POBB: November 6, 2013

Pick of the Brown Bag

November 6, 2013

by

Ray Tate

Nobody can doubt my love for comics, but there's one thing that I really hate.  Subtitles.  Who remembers The Modern Prometheus? Frankenstein is what people know.

From now on, I'm ignoring the subtitles.  Daredevil is just Daredevil.  I don't care if it's Daredevil: Hamster or Daredevil: Lemming.  As far as I'm concerned, it's just Daredevil.  Baltimore is just Baltimore.  I've had enough.  It's one series.

In addition to Daredevil and Baltimore, I'll be reviewing the latest from Action Comics, Batman/Superman, Batwing, Earth 2 and Forever Evil.  

I'll also peruse the newest chapter of Painkiller Jane.  Screw the re-numbering while we're at it.  Painkiller Jane debuted in 22 Brides for Event Comics, way back in the day, and she appears under numerous publishing companies with the same unbroken continuity, including her various team-ups.  This alleged number one is the most recent copy of Painkiller Jane, which has probably hit at least the thirty issue mark by now.  First though, we explore the current Swamp Thing.

The Parliament of Trees set up Swamp Thing to fight The Seeder, a classic lunatic operating behind a shiny new 52 identity.  Hint.  Although the Seeder appeared in Swamp Thing before, he possesses a much older history with the costumed set.  In the end, this verdant venerability gets fully recycled.

The prize of the contest turns out to be more than laurels.  The winner will be crowned Champion of the Green.  I'll bet you thought Alec Holland was the Chosen One.  So did he.

Writer Charles Soule could have whipped up a tiresome duel with an obvious outcome.  Instead, he germinates a pitch black comedy that relies on fresh characterization of the Parliament.  Far from being protectors, it turns out the Parliament is as dickish as the Time Lords.

The battle alludes to Disney's Sword in the Stone.  In the film's climax, Merlin and a witch named Mim shift shapes in a battle royal.  In Swamp Thing, the victory goes to the contestant with the greater creativity and control of plant life.  Determination also separates the wheat from the chaff.

Soule and artist Jesus Saiz produce several surreal laugh out loud funny moments that feed into the idea of Swamp Thing being a rock star to flora fandom.  They tickle the funny bone while generating real excitement and cunning in the moves each combatant makes.  In addition, the tale serves as a send up of Fredric Brown's "The Arena" and all of the short story's literary descendants.

The latest issue of Baltimore the title character is a one man extermination force.  He's like the giallo murderer.  Only instead of nubile young females, Baltimore stylishly bloodies the panels with vampire blood.  Kudos to artist Ben Stenbeck and Dave Stewart.

This time the vampires have a witch on their side.  Her mission is to raise the Red King, yet another strong mythological icon, from the fertile mind of Mike Mignola, not to forget Mignola's creative partner, former Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Christopher Golden.

Baltimore intends to slaughter every last vampire on the Infernal Train, but he never once loses sight of his real goal, the complete annihilation of Haigus, the Vampire Lord that fed on and murdered his family.  It's in fact this hatred for Haigus that keeps Baltimore warm and safe at night.

Baltimore in addition targets anybody that gets in the way of his quest.  That includes the nutty but enigmatic Inquisitor who believes Baltimore to be tainted evil, simply through its association, however unfriendly.  Their meeting is a memorable moment in a book that strayed too far in previous chapters but gets right on track here.  Even the epilogue holds the readers interest.

If you haven't heard, the Crime Syndicate invaded the earth.  They achieved a temporary victory by playing a long game.  They planted the earth three Alfred on earth one, to build a Secret Society of Super-Villains.  They undid the League through a mole that incapacitated Superman.  For an encore, they suckered the gods into wielding Pandora's Box.  In reality, it was an earth three Mother Box.  Upon invading, Ultraman who feeds on kryptonite moved the moon, causing ecological disaster.  As a show of force they revealed Nightwing's secret identity.  Can anybody stop them? Of course.

Yeah.  Difficult to root for.  These villains resist because of their own agendas.  Only Captain Cold and the Flash Rogues act as almost heroes.  They have a genuine code of honor.   They don't kill.  They don't hurt the innocent.  They're out for the score.

Still, if you're looking for honest to goodness heroes, writer Geoff Johns provides them.

Awwww....That's another sweet moment in the relationship between Catwoman and Batman.  Add it to the many others in the new 52 vault.  You also discover how the League were expunged to the prison seen in Justice League of America.  It's a lot more impressive a cage than originally depicted, and Johns almost sells the possibility of the biological containment.  For another thing the timing actually works.  Divulging the fate of the League and then revealing the nature of the prison bestows more depth to the idea.  It's like an "Ah" moment and works only when you read the two issues together.

