Push and Pull

PULLED

ECHO #1, Terry Moore Strangers in Paradise is one of the absolutes of comic book history and quite possibly the best of everything that’s ever been written about love. Sonnets included. Most people just don’t know it yet. And it is mind-boggling how it all came down to one creator—the lyric, the art, the painful and joyful dissection of longing: Terry Moore. So, Echo #1. It’s different and it is good. It reads like a superhero book, a down and out almost divorcee accidentally gets rained on by putty pellets, a result of a government weapon experiment gone menacing. Details are planted and I’m beginning to like Julie already. Definitely on board.****

JUSTICE LEAGUE THE NEW FRONTIER CLASSIFIED #1, Darwyn Cooke Trinity origin! Titans together! And Wonder Woman’s breasts on fire! It’s predictably good all around. What’s surprising though is the Black Canary and Wonder Woman team-up that delivers the funny. It’s not a necessary read but when did we care about necessary, right?****

TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE #3, Amy Wolfram, Karl Kerschl, Serge Lapointe, and Steph Peru Got on board this title mainly for the art—rest in peace, Mr. Peru—and as always, it’s worth the cover price. But it’s turning out to be as fun as the cartoon with subtle characterizations that work. Batman and Robin’s relationship was succinctly defined in one panel, and that’s quite an achievement. ****

PUSHED (Spoilers!)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON EIGHT #12, Drew Goddard and Georges Jeanty What the fuck? Drew Goddard, with Jane Esponson, wrote Conversations with Dead People, one the best Buffy episodes in its 7-year run. It’s purely a character piece with a few genuinely frightening moments so I was looking forward to his arc on this title. While the writing is funny, with a few well-planted surprises, the biggest surprise was totally, glaringly, out of character. Okay. I’m calm. When you get Buffy to sleep with another woman, that’s just. Grr. Not calm. See if it were Captain Janeway, I wouldn’t be surprised because somehow, flirting has been implied with Seven of Nine. But with Buffy, zero. Maybe it’s a dream sequence, just like Xander said. Will get back on this when the arc finishes, but for now, it’s disgruntled much. **