
Every Wednesday, 8th Dimension’s Jeremy Bulloch reads every comic that comes out, and recommends some of the best titles for you to check out.
Locke & Key: Clockworks #6 (IDW Publishing)
With this issue, we close the book on the penultimate chapter of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’ epic series. The final chapter of the Clockworks miniseries answers just about all of the remaining questions. We see the final fate of all of Rendell’s friends, as well as poor, damned Dodge. The only mystery left for the Locke children is what happened to the Omega Key. Dodge has killed for it before, and is happy to do so again. We’re left with an ominous cliffhanger for the final six-issue miniseries. Dodge is still lurking in their midst, in the form of the youngest Locke child Bode. Tyler and Kinsey may have learned the truth about their father and the horrors he unleashed, but they are oblivious to one that’s under the same roof as they are.
The Manhattan Projects #3 (Image Comics)
When it comes to weird science, I say the weirder the better, and things don’t come much weirder than this. FDR lives on as the world’s first artificial intelligence, President Harry S Truman leads an Illuminati cult in the George Washington Masonic Memorial, and physicist Harry Daghlian is a living irradiated skeleton with a taste for plutonium and a half-life of over 24,000 years. All this is before they drop the atomic bomb.
Justice League #9 (DC Comics)
A new villain, a terminally ill man named David Graves, is targeting the Justice League. A prolific novelist, he literally wrote the book on the Justice League, but now he seeks to destroy them. Each member of the team is spotlighted briefly, contrasting a painful memory from their formative years with the current action. The angst of young Bruce Wayne repainting his room because he no longer has a favorite color would be sad if it wasn’t so funny. Once again, the SHAZAM backup is the strongest part of the issue. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank continue to flesh out Billy Batson and his foster family, making this new Marvel family seem like real people. Freddy Freeman’s lucrative side business of selling test scores, doctor’s notes, and hall passes gives us the best line of the issue and possibly the week. Note: It’s best to know what a medical condition actually IS before submitting a doctor’s excuse for it.
Avengers vs. X-Men #4 (Marvel Comics)
Cyclops and the White Queen only need to stall the Avengers, not defeat them. If Hope is still free when the Phoenix makes its way to Earth, then they get what they want, whether that’s for good or bad. Hope has fully embraced what she believes to be her destiny. She wants to become the Phoenix and bring about the rebirth of mutant-kind. Wolverine’s not buying it though. He’s seen firsthand what the Phoenix does, and how uncontrollable it is. The events of this issue bring us full circle, to the blue area of the moon. Longtime X-Men readers will remember this as where Jean Grey made her final stand in the classic Dark Phoenix story. After this issue, there are no more stalling tactics. It’s on.
AVX: Versus #2 (Marvel Comics)
The Jason Statham movie of comics continues. No plot, all action. In this issue, we get a knock-down fight between Captain America and Gambit of all people. A more fair fight is the second battle, Spider-Man vs. Colossus (AKA Juggalossus the Colossonaut).
The Shade #8 (DC Comics)
The year is 1901, and Dickie Swift is now known as the Shade, a name provided in jest by his dear friend Oscar Wilde. The Shade’s grandson, Albert Caldecott, has gotten in over his head with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It’s not the infamous Alistair Crowley that torments him, but an evil homunculus that he and his lover Otto summoned. Artist Jill Thompson provides the visuals for this “Times Past” story, bringing her unmatched characterization and storytelling sense. All the characters in this comic, from the leads to the most minor background figures, seem like real people. This is more important than ever when telling a story that traffics in supernatural themes, grounding them in a real-world setting that is easy to relate to.
Saucer Country #3 (DC Vertigo Comics)
Professor Kidd has a couple of lines in this issue that I think provide a thesis for the entire series. “I believe that you were abducted by aliens,” and “I don’t think anyone knows what ‘abducted by aliens’ really means.” Something very strange is happening to and with the citizens of New Mexico, and clearly it has been going on for a very long time. The Governor’s ex-husband, Michael, lies on a couch, undergoing so-called regression therapy. It’s not entirely clear how much of what he remembers is true memory, and how much is planted by the ambitious doctor.
Saga #3 (Image Comics)
Once again, Saga is by far the best book on the rack this week. Prince Robot IV leads the investigation into the whereabouts of Alana and Marco, armed only with a sense of noblesse oblige and a trashy romance novel. Meanwhile, Marco lays bleeding out in Rocketship Forest. There is once chance to save his life, but it will require Alana making an impossible deal with a desperate ghost child. Did I mention that this book is cuckoo for cocoa-puffs?
Nightwing #9 (Night of the Owls tie-in) (DC Comics)
William Cobb is Dick Grayson’s great-grandfather, and the most trusted of the Talons serving the Court of Owls. He believes that Nightwing could and should have helped to “save” Gotham. To him, Batman is a naïve fool, and Nightwing is a poor imitation of a naïve fool. As the two of them battle throughout the city, they wage a battle for Nightwing’s soul. The action cuts back and forth between the present-day battle and William Cobb’s original fall from grace a century ago. Of all of the books making up this crossover, Nightwing is the one with the highest personal stakes for its hero. If you only check out one of the tie-ins, make it this one.