In Earth 2 Superman returns.  Officially, he came back earlier.  We just didn't know that the Baron Karza lookalike rocketing around was in fact the earth two Man of Steel, corrupted by Darkseid.  

There's a precedent for this Kryptonian takeover.  John Byrne wiped out Superman's memory, and the evil New God for laughs convinced Superman that he was his father.  Darkseid, not Byrne.  Bruce Timm adapted the story for Superman: The Animated Series.

Writer Tom Taylor adds an unparalleled ferocity to the debauched hero that Byrne and Timm eschewed.  Previously, Superman used his heat vision to laser the conquering Steppenwolf in two.  This issue, we see him attack the wonders of planet earth.  The hit list includes Flash, Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, Sandman, Atom and Mr. Terrific from earth one.  

Earth 2 doesn't quite play out the way you think it will.  Taylor's Superman appears to be without conscience, and his attack on the likes of Dr. Fate and Green Lantern is quite painful to watch.  The wincing can also be credited to artist Nicola Scott.  Scott provides convincing illustration of the damage and countless loss of life.  Sometimes in graphic detail.

Setting aside an almost drunken revelry of Superman's power gone amok, Taylor intrigues with two revelations.  First, we can knock off Terry Sloan as a possible identity for the second earth two Batman.  Batman infiltrates a World Army facility at the same time Terry Sloan consults with the organization.  The Flash can almost be in two places at once, but Terry Sloan cannot.

Second, Taylor reintroduces one of DC's oldest characters in an entirely new form.  Taylor combines the earth one and earth two versions of the hero and looks to the needs of his plot for the finishing buff.  I know that there will be a lot of criticism over this twist, but I give Taylor credit for trying something entirely new that pays tribute to DC's legacy.  It also makes sense on a contextual, emotional level.

Superman's a lot nicer in a very strange Batman and Superman.  A pest with too much money and inventiveness gets the bright idea to make a game out of the World's Best team.  Literally.  To that end he hires a tech guru to engineer, I don't know, nanites, that will usurp Batman's will.  Our dark hero battles hard light holograms similar to Star Trek's EMH but as a whim to whomever plays him. Meanwhile, Superman pulverizes an asteroid.

The strange plot from Greg Pak simply wallows in nostalgia.  The mastermind behind the scheme resembles the post-Crisis Superboy.  

He wears a Composite Superman tee-shirt and goes by the alias Toyman.  He's got nothing to do with the portly eyesore from the Silver Age, nor the child killing revamp of the Post Crisis.  

The avatars of the game look a little like fifth dimensional imps, and Metallo, who has been around since the Bronze Age, is the first dude Batman fights.

On the whole, I would find the whole enchilada extremely hard to believe if not for two elements.  A classic Bronze Age alien monster who connects with the history with Batman and Superman secretly orchestrates the entirety.  Batman is in character throughout the book.  He in fact throws off the control reins well before the true master of the game reveals himself.  

Even in the now year old new 52, Batman and Superman have known each other for five years.  So Pak presents a genuine friendship that's mostly unaffected by the new 52 realities.  Batman is the elder statesman.  Superman is a younger hero.  That's about it.  The fact however subtly emphasizes Batman's mortality and gives the ending a little more punch.

Throughout the book, moonlighting Nightwing artist Brett Booth generates action and excitement in a pleasing widescreen presentation that's worthy of DC's flagship heroes.  Still not sure if I like this story or not.  It's a weird one.

This month the Powers That Be thought it would be a good idea to tether most of the DC titles to Scott Snyder's "Year Zero" in Batman.  By "tether" I mean Silly String.  Action Comics is the first to take advantage, and so far it's the least important.  

Early jeans and tee-shirt Superman puts the kibosh on a group of human Daleks.  Because this is early Superman, he resembles Captain Marvel, as portrayed in the back-up strip in Justice League. 

If you ask me, that really goes too far character-wise.  When Grant Morrison debuted this newest version of the Man of Steel, Superman wasn't quite as over the top egotistical as seen in Greg Pak's stand-alone.  Greg Pak? Him again? I strongly object to the gleeful depiction of Superman's youthful arrogance.  Especially since he's aware of it.

The battle between Superman and the Supremacists acts as a James Bond like opening that introduces readers to the old Kal-El.  A few pages earlier, Pak debuts Lana Lang for the new 52, and the problem for me is that she could actually be anybody.  Nothing about her speaks Lana Lang.  Yeah, she knows Clark's secret identity, but that doesn't define Lana Lang.

In the Fleischer cartoons, Superman was "mightier than a hurricane."  The proto-Superman isn't.  He's willing to tackle the phenomena just as much as new Lana is willing to risk her life to repair a sputtering ship in the vicinity.  Both protagonists however come up short and must settle for a kind of victory.

