| #41 | 3/02/05 | #3 |
Hi there, it’s your old pal Ambush Bug with another AICN COMICS Review Column. I want everyone to welcome guest reviewer Matthew Wanderski into the fold. He’s got an indie book he thinks you should all check out. But first, as always, is Buzz. So let’s get right to it and check out this week’s pull.
(Click title to go directly to the review)
ULTIMATE IRON MAN #1
A STRANGE DAY
THE INTIMATES #5
LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL #1
PAPA MIDNITE #2
THE WALKING DEAD #16
CHEAP SHOTS!
ULTIMATE IRON MAN # 1
Written by Orson Scott Card
Art by Andy Kubert
Published by Marvel
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik
I like sci-fi.
I'm not so crazy about science fiction.
To me, sci-fi is a genre of film or fiction that uses science fiction themes but either does not rise to the level of regular science fiction, whatever that may be, or somehow transcends it. Sci-fi also usually combines science fiction with fantasy, adventure, comedy or all three. STAR WARS, DUNE and a great many comic books are sci-fi.
Side note: using the term sci-fi will also piss off Harlan Ellison, but what doesn't? We love your writing, Harlan, and we love it when you get pissed off. Harlan has written both excellent science fiction and sci-fi in his time, as well as tons of other stuff.
Orson Scott Card's best known work, ENDER'S GAME, falls into my sci-fi designation. It's close to the science fiction border, but it ends up having more to do with works like William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES and Richard Hughes' A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA. ENDER contains lots of themes, but one is that children can be ruthless little bastards, especially toward one another.
I want to echo the urgings of ULTIMATE IRON MAN editor Nick Lowe (could the guy from Rockpile/record producer have moved on to edit comic books?) that you run out and get a copy of ENDER'S GAME if you've never read it. It's the story of genius Earth children taken to an off-world "battle school" where they are trained to lead Earth's fight against an alien race. You can see its influence everywhere. Clearly, George Lucas is familiar with the book. The preschool Jedi and the clones-in-training from EPISODE 2: ATTACK O' THE CLONES were cribbed from ENDER.
Mr. Card has written a whole series of ENDER books (as well as tons of other things that I'm sure are excellent) but I can't comment on them because the only one I read was SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD and that was science fiction, not sci-fi. He's also done another series starting with ENDER'S SHADOW that follows Ender's sidekick Bean, which may be the direction some of us fans wanted him to go with Ender. At any rate, the greatest compliment that I can pay ENDER'S GAME is that if I'd read it between the ages of 11 and 15 it would have been one of those seminal books for me. I read it last year, and while it didn't change my life, I dug it the most.
Now, Mr. Card is onto ULTIMATE IRON MAN. Specifically, Ultimate Iron Man's origin. This being the year it is, Ultimate Tony isn't even born in this issue. We've got his Howard Hughesian father who has invented spray on armor. It makes you look like a member of the Blue Man group, but it also allows you to resist stabbing and bashing (which comes in handy if people think you're a Blue Man). The problem is, it eats away your skin after a while. Tony's Mom is a geneticist who comes up with a virus that allows cell regeneration in monkeys.
As of this writing, AICN Comics' lawyer, my brother Scam Maverik, is looking into suing Marvel Comics for unauthorized use of our group monkey Schleppy. Marvel didn't ask us if Schleppy could guest star as lab monkey "Jimmy" in ULTIMATE IRON MAN # 1. And no one told poor Schleppy that he'd have to lose and regrow an arm. They didn't even bring in a stunt monkey! The li'l fella's middle finger hasn't worked properly since he got back. Scam is going to try to get us $10,000,000 and a case of Herradura Tequila.
Andy Kubert does his usual knock out job on the art. He did ORIGIN. It never bothered me that Marvel revealed Wolverine's origin. I'm still pissed that they told us what his mutant power actually was. Even better than Kubert's pencils are Richard Isanove's colors. This is some of the most beautiful color work I can remember. Lots of purple skies, oceans and lighting. Lots of blues, even aside from the Blue Man guy. Blue pin stripe suits. Blue bacteria.
Mr. Card is giving us the origin of Ultimatony's genius and maybe even his alcoholism. I think the boy will be a bit of a mutant, but we'll see. I also enjoyed the gag in the DYNASTY-like subplot involving Howard Stark's ex-wife and his evil business rival Jebediah Stane. They're slinky, sleazy and seductive over a somewhat illicit lunch, until the food arrives. Then they gobble like a pair of pigs. Unfortunately, I had what may have been an unintentional guffaw when Maria Stark was attacked by Schleppy. She's immediately nauseated (Schleppy has that affect on everyone) and one of her lab assistants says, "You've been married three months. Could you be pregnant?" Yeah, lady, those billionaire types are known for waiting 'til the wedding night.
