Welcome back
to a splendid week in comics! It was really good all around. Even the Age of X-Man: Next Gen issue I read was
good. I also get to start reviewing The Flash
from now on. That’s pretty great. In other news, Tom King is leaving Batman for a separate maxiseries so
maybe I’ll give Batman a try when it begins. I also started reading Injustice. That comic is really good, y’all.
Go read it. But I digress. Onto the reviews!
Comics Reviewed: The Flash #71, Miles Morales: Spiderman #6, Action Comics
#1011
The Flash #71
Storytellers: Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Steve Wands
Cover: Marco D’Alfonso
I
finally get to talk about the current run
now that I’m caught up! As anyone that has read my Top 5 Flashes piece knows, I
like Barry Allen, but don’t love him. In that way, Williamson’s time on the
comic has been a revelation. Because Barry is a character that I feel I can
truly care about now. That’s a big part of why I love Joshua Williamson’s time
on this comic. The last 12 or so issues have been a very mixed bag though. The
Year One story seems to have shaken that up and brought some much-needed energy
to this series.
At
the end of the prior issue, Barry has accidentally traveled to the future where
he runs into his future self. Future-Barry shows his past self that they live
in a dystopian society ruled by The Turtle. He teaches Past-Barry a few tricks
(Including how to stop without tripping. Because Barry is an unathletic nerd.)
Barry returns to his time but is so freaked out that he stops using his powers.
While on his way to a date with Iris, Barry sees The Turtle robbing a bank.
Iris rushes in to get the story and this inspires Barry to jump in at
superspeed.
 |
| Panels on panels |
Most
of this issue is setup for the future along with some fun characterization. I
really like Future-Barry, but that might be because he is so similar to pre-Flash
War Barry. Because Barry has been a Hal Jordan caliber wet blanket since that
storyline. Consequently, the issues since then (Excepting the The Price
crossover with Batman) have been a
slog at times. And that has changed with this arc. While Barry is kind of sad,
he is still generally upbeat even while he is refusing to use his powers.
Howard
Porter and the gang are rocking this comic. Outside one panel where Barry’s
face is all kinds of weird, this issue looks fantastic. Porter has been one of
my favorite Flash artists since his run with Geoff Johns and he has only
improved in the decade since. The storytelling is clear, and the action is
cool. The one thing that I wish there was more dedication to is the big grids.
In the prior issue, any time Barry was not happy or not using his powers, the
story was told in a 16-panel grid. The happier he got or the more he used his
powers (Although those coincide quite often), the fewer panels and structure
there would be to the pages. I thought that was really neat and kind of
abandoned here.
Verdict: Buy
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #6
Storytellers: Saladin Ahmed and Javier Garron
Colors: David Curiel
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Gleason and Sanchez
This
comic gets a lot of mileage out of the fact that Miles Morales is a soft boy
and I love it. This comic is so good and really captures aspects of what Miles’
life would probably realistically be like. He also gets a new love interest while
losing his old one. Its kind of brutal. Both Starling (A.K.A. Tiana Toomes,
Vulture’s granddaughter) and Barbara ask him about his secret identity, but
from opposite sides. And my poor guy can’t bring himself to tell either of them.
It really makes me sad.
This
issue is ostensibly about Starling and Miles teaming up to take down Tombstone.
Her methods are a little more…lethal than Miles’ though and they come into
conflict over it. They do end up resolving it, at least temporarily. I love
their interactions though. Tiana is very forward in the way she flirts while
Miles is kind of awkward, but into it which feels right for his character. They
have a really nice rapport that seems realistic. It’s so fun.
 |
| Aaaww |
As
for the art, I have really run out of superlatives to describe what Garron and
Curiel are doing in this book. It’s fantastic and expressive and tells a really
good story. In this issue especially, the facial expressions of characters tell
a lot of the story whether its Miles and Barbara sitting on the stairs or
Starling and Spider-Man sitting on a rooftop. It truly is superb.
Verdict: Buy
Action Comics #1011
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Steve Epting
Colors: Brad Anderson
Letters: Josh Reed
Cover: Steve Epting
And
so, we have arrived at Event Leviathan.
The final issue of setup features Lois gaining all of Tiger’s information on Spyral,
Amanda Waller disappearing from the Fortress of Solitude, and The Question (I
think its him anyway) talking to Guardian as he recovers in the hospital. And
Manhunter shows up for a hot second to evade arrest. Its way more suspenseful
than that sounds. But it’s all ruined by the goofy ass final page/advert for Event Leviathan. It really stands out
and ruins the mood, but the stage is set for Bendis and Alex Maleev to go ham.
I’m excited.
 |
| Goofy as hell |
Steve
Epting has been absolutely fabulous on this arc and that doesn’t stop here.
Despite this being a talking head issue, it is never boring to look at. The panel
layouts are fun as well. I’m sad to see him go, but Szymon Kudranski is taking
his place next issue. And Kudranski is no slouch so here’s to this comic
continuing to look amazing.
Verdict: Buy
No comments:
Post a Comment