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WONDER WOMAN #601
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Writer:
J.Michael Straczynski Artist:
Don Kramer |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
072810
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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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Best-selling comics writer J. Michael Straczynski (THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, Thor)
smashes all your expectations of Wonder Woman by launching an all-new era for the
Amazon Princess! Spinning out of the mind-bending events of WONDER WOMAN #600,
Diana must face the biggest mystery of all - who destroyed Paradise Island? |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Coming off of the jam-packed 600th-anniversary
issue, which concluded with a brief glimpse of JMS’s plans for the character,
which in turn led to the internet nearly breaking in half over the lady’s
costume change, “Wonder Woman” #601 sees the character’s latest journey begin,
and it feels pretty epic. Say what you want about the character’s updated sense
of fashion (or the lack thereof, as seems to be detractors’ most prominent
argument) but the shake up of Wonder Woman’s mythos, Paradise Island, and pretty
much everything everyone’s ever known about WW comes at the perfect time, as the
otherwise stagnant series has just been renumbered, promising to entice new
readership with the new direction.
This is an exposition-heavy issue, with a great deal of info thrown at the
reader in one lump sum very early on, a continuation of the conversation between
Diana and the Oracle only glimpsed in the previous issue. Paradise Island,
viewed as a threat by the world of Men, is invaded and overtaken, its residents
forced to flee or face death as generations of warriors are struck down by the
superior numbers and weapons. This history isn’t presented as an accurate
account, or meant to take the place of Wonder Woman’s decade-old back-story, and
the creators cop to that fact almost immediately, a factor I find somewhat
interesting.
It’s a plot device. Someone’s messed with history, or something, and one day
Wonder Woman wakes up and the world is different, only she doesn’t realize it’s
different until it’s pointed out to her. Uncovering this dastardly plot by
forces unknown, which is all it really is at this point, sets Diana at odds with
the men who may be responsible for the destruction of her people. It’s a cool
idea; almost the “Planet Hulk” of Wonder Woman stories, i.e. take the character
WAY out of the box, and see what happens; which isn’t a NEW concept in comic
book story telling by any stretch of the imagination, but one that is rarely
employed for fear of losing ‘the core audience’.
I applaud the effort by DC Comics to make their most recognized female character
a more prominent household name, ala Batman or Superman. I, so far, have really
been keen on JMS’s interpretation of Princess Dianna, her warrior history, her
snazzy new duds, and her potential for really becoming a ‘breakout’ character
throughout multiple media platforms in the coming year. JMS brings a lot of new
readership with his name alone; the story he’s offering is going to lure a
number of those new readers permanently, and the extra attention the costume
change has brought the character is going to pique outsider interest. All of
that is good news for a character that’s seen more than their fair share of
missteps along a long, arduous, crime-fighting career.
Don Kramer is truly the unsung hero of this entire spectacle. Jim Lee may have
come up with the new look that Diana has donned for this debut, but it’s Don
Kramer who’s doing it up monthly, and making her look GOOD as he does it. Don’s
pencils, accentuated by Michael Babinski’s masterful inks, really cause me to
reminisce about the first issue of “Planetary”, and specifically the marvel that
was John Cassaday’s Jakita Wagner. His panel lay-out is exciting; carrying the
reader from scene to scene, even the talky ones, with a degree of manic
enthusiasm. It feels as if he WANTS to draw this issue and get on to the next
one; he WANTS to show you what comes next, as he’s known about it, anticipated
illustrating it, drawn it, and had to keep quiet about it for months now. It was
that same enthusiasm that really sucked me into the experience that I anticipate
this ride is going to be, as if missing this was not an option for Mr. Kramer,
and it shouldn’t be for me either. |
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the RISING #0 |
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Writer:
E.Max Frye Artist:
J.P. Targete |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Radical
Comics
Shipped On:
072810
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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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RADICAL'S SYNOPSIS:
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It's not resistance, it's revolution. After years of war, economic chaos, and
mankind, itself, teetering on the verge of thermonuclear extinction, an alien
force invades the planet. When a deadly virus is released, this militaristic
empire massacres the world's defense forces and most of the human population.
The survivors are forced into slavery, helpless as they watch this new enemy
plunder the remaining natural resources of Earth. Jarrett Jakes, chosen to fight
and die as a gladiator, escapes from Zone R.X. 84 (formerly New York City) to
lead a ragged band of guerrilla warriors in hopes of inspiring a downtrodden
world to rise up against their alien oppressors. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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It was a big week for independent publisher Radical
Comics. They must have shipped five or six new comics this week, and that
doesn’t include this low-priced preview. For only a dollar readers are treated
to a beautifully illustrated mess of a comic, ripe with aliens, futuristic
military combat, indigenous native people, MORE aliens, some sort of forced
combat for prisoners, yadda yadda yadda. While the book looks nice, okay, it
looks REALLY nice, the story just jumps around a lot, choosing to try and whet
readers appetites for more without delivering any substance and ends up coming
off as an amateurish attempt at comic-writing.
I’m a fan of the dollar preview; most books could stand to introduce their
concept at a discounted rate, allowing fans to test the waters before diving
into a new series. It worked perfectly this past year for DC’s Vertigo line; I
ended up picking up several titles, and sticking with them, primarily because I
was able to check out the series for only a buck. The difference between those
books and this book is that THOSE titles offered more to latch onto, more
characterization, more action, more SENSICAL storytelling, as opposed to the
‘whiz-bang’ nature of the plotting in “The Rising”.
To be honest, I’m not even sure what “The Rising” is referring to. Is it the
rise of the alien species that cohabitates the Earth with us? Is it the rise of
the human species against the aliens? The bottom line is, as far as I’m
concerned, the meager introductions to the multiple plot-threads in this issue
can’t possibly be contained, or resolved, in only three-issues, even if each
issue is 56-pages. At $4.99 a pop the page-count is impressive, and well worth
the price, but the story isn’t, and that’s a shame, because the artwork is some
of the better stuff I’ve seen from Radical. Anyway, I’m gonna recommend every
one skip “The Rising”, as it doesn’t offer anything of any read literary value,
and even though most comics don’t it doesn’t mean readers should settle for
sub-par crap. |
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TIME BOMB #1 (OF 3) |
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Writers:
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray Artist:
Paul Gulacy |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Radical
Comics
Shipped On:
072810
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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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RADICAL'S SYNOPSIS:
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A group of international scientists and archeologists on a publicly funded dig
discover a hidden city beneath the streets of Berlin. Constructed as a failsafe
option for the Nazi party should they lose the war, the city is also home to
Hitler's ultimate doomsday weapon - an Omega bomb designed to wipe out the human
race - and it's just been activated. Now, crews of scientists with
state-of-the-art weapons and equipment must travel back in time to stop the bomb
from going off. However, they soon discover that, rather than going back in time
for 24 hours as intended, they've been sent back 65 years into the heart of
Hitler's Germany. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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The idea of taking a step backward through time to
right a wrong that’s long since passed isn’t an entirely new concept, but the
approach which Palmiotti and Gray, longtime writing partners, utilize to attack
the rather broad time-travel genre is intensely fascinating. NAZIS, they’re
ugly, mean, and EVERYONE loves to hate them, so they make a great big-bad for
any tale of adventure, but what about forward-thinking Nazi super-science, and
the long lasting effects of a biological hazard & its fall-out? How in the hell
do you stop an airborne infection that threatens the entirety of the world in
less than three days? Time travel, duh.
What starts out at as an incredibly interesting concept quickly descends into
B-movie territory as a group of ultra-qualified Special Ops soldiers are brought
together in order to go back in time, to a couple of days before the discovery
which leads to the horrible plague. Of course each soldier is given a moment to
shine, illustrating just how bad-ass they’re supposed to be, which would work if
they didn’t come off as analogues of the typical action-genre hard-heads. The
banter tossed back and forth between the team would make more sense in a college
dorm room, and the scene in which the team partakes in a little casual drug-use
only served to solidify my stance on the characters.
Believe me, if the world were ending in less than three days and the possibility
of survival was less than certain I would probably be the first one to light up,
but the transitions from scene to scene make it seem as if the team was smoking
dope right before leaving on a highly sensitive mission; it just rang false to
me. I guess if I was strapping myself into a “Time Bomb”, which is what the New
World Order (oh yeah, I forgot to mention the fact that the world is run by the
‘N.W.O.’; conspiracy nuts have at it!) affectionately calls their time machine,
which rests on a mid-size atomic bomb, I’d have to be stoned too.
Things don’t always go as planned, as is to be expected in this kind of a story,
and instead of jumping only a few days backward through time the team ends up in
the middle of World War II. They immediately decide that because the future is
so messed up, with chances of survival less than nil, they are going to kill as
many Nazis as humanly possible, consequences to the time-stream be damned. Then
the issue ends, so that’s as far as I got, but I have to admit despite the
interesting story idea, the execution isn’t enough to bring me back for two more
issues at five bucks a pop.
Paul Gulacy’s art is alright, and only ‘alright’. His panel lay-outs are
somewhat generic, with very little imagination thrown in for good measure; I
also found his art to lack a certain degree of depth, as everything just seems
to be laid atop everything else. I wasn’t impressed with the book visually, and
for a story such as this that’s a pretty big draw-back. Sure, he’s a capable
artist, but he’s not a GREAT artist, and unfortunately ‘capable’ doesn’t seem
like it’ll be enough to carry a title, especially an indy book that’s priced at
$4.99. Don’t get me wrong, the HUGE page-count means that there’s a whole lot of
story packed into the first issue, and a whole lot of imagination, but the
execution just isn’t there as far as I’m concerned, and it’s a damn shame,
because Palmiotti and Gray are a great team with a lot of BIG ideas; this one
just missed the mark. |
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ULTIMATE COMICS MYSTERY #1 (OF 4) |
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Writer:
Brian Bendis Artist:
Rapha Sandoval |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072810
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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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Now that the Ultimate Enemy has revealed his plan, the heroes of the Ultimate
Universe search to discover their enemy's true identity before any more damage
can be done. Join the Ultimate heroes on a chase that will take them all over
the world and beyond! Superstar creator Brian Michael Bendis and artist
sensation Rafa Sandoval continue to thrill in the next segment of the Enemy
Trilogy! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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The Ultimate saga of whatever-the-hell-is-going-on
continues! From the creative team responsible for “Ultimate Enemy”, in which
NOTHING was explained, comes “Ultimate Mystery” and the only real mystery of the
title is: Does anyone care anymore? I mean, seriously, at $3.99 an issue for
four issues, now five, readers have been jerked around, with VERY LITTLE in the
way of actual plot development. What seems to be the cause of all the attacks on
Roxxon, Peter Parker, The Fantastic Four, etc.? Nobody knows, and I’m not sure I
can even muster up the energy to give a crap.
