wktf
04-09-2009, 12:23 PM
Wktf’s Reviews
Still waiting on the next issues of Thor and Lone Ranger. Wonder what’s happened to these books? In the mean time, though, plenty of reading to keep my busy. Ugh…I type these reviews late at night after the kids are doing their own thing and my wife continues to try to have multiple conversations with me as I’m typing. I’m trying to concentrate, promise. What I do for these reviews…
Anyway, have you read Jason Aaron and Ron Garney’s Wolverine: Weapon X? Seriously, what a fantastic start to a new book. Makes every other Wolverine book irrelevant. My co-pick of the week!
Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2 (of 3)
DC Comics
Written by: Tony Daniel
Drawn by: Tony Daniel
Cover by: Tony Daniel
Last issue we saw Gotham in flames, the destruction of Arkham Asylum and the Black Mask’s freeing dozens of Gotham City's most lethal villains while also getting blame for the chaos in Gotham blamed on both Two-Face and The Penguin. With the reports of Batman’s death, the criminal element now is rioting in the streets and overturning their city. The police have absolutely no clue what to do, lacking the resources and the will (well, with the exception of Gordon) to confront anything on this scale. In the mean time, The Black Mask has organized some of Gotham’s biggest psychopaths (no, The Joker is not among them) to take on the police and the local heroes…namely Nightwing, Robin and their various allies. And with all this going on and with Dick Grayson’s feeling at his lowest over the loss of his mentor, his ambivalence over taking up Bruce’s cowl, and his sense of personal responsibility about the state of his city, not one but two new Batmen have surfaced and entered the fray.
The first, more brutal of the two Batmen I was able to call right away and this issue confirms I was right. The clues made his identity fairly obvious though the threat he represents to all, including Gothams’ heroes, couldn’t be greater. But the identity of the second wasn’t clear to me until this issue where a friendly exchange with Selina spell it out pretty clearly. I’ll say one thing for Daniel’s work these last two issues, the action is frenetic and the mood simply couldn’t be more desperate. This issue the casualties begin to rack up in a major way as this pretender to the cowl begins to eliminate his competition. Dick has got to get his head out of his funk or this conflict, whether with this new Batman or The Black Mask, will be over before he knows it.
There’s some really great interplay going on here. Black Mask is playing Two-Face, The Penguin and even Gordon perfectly. I’ve always considered The Penguin a bit of a dolt, not a villain to be taken seriously. Again, plenty of credit goes to Tony Daniel for giving us a Penguin, like he did with The Joker in RIP, who looks almost supernaturally menacing. Daniel’s got a hell of a lot of story and characters, as it turns out, to cram into just three issues. But with two down he’s given his readers a far more exciting and genuinely desperate comic book story than anything anyone this side of Paul Dini’s been able to do in years. With all the great work, both on the art and writing side, Daniel’s demonstrated to DC Comics it just baffles me that they won’t keep him as permanent writer and artist for a core Batman book. I’m far more interested in what happens next issue than I am in anything I’ve heard about the future direction of the Batman titles.
Captain Britain and MI13 #12
Marvel Comics
Written by: Paul Cornell
Drawn by: Leonard Kirk
Cover by: Stuart Immonen
Not only has Cornell put Blade in this book. Not only were we readers treated to a Gene Colan style rendition of Count Dracula last issue during a conference of the MI13. In this issue we also are reunited, if only in spirit and with his bodily remains, with none other than Quincy Harker, the leader of the band of fearless vampire hunters in the absolutely stunning Tomb of Dracula series of the 1970s. I’m getting a little ahead of myself but it’s just so great to see a writer who respects the source material from which his current storyline comes. Cornell is one of those writers as is Van Lente in Marvel Zombies 4, but I’ll get to that in the next review.
See, in issue 3 of Captain Britain and the MI13, Pete Wisdom, leader of the MI13, let loose hordes of Magical villains to help his time fight off the Skrulls and drive them from Britain. The problem is, his evil cohorts are still around and appear to have sworn allegiance to potentially the most powerful force of supernatural evil in the Marvel Universe, Dracula himself. And the Vampire Lord has made it his mission, following a totally intense meeting and treaty on the moon with Doctor Doom, to capture Britain to be the new home of his landless vampire nation. As of last issue, and continuing with this one, Dracula has put his 500 years of field battle savvy to work against his enemies and picked them apart like shooting fish in a barrel.
