Harbinger (2012 Series) #2

July 13, 2012

Title: Omega Rising Part Two 

Writer: Joshua Dysart
Art: Khari Evans & Lewis LaRosa
Letters: Rob Steen
Colors: Ian Hannin & Moose Baumann
Cover Art: Arturo Lozzi
Editor: Warren Simons
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment

Since its relaunch earlier this summer, Valiant Entertainment has been firing on all cylinders. While Harbinger #2 is by no means a misstep, it may be the first book in the line to fall victim to the hype machine. Promised as being something that would send old-school Valiant fans a-twitter, the book tells a solid story, but isn’t quite the mindblower we were led to believe.

Peter Stanchek has been on the run from the Harbinger Foundation for some time now. Along with his best friend (a mental case) and the girl he’s got a crush on (and who he’s used his powers on to force her to be with him), he now finds himself trapped by the very people he’s been fleeing. This issue sees a fateful confrontation between Peter and Toyo Harada, the architect of all his miseries… or is he.

The good thing about the new Valiant is, not unlike DC’s New 52 or the early days of Marvel’s Ultimate line, things are familiar enough that we have certain expectations, but have changed enough that it’s still reasonable for the writers to use those expectations against us, subvert them, and go in a different direction. This issue does that, and does it well. Is it enough of a subversion to make me recoil in shock and run away, though? No, no it isn’t.

The story works, fortunately. Peter faces up to some of his sins and pays the price for them, and in such a way that you’ve got to question whether one of the members of our cast is going to come back at all. Then again, perhaps that’s just par for the course in this new world – totally new ideas, totally new paths, somewhat familiar characters. I’d be okay with that.

Evans, LaRosa, Hannin and Baumann are doing a good job here on the artwork. As I think I’ve noted elsewhere, they’re making a good effort to make these characters look fairly realistic. They aren’t the perfect action figures or pin-up models that so many superhero comics feature, and in that way, they’ve actually got far more character than a lot of those other creations. The opening pages are perhaps the most striking, with colors that really set the tone perfectly and set the prologue apart from the rest of the issue.

Perhaps most striking – as it should be – is the cover. It’s a small moment that actually fits well into the issue itself, aside from just being a bizarre image that takes you by surprise. And thanks, Valiant, for actually using word balloons on covers – most publishers these days, it seems, are afraid of such a simple device, but when it’s done well, it adds a lot.

Good issue, and perhaps if I hadn’t had my expectations raised it would even have been great.

Rating: 7/10

X-O Manowar (2012) #1

May 6, 2012, 2012

Title: Blades and Open Fields

Writer: Robert Venditti
Pencils: Cary Nord
Inks: Stefano Gaudiano
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Colors: Moose Baumann
Cover Art: Esad Ribic, David Aja, Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic, Cary Nord
Editor: Warren Simons
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment

In 402 A.D., an army of Visigoths prepare to face the forces of Rome. Outnumbered and outmatched, the warrior called Aric refuses to back down – a determination that serves him well when he is taken captive… not by the Romans, but by alien colonists looking at Earth as their next target.

In fairness, I should tell you guys that I am a huge fan of old-school Valiant Comics. They came into their own as a publisher at roughly the same time I really began to expand as a reader, and as such, there’s always been a soft spot in my heart for them. That said, I’d like to say I’m objective enough to admit if the book sucked. I’m glad to say it doesn’t. Robert Venditti has captured the flavor of Aric of Dacia nicely, presenting a rebooted character that feels very similar to the original. If there had never been an X-O Manowar #0 from the original Valiant Comics, this story could easily fit with the rest of the regular series.

That’s not to say, however, that the book is married to the original. There’s a very interesting subplot introduced in this book that doesn’t seem to play into anything that was done with the character in the old universe, but that’s just fine. Let ‘em try something a little different. As long as it feels true to the character, I welcome it.

Cary Nord does some excellent work here. The book looks like a sword-and-sorcery comic, a style that would fit in with the likes of Conan the Barbarian (which Nord has done before). When the sci-fi elements arrive, though, they don’t look out of place. Aric fits with the world of the alien spaceships and armor that are essential to the story at hand.

I’m ecstatic to have the Valiant Universe back to begin with. I’m even happier that the first issue starts things off so well.

