Martin Skidmore - Review

The Big Book of Barry Ween: Boy Genius

Sometimes one panel can tell you everything that makes you fall for a comic. I’ll be talking about one such moment from Great Teacher Onizuka in a feature soon, and I’ve just read another. A dear friend sent me this for Xmas, as it is a huge favourite of hers. I’d not read it at all – I’m not sure I had read any Winick at all.

Lady Mechanika 1

I’d never heard of the title, creator or publishers, but when I picked it up for a look, the interior art reminded me a little of Bryan Talbot in its finishing, and the clothes and settings are steampunk, something Bryan has worked with at least a few times.

Daredevil Reborn 1

I start this not knowing why a rebirth is necessary, though I am aware that DD’s own title is presently named Black Panther, The Man Without Fear (not Another Man Without Fear, sadly), so things have clearly changed.

Infinite Vacation 1

I was very negative about Spencer’s THUNDER Agents a while back, but Will tells me he’s good, so I thought I’d give this a go. I’m glad I did.

Wonder Girl 1

I believe this is a one-off, and I am mystified how it got sold to DC. Perhaps they just wanted to put out a Wonder Girl one-shot (has she been hugely popular in the Titans or something?), and the fact that no one had any ideas didn’t deter them. I just can’t see any reason for this comic to exist.

Casanova: Gula 1

This reprinted series, trailing new work, strikes me as a bit of a mixed bag. It’s insanely full of ideas, but I don’t think very many of them are Fraction’s.

A Drifting Life

A huge autobiography covering Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s first decade in manga, in comic form.

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade – Search for the Scarlet Witch 1

Bloody hell that’s an unwieldy title! The first two parts are the series title; the latter part is because this is a collection of the first three issues, still in comic book format, at $5, which is only a dollar more than each one individually – I like this format, which is new to me. Good encouragement to catch up on a series.

Who Is Jake Ellis? 1

This was the comic nominated for me to buy and review this week – I think it’s the first Image comic I have ever bought.

Ultimate Captain America 1

This seemed a good randomish pick this week: I like most of the Ultimate line, and Aaron seems to be building a reputation, so I’d meant to try him. He confuses the hell out of me, to be honest.