Commentary Track for the Buy Pile, January 14, 2010
The fact I was able to get through this week's reviews is something of a miracle, in that our beloved new daughter isn't letting anybody get much sleep. If I were around the house, I could easily sleep in the day with her, but that's when baba has to go out and make the money, so my shoulders hurt and so on.
However, if you're reading this blog, you probably don't care. You're in it for the comics. So let's get to that.
Somewhere I'm sure Christopher Priest is chuckling, as Jonathan Maberry's Black Panther is almost as political as the aforementioned Priest's, but in a more simplistic way and without the snark and caustic humor that made Priest such a critic's favorite and kryptonite for the "common" fan. Eschewing the idea of a "perspective" character (as they've morphed Everett K. Ross into more of a spook than a wonk the few times we see him), this is more of an action movie than the political thriller of Priest's day. Which isn't to say Maberry doesn't have his smarter edges -- I've said a lot of times that if the two Wakandan commentators could get a regular spot on Marvel.com, I'd read their takes on the 616 any day. But when you see the difference with Maberry's Hydro-man and the indistinct artwork on the Broker ... well, it's good, but it can make one nostalgic.
I am very pleased that both Marvel and DC are "chunking" their space-based characters and playing them off each other with personalities instead of powers, as it makes even the "read" weeks smarter. We can all use a little more "smart" in our lives. Vril Dox is once again the mickey fickey man, and any "non-powered" guy than can move Kanjar Ro and Despero around like chess pieces (remember, both of these guys have taken on the entire Trinity-powered JLA) he's doing a lot right.
When I read Tobey Maguire was out of the Spider-Man movie franchise, I thought, "maybe finally Spidey can be funny." Without fairly regular doses of his humor, I find the wall-crawler a drab character. I figure the percentage should be 75 percent laughs and 25 percent pathos. That sounds about right. This week's Amazing Spider-Man #617 got that right while making the original Rhino a man worth knowing. A great surprise.
Until the very last moment, S.W.O.R.D. #3 was on the Buy Pile. But times is hard, y'all, so choices had to be made and I needed to bring it in under a dub. However, if Mark Waid (that guy's busy these days) can keep fleshing out characters in Cyberforce/Hunter Killer while keeping the plots as interesting as that, he could have a Buy Pile contender on his hands. He keeps swinging and bunting on Strange, which is more cutesy than impressive (part of that may be the art and the coloring honestly) but the man's been proven to be super talented, so he's always worth a look if nothing else.
I'm too sleepy to go into my hatred for Galactica 1980 or my sadness at the ongoing Transformers series, but they're there. Just because I don't curse people out doesn't mean things don't suck.
Finally, sorry to everybody who's been sending email to my CBR account -- I again forgot it existed since ... something like November 16th. All relevant emails will be responded to.
All right, good luck with all that, I've gotta try and squeeze some productive time in this evening. Also, next Wednesday is my birthday, so no idea if I'll do reviews or not.
Playing (Music): "Think of Me" by Lloyd off his hot Young Goldie EP
However, if you're reading this blog, you probably don't care. You're in it for the comics. So let's get to that.
Somewhere I'm sure Christopher Priest is chuckling, as Jonathan Maberry's Black Panther is almost as political as the aforementioned Priest's, but in a more simplistic way and without the snark and caustic humor that made Priest such a critic's favorite and kryptonite for the "common" fan. Eschewing the idea of a "perspective" character (as they've morphed Everett K. Ross into more of a spook than a wonk the few times we see him), this is more of an action movie than the political thriller of Priest's day. Which isn't to say Maberry doesn't have his smarter edges -- I've said a lot of times that if the two Wakandan commentators could get a regular spot on Marvel.com, I'd read their takes on the 616 any day. But when you see the difference with Maberry's Hydro-man and the indistinct artwork on the Broker ... well, it's good, but it can make one nostalgic.
I am very pleased that both Marvel and DC are "chunking" their space-based characters and playing them off each other with personalities instead of powers, as it makes even the "read" weeks smarter. We can all use a little more "smart" in our lives. Vril Dox is once again the mickey fickey man, and any "non-powered" guy than can move Kanjar Ro and Despero around like chess pieces (remember, both of these guys have taken on the entire Trinity-powered JLA) he's doing a lot right.
When I read Tobey Maguire was out of the Spider-Man movie franchise, I thought, "maybe finally Spidey can be funny." Without fairly regular doses of his humor, I find the wall-crawler a drab character. I figure the percentage should be 75 percent laughs and 25 percent pathos. That sounds about right. This week's Amazing Spider-Man #617 got that right while making the original Rhino a man worth knowing. A great surprise.
Until the very last moment, S.W.O.R.D. #3 was on the Buy Pile. But times is hard, y'all, so choices had to be made and I needed to bring it in under a dub. However, if Mark Waid (that guy's busy these days) can keep fleshing out characters in Cyberforce/Hunter Killer while keeping the plots as interesting as that, he could have a Buy Pile contender on his hands. He keeps swinging and bunting on Strange, which is more cutesy than impressive (part of that may be the art and the coloring honestly) but the man's been proven to be super talented, so he's always worth a look if nothing else.
I'm too sleepy to go into my hatred for Galactica 1980 or my sadness at the ongoing Transformers series, but they're there. Just because I don't curse people out doesn't mean things don't suck.
Finally, sorry to everybody who's been sending email to my CBR account -- I again forgot it existed since ... something like November 16th. All relevant emails will be responded to.
All right, good luck with all that, I've gotta try and squeeze some productive time in this evening. Also, next Wednesday is my birthday, so no idea if I'll do reviews or not.
Playing (Music): "Think of Me" by Lloyd off his hot Young Goldie EP
posted by Hannibal Tabu, The Operative at
6:32 PM
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