Besides the above (and below) comics, this week the Real Power of the DC Universe poster arrived, featuring eleven of DC's superheroines (of super-sometimes-heroines-more-of-less in the case of Harley and Ivy, and Catwoman to a lesser extent) all done up in lovely gowns. One thing to note is that, compared to the image I liked to there (and others I've seen online) the poster itself has Poison Ivy's skin coloured pale green; regardless (if that's an issue in the first place, I don't mind it) it's an artistic, sophisticated-looking piece, and I'm toying with the idea of having it framed.
Drone #1 ~ Another advance PDF from Red 5 Comics - though I hope no-one things I'm going to be biased just because they're sending me free stuff. Luckily, bias isn't necessary, as this first issue is good reading. Drone was previewed back in Red 5's free comic book day issue this year, and (like We Kill Monsters) I thought it felt a bit off-kilter. Having now read the full first issue, I can happily report that (like We Kill Monsters) the real thing is much more cohesive and compelling to read than the preview was; Red 5 really need to pick their preview pages better for next FCBD. Drone is the story of three typical layabout college-age kids who, thanks to some sneaky computer work in the pursuit of amusement, have tapped into the surveillance feed of a team of remote-controlled robot soldiers deployed by the US in a war zone. They watch, cheering and wise-cracking as if it were a video game - safely insulated from the brutal reality of the violence they're witnessing - until (this is the bit the FCBD issue didn't show, and what takes it from 'has potential' to 'is really good') a craft enemy mucks up the Drones' systems, in a bid to gain control over them. The US military is locked out - but the kids aren't, and to save the life of a captured technician, they take direct control of a drone themselves. This story has so much scope for commenting on war, desensitisation, and the turmoil of kids finding themselves, all unwitting, suddenly making life-or-death decisions they're utterly unprepared for - plus the writing is lively and intelligent, and entertaining without detracting from the seriousness of the matters at hand, while the art is solid work too. The Previews code is SEP090954 - I'll be keeping a close eye on this title as it progresses, and at the very least I think it's safe to say Red 5 have sold me a trade paperback of it already.
Supergirl Annual #1 ~ Ah, Supergirl - I keep trying to get back into reading her (since the abysmal mid-teen issues put me off her), but every time I take a glance, something seems to be going on that makes me think I'd rather not. This being a one-shot I decided to take a chance on it, and sadly I have to say I wasn't entirely rewarded. The main story is simple enough: with Kryptonians persona non grata on Earth (something to do with this New Krypton thing I haven't bothered reading about) Kara is lying low, but on seeing a robebry gone wrong she can't help but charge in the save the day, and winds up potentially being outed and captured for her troubles. I can see the interest in a story like this, but I'm not interested in it myself - not for Supergirl. Maybe it's because I haven't been reading her enough lately - although this not being a regular issue, I'd have liked it to have broader appeal than that - but I don't find anything really captivating about her as a character. Rather, she comes across as just a generic hero that DC have plugged into an arbitrary storyline that's really nothing new - the persecuted, misunderstood hero, with variations, is well-trodden ground for comics. The backup story concerns Superwoman, a character who made her debut after I stopped reading, and I only skimmed over it - again, it didn't grab my interest; it doesn't seem to really be interested in examining a character with dignity and purpose, if you get my meaning. (Unrelated to Supergirl, but on DC in general - could the 'DC Nation' pages possibly get any more lazy and pointless? Jesus Christ people, get the book's creative team to jot down a few words, and stick in next month's cover, plus some cross-promotion like Marvel do.)
Fall Out Toy Works #1 ~ This is one I basically just ordered on a whim, and luckily it turns out it's quite interesting. The story concerns a 'toymaker' - the toys in this case being various kinds of robots and androids - who has a whole load of cash dangled in front of his face by a powerful but shady tycoon, in exchange for turning his skills to creating a female droid capable of feeling love (emotions being within the scope of the 'cybers', but very complicated to pull off even for simple ones, with love being thus-far unheard-of). It's a solid sci-fi story idea, and it's presented in a sequence of stylish and engrossing scenes, with good attention paid to creating the 'flavour' of the world and its people, not just sketching out the necessary information on its own. The art is good too, but I want to give special mention to colourists Sunny Gho and Imaginary Friends Studios, since the quality of light and shade really goes above and beyond in making this comic look out of the ordinary. Ultimately it's not quite as sophisticated as Sky Doll - yet, but it might build into something along those lines, since the potential is certainly there.
Invincible Iron Man #17 ~ Tony's still on the run with his brain disintegrating, Black Widow and Maria Hill are doing their black ops thing (with Hill still a mental mess), and Madame Masque claims to have killed Pepper. Yeah, right - it's no surprise that there's a twist coming there, although what they seem to be implying is rather gleefully audacious. But all in all it's just another day at the office for this title - it's a good issue, though, not one that breaks new ground, but it firms up its storyline in preparation for big things to come (kind of like Agents of Atlas this week, below), and there are glimmers of a sense that it'll be a good payoff.
