wktf, Sam Wilson and Kdawg's Reviews 1/5/07

[wktf]

Wktf’s Reviews

Another big Civil War week with the main title and crossovers into Amazing Spider-Man and Punisher War Journal. Triple Superman duty with the flagship title, Superman Confidential and All-Star Superman and The Hulk and The Thing represent on the covers of Incredible Hulk and FF: The End. All in all, a pretty good week. My pick of the week this time is a title I’m not reviewing, Amazing Spider-Man. Not to steal Kdawg’s thunder but not only does this issue give us an ending that left me holding my breath plus some great interdynamics between Spidey and Cap, who came to blows in this title just a few issues back, but Ron Ganey draws the single most frightening Kingpin this side of Frank Miller.

Civil War #6
Marvel Comics
Written by: Mark Millar
Drawn by: Steve McNiven

The penultimate chapter of this Marvel Comics Event most definitely is the calm before the storm. There literally is no conflict except within Cap’s ranks as Cap takes issue with The Punisher. Serious issue. As badly as things go for Frank in War Journal they really ratchet up a notch here. But, mostly this title demonstrates how the opposing forces have circled each other, the plans they’re making, the spies they’ve planted, plus some interesting solitary conversations that present the kind of depth I’d expect from a Mark Millar book. I’m told you’re supposed to read Punisher War Journal (see my partner’s reviews) before this one but, while it does explain how Frank gets the outfit that allow him to break into the Baxter Building, I’d say your only loss if you don’t read that book is missing out on another great book.

To begin with, Captain America and The Punisher make for uneasy allies. At least Cap is uneasy, and with good reason. We are privy to a moment between Sue Richards and Prince Namor as she beseeches his help and gets more than what she’s looking for (you go, Namor!) on the one hand but no help in Cap’s conflict. This one confused me since it was Namor who sought out T’Challa to lead a contingency, including his royal underwater self, against Iron Man’s army. So why, now, is he refusing Sue? Is this just poor continuity editing or is something else going on? Speaking of T’Challa, both he and Storm have planted themselves with Cap’s team as we know from the Black Panther’s own book. Cage and Spider-Man share a moment of friendship which I was glad to see. I remember how viciously they fought when JJJ paid Cage to take down Spidey in the issue right after Gwen and the Goblin died, and Cage’s sympathy for Peter’s trauma at the end of House of M. But between this title, Amazing Spider-Man and Punisher War Journal, someone in editorial needs to decide whether or not Cage should have facial hair! Come on guys, let’s be consistent! I was grateful to see Uatu, The Watcher, again this time speaking with and consoling Dr. Strange. And, of course, Hank Pym’s dialogue with Tony pays off big time at the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. Some will complain that it’s the prettiest comic book in which nothing really happens, and I disagree. There’s a huge amount of tension accomplished by these super chess pieces all moving into position. Seeing Reed operate on the cyborg Thor was particularly disturbing and one can only hope this character’s possible return can mean the return of the real deal. And I only hope that the big scene at the end pays off next issue. Oh, and a final word about McNiven’s art. Every panel is a thing of beauty. This guy’s art didn’t used to appeal to me. I didn’t like his work on MK4 or New Avengers, but he’s turning into another George Perez with his ability to draw an incredible number of characters all with intricate detail and portraying each individual character with his or her own unique characteristics. Love or hate the series, you’ve got to give McNiven his due for being the standout artist of the last several months.

All-Star Superman #6
DC Comics
Written by: Grant Morrison
Drawn by: Frank Quitely

Like Steve McNiven’s art (see my review, above) this title didn’t really appeal to me at first. I think because I understood it to be an iconic, fresh take on Superman uncluttered by over six decades of continuity and, so, I thought it would be everything I remembered about Superman from my past. Instead, I got two creators’ take on the character starting, as John Byrne did in the ‘80s, as if from scratch while holding certain truths about the character constant. It was their take, not my take. And I really wasn’t expecting it nor, maybe as a result, did I appreciate it. But, while sometimes it’s seemed like a trippy Superman comic on acid overdrive I finally found it to be very creative and compelling. I wasn’t ready for it in the first couple of issues but, by the fourth, I was into it and, now, I’m sold. This title recently won the prestigious Eisner Award for Best New Series and rightly so.