The idea of the Ultimate Marvel Universe is to allow creators to run amok,
without the restrictions of typical continuity and the decades of development
that the 616-Universe shares, but this is just getting ridiculous. Aside from
Captain Marvel, whose personality is derived from his impression of human beings
by way of cable television, thus making him one of the more hilarious characters
I’ve read, there’s still very little in the way of development. Nothing moves
the story along; even the FF, who lost a teammate in the previous series, as
well as witnessed the evolution of the Thing into, well, something else, have
very little going on.
There are a few surprises, such as the interaction between Spider-Man and
Spider-Woman, with some quasi-sexual tension developing between Peter Parker and
female clone of himself. There’s also the appearance at the very end of the
issue by a Marvel main-stay, but with a twist, one that may or may not hold big,
cosmic, game-changing effects on the Ultimate U. Other than that, nothing really
happens, and the fact that I’m five issues deep in a twelve-issue story isn’t
cause for me to hold out hope that things are going to turn around.
Rapha Sandoval is impressive. His work on the last mini, “Ultimate Enemy” was
great, and he only seems to be getting better and more comfortable as far as the
characters are concerned. His panel layouts are imaginative, with some awesome
backgrounds, especially during the Spidey scene. There’s a kinetic energy that
jumps off the page and smacks readers in the face, even if there isn’t enough of
it to go around. Sandoval makes the most out of a rather talky issue, and I look
forward to what he does with the rest of the series, I just hope there’s a bit
more substance to it. |
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ARTIFACTS #1 (OF 13) |
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Writer:
Ron Marz Artist:
Eric Battle |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Image/Top Cow
Comics
Shipped On:
072810
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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/TOP COW'S SYNOPSIS:
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The Event FIVE Years in the Making! Thirteen mystical Artifacts, including the
Witchblade, the Darkness and others, guide the fate of the Top Cow Universe. For
centuries, it's been whispered that bringing together all 13 Artifacts would
herald mankind's destruction. But a mysterious figure has been manipulating
events, laying plans to put Armageddon into motion. The final phase begins here,
with the abduction of Hope, the daughter of Sara Pezzini and Jackie Estacado.
What ensues will remake the entirety of the Top Cow Universe, from the
Witchblade and the Darkness, to the Angelus, Magdalena, and even Cyberforce.
Artifacts #1 is the perfect place for faithful readers to see their loyalty pay
off, and for new readers to experience the Top Cow universe. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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The coolest part about this is the organic,
ever-expanding shared-universe concept at play. Witnessing properties, formerly
related or otherwise, as they begin the task of integrating ideas towards the
coexistence of their concepts is spellbinding, something akin to witnessing the
birth of the silver-age Marvel U in the 60’s. The dedication and devotion Ron
Marz has for the Top Cow Universe is in the spirit of Stan the Man himself, and
Marz doesn’t make the task of unification seem daunting at all, as of late he’s
served as an architect of sorts working on “First Born” and “Broken Trinity”,
both seemingly leading up to this series.
The introduction of a brand new artifact-bearer is the hook of the series; the
quest to bring all the artifacts together by the bearer of the foretold
thirteenth artifact is the plot, and it’s one whose first issue plays out with
many a perfect beat. It feels like a natural jumping on point for people looking
for alternatives to the Big Two, and the ground floor of a true shared-universe.
Sure, Top Cow has danced on the fringe of the shared-universe concept for a
while, but it hasn’t been until recently that they’ve openly accepted everyone
from Magdalena to Aphrodite IV. I’m not a Top Cow guy, I just never got into the
separate fantasy worlds of “Witchblade”, or “Angelus”, or “Tomb Raider”; I do
however recognize the importance of the decision to unite all these characters
under one umbrella.
Sara “Witchblade” Pezzini does some demon-fighting, then the bearer of the
Rapture, a nifty little toy which empowers its bearer to some degree or another,
he fights some demons as well. Pezzini’s daughter’s babysitter gets her head
blown off by Aphrodite IV, seemingly just so editorial can say “Look, we kill
people for shock-value here, too!” Aphrodite then stomps a mud-hole in both the
butts of an angel AND a demon, so take a guess how bad-ass she’s supposed to be
now. Oh, then she kidnaps Witchblade’s kid, uh-oh. There’s an ‘Origin of
Witchblade’ two-page segment at the end, so I’m assuming: 13 artifacts + 13
issues = 13 two-page origin segments.
It doesn’t come off as forced storytelling, and that’s probably the most
important part. The art is well done, and entirely what I’ve come to expect from
any artist employed by Top Cow; it’s very stylized, the story moves along quite
naturally, but it’s very much also in the vein of the ‘house style’ established
early on by creator Marc Silvestri. There’re some panels that lack any real
pizzazz (you know I like my backgrounds), but it’s early in the series, and if
I’ve been correctly informed, there will be a rotating art team to get this
title out on a consistent basis. |
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ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #1 (OF 4) |
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Writer:
Alan Moore Artist:
Jacen Burrows |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Avatar
Comics
Shipped On:
072110
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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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AVATAR'S SYNOPSIS:
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The all-new all-Alan Moore horror series spoken of only in hushed whispers for
years is finally here! From the award-winning master of comics, Alan Moore,
comes a brand-new tale of Lovecraftian horror that will leave you too afraid to
close your eyes, but more afraid to open them! NEONOMICON, the sequel to THE
COURTYARD graphic novel, is slithering its way onto shelves to take its place as
a Great Old One of comics terror! Illustrated by Moore's favorite demented
artist, Jacen Burrows, NEONOMICON pulls no punches as every full-colored page is
covered in nightmares brought to gruesome life! The story begins some years
after the chilling events of THE COURTYARD, in a world where two young and cocky
FBI agents are investigating strange--- and familiar murders. They think they've
seen the worst monsters in America, but as they pull up to the maximum security
asylum where one Aldo Sax speaks in strange tongues, Agents Brears and Lamper
may be beginning to suspect that they're about to see something so much worse.
But they cannot begin to imagine the creeping insanity that has already begun to
pull them under... Alan Moore's Neonomicon #1 is available with regular and
Wraparound covers by Jacen Burrows, a special rare "Book of the Dead" retailer
incentive, and an ultra-scarce retailer incentive Remarqued edition with an
original sketch by Burrows! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Oh, Alan Moore, you crazy, bearded, magic-wielding,
wizard of words…I’m not quite sure what to make of this silly little book. It’s
taken me a couple of weeks since this title shipped to actually get around to
writing this review, primarily because I didn’t know how to approach the book
which reads like part police-procedural and part “X-Files” episode. Based,
however loosely, on the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, and something of a sequel to
“The Courtyard” which was a prose story written by Moore in ’94, adapted to
comics in 2003, “Neonomicon” follows anomaly-theorists/partners Lamper and
Brears as they continue the investigation of a former F.B.I. agent turned serial
killer and the dark following of the Club Zothique.
Jacen Burrows seems to be one of Moore’s favorite artists; he illustrated “The
Courtyard” adaptation, and it’s more than fitting that he’s been brought back to
help Moore realize his vision. The mood is quickly set, and the panel lay-out is
almost identical on each page, but it never feels as if Burrows is
‘phoning-it-in’. I mean, even despite the distinct lack of anything exciting
happening, Burrows manages to maintain a certain level of visual interest that
kept me turning the pages.
Seriously though, it doesn’t feel like a lot has happened by the end of the
first issue. The main characters B.S. with each other, during which you find out
that Agent Brears is suffering from sex-addiction, which seems to serve no
purpose other than undercutting the readers’ ability to take the character
seriously. Moore might as well have the lady running around solving crimes in a
thong with her breasts bouncing about like some sort of scantily-clad
super-heroine, because from the moment it’s mentioned, her affliction is pretty
much the sole bit of ‘character development’ that we get.
The Bureau then goes on a series of short, unsuccessful raids on Club Zothique
and later a suspect’s apartment, where readers are treated to the naked corpse
of an old woman, and a bit of a mystical/magical/’scary’ tid-bit of plot, which
is left to twist in the wind until the next issue. By the end of the first issue
I was left with a great number of questions, but little in the way of interest
in the remainder of the story. I wasn’t familiar with “The Courtyard”, and I’m
not the biggest fan of Lovecraftian horror, primarily due to lack of exposure,
but I approached this with an open mind, and a certain amount of admiration for
Alan Moore, if not as a writer than as a character himself. Unfortunately there
wasn’t anything that really sank its hooks into me or my curiosity, so I’ll be
leaving this one on the racks from now on. |
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SCOURGE #0 |
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Writer:
Scott Lobdell Artist:
Eric Battle |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Aspen
Comics
Shipped On:
072810
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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'S SYNOPSIS:
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From the innovative mind of acclaimed movie producer Gale Anne Hurd, and
written by superstar writer and visionary Scot Lo bdell, comes this summer's
biggest blockbuster new series - THE SCOURGE!The skies of New York City are no
longer safe. In mere hours, the greatest metropolis on the planet is turned into
an island of horrors, as a virus rapidly advances throughout the city
transforming its citizens into savage, bloodthirsty gargoyles!! Amidst the
outbreak, one man, NYPD SWAT officer John Griffin finds himself as the last
remaining hope to prevent the cataclysmic spread of the virus from the island,
locating his estranged son within the chaos, and saving the city itself from
complete annihilation! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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“This summer…a virus unlike any other will be
unleashed. The citizens of New York City have no hope for survival. But one man
fights on...” Yup, that’s the tagline, or advertising slogan, or whatever. I was
curious about this book, especially when I saw that it was brought to us by not
only Aspen Comics but also Valhalla Motion Pictures, which probably means this
series has already been optioned for the big screen. It’s interesting to note
that this is only a “0” issue, a preview of sorts, and therefore has NO real
value other than introducing the main character, Griffin, and filling readers in
on how bad-ass he’s supposed to be.
The infection that seems to be spreading throughout the city of New York is
turning people into demons, or something that closely resembles demons. It sure
is a good thing that NYPD S.W.A.T. Team member John Griffin is around, ready to
blow away any infected person, and look cool while doing it. He’s so cool he
stops, mid-fire fight, to make a phone call to his ex-wife to ask the time so
he’s not late picking up his son from some school trip. While trading verbal
jabs with his former love, he’s also able to beat the crap out of some big,
gnarly looking monster, which leads to him getting attacked by, wait for it,
ANOTHER big, gnarly looking monster.
