Incredibly Late Offhand Opinions

The key to offhand opinions is it’s a gut reaction with bare bones analysis. I tell you if it’s worth buying in a basic Yes or No situation. Ron’s pick of last week Batman: The Man Who Laughs (DC). My pick for this week is Ex Machina 8 [Wildstorm]. This episode of Offhand Opinions is incredibly late.

Ex Machina 8 (Wildstorm)
Vaughan/Harris/Feister/Mettler
I like a comic book that informs me of California 1970s politics in one simple word balloon without making the story come off like a preachy pile of crap. And I’m in love with Suzanne Padilla.
Yes

Lucifer 59 (Vertigo)
Carey/Gross/Kelly
Laugh at me, but I find when this book (normally rooted completely in mythology) steps just a smidge into the real world, it improves immensely. Thus is the case with this issue.
Yes

Hawkman 37 (DC)
Gray & Palmiotti/Bennett/Jose
Hawkgirl got implants off panel in a recent issue apparently. The surgery affected her ability to act like the character I’ve read for the first 25 issues or so.
No

Livewires 1 (of 6) [Marvel]
Warren/Mays/Martin
When a story swims in the surreal too much, the narrative suffers and so does the reader. I can’t make heads or tails of this story and have no interest in rereading it.
No

The Authority: Revolution 5 (Wildstorm)
Brubaker/Nguyen/Friend
Some interesting plot development with this issue, tying into elements of the Authority backstory going back to the Stormwatch days. But Brubaker does gay and lesbian characters no favors in the manner in which he handles the end of this issue.
Yes

Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill 2 (of 6) [Marvel]
Oeming/Berman/DiVito/Villari
Too many word balloons. Too much scenery chewing. Here’s an idea, Marvel. Call up Walter Simonson; he’s the only fellow who ever made the character truly work.
No

Daredevil: Redemption 2 (of 6) [Marvel]
Hine/Gaydos
Wow, the broad sweeping Southern generalizations of the last issue grow by leaps and bounds in this issue.
No

X-Force 6 (Marvel)
Liefeld/Nicieza
Do Liefeld loyalists just blindly buy his books? I mean when the characters question the ending of a story they are in, it’s just wrong.
No

The New Invaders 7 (Marvel)
Jacobsen/Smith
When the stories delve into the Golden Age, the Invaders work (as it did at points with this issue). But when we get back to the modern age, it’s like the heroic morals plummet to Frank Castle rationalization level. Not every character has to channel Frank Miller, kids.
No

Wolverine 25 (Marvel)
Millar/Romita Jr./Janson
Total comedy sidebar: The cover shot only has Beast’s paw in the foreground. And upon first glance I mistook it for the Cookie Monster. And that’s the most entertainment I had in this whole arc upon further reflection. It started with potential, but the fact that Logan stayed a programmed jackass for the whole arc made this read one large lame romp. For those of you waiting for the TPB, save your cash even more and pass on it completely. I mean no one beats Wolverine for six issues and all it takes is…oh never mind.
Yeesh…No

The Spectacular Spider-Man 25 (Marvel)
Barnes/Eaton/Smith
Were the editors on vacation on this arc? I mean there’s a tribute ad to Will Eisner in the middle of this issue, and I was appreciative of the reminder what storytelling is supposed to be. The fallout from the Gwen’s kids tales is sure to surpass the Spider-Clone junk before long.
No

JLA Classified 4 (DC)
Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire/Rubinstein
If this was a gift to all of us that disliked Identity Crisis, the punchline of thinking Sue Dibny was pregnant does the exact opposite for me. And call me crazy, I’ve never found this creative team to be that funny.
No

Runaways 1 (Marvel)
Vaughan/Alphona/Yeung/Strain
I’m reading a fairly interesting, innocuous issue and suddenly it hits me. Fire Bendis, put Vaughan on the Avengers. In one scene he makes the Avengers more interesting than anything Bendis has done so far. Heck Vaughan tops Bendis with one panel. There’s barely any action in this issue and I couldn’t care less.
Yes

New X-Men 10 (Marvel)
DeFilippis/Weir/Medina
So everybody’s standing around, saying of one character: “Oh, there’s trouble ahead…it’s going to get worse.” And then we have a “three months later” plot shocker. It’s not predictable, but it’s not rather unengaging as well.
No

Space Ghost 4 (DC)
Kelly/Olivetti
Yea, I just complained about the Frank Miller-ification of some characters, but it really works for this retelling of Space Ghost. It makes for some good comedy, surprisingly.
Yes