| #45 | 3/5/08 | #6 |
GUY RITCHIE'S GAMEKEEPER V2 #1
Created by Guy Ritchie Story by Jeff Parker Art by Ron Randall & Ron Chan Publisher: Virgin Comics Reviewer: Ambush Bug
A lot of fun was had reading the first GAMEKEEPER comic miniseries. Guy Ritchie's nature-loving badass did what he does best with a bunch of invading mercenaries in search of a scientific formula developed by a reclusive scientist. This first miniseries reminded me of such films as FIRST BLOOD and DEATH HUNT where a true bad@$$, sick of all of the bureaucracy and business of the real world decides to say "'eff you!" and return back to nature to live a simpler life. Of course, this decision never lasts long. Trouble follows our hero. It happened with Sylvester Stallone. It happened with Charles Bronson. And it happens here with Brock, a true hard as nails killing-machine of a man who would rather hunt game than humans...until the humans do him wrong, that is.Series one ended with the Gamekeeper taking care of a shitload of mercenaries who siege the farm of his employer, a scientist developing some sort of "thing" that the Russian military wants. The miniseries was simply acted out, highlighting the sheer bad-@$$edness of the main character in the way he strategically took out the entire squadron. It was a straight-forward action yarn that pulled no punches and never really tried to be more than what it was...a kick-@$$ action experience.
Series two starts out slow. Readers of the old miniseries already know how cool the Gamekeeper is, so new writer Jeff Parker (of AGENTS of A.T.L.A.S. fame) gives us a little bit of introspection between Brock and the person he is protecting, then swiftly leaps into introducing the team of baddies who have been hired to take care of him.
What I like about this issue is that it plays like a great caper film. A team of characters work together to steal a piece of artwork. The meticulous plan unfolds and it plays as a pretty clever one at that. At the same time, the caper highlights and introduces the key players, all of them soon to be meeting the Gamekeeper, I'm sure. The twist at the end comes from out of nowhere and is an extremely satisfying way to end this issue and give a feeling of impending doom for the Gamekeeper and the people he is protecting.
I keep on referring to films in this review and the reason for that is the cinematic way in which the story plays out. GAMEKEEPER V2 #1 is definitely paced like a film, but it's not your typical trade-paced dreck. Issue #1 feels like part of a bigger picture, but it definitely doesn't feel like a throw away issue. In film, every second counts and builds upon itself. This issue feels the same way. Jeff Parker is a good enough writer to know that if you don't nab the reader in the first issue, they won't be back for a second. This issue grabs you and lets you know that there is more bad-@$$edness to come and sets up a capable crew of no-goodniks to challenge our hero. I can't wait to see how this one turns out. The first issue starts with a simmer, but by the end of the book, it boils over as an homage to action films and a promise to readers that more carnage is on the way.
Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, reviewer and co-editor of AICN Comics for close to seven years. Bug often walks the Earth in search of answers to life’s burning questions…only to find them back at his place, on his nightstand, in the four-color pages of comic books. Look for his first published work in this March's MUSCLES & FIGHTS 3 from Cream City Comics
YOUNG LIARS #1
Words & Art: David Lapham Publisher: Vertigo/DC Comics Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
If there is anything I love about a David Lapham work, it's that each and every one of them seems to try and trump one another when it comes to pure nihilistic decor. YOUNG LIARS is yet another, uh, shining example of this trend, with nary a bit of hope or light at the end of the tunnel to be seen, but goddamn it's a firecracker of a book.Syphilis, bulimia, drug consumption, a bullet lodged in a young girl's brain, facial mutilation, some punk-fucking-rock, and a bit of hopeless romanticism...it's all there and more, and this is just the first issue. Obviously the purpose of a first issue is to set the tone and scene, and again Lapham does this as dirty as possible and I love him for it. This is a pretty dense debut though, with over a half dozen characters to introduce and some pretty heavy background for a couple of them to lay down. Don't worry though, the mad, hedonistic energy this work revels in holds up throughout, and despite a good bit of the characters being some real pieces of work or downright pieces of shit, there manages to be some light at the end of the tunnel.
The real saviors of the book when it comes to a redeeming quality are what look to be our main characters: Danny Noonan, a one-time aspiring guitarist whose dreams have fallen prey to reality but tolerates it because he's met Sadie. Sadie is your all American punk rock grrl except, y'know, with massively erratic mental behavior due to a bullet in her brain pushing on part of it. It's a romantic comedy for sadists I guess. But it's also a great anchor for a book featuring some very vile and lost characters. I also enjoyed where the book went towards the end of the issue as far as a driving plot for this rag-tag bunch. A little sudden and jarringly placed, but I kind of dig it despite its randomness, which pretty much exactly sums up my feelings on this comic as a whole.
