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MICE TEMPLAR DESTINY #1 |
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Writer:
Bryan Glass,
Artists:
Michael Avon Oeming & Victor Santos |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Image Comics
Shipped On:
072909
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!) |
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IMAGE COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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The second chapter in the saga of the Mice Templar begins here!
The Templar have fallen, leaving the natural world in the grip of tyrants and
ever-increasing chaos. The promise of restoration for the Templar and the
salvation of all creatures now lies in the paws of the newly-knighted Karic. But
as sinister powers seek to thwart him, others are desperate to use his mission
for personal agendas. Now Karic is anxious to complete his training so that he
might rescue his family from slavery. But his new master is Cassius, a bitter
Templar exile who does not believe in Karic's destiny. Their journey takes them
to the legendary Haunted Wood, a dead forest inhabited by Diabhlan, ancient evil
spirits hungry to feed off of living souls. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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People, by nature, will see mice with swords on the
cover of this book and immediately draw parallels to “Mouse Guard.” Believe me,
this is anything but a cutesy story about mice with capes. In fact, there’s
almost as much blood and dismemberment as one might come to expect from Ennis’
“Punisher MAX” series. Volume 2 is, obviously, a direct continuation from the
first chapter which introduced readers to young Karic, whose family was taken
from him when his town was raided by rats. Through the first chapter Karic was
trained by a Templar Knight, Pilot the Tall, who ultimately betrayed his pupil
once Karic’s destiny was revealed.
Now Karic is led by Cassius, another of the lost Templar Knights who carries
quite a bit of disdain for this young upstart who, for all intents and purposes,
was trained by a traitor to the brotherhood. Through out the first issue readers
are given a great deal of background on Cassius and the ordeal he and his
brothers dealt with when the Templars originally disbanded. Karic also has
another vision, and is forced to use a gift from the Gods in order to save his
mentor, who probably doesn’t deserve the help.
This volume is shaping up to be quite a read, as a young and
still-wet-behind-the-ears Karic is going to find his confidence and skill
increasing before ultimately facing his family’s captors. I like the dynamic
that the writes use between Karic and Cassius, seeing as how Karic’s former
mentor was a real p.o.s. I understand why his new teacher is more than skeptical
of this pupil. I think that in time the bond they build is going to be a HUGE
focal point of the story.
I like shit like this. It’s cutesy and bright, but at the same time the blood
paints the walls by the bucket load. There’s not just violence, but
ULTRA-violence, and it’s all illustrated wonderfully, with crisp lines and great
attention to detail. I thought that the ending wasn’t just a cliff hanger, but
rather a running leap off of the cliff without a parachute, and I appreciated
the jolt. Anyway, there’s a natural reaction to this sort of stuff that
automatically compares it to the previous ‘mice with capes’ story, and that was
“Mouse Guard”, but I have to implore readers to take a shot at this and see for
yourself how different it really is; this is a good book that more people should
be reading. |
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STUFF OF LEGEND #1 |
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Writer:
Mike Raicht and Brian Smith,
Artist: Charles Paul Wilson III |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Fth3rd World Studios
Shipped On:
072909
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MSRP:
$4.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!) |
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TH3RD WORLD STUDIOS' SYNOPSIS:
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The year is 1944. While Allied soldiers storm a beach in far-off Normandy, in a
child's bedroom in Brooklyn, a small group of toys loyal to their human master
fight an unseen war to save him from every child's worst nightmare - The
Boogeyman. Discover the series that Frank Quitely (All-Star Superman) says is "a
real page-turner. Economical, effective storytelling, with both story and art
complimenting each other perfectly, and hinting at something darker." |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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It starts like something out of a child’s worst
nightmare: a noise in the middle of the night; a closet door slowly drifts open;
a creature, dark as night itself, grabs hold of a young boy, snatches him from
the safety of his bed, and drags the child into the closet; a thick, black
tentacle wrapped firmly around his mouth muffles his cries for help. It’s about
two panels after the horribly traumatizing experience when the wonder and
imagination kick into gear, as readers realize they weren’t the only ones to
witness the taking of the child. From the toy-chest springs forth a bevy of the
boy’s closest friends, a soldier known as the Colonel, a stuffed bear called
Max, a Native American warrior princess, a freaky looking Jack-in-the-box, and a
piggy bank; all are terrified, and yet they immediately hatch a plot to retrieve
their friend.
Once the ramshackle grouping of toys makes their way into ‘the dark’ of the
closet it’s as though they’ve crossed over into a whole other world. In the
realm of the Boogey Man, whom they believe responsible for the kid’s
disappearance, they’re all bigger and tougher, and much more deadly than they
ever could think of being in the real world. It’s a good thing that they’re as
tough as they imagine themselves to be, because the Boogey Man seems to be in
control of legions of forgotten toys, all of which would willingly give their
life to protect their dark lord. There’s a bit of intrigue and betrayal off the
bat, and one of the heroes of the story loses their life by the end of the first
issue.
The art is probably the most beautiful I’ve seen since “Cursed Pirate Girl” and
it displays both the simple and the fantastic not against each other, but rather
with the same level of skill and devotion, making for a flawless switch from
‘our world’ and into that of the kidnapper. The illustrations feel so rich, even
in black and white, that the images ooze off the page and embed themselves in
your mind like a great cartoon. Even the book’s format is anything but typical.
Laid out more like a children’s story book than a traditional comic, it allows
the artist to play to his strengths whilst maintaining a widescreen style that
fans of current comics have become accustomed to. And yes, it carries a lofty
price tag of $4.99 an issue, but considering the amount of heart and soul that
radiates from its pages it’s well worth, compared to what Marvel is charging
these days. |
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COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1657 |
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Writer:
Various,
Artist: Various |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
F+W Media
Shipped On:
072909
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MSRP:
$5.99 each
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F+W MEDIA'S SYNOPSIS:
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Marvel Comics is set to relaunch its Ultimate Universe this summer, and we have
all the details. Plus, learn who your favorites were in this year's Fan Awards.
All this, plus news, views, reviews, and a price guide you can't get anywhere
else. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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There’s something decidedly old-school in “CBG”’s
approach to the medium; in stark contrast to its leading competitor “Wizard
Magazine” there is a LOT of text, very few pictures, and almost 95% of the rag
is printed on newspaper stock in black & white. It also seems to be geared
mainly toward those of us who purchase comics not only for their entertainment
value, but also their potential value as collectibles. I don’t collect comics as
an investment in my future, but rather because I enjoy the half-hour or so that
I find myself in each little individual story, but I won’t knock the guys who
stand around the shop and check every page for a wrinkle and every cover for any
smudges; to each his or her own.
I found the coverage to be all over the place; from an ‘in-depth’ look at the
new Marvel Ultimate line, to Tony Isabella’s picks for best summer reads,
there’s a little bit for every kind of comic book fan in “CBG”. What you won’t
find in “Comic Buyers Guide” is coverage in regard to any other medium from T.V.,
to toys, to video games. There was a page devoted to genre-inspired film
reviews, but nothing too eye-catching. Their pricing guide covered a lot more
than Wizard’s ever has, and was littered with sidebars featuring pellet-reviews
and creator facts.
As a critic myself I find the op/ed pieces and comic reviews of any magazine
devoted to the craft to be the first place I’m drawn to. In that way “CBG” is
leaps and bounds ahead of their competition; offering over 44 reviews from
monthly’s to trades I found myself swimming in different opinions, some I agreed
with and some I don’t, but it was great to be exposed to that many titles, some
of which I’ve never heard of and now plan on tracking down. There were some
monthly columns that I found informative, especially one on writing-software
that once I read I was overcome with the urge to run to Best Buy. Even
fan-favorite writer Peter David has a monthly column at the end of each issue,
and this month his sights were set on internet-message board-arguments and the
people that encourage them. I found it somewhat hilarious given PAD’s track
record of confrontation himself, but still the man presented many valid and
interesting points.
I guess it all comes down to ‘Why are you collecting comics?’ Is in hopes that
one day your books may be worth as much as your old man’s books would have been
worth if some grouchy granny never tossed them on the curb with the weekly
trash? If that’s the case then “Comic Buyer’s Guide” has your name (whatever
that may be) written all over it. If you’re a guy (or gal) who just wants to
know the latest news and check out what’s affecting genre-fiction of all kinds
you may want to stick with the sinking ship that is “Wizard Magazine” for as
long as you can. If you really want to know where the action is, start looking
at the internet. Monthly publications devoted to insider-info in the world of
comics are dying; the only thing they can offer is a closer look at the stuff
web pages have already scooped them on. |
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JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #29
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Writers: Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges,
Artist: Jesus Merino
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC
Comics
Shipped On:
072909
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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A new era begins for the Justice Society of America as writers Bill Willingham
(FABLES) and Matthew Sturges (BLUE BEETLE) take over the series with new artist
Jesus Merino (SUPERMAN ANNUAL) just as two new recruits make their debut with
the team! Strange happenings at the JSA Mansion are weird precursors to an
all-out attack on all members of the team - all but one! And what is the strange
connection that new members King Chimera and All-American Kid might have with
the turmoil? |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I must say that I’m fairly taken with this new
perspective on the Justice Society. I tried the book out when Johns was writing
it; I liked it as part of the ‘Lightning Saga’ arc that ran between that and ‘JLA’;
I even gave the JSA/Kobra mini a shot but it just couldn’t manage to capture my
attention. Well, right off the bat I’ll admit that I find Sturges and Willingham
to be more exciting writers than Johns and Meltzer, their “Fables” series, as
well as Sturges’ work on “Final Crisis: Aftermath: Run” is some of the best
reading I’ve gotten done over this summer.
Here’s the thing I find most alluring about the Justice Society that the Justice
League doesn’t have going for it: they’re a powerful super-team and at the same
time a place for new, younger heroes to grow and learn how to use their
abilities. The DCU is built upon its legacy characters and you can’t find more
of them in one place than in the JSA. Characters like Wildcat, Jay Garrick, Mr.
Terrific, Power Girl, and Alan Scott (the original Green Lantern) all have a
rich history, and that makes for a good contrast with the next generation of
crime fighters that are coming up through their ranks.
In this issue the JSA responds to an odd demand by a strange super-villain
through the use of overwhelming force, only to find out that they themselves
were the ones that were out-manned. In odd twist readers are treated to villains
old and new alike as they take on the JSA and more or less dominate the team at
every juncture. Then, at the end the team suffers an attack from one of its own,
leading to a betrayal so vicious that the month between this book and the next
is going to feel like an eternity.
