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eddycurrents · 6 years

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For the week of 8 January 2018

Quick Bits:

Astonisher #4 gives us some nice quiet moments, as Magnus “convalesces” in a hospital filled with meteorite infected staff and patients, having been trapped there by his brother.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Avengers #675 kicks off the sixteen-part weekly “No Surrender” event, with Earth getting stolen off to somewhere, much of the planet’s superhero population being frozen in stasis (save for, it seems, the Avengers, and the X-Men members who pull double duty), and a lot of destruction occurring due to the shift. It’s a lot of moving parts, and like the just concluded “Worlds Collide” arc, it begins with the heroes randomly trying to save people with all of us left in the dark as to what’s going on, but it’s a decent start.

What is unquestionably great about this issue, though, is the artwork from Pepe Larraz. With David Curiel providing colours, the artwork on this book is just stunning. Larraz has really stepped up his game.

| Published by Marvel

Barbarella #2 is full of more wonderful artwork by Kenan Yarar. His style reminds me a lot of Moritat and, when combined with the somewhat subdued colours from Mohan and rectangular word balloons from Crank!, gives the book a nice European feel. Mike Carey also introduces who’s probably going to be my favourite character, a nameless furry little Vix.

| Published by Dynamite

Bloodshot Salvation #5 brings a kind of closure to the present day arc involving Magic’s “Daddy”. Although not unexpected, it’s kind of abrupt and I’ve kind of got mixed feelings about it. I trust Jeff Lemire, though, that this is far from the end of this particular thread. Also, the “soon” arc manages to get even more insane.

| Published by Valiant

Coyotes #3 gets stranger. Even as we get more beautiful art from Caitlin Yarsky and explanations as to what’s going on from Sean Lewis, the story takes a dramatic turn to the weird. It’s pretty glorious.

| Published by Image

Dejah Thoris #0 is a nice tease for the new series from Amy Chu and Pasquale Qualano. The set up for finding a fabled lost city that was trying to preserve the old Mars is an interesting one.

| Published by Dynamite

The Despicable Deadpool #292 begins the next stage of Stryfe’s orders for Deadpool to kill people with the first part of “Bucket List”. The second kill is expedited fairly quickly, which is somewhat disappointing. I’m hoping that ultimately there’s something more to it that what we’ve seen.

| Published by Marvel

Grass Kings #11 brings a kind of ending to the inquiry into Jen Handel’s death, but as it explains out Archie’s affair, it raises even more questions about what’s been going on in the Kingdom. Matt Kindt, Tyler Jenkins, and Hilary Jenkins consistently seem to be outdoing themselves with each issue.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Judas #2 again is a stunning showcase for Jakub Rebelka’s artwork. As Jeff Loveness weaves through Satan’s stories of Biblical baddies to convince Judas of a flaw in God’s plan, Rebelka just continues to blow me away with his art.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Monstro Mechanica #2 gives us more action and intrigue even as Leonardo’s assistant, Isabel, works out some of the kinks of the titular monster. The humour that Paul Allor and Chris Evenhuis inject into the series is delightful.

| Published by AfterShock

Old Man Hawkeye #1 is the beginning of a prequel to the original Old Man Logan story arc. It’s a little light on plot explanations, heavy on atmosphere and brooding, with some very nice art by Marco Checchetto and Andres Mossa. Ethan Sacks has that sad sack, worn out, and put down Clint Barton characterization down pat.

| Published by Marvel

Paradiso #2 reminds me of China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station in that Ram V and Devmalya Pramanik are managing to both push the boundaries of sci-fi and bring a city to life. In Paradiso’s case, this seems to be literal. I’m really loving the characters, the setting, and the art.

| Published by Image

Pestilence #6 concludes what has been an excellent series by Frank Tieri and Oleg Okunev, reimagining the Black Death as a zombie apocalypse. The artwork from Okunev has been kinetic and visceral, perfectly befitting the action and horror of a medieval zombie outbreak, while Tieri has managed to inject a lot of humour into the characters and a real sense of camaraderie among the knights, even in the face of multiple betrayals. I’m definitely going to be looking forward to the second series, and highly recommend the first to any who’ve not tried this.

| Published by AfterShock

Royal City #9 has one of the best silent panels I’ve seen from Jeff Lemire, who has always been very good at conveying a lot in silent panels.

