wktf's and Sam Wilson's Reviews 3/8/06

[wktf]

Wktf’s Reviews

Slow week for me comics-wise but Marvel sure got their Prelude to Planet Hulk trade out in a hurry! The first installment of Planet Hulk hit the stands just a couple of weeks ago!

The Pulse #14
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Michael ***dos

Jessica Jones has had one hell of a life and she’s been part of the Marvel Universe for only a few years. First as part of the outstanding Alias series from Marvel’s MAX line and, now, The Pulse. She gained her powers of flight and super strength from a freak accident that killed her parents and younger brother. After coming out of a long coma she attempted life as the superhero Jewel but, unfortunately, crossed paths with the mind controlling Purple Man who enslaved her as his personal toy for months. It’s not exactly clear what happened to her. She swears he didn’t rape her but we are led to believe otherwise. Sent to kill Daredevil she mistakenly attacked the Scarlet Witch only to then be beaten nearly to death by the Avengers. Another hospitalization later, some words with Nick Fury and the Avengers, and she founded the PI firm she called Alias. In this series she connected with Luke Cage and became pregnant with his child by the series’ close. Now, in The Pulse, she’s had their baby (in Dr. Strange’s Greenwhich Village Sanctum Sanctorum, no less) and this final issue has her wrestling with Luke’s marriage proposal.

People who can’t stand Bendis’ writing will hate this book. It’s classic Bendis. Lots of slow dialogue and not much action. But I found it a real pleasure. Luke offers a long and awkward explanation to Jessica of why they should get married. And, you know what? It’s really very touching. His love for her and their child comes through loud and clear even if he’s tripping over himself trying to express it. And Jessica’s private conversation with her new born daughter should ring true to anyone who’s seen a mom talking to her baby (I’m lucky enough to have experienced this twice). As she struggles with Luke’s proposal she relays a story of her superhero career about which we never learned in Alias or thus far in The Pulse. And it’s a story of her and Luke’s first meeting and a glimpse into the hard edged Jessica’s more compassionate side. It’s ironically fitting that this final issue should be about old and new beginnings. People who don’t like ***dos’ art (and it’s not for everyone, but I loved it on Alias) should stay away as well. But his expressive and moody drawing perfectly captures the tone of this at times tense and at other times happy tale. I was surprised to find this comic to be my pick of the week.

Spider-Man Unlimited #14
Marvel Comics
“Without A Trace”
Written by: C.B. Cebulski
Drawn by: David Finch
“S.C.U.D.S”
Written by: Joe Reitman
Drawn by: Ron Garny

I’ll admit I picked this book up because I love David Finch’s art and saw some of the previews of his version of the Black Cat. Damn! I know Spidey’s happily married to the uber sexy supermodel Mary Jane but every once in a while he’s GOT to be shaking his head over Felica Hardy. At least when Finch draws her and puts some of her most outstanding assets squarely in Spidey’s face. Oh…sorry…where was I? The story! That’s right! Was there a story? Ummmm…Felica has discovered that a buyer has offered a hefty price for something held in the Latverian embassy and needs Spider-Man’s help to break in and get it out. Doom’s been gone a while (he’s in Hell, remember, from the FF “Unthinkable” story arc?) so what’s the likelihood they’re going to run into any real trouble…Yep, that’s right, of course they do. This is kind of a throw away story, and it can’t be too much more given it’s length, but there’s plenty of action, a plausible story with a close-to-home twist for our hero, and some great Finch art. And does Finch pull out the stops on Mary Jane, too, I might add!

The second tale is actually more interesting and I was delighted to find it was drawn by one of my all time favorite Captain America artists: Ron Garny! “S.C.U.D.S” stands for Superhuman Cleanup Department of Sanitation and our man Stan has been assigned to Spider-Man. And Stan hates his job. In the dead of winter he must remove webbing, clear debris and generally clean up after superhero and super villain mayhem has left Manhattan a mess. He’s sick of Spider-Man and sick of his job. And yet, despite being saved by Spidey, himself, at one point, we learn Stan is in the perfect job for his next big career move. What is it? I’m not going to say other than that we may be seeing more of Stan in the future.

All in all, this was a fun albeit slightly frivolous Spider-Man book. But anyone looking for some Spidey that doesn’t require a major continuity commitment, this is the book for you. It worked for me!

