wktf
10-26-2006, 10:46 AM
Sam Wilson’s Reviews
Another week, more money spent and this week is a pretty good week to spend money. From DC we get another cathartic issue of Garth Ennis’s The Boys, Warren Ellis’s genius yet untimely Planetary and Wildstorm’s Deathblow relaunch. Marvel gives us new issues of Captain America, Black Panther, the brand new hottie version of Heroes For Hire, Ultimate Spider-Man and my pick of the week: New Avengers. All that being said, on to the reviews…
Deathblow #1
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Brian Azzarello
Drawn by: Carlos D ‘Anda
Deathblow, aka Michael Cray was one of the original members of Team 7, the black op military unit that formed the backbone of all that is the old Wildstorm Universe. Team Seven was originally made up of many of the major players of the old Wildstorm U (Backlash, Grifter, Jack Lynch, and Dane) and a few other men, all whose progeny became the kids known as “Gen 13”. Team 7 was made up of various special operations members of different branches of the armed forces, mainly to do dirty deeds but also to be guinea pigs for I/O, aka International Operations, the Black Ops of Black Ops. Unbeknownst to the team at the end of one of their missions they were exposed to the “gen factor”, which later gave them all super powers to a ridiculous degree. The members of Team 7 got really PO’d that they were used as lab rats, so they all went underground for a time, all of them except for Michael Cray who never developed any powers (initially anyway, he eventually developed powers). Michael, a former Navy SEAL, stayed with I/O and kicked ass for them for years without asking any questions. Then he suddenly developed a brain tumor and retired, but wanted to atone for all the sins he committed under the color or authority. It turned out his brain tumor was caused by his exposure to the gen factor, which also finally gave him a healing factor of sorts. Cray also found a new mission in life, to defeat an entity called the ‘Black Angel”, an entity bent on killing a young boy with strange powers. Cray fulfilled his new mission and eventually died in the Wildstorm crossover event “Fire From Heaven”. Recently in “Captain Atom: Armageddon” and “Worldstorm” Michael Cray was resurrected and is back to kick ass in the new Wildstorm Universe…
Let me start out by saying I’m not Brian Azzarello’s biggest fan. People laud him for his “realistic” dialogue, but being able to write Ebonics doesn’t make your writing realistic, it just means you watch MTV. Of course, Azzarello proves “he knows black people” by writing the one black character in “Deathblow” like he just stepped out of a Jay Z video. I really wouldn’t care if Azzarello didn’t do that with the majority of his black characters, but like in his Marvel MAX Cage series and “100 Bullets” Azzarello proves that his conception of black people doesn’t extend outside of MTV’s “Cribs”. That being said though, I like Deathblow (all stock dialogue aside). Michael Cray is supposed to be the baddest man on the planet, and in Deathblow issue one he is rescued from a Middle Eastern prison and brought to gitmo. Ivana Baiul everyone’s favorite sexy black ops mistress from I/O also makes her comeback as the same evil yet hot cyborg ***** everyone got to know and love from the old Wildstorm U. Anyway, Cray kills one of his captors and seriously messes up one of his rescuers on the way out, and the story didn’t suffer from the same Azzarello confusion that is inherently apparent in may of his books, so I’m in. For now. I guess, but for more words on “Deathblow”, check out my bro Kdawg’s opinion:
Planetary #26
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Warren Ellis
Drawn by: John Cassaday
Planetary has been around since 1999, but has come out so irregularly most people have forgotten about it. When it first hit the stands, I always said it was the best thing to hit the shelves in the last 10 years, and I still stand by that statement. Spinning out of Warren Ellis’s Sci-Fi heavy brain, the book “Planetary” is about four individuals who are archeologists charged (or have charged themselves, I don’t know) in tracking down the Earth’s secret history. Doc Savage, Chow Yun Fat, Tarzan, Godzilla, while not by name but in spirit Warren Ellis has had the members of Planetary track down each and every one of them and bring their stories to light (my favorite being issue three, the “Ghost Cop” story, an incredible homage to Chow Yun Fat/John Woo movies). The team consists of Elijah Snow, the 100 year old man with ties to “The Authorities” Jenny Sparks. Elijah is the secret founder of Planetary, and his power is “heat subtraction”, he is able to produce extreme cold all around him. It is said his power is limitless. Then there is Jakita Wagner, super strong, invulnerable and super fast. She is also ageless, and is the daughter of a man who more or less could be Tarzan. She was rescued from her birthplace in Africa by Elijah snow, and then raised by a German couple. The third and final member of Planetary is “the Drummer”, a young man who is insane, but a genius. “The Drummer” has a superhuman ability to relate to computer systems and has a physiological connection to surrounding information sources. The Drummer was rescued in his infancy by Jakita Wagner and has served the Planetary field team ever since. So what exactly is the team up to these days?
