Reviews are brief and late – partially due to getting delivery monthly; partially due to time taken to get around to reading them!
Week of Release: 21/11/12
Edgar Allan Poe Conqueror Worm (DARK HORSE) – 4.0/5
An illustrated version of Poe’s poem (copy of which is in the backmatter). I wasn’t a fan of Corben’s Hellblazer as he made Constantine look like Harpo Marx but Ragemoor cured me of my foolhardy opinion and this is as good, if not in story. Effortless mood and arid oppression. Lovely.
Justice League #14 (DC COMICS) – 2.0/5
The finalé of the Cheetah storyline; Superman and Wonder Woman kiss and Batman spys on them. The Shazam backstory continues at a sloth’s pace (Shazam, more than most other characters, should have childhood wonder and pace, not this greyed morality dullness).And I just didn’t really care. My last issue as a new arc begins about Atlantis or something.
Hellblazer #297 (VERTIGO) – 4.0/5
The penultimate arc wraps up as Constantine proves the Curse of the Constantines to be essentially untrue, even if he can never convince himself of that or of his own bastardly ways being inevitably driven by sometimes selfless and usually good motives. Milligan has hit a comfortable, confident stride, right at the end and I wonder if Epihpany will exist in the DCnU. Sadly, I suspect not.
Week of Release: 28/11/12
Batman Incorporated #5 (DC COMICS) – 5.0/5
The depth and complexity of Morrison’s run is illustrated here by Batman having seen the future in his psychedelic travels and understanding Talia’s extremely long game for the destruction of Gotham. A horrible scene with Barbara Gordon underlines what a bad future this could be and, in the present, Batman Inc. might have just been decimated. The brat Damian’s vulerability is expertly handled and Burnham’s art is fabulous. Confusing and terrific.
Justice League Dark #14 (DC COMICS) – 2.0/5
At the bginning of the issue, the team is trying to find a way to find Hunter and Zatanna. At the end, they are still are, whilst possibly being pulled in another direction by pompous portents from the Phantom Stranger. A needless bimble around the House of Mystery is, I suspect, reliant on the reader recognising old tales – which I don’t. A filler issue which is attempting to give clues of future events – unfortunately, since this looks like crossovers and Eventing, this is, for me, not good.
Bedlam #2 (IMAGE) – 3.5/5
Second issue in and this does start to look more than just a Joker tale. Truthfully, I’m not entirely sure what is going on, but there’s something compelling about it as it tries to answer the tagline “is evil just something you are or something you do?”. Rossmo’s art, all limited palette and washes, reminds me of Templesmith, which is no bad thing. Sticking around for now but these needs to develop more quickly – at least to give an idea of where it is going!
X-Men Legacy #2 (MARVEL COMICS) – 2.5/5
There’s a neat trick to limit Legion’s potentially narrative-dulling vast powers as the tale is told in headspace as well as meatspace. This may be a quest tale; I’m unsure. In fact, I’m very unsure about this. It’s OK, but with 2 issues a month, weak artwork and bloody horrible paper, the odds are increasing that this will be dropped. Especially if anything promising comes along.
Tags: Boom!, Dark Horse, DC, Dynamite, Image, Marvel, Vertigo
