What I Bought 12/31/2011 - Part 3

Jack didn't have any copies of Suicide Squad #4 to spare. I told him that was fine. The only thing better than being done with that book after 4 issues, is being done with it after 3 (since being done in 1 or 2 is already out of the question).

Defenders #1 – Owing to circumstances which no doubt took place in some Hulk comic I didn’t read, some dark, monstrous aspect of the green goliath is on the loose, causing all manner of problems. Hulk asks Dr. Strange and some of his old buddies to handle it. Iron Fist is there because they needed a fast private jet to get where they wanted to be (and Fraction wants to write him again). Couldn’t the Surfer and Namor have just carried Red She-Hulk where they needed to go? Strange said he flew to where Namor was, so she’s the only one who might really need a lift, and heck, she could do the patented Hulk jumping thing. Anyway, Prestor John shows up with the High Evolutionary’s Ani-Goons and shoot Iron Fist, so he may be having the shortest stint on any team ever.

The good news is Fraction got the entire team together in one issue, rather than taking an entire arc. The threat sounds sort of interesting, though I don’t know why Prestor John’s hanging out with New Men. Still, a Hulk whose mere presence sows discord and sorrow would be a problem. I’m a bit concerned with Fraction’s portrayal of Strange as some womanizer, that it's a trait that exists to the point Namor comments on it. Maybe we chalk that up to the malicious influence spreading over the world. Also, isn’t “tis” more of a Thor world than a Dr. Strange word? Fraction’s Namor seems a little off, too, not arrogant enough. Maybe there’s a reason for that, too. Dodson’s art is not spectacular, but there were a few bits I liked, mostly relating to the Silver Surfer.

Grifter #4 – Grifter drives a car into Oliver Queen’s lobby. Which brings Green Arrow into play, and he chases Grifter across town, eventually catching him. Then he loses him because of one of his employees on a motorbike with smoke grenades. His time talking with Grifter may have convinced Ollie to look into the Daemonites, though he might want to stop calling them “Demon Knights” first. Meanwhile, Miss Reese, Cole’s ex-girlfriend, is still spitting in the face of people trying to question her about Cole.

The book is still mostly technically sound, but I still find myself not caring about the story or the characters. I can't for the life of me remember Ms. Reese's first name, even though we were told it in each of the first couple issues. She's making no impression whatsoever. Which is kind of a problem, and why I'm also dropping this book at this stage.

Scott Clark penciled this issue, and there’s nothing strictly wrong with his work, though I wasn’t clear on how Ollie went from having his bow drawn and aimed at Cole to having one hand around Cole’s wrist, and the other holding an arrow he used to tase Cole. I guess he dropped the bow, but it seems kind of awkward, and raises the question of why he got that close to Cole in the first place. And why, for the second consecutive issue did we have people using projectile weapons move within arms’ reach of each other to have a chat? With Cole’s brother it was somewhat understandable, since they were siblings and all. Do we chalk it up to this Ollie being as much of a dope as the old version?

Resurrection Man #4 – The Transhuman slugs it out with Carmen, while Bonnie has a talk with Mitch. Turns out she’s quite the conversationalist when it looks like someone will use a sonic scream to take off her head. Through that, she realizes Mitch really doesn’t know her, and convinces him to come along peacefully in exchange for getting answers. I can’t decide whether she’s a good liar, Mitch is terribly naïve, or if she honestly believes what she’s saying. That last one could be interesting, though it may not matter as once she and Mitch settle down Carmen and Darryl the angel from the first issue appears and seems to have disintegrated Mitch.

I’m not clear on why she was bothered that she actually killed him. I thought that was the point, that it was time for him to stay dead. How can you make that happen if you don’t kill him? Anyway, I’m very curious about this development, plus I’d like to see where DnA are going to go with Mitch’s boss, and if the Body Doubles really end up being different this time around. Also, that was kind of a surprise about the Transhuman. Nifty, though I did like the idea of a legitimately old hitman.