Birds of Prey (2010 Series) #4

August 27, 2010

Title: Endrun Part Four: Impact Fracture

Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Ed Benes & Adriana Melo
Inker: Ed Benes & J.P. Mayer
Colorist: Nei Ruffino
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover: Alina Urusov
Editor: Janelle Siegel
Publisher: DC Comics

The Birds’ story is split in three this month. Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, Hawk and Dove face against a far more brutal Penguin than they’d expected, Black Canary does battle with the White Canary, and the kidnapped Oracle has to find a way to free herself from the former foes she thought had reformed – Savant and Creote.

There’s so much good here. First up, let’s look at the Hawk and Dove storyline, the part of this issue that directly ties into Blackest Night. A recent issue of the core title revealed the individual missions of each of the 12 people the White Lantern brought back. In Hawk’s case, it’s to protect Dove from Captain Boomerang (whose task is to try to kill her… go figure), but this issue really gets into his mind in a way that, frankly, is kind of disturbing. The character has been taken to places far darker than any I had expected, and that can make for some excellent storytelling. As for Oracle’s story, the explanation for just what’s wonky inside of Savant’s head is intriguing, and more than a little difficult to grasp. Oh, it’s easy to understand what it is, but nearly impossible to imagine what it would be like to live your life in such a fashion.

I am, I must admit, a little disappointed at the revelation of the White Canary’s identity. It’s okay, at least in as much as it points us towards another foe, but the buildup kind of led us to expect it to be more significant than it actually is.

Benes and Melo do good art here, although I think the colors of Nei Ruffino deserve the lion’s share of the credit for holding the issue together as the art shifts. His work, especially with the constant rain, keeps this book looking uniform. The cover, by Alina Urusov, is a very nice piece of work featuring the two Canaries against each other.

My one complaint is a minor one, which I think is statement enough for how strong this title is.

Rating: 8/10

Uncle Scrooge #335

November 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: The Son of the Sun and other stories

Scrooge and Flintheart Glomgold launch into another contest to prove who’s the richest duck in the world.

Writers: Don Rosa, Michael Gilbert, Gail Renard, Albert Cosser & Daan Jippes
Art: Don Rosa, Rodriques, Daniel Branca, Anibal Uzal & Daan Jippes
Colors: Mike McCormick, Susan Daigle-Leach, Egmont, Scott Rockwell, Marie Javins & Michael Kraiger
Letters: John Clark, Willie Schubert & Susie Lee
Editor: Arnold T. Blumberg
Cover Art: Daniel Branca
Publisher: Gemstone

This issue of Uncle Scrooge gives us a real blast from the past – Don Rosa’s first-ever published comic book story from Uncle Scrooge #217 back in 1987. “The Son of the Sun” isn’t a particularly strong effort, at least not for Rosa, but even back then you could see the hints of what an incredible cartoonist he would become.

The story is fairly typical for Scrooge – he and arch-nemesis Flintheart Glomgold make yet another wager, this time to see who can discover the greatest lost Incan treasure. What results is a highly amusing Indiana Jones-style treasure hunt story. We see all of the elements that would later make Rosa the best of the current crop of Duck cartoonists, including a lot of small nods to classic Carl Barks stories, wonderfully detailed artifacts and treasures and judicious use of the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook to get them out of jams.

Next up is Donald Duck in “The Old, Old Fishing Hole” by Michael Gilbert and Rodriques. Donald borrows a time-travel device from wacky inventor Gyro Gearloose with no other purpose than to go back in time 10 years, when his favorite fishing hole was still a ripe spot. A mishap programming the device leaves him trapped 10 million years in the past, when the fish were biting, but they were a lot bigger too.

The other stories in the issue are amusing, but mostly forgettable. In “The Joke Factory,” Scrooge hires Gyro to invent a new novelty device, with predictably disastrous results. “Back to Basics” is another Scrooge vs. Glomgold story, this time with the odd wager of trying to survive a week without their fortunes. Scrooge’s well-meaning nephews seem him in the woods and conclude he must be down on his luck, and try to help. Finally, “Rodent’s Ransom” features a new menace to Scrooge’s fortune – a super-smart lab mouse who doesn’t want Scrooge’s money, but has his sights on other costly amenities.

This isn’t the greatest issue of Uncle Scrooge, but fans will certainly appreciate the novelty of seeing Rosa’s earliest comic book work. It’s not his best work, but it’s still the best story in this issue, and still a lot of fun.

Rating: 7/10

Wildguard: Fool’s Gold #1

July 8, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Fool’s Gold Part One

WildGuard is back in action – against their nastiest foe yet!

Writer: Todd Nauck
Pencils: Todd Nauck & Jeremy Dale
Inks: Todd Nauck
Colors: Todd Nauck
Letters: Todd Nauck & M-Crusade
Cover Art: Todd Nauck
Publisher: Image Comics

No one was more surprised than I was last year when Todd Nauck’s WildGuard turned out to be a smart, fun, charming story, a real winner for anyone who’s into superhero comics. At the same time, the book is a parody of reality television and an homage to classic superhero storytelling – the first miniseries featured dozens of superheroes competing for a spot on the team, with the last member actually voted on by the readers.

In this new two-issue miniseries, the team has been around for a while now and is settling into its celebrity status. Four, the founder and leader of the team, invites her female teammates to join her in one of her other celebrity endeavors – a fashion show, which of course is disrupted by a supervillain scheme, in this case, the mysterious disappearance of all of the jewelry and valuables at the show. WildGuard assembles to hunt down the perpetrator.

As always, Nauck has done a good job keeping the lighthearted aspect of the comic book. We see how Ignacia gets excited to be in a fashion show, how astonished the team is that Lily Hammer cleans up really well, and how Snapback’s girlfriend takes offense at not sharing the invitation. The relationship between those two really is one of the most interesting aspects of this book, mainly because he’s such a likeable guy and she’s such an unrelenting hag. It’s like watching your best buddy dating a woman who treats him like dirt and being unable to do anything about it, and it’s that kind of relatability that makes the book work.

The book also takes time to catch us up with several of the rejected characters from the first miniseries, most notably American Icon in a “Where Are They Now?” back-up feature penciled by Jeremy Dale. That story is considerably darker than the lead tale, as we follow someone rather bitter about being passed over and not necessarily suited to wear the star-spangled suit, even if he is the sixth generation to do so.

Nauck’s artwork is really solid too. I’ve been a fan of his since his Young Justice days, and his style is still a favorite of mine. It’s got a light cartoon touch, classic superhero styling with a modern touch. More books should look this good.

This is a really fun title, and if there’s any complaint to be had it’s that it currently exists in a series of miniseries and one-shots. I’m anxious for the day we get to see WildGuard full-time.

Rating: 8/10