| Published by Image

Runaways #5 gives us the secret of the cats, as Molly and Gert speculate on what’s going on with Molly’s grandmother. Kris Anka again nails some of the tiny details, like Molly’s alpaca stuffie and Old Lace eating out of a giant bowl alongside the cats.

| Published by Marvel

Secret Warriors #12 is the end to a series that I was surprised, but thankful, wasn’t just a mini-series timed to coincide with the Secret Empire event. It’s been a team of Inhumans (and later Magik) who had no real business being a team in the first place, and the series has been funny, heartfelt, and rather offbeat. Such that it’s perfect that this issue is probably the closest they’ve come to being a real team as they fight over a Marvel-themed version of Risk. And neglect Magik, who was really only there for the cake.

| Published by Marvel

Sleepless #2 grabbed me a little more than the first issue. The art from Leila Del Duca has been great throughout both issues, but in this issue Sarah Vaughn gives us a little bit more meat on the characters, the intrigue, and fleshing out some of the culture is very interesting.

| Published by Image

Slots #4 showcases something that Dan Panosian has been great at building in this series, aside from the usual phenomenal art, and that’s character. This issue features the continued budding relationship between Mercy and Lucy, but while it’s doing that, it’s also building up more of Stan’s flawed but somewhat noble half-assed altruism and also further reinforcing that Les is an utter scumbag. Great work.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Spider-Man vs. Deadpool #26 is the beginning of a concurrent, intermittent side story, set in the “far flung” future with Peter and Wade stuck together in the same retirement home, similar to how Deadpool 2099 ran in the main Deadpool book. Robbie Thompson is still providing a nice humorous story playing up the continued animosity between the two characters, but what really stands out is the artwork from Scott Hepburn and Ian Herring.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Darth Vader #10 is the battle between Darth Vader and Jocasta Nu that you were hoping for, but I’m not sure it’s entirely what you’d expect. The action delivered by Giuseppe Camuncoli art is entertaining and Charles Soule throws a couple twists in the tale.

| Published by Marvel

Sword of Ages #2 reminds me of the best of Walt Simonson and P. Craig Russell. Gabriel Rodríguez is doing something magical here with this mix of science fiction and fantasy, this issue making some of the parallels to Arthurian legend more explicit, even while branching out further into making this unique.

| Published by IDW

Taarna #1 was some unexpected Alex de Campi.

| Published by Heavy Metal

Witchblade #2 has me convinced that this series should be getting a lot more press than it is. This is a very mature reimagining of the series from Caitlin Kittredge, building slowly the characters and world of Alex Underwood’s life, as it feels like a taught mystery mixed with police procedural more than the offbeat horror-tinged superheroics of the original Witchblade. It’s very good.

Also, the artwork from Roberta Ingranata, with colours by Bryan Valenza, is wonderful. Ingranata’s page construction, panel composition, and establishing shots are just incredibly captivating, they go a long way into setting the tone and pacing for the story.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Other Highlights: Accell #7, Alters #9, Archie #27, The Archies #4, Black Panther: Long Live the Panther #3, Cable #153, The Damned #7, Daredevil #597, Eternal Empire #6, Hack/Slash vs. Vampirella #4, Mech Cadet Yu #5, The Mighty Crusaders #2, Ms. Marvel #26, Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe #1, Old Man Logan #33, Phoenix Resurrection #3, Port of Earth #3, The Punisher #220, Rose #7, Saucer State #6, She-Hulk #161, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny - Rey, TMNT #78, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #28, The Unbelievable Gwenpool #24, Venom #160, X-Men Blue #19, X-Men Gold Annual #1

Recommended Collections: Cowboy Ninja Viking Deluxe Edition, Curse Words - Volume 2: Explosiontown, Descender - Volume 5: Rise of the Robots, Doctor Strange - Volume 5: Secret Empire, Harbinger Renegade - Volume 2: Massacre, Hellboy & The BPRD: 1954, Mech Cadet Yu - Volume 1, Postal - Volume 6, Satellite Falling, She-Hulk - Volume 2: Let them Eat Cake, The Vision Deluxe Hardcover, The Wicked & The Divine - Volume 6, The X-Files - Volume 4

d. emerson eddy would very much like a chariot pulled by cats.

