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Columnist Thunder Mod
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Denver Area, between Asgard and Krypton
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The Mighty Reviews 4/22/10
Dawg’s Reviews
Doom War #3 (of 6)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jonathan Maberry
Drawn by: Scot Eaton
Dr. Doom has usurped Wakanda. That basically means that the Wakandan King T’Challa no longer has his country and all that lies within. Doom and T’Challa have always played cat and mouse. Sometimes they have co-existed to reach a mutual end, but in the end it has always been about them playing each other’s brains in a high stakes game of chess. As brilliant as T’Challa is… he’s no Reed Richards and only Reed has the brain that is big enough to continually outsmart Doom.
No longer the Black Panther, T’Challa’s sister has taken over as the avatar of the panther God. T’Challa’s queen and oft-times X-Man Ororo has been taken prisoner of war and left for Doom’s devices. The most important of which is to unlock the vault that contains the country’s stockpile of precious Vibranium.
Having taken a member of their family, a small group of X-Men join the fray to help T’Challa. They succeed in taking out a lot of Doom’s army, but really it’s just a distraction so Doom can unleash his ultimate goal: That of honing the mystical properties of Vibranium to his own ends.
The last lock is the one that T’Challa in his arrogance figures Doom cannot get past. It is a test of Purity. Somehow Doom manages to get past it nonetheless and this issue goes into that which I won’t spoil here.
Also in this issue the Fantastic Four finally join the fray. It only took them three issues to do so, but you knew there would not be Doom without the FF.
Should be very interesting to see where this goes next. It’s been a long time since I have read a mini like this. This takes me back to the 80’s a bit and I am thrilled by it. It reminds me a lot of a cross between Secret Wars, FF vs. X-Men, Avengers vs. X-Men minis from those days when comics were a lot newer to my tender eyes on a regular basis.
Scot Eaton as usual delivers fantastic art and I like that his inker Lanning is using a lot more blacks thereby making his work a bit more shadowy and darker. This gives the series a much more serious tone and by doing so, it’s easier to believe that Doom is actually as dangerous as he’s written. The whole situation is a lot easier to swallow in fact because of the tone that Eaton and Lanning have laid down.
While I don’t believe this series is probably burning up the charts as you haven’t heard much about it, amongst Siege, Second Coming, the slew of New Avengers titles, etc… This book is very well done and if you’ve missed the first couple of issues here, you can probably get them, or enjoy it when they release a trade. It’s a lot of fun to have a mini series that plays up truly how powerful, arrogant, and dangerous Dr. Doom is across the Marvel Universe. It’s been a while.
Green Lantern #53
DC Comics
Written by: Some guy no one has ever heard of named Geoff Johns
Drawn by: Doug Mahnke
Everyone release a huge exhale. Blackest Night is over and we are entering Brightest Day. Now that the mega event that was Blackest Night has died to smoldering embers from it’s initial roaring inferno we can jump back in and see if the series will continue to steamroll or slow down a bit.
So “is it any good now that Blackest Night is done?”
Hell YES people…
Things continue to move forward for this title and the cast of characters has grown exponentially. Despite the amount of characters that are now part of the Lantern mythos, they are all able to have their moment in this issue. The only new character not really present here is Indigo-1, but that is in keeping with the whole shtick of that corps. We have Hal and Carol who get to enjoy a rare moment with each other as civilians, and pilots. Clearly there is still a great sense of chemistry, history, and attraction between the two as Hal poses the question to Carol “Do you love me?”
You’ll never get that answer as Sinestro comes calling. He comes under the rules of the “lantern treaty” but he makes no qualms about who he is and where he stands as he obliterates jet fighters planes that aren’t currently 100% paid for. Sinestro has found the entity (white lantern) and the race is on.
Saint Walker is seen paying homage to the fallen of Blackest Night and spreading his message of hope and peace. I have to say that the Blue Corps is probably my favorite of the newer additions to the mythos.
Larfleeze pays a visit to Lex for a lesson on what he may want next. It’s a great scene and you have to love Larfleeze. Such a simple mindset, and yet it works better than most characters with years of development behind them as characters.
We then cut to Atrocitus and Ganthet. Apparently some dirty little deal is going on behind the scenes and there is another Lantern involved that knows full well that it will be the end of how Hal Jordan currently views him. There will be no going back.
Just when you think that this title can settle down for an issue or two, we hop right back in to plots and the chess pieces into position for yet another galaxy altering debacle.
