The title for this post should be ‘Comics I Bought 9 April 2009’ except that I couldn’t get to the shop on Thursday, and I’ve been doing some serious relaxing over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, so I hope slack can be cut in my direction.
Captain Britain and MI:13 #12
I really hope that it’s not just British people enjoying this book because it would be a shame to miss out: Paul Cornell has found his feet quickly on this series and is writing a storyline that feels ‘classic’ – it’s not tied into crossovers, it has brains, it has action, it has characters affected personally while in the midst of a huge national threat, and it has levels of plot development where plans and counter-plans are being laid out in a way I haven’t seen for some time in a Marvel book. Leonard Kirk is pencilling this just perfectly (I was glad he could pencil the whole issue this time) and there are lovely moments of humour that emphasise the Britishness (‘Well…You really are British.’ and ‘How many of you take sugar?’ to name but two) to counteract the horror of the situation. This book is a well-done superhero comic book and I hope it gets another year at least – it certainly deserves it.
Doktor Sleepless #12
I’m starting to have my doubts about this book, which is never a good sign. There is a lot going on this issue (gang violence, the situation being explained in a more natural manner – compare with Ignition City – a change to the status quo with Sleepless providing free healthcare) but it didn’t engage me as much as earlier issues. Everything is ticking along much as before but it didn’t quite have the spark I’ve come to expect from Ellis. There is an idea behind this all and a complex infrastructure to this world he has created but perhaps this is an instance where reading it in instalments isn’t as rewarding as reading it as a whole.
Ignition City #1
This was the book I was most looking forward to because it’s a new Warren Ellis book with a great concept – the place where the space heroes go afterwards; or Deadwood meets Buck Rogers – and art by Gianluca Pagliarani, whose art on Ellis’ Aetheric Mechanics was great. And, having read this issue, I’m still intrigued to see what happens; however, the execution wasn’t as good as I automatically assumed it would be. Pagliarani’s art is still a good job (the city reeks of despair and decrepitude) but it doesn’t feel as tight as on Aetheric Mechanics; the linework doesn’t feel as certain. More unexpected is the blatant exposition from Ellis as he lays things out in a letter from the main character to her mother – it was so obvious, it really knocked the story off its rails. The rest makes up for it by being pretty funny, with lots of scatological humour, and the scenario is a fascinating situation, but it needs to be a lot slicker next issue.
Killer of Demons #2
This issue continues all the good work from the first issue – Yost takes into account that his main character Dave may just be insane (because he’s seeing demons everywhere and is killing them on the orders of an angel), while still providing over-the-top violence and laughs (and a nice twist in events when he reveals what Rachel, Dave’s girlfriend and police officer, does when she discovered some incriminating evidence); he even makes up for the cliché of the ‘hot chick in mini-skirt, tank top and leggings is also a kick-ass fighter’ with a joke at its expense (‘Wow. I feel kind of dirty just looking at her.’) and a ridiculously hilarious way for her to die. Wegener does a great job, mixing humour with great action – I’m going to have to check out his earlier work because he’s got the stuff. I hope this finishes satisfactorily in the final issue – they can keep on with the character, but I want a complete story in this three-issue mini-series first.
