Hey, folks. Your old pal, Ambush Bug here. I originally had another one of those quirky little intros ready to go for this week’s AICN COMICS REVIEWS COLUMN, but since we recently lost a member of the comic book community, it just didn’t feel right. Our own Ali Knievel has more on this at the end of the column. In the meantime, let’s just move on to the reviews.
(Click title to go directly to the review)
ADVANCE LOOK AT GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1
ESSENTIAL IRON FIST VOL 1
TOMB OF DRACULA #1
WOLVERINE #20
CONAN AND THE DAUGHTERS OF MIDORA ONE SHOT
CHEAP SHOTS
CHRISTOPHER REEVE 1952-2004
GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Recently, I got my hands on an advanced copy of the first issue of GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH and I’m able to review it on one condition: It has to be spoiler-free. So I’m going to do my damndest to keep my spoiler-yapping yapper shut and just give a brief overview of the book and how it sat with me. To make sure that I follow the rules, the powers that be at DC have sent over legendary GL Trainer, Kilowog, to make sure I mind my P’s and Q’s. Say hey to the folks, Kilowog.
Kilowog: Hey folks. Don’t mind me. As long as dis poozer plays it straight, ya won’t even know I’m here.
Bug: Why do I suddenly feel the urge to play Hungry Hungry Hippos? Hmm. Anyway, the first thing I have to say is that REBIRTH definitely lives up to all of the hype. This first issue isn’t so much of a focus on Hal Jordan as it is a spotlight on every GL ever to protect Earth. Alan Scott, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner—they’re all here. Jade even makes an appearance. And we finally get an appearance by Guy Gardner that plays him as an actual character with depth instead of the joke lesser writers often resort to. There’s even a nod to old Abin Sur in the intro.
Kilowog: Watch it, Bug. Remember, no spoilers.
Bug: Okay, okay. Sheesh. Where was I? I have a three-hundred pound, pink man-hippo breathing down my neck. Is it any wonder why I’m having trouble focusing here?
Kilowog: Yer cruisin’, Bug. I’m not a hippo.
Bug: There really is something for every GL fan in this issue. It relies heavily on continuity, but writer extraordinaire Geoff Johns has a way of making years of history accessible and new-reader-friendly. He’s done this in THE FLASH and JSA. He’s one of the few guys who doesn’t fear the rich history these characters have and incorporates it into the story with ease. Johns isn’t writing his own version of this character like so many other egotistical writers try to do these days. Rather, Johns is adding to the rich tapestry that is the epic saga of these heroes. He embraces the past and uses his storytelling strengths to add to that history. And Johns not only incorporates the GL Universe in this issue, but he also includes how the presence of the Green Lantern affects the rest of the DCU. There’s an especially effective scene with—
Kilowog: Ah-hem. (Knuckles popping)
Bug: Well, ah-heh. You’ll just have to read that scene yourself, I guess. Let’s just say that there are some super-powered people who aren’t really happy with the notion that Hal Jordan may be back. The story is especially dense and I felt completely full after reading this first issue. Johns really has put his all into this one. It shows that he wants to please long-time fans while cluing those who may not be familiar with GL in to how cool this character really is. And speaking of cool, Ethan Van Sciver is doing his best work on this book. Ultra-detailed in Perez-like fashion, Van Sciver fills every panel with bits and pieces that most other artists ignore or gloss over. Each panel has just enough detail to make things realistic while still keeping a firm foothold in the realm of comic book reality. The costumes don’t look silly or unrealistic. These heroes look at home in the world Van Sciver maps out. He draws some especially inspired updated versions of some classic GL villains like—
Kilwog: Ya know better, poozer! Now knock it off or I’ll knock yer head off.
Bug: Well, I suppose that’s all I can really say about this book. I highly recommend it. Art, story, characterization, respect for history, power rings. GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH has it all. It’ll be out October 27th, so check it out when it hits the stands. I wish I could tell you more about it, but I think I should cut this review short because I’m don’t think this guy is house-trained and I’m not sure how to get hippo dung out of my shag carpet.
Kilowog: Fer da last time, I’m not a hippo! I’m from a planet called Bolovax Vik. We’re all large dere compared ta you humans.
Bug: Yeah, sure. Pull the other one, Lardy. It plays the Bossanova. I’m sure all of your people have thighs that thunderous. Here’s some advice: Ease off on the spandex and Ding Dongs, Porky. Maybe something with vertical stripes would be more flattering. I think I have a trough of slop back there for you to bury your snout in while I continue this review with the rest of the bipeds. So why don’t you be a good little piggy and let the Bug do his thing, m’kay?
