Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Our favorite @$$holes have so much to say this week, and they cover a pretty wide range of topics. I’m going to go stare at the Batmobile for a little while longer (I’ve never been so pleased to be so wrong before), and you guys should enjoy a great read. Dig in!
Hey people, Village Idiot here.
We got the stuff this week:
* A special advance HELLBOY movie review from a real comic geek! And a girl comic geek to boot!
* An Agardian-sized look at Walt Simonson's THOR! With a link to 80's era Tawny Kitaen pictures!
* Moderate abuse for Rob Liefeld in a CABLE & DEADPOOL review!
* Plus Cheap Shots! for those of you with economy-sized attention spans!
* And more! So much more, I'm slightly nauseous!
So let's get rolling!
(Click title to go directly to the review)
HELLBOY Movie Review!
BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #51
THOR VISIONARIES/LEGENDS Vol. 1-3
THE COVERSATION
KINETIC #1
CABLE & DEADPOOL #1
HEAVEN'S DEVILS #3
Cheap Shots!
HELLBOY (The Movie)
Starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and Jeffery Tambor
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Based on the comic by Mike Mignola
Reviewed by Lizzybeth
I just got back from HELLBOY, and I've got only one thing to say:
This is how it's done.
Ok, I have a few more things to say, one of which is that if this movie isn't a massive hit I'll eat my keyboard. Comic book tie-in aside, as we gear up for this summer's onslaught of fx-laden comedy/action/romance extravaganzas HELLBOY has already set the bar above the reach of most blockbuster movies. It isn't quite the zeitegist event that THE MATRIX was at a similar point in 1999, but in its aims it hits the mark in every way. The pacing is excellent, moving smartly from scary moments to ass-kicking moments with just the right amount of wise-cracking in between. Most crucially the characters are truly, wonderfully unforgettable, and that's what will keep fans watching this film over and over. There may be more inventive action, more stunning visuals, or more startling ideas in this year's big releases, but we'll be lucky if any more of them are this satisfying.
As a comic book adaptation, you can't ask for more than this. Mike Mignola worked long and hard to bring a faithful adaptation of his comic to the screen, and the effort has paid off in spades, producing a film that both recreates and builds on what was envisioned in the comic. Instead of casting by name (just imagine with me -- Ahnold IS Hellboy!!) the producers took the more risky approach in such an expensive film of taking lesser-to-unknown actors and covering them in make-up to the point of being completely unrecognizable. Director Del Toro knows that talent, in the material and in the actors, will shine through. David Hyde Pierce, Selma Blair, and especially Ron Perlman are terrific in their roles, and someone had better lock them in now for a sequel. As for Del Toro, he does one of the better jobs I've seen yet of mixing fx and man-in-suit for some great creature work.
The storyline for the film was taken from the first trade, SEED OF DESTRUCTION, and is faithful in spirit and, surprisingly often, in detail. But as a relative newbie to HELLBOY comics, I can only vouch for myself. All I ask for in a "comic book movie" is for it to draw me into its own world, one very like our own but where impossible things are possible and everything is larger-than-life. HELLBOY takes place in a world that I'd like to visit again and again, and that's what will bring me to the comic shop tomorrow morning to seek out the recently-rereleased trade editions of the HELLBOY comic series. On that note, if Dark Horse Comics has any sense they will be shoving "The Corpse" into people's hands on their way out the door. This 25-cent reprinting of a fan-favorite HELLBOY story is a stand-alone single issue tale that has some ties to the movie without directly rehashing the movie's plot, and makes a fine first issue for people who enjoyed the film. With a series of comics-to-film that has been an almost universal (sans X2) travesty, HELLBOY is a blueprint for the future -- work with the creator, be true to your material, be true to the characters. I know you'll all have a great time with this one.
BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #51
A.J. Lieberman - Writer
Al Barrionuevo - Penciller
Francis Portela - Inker
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
In GOTHAM KNIGHTS #51, The Riddler gets the ever-lovin' $#!% beaten out of him. Really. There's also a part where a policeman gets shot, execution style, in the head, off-screen (but we do get to see the scene in shadow moments before); but the real coup de grace comes when the gobs of Riddler's blood starts spilling on the ground, and his fingers are being snapped, graphically, and his broken teeth began raining down. By the time The Riddler was thrown off the building, it was almost anti-climactic. And even after that, he still wasn't finished getting worked over.