The artist, Eric Battle, is a more-than-capable storyteller, but the chunky,
thick inks make his work seem choppy, and clunky. I did enjoy the dynamic
panels, the interesting choice in perspectives, and even the character design,
but with the artist inking his own work everything comes off looking very
90’s-ish, which is something I just can’t stand. The fluidity of the action from
page to page carries itself well, but ultimately I get the feeling it’s just
masking the lack of any real story.
Oh yeah, this book is “from the innovative mind of Gale Anne Hurd”, who
apparently produces films. That’s probably the cause of the ‘Valhalla’ tag at
the top of the cover, and also lends reason to believe that this might end up
translated from page to screen in the not-too-far future. I don’t have a problem
with that, they make crappy movies all the time, but I do take issue with the
comic book medium becoming nothing more than the testing grounds for Hollywood’s
genre fare.
The number of concepts, comics, and stories that are being optioned before even
being released to the comic-reading community as a whole just goes to show how
silly the obsession with the comic-films has become; instead of waiting to see
if a property is successful studios are chomping at the bit to pick up the next
“Watchmen”, “Spider-Man”, or whatever. I’m not sure what bothers me more,
Hollywood’s attempt to hi-jack the comic-book medium as the go-to place for
their drek, or comic-writers’ veiled attempt at cross-over success. I mean,
whatever happened to making comics just for the love of doing so? |
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CHARMED #1 |
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Writers:
Ruditis and Raven Gregory |
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Artist:
Dave Hoover |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Zenescope
Comics
Shipped On:
072110
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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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ZENESCOPE'S SYNOPSIS:
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The Girls are back in town! The Charmed ones return in this brand new fantasy
series from Zenescope that picks up where the series left off. Claiming their
victory in the battle against evil, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were free to settle
into the future with their husbands and children, destined to live out the
happily ever after they had so rightfully earned...or so they thought. Features
three covers including one photo cover. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Here’s something I have NO use for, a comic book
based on a television show that I was never particularly fond of, one that
hasn’t even been on T.V. (with new episodes) for the better part of five years.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, should any of you be inclined to care, there’s a
“Charmed” comic book on the racks, and YES, it is a piece of crap.
It starts out innocently enough, bad guys doing bad stuff in some poorly lit,
packed-to-the-gills night club. Everything at this point is pretty vague, but
you get the idea that the bad guys a) use magic, b) aren’t to be messed with,
and c) are trying really hard to bring someone back from some place, although
the who and the why aren’t really touched again.
The ladies of “Charmed”, which would be Phoebe, Paige, and Piper (no Shannon
Doherty, sorry folks!) have their own lives, and have for the most part retired
from witching. Oh, and there’s a school where one of them teaches other kids how
to properly deal with mystical abilities. Some of the “Charmed” chicks have kids
off their own, ones that apparently manifest magical abilities while still in
infancy, which will make for all sorts of silly ‘Deus Ex Machina’,
baby-inadvertently-saves/dooms-the-day type of plot devices.
The bad guys break into some tree and descend into the underworld, which would
be cool, if we knew what the hell they were trying to do. The good guys, I mean
gals, sit around and squawk about their day, their children, their jobs, and
their periods (just kidding about that last part, but if they did it wouldn’t
have surprised me). I’m sorry that this review seems to be lacking any flavor,
any pizzazz; I’d try to lay out what happened in a less ham-fisted way but
that’s really just how everything simply just occurred in the book. One second
the bad guys are being bad and shady, the next we’re supposed to be laughing as
one of the witches defends her self against an onslaught of salad. One moment
we’re in a school for up and coming witches and wizards, the next were at home
with another one of the sisters and her husband, who I guess is supposed to be
Cupid, because they said it more than once, really laying it on thick there at
the end.
The artwork is alright, but only at parts, and the decision to proceed directly
from pencils to colors is a poor choice. The book and the colors suffer because
there isn’t a defined look to the characters, or the back grounds, or anything
really. Everything looks scratchy; the colors appear to be colored pencil at
parts, simply because the pencil shading isn’t properly addressed. I don’t think
this book would have been nearly as dull visually if it had seen the pen-work of
a proper inker.
I could go on and on about what I didn’t like about this book, but more than any
of that I don’t like the fact that this book exists. I don’t understand a need
for it, and I’m sure sales will dictate that it goes the way of the dodo bird
before it reaches its twelfth issue. I’m sure there’s genre fans aching to find
a good substitute for whatever show gets cancelled, or simply ends after eight
seasons, but don’t think dumping your mythology on comic book fans is going to
win you any praise here. No, thanks. |
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TRUE BLOOD #1 |
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Writers:
Mariah Huehner and David Tischman, from a story by Alan Ball with Kate Barnow &
Elisabeth Finch |
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Artist:
David Messina |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
IDW
Comics
Shipped On:
072110
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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'S SYNOPSIS:
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The runaway hit first issue of True Blood is back in print, with a "flipped" J.
Scott Campbell variant cover! Blood and sex mix on a hot rainy night at
Merlotte's, when Sookie and her friends are trapped by a vengeful spirit who
feeds on shame. People die and dirty secrets are revealed as Sookie, Bill, Eric,
Sam, Tara, Jason, and Lafayette and are all coerced to dig deep and tell painful
memories from their past-those things we all have locked within us that we never
tell another living soul! Bon Temps, Louisiana has never been stranger, or more
twisted, in a story co-plotted by True Blood series creator Alan Ball, with a
script by David Tischman (Bite Club) and Mariah Huehner, and lush art by David
Messina (Star Trek: Countdown). |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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While I’ve been mostly under whelmed with the
upheaval in Vampirism invading mediums of all sorts, I have to say the one
diamond in the rough that I’ve come across is the television show “True Blood”,
based on a series of books I’ve never read, but all the same a captivating,
adult take on an otherwise pre-teen dominated genre. Sex, violence,
shape-shifters, treachery, and ultimately romance pervade the series, so why not
spin it off into a comic book, comics have all of that stuff too!
The story is just as bland and dull as you’d come to expect from a comic book
based on a show based on a series of books. There’s no NEW ground to cover,
because the show’s going to have that market cornered, so that mean’s whatever
story writer Mariah Huehner comes up with is going to find itself pigeon-holed
between an established literary continuity and a blossoming adaptation that’s
domination of pay-cable has in turn led us here.
What we get in the first issue is not so much an introduction to the universe,
because after all, books like these are counting on fans of either previous
incarnation to follow the characters to this medium, which works AGAINST the
book as it tries to find its footing amongst the legions of similar crap.
Instead, readers are thrust into the middle of a developing situation at the
local hang-out, Merlotte’s, where some weird dude in a trench coat turns out to
be some sort of weird, Native American spirit, but really angry, and hungry for
blood. There are some small character beats that work surprisingly well, but
only because I’m familiar with the source material.
I know, I said I’ve never read the books, but don’t get it twisted; this is
definitely NOT a take off of the series of books. This is a direct adaptation of
the show, so much so that there are several variant covers offering both glossy
photos of the ensemble cast posing, or artistic renderings by comic wunderkind
J. Scott Campbell. The scenery is the same, if not photo-shopped and then
penciled over; the characters are drawn like their real-life counterparts, and
that’s fine, since that’s who I’d have pictured anyway.
By the end of the first issue nothing has been explained but several people have
been torn apart. The gang still seems somewhat un-phased by the developing
threat, that is until Bill Compton shows up and immediately gets his ass handed
to him by the big, scary, tentacle-monster. All of the action and imagery is
handled rather well by Dave Messina, and I even found HIS cover to be the most
pleasing to the eye.
As a whole I find very little to like about this book, even though I’m a fan of
the series on which it’s based. I haven’t ever had use for titles such as this,
so it’s not so much a slight against the work of the writing or art team, but
rather a slight against a medium which so often allows itself to be pimped as a
way to milk genre fans out of their hard-earned dollar. Next thing you’ll tell
me is that I’ve got to review a book based on a WB series about a coven of
teenaged witches that’s been cancelled for years and years…oh wait. |
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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #638 |
Writers:
Joe Quesada (with Jim Shooter and David Micheline)
Artists:
Paolo Rivera (with Joe Quesada and Paul Ryan) |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072110
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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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The questions have been haunting readers throughout Spider-Man's Brand New Day
and now the answers are here in four double-sized issues! What really happened
at the wedding of Spider-Man and Mary Jane? What does Mary Jane know about
Spider-Man today? How did ONE MORE DAY affect the Marvel U? Joe Quesada and
Paolo Rivera are here to pull back the curtain and fill in every blank...but the
answers may come at a cost to all that Peter Parker loves. This 4-part arc will
hold answers, resolutions, and set up the course of Spider-Man's life for years
to come...and all will be revealed with a whisper. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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“Because you demanded it!” That statement has never
been more aptly applied to a comic book story before now, at least not with
regard to establishing, or in this case, setting straight a character’s past.
When J.M.S’s ‘Amazing’ run was brought to an end there was a great deal made
about a little story call “One More Day” and its effect on long-term Spider-Man
continuity. There was an unbelievable uproar from the internet to the comic
store, fans were in fervor over, what they considered to be, a great disservice
done not only to a beloved character but to their own life-long (or
however-long) fandom. Even Straczynski issued a statement declaring his
dissatisfaction with the re-write his final issue received.
I’ve been very vocal in my support for ‘Amazing’ since the beginning of “Brand
New Day”, and while I’m sketchy on the price jump for what amounts to throw-away
filler after each story, I have enjoyed each of the arcs and the way that
they’ve been presented. The thrice-monthly schedule is a terrific way to keep
the momentum building, and delivering ten to twelve arcs a year is a way to keep
my attention, but I understand the need for balance, and despite the fun I’ve
been having with the title there were some issues that needed resolving, and
that’s what “One Moment in Time” seeks to do.
Presented in a truly original fashion weaving current events (illustrated by
Quesada) with flashbacks (by Rivera) as well as actual REPRINT panels from the
“Marriage” issue (from “Amazing Spider-Man Annual” #21”) to create a tapestry
that really feels like an authentic experience. We’re almost one-hundred issues
deep into “BND” and to see the thought that went into actually acknowledging the
work they were undoing was really impressive. It wasn’t the original “magic
doesn’t need an explanation” answer that Quesada through out so casually when
the topic first arose. “Magic” did come into play, or at least seemed to come
into play, but the explanation for the lack of a wedding is really pretty
obvious, and if you think about it, keeping with the tradition of the Peter
Parker character.
The art is old-school in places, but that’s the point, and Rivera’s old-school
flavor meshes nicely with the work of Paul Ryan’s thirty-or-so year-old pencils.
