Wednesday, of course, is new-comic day, and an opportunity for me to rattle off some pithy quickies instead of strain myself by trying to articulate anything insightful:
- Identity Crisis #7 (of 7): Meh. At least this one had a cover I really liked. This series started off with a pretty powerful emotional kick, but just couldn’t hold its momentum across all these months. It might work better as a trade, but I tried rereading a few issues in a batch, and I couldn’t get through it without wondering about if it was gonna rain the next day or do we have any cake or is there some Gilmore Girls on the Tivo or something. For a big finale, this wrapped things up tidily, but it’s hard to care. Especially when they reveal the killer right at the beginnning and then follow it with blah blah blah blah blah. Oh well. I bought them all, so I guess DC’s fiendish plan worked in the end.
- Ex Machina #7: Ah, such bliss. I love this book more and more every month, and that’s after I started loving it completely when I read the first issue. I love the overall concept, I love how the characters are written so well, and I really want to see where they go with the new twists they’re adding to the story now. Just brilliant.
- Space Ghost #1: Ooooh, pretty! Oooooh, not so much fun. If they were gonna make Space Ghost all serious science fiction, I would have preferred the more inventive touch of Warren Ellis or someone.
- Birds of Prey #77: This is another series I wish I’d discovered much, much earlier. It’s really wonderful. That being said, this issue was a little weak, but I think they’re just getting going with a different story arc, so we’ll see. Like Joss Whedon, Gail Simone doesn’t go too crazy with the plot devices (even though lots of good ideas come into play), instead getting most of the power of each issue from the development of the main characters. That aspect doesn’t taper off, even when the action part of the story doesn’t kick in so much.
And since the subject came up again recently, I finally bought the first trade collection of Alias, and I feel like a goddam idiot for not paying more attention to it when it was underway. Incredible! Totally, totally incredible. I’m actually really glad that Bendis didn’t intend to use Jessica Drew for the main character (as is often thought), because I wouldn’t want her taken in this direction, but I think it’s even more brilliant for developing a brand new character as if she were an embittered has-been. It’s a great story, and surprisingly emotionally resonant. And just funny enough just often enough to keep it really punchy between the grim parts. And don’t even get me started on how gorgeous all the covers (by “total snack” David Mack) were. I kinda noticed those right before the series ended, when I decided not to get involved so far into a story. Now, of course, I have to get them all. Curses!