POBB: February 12, 2014

Pick of the Brown Bag

February 12, 2014

by

Ray Tate

Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag.  In this column I pick the comic book cream from the crop.  This week I review Batman, Legendary, Nightwing, Red Sonja: Berserker, She-Hulk, Smallville and Winter Soldier.

Winter Soldier is really Bucky Barnes.  

From Avengers #4

Bucky should have stayed dead.  Because every time a villain knocked Captain America unconscious, upon waking, he would immediately yell "Buccccky!"  It was kind of a signature, but all right.  Whatever.

Bucky's the Winter Soldier now.  Something about the KGB, and a relationship with the Black Widow.  Fine.  Not buying any of it, but fine.  Let's give him a book.  Not interested.  Oh, but lets sucker people into feigning interest.

Writer Rick Remender lures you with the promise of 1960s SHIELD and Nick Fury as well as Hydra on skis.  Damn.  I would buy that comic book, and I did, but he quickly pulls a shady sleight of hand and shifts the focus to Agent Shen Ran.  Not even Jimmy Woo.  Agent Ran.  Some wannabe James Bond.

Here's a tip.  If you have a book with Batman and Lemming Man, don't turn the spotlight on Lemming Man.  Nobody cares about Lemming Man.

A lot of people tuned in for Winter Soldier.  The more discerning crowd flipped through the book and saw Nick Fury and immediately shouted, "Yes!" Instead of "Buccccky!"

Everybody's going to be disappointed because despite Sam Boschi's utterly fantastic sexiful sixties artwork, Winter Soldier neither highlights the title character or Nick Fury.  Just Agent Ran, who is nothing.

Alas, poor Nightwing.  I knew him, Horatio.  A man of infinite whining and irresponsibility.  

From Batman #416

His enormous schwannstucker made the man-child the want of every chick in the DC Universe.  No, really.  How else can you describe his appeal? Intellect? You could have fooled me.  Empathy? Pu-lease. Nay, could only be his vast member.

Then the new 52 did come, no not in that way, and Kyle Higgins returned Robin once at rest.  Nightwing became detective, only fourth greatest, next to Batman, Huntress and Batgirl.  And time did sand the notches in his bed post.

Nightwing saw Batman as his friend and partner and there was no personal schism tween Duo Dynamic.  Batgirl was once more out of his league, and his swain through the Teen Titans, from Donna to Kori, a memento of cosmos lost. Indeed for some, characters no more.  Good riddance.  Now, did a writer bring focus, making Robin a good man grown.

Alas, poor Nightwing.  Forever Evil did come, no not in that way.  Nightwing were't captured by Crime and beaten to pulp. His identity revealed far and wide. Will he survive? Who knows, but all poor Higgins writes counts for naught. 

The duel between hero and villain from the past, foes and friends alike mean nothing.  

The bar where Nightwing found comfort, tis no more in the future.  

No! Not Greg and Cheryl! Wait, who are Greg and Cheryl?

The mirror to Nightwing's past in the present of young friend and would be sidekick all mean naught to the Red Hood rising.  Alas, poor Nightwing.  He was finally interesting and good, Horatio.  Ay, there's the rub.

In this issue of Batman, Scott Snyder and James Tynion take a break from "Year Zero" and give readers a taste of the weekly to come.  They set the scene as "soon," in fascist Gotham City were breaking a curfew is likely to result in a truncheon to the head, if you're lucky.

I never thought I would say this, but Snyder's and Tynion's latest Batman foray "Eternal" just isn't going to be for me.  Dustin Nguyen's new design for Catwoman and the architecture of her club is the only thing I like about this sample of the weekly.

Elegant

Extreme right hardliners somehow took over Gotham City.  The police have turned into Judge Dredd wannabees.  The shrewd comic strip response to Margaret Thatcher and her awful cronies, not the awesome movie Judge Dredd played by Almost Human's Karl Urban.  The Batman Family aren't on speaking terms with Batman.  As a result, he gains new sidekicks: Harper, who assumes a new alter-ego--I owe you some Quatloos, Link--and what looks like her brother in the Batcave.  

