The Week In Ink, 11-02-05

Comics

BPRD: The Black Flame #3

Desolation Jones #4: Warren Ellis vs. Raymond Chandler vs. Pornography, Part 4! I've made mention before of how awesome this issue's cover was, and the interior did not disappoint. JH Williams III's art--along with Jose Villarrubia's downright stellar coloring--is just amazing, and the way the talky sections are put into a 9-panel grid strucure while the fight sequences are all diagonal lines and double page spreads make for a great visual experience. Ellis's script is a fun read as always, although one thing did strike me about it. Desolation Jones's first name is Mike. This may have been mentioned before, but it wasn't until he said it into a cell phone that it really clicked into place, and then this was all I could think about:


Let's just move on and hope Warren Ellis never stumbles across that one.

Jonah Hex #1: I'll be honest: As a general rule, I hate the books that Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray write, all the way back to when they followed up Christopher Priest's run on Deadpool. So vehement is my hatred that it's enough to turn me off of pretty much anything those guys are scripting. That said, I enjoyed the heck out of this one. The story's fun and does a good job of highlighting what's important about Hex, and with Luke Ross's phenomenally beautiful art thrown in, I've been reccomending it to just about everybody who came in the store. I don't think it'll be as good as Joe Lansdale and Tim Truman's Two-Gun Mojo, a personal favorite, but it's not bad at all, and it's definitely worth picking up.

JSA #79

Marvel Team-Up #14: Now here's something you don't see every day. An in-continuity Marvel comic featuring Spider-Man and a character not owned by Marvel. The fact that it's a totally stand-alone issue that seems like it's going to tie in with Invincible more than anything coming from Marvel makes me wonder if it'll ever get reprinted in trade or if that was part of Kirkman and Walker's deal with Marvel. Other than the novelty, though, it's slightly below-average for an above-average book--except for the scene where Invincible meets Luke Cage. Now that is worth the price of admission. On another weird note, this issue also includes a Chris Eliopoulos/marc Sumerak Franklin Richards backup reprinted from the recent Power Pack series for no discernable reason whatsoever. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's the third time it's been printed, and I have no idea why.

Punisher #27: You know, it really could've used some more punishing.

Rex Libris #2: If you don't want to read about a Super Ninja Librarian who discusses quantum physics and philosophy with his roommate, an immortal telekinetic talking sparrow, then you, sir, are no friend of mine. Also has probably the most words of any comic I've ever read.

Seven Soldiers: Bulleteer #1: So far, the weakest issue of Seven Soldiers, but still a heck of a lot of fun. I'm going to be perfectly honest here, so bear with me. It might not be as good as the Guardian or Shining Knight, but there are maybe ten things in the entire world that I like better than chrome-plated large-breasted women who run around in either their underwear or cone-shaped hats with red goggles for an entire issue. Indestructable chrome-plated labrats? Also pretty high on the list.

Seven Soldiers: Klarion the Witch Boy #4: I got this when it originally came out, but apparently there was a printing errror and they re-shipped them to most stores. I forgot to grab one and compare them side-by-side, so does anyone out there know what the deal is?

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Trades

Showcase Presents Jonah Hex v.1: If I'm not careful, I'm going to be getting all of these. I wasn't quite sold on the Metamorpho one until Dr. Kunka told me that it reminded him a lot of the Jack Cole Plastic Man comics--which are quite frankly the only Golden Age stories I've ever had a good time reading. As for this one, while I don't have the same fondness for DC's western characters as I do for the war comics, I've been fascinated by Jonah Hex ever since he appeared on Batman: The Animated Series, and I'm pretty excited about finally sitting down and reading the original stories.

Young Avengers v.1: Sidekicks HC

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Media

Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi Uncut DVD: I may have mentioned this before here on the ISB, Degrassi: The Next Generation has become my shameful addiction ever since the local cable got the Noggin network and started airing it. When the first episode I saw included a scene where a girl with a cold sore told a boy "You gave me a social disease!", I was hooked. Since I got DVR, it's been a daily struggle to not just record it every time it comes on.

I cannot stop watching it.

It is my blessing.

It is my curse.

This, anyway, is the season finale, wherein Kevin Smith plays himself, coming to Degrassi to shoot his next movie. I've only seen one out of the three parts, but believe me, there's only one adjective for it:

Life-changing.