BC Refugees Blog

Slow week, so only one post this time. I have not yet seen Wednesday Comics because my mail order copies won’t arrive until later this month. I could comment on it from a scan (not that I have any idea where to obtain such a thing), but the format is so much a part of the experience in this case that I prefer to wait. Booster Gold 22: There’s a lot to like about this – Dan Jurgens’ art captures the early New Teen Titans days perfectly, for example, including the gratuitous bathing suit scenes – but it does feel a little like a repeat of the “Blue & Gold” storyline. (Someone dies or is saved that wasn’t supposed to and a breakdown of the timeline occurs.) I think Jurgens is going to have to accelerate the reveal of his overall plan if this title is going to stay viable to anyone other than the direct target audience (i.e. me.) The Blue Beetle backup continues to be basically the same as when the book was being published, which is in my opinion good although one could argue that ...

JLA: The Deluxe Edition Volume Two HC: Continuing the oversized hardcover reprinting of Grant Morrison’s JLA, this volume contains JLA #10-17, Prometheus #1 and JLA/WildC.A.T.S. (The title page incorrectly repeats the issue information from Volume One; oddly not the kind of mistake DC usually makes in their collected editions.) This stuff is as bursting with ideas and as timeless as when it first appeared, with one exception: Electric Blue Superman. To his credit, Morrison really integrated the new powers into his stories instead of just lazily substituting a different costume but it’s just not the same. I picked this volume to read now because one of the things I want to get to soon is the Final Crisis hardcover and Morrison has said in interviews that it’s the conclusion to one long DCU story starting the “Rock of Ages” story arc here. I didn’t see much direct correlation, especially since Darkseid’s conqueror future is erased by Flash, GL and Aquaman in time, but I can see some of...

I can’t resist linking to John Siuntres’ new interview with Hellcat and Runaways writer Kathryn Immonen , even though it makes me look more than a little obsessive. (Trivia: The interview was recorded at the store appearance I joked about way back in this blog post .) However, it does give me an excuse to point out that Siuntres, a radio professional, does the best comic creator interviews around. All the podcasts at wordballoon.com are worth listening to.

Exiles 4: Still good, though I hope the mystery of what’s behind the new setup won’t drag out too long. (Here it seems like Blink doesn’t quite know what’s going on either.) The cliffhanger ending is fun, but could easily be a fake-out. The Mighty 6: As I mentioned before, this covers basically the same ground as Irredeemable except that here we’re watching the hero’s decline but in Irredeemable it has already happened. It’s also a little vaguer here what the “hero” is actually up to whereas in the other book he is definitely evil. I like this, but it does suffer a little by comparison to its “sister” book. Irredeemable 4: Though this is similar to The Mighty , this book is better because Mark Waid is the better writer. This book works on a number of levels, where The Mighty is more of a thriller. There’s a nice moment of realization here when you see that the Plutonian’s wanton destruction is actually intended to make a point to one of his former allies. (A sick point, but a poin...

CHEW #2 (Image) “Taster’s Choice” Part 2 of 5 by John Layman and Rob Guillory Well, it looks like Image Comics scores a breakout hit with CHEW judging by the demand for this book at area comics shops, which were caught off guard and sold out quickly.  I, for one, am glad to see that.                While I don’t pick up many Image books I can’t help but notice the many Previews listings month after month for numerous new titles.  You have to give them credit for trying to help so many start-up ventures into comic book publishing.  And even if the creators are willing to overlook a big paycheck in order to get their books rolling, the production costs that Image incurs each month must be huge.  I may be naive but I think it’s good for the industry to see some other publishers besides Marvel and DC score now and again on the Previews best sellers list.        ...

Captain America: Reborn 1: I don’t have much to add to Mike’s impressions below – this is for all intents and purposes another issue of Ed Brubaker’s Cap, so of course it’s great. If I had any quibble at all, it would be that the mechanism of Steve’s return is just the tiniest bit out of tune with the grounding of the stories Brubaker’s been telling. But he played completely fair – he set this up many issues ago and waited to pull the trigger until the time was right. Anyway, it’s a minor nit and I’m of course on board for whatever Brubaker’s got planned. Justice League: Cry for Justice 1: Well, that was…interesting. It’s not up to the quality of James Robinson’s current issues of Superman , but there are some interesting ideas in it. I like that Hal Jordan is asserting his authority as a law enforcement officer, but the “proactive super-team” model has been tried before and never seems to stick. In the minus column, all the team members introduced this issue literally cry for justic...

CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN Marvel Limited Series #1 of 5 : I thought it would be wise to wait this out and pick up the collected edition after it ends. But the last several issues of the regular CAPTAIN AMERICA title that lead up to this event were so damn good, and helped to build the anticipation for this series that I broke down and picked up Issue #1. And I'm not going to stop there. I'll be there every month until it wraps up. And afer reading the first issue, I don't recommend that you wait any longer either. Go out and pick up this book - - it deserves your support. I also realized that it was going to be impossible to screen out all the conversation and web and media content sure to center around this series. So I was going to overhear or come across the key plot points and details anyway - - so why not jump in right now? And I'm not going to worry about giving any key details away in my comments - - so this is your warning to stop reading now if...

This post is partially an experiment to see if I can schedule blog posts for a future date, so if you’re seeing this before Saturday morning then I did it wrong. This one’s for anyone with an interest in science. Everyone knows that Nova on PBS is the standard for long-form science documentaries but you may not have heard of Nova scienceNOW , their “60 Minutes”-style summer series “covering timely developments and intriguing personalities in the world of science and technology”. For instance the first episode of the season, which like all the episodes can be watched online, featured a company that grows diamonds, the science behind the FBI investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, and a profile of a young computer science professor that invented a key Internet technology. (Nova scienceNOW airs locally on WHYY Tuesdays at 9pm.)

DETECTIVE COMICS #854 by Greg Rucka and J. H. Williams III Bulls-eye!!! Jeff was dead-on target in recommending this book. It's very, very good. It's my favorite of the new Batman spin-off books, right up there just after BATMAN AND ROBIN, which I also admire greatly. What gets your attention immediately is the fabulous art, included with a lot of little nuances that make you appreciate it more. I haven't seen this many jagged and angular panels since Gene Colan's work on early DAREDEVIL books. And artist J.H. Williams III seems to love employing them on the action pages and contrasting with very square, boxy panels on the scenes of dialogue between characters in regular life. Also, the colors by Dave Stewart (a modern master) are breath taking. The predominant use of red and black, highlighted with shades of gray are very effective and help give this book the appropriate tone. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the very fi...

A quick side note: I’ve changed to using the word “review” instead of “reviews” in the titles of my posts because I was reading Timothy Callahan’s column on CBR this week and I feel that I’m not really writing critical reviews as such but I’m more doing an overview of my impressions of the books. (I’m basically writing as if I was talking and not doing a lot of editing.) I thought about using the word “revue”, but all the online dictionaries I consulted said it has a musical theater connotation, and trust me nobody wants to hear me sing. None of this probably matters to anyone except me, but there you go. Amazing Spider-Man: Crime and Punisher HC: This comes chronologically before the ASM collection I wrote about last week, but I somehow forgot to order it before now. It contains the Flash Thompson Iraq War story by Marc Guggenheim and Barry Kitson, which is must reading even if you hate the current direction of the book. (Spidey does not appear in the story except in Flash’s memor...

Heroes Con sketches from Muppet Show artist Roger Langridge.

Thunderbolts 133: This is a big improvement over the Deadpool issues, devoted to showing the cracks and manipulations both from inside and from outside the team. One outside force is not a surprise (she’s on the cover), but the other one (on the last page) is. Avengers: The Initiative 25: Starts an interesting new phase, by wrapping up a plotline from the early issues, then cementing Osborn’s plans for the future of the Initiative program. Rather than being another Dark Avengers , there’s an opposing force – I won’t spoil their name – created here to drive the action in future issues. Dark Avengers 6: Hard to talk about without giving too much away, which I don’t want to do because this issue will be the end of the first trade. There’s a great Cabal scene, the Sentry may have done something truly disturbing (I think Bendis is intentionally leaving it vague for now), and we get a glimpse inside Norman Osborn’s head. Plus, I think Mike Deodato is doing the best artwork of his career....