It’s been so long since the last issue, and this issue is such a perfectly self contained story, that it’s easy to forget the event from issue #1 that’s created Superman’s primary motivation throughout this series thus far. He’s dying. Lex Luthor has killed him by exposing his cells to the Sun at closest proximity. His powers got a huge boost but he’s deteriorating, or maybe more appropriately burning out, as well. And, so, he’s revealed his secret identity to Lois, brought her to his fortress and given her temporary superpowers for her birthday. And now we are treated to a tale of Superman’s past where we see the post high school but pre-Metropolis Clark with his parents, Lana and Pete. There are beautiful scenes of the Kent’s home, the rolling farm and the Smallville diner. And as Clark plays with Krypto, some bizarre characters, some bearing a striking resemblance to Clark, arrive to offer help with the Kent’s harvest. But a bizarre cosmic menace called Cronovore Monster has come to Smallville and The Supeman Squad, these strangers in disguise and descendants of Superman from various eras, have journeyed back through time to this time in Superman’s past to battle it. But why? Is it because Superman in his youth hadn’t absorbed enough solar energy to be powerful enough to take on this beast or is it because he’s really needed somewhere else?

The simply wonderful, quiet cover of this issue reveals this issue’s main event. A sad but thoughtful Superman stands in front of Jonathan Kent’s grave stone with his loyal dog, Krypto, by his side looking up at him. Anyone here who owns a dog knows just how right this image is. Jonathan seems to become particularly comfortable with the bandaged stranger, his face hidden, the same one who urges Clark to give up the fight with the Cronovore Monster just at the moment when Clark is needed elsewhere. And how does this stranger know? Ultimately, Morrison and Quitely have crafted a beautiful story that can also serve as a great jumping on point for readers who haven’t given this title a spin. Though I’d highly recommend those people go back to the beginning as we’re only six issues into what I hope will be a long run for this book.

The Incredible Hulk #102
Marvel Comics
Written by: Greg Pak
Drawn by: Aaron Lopresti

Up to this point The Hulk had been shot into space by the Illuminati and crashlanded on the barbaric world of Sakaar. Weakened, he was enslaved and forced to participate in gladiator games which, naturally, he won as he strength returned. Ever the anti-authoritarian brute that he is, he wore his disdain for The Red King on his sleeve. And while he allied himself with his fellow gladiators, he made an enemy of the king and his bodyguard, he very foxy Caiera. But the Hulk continued to defy the odds and defy the King. Eventually the King’s atrocities became evident even to Caiera who joined The Hulk’s side against her former master. And through it all, carrying a mad-on for Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange and Black Bolt, he’s used that anger to bust heads every issue and just generally do what The Incredible Hulk does best: smash his enemies. It’s been a hell of a ride so far.

Well, we’re 10 issues into Planet Hulk and it’s all led up to this point. The Incredible Hulk vs. The Red King, the man who’s made not only The Hulk’s life miserable but done so for nearly everyone on this godforsaken planet of Sakaar. In fact, as The Hulk faces down The Red King he demands that Miek, his arthropodic ally, to project the images of the King’s atrocities and murders into his mind. The result? He believes he killed them all because it was his right. His duty, and his pleasure. And The Hulk, at the end of this mad journey is prepared to turn this Planet Sakaar into Planet Hulk by beating his adversary to death. But before he can do that he has to literally save a planet, a la Superman 2, from tearing itself apart.

Greg Pak has given us a different Hulk. He’s intelligent but he’s still a brute. He is a loner but he’s also, begrudgingly, now the leader of many, of an entire planet. And while he’s always generated fear and mistrust this Hulk has inspired the fealty, admiration, respect and love of thousands, and one in particular. The love of an incredibly strong woman who once tried to kill him. Yet he’s still our surly ill tempered green goliath. There’s more Planet Hulk goodness on the way as we count down to this summer’s World War Hulk extravaganza. As psyched as I am for that, I can’t get enough of this Planet Hulk storyline.