Action Comics succeeds in the way that it demonstrates how Superman and Lana make a difference by saving lives.  It fails on the fronts of characterization and fostering excitement in a plot that's set in the past and irrelevant to the present as well as "Year Zero."  Aaron Kuder's art however is effective when depicting Superman's battle with the elements and when Lana tries to mend the persnickety engine.  You get the feeling that you should feel your heart race, but it's just not there.

Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are a little more honest with their "Year Zero" tie-in.  Batman, complete with little purple gloves, drops from the Gotham skies to save young Luke Fox from a revenge driven gang.

Terrific fight choreography by regular Batwing artists Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferrera accompanies the moment, and the synchronization of the two fighters lends the idea that had Luke lost his parents, he would have probably become Robin.  That makes Batwing less of an afterthought and more integrated in the Batman Family.

The Batman/Luke Fox encounter really just steals the spotlight from the core of the plot.  School bullies victimize Luke's friend Russ, and as a result, Russ becomes darker and meaner.  Unfortunately, Palmiotti and Gray don't make me care.  The characterization of Russ seems schizophrenic.  On the one hand, he seems to be willing to learn how to fight in the opening, which builds on something that doesn't pay off.  Gray and Palmiotti bestow Russ with synesthesia, but they don't really do anything with it.  Russ ultimately circles the drain toward a more infamous Batman villain, and that villain is really small potatoes when compared to Batman's classic Rogue's Gallery.   Mind you, Russ looks good thanks to the color co-ordination of Paul Mounts.

Jane Vasco returns in Jimmy Palmiotti's Painkiller Jane.  When last we saw Jane, she was fighting Terminators over at Dynamite.  This issue, Palmiotti brings her back to reality.  

Maureen is Jane's best friend and less-than-secret unofficial partner in the police department.  Their history's covered in a backup vignette illustrated as a stylish cartoon by Sam Lofti.  

Palmiotti though makes the ladies' relationship pretty clear from the get go in the main story.  Although you're unlikely to deduce some of the advances, however supplementary, in that friendship without the primer.  

Maureen sends Jane to the airport in order to protect a Saudi Princess, but bad luck sours Jane's assignment.  The bad luck facilitates the comedy, and some of the humor is directly linked to Jane's healing abilities.  Afterall, very few people can provoke laughs from the presence of barbed wire.

It's not all fun and games.  Palmiotti characterizes a very brave body guard out of the aether, and his sacrifice touches the outwardly spoiled princess.  What I like about Palmiotti's characters is that what you see on the surface isn't necessarily what you get, just in real life.  

Some people are as they seem, but at times individuals can exhibit extraordinary depth, kindness as well as cruelty and pettiness outside their facades.  The princess lived in a pampered bubble.  She simply never faced anything so authentic as death.  Shocked into reality, she behaves with empathy.  Likewise, she's grateful enough to Jane to point out a problem. 

Palmiotti takes advantage of the newest Marvel imprint to give Jane even greater freedom in terms of standards and practices.  As per usual, there's nothing gratuitous in the presentation.  The nudity's just a little bit more casual and open.  Palmiotti uses that nod to the real world to reveal more of Jane's character.  Jane doesn't adapt to society.  She takes what she likes and discards the rest.

Over the years, numerous artists have put their stamp on Painkiller Jane, from Rick Leonardi to Lee Moder.  For this series, Juan Santacruz produces extraordinary artwork.  His attention to realism and caricature as a backdrop that defines the new era of Painkiller Jane.  

Santacruz's Jane is suitably strong both in body and action. His background characters exhibit singular appearances that one may find in crowds crossing the street.  In terms of technique, Santacruz exhibits exquisite comic timing in a fluid visual narrative.  Once again, Painkiller Jane is not to be missed.

Palmiotti's week continues when he drops Daredevil into Burn Notice Miami.  Misty Knight plays Fiona to DD's Michael Westen in a mural of dynamism courtesy of Thony Silas and Nelson DeCastro.  Antonio Fabela finishes the weave with sun soaked shades.

The plot's somewhat simple.  Matt and Misty try to protect a witness from being hit by a drug kingpin and keep any passerby from getting diced in the process.  Palmiotti though enriches the story with Matt's first person narration, which captures the verisimilitude of a blind man's perceptions.  Let's face it though, Palmiotti isn't emulating Shakespeare here.  He succeeds in creating a lark that allows the art to do most of the talking.

  

POBB: October 30, 2013

Pick of the Brown Bag

October 30, 2013

by

Ray Tate

This week I examine the merits of two DC Annuals, Action Comics and Aquaman.  We peruse the new title The Fox and Argus.  Favorites Captain Midnight and a new Smallville special also make the list.  Ben Lichius and Dean Kotz finished the pdf for backers of The Black Coat.  So I'll be doing a rare preview review, but first last week's Lookouts.