Geoff Johns has earned his place at the table 100x over now at this point, but you can tell that he still has Hal Jordan stories to tell. Doug Mahnke is an amazing addition to this book as well. He has delivered beautiful panels for every one of his issues to date and this is something that this book is becoming known for as it has sky-rocketed to the top of the DC heap. This book continues to be a must read and While Hal is more curious about which beautiful woman he’s into more… Carol or Cowgirl… (Tough life Hal), the rest of the players are dealing and making moves for a game that clearly did not end with Nekron and Black Hand’s defeat.
Sam Wilson’s Review
Ultimate Comics Avengers #6
Marvel Comics
Written by: Mark Millar
Drawn by: Carlos Pacheo
Ultimatum is now over and the status quo as we now know it has changed in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Magneto is dead, Dr. Doom (aka Victor Van Dam) is dead, Wolverine is dead (I think), I could go on. The Avengers took some heavy losses, Hank Pym (well, no great loss) is gone but Nick Fury is back. The Earth was tilted on its Axis and New York was hit by a tidal wave, yeah, the Ultimate Marvel U was not left in good shape. Like I said though, Nick Fury is back and he has a plan. I won’t lie, the Ultimate U in general took a turn for the worse the last few years, Ultimates Volume 3 couldn’t hold a candle to the Millar run, Nick Fury being stuck in an alternate universe was kinda cool for a minute but after thinking about it I came to the conclusion that it was just retarded. What once was a fresh take on some classic characters with the best creators kind fell off, but with “Ultimatum” things are looking up and Ultimate Comic Avengers could be the catalyst the “Ultimate” line needs to find its old glory again…
Our story opens up with Nick Fury looking for a job. He finds himself at the Triskelton, LionsSuck...LionsSuck...LionsSuck...LionsSuck...LionsSuck...ing to Hawkeye about the way Carol Danvers is running SHIELD. Hawkeye counters with an offer, Danvers wants Fury to lead a black ops team assigned to hunting down Captain America. What? Yeah, it turns out the Red Skull is still alive. What? Oh yeah, and let’s make it even more f-ed up by revealing that the Red Skull is Captain America’s son, and can totally kick his ass. To make it worse, the government was actually training the Red Skull to be the new Captain America, but when he turned 17 he decided he didn’t like the government so he snapped and started killing people, cut off his own face and became a Nazi (yeah). So the government (SHIELD) needs to retrieve him post haste so their f-up doesn’t become national news. Enter Nick Fury and his black ops team, who need to get to the Red Skull before Steve does to do some damage control. The new team consists of Hawkeye (with the dual pistols), Red Wasp (ex-terrorist/stark tech, not Janet), War Machine (a pretty much amoral version of Jim Rhodes), Black Widow 2 (no idea who she is other than Nick Fury’s ex-girlfriend) and Joeseph Stark (yeah, apparently he’s Tony’s a**hole older brother). The new team chases Cap to Paris, where, well, things don’t go as planned and of course they all get into it and cap is eventually brought down by the Ultimates and a genetically grown nerd Hulk (yes, nerd Hulk). With Cap on ice, the team has to hop to their “real” mission, get the blueprints of the cosmic cube back from AIM, who stole them with the help of Cap jr. aka the Red Skull. By the time our heroes (I use that word loosely) catch up to AIM and the Red Skull though, well, the Skull has the cube and its fully operational and he just ordered all the AIM soldiers with him to eat themselves. Yes, I said eat themselves. It’s okay though, Cap escaped French custody and is en route to most likely kick his son’s ass, which of course brings us to our final issue. The Red Skull now has the power of the cosmic cube, which he uses to spank our (anti)heroes most brutally. Its okay though, because daddy is coming (by daddy I mean Steve Rodgers aka Captain America) and he’s probably going to whup jr’s ass. The conclusion? Satisfying, of course as expected it leaves a few questions in addition to some answers…
Hell yes, the Ultimates are back and bad-a** just like they are supposed to be. I don’t know why Millar took so much time off the book, but I’m sure as hell glad he’s back and not pulling any punches (we won’t talk about his Fantastic Four for the regular Marvel U, we just won’t). So word, Ultimate fans rejoice, they are freakin’ back…
Wktf’s Reviews
Batman: Streets of Gotham #11
DC Comics
Written by: Paul Dini
Drawn by: Dustin Nguyen
Cover by: Dustin Nguyen (in an apparent tribute to Mike Mignola)
This issue delivers the finale to what, technically, is a two part tale but really delivers the conclusion to pieces of a couple of subplots that have climaxed with these issues. Children have been disappearing and some even ending up dead in Gotham Harbor. Gotham have plenty of warped sicko villains but they don’t come much more twisted than Zsasz who, since I was first introduced to him in the early 1990s, sees it as his nihilistic mission to eliminate others’ existence and record his death tally in hatch marks on his own body. Over the last few issues, Zsasz had secured resources from The Penguin to create an underground arena where he dueled recruited and imprisoned orphaned children to their deaths. Having gotten wind of some evil involving missing children, Batman and Robin have been keeping their radar up but it’s Damian who really seems to have taken this case to heart. Last issue, along with another character introduced in this series, a boy named Colin, Damian tracked Zsasz to his lair with the intent of killing him. However, just as the Cassandra Cain Batgirl had trouble with The Joker’s manic fighting style, Damian found he couldn’t lay a hand on Zsasz despite the fact Damian had learned dozens of ways to kill a man through his association with The League of Assassins. Badly beaten by a blood thirsty Zsasz, last issue ended with Damian’s death in Zsasz’s subterranean coliseum looking all too likely.
