Hi, everybody! Brief note to kick this off, since this is the first one – My Life in the Bush of Comics (or MLitBoC – pronounced M’lit’Bokh like it’s Klingon) is going to be my space to talk about the books I’m reading week to week. Everyone knows I can’t possibly read everything coming out these days, but here’s where I can gather my thoughts about the stuff I am reading, and I’ve love for you guys to sound off in the comments about what you’re enjoying, what you’re hating, books I love that you think are garbage, and maybe some stuff that I’m overlooking. That said, let’s jump into it!
Aliens: Resistance # 2 (of 4)
W/Brian Wood, A/Robert Carey & Dan Jackson
I was overjoyed to hear that a sequel to the incredible Aliens: Defiance was coming, and the idea that it was also a sequel to the greatest piece of non-movie media the Alien franchise has ever produced (Alien: Isolation) gave me cause to put up some pretty unreasonable expectations. Thankfully, those expectations have largely been met, and we got something in this issue that I wouldn’t mind seeing a little more of in Aliens comics – an issue with no actual Aliens in it.
Now, mind you, despite the titular beasties not actually appearing in the book, their presence is still draped like suffocating black latex all over the proceedings. That’s a lesson Isolation learned well from the original Alien film – the less you show of something, the scarier it is. Resistance isn’t really trying to be scary per se, as it’s more of an action romp, but it’s still an effective choice to just focus on the plight of the human characters and the amoral megacorp they’re up against in this issue, only hinting at the xenomorphic Hell that’s about to break loose.
If I have an exoskeletal bone to pick with this book, it’s that unfortunately Robert Carey, although he does a fine job with the mechanical settings and various tools (and the hints we got of his rendition of the Alien last issue certainly looked fine), he has a very hard time with human faces, and that’s a bit of a problem in a story so focused on them. If it weren’t for Amanda and Zula being different races, there really wouldn’t be much to tell them apart.
That said, this series is still a strong recommend. They’ve (thankfully) already announced a followup mini, Aliens: Rescue, and the solicits for that one promise something reasonably awful happening to our beloved Amanda. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see on that.
Bloodshot: Rising Spirit # 4 (of 8)
W: Kevin Grevioux, A: Harvey Tolibao, Isaac Goodhart, and Andrew Dalhouse
It’s not what you’d call a secret that I haven’t been a big fan of this book thus far – it’s one of the first real missteps since Valiant rebooted back in 2012, which is both understandable, due to it being the first book to launch after the massive shakeup following the company’s buyout by DMG Entertainment (and ousting of CEO/CCO/Nerd Boss/All-around great guy Dinesh Shamdasani), but also disappointing, since it’s the first book to launch after the big shakeup.
Luckily, as we hit the midpoint in this origin story for one of Valiant’s heaviest hitters, it is starting to markedly improve – although that may just be the nostalgia talking, as we get reintroduced in this issue to the original 90s lineup of H.A.R.D. Corps (most of whom were murdered back in 2013’s Harbinger Wars event), and it’s a lot of fun to see them back together again, even if it is only for a few pages. The fact that they’re the strong point of the issue, though, brings us back to what’s so problematic about this series in general – Bloodshot is your prototypical “Man with no past” trope, which has allowed some great creators to really go nuts developing his character and persona throughout the last 5 and a half years. But a prequel series for a character like this doesn’t work unless it actually gives us a definitive answer for who this guy was before all the bad stuff that happened to him. This should have been Bloodshot’s Wolverine: Origin, but instead it’s reading more like those frustrating Joker origins where you’re given various possibilities, none of which are probably real.