Rating: 8/10

Dark Horse Presents (2011 Series) #3

September 4, 2011

Title: Treatment and other stories

Writers: Dave Gibbons, Robert Love, David Walker, Carla Speed McNeil, Paul Chadwick, Howard Chaykin, Jim Steranko, Patrick Alexander, Richard Corben, Chuck Brown, David Chelsea, Neal Adams, Michael T. Gilbert
Art: Dave Gibbons, Robert Love, Carla Speed McNeil, Paul Chadwick, Howard Chaykin, Jim Steranko, Patrick Alexander, Richard Corben, Sanford Greene, David Chelsea, Neal Adams, Michael T. Gilbert
Colorist: Angus McKie, Michelle Davies, Diego Simone, Jenn Manley Lee, Bill Mudron, Jesus Aburto, Tyson Hesse, Sanford Greene, Moose Baumann
Letterer: Thomas Mauer, Ken Bruzenak, Clem Robins, Steve Dutro
Cover Artist: Dave Gibbons
Editor: Mike Richardson
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

This is perhaps the best issue yet of the reborn Dark Horse Presents. With a whopping twelve stories, the odds are in your favor that more of them will be good, but this time the only ones that really fall flat are the ones that have been flat since the first issue.

Dave Gibbons steps in with Treatment, an odd commentary on crime fighting and the media, set in a future where cops are TV stars and their deaths in the line of duty are treated as entertainment. I’m kind of sad that this isn’t listed as “chapter one,” as he’s created a very interesting universe that I’d like to revisit. Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder takes a very bizarre turn this issue, and Patrick Alexander’s Indecisive Man is an extremely funny look at the world’s least effective superhero. Michael T. Gilbert’s Mister Monster finishes his battle with Oooak in a goofy, silly way that I think Stan Lee himself would have been very proud of.

In the middle tier, we get new chapters of Number 13, Concrete, Murky World, Rotten Apple and Snow Angel, all of which progress their respective stories or worlds in an interesting, satisfactory way. Jim Steranko also presents the first chapter of Red Tide, an illustrated detective novel. The story is interesting – a poisoned man with 72 hours to live hires a private detective to find his killer in time for him to see the man brought to justice. I like this one quite a lot, and I look forward to reading the rest.

As before, the weak links come from the old masters – Howard Chaykin’s Marked Man continues to be a lifeless, by-the-numbers crime story, and Neal Adams’ Blood is a sci-fi story that seems to be wallowing in bizarre ideas at the expense of a comprehensible plot.

But the good far outweighs the bad in this issue, and that’s what you have to hope for in a book like this. Overall, I’m really happy with the work we get here.

Rating: 7/10

Wolverine: Firebreak #1

December 17, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Firebreak
Rating: T+

Wolverine vs. a forest fire!

Writer: Mike Carey & Macon Blair
Art: Scott Kolins & Vasilis Lolos
Colors: Moose Baumann & Nestor Pereyra
Letters: Troy Peteri
Editor: Aubrey Sitterson
Cover Art: Scott Kolins
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Whenever an already-overexposed character like Wolverine, Batman, Spider-Man or the sort gets a one-shot, especially if it isn’t a one-shot tying into a larger storyline, you’ve got to ask yourself seriously if it’s worth getting. Extra cash for a story that probably will never be referenced again? It’s gotta be really good.

The main story here, fortunately is really good. Like we often get in standalone Wolverine or Punisher issues, the story is told through the eyes of a one-off ancillary character who just happens to encounter the hero on some adventure. In this case, it’s a man who took his wife and young daughter on a camping trip in a last-ditch effort to save his marriage. Just as he’s ready to proclaim that effort a failure, the forest around them erupts in a blaze. A ginormous bear, burning alive, leaps out at him, but he’s saved at the last second by a similarly scorched mutant with sharp, point claws. Wolverine has been temporarily blinded (nobody tell Magneto, but apparently there are certain neurotoxins that can retard his healing factor), so he’s got to rely on his other senses to get the terrified family out of the woods… and it just gets worse when they encounter the people behind the blaze.

Again, this main story is pretty strong. The angle is a good one, and with the fire itself being the main enemy here – in other words, something that can’t be sliced even by adamantium – Carey has to force Logan outside of his comfort zone. Kolins’ artwork is pretty well-suited to this story as well, with Baumann providing a nice, dark color palette illuminated mainly be the fire, and well at that.

