Thursday, December 12, 2002

As promised, "what I bought and what I thought" of comics I bought on the week of December 11!

1. HATE ANNUAL 3: In which we check in with Buddy Bradley and family again, along with some strips Pete Bagge did for various venues. Absolutely hilarious throughout, with several of the Leeway stories and especially the Murry Wilson strips as highlights. Hell, I'd pay 5 bucks for a full issue of Wilson Family Adventures! Worth noting that not only are Murry, Brian and Dennis (along with the rest of the Beach Boys in cameos) featured, but we also get Bagge's hysterical rendition of Charlie Manson! A

2. POWERS 26: Great art, great (if somewhat overly familiar after previous arcs) script. Deena Pilgrim is getting one great wisecrack per issue, and is fast becoming one of my favorite characters. It remains to be seen whether Bendis can go anywhere with this book besides creating dysfunctional superhero groups to propel his plots forward. A

3. FABLES TPB: While I was a bit annoyed at how clumsily the actual plot of writer Willingham's mystery was executed, and how underwhelming the final revelation turned out to be (of course, it didn't help that I had already read #'s 6 & 7), I was still won over by how cleverly he put a twist on all the old fairy tale conventions. The often Bollandesque art wasn't too bad, either, although it was a little stiff and awkward looking in places. So am I sorry I didn't pick up on this book sooner? No. Am I glad I'm on board now? Yes. B+.

4. HAWKMAN 10: Pretty standard superheroics, following the established Hawkman series template: Hawkman traveling the globe to battle weird menaces. I've always had a soft spot for stories that take place in Tibet (comes from growing up reading Doc Savage and Howard novels, y'know), so I kinda liked. Kinda. Problem is, previous attempts to follow the gardner Fox Hawkman template always result in cancellation. Rags Morales is on his way to becoming the Frazetta of his generation, and as always is the MVP of this book. B+

5. KILLRAVEN 3: This well drawn and indifferently scripted Mad Max knockoff is alternately silly and engaging, if you're in a good mood. You know, this book kinda reminds me of this series that Marvel published back in the 70s, in the Amazing Adventures comic, titled War of the Worlds. Except it's nowhere near as good. Only three more issues to go. C+

Music today so far: Suzanne Vega-Nine Objects of Desire, Uriah Heep (stop snickering)-Classic Heep: An Anthology (oh, go ahead, snicker), and Sparklehorse-Good Morning Spider.

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