wktf and Sam Wilson's Comic Reviews, 12/21/05

[Sam Wilson]

Sam Wilson’s Reviews

Well, a pretty decent week for me quality wise. From DC we got some great Bat-titles, Birds of Prey, Batgirl and Robin. Marvel brings us Ultimate X4. Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, Captain America, Punisher vs. Bullseye and X-men, Deadly Genesis. From Devils Due we got the fifth issue of the underrated Snake Eyes: Declassified series. All in all, a good week. My picks this week are Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk and Captain America. That being said, on to the reviews…

Ultimate X4 issue #1 (of 2)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Mike Carey
Drawn by: Pasqual Ferry


Ultimate X4 takes place with respect to current Ultimate Continuity, which is a welcome change from Marvel indeed. In the Ultimate X-men, given the recent events concerning Polaris and her captivity on the Triskelton, he has had yet another falling out with Nick Fury, and is on his “sh$# list” once again. The Fantastic Four are doing what they do at the Baxter Building as always; but for the sake of this story it’s important to recall Reed’s recent dust up with the “ultimate mad thinker”, a crazed woman who was once part of the Baxter Building’s think tank, but went a little crazy and got booted. Anyway take these two teams and the mad thinker, throw them in a blender and BAM you got Ultimate X4.

Issue one opens with a mysterious message received mentally by Professor X. An alien races super-weapon is about to be let loose on earth, and only the X-men can stop them. Xavier saddles up the team, and leaves behind Kitty Pryde and Iceman to tell the rest of the world should they fail, and also to tell Wolverine where to go once he gets back from wherever he is currently. While all the X-men are off, a mysterious figure breaks into the X-mansion and steals something, dispatching Kitty Pryde, Iceman and the suddenly returned Wolverine with ease. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to check out the mysterious figures familiar looking android companion. Anyway, Kitty traces the thief to the Baxter building, and away our three X-men go to retrieve that which was stolen and most likely mix it up with the Fantastic Four as well.

So why buy this book? Obviously being it’s a marvel hero crossover you know there is going to be A) a misunderstanding leading to B) a dust-up between the heroes and then finally C) a team up and eventual resolution. Not to break anyone’s heart, but dollars to donughts there is your plot right there. So why buy it? Cause the Ultimate Universe kicks a$# and the way familiar characters are portrayed in a new light is fantastic. The young FF, the psycho female Mad Thinker, all of it is great characterization and even placed into a familiar blueprint it can still be fresh and interesting. So check this book out. It’s a short series, and is definitely be worth the money spent.

Birds of Prey #89
DC Comics
Written by: Gail Simone
Drawn by: Paulo Siqueira

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the “Birds”, I’ll give you a quick recap. (Deep breath) Barbara Gordon (Oracle) and company have picked up shop and moved from the Gotham City Clocktower to Metropolis (after the events in the “Gang War” crossover). Zinda Black, aka Lady Black Hawk has joined the team as their “pilot” and things seem to be off and running in a good direction. One time foe Savant is now a full time operative, and the Birds are back taking out the bad guys. Currently, Huntress is going undercover with the Gotham mobs to destroy them from the insides. In the shadows the villain Calculator is obsessed with finding out who Oracle is (Calculator is essentially Oracles counterpart for the villains of the DC universe) and has kidnapped Savant and tortures him to find out her location, oh yeah, and following an incident with Braniac Barbara has recently regained movement in her toes, and that more or less brings us to issue 89.

Issue 89 opens with Barbara and her father (you know, the former Commissioner of the GCPD) having a heart to heart conversation. Apparently the old man wasn’t as blind to things as we all though. Anyway, Barbara finds out Savant is being held captive and she sends the Huntress and Black Canary in to get him. She also finds out the Calculator (man that’s a stupid name) is on her trail and plans on destroying her and all she holds dear. Oh yeah, I should also mention since the Birds are back in Gotham for this mob thing, Batman shows up and so does Deathstroke. Yeah, sh$#s going DOWN baby.

So if you haven’t been reading BOP, pick the damn book up already. There are several trades collecting previous storylines, or you can just hop on with this current issue. It’s definitely worth your $3.

Captain America #13
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Steve Epting

Once again, for those of you who haven’t been keeping up I’ll give a quick recap as to what’s been happening in recent issues of Captain America (better known as the “Winter Soldier” storyline). The Red Skull is assassinated and the Cosmic Cube is stolen, both of which were done by General Aleksander Lukin. Once in possession of the Cube Lukin sets of a WMD on US soil to recharge it. Captain America, Nick Fury and Sharon Carter are hot on his trail and the trail of Lukin’s operative, a man known as the “Winter Soldier”. Complications arise when the “Winter Soldier’s” KGB dossier is discovered and it turns out he is Bucky Barnes, Cap’s old partner. The Russians found him shortly after the explosion, which supposedly killed him, and then brainwashed into becoming a KGB assassin. After several years of operations it appeared the brainwashing was wearing off, so the Russians started keeping Barnes on ice, “thawing” him out when needed. Fury wants to take Barnes out, Cap believes there has to be something left of his old partner inside this “Winter Soldier” and wants to save him, and this brings us up to issue 13.