That’s the main story. The extra dollar on the price tag is justified by use of a totally unrelated back-up story about Wolverine trying to save a cop’s son from a bizarre cult. At one point, Wolverine mentions that he’s already forgotten the kid’s name, and that’s a suitable metaphor for the back-up: it’s entirely forgettable, with a clichéd story and weak artwork.

So is this one-shot worth it? Were it just for the lead story, I’d say yes, but the extra dollar for a back-up story that, frankly, isn’t that good, makes it harder to recommend. I’d much rather have seen this at a one-story, three-dollar one-shot, or even better, dropped in-between arcs of the regular title.

Rating: 7/10

Dark Horse Presents (2011 Series) #2

July 1, 2011

Writers: Paul Chadwick, Robert Love, DavidWalker, Neal Adams, Carla Speed McNeil, Howard Chaykin, Michael T. Gilbert, Patrick Alexander, Chuck Brown, Richard Corben, David Chelsea
Art: Paul Chadwick, Robert Love, Neal Adams, Carla Speed McNeil, Howard Chaykin, Michael T. Gilbert, Patrick Alexander, Sanford Greene, Richard Corben, David Chelsea
Colors: Michelle Davies, Diego Simone, Moose Baumann, Jenn Manley Lee, Bill Mudron, Jesus Aburto, Tyson Hesse
Letterers: Thomas Mauer, Ken Bruzenak, Steve Dutro, Clem Robins
Cover: Neal Adams
Editor: Mike Richardson 
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

It’s the second installment for the resurrected Dark Horse Presents, and like the first issue (and, for that matter, most anthologies), it’s a mixed bag. Some of the stories are really very good, but others just die on the vine.

Paul Chadwick’s Concrete starts off the issue, and it’s one of the better tales. In Hawaii, Concrete and his team are hiking across a volcano, only to make a surprising discovery. Although the first issue’s story was very self-contained, this story seems to have elements that would lead to a longer storyline. All in all, I think that’s a good thing – anthologies seem to work best when there are serialized tales to bring the readers back, and while most of the stories in this comic fit that bill, this is the one that’s probably the most entertaining.

Robert Love and David Walker’s Number 13, which begins this issue, makes a strong case for itself as well. We begin with the story of a boy wandering a post-apocalyptic landscape, and it’s pretty standard for that genre at first, until we discover a secret the boy is carrying with him. It’s a nice beginning that raises a number of questions.

As last issue, it’s the most venerable comic creators that are turning in the least interesting work in this book. Neal Adams’ Blood continues with an origin story that attempts to tie the character into world history, but does it in a rather pedestrian way, and the characters in Howard Chaykin’s Marked Man are, frankly, despicable people. And not in a good way, not in a way that’s fun to read about – they’re just terrible human beings that I don’t want to spend my time on.

Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder comes back and helps out again, with a funny second installment that continues to explore the world of a former criminal that has turned into the world’s greatest courier. We also have Michael T. Gilbert classing up the joint with another fantastic Mr. Monster story. Here he’s parodying the Marvel giant monster comics of the 1950s, and both his parody and his style are spot-on. Patrick Alexander also gives us a wordless – but oddly charming – tale of The Wraith.

Rotten Apple is the second serial to begin in this issue. Chuck Brown and Sanford Greene present a different take not only on zombies, but on a lot of monster tropes. I really appreciate stories of this nature, and the execution here is strong.

We close things off with Richard Corben’s The Treasure – still weird – and David Chelsea’s Snow Angel, which goes from charming to actually interesting this issue. There seems to be more to this story than a simple child’s fantasy, and that makes for a stronger story.

All in all, this book has more good than bad, which is why I’ll keep getting it. But there are still some stories that just leave me entirely out in the cold.

Rating: 7/10

Green Lantern: Rebirth #3

December 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Yellow

The truth about Parallax – and the Green Lantern Corps!

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentis Rollins
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics

A lesser writer than Geoff Johns would have me fuming right now, because of the various theories regarding Hal Jordan’s return as Green Lantern, he seems to have gone with one that I liked the least. However, he’s executing it extremely well, to the point where I find I’m actually accepting of an explanation that I thought would cheapen the character himself and years of stories.

Kyle Rayner and Ganthet find themselves battling maddened members of the Green Lantern Corps, even as the Justice League is battered by brave men who should be their allies. A desperate Kyle heads to the JLA Watchtower for help, only to find the place leveled and only one hero standing – Hal’s best friend, Green Arrow. There, Kyle tells what he found at the edge of the universe, the truth about Parallax, the truth about Hal Jordan, and the truth about the Green Lantern Corps.

