Comics Out April 29, 2008

DC Universe 0. I really enjoyed this. I love the concept of a comic book framed by narration -- which is itself the big twist -- that is basically a preview for other comics (hence the in-house adds, which are nicely designed), like trailers in front of a movie -- trailers that often turn out to be better than the movie you are about to watch, and better than the full length features they are advertising. Some of the snip-its were weak -- Superman's, Batman's, and the Specter's in particular -- but they are over so quick you barely notice. The Green Lantern preview was the standout, and the Libra bit was pretty good (though the obvious reversal of Christianity in the Bible of Crime is an almost tragically weak idea I have hated since I saw it in 52) -- Jones seems sold for Final Crisis, even if his layouts are a little dull. The final image was big and weird and striking but almost subtle. There was some real magic on that final page, and I hope I get the Morrison I want for Final Crisis -- the JLA Morrison -- rather than the Batman Morrison I have come to loathe.

Iron Fist 14. I am incapable of seeing anything other than the absence of David Aja. I probably would love the book if he had never been a part of it, but there you go. The guy is so good he has ruined me. As for the script -- the ending was really touching, and I loved all of the crazy names for the fighting moves. Fraction must come up with a slew when he started this book and now that he is going to be gone, he must have emptied his notebook out. That was fun.

The Order 10. You have to admire the confidence that Fraction has, choosing as one of his epigrams "I had in mind to do something big and I did it." The Order get a kind of a happy ending that is not entirely persuasive, but is also not supposed to be since the book was sort of abandoned/cancelled. Smart, on Fraction's part, was the promise that these threads will continue in his Iron Man run.

Thor: Ages of Thunder. Like a Classics Illustrated with way too much talent. Not my genre, and I wonder how the thing would have read had it been written with the ironies of Iron Fist 8, but pretty good.

Glamourpuss 1. I sort of never got into the whole Cerebus thing, and I randomly thought I would get in on the ground floor of Sim's new project, even though, I think, it is about women and he -- am I getting this right -- thinks all women are Satan's Handmaidens. I was expecting something offensive and pretty, but what I got was an essay on comics coming out of the mouths of women who were drawn to illustrate a technique. Not really the kind of thing I want to read for fun, I think. Seemed like his audience was more professional artists.

Not exactly comics related, but one of my favorite TV shows, Avatar, will finish with straight to DVDs released May 6 and July 29.

I have not seen Iron Man, and might not for two weeks. You are welcome to review it here, and I might promote your comment to its own blog post.