Both the writing and the art on this book art top-tier, and I know it’s not Dale
Eaglesham, but really, the switch is hardly noticeable. Jesus Merino is a truly
phenomenal talent. I’m glad that DC has dedicated a great deal of effort and
creativity to this corner of their multi-verse. I’m excited to continue the
adventures of the JSA, and with Willingham and Sturges at the helm I know I’m in
for a wild ride. |
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WIZARD #215 |
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Writers:
Various,
Artist:
N/A
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Wizard Press
Shipped On:
072909
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MSRP:
$5.99 each |
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WIZARD PRESS' SYNOPSIS:
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CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBIRTH: The first word on the TOP-SECRET Rebirth project from
Ed Brubaker, along with a Captain America retrospective. MARK MILLAR Q&A with
the Scottish scribe on the "Kick-Ass" movie, Utlimate Avengers and Angelina
Jolie!?! WHITEOUT SET VISIT, Behind the scenes of the Kate Beckinsale
adaptation of Greg Rucka's ice-cold, comic thriller! IRON MAN 2, The latest news
on next summer's most anticipated film from Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau and
Marvel Studios. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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As long as I’ve been a fanboy Wizard Magazine has
been THE go-to source for insider info and preview information on what comic
book companies and creators have planned for our favorite characters. Some of
its contributors have gone on to careers as comic book creators themselves (I’m
looking at you Gareb Shamus). Regardless, everyone who works for the magazine is
a fan first and a reporter second. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to realize
a lot of what Wizard passes off as news is nothing more than glorified
advertisement. That’s not to mention the reality that with the world wide web at
nearly everyone’s fingertips a monthly publication centering around a medium
with fans passionately devoting a great deal of time to conversing about such
material on message boards daily, along with websites like ‘Ain’t It Cool News’
and ‘Newsarama’ doling out info on an hourly schedule, it seems more and more
like Wizard is fighting an uphill battle on both sides of the hill they’ve for
so long been the king of.
This issue has a couple ups and downs, as many of the latest issues have had,
and features both an “Iron Man 2” cover as well as artistic jam piece featuring
Lee Bermejo, Art Adams, Phil Jimenez, Marc Silvestri and J. Scott Campbell
celebrating the 70th anniversary of Marvel Comics. Some of the standout pieces
include a look into the career of Marvel writer Bill Mantlo, and tragedy that
befell him; a behind-the-scenes look at the big screen adaptation of Greg
Rucka’s “Whiteout”; a look at the artistic partnership between Doug Mahnke and
Patrick Gleason, the current pencilers of “Green Lantern” and “Green Lantern
Corp” titles respectively. Both cover-stories are interesting reads, but a look
at the ‘marvelous’ moments that made Marvel Comics was much more in-depth and
offered more substance than the tired re-tread of the “Iron Man” movie-sequel
news they’ve continued to regurgitate into readers mouths like so many baby
birds.
A lot of what I liked about the rag as a kid isn’t there anymore: Drawing Board,
the theoretical battles they mapped out between characters that were likely
never to meet, Casting Call, blah blah blah. Nevertheless, the mag carries its
torch for the funny book biz with a panache rarely seen on the internet. The
editorial portion allows readers to pick which writers have the best interests
for their personal-favorites, and which writers they think are full of crap.
Sure opinions are opinions, and everyone has one, but Wizard presents both sides
of a lot of comic book related issues, such as the ‘One More/Brand New Day’
fiasco that drove a lot of fans both to and away from “Amazing Spider-Man”, or
the latest gripes from internet fanboys in relation to the casting of the next
big-studio comic book hack job. Bottom line is, for everything Wizard is, and
isn’t, they still bring something to the table that no one else does, and that’s
their longstanding roots within the industry as a whole. Their name carries a
lot of weight, and gets them an inside scoop on a lot of stuff that the
fledgling news sites can’t even get near. |
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ULTIMATUM #5
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Writer:
Jeph Loeb,
Artist:
David Finch
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072909
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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Stick around as ALL is answered in this explosive series finale that will shock
fans for years to come! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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So I didn’t exactly ‘poo-poo’ Jeph and Dave’s first
issue of ‘Ultimatum’, the so called “demise” of the Ultimate Universe as we know
it, but I definitely wasn’t sure that the writer had a solid road map indicating
where the story was headed. If I knew then what I know now, after reading the
final issue of what may be the most gruesome series outside of the Marvel Max
imprint, I never would have questioned Loeb’s plan. I still think that the
writer is kind-of a ‘let down artist’ in terms of many of the stories he’s told
since he came to Marvel, (not to mention his tenure with their distinguished
competition) but after this I’m gonna have to tone down the Loeb-bashing, at
least until we find out who the Red Hulk is.
Man, if you thought the first four issues of ‘Ultimatum’ were full of obscene
acts of intense violence just wait until you get your paws on the finale. In one
of the most shocking conclusions to any mini-series I’ve ever read anywhere,
Loeb is ultimately successful in his goal to set this universe apart from its
616 counterpart. Despite the 10-plus years of continuity that everyone was
assuming would be re-set through mystical, or cosmic means, Loeb and Finch were
able to do the unexpected, and that’s leave the Ultimate Marvel Universe in
shambles; so drastically altered that it may never again mirror the traditional
Marvel U, no matter how edgy or updated they make the characters.
On the last page there’s a tally of every one who lost their lives in the
conflict with Magneto and his henchmen, and at last count there were more than
thirty names (both good guys and bad) that made up that list. A lot of these
were established characters that helped make up the Universe when it was still
just testing the waters, and some were just background noise, never really
getting their time to shine until their lives were snuffed out. I’m not sure how
I feel about the senseless slaughter of heroes like Daredevil, or Dr. Strange,
who didn’t get the chance to grow in the Ultimate U, it’s almost as if Loeb
proposed the idea and Joey Q was just like: “F*** ‘em, let’s bump ‘em off!”.
The climax of this book happens in three parts, and all three of them are each
more shocking and disturbing than the last. Without going into any details, and
God knows I want to, I’ll just say this: It’s safe to say that the landscape of
the Ultimate Marvel Universe has been stripped of any baggage, and the
characters inhabiting it have been pushed beyond the breaking point (especially
the ever-loving, blue-eyed, Thing…yeesh). Should the traditional Marvel U and
its Ultimate counterpart ever actually cross-paths (and we all know that it’s
bound to happen sooner or later) I think the old-schoolers are gonna have a
harder time than originally thought.
P.S. You may have noticed a distinct lack of any criticism of David Finch’s art.
I’ve maintained from the beginning that I feel as though Finch ‘phoned-it-in’ on
this one, and aside from a few select pages in this final issue, and scant
others through out the remainder of the series, I think this is the sloppiest
I’ve ever seen his stuff. His covers have been great, but the interiors just
look rushed and messy. Boo. |
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KID COLT #1
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Writer:
Tom Defalco,
Artist: Rick Burchett |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072909
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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Framed for murder, Blaine Cole, one of Marvel's original western heroes saddles
up to ride again as KID COLT! Against a deadly bounty hunter, a corrupt Sherriff
and the scavengers of the west, odds are against the Kid and his ally, the
steady-shooting Everrett Hawkmoor. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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What can beat an old fashioned Western-style shoot
out? Not much, right? I haven’t been exposed to too many comic book Westerns in
my time, mainly because they aren’t that popular a genre anymore, and haven’t
been for a long, long time. Let’s face it, kids are more likely to play ‘Border
Patrol’ these days than ‘Cowboys and Indians’, if your kids are the kind that
are into picking on oppressed minorities that is. As I get older I do appreciate
the allure of the genre though, I’ve even come to find some of these stories a
bit more full of exuberance and fun that a lot of the cape and cowl crowd are
missing.
Blaine ‘Kid Colt’ Cole is wanted for murder, but Everett “Hawk” Hawkmore didn’t
know that when he backed the kid up in a bloody showdown at the local watering
hole. The two, now on the run together, get to know each other and exchange
stories about their past and how they came to be in the dire straits that they
found themselves in. There’s a charm to a 17-year-old sharp shooter, who
proclaims his innocence, but ruthlessly guns down anyone who would attempt to
bring him to trial, and while he’s just a kid, all the other characters have to
keep reminding themselves of that fact, and at some points, so did I.
I really liked Tom Defalco’s take on the whole Western-style. It didn’t come off
as cliché as it may seem, even though there’s a lot of stuff that could have
gone either way. Tom kept the twists twisting and the action, uh…occurring, and
the Kid managed to rack up quite a body count. Everything was so cleverly
penciled by Rick Burchett, with thin, clean lines that made the colors really
pop. I thought there was a great expressiveness to his characters, which leant
legitimacy to what Tom was doing. I’d like to read more by this pair of
creators, we’ll see if the book sells worth a damn. |
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JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #35
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Writer:
Len Wein,
Artist: Tom Derenick |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC
Comics
Shipped On:
072909
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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The cards are stacked against the remnants of the Justice League! And those
cards are the Royal Flush Gang! Can even Superman and Wonder Woman save a team
whose luck has run out? Featuring the deadly return of an old foe. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Oh, how the mighty have fallen! At one point this
book was being written by Grant Morrison; at another it was written by novelist
Brad Meltzer. The team has featured heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman,
and even Elongated Man, but it always seems to hit a dead end just when it
starts picking up some steam. I think the League, in a lot of ways is reflective
of the creative teams that represent it, and often parallels the perils faced by
editorial when its stories are met with mixed reviews from the fans. Whether it
be Dwayne McDuffie’s rather abrupt departure from the series for spilling the
beans on future story-lines, or editorial mandate dictating where the characters
are supposed to be and why so they don’t conflict with Morrison’s or Johns’
plans for the universe as a whole, the Justice League is constantly abandoned by
creators until something simply MUST be done with them. But who cares? Tom
Derenick’s pencils look like Alan Davis, so even a crappy story with boring
characters is somewhat redeemed, but only somewhat.
In this issue of JLA we see what’s left of the League that Black Canary
assembled before having her own little bitch-fit, when all the heavy hitters
split on her, and walking on the team herself. A mandatory meeting at the
Watchtower turns out to be a disappointment because only two members bother to
show up: Firestorm and Vixen; not exactly an all-star team (I think they both
rode the short bus to the meeting that day). There’s a distress call, and the
Justice Pair is out the door en route to the fight complaining all the way there
like a couple of little p*****. Boy that makes for a good read. Then we’re
treated to a repeat of the cover gag, which shouldn’t be all that big of a
freaking surprise because if there’s any books worth reading right now in the
DCU it’s the Bat-books. There’s a new Batman people, and he’s not in this issue,
so don’t look here. However, the heroes are fairly freaked out when a Bat-shaped
man comes swooping out of the night sky, only to be mildly irritated to find out
it was Plastic Man (oops, did I just ruin it?)
The way you can tell a title has really got a hurt-on going is when the
second-rate Super Friends are called in to fight the Royal Flush Gang, I mean,
seriously what if the League was made up of Superman, Green Lantern, Hawk Man,
and Batman (who’s fought the whole gang by himself)? This story would have never
happened. Superman would fart and knock over 3 of them; Green Lantern contains
the other one, and Batman could hold down the big guy while Hawk Man kicks his
teeth in. Instead we get Red Tornado and Dr. Light (Femme-Light M.D.?!) and a
battle in a casino with no real point. I don’t get why this series exists only
to be continuously made over into something fresh, and then forgotten about? But
I guess that’s why they call it a transition period. |
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DELLEC #1
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Writer:
Paul Mastromauro & Vince Hernandez,
Artist: Micah Gunnell |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Aspen
Comics
Shipped On:
072209
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MSRP:
$2.50 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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ASPEN COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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SOMETIMES... EVIL SHOULD BE AFRAID. His name is DELLEC, and it all starts right
here! One man amidst a blur of immorality, but his mission is clear-destroy the
forces of evil wherever they may flourish, even if it means taking on the very
being that created mankind itself! The action-packed first issue takes off full
throttle, as DELLEC, on a quest for vengeance and redemption, jumps headfirst
into the battle of a lifetime-and his chances for survival don't look good!
