Review: Adventure Comics #6
I’m not sure a book has had a stranger publication history in its early stages than this. The first few issues made up a fairly pleasant, engaging Superboy story by Johns and Manapul. Then all of a sudden, the book was given over to a bizarre – and not very successful – metatextual Superboy Prime story, with Conner’s story relegated to the backup. And now, just in time to actually finish itself before the writer and artist depart the series abruptly,  it’s back as the main feature. Anyway, it’s… well, it’s fairly pleasant and engaging, actually. Very rooted in the Silver Age in its treatment of Lex Luthor, mind (all orange-prison-suited, evil genius determined to prove a point, demonstrating just how brilliant he could be were it not for that pesky Superman), and I’m still not sure that version works in the present-day DCU. But it plays off what remains an interesting dynamic – that Luthor has such a close sort-of-familial connection to the Super-family – even though that itself was something that the ’90s already did with the Matrix Supergirl. And Manapul’s stylish, pencil-led art sells it, even almost making the Red Robin outfit (admittedly sans hood) look alright. Quick point, though – despite the increased page count for the main story, this is still a $3.99 issue without a backup strip; and that’s bad form. [SP]

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #617
You know, this is the kind of issue that makes me glad of the series’ tri-monthly format. Would I want something like this every issue? No. Would I want this story to last more than one month? No. But as it is – a story about the (admittedly, rather shallow) new Rhino attacking the old version of the character, now reformed after finding love, well, it’s a pretty entertaining one-off. With a nice back-up strip that further explains how he got to the point he’s at. The art throughout is, to be honest, not to my taste, but it’s never so ugly that it undermines my enjoyment of the story. The fact that the schedule makes this kind of issue possible is exactly why Amazing, for better or worse, is one of my favourite ongoings right now. [JHu]

Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #31
I’ve mocked the delayed reactions of Buffy’s letters page before, but “we are only a couple of months away from revealing Twilight’s identity” takes things to a new level, as well as confirming the panicked nature of the decision. The quality of writing here, however, makes it easy to hope that Dark Horse’s stratagem is successful in raising sales. Joss Whedon has no hesitation in putting his creation through the wringer, and the lack of pulled punches in characterisation benefits the story immensely. The ongoing metaphor of the ‘Season Eight’ story is a little hard to gauge, with many elements in flux, but the quality of the tale is undiminished. [JHa]

Appeal : Save SWORD!
Are we going to be doing this every year, then? Yes, it looks like – for all intents and purposes – Kieron Gillen and Steve Sanders’ excellent S.W.O.R.D. ongoing is being forcibly turned into a miniseries, apparently missing from Marvel’s April solicitations and thus seemingly set to end after issue #5. Can anything be done to save it? Fan campaigns have worked in the past for the likes of Manhunter and Spider-Girl - although you wonder if they can have the same effect on a series cut short so early in its life. I feel particularly sorry for editor Nick Lowe, clearly one of the best visionaries that Marvel has, who’s now seen both this and Captain Britain prematurely canned despite doing his best to align exciting and inventive writing and artistic talent with interesting characters. Anyway, if you do want to join the attempts at persuading Marvel that they’re WRONG, then there’s more info here.

As the issue opens, the Slayers have the advantage in the long delayed clash with the Twilight forces from the book’s first arc. This triumph doesn’t last long, however, as it soon emerges that the forces they’ve unleashed acknowledge no distinctions between the creatures that they encounter. This event makes clear the feminist metaphor which has obviously lain at the heart of the arc- whereas it unexpectedly appeared that the slayers would find salvation through suppressing their identities, Espenson now shows such a situation as benefiting neither party, with the resulting rage working to the detriment of society as a whole. In abstract, it sounds like an overtly moralistic message, but the writer skilfully distracts the reader with an impressive number of character threads, as the supporting figures begin to fall before Twilight’s army. The decimation of the book’s cast is one of those rare plot developments which makes perfect sense in hindsight, with the main character having had far to little face time in recent months- the “next time” teaser makes clear that she’s now ready to reclaim the centre stage.

Odd as it sounds, it’s impossible to talk about the issue without at least a mention of the couple of pages of text tucked away after the story’s conclusion. I’m aware that I’ve had a go at the book’s extensive letters page on this site before, as the twelve issue gap between the professional content and the fan reaction affective drained the exercise of any purpose. Here, however, the write-in feature justifies its entire decision with a genuine intelligent debate between reader Ryan Sattler and the books editor about the approach taken to plotting Season 8, with the point made receiving a rather cheeky nod during the actual dialogue of the book. It’s a fascinating little exchange, which unfortunately leaves a clearer impression in the reader’s mind than some of the action which preceded it.