I thought it was pretty brutal, but apparently the Comics Code Authority thought it was okay, because right there on the cover was the CCA Seal of Approval. Censorship just ain't what it used to be, folks.
But looking for the seal didn't actually occur to me after the second read through -- I found the story so involving, the first time around I was more concerned with the violence (the circumstances of the story) than the Violence (the media issue). (And perhaps the Violence didn't register because I'm horribly desensitized by my media-saturated, modern western culture upbringing.)
Whatever the case, GOTHAM KNIGHTS #51 was a very intense, smartly scripted installment in what is essentially a "Return of Hush!" storyline that began in GK last month. For those of you with a taste for the more raw type of Batman outing, not to mention for those of you with a firm constitution, this is one you should be checking out. And those of you with a lingering attachment to Jeph Loeb's "Hush" storyline will probably want to see what's going on here too.
What's going on here is that ol' bandage head Hush is back, and looking for a little payback, and he's starting with his former accomplice, The Riddler. Riddler has been enjoying a certain degree of jailhouse celebrity after having orchestrated all the events from the "Hush" storyline, but before he can enjoy too much his new cred, Hush begins to send messages into prison, letting Riddler know that his days are numbered -- literally. Riddler reaches out to the Joker for help, and Joker arranges a transfer for him to The Slab, an Antarctic prison that's hopefully far away enough from Hush to keep Riddler safe. As the transfer goes down, Riddler doesn't even get out of Gotham before all hell breaks loose.
And like I said, it's pretty gripping stuff, pretty smartly written. Lieberman uses the same caption box inner-dialog technique that Loeb used for "Hush," only instead of Batman's inner voice, we get Hush's. Turns out Hush is a bit of a philosopher, ruminating on his place in the world while the wheels are set in motion for his plan. And it works. Jeph Loeb's caption boxes have become a bugaboo for me lately; the way I think they're over/mis-used in SUPERMAN/BATMAN gives me apoplexy; but in GK #51, Lieberman executes them well, and they play off the action effectively, not only teasing us as to Hush's identity, but making him a pretty scary guy.
Of course, Hush's identity has become a bit of a corner, hasn't it? We're clearly meant to think he's Jason Todd. But if he is Todd, that could really cheapen what has become one of the more tragic and even solemn benchmarks in DC history. On the other hand, if he isn't Jason Todd, any alternative would be such a colossal story cheat, the collective guffaw from fandom would be seismic. I suppose they can keep the Who is Hush? ball rolling for a while; I predict we still won't be entirely sure who Hush is by the end of this storyline. But eventually DC is going to have to take a stand on the issue, and no matter which road they go down, I'm afraid there's likely to be some damage, either to the myth or to the story.
Barrionuevo and Portela's art reminded me a bit of late JLA era Howard Porter, with a vaguely plastic look to the characters. (Could be the coloring.) Nevertheless, the art carries the story capably enough, and is actually frightfully vivid during that violent final third of the book.
And by my way of figuring it, that violent third warrants a "Suggested for Mature Readers" tag somewhere on the cover. I know I'm probably kidding myself, but I still think there may be a few kids out there who might be interested in a Batman comic book, and I don't think a heads-up for parents as to the content of this particular comic book is out of the question. I think it's innappropriate for most ten year olds. (Did I mention the globs of blood spilling onto the ground?)
But for the grown-ups who may have a tolerance for this kind of stuff, it's a pretty cool comic. Check it out.
THOR VISIONARIES: WALTER SIMONSON
&
THOR LEGENDS: WALT SIMONSON Vol. 2 & 3
Writer/Artist: Walt Simonson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Cormorant
First thing's first: Marvel's trade paperback program, while deserving of high praise for republishing such top-tier '80s material, is a little drunk. For all the X-Men trades produced, the legendary Byrne/Claremont run lies fallow; readers seeking the Brian Bendis DAREDEVIL run will be confused because the first trade is numbered as volume four (Kevin Smith and David Mack got volumes 1-3); and there seems to be a good deal of confusion over whether Walt Simonson is a "visionary" or a "legend" on THOR, because the reprint volumes changed titling midway through reprinting his run.
DO NOT LET MARVEL'S FORMAT DRUNKENESS DETER YOU!
