Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Andrew and the guys over at Gray Haven Magazine.com have another gigantic batch of reviews for you, so this is me, shutting up and handing you over to them!!
Hi Gang. Andrew from GrayHaven Magazine with another heap of recommendations for your reading pleasure. There have been a lot of quality books coming out lately including some old standbys and a few terrific new titles worth looking out for so check them out. I’ve also gotten more than a few emails as to how I feel about the ‘Screaming Retinas’ and why I didn’t come to the boards last week to offer up my two cents. The fact of the matter is that I think it’s absolutely wonderful that there are more people taking an active interest in comic books and going so far as to channel their passions into reviews (both favorable and unfavorable). Die hard comic book fans have known for some time that there are a ton of amazing books to choose from, produced from a wide variety of publishers and it’s great to see more people trying to draw attention to that fact. So enjoy these reviews and watch for the next batch from the Screaming Retinas, and who knows…perhaps a Screaming Retinas dot com before to long. Onward….
The obligatory review key:
Don't Miss- A flawless example of a comic book. From writing to art, there is nothing that could be improved upon.
Highly Recommended- While not absolutely perfect, a grade of Highly Recommended goes to books that are a cut above the rest. These are essential reading for any fan of comic books
Recommended- A book that is a bit better than average. A few shortcomings, but otherwise a very good effort.
Mildly Recommended- Average. Books with this rating aren’t terrible but they may fall short in one area or another and while they aren’t to be discounted, most likely these issues appeal to only the die-hard comic fans.
Deadline # 1
Written by Bill Rosemann and Illustrated by Guy Davis
Published by Marvel
Reviewed by John M. Campbell
You may not know who Bill Rosemann is, but if you’ve read a marvel book or a press release, you’ve probably read something he’s wrote. He was formerly constantly referred to as Your Man @ Marvel, to the point that that was his nametag for a convention I saw him at. But how does he do when working on a book instead of talking about it?
I’m honestly impressed by the writing. His characters have character. Many times you’ll see writers having their characters talk in the same voice, tone, and inflection as they do but Kat Farrell (the main character) doesn’t talk anything like Rosemann. She has her own independent voice and it’s great. Rosemann also gives some interesting concepts like a tattoo parlor that works on supers with super hard skin basically using a blowtorch to give them tats. Kat is a cub reporter and it shows. She’s anxious, not very cautious, not quite as inquisitive as she should be but still enough to get in trouble. And He’s writing a mystery book I love it. It’s already been said that the character being called Judge won’t be revealed till the last issue and I like that, it gives me plenty of time to draw my own conclusions. Now if Rosemann can take my conclusions shatter them against the ground give an even better idea and explain it, then this series will be great.
Guy Davis does the art and while it looks very sketchy it fits the story, gives the characters good facial expressions, and is recognizable enough, while leaving out the details that take away from the iconic look of the characters
And there’s Greg Horn doing a beautiful amazing cover and the following issues look even better.
Overall – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Deadpool 65
Written by Jay Faerber and Illustrated by Gail Simone and Udon
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by HD Schellnack
Writing Deadpool sure is not an easy gig for any writer. The character has been designed by Rob Liefeld, his face looks like Pizza, his attitude sucks, and the only redeeming quality is that he’s funny as hell. This book has been on/off for me, as I was very much into Joe Kelly’s one-liners but never quite got into the plot groove. Now, rising Indie-star Gail Simone writing the merc with the mouth alone made this book worth checking out for me and I wasn’t sorry (okay, the cute x-legged half-naked bunny chick on the cover made me buy it, but I can’t actually admit that, now, can I?). The plot, so far is simple enough: Wade Wilson messes up a simple hitman job and – by sheer accident – kills Japans four biggest crime bosses. Escaping the scene with a wounded butt and a fried chicken, Wilson is suddenly a star in the hitman biz –all the AIM and Hydra wannabe killers swoon over him in the gym, women (what the heck is a blond Lara Croft look-alike doing in a gym… am I missing something here, Gail???) flirt with him, DP. Inc. seems to be doing some murder business… ah, you get the idea, and of course we realize that it’s all too good to last, which just might be the reason, DP is more or less a bloody pulp by the end of the story, with Simone promising us that things will get worse in # 66.