Issue 26 is the second to the last issue, and well, if you haven’t been reading the book you will have no idea what is going on, and since it has come out so sporadically, I really don’t know what is going on (Well I do, but vaguely). Either way it’s still awesome. Elijah saves the world and brokers the ultimate information deal, we don’t get to see much of Jakita (booo) but a lot of hard and fancy super-science is thrown at us and it’s really nifty. The entire series is collected in trades, hardcovers, and even an absolute edition, and if you wait a few more months I’m sure this final arc will be collected and you can read it as it should be read, as one story. So I bid farewell to Planetary (well, one more issue anyway), and I eagerly await the 2nd Absolute edition, which will probably be on my shelf sometime within the next two years (sigh)…
Heroes for Hire #3
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jimmi Palmiotti and Justin Grey
Drawn by: Bill Tucci (who is a total a-clown by the way)
First, I want to start this review by saying this is not the “Heroes for Hire” that we grew up with. There is no Luke Cage or Daniel Rand (Iron Fist), Danny won’t be getting in trouble for not picking up Luke’s ding dongs, there will be no trademark Jim Owsley snappy dialogue (aka Christopher Priest), quite possible “Heroes For Hire” may not even have as big of a heart as the series did back in the ‘80’s, but I’m gonna give it a chance. It still has Misty Knight and Colleen wing, the “Daughters of the Dragon”, who in their recent mini series “Daughters of the Dragon” showed us they are still a couple of bad ass foxy chicas who will put a mutherfu$#er down to pay the bills; and having Shang Chi, aka the Master of Kung Fu around doesn’t hurt either. Black Cat I could give a crap about, but whatever. What does bug me though is how this series is starting out smack in the middle of the Civil War, with the girls (and Shang Chi) being on the side of the “man”…
For those of you who read the “Daughter’s of the Dragon” limited series (now available in tpb form) Misty and Colleen own and operate a successful bail bonds office. With this new series they are being dragged into the Civil War by Iron Man, who wants to put a human face to his new Gov’t superhero squad. Misty and Colleen agree, but only if they hunt rogue super criminals, not heroes. Colleen wants no part of hunting heroes, or more importantly she does not want to get in the middle of a war she sees brewing. The new team is interesting; in addition to Shang Chi we have Humbug (a reformed villain with control over bugs, no really, he’s useful), a new female Tarantula who is somewhat of a mystery and a super bad backup squad featuring Paladin (remember him?) and Orca. Issue two deals with the aftermath of Civil War #4, and the death of a hero fighting on Cap’s side. Misty is ticked, and has it out with Stark, so she decides she is going to take things to Cap and see if she can get him to work things out peacefully. In the meantime, the team also stumbles upon a Skrull organ transplant operation (yes, Skrull). In issue three we find out Cap didn’t get taken out by Palladian (duh), and some Skrull organ transplants recipients pay off their debit by breaking Ricodonna out of prison. Yes, Ricodonna the music industry bigwig/crime lord the girls took out in the recent “Daughters of the Dragon” limited series. Word, the ladies now have their very own arch-enemy…
I tell you, this book is aiight. “Civil War” action, Luke Cage, Skrulls, and damn if it isn’t cool as hell. Yes, I’m not Bill Tucci’s biggest fan but he does an aiight job on this book and Palmoiotti and Grey are firing on all cylinders as far as the story goes. If you are a fan of Luke, Misty and “Hero’s for Hire” of any sort, check this book out.
Wktf’s Reviews
A moderately heavy comic’s week for me. I’m always happy when Captain America, Daredevil and The Black Panther (with Namor and Ororo, T’Challa decides on his Civil War stance) come out in the same week. To fill the Civil War void Marvel’s released Civil War: Choosing Sides (quick review, ugh, don’t bother…though the Ant-Man story is kind of fun). The much hyped Richard Donner’s teaming with Geoff Johns on Action Comics kicked off and we have yet another vampire comic book offering (following the recently completed Dracula vs. King Arthur, one week after Anita Blake premiered and a couple of months following the new Blade series) with Image Comics’ Impaler. Also the latest Stan Lee Meets book and a Sentry story in New Avengers. Reviews time!
