Short Pants 5/22/07
What is a Short Pants Review? While we’d love to give full reviews to everything, there just isn’t enough time in the day. So we’ve come up with Short Pants as a way of providing capsule reviews from our varied review writers, giving quick hits and short capsule thoughts about various comics we’ve read recently.
This time out, Nick covers B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls #3 of 6, Countdown #50, Nova #2, and The Ultimates 2 #13.
Nick Budd Read and Thought:
The Ultimates 2 #13
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Bryan Hitch
Company: Marvel Comics
There is a certain level of enjoyment that comes with a book like Marvel’s superhero smash-up The Ultimates. It’s campy to the Nth degree, in competition only with the equally camp-infested and action oriented movies of Michael Bay. This is all well and good in theory. What can hurt a book though, and what did, are the infinitely long lag times that can occur in between issues. For the Ultimates, that period was somewhere in the vicinity of six or seven months for this last issue to finally appear. Honestly, expecting a story from that long ago to still resonate as well as it could have in a person’s mind might be asking a bit too much. Alas, that’s how the cookie crumbles and what we’re left with is an issue that while fairly entertaining with its barrage of constant action scenes, exquisitely drawn aby Bryan Hitch, and with story that features the great concept of the would-be Avengers and company knocking heads with a relative gulag of Norse monsters, when you put it all together it becomes a fairly forgettable experience. Ultimates fans should rejoice to some extent but don’t go in expecting too much from it because really, there’s not much there.
Countdown #50
Writers: Paul Dini, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
Artist: J. Calafiore
Company: DC Comics
The idea of a weekly comic book is simply put, ballsy. 52, in the end at least, was an overall success but the idea of doing another one so quickly seems to have some people up in arms. It’s understandable except that the first issue of Countdown hinted at some rather inventive story avenues for the reader to ramble down and had a tremendous hook for people to be interested by. This second issue marches to the same drum as it continues to be interesting, only this time, amongst the great ensemble cast that’s being used and the competent plot, there were a few snafus. The Karate Kid vs. Batman fight seemed repetitive, as it just appeared in the recent JLA/JSA “Lightning Saga” story line, and J. Calafiore’s art has a tendency to look a little clunky at times, especially with the splash page with Superman (Where are his eyes?!). Beyond that though, the idea of building up Jimmy Olsen’s role in the DCU is something that should be done and the sections concerning the Flash’s Rouges is all kinds of fun. It’s too soon to determine if the entirety of Countdown will work, but so far so good. Let’s just hope that the same level of craftmanship can be brought week after week.
B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls #3
Writers: Mike Mignola & John Arcudi
Artist: Guy Davis
Company: Dark Horse Comics
It’s astounding that every single time that an issue of B.P.R.D. is released, you in fact get a tome that’s chalk full of eerie greatness. Mignola and Arcudi continue to come up with stories that not only boggle the mind but act as addictive, surrealistic jaunts into the realm of the supernatural that should be savored, as is the case with this third installment of the “Garden of Souls” mini. Here we are pushed even deeper into the mysteries that surround Abe Sapien and Captain Daimio’s bizarre histories, not to mention the odd appearances of a young girl who cats seem to congregate around and a trio of what look to be steam punk robots who are all extremely interested in Abe. All of this stuff, by the way, is masterfully drawn by one of the best artists working in comics these days, Guy Davis. His story telling abilities are top-notch and both the character and the background/setting work is at such a high level of detail that it simply boggles the mind. Case in point being a scene where Abe is walking through a home that is decked out in a sea-life motif. Not only is it a cool scene in general but Davis’ work puts it into another level, as the little details he puts into every nook and cranny of each panel make the difference. All in all, a brilliant chapter to an already brilliant title.
Nova #2
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Sean Chen
Company: Marvel Comics
Annihilation meets Civil War head on as Richard Rider takes a breather from the hectic life of being the only space cop of an entire galaxy for a little down-time at his parent’s place back on Earth. Too bad Tony Stark and his rag tag band of S.H.I.E.L.D. cronies have something to say about that, which puts a crimp in all of those relaxation plans. With that little tid-bit of plot said, Nova also offers up a bit of super hero action (just not against who you’d think), some truly inspired dialogue, and the ever so comedic banter between Nova and the Worldmind, which is on par with the escapades of Deathlok and his cybernetic computer talking to one another in the Dwayne McDuffie helmed Deathlok mini awhile back. There’s also the continued rock-out that is Sean Chen’s artwork and an appearance by a cute and cuddly villain/hero team that promises for an entertaining next issue. This is an issue worth the price of admission and then some.
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I felt a bit sad that the last Ultimates book was so late, but all it took was a re-read through the original run and the second run leading up to it to get back in the mood. I don’t think there is a good excuse for the lateness but it doesn’t change the fact that, to me, this was a fun exercise in over-the-top superhero action. Sure, it read a bit like Millar’s run on The Authority but that is okay because I liked that run, too. I also liked how it ended, by attempting to set up “The Avengers” as they should be (private, not pubicly owned).
Is this the last Ultimate’s book? I don’t know why, but the way it ended (with dedications, no less) made me wonder if they were finished. I mean, they certainly aren’t in the current line of Ultimate Marvel storylines because how can they be with so random of release dates. Still, I know they appear in other books in one form or another so I am curious how they do it in the future. I would read another 13 part series, though I would be happy if they waited to realease them until the art was completed on all issues.