Justice League: Cry for Justice #3 ~ Mauro Cascioli's art continues to be, if you ask me, the future of mainstream comics - a real evolution from the current general style that can do the same things for a story, but offers more than the old style can (big praise I know, but I do really like it), but it's the writing that really makes this a winner. Every scene - no matter what's happening, whether it's idle chit-chat or heroes interrogating a villain or arguing amongst themselves or everyone fighting - is enjoyable not just for what it shows, but for the way it shows it. Whether or not I give a damn about the characters (and the characterisation is strong, so I tend to like them even if they're new to me) or the story (which is also fairly persuasive, so good work there too), the writing itself, narration and dialogue, is a pleasure to read. And that's a rare thing in comics, and the hallmark of all those I call favourites. If (as I recall reading somewhere) James Robinson is indeed going to take over writing Justice League of America proper following this miniseries, I'll definitely be following him.
Agents of Atlas #10 ~ This is an intermediate kind of issue - lots of things are happening, but the big plot points at present have already been put into play, and they're not being wrapped up here. Rather, all the pieces are being moved around a bit, fine-tuning and setting up and introducing complications to best serve the action to come - at least, I assume that's what's intended. Done wrong, this sort of time in a story can seem dull (witness the 'middle movie of the trilogy' syndrome, where the movie that's neither the beginning nor the end has trouble succeeding; only the best trilogies overcome that one), but here the comic decides to turn its in-between nature into a strength, and deliberately separates all the strands of its story into discrete packets, even (cutely) with their own little title cards within the issue. Thus what might've seemed dull is presented in a way that gives it the charm and immediacy of a series of vignettes, and it becomes natural as a reader to quickly acclimatise to a new location and character(s), and just as quickly move on once their work is done. I'm still wondering if this comic, due to the style of its writing, might be better read in large chunks as trade paperbacks, rather than month by month as issues; next issue's big battle (preluded here) may go some way to letting me make an educated guess at that, and naturally I'll let you know what I think. In other news, Venus looks like she'll be getting some plot attention soon, which will be nice - she's had some worthwhile scenes here and there, but a nice weighty storyline of her own will be rewarding.
Mercy Sparx #4 ~ For some reason, this comic is just made to annoy me - even the printers got in on the act this issue, with several pairs of pages not completely separated at the far edges, so that I had to carefully slice them apart with my trusty Swiss Army Knife (which I did actually get in Switzerland, many years ago) to read it. And that was business as usual for this comic, which is to say, sadly, disappointment. There's good art, dynamic combat scenes, a decent cast and some nice epic-conflict dialogue going on during the fighting, but what it lacks is pacing, and it lacks it completely. Mercy's characterisation has been presented about as poorly as it could have been, with only #0 showing us someone entertaining and likeable; since then she's had two issues of being a sarcastic bitch (engaged in a mission which was obviously a fake, and therefore nothing to her credit), and now it's been two issues of arbitrary epic finale that's more of less come out of nowhere, and as a result has no sense of anything at stake. Gee, the bad guy wants to replace God - do you think he will? Of course not. There's only one surprise in this issue - it's a nice one, but it's not nearly enough to provide a satisfying story; the lack of a likeable character for Mercy is just too damning, if you'll pardon the pun. It's just bad storytelling - it's not a bad story, but it's told badly, and knowing (from the Free Comic Book Day issue) that the next miniseries is much of the same, I don't want to read any more. Still, look out for Matt Merhoff's art if he turns up on another title - given good writing to back him up, he'll be worth a serious look.
Barack the Barbarian #2 ~ The mighty Barack's adventure through the Labyrinth of Pundits continues, with various encounters along the way for him and his foes bearing amusing similarities to real-world personalities (although being not especially interested in American politics - apart from the outcome of it - I didn't recognise half of them; Letterman I got, though)... but if I'm honest, I have to admit that I'm starting to wonder how much longevity this has. Oh, it's amusing - the cut-backs to the ice age future (trying to explain basketball and so on) are a bit of a gem - but I think there may be a flaw in the basic idea of this comic that's going to sabotage it in the end. See, it can't take itself too seriously - for one thing, it's obviously a bit of light-hearted fun, and for another, it has to be light-hearted, because if it started seriously demonising the 'bad guys' it'd seem like a rather crass use of the images of real people. But in taking the light-hearted approach, it loses some of the grandeur of the Conan style - the more-serious-than-death Wagnerian epicness - and without that, I suspect Barack the Barbarian is never going to rise above its parody origins - the Barbarian will never truly become a character in his own right, one we care about and want to see achieve victory, because he'll always just remain a cute cosplay reflection of the real guy. Maybe I'm wrong - I'm not giving up yet - but I'm going to need to see some genuine storytelling soon, not just random combat encounters with pop politics jokes thrown in; in satire terms, 'Galaxy Quest' rather than 'Scary Movie'.