There’s a lot to love about this story arc. The return of Dracula and Blade to some prominence in the Marvel Universe certainly is one of them, as well as the plot elements going all the way back to Quincy’s final showdown with Dracula in Tomb of Dracula’s final issue #70. The relationship between Spitfire, a member of the WWII Invaders team but now a vampire, and Blade the Vampire Slayer certainly has its tense moments. Spitfire’s being reunited with her son, the new Baron Blood, but only because Dracula has complete control of her, him and every vampire on Earth. With no will of her own, Spitfire cannot help but join the enemy. And as for Dracula’s most serious enemy, Blade, he’s figured out how to make Blade lead him to his largest obstacle in his quest for Britain. And unwittingly, Blade has played right into The Vampire Lord’s hands. I have only started reading this series with the beginning of this arc. But I most definitely will be picking up the trades, the second of which hasn’t yet been published, ASAP. Prior to now, I’d never heard of Cornell and Kirk but this writer/artist duo have combined for a chilling, terrifying and desperate read with some absolutely stunning art to go with it. Highly, highly recommended.
Marvel Zombies 4 #1 (of 4)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Fred Van Lente
Drawn by: Kev Walker
Cover by: Greg Land
Variant cover by: Arthur Suydam
Okay, I find myself in kind of a weird position here. I read the first Marvel Zombies book when it came out and found the story poorly constructed and written and the art just awful. Plus, the fact it took place in an alternate universe of sorts made the whole thing seem irrelevant. I didn’t bother reading past the first issue and didn’t even give series #2 a shake. But then Marvel Zombies 3 was solicited with the Zombies coming to our Earth, via a dimensional portal in Man-Thing’s everglade swamp, and facing our heroes (or, at least, Machine Man, Jocasta and Morbius The Living Vampire). Plus it was going to be written by Fred Van Lente who’s work on Incredible Hercules made me think this was at least worth checking out. And, gotta say, it was a fun read. But now in Marvel Zombies 4 the zombies are loose beyond Florida and Morbius has decided that it takes a monster to catch a monster. And, so, he’s organized a new band of Midnight Sons to hunt and destroy these zombies. Specifically, Morbius The Living Vampire is joining forces with Werewolf by Night, Son of Satan, and the witch Jenifer Kale. The Man-Thing makes an appearance on Greg Land’s cover but isn’t found in this book, and while Simon Garth is found in this book his role seems to be tied to a different but related plot development.
The Midnight Sons first appears in 1992’s Ghost Rider #28 and consisted of Blade, Frank Drake (Dracula’s descendant), Hannibal King (vampire detective from Tomb of Dracula, Morbius, Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) and Doctor Strange. This is a very different, though no less impressive, band of supernatural adventurers. While this new group certainly has their hands full trying to prevent the pending zombie apocalypse, Garth has brought the talking head of the Zombie Dimension’s Deadpool to his master, The Black Talon. Kudos to Van Lente for keeping a Dan Slott-like appreciation for Marvel history and bringing back this enigmatic villain whom I first encountered in Avengers #152, way back in 1976k when Wonder Man was supposedly resurrected from the dead. And Black Talon has, who’s plenty happy with his wealthy life has decided to make contact with a member of Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign Cabal to strike a deal that could render futile the desperate work of The Midnight Sons.
So, okay, this series now is extremely relevant. Not only has it come to the Marvel Universe but, with this issue, has tied right into Marvel Continuity. Add to this that this book is one big, glorious Marvel monster fest (well, minus some big names like Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and others), Van Lente’s script already is spinning into what promises to be a tightly knitted and wildly intense story rendered with dark but stunning and gory effect by Kev Walker and, well, you’ve got a mini-series cranking on all cylinders. I have absolutely no desire to pick up the trades of volumes 1 & 2 and while I liked volume 3 it wasn’t enough to grab the HC that came out this week. This volume, though, may well be a different story and I most certainly am on board for what looks like a wild roller coaster of a ride. Shocked as I am to say this, this book is my co-pick of the week, along with Aaron and Garney’s Wolverine: Weapon X #1.
