Image via TineyHo
Today’s pull list involves more Dark Ages fantasy adventures, a new magic-based superhero and the grimdarkest of X-Men.
Demon Knights #3
Madame Xanadu starts off the book with a magic shielding spell that comes at a terrible price and Etrigan is pissed that his girlfriend now looks about 80. Oh, and barbarians are still knocking at the metaphorical gate. It’s a dire situation for a band of seven heroes that don’t even know each others’ names, but things are only going to get worse from here.
Absolutely love how they’re showing the relationship between Xanadu and Etrigan/Jason Blood in this issue. Duplicitous romantic double-dealing is exactly the kind of thing that makes Etrigan such an intriguing character. What does it mean for your worldly relationships when you’re essentially two extremely different people occupying the same space? When one of those two is a badass Prince of Hell?
Also, I’m curious to see what’s up with Shining Knight being reluctant to admit to being a woman. Could just be one of those Mulan “woman trying to make her way in a man’s world” type things, but I get the feeling there might be some proper angst behind it that’ll make for a neat little subplot in the future. Or maybe they just decided to bring the whole bishonen thing over from the manga world (twist of the century)?
The Occultist #1
Hey look, it’s a miniseries coming out of that oneshot Dark Horse put out last year. And it’s your basic supernatural setup: Everyday Joe finds out he has a magical destiny, bounty hunters are after the source of his new powers, you know the drill.
Artwise, I wouldn’t say it’s particularly stand-out (lacks a bit too much detail in the expressions and in the background for that), but it’s not exactly distracting away from the story. Of course, it’s also pretty heavy on the cheesecake, though nowhere Voodoo #1 levels. Seriously though, I question how easy bounty hunting would be in some of those costumes.
In all, it’s servicible for the horror-magic story it’s telling, but I have to admit that it feels a bit paint by numbers at times. It’s just so Dark Horse (admittedly, I do love a good Dark Horse pulp supernatural comic). Plus, I don’t know how much of a story they’re going to be able to tell in three issues, but still: need to see more plot development, but hopeful.
Uncanny X-Force #17
On this issue of Team Claws, Knives and Psychics 2.0, Betsy struggles with the whole on-a-track-to-be-Death-the-Horseman thing from last issue and Flashbacks are had. Oh yes, many pseudo-flashbacks are had.
The entire Dark Angel storyline has been pure operatic melodrama from start to finish, which is saying something since UXC is the series that had Fantomex shooting Kid-Apocalypse in the head, but it kind of goes with the territory if you’re going to tackle Archangel and his Death persona. I swear to god though, I’m going to cry like a baby if/when Archangel dies next concluding issue. He may not have had the strongest powerset out of the original X-Men, but the shoutout to X-Men Vol. 1 #1′s cover at the beginning is a reminder of how far the character has come from his squeaky clean ’60s origins. Which is to say, he’s so ’90s. They should do a Spawn crossover.
And I still strongly dislike Fantomex. Smarmy faux-French bastard.
I would say go and buy it, but if sales figures and reviews are anything to go by, you’re probably buying it anyways. While you’re at it, pick up a copy of Demon Knights, I’ll be extremely sad if it gets cancelled before its time.
What did you pick up this week? Share your thoughts on the new releases in the comments section below.
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November 11, 2011
Comics