Definitely Not Reviews (11-03-10)

Man, been slowly whittling away at this DNR for a week, but sickness and family time have kept me from completing it. I at least got it pushed out before I pick up this week's books.

Batman & Robin #16 - sweet sassy molassy, Bruce Wayne's back and kicking ass. How'd he get back? Well, I don't really understand that part... but it was all very grandiose and exciting wasn't it? I'm still rather annoyed that many of the turns of this book (eg. Dick and Damian staying on as Batman and Robin, the new "Batman, Inc") were spoilered months in advance, but there was still two other turns in this book (one minor involving the Joker, one quite a bit bigger involving a speech by Bruce) that made me rather excited.

Doom Patrol #16 - As a change of pace, Keith Giffen works the pencils and is joined by a new co-writer, and I don't think I've liked a single issue of this book half as much as I liked this one. I can easily say, with the action, humour and character drama, best issue yet. This series has really been picking up steam in its second year, and thus it'll more than likely be cancelled soon.

Secret Six #27 - I think if I was a Warlord fan I'd be totally crapping my pants in excitement over this issue. As it stands, I'm not, but I still really enjoyed it. Amanda Waller has a moment that proves once again why she's one of the best character in superhero comics.

Superboy #1 - I don't have any great affinity for Superboy, but I do like fellow Torontonian Jeff Lemire, and if ever there was a guy who should write "superheroes in a small town", it's Lemire. This issue: a little clunky in establishing Connor Kent's status-quo and supporting cast (with heavy homage to original Superboy setting and structure) but doing so immediately might mean less time spent doing so later on. Sticking around this one for a while.

Tron: Original Movie Adaptation #1 - I'm not sure what the purpose of this is, and yet I bought it anyway. There's some nicely written narrative elements from Peter David and a different take on the storytelling timeline, but otherwise it adds nothing to the film, the art is stiff and the colors not nearly vibrant enough. The rational man inside me is wrestling with the completist over whether to buy the second issue or not, as I own the film and thus this comic adaptation is redundant.

Strange Tales #2 - It's probably not good that I just read this and I can't remember anything much from it. In general, though, I like that Marvel's bringing in indie creators to play with their toys however they want to. It would be interesting to see almost any of these creators cut loose on a full issue story or mini-series.

Captain America: Man Out Of Time #1 - It's not a retcon... Mark Waid excels at the retrofit back story (see his Flash and Superman: Birthright), and Captain America: MOOT should solidly uphold that tradition. I'm not really sure what to make of the last few pages. What just happened to the rest of the Avengers, how is he sending off communications, and can you get any more cliche than the rescue-the-girl-from-the-thugs-in-a-back-alley (though there is a bit of a twist on that one).

Invincible #75 - My wife's the Invincible fan, but I only casually read the odd hyper-violent issue from time to time, just to see what's happening. This issue, I didn't so much as read as flip through it, thinking that this extra-sized, extra-pricey 75th ish celebration was the big conclusion to the latest storyline, but, apparently, it's not, and all the extra pages are there for some other Invincible-less Kirkman creations.

Slamarama #1 - 2 - Originally titled Squared Circle, I actually discussed the first issue previously, but creator Dave Howlett has self-published a new, full-colour version with the new title as well as a second issue, which were must-haves for me. Colouring on indie-books tends to generally be weak, but Howlett nicely sticks to basic colouring and doesn't overwork the gradients. Being a child of the 80's wrestling scene, there's a nostalgic aura to this fictionalized wrestling action-drama, complimented by some well executed wrestling sequences as engaging melodrama. If you're not up for hunting down physical copies, you can always read it on-line and in full colour at the Slam-a-rama blog.

Scenester: The Inevitable Collected Edition - The aforementioned Howlett also has made available in a compact collection his first self-published series, Scenester, about a quartet of Halifax 20-somethings trying to get a pop-culture zine off the ground in the pre-internet age. Having tried numerous times to do the same thing (mostly on-line) it's all very familiar territory, and rings very true. Howlett only did three issues and was just hitting his stride (in terms of characters and comedy) when he gave up on it, which is too bad, but high quality stuff with a cornucopia of easter eggs on every page.