ComicList Critiques by Charles LePage

A page by page review by Charles LePage of the only other comic book magazine other than the Comics Journal that I read EVERY month (and I miss the days when I read it every week).

THE COVER: Black Canary looks EXTREMELY happy to be with Green Arrow. The botox treatments on her lips seem to have turned out well. Is there anything practical about her costume, other than the gloves that presumably keep her from leaving fingerprints where ever she goes? It doesn't look protective or comfortable. Maybe it's just designed to distract male villains so she can rip them to shreds.

Page 12: The cake drawing makes me miss the Mike Grell Green Arrow era.

Page 16: How old are Green Arrow and Black Canary supposed to be? The black and white drawings make him look almost 50 and her look 18.

Page 20: Another fine Captain Comics column. He makes the GA and BC continuities almost clear.

Page 28: I bought Giant Size Avengers #4 when it first came out. It was difficult to keep up with the Avengers storylines, as there was a giant size comic to buy every 3 or 4 months, and you had to have it to understand what was going on in the regular comic.

Page 29: I still haven't figured out why the Avengers were allowing a wedding to take place, when the groom made it clear he had killed Henry Pym.

Page 31: What's the status of the Hulk's multiple personalities? Is the current World War Hulk just another personality, or is there just one Hulk now?

Page 33: I don't use ComicBase, but I'm glad to see a free version and a $49.95 version offered. The program has always sounded great to me, but it also always appeared to be too pricey for most collectors.

Page 40: After viewing the YouTube video for the Superman: Doomsday DVD, I'm putting it on my Christmas list. Anyone feeling especially giving this holiday season, take note.

Page 58: Tony Isabella is a pretty good writer of comics. His most recent Black Lightning series was spectacular, though it helped to have a great artist like Eddie Newell. However, I don't think it will surprise anyone to know he and I are on opposite sides of the political table. I agree with him, one of Civil War's assets was the grounding of the plot in "real world concerns." I, however, don't think there was a clean and easy right side and wrong side. In a Marvel universe populated with so many people with super powers, what do the "normal" people do? Where in the Constitution does it give super humans the right to dress in costumes and fight each other, with no regard for the damage that is done and the laws that are broken? Tony oversimplifies Civil War the same way he oversimplifies current American politics. For instance, he says "immigrants are the latest monsters lurking on Maple Street. Fear of the different is a political platform." I for one do not believe that the current outrage over unregulated ILLEGAL immigration is based upon fear. But that's just me.

Page 60: Great review of Fallen Son #5. I must now have it, either individually or in a collection. I'd like the new Captain America Ed Brubaker Omnibus, too.

Page 67: I'm not yet reading it, but I'm glad to hear about a great Green Lantern story. GL has always been one of my favorite comics and characters.

Page 72: Anyone interested in Jack Kirby should check out our Jack Kirby Birthday Contest.

Page 81: Ghost Rider was not the worst comic book adaptation I've seen. In fact, it was one of the better ones, as it didn't try to be more than it was. They kept it simple and entertaining.

Page 100: What was the name of the oversized comic book Dick Ayers produced in the 90s? I have copies of the 3 or 4 issues that came out somewhere in the garage, but I can't remember the name...

Page 106: The CBG DVD sounds like a neat idea, but I wish they had started with the hardest to find issues, as in, the very first ones, that most current readers haven't seen. I already have every CBG from 2004 to 2006.

Page 111: I agree, Ed Brubaker's Captain America is one the best series I've ever read in my 37 years of reading comics. But I have to wonder, when does a little light shine in? When do the good guys get a break? And where is Bucky hiding Captain America's shield?

Page 148: Chuck Rozanski's advice is recommended even if you aren't wanting to start a comic book shop. Especially "try to stay out of debt."

Page 174: I can't recall ever reading about Leah Adezio before, but Peter David's column made me wish I had. An especially timely column considering the recent losses of Mike Wieringo and Phil Gascoine.