Previews XVIII #11 ~ Everyone's tightening their belts with the economy in the crapper, and I'm no different, so my list of 'stuff of note' from Previews this month is a bit lean, as I passed by a lot of things just because I didn't want to over-extend my already stressed luxury budget. Still, there are a few things that bear pointing out. Ythaq: The Forsaken World issue #2 is solicited (Marvel Previews p18) - I can't think why I missed it last month, but I'll be ordering the whole series, since the excellent Marvel reprint of Sky Doll has whetted my appetite for European sci-fi comics; I've been told Universal War One is very good too. Velocity #1 (p170) is coming from Top Cow, the other half of last year's Pilot Season winners, and the one I was really looking forward to. Sistah Samurai (p202) sounds... I don't know really, maybe fun, maybe just silly Japanese-wannabe stuff, but for some reason it caught my eye and I'll be giving it a shot. Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs Zombies #2 (p202) is coming, that's a must-have. The Aspen Showcase (p206) series continues with an issue devoted to Ember, a character I know nothing about, but what the heck, I'll give it a shot, since the issue about Aspen was a cut above average. Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #54 (p228) looks great, and the trade paperback of I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space is another one I have to have.
On the merchandise front, there are several worth noting, but only one that rocks my world: the Supernatural 'Lenore' mini-bust (p418). I've only seen one episode of the TV show - the one with Lenore, because she was played by Amber Benson, who is an utter goddess. My comic shop is fairly reliable at getting in all kinds of merchandise even though it's marked 'only in the US', so hopefully they'll come through for me on this one. Down at the level of mere mortals there's a Wonder Woman statue (p129) starting the 'Cover Girls of the DC Universe' line, which looks like it'll be the slightly-more-expensive full-statue equivalent of the 'Women of the DCU' mini-busts; I'm really tempted, but with the Australian dollar lower against the greenback, US$99 is a big chunk of cash again, so I may reluctantly have to skip that one. Also tempting for sheer quality, but probably impossible for me to get unless the dollar jumps back to equal to the US, is the Fantasy Figure Gallery statue of Luis Royo's 'Medusa's Gaze' (p410) - I know nothing about the art (or artist, really), but the statue deserves a look from anyone who collects such things and could possibly afford its US$125 price tag.
Empowered volume four ~ Empowered has had me hooked from the first volume, and this one doesn't let me down. Continuing the trend that's been happening volume to volume, this one concentrates primarily on long-format stories (though there are a few short pieces in there, reminiscent of the 'random funny stuff' shorts in volume one), and deliberately works on long-term plotlines and character arcs. The big plotline for this volume is Emp's nomination for a Capey award (superhero Oscars), which brings all kinds of manic highs and lows from the adorably high-strung heroine, especially when her bitch-queen comrade Sistah Spooky suggests that it's all just a cruel joke being played on her. Meanwhile Ninjette is hard-hit by her near-abduction in the previous volume, a subplot that runs the length of this one with her sinking into depression and denial, and Emp's innocent attempts to cheer her up with boyfriend Thugboy inadvertently lead to a suppressed desire sparking between Thugboy and Ninjette. It's not all long-term character content though, there's plenty of the wry comedy commentary on superheroes and their antics, plus of course the always-hilarious overblown dialogue from Caged Demonwolf narrating out loud on everything going on. Writer/artist Adam Warren's work is as sharp as ever, with his luscious un-inked pencils offering a wealth of depth and vitality to the art. This volume also reprints an Emp story from Dark Horse Presents on MySpace, or something or other (don't ask me, I'm mystified by all that MyFace TubeBook stuff), inked and coloured.
I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space #5 ~ This issue the beautiful yet unaccountably un-lesbian Sally Speed enlists the aid of Male Man to recover her stolen spaceship, while the Lesbian Pirates - on said spaceship - argue over who gets what rooms, and the Captain finally explains why they kidnapped Susie to begin with, although her attempt to then explain it to Susie herself goes a bit astray, what with Susie's thoughts about the Captain drifting off into other areas. The humour is as spot-on as always, and writer/artist Megan Rose Gedris really stretches her artistic muscles, showing that not only can she do amazing things with the simple-looking (on the surface) retro art, but that she can rely solely on art when she wants to, with some excellent near-silent sequences. Golly indeed. Don't forget to order the trade paperback from the current Previews, containing all six issues, and check out the comic's website where issue eight has just begun, free for anyone to view.
Contract Solo Missions: Tsumi ~ Tsumi, the quiet one of the Stellar Rangers trio from Contract, is first cab off the rank in the Solo Missions issues, and he proves that he can headline a comic just fine without Panzer's hilarious dialogue and Jessie's hot ass-kickery taking the weight for him. The issue continues very much in the vein of the preview pages posted here on The Comic Forums, with Dr. Cindy Lyn, scientist-on-the-run, providing the entry point for the reader into the story, and Tsumi largely seen from her point of view (though, unlike Lyn, we know better than to assume he's just some dumb farmer). Lyn's an interesting character, with an amusingly abrasive edge to her - through deft writing she manages to be unlikeable (though not so much as to be genuinely unsympathetic), but still quite fun to read along with. Her being the reader 'anchor' lets Tsumi maintain his quiet mystique, though obviously he gets to show off plenty of awesome moves at the same time, as the information we've been given in the data pages of Contract issues about teralite and its powers gets put into practice in spectacular fashion - the result is kind of a mix between a Crouching Tiger martial arts hero movie and Street Fighter's Ryu, the coolest of the cool mystic-powered kung fu guys. The improbably-named Kill-A-Lot and Dave are an eye-catching duo of one-shot antagonists for this issue, and Tsumi's battle with them has an interesting undercurrent, brought to light in the finale, that makes it more than just generic action. Besides the story there's the usual extra feature pages, including character sketches for this issue, an Andrew Charipar convention sketch of Tsumi, and (ego-stroking time) a thanks page with a mention of Herione Addict, yay!
