February 28, 2019

     Dave's Comicbook Capsules Et Cetera
     Intermittent Picks and Pans of Comics and Related Media

Standard Disclaimers: Please set appropriate followups.  Recommendation does
not factor in price.  Not all books will have arrived in your area this month.
An archive can be found on my homepage, http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/Rants 
     And back to another pretty slow month.  And lots of allergens.

     Items of Note (strongly recommended or otherwise worthy): Nothing this
month. 

     In this installment: Superman Krypton Cookie Dough Ice Cream, Hilo vol
5, Captain Marvel #2, Ironheart #3, Ms. Marvel v2 #38,  Deathstroke #40, The
Wrong Earth #6, Star Trek vs. Transformers #5 (of 5), Go-Bots #4, Atomic Robo
Dawn of a New Era #2-3 (of 5).

     Current Wait List (books either Diamond didn't ship or my store failed
to order): Nothing this time.


"Other Media" Capsules:

     Things that are comics-related but not necessarily comics (i.e.
comics-based movies like Iron Man or Hulk), or that aren't going to be
available via comic shops (like comic pack-ins with DVDs) will go in this
section when I have any to mention.  They may not be as timely as comic
reviews, especially if I decide to review novels that take me a week or two
(or ten) to get around to.

     Superman Krypton Cookie Dough l Ice Cream: DC/Dreyer - Okay, I decided
to give Superman's flavor a shot.  It's your basic "birthday cake" ice cream
(yellow cake flavor, sprinkles) plus chunks of uncolored and red-colored
sugar cookie dough.  And it's, well, kinda bland.  The dough chunks don't
have enough flavor to stand out against the sugary general taste.  It's also
Light, turns out all three flavors are, but that aspect didn't really make
itself obvious.  (The Batman flavor is dark chocolate, which I'm not keen on
in general, so there won't be a third review in this series.)  I skimmed the
story on the cartons I could find, looks like Wonder Woman fails to stop
Cheetah on her ice cream, so Luthor gets a plot device he uses to menace
Superman.  Not exactly deathless storytelling, but did you expect it to be?
Mildly recommended.


Digital Content:

     Unless I find a really compelling reason to do so, I won't be turning
this into a webcomic review column.  Rather, stuff in this section will be
full books available for reading online or for download, usually for pay.  I
will often be reading these things on my iPhone if it's at all possible.

     Nothing this month.

Trades:

     Trade paperbacks, collections, graphic novels, pocket manga, whatever.
If it's bigger than a "floppy" it goes here.

     Hilo vol 5: Then Everything Went Wrong: Random House Graphic - Retcons
ahoy!  I guess we didn't get the actual story after all.  The cast gets
split, with Hilo and D.J. returning to Hilo's homeworld where they slowly
start to put together what happened.  Meanwhile, the rest of the cast has to
maintain the facade that everything's normal.  Not really a spoiler to say
that this goes...poorly.  This definitely has the feeling of a penultimate
chapter, although I suppose volume 6 could pull an Empire Strikes Back and
end with things even more dire.  Recommended.  $13.99/$18.99Cn


Floppies:

     No, I don't have any particular disdain for the monthlies, but they
*are* floppy, yes?  (And not all of them come out monthly, or on a regular
schedule in general, so I can't just call this section "Monthlies" or even
"Periodicals" as that implies a regular period.)

     Captain Marvel (2019) v(something) #2: Marvel - Okay, the premise takes
a few pages to become clear, and I don't think it was supposed to be
unclear...Makhismo didn't take anyone to his home dimension, he made a sort
of pocket realm in part of NYC.  I don't think this was supposed to be a
spoiler, hence mentioning it now.  A lot of "What's going on?" "We don't
really know, but..." exchanges, and some plot device elements that will let
them run this arc pretty long before it becomes a continuity snarl.  Still
feels like bait and switch...I was interested in where #1 looked to be
heading, I'm a lot less interested in where the story is heading now.  Mildly
recommended.  $3.99

     Ironheart #3: Marvel - After a pretty strong start, it's not doing well
in the follow-through.  One problem is that apparently a big issue for Riri
is PTSD over something that happened in a comic I didn't read, and Ewing
seems to be assuming everyone reading this book read the previous thing.
This is where old-fashioned editor's notes ("see ComicName #Whatever for the
full story!") would be really useful.  As it stands, "Surprise, PTSD!" comes
out of left field.  Much like Captain Marvel, it's like the writer pitched #1
with no intention of really using it to set up how the story would run.
Mildly recommended.  $3.99

     Ms. Marvel v2 #38: Marvel - Wilson writes a setup story (which seems to
gently write off the recent "medieval AU" story as a dream Zoe had), then
other creators write chapters of the rest of it.  A lot of ground is re-trod,
although I expect the intent was to be homage rather than mere repetition.
Nice tying of a bow on Wilson's run.  Recommended.  $3.99

     Deathstroke #40: DC - The Arkham arc comes to an end, and while some
things are explained (such as how Priest is getting around some of the
restrictions from the Bat-office), other things are left deliberately vague.
Priest is clearly not done messing with the Wilson family's heads.
Recommended.  $3.99

     The Wrong Earth #6: Ahoy Comics - End of the first "season" of the book,
and both protagonists find their own ways to accommodate to the worlds in
which they appear to be stuck.  Each cites the same principle for nearly
opposite reasons in pursuit of this, though, and while they've both found
ways to fit in, they're not assimilating or really giving up on their core
beliefs.  An interesting way to take it.  The last page stinger sets up the
next arc, coming in 2020.  Recommended as a whole arc, although I've given up
on the backups.  $3.99

     Star Trek vs. Transformers #5 (of 5): IDW - On the one hand, plot
devices were pulled out of various hindquarters at an astonishing rate...on
the other hand, that's perfectly in keeping with the tone of both of the
cartoons involved in this crossover.  And like both cartoons, they leave
things open for the possibility of a second crossover.  I don't see them
building a franchise title out of this, and a lot of setups in the originals
never paid off, so they'll probably go with that angle of the homage too.
Recommended, mostly for the nostalgia angle.  $3.99

     Go-Bots #4: IDW - Plot definitely went into fast-forward mode, resulting
in a lot of backing up to do exposition either via characters asking what
happened, or having visions.  Not as interesting as the first three issues,
but I think part of that is because Scioli has hit the point where he needs
to bridge between how he wanted to start and where he wanted to go, and it
feels a little more perfunctory.  Mildly recommended.  $3.99

     Atomic Robo Dawn of a New Era #2-3 (of 5): IDW - So, three issues in,
and there's at LEAST three main ongoing plot threads introduced (or
re-introduced).  On Patreon, Clevinger has stated that this is the start of a
several-series arc, and it definitely shows...if anything, I have to wonder
what plot thread (if any) could possibly be adequately wrapped up by the
fifth issue.  That's a minor point, though, since there's definitely more
than enough reason here to go ahead and read the whole mega-arc.
Recommended.  $3.99 each.


     Dave Van Domelen, "You better not be storming out to wage another
one-man war from the shadows, mister." - Atomic Robo, who has had it up to
here with such shenanigans.