Gotham Central #16

February 9, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Life is Full of Disappointments

As the GCPD buries their dead, the night shift gets a new boss.

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Greg Scott
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover Art: Michael Lark
Publisher: DC Comics

In the aftermath of the Joker’s maniacal killing spree, Gotham City’s finest bury a few fallen cops. Crime doesn’t stop to mourn, though, and before they know it there’s a new man calling the shots for the night shift and a new killer to track down.

This issue is a nice spotlight on a few of the lesser-known characters in this series – the “day shift” characters have been appearing in other comics for years, but the “night shift” is still relatively new. Following Sgt. Davies and Det. Crowe on the trail of a killer who left a young woman’s body in a dumpster with no obvious cause of death shows off the writer’s knowledge of police procedure, as well as showcasing a deep level of mutual respect they mask with goofy debates. Davies bristles when he sees a promotion he thought he was up for go to a man with better connections, and the writer ties everything together with what at first appears to be a standard one-off mystery that takes a great twist at the end.

Although regular artist Michael Lark owns this series, any time he needs to take a break they should call in Greg Scott to pinch-hit. Together with colorist Lee Loughridge, he creates a fantastic atmosphere, dark and moody. The book doesn’t miss a step with the change in the art team.

The “day shift” characters, written when Greg Rucka is on this title, are all good, but I already feel like I know most of them pretty well. I find myself looking more and more forward to Brubaker’s tales of the night shift which gives us something a little different. But no matter who’s writing any given issue, Gotham Central is consistently one of the best titles on the racks that just enough people aren’t reading.

Rating: 9/10

Star Wars: Legacy #20

March 7, 2008

Star Wars: Legacy #20 (Dark Horse Comics)
By John Ostrander, Omar Francia & Douglas Wheatley

The tale of Cade Skywalker is set aside temporarily in this new story arc, “Indomitable,” which features the final desperate remnant of the Galactic Alliance continuing to flee the Sith-controlled Empire. As they lick their wounds at the space station-ring of the planet Mon Calamari, Darth Azard plots his next move. Considering the high energy of the last story arc, this one feels a little slow by comparison. The stuff we have here isn’t bad, but the political stuff does drag a little bit, and most of the action is implied or done away with in a quick flashback. It reminds me a bit of the Prequel movies in that respect — people don’t come to Star Wars looking for a political story. We want thrilling heroics. I can handle a little talking heads, but if we don’t get back to Cade and company soon, this book may get frustrating.
Rating: 7/10

Thor (2007 Series) #2

July 31, 2007

Quick Rating: Good (and getting better)
Rating: T+

With Thor back on Earth, can Asgard be far behind?

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils: Olivier Coipel
Inks: Mark Morales
Colors: Laura Martin
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Warren Simons
Cover Art: Gabrielle Dell’otto (Cover A); Olivier Coipel (Cover B)
Publisher: Marvel Comics

After a first issue I felt took itself a bit too seriously (to quote Homer Simpson, “Less artsy, more fartsy”), this issue is a definite improvement. Back on Earth, Donald Blake begins setting up life for himself in a small town in Oklahoma. For his alter-ego, the Mighty Thor, this means it’s time for the big question – do they bring back Asgard? Do they seek out the lost Aesir gods?

The first issue was mostly concerned with dancing around the question (with a foregone conclusion) of whether or not Thor would come back to life. Now that he has, the plot really starts to get underway. There’s a clever little scene here where Thor has to face the realities of land development, and there’s a definite direction indicated for this title to go in, something we didn’t have before. My only concern is that the mission laid out before Thor here feels extremely similar to Neil Gaiman’s Eternals series. Hopefully, Straczynski will be able to pull out the proverbial rabbit in the execution.

Olivier Coipel’s artwork is still wonderful. It’s a great task, to go from a mundane, dusty small town to the grandeur of a place like Asgard, but he manages to pull it off perfectly in a matter of panels.

I was on the fence last issue. I’m still there, but I’m starting to lean towards approval.

Rating: 7/10