What I Bought 2/26/09

Yes, comics. I have them. Not all of the ones I was supposed to have. Naturally. The universe can't help but play "Treat Calvin Like a Complete Prat", when it gets the opportunity, but I've got something, so that will have to suffice for the time being. At least I'm on my weekend now. Sweet relaxation.

Booster Gold #17 - Does anyone else feel this is spinning out of control? At some point, Booster still has to go back to the original attempt to fix things (from Dixon's 2-parter) and recover an unconscious. . . hell. I've forgotten whether it was Rip or Booster that was knocked out and picked up and palced in a time sphere by another Booster. Or was it even Booster? Maybe it was Michelle? I know she observed it and commented on what was going on.

This issue finds Booster back where he fought Supernova the first time, to ensure Barry Allen becomes the Flash. Except now he's after a knife, and runs into a clock stealing Chronos, who he mocks, rather rudely. I guess when you've been the butt of as many jokes as Booster Gold, you take the opportunity to turn the tables whenever you can. Sure, stealing timepieces is kind of lame, but if that's all the criminal aspires to, why tease them? That's how you make "I'mma kill everyone! That'll show 'em!" villains, and who needs more of those?

Booster does not protect the knife from Glowy Energy Person, and gets arrested by Barry Allen, but still makes certain Barry gets hit by lightning. As for the backup story, it's a nice primer if you're new to the series, so I won't complain about that. Except I'm not really new to the series, so it doesn't do much for me, seeing as I'm not terribly interested in Blackest Night, or little blue people whose eyes bleed ink.

Guardians of the Galaxy #10 - Rocket Raccoon, I'm sure you know best, but it might be better to aim the gun at Blastaar's eye, rather than the brow of his crown. Just a thought. The team finds Star-Lord, and rescues him, Blastaar does not get to Earth (yet), and Adam Warlock is going to prove he's the real deal to this church by stopping the War of Kings. Except the church still has that other coccoon they thought would have Adam Warlock in it, so what's the deal there? I have a theory, not one I'm particularly found of, but we'll get to that another day.

This felt like a weak issue to me, though I can't quite pin down why. Either I needed more fighting against Blastaar's hordes (even though given his power, and the numbers he had supporting him, finding Quill and heading home was absolutely the smart thing to do), or more advancement on the Warlock front, or we needing to check back in on Drax and Quasar, after their deaths last issue. I get the impression Abnett and Lanning could only do so much, because going any farther would encroach on what they have planned for War of Kings proper. On the positive side, Brad Walker drew the whole issue, and I still enjoy his work, so that was a plus. One odd thing: Did Reed Richards seem a bit off-character in his speech in this issue? I think it was his quoting Star-Lord about "Whack-Jobs" and shrugging his shoulders at Star-Lord's proclamation of his group as the Guardians of the Galaxy. I don't see Reed shrugging his shoulders so much as doing the "thoughtful look". Where your thumb rests under your chin, and the index finger is udner the nose, usually accompanied by a "Hmm". It's probably nothing, but he seems different from last month's Nova, and since they're written by the same blokes, my suspicious sense is buzzing.

Moon Knight #27 - With this issue we learn why the girl was in prison, why her father is so desperate to get her out, and get a glimpse at two different threats Lockley may have to deal with. All told we have ruthless crimelords, a werid, shadowy figure with a large blade, luchadore tag-team hitmen, the Punisher, and oh yeah, Moon Knight himself.

This story seems full of people who can easily do terrible things to others, including our portagonist, though he may actually be the most restrained of the bunch. It's interesting to see how methodically he approaches the jailbreak, a skill I imagine carries over from his mercenary days. It contrasts with a Moon Knight who at times seemed to simply throw himself into situations without any real idea what he was up against, which suggests to me that certain skills are strictly tied to certain personalities, but I'm not certain of that. I amcurious whether the reason he gives the men he works with for why they can't kill any federales is the true reason he won't allow it, or if it's the reason he feels they will most readily accept.

As I was starting this review, I was preparing to make some comments about the lack of expression in Jefte Palo's faces (if you've been a reader here for awhile, you know ability to convey emotion is pretty high on my list of things pencilers must do). Then I took a bathroom break, and I had a thought, so I'm a bit higher on his work now, and I'm going to take more time to look it over, and it'll be a blog post here sometime soon.