YOU THINK THIS A STANDS FOR AWFUL?

I want to love Captain America: Reborn #3.

I really do.

Most of you already know that I adore stories about Captain America, as I'm sure you also know that I adore Ed Brubaker, so, as I've said, I want to love Captain America Reborn #3. Except I can't.

Because the art is terrible.

Brubaker, as usual, is doing everything right- he has set up a good story, his characterization is excellent and, although his scope is abnormally large, it really does seem to work: with an event this big and this important, most of the Marvel Universe should be involved and, thankfully, Brubaker slims what could be a bloated monster down into a managable but approprately sprawling tale of being unstuck in time.

Bryan Hitch, however, seems to be mailing it in. I know he's capable of drawing Cap, because he's done it in the past, but here it just seems like nothing works. Everything, it just seems... wrong somehow. The Bucky in the panel above should look like a mess, because he's just been beaten up in the back of an airplane, but thats not why he looks like a mess up there- he looks like a mess because he was drawn t0o fast. This is a moment of victory and a moment of revenge, but Buck doesn't look victorious or vengeful- he looks like someone is about to hit him. And its just all wrong.

There are also too many horrifying images like this terrifying picture of Namor:

I don't know what it is about Hitch's figures here, but they're all terrible- there's an even worse one of Thor that I omitted because I love you.

Anyway. Reborn is good, but not great (but mostly because the art sucks) and it needs to get better, right quick, before what could have been a fantastic ending to a fantastic saga turns into a whole lot of nothing.

What Could It Be

Rich Johnston's hope is that back-up feature in Kieran Gillen's S.W.O.R.D is going to be a Dazzler one- my own hope is that it will be about Lockheed's short stint on Broadway in a production of THE PRYDE OF THE X-MEN.

Seriously, is Lockheed in a top hat too much to ask?

Already Tired of Tuesday 09/29/09

After a one week break filled with some pretty decent comics, I'm back in action this week for what looks to be the second pretty small week in a row; after two big weeks in a row, it is something of a relief.

In fact, there looks to be only one Marvel book I'll be picking up this week-

Thankfully, that book is the epic, the mighty, the finally assembled THOR #603. I'll be sad to see JMS' run end, but maybe it means that the book will ship on time one of these days. I certainly hope so, anyway.

Other than that, well, I'm getting JSA #31 and... that's pretty much it.

In other news, I already miss Wednesday Comics.

Jon's Looking Forward to... Wednesday 9/23/2oo9

(The standard Spideys:)

"the Amazing Spider-Man" #606

"New Avengers" #57
Bendis has, as usual, left us with quite a cliffhanger from last issue. Spidey, the new Cap, Luke Cage and pals are temporarily without their powers and staring down an army of supervillains while Norman Osborn is dealing with a power-play from the relative unknown Dr. Jonas Harrow. Where in the hell is this going and is it going to be wrapped up in this issue like I think it is?

(In the take-a-peeks:)

"Dark X-Men: The Confession"
It looks emotionally brutal. I read Clare's copy of "Exodus" and I was impressed. Made me wish I had read the entire crossover.

"Ms. Marvel" #45
My curiosity will get the better of me it will. If you've read my review of issue #43, you know I'm not crazy about this book. Maybe the final part of "War of the Marvels" will convince me otherwise... Maybe Spidey will appear.

"Superman: Secret Origin" #1
Oo! Oo! Hunh! Geoff Johns! Gary Frank! The Origin of Superman! Cool!

(A cautionary tale:)

DC Comics Classics Library: "Batman: A Death in the Family" hardcover
This was one of the stories that made me a comic-book reader. If this collected edition is nice enough... I don't know. Might be tempting. But in light of my recent editorial about comics collections, well, I think you know how I feel about hardcover comics collections. So to that point: What the deuce is "A Lonely Place of Dying" and what is it doing in a collection titled "A Death in the Family"? I've got a bad feeling they're attempting to squeeze-in the creation of the third Robin to give a more up-beat ending to the death of the second Robin. That's TWO incomplete stories instead of ONE complete one. Nobody listens to me.

UPDATE
Yeah, quick Amazon.com research corroborates my theory. Sheesh!

Well, other than that hardcover, check back in a few days to see what I review!

To the Heirs of Kirby the King

Please don't do this.

Please, please, please don't do it. I know you guys think you deserve more than you got (and you certainly do) but do us a favor: try to work it out with Marvel. See if you can't get some credit and some money from that without dragging yourselves, them and, most importantly, Captain America, through the American court system.

Jack Kirby got cheated, that's for sure, but what exactly do you think you're going to accomplish? Kirby probably knew full well exactly what was going to happen to his creations, and I suspect you (and your lawyer) know that too. It's not like he was new to the business; by the time the Silver Age hit he had already been in the business for twenty years

Please, please, please find some other way to get what you want.