New comics 6/15

Cable & Deadpool #16 (Fabian Nicieza/Patrick Zircher, Marvel)
This is a sort of placeholder issue before next issue's House of M crossover, with Deadpool traveling to some random alternate realities to look for Cable and...not finding him. Not a whole lot going on here, but still manages to be fairly entertaining.

Captain Gravity and the Power of the Vril #4-5 (Joshua Dysart/Sal Velluto, Penny-Farthing Press)
I missed the fourth issue when it came out, so I caught up with both issues this week. It's still a fun, old-fashioned superhero story, but I'm starting to think that six issues was too long for this story. The plot definitely drags here, and Dysart is starting to lose my interest. It gets bogged down in too much seriousness, and once again I look at the parody ads in the back and think that they should have added some of that sense of humor to the story. The central character remains interesting in that he's insecure in his abilities as a hero, and Velluto's art is great as always. I'm just definitely ready for the wrap-up next issue.

Ex Machina #12 (Brian K. Vaughan/Tony Harris, DC/Vertigo)
Vaughan starts the new storyline off well, with a mysterious new villain who has ties to Mitchell's past. I like the way that Vaughan has made Mitchell unique in a world without superheroes, so I'm a little wary of his introducing another super-powered character, but this looks like the start of another involving mystery. The politics sort of take a back seat in this issue, and the idea of the mayor serving jury duty seems to have less potential than legalizing gay marriage, but next issue promises to amp things up a little.

G.L.A. #3 (Dan Slott/Paul Pelletier, Marvel)
It seems like Slott is just getting started on establishing some long-term plotlines, but the series wraps up next issue. With its fun sense of humor and love for obscure bits of the Marvel universe, this would make for a great ongoing series, but I think it's selling dismally, so my guess is next issue is the last we'll see of these characters for a while.

Mnemovore #3 (Hans Rodionoff & Ray Fawkes/Mike Huddleston, DC/Vertigo)
Rodionoff and Fawkes have progressed from vaguely creepy things happening to some full-blown weird shit, and it mostly works, although they're getting to the point where they need to explain what's going on or it's all going to fall apart. Less scary now that there's more action, but still intriguing.

Powers #11 (Brian Michael Bendis/Michael Avon Oeming, Marvel/Icon)
Bendis has really written himself into a corner with this issue, as he notes on the letters page. I like that while a lot of the first volume was all about Walker, this volume is turning out to be all about Pilgrim, and given how extensively we explored Walker's angst, it's nice to see her getting her due. I am a little concerned as to where Bendis is going with this storyline and that he's making Pilgrim into such a dark character that she won't be fun to read about anymore, but if there's one thing this book has always done, it's shake things up, so I imagine this will all lead to something interesting in the end. The pacing in this issue is padded to the max and perfect fodder for Bendis-haters, but I thought that the series of wordless pages did a good job of conveying the depth of Pilgrim's pit of anger.

Vimanarama #3 (Grant Morrison/Philip Bond, DC/Vertigo)
With this concluding chapter coming a few months late, the story has lost a bit of steam, and Morrison once again seems lost in a sea of his own weird ideas. At the same time, he manages to make the central love story grounded and real, and the best scenes are between Ali and Sofia when they just have little conversations. Bond admirably illustrates all the weird shit that Morrison comes up with, and unlike Seaguy I wasn't completely lost at the end, but ultimately this series doesn't come close to the power of something like We3.