I like the idea of Tony Stark as an Ender Wiggin type genius. I'm not wild about the mutantegenic causes for this development, though. I always thought that Ultimate Tony Stark was Mark Millar writing a boozier version of his own public persona as likable, witty guy. Extra-stars for Schleppy's guest spot, even though we're still suing. Who'd have thought that our monkey would instrumental in Ultimate Iron Man's origin?
A STRANGE DAY
Writer: Damon Hurd
Artist: Tatina Gill
Publisher: Alternative Comics
Guest Reviewer: Matthew Wanderski
Damon Hurd is a comic book writer who has been steadily making a name for himself over the last several years with his slice-of-life/dramatic/autobiographical releases. Not working on quite the artsy level of the stories crafted by some of the Drawn & Quarterly or Fantagraphics cartoonists known for autobio and/or drama, such as Chester Brown or Jessica Abel, Hurd's titles are more populist, I'd say; a little more immediate and down-to-earth than the work of some of his contemporaries. His approach is marked by what seems an honest – and, indeed, at times earnest – attempt not only to claw through the past but also to reveal and make sense of its complexities, subtleties and difficulties. It's an approach that flirts with the dangers of obviousness and sentiment.
I've read two of these previous graphic novellas – the critically acclaimed MY UNCLE JEFF and the mock stage play THE WHITE ELEPHANT – and while I've admired their ambition, and while I've found them to be worthy reads, I can't say they completely escaped those creative sandtraps. With A STRANGE DAY, a 44-page black and white pamphlet, however, Hurd and artist Tatiana Gill have hit paydirt. With this Novella, Hurd takes a step back from the narrator-driven examinations and explications of those earlier works and lets the story – and its characters – take over. Ironically, the result is probably the truest sense of humanity I've seen his writing achieve yet.
A STRANGE DAY is a day in the life of two teenage Cureheads, who meet when they both skip school in order to buy the latest CD by their beloved band on the morning of its release. Miles is a quiet, reserved kid who dresses in black; Anna is an outgoing and friendly gal given to stockings and short skirts. When they find that the CD is not to arrive til the afternoon, they spend the day together and get to know each other. It's a simple story, but not exactly a slight or superficial one; the characters ring with truth, and there's a real grace in the way in which one of the day's vignettes flows into another, culminating in a satisfying wholeness, a story, and a feeling of having spent time with two "real" people.
These types of characters – teenage Cureheads, one a bit sullen, one a bit spunky – usually scream out for stereotypical treatment, but Hurd writes them much more subtly than that. He writes them as kids. In the second half of the book, some fairly heavy stuff comes up as Anna and Miles open themselves up to each other, but Hurd and Gill handle it pretty deftly, letting it simply be a part of the act of these two people growing closer. Rather than being dissected, the revelations of A STRANGE DAY's second half simply ARE, and it's this straightforwardness that makes them stay with you after you've reached the last page. Hurd really seems to trust his material here, and the dialog between Miles and Anna is relaxed and very believable throughout.
Part of what makes A STRANGE DAY work so well is that, in Gill, Hurd has found his best artist collaborator out of the three major works of his I've read. Gill's art is rough and very lovely, and it's perfect for capturing the key aspects of the story. The underground comix feel of the inky art not only makes the Cureheads seem all the more Curehead, I think it would *please* many a Curehead. The lettering of song lyrics is rather Cure-ly, a bit pretentious and a bit pretty. But Gill is also plentifully expressive, in her handling of settings, both natural and man-made, and especially in her work with characters. The slightly closed-off inexperience of Miles and the exuberance and relative worldliness of Anna are perfectly conveyed – and contrasted – in Gill's body language and facial expressions, and her costuming is great. There's scrappiness and wistfulness to the art that speak volumes of the past remembered and of the angst and love of teenagerhood (and wait til you see how beautifully ALL of these elements come together in the ending!).
And that's perfect for this wonderful and fully-realized little comic book. As Hurd and Gill say in the introduction: "It's for the person you once were... the sixteen year old who fell in love at first sight and took themselves all too seriously." The person described further in that introduction, the Anna and Miles we come to know in the story itself, may not be exactly who you or I were back in high school (we can't all be Cureheads!), but I don't doubt that the warm-heartedness and honesty of A STRANGE DAY will make much of it identifiable to both us old fogeys looking back on the past and those young'uns living this story today.
