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What is this? Why it’s the latest in my ongoing little blogs about new comics I have tried! You can find the rest here. Per usual, these little reviews aren’t too spoilerific, other than what you’d find in the basic plot synopsis.
The Tithe #1 – One of my friends, who I bumped into at the comic shop, mentioned this and I was intrigued. Basically, it’s about a group of people robbing mega-churches, and the detectives who are trying to catch them. At least, that’s my impression from issue #1. It’s an interesting set-up, and pretty on the nose. It’s clear the author has no particular love for mega-churches, certainly. The critique seems pretty on point. What will make it an interesting story, I think, is once we start getting a better idea of the character’s motivations. I’m also hoping the book muddies the waters a bit more about who is right and wrong in the conflict. There’s a bit of that, but I wouldn’t mind them pushing it further. It’ll just make for a more interesting book.
Arcadia #1 – I read about this somewhere on line and was intrigued by the premise (the same for the upcoming Lantern City) and decided to give it a go. At first, I was a tiny bit worried this was going to be a typical “Humanity has screwed everything up and now we’re in the Matrix” sort of tale. But, as I got further into the issue, I became more intrigued. There are some interesting ideas explored here that keep it fresh. Unlike the Matrix, humans are on the outside maintaining this, and unsure of whether they should. And are the “people” inside even real? They can’t even escape the issues of class inequality, though it manifests in a unique way. I was totally won over by book’s end. I do think there are a few moments where the storytelling art-wise could have been a bit clearer. But that’s pretty minor stuff.
Secret Wars #1 – It’s another Mighty Marvel Mega-Crossover! Yes, these events are part of what sort of sapped my joy of reading Marvel comics. But it was hard for me not to get excited about this. I didn’t have a TON of the figures as a kid, but I had enough. And I remember them (and the Marvel mini-series, which I read later, when I was older) fondly. So they successfully scratched that nostalgic itch, there. Plus, as I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of things, I thought this might be a good starting point. I’ve gone back and am reading the Hickman Avengers (his FF was one of the comics I actually kept up with when I wasn’t reading comics much) and have really enjoyed it. I just got through the Infinity Omnibus. It reminded me how great these kind of things can be when in the right hands. My one criticism of Infinity was that sometimes the characters got a bit lost in the larger-scale goings on. But already Secret Wars feels better on that score. It’s a gorgeous-feeling book with the matte and gloss finish, the extra pages, and the Alex Ross cover. I am frightened and intrigued to see where it goes. I suspect I’m going to be reading a lot of Secret Wars this summer.
Batgirl #35 – I read this book A.) Because I loved the costume the moment I saw it B.) I’d heard it was great and C.) The art is spectacular. I got a cool tote bag from Babs Tarr at C2E2 (sadly it was Sunday and I didn’t get to meet her) and when I got back I made it a priority to read this run. I LOVE it. I love the feel, I’ve loved the stories. I really cannot say enough about it, and I’m pretty late in the game as far as heaping praise upon it. So I’ll just say… it lived up to the hype. And I’m going to check out the Black Canary book, too.
Descender #1 – Random comic-store grab. I am eager to snap up issues 2 and 3 when I go in on Wednesday. The are, which looks like watercolor work (not sure if it is or it’s digital?) is gorgeous. It’s a pleasure to look at, but also has a lot of emotion and life in it. As far as the plot… I almost don’t want to even say too much about it, because it was nice (like me) to go in not knowing anything about it and seeing it unfold. But let’s just say it takes some well-worn sci-fi concepts and mixes it up into an intriguing new brew.
