[Ben the Obiwomble]

Knew there was something by Bedard I'd forgotten, Exiles is it!

[Deniz]

Bedard does good, solid work I think. He's got enough skill and craft that even when it's editorially directed, it's still pretty great. For instance, his Birds of Prey run was way better than anything McKeever did, despite being a fill in and heavily tied into whatever was going on. And he's one of the VERY few writers who have managed to run with what Grant Morrison has thought up and make it intriguing and powerful (Great 10).

But being so good at doing editorially driven stories, he tends to get those jobs a lot, and by their very nature they tend to allow much creativity. Some of his best work to date was Great Ten, for instance, which gave us the unrestrained creativity of Morrison combined with the straightforward, dynamic storytelling of Bedard.

This first arc of GL was basically prescribed to him by the editorial team on GL, I think. From what I've heard, he was told that he had to use the Alpha Lanterns and Cyborg Superman. And I think he's doing a decent job with what he has, especially with Cyborg Superman, but there is only so much one can do with that set up I think.

Basically, I'm reserving judgement for the second arc (and, lets be honest, given what a GL fan I am I'll be collecting this either way). I'd like to see some big bombast in the upcoming issues. He just brought back Pulsar Stargrave by form of Solaris in "REBELS", and I always thought an Evil Star/Solaris team up would be absolutely boss. Perfect for GL, or GLC.

Also, as for JMS, I've enjoyed the vast, vast majority of his work, and I think 'endings' actually tend to be his strengths. It's just that, often times, he doesn't get to them. But with finite books, like Rising Stars and Silver Surfer and Bullet Points and most of the individual issues of Brave and the Bold, he's done a great job.

Loved his Superman, was a little more underwhelmed by his Wonder Woman (which was a solid action book, but hardly groundbreaking nor particularly engaging on a character level).

I'd kill to get him on GL (or Cornell, who by far had the best book of the week, beating out even Grant Morrison).

[Jim Ohara]

Action Comics 891 was maybe the best Lex Luthor comic I've ever read, and my favorite 'Superman' book since Red Son. EVERY comic book fan should be reading this book. All of you buy this! It's magnificent!

[brucegray666]

Agreed 100% Jim, Cornell's take on Luthor is fantastic!

[Ben the Obiwomble]

Hmm, anyone know why the TPB thread's been locked?

Anyway, onto this week's trio of titles:

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne 4: I had expected to dislike this given the slating the art is getting but I didn't find that too bad and, in any case, a strong script from Morrison overcomes any weaknesses in the art - so proving the old line that good writing can overcome bad art but good art can't overcome a bad script. What is especially effective here are the links established to both earlier issues and the wider arc as Wayne tangles with a Dr Thomas! Not only that but the doctor is supposedly 150 years old! All the signs are pointing to a finale now and it's great. Still, compared to the other 2 titles, it is the weakest one of the three.

Secret Avengers 3: On the one hand Brubaker explains some of what is going on with Mars while tantalising us with the Shadow Council. There's also some stunning action set-pieces to match the discussions as Valkyrie engages first the thralls then their master before being brutally beaten, then the Archon, the massive robot encountered last issue takes on the possessed Nova. Deodato excels on the art, while Brubaker sketches out an altogether more esoteric kind of adversary. Great work.

Action Comics 891: By now you'll have concluded what the best comic of the week was, you haven't? My, my, how little would Lex think of you? Cornell showed he could do it last issue but proves here it wasn't a fluke, it would be so easy to fall into the pitfalls of making Luthor too villainous or heroic or even sympathetic figure, yet Cornell deftly dances around all three. He retains a sense of distance from Luthor that allows him to show up Lex's delusions - that he sees himself as a Promethean figure while desperately wanting to be god. At the same time Mr Mind attempts to subtly control Luthor, engaging in what looks to be 4th wall breaking antics as he talks to the readers while watching said plan go up in smoke. Woods' art is great throughout and the issue ends on a very effective cliffhanger.

