Cover to Cover catch-up: Nova and the 50-state Initiative

Just doing some quick reviews with Nova issues #2 and 3, by Abnett, Lanning and Chen.

_______

In these issues: Buckethead versus shellhead! Plus -- Nova meets an old friend!

So these two issues cover an important aspect of Nova: his humanity as Long-Island-er Richard Rider. I think they were written really, really well, because it captured an important emotional beat: Nova doesn't belong on Earth anymore.

He absolutely terrifies his parents when his helmet is accidentally on auto-translate to Kree, and his father is taken back when Worldmind takes over Richard's consciousness when he sleeps.
The general public doesn't even like anymore, because he was once a new warrior, and the New Warriors were responsible for the Stamford incident.

It also led to a little something called Civil War. You might've heard of it; it was a controversy among fans, but it generated truckloads of interest. Abnett and Lanning kind of highlight the needlessness of the War, as Nova puts it:

So later on, in next issue, Nova reunites with former New Warrior, Penance, formerly known as Speedball.

You might know him as the self-hating masochist who thinks himself responsible for Civil War. A lot of fans thought that Speedball's transition was completely unnecessary and over-the-top, and Nova would agree with them:

Of course, all the events in the two issues result in feelings of huge displacement for Nova. He feels like he doesn't belong on Earth anymore, and subsequently says goodbye to his parents and leaves for the Kree world of Hala.

These two issues were really sad, but they were really awesome too. Nova is more than just a guy in a Centurion suit; he's some schmo from Long Island as well.

Of course, the sci-fi awesomeness returns in subsequent issues.

Panel by Panel: return of the weekly review CONCLUSION

Aaaaaand we're back, capping off the blog's return to weekly reviews.

You can find parts ONE and TWO at those links, reviewing Nova #12 and Dead of Night #3, and then Green Arrow/Black Canary #7 and Bloodrayne: Prime cuts #2.

Ironically, this comic was from last week, but that's because it's just that awesome. Let's review. . .

Supergirl #28
by Kelley Puckett and Drew Johnson

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking,

"Supergirl? Why the heck does Kevin care to review Supergirl? Has someone finally known what to do with her after her much-hyped, disgustingly exploitative return by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner? Has Puckett at last ended his decompressed style of writing? Is Drew Johnson off the shoulders of his fill-in artists this time? Did I leave the kitchen light on? How much is that doggy in the window?"

I know the emotions going through your brain right now, and at the core of it is CONFUSED CONFUSED CONFUSED.

But no more! Puckett and Johnson really shine in this issue of Supergirl, giving her a personality that isn't A) vapid or B) irresponsible or C) immoral or D) exploitative or E) just out-and-out confusing.

She's upright, she's competent, she's progressive (which is in part due to her naivete), and she's endearing to boot. In my mind, Supergirl should be a role model, and this issue, albeit unconventionally, manages to get that in.

The premise thus far is cool in and of itself - Supergirl vows to cure a boy of cancer:

This issue was just filled with an amazing characterization of Supergirl.

Throughout it, Kara's presented as naive, but with a good heart. I really like this characterization, but it also happens to be a hot point for some Supergirl readers. She might come off as dumb and daft, but if you take into account that she's relatively new to Earth, this works as a great characterization.

And part of this characterization is the "other" superheroes as a foil for her. I saw this as really smart, because this means that Kara doesn't have to rely on other people for her book.

As one of the foils, Wonder Woman reprimands Kara for making such a promise. . .

. . . with a punch in the face!

But there's more to it, of course. That thing in Wonder Woman's hand, the Purple Ray: it can cure all kinds of wounds, but it can't cure cancer. From the very start, Kara's fighting an uphill battle.

Part of that uphill battle is living in a world that she isn't particularly immersed in yet. She doesn't understand the conventions, and she hasn't adjusted accordingly. And that might be a good thing.

Here're some great lines from her that really speak about this:

I don't care if you think that's dumb or inane of Kara. I find it very admirable that she wants to do some real good with her powers, and very refreshing that Puckett wants to do more with the superhero genre.

Later on, Kara goes to meet the man in the cover. The blurb there is true:"You'll never guess who THIS is," because, well, he's really, really obscure.

His name is Resurrection Man, or R-Man for short, and he has two superpowers. Besides the nanites in his body that continually regenerate his cells, these are it:

1. Whenever he dies, he is reborn again in the nearest body, and
2. Whenever he's reborn, he gets a new superpower.

So Kara gets the idea to keep killing R-Man until he winds up with the power to cure cancer. A little shortsighted, but at least her heart's in the right place, right?

R-Man gives Kara permission to kill him, but it just doesn't work out. Supergirl doesn't have the heart (or lack thereof) to kill him.

That page on the left is just another reason why I loved this issue. This is more than a superhero comic. It's not just just about beating up supervillains and sending them to jail. It's about moral gray areas and trying to deal with them.

Also, the last two panels are a great joke.

So Kara has too much compunction to kill R-Man, but R-Man recommends she go to the mad scientist who created the regenerating nanites in R-Man's body.

Of course, the mad scientist is in prison, and here's something that's a little disturbing: she breaks him out of prison.

I will leave judgment up to you, but to me, this panel made it okay (click for clearer picture):

What an adorable gesture from Kara. I love that even when she breaks into a prison, she makes sure to talk to the security camera and reassure it of her good intentions.