Taken together, these three volumes I'll be reviewing mark one of the great superhero epics of all time. Wit, innovation, visual style, and long-form storytelling come together to give you the equivalent of four-color Viagra, pure Nordic testosterone, and enough manliness to go toe-to-toe with a triple billing of THE GREAT ESCAPE, PREDATOR, and THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY. Gird your loins, kiddies, and let's take a look...
THOR VISIONARIES: WALT SIMONSON
When Walt Simonson signed onto THOR in 1985, he damn well had a gameplan. Look at the cover to his first issue here. It's no cute novelty that the horse-faced alien wielding Thor's hammer is knocking the crap out of the book's dusty '60s logo in his fury. This was Simonson's none-too-subtle visual cue that a true sea change was coming for the title, with his own Nordic-themed titling becoming the permanent logo as of the next issue. It set the stage for the mythic tales to follow, and Simonson would go on to redesign much of the book. He did away with Thor's onetime alter ego, Dr. Donald Blake, so that Thor was Thor 24/7; replaced traditional supervillain threats with trolls, frost giants, and dark elves rooted in authentic Nordic sagas; and re-envisioned Kirby's quasi-futuristic vision of Asgard with giant, dragon-head-topped wooded halls based on real Viking architecture. And though you might not immediately notice it, Simonson even dropped 90% of the faux-Shakespearianisms from Thor's dialogue. His nobility? Retained. But made so much more readable.
Yet the classic Lee/Kirby energy was not forgotten - the first chapter in the volume opens with nothing less than an entire galaxy exploding. We then see the remnants being shaped by a massive, shadowed figure - big as a world himself - into an ingot to be used in the forging of...what? The figure produces a mighty blacksmith hammer and begins to rain down universe-shaking blows that echo with the sound effect of "DOOM!", famously calligraphed by Simonson in the same massive Nordic font as the book's title, and repeated in interludes over the next dozen issues as a sort of countdown clock. Countdown to the Norse version of the End Times. Countdown to Ragnarok – the Twilight of the Gods.
The horse-faced creature from the cover is the alien warrior Beta Ray Bill, bioengineered ass-kicker developed to protect a mass exodus of his people from the very galaxy shattered in the opening sequence. But even though his freakish equine features and battle armor looked cool as hell under Walt Simonson's bold pen, as a kid I had a hard time getting past his name which just seemed soooooooooo goddamn stupid! I'd forgotten the lesson of the Silver Surfer – that in the Marvel Universe, sometimes the ridiculous and the sublime collide to brilliant effect – but I wised up pretty quick. You pretty much HAVE to give respect to the first mortal ever to prove himself worthy of hefting Thor's mystic hammer, Mjolnir, which is precisely what Beta Ray Bill did...after laying Thor out cold.
Make no mistake, this was a BIG THING in the mid-'80s! To have the star of a book soundly defeated, and in a fair match no less?! Inconceivable! But this was no mere shock tactic. Though Bill was initially played as an enemy, Simonson would shortly reveal to both the reader and Thor that he was every bit the honorable warrior Thor was, his misconstrued "attack" on earth the result of desperation as a race of hyperspace-traveling demons set upon his people's vast convoy of sleeper-ships. Bill would even go on to win the heart of Thor's onetime love, the warrior-goddess Sif. It was a surprising interspecies bond that was just one of the many ballsy innovations during Simonson's run.
But honor lies at the heart of these stories – warrior's honor – and much of the greatness of the first arc is revealed in Thor's perception that he has lost this; that he has forever shamed himself before his father, Odin, king of gods. For all the Kirby-esque bombast of Simonson's action sequences, it may be his thoughtful treatment of the complex relationships between Thor, Odin, Sif, and Bill that will most surprise readers. And if that doesn't get you, then rest assured, when Thor and Beta Ray Bill match forces for a grueling last stand against the demon hordes bearing down on Bill's people – holy shit is some demon ass is gonna get served. Isn't male bonding so much more comfortable when it unfolds in violent combat?
And that's just the first third of this amazing trade. Subsequent stories have Thor seduced by Tawny Kitaen-esque hottie, Lorelei; a melancholy meeting between Thor and an ancient Viking warrior destined for one last glorious battle; the lighthearted antics of Stan Lee's original contribution to the warriors of Asgard, the Warriors Three; and a tough old Korean War vet teaming with Thor against the Dark Elves of Celtic legend. One subplot even threatens to steal the thunder god's...err, thunder...as we witness the god of peace, Balder, forced into terrible battle by Thor's brother, Loki, and courted by a goddess known for her cruelty. There's just so much innovation going on in this trade – both in art and story – that it's killing me to omit all the specifics in this review! Hell, Simonson even breaks out his trademark wit so all the epic action doesn't veer into Homeric dryness. A favorite bit has a pair of punkers welcoming Thor back to Manhattan and advising him to cut his hair and get a mohawk. Response:
"I thank thee. But were I to cut my hair, my helmet would fall off."