Dawg’s Reviews
Green Lantern #39
DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns
Drawn by: Philip Tan
I think it is safe to assume at this point that most folks know about how excellent this title has been lately. If you don’t know it yet, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you with the utmost respect, that I think you’ve been living a sheltered life. Green Lantern in my opinion is the best book that DC puts out monthly. Geoff Johns has a pen of gold and if I were DC I would sign him for life.
It’s pretty amazing that every issue of this series can be considered as build up to the crescendo of Blackest Night. Especially given how incredibly broad the scope was for Sinestro Corps war was.
The War with the Yellow Lanterns set motions into place that would lead to the forming of Lantern Corps from every color in the visible spectrum of light. We have seen the terrible Red Lanterns, whose existence stems from their rage. We have seen the incredibly powerful Blue Lanterns of hope, that while reliant on Green Lanterns power rings to fuel their immense power, the two in tandem are a force to be reckoned with. We all know about the Star Sapphires, whose twisted version of love power their rings. This issue we are introduced to the greedy and downright ugly Orange Lanterns fueled by the power of Avarice.
The Orange Lanterns have been dwelling in the Vega system, which is off limits to the Green Lantern Corps. Criminals and murderers live there, but long ago a bargain was struck with the Guardians of the Galaxy that would keep them and their Green Lanterns away. Another part of the deal would allow a being there to gain the power of the orange light. This is the leader of the Orange Corps, and most greedy creature in the galaxy is holed up: Larfleeze or “Agent Orange”.
In this issue the Controllers have come to the Vega system looking for the orange light with hopes of finding the means to control the universe. Not realizing that the Controllers no longer have any affiliation to the Guardians, Larfleeze sees this as a breach to the agreement and wages war on the Guardians for trying to take what is his.
Meanwhile Hal Jordan is reeling from having a Blue Ring of Hope on one hand in tandem with his Green Ring of Willpower on the other and the two feeding off each other, making him quite possibly the most powerful Lantern member in the Universe. Ganthet tells Hal, that he cannot get rid of the ring unless the ring loses all power, and from the sounds of it, it will not anytime soon. For Now Hal possesses the power of Will and Hope. (Keep in mind that Hal has also wore yellow, and red rings as well and you may see a plot point for Blackest Night)
Hal is whisked away to Oa and seen by the other Guardians as being tainted as they try to rid him of the Blue ring to no avail. This is right about the time that Larfleeze comes calling. It’s going to get really interesting isn’t it?
What else can be said about this title. I am incredibly sad to see Ivan Reis no longer handling the penciling chores. He has managed to own Green Lantern for a few year now, even after the impossible task of following Ethan Van Sciver. This is not to say that Philip Tan didn’t handle the art beautifully on this book, because he did. He brought incredibly detailed and well-rendered pencils and did a great job. I’m just saying that Ivan Reis has been a favorite of mine since he came on board and now he will be the impossible act to follow for Tan and later Mahnke. There is still time to get on board with this book, there are trades and back issues galore out there at Borders, and other book stores. Check it out.
Wolverine: Weapon X #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jason Aaron
Drawn by: Ron Garney
I have been extremely excited for this book to debut. Many people out there feel like there is already way too much Wolverine in their comics. I can see that… I can. Wolverine is a victim of his own incredible popularity. At any given month he will appear in as many as 5-10 books. Too much can be overkill. I will say this though that Wolverine is one of my favorite characters out there and I take his many appearances for what they are. To me it’s just entertainment folks. So when I learned about a new Wolverine title written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Ron Garney, I think I passed out from excitement. Ron Garney has for a long time been a favorite penciler. The man can visually tell a story like no ones business. Jason Aaron has certainly been getting a lot of buzz lately as well because of his other incredible books he’s been writing, like Scalped for Vertigo and Ghost Rider for Marvel. Jason Aaron writing a Wolverine book just feels right to me though. It feels like he is coming home. He writes so much character into Wolverine. He gets Logan in a way that most writers don’t since the 80’s when Claremont was writing him so well. If I had to drop all other Wolverine titles today, this would be the one I kept in the pull, because of Jason Aaron. This is the characterization of Logan that I would want to read the most. The fact that we are getting Ron Garney on art here is a bonus. When the two were together for the “Get Mystique” arc in the regular Wolverine series, I reviewed and loved it every month and to have them back together again is a great thing.
