Itty Bitty Rants

Infrequent posts about stuff.

A few weeks of comics all in one shot:

A few weeks of comics all in one shot:

  • Marvel Comics:
  • Avengers 52 (May 2002) & 53 (Jun 2002) - The Kang the Conqueror storyline thunders onward to it’s conclusion in issue 54. In a lot of ways I’m really looking forward to it ending, and in a lot of ways I’m not. A friend of mine was asking about team comic books the other week and I really had to recommend against him picking up the Avengers for several particular reasons. 1) Right now is a really bad time to start since it’s so close to the end of a really long and involved storyline. 2) While it would provide a good introduction to a lot of the characters, there is not a core team right now which is what usually gives the book some sort of: coherency. And not one, two, or three love stories going on right now, but far too many to count really. It’s kind of bizarre. 3) Right now they are playing fast and loose with almost 4 decades of continuity and it’s all kind of piling up into a really big rat’s nest. So, I’ve been avoiding saying whether these are any good to read, and I have to say, I’m not really sure. The payoff had better be good, and having read a lot of Busiek, I don’t think he’s going to disappoint.
  • Captain America Vol 4, No 1 (Jun 2002) - Well, it was readable. I’m going to give it another 3 or 4 issues and see how it does, but as it stands it sounds like someone heard the “Come to Jesus” crap that Rumsfeld has been spewing for the past while and picked it up and ran with it. I don’t think I’ve seen so much jingoistic poo in my life. Ick.
  • Citizen V and the V-Battalion 3 (of 4) (Jun 2002) - I really like this story. I can’t figure out why. Like the rest of the Marvel books, nothing in here seems to have any effect on anything else in the Marvel Universe anymore, but it’s actually pretty good. After I picked up The Authority recently, there are a LOT of parallels that can be drawn. This isn’t quite as good, but it’s still worth reading. Besides that, the end is in sight and FlagSmasher gets a present!
  • Fantastic Four 54 (June 2002) - YAY! The god-damned storyline from hell is finally over! Was there any real resolution? No. Was the story put together well? No. Was the art worth the effort of plowing through such horrible dialog? Not by a long shot. Should you read this book? Maybe next issue, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I’m giving it 1 more issue and if it doesn’t getting any better, I’m closing the box on my Fantastic Four and keeping my good memories and just going to forget the past year. Ick.
  • Iron Man 53 (May 2002) & 54 (June 2002) - Mike Grell is really hitting his stride with old Tinhead. There’s a storyline here that is interesting to read, and reasonably well drawn, even if Tony Stark once again looks like he’s barely 20. (LET THEM AGE, DAMN YOU!!) It’s the beginning of a new Mandarin dynasty, but does this look like there might just be a twist? We shall see. Good.
  • Marvel Knights 2 (Jun 2002) - I like the art pretty well, and the story is fairly interesting. I won’t get too far onto my continuity soap box, because I think you already know what I’m going to say. Definitely worth a read, if for no other reason the interaction between Daredevil and The Punisher, as mediated by the original Black Widow.
  • Taskmaster 3 (of 4) (Jun 2002) - I really like this series. A good anti-hero is just what I’ve been wanting lately, and this is filling that hole in spades. The manga influenced art is a little over the top, but what exactly did I expect? Worth reading.
  • Thunderbolts 63 (June 2002) - Things are coming together again. Hawkeye is finally going to be back in action, and that can only be good.
  • Icons: Tigra 2 (of 4) (June 2002) - I like it. It’s a lot like the Tigra of old, and it works.
  • MAX Comics
  • Black Widow Vol 3, No 1 (June 2002) - It’s a new Russian Widow, and it seems like an interesting story so far. I was a bit annoyed that they didn’t just keep with Natasha, who’s been playing the role just fine for the past 40 years, but this seems to work.
  • Howard the Duck No 4 (June 2002) - It had to happen sooner or later, but one of the better send ups of the Vertigo line of comics happens here, and is worth the read if you happen to read that other line of adult oriented comics.
  • DC Comics
  • The Power Company 3 (June 2002) - Busiek shows off that his pacing is worth the wait. The team is coming together finally, but hasn’t quite gotten there yet. I’m really looking forward to the rest of this series.
  • Dork Storm Press
  • Dork Tower 17 (March/April 2002) - The fun continues, and in good form. John Kovalic is probably the best humor comics writer in the business right now, and it shows.
  • PvP 5 (Mar 2002) - Want to read a really, really, really good Matrix parody? Want to see a cameo by Scott McCloud? You want to read this comic. Really you do.
  • Image Comics
  • Powers 19 - Wow. Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow. The secret origin of FG-3! Another death! Walker on his knees! This is just amazing stuff.
  • Vertigo Comics
  • Transmetropolitan 55 (Jun 2002) - Some better action sequences than I think I’ve seen in this book. Works well, but I really kind of wish there was just a bit more plot to bring the story along.