Avengers: The Initiative #18 ~ This title's ambitious side-story to Secret Invasion reaches its penultimate issue, with all manner of chaos going on. The new-look Skrull Kill Krew are rampaging about the country targeting and eliminating the Skrull infiltrators on every 50 State Initiative team they can find, and picking up recruits along the way, while at Camp Hammond the Skrull high command (unknowingly spied upon by a hiding Ant-Man) is taking note and making plans to get rid of these thorns in their sides. It's character-heavy action as usual - if you're the kind of reader who doesn't like not being introduced to characters as they turn up, this title must be hell, as superheroes pop out of nowhere left and right with little explanation - though they're all treated well and given their due, so far as I can tell from the ones I do know. The appearance of the Order was a nice highlight. My one quibble with this particular issue is Cloud 9 - my favourite character from the start of the Initiative, but I don't like the direction she's gone in now. Not that I'm opposed to the idea of it, just that she seems to have flipped into the uber-cold soldier role with little explanation; even in the final issues before she graduated she was never this hardass. Also, sorry, but her helmet is abysmal; I'd love to see more attention given to her, but I just can't imagine any other comic wanting to feature her looking like that. Fix that and it'll be all cylinders firing for this title, in its usual geek-friendly continuity-heavy manner.
Red Sonja #38 ~ I am starting to wonder why it is that Brian Reed can be so good on Ms. Marvel, yet turn out this kind of rather bland, forgettable Red Sonja issue as well. It's not that it's bad, it's just nothing special - generic fantasy, the kind of thing you'd get from a made-for-TV movie, or an episode of Hercules when the writers weren't feeling very inspired. The 'reboot' of Red Sonja into a new age continues to be very shaky, with Sonja's characterisation continually using her old self as a crutch, providing battle skills out of nowhere with only the slightest acknowledgement that she's not the same person. This issue suffers especially from a lot of time being spent with pointless violence - that, and the eye candy, is starting to grate, especially when a dull issue opens with a conveniently gorgeous and sexily-attired slave girl getting her throat cut - it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and since the culprits, like everyone else, aren't very well-defined as characters or as a faction, it's not like the story's intricate enough that it feels like it can justify such lurid sex-and-violence content. This arc has two more issues to go - I'll get them, but they need to show improvement, because right now the best thing about these issues are the covers, and that ain't value for money at US$3 an issue.
Fathom #3 ~ The big bang value of the previous issues isn't wasted here, as we get bold political moves on both sides - the Blue debating whether to reveal their existence to the surface world (in a manner that suggests it might actually happen, rather than just everything going back to the status quo), while in Washington the truth about our planet's other inhabitants starts emerging as the nation's leaders grapple with the attacks against Pearl Harbour and San Diego. The sense that something might change is the key - normally in comics there's the status quo and everything goes back to it after the crisis, but here I'm genuinely believing that this story might just keep going in the direction it's going - maybe it won't and I'll be disappointed, but so far I remain optimistic. On top of that the various character-based threads are all advanced a bit, with Aspen and co. still intent on rescing her brother, while Cannon faces down Kiani. And to round it all off, there's a heavy heaping of narration, which helps set the scene in a broader way for newcomers like me, now that the immediate action has been set in motion. To sum up, there's a lot going on, and all of it shows promise; as of next issue I'll be adding this to my standing order, rather than just picking up issues off the shelf.
Zero-G #2 ~ Action aplenty here, as the NASA team that's landed on the big giant rock in space quickily goes from 'in danger' to 'in deep s#!*', with their shuttle irredeemably sabotaged, their medic revealed to be a drug addict, scientist hero Atom Weaver weirdly affected by an encounter with some samples they gathered, and the team's allotment of soldiers quickly running out due to giant carnivorous alien worms. It's Armageddon with extra sci-fi fun, much like the first issue, and like the first issue the secret is that it never stops moving - it's not the smartest or most original comic, but the story rockets along from high to high, barely pausing along the way, so that you're really getting something worth noting every time you turn the page. Like the best blockbusters, there's simply too much going on to ever get bored - and the art holds up its end of the blockbuster bargain, delivering slick, smooth visuals that could've come right out of a Michael Bay film (I mean that as a compliment, I like his work mostly). Besides 25 pages of story, there are five pages of extras, including a deconstruction of the process used to create the art - interesting for a layman like me to see it done - and a very funny pin-up art page.
Well, if you're still around, here's me as Dinah Lance - don't say I didn't warn you:
