"BOCEPHEUS" |
"These reviews are based on the Sneak
Peek titles sent out by Marvel & Image (DC no longer sends them out). It's not
everything that's shipping for the week, but it is a real good cross-section of
this weeks releases. Check the bottom of the page (after you read my reviews)
for a link to some SNEAKY PEEKIES of future titles" |
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 BOOK
OF THE WEEK:
SPIRIT #1
Comic Review by:
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Writer: Darwyn Cooke, Artist:
J. Bone
This follows the Batman/Spirit crossover seen a few short
weeks back. This time around the title will be done by New
Frontier’s Darwyn Cooke and his partner J. Bone. The story
involves a kidnapped TV news anchor about to start a major
expose on crime. She is grabbed on air which makes things
even more dramatic. We follow the rescue attempt happily as
Ginger Coffee prattles on while the Spirit tries to save
her. Cooke tells the story in a series of tightly penciled
pages and keeps the banter flying. We marvel here at the
danger as we feel sorry for the former Denny Colt as he
tries to save a woman who comes off as more of a news robot
that someone who is close to death. Cooke has the characters
down perfectly (we do not see Ellen Dolan here) and his take
on Ebony is completely not offensive at all. You would
imagine that Frank Miller will use a similar view on the
character that always made me wince when I picked up the
reprints of the Will Eisner tales from Kitchen Sink back
when comic shops used cigar boxes as cash registers. Cooke
has major affection for the character and it shows here. All
of the stories in this series will be self contained as the
Eisner stories were. I can’t say that this title will be a
massive seller since it appeals directly to older readers
but fans of New Frontier may wander over and make this a
solid, if not spectacular seller for DC.
MSRP: $2.99,
1st DAY SALE Price: $1.79 (That's 40% OFF,
Wednesday Only!)
Alternate Reality Price: $2.54 (That's 15% OFF, All
This Week!) |
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MARVEL ROUND UP…
Amazing Spider-Girl #3 continues the revival of the
temporarily dead character in an issue that balances multiple stories while
introducing a cold themed villain. Tom DeFalco really sets up the fact that May
Parker’s life is a bit overcomplicated now with a school election, keeping her
dad in the dark about her still playing Spider-Girl and dealing with the new
threat…Avengers Next #3 (of 5) has the team deal with the threat of a
reactivated Ultron. Kevin Masterson is still being held hostage but he is trying
to get thru to Warp before it’s too late. Eventually we get a huge fight scene
and as solution but considering there are 2 issues left we should have known
that nothing would be easy. BTW, here is where we learn who the old man is that
is working along with Ulik…Wolverine #49 is a winter themed extra sized issue
from the team of Rob (Classwar) Williams and Lawrence Campbell. Like most of us
do Wolverine tends to do his Xmas shopping at the last minute (I haven’t bought
one gift yet) and here he finds himself in a store looking for presents. Here as
he gets some goodies he bumps into a Paris Hilton clone who is shopping with her
bodyguards in tow who are the target of a group called Black Christmas. Williams
is basically doing Die Hard with Logan (and the first two films happened at
Christmas) but it works because the story has a dark quality to it that shows
that he can be tossed into any situation and work. The art isn’t flashy or
dazzling but it doesn’t need to be because it fits the tone of the issue…one of
the most consistent good reads is X-Factor and #14 continues that string. Last
issue the team got their heads shrunk by Doc Samson and here we see the
aftermath. Monet and Siryn are ticked that Jamie (actually one or more of his
duplicates) has slept with both of them so we deal with that right away before
getting into all the other developments from last issue before Jamie takes a
trip to SHIELD to pick up a copy. There are some hilarious moments here as well
as a tender one involving Guido and this is just the start of an arc so expect
more fun and Hydra to boot…X-Men: Phoenix #4 (of 5) has a cover that shows the
White Queen in a motherly mood and it’s a damn good Marc Silvestri cover. The
interior deals with the fact that one of the Cuckoos, Celeste has been taken
over by the Phoenix. While the team tries to handle all that we learn that John
Sublime had been working on Weapon XIV and that’s where the test tube babies
came from. This all ties together in the end and the last page suggests the
