wktf
09-08-2006, 09:32 AM
Wktf’s Reviews
It’s good to be back in the saddle after having to be traveling out of town last week. After a couple of expensive weeks, this week was extremely light. The Bowen Designs Classic Adam Warlock statue was on display at my lcs right next to the Bowen Thanos, and Hard Hero’s Thing statue had arrived as well. They all looked great! What I’m reviewing are all the comics I bought…though I also picked up the new trade paperback collection of the recently concluded outstanding post-Infinite Crisis Batman story arc, “Face the Face.” My pick of the week is Dynamic Entertainment’s premier issue of their new Lone Ranger comic (“Hi-Yo Silver! Away!”) but high marks and honorable mention must go to a title that’s not getting much fan notice at all, the Beyond mini-series by the most excellent JLU writer, Dwayne McDuffie, who also wrote an outstanding Fantastic Four one-shot story about Reed and Doom several months ago.
The Lone Ranger #1
Dynamite Entertainment
Written by: Brett Matthews
Drawn by: Sergio Carriello
Art Direction and Cover Artist: John Cassaday
I’ll admit it, I’m a Lone Ranger fan. I loved the Clayton Moore/Jay Silverheels movies and TV series, I’ve got the Electric Tiki Lone Ranger statue proudly displayed in my collection as well as a framed Lone Ranger movie poster hanging in my office at work. So, suffice it to say, I was looking forward to this new series as soon as I read about it on newsarama.com. I’m not sure what John Cassaday’s “Art Director” role is on the book, other than providing a big comics name to boost sales. Both his covers for this issue are pretty cool, though…especially the blood soaked Ranger badge cover.
This issue takes us into the life of John Reid, son of a Texas Ranger. In the brutal west of 1869, his lawman father takes no pleasure in killing and wants John to grow up with values and morals. John’s older and larger brother, Dan, also a Ranger, teaches John that brothers don’t ever let each other fall. Even though John leaves Texas, presumably for an education on the east coast, his dream has always been to be a ranger with his father and brother. And it is the granting of that wish that begins the chain of events that, similar to other great heroes in comics, leads to enormous family tragedy and pain, and starts John down a path, possibly to justice but equally possibly to wreak vengeance on the evil Black Bart.
The Lone Ranger does not appear in this issue, though Tonto certainly does. And John Reid, whom we know will become the Lone Ranger, is surprisingly small and frail looking, at least compared to his older brother and father. In fact, he still appears to be very much a boy in this issue which only seems to increase his level of pain but left me wondering how this scrap of a man could become the greatest hero of the old west. There’s some nice flashback storytelling here as we relive parts of John’s youth. Carriello and colorist Dean White use the interesting techniques of both washing out the colors and mimicking photo creases on each panel to give the impression of the distant past. Matthews plot and script are serviceable enough, but this first chapter felt a little thin and left me wishing for a little more. Still, this issue was strong enough for me to come back for issue #2. I hope we’ll see the beginnings of Reid’s relationship with his American Indian companion as well as a compelling process toward which he dons his famous mask. We’ll see…
Detective Comics #823
DC Comics
Written by: Paul Dini
Drawn by: Joe Benitez
The most important outcome of Infinite Crisis, in my opinion, is the re-characterization of The Batman. Gone is that colossal, paranoid two dimensional jerk who emerged from Frank Miller’s work post-Crisis on Infinite Earths. Miller gave us a darker Dark Knight but the succession of writers who followed him both in Batman’s own titles and in JLA pretty much took Batman down a path from which, fortunately, he’s emerging. In Morrison’s Batman we return to the hero who values his family and relationships and whose Bruce Wayne is again a big part of Batman’s world. And in Paul Dini’s Detective Comics we get a more thoughtful, cerebral Batman, a detective again.