As much as Vertigo banks on its trade sales, I think this is definitely something that needs to be picked up and bought individually. There's just so much crazed energy mixed with some very downbeat humor in this title that I'm not even sure a large chunk of it would be a good thing. And I can see its contained catastrophic-ness keeping a good hold on the reader from month to month. But this is definitely a book to check. It's definitely going to be polarizing for sure, but those that would enjoy something of this level of degeneracy (i.e. me) are going to fall in love with it, which really seems to be Lapham's staple. The Vertigo line may have just captured lightning in a bottle yet again with this one...
Humphrey Lee is a long time AICN reviewer and also a certified drunk whose claim to fame is making it up four steps of the twelve step program before vomiting on steps five and six and then falling asleep on steps one through three. Also, chances are, he's banged your mom (depending on the relative hotness of said parental figure) and is probably the father of one of your younger siblings.
LOGAN # 1 (of 3)
Written by Brian “K.” Vaughan Art by Eduardo Risso Published by Marvel Comics Reviewed by Stones Throw
Are there any current X-MEN fans that jumped aboard in the past ten years? Not ULTIMATE X-MEN, mind you. I mean the variant-cover sporting, multiple title-spanning, many crossover-having real thing. I understand the recent MESSIAH COMPLEX event (which did some kind of cutesy, capitalized thing with the X that I don’t wanna replicate here) has brought aboard some new readers, but still…Every comic fan has one major franchise they’ve never cared for. For me, it was always the X-Men. For having the number one property throughout the 1990s, Marvel Comics sure did a good job of making sure their vast pantheon of X-books was impenetrable to new readers. Sure, I’d read reprints of the early Lee / Kirby stuff, but somewhere along the lines it seemed like the simple idea of ordinary people turned into super humans by a genetic trait had become inextricably convoluted, taking in multiple deaths and resurrections, timelines, alien races and whatever else.
Then I started reading the original Chris Claremont stuff and I finally “got” the X-Men. I saw the missing link between the original premise and the pretty awful stuff I had read in the present day (some of which Claremont was actually writing). I saw how he and his collaborators -- Dave Cockrum first, then John Byrne and others -- had expanded the scope of X-MEN comics, taking the starting point of a team of superhuman adventurers separated from the rest of humanity and adding any manner of action-packed, wayfaring stories. And hey, it’s not their fault if the comics were so good later writers haven’t been able to get past what they did.
Wolverine seems pretty emblematic of the problem with the X-Men. He started off as a supporting character whose best quality was simply how bad-@$$ he was. Unfortunately, because of that great volume of bad@$$ity, he became one of Marvel’s most successful characters and now, after decades of over-exposure and glamorization, his mystique (which was part of what made him so bad-@$$ in the first place) has completely disappeared and there’s nothing left to say with the character.
Hot property Brian Vaughan thinks he can break the mold, though, and he’s brought 100 BULLETS’ Eduardo Risso, one of the best pen and ink artists in the biz, along for the ride. And…
Well, what do you think, smart guy? I liked it!
As far as I’m concerned, Wolverine’s still best as the outsider figure on a team, but this is the kind of solo tale I can take. Logan’s not a man on a mission, he’s a soldier in a Japanese P.O.W. camp determined to get out alive, no matter how many enemy soldiers he’s gonna have to gut. I appreciated the way Vaughan stuck to the Clint Eastwood characterization (strong, silent type, but with just enough of an inferiority complex) rather than bombarding us with a raft of tough guy clichés. His story shifts smoothly from superhero drama to war story to folk tale, and ends on a pretty wicked cliffhanger.
Risso’s art? C’mon, man! It was as brilliantly hard-boiled as you’d expect. The watercolor paint gives it a whole new texture too. And trust me, I tried painting in watercolor once or twice and it’s not easy. So props to whoever painted it.
If you want to know about the minor faults, I’ll list them in this paragraph. Here goes: Firstly, Risso got the height right, but I still didn’t think his Wolverine was quite ugly enough. In fact, in some panels he’d almost pass for SMALLVILLE’s Tom Welling. Not that I watch that show. Uh, any more. The references to ORIGIN still make me wince a little. Plus, the setting and time period is a little covered. Like I said, minor.
The mark of good fiction is how well it manages to engross you, so you forget the writer sat behind his laptop or the artist at his drawing table. These kinds of reviews try to pick apart that process, but I’ll just say that while I was reading it the story and art gripped me enough that I clean forgot about the wider malaise of the X-Men line. Hell, by the time I turned that last page, I’d already stopped thinking about plot elements that had been craftily introduced in the present-day prologue.
Wolverine’s still a broken character, and the X-books still suck balls, but this issue was pretty darn good!
GREEN LANTERN # 28
Writer: Geoff Johns Artist: Mike McKone Publisher: DC Comics Reviewer: Optimous Douche
I’ll admit that I’m the first to be wary of new characters when they are introduced into a story. This addition of what I like to call the Brian Bonsall Factor is generally indicative of two things: the writers have run out of steam with the existing stable of players, or the publisher is desperately searching for a successful spin-off. It’s often handled clumsily with little regard for canon or the viewing audience.So you can imagine my concern when Johns not only set the stage for new characters at the end of the Sinestro Corps War, but opened up the flood gates for new ring wielders, new armies, hell, even new Gods. I feared that there was no way the delivery would ever be as delectable as the set-up. I was also certain that I would be spending $400 every week to buy Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Red Lantern, Red Lantern Corps, Orange Lantern, Orange Lantern Corps, etc. to keep up with this galactic color wheel.