Captain America #23
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Mike Perkins
This title, as of last month, has plunged head-long into Marvel’s Civil War plot and, though it appeared that Sharon/Agent 13 was conflicted between her belief in the rightness of the legislation and her love for Captain America, here we see a worried looking Sharon at the same time Bucky, the Winter Soldier, is breaking into a SHIELD facility. Why does she look worried? The location and logistics were provided to Bucky by Sharon, herself. Not only that, but Bucky is continuing his dialogue with the underground and AWOL Nick Fury, now a full body holograph projection, who’s enlisted Bucky to be his agent against the organization and government for which he’d previously bled (as he put it). This issue really is all about Bucky and Fury, and it’s great to hear so much from Fury again. Aside from some Civil War video clips Bucky observes while in the SHIELD stronghold, Captain America is nowhere to be found.
Bucky is as bad ass as ever, taking out a troop of “cape killers” and hot wiring SHIELD tech for some covert ops, Fury style. All the while though part of his focus is trained on Lukin, the man he owes big time, unbeknownst to him and Fury (well, if Fury knows he’s not letting on) that The Red Skull now resides in Lukin’s head. Both know, however, that Lukin is visiting one of the other most heinous Marvel villains at the Latverian embassy, a visit that promises to plague Captain America, over and above his Civil War problems, in the not-too-distant future.
Bru is the man and Mike Perkins, while aping Steve Epting’s art, provides some suitably dark and ominous visuals for this espionage-oriented tale. This issue is a little slower, a little more deliberate, a little more plot advancing and focused but, man, if it’s not yet another truly great installment in the best Captain America storytelling in decades. Once again, this title is my pick of the week.
Action Comics #844
DC Comics
Written by: Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Drawn by: Adam Kubert
This is the issue the internet’s been abuzz over for the past several months. Richard Donner, the famous director of Superman: The Movie and Superman II, is co-writing Action with his one time apprentice Geoff Johns. And Adam Kubert’s powerful preliminary pencils have only augmented the anticipation. So, how does it stack up?
Comics have seen a lot of important kids surfacing lately. In the last year we’ve seen Jason Todd, Supergirl, and (who’d have believed it?) Bucky. Now we have an appearance of someone who threatens to challenge Kal-El’s claim to being the last son of Krypton. The issue starts with a very Superman: The Movie or even Smallville feel to it where Superman inserts a crystal into a control panel in his Fortress of Solitude to speak with Jor-El. Has Superman ever communicated with Jor-El in the comics as he did in the Chris Reeve movies? It struck me as a bit strange. Then Kubert threw in a little Superman Returns design element in by making Superman’s belt buckle a miniature S-shield. An unnecessary and, frankly, nonsensical change if you ask me. Shortly thereafter we find a slovenly Clark Kent, as though lifted from Moorison and Quitely’s All-Star Superman, witnessing Jimmy’s getting chewed out by a cigar chomping Perry White, which feels a bit retro. But then a strange capsule threatens to crash into the streets of Metropolis forcing the Man of Steel to fly into action (pun intended).
This new strange visitor’s arrival, of course, has captured the attention of the media, the government (the same Agent Steel recently seen in Wonder Woman appears here) and, of course, our resident bald evil doer. Superman quickly develops strong feelings for this lost child and becomes fiercely protective of him. In fact, the most dramatic sequence in this issue is the nose-to-nose confrontation Steel experiences with an intensely enraged government property smashing Superman over this child. Kubert’s art is extremely powerful and expressive, if not also a bit sketchy and surprisingly unfinished in its look. Still, there’s no mistaking that Superman is a take-no-prisoners powerhouse when he’s riled. I’m not sure he’s ever come off as explosively powerful as he does here in just a few panels.