Review : Buffy The Vampire Slayer #27
After last month’s disappointment, this is a much stronger effort, as the self-contained character arc documented here manages to chine quite nicely with the themes of the ongoing story. Jane Espenson cheats slightly in the storytelling, making the reader think that the Buffy’s clash with Twilight is a lot closer than the reality, but the tension it injects into a story that’s otherwise rooted in flashback largely justifies the gambit.  Not all of the running gags hit home (what’s wrong with yak butter?), but it’s a welcome improvement in structuring the plot. [JHa]

Review : Doctor Who #1
After the usual two-week delay in IDW’s Who titles making it to the UK, the wait turns out to have been worth it. ‘The Forgotten’ lost its way a little in the multiple fake-outs of the last few issues, but there are no such flaws in the first instalment of ‘Silver Scream’. The writing is commendably dense, with a larger number of well-rounded guest stars than might be expected from the cover. Al Davison delivers some superb work for the most part, although occasionally his characters’ eyes appear a little “off”. Still, this is vintage stuff, and the long awaited ongoing series is off to a flying start. [JHa]

Review : Justice League : Cry For Justice #2
Ignoring the really quite stupid furore that’s struck up over a throwaway gag on the first page, this is a far stronger issue than its almost universally-derided predecessor. It’s still fairly overwrought, and entirely straight-faced, but once you accept that that’s the case, it’s easier to get on with. The Hal and Ollie scenes are good, and it’s the first Robinson comics in ages where dialogue isn’t emphasised in really strange places. The art, though, is the main draw – it’s a gorgeous book, even if the storytelling’s a little flat at times, and kudos for the Helen Slater cameo on the final page. [SP]

Review : The Mighty #7
Some top-class bastardry from Alpha One here, in a particularly clever scene where he brutally dispatches a bunch of non-English-speaking terrorists – revealed by their dialogue to be working for him – while intentionally mistranslating their words to Gabriel. It’s still hard to deny that we’ve seen the “terrifyingly powerful hero goes wrong” schtick so many times before – from Kid Miracleman to Supershock to the concurrent yet inferior Irredeemable – but Tomasi and Champagne put their spin on it by focusing on Cole’s attempt to deal with the terrifying background presence of Alpha while unable to actually tell anyone what he knows. Still an interesting little book, although it’s curious that it’s pitched as an ongoing, considering that you’d expect the setup to have rather finite story possibilities. [SP]

Review : Wednesday Comics #5
I’m still buying this thing – and having got this far, I feel like I’m committed to the end – but it’s getting increasingly less exciting by the week. It still looks terrific, but most of the stories are either staggeringly uninteresting, or simply not moving along a single iota (or, in the case of the Superman one, both) – and those that are a bit more enjoyable, such as Flash and Supergirl, are simply doing the same thing each week. I still think this was a terrific idea, I just wish that the creators involved had used it to tell stories suited to the format – because just about everything here is little more than a single page of a longer story. [SP]

The usual capsule reviews, this week of Astonishing Tales #1, Buffy #22, Secret Warriors #1 and The Authority #7!

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divx 30 000 leagues under the sea Review: Astonishing Tales #1
Oh dear. This re-naming exercise isn’t really fooling anyone, is it? This is Marvel Comics Presents, back for another punt, and with absolutely nothing to make it stand out from any other failed attempts at an anthology. Couldn’t Marvel learn something from their recent X-Men anthologies and try crossover-themed, property-specific series rather than bung out another doomed attempt at MCP? Virtually nothing of interest in here, unfortunately. Jonathan Hickman’s first few pages of Marvel pencilling is all this book will ever be notable for. Although, if you know any Iron Man 2020 fans (I sure as hell don’t) let them know this is the return they’ve been waiting for… [JHu]

Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22
The book’s transformation into Uncanny the Vampire Slayer continues, with the super-powered girls now officially “hated and feared” globally. Steve S DeKnight makes Satsu a more rounded character than Whedon’s incarnation, but unfortunately falls short with the story’s central gimmick. The transformation brought about by the brainwashing Vampy Cat dolls is played for comedy, with one character undergoing a Stepford Wives-style change, but in the process the story’s potentially sharp commentary is lost. It’s still a nicely observed character piece, but observations about the infantalisation of women through popular culture are sadly clouded. [JHa]

