Grimjack: The Manx Cat

I feel like Grimjack is the refined product of an idea dreamed up by a deranged seventh grader rotting in detention & clandestinely scribbled down on torn spiral bound notebook paper. And by refined, I mean still deranged and rotten, only with quality writing and art.

Manx Cat has been my righteous introduction to John Gaunt. Guy dresses like a gypsy legionnaire & acts like a bastard amalgamation of Conan and Jonah Hex thrust through time and space like John Carter. This book is as over the top as Over the Top, but Ostrander & Truman never let it run away. It represents everything that was gaudy and excessive about the 80's & a bit of what's missing from whatever the fuck you call decades in the 2000's. It's fun without being frivolous & gritty without being self-indulgent or hyper-serious. You should read it. You need an asshole on your side.

Secret Six #18

I feel like the arrival of the Black Lanterns in full force really killed the momentum of this run. The last several issues of Secret Six have been fucking outstanding. I'm late to the book, just started with Ostrander's Deadshot story in issue #15 (also amazing), but Simone & Ostrander have definitely sold me on catching up with the series. Love to get some older Suicide Squad stuff, too - the Blackest Night one-issue revival was actually great.

But all of those issues were leading up to this moment, I suppose, when the Six & the Squad throw down with the dead. There's just not a whole lot to do with this shit, though - every issue, every week, every month, heroes fight zombies. Should be awesome, but it's actually getting really stale. In my mind, the plot development is staggeringly slow. Bring on Brightest Day & some good old fashioned people-killing!

Batgirl #7

So good! Bryan Q. Miller has a sure command over the individual personalities of the Bat clan, and the guy has a delightful sense of humor. There's such a pleasant, casual, easy flow to his dialogue. I love how Barbara and Dick are playing mom & pop - or at least big sister & brother - to Stephanie and Damian, who exchange witty banter as they frolic through Gotham's underbelly.

I'm also really enjoying the art by Garbett, Scott, and Major. They have a playful touch to match the tone of the book, and they do a nice job with the action scenes that dominate the plot. I particularly like the panels with Dick flitting away from a bombed Devil's Square & Phosphorus choking Dick (there's probably a way to write 'Dick flitting' & 'choking Dick' without sounding dirty, but why?). Also, Damian always reminds me of Watterson's Calvin, a similarity which I find endlessly entertaining. He's totally a member of G.R.O.S.S.

Green Arrow and Black Canary #29

The "Five Stages" arc with Cupid & Dark Arrow concludes here. Got a little stale for me. I kind of wish this title was handled more like Daredevil over at Marvel - Ollie's always seemed a little goofy to me, so I'd either like to see him channeling badass Matt Murdock, or prancing around like his Brave and the Bold cartoon counterpart. The tone right now isn't serious enough to be truly exciting nor sharp enough to be truly witty. So no shocks & no funnies, for the most part. Although Ollie pins Cupid's hand to dam with an arrow, so it's got that.

And it's got Sienkiewicz! He handles the finishes over Norton's layouts. His inks are fucking dazzling, even though the action is mostly ho-hum. Well, except for the aforementioned arrow-to-the-hand bit, there's always that. I would love to see Sienkiewicz go balls out with his own layouts. I feel like he doesn't do so much. What the fuck, Bill?

Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #20

I would have no complaints if this title took the place of the regular Marvel Universe Avengers books. Maybe I'll get my wish in May when The Heroic Age brings back lighter & friendlier fare. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the dwindling Marvel Adventures line when that kicks in - I mean, MA is basically what HA promises to be.

Anyways, Paul Tobin does good with the script. He and his predecessor, Jeff Parker, know how to work the funnies into dialogue without forcing the issue. Comics aimed at the younger crowd - and a great deal of all-ages comics, for that matter - push the kind of bland comedy that makes me blanch like the awkward pause before the laugh track kicks in on half-assed sitcoms. I do miss the Hulk's delightfully round wit, but Thor gives me the giggles, too. I like the line-up - Black Widow & Nova are nice additions to the team. Excellent colors & strong page layouts here. Also, nothing beats Cap wearing his shield like a schoolbag.

Batman and Robin #8

A few issues ago this was a refreshingly straight superhero crime comic - or as straight as Grant Morrson gets, which is pretty fucking twisted, but in a good way - but more recently Batman and Robin feels like a complete return to RIP, though not in a good way. I'll reread the storyline when all is said and done and I'll appreciate it then, yes? In the mean time, not so much.

