn by: Admira Wijaya and Daniel Sampere
Story: Milligan begins his fight of the vampires crossover as his last arc and damned is it awesome. Here he focuses on improving his story by cutting out the meandering moments from previous issues (although I do love character interaction). This is strictly JL: Dark fighting vampires. Milligan gives Constantine more room in the story as well as giving Shade a chance to shine. The only character missing is Mindwarp sadly, who I feel may never be used again. The story ends on a weird, dark note that should keep the reader guessing until next month. Overall this was a nice, dark read.
Writing: Another thing Milligan’s improved upon is his lower use of repetition and his bigger focus on the story and characters. Shade is a psychologically distressed worrywart, Xanadu is a junkie with a good heart, Constantine is still a mad, old bastard, and Deadman is an egoistic superhero type. Zatanna is typically Zatanna, and that is fine by me. Milligan’s lesser usage of Xanadu as a narrator made this issue a whole lot more enjoyable to me than previous issues.
Artwork: The double artwork team of Wijaya and Sampere is a fantastic alternative to Mikel Janin. Sure, I like Janin’s work, but his CGI models get to be too much sometimes and it’s nice to have a refreshing breather in the art department. This is dark and spooky art with lots of shadows and violence and character moments.
Final Grade: 4/5
Runner-Ups:
Batman #7-Holy crap Batman this was awesome
Bloodstrike #26-best artwork on an Extreme book ever. Finally a Liefield creation done right
Saucer Country #1-Kinda boring, but Paul Cornell likes to take his time with his usually epic stories
Avenging Spider-Man #5-Leinil Yu artwork + Marvel team-up concept=very happy reader.
Hell Yeah #1-fun comic with lots of fun stuff
Kick-Ass 2 #7-Could’ve been better in the art department as well as the writing, but Millar and Romita were mostly fire here. Can’t wait for Kick-Ass 3.
The Flash #7-Francis and Brian are becoming better writers and that artwork is god-tier material
Aquaman #7-Here’s some classic Geoff writing in case you’ve felt let down by his other recent work. Hooray for Aquaman and Black Manta!
OTHER NOTES:
-who else saw the first two Legend of Korra episodes? Brilliant, fantastic stuff don’t hate.
-What happened to all of the TDKR hype on the internet? It needs a better viral campaign. I remember when TDK had me pacing for months because of the viral campaign. There’s just a lack of anticipation there. It will also be better than the Avengers.
-I like this new portrayal of Billy Batson in JL, only because I know he will move from a stupid dick to a powerful, kind-hearted hero in no time. It’s called character development, something the angry fan-boys over at CBR are completely unaware of.