Gotham City Sirens #14

Jaded.  I’m jaded with this title.  There, I said it.

Sirens (By Marvel) had the sense to end before the idea of an all female cast lost it’s novelty.  Sadly DC hasn’t picked up the same mojo and as such is making fodder of the absurd.  In this fine issue Poison Ivy is once again duped.  I get tired of the stupid evil genius.

Letting you in on this little secret doesn’t ruin the adventure, what there is of one.  I can appreciate that people want to see Gotham city’s finest femme fatales in some form of narrative but previous adventures seem to have demonstrated that perhaps there isn’t enough depth within each of these characters collectively to allow for any prolonged investigation.  Yes, I’m being harsh, but it’s warranted.

You’ll remember that Harley Quinn had her own adventures back in the day and those ended with a fizzle, not a bang.  Then came adventures with Poison Ivy and Harley together, one playing the straight man while the other flounced around.  Do I need to point out who did what?  Couple that with Catwoman, a character best viewed in comparison to a certain Bat and you end with 3 “Number 2″ men without anyone really to follow.  This does not make for entertainment.

The experiment was fun DC, but in general I’m finding Gotham City Sirens a chore more than a pleasure.  It hurts me to say that as I’m enraptured with Quinzel, but even I can see through my boyhood crush to realise that perhaps this isn’t what it should be.  More bats I say.  More Bats! -Bretzke.

Scarlet #2

I do enjoy a good exercise in meta-storytelling, where the audience becomes a part of the story, an engaged member of the narrative.  However, even for me, this may be going too far.

Scarlet #1 let us in on a secret, a killing that had been given a purpose.  Issue 2 delves deeper into the motives behind that killing.  Certainly we understood the visceral level of dispatching a bad guy, but the intimate minutia of how and why the deed was done is revealed here.  If you can go beyond the blatant “Look to camera” moments then this is a real cracker, apart from one minor quibble.

The art.

At times what is presented is sailing so close to the wind of photo-realism as to be distracting.  Several times throughout the page turning I stopped to look at one frame or another to see just how it was done.  This isn’t appreciation but more dissection.  Early in the book there is a particular panel that looks like a photo had the contrast ramped way up and the new colours applied across the top.

This is a distraction because suddenly Scarlet is a real person.  Certainly we are used to that with motion pictures but in the case of a comic book, we are used to the fictitious being that, without any link to the current or the now.  If she is real then that, rightly or wrongly, changes the context.

Scarlet’s life is messed up, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.  Issue 1 gave us a wild ride, #2 is giving the  same, but maybe I want to get off. -Bretzke.

Star Wars: The Old Republic #2

Dark Horse should have this under their belt by now.  We went through 50 issues of KOTOR and that was solid.  There was a simple method to this path of success: do it like Speilberg.  See, no matter his films, no matter how grand they are, he always focuses on the people, makes it matter.  That’s what KOTOR was, in an almost infinite universe of adventure, we followed around one Not-Jedi and his pals.  Like a 6 year old (Or 16 year old), the universe revolved around him.

The Old Republic tries to be all things but ends up being nothing.  While trying to cover four story arcs simultaneously by cutting back and forth the thread of plot between them is lost.  I can understand that there is a lot to fit in here, but stretch it over some more issues, that or cut down what you’re trying to say.  In a continuity as rich as this one, it’s only fair that decent face time be given to each and every character that is named, rather than the badly drawn, fleeting images we’re granted.

The Old Republic could be a great title, but due to it’s poor execution it ends up being at the bottom of my Star Wars reading pile.  Have you seen how many of those titles Dark Horse is pumping out?  That’s a tall pile to be at the base of. -Bretzke

But when I saw a Bachalo book, I had to read it straight away.  Regular readers will know that the only thing that makes me geek out more than a Campbell cover is a Bachalo penciled book.  So I picked this one up and dove right in.

As expected, the art is sumptuous with magnificent detail contrasted against the simple and effective way that Bachalo draws our well known hero’s faces.  Gambit comes off a bit gangly but otherwise everything is on song; the action is highly gratifying and when Bachalo does his own colors it looks magnificent.

As for the writing, the dialogue is wonderful, Emma Frost is amped up on bitchiness, Cyclops is his usual self and Gambit, while being a bit whiney hits all the usual marks.  My issue is with the premise itself.  Apparently the new story arc has gone all Team Edward and is about vampires.  Not just generic bloodsuckers, but now there’s the addition of Marvel continuity vamps including Blade.  I can handle that.

Dracula?  Nuh-uh.  That doesn’t fit anywhere.  Well obviously Chuck Kim will disagree with me on this one but I think it’s a cop-out to incorporate such a canonical fictitious character within this arc.  However I am unaware at this time as to the other writing staff involved.  This may have been a “made to order” kind of situation.

Storm & Gambit gives us some cheesecake mutant action vs bloodsuckers.  I guess it was only a matter of time until Marvel went all Twilight.  What next, Werewolves?  Oh right, Wolfsbane.. Sod. -Bretzke

This issue seems like a joke. A parody where Batman makes stupid mistakes and looks like David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider (further enhanced by his car looking like KITT). This is not a Batman I like, though by the final panels I found myself feeling just enough curiosity to warrant a purchase of #2. But we’ll see. -Scott

Batman Odyssey #1

X-Factor #208

You can tell when a book is well written, the dialogue just sings off the page.  All the interactions between the characters are effortless and there is an innate sense of worth and value in each flick of paper.  That’s what X-Factor delivers.

The book opens with tension and closes with the same.  The part in between is seeded with questioning and self loathing in a way that can only be channelled through the mutants of Marvel.  If you are liking the detective novel medium then this will provide all necessary joys.  If you are coming from the bent of loving mutants and their powers, you will also be satisfied with what is to be found between the covers, however do not go in expecting the delivery of powers like other stories in the X franchise deliver.  This is a subtle book, like a british comedy; more sizzle than zip.

To go into the particulars of the story would be to reveal too much.  Additionally this is likely not the best issue to step in on, there is a lot of “Previously, In X-Factor…” to wade through to grasp the story.  This leaves us in an interesting position.  If you are already reading this book, you know it’s awesome.  If you want to join in, it’s a steep learning curve and you’re likely best waiting until there’ s a bit more space to learn.  Catch 22 wishes they had it this good.  The philosophical view point, not the ska band.

X-Factor delivers! And hey, it’s a book about a mutant detective agency.  What’s not to like? -Bretzke