Hellblazer #264

Trouble just seems to hang around certain people. This month's adventure with John Constantine is a great example. Skipping out on England to avoid a jail sentence, John's arrived in India on something of a crazy personal errand. All he's after is a taste of purity and a resurrected love, but somewhere along the way he stumbled on a murder mystery, an old enemy and an angry local demonic presence. Just a magnet for drama, this guy…

As the conclusion to writer Peter Milligan's latest arc with Hellblazer, the storyline doesn't take too many risks. It's a rather continuity-free saga, so you won't need to carry an armload of knowledge about the series into a reading. Lapsed readers will have no trouble catching up without the aid of a summary page, while new followers should be able to slide into the proceedings with similar ease

The plot's finer points might seem familiar to those older readers I just mentioned: a mysterious supernatural entity, long held in check by local mystics, has broken free and cut a swath of carnage through the heart of Mumbai. If you guessed the name of the only man in the world who can help, you get a gold star. It's familiar territory for old John, who actually dealt with something very similar in his very first story arc some two hundred sixty issues back. Milligan does enough differently this time around to grant the story the fresh modern edge it needs, but this isn't exactly fresh ground. It's written well enough, with perhaps fewer appearances from the headliner than I'd like, but it's nothing groundbreaking, won't promise to turn the character on his head or anything like that. It's good, but it's very safe.

Giuseppe Camuncoli delivers another nice showing with this issue's visuals. If you're a cross-publisher reader, you might remember Camuncoli's recent work from Dark Wolverine or Incredible Hulk, which is where he made an impression on me. Camuncoli is no stranger to the Vertigo concept, though, nor is he a rookie on Hellblazer. With more than a dozen Constantine-centric issues to his credit, this actually represents something of a homecoming for the Italian artist, and he really makes it shine.

Camuncoli's nationality may not match the Indian setting of the story itself, but the faintly exotic, unconventional style of his artwork does provide a nice partner for the story's international scenery. He peppers the issue's crowded backdrops with adaptations of Bollywood movie posters, filthy strip mall marquees and pushcart vendors, but the artwork, strangely enough, never gets overcrowded. Giuseppe primarily deals with sharp restraint and subtlety, but his illustrations are trembling with life and rich with atmosphere. There's no uncertainty in his work, just like there's no question he's got a bright future ahead of him. Vertigo is probably a better home for his technique than a mainstream Marvel superhero book, but he can pull off either style when necessary.

I lost interest in this series when it embraced weirdness for weirdness' sake and lost sight of any sort of underlying plot threads or historical significance. That was about six years ago, and I think it's had plenty of time for a fresh start. Despite a somewhat light touch, the current iteration is a big improvement from where I'd left it. It's well written, with knowledge and respect for the source material, and the artwork is gorgeous. Hellblazer isn't about to make a return appearance on my pull list, but it's on the right track. Borrow it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is amazing...
Overall Score: 7

Psylocke #4

Amongst a squad rife with strange origins and unusual life stories, Betsy Braddock – the X-Men's Psylocke – may own the weirdest. Already a purple haired mutant with world-class psychic abilities, Betsy's consciousness was unwillingly transferred into the body of a supermodel ninja with no understanding of the difference between a ribbon and a full-on wardrobe. But that was a long time ago, the wounds have scabbed over and Betsy's ready to move on with her life, to put the whole thing to rest. Too bad fate and a number of forces beyond her control have other ideas.

One of those forces, as I'm sure you might suspect from the cover, is Wolverine. Strangely, this issue is more concerned about Logan's well-publicized history and personal demons than it is about Psylocke's. A weird choice, considering Braddock barely gets more than a nod in the regular X-Men series, while doctor adamantium-claws seems to have his fingers in no less than twenty ongoing titles. It seems tacked on and cheap, like the bigwigs felt the story wouldn't sell on its own and the solution was to throw in a long fight scene with their most marketable character. It's more than that, though. Logan's tied into the single driving purpose behind this mini-series, but despite the constant flashbacks to memorable scenes in his past, it doesn't seem like everything fits together. I realize that impossible coincidence and dumb luck are the cornerstones of modern superheroics, but I think this issue stands as proof that there is such a thing as too much of both. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief a lot longer than most, but this was enough for even me to step back and think "ok, enough."

