Wktf’s Reviews
Fairly dense comic buying week for me. Picked up the
Giant-Size Marvel trade as well as vol. 3
Teen Titans trade for my 9 year old,
Sonic the Hedgehog and
Toxin for my 12 year old,
Green Lantern Secret Files,
MK Spider-Man,
Daredevil (couldn’t figure this issue out, frankly),
Hercules, and what’s reviewed below. I flipped through
Teen Titans at my LCS and thought it looked cool but, for some reason, put it back. Last night I thought that I really should go back there and pick it up. Based on Sam’s review, below, now I will. And away we go…
Black Panther #4
Marvel Comics
Written by: Reginald Hudlin
Drawn by: John Romita, Jr.
In the prior three issues we’ve learned a lot about Wakanda and the Panther dynasty. We’ve learned that Wakanda is a resource and culturally rich warrior state that’s lived and thrived in Africa for untold generations despite frequent attempts by other nations at colonization. We’ve seen the re-imagined Klaw, murderer of T’Challa’s father, gathering his forces to attack Wakanda. These forces include Batroc the Leaper, the Rhino, a psychic vampire named Cannibal, the Radioactive Man and, last issue, the new Black Knight. He’s also recruited the entire Nigandan Army to his cause. For the last three issues we, the readers, have witnessed a slow but relentless build to what I’d hoped would be the beginning of some action. With this issue I was not disappointed.
Sure enough, Klaw begins his assault on Wakanda. The Radioactive Man sets the Vibranium store, well, vibrating…something that shouldn’t happen. Miners and children are endangered. The Rhino charges in a direct assault, the Black Knight comes in from the sky, and the Radioactive Man (doing double duty) is projected into the Vibranium mines to attack and kill, and he does, from below. In the mean time, T’Challa has leveled his military forces at this super team, specifically the Rhino and the Black Knight, with limited-to-no success. And, to add insult to injury, unbeknownst to T’Challa, the War Room of the U.S. government has picked up on the skirmish and sees this as an opportunity to move on the much coveted state of Wakanda. The only thing that’s left is for the Black Panther, himself, to personally join the fray. Several people have commented they’d like to see the Panther stop being a supporting character in his own title. My guess is they’ll get there wish in spades with the next issue.
One moment particularly stood out for me. During the Vibranium crisis that put a group of school children in jeopardy, the Black Panther makes a diving save to catch a falling boy. The boy, awe struck, bows to the Panther and praises him as his god. T’Challa’s response to this is swiftly but wisely and warmly handled. Special kudos to Hudlin for scripting a scene that, due to its brevity, could have been awkward moralizing but, instead, clues us into the depth of the character and story we’re reading. Well, folks, the pace and action are picking up, the plot’s intrigue is running high, and the art is beautiful (hey, this is JR JR we’re talkin’ about). Are you reading this book yet?
Batman: Dark Detective #2 (of 6)
DC Comics
Written by: Steve Englehart
Drawn by: Marshall Rogers
Anyone else notice that the cover of this series sports a 1970’s Batman logo while the splash page’s logo is from the 1940’s? I don’t know if this is meant to invoke nostalgia or what, but it does seem to take this Batman mini series out of the context of today’s Batman, almost like it’s a parallel universe, as much as the story itself does. For example, if you’ve been following Loeb’s
Superman/Batman series you know Batman has confronted both Metallo and Lex Luthor about the mystery of Bruce Wayne’s parents’ murderer. Long time Batman readers will remember that a thug named Joe Chill killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. I thought this part of Batman’s history simply had been written out since Miller’s
Batman: Year One to create a mystery for today’s audience. And yet there’s a reference to Chill as the Wayne’s murderer in this very issue.
Well, regardless, this installment moves our story further from the dark, brooding Batman we know today. In fact, we don’t get Batman at all in this issue. Two-Face, the Joker and the Scarecrow make appearances, though. And Harvey makes things interesting by threatening to kill the Joker if he continues his bid for Governor, stating a love for the institution of which he once was a part. During their exchange, Joker shows how surreal he is by actually grasping one of his own word balloons. Silver St. Cloud, Bruce’s former lover, sees off her candidate fiancée and changes from a turtle neck to a low cut blouse to visit Bruce Wayne. Her purpose is to insure Bruce knows she just wants to be friends. Uh-huh, right Silver. Then why the low cut, cleavage-bearing blouse? Hmmm? Bruce offers to show Silver the Batcave, so she can get to know him better. The problem is that the Scarecrow planted a time release fear gas capsule on Batman’s cape during the last issue, which now goes off. The result of Bruce and Silver’s exposure to the gas is that they get soon get busy in the Batcave while the police are wondering where Batman is during a Joker double murder.
This series is so off-beat compared to today’s Bat-stories, and I’m really enjoying it. Batman/Bruce is a far more approachable and human hero, while still obsessed with his war-on-crime mission. I’m really curious where this series, ultimately, is going.