Ben McCool's Lookouts concludes the would-be rangers' first adventure against the Sphinx.  The solution isn't exactly fairplay but represents a writer's subterfuge. 

McCool anticipates some of the negative responses to Lookouts by injecting much needed estrogen into the title. Previously, a few critics wondered why Lookouts appeared to be a throwback to Boy's Life, but this issue shows that McCool had already planned to add more women to the cast.  

The plot runs too smoothly for the inclusion to be recent, and the female presence catalyzes the solution.  So it's likely that this was a well thought endgame.  The consequence is better than a gimmicky beating of the Sphinx at his own game or attempting to once more overpower the beast.  The Lookouts tried and failed with these tactics.  So the question is what changed.  Read the latest issue to find out.  

The Fox is actually an old MLJ character from the forties, but you may be more familiar with his adventures in the swinging sixties where he hung out with a go-go dancer and hoofed it as much as he fought crime.  

The new incarnation of the Fox is a family man and a photojournalist.  He hunts criminals to get the byline, but he is an honest champion.  Although he exploits his sobriquet to put meat on the table, he also duels world threats, things that cannot be written up so easily.  In that respect, he parallels Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Dean Haspiel makes the art as fun as the premise and the prose.  The Fox is literally very loose, with his floppy ears and a manic style of fighting.  He gets the job done with panache.

Argus tells us nothing new and, unlike the recent Smallville, supports the traditional origin of Wonder Woman meeting Steve Trevor.  He crashes on Paradise Island.  She saves his sorry ass.  Because the collision occurs in modern times, no Nazis.  Yawn.  At least it's nicely drawn.  In fact the scene below is the best thing in the book.

Argus forms because the President doesn't trust the Justice League.  The real President Obama, would probably have faith in the League, but this is the DC version.  He comes from Chicago, just like real deal.  That means, he comes from the Chicago that's presented in Nightwing.  In Nightwing's Chicago, a horrendous past event triggered a ban on capes and cowls.  As a former Chicagoan, the President's attitude in Argus is actually pretty moderate.

Nevertheless, you don't need Argus unless you happen to be a Deathstroke fan.  Deathstroke attempts to kill the President but first tries to deal with his former Team 7 colleague Steve.  However, Deathstroke throwing in with the Crime Syndicate doesn't make a lick of sense.  Deathstroke is an assassin.  He gets paid for killing.  If the Crime Syndicate have taken over the world, money is immaterial.  Logically, Deathstroke should be fighting against the Syndicate to bring back the economy.  Whatever.  Argus is too unimportant to worry about such niggling.  It's three bucks you don't need to spend.

You can save five bucks by passing on the disappointing Aquaman Annual.  Writer John Ostrander appears to be worried about the planet and loves writing about The Others.  I'm concerned about the environment as well, but honestly, this kind of heavy-handed preaching is a little much.

The villain in question never once exhibited such ecological savvy before, and the new 52 freshness doesn't adequately explain her new focus.

As to the Others...meh.  You would think that a group that's supposed to have a longer history with Arthur than he with the Justice League would act more experienced against a less than formidable foe.  It's always bad news when I can't get worked up about a jungle girl, but Ya'Wara's gullibility, followed by her guilt is just annoying, and the Operative is as cranky as ever.  What's more, whenever he calls his headquarters the Living Room, I cannot help but giggle. 

To the Barcalounger, Robin!

The Action Comics Annual kicks off an extra-length introduction in a crossover between Superman Family titles.  Surprise, surprise.  Not only is this book entertaining, it's also special enough to warrant the price tag.

During a previous crossover, "H'el on Earth," Supergirl poisoned herself by stabbing a piece of kryptonite through H'el's chest.  She sent the alleged Kryptonian traveler to his namesake, or so she thought.  Instead, he was sucked back in time to a point before Krypton exploded.  These plot twists appeared then seemed forgotten in previous issues of The Superman titles.

The annual indicates that H'el wasn't what he claimed, and this conflict in identity initiated a psychotic episode in which H'el continuously rewrote time.  Rewriting time in the new 52 results in fraying the fabric of time and space.  You produce temporary alternate timelines and an ultimate unstable reality.  It's a spiffy application of "multiplying entities," ala Occam's Razor.  

The Oracle, a being like Marvel's Watcher, summons Superman, Supergirl and Superboy to stop H'el from shattering the Omniverse.  To this extent, straight from the movie Man of Steel, Faora teams up with the Superman Family to preclude H'el's tampering.

The annual reunites Scott Lobdell with erstwhile partner Kenneth Rocafort.  Rocafort  sets an Art Noveau Superman Family against a surreal alien arena and fitting cosmic backdrop.

A Little Dysfunctional to be sure, but mark my words.  It will all end in tears.

