Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I am constantly stunned at the volume of reviews these guys crank out. Then again, when you walk into Golden Apple and look at just how many new titles there are each month, it makes sense. Anyway... back to the review column, already in progress...
CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE OF THE REVIEWS!!
TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2
Written by Peter Laird and Illustrated by Jim Lawson
Published by Mirage Publishing
Reviewed by Chaos McKenzie
I haven't been able to figure out if this is a brand new on-going Turtles series or just a mini, but I am for sure overwhelmed with how much I'm enjoying it. I know when I really like a comic, because I hear the characters voices in my head instead of just my voice reading them in my mind. This is the case with the second issue of my personal favorite '80s…err early '90s nostalgia comic to hit the stands.
This issue's story moves the plot forward just a little, while setting up some fun new concepts and characters that I assume will play a large part in the series later (if it's a mini-series, if regular these may just be what the hell attributes, which makes me like them even more). I'm not sure if it's been done before or not, but I have to say that seeing a hospital devoted to helping the city's super heroes is a really fun idea. What made it even more exciting is that Laird has made his own little statement on super heroes and the little guy, as this hospital seems to be concerned "norms" way of giving back to the shadowy saviors of a gang torn city.
One of the things you have to give credit for with the ninja turtles is that it's concepts and characters are fairly common archetypes given whacked out forms to play in. It doesn't matter how up on your TMNT lore you are, if you've been a teenager, if you've lived on your own, if you've been in love, well hell the ideas are pretty easy to get a hold of unless your … (insert whatever insult you want there, I'm doing my best to play nice today).
The art continues to showcase that TMNT style that only TMNT does well. I've often wondered about if long time readers from the wee beginnings of the series find the art a little banal after awhile. My personal thoughts on this are that it makes the book feel more epic in the sense that the characters don't go through consistent plastic surgery overalls that make them impossible to recognize from one book to the next. Thank god this book doesn't bare an X on it (oops, too late…I've been bad).
I'm curious to see where this story is going, but I'm not overwhelmed with sweaty palms waiting for the next installment. It's more of like a happy little break in the middle of all that other same ol', same ol'.
If anyone does know if this is a mini or a new regular series, let me know… for it's sure to change my review for next time.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Ultimate Spider-Man #19
Written by Bendis and illustrated by Bagley
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Paul Weissburg
Man, these guys make it hard to write a good review. I mean, this comic has been excellent since the very first issue. It's the most consistently enjoyable comic out there! Bendis "gets" everything that makes Spider-Man (and Peter Parker) such a fun character and he captures the mood perfectly every single time! So, what does that leave for me to talk about???
Well, for one thing, let me just add that I love the "Ultimate" version of Kraven the Hunter. First of all, it's just plain funny to have Kraven be this big goober from a TV show. In this issue, however, we get our first glimpse that Kraven may actually be a credible threat. It remains to be seen if he's really as good as he claims, or if he's just a big dope.
Secondly, Peter Parker's excuse that he comes up with to avoid Aunt May is classic. Only Bendis could pull off something so juvenile and make it so damn funny.
Thirdly, the "Ultimate" version of Gwen Stacy is one of the most interesting new characters I've seen in ages. Bendis could do a whole storyline about Gwen hanging out at school, and I'd buy it. And it's all the more impressive when you contrast this version of Gwen with the "classic" Gwen Stacy of the 1970's. Aside from the name and the face, there's not much in the way of similarities. The classic Gwen Stacy cried a lot and existed solely to serve as a love interest. The modern Gwen Stacy brings a knife to school, interrogates the X-Men at a shopping mall, and is a total smart-ass.
Anyway, I can't imagine why anyone who reads comics wouldn't be picking up this series already, but on the off-chance that you're not reading it, stop being so silly and go pick it up. You'll be a better person for it!
Overall: 9 out of 10
Ultimates #2
Written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Bryan Hitch and Andrew Currie
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Alan David Doane
My suspicion that this initial story-arc is more designed for eventual collection as a trade paperback is borne out by this chapter, in which we meet most of the rest of the team. The first issue was devoted almost solely to Captain America, giving us nearly two dozen pages of set-up for the action to come. Let me suggest that this is not the way to hook new readers on an untested title. I'm all for the transformation of the comics industry into one that is driven by original graphic novels, but the slow pace and concentration one one character last issue had me feeling pretty uncertain about the future of the title.
This second issue, on the other hand, is much better bait if you want to keep people hanging around. There's plenty of character interaction, Millar's script has fun with the characters, and there's none of his usual shock tactics so heavily in evidence in any given issue of his Authority run.
Penciler Bryan Hitch shines here, with some beautiful cityscapes and dynamic work on faces and figures. He is one of the few pencilers who can pull off pages of talking heads in a superhero book without calling attention to the lack of action. He's clearly modeling the new Nick Fury on Samuel Jackson, but that's fine given the overall cinematic feel of this issue. Besides, who wouldn't want to see Samuel Jackson play Nick Fury?