However, DELLEC is not one to back down from a fight, even if his foe is the
bloodcurdling Bludgeoner! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Tragedy makes for great story telling. Some of the
most inspiring journeys any character can undertake deal with the inner turmoil
one must suffer through after a great loss; it usually makes for more
interesting characterization. I think that’s one of the things I liked about
this book more than a lot of the first issues or debut series I’ve been exposed
to lately, it displayed a great deal of characterization without feeling
intrusive to the story telling, and they left enough of the character vague
without coming off as a fluff piece.
The man known only as Dellec operates a metal fabrication business by day, but
by night his stock-in-trade is ass-whuppins, and he’s handing out a s***-load;
and before you inquire: just how many ass-whuppins are in a whole s***-load,
it’s a few more than a butt-load but not quite as many as a f***-load. There’s a
great scene in the beginning of this book that clues readers in to just how
messed up this guy might be, without laying all the cards on the table all at
once. Amidst the horrific beating he’s delivering to a group of monkey-themed
baddies calling themselves ‘The Kongs’ we’re introduced to Dellec’s daughter
during a college interview, a piece which alludes to both of their backgrounds
and how it made them who they are today.
It would appear that in addition to making pretty, shiny objects out of metal
for paying customers he is working with a priest to track down evil men and
bring them to justice. That’s where the Bludgeoner comes in; he’s the big, bad,
nasty mofo that sets up underground fights which usually end up with one of the
contestants dead in the ring. When Dellec crashes one of the Bludgeoner’s
parties and starts laying the smack down on a whole bunch of candy-asses
everything is looking pretty good for him until he catches a mallet to the back,
then it’s lights out, only to regain his consciousness just before his head is
about to be pounded into pudding.
I thought this was a clever book that benefits from the air of mystery that
surrounds the main character. There’s such a large amount of pressure for new
comics to hit the stands and bond instantly with new readers in hopes that it
may find its way into the hands of some hungry studio executive waiting to jump
on the comic book movie bandwagon. I think Paul Mastromauro and Vince Hernandez
have done a terrific job in giving readers a gist of the characters motivation,
while not spoon feeding his life story to us in the first issue, and even
without know every intimate detail of the characters life, the cliffhanger at
the end is still as impacting as it would be if a more established character was
in the same situation. |
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X-FORCE #17
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Writer:
Kyle & Chris Yost ,
Artist: Mike Choi & Sonia Oback |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072209
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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"NOT FORGOTTEN" Part 1 (of 4)-MESSIAH WAR AFTERMATH! When X-Force was pulled
into the future, what was forgotten in the present? The Leper Queen's murderous
acts? The Sapien League's attack on the United Nations using two of the X-Men's
students? Wolfsbane's reunion with the Asgardian Wolf Prince? H.A.M.M.E.R.'s
hunt for X-23? After three months, the wait is over. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
|
In what I consider to be the best X-Men ongoing
series since Joss Whedon left ‘Astonishing’, the writing team of Craig Kyle and
Chris Yost never fail to win over my undivided attention from the first page of
each and every issue. The X-Force crew was yanked rather abruptly from some very
interesting plotlines when they were inserted into the “Messiah War” crossover,
and I was almost obsessively concerned with how these two were going to write
themselves out from behind the eight-ball. Well, as it turns out, my concerns
were unwarranted, and no, I wasn’t surprised at all.
One-point-three seconds; that’s the beauty of time travel, despite the time
spent in the future fighting the villain Stryfe the X-Force is able to reinsert
themselves into the current timeline only 1.3 seconds after they initially
departed, which means the dark fate that supposedly befell Boom Boom may not be
so permanent. Wolfsbane is back, and her Asgardian Wolf-boyfriend is with her,
but other’s have followed him from the realm of Asgard; if you’ve ever wanted to
know what a werewolf/frost giant fight looks like, stay tuned. The rest of the
story deals primarily with the results of the Leper Queen and the Human League
and the mutant-bombs they’ve been unleashing in hopes of turning public opinion
against homo-superior. With Julian “Hellion” Keller and Noriko “Surge” Ashida as
their prisoners the Human League is about to perpetrate a terrorist attack
against an anti-mutant rally when X-Force steps in to save the day; if you’ve
ever read this series before you know that is bound to be a task easier said
than done, and the last page is actually a beautiful double page spread that
totally amps up the anticipation for the next issue.
Mike Choi is such a solid artist, but the unsung star of his style is colorist
Sonia Oback. Choosing to go against the grain and digitally color directly over
un-inked pencils has been a long debated topic between comic book fans; the
great thing about this team is that the coloring is done so precisely and Choi’s
lines are SO clean, that it’s almost impossible to tell the book was never
touched by an inker. I love this book, and I’m glad it’s taken the main stage in
the Marvel X-Men universe, because a lot of what they’re doing on the other
books has been crap. |
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AMAZING SPIDERMAN #600
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Writers:
Dan Slott and various others,
Artists: John Romita Jr. and various others |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072209
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MSRP:
$4.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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The greatest Marvel super hero of all celebrates his 600th issue with the
biggest all-original issue of Amazing Spider-Man EVER! This one's got it all!
The return of Doctor Octopus, Daredevil, a wedding you never predicted, and the
return of one of the most important people in Peter Parker's life in a
giant-sized lead story by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. Doc's back in town, but
it's only a prelude to darker days ahead as Spidey unknowingly prepares for a
gauntlet he can't even see coming. On top of all that, witness the return of one
of Spider-man's creators, Smilin' Stan Lee (along with Masticatin' Marcos
Martin) as he presents a story of unbridled passion, drama and angst as Spidey
reflects over his many, many years of adventures. But that ain't all...as the
rest of the Spidey Web-Heads bring you several short features showcasing some
rarely explored aspects of both Spidey and Pete's life, drawn by some of the
greatest artists in comics. Plus, several other surprises and NO REPRINTS! 104
pages of goodness brought to you by some of the best creators that have ever
worked on Spidey! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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There’s nothing quite like a good, old-fashioned
one-and-done story to give an anniversary issue a swift kick in the pants. Dan
Slott and John Romita Jr. put together a 62-page Spider-tale that is sure to go
down in the record books, not only as the biggest single issue Spidey story, but
one of its best, and that’s just the first 2/3 of the book. Marvel has seriously
upped the ante by releasing a 104-page mega-comic, with all new material,
including a short by Stan ‘the man’ Lee, and not a single ad to be found. Color
me impressed.
When rattling off a list of Spider-Man’s coolest villains, I’m quite sure anyone
would be quick to toss out the name Otto Octavius. While Doc Ock is one of
Pete’s oldest and most recognizable villains, he even earned a spot in the
second (and best) Spider-Man movie; he’s never been one of the more threatening
baddies to wreak havoc in Pete’s life. Sure, he almost married Aunt May, who
hasn’t? Sure, he was a part of the original Sinister Six, who cares? How about
this, when informed that he hasn’t much longer to live Otto confronts his own
mortality by taking over the technology of the city of New York, in hopes of
leaving a lasting legacy, and being looked at as a hero. Um, yeah right.
Meanwhile, there’s a Wedding to be had, and the bride and groom are baffled by a
series of odd cancellations; everything from the flowers, to the cake, to the
minister are all suddenly unavailable, or have no record of their reservations.
Could this also be the work of May’s spurned former love, or is it JJJ Sr.’s
pride and joy, and current Mayor of New York City, J. Jonah Jameson Jr.?
Everything comes to a head, and everyone comes to lend a hand to the friendly
neighborhood wall crawler; everyone from the Fantastic Four, to Daredevil, to
Spidey’s teammates in the Avengers (not the Dark or Mighty ones) assists in
putting a stop to Ock’s shenanigans. There are some great moments between DD and
Spidey, reflecting on the latest decisions to let the cat out of the bag in
terms of his identity; he’s told the FF, he’s told the Avengers, so why not tell
old horn-head? Matt explains to Pete that there are many more important things
in his life than fraternizing with the cape-and-tights-crowd, and once he
exposes those he loves by spilling the beans he can’t undo it (again).
The short back-ups that follow the main piece are pretty solid. Stan Lee
out-writes his crappy work on “Hulk #600” with a cool little piece illustrated
by Marcos Martin revolving around all the changes in Spidey’s world since Stan
created the character with Steve Ditko all those years back. Mark Waid takes a
deeper look at the relationship between Ben Parker and Pete that instilled the
values Spider-Man holds true to this day. Zeb Wells pokes fun at an era of
comics that featured a bit more of a fun-loving, cheesy aspect of the Spider-Man
family, the Spider-Mobile; Bob Gale and Mitch Breitweiser take a walk in Aunt
May’s shoes as she seeks approval from her dead husband before she goes ahead
and marries another man.
I was more than impressed with this whole issue, from the phenomenal Alex Ross
cover, to the final page where Editor Steve Wacker lets all the readers know
just how much hard work went into the pages. I’m really enjoying the new era of
Spider-Man, and whether you approve of how they got to this point or not, it’s
been a lot of fun. I’m hoping the final short bit, by Joe Kelly, featuring the
death of a particular Spider-associate who’s been around about as far as I can
remember, is just a taste of the nastiness that’s to come in the next few
months. . |
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INCREDIBLE HULK #600 |
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Writers:
Jeph Loeb and various others,
Artists: Ed McGuinness and various others |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
072209
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MSRP:
$4.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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WHO IS THE RED HULK?! THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN IS
GOING TO TRY AND FIND OUT! GREEN HULK! RED HULK! SPIDEY! SECRETS REVEALED! A
STORY SO BIG IT CAN BARELY BE CONTAINED IN THE INCREDIBLE 600TH ISSUE OF HULK!
ALL THIS AND A STARTLING SURPRISE ENDING TO TOP ALL THE OTHER SHOCKING SURPRISES
THIS HULK BOOK IS KNOWN FOR! The chart-topping team of Jeph Loeb and Ed
McGuinness bring you a 600th-issue celebration guest starring your friendly
Neighborhood Web-Head as the original Incredible series returns! Plus, back-up
story by Fred Van Lente featuring the Savage She-Hulk! And representing the
first issue of the Loeb/Sale HULK: GRAY series, |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I was BIG into the Hulk (no pun intended), key word
being ‘was.’ When Greg Pak took Banner off-world and did his send-off to
“Gladiator” I was totally sold, in fact, I had never enjoyed the Hulk more, but
apparently it wasn’t meant to be, because it wasn’t too long ago that I actually
dropped this series from my pull list due to the ineptitude of the current
creative team. This is a perfect example of how NOT to do an anniversary issue.
Somewhere along the line it seems Jeph Loeb found himself swept up in the hype
surrounding the identity of the Red Hulk, and I’m not that sure even HE knows
who the character is really meant to be.