But Collin, whom Damian had subdued in order to keep him safe, has a secret of his own. Interceding on Damian’s behalf, Damian discovers both that he has an unlikely partner but also the key to battling Zsasz on his own terms. This is one seriously dark and very bloody comic book. Dini’s story is as bleak as any he’s written since his comic book Batman tenure began several years ago on Detective Comics when he was partnered with Jack Kramer. But bleak as it is, this one is a real nail biter and one of the very few recent Bat titles where I actually found myself not only sympathizing with the petulant and obnoxious Damian but even concerned about him. Nguyen’s art is just stellar, as always. Dark, moody, and expressive, Nguyen is a master at blending surreal and scary quiet with the most fluid of action scenes. And his cover this issue is an absolute killer. Batman, himself barely makes an entrance and his brief appearance interrupts some interesting dialogue between Damian and Collin that might have revealed some information about the little brat’s future intentions. While I’m thoroughly enjoying what Tony Daniel’s been doing on the core Batman title, and I haven’t been picking up the Morrison book since feeling ripped off by Final Crisis and Batman RIP, any Batman book by Dini and Nguyen will always be the core Batman title for me. And this issue just validates that point of view. Again.
The Brave and the Bold #33
DC Comics
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Drawn by: Cliff Chiang
Cover by: Jesus Saiz
Last issue JMS and Jesus Saiz knocked my socks off with their Aquaman/Etrigan team up. Combining a stunning level of knowledge and respect for both characters, these two creators wove a wonderfully sophisticated tale of mystery and horror that made the teaming of two such unlikely partners completely natural and equally as powerful. All the incredible writing prowess JMS had brought to Thor clearly was at work here. So when this issue hit the stands with the seemingly whimsical cover of Zatanna, Wonder Woman and the Silver Age Batgirl walking arm-in-arm down the sidewalk I naturally figured JMS was switching gears and throwing us a lighter weight fluff-tale just to mix things up a bit.
Our story begins with Zatanna waking from a startling dream and realizing “We have places to be.” Mystically communicating with Wonder Woman, Zatanna lets Dianna know that she’s putting together a girls’ night out that she wants to be special. Very special. But just when I thought my hunch about this issue had been confirmed, the starkly serious look on Zatanna’s face made me wonder if something else was up, just under the surface. Had our sorceress been possessed by whatever image assaulted her in her sleep? And worse, the vacuous reason for recruiting Barbara for this girl’s night out, that “it would be good for us. For you. Kick up your heels. Have a little fun. Dance” all just seemed too damn strange. My reaction was the same Barbara expressed to Wonder Woman, “She’s serious[?]” And what follows is some good-natured club hopping by our three superheroines, with Babs’ clearly being less comfortable about all this than her two traveling companions.
But, wait. Seriously. What the hell was going on here? And why the wide eyed, smiling but strained looks on Zatanna’s and Diana’s faces? When these three part, the mood changes drastically and all of a sudden a familiar scene unfolded before me, yet again, piece by piece, that felt as horrifying and shocking as the very first time I saw it. And all of a sudden I realized that my initial hunch about this issue simply couldn’t have been more wrong. When I finished this issue I put it down and honestly felt heat rising to my face. The juxtaposition of JMS’ about-face story with Chiang’s pristinely clean art delivers a body blow to the reader that puts us all on notice that JMS has every intention on doing with his titles at DC what he did with Thor at Marvel. Put them at the top of our weekly comic book reading lists. My pick of the week.
