The Shade (2011 Series) #6

June 16, 2012

Title: Las Cinco Esquinas

Writer: James Robinson
Art: Javier Pulido
Letters: Todd Klein
Colors: Hilary Sycamore
Cover Art: Tony Harris
Editor: Wil Moss
Publisher: DC Comics

With the Inquisitor cutting a bloody path through Spain, the Shade and La Sangre are joined by one of the local heroes, Montpellier, to try to hunt him down.

This isn’t really what I expected from James Robinson returning to the Shade. While there’s still plenty of cool weirdness (what with the vampires and all), it’s not as surreal as a lot of the previous Shade stories have been. It’s a more personal story, and a more straightforward one as well. None of these are bad things, it’s just a departure from what he’s done with the character in the past, and that may be turning off a few people.

One thing I really enjoy about the book is how he’s reaching out to some of the unexplored corners of the new DC Universe. With a few exceptions, most of the New 52 titles are still pretty America-centric, and I like seeing him go around Europe and show off some of the different characters that are in the DC toy box. I’d like to see more of Montpellier, and I’d read a whole miniseries of La Sangre by herself. (In fact, DC, if you’re reading, why not at least give her an arc in DC Universe Presents?)

Javier Pulido is really perfect for this story. His style isn’t like your typical superhero comic. It’s a little darker, a little more Mike Mignola-esque. That Hellboy vibe is perfectly suited for this title and the characters that we’re playing with here.

This halfway point helps show that the book is going into some different directions, but overall, I think that’s a good thing.

Rating: 8/10

H-E-R-O #14

March 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Ch-Ch-Changes Conclusion

Stuck in the body of Electro-Lass, what does a common construction worker do when his girlfriend is being held hostage and his best friend wants to marry him?

Writer: Will Pfeifer
Pencils: Leonard Kirk
Inks: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colors: JD Mettler
Letters: Ken Lopez
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: John Van Fleet
Publisher: DC Comics

Trapped in the body of Electro-Lass after using (and promptly losing) the H-Device, the former burly construction worker goes through a roller-coaster in this issue. His best friend tells him he’s in love with him, his girlfriend is being held hostage by a couple of muggers he took out last issue, and he still can’t find the only thing that could give him his own body back.

This issue really shows off the sort of stories you can tell in a book like this with no regular cast, focusing instead on a concept that leaps from character to character. The way this story unfolds and concludes could probably never be done with a continuing character. It makes for an original read that really shouldn’t feel as original as it does.

Will Pfiefer doesn’t skimp on the major subplot of this title either, giving us a scene with the original device-wielder Robby Reed that promises to start tying together the various tales that this book has told since issue one.

It’s always a pleasure to see Leonard Kirk penciling a comic book, and it’s a shame that he doesn’t have a regular series at the moment. He’s one of the most underappreciated artists in comic books – he always has good characterization, dynamic poses and strong storytelling. It’s only due to a quirk of his own (which he freely admits) that he’s no longer penciling JSA. This book only whets my appetite and makes me want more. Together with Wade Von Grawbadger and JD Mettler, they do great work on a comic book bereft of supervillains and with only a few characters in spandex at all (although there are plenty of energy effects which are done very well).

This is a solid book that tells interesting superhero stories that you just couldn’t get anywhere else. The subplot with Robby promises to really kick things into high gear very soon – if you aren’t reading this title, why not? You’re just depriving yourself of one of the smartest superhero comic books out there.

Rating: 8/10

Batman Incorporated (2012) #1

June 10, 2012

Title: Leviathan Part One: Demon Star

Writer: Grant Morrison
Art: Chris Burnham
Letters: Patrick Brosseau
Colors: Nathan Fairbairn
Cover Art: Chris Burnham
Editor: Mike Marts
Publisher: DC Comics

Returning for what promises to be the finale of his Batman run, Grant Morrison kicks off the second volume of Batman Incorporated with a pretty startling story. Talia Head’s Leviathan is growing in power, attacking on several fronts, targeting members of Batman, Inc. and bringing the conflict straight to the doorstep of the Dark Knight.

This issue is surprising on several fronts. Morrison has wasted absolutely no time getting into the heat of the moment, starting us in the midst of the action with several attacks already executed and several battles already over and done. The energy here is about as high as it’s ever been during Morrison’s tenure with the Bat.

This is a New 52 title, but aside from a few cosmetic changes it doesn’t appear that Morrison has been forced to make too many concessions for the sake of setting it in the changed world. Bruce and Damian are still Batman and Robin, Dick was Batman for a time in the not-too-distant past, and the assorted members of Batman, Inc. are virtually untouched… even Batwing, who now stars in his own solo title. This is basically a good thing. Morrison had quite a momentum built up, and the lapse since the previous Leviathan Strikes one-shot may actually have served to help keep the pace brisk. The differences in the New 52 have all been suitably explored in the other titles and there’s no pressure to do so here.

