The Pickytarian

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October 11, 2004

Will I buy it? This week's new releases

Before I can review comics, I have to buy them and read them. Until I develop expansive powers of precognition, or until publishers start sending me advance review copies of comics, that's the way it has to be. Since I don't see either development happening soon, the best I can provide is an insight into my decision-making about how to spend my hard-earned dollars at the comic shop each week.

So, please join me on my weekly journey through the world of comic book geek consumerism. the fun begins on Monday morning, with a perusal of Midtown Comics' Weekly Releases page.

DC

Astro City A Visitors Guide - On the one hand, I have been a big Astro City fan since it first started lo these many years ago. And Kurt Busiek has definitely been the writer of the year in 2004, what with Arrowsmith, Conan, and Superman: Secret Identity, so he has my loyalty. On the other hand, $5.95 for a character guide? The jury is out on this one but it's not looking good.

Ex Machina #5 - A sure thing. This is a very fun series from a pair of great talents in Tony Harris and Brian K. Vaughan. I'm a little concerned about the seemingly obvious nature of the current story involving Kremlin and the snowplow drivers but Vaughan might have some tricks up his sleeve with that one. But anyway, the art is so luscious and the characters are so compelling that I won't pass it up.

Gotham Central #24 - I have been waiting for the trades on this seris but they are coming out so infrequently that I decided to welcome it back into the fold of monthly buys. It's on probation, though.

Hard Time #9 - Anothr no-doubter. You're missing out if you haven't been reading this captivating story about a teenager who has been thrown in a maximum security prison. A teenager who is just discovering that he has supernatural powers. Sounds like one too many plot points but Steve Gerber makes it work by focusing on the fully-developed characters that make up the large cast. Looks like the TPB of the first story arc is out this week, so it's a great chance to catch up if you missed out the first time around. I've bought a lot of comics with mediocre stories just because Brian Hurtt was drawing them (I'm looking at you, Skinwalker). But this one delivers on story and art.

Image

Savage Dragon #118 - I think of Savage Dragon as the Drew Carey Show of comics. I don't know anybody who actually reads it, much less likes it. But there it is, month after month. Both properties are painfully cliched yet strangely unique. Both have a personality that shines through their genre-specific mediocrity. And on and on they continue, inspiring me to simultaneously admire their fortitude and wonder when in god's name they will finally be cancelled. Now that Erik Larsen is running Image Comics, of course, the book is surely safe from the firing squad. Drew Carey doesn't run Disney by any means and yet I see he has what look like another laugh-supressing improvisational "comedy" show coming out on ABC this fall. I'm genuinely happy for both gentlemen. They seem like nice guys and they are both successful at their dream jobs. Nonetheless, I can think of many more arractive ways to spend my time and money than by reading Savage Dragon or watching The Drew Carey Green Screen Show.

Marvel

District X #6 - It's an X-Title that manages to rise above the level of quality established by its market-flooding, cash cow-pumping cousins. Original ideas, complex, believable characters, and nary a Wolverine cameo appearance in sight. In other words, buy it and enjoy it now while it lasts. It's only a matter of time before Marvel "reloads" the title with the likes of Chuck Austen and Rob Liefeld on it, dragging it back down to the level of dreck that seems to be a prerequisite for any comic that features a giant "X" on the cover.

Powers Vol.2 #5 - Brian Michael Bendis' writing is like crack. I don't even think it gets me high anymore. And yet I'm so addicted that I will be there with the rest of the Bendis-zombies, buying this, reading it in 5 minutes, and immediately wishing for more. (By the way, I don't really smoke crack.)

Punisher Born TP; Punisher Max #12 - I'm not interested in Punisher Max #12; I read the first 9 or 10 Punisher series that Garth Ennis wrote and while I was into them at first, I found that I liked them less and less. He's a one-note character who worked great as a foil for Daredevil or Spider-man back in the day. Mike Zeck & Steven Grant did a hell of a job with the first Punisher mini-series back in the 80s. But there is something about the Punisher that makes his ongoing adventures sort of redundant. His morality is never going to develop or change. That being said, I think that when he is pulled out of the standard super-hero status quo-maintenance of an ongoing monthly series, he becomes something that you can build a story around. See the "Punisher: The End" one-shot that Ennis did a few months ago. Plus I drink up Darick Robertson's art like sweet honey. So I think I am going to have to pick up this Born trade at some point.

Secret War Book 3 - See Powers Vol.2 #5 above. Bendis = crack.

She-Hulk #8 - I can't say enough good things about this series so I'm not even going to try. Suffice to say that I am buying it and it will probably be the 2nd thing I read after I smoke that rock - er, that is, read that Bendis.

Ultimate Nightmare #3 - I am generally a fan of Warren Ellis. Therefore I will grant him a stay of execution and buy this comic. What was his crime, you ask? The insultingly stretched-out pad-job that was issue #2. This series had an awesome set-up, but when I feel like Joe Quesada & co. are swindling me out of $2.95 for the sake of filling a TPB page count, the offending series usually finds itself on the rack instead of in my bag when I leave the store every Wednesday.

X-Force Vol 2 #3 - To quote Weird Al Yankovic, "I'd rather clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue" than spend one single penny on this steaming, disease-ridden, maggot-infested heap of garbage. Bad enough that this no-talent knucklehead was dragged out of limbo and given an assignment on a monthly Marvel book. I would be able to live with that. But the fact that this replaced the monthly joy that was Peter Milligan and Mike Allred's X-Statix? Ugh.

Dark Horse

Grendel Devils Reign #5 - I'm really glad that Dark Horse is reprinting this series. I never read any Grendel books before. I knew about the popularity of the books, but had no idea where to start. These reprints gave me a low-risk opportunity to try out the series, and it paid off.

Milkman Murders #4 - This story has been pretty one-note. Abused and repressed housewife freaks out. Sure, it had a shocking level of graphic brutality, but I haven't seen anything exceptional about the characters or story. The art, on the other hand, knocked my socks off. Steve Parkhouse has channeled one of my all-time favorites, Mad Magazine mainstay Mort Drucker. It's not just a rip-off, though. Parkhouse adds an energetic ink line and a skillful eye for design, turning this book into a visual delight.

Well, that's it for my buying plans. Thrilling, right? There is always a surprise or two when I get to the store, as books I plan to buy fail to make the cut, or books I didn't know about catch my eye and wind up in my bag. Look for reviews of these books starting Wednesday.

Posted by jdonelson_nyc at October 11, 2004 10:31 AM

Comments

Posted by: Peat at October 12, 2004 06:00 PM