Donner and Johns seem to be trying to capture some of the vintage feel to Superman’s mythology while being true to recent continuity as well which, all in, makes for a fun and really engaging read. Despite the reticence I bring up in my second paragraph, all in all, this is a promising start that most definitely has my interest for now. And despite, and maybe even because of, the roughness and raw, unfinished quality of Kubert’s pencils this book is visually as dynamic as you can get. Explosive, even, to use that word yet again. Though I feel like we’ve kind of seen this older brother version of Superman back in the “Supergirl From Krypton” story from Superman/Batman already, the overall mix of characterization, plotting and story elements coupled with Adam Kubert’s powerful pencils have me hooked for now and hoping we’ll be moving into even newer territory with the next issue.
Daredevil #90
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Michael Lark
“The Devil Takes A Ride” arc moves into the second of its five parts. With Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist, posing as Daredevil in the states, Matt Murdock jets to Italy in search of the man who ordered Foggy’s death. Matt doesn’t know that Foggy’s alive and he’s out for vengeance, or is it justice? Matt’s drive and anger blur these two to where the reader can’t be sure. Last issue threw him a major curve ball, though, where a woman named Lily whom he was trying to save from The Matador gave off the same scent as the long-dead Karen Page. This woman has become Matt’s newest obsession and has even permeated his dreams. Of course, the fact that he’s still married to Mila Donovan makes those dreams even more complicated.
But now, in this issue, Matt has another problem. Tombstone, the albino killer with sharpened teeth, super strength and skin like concrete, puts himself between Daredevil and the victim he’s trying to save. Matt wasn’t expecting or ready for a powerhouse like Tombstone and he pays the price for it. What he doesn’t know is that all is not as it seems, and I’m not just talking about the fact that Foggy’s alive. Murdock’s now arrived in Paris and appears to be willfully and eagerly walking into a carefully orchestrated trap with this mysterious woman at the center in ways no one could have expected.
While not the intense and explosive “Devil in Cell Block D” prior arc, this story line offers up plenty of action and a snaking plot line that’s got Matt running hard, seemingly, into a brick wall. How he comes through this one, based on the events in this issue, is what ultimately determines whether Bru and Lark’s second Daredevil arc can keep the same pace as Bru’s Captain America. So far, it’s doing just that.
Stan Lee Meets The Thing #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, John Ryan
Drawn by: Lee Weeks, Scott Kollins, John Ryan, Jack Kirby
Celebrating Stan’s 65 years with Marvel Comics Marvel cooked up this series, the first installment of which was with Spider-Man and the second with Dr. Strange. Now we, along with Stan, meet Stan and Jack’s favorite Marvel creation: The Thing. Like the other issues in this series there’s a short story by Stan, another original story about Stan by another creative team, a humorous two page cartoon by another creator and a Stan-picked reprinted tale about the main Marvel character from Marvel’s halcyon days of yore (sorry, took that from an old Thor story).
Stan’s original tale is harmless enough, but maybe too harmless. Frankly, Lee Week’s fantastic art is leaps and bounds better than this story that has Stan bicycling through lower Manhattan only to nearly run right into Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew on none other than Yancy Street. Week’s Thing is perfectly drawn, with awesome detail and making Ben suitably massive, especially when juxtaposed with Stan. We witness various feats of prodigious strength from ol’ Benjy, like stopping a speeding truck with one arm and swatting a getaway car with a lamp post (similar to how Hercules dispatched a getaway car back in the early days of Thor). When Stan offers to make Ben normal, though, he reacts with uncharacteristic brutality and indifference. You can tell it’s been a while since Stan’s scripted Ben’s lines, though it’s clever that the image on his shirt switches from Spidey to The Hulk when he gets a can of green paint spilled on him.
Rascally Roy Thomas’ story, nicely illustrated by Scott Kollins, is a well researched and respectfully rendered tribute to his former boss. Telling a “lost” tale of Stan when he was in the Army you get the real sense that Roy feels he owes a lot to Stan and wants to make sure, with Kollins’ help, he does this story right. He makes Stan out to be a real goof ball, for sure, but the ending is actually very touching and borderline reverent. The reprint of Fantastic Four #79, from 1968, is titled “This Monster Forever?” I actually was pleasantly surprised they did NOT reprint the more famous “This Man, This Monster!” story. In the tale they chose, having become Ben Grimm, Ben must take desperate measures to protect Alicia from certain death, even if it means becoming The Thing again forever.
Well, so far the best Stan-scripted original story is with Spider-Man, but the Weeks art in this issue make “Stan Lee Meets The Thing” worth the purchase. The Roy Thomas story and, of course, the fantastic reprint issue, make for icing on the cake.