I found last issue's story pretty dull stuff; mostly because it was set five decades in the past, and no matter how much impact those events have on future storylines, I am much more interested in what is going on now. It was essentially an issue-long flashback. We don't geta ton of action in #2, but we get compelling dialogue between Fury and Bruce Banner, Jan Van Dyne and Hank Pym, and most importantly Fury and Tony Stark. Any concerns I had about the motivations of Fury or Stark seem to be set to rest in the exchange here between the two. Sure, the dialogue recalls the "make a better world" philosophy of Jenny Sparks, but I admit I'm looking for a post-Authority thrill ride, and if Millar and Hitch are ready and willing to give it to me, then sequences like this are what it will take to win me over and keep me around.
The colouring last issue was another concern of mine; it was overly dark, probably in an attempt to simulate the airplane interiors and nighttime battles that the action was set in. Here we have brightly lit labs and spacious restaurants with plenty of windows. I hope that in future scenes calling for an indication of darkness, that's what we get. An indication, rather than the actual darkness we got in the murky premiere issue.
I've got no major complaints about the story or artwork in this issue. With the mainstream Marvel Universe Avengers title having outlived the solid, mainstream creative engine of Busiek and Perez that drove it for its first three years, my inner 12-year old is more than happy to once again find an exciting and well-done title featuring these characters. If every issue to come is as good as this one, The Ultimates is a book that I will be reading for a long time to come.
Overall: 8 out of 10
And then here's the reviews we didn't manage to get to last time:
Suicide Squad #5
Written by Keith Giffen and illustrated by Paco Medina (P), Joe Sanchez (I)
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by HDSchellnack
This book is Suicide, indeed. That is, I really don't know if it is gonna survive for long. Keith Giffen writes great stuff, always has, but he hasn't had much commercial success recently - and he obviously doesn't care, writing this book with a Kamikaze attitude that is a joy to behold. I think most Suicide Squad fans from the 80s might hate this book, as it is quite different from the old incarnation, and I wonder if new readers are going to care at all. The concept of an undercover team with obscure and often lame super villains blackmailed into freelancing, with protagonists (including Sgt. Rock) hating each other with a vengeance… it's great but hard to get into. The writing is terse, the humor black, the death rate marvelous. This is a book more people should be reading, but without DC putting some marketing effort into it, I see it cancelled by #12.
After the wonderful little flashback to WWII last issue, we get a closer look at Modem, new member of the somewhat-inner-circle of the Squad, who currently hides with a new identity in some sort of trailer park. A superficially harmless welcome-to-the-neighborhood-visit from the somewhat annoyingly friendly and slightly weird Dottie (featuring the first Post-Crisis appearance of CAKE… don't ask…) turns into a nightmare for Modem, as (ex-Squad-superstar) Deadshot (sans costume, natch) comes after him. Keith abuses this setup for some twenty pages of what might be best described as "sitcom from hell. " It's funny until someone dies or we get a dose full of intrigue that makes the X-Files look like a Disney toon.
Apropos toon. One of my faves with this book is the art. Many people criticize Paco Medina's simple friendly anime-influenced pencil art, which reminds me a LOT of Todd Nauck's great work on Young Justice. But I kind of like the dissonant mix of twisted humorous writing and clean, simple art. The result, to me, feels like a translation of the Elmore Leonard School of writing to comics. It LOOKS funny, and sometimes is, but indeed death and brutality lurk in every corner. Medina, like other artists who also use this specific kind of style, has problems with faces, as the very simple style doesn't allow for too much differentiation. But the storytelling, visual details and nonverbal characterization all work very well and his style makes reading this book a joy … the plots are difficult enough, more complex art would render the book almost unreadable, if you ask me.
All in all… you should get this book. Read it. If you like a good comic book yarn and don't need instant gratification (although so far every issue was self-contained, there very clearly is a development here from issue to issue, making clearer what the Squad is all about… Giffen is revealing bits and pieces with an almost torturing pace :-)), hop on this title. You didn't need to know anything about the old squad so far and I think it's gonna stay that way. You don't even have to know much stuff about obscure DC super-badguys, although it adds another layer to the book to guess who is who. Give this book a chance and let it grow on you… and maybe Keith & Co can make it past #12 with the Squad…
Overall: 9.5/10
The Thessaliad #2
Written by Bill Willingham and Illustrated by Shawn McManus
Published by DC / Vertigo
Reviewed by Chaos McKenzie
After an incredibly strong start, the second issue of this limited series left me a bit disappointed, the opening sequence just doesn't have the charm of the last issue, but I guess the problem there may be in trying to recapture that feeling at all. Once you stumble past the first few pages, you discover that this issue packs an entirely different punch than the last issue and it's just as biting.
