Belated Quick Comic Posts

It's been far too long since I've made a bona fide comic-related post, so I'll just ramble on for a little bit on some recent books before I head out to pick up this week's.

Punisher War Journal #4: I find myself somewhat infuriated by this series; the parts that work for me are so enjoyable, that it makes the parts I don't care for that much more galling. I was loving this issue of Stilt-Man's wake...until the ending. There was a lot of nice characterization to all these third-string villains (Princess Python getting jiggy with the Gibbon? Gotta love it)...and then, that ending. Mass slaughter may be what the Punisher does, but it usually helps if his victims actually deserve it. The denouement I would have preferred:

The Masked Marauder staggers into the men's room. As he's going about his business, the Punisher comes up behind him. "The rest of these losers aren't worth my time. I could blow up the whole lot of you, but that'd be a waste of firepower...like shooting a jaywalker. You're the one I came here for...and if I had any doubts that you were still a threat, your little speech convinced me." Frank Castle effortlessly kills Frank Farnum, while the rest of the mourners carry on unawares. Walking away, the Punisher remarks "I hope YOUR wake brings somebody who's REALLY worth the effort."

Civil War #7: What can I say that hasn't already been said and drawn at Chris' Invincible Super-Blog? Sleestak had a great post and meme about Hercules channelling Lloyd Bentsen, but another thing that bothered me about that scene was Herc using the contemporary casual phrasing "You know something?" in the middle of his usual faux-Shakespearean speech pattern. All in all, it brought to mind a quote from Tony Slattery on the original British "Whose Line Is It Anyway?":

"Well, THAT'S...disappointing..."

Or at least, it would have been if my expectations hadn't already been so diminished.

Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil #1: Now THIS is how Captain Marvel should be done! (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Winick.)

Welcome to Tranquility #1-3: Quite possibly my favorite Gail Simone book at the moment, and that's saying something. Love the characters...ALL the characters...and the "flashback" re-creations of past comic styles are right on target. (I was particularly amused by #3's dead-on-target tweaking of the Silver Age's casual sexism..."female emotions," indeed!) I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that Ajita pulls through...

52 #42: Alas, poor hero (I know it's been a week, but I'm still a little hesitant to be too specific); I'll miss the guy. Still, there are worse ways to go out than by setting a trap for a couple of the most evil beings in the DC Universe...