Kilowog: Dat’s it, folks. I’m squashin’ dis Bug!
Bug: Yikes! Review’s ov—*urk*
ESSENTIAL IRON FIST VOL. 1
Written by Chris Claremont, Roy Thomas, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella, Len Wein
Art by John Byrne, Gil Kane, Larry Hama, Arvell Jones, Pat Broderick
Published by Marvel
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik
One thing I love about the comic book industry is that it hasn't changed much since its inception. The best comics are pure pop culture and the comic book industry has always followed trends.
Right now, the new Marvel Essential trades are made up of series from the 1970’s that lasted long enough to fill one of these expanded volumes. The two volumes of ESSENTIAL TOMB OF DRACULA must have been hits for Marvel. They certainly did well enough to make way for a third volume coming out later this month, as well as a reprinting of STOKER'S DRACULA and an ESSENTIAL MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN VOL. 1 (before we scoff at that one, I have to tell you that I picked up Marvel's original series adaptation of Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN in the quarter bins a few years back and it was wonderfully written with exceptionally good artwork). This trend was initially irritating, but in reflection, it's actually kind of charming because it is so old-time-comic-business. If it sells, copy the hell out of it!
Another trend with the ESSENTIALS is to put out a volume to support a new relaunch of an old character. Marvel has a new IRON FIST series, so we get this volume. Finally, Iron Fist was created as part of a Kung Fu trend in the '70s, capitalizing on the success of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris films, and Marvel's own MASTER OF KUNG FU series and the black and white comic magazine DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU.
I love stuff like that. I can picture Stan saying, "Hey, Roy, the kids are all into kung fu. Come up with a new kung fu book for us."
I hate research and prefer to imagine these scenarios, so I could be way off base (but for that matter, so could anything I came up with in research. Remember, Warren Ellis said, “History is fiction”). I picture Roy Thomas saying, "Well, MASTER OF KUNG FU is selling pretty well, but I don't think it's grabbing the kids who just like superheroes. We'll give this new character a superhero sounding name, make him wear a mask and look like a superhero, and give him some sort of super-power that can be explained by kung fu."
In case you're completely unfamiliar with Iron Fist, his deal goes like this: billionaire industrialist Thomas Wayne (Wendell Rand) and his wife Martha (Heather) are climbing a treacherous mountain in Tibet. They've brought along their nine year old son Bruce (Danny Rand) and Wendell's business partner Harold Meachum, who is evil as all comic book business partners are. Wendell is seeking the mystic city paradise called Ku'n Lun, which seems to be just like Shangri-La from James Hilton's LOST HORIZON, except that Ku'n Lun only appears on Earth once every ten years and they know kung fu in Ku'n Lun. Of course, Wendell and Heather are killed by Meachum's actions and young Danny alone makes it to Ku'n Lun. Vowing vengeance, he begins kung fu training by Lei Kung the Thunderer, a cool name if there ever was one.
Danny gets his black belt and faces a mystic serpent that gives him the power to make his fist glow so that he'll later be able to punch Colossus and Iron Man without breaking every bone in his own body. At age 20, he rejects immortality and returns to Earth to get revenge. Laughs follow.
The series finally took off when a couple of young guys named Chris Claremont and John Byrne came aboard. You mock them now, but you'll get to see why they're still employed in comics when you read their work here. They made a monosyllabic, one note character into a multi-syllabic two-note character. They introduced humor and perspective, built a supporting cast, and generally brought Iron Fist into the Marvel Universe. And as far as I know, they depicted mainstream comic's first interracial romance although it took forever before it was actually acknowledged (Marvel had to sell comic books in the South, ya know) and even longer before Danny and Misty Knight shared their first kiss.
Sabretooth isn't the big draw he was in the '90s, but he made his first appearance in IRON FIST. It was a really nifty story. Other standouts include Iron Fist teaming up with Captain America to take on a then-underused Wrecking Crew; and Iron Fist staggering into the apartment that Misty Knight shared with Jean Grey and having Wolverine mistake him for a burglar. The X-MEN story was the last issue of the solo IRON FIST comic and it was exceptional fun. When it was originally published, Byrne had just completed his artwork for his first issue of UNCANNY X-MEN, but it wasn't on the stands yet. We have Wolverine in the costume he took off Imperial Guardsman Fang in the Shi'ar Galaxy, a costume we would not see again until Byrne morphed it into Wolvie's superior brown costume years later.
