ménage à trois: 3/23/05

[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]

Thanks to an impromptu trip south to Virginia for the Easter weekend -- a trip which inadvertently led to a new column, Retailer Spotlight, coming soon -- last Wednesday's comic book haul didn't get the kind of first-reading that would allow for the usual graphic threesome. Instead, it's an orgy of spandex-clad heroes, with a few gritty exceptions -- money shots only.

Araña: Heart of the Spider #3: This has gone from being not particularly distinctive, to trying way too hard. Blame the writer, editorial direction, or both, but I can no longer defend this title's existence. Because I'm a sucker for lost causes, I'll complete the arc hoping something changes, but then I'm likely done with it: 6 Minutes

Runaways (Vol. 2) #2: Still liking it, but Vaughan's schtick here is too similar to what he's doing over in Ultimate X-Men, and what were subtle wink-winks in the previous issue seem a bit more forced here: 7.5 Minutes

The New Avengers #4: Old-school, farfetched team building with a snarky sense of humor (and the Savage Land!), Bendis is obviously having fun here and only the overly cynical and jaded would hold a grudge against him for it. But where's the letters page? 8 Minutes

Daredevil #71: My first time with Bendis' take on ol' hornhead, his Mamet schtick feels a bit dated but overall it's an intriguing setup for what I believe is his swan song: 8 Minutes

Batman: Gotham Knights #63: Several issues back, writer A.J. Lieberman put an interesting spin on the Joker cementing this title as my favorite Batbook that's not Gotham Central. He's now playing with Poison Ivy and I'm liking where he's going with it: 8 Minutes

Plastic Man: Kyle Baker talks a good game - "The problem is smart children don't have as much money as grown idiots, so we make the books for grown idiots who want to read about crying Martians who talk a lot." - but as my first issue of this cynical little comic, beyond the great layouts, I was left wondering WTF?!?! Call me a grown idiot, but I'll be holding onto to my money next month: 5 Minutes

Conan #14: Anyone skipping this comic because it's Conan - you know, the Barbarian? - is missing out on a superior monthly pleasure: 9 Minutes

Sleeper: Season Two #10: Kicking into overdrive for the series' endgame, Brubaker and Phillips set the table nicely for what looks to be a fulfilling climax: 9 Minutes

The Expatriate #1: I couldn't stop thinking about how much I enjoy The Losers as I read this, specifically how important it is to have at least one appealing, or at least intriguing, character when you go the gritty noir route: 6.5 Minutes