Mar 20, 2011

Mixed Plate Comics- Week of 3.16.11

3:51 PM

Week 2 after the sadness and loss of the World disaster in Japan.  Loving how everyone around the world is finding their own way to contribute in the recovery efforts.  With the release of the Fear Itself prologue, couldn't help but think why Brubaker put his hands on this em anyway though a definitive pass on this supposed "event of the year."  And yes, poor taste on how DC "handled" the Dwayne McDuffie tribute book.  These are the reads that got me from point A to B:  Brightest Day #22 / Cassanova  Gula III / Book of the Skrull  #1 / R.E.B.E.L.S. #26 / Batman #708 / Power Girl #22 / Uncanny X-Force #5.1 ...and here are the top 3.

3   Brightest Day  #22  Johns/Tomasi & Prado/Reis/Scott
Not really sure what it is about my love for the Anti-Monitor-- 80's nostalgia of infusing anything anime into character design, or is it the love for a big-ass omnipotent baddie that require all of our fave heroes to teamup and tackle, well...whatever it is, I can't recall him ever being unmasked (or maybe he did, oh it still rocks).  Firestorm stops fumbling over all of his failures, grows some balls and begins to have confidence in his power-- though taking on the Anti-Monitor single-handedly wasn't the smartest thing he has done in awhile.

Ronnie and Jason are successful in stopping it from using the White Lantern to it's own power-hungry ends but they get blasted in a hot-minute of their conflict with AM.

Deathstorm and friends kill off Dr. Stein but Jason's dad is saved.  In a white flash, the White Lantern restores life to both Jason and Ronnie along with destroying all of the Black Lanterns (a bit anti-climatic though)...and like you probably guessed, Deadman appears-- ready to take back the life of Firestorm like the other resurrected heroes-- anyone else notice how this hasn't happened to the villains that accomplished their missions (Osiris and Max Lord)?? 

Two more books to go until the end of Brightest Day!!

2   Batman  #708   David Hine &Guillem March
It has been since I don't know when that the most longstanding Bat-titled book has been in the top-tier of weekly reads.  No surprise if you tell me that all of the art is handled by the magnificent Guillem March and an Azrael-centered arc by the English wordsmith of David Hine.

It may seem like I say this in contempt of Tony Daniel and fuck it I guess I do.  Sure, we have Batman Inc. and Batman & Robin handled by top-tier creators, but seriously-- how can we not have  the muthaeffin' Batman book on some quality stuff like we got here??  Just saying!!

Hine does a spendid job from the outset aligning Azrael as a natural and formidable antagonist to Gotham's Batman (Dick Grayson).  I have not been following anything regarding Azrael 2.0 so the Crusader, all of their righteous king speech and connection to Ra's felt refreshing and was great to include Catwoman and Red Robin in the ish.  As always, March makes my eyes fly from panel to page in all directions with his dazzling illest-rations.

1  Uncanny X-Force #5.1   Rick Remender & Rafael Albuquerque
I was forcing myself to stay away from all of this Marvel .1 mumbo-jumbo, but after flipping the first few pages, I grabbed it from the shelf and threw it in the buy-pile.  Remender continues his mastery of anything 90's by facing off his band of assassins against the equally brutal mutant-killer Marauders.

So much to love about this ish from the brilliantly, raw cinematography courtesy of Rafael Albuquerque-- who has a way with decapitated body-parts (maybe a lot of practice in American Vampire).  This is just one of those books that reads as well without the word bubbles though a lot is expressed in how far off they have left the camp when Cyclops and Magneto are hot on the trail of who (yes, Psylocke and the gang) murdered some of the Marauders in their own home.

For some reason I never realized Deathstrike and the rest of her cyborg squad were alive again, ho-hum...was fun watching em go down again anyhow.  My top book from the House of Ideas (second goes to anything by Hickman).

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big O
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