Sam Wilson’s Reviews

This week is a “Civil War” heavy week with issue #6 out and a bunch of crossovers (my favorite being Punisher War Journal). We have another fantastic issue of Manhunter and possibly my last issue of Nightwing (c’mon DC, do something with this book already). I’ll send some special love towards Ms. Marvel since that book has really came around recently, and also declare my pick of the week to be Punisher War Journal. With that being said, on to the reviews…

Special review note: I originally planned to review “Ultimate Vision #2”, but my LCS will be receiving that book late, so I’m just doing a hasty review of Warren Ellis’s “Newuniversal”. Sorry about that folks, but it happens sometimes. Anyway…

Newuniversal #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Warren Ellis
Drawn by: Salvador Larroca

In 1986 during Marvel’s 25th anniversary then EIC Jim Shooter gave us the “New Universe” line of comics. Set in a reality that had nothing to do with the regular Marvel U the “New Universe” was to feature stories that had little to do with aliens, gods and super-science and more “regular” types of things, stories closer to home with more believable super powers and super heroes. The series was also set to operate in “real time”, one year of comic time equaled one year of real time. Seven initial titles launched the line (“DP7”, “Mark Hazard: Mercy”, “Star Brand” among them) and by 1989 the line was dead. No one seemed to care and the New Universe faded away, until now…

Warren Ellis’s Newuniversal opens up in an Earth very much like our own, but history is different. Paul McCartney was shot instead of John Lenonn, China has an active space program and the lives of five people are about to get very interesting. Detective John Tensen of the NYPD is shot and 98% brain dead but wakes up to kill a nurse with a Kavorkian complex, Kenneth Connell and Madeline Felix are on the hunt for early civilization in Europe, Izanmi Randall struggles with her identity and Maddie and Ken from Oklahoma fall asleep in a stupor with only one of them waking up, and the other burnt to nothing more than a skeleton. Other than having weird things happen to them, these folks have one more thing in common, a strange star symbol found in various places, and so begins our story. Issue two introduces us to a drunken woman and her robot suit which doesn’t really work, which we find out is part of Project: Spitfire, a top secret joint to deal with superhumans should they ever become a threat, which seems to be happening. Izanmi Randall has made contact with the superflow, the space occupied by thought (or something like that) and found other people there (!), John Tensen and Ken from Oklahoma find themselves with superpowers and little control over them. Yeah, from last issues humble beginnings issue two comes at you like a runaway truck to say the least.

Newuniversal is off to an interesting start so far and I have to say I’m intrigued. I’ll be staying with this book for awhile, and it is definitely worth checking out.

Manhunter #26
DC Comics
Written by: Marc Adreyko
Drawn by: Javier Pina and Robin Riggs

Throughout the DCU’s history several people have taken up the guise of the Manhunter, but I’ll spare you guys from the history lesson and jump straight into the life of the current Manhunter Kate Spencer. Kate was a Los Angeles ADA who was sick of criminals getting off to soft so she stole some super villain stuff from evidence control and became a Manhunter, dealing out justice as she saw fit. Eventually she left the DA’s office and got a job with the DEO (Department of Extranormal Operations) working with her old college buddy Chase Lawler and the mysterious Mr. Bones. This current Manhunter series was almost cancelled, and it has been many months since we last saw Kate and crew (she just recently popped up as Kate Spencer in issue #100 of “Birds of Prey”). Presently Kate works with Bones as a lawyer representing Superhuman criminals, why? To get on the inside of course, but issue #24 gets real interesting when the superhuman criminal she is asked to represent is Wonder Woman (who got in a little trouble for snapping Max Lord’s neck, you know that thing that led to the whole “Infinite Crisis” debacle, check out last year in the DCU if you need clarification).

So far the new storyline has been pretty straightforward, Wonder Woman wants Kate to be her lawyer because the feds are going to prosecute her for the Murder of Max Lord (event though the world court exonerated her). As payment, Kate asks Wonder Woman to train her. Can you say, WORD? Meanwhile, an old nemesis kidnaps Chase Lawler’s sister, the some strangeness is happening in Tibet with Kate’s ex. Issue #26 has Wonder Woman jumping through the hoops of the legal system, Chase in Gotham dealing with her drama and more weirdness in Tibet (sigh). Oh yeah, and there is the matter of Blue Beetle. Yes, he was on the cover, and he shows up on the last panel (boo for the melodrama), and we are all left scratching our heads, even Dianna. Apparently Batman is guest starring in the next issue to clear everything up (yay).

