Capsule Reviews
Amazing Spider-Man #40
Much like with the X-Men movie, I find the Spider-Man film has revived my interest in reading about the character. Unlike the X-Men, though, the release of the Spider-Man movie coincides with a time when the comics he appears in are actually readable. This is mostly an issue of interesting scenes, the best of which sees Aunt May confronting J. Jonah Jameson with his unending campaign against someone she now knows is her beloved nephew. Straczynski's take on these characters feels confident and strong, and while the "missing teenagers" plot doesn't grab me, this is still a good issue for its dialogue and the way it moves the characters forward. Romita Jr.'s art has taken on a new life under the JMS era, and his use of some smaller panels here is a nice change from his tendency toward large, blocky images. It appears Peter and MJ are headed toward some sort of resolution of their badly-handled seperation, and that'll be nice to see, as it's one of the few remaining holdovers from the agonizingly bad Mackie/Byrne era. Grade: 4/5
Transmetropolitan #56
We find out what the ace in the hole Spider's been hanging on to is here, as a video clip seems to ensure that the gonzo journalist's claims about the President will hold water. One of the nicest moments of character in the entire series occurs when Spider explains why he waited so long to use the video, a quiet pan into his face as he says "She seemed so sad." It's a human moment for a character that has always been about humanity, despite his bravado and personal habits. Wrapped in another incredible Gene Ha cover, this issue also contains, I think, the first use of the title's iconic three-eyed smiley as part of the story; it made me want to cheer. Grade: 4.5/5
Strange Killings #3 (of 3)
Readers of Warren Ellis's early, early Stormwatch tales will find a very similar mojo being worked here, as Gravel confronts a black magician who has seized a prison and turned its inmates into an engine for his power. I would have liked to see a bit more of a struggle between the forces of evil and, uh, "good," and the fact that Gravel is willing to kill anyone at all to get the job done is not as much of a surprise as the script seems to indicate. This is a violent, dark fantasy that feels quick and dirty and still manages to entertain. Grade: 3.5/5
Mortal Souls #1
Steven Grant's new Avatar series won't seem unfamiliar to anyone who's been reading Ellis's efforts for the publisher, but it manages to set itself apart by making its hero a little more human and a little more likeable. It's about a world filled with zombies almost no one can see, and a cop who receives the ability to see them while investigating an apparent murder of one of them. The art suffers a bit, with most of the males looking like John Constantine (and therefore Sting), and is not as polished as I've seen in other Avatar titles. It's the script that is the big draw, here, though, and I'm intrigued enough to check out future issues. It's violent stuff, not for the squeamish, but off to a very promising start. Grade: 3.5/5
Queen and Country #8
A dense script inhabits this first issue drawn by new artist Leandro Fernandez, who turns in a nice vision of the series not unlike what you see in 100 Bullets. After spending some months on a pre-11 September plotline, Rucka dives right into terrorist territory here, and I'm anxious to see what he has planned for this arc. Tara is back in the thick of the action, too, which makes this the strongest issue in some months. Grade: 4/5
Black Panther #44
An issue of expository dialogue between Tony Stark and the Panther that suffers greatly for the inclusion of some very incompatible guest artists. The entire plot of the current arc is basically laid out for the readers, and it relies a little too heavily on the "I know you know I know" gimmick for my taste. This has been a complex set of issues making up the current storyline, and the manner in which it's all explained here suggests Priest may have been told to make things a bit more clear than he needed to. All that aside, it's still the best Iron Man story since Kurt Busiek stopped writing him in his own title, and it's still one of Marvel's best books. Grade: 3.5/5
Peter Parker Spider-Man #44
This one's actually coming out next week, but the comics gods dropped it on me, so let's have a look: Paul Jenkins has made PPSM a title I feel no need to read at all, with a steady competence occasionally interrupted by bad stories about characters based on fonts and the like. Here he's been handed the task of tying into the Spider-Man movie by bringing back Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin, and even Peter and the Goblin see it for the marketing ploy it is. Peter asks "Why now?" Norman answers "Why not?" and cynically concedes the lack of necessity for this tale. Humberto Ramos provides some stunning artwork on the inside, for a change, with only his bizarre take on Aunt May falling flat with me. Other than her saucer-eyed creepiness, artistically this issue is gorgeous. Too bad it's in the service of a pointless, empty "story" that will satisfy no reader new or old. Grade: 2.5/5