AICN Comics: Jim Shooter Returns To Marvel!!! Reviews Flood In On The Cowled One

The Authority #27

Written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Arthur Adams and Tim Townsend - inks

Published by DC/Wildstorrm

Reviewed by Benjamin Birdie (swell41@aol.com)

Although it's shown up alongside the most heavily anticipated comic book release since, well, Little Nemo in Slumberland (more on that next), The Authority #27 is the best thing hitting stands this week. Mark Millar is writing super hero stories that astoundingly make you forget that this used to be a Warren Ellis book. And he's no slouch. As vicious as he's made his Ultimate X-Men villains, The Authority's current states find them at the mercy of some decidedly disgusting and devious plans. I'd be loathe to give anything away, but trust me, you already want to read the final issue of the storyline just to see the enormously righteous comeuppance. Millar writes perfect dialogue for a book hat, for the most part, lets its wide-screen action deliver its punch lines.

And lets talk about that wide-screen action, shall we? Ever since he drew Storm in that X-Men/Asgardian Wars annual, ever since he introduced us to those Outrageous X-Babies, Art Adams has always been one of my favorite artists. Along with his amazing work on Jonni Future in Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, we're witnessing a bit of an Adams renaissance. The first few pages of this book are so chock full Adams-ian visual treats that you could probably spend all day reading them. Be warned, though, Adams probably suffers the same slings and arrows that Frank Quitely, his predecessor, does. Both are ridiculously talented, both have highly unique visual styles, and both draw significantly non-humanoid looking human faces. If that's the sort of thing that bugs you, there are dozens more books out there of significantly less quality that feature more people-looking people.

The story, which we last left so many months ago, continues at a typically Millar-ian breakneck pace. He tells us everything we need to know, sprinkled with all sorts of cleverly humanizing details (both The Authority's ship and one of their members' inner psychic sanctums have been sold to advertisers and real estate agents while the team has been, well, unavailable). This is a gorgeous and immensely readable book. I could recommend it more highly, but this rating system only goes up to ten.

Outrageously Recommended. 10/10

The Dark Knight Strikes Again #1

Written and illustrated by Frank Miller with colors by Lynn Varley

Published by DC Comics

Reviewed by Benjamin Birdie (swell41@aol.com)

Well, let's just get right to it. DK2 as a cover title is just an awful idea. Have we forgotten the class and subtlety of the literally world famous Dark Knight Returns lightning bolt image and wisp thin font? Really poor marketing decision, in my eyes, but then again, I'm sure it'll sell perfectly next to the new Limp Bizkit remix album (where, knowing DC's promotional plans for this book, it will most assuredly be available). I wouldn't have minded that fist image alone on white. That would've been striking.

Thankfully, that's really my only major grievance with this ridiculously brave undertaking by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Basically the comic book equivalent of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in terms of anticipation and inevitable onslaught of critical observation, The Dark Knight Strikes Again attempts to achieve the unthinkable: follow up one of the most widely read and respected pieces of comic book literature in history. It's no small task, and one doomed, on some level, to disappoint. After all, what comic book reader hasn't at one time or another imagined an epilogue to the ambiguous ending to The Dark Knight Returns? Who hasn't sent the Sons Of Batman off to battle against the scum of the Earth in the war scarred canyons of their imaginations?

Well Frank Miller, God bless him, has decided to just do it himself. It's different in many ways. The familiar visual tropes of the original are gone, and that takes some getting used to. The great thing about the visual format of The Dark Knight Returns, was that all those little panels made the splash pages simply destroy you. You had to put the book down and marvel at them. Now, the splash pages are back (they've always been there in Miller's work. You haven't given up on him in the past fifteen years, have you?), but they don't have the same power. But really, what could? Also gone, at least so far, is a clear sense of Gotham as a teeming city filled with loudmouths spouting drivel on nightly news interviews. But this is clearly a different more globally minded story. His vision of an even more dystopian future has some wonderfully rich details, none of which I plan on spoiling here, but the fate of the Flash is particularly rich in irony and cleverness, and there's also an especially warm feeling seeing Carrie and Bruce and all your favorite Mutant malcontents back in action.

The only thing that I had real trouble with was the coloring. Lynn Varley's work on the original was really spectacularly handmade, giving the visuals an omnipresent grittiness. This time around, the proceedings are a thousand-fold more digital looking, and while sometimes this works, many times it does not. I suppose one might see it as a connection with the different weltenschung on display. This is a digital colorful world now, even though it only takes place a few years after the original. It's also telling a brighter story dealing with a lot more spandex.

On the whole, however, it's pretty ridiculous to make assumptions at this point as to whether or not this story will be as good as its predecessor. As it stands, it's a great, good-looking read. It might take a little getting used to, but hey, who would've ever imagined it would ever have arrived?

Recommended. 7/10.

And with a Different View on The Dark Knight Strikes Again…Aaron Buttonb (vroomsocko@hotmail.com)

Well, the Most Anticipated Comic Of The Year has finally been released. The hype for DK2 has reached Episode I proportions, and the payoff also resembles that of Star Wars; true disappointment that a former master of his chosen craft has lost the golden touch. Frank Miller has produced a follow up to The Dark Knight Returns that has on originality or soul to it.