Manhunter is a cool book that is well written and never really got the love it deserved. Yes, this current arc is the last arc of a book already on life support but it seems like it is going to be a doozy (and Kate is a regular now in “Birds of Prey”, so she’ll be sticking around the DCU for awhile). This book is definitely worth checking out.

Punisher War Journal #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Matt Fraction
Drawn by: Ariel Olivetti

Back in the late ‘80’s/early ‘90’s you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting the Punisher. A character who was once a “C” lister back in the day was given a little bit of a boost Frank Miller in the early ‘80’s, and then a HUGE boost by the Mike Zeck/Jo Duffy limited series which led into the Whilce Portacio/Mike Barr series. At one point there was that series and a second series entitled “Punisher War Journal” written by Carl Potts and penciled by some forgotten guy by the name of Jim Lee and let me tell you, that book was AWESOME. Wow, Punny going up against drug dealers and doing his thing, all the while casually interacting with those members of the Marvel U he would most likely encounter, DD, Wolverine and the Black Widow to name a few. When Garth Ennis kick started the Punisher for the new millennium he wanted to move him away from the super hero stuff and make him more of a Mack Bolan type of hero (ha, anyone remember those books?). This worked out really well in the MAX world, but the powers that be decided they wanted to bring the Punisher back into the regular Marvel U thus we have a new “Punisher War Journal”, and let me tell you, it’s not so bad.

Frank Castle’s reintroduction to the Marvel U came in the last issue of “Civil War” in not-so-dramatic fashion when Frank rescued a beaten Spidey from Iron Man and his newly registered villain/heroes (jack o lantern and some other jackass). Needless to say Frank put a cap in those beyotches and took Spidey to Caps secret HQ to offer his help and whack some supervillians, and in the first issue of War Journal he was begrudgingly accepted by the resistance, for now anyway. With GW Bridge hot on his tail things really heat up in War Journal #2 when Cap strikes a deal with Frank and they get to the business of war. Of course Frank is, well, not stable to say the least and it ends badly.

I gotta say, its great to see War Journal back and kicking a$#, and Matt Fraction is doing a great job tying Frank into the Civil War, and Ariel Olivetti is one of the best new artists to come around in awhile, his Punisher and Captain America are great and he has a style that is truly his own. This book is all I had hoped it to be and give it my highest recommendation.

[wktf]

Fantastic Four: The End (4 of 6)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Alan Davis
Illustrated by: Alan Davis

So what’s been going on in this book so far you ask?

Well allow me to blatantly rip off my own recap from last issue here before I plug into the meat of issue 4.

For many, many years, The FF have been fighting the Marvel Universe’ baddies and ending threats both on a global and galactic scale. They are Marvel’s royal family and they have been right up until this book’s beginning.

Apparently there has been a mutant war that has run rampant and as a side effect of this has driven Dr. Doom further insane due to the many injuries he has suffered. Over a long time, Doom has rebuilt himself. Now more machine than man he battle the FF one last time… Events of this fateful battle are only the beginning of this tale though. The battle is where the beginning of the end occurs…

Well we jump ahead some time into the future… Apparently Reed’s been busy saving the Galaxy again. She Hulk is his therapist and she’s trying to get him to open up about all that has happened. He of course evades the issue and rambles on about just needing to accomplish this or that first. They begin to unveil events that have happened, where the other members of the Royal Family are etc… Including a scene that furthers my opinion of Reed being such a biatch. How can you neglect Sue you dumb ass?

Johnny the Human Torch is off being an Avenger with Thor, Iron Man and others as another mystery is brewing in space…

Ben who can apparently change his form back and forth now, has him a mess of children with Alicia off on Mars. Ben is living the life and enjoying being a family man, all the while missing Reed, Sue and yes, even Johnny as the Inhumans come to visit.

