Based on a sort-of recommendation I got through Rob Williams' blog I decided to give Captain Britain and MI:13 (a series that, until now, I have almost completely ignored) the ol' college try. I had seen the wonderful Bryan Hitch covers on the shelf and peeked at the artwork of Leonard Kirk (which I thought was quite good) but not knowing anything about the writer, Paul Cornell, I just passed on the thing expecting it to be no better than previous attempts to keep this character around and operating in the Marvel U. To my surprise (and to Cornell and Kirk's credit), however, I found that I really quite enjoyed it. Considering my track record, I think it's typical of me to have initially ignored this series when it first hit the shelves (I can't tell you how many times I've caught on to a good title late - and even sometimes too late - in the game). In addition to my general unfamiliarity with the project and it's writer, I also had trouble sussing out what the point of this book was? What purpose did it serve for Marvel other than keeping Captain Britain around even though there were a number of recently failed series behind him? The Secret Invasion tie-in was just as likely to turn people like me away as it was to attract their attentions. With comic book funds at a low, experimenting on a book that I couldn't bring myself to care about was just not a consideration.
And look at me now, shouting out into the blogosphere after reading only two issues that I'm a total convert and ready to evangelize on its behalf. I think it's just so uncommon for me, these days, to find a book within one of the established super-hero universes that I can enjoy purely on the creative team's overall talent at telling good, interesting stories.
Part of my conversion has to do with just how much I love Leonard Kirk's work on the book. Leonard is rarely a let down and his Agents of Atlas work was some of the best coming out from any company at the time of that series' release. It reminds me, in spirit, of the old Alan Davis and Bryan Hitch days of Cap in his own title or either of their work on Excalibur. The layouts are easy on the eyes, his linework is clean and expressive, and his ability to show everything from drama to comedy in his characters is top-notch.I should also point out how very pleased I am with the writing of Paul Cornell. He has taken a group of characters that haven't been very compelling (or even made much sense) since Davis left Excalibur the second time (with the exception of Wisdom who wasn't present at the time), and he's made them genuinely interesting. The dialogue is crisp and feels natural, the story has the definite feeling of going somewhere rather than padding things out for the eventual trade collection, and his collaboration with Kirk appears effortless. These guys appear to be pretty much in sync.
Looking at how my pull-list has been shrinking these days (I'm sure I've lost a half-dozen titles in as many months, mostly Marvel and DC books) it's a nice feeling to be able to find a diamond in the rough like CBaMI:13. Now, if issues three and four turn out to be just as entertaining as the first two, consider me on board for the long haul.
Thank you Cornell and Kirk.
Later!
mike
"Gateway to Infinity!" kicks off with our intrepid hero airborn and on his way to London. His purpose there is to assist with a very important translation job relating to an artifact found in one of the Stonehenge blocks. In a scene reminiscent of the Lao Che Air Freight incident from Temple of Doom, Indy runs afoul of the Germans whose interest in the artifact leaves Dr. Jones, once again, a Nazi target. After taking a dip into the English Channel, Indy gets picked up by a Navy patrol boat and manages to keep his date with British intelligence.
I just finished watching the feature film and the first two episodes of the brand-spanking-new Clone Wars animated series and, I must say, I am very much impressed. More by the show than the film, really, but when you think of my biggest complaints with the prequel trilogy being the fact that we did not spend enough time with Anakin to give a rat's ass about his fall, this whole endeavour is just a godsend, you know? All we saw were the whingy bits with Anakin pining away for Padmé and none of the bonding with Obi-Wan, or the heroic efforts he made during the Clone Wars to rate 'potentially greatest Jedi ever', so having the opportunity to go back and spend some time with the guy is something I'm looking forward to.
For example, while doing work at home I've been listening to the audio commentaries for Heroes, something I attempted back when I bought the Season 1 set but never really kept up with and eventually abandoned. If you know anything about me, you know what a features whore I am, particularly for audio commentaries, so it was unusual for me to give up on them. Listening to them now, I do find a few of them to be senseless and lacking in any interesting information (that often happens when it's just a bunch of actors in a room) but there have been a couple of exceptional commentaries, the main stand-out being the one for "Company Man" which features the director, Allan Arkush, writer, Bryan Fuller, and actor, Jack Coleman, otherwise known as HRG. I generally like listening to anything Bryan Fuller has to say, so I'm sure that influenced the experience somewhat, but it was also neat to see what you got when you mixed one of the actors with behind-the-camera crew. In earlier commentaries, Coleman would joke around and talk about how cool everything was on the show, but when sitting next to the writer and director, suddenly he's talking about composition, narrative, lighting, themes, character and acting. It just brought the whole quality level up, like, 110%.