Review: Secret Warriors #1
Jonathan Hickman is a welcome addition to Marvel’s stable of writers, and the fact that he’s managed to breathe life into a group of characters as utterly limp as most of the cast of Secret Warriors is a good reason to be pleased he’s here. It’s good to see Nick Fury finally take more than a peripheral role in a series, and with the Skrull threat over, a good reason to keep the team together is quickly unveilled, though it’s a revelation that makes about as much sense as concrete giraffe, and will probably cause the issue to eject as many readers as it captures. [JHu]

Review: The Authority #7
There’s a distinctly cautionary note to this month’s tale, with Apollo the only character who’s actions are not rewarded by the plot. Stormwatch’s visit concludes faster than expected, and its clear that the improvement in the Authority’s lot is mercifully small-scale. They’re not in control of London, but their use of a 4×4 to investigate the new plotline smartly underlines their limitations. A particular mention is due to Simon Coleby, who handles the change in visual style for the cliffhanger magnificently. [JHa]

This week: news and capsule reviews, including Amazing Spider-Man #574, Angel: After the Fall #13, Daredevil #112, Thunderbolts #125 and X-Factor #36.

Link: All-Star Grant
We’ve tended to focus recently on capsule reviews in the Sunday Pages rather than rounding up news or links, but I couldn’t let this one pass by without comment (especially if, like me, you’ve stopped regularly visiting Newsarama since that awful relaunch and so might not catch this kind of thing) – a quite excellent ten-part interview (up to its fourth installment at the time of writing) with Grant Morrison on all things All-Star. It’s essentially a superb piece of creator commentary on what is, after all, the best superhero comic in donkey’s years – and so it’s pretty much obligatory reading. Start off here, and enjoy. [SP]

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #574
Did… did I just read what I think I read? People are talking about this as one of those brilliant, reflective tales that delve into what Spider-Man as a character means to people (think the highlights of Paul Jenkins’ run, or the quintessential example of “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man”). Which is bollocks. What this is is a piece of pro-military (I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the US Army approved it) propaganda with an at-best-tenuous connection to Spider-Man (in that it’s about Flash Thompson, and features the odd flashback to desperately inappropriate “parallel” moments in Spidey’s life). It makes me uncomfortable in so many ways – partly because of the way in which it portrays the US as the heroes rather than the invaders (and let’s not get into a political debate – and nor do I want to downplay the bravery and sacrifices of soldiers themselves – but just accept that the situation is simply not that black-and-white), and partly because it simply has no place in a Spider-Man comic. It looks good (Barry Kitson is reliable, of course), you can sort of see a certain amount of noble intent behind the tribute, and the story isn’t necessarily bad (although it’s fairly cliched) – but in terms of its context and its very existence it’s just horribly, woefully misguided. This simply should not be appearing in this comic at this moment in time. Appalling. [SP]

Review: Angel: After the Fall #13
With only a few issues to go, it’s doubtless that “After the Fall” is going to end a far stronger comic than it started as, but it’s still failing to hit the highs of Whedon’s Buffy. Angel comes across as wishy-washy and uncertain, Illyria and Wesley’s situations are still poorly-defined, and meanwhile Gunn and Conner steal all the best moments. Spike’s opening monologue provides a rare glimpse of the ability that led Whedon to hand-pick the writer to write After the Fall. By comparison, Spike’s unexplained death and resurrection combined with the sheer confusion of how, exactly, hell “going to hell” is supposed to have raised the stakes any, displays exactly the kind of logic-leaps and shorthand plotting that made the opening of this series so frustrating in the first place. I’ll stick with it to see the ending, but it’s a good sign tell that a story’s mediocre when that’s all you’re in it for. [JHu]

Review: Daredevil #112
Brubaker’s Daredevil makes an unusual diversion through the wider Marvel Universe, both by dealing with the effects that Skrullektra’s reveal had on The Hand, which she was currently running, and making note of recent events from Iron Fist. Throw in a pithy, old ninja master and you have a book that, far from being the muted costume-crime series we’ve come to know, actually has a lot of fun about it. It’s a welcome change in tone. The engaging character drama of Matt’s adultery with Dakota keeps things from getting too upbeat, though. Far from being the misfire some people predicted, “Lady Bullseye” actually turns out to be Daredevil’s most engaging and enjoyable arc in some time. [JHu]

