Rapid Reviews - 8 June 2005

Nodwick #28: "Clue By Four": One of my favorite expressions, turned into the subject for a comic book! If you like fantasy gaming and you aren't reading Nodwick you are missing out on a great book. Go snag a copy and check it out.

Stardust Kid #1: I expected something... better. Oh, it's not that it's bad, per se, just that I had higher expectations for this one. It didn't really deliver. But then, this is just the first issue, and we haven't gotten into the really fantastical stuff, so it's hard to judge. We'll give it a few more issues, but for the moment I'm not overwhelmed.

Futurama #20: "Bender Breaks Out": Bender bends the comic book and tears a hole in the space-time continuum. There isn't much else to say about this one.

Supernatural Law #1: I see why this book is popular among a certain crowd. This is the law firm in Angel only working for the good guys (and I'm certain it predates the show as well). I think getting the trades would be a good idea, and there's a collection of the first few issues "Tales of Supernatural Law" coming out soon. A fun horror book.

Green Arrow #51: "Anarky in the USA": I don't remember the whole Anarky story, although I remember the character. This guest appearance made for a very nice one-shot however. The art isn't as bad as I would expect from Eric Battle, either. He's improved considerably since his run on Aquaman. To be honest, this is pretty good. I never would have expected it.

JLA #115: "Crisis of Conscience" Part One: More fallout from Identity Crisis. I guess I don't really have all that much to say about this story. I'm not super interested in the Superheroes at the moment, but this is a somewhat compelling story compared to some of the more recent crossover efforts. At least it didn't just happen and then magically not matter anymore. I'm mildly curious about how this will turn out, but not so much so that I'm dying for the next issue.

Rann/Thanagar War #2: "Dark Resurrection": So there's a war on Rann, and Green Lantern is wandering around stopping another war, and other folks are planning on double-crossing the Thanagarians, and the Earth-based Hawks are fighting for Rann, and... my head hurts. I want a simple story. Give me Owly any day.

Batman Strikes! #10: "Illumination": Definitely dropping this book soon. The storytelling in this one was a bit weak. Flashbacks are usually better accomplished when there is some way for the reader to figure out what is happening now and what is a flashback. This one has the order so messed up I'm still not positive what happened when.

Age of Bronze #20: "Betrayal 1": Oops. Achilles makes a mistake, but that was only to be expected considering how the guy runs into battle like a kid after an ice cream truck. As usual, Shanower gives us an amazing piece of the story in amazing detail. The chaos of battle is shown, and the reason for the mistake is clear. This is one beautiful book.

Action Philosophers All Sex Special: This book is great. It covers Thomas Jefferson, in all his contradictory glory along with Ayn Rand and Saint Augustine. The stories I'm reading in here are not familiar to me, so I feel like I'm getting good and educated as well as entertained. Definitely a recommended book. I need to seek out the other issues, too.