Next up is a show that has never impressed me much, but I just got it in my head at some point that I was going to watch it, in its entirety, no matter how much pain it causes or how long it takes. That show would be Highlander: The Series and I don't think I'm understating things when I say that the first season is a perfect example of everything that was wrong with syndicated television in the early to mid '90s. You could put virtually anything out there on the market as long as you did it cheap enough, there was always someone who wanted to fill up their broadcasting slate. Having the Highlander brand probably helped put this one on the air and keep it there beyond season 1, but it's still no excuse for the quality of some of these episodes.
A big surprise for me was getting the original Twilight Zone DVDs from the library. I knew I'd enjoy them, I knew I was picking up something that was timeless and fun, but I didn't anticipate just how much I am loving these shows. My memories of the shows consisted only of the stories and how they made me feel and not how well shot and written they were. Looking at these episodes on DVD, they look fantastic. The lighting is amazing, the acting, surprisingly good. The direction classic but brave enough to shed traditional angles and techniques when necessary. And although the writing is not always perfect, there's an energy there you can feel. A young Rod Serling (who wrote, like, every episode) pouring his heart out on the page week after week and giving us stories that still resonate to this day with the occasional genuinely creepy moment thrown in for good measure.
Finally, I've re-immersed myself into the world of Steed and Mrs. Peel. Last year, for my birthday, my mother gave me the Complete Emma Peel Avengers set. A 17 disc treasure trove of Avengers episodes featuring my ultimate feminine ideal, Mrs. Emma Peel, played by the inimitable Diana Rigg. I've always loved the show, but I'm always reminded how great these were every time I go back to the show after a long absence. They're so witty, offbeat and damn sexy. I can see how scores of pubescent young boys' lives were forever changed by watching this show.
About a month and a half ago, one of my favourite bands, Sloan, released a new album called Parallel Play. Normally, this would be great news in the Jozic household but I found this new effort a little lackluster in early listenings, a little less cohesive than some of their earlier releases and not quite eclectic enough to attain the status of their last album, Never Hear the End of It. Not a complete throwaway of a CD, just not what I was looking for, hence no CD review or comment about it one way or another (in all fairness, I did link to it at Amazon in the sidebar).
I had heard of 
Among the million and one other things I'm reading lately, I've decided to pick up the trade collections of DC Comics' 52 series from my local library. I never finished the series initially, only getting to #20 or #22 before giving up on the whole thing, but something about not having read it to the end bugs me. It may be because I'm a huge Keith Giffen fan and his breakdowns were pivotal to bringing the whole thing in on schedule, or possibly it's wanting to just get it out of the way once and for all. It is comic book history, after all (at least American comics, anyways) as a lover of the art form, I try to keep up with these sorts of things.
For almost a year now the Jozic family, and probably many fans of Phillip Pullman, have been waiting to hear word on a potential sequel for The Golden Compass. Despite a lot of "we'd really like to do one" from the films director, Chris Weitz, its producers and Pullman himself, New Line has been evasive (to say the least) on giving any indication that they would like to see one as well.
The Mummy: The Rise and Fall of Xango's Ax #1-2: "The Rise and Fall of Xango's Ax" is billed as a prequel to the new Mummy movie, but in reality it is just a story that occurs between The Mummy Returns and the new film. That little grammatical quibble aside, I really quite enjoyed the first issue of this mini. The story revolves around Alex O'Connell and his father Rick becoming embroiled in a caper involving a stolen priceless jewel, a missing archaeologist, a bunch of prehistoric baddies trying to reclaim the stolen jewel and a doomed train ride. The script by Joshua Jabcuga moves along competently and handles the reintroductions of thee characters rather nicely, while the art of Stephen Mooney captures the mood and era of the piece with enough flair to make me forgive any shortcomings either creator may otherwise show.