Buy this collection RIGHT NOW.
THOR LEGENDS: WALT SIMONSON Vol. 2
A few pages into the second reprint volume of Walt Simonson's THOR run and I hit a mild disappointment – the series has gone to a glossy, slick paper stock. It's no deal-breaker, but the truth is that while the old, flat coloring of the '80s looks perfectly lovely on pulp paper or even higher quality flat-finish paper...it looks drab as hell on glossy paper. I guess Marvel wanted readers to feel they were getting the best production values for their $24.95 – a noble, but misguided decision that's as big an aesthetic goof as the modern computer coloring on the cover that suits Simonson's fierce, angular art not at all.
So, oops.
Good thing Walt wrote and drew the superhero equivalent of the Spartan showdown at Thermopylae to keep us otherwise occupied, eh?
As our story opens, the mystic artifact known as the Casket of Ancient Winters has been opened by the bad guys. This was back in the days when Marvel's company-wide continuity was pretty tight, and I have fond memories of the fact that every Marvel title that month – yes, even WEST COAST AVENGERS - showed a world seemingly blanketed by a new Ice Age. Fun stuff! But the more immediate effect of the Casket's opening is that it flash-freezes the portal locking away the legendary fire giant, Surtur. He looks a little like a meaner version of the demon from the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment of FANTASIA and he's one of the big guns of the apocalypse in Norse myth - destined to burn away the whole world come Ragnarok. Yep, he's our giant-in-the-shadows from the previous volume, the monster who destroyed an entire galaxy to gather the material to forge his sword, Twilight, which has just cracked open the frozen portal that locked him away.
"It's the eeeeeeeeeend of the world as we know it..."
And for the next several issues, the book is the backdrop for total warfare. It's fought on multiple fronts and the players are many. Beta Ray Bill and Sif lead all the warriors of Valhalla against Surtur's fire demons on Earth, and they're backed by the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and even the 82nd Airborne (the inclusion of the latter to provide one of the great plot twists in the next volume). Meanwhile we've got Thor's pal, Korean vet Roger Willis, on a secret mission to undermine the bad guys, Balder again taking the spotlight as he woos a goddess to secure her armies in battle, and providing the last line of defense: Thor, Odin, and even the "bad son," Loki, ready to face off against Surtur himself as he assaults the kingdom of the gods itself. I've always felt Simonson's art slipped just a bit during these issues, perhaps overwhelmed by the immensity of the war story he was telling, but sheer adrenaline carries the day.
And no one makes it through unscathed.
This was an era when Marvel's best writers could tell tales of death that were so above and beyond shock value that they set the standard by which superhero tragedy is still measured today. Claremont and Byrne took Phoenix, Miller took Elektra, Byrne took Reed and Sue Richards' newborn son, and Simonson took the life of Thor's father Odin. Like all the others (except the Richards' child), he's been brought back since, but that does little to diminish the emotion Simonson brought to his final moments and the mourning to follow. I was wowed again on reading this volume at the outpouring of total hatred and denial from Thor when Hela, death goddess, comes to claim Odin's soul – only to have Thor turn into a Nordic Joe Pesci and beat her like a red-headed stepchild!
And still Simonson maintains his wit. The Asgardian forces end up bivouacking in New York and befriending the U.S. soldiers they fought beside, and seeing man-mountain Asgardian, Volstagg, wearing an "I Love New York" shirt is practically worth the price of admission. I've also got a good deal of fondness for the lighter issues that conclude the trade. They feature the return of the Enchantress' younger sister, Lorelei, still out to seduce Thor while simultaneously finding herself drawn to Loki as a more apt lover. In fact, I'd have to say that these were some of the sexiest superhero stories of the '80s. Walt Simonson rarely gets proper credit for his hot dames and eye for sensuality, but Madre de Dios – hot stuff!
THOR LEGENDS: WALT SIMONSON Vol. 3
So how do you top the End Of The World?
