1. "Strange Adventures" by Paul Pope. Pope amps up the intrigue in this issue as we finally cut away from Alanna's adventures on Rann to see what has been happening with Adam now that he has escaped his captors with help from a random zeta beam. What it turns out, though, is that Adam Strange of earth is not the same young, handsome warrior that he is on Rann, but is instead an aging professor who first found the zeta beams digging around Peru, which is where Adam finds his apartment curiously untouched. Working in Machu Picchu, Strange has a crisis of conscience, and wonders if "all of it has been nothing more than an elaborate dream." This neat ploy by Pope is likely to provoke further comparisons between Strange and Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars, and in any case puts a human stamp on what has been to this point pretty fantastical stuff. It also shows that Pope is just as good at crafting devastating visuals out of real-life Incan temples as he is drawing tubular trees and dog-rooster hybrids. The level of creativity in this strip is basically unmatched--I can imagine Pope doing brilliant things with Strange staying on earth for the remainder of the series, just as I can imagine him turning back to the adventures of Alanna. In any case, this is Pope's best work yet.
2. "Deadman" by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck. Speaking of which, I still maintain that Bullock is kind of the dynamic page layout, and this issue is no exception. Bullock's visuals have been pretty cartoony up to this point, but the subject matter here is straight brutal, as we see the aftermath of Boston Brand being stabbed and then falling off some undetermined cliff to his death. Pretty heroic stuff, and the authors really get a lot of mileage through narrating Boston's thoughts upon realizing that he is going to die for a second time, and this time he realizes that he has yet to really go the slow and painful route. Then we get the money shot, of three ethereal women, one of whom Boston was trying to rescue before. What could be going on here? Perhaps these women weren't being killed in the first few strips, but being saved from some greater horror. In any case, Bullock and Heuck have really gotten into what makes Boston Brand such a great character in the model of all those selfless tragic heroes with a laconic side (exhibit A being Spider-Man). I also prefer this appearance to Boston Brand in the first Batman: Blackest Night issue, where he was used more as a plot device.
3. "Flash Comics" by Karl Kerschl and Brendan Fletcher. I suppose I was right about three Flashes showing up, just as I was right that this time travel stuff is sometimes such a headache that it doesn't really seem worth it. Still, I have to give the team credit for jettisoning "Iris West" just as I thought the concept was getting a bit stale. In its place, we have "Gorilla Grodd" by Kerschl and Fletcher, which bears certain similarities to the "Kamandi" strip but we will let that go for now. The time travel stuff still isn't adding up, but I am giving this comic my hearty thumbs up based on the conceptual brilliance of three concurrent strips that I'm sure will all mirror each other in some way toward the end. As for the strips themselves? The Flash does something cool I've never seen him do before: flying through space, he vibrates through time so that he can meet up with earth's orbit. Meanwhile, Grodd goes back in time to conquer the world, but dies of old age. Perhaps we will see even more ideas for strips in the future? Kerschl and Fletcher have what seems to be a stale-proof method at work.
4. "Wonder Woman" by Ben Caldwell. A few weeks ago, I talked about how impressed I was to see Caldwell move the action forward by moving from right to left. This time, Caldwell breaks the mold by having the action continue vertically as opposed to horizontally. Is this difficult to read in any way? To me, no, but then again I never had much trouble reading it once I put a little effort into following the story. Of all the talent involved with Wednesday Comics, I think Caldwell is the one who deserves the most credit for breaking the mold, and telling an engaging story in the process. This time, we get to see the introduction of Etta Candy, with trademark lollipop, as Diana tries to defend her and her uncle against the Great Pendragon, who look suitably vicious in a Disney-like vein under Caldwell's pen. There are fewer extremely tiny panels than usual, and the action is a bit easier to follow. And this time, the book ends on a different note than it has before, suggesting that Caldwell is now serious about moving the story in new and unexpected fashions. I don't mind if he starts going more micro, either.