The story opens with Cap meeting up with his old partner the Falcon. Falcon is a little disturbed by recent events, especially due to his connection to the cosmic cube (see Captain America issue #115 to #118, 1968, for more on that story). Anyway, with the help of Tony Stark they raid a techno terrorist group’s headquarters and obtain the means to track the cosmic cube, and then head off for a final confrontation with Lukin and the Winter Soldier.

Brubaker’s Captain America is nothing short of the best Captain America we have seen since the Mark Gruewald days. Damn if the star spangled Avenger isn’t exciting again, with a great supporting cast and a tight, long running story line. It makes me think of past days, the “Fall and Resurrection of Cap” storyline Gruewald wrote back in the late ‘80’s(Captain America issues 332 – 350). My review partner Joe has dumped all kinds of love on Brubaker’s “Winter Soldier” storyline, and I felt I needed to add to it as well. So if you haven’t been reading Cap, pick it up now. The first part of “Winter Soldier” is available in tpb form, and this second part has been going balls to the wall thus far. If you miss the Cap (hell, if you miss the Marvel) of old do yourself a favor and get this book. You’ll recapture that past joy and then some.

Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk #1 (of 4)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Damon Lindelof
Drawn by: Leinil Francis Yu

For those of you who haven’t been following The Ultimates 2, the Hulk is dead. He was put on trial following his murderous rampage in The Ultimates and sentenced to death, and then the powers that be nuked his a$@. Yeah, well he’s not dead and Nick Fury is kinda PO’d about it, thus we get Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine. Anyway, Nick Fury calls Wolverine in for one purpose and one purpose only, find the Hulk and kill him, and keep it freakin’ quiet. Helping him out is Dr. Jennifer Walters, one of the lead scientists on the original super-soldier project that created the Hulk. Betty Banner is present as well, using her PR skills to cover up the Hulk’s resurgence as he makes his way across Europe and into Asia. Anyway, the Hulk has been found in Tibet, and off Wolvie goes to whack him and hopefully have a good time doing it. Yeah, and he gets to spend time with the foxy Dr. Jennifer Walters (whose not the She-Hulk in the ultimate universe, at least not yet, as for what they do with her that remains to be seen).

Well, as you all know from the shocking art previews that have been on the internet for quite some time, Wolvie vs. Hulk is some crazy sh$#. I mean that in the most complimentary way. This series has it all, a shadowing mission, foxy women and balls out action, and damn if I aint pleased with the way Ultimate Jennifer Walters is turning out. Leinil Yu’s pencils are on fire, DAYMN. So check this book out, it’s a pleasant diversion from all the muck that is out there right now, and yes, the hype is right, this book is DOPE.




Trade Review

Wktf’s Review

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For
Dark Horse Comics
Written by: Frank Miller
Drawn by: Frank Miller

I’ve always been a Frank Miller fan since his early 1970s cover work for Marvel. I loved his work on Daredevil and bought every issue of them when I was in high school and college. When I saw his name on Dark Knight Returns I grabbed that first issue and devoured it and the next three issues, and when I heard he was reinventing Batman’s origin in Year One I thought I was witnessing history in the making. All Star Batman is another story though. Funny, I never really got excited about Sin City. Barely even heard about it, in fact. But, when the movie was being made I picked up the three books on which the movie is based and, no surprise, really liked them. Especially the original Sin City subsequently named “The Hard Goodbye.” I also picked up the “Family Values” and “A Dame To Kill For” trades but never read them.

I read recently that Robert Rodriguez was thinking “A Dame To Kill For” would make sense as a follow up to the first movie, so I decided I should give it a spin. Well, this graphic novel, “a tale from Sin City” as opposed to Family Values which is billed as “a Sin City yarn,” is what seems like pretty typical Miller “Sin City” stuff. Which means it’s drawn in Miller’s bare bones black and white style with heavy use of shadows, where he maximizes the effect of minimal line use. It’s scripted in bombastic crime story style. There are unbelievably beautiful and sultry women who are far more dangerous than the men who will kill you as soon as look at you. There’s one man who is the central character of the story around which all the intrigue and danger revolves. Oh, and it’s violent. It’s violent as hell. Plenty of jaw breaking, bone crunching, gun firing, window shattering violence.