Quesada’s framing sequence meshes nicely with the feel of “One More Day” which
he illustrated, so it’s a natural continuation, and comes off as one. I don’t
care much for the Stan Lee offering, but it’s illustrated by Marcos Martin, so I
always stare at it, soaking in the two page spread ever issue; it’s not exciting
or intelligent, but it certainly does look great!
I’ve heard rumors that Dan Slott will be taking over the book soon, and it’ll be
switching to a bi-weekly schedule. I’ve stuck with the title for a while as-is,
but recently thought of dropping it considering the price increase. The lack of
a third issue every month will save me a couple bucks, but not as much as I
would hope, considering the hike from $2.99 to $3.99; at three times a month
that’s twelve bucks, while lowering the issues-per-month to two they’ll spare me
almost four dollars, but at a cost of only a dollar less than when the title
first relaunched, and for one less issue. For those that couldn’t follow my
‘logic’, we’ll be paying around eight-bucks for two issues when we were paying
nine-bucks for three…and that kinda stinks. |
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RICHARD STARKS PARKER MAN WITH GETAWAY FACE |
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Writer/Artist:
Darwyn Cook (Based on the novel by Richard Stark) |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
IDW
Comics
Shipped On:
071410
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MSRP:
$2.00 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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IDW'S SYNOPSIS:
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Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of The Hunter was one of the best-received and most
popular graphic novels of 2009. A New York Times best-seller, it has appeared on
over 50 "best of the year" lists.
The second book, The Outfit, will debut in the fall, but IDW and Darwyn are
presenting the first chapter here as a stand-alone preview comic. Priced at only
$2.00, this is a full, 24-page story that offers new readers a perfect
introduction to Richard Stark's classic crime novel anti-hero, as well as a
great story that stands alone. As an added bonus to readers, this preview is a
whopping 8" x 12." |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Serving to bridge the gap between Cook’s previous
‘Parker’ adaptation, “The Hunter, and the next story, “The Outfit”, “The Man
with the Getaway Face” is both a preview and a complete story in its own right,
and if you’re not familiar with the ‘Parker’ adaptations, like me, then it’s
also a perfect jumping on point. Personally, I love stories about scumbag
thieves, mobsters, criminals, and any other similar sort of low-life, of which
“The Man with the Getaway Face” has in spades. It’s a bridge-story, but it’s a
self-contained bridge-story, so it’s able to get away with introducing, then
doing away with characters very quickly, and that momentum continues to build
until the very last page, setting the stage for the next graphic novel quite
nicely.
Somewhere between “The Hunter” and “The Outfit”, Parker, main character of the
Richard Stark series of novels, had to get some work done on his face. Okay, he
had to get a whole NEW face, and because the lead of the story would appear so
drastically different from one tale to the next, Darwyn Cook figured that a
short, one-off issue filling readers in on what happened was vital. Don’t get it
twisted; this isn’t a boring experiment in character-development. There’s a
heist, double-crosses, triple-crosses, murder, y’know, all the usual stuff that
makes a great story about criminals.
Parker puts together a team of people to help him take down an armored truck. Of
course, dealing with shady people never goes as planned, and Parker is able to
call the double-cross from a mile away, so he sets up a plan of his own,
separate from the one shared with his team. This contingency plan ends up with
only half of the team making it out alive, or so it seems. The twist at the end,
not the one the readers can see coming from a mile away but the OTHER twist, may
set up our main character to take a fall at the hands of one of his buddies down
the line. Not that I have a problem with that, I think it’s pretty cool
actually, and the way it leaves you hanging at the end, unsure of what’s to
come, sets the stage perfectly for the next graphic novel.
It’s a tough time to launch a new comic series. People aren’t spending a lot,
and trying new stuff out even less than that, so I think the presentation of
this OVER-SIZED comic at a price of only two bucks is beyond genius. It’s a
sample, a preview, but it’s a complete story. It’s got more per-page than
anything outside of DC’s “Absolute” series of trades, or Marvel’s Omnibus’s,
easily blowing any basic comic priced at $3.99 out of the water. Darwyn Cook’s
artwork is simple, yet amazingly capable of getting the point across with the
least amount of intrusion. The monochromatic colors don’t take anything away
from the art either; if you’re already a fan of Cook’s (and who isn’t?) then you
know what to expect, and if you aren’t, well, get ready to jump on the
bandwagon. |
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DARK WOLVERINE #88 |
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Writers:
Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu
Artists:
Stephen Segovia and Paco Diaz
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072110
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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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"PUNISHMENT": PART 1 OF 4 A DARK WOLVERINE/FRANKEN-CASTLE CROSSOVER!
Daken, reeling from his father's betrayal, heads to Japan in search of Muramasa,
the legendary mystic swordsmith...only to come face-to-face with a ghost from
his recent past-the monstrous Franken-Castle! The last time these two met, it
ended with Frank Castle in pieces, lying dead in the sewer. It's time for
revenge. And Daken couldn't agree more... |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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One of the more interesting things about the Marvel
Universe is its dedication to the ILLUSION of change. A short time ago,
something like a year maybe, Editorial and the Powers That Be saw fit to allow
Rick Remender to slice Frank Castle, better known as the Punisher, into
teeny-tiny pieces, and by the son of Wolverine no less. Frank didn’t stay dead
for very long; keeping with the tradition of the relaunched “Punisher”, seeking
to reintegrate the character into the greater Marvel Universe, establishing his
place amongst the throngs of super-powered, post-humans that populate its
landscape, Frank was reassembled by the Legion of Monsters, becoming
Franken-Castle.
This story has been a long time coming, ever since “Dark Reign: The List:
Punisher” where Daken, sanctioned by then-head of H.A.M.M.E.R. Norman Osborn to
hunt down and apprehend The Punisher, by any means necessary. The issue,
illustrated by the ever-reliable John Romita Jr. was as graphic and hardcore as
any I’d seen before in the regular Marvel Universe, and Remender really set the
bar pretty high for himself. The transition from Frank Castle fights
super-villains, to Franken-Castle defender of monsters, was a pretty HUGE leap,
but it was handled intelligently, and true to character. It wasn’t a change that
was meant to last by any stretch of the imagination, I mean, there were solicits
previewing Punisher, back in his human form, for the “Shadowland” event, so it
wasn’t like readers didn’t know what was coming.
This kicks things off in a rather mundane way, more of a continuation of ‘The
List’ but with the tables turned and Frank coming after the bastard-offspring of
Marvel’s biggest draw. The fight starts on page-eight, and before that Daken
manages to kill somebody in bathroom, I’m guessing to establish how
‘not-to-be-effed-with’ he is. There’s not a lot of time for exposition, I’m
thinking that’ll come in near the end, in flashback or whatever, and set the
stage for Frank’s inevitable rebirth and Daken’s inevitable establishment of his
own identity, as opposed to the cash-grab
‘Wolverine-with-two-claws-instead-of-three’. So, there’s fighting, and a lot of
it, and at some point it becomes pretty graphic with Daken taking quite a
beating from Castle, and from what I’ve seen I know he’s supposed to be a
younger, faster, stronger version of his father, so his healing factor must be
kicked up to TEN, all of the time, because he’s crushed in a fallen elevator,
thrown through any number of walls/windows/floors, broken arms, dislocated
shoulders, and just keeps going, and that’s just in THIS issue.
Segovia has a style similar to Lenil Yu’s, whose style I love because it feels
very organic, and in this issue art chores are shared with Paco Diaz, whose
style is woven perfectly with Segovia’s to such an extent that I couldn’t tell
where one ended and the next began. I’m not sure either artist hit a stride yet,
as there were a lot of panels with solid-color backgrounds, or very little
detail in anything other than the character’s themselves. I did however enjoy
the way the action was rendered, and the fluidity of the motion of both
characters really came through. Franken-Castle is large and clunky, but powerful
and mean, while Daken is smooth, ninja-like with his attacks, and his
ruthlessness is established very early. The art went a long way for me toward
enjoyment of the culmination of both series, especially since I’m not reading
“Dark Wolverine” with any regularity.
That’s right folks; both “Franken-Castle” and “Dark Wolverine” are coming to an
end with the conclusion of this four-issue, cross-over arc. Of course the
direction of both characters isn’t QUITE as clear I’d like it to be; I know
Daken will be getting his own series, with a bit more of the ninja vibe, and
he’ll finally be returning his old-man’s clothes (maybe in time for “Old Man
Logan 2”…hyuck, hyuck). I’m sure Frank’s death/rebirth is going to come into
play in “Shadowland” as it’s billed as ‘The Battle for the Soul of New York’, so
maybe we’ll se a Hand-resurrected Frank really taking pot-shots at the good
guys. I don’t know where it’s headed, but it’s been a fun ride, and I’m willing
to roll with these guys and see where it goes. |
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SUPERMAN #701 |
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Writer:
J.Michael Straczynski Artist:
Eddy Barrows |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
071410
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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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J. Michael Straczynski begins his highly anticipated run on SUPERMAN! After the
devastating events of WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, how can Superman possibly continue
his battle for Truth, Justice and the American Way? Find out here in Grounded
part 1 and get in on the starting line of a modern-classic SUPERMAN story! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Man, I sure do get sick of listening (or reading)
fans’ complaints about this issue; all over the internet it’s ‘whine, piss,
bitch, and moan’, or ‘why is Superman so snotty?’, or ‘I don’t understand why
there’s no action?!’, and to be completely honest I don’t understand a single
one of those complaints. To me, after seventy plus years of Superman in action,
of which I’ve experienced less than thirty, it’s extremely refreshing to see a
NEW take on an OLD idea, a concept so simple and so down to Earth that it’s
surprising that it hasn’t been done before: Superman discovers America.
I don’t mean he DISCOVERS America, like in the Christopher Columbus sense of the
phrase (debatable in and of itself), but he discovers the people that make up
America, that make up the country he’s adopted as his home. I wasn’t sold on the
idea as presented at the end of the 700th-anniversary special; it was a neat
precursor injecting a dose of reality into the life of Clark Kent-as-Superman,
but I didn’t understand the idea until I read an entire issue devoted to it. By
page-two of the 701st-issue I was overcome by a feeling of wonder, something
that I haven’t felt reading a comic in damn-near two decades.
It’s not everyday you can get automotive advice from a guy with x-ray vision, or
trade a hot meal for the completion of an innocuous task performed at near-light
speed. Supes trades verbal jabs with some drug-dealers before igniting their
respective stashes on fire with his heat vision, and while leaving a child
behind to deliver a message to a group of sure-to-be-angry gang-bangers doesn’t
seem like the brightest idea in the world, Supes ensures everyone involved that
they haven’t seen the last of him. There’s a couple of small vignette-style
pages where Superman plays traffic cop, and then doctor (not like that,
pervert!) and while, again, the concept in and of itself is really basic, the
idea is where the magic comes into play.