#This Week in Comics

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month9books · 7 years

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Riverdale Recap and Review - Season 1 - Chapter 7 - In a Lonely Place by Andrew Buckley

That 50’s style comic book opening scene with Jughead wearing his crown and Archie in the sweater with the bowtie was beautifully shot, iconically accurate, and all sorts of creepy. This is something that Riverdale does well, I’ve seen it since episode one and they’ve managed to maintain it almost every single week so far: they commit to the weekly theme and they hit it hard right on the offset. Sure, they’ve only got 42(ish) minutes to work with so there’s no time to beat around the bush, but major props have to go to the producers, writers, and showrunners for consistently hitting the right notes in what’s become an almost perfect symphony of characters and story arcs. This week’s themes of ‘home’ and ‘hope’ are driven like a knife through Archie’s back during that opening sequence that narratively asks the question as to what a home truly is. We’ve seen so many different homes in Riverdale already, it’s easy to see why that particular theme probably gets revisited more than most but it was especially poignant this week with Jughead’s story. So let’s get to it . . .

I feel Archie redeemed himself a little this week after last week’s severe dip in his collective IQ. While he doesn’t shine through as being incredibly intuitive (he managed to ignore the fact that Jughead was homeless for how long?) he grabs some major points for having a heart of gold. He feels bad that he wasn’t there for Betty during her time of need and he fights to help Jughead by arranging for Mr. Jones to go back to work even though he doesn’t even have the full back story yet, he just wants to help his hurting friend. His dedication as a friend despite differences or awkwardness actually gave him a few moments to shine. Yes, he’s completely overshadowed by everyone else on the show but I still feel he gained a little ground this week.

After Polly’s magical escape from the mental institution, she sneaks (like a ninja) into her parent’s attic only to be found by Betty. All the characters in Riverdale have such strong personalities and stories, I’m having a little trouble getting behind Polly though. While she’s obviously not the ‘party girl’ that the Blossoms paint her to be, there’s something not quite right about that girl, and her continuing to cling to wanting to go live on a farm somewhere just doesn’t seem grounded in reality.

Either way, Betty helps her, first by appealing to the Blossoms via Cheryl, and then by Veronica’s intervention to move her into the Lodge residence. The Blossoms once again reiterated that they’re the big, evil, rich family of Riverdale by pulling a Rumpelstiltskin. They want Jason’s baby but they couldn’t care less about Polly, and I can’t completely blame them for that because we really haven’t been given enough reason to sympathize with Polly just yet. The Blossoms want the baby, but Cheryl, in an off-character moment of morality, wants what’s best for Jason’s unborn child and turns on her own family to place Polly in a safe place. This is sure to cause even more conflict in the Blossom household but it looks like Cheryl is beginning to hold her own against her deranged mother, which is nice to see.

We should get this out of the way before I get into this next story point. I love Veronica. Not the character as such, but more Camila Mendes’ portrayal is just so spot on that it’s scary. Which is why this one is tough to write about because her grandiose sweeping gestures and on-point wordplay has been stunning so far. But this week our dear Ronnie headed into some cliche-ridden waters and it was a shame because the character deserves better. Veronica holds a grudge against her mother for forging her signature, not because it was wrong, funnily enough, but because it would paint her in a negative light with her father (daddy issues much?). She proceeds to head out for a night on the town (Riverdale has a nightclub? And a busy one? On a school night?) with Kevin, Reggie, and Josie in order to defy her mother into negotiating with her. It feels like a classic rich girl move and that is too much of a departure from what we’ve come to know about Veronica. While it represents her past life, it’s a life she’s determined to leave behind but goes ahead with it anyway. In the end, all it boils down to is a quick convo with her mother, and all is well again in the Lodge household. Although it will be interesting to see how Mr. Lodge reacts to Hermione’s deception.

