Of course I've read these cover to cover, many times. [5]
- City of Sickles - Punisher, Elektra, Dr. Voodoo, Wolverine, and... Conan? are brought together, some unwillingly, to stop Kulan Gath. It's a nice take on fan service, but no Nextwave. The high point is Conan trying to exhort a knocked-out Wolverine to fight by saying, "For Pabst!" and then using Logan's body, with claws extended, as a sword to kill zombies. Lots of gore, a solid take on the various characters' personalities, and true drama. It's very well done. [4]-two
Secret Wars - Jonathan Hickman (2016)
Marvel as written by Grant Morrison. After the events of some other book (Avengers?) in which the end of the multiverse is brought about and in which a cabal of villains goes around destroying alternate earths before their earth can go first, Doom has absorbed the Molecule Man's powers and made the world again. Although a benevolent dictator, his world isn't real, and the Mr. Fantastic of two different worlds, along with Black Panther and few others, try to stop him. Amazing thrill ride comic book weirdness, like Galactus' body lit up by Franklin Richards fighting a gigantic Thing, an army of Hulks vs. a world of Thors and an army of cloned Mr. Sinisters, an army of undead, and a lot more craziness. Great fun. Read twice. [5]
The Secret of the Stone Frog - David Nytra [Toon Books]
Two
children wake up in a lush dreamworld of talking stone frogs, Victorian
dandy bears and lions, and large-headed, angry people who command bees
or ride rhinos. Detailed black and white pictures owe a lot to Little
Nemo in Slumberland and John Tenniel (as does the story, come to think
of it). Lightweight and simplistic but the silly surrealism is probably
fun for kids. [3]
Set to Sea - Drew Weing [Fantagraphics]
With
one detailed, finely cross-hatched, ink drawing per page, this small
and charming book tells of a large, impoverished poet who is
press-ganged to sea and becomes an old sea salt despite himself, but
never loses his poetic spirit. With very little speech to mar the
elegant Segar-like drawings, this bittersweet musing on life's adventure
is a true graphic treasure. [4]
Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil - Jeff Smith
A beautiful homage to the original Captain Marvel mythology, complete with Talky Tawny and some man-eating crocodiles. But Smith makes everything his own even as he crams in the Easter Eggs to old school Shazam trufans. Suspenseful and fun for kids and adults (there's just one sly adult-only moment, when a reporter remarks that she can see why he's called Captain Marvel). Makes you want to share it with others, which is really the point of these colorful myths, isn't it? [5]
She-Hulk - Dan Slott
- Vols. 1-5, Dan Slott - Great concept - diffident lawyer has outgoing superhero personality, and both work in the field of superhuman law -handled tongue-in-cheek, almost like an MU "Aly McBeal." Slott's love for the outlandish in comics and continuity comes through even as he pokes fun at those very things. He handles disparate personalities with great humor (his Heracles and Spider-Man are great), though his Wolverine is unnecessarily misogynistic. Hilarious yet sweet. [4.5] Keep.
She Hulk - Soule
- LAW AND DISORDER
- DISORDERLY CONDUCT - Great lawyer-based weirdness from Soule. He should have been given a longer run. [4]
The Shiniest Jewel - Marian Henley [Springboard]
Autobiographical
tale of Henley's quest to adopt a little boy in Russia, just as her
elderly father starts to deteriorate after an operation. Black and
white drawings with thin lines and minimal shading, but the story
fleshes the characters out. A sweet, well-written tearjerker. [4.5]
Shirley & Jamila - Gillian Goerz
Silly Daddy - Joe Chiappetta [Reed]
A
semi-autobiographical account of being a single father, with some
extended fantastical sequences. Terrible black and white art, not very
intelligent ruminations filled with typos, and a totally unsympathetic
narrator. The fantasy sequences were utterly unreadable. Bought
and immediately given away. [1]
Silver Surfer: Requiem - J. Michael Straczynski
An absolutely beautiful, poetic send-off to a fictional character. The Surfer is dying, his protective coating now falling away and killing him. He takes a last tour of Earth and then heads off to die on his home planet. It's really wonderfully written, slightly marred by the fact that death means nothing in comics. Call it an Elseworlds tale. [4]
The Sixth Gun (4 volumes) - Cullen Bunn
Supernatural
horror western with a female lead, a woman paired with a rather bad man
she doesn't particularly want to run with. Spooky art, spooky
characters, slightly out-of-control story. Fun, and keeps getting
better with each volume. [4]
Sleeper - Ed Brubaker
Smile - Raina Telgemeier [Graphix]
Eisner-winning
tale of a sixth-grade girl who, after a fall, has a long and painful
tooth reconstruction involving headgear, braces, and a retainer. There
is also girl drama: boys, friends acting like enemies, and the usual
embarrassment at everything. Cute, cartoony art and a sweet story. No
magical resolution, just a realistic, affecting teen-years slice of
life. [4] Library.