Review: Thunderbolts #125
Faced with the unenviable task of bridging the gap between Ellis and Diggle’s ongoing runs for the duration of Secret Invasion, Gage has performed well. It doesn’t take much to see that Osborn is going to have a major role in Dark Reign, and this issue telegraphs that fact pretty strongly. The general acceptance of Osborn isn’t made especially believeable, but it’s a minor duff note in an otherwise strong continuation of Ellis’ tone that will hopefully segue nicely into Diggle’s run. [JHu]

Review: X-Factor #36
At the risk of sounding like a broken record here, one again we have an interesting plot and nice characterisation married with art so poor it defies rational criticism. In addition to the absence of backdrops and the way characters only possess around fifty five percent of a face at any one time, we now have a delightful breaking of the laws of perspective, with objects that are further away drawn as larger than those closer to the reader’s viewpoint. The only logical conclusion is that cancelling second string X-titles before they reach their half-century is now a matter of principle at Marvel, and the firm as assigned Larry Stroman to help X-Factor in its way. [JHa]

One interesting moment highlights, if ever there were any doubts, how Buffy has changed since Season 7 as a result of her role – not only is she out robbing to pay for the Slayer gear, she’s also content to let innocents die in pursuit of the larger evil. This is the kind of theme that was dealt with pointedly in Season 5 of Angel, but it’s worth bringing up again in the context of Buffy’s new Slayer Army. It’s this kind of ambiguous morality that leads Fray to get influenced by the apparently villainous Willow. Willow’s actions, so far, don’t actually appear to be evil despite her having the “Dark Willow” make-up on. I’d call it a safe bet that her actions in this arc are designed to prevent Fray’s timeline from ocurring, though with only one chapter to go, we’ll soon see.

While the issue features a lot of action, almost all of it is tempered by running conversations which point the way to Whedon’s next move. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see, at the moment, exactly where things are headed, but you can see the signposts all over this issue in particular, as characters figure out their situation. Only Xander and Dawn, now separated from the Slayer Army, feel like they’re treading water, through the introduction of the forest creatures makes for an amusing scene. Whedon’s trademark dialogue is on top form all issue, and that laone makes the comic worth buying.

While it’s a constant joy to keep reading the adventures of Buffy and co month after month, if there’s any bad thing you can say about the series, it’s that it’s not very friendly to anyone dipping into it. A lot of the series mythology is referenced at times, to the point where a new reader would be utterly lost. Even so, this is one of the few times a writer can get away with that – after all, Whedon is playing to his hardcore audience with this series, and bringing in new readers for the comic was never the plan. Perhaps, if this wasn’t Joss Whedon, I’d feel a bit less charitable but, y’know, we’re all a little biased somewhere.

The continual teases of who the female antagonist in Fray’s future is seemed quite poorly lead – apparently the readers were supposed to think it was Drusilla, having survived long into the future, but I never suspected anyone other than Willow given the way the series has been header. It’ll be interesting to see how they explain her presence, given that Fray’s world was supposed to be utterly free of magic, though it might also tie in with Fray’s initial awakening as a slayer. There’s a lot of story worth telling about that and how it ties in to the past/present, so hopefully that’s what we’ll be seeing some of as the arc continues.

For this issue, presumably to help echo Buffy’s sense of disorientation, Whedon has ramped up the future-speak tenfold. It’s a little jarring at first if you’re familiar with the character being more readable, but the staccato and contracted dialogue is, on close inspection, still entirely incomprehensible, and that’s is always a plus for a comic. Seeing how Fray actually operates in the future is the most interesting element of the future timeline since the original series never really got past the origin story.

Moline’s artwork remains a nice change from Jeanty – for obvious reasons he’s got the look of Fray’s future nailed down tight, and this issue is all the better for taking place more substantially in the world he helped realise. Whedon seems to have tightened up his arc-writing after a fairly lacklustre opener and things feel a lot more structurally sound than his first multi-parter. Season 8 continues its remarkably high standard, setting a prime example to all licensed comics.

It wouldn’t be unfair to expect a throwaway, fanboy-pleasing crossover, but then Joss Whedon knows far better than that. While it’s not stated in the issue, Fray’s awakening as the Slayer followed a period where all magic and magical beings had been exiled from the planet – a goal Buffy’s current nemesis, Twilight, appears to be pursuing. The likelihood of Fray’s past and Buffy’s future tying themselves together definitively is not inconsiderable.

