Stuff I Read This Week Episode 17 or Dogs Should Be Detectives Just for Their Colorblindness Alone (Less Chance I'll Get Shot)

Hawkeye #11: How does an already critically acclaimed comic book writer like Matt Fraction make it any clearer through his work that he wants an Eisner award? Simple. Write an entire issue from the perspective of a dog. A dog. Arrow, Hawkeye's pet/friend has been a mainstay since the first issue as a hilarious background character, but is finally given spotlight time in this issue. In the wake of lovable neighbor, Grills' murder, Pizza Dog finds himself on the case of solving the mystery, sniffing out the killer's identity (pun intended). David Aja is at his best here, illustrating the canine crimefighter's point of view via visuals and diagrams indicating smells and sounds that he picks up on. There's very little dialogue except for the handful of words that Arrow recognizes.

The result is a thoughtful, funny and, at times, slightly sad insight into an unsung member of Clint Barton's surrogate family. The real beauty of this installment is that it never comes across forced or gimmicky. Once again, Fraction and Aja prove why this book should be the flagship title for the Marvel NOW initiative. This is a book that takes chances, never forces it and always comes out to be a satisfying read.

Bottom Line: With Daredevil End of Days over with, this book is easily, the best, most consistent coming out of Marvel Comics right now. Brilliant. 9.5 out of 10

Batman/Superman #1: I haven't read a good coherent team up between the "World's Finest" since Jeph Loeb's pre-reboot run. The "New 52" hasn't offered much of the dynamic we love from these two either. Geoff Johns' awful Justice League series doesn't do much to flesh out a relationship between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel. Superman doesn't feel like the heart and soul of the team. Batman tells him to punch things and he does. In DC's attempt to "ultimatize" the JL, all we're given is bunch of brawlers who seem to just put up with one another just long enough to not let the world explode....which basically sums up my family.

Fortunately, Greg Pak's turn at this dynamic duo might just help to alleviate that. He preserves the shared narrative of both Superman and Batman, allowing their thought processes in meeting one another to propel the story forward as they spend most of it sizing each other up in the hero and civilian disguises while investigating foul play at Wayne Enterprises. He demonstrates a real understanding of the contrasts and comparisons between the two. Superman's honest, upfront approach isn't always the way to go while Batman, despite what he'd have his enemies believe, doesn't always know everything. The main drawback is that the second half of the book (where most of the action is) moves a bit too fast to understand what exactly happened at the end. Hopefully, this is intentional and will become clearer in the next issue. The BEST thing to happen to this book is Jae Lee. Thank God that Before Watchmen shit is over because that was a waste of his talent. The perfect person to set up a creepy ambiance in Batman's protectorate, Lee's gothic wonderland vision of Gotham City alone is worth the four bucks.

Bottom Line: Although the last act gets a little muddled, the setup and the art make this a hard book to turn away. 8 out of 10.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 16 or Cautionary Tales for Fanboys and Crazy People....

Kick-Ass 3 #1: Okay, I'm just going to go ahead and say it. Kick-Ass needs to die. I'm not quite talking about the character. I mean this story needs to be drowned in the bathtub quickly. The thing that's wrong with everything after the first Kick Ass is that writing satire is like telling a joke. The only real rule is to just tell the joke. Don't explain it. Once you have to explain the joke, it's immediately not funny anymore. When you get bogged down on explaining satire, it becomes obvious you're trying to say something about something.

This story was awesome when Mark Millar simply saying "A guy trying to be Batman in real life would either be dead or in the ICU in a day." It's become painfully obvious that, in its evolution, this series has become a platform for Millar to shoot fanboys in the kneecaps. In parts 1 and 2, at least our protagonists were likeable. In this issue, we get Dave Lizewski standing over his parents' graves in what should have been a sobering reflective moment of character development. Instead, he and his friend are musing about how must look awesome like Batman did. Taking brooding pictures by a family member's tombstone because he thinks it looks badass doesn't make your character relatable or realistic. It makes him an extinction-level asshole. The big upside to this book is, as usual, John Romita Jr.'s artwork, offering the right amount of levity to serious moments and awkwardness to funnier moments. Ultimately, time will tell whether or not Millar can bring closure to something that's really already run its course.

Bottom Line: One part entertaining....two parts beating a dead horse. 7 out of 10.


Daredevil: End of Days #8: Considering the fact that David Mack retweeted and reposted my review of this book last month (No, I'm NEVER going to stop talking about that...deal with it, humans...), I considered the idea that the cool thing to do would be to not review the finale, that it would be like the hero in a movie who kisses the girl, says goodbye and walks away without looking back. But I'm a writer, a blogger and a comic book nerd which is, more or less, a willing forfeit of the chance to be cool. No need to break tradition now.

There are more great things to say about End of Days than there are adjectives meandering about  the English language. It could be argued that the much sought meaning of the word "mapone" came across as slightly anti climactic, but with a book like this, the last thing readers deserved was something they actually expected. Besides, much like in life, the destination wasn't nearly as important as the journey that brought us there. It could be argued (and it almost certainly is) that this miniseries ended on more of a bang than a whimper, but this series ended in a way many superhero titles wouldn't dare to: with a prevailing sense of finality. With many of Marvel's "The End" future vision concepts, although they stay somewhat true to the essence of the highlighted protagonist, at times, they have a tendency to feel dated depending on the changes that character endures. With End of Days, we are offered a story that manages to offer closure while preserving the hard truths that we've come to know of a hero who concerns himself very little with the traditional tropes of heroism when it comes to justice. No matter what crossovers and costume changes may come from other writers over the years, this book makes a timeless, definitive statement about who Daredevil is even if it's not always a trite one.