Wolverine #28
Marvel Comics
Written by: Mark Millar
Drawn by: John Romita, Jr.
Once again, this title is
my pick of the week. Logan is no longer Enemy of the State, but Northstar and Electra sure are. Controlled by Gorgon, the new leader of the Hydra-The Hand-The Dawn of the White Light triumvirate, they are continuing the killing spree Wolverine started in the first arc to bring more undead servants to the Gorgon’s side. Wolverine has a score to settle with Gorgon but also must stop him and Elisabeth Von Strucker from turning Reed Richard’s plundered discoveries, discoveries Wolverine handed them, into weapons of enormous killing potential.
To be sure, Wolverine has a classic mad-on. He’s royally pissed and out for blood. After all, he started this whole mess when he was Gorgon’s brainwashed assassin and feels responsible for cleaning it up. And he’s out of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s deprogramming care because their Dr. Weiberg had the foresight to let loose a psychopath to stop a psychopath, much to the chagrin of the agency’s top brass. The additional firepower the good doctor handed over to our feral fury also is not to be believed. Let’s just say these babies are not what you’d expect an X-Man to rely on for help. Thinking he’s about to stop Northstar, Wolverine walks into a trap, gets his head handed to him and, upon regaining battered consciousness, finds himself in the enemy’s Alaska headquarters surrounded by hostile folk. How he gets out, and who his new side kick is, is something you’re just going to have to read for yourselves. Millar continues to deliver incredible stories with great plot twists, lots of action and fun dialogue. John Romita Jr’s art is consistently powerful. I love the range of emotions he’s able to demonstrate: from the shock and fear in the bartender, to the smug certainty of Dr. Weinberg to the desperation on Northstar’s face. And watching Wolverine’s pulped and bloody face heal slightly panel by panel is a nice touch, as well. Finally, practically no one can deliver action scenes like JR JR. No question, for the last nine issues, Wolverine has been fun to read again.
Sam Wilson’s Reviews
Eh, so-so week for me. I’m fairly irritated
Ultimate Iron Man and
Ultimate FF didn’t come out this week. Picked up the new printing if the
Infinity Gauntlet TPB to review next week. I also picked up the
Superman OMAC tie-in (I hope I don’t regret that).
My pick of the week, or course is Black Panther. That being said, on to the reviews.
Birds of Prey #82
DC Comics
Written By: Gail Simone
Drawn By: Joe Bennet
Fishnets: Can’t go wrong
Birds of Prey can be considered a lot of things, a Bat-title, a chick book, a bad-girl book, eye candy, whatever. Is it those things? Yes, but none of those things define Birds of Prey. BOP is a superhero tale where the heroes are not larger than life, and have real emotions towards each other and their actions. Okay, it’s written by a woman and about women. Would that have anything to do with the emotional content and self-awareness of its character? Meh, probably, men can be one dimensional and emotionally stunted (ask my wife). Birds of Prey isn’t so much a super-team book as it’s a super-friend book. All the characters have close friendships with each other, and their relationships are put to the test through conflict, self-conflict, and simply the day-to-day business of fighting crime in the DC Universe. All that touchy feely crap aside, BOP is a good book with deep characters and it wouldn’t hurt you to check out something different every once in awhile.
The heart of BOP is Oracle, aka Barbara Gordon, aka the original Batgirl. She is the “brains” of the operations, a computer uber-goddess who has information on anyone and everything in the DC Universe, and uses that information for her own crime fighting agenda. She has several “agents” who help her carry out that agenda, Dinah Lance, aka the Black Canary, and Helena Bertanelli, aka the Huntress. Supporting characters include Savant, a former criminal Oracle more or less forced into service, and Zinda Blake, aka Lady Blackhawk II, a leftover from DC’s overwrought Zero Hour. BOP were formally based out of Gotham Clock tower, in Gotham city but the events of Gang War (another crappy DC crossover, this time occurring in all the Bat-titles) forced them out of town. Now BOP is a mobile operation, having a large Air Force One type jet as their headquarters. Of course they are back to business as usual, righting wrongs, kicking butt, wearing fishnets, and exposing their midriffs.
BOP’s latest adventure takes Black Canary and JSA compadre Ted Grant, aka Wildcat, to Southeast Asia, where they go undercover to take out a cadre of legendary assassins. Also going on, Helena Bertanelli and Savant go to Gotham to play hardball with the mob. For those of you who don’t know the Huntress’s origin, she was a former mob princess who witnessed her entire family slaughtered in a mob coup de ta, and then decided to focus her anger and become a crime fighter. It seems she has gone back to the mob and demanded her rightful place as Don. Is she undercover for Oracle, or is this her own thing? Oh yeah, and Oracle is down with a cold, it seems that Brainiac virus she downloaded awhile back is starting to affect her physically.
BOP is not for everyone, but it’s definitely worth trying out. Gail Simon’s dialog is fresh and witty, and the art, well the art is hot. No question. Several past storylines are readily available in tpb form, or give this current issue a shot. I guarantee, you won’t be disappointed.