This issue, I must admit, really surprised me. We’ve only hit the halfway point of this series, and it seems like Johns has already laid all his cards on the table. All the revelations, all the surprises, all of it is already right here. That seems to leave three issues for an extended fight scene. I hope Johns has more up his sleeve than that.

I’ve also got to deduct points for the last-page surprise appearance by a character that’s died twice already (at least), and who seemed dead for good last time out. He’s apparently going to start trying to rival Magneto in the resurrection category.

Ethan Van Sciver’s artwork is phenomenal. With Moose Baumann giving the entire book a green tinge, this book looks more like a Green Lantern comic than any issue in years. He does a fantastic job not just on the GLs, but on the various other heroes herein. This is a guy who could easy have a spot illustrating the big DC team books – JLA or JSA – they’d be in great hands.

I am enjoying this series. Johns is probably telling the best story about Hal’s return that anyone could, and while I may not be crazy about all of the nuances of the tale, he’s executing it better than anyone in comics could.

Rating: 8/10

Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1

June 28, 2007

Quick Rating: Excellent
Title: The Second Rebirth

The greatest threat to the Green Lantern Corps rises!

Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Ethan Van Sciver & Dave Gibbons
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics

For months now, a mysterious force has been going throughout the universe, recruiting beings with the ability to create great fear. In this exemplary special, the full power of the Sinestro Corps is known, and the DC Universe knows fear like never before.

While on Earth, the Justice League rounds up members of the Society to inquire about Sinestro’s whereabouts, in outer space, Kyle Rayner and a pair of fellow GLs encounter Sinestro rings spinning through the universe. The rings are only the first salvo, though, and before the book is halfway over it is clear that the Green Lantern Corps is in for perhaps the deadliest war it has ever known.

Geoff Johns does what he does best here – he pulls together disparate continuity threads to tell his story. It’s clear, reading this issue, that he has been planning this epic for a long time, as he picks up on story threads from his own Green Lantern: Rebirth, Infinite Crisis and 52, as well as several tales written by other writers (Ion, for instance), to create a story with a universal threat, but that is singularly unique to the Green Lantern titles. This is a story about fear – that’s Sinestro’s weapon. And to have any chance at victory, he has to find a way to create fear in a warrior class specifically chosen for its fearlessness.

And he does it.

Johns re-teams with his Rebirth partner Ethan Van Sciver on the artwork, and Van Sciver again proves just how good he is. His designs for the disparate aliens that make up the Sinestro Corps are the stuff of nightmares, and it’s easy to see on the faces of our heroes just how much hell they’ve been put through. They look like heroes who have already come through a war, and this is a war that’s just beginning.

Johns and Dave Gibbons team up for a back-up tale as well, re-telling Sinestro’s origin from his own particularly biased point of view. This works well as a nice primer for a newer fan who may not quite recognize Sinestro or understand what makes him such a threat.

If you haven’t read Green Lantern in a while, this is the book to come back for. Johns and Van Sciver have made magic together more than once in the past, and it’s a blast to see them doing it again.

Rating: 10

Green Lantern: Rebirth #2

December 5, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Enemies Within

As the powers of the few remaining Green Lantern go haywire, the Justice League prepares to have words with Hal Jordan.

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentis Rollins
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics

Before I get into the review proper, I should disclose that I’m one of the voices that wasn’t too happy about this project. I like Kyle Rayner. I think he’s earned his place as a Green Lantern and I feel like DC capitulated to a vocal minority by backtracking this way.

That said – man, if you’re going to bring back Hal Jordan, this is the way to do it.

A wounded Kyle Rayner lies in the desert, his spaceship in wreckage, with a mysterious, but very valuable cargo. Meanwhile Hal has come back to see his old girlfriend, Carol Ferris, who has moved on with her life in Hal’s absence. Elsewhere, virtually everyone who has ever wielded the power of a Green Lantern is suffering odd symptoms – John Stewart’s control is eroding, Alan Scott is weakening and Guy Gardner is on the verge of death. And somehow, this all spirals back to the different aspects of Hal Jordan.

Geoff Johns is the man for this project without a doubt. As he proves every month in Flash, JSA and Teen Titans, there are few if any writers who can pull together continuity and weave an exciting, engrossing tale the way that he can, and he puts all of his skills to work on this issue.