Plot issues aside, Chris Yost's writing isn't particularly good. The aforementioned fight scene doesn't even serve its purpose as a visceral escape, constantly interrupted by jerky internal monologues and inconsequential high spots that don't seem to affect the combatants a few panels later. Perhaps the best thing I can say about the story is that its conclusion is framed nicely and works. But what's the point in a good finale without a relevant lead-in? It's like Yost figured out what he wanted the issue's waning pages to look like, tried writing backwards to get us there, and lost patience somewhere along the way.

Yost's teammate on this adventure, artist Harvey Tolibao, is like a poor man's Joe Quesada… which isn't intended as a slight, really. Tolibao does decent enough work, but the natural comparisons to Marvel's current EIC and fleeting similarities to Bart Sears don't do him many favors. Under Harvey's watch, the occupants of this story pop off the page. Heaping bags of muscle, their tendons pulse and squirm under a paper-thin layer of skin. They circle and stalk one another like tense, furious anatomical models. He doesn't bring anything new to Psylocke, though, and many of the characters look like they were separated at birth, differentiated only by the color of their jackets and the stylistic decisions of their hairdressers. Tolibao has some work to do; although he's far from the worst Marvel has to offer.

If it looks and reads like filler material it probably is filler material, and Psylocke looks and reads like filler material. It's a tale that was probably supposed to expand Betsy's personality, but in the end only reinforces the idea that there isn't all that much to her. Despite the wild origin story, she's always been treated as eye candy without much to add to the team in terms of personality. That hasn't changed with this mini. It doesn't stink, but it doesn't sing either. If you aren't an X-Men completist, you'll be safe skipping it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is amazing...
Overall Score: 1.5

Batman and Robin #8

After taking down his successor as Robin in a previous adventure, Dick Grayson's next challenge as the resident dark knight is in the same vein. In a roundabout way, you could say his new opponent even hails from the same shadowy family. It seems like the search for Bruce Wayne has come to an end, and the original caped crusader isn't pulling any punches when confronted by his most loyal protégé. That is... if everything really is exactly as it seems.

Given that this is a Grant Morrison-written series, that last statement is no certainty, with Batman and Robin #8 proving to be a perfect case in point. The front cover teases a Batman vs. Batman throw-down, with Bruce reanimated by a Lazarus Pit and Dick spoiling for the fight of his life, and with a few caveats the interior delivers. Thing is, that's not Bruce. Not exactly, anyway, but it also isn't a doppelganger.

This is a tricky plot, with a lot of close calls and moments of pause, but at the end of the day Morrison's narrative is able to pull off some tricky stunts while avoiding any major calamities. His explanation for the misleading premise actually makes a fair amount of sense, and at the same time answers a few nagging questions left over from several of the Bat's previous activities. Doting followers of the extended Wayne family will enjoy a few "Aha!" moments, while those with an expectation for self-contained yarns will more than likely see the issue's explanations as something of a cop-out. In many ways, your enjoyment of B&R #8 will depend entirely on the breadth of knowledge you carry into it.

Of course, Morrison has his problems. In particular, I've had enough of the cutesy-speaking, theme-garbed villains that have hung around this series since its start. This month's dialog, however fleeting it may actually be, is also a shortfall. The writer is so dedicated to reminding his audience that the issue takes place in England that several of its supporting characters sound like walking, talking stereotypes.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of Cameron Stewart's artwork. He's clearly the best compliment Morrison has enjoyed since Frank Quitely left the series, which I realize isn't saying much since I didn't care at all for Philip Tan's work, but he has a few hang-ups that I've struggled to move past. His very bold, composition-centered illustrations hug the fine line between stylization and oversimplification. Everything and everyone feels extremely thick and round, with the approach working better in some situations than in others. Stewart's work in the Batman vs. Batman fight scene is panicked, crazy and chaotic, which is both a positive and a negative. I'm sure the confusion was probably what Morrison was shooting for, with readers left uncertain about which brawler was the good guy, but it also slows the action way down in what should've been a very fast-paced, competitive fight.

