| Issue #53 | Release Date: 3/21/12 | Vol.#10 |
(Click title to go directly to the review)
Advance Review: AVENGERS VS X-MEN #0-1
SUPER CROOKS #1
REBEL BLOOD #1
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682
BLUE BEETLE #7
Advance Review: DOROTHY OF OZ PREQUEL #1
YI SOON SHIN #1-4
LAST OF THE GREATS VOL.1
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682
THE HARPIES as published in THE JAMES BOND OMNIBUS 003
Advance Review: AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #0
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis & Jason AaronArt: Frank Cho
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Johnny Destructo
"It all begins HERE!"
Or, if you're to pay attention to the Marvel publicity machine, it all began during THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE. Or if you're to pay attention to the Marvel publicity machine contradict itself, it all began during AVENGERS: X-SANCTION. Strange how things don't actually begin in the ...you know...beginning. With number 1. Instead we get a prelude to a prelude to a prelude.
So here we are, in our 3rd prelude. And, shockingly, it was a hell of a good time!
The best part of this pretty exciting issue though was Frank Cho's art. This fella could draw a manual on the most grotesque STD's and produce something amazing. He's pretty good, is what I'm sayin'. Though his Hope does come across a little bit older than she should and the car crash in the beginning of the issue is a teensy bit static. Everything else though, is beyond beautiful. I even like how he has his own very specific way of drawing Cyclops. You can see, which this depiction why Wolverine calls him Slim. And the ladies. Cho can draw him some ladies.
On top of amazing art though, why else should you buy this issue? How about M.O.D.O.K. and creepy dinosaur robots? How about The Vision's first interaction with the Scarlet Witch, now that she's back? How about the Serpent Society? Headbutts! Jet-packs! Teenage girls with giant burly man-bodies! Oh, and Frank Cho drawing stuff. That's there too.
I've been bored with the idea of this crossover since I first heard about it, but boy-howdy, did I enjoy this issue more than I thought I would.
I actually enjoyed it more than I enjoyed the ACTUAL beginning of this story: AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1. And speaking of which:
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker, Matt FractionScript: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: John Romita Jr. (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Johnny Destructo
Whelp, this one didn't tickle my comic buttons as much as issue 0 did, but this was still a pretty ok start.
An unidentified crashing object starts off this issue, causing quite a bit of horseplay, and the way the Avengers respond and ward off potential disaster was pretty pulse-pounding to read. Then we get a pretty intense scene of Scott training Hope. But then...there's an essentially needless scene of Cap and Iron Man going to the President with their suspicions, which is probably only there to catch up any new readers. And then a needless scene of Cap going to the Jean Grey School to talk to Wolverine. And then a scene of the X-men talky talk talking, all to get us to the pretty unbelievable scene of Scott taking the first swing at Captain America?!? Weeeird. Scott truly has turned into a douche-nozzle.
I realize that if we were to take into consideration how these characters would ACTUALLY deal with each other, we wouldn't have a giant cross-over called AVENGERS VS X-MAN, because they would somehow work together to reach a mutually beneficial outcome instead of fighting each other in a clichéd manner. But"Avengers Brainstorm an Intelligent Solution and then Snuggle with the X-Men" is a MUCH less dramatic title, and would sell far less copies, and so, we must put even more disbelief into suspension. Because hey, it's superhero comics.
All this is to say, if you're reading a comic book called AVENGERS VS X-MEN, you aren't reading it for allusions to the current political climate, or anything even remotely intellectual. You're reading it to watch Avengers and Mutants punch each other in the grill. And this is what you get, but for a book about Avengers and Mutants getting ready to punch each other in the grill, you could do a lot worse!
Also, I should mention that I didn't know anything about the Marvel AR app until I tweeted Brian Michael Bendis about it and he dropped the knowledge on my face. So, scattered throughout the issue are little red AR blocks. Apparently, in April, you'll be able to download the Marvel AR app, and scan these little blocks, to get more inside info on the behinds the scenes? Kind of like VH1's pop-up video, I assume? I'm sure there's a more contemporary reference I could have made, but I so rarely get to mention Pop-Up Video in my reviews, so...
Also, there's just one thing I have to mention about the Jim Cheung cover. A good portion of the heroes on this image are seemingly yelling at each other, I think? But because all of them are dead in the eyes, everyone just looks like they're yawning at each other. Am I crazy? Hopefully this isn't indicative of how this whole series is going to play out ;)
Anyhoo, these first 2 issues of this giant, needless crossover in a time of rampant crossover fatigue is actually off to a pretty fun start. It's already better than FEAR ITSELF, so that's something.
JD can be found hosting the PopTards Podcast, drawing a weekly webcomic, discussing movies, comics and other flimflam over at www.poptardsgo.com, graphically designing/illustrating for a living, and Booking his Face off over here. Follow his twitter @poptardsgo. His talkback name is PopTard_JD. He is also now co-hosting another Comic Book discussion show on Party934.com alongside Bohdi Zen. They discuss comics and play music, check it out live every Saturday from 4-5pm.
