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Also this week...
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #5 -
Sometimes I wonder whether I'm just getting too jaded in my
old age. And then a book like this comes along to
remind me of what a genuinely impressive superhero comic
looks like. God, the economy. The throwaway
ideas in each detail. This isn't one of the books
where Grant Morrison shows off; this is just Morrison doing
an old-school Superman book and revelling in playing all the
old ideas straight. Wonderful stuff. A+
THE BOYS #2 - Only a
fortnight after issue #1, Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's
black comedy continues. This probably won't do
anything to change people's opinions on the book. It's
well trodden territory, and it looks to be providing a
vehicle for some of Ennis' more puerile tendencies.
But there's no getting away from the fact that Ennis and
Robertson know how to put a story together and can make
almost any idea seem ten times better than it really is.
I'm not sure that there's a desperately strong concept in
this book, but the strength of storytelling means it's still
better than most of the competition. B+
CABLE & DEADPOOL #31 -
The Civil War crossover arc continues, with a tie-in
to Civil War #3 (albeit one that doesn't actually fit
with the sequence of events in the original issue).
Basically it's a load of fighting and Cable taking an
opportunity to lecture everyone about the dangers of the
Superhuman Registration Act in his usual condescending "I'm
from the future, you know, so trust me on this" way.
The storyline is a bit of a diversion from the overall plot,
but hey, they could probably use the extra sales, and it's
good fun stuff. Guest artist Staz Johnson isn't really
a comedy guy, and his President Bush is way off, but overall
it's solid entertainment. B+
X-FACTOR #10 - This book
has finished its Civil War tie-in, and so it's back
to the Singularity Investigations plot. Peter David is
on form here, as Madrox wakes up from a drunken night's
partying to a cute twist on an old cliche. Renato
Arlem provides guest art, and good god, he likes his pencil
shading. I actually wonder whether he'd look better in
black and white - he certainly seems to be encroaching on
the colourist's territory quite a bit. I like the guy's art,
but there's something a little off about it, and that's my
working theory for today. Strong writing, though, and
another good issue. A-
X-MEN #190 - Mike Carey
is settling in nicely on X-Men with what amounts to a
fairly traditional take on the superhero team book.
Chris Bachalo has six inkers this issue, which normally
indicates a deadline crunch. But Bachalo tends to be
better when he's rushing, probably because it stops him
overthinking and makes him fall back on his fundamentals.
This issue is no exception, and shows what Bachalo can do
when he stops trying to show off and concentrates on
actually telling the story. A fun issue with the
flashiness in the right places, and cute moments of humour
in amongst the solid basics. This is what I like to
see. A
There's more from me at
If Destroyed,
and if you're desperate for more Article 10 columns, you can
always hunt through the archives on
Ninth Art.
Next week: Only in the X-books could
somebody possibly think a book called Endsong needs a
sequel, but X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong is exactly that.
And Vulcan continues tearing up the Shi'ar Empire in
Uncanny X-Men #478.
And your regular Ultimate Wolverine vs
Hulk #3 update - remember how the book was originally
solicited for 19 April? And then it was rescheduled
for 17 May? And then 12 July? And then 9 August?
And then 20 September? And then last week they said it
would be 25 October? Well, this week it's 1 November.
Normally they justify this kind of thing by saying that they
need the time to keep the artist, but artist Leinil Francis
Yu has already been permanently reassigned to Mighty
Avengers, so it isn't even a quality control thing.
It's just hopelessly late.
It's the next Daredevil: Target,
isn't it? It's never going to come out.
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