Archenemies #1

April 23, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The Two Wrongs

What happens when a hero and his arch-enemy… are roommates?

Writer: Drew Melbourne
Pencils: Yvel Guichet
Inks: Joe Rubinstein
WWR Art: D.J. Coffman
Colors: Rick Hultbrunner
Letters: Jim Keplinger
Editor: Philip Simon
Cover Art: Yvel Guichet
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse doesn’t really do a lot of superhero comics (since the demise of their Dark Horse Heroes line, at least), so when they put something out, you know it’ll be worth looking into. Archenemies is definitely an unusual take on the genre. Comedic, offbeat takes on superheroes are all over the place right now, but this is definitely an angle I haven’t seen before. Vincent, a would-be supervillain called Underlord, holes himself up in his apartment while controlling his robotic minions in a heated battle with his greatest enemy, Star Fighter, all the while avoiding the messes left around the apartment by his roommate, Ethan. Vincent has no idea, however, that Ethan is Star Fighter, and Ethan similarly is clueless about the identity of his arch-enemy.

Vincent and Ethan are just as antagonistic towards each other in their civilian identities as they are in their super-forms. Ethan is the sort of sloppy, party-hearty roommate that drives you nuts, while Vincent is the sort of uptight, joyless snobs of a roommate that… well… drives you nuts. The two extremes are a nice, funny contrast.

Ethan, to his credit, tries to make amends after mistaking a would-be super-lackey interview session for something else entirely, but Vincent (in true supervillain fashion) is busy planning his wrath instead, especially once a party of Ethan’s throws things totally out of hand. Melbourne has whipped up some funny characters, and while neither of them are startlingly original, casting the archetypes against one another makes for an amusing read.

Guichet and Rubinstein do a very good job on the artwork, handling the super-aspects and the mundane aspects with equal aplomb. Rick Hultbrunner’s colors add an extra dimension to the story, showing a marked contrast between Ethan and Vincent’s worlds, and as those worlds are literally right next to each other, the mixture is quite entertaining.

The book also gets points for daring to have word balloons on the cover. In a day where too many comics are afraid to give us a cover that have anything to do with the plot, this book goes in the polar opposite direction. Not only do we get dialogue, but the word balloons actually serve to make the cover the first two panels of the story!

We also have a one-page back-up strip, “World Worst Roommates” by Melbourne and D.J. Coffman, where we see Melbourne’s own roommate clashes. Funny stuff with a funny punchline – no idea how much of it is true, but it made me laugh.

Overall, this book really is a lot of fun – silly, clever and likely to go highly unnoticed. Go out and read it, guys.

Rating: 8/10

Saw Rebirth #1

October 26, 2006

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Rebirth

The birth of the killer called Jigsaw.

Story: R. Eric Lieb
Script: Kris Oprisko
Art: Renato Guedes
Colors: Weberson Santiago
Letters: Tom B. Long
Editor: Chris Ryall
Publisher: IDW Publishing

I still haven’t seen Saw II, and I’m undecided as to whether I’ll see Saw III, but the first Saw was one of the best, most original horror movies I’ve seen in a long time. The brilliant thing about Saw is that the “killer” isn’t, technically, a killer. He doesn’t kill anyone. He places his victims in elaborate traps where they either wind up killing themselves or each other, or otherwise commit horrible acts, in order to save their own lives. Once, Jigsaw was a simple desk jockey, a cubicle dweller whose live plummeted when he was diagnosed with a fatal form of cancer. As he watched those around him squandering their lives, as he realized exactly how he had squandered his own, he pledged to use his life teaching others to appreciate theirs. Not really a bad goal, at that, but the way he decided to go about it is absolutely terrifying.

The only real problem with this special is that is doesn’t really give us much new information to go on. The first movie more or less gave us the story of Jigsaw (if you were smart enough to piece it together). This comic basically illustrates the story we already knew – a few more details here or there, but nothing earth-shattering.

Renato Guedes handles the artwork, and he does a great job. He employs a dark, dismal style that fits the tone of the story to perfection. In a few scenes, he even drops in the Jigsaw “puppet” pretty randomly, making it all the creepier.

Die-hard fans of the Saw franchise may appreciate this slightly more in-depth look at their favorite killer, but if you’re just a casual fan, it’s pretty much old news.

Rating: 6/10

The Hedge Knight #2

October 25, 2003

Quick Rating: Very Good

Dunk gets the money he needs to enter the tournament, but finds another obstacle in his path.

Writers: George R.R. Martin and Ben Avery
Pencils: Mike S. Miller
Inks: Mike Crowell
Colors: Lynx Studio
Letters: Bill Tortolini
Editor: Robert Silverberg
Cover Art:Mike S. Miller (cover a), Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell (cover b)
Publisher: Image/Roaring Studios

It’s hard to tell how hands-on George R.R. Martin is with this title, as it is an adaptation of his novella from Silverberg’s 1998 Legends anthology, but together he and Ben Avery have taken a solid fantasy book and created one of the best fantasy comics in some time.

Dunk, the squire who buried his master at the beginning of the first issue, has made his way to the tourney where he hopes to prove his worth as a knight, while trying to hide the fact that the late Ser Arlen never actually knighted him. He finds himself with his own squire, the boy Egg, and spends most of this issue trying to get the money and status he needs to compete.

