Weekly Comics list 1404.02

Weekly Comics list 1404.02

TAXES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taxes made me ill.

Short post this week because I am behind on reporting the comic list. I started the taxes last week and then fell very ill, which is unusual for me. I took to the couch, knocked out, and lapsed in and out of a doze, losing consciousness frequently, though I did manage to read many comic books.

Though I recuperated for four days, I only managed to obtain the new comics from last week on Friday and did not begin reading any until some time Saturday, so I did not get through them all.

I recovered by Monday, but I have been caught up in taxes and teaching. I also did some cooking but since that does not start with "T," I could not make a triptych with the other two Ts.

I did manage to watch a lot of Baseball, but that's a subject for another time. Here's some thoughts on this week's comics in brief, which constitute "reviews" of a sort and so the new category.

Apparently, I cannot complete my weekly comics entry until a week later. As I complete this entry, these comics are a week old and a new batch came out yesterday (as of this writing, which was 1404.09).

I previously wrote about the new Moonknight comic by Warren Ellis, Declan Shelvey, and Jordie Bellaire over on 365 T-shirts Blog, in this entry here: Death Shi Comic T-shirt #353. I will reprint some of my comic books reviews from that post here because I also reviewed Green Arrow, and Starlight, both of which came out this week, and I like reruns.

Banner this week is devoted to The Ultimate Spider-Man, which almost always takes the top spot the week it comes out. I love this comic and have loved it for many years through it's various incarnations. This week's issue is a capstone for the death of Peter Parker story line, which I thought was a terrible idea for the comic but has turned out to be an excellent expansion of the Spider-Man mythology.

For more on my Spider-Man adoration (and I am not even as passionate as a certain friend of mine at Fanfare), check this out T-shirt #105 - Ultimate Spider-Man.

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Moon Knight #001

If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you already know that I am a very fond fan of writer Warren Ellis, so much so that I have devoted a category just to post concerning him in my category list. For those who are not regular readers, there, I just told you.

So it should be no surprise that I eagerly anticipated the new Moon Knight comic by Ellis, Declan Shalvey, and Jordie Bellaire.

In the exclusive CBR interview (see link below), Ellis promises a Planetary-esque experience with Moon Knight, which will set all Ellis fans' hearts aflutter as there is a great deal of general agreement that Planetary is if not his best work, surely top five. It's also one of the best comics of its kind ever produced.

Ellis discussed in the interview (again, link below) that his "Planetary process" is to scrape back barnacles to "what excited people about it [the comic, the character] in the first place." This process of scraping has me intrigued and has set my creative juices a-flowing on my own projects.

The Moon Knight comic is a great new look at the character (though I am hoping that the cape and special helicopter eventually make appearances) supplied by Ellis' inventive twist. The ending, which I will NOT spoil here after all, makes a great reversal of an assumption about the character that will produce some very intriguing stories going forward. This comic could easily have taken my top spot for the week, though it's rivaled by other GREAT comics that came out on March FIFTH.

BTW, Quirky thing, because they can be quirky, the Moon Knight comic letters page -- "Going Postal" -- is only accepting hand written letters mailed in the postal mail and marked "Okay to Print." I find this request amusing and wonder how many they will receive. Will they in turn be postal mailed to Ellis or scanned into a Google account or sent via email?

I will share some pages from the comic after the links.

MOON KNIGHT LINKS

WARREN ELLIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ABOUT THE NEW MOON KNIGHT

Charles Skaggs always produces good reviews.

Damn Good Coffee and Hot! - Charles Skaggs' Moon Knight Review





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Starlight #1

Though derivative of the John Carter set up that's been re-used many times in stories and comics (such as the wonderful Adam Strange), Mark Millar takes a new look at the hero visits another world and returns to earth story motif, but here, the aging hero is losing what makes his life on earth worthwhile and no one on earth believes his stories of others planets, aliens, and rocket ships.

Millar is a good writer, though I have not read everything he does. I find him a bit indulgent sometimes (though aren't we all) but I generally have enjoyed his work. His in top form here with a strong story and dynamite first issue. Art by Goran Parlov is exceptional. The art is very reminiscent of Moebius with a bit of Alex Toth thrown in, which I love.

MOEBIUS. If you don't know, GOOGLE.


Though the art I will share is out of order, I like the way it works out of order. Enjoy.

REVIEW OF STARLIGHT - RHYMES WITH GEEK

REVIEW OF STARLIGHT - Nothing But Comics

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Green Arrow #29

Okay, here I go again. Green Arrow is one of the best comics being currently published. It may be the best DC Comic, at least of those I read (and I do not read Swamp Thing though I plan to catch up via trade collections).

