Sunday, October 28, 2007

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This weekend i read Incredible Change-Bots by Jeffrey Brown and The Damned by Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt. Both of these were very good comics. I hope to write up some reviews in a couple of days, but my sinuses are bothering me and that makes it harder to think. I also might post about the Grassroots Festival at Shakori Hills that i attended a couple weeks ago.

Quick reviews of new comics:

Metal Men #3: The time-travel elements and a lot of the science-y talk lost me last issue, but not so much this time. T.O. Morrow's rant on the first page about his Death Metal Men was great--over-the-top, mad scientist bravado that was well written and hilarious. I loved it. Duncan Rouleau is going to be a writer/artist i look out for from now on.

Knights of the Old Republic #21: A lot of transition stuff going on here. The cast seems to be getting re-focused, as some people step on stage and others step off. I think they'll have a good mix of main characters that will play well in the next arc. The cover is kinda old school, with dialog and panels set into the image; that feels very "comic book-y", which is cool.

Umbrella Academy: There's a huge "Royal Tennenbaums" vibe going on here, and that's fine by me. The odd superpowered siblings gather for their adoptive father's funeral. One sibling is offered an opportunity to betray the others. This series drops you into this very interesting and layered world, with lots of history and characters going in differing directions, so it feels like a book that been around a while, rather than one that's only on its second issue.

Blue Beetle #20: Read Ami's review. We learn a wee bit more about the Reach--as a worldbuilding buff i really want to know more about them, esp. since they are one of the few groups formidable enough to have a truce with the Guaridans of the Universe.

Green Lantern Corps #17: The "Sinestro War" epic is in "third act big battle" stage right now, so lots and lots of action in this one. It's all cool, but what intrigues me are the parts that will have repurcusions after this arc, like the new receipient of the Ion powers. All the characters get a decent amount of attention. Gibbons is good at handling large casts.

The Sword #1: A very good first issue. We learn who our protagonist is, a little of what she's about, we see her world fleshed out in a satisfying way, and then in the last few pages the supernatural element of the story calmly walks into her life and throws everything into chaos. This was well constructed, and drew me into the world and story very well. I really want to find out what's next, and that's what a good periodical story does.