Maybe I’ll be proven wrong by the end, but I’m not holding my breath for any shocking revelations, especially considering all the creative dissonance behind the scenes on this book, with the original writers being replaced before the first issue hit the stands, and several different artists contributing – sometimes switching halfway through, as in this issue. Regardless, there’s still some fun to be had, and you bet your butt I’m gonna cling to any reason to like a Valiant book, regardless of the circumstances.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #2
W: Jordie Bellaire, A: Dan Mora
This is a weird one. I love “what-if?” stories, and the idea of wrapping a giant version of that inside a reboot of a beloved franchise is interesting, but I can’t help wishing they would have gone a bit farther. An on-screen reboot of Buffy is inevitable before too much longer, so this book becomes something of a lame duck before it even gets going – so why, then, couldn’t we have had a version of Buffy that wasn’t necessarily beholden to actor likenesses from 20 years ago? As much as I love those faces, let’s really change things up. Give me an art style more like that of Shea Beagle or Jenn St Onge, and go wild with the characters. Give me a black Willow with a voodoo birthright that she resists embracing, but eventually integrates with her wicca teachings, or something along those lines.
That said, you should judge things based on what they are, not what you wish they were, and what this book is, is actually pretty solid so far. We are mixing up the characters somewhat – our introduction to Cordelia in this issue marks her as being very different than the version we all hate to love – we’ll have to see how legitimate her kind exterior is once we get to know her a little better. Likewise, Willow being openly gay from the get-go is a no-brainer for a contemporary retelling of this story, but it’s nonetheless nice to see. There’s a lot of potential in this setup to explore familiar stories and relationships from different angles – once the scooby gang gets firmly established, I’d expect a lot more tech-heavy vampire-busting. Exploring how vampires and other similar creatures would exist in a post-patriot-act world is something the recent 5th edition of Vampire the Masquerade has gotten a lot of mileage out of, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same thing here over time.
Ultimately, though, while we’ve had some solid setup, and it’s certainly been fun reacquainting myself with tweaked versions of classic characters, this issue (along with the first) suffer from the same problem of extreme decompression that most comics have these days. I should give a little bit more leniency for licensed books like this to write more overtly to trade, since so much of their primary audience picks stuff up that way, but as a fan of the monthly comic format, I’d like to think my $4 would buy me something close to a meal every once in a while, as opposed to a single McNugget.
Fantastic Four # 7
W: Dan Slott, A: Aaron Kuder
Boy, am I glad this series has gotten better. Sorry, Dan, you know I love you, but that first arc stunk. I hate saying it – I pride myself on finding the good in everything, but there were just so many poor decisions made in the first three issues of the new Fantastic Four. Luckily, that too shall pass, and here in the middle of arc two, the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine – while a far cry from actually living up to that title – feels a lot more like it used to feel.
I’m overjoyed that we’re finally starting to reference some of the events that happened while Reed, Sue, and the kids were away, and acknowledging the hand-waving that was necessary to bring back a more-or-less status quo for Doom and Galactus. Would it be out of line to hope that Riri Williams might show up at some point and challenge Doom for control of Latveria? After all, she was empress for like fifteen minutes. Don’t crush my dreams.
Speaking of Doom, though, while it’s great they’re at least acknowledging the whole “Infamous Iron Man” thing, there was so much stuff that Bendis was setting up for him in that run. I really feel like occasional guest spots in FF isn’t going to be near enough to deliver on all that promise – somebody’s going to have to take up the mantle and give us another Doom-centric series soon, even if it’s just a mini. I mean, come on, Thanos has had *how* many series recently? And he’s just a big purple guy who waxes poetic about how much he wants to kill people. Doom’s way more interesting (he says as everyone who made it this far into the post checks out).
I guess I should talk about the actual book a bit, though, and not just what I want to see later? Big improvement storywise, you already know that (although part of that will depend on whether Doom’s master plan is actually clever enough to make this story seem worthwhile). Big improvement artwise, as well – and I don’t mean to slight Sara Pichelli here. I haven’t read any of her work on Spidey, but I’m sure her art is a much better fit for that book. Here, though, it fell pretty flat. While Aaron Kuder’s not likely to ever win any awards for originality, his artwork gets across the FF feel much better. Overall, still room for this book to grow, but it’s making good progress.