In the main body of story, playing off everything Loeb has taken over a year to
set up, readers end up with a couple answers (but not anything important) and
even more questions than we started out with. In terms of the big, over-all
mystery surrounding Rulk’s identity, we get bupkiss, however we do learn that
‘Thunderbolt’ Ross has been working with or under the control of M.O.D.O.K.
rebuilding the terrorist organization known as A.I.M. The S.H.I.E.L.D. facility
where Banner has been held hostage isn’t really operated by S.H.I.E.L.D. at all,
and somehow the Red Hulk is able to siphon Gamma-radiation from others which is
extremely weird considering these two have met in battle more than once, and
he’s never tried this trick out before. Doc Samson apparently developed a split
personality overnight, which doesn’t really do anything for the character except
solidify his position in the Marvel U as Hulk-lite, so whoop-dee-frickin-doo.
The pencils by Ed McGuinness have NEVER looked better than they do in this
issue. Whereas I typically find his art to be too cartoony and repetitive, I
thought this issue showed a lot of depth to his style.
There’s a back up story written by Stan Lee which is really nothing more than a
glorified fluff-piece. “Hey look everyone, Stan Lee is gonna write an 8-page
story in the back of ‘The Incredible Hulk 600’ and it’s not going to be cool, or
interesting, and have no bearing on continuity whatsoever. Awesome right?!” No,
it was, in fact, almost painful to read. I mean, credit where it’s due, the guy
helped come up with some of the coolest comic book characters of all time, but
we’ve made it leaps and bounds beyond what the guy can do with a pen. Then
editorial went ahead and tacked on a 22 page reprint of Loeb’s “Hulk: Gray”
which he put out a few years back with Tim Sale. I didn’t like that series then,
and I still don’t. I find the reprinting of issues in the back of an oversized
anniversary special to be the comic book equivalent of the old ‘bait and switch’
sales tactic, and down right reprehensible. They could have cut that, sold the
issue for the regular price of $3.99, and it would have been a solid issue, but
I guess the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze for four bucks when they could try to
get us for five. Blah. |
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GREEN LANTERN #44 |
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Writer:
Geoff Johns,
Artist:
Doug Mahnke |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
072209
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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"Blackest Night" continues! As Hal Jordan and
Barry Allen investigate a bizarre crime in Gotham City, they come face to face
with one of their oldest allies - J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter! But their
old friend is not there for reunions; he's come for much more. Meanwhile,
Sinestro seeks to rebuild his army and take his revenge on the being who would
usurp it - Mongul! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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So I had some problems with the first issue of Geoff
John’s ‘GL’ epic, “Blackest Night”, which debuted last week, but I guess it was
just a case of first-issue-blues because I found this story, a direct
continuation of events that kicked off in “BN#1” to be thoroughly enjoyable. I’m
still not sold on Johns as the comic book messiah he’s made out to be, but I
thought that he was able to expand upon some very cool stuff, and for some
reason his style didn’t come off as stiff as it did in the main event.
It’s Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, two of DC’s most beloved characters who
themselves recently rejoined the land of the living squaring off against another
one of the ‘Big 7’ as the currently deceased Martian Manhunter returns from
beyond the grave to wreak havoc against his compatriots. This is a pretty cool
fight, and there’re some great character bits with the Martian Manhunter, even
though he’s the bad guy, like when he compares his power levels to those of
Superman, and asks himself why no one ever remembers that. The Guardians of Oa
are also shown for a bit, developing even further the thread regarding the
Guardian Scar and her betrayal of her partners.
I think Doug Mahnke is probably the unsung hero of the DC universe. His ability
to flawlessly illustrate both action and characters makes his style one of the
strongest amongst their stable of artists. The cover, a great shot of Hal and
Barry attempting to overtake their dead friend is seriously strong stuff, with
the character’s faces as expressive as they come; it really conveys the emotion
that so many comic artists miss.
As far as the event itself goes, I think when the main book is read in
conjunction with the GL family of titles (and I’m going to go ahead and include
‘GL Corp’ before actually reading it because, well, I’m just going to) the
details of the story really get a chance to shine as opposed to its epic scope.
I understand that this is a big, universe- spanning event, but when the meat and
potatoes of a story play out in the side books, well, I think editorial is
missing the point. Don’t you?. |
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NORTH 40 #1 |
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Writer:
Aaron Williams,
Artist: Fiona Staples |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC/Wildstorm Comics
Shipped On:
071509
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC/WILDSTORM'S SYNOPSIS:
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Somewhere in Midwestern America was a place called Conover County. When the old
book was opened, and the runes therein used in haste and ignorance, a place of
farms, simple folk, and small-town dreams became a den of monsters and
nightmare. NORTH 40 is the story of those who survived and came to confront an
even greater evil on the horizon - one that wouldn't just consume their flesh,
but their souls as well. Heroes arise with power to bring against the dark:
Wyatt, an unwilling protector of his former tormentors; Amanda, an apprentice to
forgotten arts; and Sheriff Morgan, whose bonds with Conover County go back
farther than even he can remember. See where it started, and watch where it's
all going in NORTH 40 #1. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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This reminded me of more than a few things when I
first read it: ‘The X-Files’, ‘Twin Peaks’, ‘Tales from the Crypt’, and a little
bit of superhero lore sprinkled throughout. In as strong a first issue as I’ve
seen from Wildstorm in quite some time, readers zig and zag through the small
town of Lufton, meeting many of its denizens at a rapid fire pace. Then a pair
of troubled kids opens a book which trapped an ancient evil, and the whole place
goes all to hell, almost literally.
When everyone wakes the next morning there’s almost too much to take in.
Children are sprouting wings and attacking parents and siblings, a man fallen
asleep in his supper wakes up with 7 eyes; people are mutating, some into
creatures from some dark deviant corner of the depths of hell. Amongst the
terrified masses there are a few whom the dark arts haven’t corrupted in the
same way; some of the citizens of this town have developed rather
out-of-the-ordinary abilities, but what are they expected to do?
The pencils Fiona Staples deliver in this book go to show just how impressive
comics that go against the mainstream can actually be. I fell in love with
everything about the way she draws, making even the most mundane Midwestern
landscape seem instantly captivating. It’s the Average-Joe Nobodies who populate
the doomed town that really bring out the artist’s personality, style, and
imagination.
This is a title I’m sticking with, and if you haven’t tried it, you’re missing
out on a real quality story. With roots in Lovecraftian-style horror, T.V.
serials, and superhero comics, this book is a great blend of action, mystery,
suspense, and terror. I only hope that enough people pick up on this book to
support it; at $2.99 an issue how can you afford to skip it?! |
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BLACKEST NIGHT #1 |
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Writer:
Geoff Johns,
Artist: Ivan Reis |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
071509
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis raise the dead in the most anticipated comics story of
the year! Throughout the decades, death has plagued the DC Universe and taken
the lives of heroes and villains alike. But to what end? As the War of Light
rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends upon us, with Hal Jordan
and the Green Lantern Corps at the center of it all. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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The road to ‘Blackest Night’ has been a long
and winding one; it began nearly two years ago at the end of the Sinestro Corp
War, when it was casually mentioned, and since that point has been one of the
more anticipated DC events in the last several years. I’m not a huge Green
Lantern guy, and I haven’t been following the series that seriously despite the
buzz the books have been getting, however I was waiting for this series, to see
if it was capable of living up to the hype.
Death and rebirth have been a constant in comics for as far back as I can
figure, and this fact hasn’t been more prevalent than the DCU for the last few
years. With the return of long dead figure heads such as Hal Jordan and Barry
Allen, and the demise of several ‘top’ characters like Batman and the Martian
Manhunter. ‘Blackest Night’ deals with the actions of former second- or
third-tier baddie “The Black Hand” as he gets a significant boost in the
‘bad-ass’ department as well as the capability to bring the dead back to some
form of reanimated ‘life.’ The first issue deals with a lot of people being
really sad for all the characters that have died since the ‘Crisis on Infinite
Earths’ (of which I counted approximately 52 in the two page spread where Hal
gets Barry up to speed on what’s gone on since he died), but its not too long
before all the old favorites begin climb out of their coffins and terrorize the
living. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are the first victims of the assault of the Black
Lanterns, but how long will they stay out of the picture?
Geoff Johns gets a whole lot of critical acclaim for his work on books like ‘The
Flash’, ‘JSA’, and ‘Green Lantern’, and if that’s your thing then I wont knock
it, but I just can't really get into his squeaky-clean style. I know he hasn’t had
a real chance to flesh out a lot of what’s going on in this book, but it just
didn’t get me excited. There was some intriguing stuff, sure, but I didn’t put
the book down and think to myself: “I can’t wait to find out what’s going to
happen next.” I think the stand-out of the entire ordeal was Mr. Ivan Reis,
who’s gone ahead and solidified himself as DC’s strongest penciler-who-hasn’t-jumped-ship-to-Marvel.
The guy’s lines are fantastic, and a lot of his work reminds me of a younger Jim
Lee, which is to say that while his star has been on the rise for a long time he
still has room to grow and get better, and I believe he’ll be headlining some
HUGE books in the very near future. |
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DOCTOR WHO ONGOING #1
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Writer:
Tony Lee,
Artist: Al Davison |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
IDW
Comics
Shipped On:
071509
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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IDW COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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At long last Doctor Who is an ongoing monthly series! Tony Lee (Doctor Who: The
Forgotten), kicks off the time/space-faring series with the two-part "Silver
Scream." In chapter one, the Doctor travels to 1920s Hollywood where he
befriends Charlie Chaplin and, of course, discovers an alien plot! Lee is joined
by Al Davison (The Dreaming) on this first story arc. Covers by Paul Grist and
Davison. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I didn’t grow up in the 70’s, so feel free to flame
me if I get any part of this wrong, but apparently that’s the decade when
America was introduced to a British sci-fi T.V. show called “Doctor Who.” From
that point on there’s been an odd fascination with the ‘time-lord’ who takes it
upon himself to investigate and correct anomalies in the space-time continuum.
This finds the Doctor in Hollywood, California in the roaring ’20’s during the
high point of the silent film era. Apparently there’s a ‘static point’ in time
and space and the Doctor must rectify it immediately. The funny thing about this
versus a lot of other time travel stories I’ve read in superhero comics, and
this is of course keeping with in the context of the character based on what
I’ve seen on television, but he’s very chatty, even when it may come to spilling
the beans on future events, with perhaps a more-than-lackadaisical approach to
his responsibilities. I didn’t mind though, because this was a very easy book to
slide into, even with what little insight I had on the series. That’s what it’s
really all about when adapting a television series or movie to comic book form,
making it accessible for new readers and those already familiar with the
mythology alike.
The art by Al Davison was enjoyable. I thought it brought the characters to life
in a very realistic way, and the final splash page of the book really kicked the
action into high gear. I think the best thing they did is they didn’t just copy
the actor who’s currently filling the role, but rather came up with an ambiguous
look, almost as if they amalgamated all the faces so that this new incarnation
of the Doctor is both familiar and new at the same time. I think this is a cool
representation of a character that’s been around for quite a while, and it might
even succeed in bringing new readers to the medium; those who are only familiar
with the Doctor from his T.V. series may find themselves in comic shops all of a
sudden, and that’s not a bad thing at all. |
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WEDNESDAY COMICS #1 Of (12) |
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Writers:
Various,
Artists: Various |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
070809
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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DC Comics gives a fresh twist to a grand comics tradition with WEDNESDAY COMICS,
a new, weekly 12-issue series by some of the greatest names in comics today!