We see cast of characters who have been as much a part of defining who this character is than the character himself saying goodbye in their own ways, some of which are clear even if they're not reflected through dialogue or action beats. Having said that, one of this issue's biggest weaknesses is the absence of journalist Ben Urich's internal narrative that has been the perfect voice to carry us through this semi-dystopic wasteland of an eulogy to the Man Without Fear. Still, no matter what point of view they offer us, Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack's voices are like old friends taking you for a drive through that part of town you grew up in, showing you how it's changed as well as how it hasn't and never will. And after reviewing two other issues of this book, there is virtually nothing left to say about the top shelf artwork from Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz. Rarely is there a comic where any given panel or page, if left by itself, could be a poster or printed on a t-shirt. There are no artists better suited to help tell a story like this. If they taught comic books in high school, rest assured that Daredevil: End of Days would be required reading.

Bottom Line: This book raised the bar for comics like a school bully playing "keep away" with your lunchbox. 9.5 out of 10.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 15 or If The Marvel Universe Were A Corporation, The X-Men Would Be Locked In A Sweatshop

Atomic Robo: Real Science Adventures #8- I like westerns, I like kung-fu and I LOVE steampunk. This month, Brian Clevinger does a masterful job of combining all three into a fun, action packed romp. Honestly, this is the kind of adventure the Wild Wild West film should have been (Will Smith passed on the Matrix for that, by the way). If you're not familiar with the ongoing storyline, you don't need more than the bite sized synopsis on the first page to jump right in the fun. Sharpshooter Annie Oakley and physician/martial arts master Wong Kei-ying are overseeing some doohickey's delivery by train to supergenius Nikola Tesla. Ominous men  in black want to steal it and use it to take over the country. That's it. Clevinger jumps into the driver's seat and floors it with a high speed train chase reminiscent of Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy.

Afterwards, Clevingers gives us a four page adventure entitled "What Happens in Egypt Stays in Egypt" starring Atomic Robo himself. Although I wish it were a little longer, these few pages still manage to bring home the bacon. It's funny, it's right to the point and Derrick Fish's artwork is gorgeous.

Bottom Line: It's fun, it's nice to look at and it's easily for newcomers to pick up. Not a bad package for $2.75 once a month. 8.5 out of 10.


The Wake #1: Thus far, I've enjoyed everything I've read from Scott Snyder. I liked his take on Swamp Thing, I liked his take on Batman and I looooooooove American Vampire. I want to like this new Vertigo title, too, but...even considering this is the first issue, I'm not entirely sure what kind of story he's trying to convince me this actually is.


The first few pages start off giving us some kind of "Waterworld" quest and then it rewinds to the past where we see what looks like the beginning of a horror story that puts me in the mind of The Thing or The Abyss. It's kind of annoying to have two moving parts so far away from each other right out of the gate but it can be (somewhat) overlooked for now. Snyder's character development is top notch here. Our central character, Dr. Lee Archer, is a no-nonsense character with an courageous attitude similar to Ellen Ripley from Alien. We're teased with just enough of her past to keep the narrative interesting without getting too bogged down in forcing us to worry about it right away. Sean Murphy ridiculously detailed pencils are perfect for Snyder's insanely creepy story....especially towards the end. Once the stage is set, we immediately feel as if we're locked in with these characters and whatever madness awaits them at the bottom at the ocean. Although it begins feeling slightly disjointed at the beginning, it's good start for a ten issue miniseries. I just wish I had a better feel for what I'm reading right away, but that's just my instant gratification complex talking.

Bottom Line: Despite the first few pages feeling a bit out of place, the artwork and the storytelling afterwards is more than enough to merit picking up the next issue. 8 out of 10.


X-Men #1: Okay, now these X-titles are getting out of hand. You would think that this Marvel NOW initiative, with its streamlined image, would want to condense the number of titles with X-Men label on them. Alas, as we've all learned, Marvel would print 30 pages of Lil Wayne finger painting the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody with maple syrup if they thought there was money in it. Therefore, we've got another X-book.

Is it a waste, though? I mean, we've got an all female team, Brian Wood (who wrote DMZ...nuff said) at the helm, and Oliver Copiel's artwork...which is sensational. His decisions for poses and costume designs alone deliver the message that you shouldn't be fooled by the all female cast. This isn't going to be T and A, it's not going to be oversexed and nobody will be drawn like Pamela Anderson (sorry Danger Girl). The ladies are drawn like actual ladies with a job to do.

 He and Wood are focusing on characters first and action second as Jubilee shows up at the Jean Grey school with a baby in tow (not hers....we're assuming) while the team also gets a visit from bacteria turned supervillain John Sublime. Giving the burden parenthood (temporary as it may be) to the most unlikely of the team was a good move on Wood's part. However, it's also risky. A book about a group of women with superpowers dealing things like stray babies runs the risk of sending the wrong message. It's also a plus that in the midst of All New and Uncanny's ongoing infighting, there's a book that gets down to business and sees mutants fighting evil instead of each other.

Bottom Line: There's not much to hate. It's a straightforward plot. The art is lovely. The female cast isn't a bunch of stereotypical Spice Girls. I'm in. 9 out of 10.