|
my monthly reading For months now I have been complaining about how Marvel has little to offer in comparison to DC, but there are two books that still make my monthly reading list. One of them is the adjective free X-Men written by Mike Carey. His work on Lucifer always pleased me so I was curious to see what he would do with characters that have the most convoluted history in Marvel's stable. How could he possibly make them interesting again? The answer to that question is that he did it by leaving the well-known core on the sidelines. There is no Wolverine. Yes, I shout in sincere thanks. Other key members not seen in the book include Storm and Jean Grey. Instead of the over exposed movie folk, we have a much more eclectic grouping of Sam, Bobby, Creed, Nathan and Raven being led by Anna. Not only is this cast more interesting than what I have seen in years, but Chris Bachalo is amazing with his pencils. As successful as Mike Carey has been with his work on the X-Men, I am still confused by what he is doing with the Ultimate version of the Fantastic Four. Marvel's first family is in character, but they seem to be taking a backseat to what I see as homage to Jack Kirby's Forever People. For me the emphasis seems to be more on spectacle than character development, but that may change with the final two issues in the arc. I could be wrong though. Y The Last Man is coming to an end soon and that was quite apparent in the latest issue that I read this afternoon. After years of waiting we finally know what caused the plague that killed all of the men on planet Earth. I found the answer to be satisfactory enough, but now that we know there seems to be little reason left to read. All that remains is the reunion between Yorick and his girlfriend Beth. Grant Morrison and Jim Lee disappointed me. Before work tonight I read their debut issue of Wildcats and was left wondering what they were trying to do. Very seldom do first issues make that much sense. Either they are devoted to setting up a new story or are busy trying to justify a new start. This one was an odd mix of both of those approaches and left little room for a satisfying story. ... On my way into work tonight I started disc three of the audio version of The Voyage of the Narwhal. I like the voice of the narrator, but the story has yet to really grab me. |