X-Men are severely screwed but we have to see how they get out of that next
issue in the conclusion to the limited series…Ghost Rider #6 has guest art by
legend Richard Corben. The arc started here looks back into Johnny’s past and a
decision he made that isn’t a good one. We start with him interrupting a baptism
that is more of an execution and that allows Corben to go to town with some
Rider/demon fighting. The art is different from what we expect but it’s pretty
cool to see Corben doing a book that we could have never imagined him do when he
first showed up in comics…New X-Men #33 begins Mercury Falling, the next four
issue arc from the book that has become one of the best out there. We see here
how out of control Hellion’s powers have become and also see that he has an
admirer. There is some fallout from the team going off and taking on Nimrod but
the bulk of the issue is there to show us that X-23 has baggage that comes back
in a major way as she and Mercury have coffee. Paco Medina’s art seems to be
getting better with each passing issue and the writers (Kyle & Yost) have become
one of the best writing teams out there…X-23 #1 (of 4) has the same team (with
Mike Choi on art) tell the story of what happened to the Wolverine byproduct
during her lost years. We begin with X-23 at fifteen before returning to the
Facility where we see her training at the age of eleven. In a sequence of
perfectly drawn pages we see that she is as her ‘father’ is, very good at what
she does. As she is asked who she is we dance back and forth thru time to see
her life on the hunt and an attempt to be ‘normal’. The story is tight and on
the last page we see that she came across a certain star spangled Avenger while
out there making her way back to the X-mansion…Bullet Points #2 (of 5) shows us
what happened to Peter Parker in this version of the Marvel Universe. Here he
and not Bruce Banner was caught in the gamma bomb explosion. That means that he
is now the Hulk and the first transformation is seen here in a sequence that
seems inspired by the movie. We also see what has happened to Steve Rogers after
his involvement in the Iron Man project has concluded as he talks with scientist
Reed Richards, who has yet to go off into space in a rocket. The Tommy Edwards
art is top shelf here which provides a perfect compliment to the story.
IMAGE ROUND UP…
Battle Pope #12 has our gun toting pontiff trying to get some grocery shopping
done and doing a few things that I would bet he isn’t supposed to be doing in
the parking lot. While all this is going on he is the subject of much discussion
before he and his buddies get attacked by a giant robot. Things go pretty good
before the big guy upstairs decides to have a chat at the worst possible moment
of a damn funny issue…Strange Girl also makes it up to #12 this week. We start
out with a dream of domestic bliss before reality smacks our heroine in the ass
and we get back to the world she actually lives in. We get a tour of a city that
isn’t real before things get really bad for our magical one. This book would be
easier to get into if not for the muddy art style of Nick Stakal…Fear Agent #9
is still three months behind but at least the book has found itself on some sort
of schedule. Heath arrives on another weird planet trying to follow a mission
statement that seems more likely to get him killed again than accomplishing
anything. We watch him kick major portions of squid-like ass before some people
show up that raise one hell of a question. The short story that follows is a
beautifully drawn tale by Micah Farritor involving the world’s most dangerous
health inspector, Heath…Girls #20 continues the final arc of the series. Last
issue, Barbara was killed and here we see what happens to her body (it is not
pretty) as the tension between the town’s women seems to be getting higher. The
men in town aren’t feeling any better either (especially Lester who loses
something very close to him) but we get a hint that the ‘girls’ may not be as
bad as we thought thru a dream. I don’t know where the Luna Brothers are going
to leave us when this series is all over but I have enjoyed the ride.
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"See, I told you I'd be
down here. We've got a bunch of SNEAKY PEEKIES of future
MARVEL, DC and IMAGE titles right
HERE" |
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All
Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2006
by their respective owners. No rights given or implied
by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2006 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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