Jughead (1987 Series) #202

September 19, 2010

Title: The Thin-Malted Man

Writer: Alex Simmons
Pencils: Rex Lindsey
Inks: Jim Amash
Colorist: Digikore Studios
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Cover: Rex Lindsey
Editor: Victor Gorelick
Publisher: Archie Comics

Jughead Jones has accrued a reputation in Riverdale: he’s the world’s greatest amateur detective (as measured by how easy it is for him to deduce the ending of mystery movies). As word gets around, Dilton recruits his old pal to help him solve a mystery for a young woman whose father’s latest invention is stolen, making it up to Jughead to save the day.

Jughead is one of those great, versatile characters in Archie’s universe. We’ve seen him as a sci-fi hero, a lover, a sports star, and now we’ve got him acting the part of Sam Spade. Alex Simmons is having some fun with this story, conjuring up a mystery that plays straight to Jughead’s strengths. It’s also nice to see him giving Dilton something to do. So often, the character seems to get ignored unless someone else in Riverdale needs some sort of zany invention to save the day. Here, he’s got a more normal role to play, one that actually demonstrates that he’s got more dimension than just being the school brain.

The artwork here is pretty strong, especially the cover. The colors make the book look really different from the standard Archie comic. It definitely evokes the film noir style the story is parodying, but it doesn’t do so at the expense of the classic characters or the classic style. This works well as a self-contained story, even though it’s listed as part one of four. I’m looking forward to seeing the next three.

Rating: 7/10

Witchblade #129

Witchblade #126 (Image Comics/Top Cow)
By Ron Marz, Stjepan Sejic

You’ve gotta give Top Cow credit for trying to bring in new readers. They’ve had some really creative initiatives, including making this issue free at select shopes all over the country (while putting out a limited edition “beefed up” version for the regular readers at the standard price). It’s curious, though, that they would choose to do this with part two of their War of the Witchblades storyline. Fortunately, there’s a “previously” page that brings us up to speed and thrusts us right into the growing conflict between the classic Witchblade wielder, Sara Pezzini, and the more recent bearer of half the blade, Danielle Baptiste. The separation of the blade is having quite an effect on Sara, and Danielle is afraid she’s the one who’s going to have to do something about it. This is actually a pretty good issue. The backstory is intriguing, and watching what’s happening to Sara makes for some good character drama. Stjepan Sejic’s artwork is really great — there’s a bright, almost computerized quality to the art that makes me wonder just how often a fill-in artist must be needed to keep this book on schedule. It looks really good, and the story works for me. I’m not saying I’ll start buying this comic every month, but if Top Cow is out to get people to start paying attention, they’ve succeeded.
Rating: 8/10

JSA #59

March 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Time and Time and Time Again

Degaton joins the Justice Society on a time-bouncing trip through their lives.

Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Sean Philips
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver and John Kalisz
Publisher: DC Comics

After three issues of messing around with Hawkman, JSA is back with a fantastic done-in-one issue that progresses the storylines of nearly every member of the team and sets up a lot of things for the future.

Degaton, a time-traveling villain the older members of the JSA have faced in the past, returns to torment the various heroes over the course of one day, teasing them with horrific descriptions of their futures and, in some cases, their past. Everything gets covered in this issue — Flash confronts Captain Marvel over his relationship with Stargirl, Dr. Fate makes an important decision due to the return of his wife, and Hourman desperately searches for a way to pierce the timestream himself to rescue his son, who traded places with the old man after being critically injured in the “Black Reign” storyline.

The things Degaton says are chilling – while he most certainly can’t be considered an unbiased, legitimate source of information, if the things he hints at are even partially true then Geoff Johns has some incredible storylines in the works over the next few years (and there is enough packed into this issue to last a few years). The last scene is particularly heartrending, and I for one hope that it doesn’t end that particular storyline, because it’s been a favorite of mine.

One thing that isn’t at the top of the game in this issue, however, is the artwork. It’s surprising to say this about a book where all the pencils and inks are done by the same person, but it’s wildly uneven here. It looks as though Sean Philips was inked by a half-dozen other people – some scenes look like clips of a Bruce Timm animated series, others resemble Sal Buscema’s art, and some are just kind of sketchy and rough. It gives the reader the impression that the issue was done rather quickly, and doesn’t serve it well.

The art isn’t terrible, though, and a fantastic story makes this a must-read issue for any JSA fan – and if you haven’t been reading this book, this is the issue to come on board. The future, as they say, is now.

Rating: 9/10