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Old 04-07-2005, 09:15 AM   #1
wktf
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Comic Book Reviews 4/6/05

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Wktf’s Reviews

Superman/Batman #18
DC Comics
Written by: Jeph Loeb
Drawn by: Carlos Pacheco

Here’s my pick of the week. This book, like New Avengers, is consistently entertaining and sets a high standard for itself that, fortunately for fans, it continues to maintain. In no small part this is thanks to Jeff Loeb’s plotting and writing. In this arc he’s aided by the incredible art of Carlos Pacheco who really outdoes even himself in this run. This issue marks the explosive and poignant conclusion to a terrific five part story arc titled “Absolute Power.” For those who haven’t been following since issue #14, today’s reality has been drastically altered. Three beings known as Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, and Saturn Queen, all of whom bear a striking resemblance to members of the Legion of Superheroes, have ventured from the 31st century into the past to kidnap Clark and Bruce as children, raise them as their sons, and set them up as the cruel and absolute rulers of Earth. The adult Superman and Batman rule tyrannically and kill indiscriminately to maintain their rule. The violence during the course of this arc has been brutal, especially when the other heroes rebel in the second chapter and there’s a truly horrific scene in which Superman beats and then strangles Wonder Woman to death after she runs Batman through with her sword.

At first I thought this arc was an “imaginary” tale, at least until the Superman from Kingdom Come showed up. This character appeared all the way back in issue #2 to attack today’s Superman in the Batcave, saying, “I’ve come to stop you. I know you’ll think you’re doing the right thing - - but you’ll be wrong. You’ll only wind up killing them all. And you’ll be all alone. Alone!” We readers had no clue what this attack was about, until this arc finally clues us in to what this future Superman means. Our heroes do snap out of it and, in the most ghastly way, recruit help to take down the three principle villains. But the victory is not without serious ramifications and trauma to both Superman and Batman. Best of all, the ending of this story is surprisingly touching, with an unexpected homage to Alan Moore’s two-part “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” This was the final 1986 Superman story, ending Superman’s run before John Byrne came on to reboot the character. Anyone who has not read this classic tale will be baffled by this issue’s ending. But the way Loeb links the Kingdom Come Superman to Moore’s final story in an “Elsewhen” epilogue is just wonderfully fashioned and demonstrates comic book continuity and symmetry at its finest.

Marvel Team-Up #7
Marvel Comics
Written by: Robert Kirkman
Drawn by: Scott Kollins

This issue was kind of a throw away issue, unfortunately. Too much in it is just bizarre or unexplained. We get some scenes with Titanus, an alien who came to Earth with the first issue and beat Sunfire nearly to death. But we still don’t have a clue why he’s even here and his presence is getting a little old. It’s always great to see Moon Knight, a much beloved but too rarely seen character, and a team-up between him and Spider-Man should be lots of fun. But Spidey’s prattle as he hitches a ride in Moon Knight’s ship feels really forced, like Kirkman felt obligated to just throw in some useless Spider-Man chatter. And the villain, the Ringmaster, lame enough by himself, now is sporting a ring made from the reality warping Cosmic Cube. So now this turkey of a villain, now able to bend reality to his will, has his sight set on world domination. The Ringmaster? And, wait a minute, isn’t the Cosmic Cube currently out of juice in the current run of Captain America?

I like Kollins’ art. I know there are some here who don’t. But even his art can’t carry a story that gets tired before it even starts picking up steam. And, given the cliffhanger ending, I’m not sure I understand how Blade and the Punisher will fit into next issue’s story. I’m looking forward to this team up and just hope it makes sense in the context of this story and this run’s continuity thus far.

Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #2
DC Comics
Written by: Brian Azzarello
Drawn by: Lee Bermejo

I wasn’t too thrilled with the first issue of this series as I felt Azzarello hadn’t spun any new kind of angle on the enmity Luthor feels toward Superman. Well, the big blue Boy Scout isn’t even in this issue and, I have to say, I think the lack of his presence really helps the story. Sure, there’s reference to him as Luthor flies in his jet above the city, wondering if “he” sees what Luthor sees, “or does he merely look down on it?” But that’s it.