Chris Burnham came into the previous series rather late in the game, but he’s making it is how. His style is influenced somewhat by frequent Morrison collaborator Frank Quitely, but not so much as to deem him a copycat. He’s drawing a classic Batman and a strong Damian, with the more monstrous characters depicted in a fashion that feels very consistent with what’s been done in the past.

The end of this issue, of course, is the real shocker, and if it were anybody but Morrison behind the wheel I’d be virtually certain there’s a stunt in the works to reverse what we seem to see on the last page. There still could be, of course, Morrison could be playing his own game, but from him it does feel more organic and less forced than it would be in many titles.

All in all, this issue stands as a fine beginning to a final act.

Rating: 8/10

Mega Man (2011 Series) #8

July 13, 2012

Title: Time Keeps on Slipping Part Four-Duplicity

Writer: Ian Flynn
Pencils: Chad Thomas
Inks: Gary Martin
Letters: John Workman
Colors: Matt Herms
Cover Art: Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante
Editor: Paul Kaminski
Publisher: Archie Comics

Things look bad for Mega Man. He and his buddies, the first wave of Robot Masters, have managed to track down Dr. Wily and his new robots to their secret hideout, only for him to regain control of our friends. Now, Mega Man and Special Agent Rosie Krantz have eight Robot Masters to face down if they’re going to save his sister, Roll, from becoming another of Wily’s pawns.

The interesting thing here is that I honestly find my synopsis of the issue – while accurate – wholly inadequate. Ian Flynn is doing a great job with this title, telling a story that, on the surface, is the sort of screwy sci-fi superhero adventure that we would have seen back in the Silver Age. Once you chip past the surface, however, we’re given a comic that has surprising depth of emotion. Rock (Mega Man’s “secret identity,” such as it is) is faced with some interesting moral and ethical quandaries here, and the nature of sentience and life itself is a topic of serious and legitimate discussion for this title.

At the same time, Flynn brings the funny. There’s a great little moment, for instance, when Roll has to remind her brother that he should be hunting down Wily, which leads to a nice little comedy beat. The book isn’t a full-on comedy, of course, but there’s enough funny in here to keep the kids entertained.

Chad Thomas and Gary Martin have crafted a style for this title that borrows a little from American animation, a little from Japanese Anime, and a little from the style of the video games themselves to create a comic that looks… well… it’s not unique, and it’s not unprecedented. But it’s effective and it fits the family of these characters. It looks right.

Mega Man has been a surprisingly emotional and entertaining addition to the Archie Comics family.

Rating: 8/10

Y: The Last Man #22

May 4, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Widow’s Pass Part Two

Agent 355 sets out to save Dr. Mann from the Sons of Arizona… but who’s going to save her?

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils: Goran Parlov
Inks: Jose Marzan Jr.
Colors: Zylonol
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis
Cover Art: Aron Wisenfeld
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo

Vaughan’s near-epic story about the last man alive continues this issue. As Yorick Brown and Ampersand stay in hiding with a new friend, Agent 355 heads out to rescue Dr. Mann, who is trying to negotiate safe passage to California from the radical militia group The Sons of Arizona. As always happens to our heroes, things quickly spin out of control and even our escape artist Yorick will be hard-pressed to twist his way out of this one.

Vaughan uses several nice elements in this book – a revelation about Dr. Mann that we’ve been waiting for since the first issue, a few funny character moments with Yorick, and a couple of reality checks (it’s just not as easy to knock someone unconscious in real life as it is in the movies). He ties things up with one of his trademark last-page cliffhangers. It wouldn’t be an issue of Y without a last-page cliffhanger. It’s getting to the point where other writers who want to use last-page cliffhangers have to send Vaughan royalty checks.

Goran Parlov, still pinch-hitting for regular artist Pia Guerra, does a fine job on the artwork. It’s easy to make Yorick stand out visually, as he’s the only male character in the book, but all of the artists on this series deserve credit for making so many female characters separate and distinct visually. No one looks like anyone else, and whether that’s because there’s a good blend of ethnicities or because of other tricks like our bald friend P.J., this is one comic book where you don’t need a scorecard to remember who’s who.

There’s not much to say about this comic that hasn’t been said 21 times already. It’s a great, solid adventure story, something really distinct in an artform that seems kind of homogeneous at times. It’s one of the strongest offerings of an already-strong Vertigo imprint, and if you’re looking for a mature tale with a good, meaty story behind it, you just can’t go wrong with this title.

