Bomb Queen

Bomb Queen comic book (Image)
V1. Great black comedy! emphasis on the comedy, with plenty of fan service, a mature readers title - not erotic, but with enough gratuitous nudity and language to warrant it. Mostly she gets her wardrobe blown off fairly often. Very funny, and violent with an overall social commentary that doesn't bludgeon you with a moral. an 8
V2. more of the same great stuff, a bit more fan service perhaps. an 8
V3. starts to get a plot, and crosses over with shadow hawk, less humor to the detriment of the title, starts to be more about where it's going not what's going on. Something that happens often to humor titles, once the characters are developed plot starts to leak in, and it waters down the humor. (see oots) a 6

Alan Moore - Promethea

Promethea, a superheroine explicitly from the realms of the imagination drawn by J.H. Williams III, explored Moore's ideas about consciousness, mysticism, magic, écriture féminine and the Kabbalah [wikipedia] . Intensely well written as just about anything from Moore, this series seems to contain his entire magic philosophy, and in fact over half of the issues are a primer on magic, kabbalah, tarot, etc, as Promethea learns it, by traveling the Qabbalistic Tree of Life. The series explores Moore's ideas about art and magic, combining elements of superhero action, metaphysical theorizing, and psychedelic hallucination, all focused on the adventures of Promethea, a metafictional character that possesses magical power over the real world. Promethea is also notable for wide-ranging experimentation in visual style and storytelling technique on the part of Williams and Moore [wikipedia]. Visually stunning with unusual layouts and art techniques, with characters commonly breaking the 4th wall, it is often a rather didactic philosophy lecture, yet overall is an intriguing and uplifting story. a 7.

The Sweet Collection - Leland Myrick - B&W GN - collection of short stories. Great use of blacks, interesting collection of lovestories, from Vampires, to Frankenstein's assistants, to Kidnaped by Indians, and on Mars. As the title suggests all very sweet stories. Short and sweet as it were. clear and concise, well done. a 7.

Derek Kirk Kim - Same Difference and Other Stories - B&W GN - Korean-American in the bay area, semi-autobiographical story, good art and excellent storytelling. Slice of life stuff, not really my favorite. a 4.

Identity Crisis (Meltzer, Morales, Bair)

Identity Crisis (Meltzer, Morales, Bair). GN. R.X. 20061018. excellent story, JLA/JSA classic DC comics characters, and a few of the old unused ones. very gripping, emotional story, 'real' deaths, and some excellent character developments. if it wasn't for so much needed backstory to get some of the characters, or history to understand the emotions, it would be even better, but you just can't get that with an ensemble cast of characters with such long back stories. still excellent writing, and good art. exposition of the why behind the secret identities. a 7.