In this issue we see how Luthor deals with the unions that get in his way as well as some strange experiments his doctors have going in his lab. His travel to meet with a certain billionaire playboy in Gotham City should be interesting; given the history these two characters have after the events of the Gotham earthquake. I suppose this cements that this is a historical tale. We also get to see more of Mr. Orr, who’s also appearing in Azzarello’s “Superman” run, who in this title appears to be hired muscle.

The story moves along pretty well and held my interest a lot better than the first issue. And Bermejo’s art, which gives everything in this book a cold and detached feel, is growing on me.

Superman: For Tomorrow HC, volume 1
Written by: Brian Azzarello
Drawn by: Jim Lee & Scott Williams

I’ve really not been enjoying this series so I surprised myself when I couldn’t resist picking this book up when it hit the stores last week. I have to admit, the thing that drew me right to it was the beautiful cover. It’s awash in auburn, blood soaked red and Superman, crouched amidst a ruined city, is shrouded in darkness. His eyes and red “S” emblem, though, are in metallic red foil that causes them to really jump off the page.

This whole book is beautifully packaged, but could have served its purpose just as a Jim Lee Superman art book. Seriously, the images of Superman are big, grand and iconic. They’re wonderful to look at. Though I like Lee’s Batman more than his Superman, he really knows how to give this character scale and aura. The story flows surprisingly well as one piece rather than a collection of six issues and credit has to go to the writer or editor for this, for sure. Still, the story itself remains confusing, the events in the book don’t tie together any better than they did as individual comics, and the dialogue is so damn weighty and ponderous it’s almost painful to get through. It doesn’t help that I’ve been reading the issues beyond this run and still don’t have a clue what’s going on.

The Jim Lee sketchbook in the back is a fun read and helps give some insights into how the artist is working with the character. Azzarello’s introduction is a waste of time, though, unless you care about the differences between his and Lee’s dining habits, or you want to read about how Jim Lee travels with an entourage. “Who cares?’ was my first thought when I finished reading his intro.


Sam Wilson’s Comic Reviews

Hi all. As always, plenty of good books came out today, Ultimate FF, Ultimate Spidey, Y the Last Man, and the Punisher to name a few. I’ll be giving props to some soldiers, a magician, and one of the most unsung comics in recent history. Also in this weeks reviews, I have noting to bad to say about anything (hey, it can happen)!


Strange (#5 of ?)
Marvel Comics
Written by: J. Michael Straczyniski
Drawn by: Brandon Peterson

Strange is the retelling of Dr. Strange’s origin under the more mature “Marvel Knights” imprint. Truth be told, I was never a fan of the good doc. I mean, seriously, by the “hairy hands of holgoth” or whatever the heck he always says; and Wong, his manservant. Dudes with menservants always seemed a little questionable to me. Anyway, I like what JMS has been doing with the marvel universe so far, Spidey was good (for awhile anyway), Supreme Power is cool, so I fest Strange was worth a shot. Let me tell you, I’m darn pleased I picked it up.

So we get the back story, talented surgeon, accident, hands ruined, surgeon no more etc. etc. (Confessor, I always worry if you read Strange and end up getting in a car accident you are going to leave SC and search for the ancient one or some crazy sh#@...). What are new are the details. Doc does a “Doctor’s Without Borders” thing in college, where he goes to Tibet and meets Wong, promising to come back some day (of course he gets sidetracked, etc. etc. you know the rest). Clea is SUPER HOT. I mean DAMN she is fine. Wow. Baron Mordo has this whole Anakin Skywalker thing going on with the Ancient One. Oh yeah, and the Dread Dormammu is around there somewhere pulling on some strings. Yeah, and Strange has a Matrix like training scene with the Ancient one. Pretty cool. Our doctor is on his way to become a very reluctant (and self deprecating) sorcerer supreme (by Hoggoth!).

