After a flashback story that was equal parts thrilling and confusing, in good measure, Morrison and Morales are back to the story of Braniac's assault on Earth. It's here that the true scope and scale of Morrison's story is starting to emerge, as Brainiac's plan hints at the threats Superman will have to face. It's a great issue, full of the big high concept ideas any good Morrison story
needs. In this case, Brainiac's people are here to collect a bottle city of Earth, just as they have of Krypton and many other worlds, because that is what they do when a planet is dying. For each of these worlds, they have gathered knowledge of the planet before attacking. On Earth, they took the form of the internet to do so. And they are desperate for more information on Superman. The concept is wonderfully brought to life. It's so simple and well-thought out, and Morrison parses its details out nicely, so that this still feels like an exciting action issue, wrapped around some great concepts. This is also an issue of the young Superman's heroic efforts and trials being put on full display for the inhabitants of Metropolis. The opening scene is excellent, with Morales bringing a vibrant energy to Superman taking off into space for the first time. The mostly wordless pages are exciting, but retain the book's low-tech vibe - the soles of his shoes rip away, there's a bit of fear on his face, and his oxygen tank is decidely primative. There's a lot of fun had in the bottle city, where Lois, Jimmy, and Lex snipe at each other and Lex slowly realizes he's been conned by the aliens. And the action and pacing build nicely, as Superman is bewildered by what he learns from the aliens, only to have to make an important choice at the story's end. Morales' art is a big part of this issue's momentum and energy. His work on facial expressions and character acting have gotten much better and his young Superman, in tattered jeans and a tshirt, exudes charm and energy, even in a weakened state.The back-up, by Fisch and Walker, is less ambitious than the main story, or the other back-ups. It's the story of John Henry Irons (Steel) performing rescue work in the devastated Metropolis. It's building his character nicely, from interacting with his niece to watching his bravery grow. It also deals with the practical realities of what has happened nicely - namely, what would happen if a huge chunk of the middle of a city just disappeared. And Walker's art is quite good, with sharply drawn figures and faces, but also a soft, pleasant look to it. But, at the end of the day, it's just a rescue story. A nice little character piece, but not up to the level of previous back-ups. Still, the lead story is a thrilling piece of writing and art, and this is a nice supplement to that.
Stormwatch#7 - Paul Jenkins/Ignaco Calero
Paul Jenkins steps in following Paul Cornell’s departure to pen 
a two-part guest arc, before Peter Milligan takes over as writer with #9. And, unfortunately, I think I’m going to skip out on #8. That’s not to say this is bad – it’s perfectly competent, it just didn’t set the world on fire. The story follows Stormwatch settling in to their new status quo following Harry Tanner’s departure. Midnighter and Apollo take the lead on a nuclear disaster, one which is tied to Martian Manhunter’s past. The story is fine, it just feels like a placeholder story, and it is. The changes Cornell introduced in his final issue are just only touched on and any forward movement on the big mission Stormwatch undertook at last issue’s conclusion is put on hold (presumably until Milligan takes over). The character dynamics are ok – there’s a good clip to the dialogue, but Jenkins replaces Cornell’s effective coldness with some cutesy moments. Doesn’t quite work. Still, there are good things here – particularly the Engineer settling in as leader and Jack Hawksmoor meeting with the city beneath the nuclear disaster. Calero’s art is a bit too busy for me, both in backgrounds and character depictions, but it does the job. This is an ok issue, but given my comics load, I’m fine taking the next issue off before Milligan comes on with #9.