WEDNESDAY COMICS is unique in modern comics history: Reinventing the classic
weekly newspaper comics section, it is a 16-page weekly that unfolds to a
sprawling 28" x 20" tabloid-sized reading experience bursting with mind-blowing
color, action and excitement, with each feature on its own 14" x 20" page. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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So there’s a lot of reasons I really enjoyed the new
weekly offering from DC comics; the words ‘medium changing’ come to mind
immediately, the force of the creative teams behind the stories, and the
over-sized newsprint style paper really makes for an absorbing and impressive
experience. Never in my 26 years on this planet have I seen superhero comics
offered up to readers in this format, and that’s not to say they’ve NEVER been
presented like this, but rather why they haven’t lately. I’ll admit the
smoother, glossier paper used in more recent comics is usually more attractive
to the eye, but I think DC has figured out how to get the most out of the
rougher newsprint.
The Kuberts (Joe and Adam) on Sgt. Rock, Kyle Baker on Hawkman, Paul Pope on
Strange Adventures; any of those strike your fancy? How about Neil Gaiman and
Mike Allred on Metamorpho, Batman by Azzarello and Risso, or John Arcudi and Lee
Bermejo’s take on the man of steel? Seriously, that’s about half of the stories
you get in the book, the other half feature characters like Catwoman, the Demon,
the Flash, Deadman, Kamandi, Supergirl, Green Lantern, and more, all by stellar
creative teams; Dan DiDio, the E-I-C of DC Comics even gets in on the action.
Even though I liked some stories more than others, I didn’t think there was one
bad apple in the bunch. Whether you’re a long time fan of some of the
publisher’s more established characters, or just jumping on the DC bandwagon,
there’s a little something for everyone in “Wednesday Comics.” You don’t have to
know about any ‘Crises’, you don’t have to pick up any other titles to work with
this at all, it all sort of just is; it gels with readers (myself somewhat of a
novice in the DC universe) with little to no bearing on actual continuity.
The fact that DC was taking another crack at a weekly series after the dismal
performances by the previous 2 (the first, ‘52’ was excellent, but it was all
down hill from there) struck me as an odd move, but when I was finally presented
with the finished product I was extremely excited to get into it right away.
Despite the $3.99 price tag, which only seems steep before you actually get your
hands on a copy of the book, they’ve reduced the run from a full year to just
three months, making 12 issues at 4 bucks a pop seem somewhat reasonable. I’m
hoping we get a over-sized, deluxe, hardcover, ‘Absolute’ edition, printed on a
higher quality paper stock as a collected edition; something too big to fit on a
shelve, so you have to leave it out for people to explore. |
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DRAFTED
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Writer:
Mark Powers,
Artists: Chris Lie, Junaidi & Faisal Kupperman |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DDP
Comics
Shipped On:
070809
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DEVILS DUE'S SYNOPSIS:
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Humanity has repulsed the first wave of alien invaders-but the battle has left
much of America in shambles. As the coldest winter in a century assaults the
starving, shell-shocked populace, it falls to a former U.S. Senator to rally a
small construction unit in the frozen, haunted remains of Chicago. A man whose
own destiny has been changed by the war: Barack Hussein Obama... |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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One of the main problems I’ve had with the never
ending assault of “O’bamarama” in the local comic book stores as of late, in
addition to the bastardization of Barack Obama’s legacy, is that the books which
whore themselves to buyers with pictures of the President on the cover in some
ridiculous situation after another really aren’t good comics, regardless of
who’s mug they paste on Obama’s body.
“Drafted” is the story of a world war, but as opposed to constant world-wide
conflict with one another it’s the story of the war fought between our world and
an invading one. When all of the world’s remaining citizens are drafted (get it)
into a battle for survival enemies become allies, and sometimes it works the
other way around. In this story Barack Obama never became the President of the
United States, but rather maintained his position as State Senator of Illinois
until he too was drafted into service. Blah, blah, blah, somebody double crosses
him, he’s exiled, he finds redemption, yadda, yadda, yadda…why was this
published?
I think the weakness of this book is the blandness of the storytelling; there’s
no balls, there’s no heart. I can’t think of a book where so little happens over
so many pages. This f***ing thing costs $5.99! For 48 pages of NOTHING, who in
the hell is going to pay $5.99?! DDP, who also happened to published the giant
steaming turd “Barack the Barbarian”, seriously shouldn’t be in the business of
publishing comics, because whoever is in charge over there doesn’t have the
intestinal fortitude to not put out s***-piles on a regular basis. BOO DDP!
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ALL SELECT COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL |
Writers:
Marc Guggenheim and Michael Kupperman,
Artists: Javier Pulido and Michael Kupperman |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
071509
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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Meet Blonde Phantom - she's gorgeous, quick-witted, and hard-boiled. There was
never a case that wasn't open-and-shut for this gun-toting, two-fisted knockout
of a P.I. But has she still got what it takes to bust a mystery wide open in the
modern Marvel Universe? Marc Guggenheim (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and Javier Pulido
(CAPTAIN AMERICA 65TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL) turn the classic Blonde Phantom into
Marvel's newest hero! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Sex is a weapon, and if you’re the golden age hero
known as The Blonde Phantom that and a pistol is all you’ll need to fight crime
in the big city. In what was both one of the better stories from these Timely
Comics Anniversary specials, and at the same time one of the more out-dated
concepts of all the books they’ve released, writer Marc Guggenheim crafts a
good, old-fashioned detective yarn, spinning a web of mystery and deceit, all
the while twisting and turning readers in every direction to try and figure out
‘whodunit’?
There’s something to be said about a woman who sees fit to fight crime in
a slinky negligee. There’s even more to be said when that lady turn out to be
both a hardened street fighter and a brilliant detective. So when a friend is
murdered it’s up to The Blonde Phantom to track down a killer, and when the
cards are all turned over she may be closer to the villain then she ever
imagined. The back up stories in this issue feature the adventures of Marvex the
Super Robot, which were extremely lame, even when read as a joke. Michael
Kupperman pulls double duty as writer and artist in an updated adventure, if you
want to call it that. It’s reads like some silly indy book that has no real
imagination, but instead chooses to make up for it by copying things other
writers pulled off quite well. I can’t imagine this character making a come back
of any sort in the current climate of the Marvel U.
Marc Guggenheim is a great writer, I’ve raved about his work on “Resurrection”
and his stuff as part of the ‘Amazing Spider-Man Brain Trust’ is some of the
better work on the title. I’m impressed with his ability to get to the core of
this character and make something believable out of such an out of touch
concept. We live in a comic world where women are portrayed in much stronger
roles than the dainty secretary who secretly moonlights as a crime fight so she
doesn’t lose face. The fact that she changes clothes in grimey, dark alleys, and
wears a somewhat-sheer nighty to combat gangsters all take away from the smart,
funny, hardened crime fighter the character COULD become. Unlike a lot of the
other golden-age heroes being dusted off and paraded about for all to see this
one still has some relevance, and given the right story, could become a strong
leading lady in the current atmosphere of Marvel comics. |
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DOMINO LADY |
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Writer:
Nancy Holder,
Artist: Danny Sempere |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Moonstone Comics
Shipped On:
071509
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MOONSTONE COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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The debut of Moonstone's hot noir-crime thriller! Buffy novelist and Bram Stoker
Award-winner Nancy Holder uncovers the sexy romp secrets of our stunning Blond
Bombshell in this new on-going series! The Domino Lady does whatever it takes,
and uses whatever is at her disposal, to outthink and outplay those who prey
upon the innocent. Sleeping with the enemy makes no difference with her, as long
as she can put away the bad guys. No man can resist her, for she strikes without
warning and she holds all the cards! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Chicks with guns; there’s no bigger constant in all
of comicdom than the unarguable fact that chicks with guns sell. Take said
chick, with said gun, and dress her up in a see-through nighty, put her out on
patrol, cleaning up the streets and such, and you almost guarantee a HUGE first
issue. For some reason, despite blending all the elements I’ve just listed,
Moonstone Publishing couldn’t get it right (again) with the debut of
pulp-inspired heroine the Domino Lady.
What a whore! Didn’t anyone tell the Domino Lady that women have an equal
footing with men in the crime-fighting vigilante department, and that she no
longer has to utilize her sexuality to gain entry into the bad guys’ secret
hide-out? Did anyone tell this lady that getting butt naked in an alleyway in
the middle of the night is kinda nuts? Blah, attempting to inject logic into
this cluster-f*** of a comic book is about as useful as trying to kick water up
hill. In a series of clichéd scenes the Domino Lady and her cop-friend manage to
trick a pair of Triad bosses into taking each other out, ultimately saving time
on any messy paperwork, which would leave the Domino Lady more time to go have
sex with random strangers.
I don’t get the point of trying to shoehorn new ideas into the mold established
by creators long gone, on books that have long since disappeared. There’s
nothing endearing about these concepts, and the fact that this s*** passes for a
modern-day take on ‘noir’ story telling is just as flawed and ridiculous as both
the script and art for this issue. I mean, as difficult as it must be to get
independent books off the ground these days, you’d think these guys would be
interested in putting out a product that might actually have some sales
potential. I guess not. |
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DARK X-MEN THE BEGINNING
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Writers:
Paul Cornell, James Asmus, and Shane McCarthy,
Artists: Ibrahim Roberson, Leonard Kirk, and Jesse Delperdang |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
070809
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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Who are the Dark X-Men and how did they come to be? FIND OUT HERE! Each issue
has 3 11-page stories, each dedicated to one of the Dark X-Men and how they came
to be part of the team. This first two issues focus on Emma Frost, Mimic, Cloak
& Dagger, Daken, Weapon X and Dark Beast! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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A collection of short stories revealing to readers
some of the motivations behind characters’ decisions to link up with H.A.M.M.E.R.
and create the X-men equivalent of the Dark Avengers. Namor, Mimic, and Dark
Beast are all featured and the writers are able to humanize these characters
quite well.
People have questions: Why would the Ruler of Atlantis align himself with a
group of mutants, which he’s never been known to give a rat’s ass about, despite
his technically being Marvel’s first mutant? Paul Cornell jumps right in to that
pool as he writers the first chapter, a confrontation between Norman Osborn and
a naked Atlantean Prince which does little more than fan the fire of controversy
surrounding the decision to include him in the first place. It does however
assert Osborn’s position of dominance, and goes to show why he’s such a good bad
guy as he verbally pushes around the much more physically dominant Namor.
The Mimic is a character that’s been kicked around since his debut; he’s always
showing up, wreaking a little havoc, having his ass handed to him with a side of
fries, and being carted away by authorities. Where’s the fun in that? He is
however a complicated character with a messy origin, whose powers are completely
adaptable to any story situation. It’s his inclusion in the Dark X-men storyline
that is most exciting for yours truly. James Asmus really gets to the soul of
the red-headed step-child of the X-family, revealing how completely f***ed up it
is to die, and be reborn, and have your mind wiped, and become a tool of
Onslaught, and so on. Sucks to be that guy.
