Rapid Reviews - 23 February 2005 - Part I

Conan #13: "The Devil Within": After the last issue, I hunted down a collection of Conan from the library (Conan the Librarian!) and started reading the original tales. At the ECCC I told this to Kurt, who quickly said, "Make sure you get the Del Rey version, 'The Coming of Conan', since it has all the original words." Luckily, this is the one I picked out of the library's selection of titles, so I'm not just reading Conan, I'm reading the Kurt Busiek approved Conan. Anyway, getting back to this issue, it's another solid tale which illustrates Conan's nature as well as what molds him into the King he later becomes. The artwork grows and grows on me, I just want to see more of it. I wish I could have gotten an Aquaman sketch from Cary Nord. Ahem... if you aren't reading this series, you are missing out on a great book. Yes, it's heroic fantasy, but it's lovely classic heroic fantasy and well worth a browse. Give it a shot. Maybe buy the first collection.

Flash #219: "Truth or Dare Part 1": Wonder Woman, Cheetah, Reverse Flash, Giganta... I felt like I was watching some particularly good version of Super Friends at times. A solid issue, even if I really don't know why WW is blind. Zoom is extremely disturbing in his sequences, particularly when he mentions having been a policeman once.

Strange #4: Well, there's danger from an unexpected source, although much become clear throughout the book. The one who seems to be helpful really isn't. I'm getting sucked deeper and deeper into this book, and I'm looking forward to the next issue.