The story works its way to a young woman, tired of her life and all the hardship
that’s befallen her; the loss of a loved one, loss of employment, loss of focus
on where she’s headed, it reads as if it could be anyone in this tumultuous
economic climate that we currently find ourselves in as a country. Superman,
when asked by the police to ‘fly up and grab her’, makes the decision to talk
with the woman instead, which leads to a rather startling compromise, and
finally, understanding; ‘[Life] isn’t fair…But it’s not unfair either’. That
little slice of life, passed on by Big Blue to the struggling young woman, does
a great deal to display the HUMANITY of the Superman character, and despite how
often he beats the giant robot, or saves the world from an alien invasion, it’s
his human-side that he’s attempting to rediscover, a side that we hardly see,
and something infinitely more interesting than another throw-down with Zod, or
Braniac, or Doomsday, or Luthor.
Eddy Barrows manages to pack as much energy into this issue as I’ve ever seen in
an action-packed, punch-out, Superman comic book. There’s a great deal to look
at, a great deal to take in, as the Supes comes across everyone from irritating
journalists (whom he handles with certain brevity that many have called “smug
and dick-ish”) to gangstas, from children to even some annoying jerk walking his
dog, whom I’m almost certain is a parody of typical internet trolls incapable of
seeing the importance of such a story. Barrows doesn’t skimp on the details,
from the backgrounds to the intricacies of each of the supporting characters,
which is something that really should be commended. It’s not everyday you can
find an artist capable of rendering a rather personal, dialogue driven story
with such emotional impact; I’m certain it will cement his status as one of the
best Superman artists of the last decade.. |
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TIME MASTERS VANISHING POINT #1 (OF 6)
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Writer:
Dan Jurgens Artists:
Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
072110
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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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The Search for Batman starts here! Vanishing Point - where time ends - is
tearing itself apart, and one of the keys to keeping reality from being torn
asunder is finding exactly where Bruce Wayne is in the time stream! Rip Hunter
puts together a high-powered band of Time Masters to travel throughout history
in search of the World's Greatest Detective, but can even the combined might and
skill of Superman, Green Lantern and Booster Gold help the Time Master pinpoint
where Batman went at the end of FINAL CRISIS? |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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“The Return of Bruce Wayne” to the DC Universe is
causing a bit more of a fuss than I thought it would. Apparently there are all
these ramifications with time-travel that a street-level guy like myself would
have no real understanding of, but what Dan Jurgens is looking to do with “Time
Masters”, an offshoot of his “Booster Gold” run, is make sure the RULES of time
travel are handled with care as the original Batman makes his way back home to
the present.
If you haven’t been reading “Batman” or “Booster Gold” then you’re going to be a
bit lost in this series; I’ve been following “Batman” and his adventures for a
while, and while I understand and respect DC Editorial’s position on bringing
him back from the past, I am, whole heartedly and without-a-doubt, a fan of Dick
Grayson as Batman, so that influenced my decision to skip “The Return of Bruce
Wayne”, therefore I had no real reason to pick this up. I’m glad I did, however,
because it cemented my stance on the issue; I’m now SURE that I don’t want to
read this.
I’ve already admitted to not following the “Booster Gold” series, so the first
page revelation that BG is the father of his own mentor, Rip Hunter, was a
little lost on me. I wasn’t sure if this was established continuity or some sort
of foreshadowing, and to be honest, I didn’t care either way. The story then
jumps right into the issues with bringing Batman back from the past, with Rip
and Booster asking Superman and Green Lantern for help; as far as WHY they chose
those particular heroes, I don’t know, it’s not explained. The quartet then
gallivant about the time stream looking for their friend with the hope that he
hasn’t permanently altered history which, judging from Morrison’s take on the
characters, seems inevitable.
There’s a bit of character development as far as the Superman/Rip Hunter dynamic
is concerned, with Superman protesting the lack of action taken to rescue a
group of shipwrecked pirates. Rip argues that the past CANNOT be changed,
regardless of how bad witnessing it makes one feel, that there are things in
play bigger than oneself and one’s own view of morality. Their mission is
hindered by an attack, in the present, by a pair of goofy looking super-jerks,
Degaton and Despero (who doesn’t look anything like the Despero I had to read
about in JLA a year or so ago, go figure). This sends the team’s time-platform
all loopy, and by the end of the issue it would appear that our courageous
travelers have been separated, with Rip facing down the barbarous Claw (whoever
that is…).
Jurgens and Rapmund make a GREAT art team, but unfortunately the pencils aren’t
enough to make up for a convoluted story. The issue is bogged down by its own
baggage, which Jurgens apparently believe readers are anxious to have heaped
upon them. There’s too much in play with regard to ‘The Return’ as well as the
“Booster Gold” series, and if you haven’t been following them, like I said
before, as well as felt after reading and then re-reading it, you’re going to be
lost. Another thing that I found odd was the shipping schedule, “The Return of
Bruce Wayne” is well under-way, probably half-finished by the time you read
this, but this story, which ISN’T a shipping bi-weekly, won’t be completed until
almost four full months after ‘The Return’ is done. I’m not sure what Editorial
had in mind when it made THAT decision, but it wasn’t a good one. |
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X-FORCE SEX AND VIOLENCE #1 of 3 |
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Writers:
Craig Kyle and Chris Yost Artist:
Gabrielle Del’Otto |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
071410
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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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Just when you thought it was over, we pull you back in-it's the X-Force story
everyone's been talking about, finally delivered! Wolverine and Domino have
always had a special relationship, but everything goes upside down when the
Assassins Guild puts out a hit on our gun wielding bombshell. Why do they want
her dead? And more importantly, how many people have to die before Wolverine and
Domino can spend some quality time together? Get ready for the sexiest
blood-soaked ride Craig Kyle and Chris Yost have ever delivered as they join
forces with international superstar Gabriele Dell'otto to offer up their final
X-Force story! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I’m thinking a more appropriate title might have
been “X-Force: Violence and a Little Bit of Sexual Tension”, because as far as
the first issue is concerned much more of the focus is dedicated to bloodshed
and carnage than it is to good, old-fashioned, love-makin’. Kyle and Yost,
probably the only two guys in the world who could get me to care about X-Force
again for the first time since I was thirteen, present the opus to their run on
the title, which has recently been passed on to Rick Remender and re-titled
“Uncanny X-Force”.
Domino, a late addition to the team, has had her share of shady dealing with
unsavory characters, as is pretty much standard with any and all of the members
of the team, but when her ‘work’ follows her home one day it ends up involving
her teammates in a way that they may not appreciate so much if they wake up
dead. Tangling with the Guild of Assassins is never a good idea, but
double-crossing them and then attempting to get away with it is pretty much a
nigh impossible thought. This sets the stage for a whole lot of action, which
fulfills the ‘violence’ promised in the title, and Domino uses the tension to
proposition her boss, Wolverine, telling him that if they get out of her mess
alive she promises to give him the ride of his life, if you’re picking up what
I’m laying down.
The art by Del’Otto is beyond belief. I’ve been waiting for this guy to
illustrate something other than covers since “Secret War”; he really is Marvel’s
secret weapon, and I pray to whomever is God-of-the-week that he’s immediately
begun work on another project, because the amount of time between this and his
last release was too long! I’m a fan of the way he brings to life the rather
two-dimensional (figuratively speaking) characters that populate ‘X-Claws &
Guns’, his ability to enliven a scene where everyone is at risk of the big
dirt-nap is uncanny, no pun intended.
I’m not sure how I feel about the re-boot of this still somewhat fledgling
series, but since I have no say in the matter, other than whether or not I buy
it, it makes no difference. I can say that Kyle and Yost have brought legitimacy
to a title whose only legacy is that it even made Warren Ellis’ writing look
sub-par. By injecting a healthy dose of x-lore into the core plot, then amping
up the violence/risk/body count with every ensuing arc, and always keeping a
good foot forward, marching toward end-game they really made this book a must
read for me. We’ll see if Marvel can catch lightning in a bottle more than once,
or if they just end up getting fried. |
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GORILLA MAN #1 of 3 |
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Writer:
Jeff Parker Artist:
Giancarlo Caracuzzo |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
071410
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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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Shooting from the pages of ATLAS, comes an all-new exploration of fan-favorite
GORILLA MAN! Yes, Ken Hale is blessed with might and cursed with inhumanity, but
you don't know the entire tale, and how his history may destroy his present! See
his storied past as an Agent of Atlas, a soldier of fortune, an ally of the
Avengers, and a Howling Commando! Three incredible issues by JEFF PARKER (ATLAS,
THUNDERBOLTS, FALL OF THE HULKS ALPHA) and GIANCARLO CARACUZZO (ATLAS)! Plus a
"Many Legends of the Gorilla Man" reprint. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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As nice as it is to see some of the Agents of Atlas
get some love in the realm of the solo-miniseries I have to admit that the
outcome is bittersweet. This week was not only the debut of Ken “Gorilla-Man”
Hale’s first shot at cross-over success but also the arrival of the news that
“Agents of Atlas”, the critically acclaimed yet poorly performing series about a
bunch of fifties throw-backs, recently re-launched in hopes of siphoning more
sales figures by way of “The Heroic Age” banner plastered over the title, has
been cancelled. Again.
Seriously, hasn’t anyone gotten the message yet? There are other comics out
there that don’t feature a guy named Wolverine, or Deadpool, in every issue.
There are some comics out there that offer DIFFERENT kinds of characters, and
DIFFERENT kinds of stories, and they do it with out relying on tired clichés and
overused plot devices. I thought that what Jeff Parker had been doing with the
“AoA” was remarkable. Never in a million years did I think a team about a secret
agent, a gorilla-man, a killer robot, an Atlantean princess, a siren, and a guy
from outer space could be SO captivating, and SO well developed, and delivered
without pretense, without an overwhelming need to over-explain themselves. It
was one of the most unassuming titles that I’ve been privileged to read in my
entire comic-reading experience.
Alright, now that my tirade is complete let’s get on with the show.
“Gorilla-Man” is the story of The Gorilla-Man, and just to be clear Ken Hale
wasn’t the first, and he won’t be the last. The Gorilla-Man is a lot like
lycanthropy, in which one person inflicted with the curse passes it on to the
next person, but that’s where the similarities cease. See, with lycanthropy a
person has to be bitten, or maybe scratched, for the condition to spread,
whereas with The Gorilla-Man one need only kill the previous Gorilla-Man, and
then one becomes The Gorilla-Man; get it?