It ain't easy, but as noted before, Simonson had his gameplan going into this. Events that took place early in his run (reprinted in the first volume) finally domino into a heroic denouement to the Surtur Saga, and it's nothing less than my favorite Thor story ever. The warriors of Valhalla, freshly returned from earth, are called on to make one last sojourn...
Into the heart of Hell itself.
Or more properly "Hel," the Viking underworld and home to the damned. Even as Asgard begins to recover from the destruction wrought by Surtur, Thor's dual devotion to earth brings to his attention the fact that scores of mortal souls are trapped unjustly in Hel as a result of the machinations of the Dark Elves in the first volume of this series. And Hel's as nasty a beachhead as the most fortified military target, packed to the gills with legions of undead, guarded by the giant hound, Garm, and lorded over by the goddess, Hela, already housing a grudge against Thor for the pummeling he served her when she came for Odin. Simonson adds to the dark tone by deepening the rift between Thor and his once-love, Sif, with Thor's journey to Hel as much an escape from his emotions as an act of justice. But the most surprising addition to his company of warriors is Skurge the Executioner, a battleaxe-wielding former villain who used to serve as the muscle for the scheming Enchantress. He too has been spurned by love, though, and finds an unlikely bond with Thor in his need for battle as an escape.
What to say of the trip to Hel? Two issues of sheer, unadulterated, nut-crunching bad-assery. Millions of undead! A miles-long ship constructed of the fingernails of dead men! Last stands! Asgardians wielding both swords and U.S. Army M-16's! Thor's face permanently scarred in a duel with Hela! And the violent, bitterly-fought redemption of the Executioner – ah, now there's a page of art I'd give my eye-teeth for.
The stories that follow are all good, but they're an oddball mix. There's the ubiquitous '80s crossover with SECRET WARS II featuring the permed, white-jumpsuit-wearing, godlike entity known as The Beyonder. Okay, that's a little rough to stomach even with Simonson art, but inspiration strikes in the next storyline – one of the most famous Thor stories ever – where he gets turned into...yes...wait for it...a frog. It's so fricking ridiculous, but the audacity of the story is its genius. Thor spends a full TWO issues in frog-form, and when he finally finds his hammer Simonson gives us two utterly amazing pages of this heroic little amphibian raging like a maniac to lift it and return to godhood. What follows must be seen to be believed, but just know this: SIMONSON HAS BALLS OF BRASS.
Thor.
A frog.
Two issues.
And they were great!
Should anyone be surprised at this point? There's a reason Simonson's THOR run is ranked alongside Miller's DAREDEVIL and Claremont and Byrne's X-MEN: from beginning to end he was a true original. How he managed such a thing, making Thor wildly approachable to new readers while remaining true to the spirit of Lee and Kirby, remains a source of astonishment to me even as I read these comics almost twenty years after they first knocked me on my ass. Beyond the glossy paper stock of these reprints, there is not one thing in them to keep me from giving my highest possible recommendation.
And as a fitting epilogue to re-reading these great tales, I was reading Rich Johnston's rumor column this morning. The grapevine has it that Marvel's continuing to head in an old-school direction, with plans to bring back some of the classic creators who've fallen out of favor with the young 'n' hip crowd. I don't know how I feel about that overall. Could be a painful step backward, could be a chance for the old guard to step to the plate and show a new generation just how the muhfuggin' pros get it done.
I just know this: if the rumor IS true...well...there's no justice in Valhalla or Hel if Walt Simonson isn't courted for a return to THE MIGHTY THOR.
THE CONVERSATION
Written by Dan Wickline
Art by David Hedgecock
Published by Red Eye Press
Reviewed by Lizzybeth
I was a bit skeptical of the cut n paste movement to begin with. Indie comics have enough of a reputation for unseasoned artwork without these clip artists giving off the impression of artistic laziness. I mean, comics are a visual medium and like it or not the graphical presentation makes all the difference. So your average comic book fan is likely to scoff when presented with a static set of talking heads, or so I had thought. But I ve watched strips like RED MEAT and GET YOUR WAR ON build an audience, and I have to conclude that cut n paste is the new punk. It s all about minimalism, about the do-it-yourself ethic, and about recontextualizing images to thoughtful and sometimes even jarring purpose. It s true that I would never want to see Adobe Photoshop pushing out the naturally skilled pencilers on which the industry was built. But at the same time, there is a place for both on the stands as long as the approach is chosen smartly and deliberately. As the original punk rock bands proved, it is entirely possible to produce art without technical finesse. In some cases, it is actually easier to make an artistic statement without natural expertise, as it forces you to be more creative in bringing your point across.
