Weekly reads in review
This week was a fairly good one for my pull list. I enjoyed most of what I picked up, with still a read or two to go.
The Stuff of Legend vol. 1: The Dark
This story presented by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith, with illustrations by Charles Paul Wilson III and published through Th3rd World Studios, was the recommended read of Comixology a couple weeks back and a few professionals this week on Twitter. I actually had to go to two comic book stores to find it. The first either did not carry it or sold out. The second had two copies left. I am so glad I took the advice of those who promoted the book and went to that second store.
Basically, the story is set in 1944 Brooklyn during the height of World War II and takes place in the dark of a boy’s bedroom, where his toys must wage war against the Boogeyman who whisks the boy away into his world. The sepia tones and pencil work of the story are fantastic and the story takes on deeper meaning with some well placed flashback panels that reminds the reader of the boy’s father’s own perilous fight against the Nazi’s in Normandy. Within the first volume the mortal danger is made clear and the characterization is phenominal. And the transition from the boy’s bedroom to the dark where his toys journey to save hims is breathtaking in terms of visual surprise. By far this was my favorite read this week. I cannot wait for the second volume in September.
Batwoman in Detective Comics #855
The second part to the Elegy story arc starring our scarlet heroine did not disappoint this week. The intro splash panelling to the action on pages 2-3 of the book are a chaotic blur as Batwoman rushes into battle. J.H. Williams is the master of this type of movement. The dialog between Kane and Alice is crisp and quick as well. Rucka does a great job of characterizing crazy and Kane’s no-nonsense reaction to it. The cliffhanger ending is good stuff too. Alice shows her bonafides as a new villain in the Batman mythos.
The back-up story, The Question, is good too. I loved watching Renee Montoya take of her coat and stretch in preparation to kick some ass. It’s those little details that make Detective so much fun right now.
Tale of the Corps
The final issue of this background story arc to Blackest Night ends with sole focus on the classic Green Lanterns, Kilowag and Arisia written by Peter J. Tomasi. The characters’ backgrounds are fleshed out by focusing on how death affected both and most GL careers. As someone late to the GL bandwagon this three issue mini has really helped in a lot of ways. The artwork of Chris Samnee and Mike Mayhew were perfect for each story. I particularly liked the coloring by Andy Troy in Arisia’s story. I also enjoyed the Geoff Johns/Eddie Berganza/Adam Schlagman commentary on the penciled sketches to the Blackest Night 0.
I still need to read Citizen Rex by Gilbert and Mario Hernandez and DC’s Wednesday Comics, though I doubt they’ll change the order up of things too much.
