Introduction
This week is what I call a "light week" with only seven books that peaked my interest enough to purchase them. Like anything, comics are best in moderation, and it's nice when the publishers give the readers a little breather like this. It gives us a chance to absorb the content a little better rather than being bludgeoned with fifteen books of people in tights punching each other. Of course it does make writing a column a bit of a challenge, so this week I'll be taking a more in-depth look at a few of the standout books I bought.
Out of the Image catalogue this week, I opted for GIRLS #23 and THE WALKING DEAD #36. Both are solid comics and not what I would consider "obscure" in any way. They may not be as well known to the general public as your Spider-Mans or your X-Mens, but the Wednesday lunch comic crowd is familiar with them at some level. THE WALKING DEAD #36 is more of what makes it such a good series; people dealing with human problems while burning dead bodies. That's simplifying it a bit, but writer Robert Kirkman likes to remind us that these people have more to worry about than being eaten by zombies. It's a good thing, too, because you can only play that zombie card for so long before it just becomes the background of the world they're in. Issue #36 finds Rick crossing a line in the sand and coming to a frightening realization about what he's willing to do to keep his family safe. It feels like Kirkman is building towards a huge conflict between Rick and his people and the people of Woodbury. It's a good issue that reads like the transition into a third act.
Cover of "The Walking Dead" #36
GIRLS is the story of a mysterious naked woman who seduces a young man resulting in her laying eggs that hatch homicidal clones of herself. These clones attack the women of the town of Pennystown while also seducing the men (in order to produce more eggs and more clones). It becomes a bit of a battle of the sexes, and in recent issues, some of the men tried to convince each other that they should just let the Girls kill their wives. There is also a dome that has cut off the town from any outside aid and a giant sperm monster. Aren't comics cool? GIRLS #23 brings us within one issue of the series conclusion, which is a bit worrisome. Many comic series need that last issue for their denouement, and from the look of it GIRLS is planning to show the climax and wrap up the story all in one issue. Thankfully, I read that issue #24 will be 40 pages (and for the same price) which should give the Luna Brothers ample room to finish this story. #23 has the men finally realizing (a little too late for my tastes) what the Girls want from them, and plans are made to wipe out all the Girls once and for all. The story is starting to wrap up some threads, and the issue has a great cliffhanger ending.
Off the Marvel rack I picked up THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #539, CIVIL WAR BATTLE DAMAGE REPORT, X-23: TARGET X #4, and ULTIMATE POWER #4. The CIVIL WAR BATTLE DAMAGE REPORT is one of those books that is a little embarrassing to own, but that might contain information I need to know. It's practically a nerd encyclopedia for the aftermath of Civil War. I don't want it, I'm not looking forward to reading it, but I have little choice in the matter. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #539 is the beginning of the Back in Black story arc. I wish this wasn't just an attempt to bring the comic and the movie "Spider-Man 3" into synchronicity where both feature the black costume, but it is. I hope they do something interesting with the story, but I don't expect it to be very good.
On the positive side of things, both X-23: TARGET X #4 and ULTIMATE POWER #4 are very good. I know I've talked about X-23: TARGET X in a previous column, but it might be my favorite series right now. I'm consistently impressed with Mike Choi and Sonia Oback's art as well as the story by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost. There are a couple panels in this issue where X-23, under the influence of the trigger scent, tries to claw through a bathroom door to kill her new friend and the girl's mother. It's a beautiful page. In this issue we learn more about the mysterious Kimura, and it wouldn't be an X-23 comic without her butchering a few people. She's really becoming a much better character than Wolverine, but that may be because they aren't starting her comic with the same lines over and over. To you Wolverine writers out there, I loved the Chris Claremont / Frank Miller miniseries, too, but it's been 25 years. We all know Wolverine is "the best there is at what I do." You don't have to beat me bloody with it.
Cover art for "X-23: Target X" #4
The ULTIMATE POWER crossover started a little weak in my opinion, but now it's starting to work on me. Despite artist Greg Land's visual inconsistencies, I enjoy his pages. J. Michael Straczynski's writing in this issue is lighter and more fun than I remember from earlier issues in the series, which gives it more of an "Ultimate" feel. I'm not a huge fan of Squadron Supreme (or a small fan for that matter), but I do enjoy the Ultimate universe quite a bit. Since you never know when another ULTIMATES comic is going to ship, you have to take it where you can get it. This issue finds Nicky Fury and the Ultimates along with Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and some of the X-Men invading the dimension that the Squadron Supreme claim Reed Richards destroyed with his inter-dimensional probe. We also scratch the surface of the mystery of what really happened out there. If this series ships on time, I'll keep buying it.
I picked up the TRANSFORMERS: PRIME DIRECTIVE #2 which is the official prequel to the movie due out this summer, but I'm feeling some buyer's remorse. These first two issues have been pretty lame, but I don't read a lot of Transformers comics, so perhaps I'm just missing out on some story elements. I think some of the art is too busy, the robot designs are too anime, and the story has a serious lack of robots fighting. I still have high hopes for the movie, though. I believe the sheer spectacle of it will be worth seeing. Next week, there may be some big happenings in the comic world so check back in seven days.
Here's just a recap of the books I picked up this week:
IDW
Transformers: Prime Directive #2 - Bleh
Image
Girls #23 - Pennystown is about to strike back.
The Walking Dead #36 - Rick catches Martinez and everything changes for him.
Marvel
The Amazing Spider-Man #539 - Aunt May is dying so Peter goes all Punisher on the guilty.
Civil War Battle Damage Report - Just don't bother.
Ultimate Power #4 - I want to live in the world of Greg Land women.
X-23: Target X #4 - The trigger scent was spilled so people are dying.
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