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This week's digest: SERGIO ARAGONES MASSACRES MARVEL ARTEMIS: REQUIEM #1 SERGIO ARAGONES MASSACRES MARVEL Writer: Mark Evanier Here's what I thought... I was looking so forward to this I had the first three pages read during the two subway stops back from the comic shop to my house. Good thing the car was somewhat deserted. It's a pleasure to see someone poking good-natured fun at Marvel's beloved characters nowadays - it makes a nice change of pace from all the serious and often angry talk about the company's current business practices. And Mark Evanier is no stranger to Marvel - well, that is, no stranger than he is to the rest of us. See, this is what a book like this inspires in some of us - the urge to try (and fail) to top its many hilarious one-liners. And of course, Sergio sets everything up perfectly with the great expressiveness his deceptively "cartoony" style gives the characters. The constant sneer on Submariner, the bored detachment of the Watcher, the... um, big nose on Spider-Man... My favorite is the utterly perplexed looks that keep appearing on the heroes' faces as they realize, time and again, that they're (say it with me) Trapped In A World They Never Made. Luth's coloring is outstanding throughout (I love all the shadings and highlights!), and it's a real kick seeing such greats inking Sergio - I mean, Marie Severin, wow! Romita Sr! Sinnott! Ultra-kewl. Some of the lines fall a bit flat, as expected (Mark has to get out of LA more and wean himself from the OJ jokes), and I think Evanier's a bit hard on fellow humorist and CBG columnist Peter David (duh, Mark, everybody knows Peter puts FAR more Pinky and the Brain refs in his work than Star Trek ones, keep up! <g>), but as they say in Hollyweird, "We kid, but we kid with love." This is such a veritable love-fest that I feel like breaking into a verse of "You'll Never Walk Alone" - and it's even got a very cute plot going for it! Highly recommended - in this Age of Marvelcution, we could all use a laugh. Next up: Sergio Destroys DC! Heh - I'm saving my pennies already. So, what did y'all think? Steve Rogers: CAPTAIN AMERICA #452 Writer: Mark Waid Here's what I thought... I can't say enough about the opening scene. I think it's the best action sequence Mark Waid has written since the ending of FLASH #100. Really nice stuff. Sharon Carter awakes from this dream - more about which later - and realizes she's plummeting to her almost certain death in an ejector seat whose parachute failed to open. Then we see a steely-eyed Steve Rogers rocketing down from above, determined to maneuver himself to catch up with her seat. He grabs it - they're about 15,000 feet in the air at this point, and no, I don't care whether this is physically possible, and I don't want to be in a position to, you know, find out - swings himself around to the faulty mechanism, slices it open with his laser-shield-whatever to trigger the parachute, all the while fending off Sharon's chiding him that he's nuts for coming after her. The chute open, he quickly unbuckles Sharon, grabs her and reaches for a tree branch, swinging them to safety as the chair plunges through a frozen-over lake. Whew. And the great thing about it is, you see every single moment being thought out, all the angles and trajectories plotted, all the gears and wheels spinning in Rogers' head. This is no small feat, both for Rogers and the creative team, but Waid and Garney nail it. This is what I believe Captain America should be about - this steadfast expertise, strong sense of loyalty, determination to do what's right... a real pleasure. When this book changes hands, and production companies, a few months down the line, I can look at this scene alone and know they've accomplished something of which they can long be proud. The plot steamrolls along, amidst a few interesting Rogers/Carter exchanges, the first occurring while driving into the base wherein the infamous Argus cannon is kept. Sharon's about to take out "the enemy" point-blank when Steve, realizing she's in shoot-to-kill mode, stops her. She reasons that, since he won't kill, they have to distract the soldiers another way - and orders him to hit her. Boy, is this disturbing - no less so to Rogers than to us. And if you think that raises the skeevy hackles, we see Steve knocked unconscious through his successful destruction of the cannon (this is one of the great things about this book, the whole Argus thing