The Johnny Bacardi Show

Pavlov, in the form of DC Comics, has rung his July solicitations bell, and like a gud dogblogger, I salivate. And comment on the covers, and list things that interest me.

Like Dorian, I'm not crazy at all about the Jim Lee covers shown for ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #1- they're just too hyperdetailed, hypermuscled, and just too too much. I wasn't planning on picking this up anyway- Miller and Lee are not a pairing that gets me all hot and bothered.

Now, this, on the other hand, I like. Even though the signature is that of The Losers' Jock, BATMAN #642's cover is the best Simonson cover I've seen in ages, and much better than what the real Simonson is doing these days- as those covers for the Elric books and the Day of Vengeance miniseries bear out.

I wanna know- why is a Bill Sienkiewicz Batman fondling (or at least scaring the kitty litter out of) an Adam Hughes Selina Kyle on the cover of CATWOMAN #45? Oh well, no matter- this is the first issue of the new Pfiefer/Woods regime and I, like the cat, am curious. Hope I don't get killed.

I'm finding myself thinking that perhaps I should have dropped Trigger and kept on getting Breach. Hopefully, they'll collect it, because I still like that Marcos Martin/Alvaro Lopez art team, even though they seemed to be phoning it in on #1. Anyways, here's the cover to the July issue, BREACH #7. I'm a little surprised that it's going to last that long.

There's no way in hell that this cover we're given for GREEN ARROW #52 is by James Jean, no matter what it says.

I'm not really a Green Lantern fan; never have been, although I read and enjoyed a lot of the classic Broome/Kane (and later, the O'Neil-Adams) stories as a kid. So, naturally, I've avoided this, the umpteenth GL revival attempt. But I see where the book's drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino, a team I like, and the cover for GREEN LANTERN #3 looks kinda kewl. So while I'm tempted, merely from a comics-art-lover's viewpoint, I think I'll continue to pass.

JLA CLASSIFIED #10 gives us Warren Ellis in an intriguing-sounding 4-parter drawn by Butch Guice, an artist I've not had much use for in the past. Who says I don't buy series for the writing? This is an odd cover, looks like it's completely computer-drawn.

JLA/CYBERFORCE is a six-dollar one shot crossover with some Top Cow superteam ("Cyberforce". Ugh. Whatta name.) that I'm totally unfamiliar with and don't want to be familiar with. But, it's written by Joe Kelly and drawn by Doug Mahnke, damn it, but with an inker that I don't know anything about. I love me that Mahnke art, but this will be a game time decision. I can't just drop six bucks on anything, you know...

JSA CLASSIFIED #1, a spinoff series of a book I dropped two years ago, debuts with what they say (this time, we mean it, I hear them saying) is the definitive origin of Power Girl, which elicits a big ol' shrug from me. But it sports two covers by artists I like, Adam Hughes and Amanda Connor. I think I like the Hughes cover best, it's a likeable and inviting image. I'd like Connor's a lot more (and like it I do, just the same) if the figure poses weren't so awkward and the expression on Power Girl's face wasn't so odd.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #8 looks like a continuation of the trend I noticed in my review of #4 the other day- looks like this incarnation of the team is going to spend more time fighting among themselves than fighting 30th Century evildoers. Dramatically valid, for sure, but I'm not so sure that this is a Legion I want to read for any length of time.

The cover for SEVEN SOLDIERS: GUARDIAN #3 is not exactly the best thing Cam Stewart's ever done, but the story, which is stuffed with Kirbyisms (and yes, I can tell by the synopsis), still sounds good. The cover for SEVEN SOLDIERS: ZATANNA #3 begs the question, though- while Zee was drunk, casting magic spells in her fishnets and nothing else, did she at some point blurt out "ssa raeppasid"?

I don't buy any Johnny DC titles, so forgive me if I snark a little, but what the hell is up with the eyes on Stargirl on the cover of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #11? I bet she can see in the dark and hundreds of miles in any direction with those distorted peepers!

Love this cover for TENRYU: THE DRAGON CYCLE VOL. 2. Very appealing, and I like the color choices. Is this any good? Help a brutha out, whydoncha?

I'm curious about ALBION #2, but that's about it. I know nothing about the artist, and I learned a long time ago that when it comes to Alan Moore-attached projects, accept no substitutes. If the Man himself don't write it, don't bother. And that goes for his daughter too.

ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE #2: nice cover. I'm sure that the interiors will be of the exact same quality as all the issues that have preceded it. You know, I'm getting the sneaky feeling that even though I signed up for this, I've grown bored and disenchanted with Kurt Busiek's pet project. The fact that I've always grudgingly tolerated the Brent Anderson art doesn't help.

There's no way I'm NOT buying DESOLATION JONES #2, but I've been incredibly underwhelmed by the two covers I've seen so far. Maybe I'm spoiled after all those amazing Promethea covers, but dag! Ugly color choices, haphazard composition- these look like sketchbook samples or working files that someone's pasted together. Disappointing.

SILENT DRAGON #1: A futuristic Yakuza story, written by Andy Diggle? I am so there! I am not exactly sent into paroxysms of delight by the art, but I'm sure it will suffice. I wasn't so crazy about Jock's art at first, either.


Speaking of those J.H. Williams III Promethea covers, the PROMETHEA COVERS BOOK looks like the latest attempt to squeeze one more fanboy dollar out of that recently ended series, and as profit-taking throwaways go, this one doesn't look too bad; those are some mighty sweet covers, the notes accompanying each could be very interesting, and the price point ($6) isn't prohibitive, either. I kinda wish DC would do the same thing with all those Adam Hughes Wonder Woman covers...

Is it me, or are these Dave Johnson covers for 100 BULLETS, like this one for issue #62, getting sketchier and sketchier? Dave. Take your time, man. Is your work load that great, or is this a "stylistic choice"? The book itself seems to be on a definite upswing lately after some recent doldrums, so I'm looking forward.

DEATH: AT DEATH'S DOOR TP/THE DEAD BOY DETECTIVES DIGEST: I like Jill Thompson, and I like almost all things Sandman...but I never got around to picking up the At Death's Door book, and I don't really know if I'll choose to get these new adventures of the DBD's. There's just something about the concept that bores me a little. And I don't care to pay ten bucks to be bored.

Just like Paul Westerberg once sang, "A good day is any day that you're alive", and I deem it apropros when it comes to THE LOSERS #26, as well. Each month, I'm just glad to see it listed.

The storyline contained in LUCIFER #64 sounds promising; like 100 Bullets, I'm beginning to get excited again after a dry spell.

TRIGGER #8 is the final issue. I decided to drop this after #4, so I won't be partaking. Ces't la vie.

And finally, I really like the seasonal image depicted on the BATMAN CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY 2005 COLLECTOR'S PLATE. Nice job and a clever idea by Alex Ross. Maybe it's just because I've been trying to come up with a clever idea for a self-illustrated Christmas card for years, and haven't thought of a damn thing, that I respond so favorably to the likes of this.

And that will do for another month!