It’s Saturday. Comics are awaiting our judgment. And so again, the CX review staff stands assembled to bring you our thoughts on a slew of new releases. And hasn’t there been enough ado already? Let’s jump into it with no further. Ado. Look, you try writing a new introduction to this feature every week.
28 Days Later #2 (Boom! Studios)
By Michael Alan Nelson, Declan Shalvey, & Nick Filardi
The group find themselves temporarily stuck on the island, which is clearly infected, so they take brief refuge and make a plan to reach the water, where a guy with a boat is supposed to meet them. But while getting there is relatively easy, once there, things take an ugly turn. Well ... the story is fine, but my god, it's so predictable. Zombie attack, repel, someone saved in the nick of time, a little character exposition, we have safety, oh no we don't. And none are smart enough to recon a building? If not the first time, surely they'd do it the second time. The art is very good, with some nice stylistic touches, and the story itself reads smoothly. But it's so predictable, and frankly running zombies don't translate that well to a comic page (or at least they haven't so far in this series). Maybe this would have worked better as a film, because we're already stagnating as a comic.
Rating: 2.5/5 --Andrea Speed
Archie #601 (Archie Comics)
By Michael Uslan & Stan Goldberg
The wedding of Archie and Veronica hits Riverdale by storm. The marriage of Riverdale's most famous socialite brings in visitors, ties up traffic, and arrests all the activity in the small town -- except for a heart-to-heart between Betty and Veronica. Uslan's writing improves this issue. Although he already had a strong grasp on who the characters are, his dialogue is considerably better, except for a rather schmaltzy speech by Jughead at the wedding. Okay, it's a wedding, so you expect some schmaltz, but this is enough that it feels out of character. Anyway, the focus on Archie and Veronica continues, but the side characters aren't ignored either. Reggie gets a nice moment, and there's a nice bit with the faculty of Riverdale High. The reset button set up last issue is still there, and Uslan deftly sidesteps any less than family friendly moments one would normally associate with a wedding storyline (the bachelor party, for instance), but the story is getting better.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Atomic Robo: Shadow From Beyond Time #5 (Red 5 Comics)
By Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener
Atomic Robo teams up with himself, himself, and himself, as the robot is plucked from the timestream at four different points and is pitted against the hyper-dimensional monster that's been popping into our universe periodically over the past century to wreak havok. This issue answers a pretty important question. The only thing cooler than Atomic Robo is four Atomic Robos. The interaction Robo has with himself is hysterical and exciting, and the final confrontation with the monster is the stuff action epics are made of. Clevinger's story is wonderful, somehow managing to be both smart and energizing at the same time. Wegener has the perfect art style to go with the story, depicting the robot(s) and monster, peppering in sight gags and working in some amazingly expressive faces for a robot. This is one of the best issues of one of the best comics being published.
Rating: 5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression #1 (IDW Publishing)
By Scott Lobdell & Ilias Kyriazis
The Ghostbusters are back! In the old west, a band of spiritual outlaws is terrorizing a small town. Only one man can save the day -- Dr. Peter Venkman! As Venkman avails himself of some of the local hospitality, he tells us how he and the other Ghostbusters were dispersed through time -- but an unlikely savior is on her way. This is a pretty atypical story for the Ghostbusters, but that doesn't hurt it at all. Venkman is great here, perfectly in character, and the new character that shows up somehow fits really well. Lobdell and Kyriazis have put together a really good story that advances one of my personal favorite properties. I like what IDW is doing with the characters, I just hope it's not another year in-between miniseries like this one.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
The Lone Ranger #18 (Dynamite Entertainment)
By Brett Matthews, Sergio Cariello & John Cassaday
The Sheriff's murder investigation brings us to the feet of the Lone Ranger, and while that particular story isn't advanced too much, the interaction between the two of them makes for some really good character bits. The characters have been established so well in this book that I'd almost forgotten that we're still doing the whole "year one" approach. Building the relationship between John and the sheriff is pretty important, and makes for a strong story. John's relations with his remaining family also help make this issue work. Cariello's artwork, as always, is a perfect match for Brett Matthews' script, and we top it all off with a flawless John Cassaday cover. From the outset, this has become one of the finest western comics. Okay, so maybe that isn't exactly an enormous pool to draw from, but that doesn't make this comic any less engaging.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
Poe #3 (Boom! Studios)
By J. Barton Mitchell, Dean Kotz, & Digikore Studios
Usher (no, not the singer) tries to lure Edgar into his evil schemes, but he resists, even though he remains taunted by the memories of his late wife, and that damned raven that only he can see. Usher spurned doesn't take it well – what incestuous madman does, really – and Edgar and his brother find themselves locked in Usher's basement of horrors while Usher attempts to resurrect his dead sister. Almost every Poe tale you can think of is brought in here, and while kind of annoying ... yeah, it's still fun. I don't care, I'm enjoying this lovably cornball supernatural drama. The art by Kotz is lush at times, very well detailed and lovely, and the coloring fits the mood quite well. Really enjoying this; I'd highly recommend it for any fan of Poe.