Red Hood & The Outlaws #9 (Night of the Owls tie-in) (DC Comics)
Jason Todd has a lot in common with the Talons. Like them, he has died in the line of duty and been brought back to life with unfinished business. Like them, he has a complicated relationship with Gotham City. The Red Hood and his fellow outlaws live in that gray area between right and wrong, which allows them to empathize with both the Talons and their would-be victim, Mr. Freeze.
Daredevil #13 (Marvel Comics)
Foggy Nelson is Matt Murdoch’s oldest friend, but he’s at the end of his rope. The post-traumatic stress alone is nearly killing him. The issue begins with Foggy in therapy, confidentially spilling his concerns to a therapist. Matt always has been a brooder, tormented by guilt. Suddenly he seems bright and cheerful. Clearly such an about-face in personality can’t be healthy, right? Meanwhile, Matt still is in possession of the Omega Drive, containing the secrets of five criminal empires. He has been pitting the different families against each other for months, but as always, Daredevil is in over his horns. Daredevil is the Man without Fear, not the man without brains. He has a plan, and he thinks it’s a very good one. I’m not gonna give away the last-page reveal, but let’s just say things don’t quite the way Matt wanted them to.
Winter Soldier #5 (Marvel Comics)
The former Prime Minister of Latveria, Lucia Von Bardas, and her cohort, the Red Ghost, have stolen the launch codes to Latveria’s nuclear silos. This means we get a team-up with the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Nick Fury, and Doctor Doom. By the end of the issue, the fates of two of the Soviet sleeper agents have been revealed, but one of Bucky’s students still is missing. Clearly, the Winter Soldier has more ghosts from his past to deal with in the immediate future.
Uncanny X-Men #12 (AVX tie-in) (Marvel Comics)
The best part of this comic by far is the further adventures of King Namor, underwater love-machine. “Namor does not speak of his conquests. Though he perfectly understands that others oft wish to spread word of his prowess.” That’s a fancy way of saying, “IMPERIUS SEX!”
Batwoman #9 (DC Comics)
Even without J.H. Williams currently penciling the series, his presence can be felt on every page. Trevor McCarthy follows the visual template established for the series back in its run in Detective Comics, but adds his own flair constantly. Once again, the worlds of both Kate Kane and Batwoman each feature a distinctly different art style. What’s interesting to me is how as Kate’s two separate worlds collapse into one, the art begins to follow suit. The current Batwoman series stands alongside Francis Manapul’s Flash as one of the most dynamic comics on the shelf today.
Wonder Woman #9 (DC Comics)
Hades’ love is as clumsy as it is cruel, so Diana is told by the shade of his last wife, Persephone. Wonder Woman is trapped in hell, about to marry the Lord of the Dead, to save her half-sister Zola. Hephaestus, Zola, and their companions seek to save Diana from her nuptials, but Hermes surprisingly is unwilling to involve himself further. Wonder Woman seems even more surprisingly accepting of her fate, but Hades is not convinced. The test that he prepares on the final page will give a new meaning to “’til death do us part.”
Birds of Prey #9 (Night of the Owls tie-in) (DC Comics)
Black Canary and Katana are two of the DC Universe’s most accomplished fighters, but they are hopelessly outmatched by the Court of Owls. Luckily, they do not have to fight alone. The rest of the Birds of Prey aren’t far behind, helping to take the fight to a Civil War-era Talon named Henry Ballard. Most Talons would have a hard time standing up to a team as accomplished as the Birds of Prey, but Henry Ballard has something that none of them have: an awesome mustache.
Incredible Hulk #7.1 (Marvel Comics)
What would you do if for the first time in your life there, you had no supervision? What if you were 10 feet tall and irradiated? The Hulk is free of Bruce Banner, and sowing his wild oats. The look on Hulk’s face when he rides a triceratops is worth the cover price alone, and the Indiana Jones homage is even better. The problem is, Hulk doesn’t feel much of anything now. Without Banner to define him, Hulk is in the middle of an existential crisis. Then Banner’s ex-wife, the Red She-Hulk, shows up, and she’s furious. Her relationship with Bruce was equally complicated and conflicted, but when Hulk’s are overwhelmed by emotions they lash out. It’s a primal reaction. You know what else is a primal reaction? A booty call. Oh yeah, and while all this is happening, we get a return of the second-dumbest villain Ghost Rider ever fought, the Orb. Check him out on Wikipedia – you’re not going to believe that he’s real.
Honorable Mentions
Avengers Academy #30 (AVX tie-in) (Marvel Comics)
Knights of the Dinner Table #186 (Kenzer & Co.)
Hulk Smash Avengers #3 (Marvel Comics)
Blue Beetle #9 (DC Comics)
Catwoman #9 (Night of the Owls tie-in) (DC Comics)
The Shadow #2 (Dynamite Entertainment)
Danger Club #2 (Image Comics)
Invincible Iron Man #517 (Marvel Comics)
Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi – Force Storm #4
Conan the Barbarian #4 (Dark Horse Comics)
Green Lantern Corps #9 (DC Comics)