The writing is a bit wordy, like Chris Claremont writing an episode of Friends, but as long as the words are funny, I don’t mind… especially as many books these days drift to the other extreme and barely give you two sentences per page (Captain America # 1 anybody?). The dialogue is tongue in cheek, to say it politely, as it should be, the plot is hilarious, and the little details and touches in writing and art (like a derelict Thor sitting in a panel with an "Odin is dead" placard or the wonderfully funny "girls-just-wanna-have fun"-scene with the filled chicken) make this book enjoyable on more levels than just the superficial hohoho-standard.
The artwork is, well… I dunno. Okay, the girls look good. Somehow the manga girls actually work as the kind of cliché they obviously are intended to be. As for the rest, I’m not sure if the US/Manga mix the Udon studio offers here really makes me happy. The mix just doesn’t work, and absurdly enough it sometimes looks like those badly drawn X-Men comics from the early 90s when anybody and his dog was aping Jim Lee. Which isn’t to say the art is bad, it really isn’t. But the colouring is too detailed, too Photoshop-Gung-Ho, to rendered for the simple art – and I’d wish they’d either go for some simpler art – more mangaesque – or do something that looks more like straight US stuff. This crossover doesn’t make me happy – and I know it CAN work, just look at the art in Doom Patrol.
The package as a whole works perfectly. If you are among the elite few select readers that dig stuff Captain Marvel and if you like the mix of hilarity and manga-orientated action should be able to get into this book with no problem. It’s a pretty entertaining read, with humour that works on various levels… and humour, which, most importantly, WORKS.
Overall - RECOMMENDED
Dolls #1
Written by Lorenzo Bartoli, Illustrated by Saverio Tenuta
Published by Sirius
Reviewed by Mike Gagnon
Plot – In the future people will be able to rent robotic women the same way they rent movies. Leo Kaminsky just happens to be a person who enjoys such form of entertainment. He has even become emotionally attached to his robo-babe named Candy. One problem though, He hasn’t paid his bill in seven weeks! So rental doll owner Mingus sends his goons to collect. In the process they tear apart Leo’s life by killing Candy. Now Leo has decided to devote his life to bringing Mingus down by any means necessary.
Script – Overall very well written. For most parts of the book you’ll wonder why, even a desperate person, could become so attached to a robotic partner. Rest assured all things are revealed. This book has more suspense and twists and turns than you can shake a stick at. At one point Leo actually become Mingus’s Right hand man under a different name and you sit on the edge of your seat saying "When is he gonna’ attack?". Well written and makes the whole aspect of taking place in the future believable.
Art – Beautiful. Dark, gritty, scary, & beautiful. The book looks like the artist actually painted the entire book in oils and then was printed in black and white. A beautiful rendering of the Dolls and great looks for the characters as well. .
Overall Impressions – A good book, but not for those who aren’t into very dark morbid stuff. Fortunately I am. You actually begin to sympathize with Kaminsky even though he’s likely much crazier than the villains he’s out to destroy.
Overall – RECOMMENDED
Dumped
Published by Oni Press
Written and illustrated by Andi Watson
Reviewed by Chaos McKenzie
I had no intention of buying this; I’m not much of fan of Watson’s work. It’s pretty solid, talented, slices of life. But the characters usually fall in a world too removed from my own that they seem obsolete. Of course yesterday, I also wasn’t intending on being dumped either. Getting the call from the first boy I’ve ever poured my heart out to in my whole life, telling me we had to meet for coffee, and no not at my place, and no don’t go meet him at his. I had three hours to kill, but my stomach was already doing back flips, and I knew… I just knew what was coming. To try to avoid any thought process that would result in me kicking trash cans with frustration, I headed to the solace and sanctuary of the Silver Snail, and the supporting companionship of my hipster comic pals (yeah I know it sounds like a bad movie plot, but that’s my life).
Suddenly Dumped screamed from the shelves at me. I grabbed at it before I even glanced at the newest X-books, or a long waited release of the Green Arrow. Watson would understand, something in this book would hold ironic and true to me in the wake of what I knew was coming. I didn’t read it at first, just brought it home and skimmed the pages briefly, a story of a would be Romeo and Juliet, Debs and Binny find themselves in a whirlwind romance in the after math of Debs’ recent break up. They’re relationship was similar to his and mine. I felt kind of sick, so I had to put the book down. I suddenly get what everyone is talking about with Watson, how eventually one way or the other something about his stories boldly and unforgivably reflects a perfect slice of our mundane lives. He captures the dramas and clichés of human beings, not forgiving them or making them cleverly different, but starkly presenting them as they are. As humans we live drama, our lives are clichés.