Sole Survivor - Thomas Martinetti & Christophe Martinolli
Vols. 1-3 (complete) - The sole survivor of a bus crash is obsessed with finding the drunken truck driver who caused it - and finds he's piloting the plane he and his friends are on! With each new disaster, a new sole survivor emerges who is unkillable until the death count gets higher. A strikingly original premise with a dark, suspenseful tone. [4]
Spider-Man/Deadpool - Joe Kelly
Spiderverse - Slott, Gage, David, et al
Three of my favorite writers, telling a multiverse-spanning tale? I'm in! A family of immortal energy vampires tear through the infinite universes, finding "spider totems" and killing them in order to live on their energy. The Superior Spider-Man organizes a band of dozens of Spider-themed heroes, including Spider-Man India, Scarlet Spider, the steampunk Lady Spider, Noir, Spider-Ham, and many more. The threat is cosmic-level and very deadly; the thrills are real, but lots of light hearted and subtly satirical moments are there as well. Just a magnificent tale of super heroics, woven by three of the great craftsmen. [4.5]
The Spirit vol. 1 - Darwyn Cooke
Excellent
collection of Spirit stories written in the same snappy, smart tone as
the Eisner ones. Not too gritty, not too silly, but strikes a balance
of just the right amount of respect for a masked crime-fighter in a blue
suit. Some gentle tweaking to update the less well-aged bits such as
Ebony's role. Also includes The Spirit and Batman, co-written with Jeff
Loeb. A perfect homage. [4.5]
- 1. Skywalker Strikes - Set right after the destruction of the Death Star, this story follows Leia, Han, and Luke as they figure out who they are and how they can defeat the Empire. Aaron's writing is razor sharp here — no wordplay, no winking at the audience, just pure Star Wars drama. The most perfect sequel to A New Hope out there, really. Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett, and a truly bad-ass Darth Vader. I'm not ever a Star Wars superfan and I was swept away by the grand mythology of the story and the human struggles within it. [5]
- 2. Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon - Luke is prisoner of a Hutt and fighting in an arena as "the last Jedi"! Han and Leia meet... Mrs. Solo? Aaron again delivers a perfect Star Wars adventure, with the comedy team of C3PO and Chewie as rescue mission backup. [4.5]
- 3. Rebel Jail - While the boys try to make money for the alliance, Leia tries to save her prisoners from being massacred by a rogue ally. While these are terrific stories, I don't feel the same sense of grandeur as in the earlier volumes. As with every ongoing, there's a sense of just going through desultory adventures, not moving through a narrative. [4]
- 4. Last Flight of the Harbinger - The alliance has a plan so crazy it just might work: steal a star destroyer without the Empire ever knowing it's gone! Unfortunately a SCAR trooper unit is out to bring Luke to Vader. This is a great story, with a sense of purpose on the rebel side and an empathetic look at the empire from the bad guys' side. [4.5]
Stepping Stones - Lucy Knisley
Stickman Odyssey (book two) - Christopher Ford [Philomel]
In
black and white stick figure toons that do not show the charm and skill
of Rich Burlew, Ford tells a story based on Greek myths, but using
original names and characters, and the non-original characters (such as
the gods) are given modern, sarcastic personalities. His main
character, Zozimos, is unpleasant to the point where I almost stopped
reading; he's wrathful but also moronic, self-centered, and clueless.
Gradually he gets easier to take, and the end isn't bad at all. [3]
Stuck Rubber Baby - Howard Cruse [Paradox Press]
The
tale of growing up a closeted queer in the 1960s American South. As
the times change and Toland gets to know unabashedly gay, progressive,
and black friends who face violence and murder for being who they are,
he realizes that he must be true to his ideals as well as to himself.