SUPER CROOKS #1
Writer: Mark MillarArtist: Leinil Yu
Publisher: Marvel Icon
Reviewer: Optimous Douche
If Millar’s well-documented history and blatant public statements about hating superheroes rubs you the wrong way, move right past this review of SUPER CROOKS. If you know Millar and actually read the title of the book, it’s pretty damn easy to determine the traditional antagonist/protagonist relationship flip-flop you’ll find inside.
The real question is whether Millar’s formulaic switcheroo can entice those that don’t hate his superhero hate, like myself, but merely find themselves lukewarm to his past endeavors of deconstruction.
I really haven’t hated anything Millar’s done in the past. Short dialog and lots of swearing don’t bother me in the least; many times I prefer this approach for its reflective realism of today’s speech patterns. So I don’t hate Millar in concept; I’ve merely felt past endeavors have fallen way short on execution.
NEMESIS, at the end of the day, was the Michael Bay equivalent of comics – cool concept, lots of explosions, but characters as thin as a communion wafer. KICK-ASS was a poor deconstruction of the Batman vigilante mythos for missing a very essential element to the backstory – training. Batman did way more than throw on a wet suit before he decided to fight crime. Millar compounded the problem by making the kid a comic fan. Worse yet, it was a kid with a reading disability, since he obviously missed all that time Batman spent travelling around the world TRAINING to be a crimefighting bad ass.
SUPER CROOKS is something different and expertly dodges my word bullets of characterization by weaving together a cool concept with honest-to-God real people who have “real world” problems along with the fantastical ones. I’ll gladly put SUPER CROOKS on par with excellent material like 1985 versus my past two examples.
The book opens by introducing to the main “bad guy” of SUPER CROOKS, a “hero” by the name of Praetorian. Despite being adorned in Americana and kicking in the teeth of a group of bank robbers, Praetorian is not a wholesome embodiment of mom, dad and apple pie. With a foul mouth and cavalier concern for the safety of average citizens, Millar establishes the heroes of the SUPER CROOKS universe as bullies of the highest order. Yes, they are technically doing the right thing, but as with all things in life we have to ask, “Do the means justify the end?”
Once in detention we meet the book’s hero, an average Johnny who has the ability to channel and discharge energy. Millar establishes early that the justice system in the SUPER CROOKS world is more revolving door than the dime bag docket in New York City. Crooks come and go out of prison despite the severity of their offenses.
Before anyone decries that SUPER CROOKS is a WANTED or NEMESIS knock-off, think carefully. While thematically they live in the same galaxy, to make this comparison would be like trying to compare James Bond to an NYPD beat cop. WANTED and NEMESIS slated their bad guys as untouchables that lived at the top of the world’s food chain. With SUPER CROOKS, superpowers and those that would use them for ill-gotten gains are commonplace. We learn this by being introduced to the next member of the SUPER CROOKS team, Carmine. Even crooks grow old and like most people who rely on physical fortitude to get their job done, Carmine now has to use his mental muscle to pilfer the coffers of others. Carmine makes a bad choice by trying to scam the Vegas tables with the help of a psychic who can see 30 seconds into the future. Just like our real world casinos have instituted safeguards against card counting, and (if rumors are true) are still run by the mafia, the same is true in SUPER CROOKS. Carmine, like countless card counters, gets greedy and the casino offers him an ultimatum in a scene of mafia muscling that involves some imaginative teleportation. Basically, Carmine has less than a month to pay the casino back tenfold.
Now, our next scene is where the book truly sold me. Johnny finally gets released from prison and tries to reestablish some of his old connections, mainly the woman that who was the reason for Praetorian putting him behind bars again. There was genuine love in these pages as Johnny tries to explain to his ex-fiancée, Kasey, why he committed the heist that day even after they both agreed to go straight. Like so many of us, Johnny merely wanted the best for them as they started out in life; who hasn’t made a similarly myopic choice in the name of love? Carmine finds Johnny and Kasey and we slowly learn that he was once their mentor. Faced with a seemingly impossible task, especially on US shores, Johnny and Kasey agree to help Carmine out of his predicament by travelling overseas to where there are no superheroes.
Now, you might ask why superheroes are only specific to America, or at least not in their destination of choice--Spain. Well, I don’t have an answer. Frankly, if your willing suspension of disbelief can’t roll with the fact that there are no Superman-level heroes in this world, you might be better served getting your Millar fix in one of the other slew of titles Millarworld will be releasing this year.
Yu’s pencils are enchanting. He tackles the action with a flair for intense angles and cinematic flow. Again, though, it’s the quiet moments that won me. In the diner with Kasey you didn’t need to read one word bubble to understand the intense regret the couple has over the years they lost. Likewise the scenework with Carmine exhibited true fear and, again, regret at being caught.
I’ll buy any #1 Millar puts on the shelves. His panache for high concepts that offer a skewed view of this genre intrigues me every time. More often than not, though, the high concept lacks the support of the human drama to flesh out an actual story. SUPER CROOKS is the best of both worlds: high concept that remembers people, not events, truly drive a story.
