Hey y’all. Welcome back! We have an interesting group of books to look at this week, including more DC issues than usual, especially if you count yesterday’s Featured Review of Superman and the Authority #1. I am not the biggest Grant Morrison fan in the world, but I have been a kick lately and been reading rather a lot from them. Their comics are always interesting, though not always to my taste so it was a fun issue to read and review.
Anyway, enough about Morrison. Let’s get to the reviews!
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28
Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artists: Carmen Carnero
Colors: David Curiel
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Taurin Clarke
This story arc started
incredibly strong but petered out quickly. The titular clones were never
properly fleshed out. Perhaps this should have been a longer story closer to
the Ultimatum plot. Tell stories with the clones operating in the background.
For all its faults, the ‘90s Clone Saga took the time to establish and develop
its characters and this Saga could have used that.
The opening had me thinking this
would be the death of Jefferson and that was emotional. Thankfully, Rio quickly
took that out of consideration by revealing Selim only gave him surface wounds,
despite the large amount of blood on the floor. Through this and a brief
exchange later, the issue attempts to draw a connection between Miles and Selim
but it falls flat. Selim is a wholly self-centered, one-dimensional character.
So, Shift is not just a really big clone? He can use up all that excess to become more Mile-sized. It is an interesting choice to have him stick around, presumably as our hero’s new twin. Where that leads is anyone’s guess but providing a sibling with which he can have actual interactions with can only be a positive.
As always, Carnero and Curiel
make this comic an exceptionally pleasant experience. The action scene is a
particular standout as it utilizes one of my favored page layouts: the large
spread with multiple steps of a fight and each has a panel border around each
moment. It is a simple, yet elegant approach to the scene.
Nightwing #81
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo, Rick
Leonardi, and Neil Edwards
Inks: Redondo, Andy Lanning, and Scott Hanna
Colors: Adriano Lucas
Letters: Wes Abbott
Cover: Redondo
This is easily the worst issue of Nightwing since Taylor and Redondo took over. That is not to say it is bad; it is quite well made and features some intriguing plot points. As always, the characters are on point. In fact, the highlight is a brief scene in which we learn that Barb alerts Bruce and the (former?) Titans if Dick’s mask is removed and they go on the offensive. Dick calls them off immediately, but it is a nice moment that once again emphasizes Dick’s place in the community, a guiding idea behind this run thus far.
The majority of this issue is
dedicated to explaining where our hero’s new sister came from. Dick’s father
had a premarital relationship with Tony Zucco’s mail order bride. That is also
why Zucco murdered John and his wife. It is a bit much to use an entire issue
on this plot point, especially since it is most likely a fake out. Melinda has
already been setup as an untrustworthy politician under Blockbuster’s control. It
would be extremely easy to see this as a ploy to get Dick on the Zuccos’ side
to combat the big gang boss and create a power vacuum into which they could
step. Though it’s possible every non-Melinda related bit in this issue is true.
But that is a concern for the future.
As always, Redondo and Lucas
make a formidable pair that should probably be getting more widespread acclaim.
The work of Leonardi, Lanning, Edwards, and Hanna are good but are made to look
quite mediocre next to Redondo despite sharing the same colorist. Lucas does a
commendable job trying to make the various styles blend, to mixed results.
Overall, a nice book to look at and read.
The Flash #772
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Artist: Wil Conrad
Color: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Steve Wands
Cover: Brandon Peterson and
Michael Atiyeh
This may be the final issue of
The Flash I buy for some time. Since Adams took over, Wally has taken center
stage, there has been a good look at the larger universe of speedsters, and some
truly heartfelt moments. Even this issue has some ideas that continue to flesh
out the status quo in interesting ways. And yet, something is missing. I have
trouble feeling any connection to one of my favorite characters.
Perhaps it is the unbelievable number of artists that have graced the pages of this series in 2021. Nine of them. In six issues. There is no visual base for this series and that makes everything feel disjointed. None of the art in this series has been bad, though some parts have been quite a bit better than others. Even this issue looks good, though a bit generic.
Maybe I’ll give it a couple more
issues. There is a daddy-daughter dance-focused installment in September and
that could be just the kind of outing that kicks this into gear. If not, I do
not care about the polearm flying through space in the strange, jarring
one-page interlude in this issue so that could be the end for now. Hopefully
its good.
Also, the new Flash costume is
boring and easily Wally’s worst in 15 years, maybe longer.
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