The volume concludes with the first issue of POWER MAN & IRON FIST. A gangster had pitted Luke Cage against Danny Rand and his allies the Daughters of the Dragon. They ended up as partners, and the gangster ended up in the bottom of the ocean. That story alone makes me wish Claremont and Byrne would have stuck with POWER MAN & IRON FIST longer. They probably couldn't have kept up the X-MEN pace, but they did superlative work.
The main value of this collection is that it gives us a chance to see the work of veteran creators when they were in their absolute primes. It's also great to be reminded that the best superhero comics are adventure stories. Adventure stories with narratives and characterization propelled by fast-paced, bombastic action.
Yes, I would have been happier getting ESSENTIAL SHANG-CHI, MASTER OF KUNG FU and ESSENTIAL LUKE CAGE, HERO FOR HIRE/POWER MAN (supposedly forthcoming in ‘05) first, but ESSENTIAL IRON FIST is pretty good too.
TOMB OF DRACULA #1
Writers: Robert Rodi & Bruce Jones
Pencils: Jamie Tolagson
Inks: Tom Palmer & Jay Leisten
Publisher: Marvel
Reviewer: Count A. Bugula
One of the great things about writing for this column is that it gives me a chance to rant a bit about things in the comic book world that have been on my mind. It allows me to muse a bit about trends I have noticed or pose questions that have been bouncing around my bean for quite some time. One question has bothered me throughout the years and I think it’s high time for me to seize this opportunity to discuss it.
Why in the holy hell can’t Marvel put out a decent BLADE comic book?
I mean, the guy is arguably one of the most successful movie properties Marvel has these days. What other Marvel property has three major motion pictures dedicated to it? The BLADE movies have their problems. They are usually low on plot and heavy on action, but they seem to be crowd pleasers. I enjoyed watching Wesley do the slice and dice on the vamps. Both episodes of this franchise have been relatively successful. More successful than that flop, THE PUNISHER, and that nut still has a book on the shelves written by a successful Wizard Writer of the Month. So why not Blade?
Let’s take a look at what makes the BLADE movies so popular, shall we? It’s got an ashram full of kung fu and a crypt-load of horror. It also has an African American star in the leading role. Are these the reasons why BLADE the movie can be number one at the box office and BLADE the comic ends up in the ten cent bin every time? Allow me to spitball for a bit.
Martial arts is always a tough genre to translate into comics. Sure it’s been done before successfully. Kagan McCleod does it in the extremely entertaining INFINITE KUNG FU and up in the mainstream, Scott McDaniel does a great job of executing the fluidity of movement in NIGHTWING and RICHARD DRAGON. But these are the exceptions. For every kick ass INFINITE KUNG FU fight scene, there have been a jillion yawn-inducing SHANG CHI stories. It takes a special type of writer/artist team to understand the fundamentals of kung fu and the ability to show the fluidity of the movements to make a successful martial arts sequence in comics. Those without the knowledge or talent to do so end up throwing together a lot of panels that don’t make sense and fail to communicate movement from panel to panel, which is important in translating a genre which relies on motion. Blade has yet to be handled by writers and artists with this ability.
Horror is another tough genre to translate into comics. Horror films often rely on what you don’t see and since comics are a visual medium, that’s a conflict. Steven Niles and Ben Templesmith have accomplished this in such horrific tales of terror as 30 DAYS OF NIGHT and THE CAL MCDONALD MYSTERIES. You have to make the reader invested in the characters and then put said characters into peril. Templesmith’s panels are bathed in darks, causing the reader to look closer; immediately investing them. They become scared at what they finally make out through the blackness. You also have to be brave enough to go balls out into the horror zone. Horror is offensive. It’s intrusive. It gets under your skin and makes you feel uncomfortable. If the company doesn’t have the guts to go there, any attempts at scares fall flat. In the past, Marvel has been afraid to throw their hat into the horror arena because they want to reach the widest audience possible. Try to please everyone and you end up pleasing no one, especially the horror fans. In previous series, Blade’s proud poppa Marvel hasn’t had the danglers to go the horror route with the character. The results? Four for a buck in the back of the comic store.
And what about the fact that Blade is an African American protagonist? Movies have a built-in audience. African Americans, like the rest of America’s population, love movies. Comics are a different beast. I live in a pretty culturally diverse city, but the last time I went to WIZARDWORLD Chicago, for the most part, all I saw was a bunch of nerdy-looking white guys (then again, maybe people of color don’t go to those sorts of things for that very reason). Comics with an African American hero have not proven to be popular. Priest’s BLACK PANTHER run is one of my all time favorites and had a pretty long life due to fan support. He’s made a career on breaking the racial barrier in comics with series like QUANTUM & WOODY, THE CREW, and more recently CAPTAIN AMERICA/FALCON, but those titles didn’t exactly burn up the shelves, now, did they? It seems if you’re not a blonde haired/blue eyed/Boy Scout/playboy/millionaire, you don’t really have a chance at starring in your own comic book series, at least not for long.
