I’m still very far behind in my reading stack – almost a month behind in some spots – to the point that I’m seriously considering dropping a few titles and just picking up the trade so that I can keep up with some other titles.
I tell you this to explain why none of the titles in this post came out this week. In fact, I don’t think any of them even came out in the same week as another. I’m trying to do better, I swear.
On to the reviews! As always, there may be minor spoilers. If you have not read the issue and want to come into it without any foreknowledge of plot whatsoever, skip this until you’ve read the comic.
First of all, 52 Aftermath – Crime Bible: 5 Lessons of Blood really needs to shorten their title. I’m already sick of typing it all out, I’m slightly offended as a consumer that they’re trying to manipulate me into buying this based on the 52 name, and I’m offended as a fan of Greg Rucka, The Question, and Renee Montoya that DC thinks they need to manipulate fans to sell this title. It’s a good book with a good main character and they should let it stand on its own merits. I’ve heard a rumor that this is not just called The Question because DC has reservations about having a homosexual main character in a series, and that just offends me as a human being.
Now that I’m done with my soapbox, the lesson of issue #2 is “Lust”. Renee tries to infiltrate a “convent” disguised as a Washington DC brothel and run by Crime Bible adherents. Apparently, the “nuns” try to recruit powerful DC figures into the Crime Bible faith through the lesson of lust. During her investigation, Renee is nearly seduced by one of the women of the cloth, so to speak.
I’m still a fairly big fan of this series, though I can certainly understand some criticisms of not really knowing where Rucka is going with this. This issue seems to help in that regard, several subtle clues given throughout the issue, and one statement made by the monk of stone at the end, make me think that they know exactly who Renee is and what she thinks she’s doing and reinforce my belief that Renee is unknowingly being taught each of the Five Lessons of Blood, in the hopes that she will become an adherent of the Crime Bible.
Rucka does mystery and subtle intrigue quite well, and he is an excellent fit for this book. I hope to see him write more Question stories in the future, even without an exclusive DC contract.
I moved Uncanny X-men #493 to the top of my stack to keep up to date with Messiah Complex (I got it this past Tuesday, I’m not sure why I didn’t wait until the next day and just get this week’s stuff too. That would have made too much sense, I suppose) and because I feel like I shafted y’all a bit in my recap earlier this week. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your perspective – I’ve decide to still shaft y’all a bit; I’m not going to do a play-by-play, since I figure there may be some of y’all who are as far behind as I am and would like to read the issue first. I will still give you my impressions, though.
This… was not the strongest chapter of the event. It’s still better than the last New X-Men chapter, but it’s probably weaker than all the others. It just did not do much for me. The art was still gorgeous, there was nothing wrong with the writing per se, but… I don’t know, there wasn’t much to move the plot forward, other than the introduction of the X-Force, “we all gonna cutchoo” team.
I can understand Cyclops reasoning in going after Cable, to a point. I get that if you know nothing, it’s best to plan for the worst, but when has Cable ever played for the other team when it comes to the X-Men and what’s right? He’s not a traitor and I think sending a team to take the baby by any means necessary, including killing Cyclops’s son, is a bit rash. But then, as Cyclops said, these are desperate times and there may not be room for half-ass actions, so it does fit into the story, it just rubs me the wrong way a bit.
Of course, this issue could be absolute crap and I’d still be sticking around, and this issue was NOT crap. Second weakest chapter out of a bunch this strong is still pretty good.
I’ve been waiting for Northlanders for what feels like almost a year, so I was excited to see it finally came out. Now that I’ve read the first issue, I’m…intrigued.
I was a bit iffy on Davide Gianfelice’s art at first, it seemed a bit grainy, but the more I looked at it the more I liked it to the point that I now feel like it fits the feel of this book perfectly. Brian Wood’s writing is strong and – as far as I can tell – historically accurate regarding the Varangians and Norsemen of the era, with the exception of their mode of speech. I was definitely struck by the fact that the characters in this book are almost all unlikable people, but I doubt Vikings were very pleasant people.
It’s always hard to tell how much I’ll enjoy a book just from the first, setup issue, so I have no idea how long I’ll be sticking with this series, but I’m definitely interested enough to pick up issue 2.
Now, for the comic I was fairly certain I would hate, All Star Batman and Robin #8…
My god, I actually loved this issue; it was easily my favorite of the bunch! The Joker was definitely my favorite character, especially with his opening monologue and musings on love (in his own special way) but even Bats was excellent in this issue! There was none of the “Goddamned Batman”, but more of a softening of his character, particularly towards Dick Grayson. There was none of the posturing and puffing of the chest, only some grudging affection towards Grayson and some musing on his assuming a father-figure role.
There were even some amusing moments when Batman’s talking to himself caused him to question his sanity and his disdain for the mental prowess of Green Lantern (who is a bit of a twit in the All Star universe.) We even got to see the debut of Robin’s costume, with a twist on the original origin.
This issue left me with an impression that Frank Miller is painting a picture of Batman slowly evolving from a violent, twisted vigilante, to a humanized crime-fighter who serves as a father figure to a young man who has been through similar circumstances as him, which makes me accept the “Goddamned Batman” as an understandable starting point.
I just might have to reevaluate my opinion of Frank Miller as long past his prime, he could be doing something very excellent with this book. Now if it only came out on time….
Also, I’ve been thinking that my reviews are a bit too much of a lovefest, I only review what I like. I’ve been considering the stuff I haven’t liked as not even worth mentioning, but I’ll try to start posting a bit about those comics and why I don’t like them, to save you the money, if nothing else.
As always, comments, suggestions, criticisms, and concurrences are ALWAYS welcome!
tag: Comics, DC, Marvel, Vertigo, Question, Renee Montoya, Crime Bible, 5 Lessons of Blood, Greg Rucka, X-Men, Messiah Complex, Cyclops, Cable, X-Force, Ed Brubaker, Northlanders, Brian Wood, Davide Gianfelice, All Star Batman and Robin, Batman, Robin, Joker, Dick Grayson, Green Lantern, Frank Miller, Review
Filed under: DC, Marvel, Vertigo | Tagged: 5 Lessons of Blood, All Star Batman and Robin, batman, Brian Wood, Cable, comics, Crime Bible, Cyclops, Davide Gianfelice, DC, Dick Grayson, Ed Brubaker, frank miller, Green Lantern, Greg Rucka, Joker, Marvel, Messiah Complex, Northlanders, Question, Renee Montoya, Review, Robin, Vertigo, X-Force, x-men | Leave a Comment »