Siege #2

I can't believe I'm enjoying this so much. I mean it's nothing fantastic, but it's fun and, for my money, well executed so far. And at two issues, it's already half over! I've been avoiding most things Marvel for a couple years now. I'm generally not a fan of writing by Bendis or Millar or art by Hitch, and I feel like they touch nearly everything Marvel puts out. That may not even be remotely accurate, just feels that way. But I like Siege. Seems like it's designed to have the same impact on the Marvel Universe as Blackest Night on the DCU, yet it's moving along at ten times the speed.

Laura Martin's coloring is pretty awesome. I'm okay with Coipel's pencils here, but his layouts really shine. Great match in pacing and tone to Bendis' script. Although the impact of the two page team splash is destroyed by the 'meet the Avengers' roll call. The Ares/Sentry fight makes up for it - I was genuinely surprised by the rending of limb from limb. Nasty.

Considering the players involved and the gravity of the plot, Bendis' writing is down to earth and endearing. Does that make any sense? In the big event bubble, Bendis is writing his characters while Johns is writing his plot. Blackest Night is a blurred smorgasbord of evisceration, which should be terrific, I'm just not feeling anything. On the other hand, I want to hug the Thor/Maria/Jason scenes.

That said, the final four panels sold me on Siege in general and Siege #2 in particular. Incoming!

Sweet Tooth #6

I feel like The Unwritten is the Vertigo book getting more press fellatio lately, but I kind of despise it. I mean I'm probably supposed to adore it because I was an English major in college & I like books and all, but there it is. Sweet Tooth is righteous, though. Lemire's scripts are bare bones but engaging, Gus is adorable, and Jepperd is a leathery badass. Also he may be kind of a bastard.

This one begins the new "In Captivity" arc. So after Jepperd's apparent betrayal, Gus finds himself in a militia pen with a cluster of mangy mutants & a not so bright future ahead of him. Interesting to see the disparate levels of cognizance among the animal kids. Jepperd's back story takes the forefront here and it's pretty wrenching. Creepy final page. I mean it's terribly sad. But creepy.

Oh and Lemire's art is fucking outstanding. I'm torn between commenting on Villarubia's equally delightful coloring or just leaving off with 'fucking outstanding.' Here we go. Villarubia's coloring is fucking outstanding. Win!

Jonah Hex #52

Hex wrassles a gator! Bernet is a great artist. Gray & Palmiotti continue to be a great team. And Bernet is a great artist! Hex looks a little Clint Eastwood here, and the plot actually reminds me of an Eastwood flick whose title I don't remember - he gets shot with an arrow and coaches his traveling companion, who I believe is a nun, through its extraction. With a whiskey bottle. And fire. Surgery is less exciting in this comic, but still. Brings me back.

Gray & Palmiotti manage consistently to write throwback Westerns that are vaguely moral without being sickeningly saccharine. Just sickening. I feel like if I ever impregnate my life partner & she spawns me a son, I shall forgo traditional fathering and entrust his development to the manly lessons learned in this book. Hex kills a kid with a rock!

Daredevil #500

I'm sorry I missed this one when it first came out, might be my favorite single issue of '09. I haven't kept up with Daredevil over the last year, but this one is easy to break into. Also it carries the delightful "Previously in Daredevil" recaps, which are pretty comprehensive. Brubaker closes shop with a tight & taught script leaving DD holding the Hand, Kingpin with his dick in the wind, and Owl in line for a handicapped parking permit. The art from Lark, Gaudiano & Co. is right on - they have this way of limning moments of frenzy with touches of serenity - I love how when DD tosses his billy club, there's only the faintest indication, if any, of flight until it knocks someone upside the head.

And the main story isn't even the best part! Diggle gets a few pages of promo for his upcoming run - I like the writing, not so much Tan's pencils. Nice setup though. Nocenti & Aja's bit is fucking great. I thought for a second it wasn't going to have any real dialogue, just sound effects and ass kicks, and I was totally fine with that - Aja is ridiculously good, pitch-perfect for Nocenti's story (so I'm glad there was dialogue after all!), nice classic feel with Hollingsworth's colors.

Next up is a pin-up gallery - really like Geof Darrow's "Hi Frank," but Rafael Grampa's is the bee's knees for me. I don't think I'm familiar with his stuff - reminds me a lot of Paul Pope.

But the best part! DD #191.

Jesus fuck, Frank Miller.