OMFG A Comix Review

So how’s about we get down to brass tacks and review some comics already?

After the jump, Drew Goddard sends me into paroxysms of gush, Astonishing isn’t quite, and I come to my senses about Wolverine: First Class. GO! GO! GO!

SPOILERS!

Let’s start things off with the monthly issue that I read twice in a row and have right here by my desk so I can look at it fondly every so often. This month started with the end of Goddard’s Wolves at The Gate story arc in Season Eight, and sweet fancy Moses, I want to make out with this series. The first issue, as you know, holds a special place in my nerdy heart, and it’s just kept topping itself ever since. Goddard is the best writer to grace this series so far, and yes, I mean that he has topped even the man himself this time around. Wolves was not only everything that a Buffy story should be – dark, sexy, quirky – but it praised the reader’s intelligence by serving up a smart, sassy story for adults.

Let me elaborate. Buffy started when most of us were in high school, and as a result, the majority of the Slayer’s fans are roughly her age. Goddard caught on to that, methinks, because Wolves was a story for grown-ups, both in terms of dialogue and thematics. Buffy’s complicated dabblings with Satsu, Xander having to watch yet another one of his girls die, the unravellings of something quite dark indeed going on with Willow…yep. This one’s for the big kids. However, that didn’t mean it lost out on the healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek weirdness that we love about this series, both on screen and on paper. Dracula coming back was a delight, and who didn’t love the hell out of his arrogant old school ways? And as for Mecha-Dawn…in the hands of another author, it would’ve crashed and burned. But the moment it said “I like blue jeans and irony”, it was made of win.

God, I loved this arc. I’m sad to see this guy go.

It’s the end of another series in the Whedonverse with the HOLY SHIT FINALLY conclusion of the exceptional Astonishing X-Men. Now, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll be surprised that Rud and I didn’t jump on this baby the minute it hit stands. We were ready to, trust me. We were texting each other all day in anticipation to pick it up after work. And then…well. Hmm. I’ve had to sit with it a bit before I was sure what to say about it.

It wasn’t bad, not by a long shot. Comparatively, this issue all on its own trumps the majority of monthlies out there right now. This series has been a credit to the industry for a couple years now, and in that fact lay its Achilles’ Heel. After the glorious “What other lies have you told?” moment, the bar was raised so high it was hard to keep up with. The issues following that kept building up and up and up, and then…well. Like I said. It wasn’t bad. Just with the standard that the rest of the series held to, I was expecting something more. The writing was top notch, and chockful of the pithy witticisms that Whedon has made a name for himself with. But the story itself kind of fizzled out. I dunno. I was expecting to have my mind blown, and instead I ended up just rather entertained. Which is not a bad way to go, all things considered.

As for Kitty, it felt a little forced, honestly. It felt like, “Oh shit, well, everybody’s expecting us to kill her, so let’s not kill her, but let’s make her go far far away.” A tad unnecessary, in my opinion. But you should thank your lucky stars that she is indeed alive and kicking, because otherwise this blog would become absolutely insufferable.

And speaking of Kitty, what the fuck was I thinking in buying not one, but three issues of Wolverine: First Class over the past few months? Ok, I will admit, the first two issues I found surprisingly entertaining. I’ve made my feelings about Wolverine quite clear here, so you should know I wasn’t buying this for the World’s Greatest X-Man. This series, I originally thought, was poorly named. It should’ve been called “The Wolverine and Kitty Pryde Show!”, because that’s exactly how it read. It read like a 30 minute sitcom that they broadcast on Monday nights during the dinner hour. Great writing? Not quite. Mind-bendingly awesome plot? Hardly. But good clean fun, and I enjoyed it the way you might enjoy a cheeseburger from In And Out: not much substance, but satisfying when you’re in the mood, even though you feel kinda guilty about it afterwards.

But then Issue #3. Oh, Issue #3. You know what, I’m not even going to go into details. It’s not worth my time. I had my skeptical eyebrow up the entire time, and finished the last page with a ginormous eye roll. They really dumbed this one down, and after my palette had adjusted to the afore-mentioned high quality candy of Season Eight, I had no patience for this. Strike three, World’s Greatest X-Man. I’m taking my $2.99 elsewhere.