Detective Comics 854: Finally, the debut of Batwoman in her own series and it was worth the wait. It has the “Batman Reborn” banner, but it’s not connected to the other books at all except for a brief (intentionally vague) Batman cameo. The J.H. Williams III art is stunning. It jumps off the page like nothing else on the stands, and even changes style depending on which characters are in the scene. (Credit colorist Dave Stewart for this too, though my understanding is that Williams is involved in the coloring too.) We won’t get her origin until the first story arc is done, but Greg Rucka gives us our first real glimpse into her world, including her surprising support system. The Question backup is also an excellent start. Fortunately I don’t have to, but I’d pay $3.99 for this book without a discount. Skaar: Son of Hulk 12: More Skaar on Earth hijinks, as he tries to confront his father but realizes that the Hulk’s personality is unstable and not what he expected. “Meanwhile, on the ...

Nova 26: A solid transition issue, where Rich and the Nova Corps get used to their new status quo, and Nova investigates what happened to his comrades and his brother while he was out of commission. Gotham City Sirens 1: It’s a little too early to tell how this will shake out, but so far I like it – any time Paul Dini is writing Harley Quinn is a treat, in my opinion. (Selina: “So' I’m right in assuming you’re spending the money I gave you as fast and as foolishly as you can.” Harley: “What’s wrong with splurgin’ on a few nice things? Besides, I put some away, made some investments…” “Please tell me they didn’t involve sending money to a Nigerian prince.” “You got his e-mail too?!”) Harley and Ivy are featured, but so far it feels like Catwoman will be the main character. Thor 602: Pays off one of the plot threads from the earliest JMS issues, and the conversation between Balder and the mortal living in Asgard is enlightening. (As previously hinted, he’s not being manipulated a...

It was great to see everyone at Gary’s on Saturday (and we missed those of you who couldn’t make it), so thanks again to him and his family. I was planning to get a few more books read before doing another write-up, but a number of people said the trade reviews were helpful so let’s talk about what I’ve read in the past couple of weeks and I’ll try to do this more often. (Which may be hard if Marvel keeps releasing three dozen books a week…) I Kill Giants TPB: I read the first issue of this when it came out and didn’t care for it, but Shane is passionate about it which was enough for me to give it another try. I’m pleased to say that I have no idea why I didn’t like it the first time around – I was utterly captivated by it this time. To describe it too much would rob you of the joy of discovery, but I’ll say it’s the story of a young girl, her school, her family and, yes, giants that is at once funny, terrifying and heartbreaking. One thing that particularly worked well for this ja...

Oh hey, right, I should post in the blog.  September previews are here, and apparently the previews magazine is out too, although I haven't gotten mine in the mail yet.  But you'll all have likely seen this, so I'll start commenting on it. Magog #1 DC launches another ongoing book,  Magog , spinning out of  Kingdom Come and  Justice Society of America .  I recently re-read Kingdom Come (in beautiful Absolute format), and I've read the first two hardcovers of the JSA arc "Thy Kingdom Come", enjoying both, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see this-- especially the creative team.  I sing the praises of Keith Giffen all the time, but Howard Porter, too?  This is going to be a good book.  I'm sure it'll be canceled before long, unless it picks up some miraculously strong audience, but for the few issues it lasts, I'll almost certainly be there.  The only thing keeping me away will be waiting to buy the collection--I'm debating. The Web #1  and  ...

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #3 (Marvel) by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney           In my earlier reviews of Issues #1-2 I commented that this book, while entertaining and worth a look, wasn’t quite living up to its expectations.  I had high hopes that Jason Aaron would kick some new life into a tired motorbike and make this book interesting once again.   Well, it took him three issues to jumpstart the thing but it seems to be running fine now.  Aaron adds some new wrinkles this issue and that has changed the whole complexion.  I’m back on board, at least until the conclusion of this story arc in Issue #5.           When Issue 32 ended with Wolverine surrounded by the twelve Strikeforce members, all with self-healing powers, adamantium claws, protective armor and a slew of arsenal I figured Issue #3 to be a long, drawn out bloody battle royale with Wolvie emerging badly damaged but ...