The Flash # 65
W: Joshua Williamson, A: Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Tomeu Morey
There are days when I think that despite everything that’s happened – despite the reinvigorating shot in the arm that was The New 52, despite the return to core values that was Rebirth, and despite the examination of the effect grim, gritty “realism” has had on superhero comics that is Doomsday Clock, the DC Universe will never really recover from the effect that Identity Crisis had on it. I have very complicated feelings on this; it’s ok for heroic characters to have flaws, to be fallible – but there’s a line somewhere, and I think like most lines it’s a little different for everyone, but where the flaws and the misery of a character take center stage so completely that they stop seeming all that heroic.
All that seems like I really dislike this issue, and The Price in general. Believe it or not, this is not the case – I did enjoy the storyline, I just in general, though, find it frustrating that Marvel seems to have such a good bead on what makes “fun” comics these days, and DC occasionally gets lost in their own self-seriousness. I wish this was not the case. That said, the action is lively and well-executed, and I look forward to the implications of exactly who Gotham Girl’s “benefactor” was in future issues of Batman. I do wish Tom King could have been involved with co-writing this arc, though, if for no other reason than I don’t think he ever would have let “At least I didn’t forget about one of my partners” fly. That was a huge throw-me-out-of-the-story moment, because it’s just not Bruce. Or at least it’s not *my* Bruce.
The Forgotten Queen #1
W: Tini Howard, A: Amilcar Pinna
So this was, unquestionably, an odd choice for Valiant. Unity was a good book all the way through, but because of the way it relied so heavily on existing Valiant lore, it’s one of the hardest books for me to sell to people – so a miniseries focusing exclusively on a villain who was only in one arc of that series seemed weird.
Then I started thinking of it as a reintroduction of the character, instead of something designed to appeal to existing fans. If Valiant has long-term plans for War-monger, having her main introduction be in one of the last arcs of a lower-selling title is probably not great. So now we get rising star Tini Howard giving us backstory on the War-monger, and also setting up her return to power in the Valiant U. Is it any good, though? Yes. Yes, it is.
Although initially a bit confusing, with a slightly too-large cast of characters introduced in present-day on the boat, you quickly get drawn into the flow of the story, and Howard’s dialogue for the title character is great. Anyone who spends an issue repeatedly sassing Chinggis Khan deserves an ongoing.
The art is serviceable, although perhaps a little too mired in conventionality for a book like this. Typically, I hate multiple art styles appearing in the same issue, but this could have really benefitted from a somewhat more impressionistic style during the flashback sequences, to clearly delineate the two parallel stories.
Overall, a strong start, and I’m definitely looking forward to more from this character and creative team. I hope this isn’t Howard’s last work for Valiant.
Freedom Fighters # 3
W: Robert Venditti, A: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas
Freedom Fighters is a book I’ve been having to clamp down on my expectations for – it’s delivering a consistently good product, but not the product I was expecting (or, in all honesty, wanting) – but that’s a me problem, not a book problem. When I heard that Robert Venditti, he of X-O Manowar fame, was going to bring that worldbuilding know-how to a story of a fascist-controlled America in 2019, I was expecting The Man in the High Tower with superheroes and a hopeful message. What we got instead was a story that, despite having some contemporary technology draped around, feels pretty out-of-time – which, if not for the current American political climate, would be entirely appropriate for a story about WWII-era metahumans.
I guess the thing I find strangest about the book so far is its unwillingness to cast blame on the American people for allowing such a perverse system to be established, and to willingly participate in it for such a long period of time. In reflection, though, that tone would probably be counter-productive to what the book is actually trying to say. I do hope we get more of the world-building that I know Venditti is capable of in issues to come, even if it means taking a little focus off of the action.
That said, the action here is pretty great. I’ve never been a particular fan of Eddy Barrows – I mostly know him from Sean McKeever’s run on Teen Titans which…is not a sterling endorsement. But, in fairness, he also did the first arc of the 2016 Martain Manhunter series, which I’m a big fan of, and he’s turning out great work so far in this series. Really good use of shadows everywhere, giving everything a harsh, angular look. It’s not noir-ish in the least, but it still manages to keep things pretty dark, which is a good fit for what’s going on.