Sue has grown tired yet again of being neglected by Reed and has sunk herself into her own interests. Currently these interests are in archaeology near Atlantis, which inevitably leads to a run-in with Namor. There are many forces at work here while our royal family is apart. You know they will end up together again… it’s just a question of how and when.

At the end of issue 3 we had a reunited Ben and Johnny with the Inhumans and the Avengers locked in a battle with a Kree sentry.

That is where we begin this issue. A battle with so many characters that you would swear this is a Secret Wars comic. The peril really begins to build in this issue as we find Reed at the mercy of his own foe even as he realizes that he has again screwed up the one good thing in his life… Sue.

Sue finds herself beneath the ocean floor, and discovers a startling fact of her own as the Mole man comes calling.

This issue has great characters, great fight scenes, foxy comic chicas, and that grand scale I have been mentioning all along with this title.

Alan Davis continues to duck, dodge, and weave us through the epic final story of the Fantastic Four as the crescendo is building.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. You can look at this issue and the others before it and really see why Alan Davis is a perfect fit for Marvel’s first family.

I have always been a fan of Alan’s, but I think this right here is some of his very best work and I cannot wait until our royal family is united and defeats the mysterious orchestrator that seems to be behind the scenes pulling our heroes strings.

With Visits from a Kree sentry and an appearance from the Super Skrull though… you know it will be a galaxy spanning conclusion…

Amazing Spider-Man #537
Marvel Comics
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Illustrated by: Ron Garney

We all know what a tough year our favorite web slinger has had. I think the execs at Marvel love to tear him down just to see how far they can push him.

Peter needs a break Marvel!!! Joe Q? You listening?

Ever since Civil War started and Spider-Man found himself on the wrong side, he has been troubled. He has revealed his secret identity to the public and has been Iron Man’s right hand man. He has placed his love ones at great risk and he has been questioning himself and his motives ever since. On one hand he see Tony Stark as a bit of a father figure, and the two have formed a special bond since they have been Avengers together. Peter has followed Tony Stark without question until recent events have led him into situations that he cannot shake feeling that his decision isn’t the right one.

After all, how can any right decision lead him into conflict with the man who is not only his idol, but a symbol for all that is right… Captain America.

That is what I love about this issue but more in a minute.

EVERYONE… I MEAN EVERYONE am after Peter after he has switched sides and spoke out against registration.

Hit men, Iron Man and the Government, Cap and his secret Avengers, hookers looking to leave a life of sin behind them, you name it. Who will get to him first? Will Aunt May and MJ remain safe now that Peter can’t protect them as easily?

As luck would have it, Cap finds Pete first as he sends out a signal via the Human Torch, which is so well done; it’s not even funny. There’s such a sense of urgency with Cap to find Peter and protect him and help him. This is a great contrast to Tony Stark whom they have written into the role of instead exploiting Peter’s bond with Tony for his own end.

Despite it all though, Peter is still torn. The boy is a worrywart indeed as he still questions his every decision he’s made in this war…

He meets Cap on a rooftop and the two begin an exchange that may be the most meaningful event Peter has had in a long time. He talks to Cap about being on the right side and asks him how he knows that “right” is right?

Cap launches into a powerful monologue and explains, in a nutshell how he has been able to make every decision he ever has made since he was 12… a passage from Mark Twain.

Instantly after this Peter cracks a joke, but is deeply touched and smiles because he now knows what it feels like to know he is doing the right thing.

We love you Cap… you make us believe…

Ron Garney moves us through these panels without effort as you realize after the fact that this is a mostly talking heads issue. And J.M.S is writing the best Spider-Man arc of his tenure… IMO of course. Peter is being driven not by a battle with the Goblin, or a mysterious Spider-god… He is being driven by a sense of love, right and wrong, guilt, confidence, and every other sort of HUMAN emotion possible.

This issue and comic book title has received mad props from me this year, and the streak continues…

The tide is turning… Go get ‘em Tiger… MY PICK OF THE WEEK!

[wktf]

No theme or anything like that this week. Just a mixed bag of trades you should pick up!

