Yet another week writing comics reviews while ill and easily confused, so please excuse the typos which probably appear with marginally greater frequency than usual. This week I've got DMZ #12, with my dream writer/artist combo, Brian Wood and Brian Wood, as well as Pirates of Coney Island #1, Stan Lee Meets Dr. Strange, Thunderbolts #107, Uncanny X-Men #479 and this week's gratuitous Civil War issue, Civil War: Front Line #7.

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DMZ #12

Publisher DC (Vertigo) • Writer Brian Wood • Artist Brian Wood

This is the comic that I've been waiting years for. Brian Wood's a great writer, but as an artist, he has virtually no peer. Having him draw a full issue of something is, without a doubt, a rare treat that's been basically unheard of since his debut work, the unforgettably excellent Channel Zero.

What we have here is an excellent one-shot piece that fleshes out the politics, locations and inhabitants of the DMZ in a variety of ways. It's less a narrative and more a fictional lifestyle magazine, ostensibly written by series lead, Matty and featuring his "photography" which in actuality gives Wood the chance to show off why he's a designer as much as a storyteller.

It's quite possibly the perfect introduction anyone could want to DMZ as a series, since it allows you to get a sense of things without relying too heavily on knowledge of the preceeding story arcs. If you were ever wondering about jumping onto the book, there's not been a better time since issue #1.

My single complaint about the issue is that something this beautifully created shouldn't be sullied with adverts. It's a damn shame that something done in the style of a magazine like this has to contend with the realities of essentially being in a magazine, because nothing could fuck this comic up more than a double page advert spread for Rush City slapped in the middle. Wood's work on this is so esoteric you'll occasionally have to check whether you're reading a page of the comic, or just one of the adverts. An utter shame that will at least get rectified when this makes it to trade, though in case I haven't made it obviousl, you'll only be punishing yourself if you decide to wait that long.
A+

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Pirates of Coney Island #1

Publisher Image • Writer Rick Spears• Artist Vasilis Lolos

And, as if to cement my credibility in the indie scene amidst all this Civil War Marvel-geekery I've been displaying of late, my second favourite book this week is this. I'd almost forgotten it was coming out, and then I saw it on the shelves, all pink, blue, and Becky Cloonan variant cover and I realised that I had done myself a disservice in not looking forward to it.

Having never read anything by Rick Spears before, what I'm currently realising is that he is quite probably one screwed up individual, when roughly 8 pages in the series protaganist has his eyeball slashed out in a disturbingly violent (and, thanks to Lolos, graphic) fashion. Between that and having one character kiss a spider the size of your hand, you have some seriously dark comics.

Luckily, Lolos' colouring is stylised and bright, with limited palettes of brilliant colours reflecting the atmosphere of any given scene better than any photorealism could. The entire ethos of the issue, as shown in both the fast, uncompromising writing and graffiti-esque artwork, makes it seem quite punkish. It's probably not going to win any Eisners, but only because the people giving those awards are probably crusty old literati who wouldn't understand cool if it smacked them in the face and sliced up their eyeball.
A

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Stan Lee Meets... Dr. Strange

Publisher Marvel • Writer Stan Lee/Brian Bendis • Artist Alan Davis/Mark Bagley

Much like the previous Spider-Man issue (and one assumes, like the next three - Thing, Dr. Doom, and Silver Surfer) this is an anthology piece with a lead story by Stan, a backup story by a modern creator, a 2 page comedy piece (Giarrusso in this issue, Hembeck in the previous) and a reprint of an old Dr. Strange story.

Once again, Stan's story is one of the highlights, not just because of Davis' brilliant artwork, and not just for the novelty value of giving the father (or should that be grandfather, these days...?) of Marvel Comics a chance to write himself into the things, especially since he's widely recognised as being better at self-promotion even than he was at writing comics. Wandering around the old village, he visits Dr. Strange only to find the good Doctor fenced in by his own merchandising, running out of new incantations and outsourcing his assistant's job when Wong is unavailable.

It's hilarious to see the fact that Strange, as a property, has fallen on hard times, and have that translated to the character. Not entirely dissimilar from what was done with Spider-Man last issue, really. Proving that the previous issue was no fluke, this is once again wry, charming and genuinely hilarious, though as noted, one has to wonder how much of that is the influence of Editor Supremo Tom Brevoort.

Bendis and Bagley provide the backup piece about the impossible man running around the modern day MU and wondering why Stan Lee hasn't been around to stop it all going wrong. Amusingly, this sentiment is a genuine one as uttered by fans upset with the current trends in comics, and it does provide the official answer to that question - Stan loves it all. Change is good. The cynic in me wonders how much of that is just the party line, but I choose to believe it all the same.

As if this wasn't enough comedy, Giarrusso's strip had me in tears of laughter. I've got a relatively strict policy about not repeating jokes to make my reviews seem funny using someone else's work, so all I can say is that it's almost worth the cover price itself. I didn't even make it to the reprint issue before deciding to get this, but for reference it's Marvel Premiere #3 by Stan Lee and Barry Windsor-Smith. Excellent stuff.
A

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Flick-Through Reviews

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Civil War: Front Line #7 - Jenkins/Various
I've probably said it before, but as with all anthologies, the quality of this series is all over the place. The promise of a hidden traitor in the ranks is always an appealing concept, because I can't resist a good old guess-the-identity mystery. Speedball's ongoing plot is marginally less engaging this week if only because it consists entirely of him being rushed to hospital and then admitting (to himself) that he blames himself for the death of the New Warriors and all those that died in Stamford. Should be interesting to see where they go after that. I have to admit, I stopped even reading the issue at this point (unprofessional, given that I'm reviewing it, but hey! I'm not being paid either!) because the Atlantean storyline and the military allegory at the end are so horrible I'd rather pretend they didn't exist.
C+

Thunderbolts #107 - Nicieza/Grummett
The Thunderbolts overhaul hasn't come a moment too soon. After 2 years of Nicieza's labyrinthe plots, I'm glad to see the title taken in a mostly new direction soon, and this is speaking as someone whose loved the book and collected every Thunderbolts appearance since day 1. I think I'm just too unimpressed with the Grandmaster, who as one of Marvel's 70s/80s cosmic villains still retains too much fundamental lameness for someone like me, who, for better or worse, started reading comics in the gritty and extreme-shoulder-pads 90s. Glad to see Moonstone coming out of the coma, though.
B-

Uncanny X-Men #479
Speaking of the dark times of the extreme 90s, here's a concept that typifies some of the worse this decade has to offer. A Shi'ar warrior who has evidently seen too much anime, because he's got giant spikes in his hair and a sword so big the whole family could eat dinner off it, as well as some pseudo-mystical phoenix-related junk mixed in there. This is something of a misfire for Brubaker, I feel. Hasn't done anything to derail the entire plotline, and it does move things forward at the previously set pace, but what a ridiculous concept to introduce...
B-