Another week, more money spent and this week is a pretty good week to spend money. From DC we get another cathartic issue of Garth Ennis’s The Boys, Warren Ellis’s genius yet untimely Planetary and Wildstorm’s Deathblow relaunch. Marvel gives us new issues of Captain America, Black Panther, the brand new hottie version of Heroes For Hire, Ultimate Spider-Man and my pick of the week: New Avengers. All that being said, on to the reviews…
Deathblow #1
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Brian Azzarello
Drawn by: Carlos D ‘Anda
Deathblow, aka Michael Cray was one of the original members of Team 7, the black op military unit that formed the backbone of all that is the old Wildstorm Universe. Team Seven was originally made up of many of the major players of the old Wildstorm U (Backlash, Grifter, Jack Lynch, and Dane) and a few other men, all whose progeny became the kids known as “Gen 13”. Team 7 was made up of various special operations members of different branches of the armed forces, mainly to do dirty deeds but also to be guinea pigs for I/O, aka International Operations, the Black Ops of Black Ops. Unbeknownst to the team at the end of one of their missions they were exposed to the “gen factor”, which later gave them all super powers to a ridiculous degree. The members of Team 7 got really PO’d that they were used as lab rats, so they all went underground for a time, all of them except for Michael Cray who never developed any powers (initially anyway, he eventually developed powers). Michael, a former Navy SEAL, stayed with I/O and kicked ass for them for years without asking any questions. Then he suddenly developed a brain tumor and retired, but wanted to atone for all the sins he committed under the color or authority. It turned out his brain tumor was caused by his exposure to the gen factor, which also finally gave him a healing factor of sorts. Cray also found a new mission in life, to defeat an entity called the ‘Black Angel”, an entity bent on killing a young boy with strange powers. Cray fulfilled his new mission and eventually died in the Wildstorm crossover event “Fire From Heaven”. Recently in “Captain Atom: Armageddon” and “Worldstorm” Michael Cray was resurrected and is back to kick ass in the new Wildstorm Universe…
Let me start out by saying I’m not Brian Azzarello’s biggest fan. People laud him for his “realistic” dialogue, but being able to write Ebonics doesn’t make your writing realistic, it just means you watch MTV. Of course, Azzarello proves “he knows black people” by writing the one black character in “Deathblow” like he just stepped out of a Jay Z video. I really wouldn’t care if Azzarello didn’t do that with the majority of his black characters, but like in his Marvel MAX Cage series and “100 Bullets” Azzarello proves that his conception of black people doesn’t extend outside of MTV’s “Cribs”. That being said though, I like Deathblow (all stock dialogue aside). Michael Cray is supposed to be the baddest man on the planet, and in Deathblow issue one he is rescued from a Middle Eastern prison and brought to gitmo. Ivana Baiul everyone’s favorite sexy black ops mistress from I/O also makes her comeback as the same evil yet hot cyborg ***** everyone got to know and love from the old Wildstorm U. Anyway, Cray kills one of his captors and seriously messes up one of his rescuers on the way out, and the story didn’t suffer from the same Azzarello confusion that is inherently apparent in may of his books, so I’m in. For now. I guess, but for more words on “Deathblow”, check out my bro Kdawg’s opinion:
Planetary #26
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Warren Ellis
Drawn by: John Cassaday
Planetary has been around since 1999, but has come out so irregularly most people have forgotten about it. When it first hit the stands, I always said it was the best thing to hit the shelves in the last 10 years, and I still stand by that statement. Spinning out of Warren Ellis’s Sci-Fi heavy brain, the book “Planetary” is about four individuals who are archeologists charged (or have charged themselves, I don’t know) in tracking down the Earth’s secret history. Doc Savage, Chow Yun Fat, Tarzan, Godzilla, while not by name but in spirit Warren Ellis has had the members of Planetary track down each and every one of them and bring their stories to light (my favorite being issue three, the “Ghost Cop” story, an incredible homage to Chow Yun Fat/John Woo movies). The team consists of Elijah Snow, the 100 year old man with ties to “The Authorities” Jenny Sparks. Elijah is the secret founder of Planetary, and his power is “heat subtraction”, he is able to produce extreme cold all around him. It is said his power is limitless. Then there is Jakita Wagner, super strong, invulnerable and super fast. She is also ageless, and is the daughter of a man who more or less could be Tarzan. She was rescued from her birthplace in Africa by Elijah snow, and then raised by a German couple. The third and final member of Planetary is “the Drummer”, a young man who is insane, but a genius. “The Drummer” has a superhuman ability to relate to computer systems and has a physiological connection to surrounding information sources. The Drummer was rescued in his infancy by Jakita Wagner and has served the Planetary field team ever since. So what exactly is the team up to these days?