This isn’t so much about that just yet, although I’m sure it’s working its way
there as there are spliced in segments relating to the character’s childhood,
and later employment by some weird, kinda-scary, old dude. This is all entangled
amidst a story that jumps from renaissance robots to Agents of Atlas business
which seems to be the primary focus of the rest of the series. I’m a fan of both
the art and the story; although I’m not particularly fond of the way Caracuzzo
illustrates gorillas but that’s a rather minor annoyance (surprisingly)
considering the book is about a guy who is a gorilla.
Caracuzzo’s style is old school in its interpretations, yet decidedly new-school
in its approach, mimicking the dynamic action of Kirby, Ditko, Romita, and so
on. It’s not that Caracuzzo is ripping anyone style off, but rather he’s a part
of a new school of artists who’re looking to the past for inspiration in terms
of artistic layout, fluid character action, and visual expression. The same
could be said about Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Marcos Martin, Paul Azaceta, Javier
Pulido, and so on. I’m, for one, really enjoying the renaissance of artistry
that’s currently taking place, the ‘everything old is new again’ mentality that
seems so popular; too bad it didn’t extend beyond illustration to save a book
that everyone is worse off for not having read. |
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SCARLET #1 |
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Writer:
Brian Bendis Artist:
Alex Maleev |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel/Icon
Comics
Shipped On:
070810
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MSRP:
$3.95 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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This is the comic experience of the year! The first creator owned series by one
of the most successful teams in all of modern comics. Scarlet is the story of a
woman pushed to the edge by all that is wrong with the world...A woman who
decides to stand up and fight back...A woman who will not back down...A woman
who discovers within herself the power to start a modern American revolution!!
In the vein of Alias, Powers, and Jinx, Scarlet debuts a fascinating new comics
character that, with every issue, reveals new things about herself against a
completely original backdrop of intrigue and drama. Get in on the ground floor
of the first creator owned series by Bendis since Powers, and the first creator
owned series by Maleev...ever. (and, yes, the trademark obnoxious Bendis letter
column will be here too) |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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It’s about damn time someone started the revolution,
I just wish I knew where it was starting, or how, or by whom; or why. There’s a
whole lot of big talk being tossed about when this series is being discussed,
and while all of it is stimulating to a young, angry, 80’s baby such as me it
doesn’t mean that I’m prepared to buy into the hype, not just yet anyway.
“Scarlet” is the book that Bendis and Maleev finished “Spider-Woman” to do
instead, and while I LOVED “Spider-Woman” I can totally understand the need for
creators to move on to the next project; comic writers, as of late, seem more
and more like sharks, if they stop moving they’ll die.
Scarlet is an idealistic young lady, evident by the short rant readers are
treated to on page three, right after she murders a police officer, but none of
that matters yet. The real essence of this book is the emphasis on
self-discovery, and what makes someone decide that enough really IS enough?
Before you go writing this off as a fan-review fluff piece, or claim that I’m
digging too deep under the surface as a way of defending the morose mentality
represented by the title character please allow me to elaborate.
This is the first comic by Bendis I’ve read where the fourth wall is broken, and
on a consistent basis; it’s safe to assume, but not necessarily accurate, that
there’s a certain amount of the writer’s own political/socio-economic beliefs
injected into the mix, and for the sake of conversation let’s say there are. Set
in Portland, Oregon (as opposed to Portland, China), one of the more politically
charged cities in our country, Bendis harnesses the spirit of the
disenfranchised, ever-rambunctious, protest culture that dominates the working
class youth of that area, spinning it into a story about right and wrong and
perceptions of such in a time where the rift between the people and their
government is ubiquitous, and has been for the better part of ten years.
It’s not preachy, despite the tone of the story, but it is dark, and represents
an outlook that not many people are going to find favorable. The character’s
actions aren’t so clearly defined as correct, even when faced with the issue’s
primary antagonist, and given Bendis’ penchant for writing out of sequence (at
least a little bit) it’s clear that you’re either in for the long haul with this
book, or you’re out, and if you’re out, you’re either out of touch or out of
your mind.
This is Alex Maleev’s first creator-owned venture, and what that means to me is
that if it sells well we can expect it to come out on-time regularly looking
more and more flawless as each issue goes by, without fear of a random fill-in
issue. The book’s imagery is so incredibly executed that it’s hard to imagine
anyone taking a look and not being moved. Say what you will about
photo-referencing compared to classic illustrative styles, I find that it works
for better for books with a very real-world feel to them, and considering the
subject matter of the writer’s catalogue it’s pretty evident why the two make
such a great team.
It’s not going to suit everyone’s tastes, but it’s impossible for anyone to find
something that everyone can universally agree on. All Bendis and Maleev have to
do to succeed is to write and illustrate a book that is nothing like anything on
the shelves at your local comic book store right now. There’s a certain appeal
right now, at least to me, in actively searching out books that are going
against the grain, attempting to do something different with the medium as
opposed to more of the same. Bendis is the architect of the Marvel Universe for
the course of the last seven or so years, if you need to read super-hero action
there’s no shortage of his work in that area, but if you’re looking for a return
to the noir-ish style of storytelling he made his name with than I implore you,
drop whatever $3.99 “Deadpool” book you have in your hands and pick this up! I
think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, or pissed, or whatever, but I’m sure it
will invoke some sort of reaction. |
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OFFICER DOWNE |
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Writer:
Joe Casey Artist:
Chris Burnham |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Image
Comics
Shipped On:
071410
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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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IMAGE'S SYNOPSIS:
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He walks the eternal beat... and delivers the eternal beat-down! Much more than
man... he is policeman! It's hyper-violence on the mean city streets, from JOE
CASEY (Avengers: The Origin) and CHRIS BURNHAM (X-Men: Manifest Destiny); an
all-new special where a lone Badass With A Badge takes on the scourge of the
criminal underworld: Headcase Harry! The Fortune 500! Zen Master Flash! Not even
death itself can stop this powerhouse of justice! You've never experienced
"command presence" like this! This is one cop that'll keep coming back for
more... even from beyond the grave! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I don’t feel as if I’m doing this book justice if I
don’t tell you just how ****ing cool it really is. Not just ‘cool’, or ‘really
cool’, or even ‘really, really cool’, but ****ing cool. This is an adult book,
and not because of gratuitous nudity or sex, but for non-stop violence and
cussin’! Be forewarned, foul language awaits you in the following paragraphs;
it’s not for the faint of heart!
What is there to say about a title whose first issue, a stand-alone, is entitled
“Tough Shit”, I mean seriously. I could go on and on about how the first words
in the first panel are ‘Mother***ing L.A.’ and how it made me laugh at the sheer
stones it took to be that in-your-face simply for the sake of bad taste. Make no
mistake, this is an in-your-face kinda book, with a bad attitude that demands
your attention, not only for the HI-Larious way it presents itself by way of
Casey’s words but also the assist from Chris Burnham, my new favorite artist,
whose images are so detailed, yet clean and fluid in a perverted Don Bluth sort
of way.
Cops are rough, at least they’re often portrayed that way in stories such as
this, but Casey takes the typical archetype of maniac-cop to a whole new level,
instituting a maniac-police-force who are using telekinetics to constantly
reanimate the corpse of a tough-as-nails, bad-ass, super-cop named,
appropriately, Officer Terrence Downe. It’s sorta like “Universal Soldier”, “Robo-Cop”,
and “Judge Dredd”; it doesn’t matter how many times Officer Downe dies, or gets
shot, stabbed, blowed up, burned to death, decapitated, disemboweled, or any
other calamity that may befall him at any given moment during his never-ending
war on crime.
This mission to perpetually fight the good fight like Sisyphus pushing his
boulder up hill is what puts Downe directly in conflict with a weird
anthropomorphic crime family that immediately puts a price on his head. There’s
a great deal of bloody combat between Downe and a pack of urban ninja, clad in
break-dancing jumpsuits no less, and then the inevitable happens: Downe is
overpowered, brought to jail by his captors, and the inmates have their way with
him. That’s where the story starts to dissipate into mindless, gory fun, but
that’s all I was really looking for with this book anyway, so color me
satisfied. By then end the good guys (cops) have won and the bad guys (ninjas)
have lost, or the bad guys (cops manipulating a dead man) have won and the good
guys have lost (Officer Downe stuck in the purgatory-like existence of
non-life). Obviously I’m just having a gag at reading too much into a book with
a rather simple concept, but if this was to be adapted for a regular series
that’s definitely something that I’d imagine would be addressed.
I’ve been a Casey-fan for quite a while, I find his work to be on the edge of
what people have come to expect from comic creators, and that’s what excites me
about his work. There’s very little that needs to be said beyond “Casey’s
writing it,” to get me to pick up a new book, and I would hope that there’s a
good number of fans out there willing to do the same thing with their favorite
creators. Discovering the artwork of Chris Burnham was the biggest treat of all
as far as my experience went, I’ll definitely be looking to get anything he does
in the future! |
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DOCTOR SOLAR MAN OF ATOM #1 |
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Writer:
Jim Shooter Artist:
Dennis Calero |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Dark Horse
Comics
Shipped On:
071410
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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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DARK HORSE'S SYNOPSIS:
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Empowered by a thermonuclear catastrophe, Doctor Solar discovers that he can
control energy. . Immeasurable strength is his at a whim. Power beyond
imagination courses through his body. But he knows that the same kind of science
run amok that created him can also empower the wicked. In the aftershock of the
cataclysm that created Doctor Solar, ripples throughout space time imbue one
Whitmore Pickerel with the power to create life-which he uses to serve his
selfish desires and reckless ambitions. His newly created being, Leviathan,
invulnerable and immeasurably strong, clashes with the Man of the Atom in a
fierce battle that ravages the city. Meanwhile, for his personal amusement,
Pickerel creates Glow, a living fantasy of unearthly charms . . . and deadly
possibilities! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I had to go to Wikipedia after reading this “48-Page
First-Issue Spectacular!” All that did was give me an even bigger headache. The
idea that after however many misfires however many creators had with this title,
this character, this concept, that THIS was going to be the incarnation that
really brings the character to the forefront of the background of readable
comics is just ridiculous. Jim Shooter had a shot when he was in charge of
Valiant Comics, he couldn’t make “Solar” (as it was known) happen then, so what
makes everyone but me so sure that THIS is the new definitive take?!
I find the story to be very derivative of an amalgamation of a plethora of
character’s origins. I know that the character was originally launched in ’62
with a somewhat original concept behind it, and it’s the work of the current
writing team that makes the book come off as Doc Manhattan-lite, with a little
Bruce Banner/Captain America thrown in, and that’s precisely why I’m not feeling
it.