Wetworks #13: The art has improved, and DeMatteis (who has been writing the book solo from issue #10) is joined by long-time partner in crime Keith Giffen to give readers an all out vampire war for the Wetworks team to fight.
The Invincible Iron Man #2: The plot thickens. There's really not much else to say since Matt Fraction is of the Bendis school of comic book writing where obfuscation and drawn-out storylines are the order of the day. Really, not much happens in #2 that didn't happen in #1 other than Tony kicks the heinies of some A.I.M. fringe group called Advanced Genocide Mechanics and their leader, M.O.D.O.G..
Tank Girl: Visions of Booga #1: Ever since IDW's last Tank Girl mini I just can't get enough of Alan Martin and his crazy cast of malcontents. I would get genuine belly-laughs reading those crazy comics, so I'm thrilled that they've gone back and made more. And I totally loved the Adam Ant guest shot in the back-up story. Chynna Clugston-Major appears to not be the only one who can put the Ant Music love to paper and make an enjoyable yarn out of it.
Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #1: The man in the hat is back. This is probably the best Indy mini-series to come out in some time. As much as I loved the fact that Dark Horse was publishing anything Indy related a few years ago, some of the efforts put forth were less than stellar in either the writing department, the art department, or, in some case, both. With Tomb of the Gods, DHC has a winner. Rob Williams concocts a plausible adventure for the intrepid archaeologist and Steve Scott's artwork is very much up to the task of balancing character likenesses and well-paced action storytelling. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the next four issues will play out.
Detective Comics #846: "Heart of Hush", as a story concept, doesn't really grab me by the lapels and scream read me, but I've been liking what Dini has done with this book and, having given up on Morrison's title, think I'll stick with Detective for a while and see how comfortable I get. I'm loving the art by Nguyen which I've praised before in other reviews, and the fact that Catwoman will be making this series her home when her monthly gets the axe is yet another reason to check in every 30 days.
Robin #170-173: Hey, when did this series get good? I've been a fan of Robin for a long time (that always sounds weird when I say those words in public) but haven't had any reason to check out Tim Drake's or Dick Grayson's monthlies for many years. A few weeks ago I picked up a trade of some of the Adam Beechen and Freddie Williams stories at my local library, just to see what they were like, and found myself really enjoying them. So, when Chuck Dixon (the guy who launched the series 175 issues ago) returned to the character and the book with issue #170, I had to check it out.
Final Crisis #1-2: Okay, I'm liking the issues as I read them, but I'm simultaneously not caring, one way or the other, where this is going or how it fits into the greater scheme of things. I generally like Morrison's writing and I rarely have any complaints about J.G. Jones, so I'm not at all surprised that I'm not outright rejecting this whole event, but I think I'm just Uber-Evented out, you know? I'd rather see these guys doing something with an obscure character off in the corner somewhere, like when Morrison took over Animal Man or Doom Patrol. The DC Universe as a concept just doesn't interest me on this scale, anymore. Less with the 'widescreen' comics, I think.
John Constantine: Hellblazer #245: I think Jason Aaron and Sean Murphy wanted to pay tribute to the Jamie Delano/John Ridgeway era Constantine because this issue has all the hallmarks of that period of the book. For starters, John is nowhere to be seen for 99% of the story. Instead, we focus on a group of documentary filmmakers who are trying to get the skinny on Mucous Membrane, John's old punk band from back in the day. Over the course of the issue we see the slow decay of the group as they all go progressively mad and start doing things that, in some cases, will make you wish you didn't eat that sandwich before sitting down to read.
The Batman Strikes! #46: Yeah, you can feel this series winding down. #50 will likely be the final issue so I'm kind of glad this story by Russell Lissau and Christopher Jones stuck closer to the dynamic that fans of the show saw in seasons three and four as opposed to the 'All-New Justice League' show it became in season five. In this issue, Killer Croc gets a crush on a news reporter and Batman, Robin and Batgirl have to save the day. It's not Shakespeare, I know, but it was a pleasant diversion and a welcome return to a format that doesn't undermine the main character in his own book. If the next four are like this the series will go off on a high note, as far as I'm concerned.
