wrayzor.com

The Weekly Pile March 4, 2009: The Authority #8, Batman: Cacophony #3, Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23, Cable #12, Secret Warriors #2

Mar 6, 2009 Comics, The Weekly Pile

This week’s pile entry will (hopefully) be a quick one as I have a crazy schedule today.  I will attempt to present my thoughts pertaining to each issue in one concise paragraph.  It’s actually something I have been meaning to try anyway.  We’ll see if this is something I am capable of.  Five issues came home with me this week and they are presented below:

Continue on for Reviews of:

The Authority #8
Batman: Cacophony #3
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23
Cable #12
Secret Warriors #2

The Authority #8
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Simon Coleby

This issue of The Authority hummed right along at a moderate and enjoyable pace.  After what felt like only a few minutes, I was reading the the last page and was pleased with the direction this story arc seems to be taking.  The cliffhanger from last issue (Vicar Midnighter?!?) had been somewhat explained with additional clues and answers forthcoming in the issues ahead, no doubt.  Swift and the Engineer show up relatively quickly (20 minutes in their time, but a week in the frustrated Midnighter’s time) to aid Father Midnighter after his accidental trip to a “quantum domain” where he turns out to be the local church representative.  Sounds cool, right?  It is.  Oh yeah, and the man who seems to be behind everything sends “Team Unicorn”, which includes an anthromorphized British bulldog and a human mosquito, after the trio of displaced Authority members.  Crazy stuff.  The Authority #8 is a solid set up issue for what promises to be a fun and rollicking adventure which is a nice change of pace after the doom and gloom of the first 7 issues.

Quick bits I liked about this issue:

- Swift’s logical solution to the insect pest problem.
- Midnighter’s frustration with his churchly duties.
- “Fan-tastic”.

 

Batman: Cacophony #3
Writer: Kevin Smith
Artist: Walt Flanagan

This is the third and final issue of the heavily Joker featured mini-series.  The clown prince takes center stage after Batman and Commissioner Gordan both have the opportunity to let the unbalanced villain die after a knife finds its way to inside of his chest.  The pair of Gotham Knights make their predictable (not in a bad way) choice which leads to the real meat of this comic when Batman (as Matches Malone!!!) visits a bearded, chemically balanced Joker recovering in his guarded hospital room months later.  The second half of this book consists of an enlightening conversation scripted by writer Kevin Smith between Batman and a sedated Joker.  With Joker in his right  mind for the first time in years, a dialogue between the two rivals boils down to two guys simply having a rational conversation.  Those two guys just happen to be Batman and the Joker… Some fascinating information is revealed that I won’t give away here.  But I will say that I have rarely seen the Joker this creepy or frightening.  The last 10 pages of Batman: Cacophony #3 took this mini-series from one I enjoyed to one of my favourite Batman/Joker stories ever.  Highly recommended.

Quick bits I liked about the issue:

- The “What Joker Has Done” montage by Walt Flanagan is handled nicely.
- Joker and Batman getting to the heart of the matter.
- “He nicked his heart, Jim.”

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23
Writer: Drew Greenberg
Artist: Georges Jeanty

Give Andrew more “screen” time!  His interaction with Buffy during this issue was perfect!  Drew Greenberg gets the Buffy/Andrew dynamic and effectively displays this fact throughout the entire comic.  The actual story contained within Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23 involves Andrew and Buffy mounting a rescue mission by themselves which is a good premise, but what really jumped off the page and captured my interest was every single interaction between the road tripping odd-couple.  I found myself smiling during all of their hilarious exchanges whether; Andrew was rambling on about pop culture or Buffy was finding herself actually “geek-bonding” with her unlikely pal/ally.  The issue wraps up with the day saved and the spark of a new friendship soon to be ignited.  Pick. this. up.

Quick bits I liked about the issue:

- Buffy and Andrew!
- The subtle artistic “Plains, Trains and Automobiles” reference.
- “Yeah, I have no opinion on those”.
- “I’m totally Team Spike”.

 

Cable #12
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Artists: Jamie McKelvie & Ariel Olivetti

Cable remains a consistently enjoyable series telling the tale of the time travelling mutant father and “daughter” team.  Issue #12 opens with an unconscious Cable following the events of last issue and Hope needing both supplies to survive and courage to accomplish this.  She quickly finds both; courage from what Cable has inadvertently taught her over the last few years and supplies by using knowledge from the same source.  Once Cable comes to, he assumes that Hope has manifested her mutant ability and has used that to find the water used to revive him.  Of course, he needs the fact that he is doing an incredible job of protecting, teaching and caring for Hope in horrendous conditions spelled out to him by a 10 year old…  Hope used the valuable knowledge gained from Cable to save his life.  The last page dictates another quick time jump is immediately required (much to the dismay of Hope and her stomach’s contents…) but something is wrong.  Something that will require picking up the next issue to find out.

Quick bits I liked about the issue:

- Hope’s narration during the first few pages.
- “He’d arm himself with a bunch of crap.”
- The recording left for Cable by Cyclops.

 

Secret Warriors #2
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis & Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Stefano Caselli

We get a bit of a history lesson during the first half of this issue.  Baron von Strucker is up to his usual HYDRA craziness as an event during Secret Invasionis is depicted which displays just how ruthless he was and can be.  And yeah, he is ruthless…  After that, we quickly jump to Nic Fury briefing Daisy on just what HYDRA has been up to for the last few years.  It’s a genuine “HOLY… ” moment.  But, that moment is quickly tempered by Fury letting it be known that he (of course) has a plan.  Right on.  Next, we sit in on a dinner out with the newly formed Secret Warriors which culminates in an impromptu fortune telling session that lays out potential scenarios and events for each member that I can’t wait to see!  Finally, the issue ends with the return of a Mark Millar created character that has me chomping at the bit for issue #3.  Artist Stefano Caselli puts his stamp on this sinister character with his artistic flair on the last page reveal.

Quick bits I liked about the issue:

- A Secret Warrior is going to be a Secret HYDRA Agent.
- “Hail Hydra”.

 

The Pick of the Pile this week goes to Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23.  I genuinely enjoyed the entire issue from start to finish because of the interaction between its two stars.  If Dark Horse announced a new titled named “Buffy and Andrew Do Stuff”, I would add it to my Pull List instantly!  Thank about it Dark Horse…

See you next week!

Tags: ariel, authority, batman, bendis, brian, buffy, cable, cacophony, caselli, joss, kevin, michael, olivetti, secret, slayer, smith, stefano, vampire, warriors, whedon