After reading this issue of GREEN LANTERN I’ve made a few life decisions. I will still take pause when some new cherub-faced brat appears on the TV screen repeating some adorable catch phrase until I not only hate children, but television as well. I am still distrusting of Marvel; c’mon, one mutant baby, two spin-offs, disgusting. However, from this day forward, when Geoff Johns is at the keyboard, I will cast aside all fears and predispositions and just simply enjoy the amazing ride.
I don’t think DC realized how many levels this book played on. Why? Because they only charged $2.99 for the book and they didn’t try to cross it over with some title floundering on the brink of cancellation. Yes, this book was so good, I can say in my worst Fabio accent, “I Can’t Believe it’s not a crossover.”
In this one issue of GREEN LANTERN, Johns has delivered a tale of blood, betrayal, disillusionment, abandonment, prodigal sons, edicts from the mount, and self-fulfilling apocalyptic prophecy on a cosmic scale. Quite honestly, the only biblical parable that this book seems to be missing is a savior. And that’s a damn shame, because the Green Lantern Corps and the entire DC universe will need one.
The Alpha Lanterns are doing a fine job in their newly appointed role of internal affairs. I must admit though I was a bit shocked to see them not only watching the watchmen, but acting as judge, jury and executioner as well. I know our universe is wrought with middle management, but middle management on a universal scale is a new one for me. I guess this one-stop-shop for intergalactic justice is a necessary evil since the Guardians spend all of their time now updating the Patriot Act, I mean the book of OA, and searching out the rest of the universe for their chromatic counterparts.
McKone has done exquisite work with the pencils in this book. The conversation between Sinestro and Hal Jordan and the transformation of the first Red Lantern have been so indelibly burned in my brain I still see them when I close my eyes at night.
My nipples haven’t been this hard about colors since Lucky the Leprechaun stopped drinking long enough to finally add the purple horseshoe marshmallow to Lucky Charm’s sugary spectrum of flavor.
When Optimous Douche isn’t reading comics and misspelling the names of 80’s icons, he “transforms” into a corporate communications guru. Check out the lazy bastard’s MySpace page until he gets a real website up and running.
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #1
Plot and Script: Jim Krueger Plot, Covers and Art Direction: Alex Ross Artist: Carlos Paul Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Guest Reviewer: Bottleimp
When Superman was introduced to the world in 1938, he sparked the beginning of the Golden Age of comic books. Almost overnight, newsstands became filled with the exploits of dozens of other crimefighters. Some of these characters were successful; many of them failed mere months after they debuted. After WWII, the comic book superhero lost popularity, and with the exception of Superman, Batman, and a few others, these Golden Age creations faded into obscurity. Marvel eventually revived Captain America and the Sub-Mariner, DC has utilized the Justice Society for decades now, but the majority of characters from the 1930's and 40's have remained untouched...until now. Two companies, Marvel and Dynamite, are dipping back into that pool of now-public-domain characters for two miniseries: Marvel's THE TWELVE and Dynamite's PROJECT SUPERPOWERS. And it's impossible for me to talk about one series without comparing it to the other...because THE TWELVE is good. PROJECT SUPERHEROES, unfortunately, is not.The biggest problem with PROJECT SUPERHEROES is the writing. The thing about these old characters is that they are basically blank slates--the average comic book reader today doesn't know anything about them, and even the most fanatic fanboys will probably only recognize a few names and costumes. In THE TWELVE, J. Michael Straczynski deals with this fact beautifully-- within three pages of the first issue, he tells us who these characters are, their powers (or lack of them), and even some of their personality quirks. No such luck with PS-- two issues in (and yes, I know this is issue #1, but #0 was really the first issue--if you didn't read it, don't bother with #1-- you'll be hopelessly lost) and we still don't know who everyone is or what they are able to do. Krueger and Ross use the same storytelling format they used in their JUSTICE miniseries, adding a few "journal entries" to the end of the story that are meant to tell us more about the characters. This was okay in JUSTICE, since that series dealt with comic book icons that most readers were already familiar with, but in PS these pin-up pages are vague and add nothing to the plot or to the reader's knowledge of these superheroes.
Since the reader knows next to nothing about these characters, it's hard to be concerned (or even intrigued) with what's happening to them. For example, the Black Terror smashes his fist through Dynamic Man's chest, revealing that Dynamic Man is in fact a robot. I don't even think that telling you this is a spoiler, since the reader has no preconceived notion about Dynamic Man anyway! If this was supposed to be a big shock or plot twist, it fails completely due to the lack of characterization.
