Secret Six (2008 Series) #25

September 25, 2010

Title: The Reptile Brain Part One: Blood Calls to Blood

Writer: Gail Simone
Art: Jim Calafiore
Colors: Jason Wright
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover: Daniel Luvisi
Editor: Sean Ryan
Publisher: DC Comics

The Secret Six has been shattered. Bane and Jeanette have walked away, rounding up four other villains to shape their own team, while Scandal, Ragdoll and Black Alice try to bring Catman back to sanity. And the two groups, naturally, are on a collision course.

The tricky thing about having a team with a number in the title is that you’re rather limited in bringing in new members (or getting rid of members, should you so desire). Simone has expanded the cast considerably this issue, though, bringing in several characters she’s played with before (such as Giganta and Dwarfstar from her run on All-New Atom). New characters means new character dynamics, and that’s a great way to keep a book like this one fresh in the hands of a skilled writer. Catman’s breakdown is being handled delicately, but the book is still a place to have a little fun as well.  I mean… we have dinosaurs in this comic for crying out loud. Dinosaurs.

Jim Calafiore’s artwork is as good as ever – for some reason his Giganta in particular looks really great to me. What can you say – the man can draw 50-foot women. We also get a good cover by Daniel Luvisi, who give us a clever video game selection screen riff. His pose on Dwarfstar is kind of funky, but the design is really clever.

Great issue, as usual.

Rating: 8/10

Captain America (2005 Series) #3

February 15, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Out of Time Part Three

In the midst of a murder investigation, Captain America remembers his past.

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Steve Epting & Michael Lark
Colors: Frank D’Armata
Letters: Randy Gentile
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Steve Epting
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Ed Brubaker has really won me over in this title. In three issue’s he’s killed Captain America’s deadliest enemy, making the new deadliest enemy (by proxy) whoever did it, and sent the star-spangled Avenger on a globe-trotting investigation. This is the kind of story that could very easily feel stretched under other circumstances, but Brubaker seems to have found the magical balance between characterization and action that allows a story to flow out without seeming padded.

Cap and Sharon Carter wind up in Paris this issue, prompting him to remember his own experiences in France in World War II. People have, at times, considered Cap’s tendency to reminisce to be a flaw in the character, something that makes him dull and keeps him tethered to the past. When it’s done well, as it is here, it’s beautiful. The issue ends with another of those shocker endings that are going to have fans of a former member of Cap’s supporting cast (and I know there are some) spitting nails.

I’ve seen Steve Epting’s work for a long time in various titles. Paired with colorist Frank D’Armata, this is the best it has ever looked. Like Brubaker, he has found a balance – in his case between the look of an ultra-detailed crime drama/espionage comic and the colorful action of a superhero. Perhaps the greatest challenge in any superhero comic is to draw the costume in a fashion that looks realistic without making it look silly. He nails it here. Michael Lark is back also, again providing a couple of very nice flashback and dream sequences. His dark, somber style fits perfectly for the remembrance of the bloodthirsty battles that the title character has lived through.

Although Captain America has long been a favorite character of mine, it’s been a very long time since anyone has written the book in a manner worth reading . Finally, he’s being treated with respect again.

Rating: 8/10

Green Lantern (1990 Series) #177

May 22, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Homecoming? Part Two

Kyle Rayner talks with Jade, while someone sends Fatality out to find him…

Writer: Ron Marz
Pencils: Luke Ross
Inks: Rodney Ramos
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Jared Fletcher
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Brandon Peterson
Publisher: DC Comics

Ron Marz was the writer who ushered in Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern, who transformed him from a raw rookie to a strong, confident hero, and who proved that wearing the ring wasn’t an exclusive right of Hal Jordan, and it seems only fitting that he write the story that will evidently be the swan song of the title.

Kyle starts the issue taking out one of the few official “rogues” a Green Lantern has, the villain called Sonar, but the issue is really about him and his girlfriend Jade, and Kyle trying to reconcile the fact that the woman whose love kept him warm alone in outer space found another man while he was gone. This can’t have been an easy scene to write – Marz finds a very thin line between allowing us to feel Kyle’s grief and not making us hate Jade outright, but he pulls it off. As so often in breakups, it’s the wronged party that carries the agony in this scene, and anyone who’s ever been through a tough breakup for any reason can relate to this bit.

Meanwhile, a much nastier old foe, the Green Lantern –hunter named Fatality, has been sprung from prison for one reason: kill Kyle Rayner. Who got her out? Why does he hate Kyle? No telling, but we’ll certainly find out in the next four issues.

Luke Ross is a great superhero artist. The fight scene with Sonar is well-choreographed, the ring constructs are clever and inventive, and he draws a much more realistic (read: less buxom) rendition of Jade than Brandon Peterson does on the cover.

Although I’m sure Geoff Johns will do a fine job in whatever form the Green Lantern franchise takes this fall, I will miss this incarnation. Kyle has earned his place in the comic book pantheon and when written properly, like Ron Marz does, he’s still got a lot of stories left in him.

Rating: 8/10