[Aris]

GLC was pretty meh if you ask me. It lacks any punch. To me its a comic to drop. Along with the Legion books.

I may have to admit Action is pretty impressive. If not for the great work by Johns and Mahnke this week on GL it would be the number 2 book of the week. Authority the lost year was #2 for me. Great art and Morrison/Giffen make an awesome writing team.

-aris

[THE REAL SCOTt]

I'll have to review the rest in a bit, but for now--

ACTION891 Fun issue. I loved the part where Lex said something like obviously Mr. Mind got his psyche wrong. That's the Lex I know and love!

GLC50 This was pretty cool! I'm not a GLC reader, never really liked GL, but Cyborg Superman is a big favorite of mine. His new duds are cool. Only things missing are the weird holes and stuff in his body that Jurgens used to give him. But, he still has that great scowl, so I'm happy. I absolutely loved the focus on him and the tie into BLACKEST NIGHT. Thought the Nekron confrontation would have more meat, but what can you do? The Ganthet fight has potential. Wish there were more pages for the issue, but I'm psyched for next month. Will Bedard ever finish NEGATION WAR? I loved Crossgen, but a huge factor in that was that they put out those premium monthly anthologies of all sorts of different great stuff for like ten bucks for two hundred pages. I don't see Marvel doing that, so MAN, I MISS THEM!

Anyway, more reviews to come. About to read WONDER WOMAN in a little while.

This post has been edited by THE REAL SCOTt: 02 August 2010 - 08:17 AM

[Craig MacD]

Finally managed to get new comics today.


The Flash #4 - the first three issues of this series were pretty ho-hum and quite formulaic. Barry got in a fight with the Renegades, sent them packing, did a superspeed trick, hung out with Iris and the crime lab boys, wash, rinse, repeat. This issue starts out pretty much the same, but the revelation by the Top from the 25th century changes things. This should have been done in the second issue, certainly by the third. Having to wait 4 issues before things actually got interesting is not the way to write a Flash comic. Or any comic for that matter.

Legion of Super-Heroes #3 - haven't read the second issue yet (I moved and the LCS I get comics from now had to order it in for me) but this was pretty good. Not great, but entertaining. I'm glad we're getting to see some more Legionnaires. And I'm glad that Earth-Man won't be the 31st century's GL.

Action Comics #890 - picked up the first issue of Paul Cornell's run. Surprised by the Lois Lane adroid, and the fact that Lex seems to be going over the deep end more than he ever did before. All in all, a decent start.

Brightest Day #6 - some gruesome scenes (a couple on a picnic gets killed), some funny stuff ("Eat a Cheeseburger") and some revelations about Mera, but nothing to really wow or impress. The Firestorm storyline bores me. I'll stick around for next issue to see exactly why these guys were resurrected but I don't think I'll keep reading after that.

Justice Society of America #41/Justice League of America #47 - I'm surprised at how good this crossover is shaping up to be, especially given how long its taken James Robinson to find his feet with the JLA book. Some nice twists and surprises here, not the least of which was one of Morrison's Seven Soldiers showing up to help out. Robinson finally seems to be getting a better handle on dialogue as the characters are starting to find unique voices here instead of all talking exactly the same. Books of the Week!


Green Lantern Corps #50 - some flashback stuff to explain the origin of Cyborg Superman, but nothing of any real interest. Boring. Hopefully after this storyline is over we'll have seen the last of him and the Alpha-Lanterns.

Green Lantern #56 - another issue that disappointed. Larfleeze is a fun character, especially since he seems to believe in Santa Claus, but all the stuff with Hector Hammond was of no interest.

Madame Xanadu #25 - a strong issue that ends on a rather curious note. I'm assuming that each chapter of this "storyline" is supposed to read as a "done in one", which makes the last page of this issue stand out a bit more than it normally would. Enjoyed it though. I like that Wagner has taken the approach of telling these stories from the point of view of those affected instead of Madame Xanadu herself.