In addition, the dialogue is not so hot. I get the sense that Krueger knows what he wants to say, but has trouble finding the words to articulate what's on his mind. The first-person narration by the main character is clumsy, and a lot of lines are so random that they become non-sequiturs. More than anything, the writing reminds me of an essay written by someone for whom English is a second language. Ross and Krueger also damn themselves by repeating plot elements from their earlier works. The Fighting Yank, now an old man, is sent on his quest by a mysterious spirit that appears to him, calling to mind the Spectre and Norman McKay from KINGDOM COME. In New York City, the heroes have to fight off an army of robotic Dynamic Men in a scene very reminiscent of the city of Brainiacs from JUSTICE. It's funny that even though there has been more "action" in the first two issues of PS than in THE TWELVE, the latter is a much more exciting read, simply because Straczynski's writing makes the reader care about the characters.
The art isn't bad, but it's not great. The decent pencilling by Carlos Paul is unnecessarily muddied by an attempt to make the artwork look more "painted"-- in the back of the issue there's actually a reproduction of Paul's black and white art; just compare the crisp and competent linework to the over-colored final art. Yuck.
Even though I love all those old Golden Age characters, and even though some of my favorites (like the original Daredevil, rechristened "the Death-Defying 'Devil" for copyright purposes) are going to show up in PS, I don't think I'll be sticking around for the next issue (especially at $3.50 a pop!)-- I'd rather find out what happens with THE TWELVE instead.
THE ALL NEW ATOM #21
Writer: Rick Remender Pencils: Pat Olliffe Publisher: DC Comics Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
For some reason or another, almost a couple years back when DC was presenting its round of "All New! All Exciting! All Ethnically Diverse!" legacy characters post INFINITE CRISIS, I didn't really give any of them much of a shot. Maybe I flipped through the debut issue or whatnot, but I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe it was the feeling of forceditude (sorry, I lost my thesaurus) that came with these characters seemingly being shoved down our collective gullets in order to capitalize on post-event, new number one fever, but I just feel I didn't give some of these a fair shake. The one I regretted the most was this book here, THE ALL NEW ATOM, because it featured the lovely and ever talented Gail Simone and if anyone could have infused some originality in a situation like that, it would have been Ms. Gail.Now though, there's a new writing direction, headed up by the, uh, lovely and ever talented Rick Remender? For those not in the know, Mr. Remender has been making a nice little rep for himself via publishers like Dark Horse and Image the past couple years and writes what I currently hail as one of my top ten monthly reads, FEAR AGENT. That title right there was really what convinced me to try out this new Atom character, especially since I was going into learning him from scratch. I figured if Remender could infuse his "rough-and-ready" brand of SciFi action into a book like this, using a character with powers like The Atom possesses, well this could be something special. And so far, it's not off to a bad start.
The thing of it is, I guess since I'm so little exposed to this new version of him (hell, I didn't even know his secret identity until halfway through the issue) I was expecting more of an introductory debut for Remender with the high-falutin', science-slinging action to come later, but this issue definitely jumped right in with both feet with a story involving less about the character and more of what was in him, specifically his blood. And I got what I wanted from that front. Watching as Ryan Choi (our new Atom's name for anyone at home that is as ignorant as I was) rode himself through a sample of his own blood (something that sounds "simple" but has very grave consequences in case of a fuck up as Remender amply describes to us) and then came face to, uh, corpuscle with some weird mutated blood cell was very Heath Huston-esque and was indeed some good old fashioned SciFi action with a hit of comedy. Sort of like INNERSPACE but with a tiny shrunken Asian man instead of Dennis Quaid (fuck I hope someone gets that reference).
The last third of the issue kind of serves the purpose of intro-ing who Ryan is, but I could still have used more of a Cliff Notes version of exactly who he is and what he "stands for" I guess is the term to use. What I could have especially used, though, is an explanation of why there's some giant fucking Metron looking floating head yelling stuff about slain canned cheese in his living room, and things like who his somewhat portly "sidekick" is, but I'm sure this is coming in due time. Really, I can't complain. From an adrenaline standpoint, this is exactly what I wanted. I'm sure Remender will infuse some more personality into the book as his run goes on, but this all in all from top down, writing to art, was a pretty rock solid debut. If this ends up being even half as good as FEAR AGENT has, DC will have something very special on its hands. Hopefully they don't fuck this one up too...