Issue 26 is the second to the last issue, and well, if you haven’t been reading the book you will have no idea what is going on, and since it has come out so sporadically, I really don’t know what is going on (Well I do, but vaguely). Either way it’s still awesome. Elijah saves the world and brokers the ultimate information deal, we don’t get to see much of Jakita (booo) but a lot of hard and fancy super-science is thrown at us and it’s really nifty. The entire series is collected in trades, hardcovers, and even an absolute edition, and if you wait a few more months I’m sure this final arc will be collected and you can read it as it should be read, as one story. So I bid farewell to Planetary (well, one more issue anyway), and I eagerly await the 2nd Absolute edition, which will probably be on my shelf sometime within the next two years (sigh)…
Heroes for Hire #3
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jimmi Palmiotti and Justin Grey
Drawn by: Bill Tucci (who is a total a-clown by the way)
First, I want to start this review by saying this is not the “Heroes for Hire” that we grew up with. There is no Luke Cage or Daniel Rand (Iron Fist), Danny won’t be getting in trouble for not picking up Luke’s ding dongs, there will be no trademark Jim Owsley snappy dialogue (aka Christopher Priest), quite possible “Heroes For Hire” may not even have as big of a heart as the series did back in the ‘80’s, but I’m gonna give it a chance. It still has Misty Knight and Colleen wing, the “Daughters of the Dragon”, who in their recent mini series “Daughters of the Dragon” showed us they are still a couple of bad ass foxy chicas who will put a mutherfu$#er down to pay the bills; and having Shang Chi, aka the Master of Kung Fu around doesn’t hurt either. Black Cat I could give a crap about, but whatever. What does bug me though is how this series is starting out smack in the middle of the Civil War, with the girls (and Shang Chi) being on the side of the “man”…
For those of you who read the “Daughter’s of the Dragon” limited series (now available in tpb form) Misty and Colleen own and operate a successful bail bonds office. With this new series they are being dragged into the Civil War by Iron Man, who wants to put a human face to his new Gov’t superhero squad. Misty and Colleen agree, but only if they hunt rogue super criminals, not heroes. Colleen wants no part of hunting heroes, or more importantly she does not want to get in the middle of a war she sees brewing. The new team is interesting; in addition to Shang Chi we have Humbug (a reformed villain with control over bugs, no really, he’s useful), a new female Tarantula who is somewhat of a mystery and a super bad backup squad featuring Paladin (remember him?) and Orca. Issue two deals with the aftermath of Civil War #4, and the death of a hero fighting on Cap’s side. Misty is ticked, and has it out with Stark, so she decides she is going to take things to Cap and see if she can get him to work things out peacefully. In the meantime, the team also stumbles upon a Skrull organ transplant operation (yes, Skrull). In issue three we find out Cap didn’t get taken out by Palladian (duh), and some Skrull organ transplants recipients pay off their debit by breaking Ricodonna out of prison. Yes, Ricodonna the music industry bigwig/crime lord the girls took out in the recent “Daughters of the Dragon” limited series. Word, the ladies now have their very own arch-enemy…
I tell you, this book is aiight. “Civil War” action, Luke Cage, Skrulls, and damn if it isn’t cool as hell. Yes, I’m not Bill Tucci’s biggest fan but he does an aiight job on this book and Palmoiotti and Grey are firing on all cylinders as far as the story goes. If you are a fan of Luke, Misty and “Hero’s for Hire” of any sort, check this book out.
Wktf’s Reviews
A moderately heavy comic’s week for me. I’m always happy when Captain America, Daredevil and The Black Panther (with Namor and Ororo, T’Challa decides on his Civil War stance) come out in the same week. To fill the Civil War void Marvel’s released Civil War: Choosing Sides (quick review, ugh, don’t bother…though the Ant-Man story is kind of fun). The much hyped Richard Donner’s teaming with Geoff Johns on Action Comics kicked off and we have yet another vampire comic book offering (following the recently completed Dracula vs. King Arthur, one week after Anita Blake premiered and a couple of months following the new Blade series) with Image Comics’ Impaler. Also the latest Stan Lee Meets book and a Sentry story in New Avengers. Reviews time!
