Daytripper is a story that I cannot do justice to, and must be read. I encourage everyone I meet with an interest in comics to read it, and have purchased it as a gift for many friends and family members.
Jacked #3 Written by Erik Kripke Art by John Higgins Colors by Sotocolors Letters by Clem Robins Published by Vertigo “I was about to search for ‘sloppy rim jobs’ when I decided to search for myself instead. Which, when you think about it, is another kind of jerking off. And you know what I found out? Nothing. Not …
The Sandman Overture #6 Written by Neil Gaiman Art by J.H. Williams Colors by Dave Stewart Letters by Todd Klein Published by Vertigo After being plagued by delays and almost two years after the first issue came out, Sandman Overture comes to a close with a reset button, a twist, and just a dash of …
This week, the NonCompliant team covers indie space western sensation Copperhead, Rachel Rising, Ms. Marvel and more.
A good ending can make or break a story. It can make an ok story great, and by the same coin make a good story seem poorer if the ending is lacking in something. The ending to the current arc of Astro City’s current storyarc doesn’t really fall into any of these categories. After a simply “ok” storyline, Buskiek and co have delivered a serviceable enough ending, but not one that makes the faults of the previous issues seem any better. The story has often felt drawn out, a bit prone to wandering, and the hope going in to the finale was that these problems would feel validated or justified. Sadly, that isn’t the case, and now that we can finally view the story a whole, the view hasn’t improved. None of which is to say that it’s been bad, just perhaps not up to Busiek’s usual standards.
After spending several issues focused primarily on the origins of Quarrel, Astro City issue 20 seems to have finally gotten around to the story proper, as the action in the current storyarc kicks into high gear in time for next issue’s explosive finale. Considering that the main problem with the previous issues was that they felt too much like setup, this makes issue 20 undoubtedly the strongest of the arc thus far, finally tackling the promised subject matter of non-powered crime fighters coming to terms with the fact that their prime is behind them and thinking about what the future holds.
In last month’s Astro City, the first part in a multi-issue story about the past and future of longtime Astro character Quarrel, Busiek and co. told the story of Quarrel’s early life and the events that set her on the road to heroism. It was, and still is, a fine origin story, but the issue felt mostly like set-up for something more rewarding to come, a story more focused on Quarrel’s present, as she and Crackerjack near what passes for retirement age for crimebusters. A good origin story, even as deftly executed as we saw last month, still feels like old ground for superhero comics, and the prospective of a comic focusing on an aging hero’s choice to finally hang up the tights seems like a much more interesting and less-travelled idea for a story.
What happens when a superhero starts to get old? Not Dark Knight Returns old, but just old enough that running around in long underwear on rooftops seems even more inadvisable than usual, and thoughts of “what comes after?” start to creep in. This is the question that Astro City # 18 stets out to grapple with in a multi-issue story starring Quarrel, an Astro City regular enjoying her first time at the forefront of a story. But while Quarrel’s story has a lot of potential, the first installment feels first and foremost like setup for what’s to come later, the foundation on which the story to come can be built, and as such is only a somewhat satisfying read.
A good twist can make a good comic, just as easily as it can make a bad comic worse. Thankfully, Astro City issue 16, entitled Wish I May… has the latter kind of twist, one that makes an already strong comic even better. Of course, the problem this presents is that it makes it extremely difficult to talk about the comic and what makes it interesting without giving away the surprise, which is why this review will sadly have to come with Spoilers
Astro City is a book (and a city, for that matter) populated largely by archetypes. While there are a few wholly original heroes and villains dotted about like bacon bits on a good pizza, for the most part what we get are thinly veiled variations on characters we already know. This is because Astro City is more concerned with the world and the normal people in it than the brightly colored people who fly about it in their longjohns, who for many stories are just set dressing. Astro City number 11, once you get to the heart of it, is about Doctor Strange and Wong.
The Sandman Overture #2 Written by Neil Gaiman Art by J.H. Williams Colors by Dave Stewart Published by Vertigo Comics Five months after the previous issue came out, Dream of the Endless returns to comics yet again and begins possibly his biggest journey yet courtesy of Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams. Williams continues to show his mastery …
With Astro City issue ten, Winged Victory’s current story arc has come to a close, with Vic finally confronting Karnazon, the villain responsible for slandering her name and kidnapping former students. As an ending to the story itself, the issue isn’t anything to write an epic sonnet about. A few keystrokes and the help of a plucky supporting character reveal the location of Karnazon’s base, and the big bad is dispatched with all the gravity and dramatic weight of someone shaking a leaf from the sole of their shoe. Readers looking for epic confrontations and climactic battles will be let down, but those readers will have missed the point somewhat, as Astro City has never been concerned much with action and excitement as it has with characters and ideas, and this issue exemplifies this.
It would be very easy to call this issue a dalliance or distraction, similar to the previous one. Not entirely essential to the story, but just a bit of padding to bring it to four issues. While this claim may not be entirely false, it feels more like an organic part of Winged Victory’s storyline than the last issue, mostly by the virtue of actually putting more of its focus on events which directly affect Vic as a character, and not sidelining her so “Astro City” can have a “Batman vs. Superman” moment.
The Filth #1-13 Written by Grant Morrison Penciled by Chris Weston Inked by Gary Erskine Colored by Matt Hollingsworth Published by Vertigo Comics The world of Grant Morrison and Chris Weston’s The Filth is a perverse one, a world hardly worthy of saving. The good guys fight for the status quo of a bland existence …
5. Captain Marvel (Marvel) Captain Marvel #9-#17 Writers: Kelly Sue DeConnick (9-17), Christopher Sebela (10-12), Jen Van Meter (15-16) Pencillers: Filipe Andrade (9-12, 17), Scott Hepburn (13-14), Gerardo Sandoval (13-14), Pat Oliffe (15) Inker: Filipe Andrade (9-12, 17), Scott Hepburn (13-14), Gerardo Sandoval (13-14), Drew Geraci (15-16), Tom Nguyen (16) Colorist: Jordie Bellaire (9-13, 17), Andy …
Issue 7 of “Astro City”, which hit stands this week, stars Winged Victory, the unabashed Wonder Woman of the Astro City universe, though she looks more like Katherine Hepburn mugged Xena and Hawkwoman. The issue, the first in a four-part story, both recants WV’s origin, and sees her slandered by her foes, implicating all her battles with them are staged, and offers an overall introduction to Winged Victory’s side of the the “Astro City” universe, which till now had only been referred to rather than shown.
Astro City # 4 Written by Kurt Busiek Artwork by Brent Eric Anderson Published by DC/Vertigo Comics A really great comic can expand its universe and teach us more about the world we’re visiting while telling a story at the same time. It’s a hard balancing act to pull off, and usually readers have to …
Astro City # 1 Written by Kurt Busiek Art by Brent Eric Anderson Published by DC/Vertigo Comics For the past few years, the absence of Kurt Busiek’s “Astro City”, easily one of the best new superhero properties of the 20th century, has been sorely felt by fans. Since the shutdown of former “Astro City” publisher, …
The Wake #1 (of 10) Writer: Scott Snyder Art: Sean Murphy Cover(s): Sean Murphy & Adam Kubert Publisher: Vertigo Comics The Wake is a curious creature to review. It’s a book that revels in the mystery that surrounds it, and rightfully so. To even describe the plot would do Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy a …