So I did get dumped, as expected. Somehow my body not equaling the power of my mind, and they would still like to use me for help with thesis papers, but they’d prefer it if we didn’t do anything fun together any more. Okay, thas cool. I walked home, no tears, no screaming, what’s the point? I walked home, sat down, picked up Dumped and read it cover to cover.
I gritted my jaw through the entire thing. Despite the lack of captions or thought balloons I heard every painful thought and idea of the characters explode in my mind. It’s a brilliant tale, true and real. Watson’s artwork captures the simplicity of human emotion without trying to cover it in fanciful exaggerations. Though the happy ending made me groan, I suspect it was only a side effect of my own unhappy ending.
Thank you, Mr. Watson for showing us that we aren’t going insane, that we’re all perfectly normal, and somewhere someone is feeling this way too.
Overall – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The First #18
Written by Barbara Kesel and Illustrated by Andrea Di Vito
Published by CrossGen
Reviewed by Elliot Kane
The world of Elysia is populated by The First – a race of powerful beings who consider themselves to be gods. In long ages past they created many of the worlds of the CrossGen universe. Once they were one people under the wise rule of Altwaal, their king and the greatest amongst them, but they are long split into two houses – the self-seeking Sinister and the noble Dexter - and now spend all their time in petty squabbles and minor politicking.
But the time is coming when the two houses of The First must be united again, and there are two who seek to bring about that goal – Seahn who seeks the power of rulership himself, and Persha who seeks the return of Altwaal – never considering that she herself is a living embodiment of the very unity she strives to create.
And over all hangs a question that may shatter the foundations of The First's understanding of their place in the universe – what if The First are not first after all...
In this issue, Seahn brings his ultimate plans closer to fruition, while Persha suffers a setback that may not be a setback after all. Ingra, head of House Sinister, displays her awesome power, and events are set in motion which will change the world of Elysia for ever.
Barbara Kesel has crafted a tale of politics and intrigue that is unique in the world of comics. Her characters are distinctive and well rounded, with ambitions and agendas of their own. This issue serves to advance at least two of the many plot threads, and does so clearly and purposefully. There is no lack of action either, so something for everyone.
Andrea Di Vito draws the godlike forms of The First very well. The men are hugely muscled but still graceful, while the women are impossibly beautiful. All have little touches that make them clearly other than human, which is clearly a must for this title. His battle scenes are also impressive, conveying the sheer power of the forces that The First can bring to bear.
Overall: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Hunter: The Age Of Magic #10
Written by Dylan Horrocks and Illustrated by Richard Case
Published by Vertigo
Reviewed by Elliot Kane
Problems continue to build for Tim Hunter, living embodiment of the power of magic, as current story arc 'The Evil Gene' continues.
Dr Fabien has finished testing Tim's blood for the evil gene, but he has ambitions and dreams that go far beyond anything Tim could reasonably have expected. Then there is Eden, the shop girl bewitched by Mr Lily into falling totally and completely in love with Tim. She will not – indeed cannot – leave him alone. Last but not least, there is a Tarot deck, made in the 16th century, yet bearing a clear likeness of Tim.
Dylan Horrocks continues to develop the characters of Tim and his supporting cast very well. Eden especially becomes more and more like a real person, and I find myself hoping that she will stick around, just to add the 'normal' perspective to all the weird happenings. The fact that there is nothing special about her makes her very unusual in comics, and adds another breath of fresh air to an already unique series.
Richard Case's artwork conveys character very well, although I would like to have seen a little more difference between Dr Fabien and Tim in some panels. Both have short spiky brown hair and spectacles, which means a first glance can sometimes be confusing, even though Fabien has a stronger chin.
Other than this one quibble though, Case's art works very well for this title. His crowd scenes actually look like real crowds of people, rather than model conventions as is sometimes the case in other titles.
