Comics Fondle

I discovered Bruce Jones’s 1980s works (Somerset Holmes, Silverheels, some others) just before he quit Marvel to go to DC. I still got to read his Hulk, which provided occasionally mediocre, but mostly fantastic (as evidenced in the latest film adaptation, where the Jones details are some of the best), but his DC work has […]

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If I recall correctly, Morrison’s only really cliffhung All-Star Superman once. Last issue, he did not, instead doing an intricately jumbled timeline with a real conclusion. This issue, he wraps up some of the things he talks about in the previous issue, but doesn’t show… namely, the new costume and a big fight. So there’s […]

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When Lucius Fox and Alfred mysteriously run off to Paris together–after each receiving a telegram–does Bruce Wayne think the most obvious thing (an ebony and ivory gay marriage)?. Actually, we don’t know, because Conway never lets the reader know what Batman is thinking. Instead, Batman’s just a snoop. Admittedly, Lucius and Alfred running off to […]

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This issue is a competent Kirby homage, but it’s strangely detached (especially for a story called The American Evolution and featuring a major subplot about being selfless). Steve Rude’s art is gorgeous, which is no surprise, but Evanier’s script is lifeless. His Jimmy Olsen is a compelling protagonist, however, even as he moves through the […]

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How come Batman used to work during the day but doesn’t anymore? Maybe because Conway’s script casts him more as a famous detective–of the Angela Lansbury or Raymond Burr variety–than a costumed vigilante. The first time no one checks to see who Batman is under the cowl, I noticed. The second time, I didn’t. I’m […]

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