Mystery Society is another item from my comics club haul, and another title that I likely would have passed over otherwise. This one follows a rich husband and wife team who pull off clandestine operations in the name of good for all mankind. When we meet said couple, the dude, Nick Hammond, is on a mission in Area 51 attempting to recruit some new agents for their organization. What you get is a bunch of ninja/James Bond style action, and some semi-exciting thrills. This one reminded me of Umbrella Academy and a little bit of Planetary, but in the cheap knock-off sort of way. Not really a good thing.
The interesting tid-bit here is that it features art by one of my new favorite comic artists, Fiona Staples, who has been killing it on Saga lately. Her art here is from about two years ago, and while her work in Mystery Society is quite good, I will definitely say that she has experienced improvement.
Overall, this was entertaining, but not overly impressive.
Well, all that shows because this is one incredibly entertaining and engaging first issue. It starts with Godzilla majorly fucking shit up in Tokyo as one tank commander, Ota Murakami, attempts to deal a bit of damage to the beast while saving the lives of innocent civilians. Along with his tank operator, Kentaro, the two become the only effective means of limiting the damage and death that Godzilla lays down.
Sure, it's kinda a standard way of starting out a Godzilla comic, but Stokoe does a great job of introducing the primary characters and delivering some absolutely awesome Godzilla action. Most importantly, the action is great, and as I've come to expect from Stokoe, the art is absolutely fantastic. Moving forward, this looks to be a really great mini-series, and I'll be eagerly anticipating each of these issues.
This 12th issue wraps up "Season One", or what is basically the first major story line of the series. All the story threads that have been building and building over the past eleven issues pay off here, and the conclusion is pretty damn entertaining. There's a great combination of shocking and hilarious moments that play out in this issue, and I'm glad that Kalvachev was able to pull it all together for an awesome finale.
Blue Estate is definitely one of my favorite comic series, and it's one that I highly recommend. Each issue has been a great blend of hilarity, action, and wild plot development. This comic is definitely one that will keep the reader on his or her toes and leave you wanting more. I'm not totally positive that there are more issues of Blue Estate planned after this, but my fingers are crossed that there will be more of this amazing comic to come in the very near future. As far as crime comics go, or any kind of comic for that matter, this is one of the best.
Truth be told, Batman has been just barely hanging in there as I've been a bit bored with the whole "Court of the Owls" story line. Give me some classic bat-villains damn it! The Owl business was a bit too trumped up for my tastes. That being said, this 12th issue was quite good...probably because there was no sign of any Owl garbage, and the art was done by Becky Cloonan, who totally rocked it.
What this issue did have was a sort of back to the roots approach that was told through the point of view of Harper Row, a Gotham City electrician who is intent on helping the Batman do his crime fighting thing in her own little way. Harper essentially figures out how Batman controls the CCTV cameras throughout the city while he is doing his thing, and tries to do the Caped Crusader a solid by bolstering his system. Her plan, though filled with good intentions, backfires with nearly deadly consequences.
Sure, this issue didn't have great over-arching plots and all that, but it was cool to see Batman through the eyes of a regular Gothamite. Not to mention, the writing and art were much better than usual here too. My hope is that the whole "Court of the Owls" business is behind us, and moving on Snyder can deliver more compelling Batman stories.
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