as a means to advance the plot and character interaction, rather than serving as the point of the story) and Sharon rushing to give him mouth-to-mouth... which turns into a kiss-- Which turns into Sharon belting Steve in a weird payback kinda way as she realizes there's "no spark" there - that her dreams of rekindling their romance were just that, idle fancies. Of course, we've seen in an earlier issue that Rogers harbors the same type of fantasies on occasion - but I believe this is the writer telling us in no uncertain terms that these two are not going to get back together. You want a romance book, read FLASH. This ain't that. And it saddens me a bit, 'cause I'm a sucker for happy, ride-off-into- the sunset endings (and Waid/Garney already gave us one of those a few issues back) and I like things to work out. But it makes sense, too, because Steve and Sharon appear to have grown way too far apart to make their dream a reality any more. Anyway, back to the villain, and Machinesmith is presented as a rather formidable foe when we encounter him. He provides a foreshadowing of a possible plot solution - he's micro-encoded everything from Cap's brain onto a single coin - no duplicates? no backups? Sheesh, destroy the coin. Of course, that's nothing compared to destroying Machinesmith, who demonstrates, to great effect, his ability to leap his consciousness into any electric form he chooses. Couple this with his plans to destroy the SHIELD helicarrier and the President, and you've got yourself a doozy of a situation. Edge-of-you-seat yikes on this one. Still in for the ride, through the bitter end. So, what did y'all think? DAREDEVIL #353 Writer: Karl Kesel Here's what I thought... Okay, time for my usual caveat whenever I review a Marvel title about which I haven't spoken previously. I am not very knowledgeable about the Marvel universe, okay? Most of the readers of the RAC.marvel newsgroup not only know this, but can fill in their own blanks. I am passing familiar with most of the protagonists, less so with the antagonists, and barely know supporting cast members, so bear with me. Of course, a new creative team almost always spells "good jumping-on point," and I generally like Karl Kesel's work so I was game to give this a try. From what (relatively) little I know about Daredevil (haven't gotten the book since the Nocenti run, which I liked a lot), Kesel does some things very well and some things about which I have to wonder. But first, a word about Cary Nord, whose work I pretty much took to right away. Doesn't it remind you of Tony Harris' stuff on STARMAN, though? Really similar. The only problem I had with Nord's stuff is that he sometimes draws characters, especially women, as if their backs were broken. Check out the young lady on the page 4 splash as well as on the following page when she and her boyfriend are being saved by DD from an oncoming car. Look at Karen in the panel right before the lights are doused. And-- okay, to be fair, look at Matt himself standing over a beaten Hyde and leaning just a little too far back. Nord's characters may be in need of some serious chiropractic work. :) Aside from that, though, I like his style, facial expressions and most of the other action shots, and I look forward to seeing more of his work. Now, on to the plot, which is nothing like it's described on the "On Sale In April" page stuck in this very book. "The ailing law firm of Nelson and Murdock receives a much-needed boost when Foggy's mother takes over the business..." Huh? Maybe that's next month... but no, then it says, "This issue also features a hot new creative team!" Someone goofed - what a surprise. Anyway, the key to writing Daredevil, it seems to me, is remembering that his "schtick" is enhanced senses, and how he uses them. Matt's blindness, as well as other needed exposition, is nicely established during the scene wherein he reunites with his law partner, Frank Nelson-- who now knows his secret identity. Even though I haven't the foggiest notion (sorry <g>) who this character is, I like this plot point. It'll be nice for Matt to have a sounding board like this - and it gives Kesel another good opportunity to "show off" Matt's enhanced senses. And the love scene with Karen - just wonderful. Again, I don't know this person either, but Kesel gives me enough information on her that I don't think it's that important to know the past. In a way, that's almost what he's saying here - it's clean-slate time. And hey, Matt