Comixtime Double-Size Feature! “I miss ninjas.”
A few currently ongoing series that I’m reading, as well as two more #1s from DC’s New 52. I eyed up Paul Cornell’s Demon Knights, but wasn’t convinced to buy it – it looked very pretty, but plot-thin. But I know I can always come back to it later, thanks to DC’s simultaneous digital release policy. Digital still isn’t the ideal format for me, and charging the same as a physical issue for a month after release date is ridiculous, but it’s still a stop-gap between buying a comic the week of its release and waiting for the trade collection.
Batwoman #1
J.H. Williams III (Co-Writer & Artist), W. Haden Blackman (Co-Writer), Dave Stewart (Colours), Todd Klein (Letters)
Publisher: DC
Following on from the Greg Rucka/JH Williams III arc featuring Batwoman in Detective Comics, Gotham City’s newest Bat-character gets her own (long-delayed) ongoing series. Williams (aided by Blackman) takes over writing duties, and the joints show a little in this mainly set-up issue. The script doesn’t have the furious pacing of Rucka’s issues, and lots of panel time is spent recapping the “Elegy” storyline for new readers.
The art, however, is as spectacular as you would expect. Williams is one of the best artists in comics right now, and his expertly-designed double-page spreads, whether showing an action sequence or a simple conversation, are packed with incident and detail. Dave Stewart’s colours add to the atmosphere, making the protagonist stand out from her surroundings, whether in her civilian identity as Kate Kane or in fill-on superhero mode as Batwoman.
At the moment, I’m on board with this more for the art than the story. But that could all change if the plotting lives up to the themes. The child-kidnapping new villain of this arc touches on Kate’s origin in childhood trauma and adds to the creepy, fairytale atmosphere surrounding the character. It’s a gorgeous-looking book, and I want to see if the storytelling lives up to the promise of the art.
Daredevil #3
Mark Waid (Writer), Paolo Rivera (Pencils), Joe Rivera (Inks), Javier Rodriguez (Colours)
Publisher: Marvel
Daredevil #4
Mark Waid (Writer), Marcos Martin (Artist), Muntsa Vicente (Colours)
Publisher: Marvel
Mark Waid’s recent relaunch of Daredevil was clearly meant as an attempt to take the character away from the grimness and grit that has been a feature since Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s defining run. And it succeeds triumphantly. Matt Murdoch is now a wisecracking, confident hero in a light-hearted, well-told and beautiful-looking comic.
Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin alternate art duties on the title, and both have a wonderful clean-line style that perfectly marries clarity and fast-paced action. Both artists are at the top of their game here, giving Daredevil’s acrobatics a precise and graceful quality, and representing the world as experienced through his heightened senses in panels made up of vibrating lines.
Waid plots the stories excellently, sketching in threats in the background that will come to the fore in later issues, as well as juggling the courtroom shenanigans of Murdock’s day job with his superheroics. And he’s good enough to make it seem effortless. This is one of the best superhero comics out right now.
The Red Wing #3
Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Nick Pitarra (Artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colours)
Publisher: Image
Hickman is very much a Warren Ellis-influenced writer; he has much of Ellis’ penchant for Big Ideas and crazy sci-fi conceits that take precedence before characterisation. This four-issue space-opera miniseries about fighter pilots battling an implacable time-travelling enemy intrigued me at first, but three-quarters of the way in we’re no closer to getting any answers. The paper-thin characters don’t help either.
Nick Pitarra’s art is still enjoyable; he has a Frank Quitely-esque focus on detail, and draws the battle scenes with an engaging dynamism. I’m hoping Hickman’s able to draw the plot threads together at the series’ end, but at this point The Red Wing engages me on an artistic/intellectual level more than a storytelling one.
Wonder Woman #1
Brain Azzarello (Writer), Cliff Chiang (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colours)
Publisher: DC
Wonder Woman is a character who has suffered from confused and conflicting interpretations over the years. But with the DC relaunch, there’s yet another chance for a do-over. Fortunately, the writer-artist team of Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang are talented (and left-field) enough to take a few risks.
Azzarello kicks off the story by plunging us into a dense mythology-heavy story, involving Diana in protecting a young woman caught up in a war between gods. There’s a strand of narration in the back half of the issue that at first seemed bizarre and unwieldy, but made perfect sense by the end of the issue.
Chiang’s art is vibrantly cartoony, and along with Matthew Wilson’s muted colours, he portrays the moments of horror and gore in the story in creepily effective fashion. Chiang’s also gifted at drawing sexy women without coming across as skeevy, which is a refreshing change in the wake of DC’s embarrassing recent moves. Diana is rendered as truly large-than-life, whether showing regal confidence in the dialogue scenes or furiously battling some gruesome monsters.
It’s a rare setup issue that whets the appetite by withholding information, and it has enough promise to keep me coming back.