So maybe these are the reasons why Blade hasn’t had a popular comic book property despite the fact that he has two hit movies (and another on the way) under his belt. Or maybe it is because he’s had shit artists and hack writers handling him. I’m not sure. Like I said, I’m spitballing here.
Marvel has released another attempt to profit on their Blade character and this time they may have a chance. TOMB OF DRACULA takes its name from the cult favorite and uber-cool 70’s comic of the same name. That comic, written by the legendary Marv Wolfman and drawn by the equally legendary Gene Colan , featured a team of vampire hunters who journeyed across the globe in search of the King of All Vampires, Dracula. Well, Drac’s back and who’s leading in the race to track him down? Why, it’s our main man, Blade, of course.
TOMB OF DRACULA is not a perfect comic, but it’s not a completely shitty one either. The book is filled with snippets torn straight from the BLADE films (Blade goes into a vampire nightclub and kicks vamp-ass). There is a four page introduction of the members of the new team of Drac Hunters, but none of them have lines of dialog nor do any of them seem particularly interesting. Another set of descendants of Dracula and Van Helsing are introduced. And at the end, we have a splash page of the Count himself in his tomb, surrounded by demon dogs with a bevy of vamp wenches at his feet.
So let’s look at our Blade movie/comic comparison from earlier and see if Marvel tried something new this time around.
Martial Arts: Sorry, this book doesn’t pass the test. Sure, the artist has the moves down and kudos to him for drawing Divinity Drake as a realistic looking woman and not someone who stepped out of a swimsuit calendar, but there just isn’t any fluidity, flow, or flair from one panel to the next in the action sequences to make the kung fu-ing exciting.
Horror: This book is about as scary as your average daytime soap opera. The inks are dark, yes, but the panels are too clean, too well defined, and too linear. What made Gene Colan’s TOD so scary is that his characters were often warped and obscured; as if everyone were walking around in a dream. It made one feel uneasy that even the normal people were a bit skewed in this comic. We don’t get any of that here. But this book isn’t without its gruesome moments. There’s a neat little scene where Blade slices a vamp into ten pieces and he does it so fast the vamp doesn’t know he is dead until his parts slide into a pile on the floor. Advice to the writers: More of that and less of people standing around and giving introductions. And what’s the deal making this comic a normal Marvel imprint? Had this been a MAX series, I would give it a bit more credit, but it seems as if Marvel is trying to reach everyone and please no one again, which means ho-hum scares and back bin residency.
African American hero: Yep, it’s Blade and he’s still black. But the book is under a different title and he’s got a team of multicultural co-stars, so maybe that won’t scare whitey away from the book this time.
The main problem here is the story. It really isn’t very dynamic or interesting. This was a set-up issue. Basically, we got a couple of decent but not dynamic scenes and the introduction of a bunch of characters that had no room to make an impression. I understand that this is an introductory issue, but if the writer hadn’t done it in such a cut and paste way—where the hero stumbles into a team of heroes, who each get a page telling us their origins, and then our hero teams up with them, maybe I would be a bit more forgiving. Since nothing happened *but* intros, I don’t feel interested or invested in anyone in the book and that’s not a good thing when you’re trying to get someone to come back for issue #2.
When I finished this comic and set it down, all I could say was “hmnph.” There just wasn’t enough there for me to decide whether or not this book was going to be any good or not. I don’t think it necessarily did its job in getting me to buy issue two, but I probably will because I enjoyed the previous series and I’ll probably stick around to see if these Drac-hunters turn out to be vamp fodder or actual characters I can become invested in. But aside from the gruesome bit with the sliced vamp, there wasn’t enough here to satisfy my thirst for the kung fu and grue that I often get from the movie.
WOLVERINE #20
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciller: John Romita, Jr.