Overall: RECOMMENDED
MAD about Super Heroes TPB
Written and illustrated by "the usual gang of super-idiots" (hey, they said it first)
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by HD Schellnack
This is MAD, so what do you expect? Dense plotlines aren’t exactly their thing. But this TPB of course offers a best-of of the bits and pieces the Mad magazine has done about the few select super heroes entering the mass culture arena with movies or by sheer popularity. From a very cool and very very old Wally Wood Superduperman-story (a tradition of storytelling now alive in Alan Moore’s Splash Brannigan) to a riff on the new Smallville show, MAD about Super Heroes takes a trip through the decades of men in tights doing their stuff on the Silver Screen and on TV. And the great thing is that, yes, MAD DOES recycle jokes! The advertisement is true! But then again, spandex clichés are so obvious, maybe you just can do some very limited jokes, like about Batman and Robin being gayish and so on. Still, it’s cool to have all these movies spoofs side-by-side and to see that even MAD couldn’t get much more abstruse than Batman IV. If you can laugh about your flying folks in underoos, for ten bucks, you can’t do wrong with this book.
Overall – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Margot in Badtown (TPB/Graphic Novel)
Written by Jerome Charyn and Illustrated by Massimilano Frezzato
Published by Tundra/Comics USA/Heavy Metal
Reviewed by Mike Gagnon
Plot – Margot’s sick of living in small town Texas! As soon as she can she slips away in the night on a bus bound for New York. When there she begins to pursue her dream career in acting. It ends up being a lot harder to make it in the big apple than she though.
Script – Fairly well written and convincing. Margot deals with all kinds of people that we can recognize from real life; slimy agents, slimy landlords, slimy tenants, and more. The real twist in her life comes when her new landlord hires her to watch over the construction crew renovating her building. Don’t let this fool you though! This book is full of action, daring, intrigue, and a threesome! Don’t all Heavy Metal books have a threesome? All in all a very enjoyable read.
Art – Frezzato is a pure artistic genius. Beautifully rendered people will make you fall in love with the books lead character. Shebang!
Overall Impressions – The only thing I could recommend for this book is a shorter length. _ of the way through the book you begin to question some of the relevancy of plot elements. All in all a great book that people can relate to if they've come from a small town into a big city. All in all meets the quality you’d expect from imported comics.
Overall – RECOMMENDED
Noble Causes 2A
Written by Jay Faerber and Illustrated by Patrick Gleason and Jamal Igle
Published by Image Comics
Reviewed by HD Schellnack
The fact that I bought Noble Causes speaks for the power of online self-marketing. Jay Faerber offers the first instalment of his creator-owned series as PDF-Download on his homepage (www.jayfaerber.com), and I got intrigued enough with the plot to buy the second issue. This opens with the preparations for the funeral of Race, who died last issue and whose death is recapped in a neat way and not too boring way before we get into the fray. And "fray" it is, as the Noble Family – a kind of mix between the Fantastic Four and the "Dallas" Clan – gives us the classical family quarrel at the gravesite scene as the ice-powered Frost, evidently the black sheep of the family – comes to pay his respects for his dead half-brother and a massive fight breaks loose, including frozen robots, flying blood and a neat volcanic eruption (geez, doesn’t ANYBODY think of that poor cemetery gardener?). After all that heat Frost later-on cools his heels by taking a shower with Celeste, who happens to be Rusty’s wife (Rusty being Frosts Half-brother). And of course Rusty is just taking a look into the shower as Frost and Celeste make out. Ooops. All that AND a neat cliff-hanger make any given soap-opera show look simple in comparison. The back-story at least explains a bit about Celeste and Frosts background and why Rusty is a human being in a robot body.
Noble Causes in its second issue seems to be determined to present the reader with a background as dense and intrigue-ridden as an X-Men comic after 20 years of continuity. The background, though never really fully explained, seems to be well-planned and maybe the overload and the slightly frustrating feeling of just never knowing enough stuff about what the hell it is that just happens here is fitting, as that simply helps us identify with the central character Liz, the human wife of the deceased hero Race, who now is a member of the family and who seems to be quite alone, estranged and frustrated in that role. Nevertheless, the book reads a bit like Keith Giffen's five-years-later-Legion of the Superheroes… you just have to work to understand what’s going on. That’s probably not something too alluring to readers jumping aboard a new comic book. And in terms of brilliancy of plot and narrative, the Noble Causes doesn’t reach the sheer utter maniac brilliancy of Giffen’s LoSH work, alas.