Paul Dini’s last two issues were tremendous self-contained story. But that really shouldn’t be a surprise. Being one of the creative geniuses on Batman The Animated Series which, for the most part, is four seasons of some of the best self-contained Batman stories in any medium, not to mention the self-contained tabloid size works on DC’s biggest icons he recently created with Alex Ross, we should expect no less. And, so far, he’s delivering in spades. Last issue’s teaming with “Face the Face” artist Don Kramer was a high point. Unfortunately, this collaboration with Joe Benitez is not nearly as strong, though clearly the writing outshines Benitez’s rather cartoony art style. Pamela Isley, locked away in Arkham, finds herself in an impossible position. A form of plant life is trying to kill her, she who’s always been the guardian and protector of all things flora. Of course, Batman and Robin get involved and, while Ivy’s safely ensconced in The Batcave, our dark knight detective does some investigating. What he turns up, kudos to Dini, is some pretty heinous and murderous activity on Ivy’s part that’s not only put her in this counterintuitive situation but even created a new, murderous life form. Clearly she’s not the innocent victim that she appears to be.
Overall, while Batman’s discovery truly is gruesome the story and, especially the art (I really liked Don Kramer’s art last issue), feel far more rushed than the prior two issues. I’ve enjoyed the more cerebral nature of these storylines and feel like Dini took a bit of a detour with this issue. Kind of a disappointment, overall, especially given the expectations the writer has created. I hope next issue, with The Penguin, gets back on track.
Beyond #3 of 6
Marvel Comics
Written by: Dwayne McDuffie
Drawn by: Scott Kollins
Remember in Secret Wars when the Beyonder’s high tech contraption appeared in Central Park and took the greatest of Marvel’s heroes of to Battleworld? Well, that same construct appeared in Central Park and transported Greg Willis, aka Gravity, to a starship where he met a rag-tag group of (for the most part) other B-level characters: Wasp, Henry Pym, Firebird, Kraven the Hunter II, The Hood, Medusa and Venom (the new Venom, the former Scorpion). Oh, and Spider-Man. But with the Beyonder’s promise to grant “all you desire” if the group killed their enemies, Venom drove his symbiot-formed tail through Spider-Man, shockingly killing him. Medusa proceeded to whip the tar out of Venom but all this led to the starship’s crashing on Battleworld where this very peculiar collection of characters encountered both Deathlock and Dragon Man, whose fiery breath blasted Hank’s previously shrunken Avengers quinjet out of the sky.
This issue kicks off with a bang as the downed party must subdue the uber-powerful Dragon Man. The action’s pretty fast paced and the interactions between the members is both colorful and intriguing. I especially liked Deathlock’s “medium well” response the the Wasp who asked if he was alright after having been on the fiery end of Dragon Man’s blasts. One mystery at the end of last issue was how the dead Spider-Man could get up and walk away. Kraven picks up Peter’s scent, and he’s joined by The Hood. Of course, all is not as it seems and we discover a creature who first debuted way back in Avengers #2 and has not been seen much of since that time. I may be in the minority but I’m really liking this mini-series. McDuffie, as always, delivers on the plot and especially the dialogue. Honestly, I can’t at all figure out what’s going on here and why this particular group has been assembled, but I’m having a good time reading through the confusion. I’m also a fan of Kollins’ art both from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Thor: Blood Oath. Like I said, I don’t really get what’s going on but I’m having a good time trying to get there. You guys who aren’t reading this should give it a spin and see if you aren’t intrigued enough to want to pick up issue #4.