Publisher: Marvel
Reviewer: Sleazy G
I know there are a lot of people out there who think our column has an agenda against certain writers. Mark Millar is one of those writers people automatically assume we all hate, for some reason. This isn’t true, and it never has been. Getting ten people to all agree on anything-especially ten people as different as we are—would require that Millar be a true Avatar of Evil, like Yanni. He’s not. In fact, I really like the guy. I first encountered his work over in SWAMP THING, where he started out as a co-writer with Grant Morrison. Four issues into the story, Morrison moved on, and it was up to Millar to wrap up the initial series, which he did rather well. I’ve been following his work ever since, picking up an issue or a series here and there. He also co-wrote a year of FLASH with Morrison, as I recall. In addition to his writing, I’ve read interviews and commentary and heard him speak at the last couple of Wizard Worlds here in Chicago. I’ve always found Millar to be roguish, charming, and funny as hell. I’d love to sit down with the guy at a bar some time if he was ever back in Chicago, shoot the shit, and down whiskey and pints till we were both too drunk to talk any more (and yes, I know that would make for a long night). So while I don’t always like the decisions he makes in some of the mainstream books he’s written because I felt his scripts were too dark or inappropriate for the characters, I certainly don’t have it in for the guy. I actually quite like him, and I’ve been buying his creator-owned stuff, including CHOSEN, WANTED and even the rather extreme UNFUNNIES. I say all of this just to sort of clear the air and make sure everybody knows the truth about the situation with the reviewers here so people don’t think we all just sit around sharpening our paper shredders waiting for a new Millar issue.
I have to mention at this point that I enjoyed Rucka’s run on WOLVERINE, which just ended last month. It had Logan taking on some very real-world problems in his own inimitable style, and it also had a lot of really great character beats. I loved the run-down mutant bar he introduced too—it felt more like those quiet little old-man bars you see on street corners, or small-town bars where most nights are pretty quiet. I readily admit, though, that it was a quieter, slower book than what a lot of Wolverine fans were probably looking for, and so it didn’t sell as well as it could have. I expect this is the reason for the change in creative teams on the title.
After this lead-in, you guys are probably expecting me to lay into Mark’s first issue on WOLVERINE, but that’s not gonna happen. I’ve been waiting for this issue for months now, actually, cuz I figured if there’s any one character in the Marvel U. where Millar’s over-the-top approach would really click, it was with Wolvie. I wanted to see what he was going to do, and I’m pretty impressed. If you’re one of those fans who felt there wasn’t nearly enough going on over the last year and a half, this issue has pretty much everything you could want out of a Wolverine book: a return to Japan rife with references to a part of Logan’s past that has gone unexplored for years, ninjas, death, a new mutant threat who actually bests Logan, S.H.I.E.L.D., Elektra, and a couple of big surprises, too. There’s clearly going to be enough action to keep the book going throughout Millar’s run, and hopefully the mystery and surprises will keep coming, too.
I do have a couple of reservations, though. One is that the “kitchen sink” approach Millar is taking will lead to a years’ worth of stories that are really busy, but don’t have enough time to bother much with characterization. The other concern is that at some point soon logic will go right out the window, leading to an increasingly silly or pointless exercise. From what I’ve heard, the next year’s worth of stories will feature guest appearances by pretty much everybody in the Marvel U, and I’m a little nervous about it turning into an all-surface storyline lacking substance. Still, I’ve seen Millar write some really tight stories in the past, so I’m willing to ride it out for a while and see what happens. I trust him enough to keep buying this and see where he takes the story. Ideally, what I’d love to see on this book would be slam-bang stories like Millar is writing now broken up periodically by the quieter, more character-driven pieces.
As for the art, John Romita Jr. turns in some strong work in this issue. The fight scenes look great, and there’s a splash on page 21 that should be used as an example for all writers and artists in the future. It’s not just that the page looks good; it’s that it’s used in exactly the way a splash page should be used. There’s a buildup of tension for the couple of pages prior to the splash, and when you turn the page and get that splash, it’s not just to have a cool piece of pinup art. It delivers an emotional punch so that the shock of the moment is carried right off the page at you. A lot of artists do attractive splash pages, but when it’s actually in service of the story instead of just a cool visual, it’s a far more effective technique. The one problem I have with the art—and I know a lot of people are gonna come down on me for this one—is the inking by Klaus Janson. He’s been around for a long time, and I’ve seen his work in everything from DARK KNIGHT to PUNISHER and on and on. For some reason, there’s something about his work that has never appealed to me. It’s probably just a matter of personal taste, I don’t know. Still, I just can’t help but feel that in the hands of a different inker, Romita’s facial expressions and details would come through more clearly. I’d love to see what difference another inker would make here.
I’m pretty impressed with the work Millar and JRJR have turned in here. As a first issue for a new creative team, it accomplishes everything it needs to. The new direction has given the title a shot in the arm, with lots of action and a strong connection to aspects of Logan’s past that have been overlooked for a while now. If you’re an old fan of the character, you’re probably going to like what you see, and you’re not gonna find a better jumping-on point for the book.
