What I Bought 5/8/2019 - Part 6

It was almost 90 degrees on Thursday and Friday last week. Total bullcrap. Stupid weather, trying to make me turn on my air conditioning before June. Nice try.

We've reached the end of the line for this round of books. Pity there was only one comic out last week I wanted, and I didn't see it anywhere. Oh well. Saved the favorites for last, at any rate.

Atomic Robo: Dawn of the New Era #5, by Brian Clevinger (writer), Scott Wegener (artist), Shannon Murphy (colorist), Jeff Powell (letterer) - The smiles vanished quickly once the vampires attacked.

The students prepare for ALAN to join them in their studies, and accept him quickly. Lang is still pissed at Robo about hiding ALAN from them. Jenkins is still worried about the looming invasion from the Vampire Dimension, but at least seems willing to hold off on killing ALAN for now. Progress! Because he thinks he might be useful against the invasion. Less progress? Foley agrees with Robo ALAN deserves a chance, but is probably worried the other students will be a bad influence. And Bernard is starting to unlock the powers of the Phasewalker. Barely, as his teacher reminds him, repeatedly.

The Hollow Earthians are clearly not believers in positive reinforcement.

And that's pretty much it. I wouldn't say there's any sort of conclusion to the arc. The ALAN situation is still up in the air, tensions are high. The Vampire invasion looms. I barely know what is going on with Bernard. That's unusual. Not bad, just unusual. But Clevinger and Wegener have been doing this for over 10 years, they've earned the right to change things up a little.

The issue is all talking, so there isn't much action for Wegener to draw, but he makes it work. I think the conversation between Lang and Robo is interesting. Robo feels like he's on the defensive the entire time, because one of what Lang is saying is wrong, necessarily. And so in the panels that have both of them, Lang seems to be in control. Robo is positioned near the edge of the panels, oftentimes partially out of the panel, so Lang dominates the majority. Robo seems to take up less space in panels he has to himself (or the panel itself is smaller). Even though they look like they're roughly the same height, in the first two panels, Lang is drawn so the top of her head is just a little above Robo's. Maybe that's not meant to suggest she has the high ground so much as that she has assumed she has it, whether it's true or not.

I mean, I get her argument, but I also understand Robo wanting to give this ALAN a chance.

Giant Days #50, by John Allison (writer), Max Sarin (artist), Whitney Cogar (colorist), Jim Campbell (letterer) - I would think Susan would be barred from carrying potentially lethal instruments. Actually, Esther probably should be as well.

Most of McGraw's pub league cricket team comes down with food poisoning, forcing him to rely on Susan to recruit replacements. This does not go very well, I think? Susan's one-page explanation of the rules of cricket was fairly clear, but not entirely correct, I suspect. Lacking in certain details.

The opponents have brought in a ringer to pitch/throw/chuck circles, and Daisy is smitten with her. Damn, she has absolutely terrible taste in women. But good does triumph, and all is well. Until McGraw sees all the messages he missed and checks in with his mom. Oh dear.

The plot is your bog-standard sports underdog story, which is fine. I like sports underdog stories. Major League is awesome. Really, it's all about what you hang on that framework. Susan's primer on the rules. Paul's attempt to regain his confidence, and Esther's bizarre inspirational speech. I like the speech, incidentally. I need to visualize myself as a robot with huge wings who must succeed to protect the sun sometime. Daisy's fixation on the opposition's ringer. although it took me the second readthrough to see where Sarin had drawn her earlier in the issue to hint she was more than she appeared.

As for Sarin, he gets to draw a variety of different silly things. Poor Rex' wild hallucinations (I particularly liked him on rubbery legs rushing forward to throw with fish swimming around him). Esther's. . . I think she was trying to do some magical girl anime maneuver, forgetting she's in a sports manga. The ringer getting increasingly furious with what she sees as Daisy not taking her seriously. Daisy being so smitten her hearts are shoving her teammates out of the panel. Just a lot of fun gags.

So yes, this issue was a real hoot. Until the last page. That was a downer.