The Ettatorial for the Week of 2-11-09
A small but great week of releases this week, with half of my purchases making the grade for pick of the week and the other half right on the cusp themselves. Without further ado, here’s your picks of the week.
First up for the week is Batman #686. Part one of two, this collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert is shaping up to be one of my favorite Batman stories. The title being a nod to the Alan Moore classic “What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow”, “What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader” is Gaiman’s love letter to Batman in all his incarnations. With the story being a mystery of Batman’s death, the readers are treated to seeing Batman’s rogues’ gallery and the caped cruasader himself throughout the ages in their depictions by Andy Kubert’s beautiful artwork. Everyone within from the Joker to Alfred gets a real chance to shine, and their Rashoman-esque stories about Batman are better than most Batman stories. Far and away my favorite book of the week, and a refreshing change of pace to the convoluted mess the title ended with in “Batman RIP”.
The other pick this week is Incognito #2. Brubaker and Phillips pulp-noir really digs into Zack Overkill’s state of mind in this issue, and the book shows just why the creative team behind Criminal should be handling every comic in either genre. Overkill learns just why being a “hero” isn’t everything it should be, and just how screwed up the world he was a part of in the past will end up shaping his miserable state of the world now. An excellent character piece, the issue hums along until the noir twist at the end. This is another book that those that complain about the state of comics should pick up, because it’s everything they complain doesn’t exist. A new character in a non-big 2 universe? Check. Intelligent writing and well thought-out stylized artwork? Check. A book that doesn’t focus on on superheroes? Well, sort of, but the book is really something of a hybrid of genres, owing more to Doc Savage and Elmore Leonard than to Captain America. You all get the idea. Just know that this is the sort of book the industry needs more of, and supporting a quality book like this is a sign for more of it’s kind to be published. Highly recommended.
There you go folks, your picks for the week. We’ll see you back here next week, same time, same channel.
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batman, incognito, neil gaimanRelated posts
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