CONAN AND THE DAUGHTERS OF MIDORA ONE-SHOT
Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti
Pencils: Mark Texiera
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Publisher: Dark Horse
Reviewer: Ambush The Bugbarian
I have a few guilty pleasures when it comes to comics. Most of them rely on nostalgia. As an eight year old kid, I wasn’t really into reading comics, per se, as I was looking at the pictures. So a lot of the first comics I came into contact with, while containing some truly great stories, entertained me purely on a visual level and not an intellectual one that appreciates things like plot, characterization, and story (that stuff came later). I sometimes miss those days when I could pick up a comic and just go “Oooooo!” and “Awwww cool!” at the panels featuring my favorite heroes doing something “Oooooo!” and “Awwww cool!” worthy. It was a time when you could judge a book by its cover; the story was an afterthought and took a backseat to how cool everything looked. I’d often take the panel and trace it onto a piece of paper. As my art skills advanced, I’d set the picture to the side and copy it by sight. I don’t know how many times I did this, but it had to be quite a bit because I have a shoebox full of these scrap paper sketches in my attic somewhere.
This trip down memory lane *does* have a point. Some comics I can simply appreciate because the art is fantastic. No wait. Not just fantastic, “Oooooo!” and “Awwww cool!” inspiring. These days not too many artists fit that bill, but every now and then, a comic comes along and there it is. CONAN AND THE DAUGHTERS OF MIDORA is such a comic.
That’s not to say that this comic is all pretty pictures and no story. Multi-talent Jimmy Palmiotti writes a tight story about a king who cons Conan into rescuing one of his twin daughters. Conan isn’t a hero at all, and I’m glad Dark Horse isn’t treating him as such. He’s more like this giant self-centered monster of a man who bounds his way into trouble and through his selfish actions, he somehow ends up doing things that coincidentally save the day. He doesn’t swoop in to rescue the damsel in distress. Conan breaks in to steal something, and then kills the evil-doer threatening the damsel, not because he’s fighting the good fight, but because said evil doer is simply in his way. Palmiotti understands this and writes Conan as such. He also gives the big guy some fun lines like “Leave while your lives are your own.” and “Come here, girl. I have gold for more than wine this evening.” Conan knows what he wants and when he wants it. He’s all id—living by his desires, his wants, his actions, and only thinking about ways to achieve those goals. Conan is a rampaging impulse and when his sights are set, nothing can get in his way.
I was kind of disappointed with the way this tale ended though. As I read this tale of a king who neglected one daughter and idolized another, I felt as if I were reading a barbarian version of a fable I vaguely remember from my childhood. The details are sketchy, but I think it was about a fox that steals a loaf of bread and gets away with it only to cross a bridge and see another fox with a loaf of bread in his reflection in the water below. The fox must have that loaf of bread too, so he lunges for it, losing his grip on the loaf he had in his mouth and thus, losing both loaves of bread. As I read through this comic and saw King Midora send the daughter (who he deemed not worthy to be queen) out with Conan to find his favored daughter (who he deems worthy), I thought it was going to end badly with the selfish King losing both of his daughters. Since one of Conan’s flaws is selfishness, this would be a way to address this issue. Of course, Conan would not learn from this tale, but it would be a way to tie one of Conan’s character flaws into the tale at hand. Plus it was a more downbeat ending and I kind of like those. But Palmiotti chose a more safe approach in the end. It is not completely happy or as linked to characterization as the one I hypothesized half-way through my read, but it was a decent way to wrap up the story nonetheless. This is, of course, a CONAN tale, so I guess I shouldn’t expect too much introspection.
As decent as the story was, I am recommending this book, for the most part, because of the art. Mark Texiera has outdone himself with this issue. He’s obviously channeling his inner John Buscema in this issue and drawing Conan the old fashioned Marvel way, which is okay by me, especially when it means that we get “Oooooo! Awwww cool!” splash pages like Conan atop a pile of warriors with a splintered shield and blood splattered armor.
Tex’s Conan is fierce and bulky. He’s brutal; splintering furniture, lopping off heads, and diving into the fray like no other. The fight scenes are top notch. Tex’s Conan stomps through his prey like a mastodon. Tex isn’t afraid to amp up the grue factor either and inker Palmiotti and colorist Michelle Madsen decorate each panel with enough arterial spray to satisfy the most ravenous of gorehounds. Artist Cary Nord is doing a fine job on Conan’s monthly book, but when he wants to take off, Tex is the guy who Dark Horse needs to nab. His Conan is iconic. And he draws some beautiful, curvy women too. Rrrroaw!
