Punk Rock Jesus 2 (Sean Murphy): This series is supposed to be about how the world gets along with the clone of Jesus son of Mary (or whoever was wrapped in the Shroud of Turin, if we’re going to get technical). After two issues, said clone does not have speech or fine muscle control, but because he’s a little baby, everything this kid does is a miracle.
So far, what the series is actually about is a violent man’s lifelong quest to do God’s work. The bodyguard in this story has had people around him all his life telling him why things happen, and how they know what God wants him to do. He’s reached the point in his life where he’s ready to make his own judgments on that score, and whether his choices will please God or not, he’s going to make one group of mortals or another very unhappy.
All the questions raised in the first issue persist in the second, along with a couple of follow-ups, none of which get answered. Implications aplenty, but nothing stands out as an answer. This ambiguity may be an intentional parallel to another book about a messianic figure, or it may just be the work of a comic creator addicted to cliffhangers, it’s hard to tell. This makes it difficult to review this issue, because I really can’t be sure what’s a development, what’s a dead end, and what’s a total fake-out.
Incredible Hulk 12 (Aaron/ Pacheco): The Hulk has been written many different ways. Peter David wrote his Hulk with advanced multiple personality disorder. The movies seem to favor writing Hulk as an otherwise normal guy high on rage-amphetamines. Bruce Jones likened the Hulk to a very powerful gun: terribly dangerous, but with determined practice, something one could wield effectively. Jason Aaron’s approach is a lot like Jekyll and Hyde, only he throws foresight into the mix - Banner and the Hulk hate each other, but Banner’s better at planning ahead to turn the Hulk’s behavior to his advantage.
Banner’s behavior has been erratic of late, and it got him thrown into a shadow prison, which is just what he wanted. By the time the Hulk shows up, two of the only characters that can reliably confront the Hulk and live to talk about it show up to stop things from getting too intense. They fail. For what it’s worth, Hulk wants the same thing the heroes do, but Banner’s removed that option. By the end of this issue, some context is dropped like water in front of a delirious dehydration victim, explaining what Banner’s plan has been this whole time. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
On a petty note, I understand that the Hulk should be on the cover of his own book, and Wolverine will cease to exist if he’s not on at least five covers a week, but surely the cover artist should have found some space for Aunt Petunia’s favorite blue-eyed bouncer. This is a good issue, and the cover doesn’t do it justice.
Batman 12 (Snyder/ Cloonan with Tynion IV/ Clarke): This is a one-off story, a golden opportunity for new readers to get their feet wet in current Bat comics, however Batman hardly shows up here. This isn’t necessarily bad, and in this case it provides a very fresh perspective on what Batman means to the people he protects, which just doesn’t happen a lot of the time.
Harper Row is a young municipal electrician that’s been trying to fix things since she was old enough to reach a work table. She has a brother, an apartment that’s about to get torn down, a promise from a spoiled rich guy that something better will go up in its place, and two ways of thinking: Figure out how X works, and Figure out how to make X work better. When she gets a little taste of the sweet life, she dives in head-first against all sane advice, and somehow comes out smiling.
I’m saying it - if it weren’t for the Cloonan art, I’d have passed this by. Becky Cloonan brings out the humanity in everything she draws. Scott Snyder her gave her plenty to work with, and she worked it here. It’s a good thing they got her on board, because otherwise I’d have missed a neat little story. It’s a shame she couldn’t do the whole issue, but the jump isn’t too bad.
There’s the implication that these characters may show up again. DC, I would like this to happen.
It Girl 1 (Rich/ Norton): It Girl is a spinoff of Madman, both created by Mike Allred. Allred’s art style matches his writing: characters that are just slightly misaligned with the rest of the world, and fantastical concepts with one foot dipped in realism. If you know and like Mike Allred, you know there’s no one quite like him on the market. So you should really know that Mike Allred is not involved with the production of this book - this is a Jamie Rich and Mike Norton joint.
It Girl is a bored superhero. Her friends have gone off into space for adventures set to music, perhaps to fight on behalf of a cosmic Joss Whedon, and when they left they took most of the local excitement with them, it seems. Choking under ennui, she allows herself to play guinea pig to friendly neighborhood mad scientists and test some neurological whosiwhatsits. It may be the end of the series before we get a final result. I like Jamie Rich and Mike Norton. Alone they have good bona fides. Together they’re a good team. But when playing in Mike Allred’s toy cabinet, the only person that can do everything just how we like it is Mike Allred. A bit sad, but true. (CC NOTE: It's been announced that Allred will be working on the excellent Daredevil series!)
Gambit 1 (Asmus/ Mann): Gambit perplexes me. I never really got Gambit’s popularity. The trench coat, the staff, the playing cards, he used them all well, but I didn’t think that was enough to sustain the appeal he seemed to draw from the general audience. He mixed things up with whatever team he was on, kept everyone on their toes, but to my mind never really had a stand-out moment of his own. But in reading page one of this issue, I think I understand where the demand for his own series came from.
This is for that demographic, once of myth, that’s rapidly taken a very real and solid foothold in the market: the women that read comics. Geek conversations were had, maybe petitions were signed, someone at Marvel listened, and now this. This was never about exploring new parts of the character. Your goal was never about answering burning questions of his past, or setting up what his future would be. You wanted to see him stark naked, didn’t you? Up until now, you’ve read every word dialogue from his mouth with accents of smokey bourbon, looked into those dark pools with the hint of fire where his eyes should be, and you got weak in the knees. You ached to be in his world, for him to hold your hand as he fled an improvised crime scene, where you’re the only one that might save him from incarceration. And as he lets go of your hand, there’s a look on his face that says he just let go the most interesting prize on the planet.
Well, ladies. You. Just. Got it.
Gay men with this scenario on their private list, sorry. You could get your fix somewhere else, but it won’t be here.
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe 2 (Bunn/ Talajic): I try not to do this. Back-to-back reviews of a single title strikes me as favoritism. The fact that I’m doing it twice in this installment has not escaped me. But this needs to be said, and it needs to be said now.
This series is about sanity in an insane world. Think of any logistical reason you’ve been mad at a comic, doesn’t matter if it’s Marvel or DC or Image or whatever, or any story cliche where a certain type of character wins while another loses. I think this series is going to take every one of those fallacies on and tear them apart. Flaws and errors will be hunted and punished. And they’re going to do it on a weekly basis until there’s nothing left to kill.
And that. Is. Awesome!
Spider-Men 4 (Bendis/ Pichelli): I was done with the Ultimate Universe. I really was. Bendis’s Ultimate Spider-Man drew me in and had me for a long time. He and his artists did good, then he did great, and then he didn’t do so great. I thought, in all seriousness, that he’d done everything he could do and needed to move on. And maybe he still does need to move on. But this issue merits a look.
This is the good-bye to Ultimate Peter Parker everyone needed. Torches feel passed, good-byes get said, and (hold onto your monocles, everyone) some characters actually feel closure. Maybe too much is said for your liking, maybe not enough, but this issue in particular reminds me of a day when Bendis played to his strengths and let the characters dictate what happened.
If you’ve already walked away from USM, I understand, but do give this a look. Some genuinely touching moments happen. The mini-series ends next issue, and from the way this issue ended, we’ve gotten most of the character moments we’re likely to get. From here on, all signs point to Slugfest. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m feeling drained.
I better stop here and rest, because next week is gonna demand a lot of energy from everyone at Comic Carnival. Happy reading!
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