In many ways, visually as well as in terms of storytelling, Noble Causes feels like a better mainstream comic book, and like so many new mainstream superhero comics it’s desperately looking for a spin to make the whole spandex thing look different and hip. This time it’s the family thing, the Dallas/Denver-Clan approach, the slight feeling that this is the Kennedy clan with superpowers. The Cover and inside artwork is by Gleason and by back-story-artist Igle is clear and conveys the story well, but both artists don’t strike me as anything special, especially Igle feels entirely too much deja-vu for my taste. That isn’t a bad thing per se, but it underlines my feeling that Noble Causes, while being entertaining and very solid and well worth reading, is nothing special per se, nothing that you really MUST have. Much like the new Iron-Man or Kurt Busieks Power Company, this is a solid superhero book with a neat new twist, and if you have the money, you really should give it a try, but at least for me, it’s not something I absolutely would NEED to read. It’s fun though, so check it out.
Overall - RECOMMENDED
The Power Company #3
Written by Kurt Busiek and illustrated by Tom Grummett
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by Aaron "Vroom Socko" Button
What I really love about Kurt Busiek are his little moments. Case in point, the ending of this issue of The Power Company. As the Imperial Dragoneer is being led off in power null-cuffs (Oh, like this is a spoiler. The JLA isn’t facing an army of dragons in a company wide crossover this month, at least I don’t think they are…) this exchange occurs:
Dragoneer: Feaugh. You will not hold me. I will take joy in killing you all.
Cop: Yeah, yeah. Save it for the book deal, pal. They’ll eat it up…
I’m sorry folks, but this sort of dialogue just gets me right in the funnybone. Stuff like this, the actions of reluctant team leader Skyrocket, and just about every panel featuring the Company’s strongman Bork are why I’ve been reading this title. The rest has been rather ho hum so far.
The reason for this is that the entire first story arc has been something I’ve never read from Busiek’s prior conventional superhero stories. I’m sure I’ve missed one prior to this, but I’ve never seen a conventional superhero introductory setup storyline penned by Kurt Busiek. His Thunderbolts premiere brought with it the history of the Masters of Evil, Likewise with Avengers #1 and their prior incarnations, and if you think that Astro City is conventional, you have some rereading to do. The thing is that I’m too used to reading stories where Busiek messes around with the preconceived history of a team, I have trouble adjusting to a team being built from the ground up.
But you don’t want to hear about my problems; you want to hear whether or not this is a comic worth buying. Obviously, I think so. This concluding chapter showed the team getting it’s act together, set up the status quo for the series, and looked pretty damn cool doing it. I’m looking forward to the next issue, since whatever hang-ups I have are now settled, I can’t wait for whatever Busiek’ll be throwing at both the Power Company and myself.
Overall – RECOMMENDED
Sojourn #10
Written by Ron Marz and Illustrated by Greg Land
Published by CrossGen
Reviewed by Elliot Kane
Arwyn and Gareth have persuaded the dragon, Shiara, to attack the castle of the undead tyrant Mordath in an attempt to kill him. Meanwhile the trollish governors of the Five Lands have been summoned to Mordath's castle for a meeting.
Ron Marz starts to turn his trolls into rather more than mere cannon fodder with this issue. We actually get to see a little of what they are like, and I hope this trend continues. The calibre of the villains in any story always helps to establish the calibre of the hero(in)es, and Marz's trolls seem like a fairly interesting bunch all told.
This is more of an action issue than anything else, with Shiara the dragon attacking Mordath's castle being the main focus of the issue, but character development is not neglected, with Gareth's narration showing some new changes in his character.
Greg Land's art is as beautiful as ever. Each of his trolls is unique and distinctive, Mordath looks like the undead thing he is, Arwyn is still gorgeous, and the dragon is still utterly awe inspiring. His attention to detail is superb, with Gareth's stubble slowly growing over time into something that is now almost a beard. The only problem I can see for the future is this: how on earth is he ever going to top that dragon?
Overall: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Sigil #23
Written by Chuck Dixon and Illustrated by Scot Eaton
Published by CrossGen
Reviewed by Elliot Kane
The huge asteroid launched by the Saurians at the homeworld of the Humans last issue arrives with a bang. Can Sam and the space fleet stop it, and even if they can, will the price be the life of Zanni, Sam's lady love, who is still trapped aboard it?
Chuck Dixon takes a leaf out of classic sci-fi novel Starship Troopers here, with the use of asteroids as weapons of war, but the result is a well told and fast paced story that will up the ante on the Human-Saurian war for quite some time to come.
The action is very fast paced, but still has time to introduce a few new supporting characters, including the new female president of the Humans and the very interesting looking Admiral Umpala, whose distinctive look would certainly make him stand out in a crowd.
