Anyway, reviews:
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| 3/5 Purple Brain Squids |
Writer - Grant Morrison & Sholly Fisch (back-up)
Artist - Andy Kubert & Chriscross (back-up)
I'm reading this series on a lot of faith. If it weren't Grant Morrison, I would have dropped the title by now. I have to believe that this is something I can come to appreciate once the larger picture of the series comes into focus. I still can't understand why this two-part story even happened, especially right after the Brainiac cliffhanger from #4. Did Rags not have enough time to finish his art? Andy Kubert's art here is...distinctively Kubert. There are some nice sequences, but there are also a lot of really lazy faces and panels. He's certainly not giving it his A-game. The story is certainly Morisson-y, but confusing. And I still believe he needs a few more pages, as everything feels kind of condensed. It's obnoxious that DC prices this at $3.99, knowing that people will pay that much for Morrison's name, but limit him to 20 pages and gives us a pointless back-up instead. The back-up isn't good or bad, but it's not worth that extra dollar on the cover. Either give Morrison more pages or cut the price. "Drawing the Line at 2.99...Until We're Confident You'll Pony Up the Cash For Popular Titles."
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| 5/5 Fun Experiments |
Writer - Jeff Lemire
Artist - John Paul Leon & Travel Foreman
My opinion actually differs from my friend, Seth (whose blog can be found here), on this book and Swamp Thing. He felt this issue was a stall, where I took it as a fun play with the format, as well as a "breather" of sorts. Last issue pretty much ended the current arc, and while comics work their way into the "six issues per trade" format, decided that rather than stretch what happened last issue into this one, we get a stand alone issue that still ties in, but lets us breathe. It's a method I really enjoy that I've seen recently in The Unwritten and Lucifer. While the issue doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know, it acts like a mission statement for the series. The art by Leon is also really slick, with some great cinematic panel layouts. It's also a nice visual contrast to Foreman's work in the story proper. Plus, I love that cover. The story was just a lot of fun for fun's sake. There aren't enough comics like that anymore.
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| 3/5 omg, Blood, you guys. |
Writer: Various
Artist: Various
DHP is a weird book to review. As an anthology, one issue could feature some really strong stories, while another can be mediocre. It doesn't help that this issue was missing my two favorite stories, Finder and Resident Alien. Instead we get several forgettable new stories, I'll try to say a few words on each. It opens with a B.P.R.D. tale by Mignola and Arcudi, which was obviously a Mignola script (that's a good thing). However, it's a post-Hellboy story, and I'm not that far in the series, so I couldn't get a lot out of it. Howard Chaykin's Marked Man thankfully reaches its conclusion, where everything is "explained" with a throwaway line about MLK's assassination. Neal Adam's Blood continues to be utterly ridiculous, and this chapter's dialogue is the worst I've ever seen. People basically just recite panel descriptions to each other. Blood is a trainwreck that I kind of look forward to every issue (Seth suggested I should review it like I did Superior. Maybe). Brian Wood's The Massive: North Sea - 1995, aside from having a long title, couldn't retain my interest. It was something I immediately forgot about once it was done. Concrete Park is on its second chapter and I still can't figure out what it's about. Time to Live started as an interesting time travel story, until you reach the "shocking" ending, whereupon it falls apart by simple logic. It was obviously thought twist-first, and then a story was built up to try and lead into it, but it doesn't work. The Many Murders of Miss Cranbourne was...weird. I enjoyed it, overall, but I couldn't figure out what to take from it. I'm not sure how long the "little old lady is a righteous murderer" can go, but I'm interested in chapter 2. Skultar was also weird for me. When I read the first chapter last month, I had trouble believing it could sustain itself past that. This month, I learned I was mostly correct, but I still did chuckle at a few gags. It's still too self-aware and strange, but I won't deny a part of me enjoys it. The Once and Future Tarzan was fun, with some nicely suited artwork. I couldn't tell if this is a Tarzan homage, or if it's supposed to be a post-apocalyptic reinterpretation, but I'm intrigued for more. The highlight of the issue, and possibly the anthology series thus far, was Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson's Beasts of Burden. I love this series, and this chapter probably sums it up best. Beautiful artwork with a haunting story and a chilling final page. It's not just a good story, but the best ghost story I've seen in a long while.
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| 3/5 Pointless Anecdotes |
Writer - Scott Snyder
Artist - Marco Rudy
Differing with Seth again, I wasn't feeling this issue again. First, the art was off, but I didn't realize at first it wasn't Paquette. Layouts, like previous issues, are a poor man's J. H. Williams, and way too heavy on the black borders and shadows. Unlike Animal Man, this felt like a stall issue, as last issue felt like the end of the arc, leading into the next. Only one real event occurred here, but it was stretched over the course of the issue. Plus - and I'm sure I'll say this two to three times a month - I can't stand Snyder's anecdotes. They're a fine writing tool, but he puts one in almost every issue of every series he does. They've become a crutch. This one barely has to do with the story, as it starts off as a random metaphor, but then that's abandoned to suddenly become literal. People do not talk like this. It's tied with young Bruce Wayne shooting an owl in his attic as one of Snyder's worst anecdotes. Regardless, I'm still enjoying the series and I'm excited for the next issue.
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| 4/5 Animal/Human Hybrids |
Writer - Jeff Lemire
Artist - Jeff Lemire
Sweet Tooth continues to be a fun and engaging series, and each issue ends with me craving the next chapter. However, I'm hoping it's on its way to reaching a conclusion. Lemire has established a goal off in the distance for them to reach, and while it's a bit away, it looks like that's going to be the end. This was reinforced with the three-part story arc from a few issues ago, showing us a possible origin to the plague. This issue is a lot of fun, with some really nicely-paced pages with layouts that increase the tension as you read. Love or hate his distinct artistic style, as a visual storyteller Jeff Lemire is definitely one of the more skilled writer/artists in the business.
That's all for now. I may have something humorous posted next weekend. Otherwise, expect more reviews after Wednesday.
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| And don't touch my stuff. |
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