I really liked Harper as DC's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I think she worked better without a history or an explanation.  The idea of Lis Salander showing up every once in awhile to help Batman at crucial moments just makes me giddy.  It's the one time a deus ex machina actually worked.

I'm not crazy about Harper's dual identity, and why are those things on her mask?  What function do they serve?

Will straps on masks be modern day equivalent of the armband and legband pouches of the nineties? If so, stop it.

The whole premise to Batman: Eternal just looks and feels  played out.  The idea of the police gone nuts was done and done well in Paul Pope's incredible Batman: Year 100.  Only he involved time travel.  Gotham turned into a totalitarian wonderland because Batman did not exist.

The refurbishing of a Batman villain into a legitimate nightclub owner was brokered and brokered well by Chuck Dixon in the nineties with the Penguin.  This was carried over to the new 52.  So, no visual aid is needed.  Furthermore, the shift was meant to give the Penguin a reason for existing in a more sophisticated time.  Catwoman already had a good reason.  She's a master-thief, sometimes lover of Batman who is also a member of the Justice League, kind of.

Batman's friends mad at him? 

Zut alors!  

When are Batman's friends not mad at him? Even Batgirl, I'm sorry to say, judging from the solicits.  Then there's the whole lack of necessity in this chapter.  Batman infiltrates Selina's club for no reason at all.

Why didn't Batman just call?  Oh, her number isn't listed? Well, Sherlock Holmes would have been able to contact her through his Baker Street Irregulars.  I'm sure Holmes' successor could have thought of something better besides a Harper-staged blackout and muscle.  

The treasure Batman finds in the vault of the Catwoman's club is unexpected, but by the end of the book I really didn't care.  I'm sure though that the presence of the treasure will make some people wet and give others hap pies.

Batman makes a more distinguished appearance in Smallville.  His engrossing investigation into the death of the man found in the Superman shirt last issue uncovers some disturbing and fascinating details that tie into Chloe Sullivan's "big pitch."

There's even more interaction with Batman and Chloe, exactly the type you expected had Warner Brothers not scotched Batman's appearance on Smallville.  No, really.  Batman can appear in The Lego Movie, but he couldn't become a cast-member on a beloved television series where every frickin' Justice League member, even Zatanna, appeared? Damn your fickleness, Warner Brothers!  There's also interaction you didn't expect from Batman and Chloe, which won't be spoiled here.  Don't worry.  It's nothing bad.  Batman's partner Nightwing also gets a good showing.

As comedy bubbles through Brian Q. Miller's dialogue between Lois and Babs, action ripples through the fight choreography of artist Edgar Salazar.  I'm not keen on Babs starting a relationship with the boy with the circus background, but that's a personal dislike.  At least Miller didn't force a costume down my throat.

Miller concludes the Batman Family portion of the program with a startling reveal that serves as denouement and exemplifies the cunning of Batman as well as his emotions; the fact is that he wants Babs to stay out of this particular hunt so she doesn't get hurt.  People have misinterpretted Batman for so many years.  It's not that he doesn't care.  He cares too much.

Meanwhile in Russia, Superman recovers from his battle against the Monitor, and as Clark Kent, in superb klutzy yet ace reporter form, he partners with Lex Luthor to investigate the Monitor's ship.  

There's some great repartee and interplay between the former friends that recalls early seasons of Smallville.  In fact, for the cliffhanger, Miller pulls a superb coup that ironically replicates the first episode of Smallville.  This book is almost too good.

In Legendary, Vampirella leaves Magna Spadrossa, the sister of Red Sonja, in the capable hands of the Green Hornet and Kato, and a cabal of villainy raises its multiple heads, albeit in the shadows.

