What I Read This Week - 1/23/23

Spoiler Warning

Action Comics: #1051

Jon! Tent! Jon content once again blesses me with being good. Someone has to get Tom Taylor off my boy, because in a side role he was given more actual charm, depth, and adoration than I saw in all of S.O.K.E.. Maybe I'm just coming at this book naively, after all a reset makes me more forgiving. A stumble here or there is fine so long as they are finding their footing. But I think this is a very good start! I enjoyed all of the stories, and I continue to be interested in the future of Powergirl especially. I really felt a warm and encouraging energy from this book, a feeling of family in a book that has struggled for cohesion. I will say I struggle to tell Kon and Jon apart (and no, I will not call him connor, if he's back in the cool outfit he's KON!).

Tim Drake: Robin #5

I hate this book. The artist is all wrong for it, even if I do like their style. The more anime style is better for the book and I am hoping they will stick with it. And the writing? I've really disliked it generally. This issue was simply EXTREMELY confusing for me. I just couldn't get what was happening, couldn't follow it or anything. I'll read this book every time, but I won't have to like it.

X-Terminators: #5

This is a fun comic, it runs on blood and tits and brings me so much joy each time. I need the "praxis" booty-shorts! I love to turn my brain off to this comic, though I'm sure if I re-read it, it would have something interesting to say. If you are attracted to women, this is the book for you. If you're a gay man, this is ALSO the book for you. It's honestly funny and I generally love Leah Williams. I only wish it was hornier, bloodier, and raunchier. I mean it's a parental advisory comic! I'm not saying it should be Punisher MAX levels, but a girl wants some violence.

Love-Sick: #4

I have been growing a taste for the gross these days. Maybe it's a new way of coping with stress, the use of Ennis as a chaser to my Mishima shot, or anything like that. But this has been a wonderfully awful comic. It makes me slightly sick, because my taste for gross is akin to a 14 year old boy's. I want to see things blow up, I want to see unreasonble gore, and I want to feel bad about it but I have a weak stomach. It's fun and funny, and maybe trying to say something about women and expoitation but mostly just comes to the conclusion that if you abuse to many people it's going to come back around. It's not a matter of deserving, Mother Demon isn't in a fantasy of thinking she's getting what's coming. It's just that if you do something that awful to someone else, your fantasies get fucked, and the line between actored and acted-upon disappears.

Sins of Sinister: #1

I was bitching about this earlier but it seems promising! After all, we still have the characters we know and love. I remain less than enthused about Sinister himself but I love to see A.U. interpretations of these characters, especially since it seems to bring out their worst impulses. And Storm is in prime form! I find Gillen's humor to be a little hit or miss, but I enjoyed myself well enough. I'm excited to see where this story goes, it's also interesting to see that Sinister defaults to a victorian atmosphere. The man needs his pollution, consumption, and fog! Speaking of which, I am ALWAYS happy to see Foggy. That's a quick, easy way to open up the world of the cross over. This moved quickly and made the most of the longer-term premise. It's cool to see how the world falls!

Side Note: I am making a call now and saying that the scene from the start of Immortal X-Men will be part of how this crossover ends! I also wonder if Colossus' mind control will affect the event at all?

What I Read This Week - 1/16/23

Spoiler Warning

Immortal X-Men #10

I really do adore Kirren Gillen but I am sick of sinister. Which, clearly, does not bode well for the upcoming event. Though I would like to say that so far my predictions for who narrates each issue of immortal X-Men have been spot on! Now it's just to see where colossus ends up (something I am UNREASONABLY excited for). I really do like having each character give their own narration, and clearly Gillen has an interest in Xavier in a way he didn't with, say, Kitty. And yes, it's very well written, but the star of this issue was Hope and Cable's dynamic. I was struck seeing him carry her body, how much she means to all of mutantkind, but especially to him. I'm a sucker for a father-daughter dynamic, especially with gruff dads and adpotion so I've always loved them. But god, can Cable fuck me up when he honestly shows emotion. So much was done with simply the art, no matter what Xavier was saying my eyes were drawn to Cable's grief, the sheer space his daughter takes up in the world. Good shit, as always.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest #11

This issue was kind of bland, to be honest. After the Magog reveal, I was excited with a sudden addition of nuance to his character. I like the idea that Magog's violence comes from violence which has been done to him. It adds to the idea in Kingdom Come that no one person can (or should) cast judgement on a group of people without first reaching out a hand. He's not innocent, but he must be understood as a flawed person (just as superman, billy, the specter, etc. were in the original story). A slow issue though, but all the more reason to hold on the Dan Mora art I supose!

Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton

JON! CONTENT! JONTENT! Okay, Okay I am biased towards a character I relate to. But I'm very excited to see him becoming superman blue (and opening up room for Kon to take back the position of superboy). I enjoyed his new rival/anti-hero buddy Ash, but it does make me slightly sad that I don't get to see Jay and Jon having lots of fun chemistry. I love them, don't get me wrong, but Tom Taylor seems interest in ignoring the most intersting parts of Jay (jon is dating a terrorist! that's cool!). Anyway, I also enjoyed the other stories, but I am here for Jon and this snippit, more than anything else, has me excited to see the future of his character. Oh! also powergirl! I've always enjoyed her character from afar, but I've never dug into powergirl content. This is making me want to! It wasn't especially subtle writing but the art was beautiful, and there was only so much page space.

Punisher #9

It's amazing how quickly I've started to sour on this run. And this Jason Aaron run has kickstarted my new love afair with the punisher! I reread the first couple of issues and I only started in december. What I don't like is the elements of Frank being watched since he was young. I thought it was just mind games, the red woman tying Frank up in knots and confusing him through implanted reseruction memories. Also, now I've gone and decided to read other punisher stuff the charm has sort of worn off. Now I still love it, the stuff with Frank and his family post-vietnam especially, but it's not as good as the start. I'm not going to lie and say Aaron collecting Frank's homoerotic superhero peers isn't extremely funny, I'm charmed by Matt collecting other guys to roll around in the dirt with Frank after his intervention/exercism failed. The art has really grown on me, and Natasha's outfit is A+. Jason Aaron has quickly become my favorite of the punisher author's I've read (his run on MAX literally made me cry) so it sucks to see that this is the worse of his punisher interpretations. I want questions to be left in Frank's backstory, lots of gaps. I love the Cody AJJ vibe, but I don't need to know everything. Either way, I'm enjoying learning more about Frank and diving into the extremely awful toxic fanbase of the punisher.

A Side Note: I have been reading a LOT of PUNISHER comics for some reason. Jason Aaron has hooked me, okay! Ennis is a little too much for me (though I did love the vietnam tour story) but joy IS stored in the Jason Aaron punisher. I think his patheticness is part of it, how he's portrayed as miserable in a way Ennis doesn't (or, there's more nuance there he might get a seperate post.). But Jason Aaron's Frank is extremely funny, and makes me feel insanely emotional at the same time. If you're at all interested in my Punisher adventures, try checking out the war journal

What I Read This Week - 1/9/23

Spoiler Warning

Legion of X #9

First, a book that continues to go over my head. I already had a pretty nasty headache brewing, so reading this digitally did not help. Yet, I was engaged as always. Despite my inability to fully comprehend every plot point Si's got at play, I find myself drawn in by Legion of X. The characters and art remain as engaging as ever, though I do always feel that this book is the odd-one-out of the X line. Not that it doesn't gel, but the magical approach makes it as unique. Truly embracing comics as they need to be: wacky, crossing the lines between magic and science. I feel as though if I knew more of NightCralwer's backstory this issue would have made more sense, but I still felt i had a good impression of who she was. Sadly, it seems to be a awful romani stereotype, with a magic system that relies on trickery, double crossing, and theivery. I know there's only so much one can do with a character whose very CREATION is bathed in stereotype, but i would have liked to see a new interpretation of the winding way that's a little more sympathetic.

Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1

I was not excited for Lazarus planet. I am a noted cross-over and event hater (due in part to a formative experience with MTMTE grinding to a terrible, horrible, halt- but this is not a tf review) so even with Mark Waid (a man I trust) at the head of the ship I wasn't excited. With Damian as my favorite Robin, I do blame this in part for the cancellation of Damian's solo so I came into it with a grude. And honestly, I'm still not sure about it. I didn't love the art in this issue, sure it was technically beautiful but I struggled to follow it. I'll sacrifice beauty in art for motion and clarity of action. I loved the Damian content, but I struggled to really get into anything except for sun-wukong and black alice's conversation. The more I read of sun-wukong the more I like him, I'd consider jumping onto his book but it seems to be aimed at tween boys, not a knock but that just means it's probably not for me. I also struggle with magic, it seems. I like magical heroes well enough, but I think magic systems are hit and miss in general, and extremely hit or miss for me. Either way I will keep reading this as they come up because of Damian Wayne and Mark Waid and not much else.

Daredevil #7

while late to the party myself, I joined everyone in singing the praises of Zdarsky Daredevil. I prefered the pre-Devil's Reign content, but I am still hooked on each issue exploring forgiveness, justice, and just how hot Matt looks in a beard. I have also historically been an Electra disliker, which was lessened by Zdarsky's writing and how big and beautiful her hair tends to be drawn in this comic. I love how Matt has been broken into a guy who understands the prison industrial complex and systemic poverty (poor daredevil is best daredevil), I also think it is EXTREMELY funny that the evil landlords are CastleMax (unsure if it's supposed to be the punisher's doing or just a reference to the ennis books). I'm glad Zdarsky finds a good way to mix lawyering and ninja activity, as the law aspect has always been my favorite part of daredevil. The only thing better than a Ninja showdown is a ninja showdown to solve a protracted legal battle. On a small note, I dislike Matt being able to magically read the book. If magic can make it understood by anyone, it can make itself braille that everyone can read. Last but not least, why the fuck is there a dragon? I mean it's cool don't get me wrong. I guess the correct answer to "why is there a dargon" is that a dragon make everything cooler, especially death cultists. Hopefully the next issue of Punisher will make that make sense.

What I Read This Week - 1/2/23

Spoiler Warning

X-men Red #10

X-Men Red has been the best comic I've read since I renewed my interest in the subject. I'm on the edge of my seat every time and this issue proved to be no different. Al Ewing writes a fantastic Storm, and seeing her go against Vulcan was as satisfying as I expected. This failed to be my favorite issue, which it probably should have strived to be as the big-fight, but it was still extremely enjoyable. I, once again, am frustrated by the nickname "wrong-slide", it just takes me out of the action, as well as wanting Beto to be drawn as he should (dark) but these are general complaints, not issue specific.

Batman #131

Let me get the important part out of the way: I LOVE skeleton Jim Gordan. Yes, he is a (probably) evil hallucination but he's very funny. Honestly, the biggest appeal of this issue was diving fully into theory-crafting. There's so much going on in this issue, even Harvey alone. I'm a real sucker for alternate universes and I'm really hoping Zdarsky gives us something interesting. But for now, I'm unsure, as everything seems to be trodding traditional batman tropes. I was torn on the Failsafe arc, particularly my distaste for OP Batman and "Tower of Babel" type plots, but his writing was solid. Now as we go into Red Robin 2 Electric Bogaloo Zdarsky takes the reader over ground we know all too well. And when you're trying to compare to the original, Zdarsky's flaws will only be more obvious. Now, I do have faith in his ability to write these characters well, I'm just concerned for the plotting. Maybe I've dived into bizarre theory territory as cope (my current status with Tim Drake: Robin) but whatever this world Bruce has found himself in, I only hope it's like nothing we've seen before.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8

I was singing the praises of this comic when it started, yet I've found it's lost momentum. The inner circle could have been expanded on so much more, made a real staple of the comic and carry a much longer arc. I was engaged in the mystery and now I find it lacking. Still, Emma Frost is always a pleasure and the writing remains solid enough that i'm excited for each issue. I did lose my shit at the "mommy" line, as expected. Still, it felt inconsequental as an issue, but I am hoping that's simply a side effect of the cross-over with its sister series.

Note: This is my first attempt, I'm honestly not even sure I can call these reviews. I'm excited to dig deeper in next time I attempt this, especially if I write these WHILE I'm reading.