Now… that having been said how will this book shine and find it’s own space out there? It will do it much the same way that the Invincible Iron Man book did from Fraction and Larocca. This is book for new readers of Wolverine and old readers alike. We are going back to Logan’s roots to tell stories about his present… to create its own continuity using new characters and familiar characters to tell kick ass stories. You don’t have to know everything else Logan has been up to follow this book. You just have to like Wolverine.
So as is turns out there are mercenaries in Columbia that are slaughtering entire villages for crooked scumbags in the Roxxon Corporation. It seems as though Roxxon has bought trade secrets and thereby the recipe from the Weapon X program to create their own adamantium super soldiers. The secrets were purchased somehow on the black market and an old friend and fellow Weapon X teammate comes to Logan to share the news: Maverick.
Maverick finds Logan is a foul mood after he handles a couple of thugs trying to mug a female reporter of the train, while he’s trying to sleep off some booze. It’s a brutal and yet hilarious scene that Aaron and Garney deliver what the tome of this book will be. We didn’t need to see anything more than this to know that this book will kick ass.
Maverick reveals that he’s been doing some digging and that Roxxon has bought secrets from Weapon X and are making their own soldiers in Columbia. Logan, always having a vested interest in his past of course dives in to investigate. He pays a visit to the facilities in which these super soldiers are being made and sees that this operation is bigger and therefore more disconcerting than he though as we pan back to see twenty or so immersion tanks like the one in which Logan was imbued with adamantium.
That’s it for the first issue. I only have one complaint if you can even call it that. It moved so quickly, that I felt there wasn’t enough. I wanted more and that’s just as much a compliment to the creative team as it could be a criticism. I wanted more… I can’t wait to see where this title goes; I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be following this one regularly. It’s my pick of the week.
Still waiting on the next issues of Thor and Lone Ranger. Wonder what’s happened to these books? In the mean time, though, plenty of reading to keep my busy. Ugh…I type these reviews late at night after the kids are doing their own thing and my wife continues to try to have multiple conversations with me as I’m typing. I’m trying to concentrate, promise. What I do for these reviews…
Anyway, have you read Jason Aaron and Ron Garney’s Wolverine: Weapon X? Seriously, what a fantastic start to a new book. Makes every other Wolverine book irrelevant. My co-pick of the week!
Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2 (of 3)
DC Comics
Written by: Tony Daniel
Drawn by: Tony Daniel
Cover by: Tony Daniel
Last issue we saw Gotham in flames, the destruction of Arkham Asylum and the Black Mask’s freeing dozens of Gotham City's most lethal villains while also getting blame for the chaos in Gotham blamed on both Two-Face and The Penguin. With the reports of Batman’s death, the criminal element now is rioting in the streets and overturning their city. The police have absolutely no clue what to do, lacking the resources and the will (well, with the exception of Gordon) to confront anything on this scale. In the mean time, The Black Mask has organized some of Gotham’s biggest psychopaths (no, The Joker is not among them) to take on the police and the local heroes…namely Nightwing, Robin and their various allies. And with all this going on and with Dick Grayson’s feeling at his lowest over the loss of his mentor, his ambivalence over taking up Bruce’s cowl, and his sense of personal responsibility about the state of his city, not one but two new Batmen have surfaced and entered the fray.
The first, more brutal of the two Batmen I was able to call right away and this issue confirms I was right. The clues made his identity fairly obvious though the threat he represents to all, including Gothams’ heroes, couldn’t be greater. But the identity of the second wasn’t clear to me until this issue where a friendly exchange with Selina spell it out pretty clearly. I’ll say one thing for Daniel’s work these last two issues, the action is frenetic and the mood simply couldn’t be more desperate. This issue the casualties begin to rack up in a major way as this pretender to the cowl begins to eliminate his competition. Dick has got to get his head out of his funk or this conflict, whether with this new Batman or The Black Mask, will be over before he knows it.
