Cable & Deadpool 30 & 31
Another Civil War crossover but this one is a lot of fun as Deadpool signs up with the government to track down outlaw heroes and finds himself in over his head. Fabian Nicieza's writing makes the most of Deadpool's humour and it's nice to read a comic that doesn't take itself too seriously for a change. Staz Johnson is another one of Marvel's average artists, more than capable of telling a tale but lacking that certain something.
City of Heroes 14
The problem with this series is it's just too simple, there's no expanding of the characters from the NCSoft RPG game, no fleshing them out into believable people. It's just superhero fights bad guy month after month and it's getting boring. David Wohl needs to come up with a new direction or I doubt this will continue much longer. Ronan Cliquet's pencils seem okay but it looks like they're being inked using a marker pen; there's almost no detail.
Civil War 3
Who says politics and mainstream comics shouldn't mix? It's nice to see a major company like Marvel doing something that resonates with the world outside. There are elements of Bush's 'war on terror' here particularly the Homeland Security Act and it's come under fire from some quarters for it's perceived anti-government stance. Politicians are portrayed as self-serving individuals with their own agenda and the main hero on the government's side (Iron Man) is much the same, while the super patriotic Captain America leads the anti-registration heroes, so in some ways you can see their point. Yet if you look at it from another perspective, I think you see a different message. All the hyper-intelligent superheroes (Mr Fantastic, Yellowjacket, Iron Man) are on the government's side, all those who fight more from a gut level sense of right and wrong (Daredevil, Captain America) are against the Act. Looked at this way it can be seen as a battle between America's heart and it's head and the shocking climax to this issue could tip the balance either way. Mark Millar knows how to write BIG superhero action (he did it on The Ultimates ) while not losing site of the human element. In a world filled with average comic artists Steve McNiven is a breath of fresh air, his incredibly detailed work is breathtaking.
Daughters of the Dragon 6
The final issue of this mini series is a non-stop actionfest but still with the series trademark tongue-in-cheek sense of fun. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmotti have done a good enough job on this to get a well-deserved regular series (Heroes for Hire .) Khari Evans art is hyper-stylised and fits the book's retro kung-fu/blacksploitation action extremely well.
Article comments
1 - moebiusgraphics.com
RE: Frank Miller's BATMAN VERSUS AL-QAEDA
After finishing 120 pages prior to the premiere of SIN CITY in the spring of 2005, Miller's only completed about ten pages of the book in the past year. And with other, more lucrative movie work ahead of him outside of comics (300, SIN CITY 2, THE SPIRIT), plus STILL not having yet finished the abortion that is ALL-STAR BATMAN, don't count on seeing this comic any time soon.
2 - Ian Woolstencroft
I’m not even convinced it will get released even if he does finish it. Have DC confirmed they will publish it? As far as I’m aware there hasn’t been an official announcement from them.
I take it you’re not a fan of All Star Batman? From a story point of view I think it’s one of the worst things Miller’s done. Still at least Jim Lee’s art looks great. I hadn’t heard the news about The Spirit film so thanks for that. While I’m certainly excited about it, once again I’m not convinced it will happen. Has there been any confirmation from other sources than Miller? He’s certainly the perfect choice though so I’ll keep my figures crossed.
3 - yenrag
"Ron Garneys artwork is not up to the task." You're wrong.Instead of making blanket sttements that hurt peoples careers, list reasons that can help them. Its called a critique. Otherwise your review is worthless.
Best,
Ron Garney
4 - yenrag
"Ron Garneys art isnt up to the standard" Your wrong Ian. It most certainly is. Instead of making blanket statements about someones work that potentially can damage a career, try making constructive comments with reasons attached. Its called a critique, otherwise your review is worthless.
Best,
Ron Garney
5 - Ian Woolstencroft
Yenrag I see you needed two attempts to get your point across.
Firstly, telling me I’m wrong just because you don’t agree with me is far more a blanket statement than the one I made. In my opinion, Garney’s art isn’t up to the standard of the other artists I mentioned, that’s not to say it’s bad, just workmanlike. Not everyone can be a superstar artist whose name on a book will help to sell it. For every Jim Lee there are ten Ron Garney’s but every army needs soldiers as well as generals. My point was that in recent years Amazing Spider-Man readers have been spoilt by Marvel, with some of there top talent working on the book.
If only I had as much power as you seem to credit me with! The first of my regular monthly columns and I’m already damaging someone’s career. And if you were indeed Ron Garney (instead of his number one fanboy) I think your ego is big enough to take my criticism, after all I’m wrong and you are as good as John Romita Jr. and Mike Deodato Jr, at least according to your comment.
6 - Garth
Ian, I saw your comments about Edgar Rice Burroughs and I'm betting like you that anticipation will be high for a Mars series.
I know this at least anectdotely because I'm seeing a lot of activity on an older Edgar Rice Burroughs book at the auction site. A lot of people appear to have a lot of pint-up emotions about getting their hands on his materials.