Slightly Spooky Reviews
I love Halloween. It might be my favorite holiday*. It’s an especially good time to be a comic book fan and a dad.
It’s become a family tradition to head out to the comic book store on Halloween as our local comic shop guy gives out free comics to anyone dressed in costume. It worked out well for us this year as Halloween was on a Friday and Friday is also my usual comic book store day. We all put on our costumes around noon and drove out to the comic book store together. Anacoqui and I were dressed as Donna Troy and Nightwing (thanks to some homemade costumes by the lovely and talented missus). The girls dressed up as a ninja and Madeline Hatter (the Mad Hatter’s daughter). Dan, our comic shop guy, was delighted and took a picture of us as a family. He also gave us free swag- my wife and I each took a comic book but the girls wanted the free Legion flight rings instead.
Comic Book Heaven had unfortunately sold out of a couple of comics before I could get there (a small down side to shopping on Friday instead of Wednesday). After bringing the rest of the family home for lunch, I headed back out to my back-up stores still in my Nightwing costume. It was doubly fun to shop for comics in costume. The owner of Comics Etc. mentioned that he had seen both a Harley Quinn and a Batman earlier in the day- though he pointed out that the Batman was 5 years old. He also joked about the fact that his store is one of the few places where shoppers come in costume on days on other Halloween.
Oh well, that’s enough about my adventures. It’s time for the reviews:
Afterlife with Archie #1: This was the free Halloween comic. I’ve heard other people rave about this comic for months and I can see why. Francesco Francavilla’s art is outstanding. He does a great job with shadows. He also knows when to be subtle and when to be bold. Aguirre-Sacasa did a similarly good job slowly building tension throughout the issue. Plus, I appreciated the way that he included other cast members like Dilton and Chuck.
The Logan Legacy #2: Okay, let’s get this out of the way: the death of Wolverine is an obvious marketing stunt- like the deaths of Superman, Captain America and Spider-Man. It was also a really good story. I enjoyed the main mini-series enough to check out a few (though certainly not all) of the tie-in tales. This issue features a done-in-one story focusing on X-23’s reaction and it’s a spot-on piece of characterization. X-23 doesn’t really know how to react. She doesn’t feel the grief everyone assumes she should- partly because she’s not good with emotion and partly because her relationship with Wolverine was complex. At the same time, she is upset. She feels insulted that Wolverine died- as if he broke a promise to her- and she leaves the X-Men so that they’ll leave her alone. A chance encounter with Chinook (formerly Windshear of Alpha Flight) and a cathartic battle against Big Bertha help her process her feelings and come to terms with her place in the X-Men. It’s a nice piece of characterization with just enough action to keep it interesting.
Avengers/X-Men: Axis #3: I enjoyed the first two issues of this series but this third issue was a bit of a miscue. It’s a major flaw of many tentpole events that the main series can feel like it’s stuttering as it shares brief glimpses of events taking place in other titles. The Leinil Yu art is great, but I don’t like feeling as if I’m reading only half the story.
Axis: Hobgoblin #1: I wish I skipped this clunker. I like the character of Hobgoblin but this series doesn’t know what it wants to be. The first half of the issue was almost a comedy title with Roderick Kingsley remaking himself as a motivational speaker. Then, the second half was a standard vendetta story with Phil Urich- a former Hobgoblin and the current Goblin King- going after Kingsley. Neither part of the story worked well- the comedy bits weren’t funny and the vendetta bits lacked tension- yet the whole was even less than the sum of its parts.
Amazing X-Men #12: I’ve seen several negative reviews for Chris Yost and Craig Kyle’s World War Wendigo story but I found it to be a lot of fun. I enjoyed the interaction between Alpha Flight and the X-Men and I liked the big fight scenes. I don’t need every story to be Sandman. It’s kind of nice to have a big, fun superhero story with a bunch of my favorite characters.
Cyclops #6: This was a bit disappointing. Apparently, Marvel has a new strategy for launching comics. They start with a big name creative team for the first arc and then quickly transition to someone else for the second arc. Greg Rucka launched this new Cyclps title and it was great. The dialogue sparkled and the characters were relatable. However, John Layman took over with this issue. The dialogue isn’t as crisp and the situations are unfortunately clichéd. I’ll be walking the plank on this title as soon as my preorders run out.