After a one issue interlude, Animal Man returns to Buddy Baker's flight from the Rot, in an RV with his family. It's another great issue, and the strength here is Lemire's balancing of the family dynamic with the more gruesome aspects of the Rot's rampage. The focus is put more on Buddy's son Cliff, who feels left out of the superheroic fun Buddy and Maxine have gotten up to. Lemire does a good job balancing Cliff's bratty
disdain for everything with his desire to be closer to his dad. There's a lot of fun in their interaction, especially when Cliff later tries to impress two disbelieving girls by bragging that his dad is Animal Man. But Lemire also nails the portrayal of the female characters - everything from Ellen being sick of junk food to the grandmother breaking down over what is happening, to a game of Go Fish with Maxine. There is a playful balance of the horror of the ongoing story with the mundane aspects of family life that works perfectly. Everyone just seems a little weary after their journey, and it feels realistic. And, of course, Socks the cat gets a few jokes in. There's is also a lengthy dream sequence here where Buddy is alerted to the dangers of the Rot that works very well. Lemire again balances the tone here - for as shocking as Maxine's possession by the Rot is, there are humourous appearances from John Constantine and a gun-totting grandmother. Incoming artist Steve Pugh really lets loose here, matching the grotesque creatures and ruined landscapes that Travel Foreman and Swamp Thing's Yannick Paquette have pulled off for the Rot. Pugh also excels at the more human scenes of a tired, scared family interacting. It's another stellar issue of this title. Lemire has crafted something special in this world, and the connections to the events of Swamp Thing help to create a rich tapestry.Swamp Thing#7 - Scott Snyder/Yanick Paquette
Wow, wow, wow. Another fantastic issue of this title. This is Alec Holland's transformation into Swamp Thing. It is a trial for him to be returned to that state, and it feels like it. This is a gruelling odyssey for the character, facing his own inner conflicts as his enemies grow in strength in the background. It's impossible to discuss why this issue is so impactful without mentioning the art first. Paquette's layouts for this book have always been impressive, with twisted fragments and shards making up the panels. The panels are just as distinctive here, but Paquette outdoes himself,
with wild vines and plants shooting across the page, sometimes gracefully, sometimes violently, and setting the panel borders. It feels unruly, and sometimes non-linear, and contributes to the disorienting internal journey Alec is on to become Swamp Thing again. As usual, Alec is depicted as a broken man, struggling to rebuild himself, with Paquette's typical strength. And the creatures of the Rot are as vile and unsettling as ever, particularly Abby, who has now grown into a molusk-style husk, carried around by a group of twisted-neck servants. It's a tragic image. The story here is tied to the visual journey, as Alec must convince the Parliament of the Trees that he is the worthy successor to the Green they pegged him as (before he ran from that fate), in order to have a chance at rescuing Abby. It's the strugle of one man to accept the horrifying things he has seen in the first six issues, and accept that he is the one who can do something about them. Alec must convince the Parliament that his personal qualities make him a worthy candidate to face the Rot. We have taken this journey with Alec, and it's great to see him accept his role and believe in himself. The transformation scene is a marvel, as Paquette's jagged images depicting various body parts and organs being invaded by vines and greenery, in rapid succession. In the end, a winged Swamp Thing takes flight to confront the Rot, confident he can defeat them because, this time, it was his choice to become Swamp Thing. A heroic and inspiring end to an incredible rollercoaster of an issue.Uncanny X-Men#8 - Kieron Gillen/Greg Land
The Tabula Rasa story finally reaches its end and it's a triumph of character interaction over plotting. The story bores the tears out of me, and I can't believe it was stretched out to four issues. But Gillen seems to finally have found the right balance for this cast, and that side of the issue works nicely. The story of the two warring Apex brothers just kind of ends here before the issue gets started - all of a sudden, the conflict has
ended, Tabula Rasa begins rebuilding, and the issue becomes a lot of denouement. Considering the fact that I have no interest in the story, I'm grateful for this turn. It's sloppy and abrupt, yes, but it leaves Gillen more space to do more interesting things with the characters. Hope and Namor's interaction is refined here, and is quite entertaining. Gillen handles her crush on him nicely, mainly because she never falls into fawning over him and keeps her wits about her. Colossus and Magik finally return to the spotlight, and get a nice scene where Illyana shows her support for her brother as he faces changes from the gem of Cyttorak. And Magneto and Psylocke get another good scene, discussing covering up for X-Force. Oh, and all these issues later, we finally learn what happened to Emma and her severed arm! Thank god for that. So it's an odd issue. The story is over by the second page (Cyclops declares the crsis averted at the bottom of the second page), then Gillen deals with the fallout for the rest of the issue. When the fallout deals with Tabula Rasa, I'm snoring, but when the spotlight is put on the characters, the scenes have life to them. This book is still a mess in terms of concept and execution, but definitely has its strengths.iZombie#23 - Chris Roberson/Mike Allred
I read and enjoy this Vertigo title every month, but don't typically review it (as it can be hard to discuss Vertigo books in single issue format), but I had to bring this one up. All of a sudden, it feels like this title is building to a big climax. Now, given Roberson's style of pacing, this conclusion
could go on for another 20 issues, but I definitely am getting a sense of the big conflict coming together here. I think the change from the zombie attack on Eugene (the first big conflict), is that now all (or most) of the players know each other and vaguely understand what is at stake (and this includes the readers). There's a familiarity now. It's not so much random scenes of characters going about their business. Each of the scenes feel like they are contributing to the bigger story of Xitalu's attack. And, with that true sense of what is at stake, there is real tension and excitement built in this issue. Roberson builds to the great final page from pages earlier. I knew something good was coming and couldn't wait. All along, the dialogue remains charming and fun, even with the heightened pace of the issue. Mike and Laura Allred do their typically strong work here. From the humourous cover to the assortment of characters and creatures within, the pages are brimming with personality and charm. Allred nicely balances the serene qualities of life in Eugene, Oregon with the more wild events depicted here. This book has its own tone and it owns it. I'm sure it reads well in trade, but I love getting my monthly installment of the goings-on in Eugene.
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