Our one man is Dwight, though I didn’t realize it was the same Dwight as in “The Big Fat Kill” until at least half way through the story. But that’s due to Miller’s depiction of him as bald rather than with his more typical thick head of hair. Dwight’s just crazy about an unbelievable woman named Ava, and Ava is a dame to kill for. And she seems to have that effect on lots of men in this story. An effect that causes men to lose all sense of reason and do her bidding even if it means the worse for them. She once was Dwight’s lover but, apparently, tore his heart out from the inside and now her memory is poison to him. Ava’s married to Damien Lord, an incredibly wealthy man with a monster of a body guard named Manute. But Damien treats Ava like his prisoner and Manute enforces his law. And Ava comes to Dwight, first in a bar and then naked in his bedroom, begging for his help and offering her body, a body to kill for, to him to get her point across. Well, Dwight’s life goes to hell in a hand basket after that as it becomes clearer who’s really pulling whose strings. Dwight may never have known agony, and I’m not talkin’ emotional agony here, like this. What happens to him shouldn’t happen to your worst enemy. But this story takes place in Sin City and three of Dwight’s friends are Marv, who’s just itching to go up against Manute, Gail, who’s still in love with Dwight, and deadly little Miho who owes Dwight her life.

This story goes from bloody to bloodier. The women are fast and hot. The men are their pawns but no less dangerous for it. Miller’s art sometimes tells the story better than his words and sometimes he lets it do just that, with pages on end with no dialogue and nothing but stark bodies, expressions and wild angles. This book was a blast to read and ends in death, just like those other three Sin City books. You never really know who’s going to get it ‘til the end but you’ll fly through “A Dame To Kill For” to find out.

[Sam Wilson]

wktf may or may not be posting some more reviews later this week or this weekend, he is awful busy with work and holiday duties...

[thecallahan]

Yeah, I read UWvsH and liked it. Seemed a bit short but Jennifer so wanted Logan

I do love the whole bit with Logan asking the guy about why there were no women in town. Uhh.. Me no speak english!!

[bat_collector]

Captain America indeed rocks! So did Ultiamte x-men vs wolverine. That's is wolverine people, not the coddling, sensitive old man Milligan and others want to portray him as.

[wktf]

Originally Posted by Sam Wilson

wktf may or may not be posting some more reviews later this week or this weekend, he is awful busy with work and holiday duties...

Man...I haven't even been in town long enough to get to the lcs. Jonesin' for my comics. Sam, I'm more psyched than ever to read Captain America now!

[ALDISISMO!]

After seeing Hulk's success in Tibet I'm going there for winter break. wish me luck

[Sam Wilson]

Originally Posted by ALDISISMO!

After seeing Hulk's success in Tibet I'm going there for winter break. wish me luck

meh. You can go to tibet. I'm gonna track me down the ultimate jennifer walters. Hubba hubba...

[Jack8022]

I'm probably in the minority but I thought that Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine was just awful. I don't want to spoil the issue for anyone but nothing about the issue impressed me enough to pick up the rest of the series. From the shock value of Wolverine being ripped in half I guess we can assume that they just don't make adamantium like the use to.

[bat_collector]

Originally Posted by Jack8022

From the shock value of Wolverine being ripped in half I guess we can assume that they just don't make adamantium like the use to.

Yeah, and I'll guess we get another unbeliveable way of how wolvie manages to become a whole person again.

But I still liked it.

[wktf]

Originally Posted by Sam Wilson

wktf may or may not be posting some more reviews later this week or this weekend...

Wktf’s Reviews

A bit belated and my apologies. Business travel prevented my picking up my comics until Friday. A smallish haul for me this week with the three below plus Captain America (reviewed by my partner), Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, Green Lantern, and last week’s Son of M #1. Okay, I hope this is better late than never…

Infinite Crisis #3 of 7
DC Comics
Written by: Geoff Johns
Drawn by: Phil Jimenez & George Perez

Reading this issue, I feel like I’m on the outer periphery of a whirlpool where all the different parts of the vortex are revolving in parallel around each other and yet, as we move inexorably closer and closer to the center, everything will come together in one final cataclysmic moment.

In this issue Geoff Johns beautifully intertwines the elements of Villains United, The OMAC Project, Rann Thanagar War, and Spirit of Vengeance mini series with the events unfolding in this story. How are they linked or related to each other, or to the unfolding E2 storyline? I’m not exactly sure but they certainly are converging on each other. And there are some extremely strong highlights in this issue. Batman, the man who always has a plan, who always is one step ahead of everyone, is on his knees in the Batcave having resigned himself that he’s completely lost control of a situation he helped create. Wonder Woman and the Amazons, locked in battle with the OMACs, in defense of Paradise Island, realize that Brother Eye has left them no clear avenue. Whether they fight or surrender, they lose. And they must make a final, fateful decision to determine the fate of the Amazons and Paradise Island itself. The Flash speeding off to action as his wife looks sadly frightened at their twin babies. The two Luthors finally confront each other and, with yet another surprise twist, we learn all is not as it seems…again!