Sam Wilson’s Reviews
A really small week this week, notable being Y The Last Man and Paul Dini on Detective Comics. My pick of the week this week is Garth Ennis’s The Punisher (go Garth), and let’s not forget to pick up the Gen 13 tpb from DC/Wildstorm, which recaps the team’s origin in preparation for the new book by Gail Simone and Talent Caldwell. Keeping it short and sweet this week, let’s get on to the reviews…
The Outsiders issue #40
DC Comics
Written by: Judd Winick
Drawn by: Matthew Clark
For those of you who haven’t been following “The Outsiders”, they have recently been through some tough times. On top of being fed all of their bad guy intel by Deathstroke disguised as Batman, one of their own members went crazy and tried to kill all of them and the Teen Titans (Indigo, the android from the future who turned out to be a Braniac). Nightwing quit the team in disgust, Starfire and Captain Marvel Jr. signed on and Jade and Arsenal blew up their old headquarters. Then there was “Infinite Crisis”, which split the team up as Donna Troy grabbed Starfire and a few others to go off and do some cosmic battling, and Nightwing stayed behind to lead the assault on the alternate Earth’s (Earth 3 I think, I don’t know, who can keep track?) Lex Luthor’s artic stronghold. Then “one year later” happened, and the team once again went through another major change.
This new, “one year later” team of Outsiders is supposed to be more proactive (kinda like they first set out to be). Only different this time, I guess. Anyway, they are going to get their hands more dirty and go after some big fish and actually try and do some good in the world dealing (yeah, okay, kinda repetitive, but not, be patient). Anyway Nightwing is back in charge; Grace, Thunder, Shift and Katanna (an original Outsider) are all back, and new to the team: Captain Boomerrang. Well, Captain Boomerrang’s son anyway, the new Captain Boomerrang, who we last saw in the pages of “Identity Crisis”. So this new team decides to set wrongs with a heavy hand, and presently they are mixing it up with Monsieur Mallah and the Brain. It turns out Mallah and the Brain have been collecting metahuman DNA for quite some time in an attempt to clone the perfect body for the Brain, but the Society of Supervillans has been using the clones as merc’s for sale (they don’t last long, there is some defect that causes the clones to break down in a short period of time). Currently Mallah and the Brain have all the members of the Outsiders except for Katanna and a tiny part of Metamorpho captured and awaiting DNA sampling for future cloning purposes. Well, it doesn’t happen and the wacky antics that ensue will most likely be over next issue, in the final chapter of this current storyline…
The Outsiders is a good team book. Not the greatest mind you, but it’s good. I like the characters (my favorite being Grace), and I like their mission, but sometimes I wonder if they are grown up Teen Titans or bad asses on the hunt, it seems like Winick is trying to play them off as both and it doesn’t work so well for me. Either way, the book is holding up for now, its definitely the best Nightwing book out there. There are several tpb’s collecting old storylines, and this issue might be confusing, but if you have the time or inclination I recommend this story only if you are a fan of the Wolfman/Perez Titan’s or a Nightwing fan in general.
The Punisher issue #37
Marvel Comics
Written by: Garth Ennis
Drawn by: Leo Fernandez
Cover by: Tim Bradstreet
My history with the Punisher is a long one, I remember waaaay back in the day when he first appeared during Frank Miller’s “Daredevil” run in the classic “Born Again” storyline, and also remember fondly some of the best Punisher stories ever told in the first 18 or so issues of Carl Potts and Jim Lee’s “Punisher War Journal”, but in the late ‘90’s Frank Castle drifting from popularity, a victim of his own hype we didn’t see to much of him, and the little we did see was a slap in the face to the great works that originally brought this character to prominence. Enter Garth Ennis and the Marvel Knights Punisher series (the 2nd one), and it’s eventual evolution into the current Marvel MAX series. This is the Punisher we’ve always wanted to see. Gritty, insane, violent, unstoppable. Garth has given the Punisher a new lease on life, and the unyielding saga of revenge continues with a new storyline starting in issue #37.
Remember General Nikoloai Alexandrovich Zakharov? Nick Fury sent Frank after him a few issues back and they two of them ended up playing a game of chicken with nuclear warheads over Moscow. Frank won, and General Zakharov hasn’t exactly forgotten. The General finds out through an American who was in on the Russian Operation that it was Frank who was on the ground, and goes through the steps to draw Castle out towards him. Meanwhile, Frank is back in NYC doing what he does best, offing criminals, and find out some Russians are interested in him. Oh yes, this is just the beginning, but I am very interested to see how the rest of this story pans out. Something tells me its going to be bloody.