OMEGA THE UNKNOWN #6 (of 10)
Words & stroy: Jonathan Lethem & Karl Rusnak Art: Farel Dalrymple Publisher: Marvel Comics No longer looking for the devil: Ambush Bug
If the devil is in the details, as many people say, then I'm no longer looking for it in this book. OMEGA THE UNKNOWN is the closest thing to a TWIN PEAKS episode you can get. Much like David Lynch's groundbreaking television series, there's a whole lotta kooky going on in OMEGA THE UNKNOWN. I know many have spent hours upon hours trying to "understand" the bizarre things that occurred on TWIN PEAKS; the Black Lodge, the Log Lady, Bob, why Josie ended up trapped in that doorknob, the chick with the eye patch, amnesia & super-strength, etc. but as I watched that series many years ago and re-watched it recently, I decided to quit trying to figure out everything that was going on and sit back and just enjoy the feeling of bewilderment that accompanied every viewing. If you are one of those people who needs everything explained, who needs their world to make sense, who needs everything wrapped in a pretty bow and spelled out, you probably hated TWIN PEAKS and should probably steer clear of OMEGA THE UNKNOWN. But if you're like me, and are able to shut off the logic factor of the brain and simply enjoy something for the kookified quirk that it is, then I'm pretty sure you're going to be digging OMEGA THE UNKNOWN as much as I am.This comic is a glimpse into a completely alien mind, where strange things occur and people simply don't react to it. Statues come alive, hands grow into people, a book schmelds its way onto a guy's chest and is absorbed into his being, a guy in a superhero suit flips burgers and no one blinks an eye at it. I like the robotic way the main character stumbles around in this book, but I guess that's ok since Alex was raised by robots himself. Like the characters in another Lynch film, BLUE VELVET, everyone seems to be walking around in a robot-like trance, unfazed by the truly insane stuff that happens around them. I also like the over-the-top villainy of The Mink, a glory hound superhero whose devious schemes are just starting to show. The way the Mink interacts with his minions and manipulates both his men and the media with his own comic book and product endorsements is extremely funny. The Mink's posturing at the graveside of a fallen henchman is priceless as is the moment where he okays the photo taken of the event to be sent onto the internet for all to see.
And how does Omega the Unknown, Steve Gerber's enigmatic hero from the 70's who often was mistaken for other heroes, fit into all of this? Not completely sure. He has been taken hostage by the Mink and is being tortured for information since the Mink doesn't like to share the spotlight. All the while, mild-mannered Alex is trying to fit into society after being in exile for so long. I'm sure the book will come together and make some kind of sense in the end, but honestly, I don't care if it does or not. Writer Jonathan Lethem has done a great job of supplying some of the most entertaining pages to grace the shelves this year. The art is scratchy and often seems crammed into the panel. Movement is awkward and stiff occasionally. The panels are often crude, but highly detailed, as with the panel featuring the robotics students all constructing the same type of robot in a room full of cubicles. It is all so fascinating to look at and I can't help but love it. I couldn't see any other type of art working for this book.
There really is nothing like this book out there in the mainstream these days. It has enough mainstream hooks to work, yet isn't afraid to take risks, to completely forget to explain stuff, and to go off on tangents that one wouldn't begin to imagine. Like TWIN PEAKS, which pushed the boundaries of tolerance on a mainstream television channel, OMEGA does the same for Marvel. I have to give it to Marvel for having the balls to publish this book. I've never seen anything like it grace Marvel's output and I doubt many at Marvel even "get" the book. But if you're like me, and are able to turn off that scrutinous mind that dissects and asks "'the hell?" and needs every little detail explained to them, you just might enjoy this book for the gem that it is for as long as it lasts.
SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL # 12
Written by B. Clay Moore Art by Phil Hester and Ande Parks Published by DC Comics Reviewed lately by Stones Throw
I’ll sum it up like this: I’m more interested in following the stories of the Marvel characters, but every now and again I get a hankering to read a good SUPERMAN or BATMAN comic.Fortunately, DC caters to that whim with a variety of titles. Its publishing seems to lack a little logic. There’s SUPERMAN, that’s self-explanatory. SUPERMAN VS. BATMAN, that too. Then ACTION COMICS STARRING SUPERMAN, that’s for the quieter, more character-based stories. ALL STAR SUPERMAN is for the out-of-continuity, iconic stories. And SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL, uh…
Hey, I’m not complaining if the end result is more comics like this one. I guess this functions as the new origin of the Toymaster, and that’s okay by me. Siegel and Shuster and whoever might have been ghosting at the time observed almost seventy years ago that Superman’s most entertaining stories often come when the villains are pests rather than titans. Personally, I’m still waiting for the return of Lois Lane’s niece, Susie Tompkins.
The current trend in comics is towards dragged out storylines and low amounts of action, but you wouldn’t tell by reading this issue. There are numerous plot lines established, all pretty good, and a fair few action scenes, stylishly drawn by the idiosyncratic Hester / Parks team. Just as importantly, I liked the matter-of-fact tone with which Superman and his world were treated. Writer B. …or B. Clay …or BCM …or Clay Moore …or, uh, whatzisface, y’know, the HAWAIIAN DICK guy, knows we all know who Superman is and isn’t afraid to just dive right in and show us all aspects of the character. The man in action, Clark Kent at work in the Daily Planet, paging Jimmy Olsen on his signal watch, having a close run-in with a neighbor.
