I’m going to quickly touch on three books that worked for me this week and three that fell flat.
WINNER: The Massive #10
Wood has built up tons of political intrigue throughout the first nine issues of this series. This time politics and war are hitting a little too close to home. Members of The Kapital are wanting to abandon the cause to go back home. Callum needs the crew to remain strong while he deals with problems of his own. This book continues to turn up the heat with its heavy message about politics and nature. This is what I call an intelligent read. It’s not all bells and whistles, just great story telling that doesn’t sacrifice the reader’s ability to handle the issues presented.
LOSER: Astonishing X-Men #60
The X-Termination event that has been forced on these books is crippling. There are way too many characters to write and the story seems rushed. I don’t blame the writers here as much as I blame Marvel for canceling these series and deciding to somehow wrap things up. This is a book that few will enjoy and there’s good reason why.
WINNER: Batman, Incorporated #9
This issue gives us the funeral for Robin as well as an idea of where things are going to go next. Talia’s response to her other “son” and his rash reactions is unexpected. This other son’s claim to be the new Batman is chilling. Batman’s moment with “Bat-cow” is a surprisingly sweet one. This issue feels just as much like a setup issue as a close to the previous story. Grant Morrison handles it masterfully.
LOSER: Planetoid #5
It will surprise some that I chose this for a LOSER when I was so high on this book to begin with. The story is good but my problem comes with its tardiness. This book is so late that it has completely lost its audience. People have forgotten about this story and probably didn’t even care to pick up the issue to finish reading the story. That’s a shame since Garing does a good job of closing the door on this series.
WINNER: Rachel Rising #15
Terry Moore proves that you can write horror without all the gore. This series continues to terrify. Whether it’s Rachel digging down to her mother’s casket to “talk” to her or a little girl swinging a bat to kill rats as they appear. The mysteries in this story are slow to reveal themselves but you forget that as there is so much else happening. The latest plague is an interesting one that adds another mystery to the mix. The art is absolutely beautiful.
LOSER: The Legend of Luther Strode #4
This is an example of a good thing gone wrong. This issue offers us little substance and tons of senseless fighting. There seems like there could be a promising story here but Jordan instead seems more interested in telling us an extensive, extreme MMA fight. The overuse of violence leaves me rather bored by the end of the issue.
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