Reviews - Review - FA Online

Moon Knight 1

I had mixed feelings approaching this one. On the one hand, I love Bendis & Maleev’s run on Daredevil, and will therefore be keen to read anything else they do. On the other hand, Moon Knight. A very Batman-style superhero with more explicitly stated lunacy, often expressed in simpleminded split personality terms, and without an interesting history, strong villains or a supporting cast anyone cares about.

Spirou and Fantasio in New York

Spirou and Fantasio is one of the great comic creations from the Franco-Belgian lineup, much loved since the intrepid titular team of newspaper reporters first appeared in 1938. This album, 39th out of 60 or so, is peculiarly the second one translated and published by Cinebook, and far as I can tell, only the third Spirou book published in English.

Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine: Another Fine Mess

This is another of Marvel’s Must Have bargain $5 reprints of the first three issues of what is presumably a hot series. I nearly didn’t bother with it, since I hated the last such collection, also with Wolverine, but this isn’t anywhere near that bad.

The Arctic Marauder

Fantagraphics continues its programme of issuing the works of Jacques Tardi with this, a translation of a comic from the earliest stages of his career. It’s a slim volume (64 pages), written and drawn in a style that reveals another facet to his diverse abilities. It’s also the least satisfying of his works to appear in English to date.

Thor

Okay, let me get it out of my system; one of this movie’s greatest assets is the eye-popping physique of its star, Chris Hemsworth. This particular god would be the answer to more than one moviegoer’s prayers, as he’s spectacularly three-dimensional before you even put on the glasses.

Avengers 12.1

This is a rarety, a .1 issue that not only stands on its own and makes for a genuine jumping on point but also introduces a big plotline for the future, as well as being a pleasure to read on its own.

Xombi 2

The most interesting bit of this issue is an upskirt glimpse of a female minor in a Catholic school outfit to which we are made privy. Typically, you’d label it a humdrum bit of fan service and maybe get an editorial or two out of it, replete with a counterbalance of a near triple-digit number of sexist commenters and their always-welcome liberal approach to grammar.

Tomb of Dracula Presents Throne of Blood

This one-shot is weird in a few ways. ‘Tomb of Dracula’ is in larger print than the story title, but the Dracula connection is totally irrelevant – two pages at the start and one at the end wherein someone alleged to be Dracula, but bearing no resemblance on any level to the one Marvel have been showing us for decades (unless I am out of date on this), offers a ‘let me tell you about’ framing sequence.

Power Girl 23

The first twelve issues of Power Girl – and the story-arc that preceded it in the JSA Classified title – were delightful. Taking the permagrumpy powerhouse of the Justice Society and infusing her with a wry sense of humour and self-awareness, they humanised a character who had become an overbearing, ambulant wet-dream cliche, placing her in a context where she had actual friends and a life. All down to the hitherto unsuspected (at least by me) scripting talents of Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, Kara/Karen became grounded and – look, I’m sorry, but there’s no way around it – well-rounded, coming across as more than an ersatz Supergirl.

Essential Thor 5

My first article in my first fanzine, almost 30 years ago in World Collide 1, was called ‘Why Is Thor Boring?’ It covered the last decade of the character, i.e. since Kirby left him, and this collection covers a couple of years at the start of that period. I pointed out then a few things that still strike me as true, reading this and that article so long after.