CONAN AND THE DAUGHTERS OF MIDORA doesn’t have the most perfect Conan story, but it definitely contains one of the best looking Conans you will ever see. Those of you wondering what all of the Conan hubbub is about should pick this book up. Scan through it. Gaze at the panels where Conan lops off the enemy’s head with a single swing of his mighty sword. I’m looking at it right now and all I can say is...
”Oooooo! Awww cool!”
Cheap Shots!
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #66 - Man, I really needed this from Bendis right now! After all the crap going on with AVENGERS, and the great but dark stories in DAREDEVIL and POWERS, Bendis just kicking back and making with the funny is like manna from heaven. The bit with Flash and Wolverine alone was worth the cover price. Also, the interaction between Peter and Logan is priceless, simply priceless. Everyone, pick this one up. I don't care if you've never read USM, of if you've even dropped it somewhere down the line. You're going to love this issue, I promise. – Vroom Socko
DETECTIVE COMICS #799 - This is the first of eight parts of Act Three, the finale of the “War Games” crossover that’s been running through the Batbooks for the last couple of months. A lot of people can’t stand big crossovers, and with good reason—we’ve all gotten burned before. This one, though, has been extraordinarily well planned out and written. There hasn’t been a single issue that felt like padding. Each issue works directly towards advancing the story as needed (although, as a huge fan of Ed Brubaker’s CATWOMAN, I get the feeling he’s not fully invested in the goings-on). The story has been extremely tight and maintained its focus for over sixteen issues so far. There have been several events that will have long-term ramifications in the Batbooks: unexpected deaths, Batman and his team revealed to the whole world by camera crews, mistrust and disrespect in the Batfamily, a major upheaval in the Gotham crime world, and more. I don’t recall seeing Pete Woods’ art anywhere before he started in DETECTIVE, but I’m impressed. He’s great at playing with shadows, but it’s never murky. His work is clean, sharp, and well-defined. He passes an important test, too: there are crowd scenes where the faces all have a lot of detail, and when I see six nobody cops standing around and they all look distinctly different, somebody’s paying attention to detail. He definitely deserves more attention. It’s become quite clear over the course of this story that Commissioner Akins isn’t going to play by the same rules Gordon did, and the angry closing panel of this issue’s main story makes it clear that isn’t going to change any time soon—except, perhaps, for the worse. I’m fairly certain there are still a few more major shocks on the way to the end, and at least one of them feels fairly inescapable at this point. I suspect a lot of readers will be pretty upset when everything shakes out, but there’s little disputing the quality of the story or the seriousness of the ramifications. This is definitely one of the best crossovers I’ve seen in years, continuing the tradition of quality Bat-crossovers like “No Man’s Land”. – Sleazy G
THOR #85 – Michael Oeming wraps up his disastrous run on THOR with this, the last issue of the series. I really don’t mind it that the gods were killed. What really cheesed me off in this run was that they were killed off so remorselessly and not a single character seemed to care. This final issue is way too heady for what one has come to expect from a THOR comic. I guess Thor comes to the conclusion that Ragnarok is not the end of times, but a never-ending cycle of the end of times for the gods. So I guess he comes to the conclusion that, instead of putting themselves through this torment over and over, Thor should destroy the gods once and for all. An act that, in the past would seem insane, but Oeming seems to think it makes some sort of serendipitous sense, so he has the characters feel that way too. Basically, this is a lesser version of the AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED story, where a writer comes on board the title simply to destroy everything, paving the way for the inevitable relaunch that forgets everything that happened anyway. These “fall from grace” and “picking up the pieces” story lines are this generation’s polybag and foil covers. Maybe this trend can be attributed to America’s response to 9-11, but there has to be more stories for our heroes to take part in that this. All of this destruction and reconstruction is making me weary. Speaking of which, THOR #85 ends, not with a bang, but with a soliloquy from Thor that basically says, “Hey dudes, I’m beat. I’m taking a nap. See you real soon.” This issue made my head hurt. I’m taking a nap too. – Ambush Bug