Rating: 4/5 --Andrea Speed
Swordsmith Assassin #2 (Boom! Studios)
By Andrew Cosby, Michael Alan Nelson, Ayhan Hayrula, & Andres Lozano
I found the first issue of this series to be well drawn, earnest, and quite ponderous, and that pretty much holds for the second issue, although the story does pick up its pace a bit. Recounting his story of gathering up his swords, Toshiro relates going to an old samurai, the only one truly worthy of his swords, and how trying to reclaim it led to the samurai training him. He was a quick study, a good student, and his samurai skills helped him acquire the remaining swords. All but one, which may be nearly impossible to get. Once again the art is lovely, with some beautiful scenes in fields and bamboo forests that wouldn't be out of place in a Kurosawa film. And yet the weight of cliches drags this story down. For fans of samurai sagas only, who don't mind a decent but familiar tale.
Rating: 3/5 --Andrea Speed
Tiny Titans #20 (DC Comics/Johnny DC)
By Art Baltazar & Franco
It's a Raven-focused issue, as she whips up a few holes in the universe to help her father make it to school on time. The holes turn out to be a hit, though, and we're treated to a series of gags and mini-adventures dealing with the teleportation fun. The gags are solid enough, and they key in nicely to Raven's character. There's also a tale of the boys and a penguin adventuring through the Batcave, which is cool enough in and of itself, but becomes even cooler when you notice that Alfred is dusting a certain award that this book recently won. Baltazar and Franco's work on this title has been a complete delight, and it's wonderful that it has been noticed on such an important scale. There's also a nice page of fan art (and the greatest Deathstroke action figure ever made), and an activity page that keys into the main story nicely. The specific phrase the Eisner committe used was "best publication for kids." Reading this, it's really difficult to argue with that.
Rating: 4.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Unthinkable #5 (Boom! Studios)
ByMark Sable, Julian Totino Tedesco, & Juan Manuel Tumburus
This series comes to an end with a lot of backfilling the case, as it explains how Steven could have done all the things that he did, how he used the Wolf Pack as a distraction when he was the real enemy, why he has done this, and what his end game is. Now this series, much like 24, requires a great suspension of disbelief to work, and it kind of pushes it a bit too far here, to the point where I'm thinking, even as a generous reader, no way. Still, I've gone this far with the series, so why the hell not, but damn. The art is decent, a little grainy in some spots, but it fits the general story. A good series, and anybody who loves a good conspiracy story should really like this one.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Andrea Speed
The Walking Dead #65 (Image Comics)
By Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard
With the maimed Dale recovered and Glenn's wound being treated, Rick and the others begin to plan their retaliation against the hunters. As Rick approaches the cannibals, we get a nice insight into the past of the most horrifying antagonists we've yet encountered in this series. This is a particularly strong examination of just how far the human race has fallen in this world. As if the cannibalism wasn't enough, there's a revelation here that will make even the most stoic reader blench in revulsion. That's actually intended as a compliment, believe it or not. Kirkman has managed to create one of the most incredibly emotionally-charged comics ever. Up until now, the book has been a blend of character drama and horror. Here, it becomes obvious that the two don't necessarily have to be different things. This issue is a knockout.
Rating: 4.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
September 19th 2009, 06:09 PM
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