It’s good to be back in the saddle after having to be traveling out of town last week. After a couple of expensive weeks, this week was extremely light. The Bowen Designs Classic Adam Warlock statue was on display at my lcs right next to the Bowen Thanos, and Hard Hero’s Thing statue had arrived as well. They all looked great! What I’m reviewing are all the comics I bought…though I also picked up the new trade paperback collection of the recently concluded outstanding post-Infinite Crisis Batman story arc, “Face the Face.” My pick of the week is Dynamic Entertainment’s premier issue of their new Lone Ranger comic (“Hi-Yo Silver! Away!”) but high marks and honorable mention must go to a title that’s not getting much fan notice at all, the Beyond mini-series by the most excellent JLU writer, Dwayne McDuffie, who also wrote an outstanding Fantastic Four one-shot story about Reed and Doom several months ago.
The Lone Ranger #1
Dynamite Entertainment
Written by: Brett Matthews
Drawn by: Sergio Carriello
Art Direction and Cover Artist: John Cassaday
I’ll admit it, I’m a Lone Ranger fan. I loved the Clayton Moore/Jay Silverheels movies and TV series, I’ve got the Electric Tiki Lone Ranger statue proudly displayed in my collection as well as a framed Lone Ranger movie poster hanging in my office at work. So, suffice it to say, I was looking forward to this new series as soon as I read about it on newsarama.com. I’m not sure what John Cassaday’s “Art Director” role is on the book, other than providing a big comics name to boost sales. Both his covers for this issue are pretty cool, though…especially the blood soaked Ranger badge cover.
This issue takes us into the life of John Reid, son of a Texas Ranger. In the brutal west of 1869, his lawman father takes no pleasure in killing and wants John to grow up with values and morals. John’s older and larger brother, Dan, also a Ranger, teaches John that brothers don’t ever let each other fall. Even though John leaves Texas, presumably for an education on the east coast, his dream has always been to be a ranger with his father and brother. And it is the granting of that wish that begins the chain of events that, similar to other great heroes in comics, leads to enormous family tragedy and pain, and starts John down a path, possibly to justice but equally possibly to wreak vengeance on the evil Black Bart.
The Lone Ranger does not appear in this issue, though Tonto certainly does. And John Reid, whom we know will become the Lone Ranger, is surprisingly small and frail looking, at least compared to his older brother and father. In fact, he still appears to be very much a boy in this issue which only seems to increase his level of pain but left me wondering how this scrap of a man could become the greatest hero of the old west. There’s some nice flashback storytelling here as we relive parts of John’s youth. Carriello and colorist Dean White use the interesting techniques of both washing out the colors and mimicking photo creases on each panel to give the impression of the distant past. Matthews plot and script are serviceable enough, but this first chapter felt a little thin and left me wishing for a little more. Still, this issue was strong enough for me to come back for issue #2. I hope we’ll see the beginnings of Reid’s relationship with his American Indian companion as well as a compelling process toward which he dons his famous mask. We’ll see…
Detective Comics #823
DC Comics
Written by: Paul Dini
Drawn by: Joe Benitez
The most important outcome of Infinite Crisis, in my opinion, is the re-characterization of The Batman. Gone is that colossal, paranoid two dimensional jerk who emerged from Frank Miller’s work post-Crisis on Infinite Earths. Miller gave us a darker Dark Knight but the succession of writers who followed him both in Batman’s own titles and in JLA pretty much took Batman down a path from which, fortunately, he’s emerging. In Morrison’s Batman we return to the hero who values his family and relationships and whose Bruce Wayne is again a big part of Batman’s world. And in Paul Dini’s Detective Comics we get a more thoughtful, cerebral Batman, a detective again.