Optimous has successfully blackmailed fellow @$$Hole BottleImp into being his artist on Average Joe. Look for Imp's forced labor on Optimous brain child in mid-2012 from COM.X. Friend Optimous on FaceBook to get Average Joe updates and because ceiling cat says it's the right thing to do.
REBEL BLOOD #1
Writer(s): Alex Link & Riley RossmoArtist: Riley Rossmo
Publisher: Image Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
While I consider myself one of those people that likes to think they will read/watch/play anything, as long as it is good, I also completely admit there are some storytelling genres I just do not wish to partake in all that much. Horror is a primary example of this as, well, even I am not completely sure why. I like suspense, I like some appropriate amounts of violence, and most good horror usually has a supernatural or science fiction slant to it as well. Not to make this review about genre and preference dissection; I guess it comes down to my not finding a terrible amount of horrific tales that have balance between the elements I mentioned, or that aren’t skewed to just a “gross out” factor, or that a lot tend to be kind of plot-light, and so forth. So, basically, all of that was a big old build up to say I was open-minded toward REBEL BLOOD but it would do some winning over.
Now, usually this is where the review usually does the “But boy am I ever wrong!” twist but, nah, I liked this okay. Right off the bat this book introduces us to our main character by having him blow the faces off of mutated wolves that apparently ripped a once cute blonde girl in twain, which is a nice statement up front for where this issue/mini-series is willing to go. It also showcases the main reason why I was interested in giving this book a shot, that being Riley Rossmo’s artwork, which I have come to be a big fan of over the spans of COWBOY NINJA VIKING and THE GREEN WAKE. Like the opening sequence it is depicting, his art is a very visceral thing full of bold, scratchy lines that pack a lot of energy in them and come together to form some very dynamic stuff. It really is one of the most expressive styles out there and usually makes the price of admission worth the chance.
The rest of the book has some admittedly interesting concepts at play, but nothing completely grabbed me outside the violent bits and some character insights on our lead, Chuck. Chuck is one of those kind of mopey types after a work incident took him from being a full-fledged fireman to being a fire spotter out in the wilderness. He then proceeds to be somewhat distant about this and the world in general, including a wife (girlfriend?) and kid he has been kind of shitty about supporting and interacting with since the incident. Obviously, getting back to them becomes his main thrust after his first encounter with the lesion-sporting meat marauders that turned the blond girl into a red stain on the snow. And since we all know now how I feel about that part of the book that essentially leaves us with a plot that is somewhat typical but that could be a bit sneaky depending on how things play out.
Basically, there was one other bit, besides the art exhibition, that I found intriguing and that was Chuck’s weird daydreaming tendencies when he’s on his way to, presumably, save the day for his lady and child from these types of rabid beast. Some involve some grandiose fantasies and some involve some pretty odd schadenfreude enjoyment at their possible plight, which is, well, disturbing. So, if anything, that adds an interesting element of our “hero” at the least being aloof, at the most being, well, a douchebag, but it seems like, end of day, this indeed is a horror book that is mostly focused on arterial spray but shows hints of more. As is, for the unusual direction and wonderfully illustrated gore, I can find myself giving this a tentative go ahead to try if that sounds like your bag. If this mutates into something more on top of that, which there are possibilities of, then all the better.
Humphrey Lee has been an avid comic book reader going on fifteen years now and a contributor to Ain't It Cool comics for quite a few as well. In fact, reading comics is about all he does in his free time and where all the money from his day job wages goes to - funding his comic book habit so he can talk about them to you, our loyal readers (lucky you). He's a bit of a social networking whore, so you can find him all over the Interwebs on sites like Twitter, The MySpaces, Facebookand a blog where he also mostly talks about comics with his free time because he hasn't the slightest semblance of a life. Sad but true, and he gladly encourages you to add, read, and comment as you will.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682
Writer: Dan SlottArt: Stefano Caselli
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: The Writing Rambler
Dan Slott, you sir are a bad, bad man. After years of botched stories and retcons and all other types of web headed tomfoolery we finally have someone in charge of Spidey’s main book that gives a damn. Time and time again you show us that you take pride in telling good Spidey tales and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682 is yet another prime example of that.
After much hype from Marvel’s marketing team, the “Ends of the Earth” story arc has begun and from the taste were given in this first part, it looks like it’s going to be as global of a fight as promised. This story starts off as a nice contrast to the recent “Spider Island” arc, which not only confined the story to Manhattan Island itself, but also was smaller in the sense that it was something focused on Peter more than Spider-Man. We’ve seen him overcome having his powers made useless and now Slott is prepping us to watch Peter have to use every asset available to him. There’s also some great weight added to the issue by bringing in the question of Doc Ock’s motives this time around. Can a man on the verge of death truly change? Is there some redeeming quality hidden under years of over the top schemes? These types of questions are what elevate Slott’s take on Dock Ock here to a new level.
