My son and I finally got to the comic store where I picked up Savior 28 and The Amazing Spider-Monkey (as per an earlier post) and he bought Amazing Spider-Man 590 and 591. And, wow, they were lame. Poor story and really mediocre art. All the characters look like 12-year-olds -- really skinny 12-year-olds -- and the layouts entirely lack excitement. I mean, when Susie looks off-panel and says, "I think I'm looking at a Frazetta painting come to life!" and then the revealed scene looks more like a cheap Heavy Metal knock-off left in the rain for a year -- you know, not even that good. At least a Heavy Metal knock-off would have some character.

And while I'm here complaining for no good reason, let me offer this panel, showing one of what I consider to be the most egregious misuses of the comics medium I've been suffering through for at least the last decade:  The color hold.  I may be misusing the term, but you all know what I mean:  Those characters or things that are printed without the usual comic book outlines, like our buddy the Human Torch here.  (He's blue, incidentally, because he's in the Macroverse.  If you wanted proof that making a new dimension really cool-looking -- which guys like Jack Kirby could do in their sleep -- isn't easy, then you should check out the Macroverse as depicted by the team of Kitson/Farmer/Cox in these two issues.) It just takes me right out of the comic to see this ghostly thing floating around in it when everything else has decent black outlines.  I know what the artists are trying to do, but, guys, it ain't working.  It almost never does.  Give it up already.  The old-fashioned Torch with his liney lines and all?  Much better-looking, even if your Photoshop-addled eyes can't see it.  Trust me.

However, let us not complain overmuch; nay, let us sing the praises of those comics of noble mien. Yesterday Reilly showed me a recent copy of Thor. The cover would've sent me running from the store it's so bad -- who knew Goldilocks lived in West Hollywood? -- but the inside looks really good -- colors by Laura Martin, who I loved on Astonishing X-Men, pencils by Olivier Coipel -- and the story's by J. Michael Stracynzski, so it's got potential. I think I'm going to look into it. I haven't bought Thor since Walt Simonson and Beta Ray Bill.