Lobdell draws upon most of the continuity and character interaction that framed the Superman Family's original encounters.  Supergirl for example sees Superboy as a threat, but she cannot bring herself to kill him although Kryptonian social mores demand it.  Superboy of course doesn't care for Kara's bigotry.  Superman thinks Supergirl is a loose cannon, but all three realize the enormity of the tasks they must perform, and this could be the end.  So, they make their peace with each other in moving scenes.

Once the wraparound finishes, Dan Jurgens handles the artistic reins, and he rolls with the momentum to introduce Lobdell's trio of short prologues for each member of the Superman Family.  Lobdell and Jurgens give the reader a sample of what's to come from Superboy, Supergirl and Superman.  If you like what your read, you can continue.  If you want to cut you losses, at least you'll have an idea what's going on and who's where.  That's a lot of value in forty pages with no, repeat, no advertisements interrupting the story.

Smallville is also a good addition to your collection.  It's not a necessary purchase but it's smartly written and decently illustrated.  More importantly, it expands on the continuity and characterization established in the series and the comic book.

The addendum focuses on the recently rescued Tess Mercer, Lex Luthor's sister, from the series.  Luthor murdered her, but in the comic book, Tess survived through Kryptonian science and haunted Luthor inside his mind.  Once they figured out what was going on, Superman, Lois Lane and the Justice League set Tess free.

Smallville writer Bryan Q. Miller examines Tess' second life as a human incorporated into an a.i. form.  If you were unaware of this development, Miller makes it plain and expository free.

Miller contrasts Tess' altruism against Luthor's increasing callousness.  Miller in fact mirrors Tess' role in the larger scheme of things to that of the Machine from Person of Interest.  Since Tess is a human consciousness and not a new lifeform, she's a lot more personable rather than enigmatic, and she doesn't need to work through surrogates in order to protect the innocent.

"The Hollow" though is less about introducing Tess as a proactive force for good.  Miller examines just how Tess stays sane, without a body and with a vendetta against the brother who killed her.  She gets some odd but fitting therapeutic support, and in the end Tess finds closure as well as a future filled with optimism.

As the cover shows, Captain Midnight battles public domain comic book character Skyman from the 1940s.  Yes.  Everything's from the forties this week.  

The two champions bore similar glider wings, and writer Joshua Williamson makes good use of the likeness, but he falters when trying to force the Captain to speak 1940s slang.  The tale also attacks blind idealism, something that really needs to be harried, along with it's cousin jingoism.  A good supplementary purchase.

The Black Coat returns thanks to creator Ben Lichius, artist Dean Kotz and Kickstarter contributors.  Full disclosure.  You'll see my name in the thank you page.  I'm a long time fan of The Black Coat.  I've been there since the start, years ago when nobody ever heard of Francesco Francavilla.  Francavilla cut his teeth on this title.  

The idea of a crusading, masked scientist fighting the Redcoats on the cusp of the Revolutionary War excited me.  This was a different use of an archetype that I have only seen touched upon in Disney's The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, based upon the Dr. Synn books by Russell Thorndyke.

Lichius expanded on the inventive germ of an idea by adding other appealing elements.  Ursula Morgan The Black Coat's partner in treason against the British Crown is a pirate queen, and the Redcoats are only half of the problem.  Other forces took an interest in the Colonials' sedition.  Decidedly supernatural forces see an opportunity to overthrow both powers and dominate the world as they once did.

That's only the background.  For this current production "The Blackest Dye," Lichius once again elaborates.  He doesn't play it safe.  He shakes things up, creates plausible conflict and weaves three different wars into a nice neat package that's knockout period gorgeous thanks to artist Dean Kotz. 

Kotz though does more than just recreate the past or even amp up the swashbuckling.  He infuses an effect that allows you to peer into the minds of the characters.  You expect such deftness from an old pro, not a newer talent.

Ursula has the hots for Nathaniel Finch, alias the Black Coat, but she has a problem.  She's married.  Like Mrs. Peel, her husband is missing not yet declared dead.  So she cannot move on, even though she sorely wants to.  

The relationship between The Black Coat and Ursula reaches a tipping point in their latest mission.  The presence of Nadia, a comely and martially proficient gypsy from the previous miniseries, immediately generates friction.  Ursula was confident that nobody matched her or would serve as a match for Nathaniel.  Nadia challenges that opinion, and suddenly, Ursula believes she has a rival for a man she cannot have.  That's poetry, and Kotz's focus and fading technique subtly draw your attention to what Ursula must be thinking.

The very human drama plays on the wider scope of the 1776 battles and plots.  On the forefront, The League intend to assassinate a very significant person from history.  There's in addition a mole inside the Colonial camp.  One of the Black Coat's men learns the cost of war.  During this tragic lesson, the Black Coat inadvertently displays some of his failings.  

