Rapid Reviews - 13 October 2004 - Part II

Captain America #32: Uh. Ok. There's some pretty serious moral issues being glanced at here, but not really examined deeply. I wonder if this will be touched upon again? Other than that, it's a slugfest. Not much here to keep a reader reading.

Captain America and the Falcon #8: So I picked up the first trade for my friend, then couldn't find back issues for the next story arc. I decided to pick up this issue only because it says "part 1 of 5" on the cover. The "previously" page in this one doesn't help much, but for the most part this seems to pick up where the trade left off. It's not nearly as difficult to understand as I expected it to be. In addition, the artwork is so much better in this issue than in the trade, there's almost no comparison. While I didn't understand everything, there's a number of plot threads being teased out, and enough movement to make this go from a "not recommended" on the trade to a "mildly recommended".

Fallen Angel #16: Oh wow. I suppose I could write more, but not without feeling like I was giving something away. So: Oh wow. Definitely a keeper.

JSA #66: In this issue, Hourman DIES! Isn't this the same problem we've been reading about for several issues now? Oh yeah, decompression blues. And we're back to having the focus flitter around several different characters, with no resolution on most of the plotlines. Argh. It's readable, but it's not my favorite book by a longshot.

Superman: True Brit: I would have enjoyed this book more without the knowledge that the artist is a jerk. Seriously, this was one of the few times where my enjoyment of the book was impacted by the words of one of the creators on an almost completely unrelated topic. Well, if Byrne can't keep his trap shut, I'll have to avoid his stuff from here on out. As it is, this wasn't that bad a book. It was a farce start to finish, in the underhanded British way. I've always enjoyed Kim "Howard" Johnson's contributions to Python lore, and his work on this book just shows more of that sort of humor coming through nicely. I couldn't tell what Cleese contibuted, if anything, which is probably a good sign. But for the recent idiocy of Byrne, this was a strong book.

Powers v2 #5: Wow. I wasn't expecting THAT. I was expecting any number of things, but that was not one of them. The start of the book, with the interrogation scenes, was fairly plain and normal. The brutality of the middle was hard to read... but it was the ending that brought this one up to par. And no, I didn't read the letter page. Whenever I start, I find myself feeling the urge to wash my hands.

Still to review: Astro City: A Visitor's Guide. And from this week: Amelia Rules, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror, Comic Book Digest, Conan, H-E-R-O, Identity Crisis, Java!, JLA, JSA: Strange Adventures, Neo Dawn, Noble Causes, Plastic Man, Teen Titans, Batman Strikes!, and Fantastic Four.