After taking a moment's pause in the preceding arc, Batman and Robin appears to be back on the right track with its latest turn. While this issue is much more straightforward and less eccentric than the title's first few issues, the actual storytelling has more gravity and depth to it. Cameron Stewart won't benefit from any comparisons to Frank Quitely, but he's enough to get the job done and even turns in a few panels that had me wondering if he might some day begin to rival his better-known predecessor. There's some hope for this series yet. Borrow it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is amazing...
Overall Score: 6.5

Booster Gold #29

The first thing you're going to notice about this series is that it looks like something that should've been published eighteen years ago. The writing, the artwork, even the cast, has been ripped directly from the pages of DC's early '90s Death of Superman / Rise of the Supermen storyline. The style hasn't aged particularly well, but I guess it's been MIA for long enough to be considered retro, and lord knows why, but that's a trend that always seems to be in vogue with our culture. We just can't get enough of looking, acting and speaking like the past, and Booster Gold #29 is the comic book equivalent of that trend.

Of course, the nostalgia factor is a heavy trip for anyone who was reading back then, but the memories aren't always happy ones. The medium has evolved significantly since Dan Jurgens was in his prime, and though his Death of Superman was in some ways the grandfather of the more mature, intelligent slant the industry (and DC in particular) has adopted since then, it's also just as much a product of the sensationalist, prospector-friendly era that nearly killed the market for good. It's a dash of the good, a pinch of the bad as far as these memories go.

Thing is, upon closer inspection the throwback theme is more than just a cheap gimmick. In his latest role, Booster Gold has taken on the title of history's defender, a job description that sees him more often than not protecting a character he absolutely despises. This issue is a perfect example: shot back in time to the days when the Cyborg Superman was not only free, but genuinely considered as a replacement for the real thing, Booster has to ensure the maniac follows through on his terrifying destruction of Coast City. It's an odd thing for a hero to be working behind the scenes to see genocide through to its conclusion, but Booster's boss – and his conscience – have ensured him that the greater good of the ramifications from that moment outweigh the sacrifices made by its victims.

Adding to the ordeal is the presence of another traveler, Sondra Crain, who moves through time with the more noble, perhaps naïve, goal of averting the crisis altogether. Jurgens doesn't expressly endorse one point of view over the other, but he also doesn't explore the conundrum quite as thoroughly as he probably should have. Subtlety and nuance are not two of Jurgens's stronger suits, and his stiff, straightforward storytelling style (say that ten times fast) often works to the book's detriment.

Booster Gold, in its present form, is as hot and cold as they come. Under the surface, the concept of adding depth and perspective to several of the publisher's most memorable stories is wonderful. The choice of Dan Jurgens as writer / artist works well to set the tone of the era and immediately send more familiar readers on a quick trip down the aisles of their memory banks. Problem is, his writing can't keep pace with the high concepts and his artwork never delivers the wink or nod to the present that could tie the whole bag together. An early '90s style would've been perfectly appropriate in cases when the story was set in that period, but it's totally out of place when the scene changes to the modern day or the future. It's a fine idea that I could've really got behind, but in its current iteration I can't say it's working. Flip through it for the nostalgia, but leave it on the shelves near the back issues it's repurposing.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is amazing...
Overall Score: 3.5

Demo #1

It's the second coming of Demo, with Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan's well-received original series of self-contained stories finding new life with a new publisher. Originally sent to press by AiT / Planet Lar, the Eisner nominee's publishing rights have recently reverted to its creators, who promptly chose DC's Vertigo imprint as their new home. Now, alongside a bells-and-whistles collection of the original series, the pair is back to launch the book's second run.