While most of the issue is given over the character interplay, it’s never anything less than entertaining. Whedon’s dialogue has always been strong, and watching his characters bounce off one another would be worth reading even if nothing actually happened to them. Luckily, things do happen though – the Scoobies travel to New York looking for some answers, Dawn’s size problems finally get dealt with (…sort of) and meanwhile, the villains of the series make a fairly definitive win against the Slayers. The one down side is that despite the events of the previous arc, Xander’s reactions are somewhat glossed over – admittedly, it’s hard to everything into an issue, but personally, I hoped for more.

Karl Moline returns on art to draw Fray, the character he co-created. His pencils offer a slightly more exaggerated and dynamic version of the main cast than Jeanty’s rather tight approach while largely retaining the visual style of the series. There’s no massive shift in tone, and Moline’s action scenes work particularly well, even if his looser approach means that certain expressions look a little too twisted.

The issue is a good opener, leaving a lot of questions to be answered by the next few issues, and catering well to those that aren’t already familiar with Fray’s world. Those of us who are will just find that much more to enjoy.

More than the previous writers, Goddard’s arc feels a lot like a standard Buffy episode, even if it is set in Tokyo. The mystical threat is well-defined and the character subplots weave nicely throughout. If there’s anything wrong with the “episode” feels like it lacks any central theme or metaphor. This was often a problem with the later Buffy episodes where it occasionally strayed too far into soap-opera territory. The characters, plot and script are in order, but it doesn’t go that one level deeper that the best Buffyverse stuff does.

The plot comes to a satisfying end with victory (if a somewhat pyrrhic one) for the slayer crew and a belated attempt to justify Dracula’s presence with an enchanted sword showing up just at the right moment. The inclusion of a robo-Dawn was perhaps a little too much even if it leads to Andrew’s best moment this series, though I can’t help mentioning Cloverfield, in the context of the film’s scriptwriter now doing a Godzilla homage in the Buffy comic. It’s certainly not hard to see where his references are coming from.

Dracula, for all his hilarity and viciousness, has undergone a complete personality transplant since his original Buffyverse appearance in Season 5. It’s a little jarring, but completely forgiveable because it results in such a brilliant character. His friendship with Xander is harder to deal with, having been established in the now definitely-canon “Tales of the Vampires” graphic novel (in a short written by Drew Goddard, no less.)

The death of Renee and the exit of Satsu does, once again, leave Xander and Buffy the potential to get together, which is what everyone was expecting/hoping would happen at the start of the series. It does also give those people who are looking for extra support for their “Xander is Twilight” theories some credible material – after all, Xander has lost a LOT to magic in his life, it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that he’d want to end it all. For the first time, there’s no between-issue break before the next arc, so if Twilight doesn’t feature, we might be waiting some time to see where it’s all going…

Even so, when Xander and Renee finally kissed in this issue after several issues dancing around the subject of dating, I was so completely absorbed by the character moments that I didn’t see the Whedon cogs turning slowly in the background. I won’t spoil the issue, but let’s just say things don’t look good for the future of Xander and Rene’s relationship right now.

Looking back, it feels a little like we’re the victim of a bit of misdirection. After Buffy slept with Satsu, it seemed fairly likely that the young slayer would be the victim of misfortune – indeed, Buffy and Satsu even discuss it. Satsu even disobey’s Buffy to ensure she comes to the climactic battle with the Japanese vampire gang, who are using Buffy’s axe in conjunction with their own magicks to try and de-power the slayers. This whole story has been leading up to Satsu being placed in danger. Instead, the themes bear fruit with an entirely different set of characters.

Goddard is proving himself as adept a writer of these characters as Whedon is, mixing horror, comedy and action without too jarring a tonal shift – and after all, that’s the classic Buffy formula. The use of Dracula in this arc does, however, feel a little gratuitous. It’s understandable that Goddard wanted to write the character, because he is hilarious, but so far he had failed to prove any specific worth to the story. Presumably, he’ll steal back his powers from the vampire gang in the final issue, though now that team slayer have already figured out how to kill evapourating vampires (that old fallback: kill it with fire) it seems a little unecessary for him to be around now. Perhaps more will now be made of his connection with Xander, given the events of this issue.

Once again, Buffy Season 8 doesn’t disappoint. We’re well past the initial novelty of the concept and it’s still as essential as it ever was, so whatever way you look at it, it’s a total success.