Quick Comic Reviews

We3; The Authority: Revolution; Superman

We3 #2
by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely
Well wow. Since comics are such a static medium, it's hard to present dynamism and action effectively. But in this issue Morrison & Quitely pull it off big time. Using innovative visual techniques and pacing, they so effectively create the illusion of motion that you feel that you're right there in the comic with the action flowing over and around you. The story is typical second act fare, with the 3 on the run from the military and an army of cybernetic rats, but it's so well done that you'll want to read and look it over several times.
Rating: 4 (of 5)


The Authority: Revolution #1
by Ed Brubaker, Dustin Nguyen & Richard Friend
Brubaker gets his Authority run off to a good start, as the Authority are findign that ruling a country may be harder than defeating a few bad guys. In fact, it's almost impossible to not see this as being reflective of not just the current situation in a certain Middle Eastern country, but that facing most occupiers throughout history. Brubaker, known generally for comics with a more 'street level' flavor (Gotham Central, Catwoman, Scene of the Crime) gives a go at more cosmic level ptotagonists and threats, and the sucess ro failure of this 12-issue story will rest on how well he ends up pulling it off. He starts off with a long-standing Authority tradition, bringing in a super-team who are analogues to a mainstream group, this time with a bunch of aging super-heroes who resemble Marvel's Ultimates. Nguyen shows good character design with these, giving them feasible WWII-era costumes. In all, it's a good new start for a comic that deserves better than it's gotten over the past couple of years.
Rating: 3 (of 5)


Superman #210
by Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee & Scott Williams
Looking at the cover, you might be led to believe that there's a dramatic physical confrontation between Superman & Wonder Woman in this issue. Instead, it's a lot of characters standing around and talking--which wouldn't be so bad if what they were talking about made any sort of sense. Well-known characters like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are acting very much out of character, while new guys like the Priest and the stupid military guy with the mustache have barely a single dimension. The most interesting thing about this issue is that Lee is drawing Wonder Woman wearing her old costume with the bird on the bust rather than the 'W'. It's just a little thing, but it's enough to make me think that maybe, just maybe, there's something interesting going on here...
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)