THE INTIMATES #5
Writer: Joe Casey
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Publisher: WildStorm Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
When this series debuted, I wrote a positive review of it in the hopes somebody might notice and give the series a shot. It’s a smart series where Joe Casey manages to play with, and poke fun at, certain traditional aspects of superhero books and teenage melodrama while still taking the subjects seriously. I never would’ve guessed at the time I wrote that review that I’d end up finding myself reading “A Very Special Issue Of THE INTIMATES” at any point in the run, but I also never would’ve guessed I’d actually end up liking it, either.
Casey introduces a new character here named Dead Kid Fred. He pretty much just looks like a zombie decked out in superhero cape, mask and booties. The look is at once comical and somewhat off-putting—the poor kid seems like he barely has the muscles required to hold his head up. It seems to hang down an awful lot, as if he had died sitting at his desk in school. It turns out, though, that Fred doesn’t just have a weak spine, and he isn’t just having the usual adjustment problems new students often go through. Fred’s incredibly depressed about everything, and Casey does a good job of giving Fred the subtle characteristics that serve as warning signs with teens. He’s uncommunicative, but not because he’s sullen—it’s because he can’t stand to see himself and he’s terrified of what everybody else must think. Casey also introduces a new but familiar concept this issue: Hivejournal, an obvious take-off on Livejournal. Through Fred’s online journal we begin to learn more and more about how he really feels and what he thinks of himself and the world around him. Casey nails the bad spelling and self-indulgent emodrama that’s so typical in the online community. At the same time, though, he also manages to make you really understand where Fred is coming from and why he feels that way.
Meanwhile, poseur jackass Punchy has stumbled across the journal, but isn’t sure who it belongs to (nobody said the kid was bright—you’d think a screen name like “rotten to the core” might be a hint). At first he thinks it’s a whiny girl, but then realizes it’s a guy. The more he reads, the more concerned he becomes about how serious the suicidal comments really are, and by the time he figures out it’s a heroPunchy feels like he has no choice but to take extreme action. Casey made a good call here using Punchy as the only empathetic student. Previously, the guy’s been an obnoxious jerk, and it’s nice to see a little more depth added to the character. We also see some defining glimpses of a few of the other main characters, with Emptee Vee stepping up and asserting herself in the face of an authority figure and Destra once again proving herself to be narcissistic to an almost pathological degree.
When I first reviewed THE INTIMATES, one of my only criticisms was with the banner text running at the bottom of each page. Not its existence, mind you—it’s a pretty snappy idea. It runs along much like the ticker at the bottom of the screen on CNN, pushing informational sound bites at you. Some of it is directly related to what’s going on in the story (in this case, blurbs with statistics about teen socialization and suicide statistics), some of it is used to throw out tiny little details about the characters, and some of it displays a dry, satirical wit. It’s a nice way to flesh out the universe the story takes place in very quickly, and I really dig the information density to be found in every issue. No, my only criticism was a minor one, and as of this issue it seems to have been addressed: the background for the ticker is yellow, and some of the infobites were printed in a nearly-unreadable white-on-yellow. Now that it’s down to only red or black text on the yellow, the book is far more readable. It was a small design issue, but one that put a damper on my enjoyment. Now that that’s resolved, there’s absolutely no criticism to be leveled at the appearance of this book. The magazine-style covers are slick, and the interior art by Camucoli is perfect for a title like this. He’s got a style that’s clearly influenced by a few different animation styles, which is a great approach because it manages to invest even lunchroom conversations with a sense of motion and energy. Something else that seems to come from the animation influence is an ability to know when to show that detail and when to use open space to focus on the characters or as an actual expression of their emotional states. I’d never seen any of the work Camuncoli had done in Europe, but he’s doing quite a job here and I’m looking forward to more work from him.
There’s one moment that really stands out near the end of the issue, and I think it speaks to how well Casey’s and Camuncoli’s abilities and approaches mesh in this issue. It’s the second to the last page, and it’s pretty much the point the entire issue has been building to. I suppose it’s the closest to a happy ending one could expect, but you’re left feeling pretty lousy when you get there. There’s a palpable sense of horror and pity thanks to that page, and seeing the condition of an emotionally devastated teen who feels he’s out of options is a sudden and stiff shock. Casey has dealt to a certain extent with the emotional states of the other students, but this is the first time he’s really snuck in and sucker-punched the reader, and he does it to great effect.
