2.01.06 Reviews

Hellboy: Makoma #1 (Dark Horse): New Hellboy story. Mike Mignola art. Richard Corben art. Interesting revelations about Hellboy's past and previous arcs of the series. More, please. Grade A.

Green Lantern #8 (DC): *Sigh* Man, this book is starting to wear thin very quickly. That's a whole-lotta-issue dedicated to the brain flowers of Mongul's kid. Yeah, it puts you in a dream world with everything you desire. Yeah, it's addictive. Yeah, I know Hal and Ollie have strong enough personalities to recognize it as a false reality. Yeah, I get it already. And there's nothing like getting beat up by the meaning stick. They both have family issues, check. I don't need it spoon fed to me in such an overstated way. Aside from Pacheco's usually strong art, this was just not very good. Almost insulting. And what's with Mongul-spawn's dialogue being contradictory? One minute it's him wreaking havoc on the "planet that destroyed my father!" and the next it's "life is about those who live, not those who die!" Ok, well then which one is it? It can't be both. Whatever. Next issue features a guest appearance by Batman which is basically the big Bat-Signal in the sky from DC alerting us that sales are slipping and we're trying to boost interest. Issue 9, huh? Well, that didn't take long. I feel like Johns' writing chops are being stretched much too thin, if you're writing 50 books a month, they can't all be stellar. Paging Geoff Johns... you phoned this one in, bro. Grade C-.

Powers #16 (Marvel/ICON): My minor quibbles would be that Bendis still can't spell, the editor still isn't catching some typos and ommitted words, and Oeming's art looks a bit sloppy and rushed in spots, but other than that, pretty damn impressive. This will sound like a backhanded compliment, but it felt really imaginative for Bendis. This 2001 style tour of universal meaning was fun. Enjoyed the overt female sexuality and vague Egyptian feel to the "meaning of life" sequences. Totally dug Walker's new uniform... reminiscent of Sinestro's get-up in JLU. Really enjoyed the fact that the beings responsible for establishing the Millennium Guard could not translate to English precisely, felt more realistic that way. Adds a significant layer to the Powers-verse and is still highly entertaining. Have been with Powers from the very start and see no sign of stopping. Grade B+.

The Sentry #5 (Marvel): Totally enjoyable psychobabble about the duality of Robert's mental state. The introduction of the Blue Buffoon and the 60's flashbacks are a treat, as is the sneaky two cameo panels of the Hulk still sleeping off their previous adventure in the background! As the struggle to sort out the Void and Sentry identities continues, each issue seems to offer up something a little unique, with the high quality writing and art consistent throughout. It appears that the two identities were the same person and have now split. Great cliffhanger ending that provides both a nice jab at the "Distinguished Competition" and a test to see if Sentry can save his doctor by being "faster than a speeding bullet." Grade A-.

X-Factor #3 (Marvel): Peter David's characterization of this crew is back and very strong. I especially warmed to the distinct voices of Siryn, Multiple Man, and Monet. Not sure how I feel about Layla, but I'm down for the ride. The only real down side of this title is that it's issue 3 and Ryan Sook's art is already not 100% present, a fact that David offers up a passive justification for. Well Peter, you did ask... so my opinion is that I'd rather have a fill in artist for an entire single issue or even a whole arc, which would hopefully allow Ryan to get caught up and a few issues deeper on pencils. This is much better than the distraction that is constantly scrutinizing each page to see if I can figure out who penciled and who inked. Cheers. Grade B.

Quick shout out to my pal Grant from the SF Bay Area... Count Grunt-ula! Oakland in the house! San Jo! Mighty Spartans! Haha! Ok Grant, for you I recommend Hellboy, BPRD, Shaolin Cowboy, Poor Sailor, Local, and a collected mini-series due out soon called Giantkiller. You'll love it. My love to Angie!