Teen Titans #24
DC Comics
Written By: Geoff Johns
Drawn By: Matthew Clark
Most of us believe the
Titans golden age was the Perez/Wolfman years of the ‘80’s. New characters Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire fought alongside old standards Robin, Wonder Girl and Speedy. They were the “Teen Titans”. They dealt with drug dealers, cults, their own personal shortcomings, each other’s families, and even betrayal from within. Perez and Wolfman’s
Teen Titans were young, but had mature problems, and were all someone we could identify with. Of course nothing stays the same, the Titans grew up. Starfire and Nightwing never got married; Donna Troy died, lived, transformed, and died again. I think she transformed again too. Cyborg was taken apart and put back together more times than I could count, and eventually the Titans fell apart. There were a couple of attempts at making a new group Titans, a book even came out with an entirely new roster of “Teen Titans”, none of which were anyone’s sidekick. Yet none of this lived up to the golden days of the ‘80’s. Until now.
Geoff Johns has brought the
Teen Titans back to their former glory. The team is now located in San Francisco, and old school Titans Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy are kinda like Titan RA’s, they’re the leaders and mentors of this new group of young heroes. Rounding out the roster is a younger Raven (don’t ask, can’t explain), Wonder Girl, Superboy, Robin (Tim Drake), Kid Flash (formerly Impulse), and the new Speedy (a girl this time). Once again, the Titans are teen protégé’s, but this time the Titans gives them a weekend place where they can be on their own and have a place to chill away from their mentors.
This latest issue of
Teen Titans kicks off a brand new storyline which will be crossing over the Outsiders, a team whose membership is composed of former Titans. A while ago, it was discovered that Superboy is made up of both human and Kryptonian DNA, and the human sample was taken from none other than Lex Luthor. Robin knows, but Superboy hasn’t had the courage to tell anyone else, until now. He asks Robin to assemble everyone in the conference room, he’s going to come clean about his heritage. Of course that doesn’t happen, some unseen force takes control of Superboy, causing him to shave his head and wreak havoc among the rest of the Titans.
I like this new incarnation of the Titans. It stands separate from the old, yet pays its respect at the same time. Geoff Johns does a good job of giving new characters personalities (especially Kid Flash, who was criminally underwritten) and keeping the old characters fresh. The art for this book has always been consistently good and I don’t see that changing anytime in the near future. There are several tpb’s available of past storylines, or just check out the current issue if you are already familiar with the characters. It’s definitely worth the effort.
Young Avengers #4
Marvel Comics
Written By: Allan Heinberg
Drawn By: Jim Cheung
Allan Heinberg is a writer for TV’s “The OC”. I don’t watch that show. I don’t watch soap operas. I don’t watch teen shows. I especially don’t watch teen soap operas. Okay, so what do I think about his attempt at the comic genre? I’m okay with it, so far (with a few reservations). The
Young Avengers come out of the events of “Avengers Disassembled”. A young Kang finds out what he is going to become in the future, so he jets back to the past looking for the Avengers to help him. Of course there are no more Avengers, so the young Kang stumbles across a failsafe program in the Vision’s software designed to pinpoint the exact location of the Next wave of Avengers. These Young Avengers are Patriot (Josiah’s nephew from
The Truth limited series) Iron Lad (young Kang), Asgardian and Hulkling (no info on those two yet). They are joined by Cassie Lang (the daughter of the Scott Lang, the now deceased Ant Man) and Kate Bishop (a precocious teen who gets the Young Avengers out of a jam).
In the current story Iron Man, Captain America and Jessica Jones have caught up with our heroes and have locked them down in Avengers mansion, intending on calling their parents and putting the kibosh on this whole thing before it even gets started. Then the adult Kang shows up, demanding his younger self be returned to him lest the current timeline be destroyed. The adult Avengers realize this is the right thing to do, so they agree to turn him over. Of course wacky antics ensue, and things don’t go as planned.
So, what are my problems with this book? The names. They suck. They’re awful. C’mon, Hulkling? That’s really lame. Also, can the Patriot be anything else besides petulant? He sure is a little spoiled bi$#, unlikable almost, but that is par for the course when you are a teenager, so I suppose the behavior is forgivable. I will say the art is fantastic, and the story has taken an interesting twist. I kinda want to see how this whole Kang thing works out, and I also want to see where they got the Asgardian from. They revealed more about Hulkling in this current issue, and I gotta say, not impressed, but not completely dismissing it either. Like I said, I’m officially still on the fence with Young Avengers. I will see it out, at least until this storyline is over. So pick it up, or wait for the first tpb, either way, you are entitled to make your own opinion about it.
For our classic trade reviews,
The Death of Captain Marvel and
The Death of Jean DeWolff, please go to
http://www.statueforum.com/showthrea...164#post194164
ark Knight. Love to see bruce and not just batman. And it is nice to actually see a story where the events of war games actually play a role. And Silver St Cloud, welcome back!