gets some (off-camera, natch - thanks Karl)! I just hope he went easy on her back... :) Okay, this is where it gets strange. Not just because most guys I know would go to sleep afterwards <g>, but because suddenly Matt seems to have turned into... well, Spider-Man, or Superboy or something. You know, suddenly he's a wisecracker. Now granted, most of the clever Kesel lines are done as thought balloons, but - even with the little I remember of Matt Murdock - this just seems a little out of character. I don't think he needs to be deadly serious any more, I rather LIKE the change, but I do believe it to be a change. Long-time Daredevil readers should feel free to correct me if I'm off-base. DD mercifully ends the too-long fight scene (always my least favorite thing in a Kesel comic, no matter how snappy the dialogue) against Hyde by pressing "the nerve center that causes [his] lungs' diaphragm to involuntarily seize." I swear I've seen that on "Xena"... :) Another nice way to highlight the enhanced-sense bit. Overall, I'm very pleased - some new characters for me to get to know, an interesting but not earth-shaking continuing plot (thank goodness; I'm tired of the Earth shaking so much in these books), very crisp writing and art... looking forward to more. A special thanks to Remy for reminding me to put this one on my list! So, what do y'all think? STARMAN #19 Writer: James Robinson Here's what I thought... Splendid issue. Just the right mix of teasers and recap and eeriness and happiness to satisfy. I hope Robinson sticks around long enough to give us many more editions of this annual treat - not least because he has to be around to make the many plot hints come to fruition. David tells Jack (sort of) he's going to have to know something about "the pirate life" for a future adventure... ooookay. But most of this issue is Jack telling David what, and how, he's done this past year. And it's nice. Jack's subdued, more confident this year than last. (If if weren't so damned inconvenient to go through my collection, I'd have reread the '95 issue preparatory to this one, but so it goes.) He voices speculations a lot of us on the 'nets have been bandying back and forth, including wondering aloud whether the Mist is right about he and she both being "players in a pantomime." This from a guy in a pirate outfit about to pantomime a high-seas conquest. <g> Anyway, great recap and good insights into our hero's mindset. Of course, it's an unwritten law of comics that nothing is deadlier than an all-talk issue, so we get a few pages of b&w pirate action, yo-ho. I'm going to be sacreligious and confess I liked the talky stuff better. Maybe it's 'cause I'm a gurrrrrl. "Cutthroat Island" notwithstanding, pirate sagas tend to relegate women to the status of booty, victims in need of rescuing or just plain invisibility (a pleasant exception being the current plotline in AKIKO). So I get bored easily, witty sea-chanty or no. It's, like, you know, a guy thing. :) (So's the "green chick" line, but I'll admit I laughed at that one despite myself.) Anyway, the payoff is the best part - David arranges for Jack to visit their Mom. I wept. Just beautiful. Happy birthday, Jack. The Shade, in this month's journal entry, is marvelously contemptuous and amusing (as usual) as he gossips about past acquaintances. Some deliciously witty prose - "Murder is murder, I agree. But damn it, coffee is coffee, and in my court, ruining a good cup of it with idle chatter should be punishable by death. Am I wrong? Am I overly hard? Perhaps." I dunno, I know a lot of people who think this way... All this and Howard Hughes. To be continued next time. Goody. Of note: This month's "Watch This Space" in many DC titles contains a blurb about the Friends of Lulu "Big Apple Pie Contest," referring to FoL (tongue in cheek, I hope) as a "secret society." Kewl! This is the first time I've ever been in the upper echelons of a secret society! I feel... I feel like a Hellfire Clubber! Remind me to show y'all our nifty Secret Hand Signal when next I see you - made it up myself. You can do that kind of stuff when you're in secret societies... But back to STARMAN - so, what did y'all think? THE POWER OF SHAZAM! #15 Writer: Jerry Ordway Here's what I thought... Many thanks to Dave Van Domelen for providing translations of this issue's "Wormspeak," which are as follows: -------------------------------- P6 panel 2: Ah! At last nourishment! (as Mind is in the coffee grounds)