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Justice League Odyssey # 6
W: Dan Abnett, A: Carmine di Giandomenico, Ivan Plascencia
Well, hasn’t this just been a fun book? Despite the delays that put it coming out significantly behind the other two books in the New Justice line, I thoroughly enjoyed the first arc of JLO, penned by Josh Williamson. We only got a couple of issues of Stjepan Sejic art, but did we really expect anymore? And we’re left with his fantastic character designs after he’s gone. I love odd duck team-ups like this, and the ready-made drama from having characters with as different of worldviews as Azrael, Cyborg, Starfire, and Green Lantern Jessica Cruz trying to work together hasn’t disappointed.
And now, as we enter the second arc, Josh Williamson has stepped aside, with Dan Abnett filling the void. I’m predisposed towards liking anything with Abnett’s name on it, particularly when it’s a book of the cosmic variety. He’s so prolific that his work isn’t all amazing, but he’s also so prolific that the list of amazing runs he’s put out is long enough I won’t bother trying to repeat it here. Based on this first issue, it seems like JLO is something he’s bringing his game to. We’re mostly focused on Darkseid here, and it seems like we’re trying to retcon him into being Star Wars’ Emperor Palpatine, i.e. a man who’s spent his life doing awful, awful things, but in service to a belief that when the super-duper-evil-nasty-threat-from-beyond-the-stars comes calling, he’ll be the only one who can stop it – which is fine enough, although it’s a little odd to hear Darkseid going on about how “Life can be salvaged” when he’s been all about Anti-life for the last not-quite-fifty-years. I did love the subtle callbacks to Tom King’s Mister Miracle, though, and am super-intrigued to see if the events of that series will come up at all in this (were there any events in that series? I’m still not 100% sure).
Unfortunately, while Abnett is a fine replacement for Williamson, di Giandomenico doesn’t quite measure up to either of the artists who came before him. Somewhat like Robert Carey mentioned above, he does fine with all the cool cosmic backdrops littered around this book…but then he draws faces. On the plus side, it looks like Sejic is coming back for a couple of issues coming up, so we have that to look forward to.
Other stuff on the pull list for this week:
Books of Magic #5
Mage: The Hero Denied #15 (I know it seems weird that I didn’t cover this one, but there will be a full MAGE article at some point in the near-ish future)
Martian Manhunter #3
Star Trek: The Q Conflict #2
Star Trek vs. Transformers #5
West Coast Avengers #8
Other stuff I read:
Frankenstein
W: Junji Ito, A: Junji Ito
So I discovered Junji Ito a few years back when one of his short stories from the Fragments of Horror collection was released as part of Halloween Comicfest, and was in love from moment one. Unfortunately, my dance card stays pretty full when it comes to comics, so it’s taken me this long to get around to actually starting to read his works.
The first half of this book is a pretty standard retelling of the Frankenstein story, albeit with Ito’s captivating artwork. The rendition of the monster in this version reminds me of the bonkers Frankenstein Conquers the World movie (which was produced by Toho, and so is part of the shared Godzilla universe). Beyond that, there’s not a ton to say about it. It was an enjoyable read, but it wasn’t really a new twist on the familiar story, just an adaptation.
The second half of the book, though, is a lot more interesting. A collection of short stories all focusing on a high school student named Oshikiri – initially, they seem to be non-continuitous with each other, but after a while you realize that this is a twisty, and quite horrific, tale of alternate-reality doppelgangers crossing over and wreaking havoc, like an episode of Twin Peaks directed by Terry Gilliam that takes place in Silent Hill – which is to say that I loved every second of it. While none of it has the visceral power of Red Turtleneck, that original story I read, the unique style of Ito’s work, taking events that would be silly in anyone else’s hands and making them terrifying, is in full force here. There’s no real resolution to be found at the end of Oshikiri’s stories here, so I hope that means Ito will continue the tale at some later date. Sometime soon, I fully intend to dive into the rest of Ito’s works, probably starting with his much-lauded Uzumaki trilogy.
That’s all for this week – my goal is to get one of these up every week going forward, so check back often! Also, it’s easier to write these when I know people are reading them, so share them on social media, and by all means, let’s get some discussion going in the comments! Comics don’t have to be a solitary hobby, and I’d love to use this as a platform to get some discussion going!