Captain America #23
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Mike Perkins
This title, as of last month, has plunged head-long into Marvel’s Civil War plot and, though it appeared that Sharon/Agent 13 was conflicted between her belief in the rightness of the legislation and her love for Captain America, here we see a worried looking Sharon at the same time Bucky, the Winter Soldier, is breaking into a SHIELD facility. Why does she look worried? The location and logistics were provided to Bucky by Sharon, herself. Not only that, but Bucky is continuing his dialogue with the underground and AWOL Nick Fury, now a full body holograph projection, who’s enlisted Bucky to be his agent against the organization and government for which he’d previously bled (as he put it). This issue really is all about Bucky and Fury, and it’s great to hear so much from Fury again. Aside from some Civil War video clips Bucky observes while in the SHIELD stronghold, Captain America is nowhere to be found.
Bucky is as bad ass as ever, taking out a troop of “cape killers” and hot wiring SHIELD tech for some covert ops, Fury style. All the while though part of his focus is trained on Lukin, the man he owes big time, unbeknownst to him and Fury (well, if Fury knows he’s not letting on) that The Red Skull now resides in Lukin’s head. Both know, however, that Lukin is visiting one of the other most heinous Marvel villains at the Latverian embassy, a visit that promises to plague Captain America, over and above his Civil War problems, in the not-too-distant future.
Bru is the man and Mike Perkins, while aping Steve Epting’s art, provides some suitably dark and ominous visuals for this espionage-oriented tale. This issue is a little slower, a little more deliberate, a little more plot advancing and focused but, man, if it’s not yet another truly great installment in the best Captain America storytelling in decades. Once again, this title is my pick of the week.
Action Comics #844
DC Comics
Written by: Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Drawn by: Adam Kubert
This is the issue the internet’s been abuzz over for the past several months. Richard Donner, the famous director of Superman: The Movie and Superman II, is co-writing Action with his one time apprentice Geoff Johns. And Adam Kubert’s powerful preliminary pencils have only augmented the anticipation. So, how does it stack up?
Comics have seen a lot of important kids surfacing lately. In the last year we’ve seen Jason Todd, Supergirl, and (who’d have believed it?) Bucky. Now we have an appearance of someone who threatens to challenge Kal-El’s claim to being the last son of Krypton. The issue starts with a very Superman: The Movie or even Smallville feel to it where Superman inserts a crystal into a control panel in his Fortress of Solitude to speak with Jor-El. Has Superman ever communicated with Jor-El in the comics as he did in the Chris Reeve movies? It struck me as a bit strange. Then Kubert threw in a little Superman Returns design element in by making Superman’s belt buckle a miniature S-shield. An unnecessary and, frankly, nonsensical change if you ask me. Shortly thereafter we find a slovenly Clark Kent, as though lifted from Moorison and Quitely’s All-Star Superman, witnessing Jimmy’s getting chewed out by a cigar chomping Perry White, which feels a bit retro. But then a strange capsule threatens to crash into the streets of Metropolis forcing the Man of Steel to fly into action (pun intended).
This new strange visitor’s arrival, of course, has captured the attention of the media, the government (the same Agent Steel recently seen in Wonder Woman appears here) and, of course, our resident bald evil doer. Superman quickly develops strong feelings for this lost child and becomes fiercely protective of him. In fact, the most dramatic sequence in this issue is the nose-to-nose confrontation Steel experiences with an intensely enraged government property smashing Superman over this child. Kubert’s art is extremely powerful and expressive, if not also a bit sketchy and surprisingly unfinished in its look. Still, there’s no mistaking that Superman is a take-no-prisoners powerhouse when he’s riled. I’m not sure he’s ever come off as explosively powerful as he does here in just a few panels.
