Comic Proportions

Madame Xanadu No. 12

Published by Vertigo (DC Comics). Written by Matt Wagner. Art by Michael Wm. Kaluta.

The Deal: Vertigo releases the latest issue of the supernatural mystery comic Madame Xanadu, which — as the title suggests — stars the psychic heroine Madame Xanadu. This issue features the second part of a five part story arc sending Xanadu on the trail of paranormal killer.

The Good: Madame Xanadu is one of those characters that, as a teen, I'd always heard about but never actually read about. So when I heard that Matt Wagner was writing a series starring the mystic super chick, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Twelve issues later, I'm finally getting around to reading the series and, I must say, I liked what I read. Now, from a plot standpoint, I can't say that I totally understand everything that happened this month; then again, it is a mystery, so I guess I'm supposed to be a little confused. The tone of the series, however, is enthralling. With the great period costumes (drawn by Kaluta) and the flowery — yet strangely subversive and sexual — dialogue, the comic comes across like a paper version of a Merchant Ivory film. On top of the book's tone, this edition of Madame Xanadu is peppered with a cool cameo (well bigger than a cameo actually) by another Vertigo-centric, detective-oriented heroine and makes mention of yet another DC sorcerer.

The Bad: Obviously, not everybody likes Merchant Ivory films. So, if you can only dig big, bombastic comic book stories, then this book may not be for you.

The Verdict: It took me a minute to finally pick up this comic, but I think I'll check it out again next month.

Reviewed materials provided by Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find: www.heroesonline.com.

Dark Avengers/X-Men: Utopia No. 1

Published by Marvel Comics. Written by Matt Fraction. Penciled by Marc Silvestri.

The Deal: This comic serves as the first chapter of the highly promoted Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men multi-part crossover. In this issue, all hell breaks loose in San Francisco and the X-Men can't seem to handle it — so in comes Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers.

The Bad: Here's my biggest problem with this comic: In order for the story to work, certain characters have to behave against their established personality traits. For example, (SPOILERS AHEAD) the comic begins as a riot breaks out because a group of anti-mutant marchers walked into the X-Men's hometown. Now, Beast and some X-Men students were there to meet the marchers on the street, and after exchanging insults, everybody starts fighting. So, you're telling me that the world's leading group of mutants weren't smart enough to keep the last few mutants on the planet away from the march? Even an idiot would know that this would turn violent ... and Beast is a genius. To top it off, when Cyclops was confronted by the mayor about the incident, he said "I'm not the president of mutantkind." This is the same Cyclops who telepathically called every mutant on Earth to live in San Francisco. I have a hard time believing he wouldn't feel responsible enough to step up — and that he wouldn't have taken steps to avoiding the whole mess.

The Good: Look past that central problem, and the comic is fairly engrossing. I am curious enough about where this is going to pick up a few issues of the crossover. Oh and the art by Marc Silvestri is rather good: kinetic and stylized, with the right amount of detail.

The Verdict: I'll keep reading, but I guess I'll just have to believe that the X-Men are idiots.

Reviewed materials provided by Heroes Aren't Hard to Find: www.heroesonline.com.

Batman: Streets of Gotham No. 1

Published by DC Comics. Written by Paul Dini. Penciled by Dustin Nguyen. Inked by Derek Fridolfs.

Second feature written by Mark Andreyko. Penciled by Georges Jeanty. Inked by Karl Story.

The Deal: In case you haven't heard, the Batman line of titles over at DC Comics is all shiny and new now. There's a new guy in the Batman suit (the original Robin, Dick Grayson), a new Robin (Batman's flesh-and-blood son, who's an asshole and very deadly), a new guy named Red Robin (formerly known as the third Robin, Tim Drake), a new Batgirl (whose identity is currently unknown) and a bunch of new comics starring all these new heroes. Batman: Streets of Gotham is one of those new books. SOG seems to be an ensemble-type book, with a focus on characters like Commissioner Gordon, but Batman, Robin and Harley Quinn are also in this first issue.

The Good: I really didn't think I'd like Streets of Gotham. Out of all the new titles announced, it seemed to be the one with the least amount of focus. Who's the star? What is the point of this book? I had my concerns, but after reading this first issue, I see I had nothing to worry about. Why? Well, masterful scribe Paul Dini is handling writing chores — and the man has some talent. Who else could string together a bunch of Batman supporting heroes and villains and create a great comic book story? Dini's work is peppered with wonderful dialogue, small amounts of necessary exposition and action that keeps you turning pages. I'm not exactly sure where the story is going, but it's engrossing.

Another good thing about this comic is that it's one of the first to feature DC's new "Second Feature" class of back-up stories. I've heard people downplay these backups as a way to justify a price increase on certain titles, but I like the idea. SOG's second feature stars Manhunter, the female who had her own series a short while ago ... until it was canceled. And, honestly, let's get real: There's no way Manhunter could support her own book. But here, supporting another title, she works great. On top of that, because the page count is low, the second features are great for attracting big-name artists. (Georges Jeanty, for example, is the penciller for Manhunter.) This seems like a great way to draw fans who followed the series before and introduce new readers to the character.

The Bad: That $3.99 price tag is a bit steep. Also, I'm not totally blown away by the art for the main feature. It seems like Dustin Nguyen is trying out a new style — and it may not be detailed enough for my tastes.

The Verdict: I'll be back for the second issue.

Reviewed materials provided by Heroes Aren't Hard to Find: www.heroesonline.com.