Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #2

August 2, 2011

Title: Stranger Bedfellows

Writer: Brandon Montclare
Art: Simon Bisley, Ryan Bodenheim, Ray-Anthony Height, Don Ho
Colorist: Simon Bisley, Tony Avina
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Cover Artist: Michael William Kaluta
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publisher: Marvel Comics

She-Hulk, Nighthawk, and Frankenstein’s Monster have teamed up with Howard the Duck to stop the rampaging Man-Thing, being fed by the copious amounts of fear floating around thanks to that whole thing that’s happening over in those other comics. After being temporarily swapped with alternate reality versions of themselves, the team gets a recap of Frankenstein’s origin for some reason, then stroll off to face the enemy responsible for Man-Thing’s rampage: Psycho-Man.

And it’s just… a… mess.

The story is all over the lace, the heroes are together for the thinnest of reasons, and the chain of logic is virtually nonexistent. The frequent artistic changes don’t help. While all of the artists working on this book are perfectly competent, their styles are so different from one another that you keep feeling live you’ve spiraled into an entirely different comic book. With the love I have for many of the characters in this book, I was really looking forward to sort of an offbeat Fear Itself tie-in. Halfway through, I’ve felt nothing but disappointment.

Rating: 6/10

The Authority Vs. Lobo: Jingle Hell #1

December 7, 2003

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Paramilitary X-Mas II: Jingle Hell

The Authority throws down with Lobo to punish him for a decade-old crime.

Writers: Keith Giffen & Alan Grant
Artist: Simon Bisley
Colors: Mike Baron
Cover Art: Simon Bisley
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm/Eye of the Storm

I’m not sure what it says when two properties I really dislike — Lobo and The Authority – and you get a comic book I enjoy more than either of their solo adventures. If I were to take a guess, I’d say it says good things about Keith Giffen’s abilities as a comedic writer.

This book is a sort-of sequel to 1991’s Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special, in which the main man frags Santa Claus. Apollo and Midnighter’s daughter finds a copy of that same comic book and, reading the adventure, demands that the Authority kill Lobo to punish him. The adults try to explain to her that both Lobo and Santa Claus are fictional… until, of course, the main man comes crashing down on ‘em.

Since the only reason anybody would buy this comic is to see the big fight scene (a fact that even one of the captions recognizes), it really takes an unconscionably long time to get around to it, and once they do it’s pretty short. Furthermore, I’m not really sure what would inspire anyone to put these two properties together, aside from the fact that they are both, ostensibly, for “mature” readers.

I’m reluctant to admit it, but parts of it actually are pretty funny, and wholly offensive, which of course is exactly what the creators are going for.

Bisley’s art, while not the sort of thing that typically appeals to me, does work well for this title. Lots of blood, lots of gore, and lots of weird mutants and amputees – if that’s what you look for in a comic book, Bisley draws it better than just about anyone.

This isn’t a comic book for everyone. This isn’t even a comic book for many people. But if you’re in the audience for this kind of book (you know who you are), you’ll enjoy this.

Rating: 6/10