Romper, Stomper, Bomper, Boo.  I believe I see Fu-Manchu.  Possibly Ayesha.  Kulan Gath, he who loves a silly hat.  They all serve a character called Blackmass.  I'm guessing this is a sobriquet for somebody better known.  Possibly John Sunlight, Shiwan Khan, Dracula or dare I hope Professor James Moriarty.

In any case the one-eyed gentleman whom I do not recognize sends his clone warriors against the Hornet and Kato who travel in two forms of Steampunk Black Beauties, each more awesome than the other and almost as fantastic as the original.  

The Hornet's and Kato's battles are heady with juicy violence and martial arts mayhem, just like the fights in the television series, nimbly illustrated by artists Sergio Fernandez Davila and Wes Hartman.

I wasn't absolutely sure I was going to like Legendary, but Dynamite holds the licenses to many of the characters I love, and the Steampunk world is just an excuse to let Bill Willingham reduce them down to their essences, ignore any current continuity and let these characters play in a shared world.  I couldn't be happier.

Nancy Collins should be a familiar name to anybody with a slight interest in the non-sparkly kind of vampire.  She is the creator of vampiric hard-boiled vampire destroyer Sonja Blue.  Now, she turns her attention to Sonja Red.  You know, sometimes, segues are gifts.

Collins' story in Red Sonja: Berserker is predictable, but I can't really see any way out of that.  Sonja encounters a little bear cub, and she allies with it to make surviving a harsh winter-land a little easier.  Years later after being thrown into an arena, she reacquaints with her furry little friend.

Will the bear tear Sonja to pieces? Will Sonja be forced to kill it.  Look, I think you know where this is going, but that's not the reason why you should add Berserker to your list.

Collins' take on Sonja is remarkable and pertinent.  She doesn't make her all soft and gooey when she sees the furball.  Sure, she's human.  The bear cub's cute, but the worlds of Robert E. Howard are unfair and unsympathetic.  So, Sonja befriends the bear as a huntress might befriend a stray dog.  The dog works for her.  The bear works for Sonja.  It's what biology defines as mutualism.  Both parties benefit.  Sonja gets easier kills and greater safety.  The bear gets cooked meat and also enjoys the security to grow up.

Oh, and one would be remiss at ignoring the fact that Fritz Casas and Mark Roberts bring some amazing artwork to the table.  Clothed or chain-mailed their Sonja is a stunning beauty that's also a freakin' powerhouse of sinew.

Sonja eventually leaves the bear for civilization.  Remember.  The worlds of Robert E. Howard are unfair and unsympathetic.  Sonja returns to her usual haunts, and she eventually winds up on the idiot end of the stick.  

Now, here's where Collins subtly brings up some feminist inspiration.  In the 1990s, a jury in Florida acquitted a man of rape because the victim was dressed provocatively.  A lot of papers accused the judge of doing the acquitting, but that's not how our legal system works.  Although in Canada, it's another story.  There, in 2011, a judge considered a woman's clothing to be a factor in inciting the rape and ruled super leniently in favor of the perpetrator.

Red Sonja usually dresses in a chain-mail bikini.  That's not how Robert E. Howard envisioned her, but that's how comic books imagined her; as Frazetta inspired accompaniment to Conan.  However, Collins makes the point that her style of dress is irrelevant when unwanted attention presents itself.  Sonja is remarkably tolerant in fact.  She doesn't take action until her answer of no is ignored.  

Women dress sexily, but that doesn't mean they want men pawing at them or worse.  When a woman says no, she means no.  It's a two letter word.  You can't get much simpler.  So when a pair of louts offer Sonja coin for sex, and she says no, what they should have said is "Pardon our mistake.  I meant no harm.  Barkeep, another round for the lady," and walked away.  Sonja would have let them live without dismemberment.