Donner and Johns seem to be trying to capture some of the vintage feel to Superman’s mythology while being true to recent continuity as well which, all in, makes for a fun and really engaging read. Despite the reticence I bring up in my second paragraph, all in all, this is a promising start that most definitely has my interest for now. And despite, and maybe even because of, the roughness and raw, unfinished quality of Kubert’s pencils this book is visually as dynamic as you can get. Explosive, even, to use that word yet again. Though I feel like we’ve kind of seen this older brother version of Superman back in the “Supergirl From Krypton” story from Superman/Batman already, the overall mix of characterization, plotting and story elements coupled with Adam Kubert’s powerful pencils have me hooked for now and hoping we’ll be moving into even newer territory with the next issue.
Daredevil #90
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Michael Lark
“The Devil Takes A Ride” arc moves into the second of its five parts. With Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist, posing as Daredevil in the states, Matt Murdock jets to Italy in search of the man who ordered Foggy’s death. Matt doesn’t know that Foggy’s alive and he’s out for vengeance, or is it justice? Matt’s drive and anger blur these two to where the reader can’t be sure. Last issue threw him a major curve ball, though, where a woman named Lily whom he was trying to save from The Matador gave off the same scent as the long-dead Karen Page. This woman has become Matt’s newest obsession and has even permeated his dreams. Of course, the fact that he’s still married to Mila Donovan makes those dreams even more complicated.
But now, in this issue, Matt has another problem. Tombstone, the albino killer with sharpened teeth, super strength and skin like concrete, puts himself between Daredevil and the victim he’s trying to save. Matt wasn’t expecting or ready for a powerhouse like Tombstone and he pays the price for it. What he doesn’t know is that all is not as it seems, and I’m not just talking about the fact that Foggy’s alive. Murdock’s now arrived in Paris and appears to be willfully and eagerly walking into a carefully orchestrated trap with this mysterious woman at the center in ways no one could have expected.
While not the intense and explosive “Devil in Cell Block D” prior arc, this story line offers up plenty of action and a snaking plot line that’s got Matt running hard, seemingly, into a brick wall. How he comes through this one, based on the events in this issue, is what ultimately determines whether Bru and Lark’s second Daredevil arc can keep the same pace as Bru’s Captain America. So far, it’s doing just that.
Stan Lee Meets The Thing #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, John Ryan
Drawn by: Lee Weeks, Scott Kollins, John Ryan, Jack Kirby
Celebrating Stan’s 65 years with Marvel Comics Marvel cooked up this series, the first installment of which was with Spider-Man and the second with Dr. Strange. Now we, along with Stan, meet Stan and Jack’s favorite Marvel creation: The Thing. Like the other issues in this series there’s a short story by Stan, another original story about Stan by another creative team, a humorous two page cartoon by another creator and a Stan-picked reprinted tale about the main Marvel character from Marvel’s halcyon days of yore (sorry, took that from an old Thor story).
Stan’s original tale is harmless enough, but maybe too harmless. Frankly, Lee Week’s fantastic art is leaps and bounds better than this story that has Stan bicycling through lower Manhattan only to nearly run right into Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew on none other than Yancy Street. Week’s Thing is perfectly drawn, with awesome detail and making Ben suitably massive, especially when juxtaposed with Stan. We witness various feats of prodigious strength from ol’ Benjy, like stopping a speeding truck with one arm and swatting a getaway car with a lamp post (similar to how Hercules dispatched a getaway car back in the early days of Thor). When Stan offers to make Ben normal, though, he reacts with uncharacteristic brutality and indifference. You can tell it’s been a while since Stan’s scripted Ben’s lines, though it’s clever that the image on his shirt switches from Spidey to The Hulk when he gets a can of green paint spilled on him.
Rascally Roy Thomas’ story, nicely illustrated by Scott Kollins, is a well researched and respectfully rendered tribute to his former boss. Telling a “lost” tale of Stan when he was in the Army you get the real sense that Roy feels he owes a lot to Stan and wants to make sure, with Kollins’ help, he does this story right. He makes Stan out to be a real goof ball, for sure, but the ending is actually very touching and borderline reverent. The reprint of Fantastic Four #79, from 1968, is titled “This Monster Forever?” I actually was pleasantly surprised they did NOT reprint the more famous “This Man, This Monster!” story. In the tale they chose, having become Ben Grimm, Ben must take desperate measures to protect Alicia from certain death, even if it means becoming The Thing again forever.
Well, so far the best Stan-scripted original story is with Spider-Man, but the Weeks art in this issue make “Stan Lee Meets The Thing” worth the purchase. The Roy Thomas story and, of course, the fantastic reprint issue, make for icing on the cake.