Badger Saves the World #1: I consider Nexus to be one of the finest comic books to have ever graced the medium, so it kind of surprises me that I can find so little to like in Mike Baron's other 'famous' creation, The Badger. His appearances in the aforementioned Nexus have always been enjoyable, but the solo stuff I've seen just doesn't grab me, you know? Sometimes the satire and the strangeness of the book just seem forced, and the storytelling...well, off. I know that it's supposed to be manic and fun and zany, but I'm just not buying it. To quote Mr. Horse, "No sir, I just don't like it".
Will Eisner's The Spirit #13-16: I really wasn't sure what I would think of the post-Darwyn Cooke Spirit series but, I have to say, Evanier and Aragones are writing good stuff that feels very much in line with what Eisner was doing with the character, and Paul Smith is a Godsend of an artist. There have been a couple of other pencil jockeys to take a crack at Denny Colt since Cooke's departure (Risso, Amancio, and Ploog being three worth mentioning) but something about Smith's clean lines and superb storytelling give this book just the right feel to be nostalgic yet carrying the look of The Spirit's world forward.
Legion of Super-Heroes #42: Sometimes I think ignorance is bliss. Like back in the old days when I bought my books off a spinner rack, and I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes of my favourite monthly comic books. That's the mentality I had when I started picking up the Jim Shooter Legion of Super-Heroes. I thought I'd give it a try because it looked fairly promising. Like it was trying to be classic without tossing out the any of the new stuff that the creators before this had established, and, it should be noted, that the artwork of Francis Manapul's was not entirely unpleasing to the eye. Fast forward a few months when I find out that Shooter's run is just temporary. That he's essentially killing time until the Final Crisis event has its way with the characters and then DC plans to relaunch the book later with a new creative team and direction. So, when I look at the last couple of issues, which feel very much like Shooter is either lost or spinning his wheels a little, I get miffed because I now realise that it's not just a brief lull in the story, it's useless filler to pad out the remainder of Shooter's run.
FCBD X-Men: I finally got around to reading this story and all I can say is, "Ugh!" This is why I will not be buying a regular X-Title any time soon. Carey's story is dull and his new X-Character, Pixie, less than engaging. This 'joining the team' story tries to be a new "Welcome to the X-Men, Kitty Pryde, Hope You Survive the Experience" but falls dreadfully short. Considering I dropped Carey's Ultimate FF recently, I shouldn't be at all surprised that I didn't enjoy this issue at all. Add to that Greg Land's art which makes my eyes bleed and I won't be peeking around Xavier's Institute for another couple of years, to be sure.
Amazing Spider-Man #555-557: This is the first time in a looong time that I've been able to buy, read and enjoy a mainstream Spider-Man comic book and this makes me glad. I have no interest in the whole "Brand New Day" brouhaha, but if it means that for short little bursts during the year I can enjoy Chris Bachalo's pencils on my favourite Marvel super-hero, I think I can live with it. Also, Zeb Wells wrote a Spidey that was quick-witted, a little hard-done-by, and utterly human which was, ultimately, the driving force to me actively seeking out all three issues so I can enjoy the whole story. Fun stuff.
The Sunday Times conducted an 
Looking at the overall response to The X-Files: I Want to Believe, both critically and commercially, after only a single day of release, it appears that Chris Carter's return to the franchise that made him a household name is a certifiable flop.
I'm watching "Sanguinarium" from Season 4 right now as I type this in preparation for the X-Files movie which premieres in a few scant hours. A wonderfully greusome episode about black magic and plastic surgery. The opening teaser actually counts as one of my favourite X-Files moments but, unfortunately, I couldn't find a link to it anywhere. Oh well, those of you who know the episode know what I'm talking about, right?
As of issue #53 I'm officially done.
I just wanted to give a birthday shout-out to one of my favourite actors/personalities in Hollywood, Harrison Ford. Harrison, who proved he can never be too old to play the inimitable Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, turns 66 today.
Serenity #1-3: The story of "Better Days" is brief but enjoyable for fans of the show. The plot is simple and designed to show more about the characters than advance any grand plot or attempting to bridge the television series with the film. This is, at its most basic, a love letter to the fans and the show. I personally would have liked to see a longer story play out (even one more issue would have done the trick for me) but DHC seems to want to stick with the 3-issue arcs so I won't even bother arguing that point. According to editor Scott Allie we have one more of these minis to look forward to. As they say on the show, "Keep 'em flying".
