Comics

All Star Western #5 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat

Last issue I comment that "some of these 20-page comics feel brief, lightweight and not worth their cover price, while others pack so much in I'm counting the pages to check it's not a bumper-length edition." This is another example of that. The speed of storytelling, humour and strong plotting make this a great action/adventure/detective comic. Nice work all.

Back-up strip The Barbary Ghost continues too, again with solid art by Phil Winslade, though Gray and Palmiotti provide more clunky dialogue and a tale heavy on exposition, setting up next issue's (final?) part. I don't know if they're overworked or going for a different pulpier style, but I don't think these secondary stories work as well as the main Hex-starring one.


Animal Man #6 by Jeff Lemire, John Paul Leon & Travel Foreman
Remember how issue 1 mentioned Buddy Baker (aka Animal Man) had recently acted in a movie about a washed-up superhero? Well, here we get to see it... or the opening chunk of it anyway, before a clever conceit kicks in. It's a filler issue, certainly -- presumably needing to sync up with Swamp Thing or something -- but as filler issues go it's an excellent idea.


Wolverine and the X-Men #5 by Jason Aaron & Nick Bradshaw
This continues to be exactly the kind of X-Men comic I want to be reading: fun, accessible, not reliant on plot points from other books that I don't read, and with a darker edge at times. The slightly cartoony art sets the tone perfectly, actually. This isn't a kiddy book -- the T+ rating seems bang on -- but it is for people who like their comics to be enjoyable, rather than mired in decades of continuity and po-faced seriousness.