To match the quality of the story Stefano Caselli delivers some of the best Spider-Man art in the past few years. His hard work contains so much effort and detail and it pays off by giving us beautiful scenes where even background characters look stunning. The pages where the Sinister Six members are simply watching Doc Ock speak are prime examples of this. You’ll find yourself going back to just enjoy the personality he brings each character, even while they add nothing to the story this first issue.
The Spider-Man Dan Slott has developed over time feels like the one we should be getting at this point in his history. As Marvel reminds us on the front cover, this is Spidey’s 50th anniversary and after 50 years of stories it’s nice to see Peter’s advancements. We get to see the man Peter has grown up into. No longer the same old stories about the Daily Bugle and him fighting local enemies and bank robbers, Slott’s Spider-Man is advanced and his peers see him as the genius he’s always been. It’s the level of respect that Slott shows the character that makes his run on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN so great. He generally cares about giving us all good Spider-Man stories and for that alone this is worth picking up. If you haven’t picked up AMAZING in a while, now’s the time.
You can follow The Writing Rambler on his blog here and follow on Twitter @Writing_Rambler !
BLUE BEETLE #7
Writer: Tony BedardArtist: Marcio Takara
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: The Dean
I have a long history of not reading the BLUE BEETLE, which is interrupted with the occasional occurrence of my reading something with the Blue Beetle in it. I knew Ted Kord well enough to care when he was shot in the head by Maxwell Lord, and I think it’s cool that the Dan Garret Beetle was the first superhero Jack Kirby ever drew (note: This is not a typo! The Golden Age‘s BLUE BEETLE under Fox Comics spelled his name with one ‘t’ while the Silver Age’s Blue Beetle under Charlton was Dan “Double T” Garrett. Also note: nobody actually called him “Double T”), but that’s pretty much as far as any iteration of the BLUE BEETLE and I go. That being said, I consider myself part of the target audience for this New 52 version of the character, and 7 issues later, I’ve been pretty pleased with what Tony Bedard has been putting out every month.
Jaime Reyes is a big part of this title’s success, I think, and Bedard does a great job capturing a classic Spider-Man vibe with the whole inundated teenager thing. Bedard pushes the Spider-Man feel a little further in BLUE BEETLE #7 by taking Jaime and “bugsuit” to New York. Here, Jaime hopes to avoid Paco, his friend and sometimes scarab-possessed foe, and maybe run into a few helpful metahumans along the way. Instead, things get just a tad worse for Jaime, since the only metahuman he runs into is the total opposite of helpful, and leads to the debut of an interesting new nemesis for the budding hero. While the story so far is entertaining enough, it’s a pretty basic template that we’ve seen many times before, but in no way do I intend for that to be a knock on Bedard’s BLUE BEETLE run thus far. By keeping it simple, Bedard gives readers a chance to familiarize themselves with the rich cast he’s built up in BLUE BEETLE so far, and to enjoy the often humorous, sometimes deadly misunderstandings between Jaime and Kahji Da - the stern, mission-oriented scarab that found a host in him.
The relationship between these two is what keeps me coming back every month, and it reminds me a lot of Peter David’s awesome CAPTAIN MARVEL run from the early 2000s (since that’s now two Marvel references for a DC series, think of it as a remake of ALL OF ME starring Hal Jordan and Sinestro. If you’ve never seen ALL OF ME, you can think of it as Firestorm, I guess…).
Marcio Takara handles the artwork for BLUE BEETLE #7, and is carrying on the nice work of Ig Guara on the series so far. Like Bedard’s writing on the series, the art is nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a lot of fun, and has a similarly safe, classic feel to it. I honestly don’t think I paid much attention to the art until I read an earlier BLUE BEETLE issue after a morning spent rereading old CRIMINAL issues and catching up on Scott Snyder’s SEVERED – two series with a gloomier mood to their artwork that Guara’s livelier pencils pulled me out of nicely. I make sure I have an issue of BLUE BEETLE close by now anytime I go to read MONOCYTE.
So if you find yourself looking to replace a recently dropped title in the near future, I’d recommend giving BLUE BEETLE a shot. This isn’t the best comic on the shelves, but it doesn’t really try to be either. Bedard and Guara (or Bedard and Takara for this one) are putting out a consistently entertaining comic, and that’s better than a lot of other teams out there can say. This may not be immediate “classic run” material for older comic shop vets, but I can easily see this being a favorite among newer generations of comic book fans, creating a much needed anchor of young readers for this long time B-lister.
Advance review: In stores today!DOROTHY OF OZ PREQUEL #1
Writer: Denton J. TiptonArtist: Blair Shedd
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Reviewer: Lyzard
Having reviewed the first issue of NO PLACE LIKE HOME and without ONCE UPON A TIME filling my need for more L. Frank Baum awesomeness, I turned my attention to DOROTHY OF OZ PREQUEL #1.
First things first--read the fine print. I never read the series DOROTHY OF OZ and was quite lost when I started the comic. The Wicked Witch of the West is gone, along with Dorothy, who has returned home. IDW, are you sure you didn’t mean “sequel?” But apparently this discrepancy is explained on the title page, where at the very bottom in tiny font there is a paragraph explaining the timeline of the original series, along with where this “prequel” picks up between the L. Frank Baum book and the comics.
