Recent Readings

Lately I've been reading my "new" comics in batches. Usually this amounts to a stack of 3 or 4 mini-series, some that have been out for a while, that I've recently purchased. I'm really enjoying the current group so I thought I'd share what they are. Just in case someone out there is looking for something good to pick up.


Wytches

Not necessarily a big Scott Snyder fan (I haven't read any of his Batman or anything else for that matter) but I tend to love horror comics and had heard some good things so when I came across all six issues cheap, I thought I'd give it a try and I'm glad I did. The story is creepy, the art by Jock is too, and it's not what I expected at all. Dark and disturbing - very good stuff.


Captain Victory

I love pretty much anything from Joe Casey (easily in my top 3 writers list) and this seemed like a concept right in his wheelhouse. The art is by numerous artists and not at all like most of the current "popular" stuff that people seem to like. Since I can't stand most of that, this is a good thing. This reminds me how much I miss "Godland". Cosmic and big-picture in all the right ways


Kings Watch

Another writer I will follow almost anywhere (Jeff Parker). Not particularly a fan of these characters but I trusted Jeff to make them interesting and he delivered. Just plain old pulp fun.

... and one last second addition to the group...


Mysterius the Unfathomable

Somehow I missed this when it first came out and I'm so glad I finally came across it. More great writing by Jeff Parker and some unbelievable art by Tom Fowler. I'm not sure what to compare this to - Doctor Strange by way of Mad magazine maybe? That doesn't really do it justice though. Highly recommended.

It's Not "All-Star Batman and Robin"...

As anyone who follows comics on the internet knows, there have been a thousand and one takes on All-Star Batman and Robin, from the outraged to the confused to the admired. I think most people are missing the point because this isn't really the comic book they think it is.

This isn't the companion book to "All-Star Superman", as the name implies. It's not an iconic look at Batman for the ages. No, it's something very different but no less admirable. It is quite simply, as each new issue continues to confirm, the prequel to "Dark Knight Returns". It is "Dark Knight: Year One" (as opposed to Miller's equally impressive "Batman: Year One", which dealt with early "mainstream" Batman.) I'll be the first to confess that I didn't get this when it first came out. I was expecting Miller and Lee's mirror version/companion piece to Morrison and Quitely's outstanding Superman book. But, to each team's credit, they are as different as night and day.

Whether this was the initial plan (I doubt it) or just how it happened to work out, isn't really important. And, although I have no way of knowing whether this is true or not, it seems like a premeditated return volley from Miller in response to the reception of his "Dark Knight Strikes Again", which I think suffered from many of the same things this series does - massive pre-misconceptions as to what it would and should be, confusion over what it actually was and what it was saying. From experience, I can say that both series benefit greatly from re-readings, without the pressure of personal expectations. Try reading the first 5 issues of "All-Star" again with the assumption that it is "Dark Knight: Year One" and tell me it doesn't make a whole lot more sense and that it isn't a whole lot more enjoyable. Go ahead, I dare you.