Finally Shane McCarthy and Ibrahim Roberson serve up a heaping slice of Hank
McCoy, but not the family friendly furball who’s been part of the mutant mythos
since day one, but rather the nasty, evil holdover from the “Age of Apocalypse.”
I’m not sure what they’re trying to accomplish with his joining, but it is
always fun to see one mad man poke another isn’t it? Hank seems to be the
perfect antagonist to Norman’s constantly on-edge anal-retentive nature.
The art through out the book was much better than I expected. I’m inclined to
say that any of the artists in this book would have done a better job
illustrating the “Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia” one-shot than Mark
Silvestri and the clusterf*** of artists that threw that rag together. It’s
unfortunate that they tried to move this miniseries based on big-names rather
than actual talent, but whatever. |
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WAR OF KINGS WARRIORS #1
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Writer:
Christos Gage
Artist: Mahmud A. Asrar and Carlos Magno
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
070809
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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A WAR OF KINGS TIE IN! What shocking event sent Gladiator on his path to
becoming the leader of the Shi'Ar Imperial Guard? Christos Gage (AVENGERS: THE
INITIATIVE) and Mahmud Asrar (NOVA ANNUAL #1) reveal a life-changing moment in
the early days of this infamous X-foe! Plus: What is Blastaar's grand plan, and
how far will he go to succeed? Christos and Carlos Magno show you why you will
bow to the living bomb blast! Yes, it's two stories in one issue that spotlights
key players in the War of Kings! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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The events of this book take place before those in
“War of Kings” #1. It’s, more or less, an excuse to get readers up to date on
the motives behind some of the extended cast of the greater story without
providing any real characterization to take away from the constant space
battles. With that said, I have a particular affinity for the character
Gladiator. One of the first Marvel comics I ever read was an issue of Fantastic
Four featuring a battle between the first family and the lone Strontian invader.
Purple skin, Mohawk haircut, and bright red cape reminiscent of DC’s signature
superhero; there was a lot of shit to find likable about the guy when I was nine
years old; 17 years later, the character’s still appealing, and thankfully
they’re finally fleshing the guy out.
Christos Gage is given the task of making two relatively obscure cosmic
characters interesting enough to carry their own one shot. He does so by cutting
the book in half and devoting a short story to each, and both are pretty good.
Gladiator is up first and Gage goes all the way back to when he was simply
Kallark of Strontia, locked in competition with other warriors to represent his
race in the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. The sacrifices made by his people in the name
of honor and servitude were a somewhat humbling take on the character who’s
known for possessing a larger-than-life ego. It went a long way toward
humanizing an otherwise untapped character resource, who for the better part of
30+ years has been nothing more than window dressing.
Blastaar is another story entirely, no pun intended. I’ve known about the
character from trading cards and video games for quite some time, but I’ve
never, that I can recall, read a book that featured him as part of the story. So
with little knowledge or interest in the guy I read the story and didn’t expect
much, but was pleasantly surprised to find myself thoroughly enthralled with a
short tale detailing his latest exploits. I haven’t been following “War of
Kings” or any other cosmic titles Marvel fans have recently been raving about,
I’ve got enough stuff on my pull list and can’t keep adding titles (maybe one
day I’ll catch up), but I’m assuming Blastaar has become some sort of power
player with no real explanation as to how, but nevertheless, this is the story
of how he rose to power in the negative zone. I liked it. I was as surprised as
you probably are, but I found it to be an interesting take on an up-until-now
boring bad guy. A band of rebels stage a coup, a father and son fight to the
death, tyranny and evil prevail? Good shit.
I’ve heard nothing but good things since the start of writers Abnett and Lanning
started their revamp of Marvel’s cosmic line; everything from “Guardians of the
Galaxy” to “Annihilation” has gotten crazy buzz, and this single story, with no
frame of reference to the current epic sweeping the skies above Earth 616, made
me interested enough to find a jumping on point and find out what all the fuss
is about. |
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USA COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
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Writer:
John Arcudi
Artist: Steve Ellis |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
070809
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMIC'S SYNOPSIS:
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Marvel continues its historic anniversary celebration - by unleashing the Mighty
Destroyer! Before the Punisher there was another one-man army with a skull on
his chest! Travel back with us to the desperate days of World War II, when the
mystery-shrouded, merciless man with no face struck at the heart of Nazi
Germany, deep behind enemy lines! Who is the Destroyer? What is his secret
mission? And what does he want with a heavily defended train...and the simple
journalist who rides in it? Find out as writer John Arcudi (B.P.R.D.) and artist
Steve Ellis (High Moon) unite to shine a cold, hard light on the unstoppable
weapon of vengeance! Plus: A classic Mighty Destroyer reprint from ALL WINNERS
#3! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I found this to be somewhat enjoyable, and yet oddly
lacking at the same time, mainly due to the phenomenal series Robert Kirkman is
currently penning over in the Marvel MAX line of titles. Destroyer is a
character I had very little knowledge of before 4 or so months ago, and now all
of a sudden I get 2 titles featuring the golden age hero in the same week? Be
still my heart. This is the more classic interpretation of the Destroyer
character, in a story set in the war torn Germany of the 1940’s. The character
got his start fighting the Axis powers and the Nazi storm troopers like most
heroes did in that time period. Here readers get a look at how it was done back
then, as well as how writers would approach the same kind of stories today.
Told from a journalist’s perspective on board a train full of SS, as it heads
toward the capital of Germany; the writer is supposed to craft a piece on the
Nazi party (this takes place before the atrocities of the concentration camps
were brought to light) to sway public opinion in their favor. Enter the
Destroyer who, well, destroys everything in his path. When the blue mask-clad
hero hi-jacks the train he starts taking it to all the Krauts the only way he
knows how. All hell breaks loose; leaving the journo’s mouth agape at the
results one man was able to achieve through brute force, and ultimately the
surprise is that the Destroyer doesn’t want to destroy the train at all, but
rather change its course, so that the young writer can tell the rest of the
world the truth about what’s going on in Germany.
The art is great. It’s not Cory Walker great (he’s doing the MAX series) but
it’s good art, and I’d even be stoked to see Ellis carry on with the Max series
when Kirkman and Walker finish up (yeah I know it’s a mini, but it’s just so
damn good). The story by John Arcudi isn’t bad either; it just pales in
comparison to Kirkman’s book. The fact that both of these (this, and issue 4 of
the MAX title) came out in the same week seems like a bad idea. If I hadn’t JUST
read my latest issue of “Destroyer” I think I would have had a different kind of
appreciation for this book. I’m willing to give the creative team another chance
but only on a book with more balls.
I’m seriously hoping these Timely Comics anniversary specials have almost come
to an end. I’m sure this is all just building up hype for the Brubaker penned
‘Marvels Project’ coming up in the next month or so, but seriously, reading the
reprint of “All Winners” #3 was really, really painful. |
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RUNAWAYS 3 #11
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Writer:
Kathryn Immomen
Artist: Sara Pichelli |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
062409
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL COMICS SYNOPSIS:
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"New creative team! Cataclysmic new direction! In this arc, one Runaway will
die, and one Runaway will live! Rising star Kathryn Immonen (PATSY WALKER:
HELLCAT) and Sarah Pichelli (NYX) take the reins of the Runaways. Making out?
Check. Cliffhangers? Check. Silly hats? Check. This is the Runaways arc you
CAN'T miss." |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I’m a big ‘Runaways’ fan, and have been ever since
the first issue of the first volume, but when it relaunched for a second time,
starting a third chapter in the lives of the sons and daughters of “The Pride” I
didn’t find myself on board. It’s nearly a year later and a brand new creative
team has come on board to ruin the lives of the youngest super team on Marvel’s
west coast.
The Runaways are throwing themselves a prom, which is cool because none of them
have been to school since they found out their parents were evil super villains.
There’s a certain amount of teen angst and ‘Degrassi-esque’ dialogue, which is
what I came to love under the BKV days, when the book was at a creative high. Of
course, it wouldn’t be a fun comic if the only thing that happened was joking
and dancing, and in typical ‘Runaways’ fashion the ground work is laid for a
much bigger storyline, starting with giant carnivorous plants. All that and one
of the original members may just meet their end?! WTF?!
The book is written the way I remember it, which isn’t to say that everything is
similar to the way Brian Vaughn did it, but it’s definitely similar in tone and
voice. The art is awesome; Sara Pichelli is no Adrian Alphona, and she doesn’t
try to be. Instead she brings a certain manga/indy feel to the way the book
looks, and it’s welcomed after the horses*** job that Humberto Ramos did on the
book.
I’ve missed the good guys and gals that make up this book, and I was distraught
when Terry Moore came on and butchered the work that the previous creators laid
before him. I hope that the all-female creative team will bring a fresh
perspective to a book that seems doomed to perpetual cancellation. |
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PRESIDENT EVIL #1 |
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Writer/Artist:
David Hutchinson |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Antarctic Press
Shipped On:
070809
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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ANTARCTIC PRESS' SYNOPSIS:
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Threat condition RED! Trillion-dollar deficits, machine gun-toting soccer moms,
money-hungry contractors and flesh-hungry super soldiers led by 200 years' worth
of undead Presidents! Can we stop this new national nightmare? YES WE CAN! It's
time to set aside our partisan differences and petty bickering and unite behind
"Ba-rot" Obama, the one man that can bring hope to our troubled shores. When the
outgoing administration's plan to shore up our depleted military's troop numbers
goes awry, Washington D.C. Becomes ground zero for all-you-can-eat action,
destruction, and some change you can believe in! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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The newest comic book sensation sweeping the
funnybook landscape is none other than Barack Obama, the President of the United
States, whoop-de-frigging-doo. It would make sense that the only real way our
country’s political parties would ever join forces is if the dead began to rise
from the grave. In a very campy, non-offensive way I found this book somewhat
enjoyable; it’s not like the masses were clamoring for a Barack Vs. Zombies
tale, but what’s been delivered is good. As good as a story like that can be
anyway.
The world is being ravaged by zombies, and in some odd twist of fate some black
guy is the President of the United States. No, it isn’t an episode of ‘24’ I’m
describing to you, but rather the oddly funny “President Evil” whose title in no
way makes sense when one actually takes the time to read the book, but
nonetheless, Barack Obama (or as I’ve taken to calling him “B-Rock O’Bomba”)
crash lands Air Force One in the middle of Arlington Cemetery and from there
it’s a mad dash to the White House, through the undead-infested streets of
downtown D.C. There’s a cavalcade of guest appearances, all of whose identities
are cleverly veiled in the typical satirical fashion, (so’s to not step on any
one’s toes I s’pose). Violence, bloodshed, political humor, three-piece “Power
Suits” and Sarah P. wielding twin uzis while gunning down Z’s; I think you gotta
chalk one up in the “must read” list.
