What I Read - Powers, Starman

Powers v10: Cosmic - SPOILERS >>> A power (person with superhuman abilities) gets killed by another power. Walker and Pilgrim investigate only to get pulled off the case by the FBI. Turns out the power who was killed was the human agent of the Millenium Guard (think Green Lantern Corps of the Powers universe). Walker gets tapped by the Millenium Guard to replace the dead man as the protector of Earth. Meanwhile Deena is being investigated by Internal Affairs and trying to deal with the her new powers. <<<

I liked both Christian's and Deena's story arcs. Both are dealing with having powers. He used to have them, she's never had them. How do they cope? Her story arc is a little more developed and actually began in the last collection.

I enjoyed this collection but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who hadn't read Powers before. Its an in-between-er arc. There are developments but it feels like everything here is building to something bigger that's coming down the line. There are some great moments, great sequential art by Mike Avon Oeming, and great dialogue by Brian Michael Bendis but once again this feels like the 2nd or 3rd act of a 5 act play. Things develop but nothing substantial gets resolved.

Starman Omnibus v1 - I wrote about Starman before, but that was when I was halfway through the book. I finished it off several months ago but have not written about it since. The short of it is that I wasn't wild about it. There wasn't any single aspect of the story that I really liked, that would keep me coming back for more. It had its moments but on the whole it came up short and didn't impress me.

On iFanboy Booksplode # 1 (released about 1 week ago) Josh, Connor, Paul, and Sonia discussed volume 1 of this often praised series. I listened to it in the hopes that it would spark my interest in the book and nudge me closer to picking up the second volume. Instead, for the most part, it only reminded me of the parts that I didn't like and that I feel that it is overrated. I finished the program feeling the same way about Starman as I did after reading v1: it wasn't bad but it also wasn't something that I felt the urge to read more of.

I've read the first 17 chapters in this series. It didn't hook me or pique my interest enough to want to know what comes next. Its time to move on and read something else. That said I just learned that the guys at Around Comics also recorded a podcast about Starman Omnibus v1, episode # 191. Because so many people think this is a great series and because I like to hear different POVs on the same topic I will probably be listening to their discussion of Starman soon.

Starman, Nevermen, Monster, Doom Patrol

OK, so as usual I'm in the midst of reading several things at once:

• Starman Omnibus HC v1 - link - Progress: # 0-11 - Bit by bit this series is growing on me more and more. I'm still not sure why everyone seems to love it. Maybe its one of those group-think things and most people only love it because other people say they love it. I dunno but I really like the writing on this series.
  
• Nevermen TP - link - Progress: ch 1-3 - This underappreciated book is just awesome in that kind of way that I often have a hard time describing. I love it for the artwork at least as much as the story. Guy Davis pencils and Dave Stewart's leave me gaping in wonder. If you asked me to explain the story I would be hard pressed to do so without telling you everything that happens. I can't boil it down, I can't simplify it. It just is. It doesn't all make sense, it just exists. Its not that I've never seen stuff like this before just that I love it so much that I don't care if it makes sense or not, to me.
  
• Monster v14 - link - Progress: ch 1-7 - I'm amazed at how things continue to develop in this series, this late in the game. The series is only 18 volumes long and yet it seems that new characters and situations are still being introduced. Can't wait to see how it all wraps up.
• Doom Patrol Archives v1 - link - Progress: # 80 - Its a silver age comic book so it can't be read and/or digested the same way a modern one is. Still, I love the sillyness of it all. I'm also suitably impressed by the artwork. I've been meaning to read something from the silver age that wasn't published by Marvel. This was the only title from DC that caught my eye.
  

Starman, Daredevil

I didn't realize that it had been four weeks since I last wrote here. I guess I've been busy with other stuff.

Starman Omnibus v1 - I've read the first six (# 0 - 5) of seventeen issues in this collection. I'm torn as to whether I like it or not. I'm not wild about the art. Its good but not great. It might grow on me over time but so far I'm not digging it. The action fight scenes are ok but they lack something. What I do like is the writing, especially the dialogue. The best parts, the parts that I enjoy the most seem to be the wordier scenes where either Jack Knight (the main character) is narrating or is talking to someone else.

For instance in issue # 0 I really like the page where Jack walks into his shop for the first time, just after his brother has been killed but before he finds out. Something about that page, the narration, the way the words are spaced into different word/thought blocks really spoke to me.

Another instance would be in issue # 5 when Jack meets his dead brother in a dream sequence. At first they fight and its just okay but then when David starts talking and Jack shuts up I found what David had to say to be incredibly moving. Possibly this is because he has the same first name as me but I think its more likely that it is because the way he moves from being adversarial to brotherly and protective of Jack added depth to his character tha I don't think was there before. It also kind of stunned me because I was thinking about how mediocre the story was up until then.

So, yes prior to reading #5 I was thinking that I probably wouldn't buy v2 but now I'm not so sure. Is it a great read? So far I would have to say no. It shows promise but I'm gonna need more than that. I think I'll have to wait a while longer (possibly until I've finished v1) before deciding if I am going to get v2.


Daredevil: The Devil Inside & Out v2 - This was good. There were parts that were a little slow but on the whole I liked it; not as much as v1 but I liked it. It read a bit like filler, what I mean is that it felt like Brubaker is setting something up that will happen in the next trade or two.

Funny thing about this series is the art of Michael Lark. I like it but I'm not sure why. It is kind of sketchy and not as finished or polished as much of the artwork that I like. It doesn't resemble the work of Joe Kubert but I think it has that in common with it. They both rough feel rough around the edges.

Daredevil in Europe was weird, very weird. He belongs in Hell's Kitchen, NYC. Maybe if he ventured beyond the borders of the big apple more often I wouldn't feel this way. Batman seems out of place when he leaves Gotham to fight Ras al Ghul in exotic locations around the world but I've at least gotten used to seeing him do so. I can't say the same for Daredevil.

The Foggy Nelson subplot seemed more in character for this book. Given that Daredevil gets most of the screen time in this series (and seems to work alone more often than not) it was good to see Brubaker devote an entire issue to a member of the supporting cast.

I really liked the last chapter. In some ways it seemed a bit too simple how Matt Murdock was able to return to his old life. But then seeing him go to Ryker's Island to confront the Kingpin and promise to help get him out of prison was really moving. The tension in that scene was palpable. Murdock didn't want to be there but he felt he owed a debt to the Vanessa Fisk to help her husband even though he knows that Fisk will come after him eventually.