Sam Wilson’s Review

Deathblow: Saints and Sinners
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Brandon Choi and Jim Lee
Drawn by: Jim Lee and Tim Sale

Way back in the day a Jim Lee went independent (sort of) and was kicking out creator owned ideas left and right, slowly building the backbone of his “Wildstorm Universe”, a world shrouded in military black ops people and ancient aliens and lots of other wicked cool things that young men such as myself were into in 1992. Possibly one of his cooler creations was Deathblow, aka Michael Cray. 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. Jim Lee’s “Deathblow” series picks up at the tail end of Michael Cray’s career…

After a dicey mission in Iraq (Michael ends up killing a priest) our hero finds out he has an inoperable brain tumor and is probably going to die in two months or less (thank you US gov’t). Cray does what anyone else would do after hearing this, he gets himself a girl and ends up getting her killed by a paramilitary sect of the Catholic Church dead set on stopping the Black Angel from coming back to Earth and wrecking ****. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, that mission to Iraq I was talking about, well Michael and his team ended up freeing said evil entity (the Black Angel, whose origins aren’t really that important) and well, now Mike has the wrath of the church on him and the brain tumor. All this and there is a kid who is the anti-black angel, a young man who has the “healing touch” whom the Black Angel and his minions are looking to kill, but Michael and the church are looking to protect (and Mike kinda wants that pesky tumor dealt with). For those of you who were Wildstorm fans from back in the day you will be exceptionally pleased with how this story ends, let me just say Team 7 has a little reunion and it’s all that you would want it to be…

Deathblow and Team 7 was the Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckhiemer equivalent to the comic book genre. Jim Lee pulled out a brand new black and white ink wash style that was pretty sweet (and pissed off Frank Miller, who accused Jim of copying Sin City at the time, but now they are working on a book together so go figure I guess), and Tim Sale carried that style on perfectly when he came on in the third issue. If you have the time and inclination to try and track it down, I also recommend picking up the first Team 7 series to get the full background and Cray and the boys story (available in tpb form, but long, long out of print). In the meantime though, “Deathblow: Sinners and Saints” is in print and readily available. Word.

Wktf’s Review

The Complete 30 Days of Night
IDW Publishing
Written by: Steve Niles
Art by: Ben Templesmith
Original Covers by: Ashley Wood

I brought my kids into my lcs with me during the last week of December with the promise I’d buy them each something. My youngest, who’s becoming something of a war historian, brought me a $15 McFalane Soldiers toy set. My older son brought me the $75 slipcase HC copy of The Complete 30 Days of Night. I’d heard a movie was being made of this series but knew very little of it beyond its core premise. After checking with my lcs owner to see if it was appropriate for his 14 year old age group (he said it was but, after having read it, I’d say it’s borderline at best) I bought it under the caveat that I wanted to read it, too. I did. Wow. If you like your horror comics with cool, innovative concepts, true scares, characterization that makes you care about the story’s desperate victims, and absolutely riveting and disturbing art, this most definitely is the book for you.

Here’s the core concept I referenced above. Barrow, Alaska is literally at the northern most point of the U.S. and is a geographic spot where the sun goes away and stays away for over thirty consecutive days which, of course, become over thirty consecutive nights. Truly, the sun doesn’t set between May 10th and August 2nd and doesn’t rise between November 18th and December 17th. It’s a remote town populated by trappers, fishermen and oil worker type salts of the Earth. If you’re a creature that must hide yourself and remain completely helpless and vulnerable during the day and thrive and are at your peak powers, which are considerable, during the night then Barrow is one big playground to you. Marlowe is a particularly sadistic and nasty vampire who’s just completed a night’s worth of victimizing. He’s begun lamenting the condition that makes him supremely powerful yet on the run all the time from humans and the sun when he learns of Barrow from a Special National Geographic Travel Report blaring on a pair of victims’ TV set. He cannot believe his good fortune and sets about organizing a road trip for him and dozens of his closest friends.