Like I said at the top, I had no idea something like this was coming from THE INTIMATES. It’s not the kind of thing I think could work if done too often, but Casey’s managed to pull off an impressive story here that addresses a serious issue in a far more compelling manner than I would have guessed. Since it’s a standalone issue, it’s perfectly accessible to new readers, so give it a shot and see what you think. You may find yourself coming back next month for another issue, but even if you don’t, I think this one is worth checking out.
LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL #1 (of 5)
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Lee Bermejo
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
It’s been said before. The very best villains are the ones who think they are fighting the good fight. The bad guys who wring their hands, give a devilish grin and a “Mwoo-hahaha!” look into the camera, and exclaim “Look at me, I’m so evil.” never really interested me. No one is really like that. It doesn’t matter if you’re Manson or Mother Theresa, when you are going about your day to day life; I believe most people are not under the impression that whatever they are doing is villainous. The truly intriguing and well developed villains believe that whatever they do, their intentions are noble and right, however misguided their actions really are. Any villain can be this way. It could be the Stilt Man robbing banks for extra cash to buy platform shoes to fit in to a world of tall people or Magneto battling those he thinks as oppressors to mutantkind. The job of the writer (a good writer, that is) is to convince the reader that this villain isn’t Dr. Evil, relishing in his evil-ness, but a misguided soul who believes in what he is doing.
LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL attempts to flip the way we perceive Superman, by viewing the Man of Steel through the eyes of his arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor. As I read this book, I realized that for it to be successful to me, by the end of the book, writer Brian Azzarello had to tell such a compelling story, that I would take Luthor’s side and see Superman as he does: a threat to humanity. And by the end of the story, that is exactly what happened.
You see, Azzarello doesn’t cast Luthor as the scheming businessman/ex-President or the megalomaniacal purple armored super baddie that Jeph Loeb recently portrayed him as in BATMAN/SUPERMAN. Azz slowly goes about a typical end of the work day scenario with Lex interacting with his staff and taking care of business. It is interesting to see this side of Lex and believable that someone of his stature would have to have some redeeming qualities in order to become the success he has become.
Azzarello spends a lot of time allowing us to get to know Lex through his interactions with various people in the book. It isn’t until the end of the book, when he is alerted to a Superman sighting, that Lex’s perceptions of Superman come to light. Azz does a really good job of sucking the reader in, making them see rarely seen humanity in a character, which in turn allows the reader to understand why that character feels the way he does about Superman and, in the end, actually empathize with Lex. Azz uses Lex’s inner monologue extremely well, guiding the reader slowly through the reasons behind this age-old rivalry. And by the end of the book, dammit if I wasn’t empathetic with Lex. Given the fact that this is one of the most famous comic book villains of all time, I believe that’s a pretty big achievement.
One of the things that made the casting of Lex as the hero and Superman as the villain so believable in this book was Lee Bermejo’s art. He does a great job of making Lex look heroic and normal in photo-realistic, painterly poses, while depicting Superman as this monstrous being with firey red eyes hovering outside of Lex’s office window. These images complimented Azz’s writing and drove home the point he was trying to make. This is a truly good-looking issue by an artist who obviously put some thought into how the themes of the book reflect the way the cast is perceived.
I don’t know if this story has been tried before. I’m not a regular Superman reader. Every now and then, I pick up a special or a miniseries out of curiosity because, honestly, I don’t really get the appeal of Superman. So to me, I found this issue to be even more entertaining because, like Lex, I’m not necessarily a fan of the guy either. I could see why Lex feels the way he did because there are a lot of qualities Supes has that do not appeal to me. Despite magic and green asteroids, the guy is unstoppable. He isn’t human. He’s not really relatable. These are character aspects that both Azz’s Lex and I feel are unappealing about Superman. I found this to be a compelling read. One that could speak to both fans of Superman (because if you’re a Superman fan, you’d be interested anyway) and those like me who don’t really like the character (because neither does the hero of the book).
Like I said, the best villains believe they are right. In the hands of a good writer, the reader would be able to understand the villain’s point of view and maybe even empathize a bit. I found that to be the case with this book. I’m intrigued to see where Azzarello is going with this series. Aside from all of the wealth and power, when I finished this book, I found out that Lex and I have more in common than I originally thought. Hell, we even both have bald heads.
