Batman Incorporated #8: Abort, Retry, Fail

 

 

Nothing’s ever as bad as something that you thought was going to be good, and that’s definitely the case with this week’s Batman Inc. #8, which I’ve reviewed over at ComicsAlliance as the worst comic of Grant Morrison’s entire run on Batman. I think the record will show that I love that run and I’m willing to give that guy the benefit of the doubt, but man. This thing is bad in every way that it could be bad.

If, however, you want to read it yourself without spoilers (something I definitely do not recommend), I think this single panel pretty much sums it all up:

 

 

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century, 1969 Is Like Family Guy For Smart People

 

 

Today at ComicsAlliance, I’ve written up my review of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century, 1969, and the short version is the sentence seen above. Which isn’t exactly positive.

Pal Dave Lartigue and I have also talked about how the further the timeline advances in the fictional narrative, the less it makes sense. The stories that Moore and O’Neill are including are written as reactions to the Real World, but aren’t necessarily reactions to the universe of League, in which Martians invaded and Big Brother took over, and so on, which is complicated by the fact that as time goes on, there are exponentially more stories to be included.

In short, the seams are showing, and it’s weighing the comic down to a point where it can barely function as a story. But, if you want to read me say that same thing for about a thousand words, then by all means, get to clickin’.

Ask Chris #65: Flashpointless

 

 

In this week’s installment of Ask Chris, I review the second Pipettes album, and express my dismay that they moved away from the Phil Spectoresque wall-of-sound style towards a pop music era that I’m personally not all that fond of. But really, when you make an album as perfect as We Are The Pipettes, with songs like “Pull Shapes” and the two-minute pop perfection of “It Hurts To See You Dance So Well,” any follow-up is going to be be underwhelming unless it’s literally the best album of all time and also comes with a hundred dollar bill. But really, I’d almost prefer that they’d left it as is and retired the name to let those songs stand alone under that name. It’s not that the newer songs are bad, but that they just compare.

Also, I spend 2,000 words on why Flashpoint is not very good.

Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse Is Amazing (And Also Suicidal)

 

 

Today at ComicsAlliance, I take a look at Fantagraphics’ new collection of Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse, one of the greatest comics ever. I know, I was surprised about that too. But it’s a masterful bit of comedic timing and epic storytelling, blended together into some next-level work that holds up today even though it was printed eight full years before Superman made his debut.

Also, there’s a week’s worth of strips about Mickey trying to kill himself. So there’s that.

Avengers Academy Giant Size #1, Or: Why Arcade Rules So Hard You Guys

 

 

Oh hey, it’s five o’clock in the morning and I just realized I completely forgot to do my daily round of self-promotion. I know it’s heartbreaking, so just pretend like you’re reading this like 18 hours ago.

“Today” on ComicsAlliance, I’ve written up Avengers Academy Giant Size, in which two of the things I love most of — teen super-heroes and Arcade — come together for 80 pages of awesomeness. If you’re reading this, you’re probably already familiar with Paul Tobin’s work, so rest assured: It’s as good as you want it to be.

Plus, I wrote up a short post about the strange — and in my opinion, pointless and distasteful — practice of licensed merchandise erasing artist signatures, as originally noticed by Bully.

So there you go! Enjoy the rest of your “Wednesday,” everybody!

Why Everyone Should (Legally) Download Chase

 

 

If there’s one thing digital distribution is tailor made for, it’s taking advantage of one of DC and Marvel’s greatest strengths: 70 years of back catalog, a whole lot of which has never actually been reprinted. Now, they’re making a pretty good step towards that by releasing Chase digitally through ComiXology, which is why I’ve got an overview of the series that shows just how revolutionary it was, today at ComicsAlliance!