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Comic Reviews: 07-01-09

A pretty big week in comics, one might say: Captain America: Reborn and a new Justice League limited run series, a week after McDuffie’s exit. They also offer some new issues of some of Marvel’s and DC’s unique limited series. Since I don’t have much to say this week, let’s get right into the comics!

Justice League: Cry for Justice #1
Irredeemable #4
The Mighty #6
Destroyer #4
Batman and Robin #2
Captain America: Reborn #1

Justice League: Cry for Justice #1
I remember reading a little bit and seeing some preview work for this series quite awhile ago. I also remember seeing a lot of people groaning about it online. The cast is a set of B, C, and D listers, led by Hal Jordan. The concept of the team revolves around Hal: tired about how the big team only prevents an attack in progress, or waits to be attacked. The DC heroes have had a lot of shit dumped on them, and a few of them want “Justice.” I bought this issue mainly for Nerdery’s collective love of Starman. Mikaal Tomas is going to be a main feature, which I enjoy seeing. DC tends to ignore some of its more unique characters. The art is….odd. Not bad, but not something you usually see in a comic book. It has a look of color pencils about it. It has an incredibly dramatic appearance and feel to it, but it is unlike most things you’ll see in a standard comic. The first issue collects just a handful of the main heroes into a common goal, and mentions a couple of villains for them to battle against, but offers little else. Each perspective we see is a mirror of all the others, so the issue does little else beyond showing us who is going to be in the book. In the back matter, we are told that James Robinson will be taking over the JLA mount after this limited series, so it looks like this series will really develop into something. I just wish this first issue had a little bit more to offer.

Irredeemable #4
This is sort of a difficult series to read from issue to issue. Mark Waid creates an entire comic universe for his story to take place in, with a complete history to it, and we only get in on the tail end of things. So, we have a full cast of characters, and some we only get to see a page one issue, and not heard of again until 2 issues later. It is somewhat hard to keep track of things. Waid has created a fantastically evil character, and has given him a good back story, but with so many minor characters in this book dying, it is hard to give a shit about anyone else in this book.

The Mighty #6
A very unique series from DC, in that it is a completely original character and world. Peter J. Tomasi has been a favorite of mine since his incredible Black Adam mini series and he has brought a complex and dramatic world for us to be in. The art is unique and really sets it apart from traditional cape books. This issue, though, has been particularly interesting. The secret of the book has been very, very slowly creeping its way into the story, giving the fans of this book a delicious treat from month to month.

Destroyer #4
After issue #3, it made me wonder what else this book had in store. And after this issue, I have the same feeling in my head. Like The Mighty, this series has been fairly unique. I love the world of this book, and all the random little treats we see in the art – various robot parts, showers of blood, and shirtless old men. It has been a delightful little gem of a series, and I’d kill for a teeshirt of the skull logo. Personally, I’d would be in love if this series was long running and a little more fleshed out with this, but we’ll have to see. A fast paced issue with tons of action, but with some nice characterization with Keene. It is a shame that we are just waiting for him to die.

Batman and Robin #2
With such an explosive first issue, I was expecting a lot from this one. I was hoping for learning more about Mr. Pig and the new dangers awaiting Gotham City and a little less rambling between Dick and Alfred. Quietly has some fantastic layouts with his action scenes, and we get to see some strange minor villains. Morrison has been playing this series very straight, but with this one, I think I think he is explaining things that everyone already gets. I do, however, like Alfred’s advice for Dick at the end of the issue and we have a lot to look forward to next time.

Captain America: Reborn #1
The biggest single issue of the week, except for, of course, Marvel Divas, which was mysteriously sold out at my shop within a half hour of opening, Captain America: Reborn shakes the foundations of the Marvel mainstream. One thing that I particularly enjoy about this event is that Cap isn’t just “back” somehow, we get a big struggle to enjoy for the run of the 5 issue series. Sure, the entire concept of this story is a bit of a stretch, and requires a suspension of disbelief, but Marvel brought in a top notch writer and artist team to keep things together. While reading this, I kept thinking to myself that with anyone else on this project, it never would have worked. It is actually rather exciting, the art is fantastic, and there we have a great story being told on multiple points of view. I was really skeptical about this series as being a hokey ploy, but I’m actually pretty excited to see what is going to happen.

Book of the week will have to go to The Mighty #6. This series is such a treat to me every week, I love the art and how the story is unfolding, taking its time to do things right. It is like the series is being published just for me. A close second will have to go to Captain America: Reborn for actually being interesting.