There’s some really great interplay going on here. Black Mask is playing Two-Face, The Penguin and even Gordon perfectly. I’ve always considered The Penguin a bit of a dolt, not a villain to be taken seriously. Again, plenty of credit goes to Tony Daniel for giving us a Penguin, like he did with The Joker in RIP, who looks almost supernaturally menacing. Daniel’s got a hell of a lot of story and characters, as it turns out, to cram into just three issues. But with two down he’s given his readers a far more exciting and genuinely desperate comic book story than anything anyone this side of Paul Dini’s been able to do in years. With all the great work, both on the art and writing side, Daniel’s demonstrated to DC Comics it just baffles me that they won’t keep him as permanent writer and artist for a core Batman book. I’m far more interested in what happens next issue than I am in anything I’ve heard about the future direction of the Batman titles.
Captain Britain and MI13 #12
Marvel Comics
Written by: Paul Cornell
Drawn by: Leonard Kirk
Cover by: Stuart Immonen
Not only has Cornell put Blade in this book. Not only were we readers treated to a Gene Colan style rendition of Count Dracula last issue during a conference of the MI13. In this issue we also are reunited, if only in spirit and with his bodily remains, with none other than Quincy Harker, the leader of the band of fearless vampire hunters in the absolutely stunning Tomb of Dracula series of the 1970s. I’m getting a little ahead of myself but it’s just so great to see a writer who respects the source material from which his current storyline comes. Cornell is one of those writers as is Van Lente in Marvel Zombies 4, but I’ll get to that in the next review.
See, in issue 3 of Captain Britain and the MI13, Pete Wisdom, leader of the MI13, let loose hordes of Magical villains to help his time fight off the Skrulls and drive them from Britain. The problem is, his evil cohorts are still around and appear to have sworn allegiance to potentially the most powerful force of supernatural evil in the Marvel Universe, Dracula himself. And the Vampire Lord has made it his mission, following a totally intense meeting and treaty on the moon with Doctor Doom, to capture Britain to be the new home of his landless vampire nation. As of last issue, and continuing with this one, Dracula has put his 500 years of field battle savvy to work against his enemies and picked them apart like shooting fish in a barrel.
There’s a lot to love about this story arc. The return of Dracula and Blade to some prominence in the Marvel Universe certainly is one of them, as well as the plot elements going all the way back to Quincy’s final showdown with Dracula in Tomb of Dracula’s final issue #70. The relationship between Spitfire, a member of the WWII Invaders team but now a vampire, and Blade the Vampire Slayer certainly has its tense moments. Spitfire’s being reunited with her son, the new Baron Blood, but only because Dracula has complete control of her, him and every vampire on Earth. With no will of her own, Spitfire cannot help but join the enemy. And as for Dracula’s most serious enemy, Blade, he’s figured out how to make Blade lead him to his largest obstacle in his quest for Britain. And unwittingly, Blade has played right into The Vampire Lord’s hands. I have only started reading this series with the beginning of this arc. But I most definitely will be picking up the trades, the second of which hasn’t yet been published, ASAP. Prior to now, I’d never heard of Cornell and Kirk but this writer/artist duo have combined for a chilling, terrifying and desperate read with some absolutely stunning art to go with it. Highly, highly recommended.
Marvel Zombies 4 #1 (of 4)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Fred Van Lente
Drawn by: Kev Walker
Cover by: Greg Land
Variant cover by: Arthur Suydam
Okay, I find myself in kind of a weird position here. I read the first Marvel Zombies book when it came out and found the story poorly constructed and written and the art just awful. Plus, the fact it took place in an alternate universe of sorts made the whole thing seem irrelevant. I didn’t bother reading past the first issue and didn’t even give series #2 a shake. But then Marvel Zombies 3 was solicited with the Zombies coming to our Earth, via a dimensional portal in Man-Thing’s everglade swamp, and facing our heroes (or, at least, Machine Man, Jocasta and Morbius The Living Vampire). Plus it was going to be written by Fred Van Lente who’s work on Incredible Hercules made me think this was at least worth checking out. And, gotta say, it was a fun read. But now in Marvel Zombies 4 the zombies are loose beyond Florida and Morbius has decided that it takes a monster to catch a monster. And, so, he’s organized a new band of Midnight Sons to hunt and destroy these zombies. Specifically, Morbius The Living Vampire is joining forces with Werewolf by Night, Son of Satan, and the witch Jenifer Kale. The Man-Thing makes an appearance on Greg Land’s cover but isn’t found in this book, and while Simon Garth is found in this book his role seems to be tied to a different but related plot development.