One of the best things being done with this series is that the creators are playing with extremely simple and basic ideas and themes, but turning them around and making you go "hmmmm….". Again it's nice to see what kind of burning legacy the Sandman really left in its wake of the comic book world.
The story so far, in case you're wondering, follows the last of the Thessalian witches (did I spell that right?) on a trip through the allegorical subway on a quest to save herself. Yeah… I know, but really don't they all sound a little wonky when you work them down to the basics.
There's a real nice mesh between art and story with this book. The words of the book hint towards a much darker end mixed with the cartoony style artwork which seems to make the dark aspects stand out differently than if this book had been drawn in a dark and dirty style.
My only fear with this series is the payoff; this issue seems to conveniently set you up for a predictable ending. Predictability sucks, no matter what they say, it sucks, but what's worse is knowing the predictability of an ending, and knowing that they're going to have some weird twist to shake up at the last minute in an attempt to make it less predictable… how predictable of them.
8.5/10
Trout #2 of 2
Written by Troy Nixey and illustrated by Troy Nixey
Published by Oni Press
Reviewed by Victor Destefano
This is the second and last issue in the two part mini about a unique, quiet boy who's body and soul manages to survive an evil puppet bent on stealing the souls of all the children in the city of Lower Upton.
Trout, the story, is pretty unique. It reads very much like an eerie fable bordering on both cute and macabre. The issue begins with an old fashioned banner proclaiming, "What secrets will be revealed this time around for when Trout's involved, peril is abound" -- and other, similar rhymes accompany the beginning and ending pages of both issues.
The setting, a small city existing in a time very much like the Industrial Revolution, really helps drive that eeriness home. Nixey does a great job at using beautiful black and white to create some cartoonish, Victorian-esque buildings, exaggerated technology of the time (the evil puppet, Erasermus, first arrives to the town in some sort of odd, steam powered buggy) and characters who look like the belong to the era.
The only real problem I have with this book is that it's wrapped up in only two issues. The story itself doesn't really contain all that much and I do respect Nixey for not dragging the same amount of content on for a bunch of issues, but I really dug both the art and the writing and would have liked to have seen just a bit more. This issue crammed too much into a space that was too small and much of what you found yourself really wanting to know wasn't revealed (although the lack of a traditional, "happy" ending and what seemed to be finale that teased you with something seeming like a message of "more to come" was quite appealing).
Trout's a morbidly cute story that's nothing like I have read before. A very interesting book that may just be a bit too brief if you find yourself really digging it (which, if you give it a chance, you probably will).
Overall 8.5/10
Trout #2
Written and Illustrated by Troy Nixey
Published by Oni Press
Reviewed by Chaos McKenzie
The saddest thing about this series is that it was only two issues long, when it could have easily gone on for three or four more. But I guess in the case of Trout, simplicity was the point from beginning to end.
Trout tells the tale of a strange little boy who lives above a turnip factory and is adventures against a soul eating marionette gone bad. Troy Nixey, has an innocence to his writing style that makes you really feel like you are delving into fairy tale style story. I particularly like how he doesn't rely on explanations he simply does what he wants to make the story unfold.
Nixey has an artistic style that is a little dizzy for some readers, but fans of surrealistic and fantastical illustration will have an appreciation for the whimsical lines and tones.
I'm sure the first issue of Trout is still available on the comic shelves, grab them both and read them together, it's not earth shaking, but it's fun.
8/10
X-Force #124
Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Chaos McKenzie
I'm going to start off by saying that I just wasn't feeling the art in this issue. Mike Allred's pop art sensation that has been gracing us within X-Force is one of the major selling features of this book to me, and I just didn't click with Cooke's guest appearance. But at the same time, this issue did benefit from a different artist, like with issues of the Authority this issue of X-Force is a nice interlude in the lives of the Hollywood X-Men.
X-Force is consistently hitting the readers with various plot twists, and slices of life in the world of celebrity mutants. One of the best things that Milligan brings to this book is a satirical look at the strange lives of celebrity that most of the world seems fascinated with. This issue is a change of pace from the regular stories, in fact it almost read differently then past issues, it echoed like an episode of VH1's "Behind the Music", as we pull back a few layers of onion skin surrounding X-Force's diva supreme U-Go Girl.
I give props to Milligan who in one issue tackles sex, pregnancy (I'm amazed more characters in the Marvel universe aren't knocked up or are parents), and drug dependency. One of the best hooks on this issue is that it spends a lot of time building sympathy for a character only to slap you in the face at the end. A good lesson in life that no matter how much one seems to grow or change on the outside, the core of a human being rarely ever changes.
It was a nice tale, a quick change of pace, maybe a moment of pause before the next big story arch. Probably refreshing, or even rewarding for those who have been reading the title since the revamp, but not the best place to come on board if you never read it before as it may be a tad misleading.
Overall: 7.5/10