JMS’s dialogue is fresh and realistic. Peterson’s art is detailed and carefully laid out. Buy the book. Or wait for the TPB to come out and buy that. If you’re a fan of Strange I’m sure you’ll enjoy this new take on him (and Confessor, if you head off to the far east after reading this I’m NOT going to explain it to your wife and kids).

The Losers #22
DC/Vertigo Comics
Written by: Andy Diggle
Drawn by: Ben Oliver (special guest artist)

This book is my pick of the week. Why? Because it is AWESOME. BUY IT ALREADY. Okay, seriously, why buy the Losers?

1) It’s an action movie put to paper. Better chases than the French Connection, more action than the Killer, and more tense than Die Hard.
2) The regular artist, Jock, is fresh and stylized in a non-clichéd way. Worth checking out
3) Andy Diggle’s dialogue is tense and comes out in a machine gun staccato, always witty, always layered with tension.
4) It’s my favorite book ever and if you don’t buy it I’m coming to your house to rip up all your X-men.

The premise is simple: The Colonel (aka Clay), Pooch (vehicles), Jensen (computers) and Cougar (sniper) are a special ops team operating in Afghanistan in 1998. They are given an order to take out an Afghan warlord by a CIA bigwig known only as “Max”. Little do they know it’s a setup and they are left out in the desert to die. The only thing is, they didn’t die. The spurned soldiers decide to team up with an Afghan freedom fighter named Aisha (who clearly has an agenda of her own, but that gets revealed later…) and get their revenge on Max (and the whole CIA for that matter). And of course like Cheesecake, revenge is a dish best served with as many explosions, hand grenades, and bullets as possible.

In issue 22 the Losers latest caper is to pose as gunrunners to get a line into Max’s secret CIA bank account, which he is in the midst of liquidating into barabonds. Interesting things are happening, we learn the Colonel and Aisha are “bumpin’ uglies”, an old enemy is not really dead, and the Losers actually have a few friends (well, one anyway). The first 2 story lines are already collected in TPB form, and a third TPB has been announced for this spring. Check it out. Buy it. Live it. Appreciate the Losers.

Classic TBP Review

Stormwatch: Force of Nature tpb
Wildstorm/DC Comics
Written By: Warren Ellis
Drawn By: Tom Raney

This is the first trade paperback in a series of 5, which collects Warren Ellis’s fantastic run on Stormwatch. Stormwatch was easily a third tier title for Wildstorm. I read it when it first came out because the leader of the group was an African American, and there weren’t many African American Super hero team leaders at the time (well, Photon aka Capt. Marvel led the Avengers briefly, but that’s neither here nor there). I quickly lost interest in the series though. Bland characters, bland writing, no one in the book seemed to have any identity. Fast-forward several years. A friend of mine says, hey, “you need to be reading Stormwatch, this cat Warren Ellis is the MAN”. I never heard of Warren Ellis before, but I figure if I gave the book a chance before, it was worth another.

Stormwatch is a UN sponsored Special Crisis Intervention Team comprised of super powered humans. Their main mission is respond to worldly threats. Stormwatch observes the world from its orbiting HQ skywatch, and responds to crisis via teleportation (hey, it worked for the Justice League, didn’t it?) Led by the Weatherman, aka Henry Bendix, we pick up with the team coming off a serious butt whuppin’. One of their own team members turned against them and subsequently died, and various other team members are in different states of injury. Weatherman is pissed. The dialogue is intelligent, precise (hey, this is new for Stormwatch, or any Wildstorm book for that matter). Two pages into it and you know this is a Stormwatch no one has read before. Oh yeah, and we are also introduced to some crazy naked guy quoting Nitchez and ripping flesh from peoples bones in the German countryside. All this and we haven’t even met the players yet…