5. "Metal Men" by Dan Didio, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and Kevin Nowlan. This is the most enjoyable issue of "Metal Men" yet, due to the introduction of a surprise villain at the end that makes a suitably ridiculous first impression (ripping the roof off a bank? Why? And how?). Yes, that's Chemo, one of DC's sadly underused villains, who let's be honest won't be much of a threat against non-organic heroes like the Metal Men. Still, the critical beatdown that ensues will most assuredly be more fun than what has come before. The one problem I can find in this strip is that I think it's about time that DiDio sets a limit on the amount of times that bad guys mistake the Metal Men for crucial hardware: I knew, two issues earlier, than Pretorius' plan would be foiled by Tin assuming the role of the detonator. This is meant to be silly fun, and it works a lot better than most of the other more humor-based strips. I should also say it looks very good as well: thoroughly modern and yet engagingly silly, this is an ideal way of portraying the Metal Men (disclosure: I have not been following the other Metal Men comic). Chemo's last line is also priceless.
6. "Sgt. Rock & Easy Co." by Adam Kubert and Joe Kubert. Finally, something is happening, and as I thought it involves the guy taking pictures. Turns out Rock doesn't need Easy Co. to save him after all, as it turns out our mysterious photographer has his own ulterior motive, to either save Rock's hide or use him for his own mysterious ends. It's such a relief, halfway through, that Sgt. Rock is finally able to move from the spot he has been in for the last five weeks. And Easy Co. gets more of a starring role this time, offering their rations to a group of starving refugees, and arming themselves with stars of David. I mentioned earlier that this strip has the potential to become a Nazi ass-beating orgy along the lines of Tarantino's new movie, but I hope the Kubert's take a more character-based approach. Joe Kubert's art looks as classic as ever, and really belongs on a place on my wall somewhere. Heal fast, Sgt. Rock!
7. "The Demon & Catwoman" by Walter Simonson and Brian Stelfreeze. Finally, Stelfreeze's art looks like it fits its oversized medium, and a good deal of what's going on is finally explained. Still no Selena Kyle, though: if I were them, I would drop her from the marquee, as an old-school Etrigan comic is enough to get someone like me interested. The top part of the comic, which provides a fair amount of Morgaine Le Fay's background (for those who aren't already extremely aware) looks like Stelfreeze is finally trying some Kirby-like effects, which is to his advantage. The finally shot of the Demon rising into the sky, his hands aglow and ready to punch something, is dynamic in a very "Deadman" way, something we really haven't seen much of yet. On the other hand, Stelfreeze doesn't really pull off Le Fay's phantasm look, or at least make her as enticing as she seems to think she is, but maybe that's part of the point. With big action ahead, and Catwoman still roving somewhere in the background, I expect greater things in the next six weeks.
8. "Hawkman" by Kyle Baker. There's even less plot than usual, but Baker can't really ignore the tragedy. Somehow, Hawkman has survived even after failing to stop a plane from crashing, and with the rest of the Justice League dispatched to fight off the aliens, Katar has to deal with the collateral damage. He does find a few survivors amidst the wreckage, including the kid with huge glasses Baker has kept showing, and the strip ends with the survivors escaping what's left of the exploding wreckage. It's not often that you get to see a superhero trying to understand how some lives can never be saved (I think of the conversation between Superman and Hitman as a good example), but Baker doesn't let Hawkman think too far before the explosion happens. It also looks good, as always, and big-glasses kid could be the breakout star of the strip, if not Wednesday Comics itself. If nothing else, Baker has taken pains to show how Hawkman is, at the very least, a dynamic and cool-looking character that is not to be underestimated.
9. "Metamorpho, the Element Man" by Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred. Sometimes Gaiman's conceptual conceits don't work as well as one thinks they would. The plot advances slightly in the top half of the comic, as Urania and Rex decide to brave a deathtrap involving climbing ladders and battling snakes. Then the Metamorpho fans of America pop up and present to us a game of...Snakes & Ladders, which conveniently contains enough plot intrigue to make me wonder if this is the most thematically dense approximation of a gameboard in comic book history. One interesting note that will come up later: one of the group's antagonist is a Latin-speaking henchman named Algon. Still, it's not like Gaiman seems to have put much effort into making the game compulsively readable: it's about as necessary to read and think about as those earlier splash pages. Although to be honest, I haven't tried playing it, so I might change my mind. Square 58, however, is not labeled anywhere on the board.