Nova #2. Can’t agree more. This was a fun book that poked holes in all the right places and kept up on developing a cool character for the MU. I am excited to see where the next issue takes it (per the teaser at end of this issue).
22 May 2007 at 11:27 am
Quoteno, this isn’t the end of an ultimates book. loeb is writing i think two new ultimates series, but book three will have a different artist from book four. and hitch has said he and millar have talked about doing another run
22 May 2007 at 11:52 am
QuoteSo here’s my question about Countdown, and maybe somebody here could answer it. With all the Flash’s rogues bickering throughout the whole issue I was wondering why Heatwave was the one that was accusing Trickster and Pied Piper of betrayal…..wasn’t Heatwave working with them against the Rogues when James Jesse was heading up that government department and they were all under the Top’s mind controlly tricks?
Maybe I missed something or I’m wrong, or maybe that’s in the story for a reason and I’ll find out later but it really bothered me when I read it because it made it seem like Palmiotti and Gray hadn’t bothered to read the background (very recent background I might add, not really obscure continuity stuff) about the characters they’re handling.
22 May 2007 at 2:01 pm
QuoteLoeb & Joe Madureira on Volume 3 and Loeb & Ed McGuinness on Voulme 4 are the creative teams. It looks like Marvel have learned their lesson and giving both artists plenty of lead time on both books.
To be honest, I think a lot of blame when it comes to lateness in books lies with the editors and higher ups at the various companies. One, for tolerating excessive lateness from a number of artists and two, not being realistic when it comes to various creator’s speed. I fully understand that they may want a “superstar” team for their books but if that’s the case then allow for the proper lead time for these creators to get some issues done and rotate the artists accordingly when needed. Captain America & Daredevil are two books that a good example of this, when the art team needs a breather a guest artist does an issue that fills in some background detail of the previous/forthcoming arc allowing for the books to come out on time. I know Captain America has had delays lately but that’s not the creative teams fault. If anything good can come out of the recent Civil War delays fiasco is that hopefully a lot of art teams can get ahead on various books and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
The comics buying public has to shoulder some of the blame too for putting up with late comics but I think the tide is definitely turning on that front
22 May 2007 at 2:11 pm
QuoteI debated whether to give Countdown a try. Even though I thought 52 was decent overall, buying a weekly series gets to be a drag after awhile. So far Countdown has been too much promise and not enough bang IMO. I know the series is only 2 issues in, but I think if DC is going to keep readers hooked on the weekly gravy train they really need a stronger story hook than what’s been presented so far.
As pointed out in the review, the Karate Kid sequence was pretty much a retread of a scene that happened in another comic. It seemed like the whole issue was just treading water story wise. A series like this should be filled with “WTF?!†moments, not merely things that look like they may get interesting in a month or two.
22 May 2007 at 7:38 pm
QuoteThe difference being, we actually saw the fight this time
I don’t think we saw any of the punches, kicks, etc. supposedly thrown on and off-screen in JL of A #8.
Also, Batman and Black Lightning finally called each other by their codenames!
23 May 2007 at 2:20 am
QuoteI don’t know about the “comic-buying public”, but I won’t buy another book Hitch illustrates in single issues. Ever. And I won’t buy a trade of a new Hitch and Millar Ultimates series. The 13th issue of Ultimates 2 just left me feeling angry. Maybe, a couple of years from now, I’ll pull out the issues and read them again and really enjoy them. But, for now, I feel like I was treated poorly as a customer and that I reinforced the behavior by buying the last issue. So, I’m not going to make that mistake again.
23 May 2007 at 7:52 am
QuoteIf I pick up Ultimates Vol. 3 it will be in trades. By the time issue 13 came out I really could not have cared less. A six month delay between issues just killed my interest in the story. In fact the whole Ultimate Universe is fading from my pull list. The only title to survive is Ultimate Spider-Man and I nearly dropped that one after the Clone fiasco.
I am enjoying “Countdown” and love the weekly release schedule. It is refresshing not having to wait through any delays for my fix.
23 May 2007 at 8:58 am
QuoteI think Loeb is certainly a more talented writer than shock-writer Millar, but for some reason, I just don’t think Loeb’s run will be very good. That, and despite the lateness, Hitch was the perfect artist for the book - I sense a great change in tone for the coming volumes. Anyway, I hope the HC will come out soon - I haven’t read most of volume 2, but from what I hear, it will be a nice read in HC, just like volume 1.
23 May 2007 at 9:13 am
QuoteI agree that it is going to change. In fact, I agree that the whole thing may be over. (This might be due to my bitterness, so take this with a grain of salt.) When the Ultimate universe came out, I really liked the opportunity to read Marvel titles even though I didn’t have much of the history. I was more of a DC kid growing up. So it was neat to read this stuff and know that I wasn’t missing some big continuity overtones because I didn’t know what current ailment kept Tony Stark dependent on the Iron Man armor.
But, as an outsider, I don’t see anything that distinguishes Ultimates 3 from the pre-Civil War Avengers. It’s the Avengers, and they are going to go on adventures, etc. If I’m worried about continuity, I could have picked up the Avengers CD-ROM and caught up that way rather than wait 3 years for one freaking story. That said, I do still look forward to the Ultimate Fantastic Four trades. I never read FF before, and these are kind of fun!
By the way, what is the big deal with Hitch? Everyone loves this guy’s art. I just think it’s OK. I suppose it’s all a matter of taste, but it looks like nuts and bolts comic book art to me. I guess I’m crazy.
23 May 2007 at 10:09 am
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