So, when does this story take place? “This story tells what happened in Dorothy’s absence and made her return necessary,” which is where the first few comics began. This means that despite Dorothy being on both variations of the cover, she never once appears in this issue.
In fact, the first major character we are introduced to (besides the evil flying monkeys) is a completely new character to the tale. The Jester is supposed to be the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West, who has now claimed her castle and is preparing to take over the Emerald City. Now, I did some research (and by research I mean clicking on various links on Wikipedia) and I could find no reference to such a character. There are numerous other witches, some in the novel that were omitted in the film versions. Others appear in the numerous sequels. But the Wicked Witch of the West never had a brother nor is there any character by the name/description of the Jester in any of the stories.
As you can see, by the time I got around to grasping “The Jester and the Magic Scepter,” I was already quite a bit lost. That being said, I could care less if the Jester wasn’t a part of the canon. He’s a fun character. Think of him along the lines of Yzma from THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE--funny but still a threat. He appears quite ridiculous, constantly hurting himself in a slapstick manner, but at the end of the issue you witness how dangerous his power can really be.
The middle portion of the comic focuses on that famous trio: the scarecrow, lion, and tin man. The Wicked Witch of the West’s broomstick has been stolen, unbeknownst to them, by the flying monkeys who are working for the Jester now. The lion is no longer cowardly, though he seems to be compensating for this. The scarecrow takes advantage of his newfound brains to pull a CSI on the crime scene, while the tin man has a panic attack as he is not use to having emotions yet.
Overall, it would be best to describe the comic as simple. The story isn’t layered too deep, nor the artwork rather complicated. However, the designs work, even if the flying monkeys have mohawks usually sported by punk bands. But I’m not saying there is anything wrong with this level of simplicity. There is enough tension and mystery to push the story along, but the comic is able to explore and set up the characters and the worlds easier because they don’t have to break away from the plot. The comic is a fast read, and by fast I mean I read through it the first time in less than five minutes. DOROTHY OF OZ PREQUEL is not my usual cup of tea; I like my fairy tales darker, but my preference should not be a reflection of the quality of the comic. It’s cute and funny, and that is all that should matter.
Lyzard is actually Lyz Reblin, a senior screenwriting major with an English minor at Chapman University. Along with writing for AICN, she has been published twice on the subject of vampire films.
YI SOON SHIN # 1-4
Writer: Onrie KompanArt: Giovanni Timpano and Adriana De Los Santos
Publisher: Onrie Kompan Productions
Reviewer: superhero
I really should know more about world history. I’m actually a big fan of historical documentaries. My Netflix cue is stacked with documentary film after documentary film. But I have to confess that most of the stuff that I focus my viewing time on tends to relate to the subject of 20th century: American history. I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t really delved all that much into the history of the rest of the world. It’s not that I’m ignorant of it; it’s just that I don’t know the specifics of world history as well as I should.
When someone handed me a comic book at Wondercon about a war that occurred in Korea during the latter part of the 16th century I have to say I was pretty interested in it--especially since, as I’ve said, I don’t know as much about the history of the Asian continent as I would probably like to. It also helped that the comic itself looked very well produced when I leafed through it.
YI SOON SHIN is the story of an admiral who served in the Korean navy during what is now known as the Imjin War. During this period of conflict Japanese forces invaded Korea. Unfortunately, the Korean king and his advisors didn’t take the threat of an incursion from Japan seriously and were completely unprepared for their onslaught. Japanese forces decimated the Koreans and things deteriorated so badly that the Korean monarch actually fled the capitol city instead of standing his ground against the invaders. Only one man stood between the Japanese hordes and the complete devastation of the Korean people. That man was YI SOON SHIN.
Of course, I’m sure that many of the accounts in this comic series are exaggerated but I’ll be damned if the creators of this book didn’t make one hell of great comic out of YI SOON SHIN’S military experiences. Writer Ornie Kompan does a great job of taking a series of actual historical military engagements and crafting a compelling storyline out of them. In Kompan’s hands SHIN’s exploits during this war are crafted with just the right amount of action, drama and character development. While I’m sure that the actual YI SOON SHIN’s story is the stuff of legend in his native Korea, writer Kompan takes the fantastical parts of his myth and is able to ground them with elements of humanity. YI SOON SHIN the comic is a terrific example of comic book storytelling.
The artwork in the book is very proficient, although I think that colorist Adriana De Los Santos does most of the heavy lifting as far as the visuals of the book are concerned. It’s not that artist Giovanni Timpano does a bad job, but his art is overshadowed by the heavy “airbrush” aspect of De Los Santos’s coloring technique. In any case, the comic itself is visually appealing and could stand proudly among some of the comic book art being produced by most of the major comic publishers today.
YI SOON SHIN is an excellent read. It’s something unique in today’s comic book market and I can’t imagine any discerning comic fan would be disappointed by it. It’s a terrific achievement and should be sought out by readers looking for an epic storytelling experience.