NYX #5 (Quesada, Teranisha) & UNCANNY X-MEN #450(Claremont Davis) - Well, Logan's slutty little test tube baby is making her rounds in two books this week and just like her pop the discontinuity between her appearances is mind-numbing. Maybe I'm getting too old for this kinda gimmicky crap. Remember when original characters where introduced into the X-men mythology who were likable simply because they were good characters? Here's hoping they don't over expose X-23 just like her pop and put her in all of the teen books at the same time. Still, aside from the cracks on Girlverine I enjoyed both of these issues. Claremont and Davis are pretty much doing Excalibur with the X-Men as the main heroes, which is great because I like seeing Nightcrawler once again playing the most unlikely of romantic leads. They should just stick to him and Storm though. The Rachel bit is a little ridiculous since they spent all that time together in EXCALIBUR without a spark flying. NYX is continuing the Nu Marvel tradition of crummy pacing, but the characterization and the authentic NYC feel of the book(that DISTRICT X doesn't even come close to) make up for it. I do hope this book isn't solely geared towards girls though, like Mary Jane, Jubilee and the other teen books. It would be a waste. I still believe this book has the potential to be the next X-FORCE/STATIX and I'd rather read X-23 vaguely hinted at being Wolverine's daughter slumming her way through the East Village with Kidden, the shape-shifter guy, and the cat girl than all the cheap dime store pathos the marketing department at Marvel have got her lined up for. -Ali Knievel
TEEN TITANS/LEGION OF SUPER HEROES SPECIAL #1 – Can’t say too many good things about the bulk of this issue. Johns and Waid pair up the Legion and the Teen Titans to fight the Fearsome Five-Hundred. Chaos ensues. It’s basically a bunch of super heroes beating the snot out of a bunch more super villains. There is a nice moment with Kid Flash and his mom, but other than that, the main story was of little import. Waid and Johns’ writing styles just didn’t seem to mesh in this issue. The reason to rush out at Kid Flash speed and buy this issue, though, is so you can enjoy the phenomenal sneak peek at the new LEGION OF SUPER HEROES series by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson. Anyone who enjoyed the interstellar action and intrigue of EMPIRE should reserve their copy of the new LEGION series now! In just a few pages, Waid and Kitson made me excited to read a LEGION comic. And I’ve never followed the LSH. Here’s hoping that Waid and Kitson make this new series accessible for the likes of readers like me. All I can say is that this preview piqued my interest and I’ll definitely be there for LEGION’s relaunch. – Ambush Bug
Christopher Reeve 1952-2004
by Ali Knievel
What makes a hero? I won’t mince words here with childhood remembrances of spending most of the 5th year of my life running around in the same blue Superman pajamas (with red cape, snow boots in August and added red Underoos with yellow lining to complete the effect). Nor will I spend more than this sentence relating back to the time, 14 years ago, when my brother and I went to a free Earth Day concert in Central Park where Christopher Reeve made a crack to a bunch of hippies sitting up in trees to “get down from those trees before I have to fly over there and take you out of them myself”. Those kinds of personal anecdotes and experiences are fine, but they’ve been shared by far better writers with much cooler stories than mine over the past few days. I just want to take this opportunity, not to mince words or relate personal anecdotes of a man I never actually knew, but to pay a fitting tribute to my hero Christopher Reeve, Superman.
It’s not merely about believing a man can fly. Truth-be-told, even as a 5 year old kid watching Superman II in the theater I knew a process shot when I saw one. What makes Christopher Reeve’s Superman so precious is that he made us believe a man could deal. Sure, so did Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, or even Han Solo for that matter. Christopher Reeve showed us that we all had it in us to do what is right even when worldly circumstance would have us fold or turn against our better nature and he did it with a confidence, what some have referred to as a “swagger” that made it near impossible to dismiss him as another out of touch cornball in tights telling us to drink our milk and do our homework, like Jackson Bostwick, Adam West, or even his predecessor George Reeves. I feel sorry for anyone cynical enough to merely dismiss him as such. He embodied an ideal and made what was merely a familiar piece of childhood Americana into a living, breathing, personified icon. No other representation of the character in any medium will ever come close to this level of realization. The only comic book Superman that even feels remotely like it is Byrne’s version (which explains its huge popularity). For me, it really feels like Superman died over the weekend too and I don’t think I can shake it.
I think Jon Quixote once said that when you see someone wearing a Superman T-Shirt (whether they be a comic book fan or not) it means that they see themselves as, at the very least, a good person or at best a hero. We have Christopher Reeve to thank for that. No matter how many times I see the 1st two SUPERMAN movies, I always walk away from them wanting to be that good; wanting to be that confident about doing what’s right. There’s a chill I will always get at the end of Superman II where he brings the flag back to the White House and tells the President that he’ll never let him down again. A hero means what he says and does what he means with equal parts passion and intelligence. In this day and age, it seems like we have to choose between the two when it comes to our leaders. In the role of Superman and in his real-life battle with paralysis, Christopher Reeve showed time and again, with the greatest confidence and humility, just how absurd such a choice is.
