The great comic read of 2009, part 1

I've been reading a lot of comics lately. This is a troubling bit of info because it simultaneously means that I've got a lot of room for a woman in my life right now, and that I stand very little chance of filling that room. Hrrrm...

But, since misery loves company, and I've got plenty of room for that right now, here's a short recap of some of the titles I've devoured:

DC: The New Frontier - Fantastic book, really great artwork. Imagine the Super Friends thrown in to reality, down to the pajama-like uni's and drawn by a follower of Jack Kirby. Having loved comics from a kid, there's something really satisfying about all of this.

Spider-Man: Blue - The first of several books on this list by the creative team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, wherein Spidey relives the events preceding the death of his then-girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. Remember her? She was the cute blonde in Spider-Man 3 who enjoyed a happier fate than her penciled counterpart. This is a character piece, moved along by a lot of inner monologue, so don't expect a lot of butt kicking. Overall, I'd recommend it.

Superman: For Tomorrow - Um... I don't really read a lot of monthly comic books anymore. I prefer miniseries, because there's less commitment and they're pretty much self-contained. As much as I loved the pithy footnotes from the editor that provided the roadmap to backstories, I don't love them now. Or I wouldn't, if they still existed. But, this story needs them. I shouldn't have to go to Wikipedia to figure out what is going on. I bought this mainly on the strength of the artwork (Jim Lee, a childhood hero), but the storyline is a bit confusing. My recommendation: don't bother.

Superman For All Seasons - I wanted to finish off this installment (yes, there will be more) with a Superman story that is about as far removed from For Tomorrow as you'll find in this list. Another Loeb/Sale collaboration, For All Seasons is about as pure a Superman story as you could imagine, and is one of those rare occurrences where all the elements play an equal role in telling the story, all the way from the writer to the colorist and on down. I read somewhere that a reviewer faulted this book for not having enough action. I'm guessing that reviewer is also the kid who said that he didn't get what was so great about Super Mario 3 since the graphics were so bad. Well, I guess you can't please them all...

Tune in, same bat-time(ish), same bat channel for more rambling thoughts on things you're most likely only mildly interested in.