Discovered as a babe in an abandoned comic book storage box and bitten by a radioactive comic fan when he was a teenager, superhero is actually not-so mild mannered sometime designer & cartoonist, Kristian Horn of Los Angeles, California. Some of his work can be seen at www.kristianhorn.com and check out his blog at www.parttimefanboy.com. You can check also out his webcomics at www.babybadass.com and thediplomatics.com, which is currently in development.
THE LAST OF THE GREATS VOL.1
Writer: Joshua Hale FialkovArt: Brent Peeples
Publisher: Image Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
I waited for trade to read THE LAST OF THE GREATS, and having done so, I’m kicking myself for not reading this series sooner. Joshua Hale Fialkov has become one of my absolute favorite writers in today’s comics. I knew this after reading ECHOES, TUMOR, and ELK’S RUN, but he cemented my faith in his with the excellent new I, VAMPIRE series at DC. Here, Fialkov proves that there might be nothing the writer can’t write well as he tackles superheroes for the first time.
The story focuses on a world much like our own that all of a sudden discovers the existence of a family of superheroic entities. Of course, our first reaction is awe, and given human nature, our second is to destroy these alien visitors. The entities, dubbed the Greats, warned the world of a coming danger, but were wiped out by the armed forces. Lo and behold, the danger arrived and the world with its tail between its knees comes to the last of the Greats, who lives in a snowy fortress in solitude, for him to save them. Of course, the Last of the Greats is not very happy about this.
Though we’ve seen this scenario of a Superman-level hero tossed into a real world situation before with SUPREME, SUPREME POWER, NU UNIVERSE, and the excellent A GOD SOMEWHERE, Fialkov adds something new by allowing us as the reader to feel this resentment the Last feels. At first, you understand why the Last is so pissed off. But as the story goes on, you are doubly ethically twisted as to who you want to root for because Fialkov makes the Last such a ruthless and diabolical character.
This is where Fialkov’s skill as a writer shines through the brightest. He is taking you on an emotional journey here through the Last’s disappointment in the human race, his resentment for them for killing his brothers and sisters, and then his horrible retaliation by being everything the world wants him to be, all the while subtly kicking the world in the nuts for being so reliant on one quick solution to their multiple problems. Fialkov does a great job of exploring the current quick fix culture in this series, holding a mirror to the reader and forcing them to examine their own reliance on higher power to do things that they could do themselves.
At the same time, Fialkov does go into Garth Ennis territory by injecting some pretty raunchy moments here and there. Most readers will take Fialkov to task about the man on man rape scene. I’ve heard folks say this was put into the story for a shock, but honestly, the subtext was there from issue #1 regarding the complicated relationship between the Last and Beaumont (the Last’s liaison with the outside world); this despicable act was just a brutal result of that. I was much more skeeved with the fact that the Last has sex with Oprah than the events of issue #4.
As a whole, THE LAST OF THE GREATS serves as a fantastic dissection of the human condition regarding our dependence (or need for dependence) on a higher power to get things done. With straightforward and somewhat old school art provided by Brent Peeples, THE LAST OF THE GREATS is indeed one of the great miniseries of the year. If Fialkov can write complex superheroics this well, I’d love to see what would happen if they let him loose on the rest of the DCU.
Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, original @$$Hole/wordslinger/reviewer/co-editor of AICN Comics for over ten years. He has written comics such as MUSCLES & FIGHTS, MUSCLES & FRIGHTS, VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS TINGLERS & WITCHFINDER GENERAL, THE DEATHSPORT GAMES, WONDERLAND ANNUAL 2010 & NANNY & HANK (soon to be made into a feature film from Uptown 6 Films). He is also a regular writer for FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND & has co-written their first ever comic book LUNA: ORDER OF THE WEREWOLF (to be released in October 2012 as an 100-pg original graphic novel). Mark has just announced his new comic book miniseries GRIMM FAIRY TALES PRESENTS THE JUNGLE BOOK from Zenescope Entertainment to be released in March 2012. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682
Writer: Dan SlottArt: Stefano Caselli
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Henry Higgins is My Homeboy
Burning Up.
It feels like only yesterday since “Spider Island” took over the New York-based heroes titles, and already, it’s time for a new “Event” to take place for Mr. Parker. However, this is the big one, the one that’s been building since #600. Eighty-two issues later, and Dr. Octopus has finally begun his final gambit against the world. Slott manages to make it more self contained than “Spider Island”, but what remains to be seen is if he can match that story, which by all accounts was phenomenal.
Writing: (4/5) I’ve said before that I predict Slott will go down as one of the finest writers in the webhead’s near fifty year tenure, and it’s mostly due to his amazing grasp on the character. Peter has finally earned some confidence, and nothing shows that off more then within the early pages of this issue. As Peter walks through the streets of New York, he reflects on his own recent advances in the world, not Spidey’s. It’s a great little scene that shows Peter finally enjoying being a real, productive adult.