Take THE CONVERSATION. Using a set of simple elements, including a static background, three characters, and a few props (see cover image - that's pretty much it, folks) Dan Wickline brings a strange kind of realism to his scenario. The comic depicts a single conversation between two friends in a diner and the waitress at their table. Using David Hedgecock's pre-made designs to add and subtract elements from the panel, Wickline takes us through a casual meeting between old friends that becomes a turning point in their relationship. While this "colorforms" method could have been a distracting approach to what was already a well-written story, it actually enhances the final result. Wickline's use of beats, first for comic and then dramatic pauses, the entrance and exit of characters, and the subtle changes in the _expression and position of the two friends (we see the waitress only from behind) are very skillfully devised to draw you into the conversation and feel its rhythm. With these small touches, along with Wickline's engaging dialogue, we can look at a mundane situation in a new way, and appreciate the ways an ordinary conversation can quickly become something much more. It's another small stretch for comics every time a creator can exploit the advantages of the medium to tell a story in a unique way. THE CONVERSATION is perhaps the best example yet of what this peculiar approach can bring to the table.
You can order THE CONVERSATION at Red Eye Press.
KINETIC #1
Writer: Kelley Puckett
Artist: Warren Pleece
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
This new DC "Focus" line is an odd duck. I can't quite figure who it's aimed at, but if I had to guess, the idea is to target the teen and adult crowd who're looking for edgy superpower books but don't want to see the classic DC icons reshaped as Jemas and Quesada did with some of Marvel's heroes. I've read two of the new titles now, and strictly speaking they're not traditional superhero stories at all – no capes or tights, no villains at all, no persistent superhero world. These are more like Stephen King-style tales of real world people somehow granted strange abilities. Think CARRIE or FIRESTARTER or even THE GREEN MILE. A bridge between superheroes and Vertigo's dark world? Something like that.
The first outing, HARD TIME, fell flat on its face for me. It had an alienated teen kid exhibiting freakish lightning-type powers in the middle of a Columbine-style school shooting. Even though he doesn't shoot anyone himself (though his doomed friend definitely does), he ends up taking the fall for the crimes and landing in the big house. It's not a half-bad premise – kid with powers serving time in a hardcore prison – but under Steve Gerber's pen, it was hokey and forgettable (though the second issue was a bit of an improvement).
KINETIC's off to a much stronger start. It gives me some hope for the line. This one's got another angsty teenager as a lead, but Puckett seems much, MUCH more plugged into the trials of youth than Gerber; this angsty teen I actually like. His name is Tom Morell, and he's not a standard "outcast geek" so much as an outcast by physical design. See, Tom is sick. Very sick. Among other things, he's a hemophiliac, and the first scene in the book is a surprisingly moving moment where he's about to try putting razor to the peach fuzz whiskers on his face for the first time. His mother barges in on him in the bathroom – more concerned over his ailments than he is – and nearly breaks his skinny wrist pulling the razor from his hands. She's overprotective but sympathetically portrayed in her total frustration with a hemophiliac son who would be dumb enough to risk putting a razor to his face. She chews him out and tells him he should start thinking about growing up – then tells him to bend over so she can administer an insulin shot to his butt. Irony not lost.
This is dark stuff, but life is sometimes dark, especially for kids. Kelly Puckett, recently of DC's BATGIRL, turns out some convincing dialogue for his characters and artist Warren Pleece...holy crud, this guy is good! He's worked some Vertigo books in the past, but he's new to me and I'm more than pleased to've come across his clean-line work. He reminds me of one of my favorite artists, Cameron Stewart (CATWOMAN), though with a little more detail to his work. His rendition of Tom might be likened to the look of Jake Gyllenhaal from the creepy cult flick, DONNIE DARKO. But skinnier.
