Creator Misc. - Review

What If? 200

A 200th issue celebration, including Stan Lee’s first ever story for the series.

This is a handsome hardback, with good reproduction, containing reprints of early Archie stories; a precursor to an already announced series of Archive volumes collecting Archie strips chronologically.

The Return of Bruce Wayne

All credit to Grant for the way he has played Batman’s death. Yes, he gave us some ‘he really is dead’ stuff in the wonderful Final Crisis series where Batman and Darkseid kill each other, with Superman carrying the clearly dead body. However, he also ended the series with a clear statement that he isn’t dead, that he is now somehow lost in the depths of the past.

AX: Alternative Manga 1

This 400-page collection is a selection of the best from alternative Japanese anthology AX: outsider material, a lot of it with an approach or attitude that would be unacceptable in the big mainstream publications.

Batman Inc. etc.

The changes Grant Morrison is making now were not expected. Batman Incorporated: a whole organisation of Batmen and associated characters. It’s one of the most daring changes I’ve seen, given the huge stature of the character – but is it a good move?

Dandy 3508

Veteran comedy weekly Dandy has been having a bad decade; It was completely revamped in 2004, ditching most of the long-running series, but, despite much publicity at the time, almost no-one noticed.

The Adventures of Carrie Giver 1

Released in 2006, this title is by now probably of interest only to Neal Adams completists, as he donated a typically overwrought cover to this charity comic designed to raise consciousness of the plight of caregivers.

Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 16

An artistic generation was long past by 15 years into 2000AD’s history, but even when the art wasn’t great Dredd was generally good entertainment: the main trouble is here that most of it is by Garth Ennis, who was pretty dull at this stage of his career.

Clint 1

After one of the more effective plugging campaigns in decades, Clint, the adult anthology touted as a comics event akin to the Eagle and 2000AD launches, has been unleashed into British newsagents and supermarkets. Who are confused as buggery about it.

Strange Tales II 2

Marvel lets a bunch of indie/underground types (most notably Los Bros Hernandez) at their characters, with variable but mostly enjoyable results.

FA - The Comiczine

Misc.