Paul Dini’s last two issues were tremendous self-contained story. But that really shouldn’t be a surprise. Being one of the creative geniuses on Batman The Animated Series which, for the most part, is four seasons of some of the best self-contained Batman stories in any medium, not to mention the self-contained tabloid size works on DC’s biggest icons he recently created with Alex Ross, we should expect no less. And, so far, he’s delivering in spades. Last issue’s teaming with “Face the Face” artist Don Kramer was a high point. Unfortunately, this collaboration with Joe Benitez is not nearly as strong, though clearly the writing outshines Benitez’s rather cartoony art style. Pamela Isley, locked away in Arkham, finds herself in an impossible position. A form of plant life is trying to kill her, she who’s always been the guardian and protector of all things flora. Of course, Batman and Robin get involved and, while Ivy’s safely ensconced in The Batcave, our dark knight detective does some investigating. What he turns up, kudos to Dini, is some pretty heinous and murderous activity on Ivy’s part that’s not only put her in this counterintuitive situation but even created a new, murderous life form. Clearly she’s not the innocent victim that she appears to be.
Overall, while Batman’s discovery truly is gruesome the story and, especially the art (I really liked Don Kramer’s art last issue), feel far more rushed than the prior two issues. I’ve enjoyed the more cerebral nature of these storylines and feel like Dini took a bit of a detour with this issue. Kind of a disappointment, overall, especially given the expectations the writer has created. I hope next issue, with The Penguin, gets back on track.
Beyond #3 of 6
Marvel Comics
Written by: Dwayne McDuffie
Drawn by: Scott Kollins
Remember in Secret Wars when the Beyonder’s high tech contraption appeared in Central Park and took the greatest of Marvel’s heroes of to Battleworld? Well, that same construct appeared in Central Park and transported Greg Willis, aka Gravity, to a starship where he met a rag-tag group of (for the most part) other B-level characters: Wasp, Henry Pym, Firebird, Kraven the Hunter II, The Hood, Medusa and Venom (the new Venom, the former Scorpion). Oh, and Spider-Man. But with the Beyonder’s promise to grant “all you desire” if the group killed their enemies, Venom drove his symbiot-formed tail through Spider-Man, shockingly killing him. Medusa proceeded to whip the tar out of Venom but all this led to the starship’s crashing on Battleworld where this very peculiar collection of characters encountered both Deathlock and Dragon Man, whose fiery breath blasted Hank’s previously shrunken Avengers quinjet out of the sky.
This issue kicks off with a bang as the downed party must subdue the uber-powerful Dragon Man. The action’s pretty fast paced and the interactions between the members is both colorful and intriguing. I especially liked Deathlock’s “medium well” response the the Wasp who asked if he was alright after having been on the fiery end of Dragon Man’s blasts. One mystery at the end of last issue was how the dead Spider-Man could get up and walk away. Kraven picks up Peter’s scent, and he’s joined by The Hood. Of course, all is not as it seems and we discover a creature who first debuted way back in Avengers #2 and has not been seen much of since that time. I may be in the minority but I’m really liking this mini-series. McDuffie, as always, delivers on the plot and especially the dialogue. Honestly, I can’t at all figure out what’s going on here and why this particular group has been assembled, but I’m having a good time reading through the confusion. I’m also a fan of Kollins’ art both from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Thor: Blood Oath. Like I said, I don’t really get what’s going on but I’m having a good time trying to get there. You guys who aren’t reading this should give it a spin and see if you aren’t intrigued enough to want to pick up issue #4.
Sam Wilson’s Reviews
A really small week this week, notable being Y The Last Man and Paul Dini on Detective Comics. My pick of the week this week is Garth Ennis’s The Punisher (go Garth), and let’s not forget to pick up the Gen 13 tpb from DC/Wildstorm, which recaps the team’s origin in preparation for the new book by Gail Simone and Talent Caldwell. Keeping it short and sweet this week, let’s get on to the reviews…
The Outsiders issue #40
DC Comics
Written by: Judd Winick
Drawn by: Matthew Clark
For those of you who haven’t been following “The Outsiders”, they have recently been through some tough times. On top of being fed all of their bad guy intel by Deathstroke disguised as Batman, one of their own members went crazy and tried to kill all of them and the Teen Titans (Indigo, the android from the future who turned out to be a Braniac). Nightwing quit the team in disgust, Starfire and Captain Marvel Jr. signed on and Jade and Arsenal blew up their old headquarters. Then there was “Infinite Crisis”, which split the team up as Donna Troy grabbed Starfire and a few others to go off and do some cosmic battling, and Nightwing stayed behind to lead the assault on the alternate Earth’s (Earth 3 I think, I don’t know, who can keep track?) Lex Luthor’s artic stronghold. Then “one year later” happened, and the team once again went through another major change.
