Friday, 16 November 2007

En Garde, Thursdays! - Reviews for 15/11/2007

Reviews of the week's comics, and my GOD, what a week it was. Bewarned though, spoilers plague these waters.

Punisher #52 (Ennis, Parlov - Marvel)


For the unfamiliar amongst you, Garth Ennis' recent run on The Punisher has seen poor old Frank Castle endure the following:

1) Forced to shoot his only friend Micro in the face after being betrayed by the former tubby sidekick to a shadowy government agency.
2) Watch nationally broadcast video footage of a mobster digging up his dead family's corpses and peeing on them.
3) Have his reasonably hot fuck buddy die in his burly arms after she got shot by a mental Russian in a helicopter.

Frankly, it's been some rough times. However, Garth Ennis manages to top the hardships weighed on The Punisher with this issue, which features his baby getting SHOT IN THE FACE by comedy gangsta villain Barracuda (who has either become much less funny or much more funny with this act, depending on your perspective).

Even though there's plenty of wiggle room for a cop-out reveal next issue, it's still pretty much the best last page in recent memory. What's more, while mid-arc Punisher Max issues are usually a big saggy, there's now a pleasant sense of urgency.

Baby shooting, you are my new favourite plot device.


World War Hulk #5 (Pak, Romita Jr. - Marvel)




Did I like World War Hulk? Well, hey, thanks for asking, but to be honest I'm still not sure. The fights were really nicely done, Greg Pak had a lot of pretty hot ideas when it comes to punching and Romita Jr's art was as crisp and dynamic as always, but it seemed to just run out of steam after issue 2. I mean, once the Hulk's fought and defeated pretty much every hero in the Marvel Universe, why would I want to stick around to see him fight perennial whipping boy General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross and his division of rubbish tanks, an inescapably dumb 'GRAAR SMASH' incarnation of Dr Strange and nobody's favourite hero, The Sentry?

To be fair, it's at least a consistently fast-paced and burly end to the event, but it still feels like a sequence of missed opportunities. This is more to blame with Marvel's ever inconsistent planning department though, with last week's surprisingly good New Avengers: Illuminati giving away that there weren't set to be any serious repercussions and we should all start getting excited for Secret Invasion instead.

Booster Gold #4 (Johns, Jurgens - DC)



I feel like I should be liking Booster Gold a lot more than I currently am. The concept is pretty much perfect; the DCU's history is batshit insane, and to have a Quantum Leap-esque series with a fun character like Booster hopping in and out of the various nutty timelines could be amazing.

However, the execution just isn't quite up to it. For one, the pacing just feels... off. Johns' attempt to give every issue a done-in-one feel while still having an overall arc is admirable, but it ends up with everything feel a little rushed. You get a taster of whatever time or situation Booster lands in, but there's barely a shot shared with Jonah Hex or a handshake with Barry Allen before he's whisked off again.

Also, the 'revelation' of Booster's new 'big bad'? SNOOOOZERS.


All Star Superman #11 (Morrison, Quitely - DC)




I'll admit, I wasn't crazy for the last arc on Bizarro world; while Zibarro was awesome and those comics can pretty much stand as the last word on Bizarro World, it still felt like it lasted an issue too long. They're all a bunch of backwards weirdos, I GET IT, JEEZ. Still a couple thousand times better than Johns/Donner's attempt to re-invent the Bizarro world over in Action Comics though (despite the fantastic Eric Powell art).

Anyway, this was great. Surprise surprise, eh? Kryptonian jerks turn up, Superman does his best to show sympathey to their cause, but they end up cracking the moon in half (!) before trying to weld it back together with national monuments (!!). They get their comeuppance, there's a relatively happy ending and poor old Clark Kent continues to suffer from Steve Lombard's bullying.

All in all, more amazingly enjoyable stuff.

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (O'Malley - Oni Press)



I don't really have anything to add to Tom W's review; this was spectacular stuff, and possibly the best Scott Pilgrim installment yet. As for criticisms... well... I dunno, maybe it would've been nice if the spine had kept the same style as previous installments so the inner insane OCD person inside me would feel happier at seeing them all lined up on my shelf?

That's honestly the best I can come up with as criticism, and even that's half-hearted; I actually LIKE the new spine style. It's almost an allegory for the entire book, because even though it's sympathetic to the old Scott Pilgrim, it feels like it's breaking into new ground in a terribly exciting way. We see old characters get padded out, relationships grow, exciting new plot elements teased and even a delicious taste of Scott Pilgrim in glorious technicolour.

Oh, it is such a lovely book. Please go out and buy it for yourselves, yes? THX.

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