As we all relax, bloated from Halloween candy and S’mores, slightly hungover but basically satisfied – or maybe that’s just me – it’s time to unwind from an excellent All Hallow’s Eve with a few Done-In-One reviews. Here we give you quick looks at lots of comics that didn’t get the full review treatment. Enjoy!
Archie #590 (Archie Comics)
By Batton Lash & Bill Galvan
It's parent-teacher night of Archie's Freshman year, and Veronica and Jughead's parents begin comparing notes about the young man their respective kids have been hanging out with. Archie, meanwhile, is determined to spend a quiet evening at home studying, but his friends have a different idea. Meanwhile, Mr. Weatherbee's quest to find a spy from the school board heats up. Aside from the sheer joy of this story, what strikes me as a high school teacher is how frighteningly accurate the whole thing is. Frankly, stuff like this goes on more than we'd like to admit at high schools around the country. The only quibble I can find that diminishes the reality of the story is how Miss Grundy begins discussing Archie's antics with his parents in a room full of other parents -- that's a major no-no for a teacher. But I can easily overlook that for the sake of one of the best Archie stories I've read in a very long time. I really hope that Batton Lash manages to keep making regular contributions to this line once this story is over.
Rating: 4.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Battlefields: The Night Witches #1 (Dynamite Entertainment)
By Garth Ennis & Russ Braun
If you had to pick the worst place on Earth to be during the Second World War it has to be anywhere in Russia, and that’s for both sides. And in The Night Witches, Garth Ennis crafts a story involving both the Germans and the Soviets. On the German side he brings together an almost clichéd assortment of soldiers, with the quintessential naïve young boy trying to keep a grip on his humanity through all the slaughter as the narrator. For the Soviets, Garth tries something different. He creates a small air wing of fresh pilots, but he makes them all women, and along with having the scorn and contempt of their superiors the ladies are also saddles with prop planes from the First World War. Garth Ennis strips away all the politics and whatnot from the history and makes this story simply about the soldiers. The art is clean and grim, and perfect for this type of story. I enjoy a good war story, especially when taken from the view in the trenches and with Garth Ennis you just know things are going to end badly and bloody for all involved.
Rating: 3/5 --Terry Verticchio
Blood Bowl: Killer Contract #5 (Boom! Studios)
By Matt Forbeck, Lads Helloven, Sumi Pak, &Zac Atkinson
It's the Hackers playing the Blood Bowl championship, as the “killer contract” plotline gets resolved, and we get loads of gratuitous panty shots. Why? Well, why not? That appeals to certain guys, along with horrible puns about ghouls and a recycled zombie gag used at its best on an old episode of The Simpsons. The art is still a bit messy, but this time you can kind of tell the players apart. Not that it helps, as they have no actual personalities; they're types. Maybe that's why I never got into this series, and this ending leaves me flat (and a bit disbelieving at all the panty shots).
Rating: 2.5/5 --Andrea Speed
Challenger Deep #3 (Boom! Studios)
By Andrew Cosby, Andrew Schmidt, Chee, & Andrew Dalhouse
Chase has made it to the sub, but the deep descent has left him a little wubbly, and onboard the sub, the Captain is getting nuttier and the crew more desperate. This continues to be an action movie in print form, as there are macho men doing macho things, and a last second rescue that turns to failure as soon as something goes wrong (as it is wont to do in these sorts of things). The art by Chee and Dalhouse remains great, especially in the underwater sequences, but I noticed an awful lot of people grimacing and growling this issue. Jeez, some people need a hug. It's good, it moves smoothly, but I still can't shake the feeling I've read/seen this before.
Rating: 3/5 --Andrea Speed
Cthulhu Tales #7 (Boom! Studios)
By Brian Augustyn, Milton Sobreiro, Felipe Sobreiro, Glen Cadigan, Clint Hilinski, & Renato Faccini
This is a solid issue of the series, although both stories, while very different, still share good set ups that end in ways that are slightly unsatisfying. The first, which takes place in Colonial era India, where an arrogant Englishman discovers there are other worlds than these (and very bloody scary ones at that), is off to a great start. I thought the ending was anti-climactic, though – I sort of wished he learned his lesson in a more visceral way. The art has a wonderfully old fashioned look to it, which is why it's so great when he goes inside the temple and reality starts freaking out. The second story concerns a woman who made some bad choices and got involved with a Cthulhu cult, and never escaped it's hold – in fact, she didn't want to. But she realizes she made a mistake years ago and must now make a sacrifice to get back to Cthulhu. It's a dark story that threatens to get really dark, but at the end it kind of pulls it punch a bit (which I kind of expected). The art is solid, although at times seemed a bit cartoonish for its subject matter. Not a bad issue, but I wish it ended better, in both cases.
