Gail Simone pulls off a terrific reversal in Birds of Prey 80 (DC), gathering up subtle bits of characterization from throughout her run so far. The plot wraps up the “Hero Hunters” arc, as Black Canary, Huntress, and Oracle try to sort out what’s up with violent vigilante Thorn. It’s fine, but the action can’t compare with the interpersonal fireworks. They’re surprising, but they’re also very rooted in what’s come before. Character-driven action laced with smart comedy; you can’t go wrong with that.
Captain America 4 (Marvel) is kind of an in-between issue in writer Ed Brubaker’s introductory “Out of Time” arc, but it hardly feels like filler. Cap and his SHIELD colleagues attempt to put recent events into the context of new developments and find themselves faced with new mysteries and dangers. Meanwhile, Cap keeps flashing back to World War II, bewildered by some memories he doesn’t recognize. The art, by Steve Epting in the present-day scenes and Michael Lark in the flashbacks, is splendid. This is easily one of the best books Marvel produces.
Catwoman 41 (DC) starts with a scene of a man trying to beat a woman to death as he recalls delivering a similar fate to a dog. It’s rendered in lurid detail. I have no idea what follows this scene, because I couldn’t be bothered to read the rest of it after such a thoroughly revolting beginning. A content rating wouldn’t have been the worst thing that happened to this particular issue.
I’m not quite sure how writer Brian K. Vaughan manages to juggle 9/11 flashbacks, subway monsters, and a meditation on the politics of gay marriage, but damned if he didn’t pull it off in Ex Machina 9 (Wildstorm). Vaughan also makes terrific use of his large and varied cast, letting his supporting characters have vivid, telling, and surprising moments. Penciller Tony Harris, inker Tom Feister, and colorist J.D. Mettler do lovely work rendering the range of plot and character elements.
As I may have mentioned, I really like Manhunter. That said, even I have to admit that writer Marc Andreyko might try and avoid courtroom scenes in the future. (Or he might watch a few more episodes of Law & Order.) As the trial of Shadow Thief continues in Manhunter 8 (DC), D.A. Kate Spencer calls a couple of witnesses for testimony that would be entirely appropriate for the sentencing phase (being devoted to victim impact) but doesn’t seem to have any place in actual trial proceedings. Aside from that stumble, there’s plenty of material that plays to the book’s strengths. Kate’s alter-ego, Manhunter, tries to keep Shadow Thief alive to stand trial (and face the death penalty), meeting stiff resistance from contract-killer Cheshire. I love how Kate isn’t particularly good at super-heroics, relying on borrowed tech, luck, and a willingness to fight dirty. Andreyko also takes time to flesh out Kate’s relationship with her blackmailed tech support Dylan, who’s developing nicely as an unsavory foil to the book’s unsavory lead.
Teen Titans 22 (DC) is kind of all over the place. It starts with some self-loathing narration from Raven, which doesn’t really go anywhere. Then it focuses on Dr. Light who, while completely despicable, isn’t entirely wrong about the way he’s been violated and what that says about the heroes who did it. In typical Geoff Johns fashion, Light’s gimmick-villain status now seems to have morphed into some kind of shaky, pseudo-mystical relationship with the forces he manipulates. Following this, and with no set-up, Johns introduces yet another iteration of Hawk and Dove, who don’t let a confrontation with a violent super-villain distract from their expository conversation. In this particular era of comics, it’s kind of odd to complain about too much happening in a given issue, but all of this stuff just doesn’t come together.
Wonder Woman 214 (DC) is a mostly superfluous conclusion to a crossover with Flash 219. Writer Greg Rucka tries to establish the dynamic between the heroes – aw-shucks Flash and regal Diana – as something unique and telling, but he doesn’t seem to try very hard. It’s just as well, because they don’t have any distinct chemistry. Even less successful is the dynamic between Cheetah (a very boring villain indeed) and Zoom, who have nothing in common and generate no thematic or interpersonal sparks. The plot follows Flash and Wonder Woman being pounded by Cheetah and Zoom respectively, until the antagonists leave themselves open to defeat. I did like Diana’s “of course you’re a villain, idiot” exchange with Zoom, but there’s not much to recommend the issue otherwise. And while artist Drew Johnson has many skills in his arsenal, visually rendering super-speed is not among them. Since three of the four principle characters use it in this story, that’s a bit of a problem. I hope we can go back to the soapy Mt. Olympus stuff next issue. Even bitter, student council president runner-up Veronica Cale would be preferable.
In terms of pure comics pleasure in pamphlet form, nothing this week can match Young Avengers 2 (Marvel). You heard me. It opens with Iron Lad explaining his circumstances to Jessica Jones, Captain America, and Iron Man, and writer Alan Heinberg manages to find a fresh approach to Kang and his time-travel shtick. The rest of the issue catches up with Patriot, Asgardian, and Hulkling as they fumble through another super-heroic adventure and try and figure out precisely how this masked vigilante thing is supposed to work. In the process, they run across the spunky debutante from the first issue and, quite promisingly, Cassie Lang, daughter of one of the cannon-fodder heroes from Avengers: Disassembled. As the cast shifts into place, Heinberg does a terrific job dropping in interesting twists, providing sharp and revealing character moments, and lacing things with just the right amount of absurd comedy. Fast, funny, smart, and fun, this book is a wonderfully pleasant surprise for me.