Ethan Van Sciver has been considered an “up and coming” artist for some time – with this series I think it’s safe to say he has arrived. Every character in the book is spot-on perfect, with great action and some really beautiful high-energy pieces that seem to reply on good classic art instead of computer tricks the way a lot of comics do these days.

A lot of people were dying for Hal’s return. I was not one of them. But since it is an inevitability, I have to admit, this is about the best way to bring him back one could hope for.

Rating: 8/10

Green Lantern (1990) #179

July 25, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Homecoming? Part Four

It’s Green Lantern versus Green Lantern!

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

Kyle Rayner’s swansong continues, and as much as I’ve enjoyed this title for the most part, I have to admit to feeling slightly let down by the clichéd nature of this issue. In part three of “Homecoming?” Kyle found out that his old enemy, Major Force, is the one who sicced the Green Lantern-killer called Fatality on him. This issue, Kyle goes after him, only to find he has an unexpected protector – John Stewart.

The circumstances around John’s allegiance are a bit strained and seem like little more than an excuse to bring up the stereotypical hero versus hero battle. As far as the battle itself goes, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s actually done quite well and basically in-character. It just feels forced. On the other hand, Marz gets points for finally making the John Stewart/“Daily Show” joke that you know writers have been aching to do in the Green Lantern titles for several years now.

I’m still very impressed by Ross and Ramos on art, though. If you’re gonna do a comic book about Green Lanterns fighting each other, than the quality of the ring-constructs is of the utmost importance. This art team does a great battle scene, with both GLs slinging around pretty imaginative weapons and proxies to fight out their battles for them.

These two are great, classic-style superhero artists. Not weighed down with anime-style detail, not so simple as to look like a cartoon, but solid storytellers with a good line and a great style. Ross is one of those highly underrated artists that doesn’t generate the buzz he deserves.

This isn’t a bad issue by any stretch of the imagination. It’s solid, it works. But it feels like a filler issue, something that could have been fit into a few pages of another issue, but got dragged out to help the storyline reach the requisite six issues that every storyline seems to need these days. Two issues left – I think things will pick up again next issue.

Rating: 7/10

Bloodhound #1

July 13, 2004
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Green Light

There’s a killer on the loose and only Travis Clevenger can catch him… if he can get out of jail alive.

Writer: Dan Jolley
Pencils: Leonard Kirk
Inks: Robin Riggs
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Ivan Cohen
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics

Every so often I’ll open up the package of DC advance comics and come face-to-face with a new title, one I’ve never heard of, one I know nothing about, and that is the case with Bloodhound. I didn’t have the slightest inkling of the concept, I was surprised by the creative team, and I must say, it was a pretty solid read. Travis Clevenger is a former cop in prison for the murder of his partner. While it is clear he was a tough cookie even before he went into the klink, prison life has made him harder and more brutal… it’s always tough on a former cop who finds himself behind bars, and Clevenger has made himself savage just to survive.

Now, a former colleague is approaching Clevenger with an offer – there is a killer on the loose, and they need him to help track him down. In exchange, Clevenger is offered a reduced sentence. As they bat about this offer, the prison erupts into a riot, and it’ll take some bloody fast action to get them out.

Dan Jolley is one of those names I recognize but can’t immediately place to any comic book. Offhand, the only project of his I know I’ve read is the new Firestorm series, which I rather like. I feel the same way about Bloodhound. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s pretty good. There are a few questions, of course, such as why a cop-killing cop is a candidate to help track down a murderer out of all the detectives in the country, but that’s the sort of thing you suspect will be answered as the series goes along. It’s a solid story.

Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs need no introduction, however. I’ve been fans of theirs since their collaboration on the late, lamented Supergirl series, and it’s great to see them working together again. This book is a bit darker than the things I’m used to seeing Kirk work on, but he does a fine job. He’s a penciller along the lines of Paul Pelletier – great with acting and mood, but keeping his work clean and never crowding the panel with excessive detail or making things look murky. This book has a bit more gore than I’m used to out of a comic with the DC bullet on it, but that’s been happening more and more lately, and the book is missing the classic code approval.

I’m not sure if this is a miniseries or an ongoing, but it’s a good start. I like a good mystery, and judging from the first issue, Bloodhound has the potential to be one.

Rating: 7/10