Uncle KrakaDOOM is back with this week’s funny books reviews.
Action Comics #2
I liked this comic. I like the changes Morrison has changed Superman’s past, having him somewhat unaware of his Kryptonian heritage. I can’t wait to find out how much he knows and how much he learns.
What I didn’t like so much about this issue was Lex Luthor. He seemed a little too sadistic, and for someone who planned out nearly every event of the last comic, he seemed woefully unprepared to actually keep Superman prisoner. The twist ending also undercuts his menace a bit.
On the art front, Rags Morales’ work is rather uneven. Superman’s age tends to jump around a lot, sometimes looking like a scrawny Superboy. Otherwise, the art is fine, and I like his nebishy take on Luthor.
Overall, this is still a fun comic, and I’m eager to see where it goes from here.
iZombie #18
This issue was mostly backstory on Diogenes, the older of the two monster hunters. This story added some depth to the “I’m too old for this shit” character we’ve seen.
The comic doesn’t further the plot at all, but in addition to the character work, it adds a little depth to the universe, including cameos by were-jaguars, regular zombies, a poltergeist, dream-walkers and the hilarious Vampire Queen of the Amazon and her retinue. This was definitely one of the funniest iZombie comics in a while.
Men of War #2
Still a solid war story, with the addition of a superhero element, in this case something possibly tied to the Wonder Woman realm of myths. It’s setting up a much more significant story, much larger than I was expecting, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
The backup is a straight military story, but not too interesting.
Men of War is probably my least favorite of the New 52 books I plan to continue reading, but I’m willing to give it a try, since it promises to be a different kind of story.
Skullkickers #11
The end of the second story arc. Lots of action, a couple twists and some jokes.
Skullkickers is always fun and it’s always funny. My only complaints are one of the most frequent jokes, using descriptions for sound effects instead of onomatopoeia. It can be funny, but I’d like it used a little less often.
If you haven’t read Skullkickers, it’s pretty much a riff on your average D&D inspired fantasy realm. Humor and violence in spades. I recommend buying the first trade.
Swamp Thing #2
Awesome. Swamp Thing’s backstory and the mythology of the Green and the Parliament are pretty confusing to someone new to the character (and even to those who are familiar with him, from what I’ve heard), but it’s still a good story, with excellent horror elements.
The only part that didn’t make sense to me was why Sethe, the evil force threatening everything, previous attacked humanity as diseases, only to appear this time as a giant monster with a horde of near-zombie followers. That’s a big change in his M.O. It’s nitpicky, and doesn’t really detract from what’s going on now, but it stood out as a discrepancy.
Yanick Paquette’s art is really good, perfect for the horror elements of this comic. His framing of the panels including Swamp Thing using branches is a nice touch, adding a fantasy feel to the scenes. Similarly, using blotchy swarms to break up panels in the horror scenes enhanced the frenetic, dark feel of the horror scenes.
It’s an all around well-told comic. I became a big fan of Scott Snyder on his Detective Comics run, and his Swamp Thing run is shaping up to be a good one too.