Rating: 3/5 --Andrea Speed
Jack of Fables #27 (DC Comics/Vertigo)
By Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Russ Braun & Brian Bolland
"Turning Pages" concludes this issue, with the story of Hillary Page and her secret dream, something totally taboo for Literals such as herself. As her life story unfolds for us, in the present Jack and his crew have to face off against a totally insane Humpty Dumpty, which is a sentence I never in a million years thought I would have to type. The end of this issue is really startling, and pretty intense for some of our cast. We're also introduced to a few new literals, which are fairly entertaining in their own right. This book really feels like a turning point, but a natural one. The Fables universe is always a fun place to visit.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
Legion of Super-Heroes #47 (DC Comics)
By Jim Shooter, Rick Leonardi & Francis Manapul
Finally accepting that the Nura who has been inhabiting his dreams is, in fact, the real deceased Dream Girl and not a hallucination, Brainiac 5 begins to take desperate measures to create a meaningful contact with her. The other story threads do get some small progression this issue, but the Brainiac/Dream Girl storyline definitely takes the forefront this issue, and it's perhaps one of Shooter's best. Brainiac is such a cerebral character that many writers ignore his emotional side (which, albiet underdeveloped, is still there). Here we see some real feeling and depth from the character, and the progression of the relationship between these two is both satisfying and bittersweet. Rick Leonardi steps in to handle the art this month, and he does a pretty good job. It doesn't hurt that there are a lot of monstrous characters in this issue, something his style is particularly suited to. Good issue that I enjoyed quite a bit.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
Scream Queen #5 (Boom! Studios)
By Brendan Hay, Nate Watson, & Andrew Dalhouse
Prom night isn't going well. Wrighty has finally shown his disfigured face, and he wants to be Molly's date. Why else has he killed so many people? Turns out, that didn't impress Molly, and she isn't going to be his date. He doesn't take this well, but then deranged psychopaths rarely do. It's the final showdown between Molly and Wrighty as this miniseries comes to a close, and there's much violence as well as a bit of exposition as she tries to figure a way out of this without getting killed, and discovers more about Wrighty's past and what's he's done for her. The art is solid, and I have no complaints about it, except in the fire sequence it wasn't immediately clear what was burning and what wasn't. (A bit of a continuity error, perhaps – at one point it looks like Molly herself may have caught on fire, but the next panel makes it clear she didn't.) A decent horror-comedy series, with a bit more emphasis on the horror. Any fan of '80's slasher films will enjoy the homage.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Andrea Speed
Star Wars: Legacy #29 (Dark Horse Comics)
By John Ostrander, Jan Duursema, Dustin Weaver
Cade Skywalker has joined forced with Celeste Morne, the ancient Jedi who has been serving as a living prison for a malevolent Sith ghost for thousands of years. As she and Cade begin their quest to eliminate the galaxy of Darth Krayt, the emperor-in-exile begins pursuing plans of his own. This is a solid issue, with plenty of action and a quick dash of soap opera to add flavor. The artwork isn't bad either -- it tells the story quite servicably, and this issue advances the story a bit. There could be a bit more of a spark, though, a bit more life to the story. I feel the fact that we're ramping up to the conclusion a bit too clearly. With two chapters left in this year-long storyline, it has gotten progressively better throughout the year. I've got hopes that the conclusion will do the same.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
The Sword #12 (Image Comics)
By The Luna Brothers
Admittedly this is my first time reading this title, so I was at a loss starting out, but this issue reminded me a bit of an episode of Lost: flashbacks, flashbacks, flashbacks. Which is great for the new reader, because at least it gives you some idea of who the characters are and what the ham sandwich is going on, even though there are still a few open questions. But the answers supplied are sufficiently intriguing enough to make me want to look into back issues, and I have to admit, if you open a comic with dismemberment, I'm there. (I'm a sick puppy.) The climactic battle between Dara and Zakros comes to an end, as he, a god, arrogantly assumes that he's the better of the two and that Dara will naturally agree with his superiority. Imagine his genuine surprise when she doesn't. The art is very Luna Brothers, which should be self-explanatory if you've seen Girls. If not, it's clean lined and clear, although sometimes the faces are rather similar in style and appearance. An action packed issue, and an odd but decent jump on spot for the newcomer.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Andrea Speed
Wolverine: First Class #8 (Marvel Comics)
By Fred Van Lente, Steven Cummings, Colleen Coover & Michael Golden
Last issue, Kitty and Wolverine set off to Russia to save their teammate, Colossus, who was kidnapped by the Soviet Super Soldiers. When it seems that Kitty died in action, Logan goes berzerk. This is a particularly good issue, with an excellent blend of action and character. The fact that Wolverine goes so manic over Kitty's seeming death shows just how deeply he does care about her. Meanwhile, her crush on Colossus drives the whole story, and leads to a really strong ending. The fight scenes work well, and Cummings does a great job on the artwork. The back-up story, in which Kitty has a dream about "sleep-phasing," is a funny story that fits very well with this book. I still can't believe how much I enjoy this title, but I'm glad I gave it a shot.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
November 1st 2008, 01:35 PM
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