With intricate black and white illustrations, this is a vivid and moving
portrayal of the evil that wraps itself up in patriotism and
self-righteousness. Read twice. [4.5]
Suicide Squad - Adam Glass
- Kicked In the Teeth -Deadshot, King Shark, Harley Quinn and some other supervillain lifers are used as top-secret black ops wetwork by (the newly retconned and svelte) Amanda Waller. Their first mission is to take out an entire stadium and cyber-infected zombies, and it goes on from there. When Harley learns that Joker is dead, she goes rogue to get his preserved face. It's all very gory. There's some gratuitous T&A and fan-wankery when it comes to Harley, who somehow is skilled and crafty enough to run circles around Waller, the police, and the Squad all at once. This is not very good, but a fun guilty pleasure, the McDonald's of comic books. [3.5]
- Basilisk Rising - The team faces off against someone who looks straight out of the Rob Liefield X-treme '90s marvel era, Regulus. And, the team has a traitor in their midst. Could it be Deadshot, the main character whom the reader has been sympathizing with since issue one? Harley, who is the epitome of fanservice? Or could it be the ninja turned villain killer of the team? It's not hard to guess. Gore and corny exposition (gotta mention those nano-bombs every issue!) abounds. And Deadshot seems die at the end, but come on. This is the Filet-O-Fish of the McDonald's of comics. [3]
- Death Is For Suckers - Joker shows up and fan wankery ensues. Deadshot is alive! And so is Voltaic, who was shot in the head on-panel a while back. So maybe the deaths aren't as dramatic as they might be? Anyway, they go after Regulus and try to recover some guy who takes away superhuman powers. Yo-Yo makes his return (from an apparent death) and they go after his sister Red Orchid, who has cool wood-generating powers. And... Deadshot dies at the end, again. Despite all the melodramatic silliness, this book is the first time I got more than mildly interested; Yo-Yo is actually a pretty fun character. [4]
Suicide Squad - Ales Kot, Matt Kindt
- 4. Discipline And Punish - Waller having now teamed up with Jim Gordon Jr, a serial killer (?!), the Squad is sent to stop a rogue agent from getting an African warlord his own super-team. This collection also includes one-shots about Harley and Deadshot. The former is nothing new; the latter is a bit better. [3]
Sunny Side Up - Jennifer & Matthew Holm
Superior Spider-Man - Dan Slott
- My Own Worst Enemy - Otto Octavius, having taken control of Parker's body, vows to become the superior hero by doing things better than Parker could. And... he does! Creating patrolling spider-bots, allying with the police and the mayor, and even forging a satisfying social life, Otto seems to be handling it with aplomb. But will he go mad with power? Dramatics and a heavy dose of humor make this terrific reading and proves yet again that Slott is one of the bets writers of super-heroics around. [4.5]
- A Troubled Mind - Otto-Spidey continues to expand his control of the city, fooling the Avengers and apparently ridding himself of the last vestiges of Parker's personality and memories. However, his cleaning up of the city is creating a power vacuum that a (new?) Green Goblin aims to fill! As usual, a wonderful blend of comedy and action, with Slott masterfully switching between Peter and Otto's speech patterns. [4.5]
- No Escape - Otto-Spidey oversees the Spider-Slayer's execution, gets into more trouble with the Avengers, and continues his control of the city, leveling Kingpin's compound and outing the second Hobgoblin by taking over the airwaves. Meanwhile, the Goblin "king" keeps expanding his reach. [4.5]
- Necessary Evil - While Parker's colleagues try to help save Horizon labs by going back in time, Spider-Man 2099 comes through the portal they build to save the very person Otto-Spidey wants to destroy. (It's a bit complicated.) Meanwhile, Otto finishes his thesis, wraps up some loose ends, and makes a whole lot of enemies (including the Black Cat). Carrie the detective who senses something wrong, finally gets some evidence of Otto's involvement, only to full prey to the Goblins. Dan Slott continues to knock it out of the park with this imaginative story arc. [4]
- Superior Venom - Slott & Christos Gage - Otto's hubris begins to catch up to him as he seeks to impose his genius on everyone in both facets of his life. When he's taken over by Flash Thomson's symbiote, he becomes the "Superior Venom," but quickly loses control. Post-rescue, the symbiote provides a convenient excuse for his past behavior, and he becomes more vicious than ever in secret. But is Parker's consciousness back? Meanwhile the Goblins go to war -- with each other. [4.5]
- Goblin Nation - Slott & Gage - While Otto grew complacent and arrogant, the Green Goblin took over the entire city, and now knows Otto's secret and all the people in his life! But Parker's consciousness is growing stronger. Can he and Spider-Man 2099 put the city back to right? This is a wonderful conclusion to one of the best Spidey storylines ever. [4.5]
Sweet Tooth - Jeff Lemire
Post-apocalyptic
fantasy. Intriguing mystery-style presentation (what happened to the
world?) combines with highly suspenseful action (what's going to happen
to Gus?). Not high in re-readability but compellingly page-turning.
[4]