For the uninitiated, Demo is a series that primarily concerns itself with single issue storylines, following the lifestyles and interpersonal relations of a broad range of characters. It's part slice-of-life and part sharp introspection. If the primary character in your first issue doesn't strike a chord, there's a good chance the centerpiece of the next edition will. Brian Wood had originally planned to tie the whole series together by granting each figure a special ability – ok, super power – but as the series wore on and Wood's interests changed shape, that direction was cast away.

This month, that lead is faced with a different sort of crisis. Joan, a thirty-something office worker in San Francisco, hasn't slept in over a week. She's not coming to grips with her sudden ability to fly or lift a car above her head, but rather keeping her distance from a recurring nightmare that's intruded her waking life. Everywhere she goes there's a vivid reminder of something lifted directly from her nightmare, some more specific than others. Wood's storytelling fully embraces the blurred, hazy line between dream and daylight, shifting our perspective with every page until we're never sure if Joan is seeing something real or imagined. The sense of vertigo, for lack of a better word, is extremely effective, and by the end of the issue I felt like I was badly in need of a nap myself.

Of course, that fantastic element of Wood's storytelling would have probably gone unnoticed without an equally dedicated investment from his artist. Becky Cloonan, fortunately enough, proves more than up to the challenge. Her work, presented in stark black and white, steals your attention without demanding it. The lack of color lends a touch of indie credibility, but it also forces her to do more with less and she proves perfectly adept. She quickly establishes two slight variations of her style, one for when we're dreaming and another for when we're awake, and then almost immediately starts to blend the two together. Its effect in furthering the allusions Wood makes in the story is unmistakable.

Demo was a nice surprise. Its slow, casual pace may be a bit too off-the-beaten-path for some, but the earnest storytelling and razor-sharp artwork will make it difficult for anyone to turn away. There's actually very little in terms of actual plot in this issue, but Wood's focus on the details and the constantly shifting focus between dream and reality gives it more than enough substance to last the entire length of the issue. The new Demo is a very quick read, but it delivers more depth than many others can manage with thirty pages packed to the breaking point with dialog. Buy it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is amazing...
Overall Score: 8.5

Siege #2

The Bendis saga continues over at Marvel, where the author's latest focus-shifting mega-event to change the shape of the face of the Earth, dubbed Siege, is underway. As was the case with Dark Reign, Secret Invasion and Civil War before it, the seeds for this crossover have been germinating for years, with roots planted in every one of Marvel's biggest ongoing titles. Long story short: Norman Osborn is changing the system from the inside and Thor posed a threat to his authority, so Normy invented an excuse to invade Asgard. Backed by his team of Dark Avengers and the full might of HAMMER, he was successful in the sudden offensive, but that bravado may just prove to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Osborn's recent public rise from villain to reformed up-and-comer to savior to corrupted power has been one of Marvel's best character pieces. Looking back, it's easy to see how telegraphed the man's breakneck rise to power really was, but the brilliance of his story was how off-guard it caught us at the time. No one could have predicted how long Osborn's reign would last, but we all knew it would eventually come to a spectacular end. Now that we've reached that point, the real story isn't so much his fall itself, but how the heroes intend to work around the might, both in terms of manpower and P.R., that he's accumulated while in charge.

Of course, most of those intriguing aspects of this storyline are hidden away between the panels. In the foreground, Bendis caters more regularly to the popcorn-munchers in the audience. Set in the middle of a war zone, it should come as no surprise that the bulk of this issue concentrates on a lengthy fight scene, particularly the sudden skirmish between Ares, who feels betrayed by Osborn, and the Sentry, who's drunk on the Goblin's Kool-Aid. The fight scenes get plenty of room to breathe without the constant word balloons that had become Bendis's trademark, and quickly assume a surprisingly dark tone. These aren't the playful, jab-swapping fisticuffs that constitute most superheroic battles: it's a straight-up war. Nowhere is that hard line approach more evident than in the breath-stealing conclusion to the Sentry and Ares's heavyweight free-for-all. I'm amazed Marvel let it see print, frankly. It's a shocking, major moment that could really change the way the publisher is seen by its readers.