The setting seems kind of indeterminate. The backdrop is Jimmy Olsen getting into SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN-type Silver Age scrapes (last seen getting a whole issue devoted to ‘em in ALL STAR SUPES # 4), but then it’s apparently pre-Fortress of Solitude, and yet we’re still told Superman’s relatively new in Metropolis. Talk about a headache. Hey, didja know that when Jack Kirby returned to DC he didn’t want to disrupt anyone’s work, so he asked to be put on their lowest-selling title? And that was SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN? No? Well, why the hell not? Everyone knows that, dumb@$$!
I believe the next issue of SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL hits stores today. So sue me, I picked it up a few weeks late. Anyway, if, like me, every so often you get a craving for a non-committal Superman story, my advice is you can’t do much better than this issue and its sequels.
Up, up and…whatever.
A BUNCH OF BOOKS FROM IDW
Publisher: IDW Publishing Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Although I still consider IDW Publishing in independent comic book publisher, it has been around for quite a while. I recently happened upon a handful of IDW books and figured I’d lump them all together in one review rather than pick and choose from the bunch. What I found was a lot of stuff I found interesting, a few concerns, and definitely a few treats.The first crop of books focused on pre-existing material. The good thing about these books is that they often have a built in audience crossing over from the material in its original form. The bad thing is that, this being a new medium, you’re bound to have newbies coming across this new material, and one shouldn’t assume the audience is going to know everything about the property just because it’s on tv. I, myself, am one of those newbies, especially concerning some of these books.
DR WHO #1
Written by Gary Russell & drawn by Nick Roche
Knowing next to nothing about DR. WHO, I appreciated the one page recap this issue provided. It didn’t seem obtrusive or redundant and I doubt those familiar with the series would find it annoying to read through. The story was somewhat light in tone, but a fun read. The art in this issue seemed to get looser as the were flipped as if artist Nich Roche took his time with the first pages, but was rushed towards the end of the book. All in all, coming from someone new to the DR WHO universe, I found this to be a story I was allowed to enjoy because those behind it took new readers into consideration.
GHOST WHISPERER #1
Words by Becca & Carrie Smith and art by Elena Casagrande
Considering new readers was not as much a priority for this book. I’ve never had the privilege of watching an episode of GHOST WHISPERER and unfortunately this book didn’t really give me anything that warranted me checking it out. The art is really nice and Elena Casagrande does a good job of making the shapely star of the book…uhm…er…shapely. The story jumps right into the action with the Ghost Whisperer “happening” upon a spooky encounter in a coffee shop. This opening scene seemed somewhat coincidental for my tastes. Maybe GW gets drawn to these strange occurrences. Maybe this was explained on the tv show. I haven’t seen the tv show, so I don’t know. Again, this wasn’t a heavy story, but by the end of the book, I found myself invested in the main character. Had I as a new reader been considered while this book was made, I would have appreciated it more.
STAR TREK: ALIEN SPOTLIGHT – THE BORG #1
Written by Andrew Steven Harris and art by Sean Murphy
This book read less as a spotlight on the alien race called the Borg and more as a regular STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION episode. I really liked the loose artwork and there’s an especially effective scene that spreads across the entire top of a page featuring the entire flight deck of the Enterprise that was really, really sweet. The characters look enough like their real life counterparts to be recognizable, but are loose enough to not look like traced pictures plopped into a comic book environment. Even though I’m no Trekkie, I knew enough about the material to follow along without getting lost. I’m not sure if that is because of the writer’s talent to convey the story (the motivations and make-up of the Borg is gone into with quite detail) or if it was because I’ve seen a few Borg episodes on rerun. A fun issue, nonetheless.
STAR TREK: ALIEN SPOTLIGHT – THE ROMULANS #1
Story & art by John Byrne
Anyone looking for where John Byrne has been can look no further than this issue. Sure there are those who dislike the veteran comic book writer/artist, but I strongly feel that although his work with mainstream books may have failed to gain the approval of modern fans, he may have found his new niche here in the STAR TREK universe. This was a very strong issue that does what the issue promises us it will do, namely tell us what these Romulans are all about. Byrne does a good job of illustrating the cultures, traits, and practices of this alien race. I really liked the story of a conflicted father and son, but I liked Byrne’s intricate designs of the Romulan architecture and machinery even more. A very strong issue and even though the ending may tie a little too closely with the first appearance of the Romulans in the STAR TREK series, I would recommend this to old and new fans.
FX #1
Story by Wayne Osborne & art by John Byrne
Byrne returns in this original series about your typical kid who (by now, in comics, typically) stumbles into some not so typical super powers. Seems whatever type of object Tom Talbot thinks of, he becomes it. If he wants to fly, an energy field in the shape of a rocket ship appears around him and he flies. If he makes a fake gun out of a fist and a pointed finger, energy bolts fly from it. As described in the comic, Tom has become a human special effect. Lord knows where these powers come from or what exactly they mean, but I had a fun time following the lead character’s journey of discovery and adventure. I have to say, Byrne turns in some more impressive work here, although I found it a bit distressing to find Byrne’s choice to fill many of the backgrounds simply with color rather than grounding the characters in some kind of landscape or flooring. But the book’s got a giant talking ape and a cool young hero with some cool powers. If you’re interested in reading about yet another awkward and nerdy kid gaining superpowers and stumbling into adventures while juggling a stressful personal life, then this book may be for you. Personally, all of the cool things listed above made me look past the clichés and enjoy the hell out of it.