The “Army of Darkness” homage cover aside (I hate it; the cover, not the movie)
the book’s art is all handled by David Hutchinson, the story’s creator. There’s
an Americanized take on the Manga style as far as how the story flowed and the
look of the characters, even the action and effects, which isn’t bad at all
compared to the other American-Manga fusions I’ve seen. However, coloring by Wes
Hartman was all over the place; the guy can color the crap out of a big
establishing shot, but he loses it on the close ups and the talking heads,
making the pace of the story feel out of sync with what’s come before. In one
panel in particular the characters are all lit up like Christmas trees, and in
the next panel the President’s cell phone is the only source of light; it was
weird and amateurish. |
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DETECTIVE COMICS #584
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Writer:
Greg Rucka
Artist:
JH Williams III
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
062409
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC'S SYNOPSIS:
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"Elegy" part 1 of 4! A new era in the history
of DETECTIVE COMICS begins as Batwoman is unleashed on Gotham City! Marked by
the blood-red bat, Kate Kane is a soldier fighting her own private war - one
that began years ago and haunts her every waking moment. With a script by Greg
Rucka and breath-taking art by JH Williams III, you've never seen anything like
this! Featuring the debut of a new co-feature starring The Question written by
Rucka! Odds against you? Alone and nowhere to turn? Willing to fight, but you
don't know how? When you're searching everywhere for an answer, sometimes all
you need to do is ask the right Question. Renee Montoya again dons the faceless
mask to help those in need, all the while searching for her own answers in this
new adventure with art by Cully Hamner (BLUE BEETLE). |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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In one of the most beautifully illustrated comic
books I’ve ever seen, Greg Rucka takes the reins of ‘Detective Comics’ from Paul
Dini, inserting his ‘52’ creation Batwoman into the mix in place of the missing
Batman. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Batwoman story that ran throughout the pages
of ‘52’ mainly because the debut of the character was overshadowed by her sexual
orientation (she’s gay…oh my).
The Church of Crime is back in Gotham City, and the woman whose heart they tried
to carve out of her body is hot on their heels in her own one-woman war on
religious zealotry. With her military father’s guidance, and assistance with
gadgetry, she begins taking down covens of teen girls in the employ of the
Church, and as she does so she discovers that they have a new leader set to
arrive in Gotham any day now. When she’s approached by the new Batman, and given
his nod of approval in regard to her mission, it’s Rucka’s way of gaining the
approval of readers who may be on the fence with the whole switch over.
As I mentioned earlier this is probably one of the more incredible artistic
representations of any comic book I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen J. H. Williams’ art
before on ‘Batman’ and ‘Desolation Jones’ but none of that stuff can touch the
panel layouts and the sheer brilliance that he brings to the table with this
issue. Not only is Batwoman portrayed as both sexy and powerful, but there’s a
certain amount personality in the seedy underbelly of Gotham City that hasn’t
been brought out like this before.
The back up feature, also written by Greg Rucka, starring The Question gets
started a little slowly at first, but looks like it could be a great read every
month. Artist Cully Hamner is perfect, and in startling contrast to the work of
the main book offers a bright, clean style of art despite the subject matter
being as dark as it is. Despite the $3.99 price tag (up a dollar from 3 months
ago) I’m going to be sticking this one out for the long haul. |
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GREEK STREET #1 |
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Writer:
Peter Milligan
Artist:
David Gianfelice |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC/Vertigo Comics
Shipped On:
070109
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MSRP:
$1.00 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC/VERTIGO'S SYNOPSIS:
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You're a boy from the hood. You're brought up rough in a children's home, trying
to stay out of trouble but usually failing. Then at 18 you decide to track down
your mother. Within hours of finding her, she's lying naked and dead at your
feet. So you run to Greek Street. And that's when your troubles really begin... |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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This is the perfect example of a title I can tell is
very well done, but I just didn’t take a strong interest in it. Based on an
update of classic Greek stories, and inspired in great part by the tragic themes
that play out in almost every one, Peter Milligan takes us to the dark back
alleys of a city both unknown and yet vaguely familiar, where everyone has a
motive and a means to get what they want, and no one is afraid to shed blood to
get it.
There are certain parallels that are obvious, such as the main character Eddie,
and the sexual encounter he has with his mother (like Oedipus), or his buddy
Carus (like Icarus), the small time gang called The Fureys, and other things of
that nature. There are other comparisons that only well informed readers are
going to infer, and I think that’s what Milligan is counting on. The relative
obscurity that many of the classic Greek tragedies still reside in makes for
fascinating and challenging reading, as Milligan molds them to suit his
purposes, and today’s climate of dark amoral anti-heroes. Other than that I
can’t get into the story too much, a lot of it went right over my head, even
after a second reading.
The art by David Gianfelice is better than phenomenal. It certainly fits the
Vertigo style, and the cover by Kako is in serious need of the poster-treatment.
I like what DC Vertigo is doing with their first issues; the release of both
this title and “The Unwritten” for only a dollar should more than encourage new
readers to give these books a shot. I’m just not sure how well the subject
matter in this title will catch on with a majority of readers. It’s dark, and it
knows it’s dark; it makes very little apologies its action, dialogue, and
content. They don’t pull any punches, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing, I
just don’t think it will prove to be a popular decision. |
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EXISTENCE 2.0 #1 |
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Writer:
Nick Spencer Artist:
Ron Salas |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Image Comics
Shipped On:
070109
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MSRP:
$3.50 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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IMAGE'S SYNOPSIS:
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Self-absorbed physicist Sylvester Baladine finds his
consciousness transferred into the body of the hitman who just killed him!
Things don't seem too bad until his daughter is kidnapped by the same people who
"killed" him. Now, he's forced to dig up his past and solve his own
murder...inadvertently making himself a target once more. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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There’s a quote by Jonathan Hickman on the front of
this book that I found to be quite interesting; almost a challenge to new
readers to pick this book up, read it, and not like it. He says something akin
to “page one, panel one, hooked…” and I thought ‘No way.” He was right; the book
sinks its teeth into you right off the bat as it starts with both the murder and
rebirth of the title’s main character, a black-market scientist who sells his
creations to the highest bidder.
When he’s not cloning a dozen Jessica Alba’s for the Sultan of Brunei, helping
the catholic church eradicate the ‘gay gene’, or figuring out how to reanimate
the dead, he’s hanging out with his wife and kid, watching his life twirl down
the crapper. That is until he develops a way to switch a person’s consciousness
from one body to another, which he plans to sell to terrorists. He’s locked in
his lab when fate comes-a-knockin’ and by the time he’s opened the door to see
who it is, he’s dead. Or is he? His new creation puts his mind in the body of
the man responsible for ending his life, or at least, appearing to end his life.
From then on we’re treated to a walk on the wild side, as he investigates who
exactly wanted him out of the picture.
There’s a lot of cool character bits in here that make the book seem like it’s a
title you’re familiar with, rather than a first issue that we’ve just been
introduced to. I love the forward-thinking fearlessness that comes along with a
comic like this; there are no taboos with the characters because there’s no
baggage associated with them, which makes for an astoundingly interesting read.
A book like this can take readers in any direction it so chooses to, and smart
readers will recognize originality and stick around for the ride. |
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BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 |
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Writer:
Grant Morrison
Artist:
Frank Quitely |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
070109
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC'S SYNOPSIS:
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"Batman Reborn" continues with the reteaming of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
(ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, WE3, New X-Men)! In a blazing Gotham City police department,
the new Batman and Robin face the bizarre, fighting freakshow that is the Circus
of Strange and find that they don't make as good a team as Batman had hoped!
Meanwhile, the mysterious Sasha escapes from Professor Pyg and vows vengeance on
the people who killed her father. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I’m a fan of this not-so-dynamic duo; there’s a
brand new Batman on the scene, and thus a brand new direction is necessary for
fans to adjust to the new status quo. Dick Grayson is not Bruce Wayne, everyone
knows it, and since he’s not the dark, brooding, loner Bruce portrayed with
maximum efficiency it’s important for him to develop his own identity under the
cowl. Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t go so far as to add nipples to the
Bat-suit, and there’s at least a touch of the dark, brooding loner in there, but
the feeling of this book is unlike any Batman book I’ve had the pleasure of
experiencing in all my fandom. It’s a fearless title that combines Morrison’s
renowned over-active imagination with Quitely’s mastery of visual story-telling.
There’s a kinetic energy that’s emanates from any title these two pair up on,
and it’s remarkable really that they’ve been able to not only make Batman
captivating and intense, but fun and exciting, with just the right amount of
camp thrown in for old time’s sake.
Has it ever really been a good idea to throw kids into the line of fire, as so
many DC heroes seem more than content to do when they take on these sidekicks?
It seems like every J.O. in a mask has some ‘mini-me’ version of themselves
running head long into the face of danger, and Batman, whether Bruce Wayne or
Dick Grayson, is no different. The new Robin, Bruce Wayne’s 10-year-old son
Damien, is quite the upstart. Raised by the League of Assassins as a replacement
to Batman, should he ever fall in combat, he’s definitely the most capable Robin
to ever don the little green trunks (yeah I know he doesn’t wear little green
trunks but c’mon), but he’s also the most likely to get the snot kicked out of
him by not looking before he leaps.
This is a pretty cool issue that sees the new Bat and Rob come face to face with
Commissioner Gordon, which plays out rather humorously when the team has to
split to put a stop to an attack on the police station. There’s a lot of cool
stuff going on visually which is to be expected, but again the story’s strength
comes from the characters that Grant is introducing to the Bat-Universe, Pyg and
his Doll-men are creepy and campy-cool at the same time, while the Circus
Performers of Crime are both threatening and hilarious. There’s just such a
great balance of fun and fear running throughout the pages of this book, it’s
definitely the best title of the whole Batman: Reborn line. |
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MARVEL DIVA'S #1 |
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Writer:
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artist:
Tonci Zonjic |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
070109
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
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Diva (dee-vah), noun: An unusually glamorous and powerful woman. See: Patsy
"Hellcat" Walker; Felicia "Black Cat" Hardy; Angelica "Firestar" Jones; and
Monica "Photon" Rambeau. What happens when you take four of the Marvel
Universe's most fabulous single girls and throw them together, adding liberal
amounts of suds and drama? You get the sassiest, sexiest, soapiest series to
come out of the House of Ideas since Millie the Model! Romance, action,
ex-boyfriends, and a last page that changes everything! Let your inner divas out
with this one, fellas, you won't regret it! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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In a blatant move by Marvel to court new female
readership to the house of ideas writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa steals left and
right from a certain HBO show that proved to be super popular with those without
penises. It’s such an obvious hack-job that I’m surprised Buckley had the stones
to let it see print. It’s half-a-shocker not to see some ham-fisted T&A artist’s
name in the credits, but we did get a J. Scott Campbell cover, so go figure.
Alright, here goes nothing: Patsy ‘Hellcat’ Walker is a novelist who recently
finished her second book. While on a publicity tour of New York, the only city
on the planet with free-thinking, independent women, she’s pleasantly surprised
by a visit from her friends, Monica ‘Captain Marvel’ Rambeau and Felicia ‘Black
Cat’ Hardy. When some A-list Marvel Universe heroines show up at one of her book
release parties, stealing some of her limelight, her girlfriends steal her away
for a gallivanting good-time of Grey Goose martinis, gal talk, and gossip; oh
yay. Of course readers are treated to nothing new or original during the course
of this conversation, until the fourth member of their party shows up that is.