But, for me, the highlight was the meeting between the E2 Superman and the E1 Batman. Does anyone remember buying Adventure Comics #462 back in 1979? I remember the shock I felt at seeing Batman stretched out in a coffin on that cover, recreated in these pages, and reading the tragically heroic death of E2’s Batman in a wonderful Paul Levitz/Joe Staton tale. I couldn’t believe it. This story came six years after the death of Gwen Stacy so the death of a major character was not new to me, but still, the death of Batman! Well, in the aftermath of E2’s Superman’s leaving the Batcave, our tale twists more and more, like a knife rather than a whirlpool, turning our changing paradigm on its head again. The last three pages are even bigger shockers that those of the first issue. Just some incredible stuff going on here!

Marvel Spotlight #1
Marvel Comics
Featuring: John Cassaday & Sean McKeever

This title sports the launch of a new concept book from Marvel. It would seem this book will highlight two Marvel creators (in this case, artists) as well as bring back the long lost and lamented (well, by me anyway) Bullpen Bulletins page, sans Stan’s Soapbox or the Mighty Marvel Checklist. For those who may never have experienced the Bullpen Bulletins page, this was a mainstay of Marvel Comics from the 1960s through the 70s, reinvigorated in the 80s for a bit, that provides snippets of news and title information. It was a marketing tool but, hell, it was fun to read and always made you feel like you were getting the inside scoop on the House of Ideas.

The format here is a one page bio on the artist followed by a Spotlight Interview with him, plus other features and tons of art scattered throughout. By definition, it’s far more text heavy than a regular comic book and probably best suited for those who are fans of the artists being highlighted who already have the motivation and energy to read more about them. For me, I’m much more familiar with Cassaday (from whom I got some HC books signed at the Boston WW Con) than with McKeever (who won an Eisner award for “Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition”) and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The interviews were fun to read and very informative. The Cassaday feature that spotlighted Ben Raab’s page by page commentary on Union Jack #1 pages 4-11, drawn by Cassady, was terrific. And I learned that McKeever does a hell of a lot more than the Manga style that I hate. His work on Gravity, Mystique and the Inhumans is outstanding.

My one gripe with this issue is that it completely skipped over Cassaday’s work on Captain America. Sure, the 2002 Marvel Knights take on Cap was a failure but Cassaday’s artistic spin on Cap influences his look even today. Anyway, if you’re into these creator spotlight type books you should dig this format. I did and likely will continue to buy this title.

Fantastic Four #533
Marvel Comics
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Drawn by: Mike McKone

I stopped reading this title after the first issue Straczynski and McKone began their run. I read that issue, thought it was nothing special (especially after the wonderful Waid/Ringo work of the prior few years), and figured “Oh, well, I’ll have to wait a while before picking this title up again." But I got sucked into this one from the cover, despite the bizarre effect of Reed’s wrapping his head around the Hulk’s forearm.. Who out there doesn’t like a good, solid Hulk vs. Thing throw down? The verdict? This book still is nothing special. I’m bummed. It’s not bad, it’s just not “the world’s greatest comic magazine.”

Reed and Sue have a major problem. In an attempt to inject a “well, yeah, sure, if the FF lived in the real world of course this would happen” kind of conflict, we learn that the Child Welfare Department has determined that they’ve been raising Franklin and Valeria in an unsafe environment and are going to remove the children from their home until a formal hearing can take place. Ya think a home where Dr. Doom can kidnap your son and send him to Hell, literally, is unsafe? Really? Sorry, I feel this is kind of an eye roller. I just don’t feel the tension. And I don’t like the way my favorite Marvel hero, The Thing, is being portrayed. He’s got like a 32 inch waistline here and looks like a short, rocky toad.

Back to the Hulk. Banner, in Hulk form, is working with some agency (we don’t learn who they are) to clear out a Hydra weapons cache and accidentally sets off a “small” gamma bomb. Ummmm….okay crew, what happens when the Hulk is exposed to more gamma radiation? You think he’s going to be affected somehow? Given that he’s now got Banner’s brain, could he turn savage again? Hasn’t this been done before? While Reed and Sue meet with the representative from Child Welfare The Torch and Thing go off to the Nevada desert in search of the missing Hulk. Will they find him before the story ends? Hmph. I almost put this book down before I finished. I’m a sucker to pick up FF #536 given the Thor teaser press but I don’t know if I’ll pick up the second part to this story.