I'm honestly not sure of the last time I hated something by a creative team that I like as much as I hated this. This book was pretentious, even for GMo, and far too on-the-nose with its commentary on the creative process. It reveled far too much in the genre conventions it was trying to parody--or at least I hope that it was trying to parody them, because otherwise there's no excuse for how over-the-top and awful this book is. I usually like GMo, but this was him indulging all his worst tendencies.

I picked up the first two issues of Dark Knight III: The Master Race on the recommendation of a friend who suggested that it was worthwhile, despite my understandable misgivings. The first issue in particular addresses social issues such as police violence, he told me. I was surprised, but I figured I'd check it out. The first issue wasn't perfect, but it had potential. I didn't care about any of the non-Batman-related stuff with the Atom and Lara and all that, but the Gotham stuff was good. Unfortunately any of the good will that the first issue garnered was completely erased by the second issue, which was overstuffed to the point of incoherence, filled with the kind of awful "hardboiled" narration that makes FM's later work distracting and overwhelmingly juvenile, and, worst of all, just simply not very interesting. I'll probably stick with it a little longer, but we'll see. I'm worried that it's slowly turning out to have much more in common with the truly awful Dark Knight Strikes Again than it's predecessor, the visionary Dark Knight Returns.

Mildly entertaining, but ultimately disappointing.

It's unfortunate, but I really feel like Rat Queens has lost some of its magic. Part of the problem is that Tess Fowler's art just doesn't inspire the same sense of fantastical wonder as Upchurch or Šejić's did (or as her own art did in the Braga special). The story is interesting enough, but Fowler's art, which is much more conventional comics fare, is not well suited to the material. Also, under Fowler's hand, the women of Rat Queens, who once represented a fairly diverse range of body types, now all conform fairly rigidly to the comics norm. This is hugely disappointing, as I think Fowler is talented and capable of much more.

I thought this one was a bit of a let down after the first--it just didn't have the same intensity. That said, sometimes you have to do some place setting, and Kot does that pretty well here. I'm definitely interested in what comes next.

I expected to hate this, but it surprised me. The first issue of DK3 is smart and well-paced, addressing important social issues such as police violence against African Americans and an overall culture of corruption and incompetence, and the art recalls Miller's best without simply aping his distinctive style. It's not perfect by any means, and the sidestory with the Atom was not interesting whatsoever, but this is a promising start.

This last arc has been rough. Meandering, difficult to connect with, but in its last two issues it finally pulls everything together--and gives us the kind of action we've been so sorely missing. It ultimately feels like most of the events of this most recent arc are rendered pointless by the events of #30, but this issue itself was so strong that it was hard to linger on those thoughts. There's certainly a feeling that BKV and Staples are spinning their wheels a little bit, so here's hoping the strength of the last two issues carries forward to the next arc and beyond.

This was excellent. Ales Kot has been one of the most interesting writers in comics for a little bit now, with his taste for psychedelics and post-modern lit, but this is better than anything of his I've read so far. (NB: I haven't read Zero yet.) It's sort of an update to Hellblazer in a way, bringing back the leftist politics, the sick sense of humor, and everything else that got whitewashed as the series went on. At the same time, the Hellblazer comparisons aren't entirely fair, because this book is definitely something unique, thanks not only to Kot's writing, but Matt Taylor's fantastic art--he's got a wonderful sense of composition, and he handles the mundane just as well as the fantastic. Lee Loughridge's muted colors tie everything together, making this a must-read book.

Although I was kinda sore about having to wait so long for this, all bad feelings were forgotten. This was the perfect conclusion to a near-perfect series, utterly satisfying in every way. I want to make a point to praise Matt Hollingsworth in particular, because while Fraction and Aja (rightfully) get heaps of praise, Hollingsworth really does a lot to make this book what it is. One scene in particular, containing the orange glow of the sunset, just killed me. What a great futzin' book this was, one of the best 22 issue runs of comics I've ever read. I'm gonna miss it.

Beautiful and understated.

This made me bawl like a baby in the best possible way. This is what comics are capable of.

The characterization and "acting" in this is fantastic! Lemire and Lenox create a world that feels totally real and relatable, weaving together a coming-of-age story, a murder mystery, and nods to classic superhero comics. The art is gorgeous, an anime-style rendering with watercolors and washes which at once make the universe feel lived in and slightly magical. Highly recommended.