|
The
Fanboy Planet Preview Spotlight 05/10/06
Page
1 -- Truth, Justin, and the American Way #2, American
Virgin #3...
Also
Out This Week: Cable
& Deadpool #28: This book seems to be completely separate
from the rest of the Marvel Universe, with Cable hatching
quarterly plans for world domination. Speaking of, Domino
is back (I didn't even know she'd gone away), but the fact
that you may know or care little for these characters' histories
doesn't matter. Fabian Nicieza writes them consistently
and interestingly. After months of seeing this book in the
preview pile, it's finally won me over.
Cthulhu
Tales #1: Since Boom! Studios did so well with zombie
anthologies, they risked a move to a slightly more literate
genre. Some of the stories deliver a good sense of creeping
horror and yes, bewilderment. At its heart, the Cthulhu
Mythos leaves the unknown unknown while still gripping our
heart. "Quality Time," by John Rogers and Andy Kuhn, refuses
to give us a safe distance (the earlier stories seem lifted
out of the pulp tradition), and thus ends up the most disturbing
tale. Thankfully, the book shifts gears near the end, treating
things with a lot more levity. "Cthulhu Calls" (credits
cut off in my copy) is downright silly before Keith Giffen
writes a Victorian tale of a much more macabre bent, though
still funny. It's not for everyone, but fans of Lovecraft
will not be disappointed. Fans of comics might find they
like Lovecraft.
Fables
#49: Must I gush again? Down at Brian's Books, a debate
rages that the Adversary may not be who we have all been
led to believe. After this issue, it seems there might be
something to that argument.
Firestorm
the Nuclear Man #25: Killer Frost and Mister Freeze
team up for a little bit of a love match and to entrap the
Nuclear Man. Both make sense. Stuart Moore has found a way
to make Jason Rusch unsure of himself without being paralyzed,
and thus, this book is solid. It's not groundbreaking, but
it's become a solid book for superhero fun. Rumor has it
that next issue, you'll want to watch for a cameo appearance
of the last person you ever would have expected…
First
Family #3: On one level, the going back and rewriting
origin stories kind of annoys this old school fan. Yet Jeph
Loeb gave a pretty good excuse for it in Hulk: Grey,
and if Marvel has to go back and retell it, they could do
a lot worse than First Family. Borrowing a bit from
the film, this issue justifies unstable molecules a lot
more believably than Lee and Kirby's one panel explanation
did back in 1961. It's not just the writing, though; Chris
Weston just rocks.
Lions,
Tigers and Bears v.2 #2: No doubt about it, the book
has its charms. It's absolutely appropriate for kids without
being too cloying for the adult who might want to sit in
a big overstuffed armchair and read it with them. A couple
of ideas seem to be lifted from Phillip Pullman's His
Dark Materials, but with a different intent. Pick this
up, then go back for the trade of the first mini-series.
It's something good to have on the shelf when your kids
get old enough to want to pull something down from it.
New
X-Men #26: Some cool ideas are going on here, making
even the pink Sentinel (cripes, that's always bothered me)
Nimrod do something interesting. Almost helpless, Nimrod
serves as a guide to future history for Reverend Stryker.
With each move Stryker makes, the Sentinel's memory banks
change. History rewrites itself on the fly as the New X-Men
fall one by one. The problem is - I just don't care about
any of those characters, no matter how much Marvel tells
me I really love X-23.
 |
She-Hulk
#7: It's not exactly a swing and a miss with this one,
but this issue does seem to be struggling for the right
tone. How could it not, when the book is known for a goofy
sense of humor but is stuck with a decidedly unfunny topic?
Jennifer Walters defends the former Avenger known as Starfox,
a character whose power basically comes down to date rape.
Because of a rush to Civil War, things feel a bit
compressed, leaving little time for the character development
that Slott should have gone for here - Jennifer suddenly
has an epiphany without us seeing any of the signs that
she doesn't want to see the truth. At best, this is satire;
some old time fans should probably be feeling uncomfortable
that we ever actually thought Starfox was cool.
Sight
Unseen:
52
Week 1:
Filling in that year before it's One Year Later, this one
has to be bought just to say you did. It's also probably
actually good, though I have to wonder what could be more
Earth-shattering that the Dominators are still pissed off
about this a thousand years in the future.
Jonah
Hex #7:
Each issue has been a one-shot gem. With stories this good,
it's no wonder Western comics are making a comeback.
Tales
of Alvin Maker: Red Prophet #2:
Actually, we've got a review of this over
here. I just haven't read the book myself yet.
X-Men:
Deadly Genesis #6:
Sure, sure, they keep saying it, but this book really will
change the face of the X-Men forever...no, really. Really.
Yes. Really. And it's good, too.
Hey, write to us and
let us know what you think, or talk about it on the
forums!
|