Tom's "powers," whatever they're to be, don't actually reveal themselves fully in this first issue beyond a small hint. And I didn't mind a bit. There's a scene where he meets up with a new girl at school, a cute blond who doesn't yet know the other kids treat him like shit for his sicknesses, and the fast bond they make could have been so very trite - but it's not. Rather it's an earnest depiction of...well...not young love, but the yearning for love. For the girl, Angela, it's just a friendly meeting, but for Tom it's clearly one of the great moments of his life. You can all but feel his endorphins running wild when he shakes her hand with his left hand (his right hand is limp as a result of a nerve disease, always kept hidden in his jacket pocket), and her response is a smiling, "Oh. You're left-handed, too?"
If DC can manage to get this in the hands of teenagers, I think there's no question Puckett can make a connection. He remembers.
And, of course, things hit a snag. Tom walks Angela home and, along the way, turns off his watch alarm that marks the time when he's supposed to meet his mother for his next series of shots. I'll leave what follows to those willing to try out this very promising debut, but suffice to say there's some real emotional power to the situation. I want to know what's next and I'm impressed with what's come so far.
The curiously subjective coloring on the Focus line is probably one of its biggest obstacles, but if readers can get past that (it's strange, but it does somehow suit the melancholy and alienation of these stories), it might just have a chance. Give KINETIC a shot and I think you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
CABLE & DEADPOOL #1
Fabian Nicieza: Writer
Mark Brooks & Shane Law: Artists
Marvel Comics: Publisher
Vroom Socko: Cover Story
Who in God's name thinks that Rob Liefeld is a decent artist? Seriously, look at the hellishly awful cover to this issue. Assuming that Cable's head is the same size as mine, his chest must be 65 inches in diameter, his shoulders are the size of basketballs, his forearms are about six inches long, and he appears to be eight feet tall. Deadpool's presence, in contrast, is all but nonexistent. But do you want to know the worst thing about this cover?
People are going to look at it, and think it's indicative of the work inside. And that'd be a tragedy.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't as great a number one issue as the recent reintroduction of She-Hulk, for example. But it is a solid setup issue, and a basic setup at that. Deadpool is hired by a cult of oversized Smurfs to rob a pharmaceutical company that's developing a synthetic virus. What do these blue skinned drones want with a virus? Well, they're paying Deadpool a helluva lot of money, so who cares? The only problem is, Cable is also interested in the virus. And the timing of both gentlemen in their "examination" of the viral storage lab is rather unfortunate.
Nicieza, one of my favorite craftsman in the business, is basically laying the groundwork for the rest of this six issue arc. Yep, this is yet another six part story from Marvel. Big surprise. Thankfully, there are plenty of good character moments in this issue. Cable's conversation with a hotel room service attendant is particularly good, as is Deadpool's intro. While not as funny as Gail Simone's take on the character, it does have a few laughs, especially when he answers his phone.
As for the artwork, Rob Liefeld it ain't. The boys from Udon Studio are at work between the covers, and their art looks damn good. The first page of the book, a splash of the two titular characters, puts Liefeld to shame. Of particular interest are the first panels of each man in combat. There's Deadpool, knee-deep in security guards while swinging his sword and cracking wise. And there's Cable, striding forward confidently while deflecting bullets, Neo-style. These guys look super slick.
Is this the best book that came out this week? Not really. Is it the best #1 issue Marvel's done this year? Didn't you read the new SHE-HULK!?! Is this a story that has the potential to build into something spectacular? Possibly. Is it a book I'll be checking out in the months ahead? Yep. Should you guys out there ignore the atrocious cover and give this story a chance? Definitely.
HEAVEN'S DEVILS #3
Written by Jai Nitz
Art by Zach Howard
Published by Image Comics
Reviewed by Lizzybeth
Damn, guys, you've been holding out on us. The first two issues were a nice setup, but here the HEAVEN'S DEVILS team more than delivers on that promise. We've seen bits and pieces of his past and hints of his diverse abilities, but here protagonist Alan Wells finally demonstrates some of his magical firepower, and it's no parlor trick -- the henchmen who try to jump him end up vomiting their own skulls out, eaten by giant snakes, or pulled to hell by demons. The guy's a gloomy-bastard warlock of the like not seen since John Constantine's heyday. It's somewhat startling after the potboiler approach the series first appeared to be taking, last issue watching "Dr." Wells secretly working to eradicate a virus side-by-side with the government agents who would drag him back to the States in handcuffs if they recognized him. Here in issue #3 everything is coming together -- the disparate elements of environmental commandos and biological warfare pull together as FBI agent Morgan and outlaw magician Wells team up to stop a designer virus eating through Mexico that may have been released by the world's preeminent environmental activist. It's almost disappointing to see a book getting this good when it's about to come to an end.