Artistically, Scot Eaton does a superb job with the fights and the explosions, but some of his scenes of characters running and jumping seem rather static, which is particularly jarring as he does such a fine job on the rest of the art.
The first page will doubtless make fans of the Starship Troopers film smile, being a clear nod in that direction. A very nice touch indeed.
Overall: RECOMMENDED
Transformers Generation 1 #1
Written by Chris Sarracini and Illustrated by Pat Lee
Published by DW
Reviewed by John M. Campbell
First off, I have to admit I bought all three covers for this book. And I have all the episodes of Robots in Disguise on CD and All the Robots in disguise action figures that have been released in America. And my truck has the decepticon logo on it. So, if you don’t see where I’m going with this, I’m a bit obsessive when it comes to Transformers. That’s why no matter if this series was printed on toilet paper, drawn by a jittery four year-old and scripted in dyslexic Engrish, I still would have bought it.
I’ve been looking forward to this series since I saw a Pat Lee drawn image in an issue of wizard for a drawing tutorial or something. So luckily Pat Lee doesn’t shirk from giving lots of eye candy. The Autobots cover is beautiful. The foil cover is fairly nice. And the Decepticon cover is acceptable. None of them really tell what’s going on inside.
Talking about the multiple variant covers leaves a bad taste in my mouth that tastes about the same as most comics in the early 90s, and that’s about the only bad piece of nostalgia there is in this issue. Spike is there. Optimus and Megatron are there and look very nice. For a first issue it’s really got my attention and builds on my geek desire to see more.
But anyways back to praising Pat Lee’s work. There is a nice little poster in the middle that kinda shows us some of the Armada (the next cartoon/toy/comic series) characters that’s really nice and gives me that nice warm feeling.
I know, enough about the extra you want to know about story. Well, that’s one of the reasons you really want to see issue 2, there isn’t much story in here. The bad humans found something and are using it for bad stuff. The good guy Americans come around with their own that is just as good. And Spike Whitwickey is asked for help. That’s pretty much it. There’s a nice long news story piece on the last page, but I like when my story is in the pages, not the prose at the end. Pat Lee’s people look roughly alike in that semi-anime cel-drawing style that is slowly gaining popularity thanks to Udon and a few others. So far the Giant Robos are moving fairly staticly but that’s acceptable for what’s happening in the story so far if it’s still doing that when issue 3 or four runs around, then it could be a problem.
So, in short, Mostly great eye candy, a story that could be interesting though this issue lacks, other than the prose piece that tells us history. Well, at least you can be sure I’ll be buying two copies of issue #2.
Overall – RECOMMENDED
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #15
Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Illustrated by Rick Mays and Andy Lee
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Victor Destefano
This issue of Team-Up seemed like a pretty traditional Kung-Fu in China Town tale, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It starts off like so many movies featuring heroes in a gang infested China Town do. You got the quiet guy at the market who saves an innocent girl from a band of hoods only to be almost looked down upon by the older folks who simply don't want any trouble. Only here, a few things are thrown into the mix to make things a bit more interesting.
First off, throughout the story, there's another story, a closely mirroring Chinese fairy tail that weaves in and out of the issue. Andy Lee illustrated the story and for those of you unfamiliar with his work, Lee's style is a beautiful, more abstract style of brush art. It suits the sub-story remarkably well and adds a whole different dimension to the book.
The fairy tale starts off the story, pretty much letting us know what we are in for and it also ends the issue, creating a masterpiece cliff hanger.
The second thing is of course the fact that Peter Paker/Spider-Man and Mary Jane are thrown in as well. So far, the two have really only been used for the sake of adding a bit more dialogue and illustrating the fact that the Kung-Fu Master, Shang-Chi can really take care of himself even when facing an intimidating number of punks. I'm sure the relationship will change in the second part of the story, but in this issue, the spot light belongs to Shang-Chi.
Lastly, to separate this story from others like it, the girl who was saved by Shang-Chi, Leiko, appears to be incredibly intrigued by the character even though her elder aunt warns against such an interest. Just when you think that intrigue is all it is, Leiko announces that she's aware of the young martial artist's name and has found him quite easily. Indicating that her purpose in China Town was simply to find him. For what reason? I have no idea, one more aspect making for a hell of a cliff hanger.
