Life With Archie: The Married Life #2

September 26, 2010

Title: Main Street Mangle & Different Drummers

Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Pencils: Norm Breyfogle
Inks: Josef Rubinstein & Andrew Pepoy
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Jack Morelli & Janice Chiang
Cover: Norm Breyfogle
Editor: Victor Gorelick
Publisher: Archie Comics

The tales of two different Archies continues this issue. In the world where he married Veronica, the Andrews couple is facing a split over Mr. Lodge’s intention of taking down Pop Tate’s. Archie is angry at his father-in-law for using him as a pawn, while Veronica is convinced he’s just got business on the mind. Moose, meanwhile, gets his political career off to a rocky start.

In “Archie Marries Betty,” meanwhile, Archie is ready to surrender on his dreams of becoming a musician in New York, but Ambrose tries to convince him to stick with it. Back in Riverdale, Pop’s is in trouble (again), while Mr. Weatherbee and Ms. Grundy being the planning for their wedding.

Paul Kupperberg takes over the storytelling this issue from Michael Uslan, who initiated these two new looks at the world of Archie, and the transition is seamless. He picks right up on every idea and plot thread Uslan left dangling and runs with them, including the hints that the missing Dilton Doiley (missing in both realities, one should remember) is in fact straddling the two somehow. We might actually be looking at a multiverse/worlds collide scenario, one which would take both of these stories into a totally different direction. I love the angle this series is taken. It’s totally unexpected and totally entertaining, and those are the two most important things when you pick up a comic book.

Rating: 8/10

Hero By Night (2007 Series) #1

March 24, 2007

Quick Rating: Great

What do you do with a long-lost hero’s secret lair?

Writer: D.J. Coffman
Art: D.J. Coffman
Colors: Jason Embury
Letters: D.J. Coffman
Editor: Paul Cibis & Jim McLauchlin
Cover Art: D.J. Coffman
Publisher: Platinum Studios Comics

The winner of the 2006 Comic Book Challenge takes flight in his own miniseries. D.J. Coffman’s Hero By Night is a clever, entertaining new take on the superhero genre, and one well worth the read for anyone who wants a superhero story that leaves room for some fun instead of miring in the grim and gritty.

Fifty years ago, the high-flying superhero called Hero By Night died in battle with his arch-enemy, the Iron Talon. Now, a young man named Jack King has taken a job as building superintendent of an apartment complex in his town. While doing some renovations in the basement, Jack finds a secret cache seemingly left behind by the lost hero – and what he does with it is unexpected, unique, and probably a lot more realistic than most such stories.

Jack is a pretty unique character, and he’s surrounded by a strong – if not entirely unique – cast. He’s got the overbearing father, the friend with the unrequited crush, the diner owner that turns out to be a handy source of information… right off the bat Coffman has established everything we need to grasp this world and the character in it. He also gives us a nice blend between the comedic and the serious superhero stuff, which is perfect for his art style. He’s got a lighter style, not hyperdetailed but instead fitting in with what you’d think of as being an “animated” style – and that’s a good thing. Somehow, using that style makes characters like the Iron Talon seem archetypal instead of derivative.

Real innovation in the superhero genre is hard to come by. It seems like every concept has been hit upon, every possible idea for a character has been covered. I think the future of superhero innovation, at least for the forseeable future, is going to come from books like this – creators who take familiar elements and characters that would seem like they’ve been done before and find whole new angles, new stories to tell that haven’t been done before. (Look at titles like Super*Teen Topia or Doctor Blink, Superhero Shrink.) Coffman gives us a really good addition to books like this. He may not be the first creator in recent years to try to tackle superheroes this way, but based on his first issue, he may indeed be one of the best. In a nutshell, if you’re looking for a superhero comic that isn’t caught up in enormous, world-altering storylines but just lets you enjoy it on its own merits, this is the one to pick up. Enjoy it you will.

Rating: 9/10

Jonah Hex (2006 Series) #6

April 4, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Goin’ Back to Texas in a Box

Teaser

Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
Art: Luke Ross
Colors: Rob Schwager
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Brian Bolland
Publisher: DC Comics

This is one of DC’s strongest launches in the past year, so it’s with a heavy heart that I give it a mere “good” rating. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, it’s just not the knockout that earlier issues are. Still, you can’t hit a home run every time, and Jonah Hex #6 is at least a ground-rule double.

This issue, Hex rides into the lonely town of Salvation, a town riddled with plague and controlled under the grip of a nun, even as the territory is besieged by Apache. Things get even worse when Hex rides into town to discover that two of the nuns that run the show have a history with him… and at least one of them doesn’t have a forgiving nature.

Luke Ross returns to the art side of the book after a guest-shot by original Jonah Hex artist Tony DeZuniga. The two men have drastically different styles, but both are perfectly suited for this character. Ross is much cleaner, much more polished, and combined with Schwager’s colors he creates a really unique looking comic book.

Like I said, this is a good issue. In fact, when the only complaint I have is that the title has had better issues, without actually having anything bad to say, I think that says a lot for the quality of the title as a whole.

Rating: 7/10