The guards bring Sonja before the judge of the realm, and the judge immediately notes Sonja's clothing.  So, you know Collins is using Sonja to speak out against these dumbass cases that ignored a sexual assault just because the victim might have been dressed provocatively.  Using Sonja as  metaphor is a perfect idea.  In a way Collins did the same thing with Sonja Blue.  Collins explicitly states that Sonja Blue is a victim of vampire rape.  Collins didn't accept the whole vampire as seducer angle that was popularized largely by Hammer movies and carried on to an extreme by Jon Badham's and Frank Langella's Dracula.

The judge throws Sonja to the arena, and there she meets her bear again.  Collins however knows that it cannot simply end there with a big a grand crowd pleasing finale, and she concludes the book with an acceptance of the Robert E. Howard point of view and Red Sonja's uncompromising moral code.  Collins thus generates a far more satisfying ending than the Disneyfied one that many think they would want.

The latest go for She-Hulk is an Ally McBeal styled quirky comedy with a rich legal backbone and none of the relationship hang-ups.

Freshly fired, Shulkie finds a new client, whose case pits her against this cheery fellow.  

She-Hulk believes she can clear through the lawsuit if she can get to Tony Stark.  They're friends and colleagues in the Avengers, after all.

As you can see, artist Javier Pulido is a major draw to writer Charlie Soule's lighter touch on the Jade Giantess.  There's not a bad panel in the book, and the story's filled with continuity gags and legal ramifications that are actually quite interesting.  The Shulkster herself is instantly recognizable in character, and Soule also gives her a sharp acumen that was mostly missing from other treatments.  I'll be adding She-Hulk to my subscription list.

POBB: February 5, 2014

Pick of the Brown Bag

February 5, 2014

by

Ray Tate

The Pick of the Brown Bag is a weekly blog where I choose the best and worst of comic books on the rack.  On today's docket Action Comics, Baltimore, Batwing, Forever Evil, The Fox, The Movement, Painkiller Jane, Swamp Thing and new books Loki and Ms. Marvel.

The Fox concludes its bizarre Diamond Queen story in which the multifaceted beauty transported Paul Patton to a surreal world run by an evil Druid that bewitched her King.  The Fox isn't the first hero to walk in the realm.  As a result, the story excuses a Red Circle team-up.  

I get the feeling the tale was meant to explain the absence of the Red Circle heroes from the comic book racks.  It's essentially what the Time War is to Doctor Who.  The writers though quickly hedge their bets by demonstrating that time and space does not flow quite so linearly in the diamond dimension.  Thus, a year in weirdsville is only ten minutes in our world.

Dean Haspiel's and Mark Waid's Fox is essentially by-the-numbers fun albeit with superior artwork, but actually Haspiel and Waid take a few leaps that must be lauded.  For example, the Red Circle heroes distinguish themselves with an attention to previously taboo subjects.  

It's not a huge move considering the people behind Archie Comics introduced Kevin, a wildly popular gay character who genuinely broke new ground in Riverdale.  Still, the diversity is a nice touch.

This issue also surprises with technique.   The Shield stars in the the back story.  The major powers battling for the earth in World War II get representatives, and these avatars of Allied Forces, Nazis and Japanese battle a foe that judges humanity, not just the Third Reich, as a weed to be eradicated through its own machinations.  It's a remarkably cynical aspect from a patriotic hero's tale and sharply contrasts the theme of love in the main story.

Jimmy Palmiotti's and Justin Gray's Batwing shakes off Gothtopia for a straightforward vigilante-hunting-loved-one plot.  Eduardo Pansica is also back on art duties.  So, it's a fantastic looking book. 

Gray and Palmiotti better establish Batwing as a Gotham fixture by bringing in Commissioner Gordon to referee the proceedings.  He doesn't make that much of a contribution, but it's nice to see him in a book where he's not trying to kill Batgirl or deck Batman.

The writers further cement the status of Batwing in a scene where he's mistaken for the more recognizable Batman.   This scenario also allows Palmiotti, Gray and Pansica to flex their funny bones.  The gangstas sound a lot like a low-tier comedy troupe, albeit armed and semi-dangerous.  Batwing puts them down with absolutely no problem, but his viciousness exemplifies the sincerity in his pursuit.  Had not a family member been taken, Batwing probably would have had some laughs and taken his time to defeat the hoods. 