The artwork is okay at best, coming off at times like a poor man’s Bryan Hitch,
and at its worse as an amateurish computer-rendered high school art project. I’m
not a fan of the simple look, similar to Jae Lee, but not in the way that makes
his art dynamic; it’s more along the lines of a guy doing his worst impression
of Jae Lee on a bad day. The colors look too computer generated, and at a time
when the industry is so reliant upon computer assistance when it comes to
coloring a book to meet deadlines it’s important to remember that the best
colorists can compliment an artist’s pencils not drown them in muted tones and
shades of gray.
Maybe this is just another concept that’s before my time. In the same way I
can’t expect everyone to get into the books with a more current outlook on the
medium, maybe I’m just not open-minded enough to the era of storytelling
represented by this re-launch. I don’t think it’s that, but I’m willing to put
the idea on the table. If this is something that Dark Horse is hoping to
seriously ride to success then I think it’s time they thought about finding a
creative team with more than just a passion for the history of the character,
but a clear idea of what can make this character interesting for a new
generation of readers. |
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BRIGADE #1 |
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Writers:
Rob Liefield and Mark Poulton
Artist:
Marat Mychaels |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Image
Comics
Shipped On:
070810
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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'S SYNOPSIS:
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"GENOCIDE" BATTLESTONE. SEAHAWK. COLDSNAP. THERMAL. KAYO. STASIS. LETHAL.
Together they are BRIGADE. Thirty years ago, a crashed alien spacecraft was
retrieved by the U.S. government. A warning of an impending invasion was heeded
and an alien defense initiative named Brigade was formed. 30 years later,
Genocide arrives, looking to finish earth off for good. Fueled by alien
technology and biology, only a Brigade can stop them! A complete re-imagining of
the original smash series by the original creative team of ROB LIEFELD and MARAT
MYCHAELS. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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“Brigade” seems to be the perfect example of why I
stopped reading comics during the mid- to late-90’s, I mean in addition to
girls, booze, and assorted other distractions. There’s nothing about this
concept that’s gotten any better with time; while some books, like a fine wine,
get better with age, this simply seems to have gotten stale, even the thought
that revisiting this title was a good idea seems like a mind-boggling mistake.
Image Comics, founded in 1992, was a haven for artists, but never really found
it’s footing as a home for great writers. I mean, sure, great writers passed
through every now and then (Hell, even Alan Moore wrote an arc of “WildC.A.T.S.”!),
but for the most part the company fancied itself as an penciller’s playground,
so the idea of celebrated a maligned 90’s throw-back in this, the Nu-Golden Age
of the Writer, seems nonsensical.
Some families have all the luck, and if you’re a member of the Stone family, or
just stoned, then “Brigade” is a book right up your alley. Maybe there was
something in the water, or maybe everyone got bit by radioactive spiders, I
don’t know, but somehow, some way, it seems all the members of the Stone clan
wound up with funky abilities and, of course, made the astounding decision to
become super-heroes. With names like “Kayo” (get it, K-O?), Seahawk II, Lethal,
Coldsnap, and my favorite, Battlestone (which should automatically be
accompanied by fifteen exclamation points, so it would look something like this:
BATTLESTONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) it would appear that Rob Liefield and Mark Poulton
went back and re-read every $#!tty Image comic produced. In fact, my favorite
line from the entire issue was: “Chillax big fella. I was sent to test you.
Battlestone(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) needed to know if you’re ready for battle.” Which
shows, with the exact kind of redundancy one would expect from a high-school
English paper, that neither of these two guys are talented writers.
There’s a bit of a reveal at the end, but since it’s given away on the cover I
guess it doesn’t REALLY count as a ‘reveal’, and even if it wasn’t I wouldn’t
color myself surprised by the minor ‘twist’. At least Battlestone got himself a
haircut, ditching those silly braids that were a fashion faux-pa even in 1992,
but he still wears that little hamster/rat/gerbil skull on his forehead; am I
the only one who wants to know how the hell he gets that thing to stay in one
place? All in all, this book left me not longing for more comics in the vein of
those I read as a youth, which happen to be the same comics that chased me away
in my teens, but for better, newer comics, with an eye for storytelling,
characterization, and artistry. I want to be enthralled by the ideas, the
action, and the suspense. I want to WANT to hang out with the characters I read
about, or at least look up them, despite their fictional status, and the problem
with “Brigade” is that none of what I’m looking for in comics, now that I’ve
grown up a bit, is present. |
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AVENGERS CHILDREN'S CRUSADE #1 (OF 9)
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Writer:
Allan Heinberg Artist:
Jim Cheung |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
070810
|
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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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The Young Avengers return in an epic, bi-monthly Marvel maxi-series by series
creators Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. When Wiccan's reality-altering powers
begin to rival those of the Scarlet Witch, the young hero sets out on a quest to
find her that spans the Marvel Universe and pits Wiccan against both the
Avengers and the Young Avengers. But will Wiccan's desire to solve the mystery
of his parentage be his salvation or his undoing? This self-contained Marvel
maxi-series reintroduces and redefines the Young Avengers and the Scarlet Witch
for the Heroic Age and is essential reading for any Avengers fan. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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When “Young Avengers” debuted, back in, whenever,
it was right after Brian Bendis finished ‘disassembling’ the team. There was a
brief period of respite before all of a sudden appeared not only a team of “New
Avengers” but a new team, of “Young Avengers”. I was riding the mutant wave, and
teen superheroes still had something to offer me, or so I thought, so I
purchased the twelve-issue maxi-series and found myself absolutely taken by the
characters, their ties to Avengers history, and the witty dialogue of Allan
Heinberg (a T.V. transplant writing comics and fulfilling a lifelong dream,
blah, blah, blah…). Now, after all the up’s and down’s of the Marvel U. over the
last five, maybe 6, or so years Heinberg and original partner, Jim Cheung, are
back, but can they still deliver the butterflies I felt so many moons ago?
I’ve kept up with the Young Avengers mini-series that have come out since that
original, ground-breaking run, and none of them have really lived up to the
source material. The closest was probably Paul Cornell’s “Dark Reign: Young
Avengers”, but even that, with art by Mark Brooks, didn’t have the same effect
on me as the first page of the first issue of the FIRST series, where J. Jonah
Jameson, still publisher of the Daily Bugle at the time, demands to know “Who
the *#&@! are the ‘Young Avengers’?” Heinberg just knew, instinctively, all the
right notes to hit, and combined with a younger, much more unknown Jim Cheung,
at the time made for classic comics on par with Claremont and Lee’s “X-Men” #1,
without the millions of sales figures. What they did with that series was set
the bar so high, even for themselves, anybody would have a hard time recapturing
the sense of discovery that came with it.
Well, the dream team is finally back on board with the teen team, and although
it’s not ACTUALLY a “Young Avengers” book, I guess “Avengers: The Children’s
Crusade” clues at least the somewhat knowledgeable readers in, as does the
cover. Speaking of covers, it’s great to see Jim Cheung illustrating something
OTHER than covers for “Secret Warriors”, and the random “Avengers” fill-in,
‘Mighty’, ‘New’, or otherwise. His art is as profound in detail and execution,
if not more so, than it was when I first laid eyes on it. More than anything
this comes off as a direct continuation in the saga of the Young Avengers than
anything that has come since, and even though I want so much to like it as much
as I did before, I just don’t think that I do.
Maybe it’s been the lapse in time despite the constant appearances by the
characters in so many other titles, but tastes do change. I can’t say that I
don’t like reading books about teen super-heroes, I loved “New X-Men”, I still
read my “Runaways” collected editions, and the first Volume of “Young Avengers”
will forever hold a special place in my heart, but I need something more than
just a casual drop-by. I don’t want a hit-and-run relationship with great
comics, I want them to stick around all the time, or at least be reliable enough
to go bi-monthly if the creators don’t think they can maintain a constant
schedule. The good news is that Marvel editorial agrees, for the most part, and
this title is bi-monthly, but I do have to wonder if after all this time that’s
going to serve to the benefit or detriment of the title?
Everything that’s wrong with the Marvel Universe as of late can be blamed on one
person, Brian Bendis…I mean, The Scarlet Witch, and since she may be the
‘mother’ of two of the Young Avengers, as well as the murderer of Stature’s
father, Scott Lang, it makes her a pretty important loose end in severe need of
tying. So for most of the first issue the teens make witty quips back and forth,
and then later crack wise with the Avengers (whose costumes are so out of date
it’s not even funny), until finally they say “Forget it, we’re gonna do what we
want!”, that’s when they run headlong into the master of magnetism, Magneto! For
a first issue there was the typical amount of baggage having to do with
introducing the cast to new readers, as well as about five years worth of
continuity to jam into two pages, all so the cast could whine and pontificate on
the responsibilities of being an irresponsible teenaged super-brat.
I can’t honestly say whether I’m going to read this or not. I’ll definitely be
interested to see where it goes, and from there I may or may not pick up a
collected edition, but considering the fact that it’ll be a year and a half
before the series wraps, we all have plenty of time to decide what’s right for
us. I do know one thing, and that’s that it feels good having the original group
of guys telling a new story using the original group of heroes, even though it
may take them forever, and while it may not live up to the original in EVERY
way, it’s still a breath of rarified air in a rather dismal month as far as
really great comics go. |
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STEVE ROGERS SUPER-SOLDIER #1 |
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Writer:
Ed Brubaker Artist:
Dale Eaglesham |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
070810
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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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Steve Rogers was America's first Super-Soldier - Captain America - and he's
fought for his country since World War II. Now a face from the past reappears, a
woman that cannot be alive because Steve watched her die! Steve has fought for
so long, and lost so much -- is his past coming back to haunt him now? Or could
this be the plot of an old enemy who controls nearly everything he touches,
including Steve's mind? From multiple Award-Winning Captain America scribe Ed
Brubaker and acclaimed artist Dale Eaglesham comes a mini-series no Cap or
Avengers fan will want to miss! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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“The Heroic Age” promises a lot of things, not the
least of which is the continued adventures of the former Captain America, Steve
Rogers, as he navigates the post-‘Dark Reign’ landscape of the Marvel Universe.
He was thought dead, only to be found trapped outside of time, and when he made
it back to the present his mantle had already been bestowed upon his former
sidekick (also long thought dead), a concept Steve had no problem with. He’s got
his own team of Avengers, but that doesn’t seem to be enough for Steve, so in
addition to leading a group of super-heroes he’s opted to do the Nick Fury-solo
thing, and Ed Brubaker, mastermind of the Captain America saga that’s catapulted
the character out of the background and into the mainstream, has decided to take
readers along for the ride.