EVERYBODY’S DEAD #1
Story by Brian Lynch & Art by Dave Crosland
To round out our handful of IDW new #1’s, we have EVERYBODY’S DEAD, which looks to be a slacker zombie story reminiscent of SHAUN OF THE DEAD. I know schmelding the zombie premise with every other genre has been done to death, but it’s kind of funny seeing it work with your typical gross-out teen comedy. The art is cartoony, the comedy is sophomoric (but it is set in a college, so it fits), and even though it took the entire issue for everyone to actually die (except our cast of slackers), I found myself pretty engaged with this one. Writer Brian Lynch seems to be writing from experience here (not about the zombies and death cult fraternities, but from college life) and in just a few pages he has me caring about this crew of survivors. Looks to be a fun ride.But wait, there’s more: I couldn’t mention IDW without talking about my two favorite comics they publish, WORMWOOD and ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS VS AMAZONS. I like both books for the same reasons. Each has an artist that has broken away from the norm and is pushing the boundaries of definition when it comes to graphic storytelling. And both, from one month to the next, boggle my mind as to what the creators behind them will come up with next.
WORMWOOD: GENTLEMAN CORPSE - CALAMARI RISING #2
Story & art by Ben Templesmith This book is my monthly dose of morbid fun. Following the exploits of a corpse reanimated by a talking worm and his partners in crime (a clockwork man, a ghost detective, a stripper with live tattoos, etc.), WORMWOOD is one of those books where tongues are firmly planted in cheeks and often times bitten off. Ben Templesmith not only continues to dazzle us with his expressive artwork, but twists and turns your expectations with every issue. Wormwood looks and reads great. Fans of TERROR INC, THE GOON, and CAL MCDONALD are sure to love this one. It's great to see Templesmith's range when it comes to new and disgusting creatures month in month out with this ongoing series of miniseries. In this issue, Wormwood fights squid-like creatures from another dimension. It seems Wormy has a history with these creatures and although we don't know it yet, I'm sure Templesmith has a sordid story to tell.
ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS VS AMAZONS #3
Chris Ryall did the story and Ashley Wood did the pics This issue finishes off the sequel to the original bot/living dead war as the carnage spills out over a remote island which happens to be the home of the Greek Amazons. I like the way Ryall and Ashley keeps you guessing as to what's next and what kind of creature will be caught up in this war next. I was hoping for Cavemen myself, but the future story featuring Mermen seems interesting enough to warrant a return trip. Ashley Wood's art (like Templesmith's) is extremely expressive and loose. He has fun with the medium and structures his panels and the way he communicates the action within then in ways that are anything but conventional. The final scenes of this issue were especially shocking--not as shocking as the baby scenes in the first issue, but definitely worth a gasp or two.If you're looking for a treat for the eyes and the mind, you don't have to look any further than the last books on my IDW list. The cool thing about this company is that it has a little bit of everything and it doesn't seem to overstretch its reach with too many books on the shelves. While some companies spread out their product too thinly and overexpose their one or two good ideas, IDW seems to have plenty of talent in its stable to go around and a lot of ideas that indicate that this is a company that will be around a while. Fans of sci fi, horror, good art & story, comedy, and straight up adventure can find it at IDW.