All-New X-Men #33: What can I say? It’s a Brian Michael Bendis comic. That means that it will be slow, even boring, in places and then it will knock your breath away with one excellently rendered scene. Jean Grey’s grief at being displaced in space as well as time was palpable. Her anxiousness about wasting her second chance was riveting. I was completely convinced of her feelings. I just wish several earlier scenes were shorter by half and that more happened in the issue as a whole.
Guardians of the Galaxy #20: Another Bendis book, though for some reason, Bendis keeps up a better pace on this title. The Cancerverse flashbacks have treated us to some epic fight scenes while the present day conversations between Peter and Gamora have been fraught with emotional tension. Artist Ed McGuinness is in top form as well, whether depicting larger than life fight scenes or over the top facial reactions.
Saga #24: After the big cliffhanger of the previous issue, Vaughan checks in on supporting characters The Brand, Gwendolyn and Lying Cat. It’s a nice change of pace story, allowing Vaughan the room to flesh out his cast. And, of course, it’s always a treat to have Lying Cat in an issue. Fiona Staples continues to impress as well, opting for a lot of close shots in this issue making it feel like we’re in the middle of the action.
New Warriors #11: I’ll miss this title when it’s gone… though I might be the only one based on its sales. Chris Yost created a nice blend of characters and personalities for this title and he’s had the heroes square off against classic villains like the High Evolutionary, the Celestials and the Eternals. Once again, Yost shows the younger generation uniting despite their differences- and despite the attempts of older races like the Eternals insisting on separation. It’s also a lot of fun. Speedball is the center of this team, taking on a leadership role and doing a surprisingly good job of it, but he still knows how to crack wise.
Lazarus #12: Maybe you can judge a book by its cover. Most of the issue takes place at a fancy ball as the world’s prominent families meet for a summit. They put on pretty faces even as they prepare to go to war. There’s also a great scene as the families’ genetically modified assassins meet in the gym because they feel out of place in the posh setting. It’s a nicely understated issue. Rucka tells us as much about Eve through her silence as he does through her words, and he hints at a possible romantic inclination that may not align with her family’s interests.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #8: Maybe you can’t judge a book by its cover. There’s a banner declaring that this is a “starting point for new readers” but it’s really more of a re-entry point for fans of the TV show who haven’t been reading the comics. There’s a quick primer on the current status of the characters and then everybody heads back to Sunnydale to prevent the latest catastrophe. In this case, Andrew has gotten ahold of the Vampyr book and they’re worried that he’s going to use it to resurrect The Trio (the villainous geeks from season six). There are numerous references to the TV show- some of which feel gratuitous- but otherwise it’s a decent introduction to the next five-issue arc.
Amazing Spider-Man #8: The women take over! Peter Parker is here but he’s not really the focus. The main story focuses on his team-up with the new Ms. Marvel. She’s excited to be working side by side with one of her heroes and that excitement is kind of infectious. Truthfully, I enjoyed her here more than in her own title where she can sometimes be a little somber. The secondary story focuses on Silk, the newest Spider avatar and her tentative steps toward becoming a hero. I was a little iffy on her as a new character but she’s growing on me. Finally, the back-up story focuses on Mayday Parker, the Spider-Girl from the MC2 line, and serves as her entry point into the upcoming Spider-Verse crossover. I’ll be honest (again): the idea of a story featuring every Spider-Man ever intrigues me. I hope it lives up to its promise.
Edge of Spider-Verse #3: I know this came out a couple of weeks ago but I missed it the first time and had to try again for the second printing. Edge of Spider-Verse has been a solid series overall but this was one of the weaker issues. Dustin Weaver is a great artist but he’s not yet a writer. It’s very exposition heavy and feels more like an encyclopedia entry than an actual story. The big reveal isn’t exactly shocking either. At least Weaver comes up with an interesting design for this alternate Spider-Man, complete with eight eyes for a 360 degree view.
*However, I like the answer a waitress gave us a couple of days before Halloween. She was all decked out in black and orange so we asked her if Halloween was her favorite holiday. She quickly answered, “I like all of them.”
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