Jonathan Hickman’s loss is Brubaker’s gain as super-artist, Dale Eaglesham,
seems born to illustrate the adventures of the former Star-Spangled Avenger. I
thought his art on “Fantastic Four” was good, but it pales in comparison to the
kinetic energy bounding off the pages he’s illustrated here. There’s a flow to
the story, the motion, the action, the combat, which really accentuates
Eaglesham’s strengths. His characters are distinct and intimidating, and yet
never out of place, and his take on Rogers is text-book perfect. I don’t know
that this series would have worked with any other artist, and thankfully we
don’t have to find out. I’m not sure if this is a limited, or an on-going, but I
know that with Dale at the drawing board it’s sure to be visually stunning
through and through.
Oh, I guess that there’s a story in here too, someplace, and I’m guessing you
probably want to know if it’s any good. Well, it is, although it’s off to a bit
of a slow start. It would seem that Dr. Erskine, the man responsible for
creating, as well as dooming the super-soldier program, has a grandson who may
or may not have figured out the secret to cracking the serum which turned a
puny, wimpy, beanpole like Steve Rogers into the symbol of America. This doesn’t
sit well with Rogers, who assumes the young Dr. Erskine’s plan is to weaponize
the serum, sell it to the highest bidder, and infringe upon his shtick. There’s
some espionage, some high-stakes action and adventure, and of course the
obligatory cliff-hanger, all of which set up the story to be quite mysterious,
and pretty much standard Brubaker. I’m excited to see the guy who I called
Writer of the Year for 2009 get a shot at some bigger books in 2010, and I
wouldn’t be surprised if in a year or two he’s the go-to guy for most of
Marvel’s heavy hitters.
My only issue, and it’s fairly miniscule, is that I’m not sure if this is
supposed to be some sort of new on-going series, or if it’s only a mini dressed
up as a potential-on-going dependant on sales. I’m not against the idea of a
regular monthly title exploring the seedy underbelly of the spy-game in “The
Heroic Age”, but with “Captain America” as well as “Secret Avengers” I’m not
sure that readers NEED Steve Rogers to go all Wolverine on us, appearing in more
and more titles until the movie appears what, in the middle of next year? The
year after that? I mean, he’s bound to end up in the Red, White, and Blue
pajamas again, otherwise how can they capitalize on cross-over success if the
man they’re portraying on the big screen isn’t the man under the mask in the
title for which the movie is named? Ow, my brain hurts just thinking about ‘the
illusion of change.’ |
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SHADOWLAND #1 (of 5) |
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Writer:
Andy Diggle Artist:
Billy Tan |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
070810
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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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Matt Murdock Dared Evil...and Lost! The battle for the soul of a hero begins!
Pushed beyond his limits, Daredevil faces off for a final time against his
deadliest foe--Bullseye-- in their most brutal battle ever with more than just
Hell's Kitchen is at stake. Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Punisher and more
join forces to stop a war that is breaking out throughout New York, with
Daredevil at the center. This event will change the streets of New York City-and
the heroes that protect it-forever. Plus, a jaw-dropping final page that will
have everyone talking for years to come! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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As much as I’ve anticipated this series I’m afraid
to say that I found the debut issue a bit flat. It’s not a bad book, not by any
stretch of the imagination, it is however a book that doesn’t make known its
goals right off the bat, and although I don’t need ALL the story laid out for me
in the beginning, it would be nice to understand just what Daredevil’s
motivation is. I get it, I get it; the blind lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen has
always been on the fringe of the Super-Hero set, and with this series he’s
supposed to be making the leap from costumed vigilante to full-on super-villain,
what?! Maybe I don’t ‘get it’ after all.
Matt Murdock may be a bit more Punisher than he is Spider-Man, seeing as how
he’s been known to cripple his opponents with tremendous regularity as opposed
to leaving them tied up with a nice little bow for authorities. It’s his status
as an attorney which allows for the juxtaposition of a man sworn to serve the
law yet he constantly side-steps it, or full-on breaks it when it serves his
interests. It’s that juxtaposition that makes this ‘contained event’ from Marvel
Comic both intriguing and exciting, and yet it still manages to feel as though
they bit off a bit more than they’re ready to chew.
There’s a butt-load of Avengers featured in the first issue, from the
street-level Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, and Moon Knight, to the “Big
Three” of Iron Man, Bucky-Cap, and Thor, and something about it feels ‘off’. I
don’t put Daredevil on THAT level in my mind; it’s not that he’s not entirely
capable as a super-hero, he’s one of my favorites, but when you put him side by
side with the God of Thunder, or even Iron Man, there’s little comparison. DD is
a great character whose personal struggle with crime in his neighborhood really
puts into perspective just how poignant these books can be, but when the
character is shoehorned into the greater Marvel U as a whole, to me, he feels
out of place.
This is almost a direct continuation of Diggle’s very first book after Ed
Brubaker left the series, “Dark Reign: The List: Daredevil”, in which perennial
DD villain Bullseye lays waste to a civilian apartment in the heart of Hell’s
Kitchen. Since then DD has taken over leadership of the ninja clan known as The
Hand, and he’s building a secret prison, called Shadowland, on the site of the
tragedy in an attempt to utilize the clan’s abilities to help him keep his home
safe. This has proven to be easier said than done, and as such there’s a great
deal of internal struggle (a DD staple), as well as opponents to his reign
coming from every direction, some may be even closer than Matt thinks. Even
Matt’s buddies, Luke Cage and Danny Rand, are skeptical of Matt’s actions, and
that’s pretty much where the story begins.
The end of the issue is what everyone will be talking about and without giving
it away let’s just say Matt finally makes his ‘point’ crystal clear to his
longtime nemesis. Is it THIS action that solidifies Murdock’s new stance in the
eyes of the Marvel Universe? Is he nothing more than Marvel’s version of DC’s
revamped Green Arrow? How long are characters supposed to let psychopaths like
Bullseye go on killing people before someone steps up and shuts him down? I
don’t know if any, or all of this is going to be covered in the next four issues
of the series, but I think it should. If it isn’t then this is seriously gonna
miss the mark for me.
It should be said that Billy Tan’s art on the title is beyond sub-par. With the
amount of lead time he had going into this project I can’t honestly be
enthusiastic about the pencils I saw. The beginning and the end of the book are
drawn well, but somewhere toward the middle he seems to lose focus. His Thor,
Iron Man, and Cap all look bloated and sick. But, when he gets to the actual
money-shot, the showdown between Dark-devil (I’m not sure on the switch to a
black costume, but whatever) and Bullseye, he seems to be firing on all
cylinders once again. I also think that his style is a very drastic switch from
what regular readers of Daredevil are used to by this point. Maleev, Lark, Ribic,
and De La Torre are all incredible artists who made sure that the grime and grit
of the New York streets were evident in their work, Tan simply doesn’t come
across with that same feel, and THAT is probably my biggest gripe with the book. |
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BATMAN ODYSSEY #1 (of 12) |
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Writer/Artist:
Neal Adams |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
070810
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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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Legendary Batman artist and comics pioneer Neal Adams returns to Gotham City
with the first issue of two 6-part miniseries! In this electrifying new story,
The Dark Knight faces a series of seemingly unrelated challenges as villains and
allies old and new push him to his limits like never before. After Batman
discovers a dark and mysterious matrix being superimposed over his life, what
sort of life-changing voyage must he embark on to escape from this powerful and
insidious force? Be here to find out as Adams writes and illustrates his next
masterpiece Batman tale! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Wow, what a mess. I understand the need in modern
day comic books to pay homage to the creators of yesteryear, I mean, without the
concepts, characters, and stories that these guys came up with we might not have
some of the books, characters, or creators that are around today rocking the
industry with the highest level of talent available. Neal Adams, whose “Batman”
work is highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike, had a Batman story left in
him, so it seemed like a no-brainer to get him working on a limited series,
however, I’m not sure the end result is what fans of the Caped Crusader were
expecting. I know it’s not what I was expecting, that’s for sure.
It seems like such a misstep. There’s very little in the way of accuracy with
regard to the character of Bruce Wayne despite this story being set early in his
adventures as the Dark Knight. I’m not talking about the guns, I know Batman
used to carry guns and I’m not turned off by that at all. What I’m talking about
is the lack of consistency with which Adams writes the character. One second
Bruce is the ever confident crime-fighter we’ve all known since childhood, the
next he’s not smart enough to know you need both hands to climb a ladder (and he
makes a point of laying it out in internal dialogue: “Could have waited on
drawing the gun. Now I have to climb with one hand…stupid.”). I was also
perplexed by the seeming decision to dress up in a blue and grey costume, with a
bat symbol emblazoned upon his chest, but it’s not until some a-hole shouts, in
Spanish no less, “Ey! Hombre Murcielago.” to which Bruce, once again internally,
replies: “‘Batman’, that’s good. I like it.” As if the idea of being Batman
never even crossed his mind as he made the suit, and he needed some schmuck to
shoot at him to get the point across.
Then there’s Robin, Dick Grayson, whom you could currently read as Batman in the
DCU proper, but because this is set early in the Dynamic Duo’s career Dick is
still a kid, and as such he’s annoying as hell. Maybe Neal Adams never had kids
of his own, or maybe he’s never actually met a kid around the same age as
Grayson is portrayed, but seriously it’s as if the writer’s idea of a kid’s
‘voice’ is to be as A.D.D. as possible. The duo’s dynamic is undercut by the
cheesy, stilted dialogue that only serves to illustrate just how out-of-touch
Adams is with today’s comic book marketplace. He’s not recapturing an era long
gone; he’s reminding readers why this kind of storytelling is likely to stay
long gone.
I can’t seriously believe that this will turn out to be anything other than a
massive egg laid by the DC editorial team. There’s no rumble or ruckus about it
on the net, and no reaction is worse than a poor reaction. I at least expected
to see some old-school heads to pop up and clamor for more of Adams scratchy
pencils and his over-the-top, campy Batman. Seriously, I re-read the issue and
imagined Adam West’s voice as Batman through-out, and it made it a little
easier, almost as if taking this book too seriously was my first mistake, but
I’m not a fan of the Batman T.V. show, not to the extent that I want to read a
year’s worth of comic books at $3.99 a piece, so I’m pretty much going to have
to skip this one. You probably should as well. |
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All Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2010 by their respective
owners. No rights given or implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2010 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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"The opinions expressed in the reviews below are not necessarily those of Alternate Reality, Inc. Hey, I don't agree with all of them either!"
