BB: The Burton Award 12/1/06

A short week this week, by my own normal 'you buy how many comics?' standards anyway. So without further ado

The Burton Award (Best Of The Week) 12/1/06




SHE-HULK #4


Writer - Dan Slott


Artist - Scott Kollins


Dan Slott has been praised, and rightly so, for bringing some of the fun back to comics in these rape-ridden times. His goofy and carefree takes on Spiderman and the Thing have made him the go-to guy for comic fans tired of so called 'modern comics' where even the greatest of heroes seem hopelessly compromised. This acclaim may be deserved, but it has threatened to see Slott pigeonholed as a one-trick horsey - good for the funny and very little else. However his work on books like the GLA and She-Hulk belies this one track view. With it's pitch black humour and motley cast of morons the former could easily be a Vertigo title, while if you substituted the latter's Marvel mainstays with original characters you would have a fresh and quirky indie number. Although with that said, the first 3 issues of the new volume of She-Hulk have been a little disappointing. The Hawkeye 2 parter still contained the superhero legalese that I hope for Slott's sake he has patented, but it seemed to lack some of the vip and vim (and other made up words) that made the first volume stand out from the House of Ideas pack. And while the 3rd/100th 'anniversary' issue had its moments it also suffered from the messiness and lack of focus that multi-artist extravaganzas always seem to. As luck would have it (and as the Burton Award may already have given away) this issue sees the Slottster get back on track. Light on the fun and frolics, this issue gives us a done-in-one tale that examines the real-life repercussions of a 'Hulk smash!' rampage on Smalltown USA. Further pathos is added when we discover that it is not the not-so-jolly green giant that is responsible for the carnage, but the titular titan of the title. Getting under Shulkie's gamma-irradiated skin has been one of the hallmarks of Slott's run and this may be his most successful issue so far. Scott Kollins picks up the art baton this time round and he turns in some solid work. However, and I say this a massive fan of his time on Flash, it is Juan Bobillo's art that has become synonymous with the title in my mind and it will be great to have him back in future issues.





100 BULLETS #68


Writer - Brian Azzarello


Artist - Eduardo Risso




Now I will discuss 100 Bullets at length but I'll be honest up front. The only reason this gets a Burton is the last page. For those of you, like me, that have been with Azzarello since the start of this mazy, mazy story the last page represents one of those of pay-offs that can only be provided by serialized fiction. If you are not reading 100 Bullets this is by no means a jumping on point. It is the series greatest strength and its Achilles heel that, thanks to the dense plotting and terse, noir style dialogue, the only real jumping on point is the first issue. It's well worth it though. Azzarello has created an epic mystery here that demands (and rewards) repeated reading to get a proper grasp of it. Though there are moments when the labyrinth plot and the for-the-trade pacing threaten to overwhelm you (reading it as a monthly can be a bewildering experience) there is always Eduardo Risso's art to keep you hanging on. There are more detailed artists out there, but when it comes to mood and expression the artist has few competitors. With the aid of Patricia Mulvihill's colours, Risso insures that even when you don't understand or can't remember what's going on you keep reading anyway.