Talkin' Comics!

Even though I had a backlog of books to read, I actually read 4 of the books that came out this week the day I brought them home (a rarity to be sure). All four were either first issues or the first issue of a new direction and I was trying them all for the first time, and wanted to make sure I read them to decide if I wanted to add them to the pull list...



Some reactions....



Batgirl #35 (first issue of the new direction)-I was highly skeptical of DC's motivation for the change, but despite that the promo art looked intriguing, and I like the character and creators, plus it looked to be a step away from the grim house style that has dominated the new52, so I decided to give the first issue a shot. I liked it-didn't love it, but liked it. Enough I will probably get the next issue, not enough to add to a pull list yet. The art was great, the story was a step away from the Simone Batgirl I had tried over a year ago. I like Gail's stuff, but didn't dig her Batgirl enough to deal with the dark grit of nuDc it reveled in and the rotating cast of interchangeable house artists drawing the book. Interesting set up, very modern urban hip feel, but maybe taking too much of a cue from Fraction's Hawkeye-in particular the Kate Bishop focused issues (which I love, but because it is a unique voice not the voice all comics should be in). The portrayal of Babs id different, but with a hint of the familiar, but she is very much played as her own worst enemy here it seems. Supporting cast is interesting, but again very familiar in broad strokes to the ubiquitous hipster types that fill this style of storytelling. Hopefully they will get fleshed out and develop something unique. The potential is certainly there. Canary as supporting cast was interesting too. The highlight for me is the way they visually depicted Babs near eidetic memory at work. I love when artists find a very unique way to portray powers/abilities that are more cerebral in nature than action oriented-one of the best is the way Chris Samnee depicts Matt Murdock's radar sense for instance, and this was a page out of that book. Very cool visual.



Klarion #1 (first issue, duh)-again skeptical here, Ann Nocenti has done nothing that has impressed me in a loooong time. But I like Klarion, and Trevor McCarthy is amazing-so when I read the review and was intrigued, I decided to give the first issue a shot. Turns out, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Still not 100% sold, but again, will pick up the next issue to see. The set up offers a lot of potential stories, Klarion's characterization is compelling, and there are lots of hints and mysteries that piqued my interest that I want to find out more about. Again, some of it feels a little familiar to some of the urban prose fiction that has been coming out for the last decade or so, but it is putting its own spin on that so far, so we'll see. I loved the fact there's a Bleak Street that is the hub for magical activity (Bleeker Street Sanctum anyone?) as a little easter egg in there as well. Again, a good start to a supporting cast and some potential to grow here.



Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1 (again first issue duh)- I was on board as soon as this was announced in the back pages of Afterlife with Archie, and the preview in Afterlife #6 had me completely sold. The first issue didn't disappoint. Period piece, moody art, interesting characters, and enough hints and allegations of things to come to get me to come back. Probably my favorite of the four I read tonight. Bonus-it contains a reprint of Sabrina's very first appearance as well.



Wytches #1 (hmm #1 would be a first issue right?)-Snyder is a writer who I think is immensely talented by extremely flawed. He writes great beginnings and middles, but I have disliked almost every ending of his I have read, so I am extremely reluctant to invest time and interest into anything he writes because I am usually left feeling completely unsatisfied. It's not just his comics though, his prose short stories have the same effect on me. I was highly enamored with his stuff when I first discovered it, and checked out a bunch of it. I think the only thing of his I didn't sampled at least was American Vampire (well pre-Superman Unchained, that was the first work of his I skipped after dropping the rest). Of it all, Severed was the thing I liked the best. Then there is Jock, whom I think is a brilliant artist and a fantastic visual storyteller. So when I saw this series announced last year at Image Expo I was torn. Snyder's best work was done in the one series he did for Image. It was Jock. But I didn't want to buy in only to get left feeling unsatisfied again, so I was leaning on passing. But when Snyder stepped up to the plate to get DC to lower their cover price on Batman for the fans' sake, I was impressed, even though I no longer read Batman (the typical unsatisfying felling Death of the Family had was the last straw for me and the book). So I decided I would pick up his creator-owned book (where the bulk of the $$ goes to him and not DC) as a token of my appreciation. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. What I got again was typical Snyder at his best setting things up, and Jock's art was gorgeous as he slipped from one style to another depending on the stories need (present, flashback, child's art, clouded memory flashback, etc.), it was visual storytelling at a high level. Yet it was also filled with all the potential pitfalls of a typical Snyder endeavor leading me to believe I could very well end up disappointed in the end again. So, still on the fence, but going to go at least another issue and see how the ride takes shape.



-M