The threat itself is completely within Dr. Octopus’s capacity, and its motivation is simple, but effective. It also makes for an interesting moral dilemma, as it will force the heroes to decide whether an all-out terrible man should be allowed one act of altruism (mind you, one he shows off by almost wiping out a chunk of the globe). It also presents a nice back and forth for Peter, especially thanks to his work at Horizon Labs opening the flood gates for conflict. Is this any more dangerous than the time machine door that was created issues ago? I hope Slott plays on this angle, and I believe he will.
Slott has made wonderful headway with the supporting cast of this title, but he seems to be taking a step back with Jonah. It was nice seeing his portrayal deviate from the typical angry old man who yells at everyone and more into a committed mayor who yells at everyone. But turning him into the great threat to Horizon Labs feels shallow. His motivation, while in tune with Jonah’s character, doesn’t really fly when Jonah didn’t attempt this same maneuver on other organizations that have put John at risk.
Art: (4/5) To be honest, I’m a big fan of Caselli’s art. It always looks dynamic, leaves room for grandeur but consistently has fantastic small moments. It blends a certain cartoony appeal with the more realistic designs. The few small hints of action in this issue flow incredibly well, and look very good. His best moment, though (and this may have something to due with my current residence in Chicago), comes during Doctor Octopus’s show of power. Look at the man screaming in pain when it cuts to Chicago. With one man, Caselli shows the clear agony he’s in. It’s tremendous. And the rest of shot shows off Caselli well, managing to make each and every person in the spread have a very clear response.
Frank Martin Jr. matches the art well, with bright colours and clear and appropriate shadowing. The art for the book looks well throughout. Well, almost. My biggest problem is the new suit unveiled this issue, and...I do not like it. At all. It managed to sap a great deal of excitement out of me. It’s too bulky, too odd looking, too complicated. Art in Spider-Man books is often great, partly due to the simplicity of Spider-Man’s suit. Even most of his alternative suits have a certain dynamic sense to them. This? This one just looks silly.
This is counteracted, though, by the fact that Spider-Man’s “Goblin Glider” looks like a giant Spider Tracer. And that’s so ridiculous I love it.
Best Moment: I fucking love that Spider Glider. I want Spider-Man to always have that at the ready.
Slott? Can you please find an excuse to have Spider-Man fight Green Goblin, and pull that out? Please? I just want to see Norman, after years of being built up as the evil Tony Stark, have to deal with the fact that his nemesis stole his glider idea.
Worst Moment: The suit.
Overall: (4/5) A good start to what is hopefully a triumphant story.
THE HARPIES as published in THE JAMES BOND OMNIBUS 003
Writer: Ian FlemingAdapted by: Jim Fleming
Illustrator: Horak
Publisher: Titan Books
Reviewed by: superhero
"The Harpies" is the first story in the about-to-be published JAMES BOND OMNIBUS 003. Because my own personal schedule does tend to get in the way of reading and reviewing comic books at times, I've decided to break down this edition of the JAMES BOND OMNIBUS and review each story on its own, the reason being that I feel badly that a publisher will take the time to send me a collection and it'll be weeks before I'm able to consume the volume as a whole and by then the release date has come and gone. So for the next couple of weeks I'll be presenting reviews of each chapter of the JAMES BOND OMNIBUS 003. It is a bit of a different way of doing things, but we here at AICN Comics have never been known to do things in the "proper" manner and I hope some of you readers out there will indulge me in this tactic of reviewing a book."The Harpies", to me, is very much what you’d expect from a James Bond story. To be fair, I’ve never actually read one of the novels, but having seen just about every Bond film made I can safely say that this particular entry in the James Bond mythos is something that at least fans of the films would certainly enjoy.
The story opens with a mysterious figure hitching a ride on top of a truck in the middle of the night. When day breaks and the truck arrives at its destination it’s discovered that the stowaway was actually a woman and that she’s died during her unfortunate journey. At about the same time a scientist holds a press conference stating that he’s invented a horrible weapon that he calls a “Q-Ray”. At the gathering he claims that the weapon is so terrible he’s decided to destroy it before it can be misused by any of the world’s governments. A female gang of kidnappers wearing what look to be Batgirl costumes equipped with miniature rocket packs then captures him as the press conference wraps up. The local police and MI-6 make the connection that the kidnappers are actually an all-female splinter group of the “Maggia” that call themselves “The Harpies”. What’s the connection between the female corpse, the scientist, and The Harpies? Well, that’s up to our man Bond to discover, isn’t it?
"The Harpies" is classic Bond all the way. Scientists with doomsday weapons, sexy and lethal bond girls, infiltration of the crazed villain’s stronghold…it’s pretty much a straightforward little spy tale that encapsulates everything that’s fun about the genre. There’s nothing too complex here and some of the developments are entirely telegraphed but the story itself was entertaining enough that I didn’t mind the lapses into predictability. All in all, "The Harpies" is a fun little adventure that is very much in the vein of the original Bond films or the old classic AVENGERS TV show.