The Black Coat isn't perfect.  He's not Batman.  He reacts badly to the situation, and he pays for the insult.  His arrogance and pride also catalyze a loss in trust on an even grander scale. Lichius however strikes the right balance.  He doesn't suddenly remove the veil from the mortal clay.  The Black Coat's baser attributes were always there.  At the same time, Lichius preserves the overall draw of his hero. 

The climactic battle against the agents of the League offers thrills and surprises, while the battle for the Revolution continues.  During these scenes, Kotz energizes the atmosphere.  The depiction of the occult can often be a dull affair.  The unbelievable and inexplicable moments can nullify the threat.  Kotz keeps the spotlight on the danger to Lichius' very mortal characters not the lightshow.

In the final moments of this stand alone graphic novel Lichius evolves the situation and opens up the future of Black Coat to all sorts of possibilities.  Simultaneously he produces more problems for the Revolutionary hero and the Pirate Queen to weather.

POBB: October 23, 2013

Pick of the Brown Bag

October 23, 2013

by

Ray Tate

Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag.  This week we tackle a slew of comic books including All-Star Western, Aquaman, Beware the Batman, Catwoman, Doctor Who, The Flash, Futurama, Justice League, Justice League Dark, Superman and the new title Pretty Deadly.

In Futurama, Mom, the creator of the robot empire, needs a new heart.  Being evil, she already prepared for such a contingency by earmarking the cryogenic hopefuls for body parts.  I'm guessing that wasn't in the brochure.

It should come to nobody's surprise that the escapee in question is one Philip J. Fry.  

Unfazed by the setback, Mom hatches a new scheme to obtain Fry's heart.  She bamboozles him into accepting an internship at her corporation.  Keep your friends close, your enemies closer and your unwitting organ donors next door.

Eric Rogers' story soaks the premise for all its worth and produces comedy by throwing a stone in a pond and letting the ripples wash over the antagonists.  It turns out that the previously established attraction between Mom and Professor Farnsworth catalyzes a surprising rapport between Fry and Mom.  As a result, Mom finds Fry endearing, and Fry tries to please Mom as if she were a favorite aunt.

Rogers' tale thrives on an undercurrent of sweetness, that anywhere else, might seem hokey.  Because this is a story less dependent on slapstick, it's the natural looking expressions and body language, within the Futurama model, from Nina Matsumoto that grant authenticity to the unlikely maternal love story.  

Pretty Deadly is a strange story from writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Emma Rios.  The book opens weirdly with a gratuitous bunny killing before settling into a narrative about traveling performance artists touring the old west.  

The bards in question--Fox and Sissy--relate a fable about the personification of death, which just might be Alice who leads a less than merry band in pursuit of a paper mcguffin once in the possession of a former colleague.

Meanwhile, the consummate gunfighting skill of the blind storyteller, Fox, foils a robbery and generates intrigue.  His partner Sissy is a young Native American with one blue eye and one black.  Visually, they're a striking pair, and DeConnick fleshes out their characterization when Fox and Sissy take refuge at Fox's friend's abode.  

In terms of introductory chapters, Pretty Deadly is the best I've seen from DeConnick.  Things happen.  The cast are quickly established.  The plotting makes sense.  In addition, Emma Rios' artwork is attractive yet suitable to the gritty genre, and Jordie Bellaire's rich but earthen colors maintain a western atmosphere without relying on the perhaps overused Sergio Leone sepia.

Also in the old west this week, the Doctor solves the mystery of the mysterious, masked stranger that can kill with his finger.  Though a little slow, Tony Lee's story mixes historical personages such as Oscar Wilde with a  fairplay mystery that doesn't rely upon anything outlandish.  The story's other plot elements utilize just a tiny science fiction nuance and a big wedge of overt science fantasy, but the actual enigmatic slayings reflect comprehensible technology.  It's the face behind the weapon that's alien ugly.

The Doctor's foe only knows him by reputation, which presents an interesting twist in the atmosphere.  The Doctor either usually faces traditional enemies like the Daleks or nigh instantly makes new ones, the Slitheen for example.  

Lee also generates some fun in tangential scenes, such as when Clara, the Doctor's companion, confronts the TARDIS.  The TARDIS doesn't like Clara.  So for the faithful viewer, it's a hoot to see that kind of interplay reiterated, and for a new comer Michael Collins' artwork tells you what's going on through Clara's determined akimbo stance.

Both All-Star Western and Forever Evil are comedies, but only one I suspect was meant to be purposely hilarious.  That's All-Star Western.

Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray conclude time lost bounty hunter Jonah Hex's legal issues in the twenty-first century.  Those expecting a Perry Mason like drama in which we expound upon the subtleties of the law will be sorely disappointed.  The savvy Wayne legal team instead secure Hex's release from police custody by cynically playing the politics of the situation.  

