Tripping to the LCS

I don’t buy a lot of comics at the moment but I did dabble a bit this week. I tried a couple of new titles I thought I might like, to go with my few regular fixes, and for the most part was pretty pleased with what I picked up.

X-Men Noir #1

I’m not an X fan but it seemed like this might be an interesting slant on a tired formula. It was never going to be a cross between Alias and Criminal but I didn’t expect the at times unnecessarily dark artwork, mildly confusing plot and slashing transitions. It felt like everyone involved was trying just a little too hard to make the concept work, losing an essential ingredient in strong noir writing, subtlety. It wasn’t all bad to be fair, the initial introduction to ‘Noir Xavier’ :) with a conversational nine-panel grid was a decent beat and the Sin City-esque glass colouring was evocative, if very familiar. Not for me alas.

Immortal Iron Fist #20

I didn’t know who or what the Iron Fist character was until I accidentally stumbled across Brubaker and Fraction’s #1 a few years ago. The obvious love of martial arts movies combined with an interesting mythology, some top-draw writing and artwork plus a title that didn’t take itself too seriously, made this my one Marvel spandex fix. With the change of writing duties and a few average one-shots to buffer that change, I wasn’t sure if the quality would be sustained. Gladly, I was proved wrong as Duane Swierczynski has continued in the initial tone admirably whilst expanding the scope and appeal of the storyline. This issue sees the three main story threads merge as the Iron Fists’ past and future catch up to Danny, setting the scene for what will hopefully be an Immortal Weapons extravaganza in the secret eighth city. Needless to say I enjoyed it.

New Avengers #47

Secret Invasion? Sorry haven’t a clue. New Avengers? Nope, got nothing. But I was told that this was a tie-in issue with a distinct Alias feel. I thoroughly enjoyed Bendis’ Alias and to a slightly lesser extent The Pulse, so even a single-issue chance to revisit that storyline was worth the outlay. Which proved to be the case as we were treated to a little trip down memory lane, albeit a pg-13 sanitised lane, with the Cages. It was a quick but enjoyable read, the transition via flashback between the current art style and Alias’ original thicker lines and less flattering, more realistic body shapes was good to see. Likewise the quick banter and humour that made Alias so strong is evident and the bookend relevance to Secret Invasion seems to suggest the possibility of more such stories to come. Fingers crossed.

Punisher MAX X-Mas Special

Jason Aaron is one of, if not THE, hottest writers around at the moment and this is a fair indication of why. After several so-so Punisher MAX one-shots and the end of Garth Ennis’ genius run with the phenomenal 'Valley Forge, Valley Forge', Aaron, having never written the Punisher before, nails it with a MAX Christmas special. The MAX run is harsh, brutal and unrelenting, all of which this one-shot has in spades. Starting with a sickening hospital incident that forces the Punisher into a series of unlikely actions, seemingly due to the festive season, the world is put back to wrongs when everyone catches up to the fact that believing the Punisher will ever waiver from his modus operandi is just plain dumb.

I also bought The Boys #25, The Sword #13, Crossed #2 and Criminal v2 #7 but haven’t got round to reading them yet.