Batwing shows no signs of fatigue.  I wonder if our hero will be taking Nightwing's slot in the Batman Family after Forever Evil ends.  The Year Zero issue established that Batman knew Luke Fox when young.  He also fought beside the youth.  Fox was also Batman's first choice for Batwing.  Hmmn. 

I have no interest in The Movement.  I tried the premiere, and the rodent king turned me off. Vampires control vermin.  Not heroes. The rest of the cast didn't interest me either.  However, Batgirl guest-stars in the story, and I wanted to give Gail Simone another chance to prove that she can still write the Darknight Daredoll.  I will say this.  Batgirl is a lot lighter here than she is in her title book.  

Last I saw she was moping around, if not outright weeping, over the fate of Ricky, the would-be car-jacker with a heart-of-gold and no prospects what-so-ever.  Oh, and her Dad, the Commish, literally wanted to kill her since she sent psychopath-with-a-heart-of-gold James Jr. to his spinal snapping, that is eye-stabbing, demise.  Here, Batgirl's positively quippy, oh and drawn perfectly.

Batgirl travels to Coral City to hunt down a fugitive.  The U.S. Marshals' service in the DCU is apparently as effective as its constabulary.  The murdering-bastard-with-a-heart of gold however is under the protection of the Movement, who also foster one of Batgirl's rogue's gallery.

I'll give Simone this.  

She knows Babs' got legs and knows how to use them.

Katharsis is one of Knightfall.  I'm trying to remember if the winged menace was in the debut of The Movement or not.  I know she didn't register, and that's probably because Simone scrubbed her villainous personality.  Here's how Simone characterized Katharsis in Batgirl.

Keep in mind that Katharsis "marked" a mostly harmless sad sack that's missing his leg from the lower calf down.  One marvels at exactly how this scene played out.  "Hey, kid, I'm sorry about the leg.  That was evil, but I'm just mean.  So, I'm gonna scar your puss a little.  You might need plastic surgery when I'm done, but at least I'm not going to set a bear trap to take out your other leg. Yeah?"

In The Movement, Katharsis is just a bitch who has a severe problem with Batgirl.  She's half a step away from being the Cordelia who trips a book laden Babs in high school.  

So, did The Movement convince me to return to Batgirl? No. Just because Babs is normal here doesn't mean she's better in her own title.  Simone's lack of consistency with Katharsis convinces me that she doesn't keep notes, and that she might in fact unwittingly plague Batgirl with mood swings.  One moment, she's a sobbing Ninja who refuses to wear the bat symbol.  The next issue she'll be the Darknight Damsel we all know and love.  Frankly, Simone is just a sloppy writer, and I'm starting to think those two wonderful opening arcs of Batgirl were the exceptions, not the rule.

Tom Taylor's Earth 2 is engrossing.  The story advances along nicely, and the characterization of Batman and the rest of the Earth Two champions entertain to no end.  

Barry Kitson is what's different about this issue of Earth 2.  I was lucky enough to meet the man at the Pittsburgh Comicon last year; yes, with great reluctance, I gravitated away from Daphne Ashbrook.  Kitson was kind enough to illustrate a Black Canary bust for me.  You can see the image below the reviews.

Barry Kitson's actually fairly unfamiliar with these characters.  He's an old school type of guy, but he does a bang up job visually representing the heroes' personalities and powers.  He nails their costumes.  It also looks like he was enjoying himself immensely when depicting Marella, alias Aquawoman.  His manifestation of the elements is absolutely breathtaking.  You just sit back and go ooo.

The inks by Robson Rocha and the colors by Pete Pantazis enhance the pencils.   However, at the con, I watched Kitson complete a nearly all-day fully costumed Azbat.  I can guarantee that the fluid movement and depth of the water had already been incorporated in his originals.

