BEST OF THE WEEK
What I bought and what I thought, week of July 23
LUCIFER 40
Big apocalyptic finale to the most recent arc, and a rousing one at that. Even though this was most satisfying, and ends with a most unique cliffhanger, this particular arc seemed a bit rushed and underdeveloped and probably deserved a few more issues of buildup. Not to worry- there are lots of dangling threads left and I'm sure Mike Carey will tie them up in splendid fashion. It's funny, after a while I began to not even notice the disparate art styles of the tag-team artists for the last several issues, Dean Ormston, Peter Gross and Ryan Kelly. A
B.P.R.D.: DARK WATERS one shot
It's always great to read new stories of Mignola's Hellboy supporting cast, and this is done with total fidelity and care. Problem is, the story has a been-there-done-that feel to it, and fails to leave much of an impression. Nicely drawn by Guy Davis, whose work I disliked many years ago but has become a favorite now, and that carries the day. A-
LOVE and ROCKETS v2 8
As usual- idiosycratic, oddball and somewhat incomprehensable stuff from Gilbert and excellently drawn exploits of the Hoppers gang from Jaime. For them that likes, and I'm one, here's more. A-
STARTLING STORIES: THE THING-NIGHT FALLS ON YANCY STREET 3
Obviously, Evan Dorkin's busting his ass to write what he hopes is an honest, no-nonsense tribute to the great Lee-Kirby Marvels of our youth, and as far as that goes, he's done it. But the great Lee-Kirby stories of yore had fresh, often funny dialogue and were stuffed to bursting with Kirby's hyperactive imagination...and here's where Evan's story falls short of the goal. Unless Dorkin comes up with a bravura finale next issue, I think we have to consider this a noble failure. Dean Haspiel does a great job of drawing all this, but after the novelty of seeing him render the likes of the Frightful Four wears off, one has to stifle a yawn or two. B
INHUMANS v6 3
The script is dull and derivative, the art awkward and too prissy, and if I had a yen for "misunderstood teens with special abilities try to fit in on Earth" type stories I'd be a regular X-Men reader. I hate to bail on limited series, but I'm not looking forward to #4 very much at all. C-
