Weekly Comic Book Review

Well, there you have it. Perhaps the most novel and interesting comic book format to ever hit the stands wraps up this week with the final installment of Wednesday Comics. My co-editor Tony has a longer column in the works about this whole endeavor, but before I get to the individual story reviews, I’d be remiss not to share some brief general thoughts.

When this comic first came out, I absolutely loved it. I mean LOVED it. But as the installments kept coming, my enjoyment began exiting. I think the main reason for this is that in the beginning, this truly unique newspaper format captured and catapulted my imagination into directions the comic itself wasn’t taking. For example, I for one wasn’t thinking that every story was going to be an arc. I thought there would be some variance in the stories and some would be a series of one shots, some would be mini-arcs, and some would be full blown arcs. I was shocked that they would all be slow building arcs, which essentially meant that creators were making a full comic and segmenting it into different parts. To me this is a failure to really maximize the format and an inability for the content to match the novel form.

As I said, more to come from WCBR on this topic, so now let’s get down to grading the individual stories per this issue and their final grade:

Batman by Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (artist) – A tragic story whose conclusion we all saw coming 2 months ago. However, this installment captured the moment fantastically much like the first one. Unfortunately, I will always associate this strip with the bloody kiss at the end. Yuck. B+ (Final Grade: B)

Kamandi by Dave Gibbons (writer), Ryan Sook (artist)– A great ending to a great series. This is one of the true successes of this series. A (Final Grade: A+)

Superman by John Arcudi (writer), Lee Bermejo (artist) – Great, great art. But stupid writing. For example, why would residents of Smallville be comfortable with a huge Alien sitting in the street? Little dogs just walking by it? Superman using a pay phone? Confusing Lois and Batman scenes at the end… C- (Final Grade C+)

Deadman by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck (writers), Dave Bullock (artist) –This was the surprise hit for me. I could never imagine being into Deadman, but this was one of my favorites. Nice ending that tied-up loose threads cleanly. A (Final Grade: A)

Green Lantern by Kurt Busiek (writer), Joe Quinones (artist), Pat Brosseau (colorist) – Overall, an unimaginative story with excellent character development that played homage to iconic moments. Fans of old school GL will probably like this much more than those of us in the post- Johns take on GL. This issue was a true microcosm  of the story’s entirety. B- (Final Grade B)

Metamorpho by Neil Gaiman (writer), Mike Allred (artist) – This comic came together much better than when it started and in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The end kept up the fun weirdness and quirky characters. A- (Final Grade B)

Teen Titans by Eddie Berganza (writer), Sean Galloway (artist) – Lame action, confusing story, and failed nostalgia. Really hoping the bad guy (who ever it was- I was lost to it) destroyed the Titans. D (Final Grade D)

Strange Adventures by Paul Pope – Awesome comic, awesome installment. Clicked on every level and ended in existential musings that were perfect for this title. Put Pope on this regularly. A+ (Final Grade (A+)

Supergirl by Jimmy Palmiotti (writer), Amanda Conner (artist) – This was my second favorite series behind Strange Adventures. The direction was clear, focused, and the momentum took it to all the right places of the DC Universe. Loved the ending, even though it was cliche’ and silly. A (Final Grade A)

Metal Men by Dan Didio (writer), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (artist) – Really enjoyed the art and characters, but the story was just stagnant and claustrophobic. Such a forgettable ending and series… B- (Final Grade C+)

Wonder Woman by Ben Caldwell – I never read this. The color scheme and art turned me off, so I have no grade. But, I will read it….. one day… maybe.

Sgt. Rock by Adam Kubert (writer), Joe Kubert (artist) – I liked the message and emotional importance of the ending, but overall, seeing Rock get tortured for 4 weeks straight was a waste of this story. Loved the art though. B (Final Grade C)

The Flash by Karl Kerschl and Brenden Fletcher (writers), Karl Kerschl (artist) Iris West by Dave McCaig (writer), Rob Leigh (artist) — Can someone please diagram for me what happened here? I have never been so lost in a story. Did Kershel acknowledge that the whole plot was nonsensical when Iris read a Flash comic and said, “I don’t get it?” Art saves this from being an F. D- (Final Grade D-)

The Demon and Catwoman by Walter Simonson (writer), Brian Stelfreeze (artist) – Solid outing all around. That being said, none of this particularly interested me. The Shakespeare reference was cool, though. B+ (Final Grade (B-)

Hawkman by Kyle Baker – Next to Pope’s work, this was my favorite art. Looked like drawings on a wet newspaper and I loved it. Overly, chatty ending that seemed all a little corny. But, really an entertaining story in entirety.  B (Final Grade A-)

Grade: B

-Rob G.