Arkham however is wrong, and Gray and Palmiotti's captions which deserve their own musical motifs emphasize his lack of faith in Hex's ability to adapt to new situations.  

Hex and his lady friend Gina take the Easy Rider route.  On the road, Hex digs for the riches he buried in the desert long ago, picks up a new pair of weapons, takes in his internet fame and winds up at Burning Man.

At Burning Man, trouble brews in the form of demons acting as harbinger to a much nastier boss.  Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your viewpoint, Hex has help in the form of John Constantine.

Moritat's artwork is absolutely perfect.  It will be easier to see the way in which the illustrator handles the various moods in the collection of this time travel story, but for this issue, Moritat presents a theme of bemusement rather than ultraviolence.  His cartoony women exhibit a seasoned, expressionist burlesque and contrasts the grotesque countenance of Hex himself.  Though Moritat tempers even the hero's scarred surliness in a scene involving a lollipop that's at once unsettling and funny.  Not to be missed.

Forever Evil offers a different kind of humor.  It's just so over the top, you cannot help but laugh.  Ultraman comes from a planet where Lara and Jor-El barely tolerate each other.  The animosity couple send baby Ultraman to earth from a doomed planet Krypton in which escape is readily available if the evacuees can stop fighting over the pods.  

Lara and Jor-El kill their way through their fellow Kryptonians to secure a means for their son to travel because...well...let's go with gene pool survival.  They don't actually love their son.  Love is a five letter word on Krypton.  Everywhere else too, but that's not my point.  As young Kal rockets away from Krypton.  His parents give no words of comfort or encouragement.  

Klingons imbue more love and support to their children.  Our bony-headed samurai don't consider their itty-bitty children weak.  They see it as an honor to protect their babies until they come of age.  There is no way this Kryptonian civilization could have possibly formed.  Civilization depends upon co-operation and tolerance, not Tea Party ethics based on Ayn Rand egotism.

Kal rockets from the doomed planet Krypton, but the Kents he finds are far cries from the kindly, nourishing salt of the earth folk our Kal-El discovered.  Instead, we have a pair of gold mining reptiles from the opening of a pulp novel, with Martha Kent as an added bonus being a heroin addict.  Fantastic, and what the hell?

As we jump to modern times, Ultraman takes in the sights and sounds of earth one to examine how different his allies are.  On Ultraman's earth Jim Olsen is a photographer, but I'm guessing the earth three Olsen was a lot like the typically sleazy photographers from giallo.

His subject was apparently Lois Lane, Superwoman on earth three.  This is where we learn that Ultraman doesn't even like Superwoman.  He just sees her as a vessel for his heir.  The thought of these two mating would be the most frightening thing imaginable if not for the fact it's so riotously over the top.  

Superwoman also saw Ultraman as a primo sperm factory, but the whole thing just reads as a skyrocketing sendup of a soap opera.  If you've ever seen Roy Thinnes as an openly philandering doctor on General Hospital you know what I mean.  These slices of goofiness served as shorts for Mystery Science Theater.  That's how ridiculous they were.

So apart from this tour de farce of decadence is there anything at all that might, just might attract somebody not looking for a laugh?  Two words.

And now a couple for Justice League Dark.  This issue is entirely skippable.  J.M. DeMatteis substitutes for Jeff Lemire and/or Ray Fawkes, and his story can be summed up pretty quickly as Constantine tripping.  True, there's no drugs involved, but the narrative's a farrago of falsehood.   Every scene is just some hallucination caused by exposure from Pandora's Box and the setting being the House of Mystery.  The tale could be subtitled "It Came from the Editor's Inventory Drawer," and it's a pity that Michael Janin can do no wrong.  His art is as usual spectacular.  He rises above the shopworn writing, but there's simply no way I can recommend such a callous placeholder.

Of course, Justice League Dark if boring is at least coherent.  Beware the Batman is like Batman in a foreign language, French I would say.  Why is Katana Bruce Wayne's chauffeur? Is it because Kato's Japanese? Why does Alfred look like a dock worker from Liverpool?  Why does Anarky look like Phantom Girl after a trip to Sweden?  Why is Bruce Wayne's nemesis Metamorpho's Simon Stagg? How did Amanda Waller become the Mayor of Gotham? Who would vote for her?  What's with the giant, sad, puppy-dog eyes on every character? The only thing I can support is the design of Batman.  Long ears, flowing cape, dark leotard, substantial utility belt, glowing eyes.  Put him in something I can recognize, and I would read this title in a heart beat.

Superman lies unconscious at the feet of the new 52 reboot of the Psycho Pirate, whose nutso agenda is to "free" humanity of rationality.  Without reason, the Metropolitians riot and revert to savagery.  Can anybody stop them.  Looks like it just might be Lois Lane.

