Another week, another book falls victim to my harsh culling – I decided to not continue with New Avengers. The advent of Dark Reign has left a sour taste in the mouth – I tried issue #48 but wasn’t impressed – and the $3.99 price for a regular comic book made the decision easy. A little saddening but a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. Fortunately, the two books I did buy more than made up for it.
Final Crisis #7
I’ve still got the smile on my face that developed as soon as I started reading this book – it was an absolute delight. From the alternate African-American Superman (and President), to the Lois Lane narration, to the Flashes outracing death, Aquaman saving the oceans, the Miracle Machine, the double page of multiverse Supermen, our Superman as the ultimate hero, and the sneaky return of Batman – it’s a fantastic end to the series. It’s epic and imaginative and powerful and inspiring and noble and exactly the sort of things comics should be. I look forward to reading this all again (although I might have to SUBMIT and buy the two-issue Superman Beyond tie-in to get the full deal). Doug Mankhe does a great job on art duties, matching the spirit and keeping pace with the script, but it’s Grant Morrison all the way – we’re lucky to have you, Grant.
Usagi Yojimbo #117
This issue saw Usagi Yojimbo increase in price from $2.99 to $3.50 but I don’t mind – the quality of the book is worth the money. Stan Sakai continues his marvellous job on this series by starting another multi-part epic, Traitors of the Earth. An introductory sequence tells us about the uprising of a Lord Hayashi against Lord Miyake and the ensuing battle, which took place over 300 years ago, before catching up with Kitsune the street performer/pickpocket, who is friends with Usagi – her pickpocketing unfortunately gets her something that will prove to be the catalyst for this adventure … All of this is done with Sakai’s consummate skill – his cinematic panel composition, his characterisation, his ability to mix the historical with the elements of magic that are part of the story – I can’t wait for the rest of the storyline.