PAPA MIDNITE #2
Writer: Mat Johnson
Penciller: Tony Akins
Publisher: Vertigo/DC Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
I’ve been following John Constantine’s exploits since HELLBLAZER #1 hit, and later picked up some of the SWAMP THING stories where he was first introduced. That’s a good 17 or 18 years’ worth of the monthly (sweet jeebus) not to mention various one-shots, annuals, and miniseries. That’s a lotta time and money invested in just this one little corner of comics, so when I heard about the current PAPA MIDNITE series I have to admit I balked a little. Sure, I’ve liked some of the previous minis and the extra background they added to Constantine’s story. Sure, I’ve liked Papa Midnite since his first appearance in the arc that launched the HELLBLAZER monthly. Still, with it being intentionally scheduled to coincide with the release of the movie “Constantine”, of which I was also somewhat suspect, and with never having read author Mat Johnson’s novels, I found myself wondering if it would be worth bothering with or if I’d be better served holding on to my $11.92 (yeah, that’s right, DC—you didn’t slip that increase from $2.95 to $2.99 on the cover past us).
I ended up deciding to give the series a shot after all, and I’m glad I did. So far it’s been an interesting take on the character. In a lesser writer’s hands, this could have been just another standard-issue voodoo doctor story. Instead, Johnson comes up with a far more interesting background for Papa Midnite. It turns out he and his twin sister were street urchins who had to fend for themselves. Midnite learned a little bit of magic from his mother before she died, and he uses it to con people out of their money to support himself and his sister. As he grows a little older, though, he becomes greedy and stops using his abilities in a more altruistic manner (to punish whites who abuse or murder his people) and instead begins taking advantage of his powers for a profit. He ends up selling a bunch of guns to a group of slaves who are planning an uprising, but he also sells them a “magic powder” that will supposedly protect them from bullets. The magic powder is fake, though, and a lot of slaves who believed in the powder end up dead. The survivors are none too pleased and return to the twins to seek their revenge.
The vengeance of those slaves is shocking and brutal. It puts Midnite in an impossible position and then inflicts a horrific curse upon him as well. Johnson seems to understand that no matter what demonic or magical trappings you dress a story up with, nothing is as terrifying as man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. Instead of just taking the easy way out and making this a “whites bad, slaves good” parable, though, Johnson blurs the color lines. Family members and members of the same tribes suffer from the all-too-common vices of greed, anger, and hatred and it becomes very ugly very quickly.
Johnson does a great job of starting the series out with the badass Papa Midnite who has appeared previously in HELLBLAZER. The modern-day Midnite strikes a stark contrast to the young boy dabbling with powers he can’t possibly understand, and seeing him get from there to here is rife with possibilities that can be incorporated into further miniseries or into the HELLBLAZER monthly. There’s also an intriguing new character, Fortune, introduced here. A baby who survived the massacre that occurs in the first two issues, it’s not yet clear if he’s a nemesis for Midnite, a jacked-up riff on the Ghost of Christmas Past, a bit of both, or something completely different. The character definitely has my interest piqued, though.
I know I talked about Constantine at the top of the piece, and it’d be hard not to mention the guy since Midnite started out as one of Constantine’s supporting characters. If anybody’s wondering whether John’s a part of this story, the answer is no, at least not so far. It doesn’t matter one bit, though. The story is strong enough and dark enough to stand on its own, and doesn’t really need a cameo by John to give it a boost. If there’s any one criticism that can be leveled, it’s that Papa Midnite has been retooled somewhat to appear closer to the way he appeared on film. The original Midnite was a towering wall of a man, physically imposing and scary as hell but relatively tight-lipped. There was also a consistent air of threat that hovered around him, and he seemed strongly rooted in a tradition and style that indicated he was clearly not an American. The Midnite that appears here is closer to Djimon Honsou’s appearance and portrayal from “Constantine.” He’s shorter and less bulky, and he comes off as much more of a New Yorker in style and attitude, though he still bears the accent and attitude of his homeland. That criticism is ultimately a relatively insignificant one, though, in light of what an impressive job Mat Johnson is doing of constructing a unique and disturbing backstory for this supporting character. I started out unsure of whether to take a chance on this miniseries, but it turns out there was nothing to be concerned about. It’s totally accessible to new readers, too, not at all caught up in any longstanding HELLBLAZER-related continuity, so whether you’re just a fan of horror comics in general or you’re somebody who’s been a longstanding follower of the Vertigo universe this is a series that’s well worth picking up.
