Comic Batch, part 1: Not-DC

Well, my comic haul today was larger than normal and hit me in my pocket a bit harder than usual. On the plus side, good stuff came out for the most part. Problem is that I'm a bit of a slow reader since I like looking at the art and analyzing it (can't help it, I'm an artist afterall). Instead of talking about everything after I finished reading, I thought I'd comment a little on the few things I've read. I'll start out with the titles I get outside the DC lineup.

Transformers: Infiltration #1 (IDW)
From the setup in #0 I was looking forward to this series as a potentially excellent story. Past series in the Transformers line have always been about the robots, with a few humans tossed in for the ride. The premise they have set up focuses more on the human element, which I'm willing to accept as something unique to the comic storyline.

The catch is, a human story in the Transformers universe is a tough act to perform, and will rely heavily on good writing. A heavier use of angles in the art to help portray scale will help, but the writing would be far more important. Issue 1 of this series, writing wise, is bland at best. The art is fairly good over all, not nearly as good as the Dreamwave run, but that is a hard act to follow.

I really want to like this comic, but so far it is pretty average. I like the limited cast, and predict it will help make the introduction of other important characters have that much more of an impact. Probably what bothers me the most about this series is that, through the writing it sets up that stuff has happened before, but the story begins as something entirely new. As an "old school" fan of the Transformers franchise I know the premise, I know the history, and I know the characters - and this is set up like a brand new franchise for those who have never encountered these robots in disguise before.

I just hope they limit the number of variant covers as the titles progresses, becuase four covers for the standard run with (I think) three incintives is a bit too many. Still, out of curiosity I'm on for the ride for this series, so here's hoping they pull something good off for all the hype they've built up.


Conan #24 (Darkhorse)
This will probably be the most controversial issue in a while for this series. The cover originally had a full nude woman on the front (which was "adjusted" for the "domestic" release, meaning they added a clothes). There was also a few panels of bare breasts. They were handled well (artistically speaking, in my opinion), so to all you feminists please don't fuss. I expect parent groups to cry foul, and the comic book defense league summoned on a few minor cases, however, thanks to the parents unaware that the comic isn't for kids (hence the occasional full disembowlment and decapitation scenes, aside from the whole "bloody" thing).

Story wise, it's a pretty standard story following the same thief-Conan arch from the last few story arches. Solid writing and art as much of what came before, though I've posted a while ago that this team (Busiek and Nord) won't be part of this title for much longer. This issue feels like filler, though it is a multi-issue story. This is how filler should be handled, since filler issues in Conan can be easily mistaken for real plot.

Comic shop didn't have the limited print nude cover, but they had a small order on the way. I put in my request for it, given that I have a thing for variant covers and that this comic is awesome.


Tomorrow I'll post my comments on the DC chunk of my gathering. I've read part of it so far, but it's just easier to lump publishers together. Downside, by the time I post about them, others would have already posted on them. Still, I have my own opinions, if anyone actually wanders through and reads them...stay tuned.