Lemire and Sorrentino have transformed this comic completely from its former incarnation, have worked in older popular Green Arrow story lines (Shado), and are developing a rich, complex new mythology.

This issue marks part four of an ongoing story but it ends with such a devastating cliff hanger that I will not even reveal it here.

Suffice to say that Green Arrow will keep hitting the top of my stack. I would have ranked it higher this week if not for the debut of Starlight, which I was eager to read, and of course the others, which were either debuts, easy reads, or, as with Velvet, have the slight edge on the life and times of Oliver Queen.

I have not yet watched the TV show Arrow, and I do plan to at some point, but I am happy that this comic, at least I assume, is not transformed to match that show outside of the addition of the hood and a leaner, greener (as in younger) Ollie Queen.

REVIEW OF GREEN ARROW - RHYMES WITH GEEK
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WEEKLY COMICS LIST

I am not doing elaborate reviews on this page like those I reprinted from 365 T-shirts Blog. But here are some "mini-reviews" on this week's batch.

Moon Knight #002 was even better than issue #001. But now, I see what Ellis is doing. Rather than a multiple story arc, each issue will be somewhat self-contained, though he established some story elements in the first issue, which he did not explore in the second issue.

After the white suit, vest, and tie garbed Moon Knight of the first issue, the character returns here to the traditional comic book out fit with the enormous white cape. Like in the first issue, Moon Knight must track down a crazy killer terrorizing New York City. Here, it's a mercenary (which is ironic because Moon Knight's Marc Spector was a mercenary) cut loose by "The Company" that hired and used him when it was more profitable to change allegiances.

The cape and a personal helicopter type thing were handled beautifully, but one of the best moments is featured in the page following and Moon Knight's creepy response to why the adversary cannot hit him: "I am not real." Other pages from the comic follow in a final cover/art gallery at the end of the post today.


I am underwhelmed by Starlight. I shared the review of issue #1 above. With issue #2, I like the art, which is reminiscent of Moebius, and I like the derivative story that's taking another look at the John Carter/Flash Gordon saga and updating the concept. But there's something missing that's not jiving for me.

Because of how much I have loved Ultimate Spider-Man, I had to put this issue in first place, and it was a very good issue, but it was not a mind-blowing one. Still the art is great, and I am sharing some it, with more comments, below.

If not for Ultimate Spider-Man, Green Arrow would have taken the top spot this week. My review of the previous issue appears above. This issue is more of the same excellence, with a clever way out of the cliff hanger in which Green Arrow had an arrow in his head. My only criticism is that Oliver is being stubborn and bull-headed, unreasonably so,  even for a character who is known for being stubborn and bull-headed. But it's still arguably the best of the DC comics, at least of those I am reading.

I am excited to have a second Aquaman book, and as a big fan of the Geoff Johns stuff that introduced the Others, giving Aquaman a team much cooler than Justice League-Detroit, I love this. But sadly, given the competition this week, and the lack of Pelletier art, it falls to fifth.

She-Hulk is the new Hawkeye; it's a great, fun, and smart book.

I admit to a weakness for Red Sonja, hence the art in the following.

COMICS FOR 1404.02

Ultimate Spider-Man #200
Green Arrow #30
Black Widow#005
Moon Knight #002
Aquaman and the Others #1
Starlight #2
She-Hulk #003
Captain America #019
New Warriors #003
The Punisher #004
Red Sonja #8

--------------------------- bookmark as of 1404.09

inserted comics from back log here ----------------------------

Inhuman #001

Superman: Action Comics #30
God is Dead #10
Black Science #5

BACK LOG

Earth 2 #22
Green Lantern #30
Batman: Detective Comics #30
Sidekick #6
Trillium #8 of 8
Fairest #25

COVER AND ART GALLERY

Does the cover for Aquman and the Others inspire you? I like these heroes and look forward to learning more about them. One of the pages from the comic follows. Lan Medina is no Paul Pelletier, but the art is still very good nonetheless.

GREEN ARROW stuff follows. This story with the totems and the clans is very compelling. But the art really makes it work. There's also a flavor of Lost, the TV show as well.

Already wrote about the MOONKNIGHT comic in the previous remarks. Here's some more beautiful art.

Like I said, weakness for RED SONJA.

SHE-HULK represents DOCTOR DOOM's son. Awesome.

SEVERAL images from the Ultimate Spider-Man Comic. BTW, Peter Parker is dead in that universe in case you were wondering.

Each character imagined how Peter's life would turn out. Here's the Gwen Stacy and Kitty Pryde pages. In this universe, Kitty and Peter dated. Peter and Gwen did not.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1404.10 - 19:34