Rating: 8/10

The Walking Dead #100

July 13, 2012

Title: Something to Fear Part Four

Writer: Robert Kirkman
Art: Charlie Adlard
Letters: Rus Wooton
Gray Tones: Cliff Rathburn
Cover Art: Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn
Variant Covers: Marc Silverstri & Sunny Gho; Frank Quitely; Todd McFarlane & John Rauch; Sean Phillips; Bryan Hitch & John Rauch; Ryan Ottley & John Rauch; Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn, Charlie Adlard
Editor: Sina Grace
Publisher: Image Comics/Skybound

Let’s hear it for Robert Kirkman, shall we? Aside from a hit TV show and what will likely prove to be the highest-selling comic book of 2012, The Walking Dead is now a member of that ever-shrinking family of comic books that have lasted 100 issues or more… and this for a black-and-white character drama with no superheroes. That’s damn impressive.

Also impressive is the story we get here. Kirkman tells a great story, but he doesn’t go out of his way to make this some huge, mind-blowing, 100^th-issue extravaganza. We get extra story pages here, but a lot of it is talking heads stuff. Rick and his friends are going out to take a stand against the mysterious Negal, leader of a group of survivors demanding unfair tributes from the group Rick’s people have fallen in with. Rick and company wind up in a face off with Negal, only to wind up captured, and forced into the most horrible situation a human could place them in.

There’s so much about this comic that’s impressive to me. The fact that the drama can come not from the zombies, but from the still-living, is really just the top of the iceberg to me. The fact that, after 100 issues, Kirkman can still legitimately amp up the drama regarding who will live and who will die… the fact that this issue ends with our heroes at a new low point, a point of rage and grief and pain that the reader will share… it’s remarkable that he can still do that after all this time.

Adlard pours it on this issue, turning out some of his best work. Pain, anguish… gore… he puts it all into these pages, turning out a stark look at a horrible world that’s nevertheless wonderfully entertaining to read.

This book is hard to read. But if it wasn’t, it would be worthwhile.

Rating: 9/10

Hawkman (2002 Series) #26

March 20, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Rest

A mistake from Hawkman’s past comes back to haunt him.

Writer: Josh Siegal
Pencils: John Byrne
Inks: Lary Stucker
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: John Byrne
Publisher: DC Comics

Writer Josh Siegal is a new name to me, but after reading this issue of Hawkman I find myself asking why he’s only doing a fill-in until the new creative team comes on instead of handling writing chores full-time. This is a really smart issue, wherein Hawkman and Hawkgirl find themselves facing off the bloody menace of a vampire.

Siegal takes the fact that Hawkman has been around for thousands of years in hundreds of incarnations and runs with it, showing how an honest mistake can get magnified over the centuries, leading to the current predicament. He shows the flip side of that too, though, employing skills that may go unused for hundreds of years, but are never forgotten.

Siegal also employs a non-linear storytelling style, bouncing further and further into the past to show how the characters were brought to the point. The structure of the story (if not the content) reminds me very much of one of m favorite movies, “Memento,” which tells the story from the end to the beginning. It’s not an easy technique to pull off, and Siegal does a fantastic job.

John Byrne seems to be drawing a lot of vampires lately. He did it last week in JLA and he’s doing it here. They both look good, though, so I’m not going to complain. Lary Stucker’s inks compliment the pencils very well, and we have a comic book that manages to straddle the line between superhero storytelling and horror. Visually, this book could fit into either category, and that’s what it needs to do.

After the great run Geoff Johns had on this title, it’s going to be hard to follow up. This may be a done-in-one fill-in issue, but it’s a very good one. Hawkman fans will be highly satisfied.

Rating: 8/10

The Muppets #1

July 13, 2012

Title: The Four Seasons: Spring

Writer: Roger Langridge
Art: Roger Langridge
Letters: Litomilano S.r.l.
Colors: Kawaii Creative Studio
Cover Art: Elisabetta Melaranci & Silvano Scolari
Publisher: Marvel Comics/Disney Comics

Although Disney’s purchase of Marvel Comics a while back hasn’t hurt Marvel in the slightest, the same can’t be said for Disney’s presence in the comic book marketplace. The Disney comics, which were in very good hands with Boom! Studios at the time, quickly went away, and all we’ve gotten so far are a few Tron comics and a very lackluster Toy Story miniseries.

Fortunately, there was still one last Roger Langridge Muppet Show arc that never got to see print with Boom!, and finally, it’s seeing the light of day. In “Spring,” the first part of “The Four Seasons,” backstage at the Muppet Show is consumed with thoughts of love. Animal has fallen for one of the guests, an ape named Meredith, but a broken heart is left in its wake.

