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LWIC: Spider-Man’s Skrull… er Skull

Even with a “soft” cast and the ability to move my fingers my hand still hurts when moved, but I will not let the pain prevail and I present:

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Last Two Week In Comics:
A fresh take on 5 day-old comics.

asmAmazing Spider-Man #592

First off I have to say that this comic has THE WORST COVER EVER!

Seriously, I know that Spider-Man was in an alternate dimension for the last two issues and I never saw him eat a meal or have at least a small snack, but come on, homeboy looks anorexic on this cover. Maybe Joe Q should let go of his artistic past and stick to making upper level management decisions on variant covers.

As for this issue’s story, it was nice to see Mark Waid pull some unrealistic stuff from the “realistic” style of the Marvel Universe with J. Jonah Jameson’s Anti-Spider Squad.

Oh, and I can’t not mention the ending. That was a splash page that every one of us feared growing up, and because of that I can honestly say for once I “LOL”ed. (Yes, I am trying to make fun of “text” speak.)

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Batman Battle for the Cowl:
Arkham Asylum #1

It’s funny I keep dropping monthly books that are not consistently good for monetary reasons, yet I almost always pick up any Batman or Superman related one-shot issues which are usually not on par with even the bad monthlies. This issue was different though.

In this issue we see three inmates at the asylum that Jeremiah Arkham keeps hidden in solitary confinement. These three individuals are not part of Batman’s rogue gallery, and seem to be people who really need psychiatric care, not criminal reform. We learn about the origin of (1) Alessio, the boy who uses his artistic talent to paint his emotions on the blank canvas that is his face, (2) Narcissus, a possible alien, who like the mythological character is infatuated with his own reflection, and (3) the Hamburger Lady who is so ugly and deformed that she drives anyone who looks at her true face mad. By seeing Jeremiah Arkham interact with these three characters it is apparent that he is a healer at heart, and a good one, who has been surrounded by extreme madness that inhibits Gotham City.

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Maybe I enjoy these one-shots because I read them thinking that they are going to be “less than stellar,” but “Batman Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum” was good the first time I read it and great the second time.

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Outsiders #17

Yeah, I’m not digging this comic anymore.

After Batman R.I.P. I saw promise return to this series after the boring inclusion of Batman on the team. Even with a new team, both in the comic and creatively, sadly the interest in this book fizzled away only after three issues.

I love the characters featured in this book, and I am even looking forward to a possible rematch between Geo-Force and Deathstroke (“DC Universe Last Will and Testament,”) but I am tired of seeing Deathstroke show up in the DCU. Since Identity Crisis, it seems as if Deathstroke is DC Comic’s “Wolverine,” meaning that he shows up in almost every book.

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Supergirl #40

Before the New Krypton story I dropped Supergirl since she was trying to be too “super” and cure a little boy of cancer. Now, I’m all for a) curing deadly diseases, and b) helping sick, or even healthy, children, but reading a multiple issue story about it… blah.

Kara’s role as Supergirl became more enjoyable during the Super-book crossover event, and the supporting cast caused me to start buying the book again. After convincing me to buy the book again, Sterling Gates tells another story that drags on a little too long.

For some reason even though she killed Agent Liberty, who is a character I love, I have no vested interest in the character of Superwoman. Gates has built up a mystery as to who she is and who she could be that just is not very gripping. The main suspect as to who Superwoman is has already been debunked in Action Comics and after that there seems to be no obvious motive or specific reason…

Jamal Igle has stepped up his art since he began on the series and Sterling Gates had a good stride, but now that pace as been slowed and if it doesn’t pick back up soon I’m done with this book again.

and

THE BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK
DETECTIVE COMICS #853

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What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader: Part 2

One of the bad things about reviewing/discussing a comic five days after it’s release is that hundreds of others have already reviewed and formed their own opinions. Many of the reviews I read for this issue, which is my favorite of last week, involved some form of disappointment. Other reviewers thought that this comic was not on par with the previous issue. I disagree.

I think that this issue was a perfect ending to the story and perfect pacing. In the first issue, we see that Batman has passed and we witness lengthy stories told by Batman’s rouges and friends. These long stories prove a point, a point that continues into this book. This second part continues the stories told by supporting characters, but in shorter form. I think this works great to drive home the point of this issue and the whole storyline.

The story, at least how I take it, is that the idea of the Batman has become more powerful than the man himself. With each story of Batman’s death, a moral is passed on. These are the morals that heroes are made of and everyone who attends Batman’s wake has seemed to have learned at least one  from the Caped Crusader’s own heroic examples.

Neil Gaiman did a great job looking at what a hero really is – a person who not only does great things but also instills the idea or desire to better the world for others.

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Posted by Fred on April 27, 2009 @ 9:06 PM Under: Last Week In Comics
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3 Responses to “LWIC: Spider-Man’s Skrull… er Skull”

  1. Rottgutt Says:
    April 28th, 2009 at 11:35 am

    That’s not good news about Outsiders #17. I was beginning to lose interest as well (to the point where I’d kind of forgotten I was even following that comic which I’d say is a bad sign). I think part of the problem is the villains aren’t the least bit interesting. They’re supposed to be these shadowy manipulators behind all kinds of evil deeds, but they’re just kind of there. They just don’t seem to be a legitimate threat.

  2. Fred Says:
    April 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    I think you are 100% right. I love the heroes featured in the comic, but there is no real feeling of threat to them in the book. It’s like the heroes were bored and decided to travel the world picking on a cult of naked people.

  3. Rottgutt Says:
    April 29th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    I decided I’d give Outsiders #17 a try (so D.C. Comics owes you some advertising fees for reminding me to pick it up) and I read it last night. It’s a little more interesting given what the meteorite is, but the story feels like all the details haven’t been thought through as well as they could have. For example…

    (SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ANYONE WHO HASN’T READ THE ISSUE AND IS GOING TO)

    I mean seriously, unless they’ve changed Vandal Savage’s origin recently, how the hell would Batman know the kind of meteorite that changed a caveman into Vandal Savage in the Paleolithic Era? Sure, Batman’s the world’s greatest detective, but him being able to figure that out is a stretch — and I’m willing to suspend disbelief and accept that a meteorite can make one caveman immortal and grant another the ability to resurrect himself in the first place. It feels like that was just in there to move the plot along because the writers weren’t sure how to establish that connection otherwise.

    I’m not going to give up on the title just yet because I feel like it has a little more promise (as you’d expect a cult of nekkid, minion-flesh-devouring Vandal Savages to have). The one big thing I fear is that in order to finally make The Insiders (silly, silly name) more threatening themselves, the writers will make them way too powerful so our heroes don’t stand a chance, and then wrap the whole thing up with some deux ex machina Batman left behind for Owlman to use (he seems to have a gadget handy for every other situation) and end up overshadowing the heroes we picked the book up to read about in the first place.

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