Fantastic Four: First Family #1 of 6
Marvel Comics
Written by: Joe Casey
Drawn by: Chris Weston

Joe Casey, the writer who teamed up with Scott Kollins to re-imagine the Averngers’ earliest days in the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” serirs, now teams up with a very different artist to do the same thing with The Fantastic Four. I’m not familiar with Chris Weston but, unlike Kollins’ larger than life cartoony art, his more realistic take on Marvel’s First Family gives us a scary opening to this very strong series.

The FF have just crashed after their initial launch into space. Readers of FF #1 will remember that Reed and Sue goaded Ben into piloting their ship so the “Commies” wouldn’t beat the U.S. into space. Well, those Cold War sentiments are not found here and, instead, we learn Reed’s motivation had more to do with his pride. The book opens, though, with their rescue by the Army and subsequently being held in a contained building, and it feels more like a prison, while the military tries to figure out what’s happened to them. Sue’s new found invisibility allows her to check on her partners. Poor Ben is as we’d expect him to be: angry, confused, sad and lashing out. Johnny’s room is climate control to prevent him from flaming on, an ability over which he has little control at this point, and Reed seems to be in some catatonic state where he’s staring into space and his arms have gone limp all over the floor.

The truth, though, is that the four are not the only cosmic ray victims being held at this facility and one of them, a scientist named Professor Franz Stahl with the ability to communicate telepathically, is communicating with Reed. Through their dialogue we get glimpses into Reed’s guilt even as we also see how the other three are coping. But all this self absorption is short lived. As there must be, there is a “fantastic” crisis that jars all their attentions, all seemingly but Ben’s. No doubt next issue we will see these four go into action for the first time. For an origin story that’s so well known Casey, ably assisted by Chris Weston, once again successfully breathes new life into this more modern retelling. I had no intention of even picking up this title but now I’m glad I did.

Sam Wilson’s Reviews

Well, a light comic week, but heavy on events. To start there is an “Infinite Crisis” tie in issue of Teen Titans, as are the final issues of Warren Ellis’s Down and Brian Michael Bendis’s The Pulse (I hope this isn’t the last we see of Jessica Jones, I know she’ll be in the upcoming Avengers Annual featuring her wedding to Luke Cage). Oh yeah, don’t forget the always entertaining Ultimate Spider-Man (my pick of the week), and with that being said, on to the reviews…

Down issue #4 (of 4)
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Warren Ellis
Drawn by: Cully Hamner

For those of you who haven’t gotten the first couple of issues of Down, allow me to break down the story thus far: Down is the latest crime tale from mostly sci-fi writer Warren Ellis, and he brings us headfirst into the seedy word of undercover narcotics. The protagonist’s name is Detective Deanna Ransome, recent transfer from the NYPD. In the middle of an undercover op, she witnesses a rape in progress and well, looses all self control and kills every last motherfu$#er on the scene, and in the midst of things three of her fellow officers are gunned down as well. Anyway, Detective Ransome is given some time off, and then her Lieutenant calls her for an “off the record” meeting. The fallout from blowing the undercover op is pretty severe, the Lt. tells Detective Ransome she will never work the field again, and she is lucky she still has a job. Soon we learn why Detective Ransome has such a mad-on for rapists, and she’s offered an interesting assignment, a special “off the books” assignment from the Lt (it is made clear this is her only option other than desk work). A few years prior, the Lt. had set up another “off the books” assignment for an undercover narcotics officer by the name of Nick River. River was to infiltrate the Mendoza Mob, a viscous bunch who were essentially in control of the entire city; the police couldn’t touch them. Nick River was sent undercover by the Lt. charged with one task, start at the bottom, get to the top next to Ben Mendoza and then torture, mutilate, murder and autopsy his a$# and display it for the entire city to see. Well, that all happened, but instead of going on with his policing career, Rivers went native and took over the Mendoza mob instead. Enter Detective Ransome, her assignment; bring Nick Rivers back into the fold, one way or another.

The next two issues has Detective Ransome establishing her place in the Mendoza organization, using a method that is violent, brutal and ballsy all at the same time. Mind you Ransome is definitely prone to violence, but all her present actions are not only condoned, but more or less ordered by her supervisor to ensure she infiltrates the Mendoza mob without question as to her loyalties, and that is accomplished in ways that you would never expect an undercover police officer to partake in. Yeesh. Trust me, totally brutal. Eventually Ransome meets with Nick River and is ordered on a personal assignment (a hit of course) by him, again as a test of loyalty, but also as a show of loyalty, Ransome’s actions thus far have impressed Rivers and brought her close enough that she is being trusted with personal tasks ordered from “the boss”, which brings us to our final issue. There is nothing I can say about the final issue except it is flat out crazy, wall to wall action, and the ending, well, I didn’t see it coming, but then again I kinda did. Bits and pieces from the entire series come together, and Detective Ransome comes full circle, but for any more info you are going to have to pick up the book.