ECHO #1 Abstract Studio
I’m not an indie guy, but for the nigh-legendary Terry Moore, I’ll make an exception. ECHO is a black-n-white book, as one might expect. But the pencils are great, and for a story that is only really getting going, I’m very much wanting to see what happens next. The high concept here: nice woman in the wrong place at the wrong time. At this point, we can’t tell if it’s a vast right-wing or left-wing conspiracy, but military weapons testing and some radioactivity may be involved. Also, we have some non-newtonian pseudoplastic fluids, and you don’t have to be a rheologist to know that spells “FUN,” am I right, boys and girls? Well, am I? I think so. Bottom line – with a writer of Moore’s caliber, ECHO could go in a hundred different directions, and all of them interesting. Worth checking out. - Rock-Me Amodeo
HALLOWEEN: NIGHTDANCE #2 Devil’s Due Publishing
I’m not sure what to make of this book. The first issue moved along somewhat slowly, but ended with a one-two gut punch to the nads with some truly great uses of Michael emerging from the darkness. This issue has some more effective scenes with Michael emerging, Michael standing in the background and staring, Michael attacking and staring and killing and doing some wicked things. These scenes pack the same visceral punch as the one from the previous issue, but all of the scenes that don’t focus on Michael ring wrong with me. Some of the captions are horrifyingly poetic (in a good way). Others are painfully overwritten (in a bad way). The scenes focusing on the survivor from last issue are wince-inducing reeking of the most clichéd melodrama. One of the main things that bothered me about this book is the overabundance of thought captions. Too much by way of flowery descriptors and too little by way of stuff happening. When the stuff happens, it’s often good. The Michael scenes are pretty scary and definitely paint him as a true terror, but like the latter HALLOWEEN films and many other slasher films of its ilk, the scenes without the murderer in them are shallowly scripted and only there to make me want to see the focus of those slasherless scenes face the business end of Michael’s butcher knife all the sooner. – Ambush Bug
COUNTDOWN #8 DC Comics
Ugh. Let me summarize this issue: Atom anguish over Jean. Monitor vs. Darkseid. And then “We’re all in danger! You don’t understand! Karate Kid is dying!” Have each character repeat those three lines about four times, and you will have the gist of the last 15 pages of the book. People smile when they shouldn’t (Donna is practically leering at the notion that Jimmy will commit suicide – I guess he’s officially NOT her pal) and gesture wildly while saying nothing. I can see why so many characters were drawn with their mouths shut – who really knows if they’re going to be saying anything until the last word-balloon is drawn? Crikey. I think the idea of a fast paced issue that conveys the general panic and indecision of our heroes was a good idea, but the execution reeked. The only thing that was clever, well-drawn and cool was the two page “Unsecret Origin of Bizarro.” It have me at good-bye. It have me at goodbye… - Rock-Me
X-FORCE (2008) #2 Marvel Comics
This book is the perfect example of redemption. Some of you might remember the thorough ass reaming (sans lube) that I gave to the kick-off issue of this book. You might remember me questioning the mental acuity of Scott Summers; you might also recollect my befuddlement as to why two holy rollers would be placed in a black-ops killing organization, and finally you might remember a scenario I laid out where what would happen if the X-men proper found out about Mr. Summer’s foray into the dark arts. I must now give credit to Kyle and Yost for knowing their fan base better than we know ourselves. Not only did this book answer all of my quandaries and openly mock the logical inconsistencies, but it also threw in a slew of new surprises. Telling part of the tale from Wolverine’s perspective as an ineffective leader was brilliant, as was the addition of Reverend Craig to the Purifiers roster. Now, Rahne’s involvement on the team makes sense, and even though I still have questions about Warpath being part of the roster it’s OK. I now have faith that my questions will be answered in due time. I should also mention that I was pretty harsh about the fact that this title was lacking in carnage, fear not, X-FORCE #2 delivers a delectably high body count. While I’m still not a fan of Crain’s work on mass carnage, his billowy pencils are a perfect conveyance for the sheer terror of torture. - Optimous
THE SPIRIT #14 DC Comics
I guess it sometimes takes something going away for you to realize how much you really value it. One thing Darwyn Cooke unquestionably achieved in his twelve issue run on THE SPIRIT was to shadow some new ground for the character, and remove the Spirit from the, er, shadow of ah, Will Eisner’s uh, spirit-like…shadow… Anyway. But reading this conventional murder mystery, with the Spirit’s sidekick Ebony cracking jokes about the internet, or a running gag about the Spirit outwitting Inspector Dolan, all drawn in a very Eisner-esque style by Mike Ploog, I’m starting to wonder if that promise of progress might have been a little futile, and if the book can last that much longer without the auteur-like direction of Cooke. It’s a perfectly fine comic, but, y’know... - Stone
THE TWELVE #3 Marvel Comics
THE TWELVE may be the best comic Marvel is publishing right now. JMS has been kicking ass with these newly revived heroes. There hasn't been much by way of action, but damn if the characters aren't fascinating to read about. This plays like a modern-day WATCHMEN where we are presented with the murder of a hero at the beginning (in this case The Blue Blade, and in the WATCHMEN's case, obviously The Comedian) and then taken back a few steps in the story to see how it all went so horribly wrong. JMS does a great job of giving each and every member of the Twelve a fascinating backstory and a major problem to contend with in the present day. They aren't so much a team as they are a group of people with a similar problem, that being out of time costumed adventurers. Since the beginning of this series, the question has been posed to these characters: will these larger than life heroes be able to inspire some sort of hope in the apathetic world we live in today, or will the world be the one that wins and prove to be a foe that was even more powerful than the enemies of World War II? This has been an underlying theme of these first few issues, but in this issue, JMS clearly maps out this question as a news reporter approaches the Phantom Reporter (one of the Twelve) with a job opportunity. This is the only flaw that I see so far in this epic miniseries. We live in a day and age where many a literal minded reader requires such explanation, so I understand why JMS decided to structure the book this way. JMS and excellent artist Chris Weston seem to be making a modern classic here. If taking a second to catch the slowpokes up with the story is the only thing I can find to criticize about this book, then it must be a pretty damn fine read. – Bug
