Remember when the Spectre could torture and kill criminals without anyone debating the philosophical ramifications?
Good times, good times …
Speaking of which, your newly bankrupt brought in a large haul from Lee’s Comics this week. Happily, most delivered the requisite bang for their bucks.
One caveat before proceeding with our attempt to justify spending $30 on comics this week our heralded experiment in critical writing.
Like any DC droid, the Keeper has loyally purchased 52 each and every week. Although the quality wildly vacillates from issue to issue, the book’s set-up is so similar to a daytime soap that it seems premature to judge the series’ success before the storylines further unfold.
Much like an episode of the Keeper’s beloved Passions, characters of varying interest enter and exit center stage while multiple plots are slowly advanced. Little is resolved in each issue, but plenty of ominous moments are provided until the inevitable (and usually bloody) denouement.
It’s a formula that works well on daily television, and suits 52’s weekly format. But - much as it’s difficult to evaluate a single episode of, say, Days Of Our Lives - it will be some time before we discover if DC can truly deliver the goods.
With that said, here are the books your friendly neighborhood Fortress Keeper read this week:
- Action Comics #840 - The brilliance of this comic can be summed up simply: Dr. Virus and Kryptococcus the Omni-Germ.
- Batman #654 - A decent enough book until the final pages, which increased the emotional content exponentially and restored a crucial personality trait long missing from the one-time Dick Knight - compassion.
- Blue Beetle #4 - It’s not as much fun as Firestorm or the Son of Vulcan mini, but this book has rapidly developed into a nifty little entry in the “young hero finds his/her way” genre. The Beetle’s exchange with Oracle is priceless and the supporting cast remains unique and vibrant.
- Brave New World- Gail Simone and John Byrne’s (!) fun revamp of the Atom is worth the $1 admission. A back-to-basics Creeper and the politically tinged Freedom Fighters are also worthwhile. However, J’onn J’onnz’s transformation into the Angry Asparagus-Man is unwelcome and OMAC only worked with Jack Kirby. The less said about Trials Of Shazam, the better.
- Catwoman # 56- The revamped Film Freak could only reside in Gotham City. Where else could a master villain expound on German Expressionism while casually poisoning a hapless underling? With several equally effective scenes involving Selina, Holly, Slam Bradley and Wildcat, writer Will Pfeifer and artist David Lopez are hitting all the marks in a book the Keeper thought would collapse without Ed Brubaker.
- Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #2- Too much navel-gazing and not enough EC-style justice! Still, Will Pfeifer has built up enough good will through Aquaman and Catwoman to earn one last look - especially if Crispus Allen is forced to smite his own son.
- Fallen Angel #6 - Peter David gives readers a bit of a breather after an intense fifth issue. It’s still not exactly a joy ride, but worth picking up all the same.
- Hawkgirl #53- The Keeper realizes he is in the minority, but your humble host has enjoyed Walt Simonson’s Cajun noir to date. However, Kendra should start dishing out a little more hurt to the bad guys. If the Hawks are known for anything, it’s beating up people. Nice to see the heroine wears a bra under her Spandex, though.
- Ion #3- Kyle encounters a parade of dead girlfriends on the sentient planet Mogo. The Keeper is curious to see the one-time Green Lantern collide with Hal Jordan, but if Jade pops up in one more comic to apologize for her out-of-character, editorially mandated infidelity …
- JLA: Classified #23- Break-dancing! Gypsy laying the smack down!! Aquaman and Sue Dibney!!! After all these years, Steve Englehart can still whip up some old-school super-hero goodness. But Amos Fortune in Spandex? That’s just wrong.
- Supergirl And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #19 - More about the underground robot rebellion. If there’s anything this reader loves, its rock ‘em, sock ‘em rebellin’ robots.
- Thunderbolt Jaxon #5 - A pat ending to what started out as an intriguing mini-series. Your host is not exactly a fan of decompression, but the climactic battle could have used one more issue to achieve the proper apocalyptic tone.
Looks like we made it through a second week of reviews. The Keeper (along with Mrs. Keeper, Fortress Boy and Ma Keeper - sadly, Cinder The Fortress Poodle must stay behind) is heading up to Seattle for a week of fun and (hopefully) sun.
So, the Fortress’ doors will be shut until July 10 or thereabouts.
In the meantime, feel free to peruse our archives (newly reformatted through April to synch with the WordPress template) and keep ‘em flying!