P7 panel 1: Don't say anything stupid, you old bag of bones! (as Ebenezer
has no idea what the Mayor's talking about) P19 panel 4: Our calls have been answered -- at last he is with us. (as Cap enters strange floating pod) P20 panel 3: Do not alarm him. It will be easier if he comes willingly. (as Magnificus sneaks up behind Cap) Text Page: Attention, large limbed vertebrates of the third planet from the Sun: we Venusians are superior to you in every way! Resistance is useless! Prepare to be utterly conquered by your betters! By the way, has the Bulletman TV show switched channels? We haven't been receiving it too well lately. Do not deceive us, for soon we will be your masters! -------------------------------- SELF-ABSORBED DRIVEL ALERT: Do you know how hard it was for me to cull these translations without reading any of Dave's reviews (as I make it a point not to read others' stuff until I've finished my own)? Whew. It's even harder to admit that I just wrote this entire review and pressed the wrong button, not only deleting the whole thing but hanging up my modem! Geez, this cold is getting to me more than I thought... Anyway, onward. Ordway & co. pull out all the stops once more. This roller coaster ride starts with a Billy Batson almost-wet dream (leading up to one of my favorite scenes, as Billy blows off the Wizard in order to get more sleep), then escalates the improbability factor to include worms running a casino (okay, I admit that part isn't that far-fetched), Captain Marvel wearing a neato spacesuit of his own design and struggling against the acidic Venusian atmosphere, and more worms taking over a spaceship together with Dr. Sivana! Yowsa! And all the time, I'm sitting there reading it going, "You know, this just doesn't make sense. How can Captain Marvel control a Mother Box?" Then I put the comic down, shook my head and realized once more how desperately I need a life. :) Some really terrific slice-of-life bits in here too, including Billy's utter embarrassment at the Wizard pulling him out of class, and the Obligatory (it had damn well better be) Mary Scene wherein the female CM saves a friend from a couple joyriding thugs, pissed because she's going to be late getting home. Great bullet-spitting panel - you go, girl! I love Mary. Krause's pencils continue to improve, and Manley continues to (IMHO) ink them too darkly, especially on this non-glossy paper. Whitmore's colors are serviceable if a bit uninspiring - I didn't feel nearly the awe I wanted to in the space scenes. Overall, this remains one of the best DC titles to recommend to the younger set, and I'm still along for the ride too. So, what did y'all think? (press the right button this time, Elayne) HAWKMAN #32 Writer: Christopher Priest Here's what I thought... Well, the first four pages threw me off, until I realized that Priest kinda did the same thing in the latest JLTF - push the action ahead a bit, then go back and fill in "the story until now" until we once again reach the present, which is actually the future compared to the present where the past issue left off and... uh, never mind. Anyway, what it means is that Hawkman has succeeded in convincing J'Onn J'Onzz to lock him away for his own good, 'cause who else could have killed with a Thanagarian weapon (okay, we find out it's actually a child's toy which someone converted - I like this touch) and, hey, Hawkman's kinda been nuts lately anyway. J'Onn's enigmatically skeptical, of course, but after one of his "parlor tricks" apparently fails and the nearest sorcerer (Arion - like duh, it is a Kupps comic, after all <g>) refuses to help them, acquiesces and admits it's probably for the best. Hawkman gets a way-cool JLTF-type uniform, programmed specially to inhibit wing-growth (that's gotta hurt), and finally gets a measure of peace when Nuklon and Obsidian take him seriously enough to lock him away and let him get some sleep. Of course, something's very wrong with that. This character ought to be restless as hell. He's also stopped talking and thinking in the plural. Which brings us back to the parlor trick - J'Onn attempts to "mind-meld" with Hawkman to find out whassup, and things kinda-- backfire. Great couple pages (10-11) that show the Martian Manhunter out of control due to something in the hawk guy's mind ('cept Collins also falls prey to the Curse of the Disappearing Red "X" on Manhunter's outfit). We're left with the further consequences of this action - in the form of an apparently over-the-bend