Special Swamp Thing! Tons of Green Arrow resolution (and my first time talking about my favorite superhero in this new segment)! And...! Superman? Blegh...
Green Arrow #37
Writer: Benjamin Percy / Artist: Juan Ferrerya / Letters: Deron Bennett
A solid return to form for this series. The last issue was pretty solid, wrapping up some slower elements of the latest arc while adding in some harrowing cliffhangers and character beats, but this was really darn good. If you've been keeping up with the series of late, this one definitely feels like it's taking the story in a more positive direction, with things being as chaotic as ever for Green Arrow and his super compatriots. There are significant advancements made to character plotlines and some great moments that fans have probably been waiting for since the New 52 era of the comic.
Not to mention that Emiko is in a lot of the book and she's the best thing about Green Arrow so yeah, that helps things out a lot. She's just such an interesting and cool character. I hope she one day makes the transition over to Teen Titans so that more readers can see what she has to offer.
Since this is a climactic issue, to say much more would begin delving into spoilers and since I'm not entirely about that, I'll say that every major character in this last arc does have a satisfying moment or two that has been built up for a while. The best part is that a lot of it is logical; characters don't suddenly become super cool or awesome, they've always been this way but haven't been given their proper moment to shine.
The art's still amazing. It's one of the best looking comics on the shelves and has been so at a consistent rate. Green Arrow and Batman probably have the best rotation of artists at DC at the moment and it really pays off here. The action is fluid and doesn't compromise character designs, and the still-shots give good detail to the characters. Characters aren't just black and green suited dudes, they have characteristics about them that make them stand out. Not to mention that the colors are bright and make the book pop in certain sections.
I should also note the interesting page-layouts of the last few issues, as action sequences run all the way across both pages, and sometimes there's a neat mirroring effect where the page starts with one character, cuts to a dividing shot of the two, and then moves to another. It's super cool and really adds an extra dimension to the comic.
Superman #40
Writer: James Robinson / Pencils: Doug Mahnke /Inks: Jaime Mendoza & Scott Hanna / Colors: Wil Quintana / Letters: Rob Leigh
This comic is terrible and you should just skip it. It poorly represents Superman and tarnishes his character's development by having him return to his New 52 ways in the worst methods. Jonathan is annoying at best if not downright obnoxious, and the story is so plain and dry that Superman himself predicts everything that happens and it does. The art is middle of the road at best.
This is one of the biggest disappointments within a series; to go from the absolute excellence and sheer joy that Superman #39 was to this is nothing short of an absolute failure. It does not understand the fundemental concepts of what makes Superman great and if you were to remove the uniform from him you'd think this were an obnoxious, self-righteous superhero. Skip it.
Swamp Thing Winter Special #1
Writers: Tom King & Len Wein / Artist: Jason Fabok & Kelley Jones / Colors: Brad Anderson & Michelle Madsen / Letters: Deron Bennett
Oof, what a punch in the gut. This is good stuff, folks. It's Tom King at his finest, once again. Jason Fabok lends his hands with the art here and this is one helluva duo. I'll discuss the art first, because there's not much to say at this point. Fabok is just awesome; most of his books are drawn spectacularly and it stands out whenever he's on a title. Here his work is a little more subdued, since there's a lot of shots of Swamp Thing and the boy that are zoomed out and show us the winter hellhole they can't seem to escape. But when we do get close-ups, it's so well-detailed. The fear laden within someone's eyes, the incredible details drawn upon Swamp Thing, they're all so good.
Brad Anderson on the colors was another excellent decision. It'd be easy to pass it off as lazy since it's just a bunch of whites, but snow has layers and textures to it that require decent coloring. Plus, the boy has a very detailed set of clothing that needs to remain consistent, and it can't be easy getting the shading right on Swamp Thing as he goes through various sizes in the first story.
So, I'm not the biggest fan of Swamp Thing, I don't really raise my head up and get excited when something with him comes out, so I wasn't diving into this looking for anything in particular other than a really good story, and I think I got that. It's better the second time through, knowing what's to come and how it all plays out, and really adds an extra dimensions to things.
And that's really all I can say without giving anything away. It's definitely an incredible story that highlights the purest and best-hearted aspects of the character, but also shows a tragedy and immediate flaw within Swamp Thing, and how it all ties back to his abilities.
There's a second story attached to this, and it's presented in a very unique way. It's all the art, done and completed, with pages laid out and all that, but no text. No words balloons or captions, just the art. And then, at the end, we see the script, as it was written for the comic by the late Len Wein. This comic was distributed to honor his legacy and I think this is a pretty neat way of doing so, as we get to see the story he had in mind both drawn and written as it was in his head through his hands, no changes made in the lettering process. I haven't gone through and read it proper, but the art's cool and I really like the gesture.
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