The story itself seems pretty simple and falls on the lighter side of the Team-Up books, but it's fun. Some of the more entertaining cliches have been used (Shang-Chi uses two fish and a broom stick to beat up the first round of goons), but Bendis stayed away from having old, Chinese ladies closing their blinds out of fear when the white Peter and MJ enter the neighborhood and things like that. Not ground breaking, but it's definitely not Showdown in Little Tokyo in comic form.
The art in this book is top notch. Rick Mays (Kabuki Agents: Scarab, Gen 13) is among one of my favorite artists and his manga influenced style works perfectly here. Unlike other American artists claiming to be inspired by the Japanese art of comics, Mays skips the cliched big, giant eyes and overuse of speed lines and instead focuses on body language and fluid movement. The action scenes in this book are among the best I've seen...ever! He really makes the martial arts action feel like it's from a well choreographed Hong Kong movie. Not to mention he draws one damn fine Leiko!
Not one panel is off and if you're like me, you'll keep opening the book well after you've read it and checked out all the art the first time.
Overall: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Ultimate Spider-Man #21
Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Illustrated by Mark Bagley
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Jeffery Stevenson
Well, after hitting Peter Parker with the Rodney Dangerfield respect stick way too much, Brian Michael Bendis finally gives the young superhero a break. Spidey finally gets his chance to tell his side of the story. A chance to finally be the "big time super hero." But first, he must defeat Kraven the Hunter. This confrontation has been building up for a while, and it finally explodes at the beginning of this issue. It also finishes up at the beginning of the book, and it turns out to be a pretty hilarious fight. Of course, I’ve never really liked that Kraven character anyways, so my view of the battle is probably a bit slanted. Still, the fight ended, I laughed, and Spider-Man finally earned a little respect.
It’s always easier to respect someone if they look good, and Spidey has Mark Bagley to thank for that. This issue seems like it would have been a bit rough to draw though. There was a lot of character interaction, and capturing all the little nuances and the body language to make those stand out the way they did, seems like it would really stretch an artist’s skills. It’s one of those subtle little things you don’t notice too often, but it’s definitely letting Bagley show his range as an artist.
Bendis is doing a great job at capturing what makes Spidey great…tragedy, disaster, catastrophe, etc. Spider-Man is the poster-child for Murphy’s Law, and overcoming everything that’s stacked against him is what he’s all about. Spider-Man’s been down for a long time in this series, and even though he starts to get back up in this issue, Bendis delivers a couple swift kicks to the ribs for good measure. Kick him some more! Kick him some more! What’s that? The Green Goblin is returning next issue. That’ll do quite nicely.
Overall – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Universe X: Volume One: Trade Paperback
Published by Marvel Comics
Collaborated by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger with Doug Braithwaite, Bill Reinhold, and Company
Reviewed by Chaos McKenzie
Ahhhhh…. epics. Got to love ‘em. They make my toes curl, my mind expand. I love watching one character hit someone in China, and then see a tower fall in Britain. Chaos theory prevails in tales like these, and chaos is what I live for.
You have to wonder how many friends Ross and Krueger have left after working on a project as huge as the Earth X trilogy. I can just picture them sitting around the breakfast table, talking theories of evolution, theology, ethics, morals, and all the quirks of heroism. I can see them rambling plot ideas to stunned strangers on the bus, to grocery store clerks, and anyone close enough to listen. They must eat, sleep, and dream the apocalyptic world of the "X".
Universe X is a continuation of the hit series Earth X, which chronicles a future version of the Marvel Universe where the entire planet has been infected with something that has caused everyone to evolve into Mutants. A world where super powers are the norm, and everyone is soaring in the sky. What results is a tale of the nature of humanity, and a bible like tale which loops together and then fills in all the gaps of the Marvel universe. It’s like getting a really detailed explanation slash origin for every character you might once have loved to read about. Universe X in particular deals with the aftermath of the events of Earth X, as a young and reborn Captain Marvel attempts to collect together items of power, which for centuries had thrown the balance of the Marvel universe out of whack.
It’s a heavy story, complicated for people who aren’t intimately familiar with the Marvel universe and it’s characters, but in the end I think this entire project was made specifically with those aging, hardcore fans in mind. It covers not only the Earth, but also all of the tiers of the universe that Marvel has played with in its day. It’s broken with interludes focusing on central characters and concepts of the larger story, and the artwork is consistently beautiful and appropriate.
It’s like a novel, dense and challenging and infinitely rewarding. Pull up a chair by the fireplace (or a warm stove will do in a pinch), and snuggle in for a dozer.
Overall – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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