10. "Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth!" by Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook. There's a big deus ex machina here, and Gibbons' prose continues to do the strip no favors, leaving us once again to focus mainly on the beauty of Sook's art. As usual, the central money shot really shines, where the girl turns out to be a super-warrior who takes out all the ape hordes and Kamandi does his part (seriously, why don't they tie up his legs?). It also turns out, improbably, that Dr. Canus is still alive, and Prince Tuftan has presumably been whisked away to be executed. So now they are on his trail. To be honest, I am yawning in the midst of explaining this very predictable story. Sook's art is the best thing about it. That's it.
11. "Batman" by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso. Other than a mischievous smile from Batman and some great moody work from Eduardo Risso (rife, as ever, with potential symbolism in the form of cards). Apparently Hardy Stone is a fan of Madame Butterfly, also. Which is to say that this is nothing more than a minor part of what has already been a fairly drawn-out series that looks terrific. I've seen better from the team before, however. My favorite shot is Batman coming throw the window: that's something else that I might want to frame on my wall.
12. "Superman" by John Arcudi and Lee Bermejo. Finally, some action, which is what the people wanted, even if it seems like a copout given that the same thing more or less happened in issue 1. Is Superman slightly concerned that his childhood room has been decimated? Will he even talk about it, or will a fight ensue. And what bugged him so much about the alien the first time? These questions will probably be answered after, I'll wager, four or five straight strips of fighting. Apparently people can't handle Superman being in touch with his emotions. Really, I never minded scenes of Clark hanging with Ma and Pa, even if it can at times seem sort of fake pastoral, trying to go the extra mile to prove that this Kryptonian is, for all intents and purposes, human. But that's what makes him a hero, and that is what prevents him from being a dick, like Batman.
13. "Supergirl" by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner. So I was completely wrong about Aquaman showing up in "Hawkman" (and even more wrong in my hope that he would be a part of the plot of "Metamorpho"). And yet he shows up here, in perhaps his broadest and silliest portrayal in years. Certainly, his language doesn't resemble the regal diction one comes to expect from the King of Atlantis (or his occasional propensity for badass one-liners when written by Grant Morrison), and instead what we have is a kind of dickish "high executive of the seas" who is enlisted to help Supergirl deal with her unruly pets. I can already see where this is going (Aquaman: "I talk to fish, duh"), and it doesn't strike me as being particularly funny anyway. Far be it from me to be some sort of fanboy purist--I'll take any iteration of Aquaman I can get. But it's simply not as clever as it thinks it is, and at times it's downright annoying. Hands down, the worst Aquaman cameo yet in Wednesday Comics.
14. "Teen Titans" by Eddie Berganza and Sean Galloway. What's most annoying about this particular issue of "Teen Titans" is that, with the spotlight on Blue Beetle, we get what is possibly the most overt "I'm a Hispanic hero" pandering in superhero comics since Bat Hombre made his debut. It's not racial bludgeoning in the manner of, say, Black Vulcan, but still, Blue Beetle's thought captions seem fairly unrealistic for someone in the heat of battle (for instance, he seriously refers to himself as "your typical Tex-Mex teen," which I'm sure your typical Tex-Mex teen wouldn't actually do. We also get the reveal that Trident is Arthur Light's son, which is only intriguing in that this book may take place in recent continuity. That's all I have to say about that.
15. "Green Lantern" by Kurt Busiek and Joe Quinones. Joe Dillon gets the point: he refers to Hal Jordan as "you crazy hothead," which of course no one outside a comic book would ever do. The adventures of Hal Jordan, superdick, continue, and are as uninteresting as ever, although at least this point the momentum-crushing flashback seems to be finally over. It's interesting: this comic, "Teen Titans" and "Supergirl" are constantly in my bottom three, making me wonder if I am simply too tough on stuff more oriented towards kids. More likely, I just find them an insult to my intelligence.
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