Hats (and paper crowns) off to Skeet Ulrich for almost completely dominating the performance side of this episode of Riverdale. I say ‘almost’ because Jughead is the one that steals the show and delivers the feels. Jughead has pulled a Harry Potter and now lives under the stairs at school. We learn the reason why is because his Dad is somewhat of a deadbeat and his Mom and sister have left town. Father/son stuff always rips my heart a new one so I fully felt the story this week. Jughead wants his Dad to get his act together and he’s holding onto hope that it can actually happen and that it will eventually lead to a happy home, in one form or another. After Archie and Jughead get FP his job back, it all seems to be going well, until they head out for dinner and old demons join them at the table at Pops. We learn the backstory of Fred and FP’s friendship, their doomed partnership, and the clear signs that they hold each other responsible. I think Fred comes out on top here as FP obviously has some issues when it comes to making the right decisions above his own self interests, but they’re both a little at fault and I was shocked that Archie actually cut through the crap and addressed the issue with his Dad. Sure, FP was bad for business but did Fred ever consider what it would mean for Jughead’s family? In true Fred Andrews fashion, he quickly redeems himself by inventing an alibi for Jughead to help prove he’s not the murderer.

Jughead getting taken downtown and questioned was a bit of a leap for Sheriff Keller but I think he’s really grasping at straws at this point. The killer is in town, we’ve already met him, but no one knows who it is. There were a lot of great scenes between Jughead and his Dad but their relationship, and the weekly themes, are driven home by the confrontation behind the police station. We can truly believe that FP wants to clean up his act and wants Jughead to be proud of him, but he lacks the motivation and willpower to do it and prefers to continually blame others for his actions. Jughead on the other hand clings on to hope that his Dad can turn his life around and rebuild their home as a family, but it was clear in that scene that Jughead doesn’t truly believe it to be possible and, furthermore, his Dad knows it too. Which is why Jughead moves into the Andrews household and FP willingly lets him go.

This week’s cliffhanger piece is the sight of Jason’s jacket hanging in Mr. Jones’ closet. We last saw that jacket in the hidden car last week so it could be that Mr. Jones torched the car, Jason had multiple jackets, or someone else fired up the vehicle and then planted the jackets in Mr. Jones’ trailer . Mr. Jones is too obvious to be the killer so we can scratch him off the list. (As my Polly/Betty multiple personality theory got shot all to hell, I have a new one . . . which I’ll share before next week’s episode. Stay tuned!)

What is a happy home in Riverdale? It almost doesn’t exist because every household is so rife with drama and problems that it seems impossible. But this episode was all about hope for a happy home and we can only assume that our dear characters will find exactly that, in one form or another. Even if it’s just an air mattress on a friend’s floor. Just hopefully not anytime too soon because the drama on this show is just so much wicked freakin fun!

STRAY THOUGHTS OF AWESOMENESS . . .

- Polly jumped out of a window and, despite there being blood on the glass, she survives completely unscathed. I think it’s safe to say that Polly is a mutant/immortal/vampire or something to that effect.

- The Cooper’s attic is the place scary things go to die. What’s with those freakin dolls?!

- The Betty/Jughead (Bughead as the kids are calling it online) is still pushed to the back of the bus again this week. Juggie putting his arm around Betty causing Archie and Ronnie to address the gesture brought some of it to the surface but it’s still not sitting at the forefront of the story. Understandable though as there’s a ton of other stuff going on.

- The Team Blossom hunting crew has actual hunting dogs. Dogs are well known to be very useful when tracking pregnant teenagers.

- I’m seriously looking forward to when we get to see Mr. Lodge in the flesh. It has to happen. We all know it!

- Mr. Blossom’s wig disturbs me more and more every single week.

- Alice Cooper continues to be evil. Not Penelope Blossom evil. But evil. Press conference outside the church? What? Why? Worst mother of the year award goes to . . .

Andrew Buckley attended the Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film and Television program. After pitching and developing several screenplay projects for film and television, he worked in marketing and public relations, before becoming a professional copy and content writer. During this time Andrew began writing his first adult novel, DEATH, THE DEVIL AND THE GOLDFISH, followed closely by his second novel, STILTSKIN both published by Curiosity Quills Press. Andrew also writes under the pen name 'Jane D. Everly' for his HAVELOCK series of novels. Look for his first upper middle grade novel HAIR IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES available now fromMonth9Books with the sequel scheduled for release in August 2017.Andrew also co-hosts a geek movie podcast, is working on several new novels, and has a stunning amount of other ideas. He now lives happily in the Okanagan Valley, BC with one beautiful wife, three kids, one cat, one needy dog, and a multitude of characters that live comfortably inside of his mind.Andrew is represented by Mark Gottlieb at the Trident Media Group.

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#riverdale #the cw #the cw network #tv show #review #Andrew Buckley #hair in all the wrong places #month9books

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