Teen Titans Go! #54-55: The end of the show should have meant the end of this comic book a year or so ago, but for whatever reason DC kept this title running and I've always been thankful of it, even though the quality of the book has slipped somewhat since the show went off the air. In these last two issues Torres gives us a ho-hum story revolving around a Wonder Girl wannabe and a nice wrap-up in #55 with the Titans facing their greatest fears under the onslaught of Phobia. Todd Nauck also puts in some of his best art on the series with the characters looking sharp, the layouts interesting, and the storytelling dynamic.
Fantastic Four #554-557: I originally poo-pooed this storyline but after going back and re-reading the first issue (followed by the next three or four) I've really come to be sold on this book. It's still not exactly how I envisioned Millar and Hitch handling these characters, but they're doing a bang-up job of it so far. One of my early complaints was not wanting to really see the post-Civil War Marvel U since I was never a fan of the event in the first place, but I'm seeing some cool things coming out of this book and the cliffhanger ending of #558 (not technically reviewed herein) has me excited for the next few issues.
The Invincible Iron Man #1: Yet another Iron Man #1, but for all intents and purposes, it's a good one. Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca present an interesting debut for Tony Stark and his armored alter-ego, not getting bogged down in a lot of backstory and moving things forward at a nice pace. Once agian Stark's technology has become a problem and Tony has to face the idea that someone has taken his Iron Man tech and accomplished what he's always feared; they improved on it. Not a bad premise and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out for this first storyline. Also, Salva's artwork, as always, is impeccable. This guy used to be 'okay' back in the day (remember those Claremont FFs?), but over the years he just keeps impressing me more and more. I have issue 2 on my 'to read' pile, so it will likely be in the next set of reviews.
Angel: After the Fall #6-8: Taking a break from their regular programming, these are the interstitial issues that deal with the first night when LA was sent into a hell dimension. What happened in that alley at the end of season 5, where did the characters go, how did they get there and what have they been doing between the series finale and the first issue of "After the Fall"? These are all questions that get answered here and, much like the first 5 issues of the series, this stuff is gold for the Angel fan. IDW is doing a remarkably good job with this series and I'm very much looking forward to the final 5 or 6 issues, even if there will be a new artist.
Secret Invasion #1-2: What can I say, I'm torn. I'm enjoying the idea of this series, I love the artwork by the always entertaining Leinil Francis Yu, but it's moving so goddamn slow I just don't know if I have the stamina for 8 issues of this. Issue 1 was solid, presents the premise promisingly (take that Stan Lee!) and leaves us with a killer of a cliffhanger (pun intended). Issue 2...well...it's a fight scene. Yup, the whole damn thing is one big fight scene with a couple of cuts to show you the Helicarrier crashing and something else I can't remember. Sure, there are a couple of revalations during the fight scene, and yeah, Leinil's storytelling carries the issue pretty much from beginning to end, but...
The Batman Strikes #45: What would a Batman animated series be without a Gotham Girls episode? Seeing as how they never tried tackling that in the animated series, this issue takes the latest iteration of Gotham's female animated finest and teams them up for a caper involving a Batman and Robin out of town, a trapped Poison Ivy, Batgirl having to set aside her crimefighter impulses to work with Harley and Catwoman, and a not-so-surprising double cross at the end that you can see coming for a mile but is well done. This particular issue of the series was enjoyable but, to be honest, I haven't really had a lot of love for this book for a while now. With the series officially over, I don't see this title surviving for too much longer, either. A distracting read but...meh.
Detective Comics #841: I keep checking back in with Dini's Detective because I keep hoping that it'll just sparkle and shine like the other Bat books don't, especially with Dustin Nguyen on the art! I expected a little more from this issue than I got, still, the two creators do work well together and the twist with the Hatter's ploy was worthy of a good episode of the animated series, so I give it some points for that. Not enough to get me to give this series a monthly commitment, but I wouldn't stop myself from reading one or picking one up as an impulse buy if the cover or interiors grabbed me.
So I'm cruising around the Internet and run across 