The Midnight Sons first appears in 1992’s Ghost Rider #28 and consisted of Blade, Frank Drake (Dracula’s descendant), Hannibal King (vampire detective from Tomb of Dracula, Morbius, Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) and Doctor Strange. This is a very different, though no less impressive, band of supernatural adventurers. While this new group certainly has their hands full trying to prevent the pending zombie apocalypse, Garth has brought the talking head of the Zombie Dimension’s Deadpool to his master, The Black Talon. Kudos to Van Lente for keeping a Dan Slott-like appreciation for Marvel history and bringing back this enigmatic villain whom I first encountered in Avengers #152, way back in 1976k when Wonder Man was supposedly resurrected from the dead. And Black Talon has, who’s plenty happy with his wealthy life has decided to make contact with a member of Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign Cabal to strike a deal that could render futile the desperate work of The Midnight Sons.
So, okay, this series now is extremely relevant. Not only has it come to the Marvel Universe but, with this issue, has tied right into Marvel Continuity. Add to this that this book is one big, glorious Marvel monster fest (well, minus some big names like Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and others), Van Lente’s script already is spinning into what promises to be a tightly knitted and wildly intense story rendered with dark but stunning and gory effect by Kev Walker and, well, you’ve got a mini-series cranking on all cylinders. I have absolutely no desire to pick up the trades of volumes 1 & 2 and while I liked volume 3 it wasn’t enough to grab the HC that came out this week. This volume, though, may well be a different story and I most certainly am on board for what looks like a wild roller coaster of a ride. Shocked as I am to say this, this book is my co-pick of the week, along with Aaron and Garney’s Wolverine: Weapon X #1.
Dawg’s Reviews
Green Lantern #39
DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns
Drawn by: Philip Tan
I think it is safe to assume at this point that most folks know about how excellent this title has been lately. If you don’t know it yet, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you with the utmost respect, that I think you’ve been living a sheltered life. Green Lantern in my opinion is the best book that DC puts out monthly. Geoff Johns has a pen of gold and if I were DC I would sign him for life.
It’s pretty amazing that every issue of this series can be considered as build up to the crescendo of Blackest Night. Especially given how incredibly broad the scope was for Sinestro Corps war was.
The War with the Yellow Lanterns set motions into place that would lead to the forming of Lantern Corps from every color in the visible spectrum of light. We have seen the terrible Red Lanterns, whose existence stems from their rage. We have seen the incredibly powerful Blue Lanterns of hope, that while reliant on Green Lanterns power rings to fuel their immense power, the two in tandem are a force to be reckoned with. We all know about the Star Sapphires, whose twisted version of love power their rings. This issue we are introduced to the greedy and downright ugly Orange Lanterns fueled by the power of Avarice.
The Orange Lanterns have been dwelling in the Vega system, which is off limits to the Green Lantern Corps. Criminals and murderers live there, but long ago a bargain was struck with the Guardians of the Galaxy that would keep them and their Green Lanterns away. Another part of the deal would allow a being there to gain the power of the orange light. This is the leader of the Orange Corps, and most greedy creature in the galaxy is holed up: Larfleeze or “Agent Orange”.
In this issue the Controllers have come to the Vega system looking for the orange light with hopes of finding the means to control the universe. Not realizing that the Controllers no longer have any affiliation to the Guardians, Larfleeze sees this as a breach to the agreement and wages war on the Guardians for trying to take what is his.
