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June 20, 2005
To Buy or Not To Buy?
I heard there's some sort of Batman movie out. Man! How come nobody told me? Is it any good? Who is this Bat Man anyway?
Astro City The Dark Age #1 - Busiek finally tells the tragic story of the Silver Agent that he has been mentioning in this title forever. Normally I would be skeptical of this plan. When characters in a story refer to some historical event, it adds a welcome layer of context and verisimilitude. The details of that event exist only in the reader's imagination, where they have been colored by his or her experiences and outlook. When the writer finally reveals the specifics of this history, it inevitably falls short of the reader's personalized expectations. However, I have enough faith in Busiek's writing that I will happily suspend those concerns. Any new Astro City book is cause for celebration. I can't wait!
Catwoman #44 - Will Pfiefer and Pete Woods take over the title with this issue, hopefully bringing an end to the unfortunate cheesecake art that drove me away from Ed Brubaker's run. Woods draws with a clean, bold line that's faintly reminiscent of Mike Allred; that look is right up my alley so I will be happy to check this out. You can see a preview of the book here, courtesy of DC's web site.
Flaming Carrot Comics #3 - This is a book that I admire much more than enjoy. In a full week like this I might have to pass.
Sea Of Red #3 - This book sure does look nice, but the tone of the last issue was weirdly uneven. The satirical Hollywood humor stuff fell kind of flat when it was juxtaposed with the overwrought period drama of the main character and the first issue. Still, the art is fantastic and the production - off-white, matte stock and two-color printing - complements the story nicely. I'm still in but there's less margin for error.
Black Panther #5 - I don't know what to think about this book. I wish the plot would go somewhere at some point. The most interesting thing about the last issue was the letters page, and that's not a good sign.
Captain America Vol 5 #7 - Ed Brubaker's writing has been tight, and Epting & Lark knock it out of the park each month with their superb artwork. This issue delves into the fate of Cap's ex-sidekick Nomad, which was only briefly covered in the previous story arc.
Ultimate Fantastic Four #20 - The second and final issue of Mike Carey & Jae Lee's fill-in stint. The first part was creepy and suspenseful, and I'm looking forward to the resolution in this issue. I'm not so much looking forward to Mark Millar taking over with issue #21, though.
Conan #17 - Two comics by Kurt Busiek makes this a very good week indeed, by Crom!
Hellboy The Island #1 - Hellboy returns!
Man With The Screaming Brain #2 - Man, I love Hillary Barta's artwork. Like Brian Hurtt's, his style is simultaneously cartoony and naturalistic. THe story, by Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell, hasn't quite gotten rolling yet so the jury is still out.
Doc Frankenstein #3 - I've bought the first 2 issues of this book, but...
Shaolin Cowboy #2 - ...I haven't been reading this one. I think I've been reading the wrong Burlyman Entertainment title.
Queen & Country Declassified Vol 3 #1 - I'm waiting for the trade on this one, as I do with all the Q & C books. It's never easy, though.
Shuck The Sulfurstar #1 - I've seen a lot of good things about Shuck, but I've never read it. I'll check this one out and let you know.
Well, it looks like there's only 617 comics for me to buy this week. Did I miss anything?
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at June 20, 2005 04:13 PM