The most impressive aspect of this story and, indeed, the whole book in general is the artwork by someone who is only credited as “Horak”. Horak’s style is so terrifically bold and original that I can only imagine that it must have stood out like a neon sign at the time that these strips were originally published. His (I’m assuming it’s a him) illustration technique is some sort of weird combination of Alex Toth and Howard Chaykin. The panel composition is masterful and Horak is able to do such dynamic stuff with his linework that I would find myself staring at panels and trying to figure out exactly what tools he was using to get the effects he was achieving. I actually really wished that Titan Books had published this book in a larger format so that I could get a better look at Horak’s artwork. If anything I’d say the art in this collection is worth the purchase price alone. It’s just completely different than anything I’ve ever seen published from this era.
Next week in the JAMES BOND OMNIBUS 003: RIVER OF DEATH!
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker, Matt FractionScript: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: John Romita Jr. (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: KletusCassidy
What we know so far is that the Phoenix is coming and Captain America & Ironman believe that it’s found a new host and is coming to earth to claim said host and burn Earth to a smoldering piece of charcoal. I’m hoping this comic series doesn’t end up the same way…heh heh…sorry. This series is basically something that people have debated time after time; who would win in an all out brawl between the two premier superhero teams in the Marvel Universe and I am definitely someone who is all about seeing these teams kick each others @$$es BUT I still find myself wondering; 1.Where the hell the villains are (again), I mean they have to be trying to capitalize on this situation, right? And 2, is it really necessary for these two teams to be fighting each other?
The positive side of this book is that the story flows pretty well and avoids a lot of the things I dislike about some of Bendis’ writing, there’s no lengthy dialog, the comic is straight to the point and the action starts early and sustains throughout the book. While this isn’t as great of a first issue as the SIEGE or AVENGERS DIASSASEMLED first issues (in my opinion, some of Bendis’s better event comics), it’s still a somewhat satisfying read because it gets to the point rather than dancing around it. The negative side is, and this may be a personal problem of mine but here goes, that I am having a hard time believing that damn near ALL of the Avengers (Spider-man, Daredevil, Dr. Strange?!?) think it’s a good idea to attack the X-Men just because Cyclops is being a dick (again) and doesn’t see things the same way as Captain America & Ironman. Also, how is fighting each other going to stop the Phoenix from obliterating earth? Namor makes a good point about Captain America coming to Utopia (I call it Mutopia) suited up and ready to fight, which was that he was already planning to do battle rather than figuring out how they can work together to solve the riddle of the Phoenix (heh).
So you have a cosmic being so powerful that it has Galactus sleeping with a nightlight on and the only people that can do something about it are fighting each other?!?! I realize this is a personal problem which other people may not care about but I figured it was worth mentioning why I’m not fully behind this issue. I am totally stoked about these individual fights but I also want good motivation for them, I mean why wouldn’t Cap just say, “Hey we know the Phoenix is coming, lets work together so Earth isn’t destroyed…remember that whole CIVIL WAR thing, where all the heroes fought for days, destroyed NY and then I cried…well uh…I don’t want to do that again.” I will say that I have faith in Hickman & Brubaker, so if they’re involved, I think there will be some cool stuff to come out of this series but right now…I’m not sold (yet?!?).
The art…ugh...the art…Romita Jr. used to be a guy that I looked forward to seeing his art every time and I’d buy just about anything with his name on it (still true to some degree) but man…there are parts of this book that look very rushed. There are also parts of this comic that look really muddy and smudged, I don’t know if it was a printing problem or an inker problem but the first 8 or so pages of this book look bad (aside from the parts with Spider-man weirdly enough). Once a certain cosmic character who was feared dead shows up, the art gets better, but if it is a printing problem MARVEL needs to tighten the fuck up if they expect Ol’ Kletus to shell out $4 every other week for this comic. Why they didn’t go with Oliver Coipel or Jim Cheung for every issue is a mystery to me but I guess we can’t have it all.
I’m not trying to sound like a hater because this book isn’t terrible, but between the muddy first 1/3 of the book and the asinine actions of both Cyclops and Captain America, I can’t really say I’m super excited for next issue but I am curious as to how this will play out. I know I sound somewhat negative but FEAR ITSELF left a crappy taste in my mouth and in my wallet, so now I feel like I need to be extra critical if I’m going to spend $50 on something, especially since the comic store I work at is closing and I’m getting laid off (pour out a little liquor for Ol’ Kletus...).
I’m not going to lie, I am stoked about the fights that have been teased but I’d also like a good story and art to accompany the fighting. I would have liked to see Hope kidnapped by Mr. Sinister or Dr. Doom or The High Evolutionary or Kang or Thanos or all of the above in hopes that they could harness the power of the Phoenix for their own devious purposes thus forcing the heroes to rush to fight a evil threat all the while having the Phoenix hanging over their heads en route to destroy earth, thus ramping up the tension. This also would have satisfied my need for some real high level villains (not Norman Osborne) to get back in the fucking game instead of sitting around watching BREAKING BAD in their underwear eating a block of cheese.
Like I said this comic isn’t terrible but I really Hope (tee hee) that characters’ motivations for fighting one another become a little clearer and the art gets a little better. That being said, I’m in for another issue.
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
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