What I Bought 11/05/08

That's right, folks! I'm back to getting my comics the same time as the rest of you! Tremble before me!

In other news, learned last week that Ken sold the store. It's still there, just under new management, one of his old customers to be exact. No, it's not me. I know zero about business. So now Ken is the customer. Might see him this weekend. Be a nice opportunity to discuss sports. The store feels the same, it's just a bit odd not to see Ken behind the counter, you know? Aw, enough of the maudlin stuff. Starting with last week's stuff.

Bloodrayne: Tokyo Rogue #3 - So it's the big fight against the formerly good vampire turned evil by the powerful demon soul imprisoned inside the sword he wields. It's not bad. Bilbao does a decent job of depicting all the action, though it's sometimes hard to get a sense of the size of the battle. You don't often see more than a few enemies at once, so it feels more like a series of skirmishes. Perhaps a nice wide angle shot of the entire compund swarming with warriors battling would have helped.

The mini's purpose was twofold I think: One, to introduce us to this group that Rayne is counting on to help in the struggle against the Old Gods that got control of the Brimstone Society. Two, I think it was supposed to introduce to Ayano, the Japanese vampire that fights for good (not to be confused with Noburu, the aforementioned good vamp turned evil), since she's getting ehr own mini-series at some point in the future. On the second count, they were fairly successful, especially this issue when Ayano demonstrated a bit of a deadpan sense of humor near the end. She's not a banterer like Rayne, but she can make the occasional wry comment, which I appreciate. As to the first, well at the very end they brought up something that would demonstrate how the group can be useful to Rayne, but by and alrge, they seem to need her help more than vice versa. I guess they can play it as them repaying a favor by utilizing skills they have she lacks. On the whole, a good mini-series, though it felt slight. Maybe the battle could have been longer, started in the second issue, with the big showdown in this month.

Immortal Iron Fist #19 - You know, when I figured Danny's advantage would be his friends, I wasn't even thinking of those people as his friends, so that was nice. Though it raises the question in me as to whether the other Immortal Weapons have beings that seek to kill them, and if not, why. Also, it appears I was wrong as to the purpose of the Iron Fist Slayer. I figured it was part of a cycle of death and rebirth of the Iron Fists, but it seems more that the Dragon is the ultimate prey of Ch'i Lin. Curious, how has it survived this long then?

OK, I have to gripe about the art, or perhaps just the coloring. One, Travel Foreman draws hands as looking very tiny for some reason. I'm not certain why. Two, lighten the damn colors up. I can't hardly see what's going on in some of these panels. I know it's night time when much of the story occurs, but there are such things as artificial light sources. It feels like they're trying to establish mood, especially since Danny actually says he's working blind at one point, but it's obscuring too much for my preferences. So it's a case of the story interesting me (what can I say, I want to see how Danny gets out of it), but the art fighting me on it.

Nova #18 - OK, so the Worldmind isn't running around in Quasar's body. I was wrong. Again. Instead Quasar seems similar to that Agent Zero or whatever in Avengers: The Initiative, back from the dead, and with only a limited period of use at any given time. But the Worldmind is back in play, and doesn't seem as angry at Rich as he was back before he went offline. Maybe he's just grateful not to be destroyed. Even with all that, things look pretty grim until we get the return of the Lost Lanterns. Wait, wrong book about a universal police force. Still, that's what I'm predicting these folks as: decomissioned Novas brought back into the fold.

Well, at least the Secret Invasion tie-ins are done now. I can't really say anything else about the arc, as I was not entirely enamored of it. I'd prefer Nova stay in space, and leave stupid Marvel Earth to its stupidity. I think they overdid their attempts to make Darkhawk look inexperienced compared to Nova. I get that he is, but if he weren't at least somewhat qualified, I can't see the Intiative sticking him as the sole superhuman protector of something as vital as Project PEGASUS. As impetuous and hot-tempered as he came off, I find it hard to believe he could have held off the Skrulls as long as he did. So yeah, least favorite story arc on Nova thus far.

Secret Six #3 - Confession: I have no idea who the idiot in the purple with the sniper rifle is. Maybe I'm not supposed to. Doesn't really matter, I suppose. Of course, I also don't know who that person Scandal contacted, and that might be mildly more important. That card does seem relatively important, so I guess that explains all the pursuit. Bane's, um, concern for Scandal is getting a little creepy, but I do like that he objects to Deadshot's treatment of their prisoner, having been one himself and all. I'm surprised Deadshot backed down, though maybe that's over now that Bane has again stated he won't use Venom. I doubt Deadshot will have the issue of pulling his shots around Bane he has with Batman. I enjoy Scott's art very much. Nice depiction of the action, and those two panels after Electricity Guy barges in wanting to know who has the card had some great comedic timing to them. Also, the panel where he told Cheetah and Purple Guy he'd kill them if they double-crossed him was nice, if only for Cheetah's hair. So good issue all around. I don't know everybody involved, but it kept my interest.

Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion #1 - As a first issue of a random mini-series set in WW2 goes, it's not bad, though too exposition heavy. Presumably that's to get it out of the way for more combat later, but for right now, it gets a little dry, and I had some trouble keeping track of which battalion, squad, company, etc. was being discussed at a given moment. Perhaps I should construct a chart. Don't think I won't. I do all sorts of ridiculous little projects when I get bored. Where was I? Right, as a random mini, not so bad. Problem is, the main character doesn't feel like Sgt. Rock to me. I think that in an effort to present a realistic, respectful picture of the soliders, Tucci may have eliminated some of the more, um, fantastic elements from Rock's character. This guy is a bit too wordy.

I'm curious to see how Tucci's art does when there's more fighting. I generally though he handled the scenes at Omaha Beach well (though there was a panel where Rock demands cover fire, and the next panel looks more like the German soldiers shooting at him, rather than perhaps showing the Germans ducking behind their sandbags to avoid bullets). As for this issue, all the exposition means lots of close-ups of people talking, often with no one else in the panel. Maybe it's supposed to be like they're talking to us, but it makes it feel even more like an info dump, rather than plot being laid down through casual conversation. I want to end the review with something positive, so let me say I like how Tucci raised my hopes for an Unknown Solider team-up, then twisted it. That was cute, but in an amusing way, rather than infuriating.

I do wish we could have a Sgt. Rock/Unknown Soldier team-up. Why not? He used to team up with jeb Stuart and the Haunted Tank all the time. I know these things, it's in the comics from my father's collection.