Sif #1 One-Shot
Marvel Comics
Written by: Kelly Sue Deconnick
Drawn by: Ryan Stegman
Cover by: Travel Foreman
I hate it when the title I’m most looking forward to reading is the most disappointing. The promise of a Sif/Beta Ray Bill team up had so much potential given this pair’s romantic history together during Walt Simonson’s Thor run. But this done-in-one issue seemed to rush through the problems it put forth with such speed as to trivialize the issues and the title character.
Remember when Hercules, the Prince of Power for whom battle as a “Gift” he bestowed on others, was genuinely afraid to fight again after The Masters of Evil nearly beat him to death during the Avengers Under Siege storyline? Well, in a similar manner, Sif has lost her way. Having nearly perished, her spirit trapped in the body of a dying elderly woman while Loki wore her body like a pelt, Sif now lives in fear of the God of Mischief’s return and claiming her again. When Beta Ray Bill returns to Broxton, with his new mate on his arm, seeking Thor’s aid he instead finds The Lady Sif. Bill’s faithful craft, Skuttlebutt has been attacked by a heinous virus that is wise to Korbonite biology, preventing Bill from rescuing his ship and crew.
Unfortunately, Thor is not to be found at this immediately post-Siege point in time, and Sif is languishing in boredom and with her own dark and fearful thoughts. So, naturally, she volunteers to help Bill get Skuttlebutt back. What follows is fast and furious, or maybe quickly and predictably. Improbably, we discover at the point of crisis that Bill has withheld some information from Sif that places her in grave danger, but there’s nothing in the storyline or the art that leads us to believe this can be anything more than a hastily produced test book of no real consequence. And, pretty much, that’s what it is. The storyline’s pretty predictable, and the art’s far too cartoony to take seriously for a character as stories and noble as Sif. Sadly, this book is a pass for anyone still on the fence about it.
Wktf’s Trade Review
The Losers: Book One (Volume 1 & 2)
DC Comics/Vertigo
Written by: Andy Diggle
Drawn by: Jock, with Shawn Martinbrough
Cover by: Jock
This will be a great few weeks for comic book movies. Last week “Kick-Ass” opened and in another couple of weeks we’ll have Iron Man 2. But this weekend we’ll have Hollywood’s take on The Losers. If you’re like me, then you know The Losers as the primary feature of DC’s Fighting Forces war comic book, created by Robert Kanigher. Set in WWII, The Losers was a Special Forces Group from all branches of the armed forces, all of whom had lost men under their command. Their guilt and anger at themselves over this common element caused them to dub themselves The Losers. A few years back, I was delighted to see The Losers reappear so prominently in the beginning of Darwin Cooke’s The New Frontier. And while Andy Diggle may first have considered revisiting this concept, as he stated in his introduction to this trade, just as Howard Chaykin did Jack Kirby’s Challengers of the Unknown, he quickly abandoned it for a far more modern, high octane work under the same banner.
Diggle states directly in his introduction that what he wanted to create was the experience of a high velocity Shane Black (he of Lethal Weapon fame) movie in a comic book. And, damn, if he doesn’t succeed in doing just that. As noted, based as loosely as possible on the original concept, this band of Losers is a motley Special Forces team deployed during the War on Terror having been commissioned, it appears, directly by the CIA. However, at or near the end of their operation together they were betrayed by their handler, the mysterious but extraordinarily powerful Max, and both presumed and left for dead. Genuinely enraged, none more so than their leader, a cold hearted but brilliant strategist named Clay, desirous of getting their lives and identities back, but also out to strike back at and right the wrongs of their government, this team of singularly talented ops specialists most definitely take matters into their own hands.
Does this sound like a cliché, sort of like the A-Team, that nearly anyone could devise? Yes, you’d be right about that. But the trick is to pull it off where the reader actually cares about each individual character, feels real fear for your team’s lives, and experiences so many hilarious and explosively wild and genuinely scary and tense moments that you give up counting them as you consume this book. Diggle’s plotting, pacing and scripting is just outstanding, as are the characters he fully fleshes out and brings to life. And Jock’s art is mind blowing in the way it seems to just explode off the page. This set of crazy, kinetic espionage capers is absolute eye candy loaded with flying bullets, explosions and hand-to-hand combat. Jock’s portrayal of each character, most especially the spikey-haired computer hacker Jensen, the strangely dark and silent marksman named Cougar, and the sexy, mysterious but tough as nails Aisha who partners with The Losers out of a common hatred for Max, is just meticulously and wonderfully rendered.
At a cover price of just $19.99 for the first 12 issues of the series that ran 32 issues from 2003 to 2006, DC has priced this book to move off the shelf. With the movie coming hopefully more people will do what I did: pick up this trade. It’s an absolute killer.
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