Kitson next wowed me with his visual narrative of Lois Lane convincing Val the young Kryptonian to step out into the sun and gain his birthright.  Lois is dead on earth two.  Her mind lies in the circuitry of the Red Tornado.  

Kitson's depiction of the gamut of emotion at play through the panels is really beautiful.  It's even more impressive given that he really doesn't have a lot to work with.  The body housing Lois' mind isn't quite as featured as a human face.  Kitson however rises to the challenge.  

No bones to Nicola Scott, Earth 2's regular and remarkable illustrator, but I really wouldn't mind seeing more of Kitson's work on the title.

Greg Pak is turning out to be a helluva Superman writer.  For his run, he reintroduced Lana Lang to the mythos.  She's an electrical engineer in the new 52 and confidante of Clark Kent from Smallville.  She knows that Clark is Superman.  While working on a new power complex, Lana discovered a monster, and Superman quickly darted in to take care of the fellow, just not in the way Lana and the others believed.

Superman saw himself in the misunderstood monster, and that self-reflection paid off.  The creature metamorphosed into the little guy clutching onto Lana's leg.  The trio delved into a lost underworld, and here Aaron Kuder went nuts, creating numerous species and characters as if there were no tomorrow to read about them.

Still in the under world, Superman and Lana meet the Queen.  You know that if she were sealed up.  Something must be rotten, and Pak will get to that in surprising turn after turn of events.  

Pinned to all of this goodness, the interaction between Lana and Clark forges history from scratch.  The byplay between the two Smallville denizens reads genuine, and their humor bridges a masterful comprehension of what makes these characters tick.  Pak couldn't have done any of this in the post-Crisis.  Lana's character there was static, and Aaron Kuder's artwork is too outside the concept of painted musclemen and gravity defying beauties to be welcomed.

Forever Evil is a weird one.  Lex Luthor and his team of super-villains collude with Batman and Catwoman.  Sinestro, with extreme prejudice, deals against Power Ring, and the Crime Syndicate appears to be splitting at the seams.

Geoff Johns' latest reads like an episode of Challenge of the Super-Friends, if broadcast on prime time television.  There's oodles of death and ghoulish violence in these pages, but you cannot get worked up about it.

All of it is at the expense of the super-villains of the DC Universe, and there's a certain bit of black comedy in the murders, especially for somebody who follows comic book history.

These elements Johns juxtaposes against antagonists who really sound like their old selves on Saturday mornings.  This is especially true of Luthor and Black Manta.  Don't care if the latter is black.  Here, he sounds like Ted Cassidy enhanced by that tinny echo effect that the makers of Super-Friends employed.

How many times have you asked.  Why doesn't a comic book company produce a comic book that actually mirrors what occurs in the offshoot movies? Ask no more.  Loki is that comic book.  

Loki is no longer the evil, cackling bad guy of the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby originals.  Instead, he's Tom Hiddleston portraying secret agent Loki.  This works.

If you're asking how does Tom Hiddleston's super-spy Loki jibe with the films, well...In Thor: The Dark World, Loki reveals that he doesn't hate Thor, and he loves his mother, who showed him only mercy.  He hates Odin.  So, in the film, Loki allies with Thor for reasons I won't spoil here, and he also promotes his own agenda that will allow him to one-up Odin.  Still have doubts? Look who the Avengers are.

It's true that Iron Man's color scheme is all wrong, but Marvel thoughtfully brought the Avengers from the movies in to confront Loki.  They all in fact behave like their movie counterparts.  Hawkeye and Black Widow for example just hang out.  None of their past history is ever broached.  You wouldn't know that Natasha was a former Russian spy who seduced Hawkeye into going up against Iron Man.  These two are the SHIELD agents.  Everybody likes the Hulk.  In fact it's only when Al Ewing brings up past Big Stupid Events that the book chimes a false note.  

