That Time of the Month

Ah, it's time to talk about this week's comic books. And since it had been a few weeks since I had actually swung by B&M, "this week" actually means these past few weeks. Since I've been dropping pretty much everything I was buying, there's only four books this time, so the reviews should be good, right? Well, lessee..

Danger Girl: Body Shots #1
I pretty much told you everything about it here, so no need to repeat myself.

Wetworks #7
Okay, I need to complain here. Almost a year ago, Whilce Portacio was saying that Wetworks was going to ship on time because he had already finished six issues, and therefore they had enough material to keep the series going once they started to publish it. Since I'm always thinking the worst, I thought that the seventh issue would be late. As it turns out, I was wrong: issue 7 did ship on time, but guess what: Portacio does NOT draw it. I understand he's been having a hard time dealing with his diabetes, and I also understand he's been drawing both Wetworks and Batman Confidential at the same time. But I also understand that, the more time the artists have to finish their books, the longer it actually takes them. Why? Probably because they think "Oh, I'm okay. I've got six issues finished, so there's no need to hurry".
Whatever the explanation, the truth of the matter is that it is not Portacio, but hack Darick Robertson who draws this issue. And he is horrible. I was disgusted with the horrendous artwork, and even though the story is better than last month, the pictures are ugly as hell. Can I be more explicit about this? The pictures SUCK ass, and I can draw better than that. The artwork is pathetic, and Wildstorm should be ashamed of putting out such crap. Now that feels better. I'm giving this series one more issue before I drop it. And you know what? According to what Portacio said on his blog, I wouldn't be the first one, since the book is not exactly selling hundreds of thousands of copies.

Witchblade #104
Once again, a very satisfying read. This issue is very well written and illustrated, and even though there's not a whole lot going on, the story does move forward a little bit, and it gives us a couple of surprises. Also, Stjepan Sejic illustrates a few pages along with regular artist Adriana Melo, but even though he's supposed to be sensational, I don't really like him. Still, a good read.

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #3
Surprising as it may be, The Gunslinger is again the top book of the month. Part of the story I remembered from Wizard & Glass, the fourth book of the series in which this comic book series is based on, and it was just great to see the "saloon showdown" on paper. Jae Lee does a superb job illustrating the story, and the artwork is out of this world. And at the end, after the short story that always complements the drawn pages, there is the first part of the Dark Tower panel from last February's New York Comic Con, in which Stephen King and everybody else involved in the comic book answer questions from the audience. Each issue of TGB is expensive, but it comes jam packed with goodness: incredible artwork, fantastic story, sketches and behind the scenes material, a short story, and, this time, the first part of the Comic Con panel. As I always say, y'all should be reading this book. May ya have long days and pleasant nights.