Because that's what Puckett is writing her as. I'm really enjoying this interpretation of Supergirl. It makes sense within the given context; it's propping Kara up as an actual person with an actual personality; it's more than just your standard superhero spandex story, and for once there seems to be a strong direction for Supergirl now. She may have unconventional ideas, but at the core of them is a good heart.

You can never argue against a good heart.

Five out of five purple rays. I would've given this a four, but the artist, Drew Johnson, is really straightening up now. Only three pages here were by a back-up artist, and considering how last issue only had six or so pages by Johnson himself, that is a great leap forward.

Now that the scheduling spiel is out of the way, let's get to his style: I totally love Drew Johnson. His lines are strong and precise; the expressions on Supergirl are just priceless, and I love how he uses circles to make close-ups on people's faces. It's really refreshing to see that technique in a spandex comic, and I hope Drew Johnson is on Supergirl for the long run.

I'm gonna stop right now, before this post gets too long, but look for a post in which I talk about why Drew Johnson rocks.

Rocks with a capital "S."

Gratuitous Death of the day

Because you can't really call it a day. . .



. . . until Gamora, the deadliest woman in the universe, has killed someone.

From Nova #5, in which Gamora and co. raid a refugee ship housing the Nova Prime and another Nova. Art by Sean Chen.

We'll finish off the week's reviews tomorrow, with a book YOU WON'T SEE COMING!

Uncle Sam Presents: Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard!

Let's take a break from weekly reviews for now. Let's have a little breather.

Let's show Gonzo some android love.

And you thought ballet was dangerous.

Here, Senator Kni-oh, excuse me, former Senator Knight is killed by Gonzo -in the chest!!!- as Gonzo usurps his identity and subsequently. . .

. . . runs for president of America! And guess what?

Gonzo succeeds!

Gonzo was sent to Earth by the Mathmagicians of the Anti-Life Equation to spread chaos across the Earth, and what better place to do it than the American presidency, of course?

Uncle Sam (and the Freedom Fighters!) eventually learn of this plan, and try to stop him.

Ouch.

Gonzo rocks. You can find his wiki here. All scans taken from Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, the first eight-issue miniseries by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Daniel Acuna. I'm really impressed that Acuna, the artist, managed to do his own pencilling and his own inking and his own coloring, all to a monthly schedule!

Serials for 4-10-08: Bloodrayne and Green Arrow/Black Canary

The weekly review marches on, kids.

Today we're looking at Green Arrow/Black Canary #7 and Bloodrayne: Prime Cuts #2.


Bloodrayne: Prime Cuts #2 (of 3)

by Chad Lambert et al.

Few comics can adapt a videogame into a comic book well, but I think this issue really works.

There are three stories: 1) Rayne fights ninjas in the first one (the mandatory story) 2) Rayne explodes stuff with lots and lots of buttshots, but the story I wanna talk about is 3) the story from a lackey's perspective.

He's a lackey for the Cult of Kagan, but he's a lackey nonetheless. I thought this was a really smart story, because it took a look at the follower mentality.

These guys are the kinds of guys who followed Hitler, who followed Mussolini, who needed a figure so forceful because they themselves are meek and directionless.

They're cannon fodder basically, but they're sympathetic cannon fodder, and it's really refreshing to see a story from their perspective.

So, overall: despite the many, many butts in the second story, yay for smart writing.

Three out of five Cults of Kagan.

Green Arrow/Black Canary #7

by Judd Winick and Cliff Chiang (<-- i wish)

Look at the cover there. It's gorgeous isn't it? Makes you wanna curl up in a ball of happy right? That little blurb is cute, too, don't you think?

I wish the inside were just as awesome.

In this issue, Green Arrow and Black Canary go to London. After a few nasty fights and bad jokes, they uncover that classic Bat-villain, Ra's Al Ghul, was behind Connor's shooting.

There were some nice jokes in here, particularly Ollie's ineptness at the alien's true identities. The video camera scene, though, seemed really farcical when you consider that Ollie's son is brain-dead. In the previous review, I mentioned a possible bipolar disorder in Ollie. This is totally more evidence for that.

I wish I were kidding. Oh dear god, I wish I were kidding.

This is penciller Mike Norton's first issue. Honestly, it's very disappointing. Let's start the slide:

That's not how you draw Dinah's face. Her eyes aren't that huge, her face isn't that short, and her lips aren't that full. It was so annoying to see this throughout the comic.

The next example is somewhat improved:

I'd like it if Norton could consistently draw like this: Dinah's face is longer, her eyes aren't as huge; her lips aren't too full. There's only one problem here: Dinah's left hand is gripping the katana the wrong way. Her thumb needs to be somewhere.

But wait, there's more. Let's take a look at Ollie:

That's not how he parts his hair.

And no, neither is this:

But at least this is more like it:

As with Dinah, if Ollie could be consistently drawn like this, I'd be a much happier reader.

But the real problem is the feet. These are examples of how the leg does NOT work:

Granted, I have no qualm against the way Norton draws Hal, so maybe I'm just really attached to the way Chiang drew Ollie and Dinah. I miss his art very sorely.

Thus far, I'm really disappointed with this issue, but that might be because I'm suffering from Cliff Chiang withdrawal.

What do you guys think? Could Norton stand some sharpening of his talent, or am I just pulling things out of my posterior?

It's been known to occur nine posts out of ten, you know.