Firestar has cancer (just like the lady in ‘Sex and the City’ who also had short
red hair, COME ON!) and that’s the cliffhanger that the book leaves off on;
maybe next issue they find a cure in Black Cat’s thong drawer.
The only saving grace this book had in it’s favor was the fantastic, dare I say
phenomenal artwork by Tonci Zonjic. Talk about a real talent for character
design and storytelling, the pencils in this issue were enough to convince me
not to tear the book to pieces. I’d love to see a talent like this one on a book
with a real future, not some passing-fad, drop-in-the-creative toilet. Not
interested. |
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CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #1 |
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Writer:
Ed Brubaker
Artist:
Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
070109
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
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Following the events of Captain America #600, Steve Rogers' closest friends and
allies may have found a way to bring back the original Captain America. Or is
what they found something more sinister? The Red Skull's greatest plan to
destroy Captain America has been in motion and its completion is almost at hand.
Will Captain America be lost forever or will he be REBORN? |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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What if I told you Captain America is alive? Hmm? Would you believe me? Even
after witnessing his assassination on the courthouse steps post-civil war? Even
after seeing his body floated out to the icy depths of the Arctic Ocean by Namor
the Prince of Atlantis himself? I don’t know Mr. Brubaker, but I think your
more-than-renowned-and-verging-on-revered run on the star spangled Avenger may
have just jumped the shark.
Yeah, I don’t know what the appeal of this title is anymore. They brought Bucky
back, which was cool in a way, because they made a legitimate threat out of the
one-time sidekick. Then they killed Steve, which was unbelievable because the
title then carried on without him for almost a year without a successor chosen
to take on his mantle. Then they set Bucky up as the Nu-Cap (or Bucky-Cap) and
as soon as people began to take a shine to him editorial comes along and pulls
the rug out from underneath readers’ feet.
I don’t want to give away too much, because then you might not be as
disappointed as I turned out to be, but I’ll say this, if you’re looking for an
interesting, original way to reintroduce the original Captain America to the
Marvel U, well, don’t look here. Aside from the twist at the end, there’s a long
conversation between the Vision, Wasp (Hank Pym), Sharon Carter, and the Falcon
about how they may be able to help bring back the OG-CA. Bucky and his main
squeeze the Black Widow infiltrate a H.A.M.M.E.R. storage facility in hopes of
retrieving some equipment from when the Red Skull’s hide out was stormed by
S.H.I.E.L.D. troops. It wouldn’t be Dark Reign without the Dark Avengers and in
true Osborne-style the hammer drops hard on the two would-be cat-burglars, in
the form of Venom (as Spider-Man) and Ares the God of War. Looks bad for our two
black-clad love birds.
Bryan Hitch’s art hasn’t looked very impressive since his time on ‘Ultimates’
when he was allowed to take five or six months to get an issue done. It would
appear to me that Guice did the layouts for the story and Bryan Hitch did the
finished pencils, but there are some panels that appear to be done by Guice
completely, so I’m not sure what the story is on that. As far as the writing,
well, if you’re a fan of Brubaker’s Cap then you’ll probably have a ball; if you
aren’t however, it’ll probably come off as hokey and stupid. |
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GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #1 |
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Writer:
Paul Dini
Artist:
Guillem March |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
062409
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC'S SYNOPSIS:
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This all-new series features the bad girls of Gotham City! Catwoman, Poison Ivy
and Harley Quinn are tired of playing by other people's rules regardless of
which side of the law they're on. These tough ladies have a new agenda that's
all their own, and they'll use any means necessary to pursue it. But can they
get along and work as a team? And who will get hurt along the way? |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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What happens when you take the three major Belles at Batman’s ball and put them
together in one title like some sort of comic book version of MTV’s ‘Real
World?’ Well, not a lot actually. Yeah. Bummer, dude.
I’ve been a fan of most of the books beneath the Batman: Reborn banner, and this
is written by Paul Dini, who’s been kicking major ass over on ‘Detective Comics’
for the last several months, but he struck out big time with this s***-bomb.
While it’s illustrated brilliantly by Guillem March, Dini just couldn’t seem to
find the voice of the characters he’s chosen to be the faces of the title,
Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy. Harley comes off as typical crazy self,
but Catwoman and Poison Ivy are forced, and unconvincing.
There’s some new stroke stalking the streets of Gotham City, and his name is,
get this, BoneBlaster, yeah, that’s right. Anyway, this joker nearly beats the
crap out of Catwoman, except Poison Ivy shows up to save the day, which is weird
because Poison Ivy is a bad guy, and not really supposed to do the whole hero
thing. The pair head back to Poison’s pad, which is really Eddie Nigma’s place,
but he’s drugged up and barely lucid, so the chicks are running the house.
There’s a lot of back and forth babble about money, and morality, and the new
Batman, none of which is witty, interesting, or necessary toward the forward
momentum of any of the characters. BoneBlaster finds his way to the Riddler’s
place and attacks once more, swiftly getting his ass handed to him by all three
of the lovely ladies. There’s a great scene between Poison Ivy and Zatanna,
which many basement dwellers will find more than drool-worthy.
Guillem March’s artwork is truly incredible stuff. It has a very classic, clean
feel to it while maintaining the action and momentum you’d see from Andy Kubert
or Jim Lee. Even the ridiculous new villain BoneBlaster is drawn well, making me
wish the character was half as cool as its design. The cover for the book is one
of the more alluring cover images ever to grace a Bat-title, and the interior
art doesn’t slouch on the T & A either. Too bad the art is wasted on a title
that won’t be here this time next year, mark my words. |
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JUSTICE LEAGUE CRY FOR JUSTICE #1 |
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Writer:
James Robinson
Artist:
Mauro Cascioli |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
070109
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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DC'S SYNOPSIS:
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What brings a team together? Justice! Batman and Martian Manhunter have been
slaughtered. But he's not the only hero to fall at the hands of villains. The
murder has to stop, and it's time to take the fight to the bad guys! Green
Lantern, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Atom, Shazam, Congorilla and Starman unite in a
cry for justice! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I complain about the price increase for typical
comic books all the time; yes, I know that this is one of the summer’s more
anticipated titles, and yes I know that ‘event comics’ are bound to cost more
than the usual monthly fare (unless it’s a Marvel book, ZING) but this is the
first time I ever sat down, read a $3.99 comic and felt as if I hadn’t been
jilted by the publisher. In terms of quality, both in presentation and
storytelling, this book is second to none; for $4 readers get a 22-page story, a
2 page origin story by Len Wein, and a 6 page letter from Robinson to readers,
which is expected to be the standard for every issue in this series. Dare I say
it, DC got it right?
So Hal Jordan, who should have his hands full with the whole ‘dead rising from
their grave’ thing he’s got going on in the GL books, has determined that the
JLA, and the JSA for that matter, must take a more proactive approach to
crime-fighting. He’s convinced that the superheroes of the DCU should start
tracking down villains who seek to wreak havoc wherever they go, and shut them
down permanently. When he brings this to the attention of the rest of the League
Superman and the others don’t seem as sold on the idea as he’d like them to be;
he grabs his best buddy Ollie “Green Arrow” Queen and together they make like a
drum. That was the real meat and potatoes of the story so far. The rest of the
book is a quick mish-mash of need-to-know-how-they-got-in-this-mess, immediate
background material involving Ray Palmer, an all but forgotten Starman, and Congorilla
a.k.a. Bill. As you can expect, all of them have had a run in with some
unfortunate situation and, well, cry for justice.
The story is just getting started, but it made perfect sense and depending on
what happens, may or may not end up being one of the more influential stories of
the DCU for the couple years, what with Robinson set to take over the JLA-proper
when this series comes to an end. Art chores were handled marvelously by Mauro
Cascioli, whose line work brought the JLA to life in ways I haven’t seen in a
long, long time. I haven’t been exposed to anything of his before, but if all of
his work is this awesome then I’m tempted to start tracking it down.
I’m surprised I like this as much as I do, but it’s a well-crafted opener to
what will hopefully be one of the more memorable JLA runs in recent memory. The
addition of what could easily be described as third-stringers such as
Congo-Bill, Batwoman, and the new/old Starman make second stringers like Green
Arrow and Hal look like Superman and Batman, which is cool, because they’re
great characters that deserve a bit more time in the limelight, specifically
Green Arrow (OMG. IMO). I’m also interested in seeing where Robinson takes this
after the mini-series is over, and how much of it spills over into the main
title. Get your hands on this book now. You won’t be sorry! |
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DARK REIGN ZODIAC #1 |
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Writer:
Joe Casey
Artist:
Nathan Fox |
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Review By:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
062409
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
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Norman Osborn may be running the show, but not every
super-villain is going to accept the new world order. But who - or what - is
ZODIAC? In this dark, brooding tale that snakes through the underbelly of the
modern Marvel Universe, the new breed of super-villain has finally arrived! The
order of the day is "mischief for mischief's sake," and no one - neither hero
*nor* villain - is safe! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Joe Casey wastes no time in establishing his new
villain Zodiac as somewhat of a major threat to the current status quo by his
slaughtering 100 of Norman Osborn’s H.A.M.M.E.R. agents by page three. From that
point on this book gets grimier and grittier than anything I’ve seen from a
mainstream Marvel U title in a long, long time.
Zodiac, the new Zodiac (not the guys who dress up like the signs of the zodiac
calendar) spends the rest of the book flashing back to when he recruited Clown
from the Ringmaster’s Circus of Crime. We’re also introduced to his partners
Death Reaper, and Manslaughter Marsdale (who’s thrown down with Spider-Man on
more than one occasion), both of whom are extremely loyal to Zodiac, and as into
his cause as he is. What IS his cause you may find yourself asking, well it
seems complete and utter anarchy is the only way he’ll be satisfied with
Norman’s Dark Reign.
Joe Casey is the man. I rave about most of his work, and this is no different.
There are a lot of unanswered questions I’m left with at the end of this issue
which makes me want to read more, more, more (and sooner rather than later). I
think the thing about this I like so much is that it introduces a brand new
player to the hierarchy of Marvel villain-hood, and let’s face it: a lot of what
these comics need is just a little fresh blood. By putting the villains in the
power position in the Marvel U, there needs to be something to counteract it,
something to realign the food chain and bring balance back to things. The Good
guys are good guys; the bad guys are now good guys. So where are the bad – bad
guys?
The art by Nathan Fox is a little rough, but by the end of the issue I had
gotten used to it (except for his depiction of the Human Torch, that was
God-awful). I’m not saying the guy is great or anything of the sort, but his
gritty style fit the attitude of the book, maybe even helped it come across as
‘grittier’ than it actually was. All I know is that if they threw a stylized
artist like Stefano Casselli, or Mark Brooks, the art may have appeared more
appealing but I think it would have been overall detrimental to the story
itself; stories like this don’t need a fancy-pants artist like a McNiven, or a
Quitely, instead the scratchy, dirty feeling pages that tell the story of
Marvel’s latest mad-man help convey the ugliness that should be associated with
what we’ve come to expect from the “bad-guys.” |
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All Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2009 by their respective
owners. No rights given or implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2009 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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