Superman doesn't suffer from the same malaise that Forever Evil inadvertently caused Batgirl and Nightwing.  That's because Mike Johnson relates an entertaining tale that ends with an impact that's independent from the events unfolding in Forever Evil.  Accomplished artwork from Eddy Barrows helps sell the solid story.

The Flash is a great comic book.  Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato conclude the Reverse Flash tale with a satisfying reaffirmation of Barry Allen's heroism, thereby justifying his return.  

Flashpoint readers will grin at the the mention of time travel.  It was this incarnation of the Flash that re-established the new 52 after the post-Crisis Flash altered time and space by attempting to rewrite his mother's murder out of the continuum.  Manapul and Buccellato thus recapitulate the very first Flash story in the new 52 while giving a more salient explanation of just how the Flash repairs time.

Manapul and Buccellato relate their science fiction through powerful artwork that combines animated penciling and colorful finishing. Picking up The Flash results in being transported into a specific world with a singular look.  It's one of the few books on the shelf that visually imprints a sense of wonder.

Buccellato and Manapul end the Reverse Flash story in a few pages.  That's all they need.  They have plenty of space left over, and they address more issues within their Flash run.  What should have felt episodic instead rolls together in a sturdy framework.  

After the defeat of the Reverse Flash, Barry takes care of premiere pest Professor Elias Darwin.  Patty Spivot, Barry's lady love, attended her parents wedding anniversary.  Barry late, though not that late, attends the party, and in the narration expresses his love for Patty.  

I've been on team Patty since the beginning.  Buccellato and Manapul made it clear that despite her hotness, especially in a Flash costume, Iris will not be Barry's paramour.  At least not on their watch.  Iris blew her chance to become Barry's number one when she attempted to use him on behalf of her crazy brother David, the Reverse Flash.  In that moment everything pivoted even farther to the new 52.  

Patty has always been loyal to Barry, and it hasn't been easy, but Buccellato and Manapul characterize her as a rational woman, a fellow police scientist.  She is an objective observer hopelessly in love with Barry.  For that reason, she hated the Flash.  Evidence suggested he killed Barry.  Later, she learns about the one link in the chain missing from her investigation.  Rather than carp about a betrayal of trust, she readily accepts that the Flash and Barry are one in the same.  She understands the conflict between the hero the Flash appeared to be and his callous "murder" of Barry Allen.  Now, she can be with the man she loves wholly.

When Patty awakens, Barry's gone.  The Flash is about momentum.  Barry knows the mistake the Reverse Flash made cannot be repeated, and it's likely that this knowledge informs his decision to stop the post-Crisis Flash in Flashpoint.  Barry reopens his mother's murder case.  He pours over the details like a cop.  He doesn't even think once to go back in time to prevent the killing.

Patty finds the boxes of evidence on the floor, but no sign of Barry.  There's a plane about to crash into Central City.  Millions will die, but thanks to Manapul and Buccellato, the Flash is a quintessential hero, once again.

In Aquaman the Sea-King awakens six months later, which strangely puts him outside of the events in Forever Evil, a mini-series by Aquaman scribe Geoff Johns.  Maybe this is a means to clean the slate for upcoming talent Jeff Parker to take over the reins.  Whatever.  Vulko reveals the secret of Aquaman and the Atlanteans this issue.  So what?  

There are a lot of interesting ideas in this issue of Aquaman.  The Atlanteans share a common ancestor with other denizens of the sea.  The Atlanteans also appear to have already expressed the biological equipment needed to breathe underwater while living on land.  Else, how could some of them immediately survive the sinking? All these fascinating nuggets are mostly ignored in favor of an episode of submerged Game of Thrones.  

I can see a lot of Harlequin fans being angry at DC over the new 52 Duela Dent alias the Joker's Daughter.  Catwoman says it best.

Yeah.  This isn't Duela Dent from the pre-Crisis Teen Titans, nor the post-Crisis cameo girl.  DC just stole her name for an inferior character.  The same thing happened to Kathy Kane.  Don't worry about it.  Just ignore her until her star fades.

At the very least, the new Duela Dent fits into the Gotham Underground, which is well weird.  At the same time, I'm having a difficult time believing that Batman can be unaware of a considerable number of multiple tribes living in the bowels of his city and allowing these potential threats--from pink biohazards to explosive blue diamonds--to manifest.

Ignoring the Batman factor, although this is difficult, the chapter gives Catwoman closure while shifting the focus away from one mcguffin in favor of another.  Well illustrated by Rafa Sandoval and with a special thanks to Scott McDaniel, getting around in the DCU lately, you could do worse than picking up Ann Nocenti's Catwoman.