Meanwhile Hal Jordan is reeling from having a Blue Ring of Hope on one hand in tandem with his Green Ring of Willpower on the other and the two feeding off each other, making him quite possibly the most powerful Lantern member in the Universe. Ganthet tells Hal, that he cannot get rid of the ring unless the ring loses all power, and from the sounds of it, it will not anytime soon. For Now Hal possesses the power of Will and Hope. (Keep in mind that Hal has also wore yellow, and red rings as well and you may see a plot point for Blackest Night)
Hal is whisked away to Oa and seen by the other Guardians as being tainted as they try to rid him of the Blue ring to no avail. This is right about the time that Larfleeze comes calling. It’s going to get really interesting isn’t it?
What else can be said about this title. I am incredibly sad to see Ivan Reis no longer handling the penciling chores. He has managed to own Green Lantern for a few year now, even after the impossible task of following Ethan Van Sciver. This is not to say that Philip Tan didn’t handle the art beautifully on this book, because he did. He brought incredibly detailed and well-rendered pencils and did a great job. I’m just saying that Ivan Reis has been a favorite of mine since he came on board and now he will be the impossible act to follow for Tan and later Mahnke. There is still time to get on board with this book, there are trades and back issues galore out there at Borders, and other book stores. Check it out.
Wolverine: Weapon X #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jason Aaron
Drawn by: Ron Garney
I have been extremely excited for this book to debut. Many people out there feel like there is already way too much Wolverine in their comics. I can see that… I can. Wolverine is a victim of his own incredible popularity. At any given month he will appear in as many as 5-10 books. Too much can be overkill. I will say this though that Wolverine is one of my favorite characters out there and I take his many appearances for what they are. To me it’s just entertainment folks. So when I learned about a new Wolverine title written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Ron Garney, I think I passed out from excitement. Ron Garney has for a long time been a favorite penciler. The man can visually tell a story like no ones business. Jason Aaron has certainly been getting a lot of buzz lately as well because of his other incredible books he’s been writing, like Scalped for Vertigo and Ghost Rider for Marvel. Jason Aaron writing a Wolverine book just feels right to me though. It feels like he is coming home. He writes so much character into Wolverine. He gets Logan in a way that most writers don’t since the 80’s when Claremont was writing him so well. If I had to drop all other Wolverine titles today, this would be the one I kept in the pull, because of Jason Aaron. This is the characterization of Logan that I would want to read the most. The fact that we are getting Ron Garney on art here is a bonus. When the two were together for the “Get Mystique” arc in the regular Wolverine series, I reviewed and loved it every month and to have them back together again is a great thing.
Now… that having been said how will this book shine and find it’s own space out there? It will do it much the same way that the Invincible Iron Man book did from Fraction and Larocca. This is book for new readers of Wolverine and old readers alike. We are going back to Logan’s roots to tell stories about his present… to create its own continuity using new characters and familiar characters to tell kick ass stories. You don’t have to know everything else Logan has been up to follow this book. You just have to like Wolverine.
So as is turns out there are mercenaries in Columbia that are slaughtering entire villages for crooked scumbags in the Roxxon Corporation. It seems as though Roxxon has bought trade secrets and thereby the recipe from the Weapon X program to create their own adamantium super soldiers. The secrets were purchased somehow on the black market and an old friend and fellow Weapon X teammate comes to Logan to share the news: Maverick.
Maverick finds Logan is a foul mood after he handles a couple of thugs trying to mug a female reporter of the train, while he’s trying to sleep off some booze. It’s a brutal and yet hilarious scene that Aaron and Garney deliver what the tome of this book will be. We didn’t need to see anything more than this to know that this book will kick ass.
Maverick reveals that he’s been doing some digging and that Roxxon has bought secrets from Weapon X and are making their own soldiers in Columbia. Logan, always having a vested interest in his past of course dives in to investigate. He pays a visit to the facilities in which these super soldiers are being made and sees that this operation is bigger and therefore more disconcerting than he though as we pan back to see twenty or so immersion tanks like the one in which Logan was imbued with adamantium.
That’s it for the first issue. I only have one complaint if you can even call it that. It moved so quickly, that I felt there wasn’t enough. I wanted more and that’s just as much a compliment to the creative team as it could be a criticism. I wanted more… I can’t wait to see where this title goes; I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be following this one regularly. It’s my pick of the week.