Still waiting to talk about my thoughts on Atlas (I bought issue #3 this week), so only two comics to talk about today, which is good because time is of the essence.
Heroic Age: Prince of Power #3
I really loved this issue. I thought it was good when Thor said, ‘Serpents. Why does it always have to be serpents?’ I thought it got better when Delphyne did her thing (firstly ‘Cue “armouring up for the big fight” montage music’, then ‘The word you’re looking for …It’s “cold-blooded”.’) But it was topped by Amadeus slipping a roofie to Sekhmet, the lioness Lady of Slaughter, and turning her into Hathor, Goddess of Love, who turns out to be an Egyptian Lolcat (‘O HAI HOOMINS! KITTEH NEEDS KISSUS PLZ!’). Messrs Van Lente and Pak, you do delight me. Throw in some Egyptian mythology (they are always educating as well as entertaining, those two rascals) and fine art from both Reilly Brown and Zach Howard, who I think did the Amadeus and Delphyne pages, respectively, and you’ve got a brilliant comic book. Simply marvellous.
X-Factor #207
‘She was tall and elegant, with a body that was eighty percent legs and one hundred percent trouble. It just didn’t come more noir than her.’ The second book in my pile this week was just as funny as the first, with Peter David firing on all cylinders, starting with the description from Madrox’s narration (for a character whose identity is given away rather blatantly on the cover). Madrox gets a new case, Monet deals with Baron Mordo in a very neat manner (with nice misdirection, although it did require explaining because it wasn’t completely sold by the art), there is a frank and emotional discussion between Rictor and Shatterstar about the state of their relationship, and there is a good final page cliffhanger – it’s certainly a packed issue. The art takes a turn for the better – Sebastian Fiumara is new to the book, and his art has a strong line, a good sense of storytelling, a sense of moody atmosphere necessary for the noir elements of the book but with a cleanness needed for superhero characters. I really enjoyed his take on the X-Factor team, completing a great package.