My only complaint about this series was the length, I feel it could have gone on longer. Yes, it was a balls to the wall kind of book, but I would have liked to seen more characterization. Ransome’s “arc” if you will went by way to fast, and for as interesting of a character as she was (is) she deserved more time to tell her story. You can pick this book up now or wait for the eventual tpb to be released, either way I think you’ll be in for an interesting story.

Teen Titans #33
DC Comics
Written by: Geoff Johns and Marv Wolfman
Art by: Tony S. Daniel and Richard Bonk

The kids of the “Teen Titan’s” have really had a rough go of it lately. For those of you who missed it, recently Superboy revealed to the team half of his DNA was provided by Lex Luthor. Yeah, well, he didn’t reveal it as much as he kicked the entire team’s a$# (and most of “The Outsiders” as well) and they found out. “Infinite Crisis” has been putting a hurting on everyone with Brother Blood trying to use the zombies of dead Titan’s in his own personal army of revenge (I’m not even making that up). Superboy eventually comes back to the fold, but almost dies and Robin, Beast Boy and Wonder Girl go to Lex Luthor to learn how to save him (yeesh). Then the Earth Two Superboy shows up and kicks everyone’s a$# (again) and kills a few second (and third) string Titans, which brings us to “Infinite Crisis” issue #5 (which you have to read before you read “Titan’s #33). In Infinite Crisis, umm, how can a put this, worlds are colliding (again) and all the heroes are organizing for a big showdown, and Nightwing and Superboy end up teamed together…

In Teen Titan’s #33 Superboy and Nightwing, representing Titans young and old, make their way to the arctic or wherever to deal with Lex Luthor from Earth Two and destroy his weird machine that derives it’s energy from dimensionally displaced heroes (yes, it is that complicated). All “Crisis” BS aside, “Titan’s” #33 is a nice passing of the guard issue. Superboy is a little down on himself after all the recent going ons and has suffered some severe injuries at the hands of Earth Two Superboy. Nightwing helps him through his self doubt and pain by sharing with him the Titans legacy and how they weren’t always perfect either. We also get a little bit of Cassie and find out her and Conner, well, read the damn book. That’s all I’m going to say. Yes, this “Infinite Crisis” stuff is troublesome but Titan fans young and old will get a kick out of this issue.

Ultimate Spider-Man #91
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Mark Bagley (a great penciller and a heck of a nice guy)

For those of you who haven’t been following USM, ol’ Petey has been having a rough go of it lately. Most recently he has tangled with Omega Red and Silver Sable, and before that he was caught in the middle of a massive gang war between Hammerhead and the Kingpin which resulted in the supposed death of Elektra and had about a gazillion guest stars (including Iron Fist, Shang Chi, Black Cat, and a few others). Even with all that going on though, Peter Parker has found time to get over his old girl Mary Jane and find a new one in the form of Kitty Pyrde aka Shadowcat, of the X-men. She’s the perfect girlfriend for a young super hero; she can keep a secret, has super powers, and is used to the whole super hero thing in general. They got together in the first Ultimate Spider-Man Annual and have been together ever since. Issue 91 kicks off a new storyline for the junior web-slinger, and ho boy, is he ever lucky to have a X-man for a girlfriend…

Issue #91 opens with Peter and Kitty taking on some weird no-name villain and kicking his but. Kitty has acquired a new costume for when she is hanging with Spider-Man, and the two play very well of each other. They part ways, and Kitty promises that soon they will go out on a “real date”, but on the plane ride home she laments for Pitor Rasputin, aka Collosus (in the Ultimate X-men he is ***, but Kitty doesn’t no that, but now you all do, anyway…). Kitty finally gets back to the x-mansion and something weird happens which causes her to call Spidey to come running to save the day, and well, the same weird thing happens to him. Then we see Deadpool and the Reavers (you know, those cyborgs whom in the regular Marvel U were former Hellfire Club thugs who have all been dismembered by Wolverine?). Yeah. Pick this issue up, this story line is going to be DOPE. I’ve kissed this books a$# enough, by now you know it’s a solid read, Bendis and Bagley are the most consistent team in comics since Lee and Kirby, and I had the good fortune of briefly meeting Mark Bagley at the NYC con. Heck of a nice guy, so pick his book up already.