If you have read any of the sequels to Miller's earlier work Give Me Liberty, then you have essentially already read this story. Three years after the events of DKR, the world has become a perfect place. Perfect, that is, unless you scratch the glossy surface and reveal the scum underneath. Martial law is the order of the day. The Government is riddled with corruption. Only one man is willing to stand up to this New World Order; The Batman. That sure sounds like a bad advertisement, but trust me, there is no way to summarize this issue WITHOUT sounding like something out of Previews.

The tragedy of this story is that Miller hasn't written a horrid story, simply a redundant, overdone story that was mediocre the last time he wrote it. Parallels between DK2 and Martha Washington Goes to War/Saves the World are inescapable. Both stories have heroes who are being controlled by the story's main villain. Both show the President of the United States having similar problems with modern technology. Both represent the downward slide of Frank Miller as a storyteller.

The truly sad aspect of this issue is not only how sub-par the story is, but how equally unspectacular the art is. Miller's art is much like his work on Sin City, abundant with stark blacks and brilliant whites. Lynn Varley provides the book with rich, playful color. However, when the two are looked at as a whole, the end result is a bigger wreck than an oil truck colliding with an animal control van. I had to struggle to remind myself that this was the duo that created the vibrant art of 300 a few years ago. In DK2, something is missing from the mix. Someone that helped make DKR an instant classic.

Klaus Janson.

Klaus Janson would most definitly have found a way to bring out the best in both pencils and color. By way of example, just compare the full page image of Batman at the end of DK2 with any of the many similar images from DKR. The images from DKR of Batman on horseback, dangling from a helicopter, leaping from the Batmobile, or sailing across the rooftops with Robin all jump right off the page and into the optic nerve of the reader. The final image of DK2 #1 just lies there.

Also missing is another person that made DKR what it is; Jim Gordon. His story helped ground DKR, gave us a mere mortal perspective of Batman and his mission. With his mantra of "I think of Sarah. The rest is easy." we are given an image of a man who hates what he has to do as a cop, but does it out of love for both his wife, and the people of Gotham. His voice was the soul of DKR, a soul that is lacking in DK2. This is not to say that this role in DK2 must be filled by Gordon, but if this series is to be remembered in the same breath as it's predecessor, some similar voice is needed. Gordon does appear in this issue, but for only two brief panels, and even that appearance is redundant. Hopefully Miller will give us more Jim Gordon in the next two issues, even if all he does is have a beer and cheat on his wife.

This story serves no purpose. It is redundant, a disgrace to the original, a waste of money. With all the hype surrounding DK2 in the mainstream press, I hope that non-comics readers will linger in the local comic book shop, mabe take a look at stuff like Akira, Box Office Poison, or Bone. Anything to keep them from thinking that THIS is the end-all, be-all of comics. This is Vroom Socko asking; what much hyped comic has disappointed you the most?

Rating: 4/10

Star Wars: Tag & Bink are Dead #2 of 2

Written by Kevin Rubio and illustrated by Lucas Marangon, Howard M. Shum

Published by Dark Horse Comics

Reviewed by Vroom Socko, vroomsocko@hotmail.com

Imagine, if you will, that every time you see a pair of Stormtroopers in Star Wars and Empire, they're the same two guys. Now imagine they're a pair of Rebel soldiers in disguise and on the run. This is the basis of what has to be the funniest Star Wars comic I have ever seen, Tag & Bink are Dead. This laugh out loud two parter is brought to us by the nutballs behind the Star Wars Tales #7 story Force Fiction. (Yoda in a booster seat, anyone?)

Written by Kevin "TROOPS" Rubio, Tag & Bink is full of the same type of off kilter humor as the famous short film. Some of the more odd moments include what Lando did at the Battle of Tanaab, what happened to Chewie's medal, who shot C-3PO, and how the shuttle Tydirium happened to fall into Rebel hands. This comic needs at least three heads in order to accommodate all the winks and nods to the trilogy that occur on just the first four pages. The Battle of Tanaab joke alone had me laughing out loud like an idiot, and I hardly ever laugh aloud over a comic.

Lucas Marangon's art is crammed with so many gags I didn't even try to keep count. While the characters appear a bit cartoonish, this is by no means a bad thing. In fact, in a story where the two main characters have their faces completely covered for half the story, the art style is of great help in conveying character emotion. Most of the backgrounds and vehicles are actually done in rather good detail. Lando's swinger pad is a sight to behold, complete with an ad poster for malt liquor. There is also the always badass looking ship and armor of a certain bounty hunter. And keep an eye out for a cameo by Marangon and editor Dave Land.

Is there anything not to like? Well, even when not dressed as Stormtroopers, it's impossible to tell the difference between Tag and Bink. The reason for their survival of the destruction of the Death Star is disappointing, no matter what Rubio thinks of his Flash Gordon "homage." Also, a fight scene with the aforementioned bounty hunter is rather abrupt and unclear. Still, these relatively minor quibbles don't detract from the fun of this read. Both fans and non-fans of Star Wars should find this title to be well worth their money.

Rating: 8.5/10