In response to the butt whuppin’ Weatherman wants Stormwatch to take a more proactive role in world security. The UN Security Council, in light of recent events, has given Weatherman carte blanche to do with Stormwatch as he deems fit. Bendix’s first act is recruit three new members (Jenny Sparks, Rose Tattoo and Jack Hawksmore, whom we will get to know and love in The Authority), and “retire” some old ones. He relieves Battalion from active field duty (making him the head of training), and divides the rest of Stormwatch into three teams, Prime, Red (the team that has the most raw power), and black (for uhh, black ops and stuff). Needless to say a#@ starts getting kicked, and getting kicked proper (oh yeah, and the newly ordained Stormwatch Prime team pays a visit to the naked german Nitchez guy, and boy do they make him feel bad).

Warren Ellis brings much needed depth to the characters in Stormwatch. He quickly transforms them from 2D archetypes to 3D bad a#@ muthafu$#ers. Winter is given a Spetznaz background, Hellstrike becomes an ex-Interpol scrappy Irishman, and Fuji embraces his Japanese warrior spirit. As you would expect from Ellis, literary references and technical sci-fi are abound, yet not misused (or overused). Tom Raney’s art is top notch; he has an incredible eye for detail. There are five TPB’s from the Ellis run on Stormwatch, if you are a fan of the Authority, Planetary, or any of his work you owe it to yourself to check out this first one. I guarantee you will buy the rest in the series.

Last edited by wktf; 04-07-2005 at 10:50 AM.
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Old 04-07-2005, 09:45 AM   #2
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Great job guys!! Above and beyond as usual!

Joe, see you at 10!!
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Old 04-07-2005, 10:25 AM   #3
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Wktf - I'll check out Superman/Batman. Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? is one of my favorites.

Sam - Excellent Stormwatch trade review - you're on-target. I thought the Authority was a bunch of BS when it premiered. After reading Ellis' 5 Stormwatch trades, I saw the big picture.

Thanks guys, as usual!
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Old 04-07-2005, 10:47 AM   #4
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Thanks for the props fellas. Glad I'm not the only one who was a big Stormwatch fan, if only DC would do a oversized slipcase hardcover of those books, that would ROCK .
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Old 04-07-2005, 10:59 AM   #5
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WKTF: I easily agree w/ you on Superman/Batman. Thanks, though ,for letting me know more about the ending of superman that did confuse me. However, I just loved the ramifications of the story. Batman and Superman just didn't forget anything. They had to deal with actions they had done in the alternate time line and the guilt assocaited with it. Bruce also had the benefit of knowing how life would have gone w/ his parents. Just great!
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Old 04-07-2005, 12:25 PM   #6
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b_c, I agree completely with your points. Batman's knowing what life would have been like with his parents is a double edged sword: On the one hand, he experienced a joy he had not known. On the other, his loss now is doubly painful for having had this experience. Superman's murdering of Uncle Sam, Wonder Woman (especially), and others should haunt him in the same way his execution of the three Kryptonian villains at the end of John Byrne's run did and has.
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Old 04-07-2005, 12:26 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by wktf
b_c, I agree completely with your points. Batman's knowing what life would have been like with his parents is a double edged sword: On the one hand, he experienced a joy he had not known. On the other, his loss now is doubly painful for having had this experience. Superman's murdering of Uncle Sam, Wonder Woman (especially), and others should haunt him in the same way his execution of the three Kryptonian villains at the end of John Byrne's run did and has.
And midway I thought this wasn't to be very good since it was a bit confusing. Man, it sucks to be batman right now!
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Old 04-07-2005, 12:51 PM   #8
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Once again, well done. I really enjoy reading your reviews. You guys know what you are talking about.
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Old 04-07-2005, 03:58 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by mwf6171
Great job guys!! Above and beyond as usual!

Joe, see you at 10!!
Good meeting you in person, Mike! And Furie & co., for my brother Sam and me, many thanks for the complements. We love doing these!
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