As this issue proves, this comic deserves to be an ongoing series. Not too many comics, not to mention movies and TV series, manage to mix genres so smoothly. I'm always particularly pleased when a story can tackle both science and magic with equal aplomb; HEAVEN'S DEVILS accomplishes this with a single character (Alan Wells, PhD). Add to this the topical injection of viral outbreak and corrupt public figures, and bring the whole party to Mexico with a multi-ethnic cast. What you get is a concoction that's too unique and too interesting to let die. I have to hope that with the recent shift of power at Image Comics the independent-minded titles they have recently shepharded will still have a home, and that HEAVEN'S DEVILS will have a chance to shine in the future.
Cheap Shots!
ULTIMATE SPIDERMAN #55 - Okay, yes there is a long conversation between Doc
Ock and his tentacles. That's probably the first thing the rest of these
@$$holes would comment on. But there's a phenominal moment here with Gwen
Stacey that steals the show. At least, until that two page splash at the
end. And besides, the movie within the comic features an appearance by
AICN's patron god. That's right,Spider-Man: the movie stars Bruce Campbell
as Mysterio. - Vroom Socko.
FREAKS OF THE HEARTLAND #2 - Hello, waiter? I'd like a little plot with my atmosphere please? My compliments on pages 12-13, though. That's one of the finer comics spreads I've seen in some time. - Lizzybeth
BIRDS OF PREY #65 - I'm a bad boy. I'd kind of gotten behind on this series, and I only read this latest issue because former BIRDS OF PREY artist Greg Land is back doing covers. Yeah, he's a little photo-referency, but the sheer babe-itude of his ladies...I was weak. I deserve to be punished. But the cover did its job well and good, because it led me not only to read this latest issue but the three that preceded it. Gail Simone has a great story going on here with Black Canary forced to team up with two female assassins – Lady Shiva and Cheshire – and wow, the thing that most impresses me is that she's imbued these ladies with genuine scary-ass menace. Interesting developments going on with Huntress and Oracle too. I've never liked Huntress before, but Simone's got me enjoying her as the badass soldier who won't follow orders. Benes's T&A art is my only sore spot, but he's improving on all fronts with each issue and I have to admit – now I'm just pleased at the consistency; I don't know that I'd want a new guy at this point. Except for Greg Land. – Cormorant
TELL ME SOMETHING - Well, tell me something, Talkbackers: What did I miss? I've never had a problem with Jason's work before, in fact he's one of my favorite new artists of recent years. But this one I don't get. Jason's cast of humanimals don't have quite the character they once had; in fact, I often had trouble telling them apart. And I don't think I understand the ending. Narrative ambiguity is one thing, but I would describe this as stubbornly inscruitable. As much as I loved HEY WAIT and SHHHHHH, this one doesn't do a thing for me. - Lizzybeth
CONAN #2 - Phew, those painted Linsner covers are kinda stinky aren't they? But everything else about this comic smells just fine, kinda like a Blood & Sweat Glade Plug-In. Issue #2 is a straight-up adaptation of a Robert E. Howard story, "The Frost Giant's Daughter." Faithful? Dunno, never read it. Seems to be something of a novelty story about Conan chasing a vision of beauty across the icy wastelands, the ending a minor TWILIGHT ZONE "gotcha" that might've been effective when first penned in the '30s, but it feels a touch trite now. That's okay. The moment-to-moment writing is still nicely evocative – "her ivory body, as perfect as the dream of a god" – and Conan puts down some frost giants that surely needed a'killin'. The digitally inked 'n' colored art remains wonderfully lush but a touch sketchy. – Cormorant
WILDGUARD #6 (of 6) - The novelty miniseries based around auditions for a superhero reality show draws to a close, and I've lost a fair chunk of my initial interest by now. Todd Nuack's enthusiasm for superheroes and all their goofy trappings is infectious, but the characterization was too light and, honestly, I only really like one member of the final team – brawler hero, Red Rover. Ugh - Snapback and Lily Hammer? Pass. And what jackass readers rigged the vote so a lamer like Freezerburn won the viewer's choice spot? Oh, all right, all right - it was still a pretty fun trip, but I doubt I'd return to see the final picks in another series. Like reality shows themselves, the snap and crackle is all in the concept, not the follow-up. - Cormorant