Manhunter, carrying within him some of the excess, non- incorporated Hawk personalities. This is not a good thing - J'Onn'z scary enough when he's sane. Nice moving-along of story on Priest's part, except I thought the whole Arion scene was kind of padding. I mean, it served no apparent purpose other than to make rather amusing jokes about how neither J'Onn nor Hawkman wear shirts and how they both have those wacky "X"es as part of their uniforms. I like Arion and, especially, Chaon as much as the next Kupps fan, but they felt real shoehorned here. Unless Priest plans to bring them back next time - and who knows, he just might. Collins is no Howard Porter, thank goodness. Some of the faces felt a bit-- off, but I thought most of the "shots" were pretty dynamic and told the story well. Kaalberg does a nice job of inking in menacing shadows, and Setzer acquits himself well in that snow scene - that had to be tough for a colorist. The white blotches need to be kinda subtle and not get in the way of the story. I thought it was nicely done. Sorry there's only one issue left - would have been nice to see where Priest & co. took this character beyond this storyline. So, what did y'all think? A mixed bag this time - here's what I thought... "Fathers and Other Strangers" Writer: Darren Vincenzo There's been a lot of discussion on the 'net lately about coloring, and I'm glad of it, because otherwise I might have missed the main reason why this story didn't appeal to me. It's not just that I have next to no interest in the protagonists (the new Green Arrow, Connor someone, and a vigilante named Thorn, who is still presumably a woman named Rose too but Vincenzo never says). The colors looked so-- ugly to me that I couldn't get into things in the first place. I just kept thinking "ick." Anyone who had to travel through an airport that looked like this would get sick before ever boarding their plane. I found the plot rather heavy-handed and predictable but, as I say, I don't care about the characters. Erwin's art is nice, though. "Day & Night, Dark & Bright" Part Two Writer: James Robinson The colors here were less than snappy as well - but at least this story is supposed to be dark. Still, Smith's pencils look too sketchy, almost incimplete, and he chooses to ink them darkly. And Eliopoulos' lettering seems shrunken - but lordy, there's a lot of words to fit in those balloons. Bottom line, I had to squint a lot when reading this. And so much of the dialogue is superfluous. The scene takes place at a radio station, and Robinson gives us every little snippet of call-in conversation during the break-in scene. It's almost as tedious for me to read as his infamous Quentin Tarantino issue of STARMAN. Fortunately, it only takes up two pages. I never got the feeling the Shade and Dr. Fate really meshed, even as opposites attracting. They're just sort of being glib to each other. And the page wherein they both employ their powers to the fullest was very, very hard for me to follow - especially with more radio chatter balloons all over the nine panels. All this, and the bad guy gets away. It just-- ends. The evil isn't conquered, just temporarily waylaid. (Bet it's the same evil that the Shade later fought with the O'Dares, in the Storyline Which We Join In The Middle...) Ultimately unsatisfying. "Cages and Shadows" Writer: Rachel Pollack The best story of the issue for me, as Rachel writes about a New Genesis character that, near as I can tell, she created - a woman who fits in perfectly not only with the Fourth World mythos but with other mythologies as well (I would expect no less from an expert in such matters). And Jason's pencils are exquisite - so much better than the pseudo badgirl stuff Luke Ross has done over in NEW GODS, and he really has the Kirby elements down nicely (although he still has trouble with faces here and there). This is the story of the struggle between half-sisters Atinai and M'Duus (yes, Athena and Medusa, as other stories would call them), and the ultimate fate of Atinai's owl friend Narva. Lightray gets caught somewhat in the middle of this, and plays a minor role, but I hardly noticed. It was so nice to have Atinai in decent clothing for a change! <g> And it appears that the story may have repurcussions on what's currently happening over in the main title, but time will tell. And thank goodness, the colors on this one were nice. So, what did y'all think? SEEKERS INTO THE MYSTERY