In addition to its regular populace, Barrow’s inhabitants also include Sheriff Eban and Deputy Sheriff Stella Oleman, a married couple very much in love and keeping order together in this town at the edge of the world. After sharing a romantic moment watching the sun finally set for its 30 day hiatus Eban and Stella are called into a bar to deal where a surly patron wants whisky (alcohol is illegal in this town of dark winters) and raw hamburger meat. And so begins the story of Eban and Stella, and the apocalyptic procession of the undead into Barrow for a gleeful killing spree that spares nothing in its level of gore and violence. The humans are like cattle to Marlowe’s army of invulnerable monsters who dive into an absolute feasting orgy…much to the anger of Vincente, an aged and senior level vampire who arrives late but with much fanfare to Marlowe’s game and prefers not to draw the world’s attention to his clan. Now not only must Eban and Stella try to save the few hiding survivors from their attackers but must also keep them safe as the vampires wage old vs. new ways war amongst themselves. The solution Eban devises to Barrow’s problems is truly awful, especially given how much we’ve come to care about this warm couple.

Originally a 2002 three part mini series, this tales extends to roughly 100 beautifully painted pages. The swirling bright colors fighting so hard to make it through the perpetual darkness are wonderfully rendered and Templesmith’s surreal art conveys swift motion, incredible power and the most visceral primal fear that few motion pictures can convey nearly as effectively. Plus, the art is starkly, wildly terrifying and conveys unbelievable violence. Not to be outdone by his talented collaborator, Niles (known to me from some of his Batman work) has crafted a truly innovative spin on the vampire story and his pacing and dialogue drive the fear and desperation of this story home. Plus, in this box set, as a bonus feature, we also are treated to the journal entry of William Kitka who’s hiding out with his wife and child away from the larger group of survivors. His story peripherally tracks the main story as we read, from his perspective, what we’ve already directly experienced from Eban and Stella’s tale but only as a backdrop to the horrors he and his family are enduring. This volume also gives us the complete scripts, original covers, Hollywood pitch book for the movie idea and other series promotional art and materials. The promotional material claims this mini-series brings horror back to comics. It’s not kidding.

[Kdawg59]

Joe awesome to hear that you liked Spidey and it wasn't just me...

Sammy I cannot wait to tear into Punisher... I was up too late sculpting to read as many books as I wanted....

[JDH]

wktf, I hope your $15 dollar kid went back and got something more expensive when he saw what his brother had grabbed...

Great reviews guys. I bought 30 Days of Night for my wife after all the hype. We both read it, and were both disappointed. I found the art fleetingly beautiful, yet disjointed, and it didn't help the flow of a story that, we both thought, failed to live up to the excellent premise. None of the characters appealed to us, and we found ourselves caring little whether they lived or died. Walking Dead did a much better job with the survivor genre, at least on the writing side, in my opinion. I think it contains more true horror too. Maybe we're desensitised, but 30 Days of Night wasn't horrific enough.

I really enjoyed Punisher WJ #1, looking forward to picking up #2. I had no idea Olivetti was a newcomer though - it fells like a name that has been around forever, somehow...

[wktf]

jdh, I'm really surprised by your take on 30 Days and Nights. You really didn't care about the husband/wife in the story? I sure did. And I thought the art really conveyed the grisly nature of the story.

Olivetti isn't so much a newcomer as he's a newcomer to Marvel. He drew the Space Ghost series for DC which I reviewed a few months back and he's the artist on the upcoming Superman/Batman vs. Aliens/Predator series as well.

Dawg, ASM was just killer.

Funny that I predicted people would say Civil War #6 had nothing going on, based on the other thread in this forum.

[Bullseye]

Nice reviews guys, Sam glad you like Ariel Olivetti work. I was lucky enough to get a very nice Silver Surfer piece from him.

[whd]

Originally Posted by wktf

Olivetti isn't so much a newcomer as he's a newcomer to Marvel. He drew the Space Ghost series for DC which I reviewed a few months back and he's the artist on the upcoming Superman/Batman vs. Aliens/Predator series as well.

I think Olivetti drew the X-Man series (starring the AoA Nate Grey character) during the Warren Ellis revamp of the second tier X titles. He's an impressive artist regardless. The Space Ghost artwork was awesome!

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Originally Posted by Bullseye

Nice reviews guys, Sam glad you like Ariel Olivetti work. I was lucky enough to get a very nice Silver Surfer piece from him.

Congrats!

[Bullseye]

Heres the piece i got.