I've loved Olivier Coipel's artwork in the past, and when he stays on task this month it's every bit as good as I remembered during his runs with Thor, House of M and Avengers. On several occasions, though, Coipel gets carried away with a very loose, complicated paneling style that stands in the way of easy legibility. I'm all for experimentation, especially when we're challenging a set of guidelines and limitations that could stand a breath of fresh air, but when I have to go back and read over a page three or four times to figure out the order it's supposed to be read in, something just isn't working. Coipel's artwork is as magnificent as ever, especially when he gets the chance to pull the camera back from the action and accent the magnitude of the battle from a distance, but he's handicapped himself with this failed storytelling experiment.

Like the previous publisher-spanning sagas I referenced in my introduction, the gears are churning and the plot points are clicking for the opening chapters of Siege. Bendis is a master at building anticipation toward a huge moment that's always dangling just out of reach. Where he's fallen short in the past, and where the success of his latest epic will be decided, is in the follow-through. I've been down this road before, I've bought into his promises, I've been legitimately thrilled at the prospect of what was on the horizon. And I've been disappointed. This time I'm holding my breath and waiting to see how it all plays out. Despite a few trips and slips from Olivier Coipel, it's a story of so far, so good. Borrow it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is amazing...
Overall Score: 7

Green Lantern #50

Let's just say this: if you don't like a lot of moving cogs in your storytelling, stay far, far away from Green Lantern #50. If you haven't been keeping up with Blackest Night, the same guideline should apply. Don't have an intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of the variously colored power rings that populate the DC Universe? You guessed it; steer clear. However, if you're a hardcore devotee, an active follower of the latest, greatest world-spanning crossover or just an interested observer with more than a casual understanding of what makes a lantern tick, this issue should be sheer ecstasy.

Geoff Johns has been building to this moment since before the book's relaunch, planting many of the seeds five years ago in the pages of Green Lantern: Rebirth. That makes for an incredibly rewarding climax for devoted followers, a payoff for years' worth of dedication that doesn't leave much room for complaint. The issue is complex because it's thorough, and while that may make for a few chaotic, crowded panels – okay, more than a few – they can be at least partially justified by the sheer magnitude of parallel storylines Johns is progressing. The author truly leaves no stone unturned, at once climaxing the individual stories he'd been telling in Hal Jordan's solo series and the mega-threads that had been raging through the pages of the crossover-dedicated Blackest Night.

Johns does stray on a few occasions from the traditional DC archetype into something that's more popcorn-greased, however, especially in a few of the more striking spreads during the raging battle between Black Lanterns and the combined forces of the opposition. Personally, I welcomed the change of perspective as I generally find the publisher's stories often lack precisely that sort of panache. More invested purists may not find the not-so-subtle shit in tone to be as welcome as I did, though.

Doug Mahnke and an entire platoon of inkers tackle the artwork, which is every bit as good as Johns's writing. I don't always enjoy the DC visual style, with its more character-focused, down-to-earth technique and concentration on storytelling over splash pages or exaggerated postures. Following the writer's lead, however, Mahnke has also infused the issue's visuals with a bit more flair than I'm expected. Effectively bridging the gap between two very different styles, he's managed to spin a visual tale that's overwhelmingly descriptive, brightly narrative but also excitingly framed and beautifully composed. Mahnke has obviously busted his ass on this issue, and the end result is worth every bit of the effort he's sunk into it.

This isn't the greatest issue ever published. Sorry to mislead you if I gave that impression in my lengthy preamble. What it is, though, is a damn fine anniversary issue that also, miraculously, serves as fitting pinnacle to a major supplemental series. Not many can even manage the former with any degree of success, let alone the latter. Geoff Johns hands in one of his finest plots this month, and though his dialog has some real eyeball-rolling moments, that's not enough to stop the issue from being a major success. Paired with a spectacular artistic showing from Doug Mahnke, he's come up with a real beauty. Buy it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is amazing...
Overall Score: 9