Heroes For Hire (2006 Series) #10

May 22, 2007

Quick Rating: Average
Rating: T+

Lost in the Savage Land!

Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils: Clay Mann
Inks: Terry Pallot
Colors: Brad Anderson
Letters: Cory Petit
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Cover Art: Michael Golden
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Heroes For Hire team has been thrown to the Savage Land and split up. Humbug has been carted off by giant insects, with Misty and Colleen trying to find him. Tarantula and Shang-Chi are having a little tryst by a waterfall, while Paladin has to patch up an unconscious Black Cat. And unbeknownst to anyone, Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur are lurking nearby.

All of these disparate elements, ultimately, add up to one great big “meh.” So much of this story is pretty much just pieced together from other stories – everything from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids to Jurassic Park. The characters, meanwhile, are running true to stereotype, with chunks of the book being given up to such concepts as Shang-Chi beating himself up for betraying his “honor” to Black Cat automatically assuming Paladin was up to no good while she was unconscious (because pretty much everyone else could bandage a chest wound without removing a person’s clothes, right?).

The artwork by Clay Mann isn’t bad – his layouts are very good, although his figures are a bit sketchy at times.

It’s not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with this issue, it’s just that there’s nothing exciting about it either. Soap operas in comics can work. Books full of B-listers (or even C- and D-listers) can be fantastic if they’re written well. It’s just that the strong writing just isn’t applying here. This is a book that, to succeed, has to be a lot greater than the sum of its parts, and frankly, it just isn’t.

Rating: 5/10

Ghostbusters: Past, Present, and Future #1

December 22, 2009

Ghostbusters: Past, Present, and Future #1 (IDW Publishing)
By Rob Williams, Diego Jourdan & Nick Runge

Hardcore Ghostbusters fans, such as myself, remember the classic Christmas episode of the cartoon show where they accidentally busted the Ghosts of Christmas before they could redeem Ebenezer Scrooge. This special goes to the same well, but it pulls out a totally different story. A millionaire, plagued each Christmas by a pair of ghosts, offers the boys a ridiculous amount of money to clean them out, but Venkman’s inner Scrooge plots to keep non-partner Winston out of the loop. The story and the resolution are really good, really surprising. Williams has found a great way to use Dickens as the base of his story without just imitating the old Christmas Carol story yet again.
Rating: 4.5/5

Trials of Shazam! #2

September 25, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Grounded

The Trials begin!

Writer: Judd Winick
Art: Howard Porter
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Howard Porter
Publisher: DC Comics

Last issue, things changed for Billy Batson. This issue, we check in on the rest of the Marvel Family. Those of you who have worried about Mary since Brave New World, this issue we find out her fate. But the real focus is on Freddy Freeman, the young man who once was Captain Marvel, Jr., and who now has no power at all.

Billy and Freddy meet and we learn a lot about what’s happened – how Billy has changed and what it means for the rest of the Marvels. This issue really changes the focus of the entire property – even the title of the miniseries has a new significance by the end. Judd Winick is doing a lot more than just updating the Marvels for the 21st century, he’s changing them from the ground-up. He’s doing it so well, though, that even a lifelong fan of the Big Red Cheese like myself can’t really get upset. Change is only bad when it doesn’t make sense. The changes in this issue… they fit.

Speaking of changes, let’s talk again about Howard Porter’s cracking new art style. Porter’s art, which appears to be some form of digital painting, give this book a style unseen elsewhere on the shelves. This is very much its own series, both in art and story, and it’s all to the good.

There isn’t much else I can say – this issue is majorly spoiler-laden. But if you enjoyed issue #1, you’ll be happy to know this issue keeps the story going in the right direction.

Rating: 8/10