THE WALKING DEAD #16
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Charlie Admard
Publisher: Image
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
It was just one month ago that I gave THE WALKING DEAD one of my highest recommendations. There isn’t a book out there right now that I am more invested in. As soon as I get home from the store, I read this book and when I finish it, I get a bit pissed because I didn’t wait longer so that the wait until next issue is not so long. Last time around, I delved pretty deeply in the praise I had for this title and left the details out to be savored and not spoiled, but this time around, I think I’ll focus on the major theme I noticed running through this book and how that all changes in this issue.
THE WALKING DEAD #16 is a turning point issue. It’s powerful. It’s resonant. The action and violence and tragedy within these pages seem to be all coming to a head. When I set this issue down, I realized that this issue was different from the last fifteen I have read. In this issue, Kirkman drives the point home that THE WALKING DEAD doesn’t really refer to the zombies shambling around trying to eat our heroes. The title refers to the heroes themselves.
Up until this issue, despite the fact that society has fallen, the dead have risen from their graves, and in the face of massive losses, our crew of survivors have always had hope. It was a symbol of the strength of the human spirit to survive and strive for something better, even though the world seems to be fighting against all of that. After a long journey filled with loss, the survivors found sanctuary in a not-so-abandoned prison. A place that housed society’s worst would now be the birthplace of a safe haven, a home, a chance to start over. Things were looking up. Crops were being planted. Rules were being established. Relationships were being formed. Happily ever after seemed to be on the horizon.
But Kirkman wouldn’t do that to us. He promised a long journey. This couldn’t be the end. And in this issue, Kirkman pulls the rug of hope out from under all of our heroes, not in large, cinematic strokes, but by outlining the simple truth that nothing, not even a flesh eating zombie, is as truly monstrous as human nature.
In this issue, the zombies are there, but the true threat are traits the zombies do not possess. It’s distrust, prejudice, murder, perversity, and deception that tears apart this safe haven, not the zombie threat. This issue kills all hope our heroes have because they slowly begin to realize that no matter where they go or what they do, they cannot save themselves from themselves.
Robert Kirkman is writing his @$$ off on this book. Anyone basing their opinions of this guy simply on the lackluster work he’s done while slumming at Marvel doesn’t know how good this guy can truly be. Check out this series. I discovered it two months ago, a little late to nominate it for Best Ongoing Comic Book series in the @$$ie Awards Column. But it is surely the best series I have read in a long time. I usually don’t cover comics two months in a row, but with THE WALKING DEAD, I am willing to make an exception. IT’s that damn good.
FIRESTORM #11 - This little series keeps chugging along. It’s one of those series that probably won’t be around for long, but DC is cool enough to give properties like these a chance and I have to commend them for it. Hopefully, this series will have legs though. I’m liking it so far. This issue features some really great interactions between current Firestorm Jason Rusch and former Firestorm Ronnie Raymond. Seems Ronnie is floating around in Jason’s head like the Professor did in the old series now. And bonus! Jason Firestorm can turn into Ronnie Firestorm at will. It’s kind of cool seeing Ronnie Raymond evolve into the more responsible role of mentor for the fledgling hero. There’s a great moment where Ronnie wants to pay a visit to his father’s home to let them know that he didn’t actually die in IDENTITY CRISIS. The often oblivious Ronnie wants the African American Jason to just walk into the White middle-class house and wait on the couch for his parents to get home. Jason calls Ronnie on it. It’s a funny scene dealing with race in a non-preachy manner. Fans of the old FIRESTORM series will appreciate the appearance of some of his old Rogue’s Gallery in this issue. - Bug
THE LONG HAUL - As much as I love a good heist story, I love Oni's run of Original Graphic Novels even more. This eccentric train robbery reads like an Old West version of Ocean's 11, with all the style, character and flair
that you could ask for. It may not be original, it may not be special, but it sure as hell is an entertaining ride. - Vroom
CAPTAIN AMERICA/FALCON #13 - Okay, now I’m officially lost. I’m a fan of Priest. I love most of his work, but is he even trying with this series? Reading this series is like swimming through chewing gum. The constant change in artists doesn’t help, especially when there are alternate versions of characters running around. In this issue, Cap dies…I think. Who gives a shit? This series ends next issue. And I say good riddance. Let’s hope Priest can pick up the pieces of this failed endeavor and give us something great again like BLACK PANTHER or THE CREW some time soon. - Bug