[wktf]

In all of comics there is none who has a rogue’s gallery to match that of The Batman. Spider-Man’s list of colorful villains, many of whom have plagued Marvel’s other heroes, may come the closest. But so robust is The Batman’s family of vile miscreants that you don’t even have to look for the A-list players, like the Joker or Two-Face, to find great stories of B-list villains who’ve given The Batman fits. So we decided to do just that and bring you two of our favorites.

Wktf’s Review

Batman: The Last Arkham
DC Comics
Written by: Alan Grant
Drawn by: Norm Breyfogle

This trade captures the first four issues of 1992’s “Shadow of the Bat” in which a group of killings are taking place around Gotham, but they’re killings that resemble the handiwork of a villain already imprisoned in Arkham. Of course, Arkham’s filled with villains but this story’s lead villain, Mr. Zsasz, is Alan Grant’s own creation and one created within this very story arc. Zsasz is particularly creepy because not only does he gleefully commit murder Jack the Ripper style but also notches each kill on his own body, in prime sadomasochistic manner, so that he is scarred with the grizzly body count of his victims. But Zsas is not Grant’s only creation in this story. We also are introduced to Jeremiah Arkham, nephew of Amadeus Arkham, the asylum’s original lunatic master. Jeremiah has reconstructed Arkham so that it now resembles the classic but modern labyrinth with the most advanced security systems of the time. But Jeremiah is nearly as warped as his patients. His treatments are cruel and sadistic, and he is weak enough to be manipulated by Zsasz during their therapy sessions. And then we discover yet one more Arkham resident. One imprisoned for murdering a police officer in a sudden rage. The last person we expect to see chained up inside these walls. The Batman.

Grant writes a well crafted murder mystery that reads like an intelligent detective novel. There’s a solid mix of criminal psychology, tension and flat-out superhero action. After all, this is Arkham where nearly Batman’s entire rogue gallery is housed. The possibilities for danger are nearly limitless and Grant makes solid use of this setting, one of the seediest of all Batman settings, to its fullest. While the murders are being committed outside Arkham, Commissioner Gordon is relying on Batman, aided by a surprise guest appearance by Nightwing who’s come to investigate Batman’s incarceration, to solve them from the inside even though he’s imprisoned as an inmate. Somehow, the dangers to this former dynamic duo seem particularly real, especially at the climactic ending. This may in part be thanks to Breyfogle’s fine pencil work. While a bit cartoony at times, the grit seems to almost come off the page. And Breyfogle seems to have learned both from Gene Colan and Gil Kane in how he creates motion on the page. I always enjoyed his work on Batman and it’s never been better than in this story.

“The Last Arkham” which originally retailed for $12.95 has been out of print for a while now. That said, when I checked Amazon and eBay for this review I found it in both places. If you’re looking for a suspenseful and gruesome Batman story where he must play as much detective as superhero, and are looking for a truly terrifying pair of villains (yes, I’m including Jeremiah Arkham here) who put Batman and Nightwing through the ringer, then look no farther than “The Last Arkham.”

Sam Wilson’s Review

Batman: Death and the Maidens
DC Comics
Written by: Greg Rucka
Drawn by: Klaus Janson

When one thinks of “B-list” Batman villains “Ra’s Al Ghoul” doesn’t immediately spring to mind. The fact that he was the only Bat-villain for the longest time who knew Batman’s secret ID is proof enough that he was an A-lister, but recently “Ra’s” has been bumped out of the Bat-verse and a new person has taken his place, or rather is trying to take is place and that is the mysterious woman known as Nyssa. She has popped up here and there in the DCU, but really hasn’t reached the notoriety that Ra’s had (I mean damn, he’s the one who stole Batman’s plan to take out the JLA and then put it in action). Nyssa’s origin and her relation can be told in the oft overlooked and almost forgotten limited series Batman: Death and the Maidens, a chilling look at a forgotten part of Ra’s Al Ghoul’s past and how it has come back to haunt him. Oh yeah, and Batman is neck deep involved in this story as well…

The premise of this story seems simple enough. The Lazarus pits that help sustain Ra’s are being destroyed as soon as they are being built and Ra’s suspects Batman is behind this. Ra’s goes to confront him and to make him an offer, leave him one pit and through his knowledge of alchemy he’ll make it so Batman can speak to his dead parents one last time. In the meantime we are introduced to the mysterious woman known as Nyssa. We are shown her at different points in time, we see her in the 1920’s in Paris refusing to give up her child to Ra’s when he demands him for an unknown reason. We then see her in North Africa in the early 19th century. We also get a glimpse of her in the present, being informed of the death of a young man who is thought to be her husband, but turns out to be her great-great grandson, the last of her decedents. Early in the book we aren’t given much insight as to who the mysterious Nyssa is, except for the fact she hate’s Ra’s with a burning passion and is most likely the one behind the destruction of his Lazarus pits.

