Now let's look at that list, shall we?
Marvel
ALPHA FLIGHT #3 (OF 8) FEAR
CRIMINAL LAST OF THE INNOCENT #3 (OF 4)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #667 SPI
SPIDER-ISLAND CLOAK AND DAGGER #1 (OF 3) SPISPIDER-ISLAND DEADLY FOES #1 SPI
DC Comics
AMERICAN VAMPIRE SURVIVAL OT FITTEST #3 (OF 5)
BATGIRL #24
DETECTIVE COMICS #881
FLASHPOINT DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #3 (OF 3)
FLASHPOINT FRANKENSTEIN CREATURES OF UNKNOWN #3 (OF 3)
THUNDER AGENTS #10
UNWRITTEN #28
Other Companies
GODZILLA GANGSTERS & GOLIATHS #3 (OF 5)
HELLBOY THE FURY #3 (OF 3)
MORNING GLORIES #11
MORNING GLORIES #11
REED GUNTHER #3
This is perhaps the most comics I have ever bought in a single week. All told, I picked up 17 comics this week. In that total, I have three numbers 1s and six concluding issues. Everything else is something in between the two, I suppose.
I already raved about Cloak & Dagger over at the Weekly Crisis, but that book is just too good to not continue talking up. You should be buying it. Nick Spencer and Emma Rios are both great creators, and they are at their best in this book. I've loved Nick Spencer's T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents and Morning Glories (both of which I also picked up this week - they were both excellent), but this might be the best thing I've read by him. And Rios's art is simply out of this world good. I want all comics to be so well drawn and so creatively composed. Just looking at it makes me feel inspired.
American Vampire is as good as always, which is unsurprising considering how talented Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy are.
On the Flashpoint note, Frankenstein continued to be as good as always, while The Flying Graysons disappointed just as I imagined it would. It's too bad that series couldn't keep up the momentum it had going with issue #1. I guess J.T. Krul just couldn't manage it.
I really enjoyed issue #0 and #1 of Alpha Flight, but I'm starting to have my doubts about this series. One of the things I enjoyed the most about it was the high degree of verisimilitude it has had. And for a book about Canadian superheros whose secret base in underneath Parliament Hill, that's saying something. Everything that was happening seemed like it was based in reality and it was clear a lot of research had been going into the book. However, this issue was a definite step down in that department, as it spent a lot of time on the streets of Ottawa, and sometimes I questioned whether the artist had ever seen the city or even looked at Google Street View for longer than six seconds. The skylines left a bit to be desired, especially in the area around Parliament.
The worst offense, however, was a scene that took place inside Centre Block. It was the Prime Minister scrumming in the House of Commons Foyer, but it was one of the worst depictions of the Foyer I could imagine. It had the general idea that there were arches of some type and that the walls had a general pattern of laid stone; however, the colouring was completely off, making the interior resemble a medieval castle. I was waiting to see a sconce hanging on the wall. Additionally, there was a portrait hanging on the wall, but it was clearly not a former Prime Minister (and definitely not Mackenzie King or sir Robert Bordon). Yes, I'm being a bit nitpicky, but when you're getting everything else right, such a flagrant error stands out even more. It took me right out of the story and only led me to examine other representations of Ottawa even closer.
I really enjoyed issue #0 and #1 of Alpha Flight, but I'm starting to have my doubts about this series. One of the things I enjoyed the most about it was the high degree of verisimilitude it has had. And for a book about Canadian superheros whose secret base in underneath Parliament Hill, that's saying something. Everything that was happening seemed like it was based in reality and it was clear a lot of research had been going into the book. However, this issue was a definite step down in that department, as it spent a lot of time on the streets of Ottawa, and sometimes I questioned whether the artist had ever seen the city or even looked at Google Street View for longer than six seconds. The skylines left a bit to be desired, especially in the area around Parliament.
The worst offense, however, was a scene that took place inside Centre Block. It was the Prime Minister scrumming in the House of Commons Foyer, but it was one of the worst depictions of the Foyer I could imagine. It had the general idea that there were arches of some type and that the walls had a general pattern of laid stone; however, the colouring was completely off, making the interior resemble a medieval castle. I was waiting to see a sconce hanging on the wall. Additionally, there was a portrait hanging on the wall, but it was clearly not a former Prime Minister (and definitely not Mackenzie King or sir Robert Bordon). Yes, I'm being a bit nitpicky, but when you're getting everything else right, such a flagrant error stands out even more. It took me right out of the story and only led me to examine other representations of Ottawa even closer.
It was also unfortunate that Alpha Flight's big plan to counter the corrupt Canadian government was to seek out the help of Wolverine. I was kind of buying this book because I wanted Canadian superheroes other than that guy, and it doesn't really help their credibility that at the first sign of danger they go running to Wolverine for help. Doesn't make them seem all that heroic, you know? Again, disappointing.
On the plus side, virtually every other book I picked up was absolute gold, so there is that. When you buy 17 comics and only two of them are let downs, I gotta say that you're doing pretty alright for yourself. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), there's only five or six books that I'm interested in for next week, so it looks like I'll be able to save some of my money instead of spending it all on comics.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
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