George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards: The Hard Call #1

April 11, 2008

George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards: The Hard Call #1 (Dabel Brothers Publishing)
By Daniel Abraham & Eric Battle

I first discovered the Wild Cards series of novels a few years ago and quickly became a fan. It’s an amazing superhero universe with a unique concept — superheroes and mutations alike caused by an alien virus, and how the world has evolved in the 50 years since the virus first struck. This is the second time they’ve brought this universe into comics (there was an Epic miniseries from Marvel in the late 80s), and unlike many of the Dabel Brother‘s novel-to-comic projects, this is an original story. “The Sleeper,” an Ace whose power occasionally sends him into hibernation only to wake up with a different ability each time, comes out of his slumber and seeks out his girlfriend, a nurse at a clinic for those impacted by the Wild Card virus. Meanwhile, a high school science fair turns into tragedy when a new outbreak of the virus cuts loose. There are two distinct storylines here, but even though there’s no obvious connectivity it’d be hard to imagine they won’t be brought together before our six issues are up. It’s nice to see some new characters here, as well as the return of one of the most interesting characters from the novels. If you’ve never read any Wild Cards before, this book will get you right into the story right away. Definitely worth reading.
Rating: 8/10

Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War #3

October 18, 2008

Atomic Robo: Dogs of War #3 (Red 5 Comics)
By Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener & Lauren Pettapiece

Atomic Robo and Lt. Everett board a train deep into Croatia to hunt down the remaining Laufpanzer walking tanks that are planning to disrupt the Allied advance into Europe. As the two of them tear through a train full of Nazis, a new and unexpected enemy pops up to give Robo a run for his money. There’s plenty of action this month, and the creative team here delivers completely. This is fun, exciting, and energizing comics the way they were meant to be told. The back-up story this month is by Clevinger and Lauren Pettapiece. It’s a cute story about what constitutes a vacation for Jenkins, and it’s really funny. I forget who it was who first told me I should check out this title, but I really owe them a big thank-you. I’ve enjoyed every page.
Rating: 8/10

Mystery in Space (2006 Series) #1

September 2, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Eschatology & Revivification

Captain Comet is dead! Long live Captain Comet! Plus… the return of The Weird!

Writer: Jim Starlin
Pencils: Shane Davis & Jim Starlin
Inks: Matt “Batt” Banning & Al Milgrom
Colors: Jeromy Cox & Jim Starlin
Letters: Phil Balsman & Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Shane Davis & Matt Banning
Publisher: DC Comics

Think it’s just DC’s big guns that are getting a facelift these days? Mystery in Space is just the first in a series of miniseries intended to breathe new life into characters from across the DC Universe, and the focus of this new space-spanning series is DC’s first mutant character, Captain Comet.

Who, yes, is dead. Ish.

As this issue begins, a young man bearing a striking resemblance to the 70something superhero finds himself under attack by a group of powerful telepaths. As he fights, we go into not one, but two flashback sequences – one with Comet’s friends mourning his death and one featuring the death itself, and its very unexpected aftermath. People afraid that this would just be another example of a classic hero getting killed off and replaced with a new character (I was one of them, I admit) will be pleasantly surprised, I think. The three timelines presented in this issue flow in and out of each other pretty capriciously, but never in a confusing manner. By the end of the story, we’re quite clear as to what happened, although we don’t yet know what started the chain of events, and we’re excited to see what happens next. We also get a quick primer on who Captain Comet is, for those who may be unfamiliar with the character.

Davis and Banning do a really good job focusing on the cosmic aspects of this character. There’s a lot of outer-space stuff here, a lot of science fiction art that blends seamlessly with the superhero aspects. A great read and great artwork.

“Revivification,” the back-up story in this series, actually picks up on a story beat from Captain Comet’s tale to begin the resurrection of a mostly-forgotten character from the 80s, the Weird, this one written, penciled and colored by Starlin himself. The Weird was another cosmic character that briefly ran into the Justice League and worked with them to save the world before dying himself. He’s back, though, and begins an examination of self this issue. More than the main story, the back-up is purely set-up. There are some interesting ideas, but it’ll take another chapter or two to determine how well it’ll hold my interest.

The main story is enough to keep me on board, though. Seeing such a classic character get this kind of treatment really appeals to me, and I can’t wait to see what happens next to Captain Comet.

Rating: 8/10