As the story continues Nyssa engages in an elaborate plan, which involves an impromptu visit to Bruce Wayne and the seduction of Talia, Ra’s daughter and onetime lover of Batman and current CEO of Lexcorp. Like I said earlier, Batman becomes preoccupied with Ra’s offer to allow him to speak to his dead parents, which he accepts (amidst protest from Alfred) but eventually crosses path with Nyssa, Ra’s and Talia as everything comes to a head and the story reaches it’s shocking conclusion. Yes, I’m being vague because this whole story centers on who Nyssa is and how she came to be, and revealing that would be a disservice. This is Rucka’s last Batman story since his Detective run from a few years back, and damn if it isn’t great, perhaps the greatest Batman I have read in a long time. Nyssa’s story is nothing short of compelling and tragic, and her revenge against Ra’s is thorough, brutal and nothing short of masterful. Originally printed as an eight issue limited series, it is now available in tpb form with some bonus material including a forward by editor Matt Idelson and “deleted scenes”. This book is still in print and readily available for $19.95. If you are looking for the skinny on an up and comer in the DCU, check this book out, or if your just looking for a great Batman story this book would be an excellent choice.

[madjazz]

I bought Death of the Maidens when it came out. Great story when taken in isolation. Not sure it is an improvement pushing out Ras'. I also didn't think they always stayed true to Talia's character. It may be time to reread this and see if time has changed my perspective.

Looking forward to reading The Pulse. Now that I am buying on-line instead of LCS, I need to wait a week or so for my books. This sounds worth the wait.

[Sam Wilson]

Originally Posted by madjazz

I bought Death of the Maidens when it came out. Great story when taken in isolation. Not sure it is an improvement pushing out Ras'. I also didn't think they always stayed true to Talia's character. It may be time to reread this and see if time has changed my perspective.

Looking forward to reading The Pulse. Now that I am buying on-line instead of LCS, I need to wait a week or so for my books. This sounds worth the wait.

I thought the opposite mad. Death of the maidens didn't come out in a tight schedule, so I was confused a little when reading it in individual issues, but I really liked it when it was all put together. Yeah, I'm not sure myself about Ra's being pushed out, but Nyssa is a great character and Greg Rucka did a really good job of developing her throughout "Death and the Maiden. Word.

[madjazz]

Originally Posted by Sam Wilson

I thought the opposite mad. Death of the maidens didn't come out in a tight schedule, so I was confused a little when reading it in individual issues, but I really liked it when it was all put together. Yeah, I'm not sure myself about Ra's being pushed out, but Nyssa is a great character and Greg Rucka did a really good job of developing her throughout "Death and the Maiden. Word.

I actually had the benefit of reading this one in one sitting. I remember I read most of it on the train from Gatwick Airport to London at the time and nothing like a few comics to make a trainride pass. I can see how this story could be hard to pick up in installments..

[Aarrgghh!!]

Great as always guys. I only got Titans, flipped through F4 1st Famitly, may need to pick it up, the art was really nice too. Did anyone pick up the James Robinson Detective issue?

[Bullseye]

Great reviews as always you two.

[JDH]

Sam, I'm picking up my comics batch tomorrow - hoping to catch up on Ulty pretty quickly, so I can josh about it with ya.

By the way, glad to read (a couple of days late - sorry!) that you got your prints of wktf and your fine self. Hope they lived up to expectations.

[bat_collector]

WKTf, I picked up the Spiderman Unlimited just for Finch's art work, JUST FOR FINCH's artwork. Enjoyed the issue since black cat was in it too. But I honestly didn't even look at the second story.

Finch rules!

[wktf]

Originally Posted by bat_collector

WKTf, I picked up the Spiderman Unlimited just for Finch's art work, JUST FOR FINCH's artwork. Enjoyed the issue since black cat was in it too. But I honestly didn't even look at the second story.

Finch rules!

Well, you should read the second story too. It's a more interesting story than the first one, even if Garney's art isn't up to par with Finch's.