At its best, Roger Langridge’s Muppet comics have been an incredible examination of the wild humor and incredibly bizarre world that made the TV show so great. This issue isn’t quite as wild or as crazy, but he makes up for it with a nice little character arc for Animal. The issue is a little different from what you’d typically expect from this creator and these characters, but it still feels very much like a Muppet story. Langridge also continues to bring in the classic Muppet sketches and even the songs he did in the rest of his run.

We also get a lovely cover here by Elisabetta Melaranci and Silvano Scolari, a nice, lush image that’s very different from the interior art, but not in a bad way.

Although Langridge is done both with the Muppets and with Marvel, there’s still life in this property. With another movie being scripted, hopefully Disney and Marvel will be convinced to keep this property going.

 

Rating: 8/10

Harbinger (2012 Series) #2

July 13, 2012

Title: Omega Rising Part Two 

Writer: Joshua Dysart
Art: Khari Evans & Lewis LaRosa
Letters: Rob Steen
Colors: Ian Hannin & Moose Baumann
Cover Art: Arturo Lozzi
Editor: Warren Simons
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment

Since its relaunch earlier this summer, Valiant Entertainment has been firing on all cylinders. While Harbinger #2 is by no means a misstep, it may be the first book in the line to fall victim to the hype machine. Promised as being something that would send old-school Valiant fans a-twitter, the book tells a solid story, but isn’t quite the mindblower we were led to believe.

Peter Stanchek has been on the run from the Harbinger Foundation for some time now. Along with his best friend (a mental case) and the girl he’s got a crush on (and who he’s used his powers on to force her to be with him), he now finds himself trapped by the very people he’s been fleeing. This issue sees a fateful confrontation between Peter and Toyo Harada, the architect of all his miseries… or is he.

The good thing about the new Valiant is, not unlike DC’s New 52 or the early days of Marvel’s Ultimate line, things are familiar enough that we have certain expectations, but have changed enough that it’s still reasonable for the writers to use those expectations against us, subvert them, and go in a different direction. This issue does that, and does it well. Is it enough of a subversion to make me recoil in shock and run away, though? No, no it isn’t.

The story works, fortunately. Peter faces up to some of his sins and pays the price for them, and in such a way that you’ve got to question whether one of the members of our cast is going to come back at all. Then again, perhaps that’s just par for the course in this new world – totally new ideas, totally new paths, somewhat familiar characters. I’d be okay with that.

Evans, LaRosa, Hannin and Baumann are doing a good job here on the artwork. As I think I’ve noted elsewhere, they’re making a good effort to make these characters look fairly realistic. They aren’t the perfect action figures or pin-up models that so many superhero comics feature, and in that way, they’ve actually got far more character than a lot of those other creations. The opening pages are perhaps the most striking, with colors that really set the tone perfectly and set the prologue apart from the rest of the issue.

Perhaps most striking – as it should be – is the cover. It’s a small moment that actually fits well into the issue itself, aside from just being a bizarre image that takes you by surprise. And thanks, Valiant, for actually using word balloons on covers – most publishers these days, it seems, are afraid of such a simple device, but when it’s done well, it adds a lot.

Good issue, and perhaps if I hadn’t had my expectations raised it would even have been great.

Rating: 7/10

Kinetic #2

April 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Average
Title: Crash

Tom Morell is just instants away from death… or is he?

Writer: Kelley Puckett
Artist: Warren Pleece
Colors: Brian Haberlin
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover Art: Tomer Hanuka
Publisher: DC Focus

I’ll be up front with you guys, this is not going to be a very detailed review, because the things that happen in this issue are so bizarre that it’s almost impossible to talk about them without spoiling them. At the end of last issue, frail, sickly Tom Morrell was face-to-face with the grill of a speeding mack truck. He still is when this issue opens. In fact, he still is for the first seven pages, which gives us the classic “life flashing before his eyes” sequence that fills in the gaps of Tom’s life, illuminating his relationship with his mother more than anything else. What happens after that sequence though… I just can’t say because it gets too weird. By the end of the issue you are still left with absolutely no idea what’s going on.

Often, this is a good thing. Anything that makes you anxious to read the next issue of a comic book is generally a point in that comic’s favor. This comic gets a little frustrating, though. In terms of pacing, this issue makes Ultimate Spider-Man look like a car at Daytona, and by the time you get to the major cliffhanger at the end of issue two, you can’t help but feel that this would have been the perfect place to end issue number one.

Warren Pleece’s art is pretty good, even totally saving one sequence that otherwise would have been totally incomprehensible if Pleece wasn’t able to make his faces sufficiently distinctive. The same old problem with the DC Focus titles lingers on, though – the same color palette and same lettering style in each title continue to hurt.

That’s really all that can be said about this issue without blowing the totally bizarre, out of left field twist it takes ten pages in or so. If you guys enjoy it, come back Wednesday when it lands in stores and try to explain it to me.

Rating: 5/10