The “self-declared sidekick” storyline isn’t new to this or any other comic book (lest we forget how Tim Drake became the third Robin), and this issue, save for one scene, is pretty low on action sequences, but it comes across as a really good portrait of the world that Dunk lives in and the rituals he has to go through to become a man. It also sets up a fairly major obstacle, as well as places many potential friends and enemies on the playing board. The dialogue is sharp – a combination of Avery’s skill and the dialogue Martin wrote in the original novella – and although some comics these days are shying away from using the protagonist as a narrator, it works here.

Miller’s artwork really stands out here. It brings to mind the strengths of Paul Pelletier at his best on Flash and Negation. It tells the story smoothly and effectively, and it’s nice and clean, without relying on excessive details to cover up flaws the way some artists do. The night scenes, in particular, come across well, no doubt thanks to the contributions of Lynx Studio on the colors. I was particularly impressed with the page with the purple lightning – beautiful stuff.

A few pages (in my copy at least) came out sort of blurry, but it looks like an error with the printing rather than an error on the part of the artists. It only hurts the book a little, but with the announcement that Roaring Studios is following the lead of Devil’s Due and leaving Image, it makes you worry about more such problems in the future.

It’s a good comic, one that seems to be finding an audience. It will be interesting to see whether the people who pick it up will follow the story to A Song of Ice and Fire, the series of novels that the novella served as a prelude to.

Rating: 7/10

Amazing Spider-Man #507

May 16, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: The Book of Ezekiel Chapter Two

As an army of spiders swarms over Manhattan Ezekiel tries to tell Spider-Man how to save the world from the invasion.

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: Matt Milla
Letters: Cory Petit
Editor: Axel Alonso
Cover Art: John Romita Jr.
Publisher: Marvel Comics

J. Michael Straczynski seems to have divided up Spider-Man fans into two camps: those who love what he’s doing and those who just can’t get into it. I’m in the former camp. Sure, Spidey is supposed to be New York’s cuddly hometown superhero, but Straczynski is giving him something he’s never really had before: an epic. In this issue we finally learn why Ezekiel tracked down Spider-Man in the first place and the truth of his origin.

What works best about Straczynski’s writing is the way he manages to craft a long-term story. He plants seeds months or years in advance, then cultivates them, then unleashes them all at once. Things explode in this issue , everything comes to a head, and you’ve got to believe the rest of this storyline is going to be spectacular. (Or amazing. Choose your own spider-adjective.)

In addition to the big epic, the big revelations and the moments where you slap your forehead and go “Ooooh, that’s so obvious,” Straczynski finds time to play with Mary Jane as well. She heads out on an audition and learns that getting taken seriously as an actress won’t be the easiest thing for someone with her resumé. He’s doing some really good things with the character, and there’s still plenty of room to grow.

John Romita Jr. continues to be my favorite Spider-Man artist. His sensibilities are similar to the classic artists like his father, but he still have his own take on the character and his world that’s a bit more modern, a bit more detailed. His scenes with the legions of spiders crawling across New York are genuinely chilling. It’s hard to imagine anyone who, if faced with a tidal wave of John Romita Jr. spiders, wouldn’t run like hell.

This issue encapsulates everything I’ve loved about J. Michael Straczynski’s run on the title. If you’ve been enjoying it as much as I have, you’ll love this issue too.

Rating: 9/10

Action Comics #811

January 15, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Strange New Visitor Part One

With Superman missing in action (no pun intended), who’s going to protect Metropolis?

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art: Karl Kerschl
Colors: Tanya & Richard Horie
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines
Publisher: DC Comics

At the end of last month’s Superman #200, Big Blue vanished. Action Comics #811 takes up the story a week later — Superman is still missing and there is a strange effect, a “time storm,” in the skies over Metropolis.

This issue focuses on two things – the efforts of the supporting characters to find Superman, and the efforts of the supporting characters to defend the city in his absence. Both of these stories are done in a far more satisfying fashion than any other Superman stories of recent months. The book cuts through various vignettes – some of them detailing what’s happening around Metropolis and the other half with Lois Lane mentally recapping Superman’s history – making this a good jumping-on point for new readers as well.

Working from the assumption that virtually anyone who reads this comic will be at least marginally familiar with Superman and his basic history, this book does a great job of filling in the pertinent details and giving the supporting players a chance to shine. We see Superboy and Steel (both John Henry Irons and Natasha Irons) examining the time storm, the return of the Eradicator and Lois showing how the average Metropolitan is dealing with the absence of their hero. Bonus points to Abnett and Lanning for including a great scene with Bibbo Bibbowski, one of the best post-crisis Superman supporting characters who has been pushed aside over the last few years. We also have a last-page guest star that would have been utterly shocking if his image hadn’t been in ads for this story arc for the past four months, but on the off-chance you haven’t caught any of those ads, I won’t spoil his identity here.

If there’s anything bad about this issue, it’s the characterization of Lana Lang. Over the years she has grown and developed as a character, finally becoming more than just an appendage to Clark that he tossed aside in favor of the woman he married. This issue she shows serious regression on this part – and one suspects that it’s an editorially-mandated change rather than one decided upon by our fill-in writers for this story arc.

Kerschl is a new name to me, but he does a good job with this issue, with a style that seems deliberately similar to fan-favorite (and cover artist) Ed McGuinness. Although Superman himself isn’t in this book, we do see his image everywhere, particularly in flashback sequences, and based on the way he draws him, I’d love to see Kerschl take over one of the Superman books full-time.

It’s not like this issue really has a tough act to follow (the Superman titles have lacked their “oomph” for a while now), but this really is a strong start to this new direction. I’m fairly confident that this storyline, at least, will be entertaining. I just hope the books stay entertaining when the new creative teams come on-board in a few months.

Rating: 8/10