To be fair, Ewing isn't trying to erase Marvel history.  Loki is.  It's how he's paid, and that's a real clever premise.  Loki doesn't actually want to be that maniacal character of old.  He wants a fresh start, and he's a god.  So by golly, why not?

Given this really funny Loki story, it's easy to overlook Lee Garbett's contribution, but Garbett's art goes a long way to sell Loki's earnestness.  He makes Loki such a young, molded in the image of Hiddleston figure that you can't help but to accept him.  You find yourself even wondering why the Avengers have such angry bees in their bonnets.

Ms. Marvel has been getting a lot of attention for its depiction of a Muslim heroine, but really this is just the old Marvel Spider-Man love of a young, outsider gaining superpowers. It's a good solid read, but it's not actually as groundbreaking as a lot of people claim.

Our protagonist isn't a fundamentalist because heroes can't be.  It doesn't matter what religion.  A fundamentalist Christian can be just as terrifying as a fundamentalist Muslim or Hebrew.  Christian terrorists and Muslim terrorists are just terrorists, and even that is a little lofty a definition.  Terrorists are just plain murderers.

Kamala's a teenager with a moderate Muslim upbringing.  Her father is a businessman.  Her mother is a little shallow in her depiction.  So, I can't really pin-point her.  Her brother is essentially a Muslim hippie.  He's using the faith for his own inaction.  Her sister is a little more reverent to her culture.  Kamala has a Flash Thompson as well.  The rest of the jocks are morons.

A few Buffy the Vampire Slayer nods foreshadow the picture of the independent female super-hero to come.  While cues to Bollywood offer a singular, inviting goofiness.  There is one sharp difference that I don't believe will benefit the future of the character's staying power.  

Spider-Man's origin is a streamlined classic.  Peter Parker gains the hair of the radioactive arachnid that bit him.  Reduced, the original Ms. Marvel is the product of accidental exposure to an alien device, but the new Ms. Marvel's origin is tied to the exposure to Terragen mist.  The problem is that she shares the origin with others.  I would have preferred something unique to her to bathe her in super powers.

This is the stuff.  Painkiller Jane concludes with a satisfying conflict of character that manifests in a violent duel to the death.

Jane of course survives the fight.  Her hyper healing factor kicks in, but Palmiotti demonstrates that there are fates worse than death for somebody who can survive almost any damage.

When Jane recovers, she displays her detective skills, tracking down the absconded Princess Poonwalla and lover Tony, her bodyguard.

Palmiotti has balls for identifying the tradition in the plot, and it shows he's not frightened of recycling.  So long as it's done in an interesting way.  The simplicity of the gist allowed Palmiotti to play with Jane's characterization, identifying what kind of woman she is; revisit her history with Maureen, her best friend and police "handler"; add modern twists to generate freshness in the tradition and much more.

The new life of Painkiller Jane as an Icon imprint hits just the right mature tone for pulp readers and artist Juan Santacruz is comfortable when depicting anything Palmiotti throws at him or Jane.

Writer Charles Soule splits Swamp Thing with two tales.  He opens the book with the aftermath of Alec Holland's attempts to free himself from the Green and resume his position as Champion.  In order to do that he lulled the Green into dormancy and beat the crap out of his successor.  This leaves him three very rusty former Champions on his hands, and now they have regained their humanity.

The second story reveals the origin of Capuine, and it's a classic that's nevertheless well told and gorgeously captured by Javier Pina.  Capucine is the second new 52 protagonist that's tickled me.  Starling was the first.

Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck conclude the first chapter of Lord Baltimore's life with vampire slashing and the reaffirmation of a codependent relationship between vampires and humans that almost seems natural. 

Mignola's conclusion also kicks off the second part of Baltimore's story by manifesting the image of the Big Bad hinted at in the Infernal Train.  He and Stenbeck conclude the tale with one of the most macabre moments in horror lit, and it also serves as a startling finale that reveals Mignola's allusive inspiration for the whole of the tale.