This new, “one year later” team of Outsiders is supposed to be more proactive (kinda like they first set out to be). Only different this time, I guess. Anyway, they are going to get their hands more dirty and go after some big fish and actually try and do some good in the world dealing (yeah, okay, kinda repetitive, but not, be patient). Anyway Nightwing is back in charge; Grace, Thunder, Shift and Katanna (an original Outsider) are all back, and new to the team: Captain Boomerrang. Well, Captain Boomerrang’s son anyway, the new Captain Boomerrang, who we last saw in the pages of “Identity Crisis”. So this new team decides to set wrongs with a heavy hand, and presently they are mixing it up with Monsieur Mallah and the Brain. It turns out Mallah and the Brain have been collecting metahuman DNA for quite some time in an attempt to clone the perfect body for the Brain, but the Society of Supervillans has been using the clones as merc’s for sale (they don’t last long, there is some defect that causes the clones to break down in a short period of time). Currently Mallah and the Brain have all the members of the Outsiders except for Katanna and a tiny part of Metamorpho captured and awaiting DNA sampling for future cloning purposes. Well, it doesn’t happen and the wacky antics that ensue will most likely be over next issue, in the final chapter of this current storyline…
The Outsiders is a good team book. Not the greatest mind you, but it’s good. I like the characters (my favorite being Grace), and I like their mission, but sometimes I wonder if they are grown up Teen Titans or bad asses on the hunt, it seems like Winick is trying to play them off as both and it doesn’t work so well for me. Either way, the book is holding up for now, its definitely the best Nightwing book out there. There are several tpb’s collecting old storylines, and this issue might be confusing, but if you have the time or inclination I recommend this story only if you are a fan of the Wolfman/Perez Titan’s or a Nightwing fan in general.
The Punisher issue #37
Marvel Comics
Written by: Garth Ennis
Drawn by: Leo Fernandez
Cover by: Tim Bradstreet
My history with the Punisher is a long one, I remember waaaay back in the day when he first appeared during Frank Miller’s “Daredevil” run in the classic “Born Again” storyline, and also remember fondly some of the best Punisher stories ever told in the first 18 or so issues of Carl Potts and Jim Lee’s “Punisher War Journal”, but in the late ‘90’s Frank Castle drifting from popularity, a victim of his own hype we didn’t see to much of him, and the little we did see was a slap in the face to the great works that originally brought this character to prominence. Enter Garth Ennis and the Marvel Knights Punisher series (the 2nd one), and it’s eventual evolution into the current Marvel MAX series. This is the Punisher we’ve always wanted to see. Gritty, insane, violent, unstoppable. Garth has given the Punisher a new lease on life, and the unyielding saga of revenge continues with a new storyline starting in issue #37.
Remember General Nikoloai Alexandrovich Zakharov? Nick Fury sent Frank after him a few issues back and they two of them ended up playing a game of chicken with nuclear warheads over Moscow. Frank won, and General Zakharov hasn’t exactly forgotten. The General finds out through an American who was in on the Russian Operation that it was Frank who was on the ground, and goes through the steps to draw Castle out towards him. Meanwhile, Frank is back in NYC doing what he does best, offing criminals, and find out some Russians are interested in him. Oh yes, this is just the beginning, but I am very interested to see how the rest of this story pans out. Something tells me its going to be bloody.