New find

I'm a bit slow to find new stuff out there......and this is nothing really "new" except to me.

I saw an ad for Elephantmen a few months ago, dismissed it as a TMNT-type of thing, then I saw another one somewhere and thought the artwork looked really cool. So I dug around at Tardy's and found a few issues. I didn't read it for a few days, then picked it up and was pretty much blown away. Not just by the art, but by the story, which, in #1 was pretty poignant and resonated with me. Yes, it's implausible and fantastic. That's why I buy comics.

I guess I wasn't the only one, because it appears to have become pretty popular. The trade is out collecting the first 7 issues, but I think I'm gonna stick with getting the individual issues. More fun that way. Do yourself a favor and check this title out, I think they've got something here.

Marvel vs. DC

This week:

Captain America #28
vs.
All-Star Batman & Robin #6

I never thought I would buy a Captain America comic again in my life, since the last one I bought was probably when I was around 14. For reasons I can't even remember, I picked up Cap #1 a couple of years ago, probably because it was a #1 (that experience has gotten old...LOL). Anyway, as I've said before, what Brubaker has done with this title is nothing short of amazing.

Continuing the death of Cap, this issue is a bunch of mini-chapters, connecting the Winter Soldier's reaction, the Skulls daughter and the reformation of the Serpent Squad, a look at how the average joe is reacting, Stark and Xavier trying to get to the bottom of Crossbone's mind, and, of course, Agent 13, the Falcon, and Fury. Whew!

Batman & Robin #6 hit the stands not too long after #5, which was a bit of a surprise, considering how this title has been coming out. Black Canary continues to be a major part of the storyline, and Gordon's daughter, Barbara, dons the mask for the first time. As expected, the artwork is fantastic, and lends a real grittiness to the Bat's world. Miller really tries to cram a lot of Bat-mythos into this series, like Vicki Vale and.....Jimmy Olsen? As far as the Robin part of the title, he's absent from this issue, other than a couple of offhand comments about him. I get the feeling that this book is kind of a fly-by the seat of your pants type of book, although I keep buying it!

The Deciderer:

While I'm a huge Miller fan, I have to go with Brubaker's Captain America for sheer plotting and smarts. Batman and Robin, while nice to look at, is ultimately forgettable.

Scorecard:

DC 1
Marvel 1