Commentary Track for the Buy Pile, April 15, 2010

Every week I do a column full of comic book reviews as I've done since March 2003 and currently published at Comic Book Resources. Then, after the reviews post, I try to come over to my blog and expand on the thoughts and ideas listed there. Sometimes it's profound, sometimes it's gibberish, but it's always about comics ... let's see what we get this week!

What? This week's reviews ...

It's tricky: The more I think about Siege: Loki from Gillen and McKelvie (and Fairbairn), the more I like it. The casual way Loki sat, one leg hanging down, on a bank of clouds. His theatrical flair for sweeps of his cloak or bows. His smirk in the reader's direction as he plays Goblin. Outstanding character work Branagh and company would do well to study.

Also, did he boink Hela? Well played, sir.

Mecha Move: Hellcyon is more serious than it looks and more fun than it should be. The kineticism is almost enough to carry the book on its own (loved the part with the trains). I might get called on for its literary credibility, but a) I think Jack McKinney's Robotech novels are works of genius and b) shut up.

Cibopaths, barbarians, the not-so-immortal bard and white power: I'faith, I really wanted to love Kill Shakespeare, but it was too busy patting itself on the back for its own cleverness to move the narrative onward. It was more fun reading the website than it was reading the comic book. That's a shame. My ambition is that this picks up speed quickly (just like my dawg Craig says of Lost, "I wanna see Juliet!") and never looks back. It's almost harder when I like the high concept, because wrong steps seem so much larger.

I'm actually very sorry I didn't have time to get to that Wolfskin book.

The Eisner nomination for Chew is well deserved (even though I don't regularly buy the book) and I want to say congratulations to Rob Guillory and my oft-times con archenemy/drinking buddy John Layman. I think part of my problem here is the same reason I had to drop out of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I can appreciate the craft and the skill in the presentation, but the content makes my insides go wiggly. Hard to reconcile that, for me at least. Still great, creative, original comics ... even though I could do with more about the beets.

Let me be clear: the Human Target comic is as good as the show. However, I watch the show for free on Hulu. It's not good enough for me to spend my actual money on it.

If there were more of a story, "Brightest Day" could have been a "meh." I get that the people who work at DC are so insulated (from, say, Earth) that they don't see how a book promoting "white power" (both in terms of the actual story mechanism and the preponderance of the resurrected personages) could bristle some branches. Their history with diverse characters showcases that ("Atlantean" is not really a visually differentiated race, especially in DC). I just find Aquaman skinny dipping or Hank Hall (really? Just gonna brush past that whole Extant thing?) beating people up or Martian Manhunter unironically eating chocolate cookies with icing in the middle rather tepid. I also don't wanna be "that guy," which is why I let the "white power" jokes come from the store clerk Quislet (who's Jewish) instead of from me. I have enough problems.

Flash facts: Yes, there's been some slight jealousy over the nerd bling ...

For much girthier fingers than mine, apparently ...

Hey, hey, hey ... it's not what you think. I punched Tax Hitler in the face and stole his ring! You can't prove I paid for this! No, you shut up!

Also, yes, I'm aware of his many other names (Other Isaac, Earth 2 Isaac, M.O.D.O.I. and his preferred "Isaac Olmos"), but none of them have the sheer catchiness of "Tax Hitler." Der Taxenfuhrer marches on ... (no, I won't explain this joke any more, you really had to be there).

The mouse is used with my left hand largely due to too many hours playing Street Fighter during my wasted (and possibly wastrel) yout' in high school. Also, I don't use a mouse pad at work because I'm tired of having them stolen. Move on!

Off you go.

Playing (Music): "Hot Potato" by Freestyle Fellowship