X-Men (1991 Series) #157

May 16, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Black Holes (Day of the Atom Part One)

Havok tries to deal with running one of the X-Men teams.

Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Salvador Larroca
Inks: Danny Miki
Colors: Udon
Letters: Rus Wooton
Editor: Mike Marts
Cover Art: Salvador Larroca
Publisher: Marvel Comics

It has been suggested by many that this “Reload” title is going to be little more than a continuation of Chuck Austen’s Uncanny X-Men run. If nothing else, it’s a continuation of those elements that got me to stop reading Uncanny X-Men back during the wedding storyline. The story starts with an ill-defined disaster in a Chinese village, then shifts to The Xavier Institute where Havok starts a stupid argument with Nurse Annie by asking about the ex, something that most guys have done at some point or another but that few do in such an idiotic manner. He then proceeds to get into another argument with Iceman who, as during the Uncanny run, is written as a spiteful, petulant child rather than the seasoned, professional superhero he had evolved into right up until the point that Austen started writing X-Men comics.

The other highlights of this issue include a centerpiece spread that consists of an entire room full of X-Men crowding into Cyclops’s office and whining about their team assignments, which gives you great faith in their ability to save the world the next time the Vanisher crops up. Apparently Cyclops, the strong, logical leader, has loaded each team with people who hate each other, don’t want to be on the teams and feel over extended. Plus he put his brother, who is behaving like a spiteful jerk and, were it not for the fact that he used to lead X-Factor, would seem to possess no leadership qualities whatsoever, in charge of the team with Iceman, who he hates.

It is possible to tell a story about superheroes where everyone isn’t at each other’s throats. Even in the most soap operatic days of the team, characters were never at each other’s throats the way they are in this book. This isn’t a superhero comic, this isn’t even a soap opera, this is a bad high school melodrama, the sort of thing most of us manage to evolve past in our freshman year in college.

The book also ends with a last-page cliffhanger that has a lot of people understandably up in arms, and I don’t blame them, because it seems to negate one of the best things in Grant Morrison’s run before the ink is even dry on the trade paperback. I’m going to reserve judgment on that part, though, because like the last-page revelation in this week’s Excalibur, you can’t be totally sure that what seems to have happened has actually happened. We’ll probably get a definite answer next issue, at which point I’ll be prepared to be up in arms as well.

Salvador Larroca does a pretty good job on the book’s artistic side. He and Udon do a great-looking Iceman, even if the character is written horribly, and the coloring job really lifts the issue up. I still think Havok’s costume is ugly as sin, but I don’t know who designed it, so I’m not going to lay blame there.

Overall, this book seems to carry on everything that was in the Uncanny X-Men run over the past couple of years. If you’ve enjoyed it, go ahead and get this, because it’s more of the same. If you didn’t like it, I recommend you save your pennies, cross your fingers and hope for Astonishing X-Men to cleanse the palette.

Rating: 4/10

TransFormers: Generation One (2004 Series) #0

January 4, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair

The TransFormers universe moves forward – and into space.

Writer: Brad Mick
Pencils: Pat Lee, Don Figueroa & Joe Ng
Inks: Elaine To, Rob Armstrong & Eric Sander
Colors: Espen Grundet Jean & Rob Ruffolo
Flats: Kenny Li & Ferd Poblete
Letters: Ben Lee
Cover Art: Pat Lee & Eric Sander
Publisher: Dreamwave

This “Zero Issue” special, oddly enough, would be a poor place for a new reader to come on-board with this series. The previous two miniseries in this line first reintroduced the TransFormers on Earth, then moved them out to their homeworld of Cybertron. In this book, some time has passed since TransFormers Generation One Vol. 2 ended, and we’re shown how the universe has evolved and what new threats are coming in from the depths of space.

This continuity has always been a mishmash of other TransFormers properties – the Marvel comic and the classic cartoon in particular. This issue reintroduces lots of elements from the movie era of the cartoon, such as the Quintessons, Wreck-Gar and the planet-eating menace Unicron. We only get glimpses of what’s going on back on Earth or what’s up with the Autobots – this issue is majorly Decepticon-heavy.

The artwork on this issue is as good as ever, and even with three pencilers and three inkers, there’s no real jarring transition between art styles – everything look good, which isn’t easy to do in a book like this where not only are your stars giant robots, but almost everything else is metal as well. The center spread is particularly good – a giant shot of Unicron while, in the background, we get a visual recap of the last twelve issues. (I still love Ultra Magnus’s new look.)

As I said, this is not a book for someone to start reading this TransFormers franchise – but if you’ve read the first two miniseries and plan to get the ongoing series with issue #1, then this is an essential piece. Really, the biggest problem with this book is that it is very exposition-heavy. We get all sorts of pieces of story that aren’t fitting together yet, but that we feel certain will link somehow. There’s a major Decepticon power struggle in the works, and it’s going to be very interesting to see how the chips ultimately fall.

Rating: 6/10

Gotham Central #13

November 9, 2003

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Soft Targets Part Two

Gotham City continues life under a blanket of terror as the Joker continues a sniper-style killing spree..

Writers: Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka
Pencils: Michael Lark
Inks: Stefano Gaudiano
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Letters: Clem Robbins
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover Art: Michael Lark and Matt Hollingsworth
Publisher: DC Comics

Okay, you there – are you not reading this title yet? For Heaven’s sake, why? This title has been brilliant since day one and the current storyline is the best yet. Someone is firing sniper’s bullets into high-level people all over Gotham City, and all evidence points to the Joker as the culprit. This book is an incredible study of a police force in disarray, struggling at the same time to protect its city, to maintain its reputation, to correct its mistakes and to deal with its past. Each cop on the force has a distinct personality – none of them are just your stereotypical “cop” character. This is a mystery mixed with a crime drama mixed with just a dash of superhero action, and it’s a book that everyone who likes good comic books should be reading. Brubaker and Rucka have both done very good arcs in this series, but when they come together to tell one story, the stakes are raised and so is the quality.

Michael Lark is the only man who could be drawing this book. He has a gritty style that makes reading this book feel like you’re watching an episode of NYPD Blue or CSI, only with better characterization and the occasional spandex-clad perp. The muted color palette Loughridge employs only serves to heighten the tight, suspenseful mood. The characters in this book both look and read like real people, real frightened people, who are in the middle of a terrible situation that threatens to fall apart around them at any moment.

This is one of the best comics on the market these days, and is one of the books that really could serve to be a gateway into reading comics if it fell into the right hands. If you have friends who love those cop shows or cop movies but who have never read a comic book, get together any Gotham Central arc and share it with them.

And buy a copy for yourself too. It’s worth it.

Rating: 9/10