#5 Writer/Creator: J.M. DeMatteis Here's what I thought... Well, everyone who was a little disappointed by the lengths at which DeMatteis expounds upon the cult of Meyer Baba (sp?) will probably not like this issue - which, yes, finally does explain what "It's raining grace" means. And doesn't seem to do it very well, in my opinion. With his girlfriend Rhonda on location overseas, Lucas visits the home of Viola Clark, the aging author of "The Magic Dance," a book Rhonda insists will change Lucas' life but which he hasn't yet read. He doesn't even know why he's at Miss Clark's residence, but she says she does - The Magician called him. It's his Time, apparently. Well, they get acquainted, and Lucas is still appropriately befuddled (especially when Miss Clark shows him a picture of her and her late husband, back in the days when she used to be a dancer, and he imagines the picture moving and the couple cutting a mean rug for a couple panels), but he soon finds himself under her spell as she tells him of having first met The Magician. And here's where I part company with DeMatteis. Oh, I'll still be getting the book - the writing's compelling enough, Muth's art is evocative, and Eyring's colors are subtle and effective - but I intend on distancing myself even more from its philosophy. Because I recognize a cult when I see one, even a benign cult. Not for nothing did the Firesignian line "There's a seeker born every minute" keep repeating itself in my brain as I read on. The younger Viola was down on her luck, having emigrated to NYC to escape a depressing life in London. She'd read and discarded one philosophy after another. She was a Seeker in the making. Cults positively prey on such people. Her first impression of the Meyer Ba-- uh, I mean the Magician's followers is "There was a group of odd people millingt about... with vacant looks in their eyes. I wanted nothing more than to be out of there as soon as I could." Instead, she soon becomes vacant-eyed herself, transformed by the Magician's beatific smile and ecstatic touch. As well as by his promise that he will rain grace upon her - as she later details, "He explained that the time was coming soon when he would spin the entire planet like a child's ball on his fingertips." (Oh goody, like I don't get enough motion sickness in my life.) "When consciousness would change on a global scale." (Great, can it start with greedy corporate bastards and politicians and others in power, please?) "When each soul would be offered the chance to break free of its suffering in its own unique way." (Because we have to remember, kiddies, as Marc has lectured us repeatedly, only through suffering can we receive Grace... geez...) "'My grace will rain down on everyone,' he said. 'And it will come in as many unique forms as there are hearts to receive it.'" (Obviously, for me it will probably come in the form of biting sarcasm.) So she imparts the Magician's wisdom to Lucas, and then she dies. And he feels closer to her than he could ever believe, because she's been Touched. Touched. Yeah, there's the word for it. I'm sorry. I'm trying real hard not to be cynical. It's a nice little fairy tale, honest. It makes a good story, I suppose. But it just gets so obvious that DeMatteis believes all this stuff so fervently, and that he seems to be desperately trying to get us to believe it too - when he simply ought to be trying to Tell The Story. Oh, well, maybe he is. Maybe I'm reading too much into this. But I gotta be on young Viola's side in this. When I see a bunch of people with vacant stares, I do not walk, I run the other way. So, what did y'all think? MEGATON MAN vs. FORBIDDEN FRANKENSTEIN By Don Simpson Here's what I thought... My first, and possibly, last review of a Fiasco/Bizarre Heroes comic. Not because I don't enjoy them, but I find Simpson's work hard to talk about, for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with not being able to keep track of all the players without a scorecard, a problem Don is alleviating with his upcoming "Who's Who and What's What Guide to the Fiascoverse" in MEGATON MAN #0. I think it also has to do with not being able to keep track of what Don's upcoming projects are - MM #0, then MM and Cowboy Gorilla (a very funny character, BTW), and... and... meantime, BIZARRE HEROES is up to 15 issues, and there's no sign of a #16, as this story picks up the plot from BH #15... Well, you see where a gal like me could get all corn-fused, don'tcha? The neatest thing about Don's art is the way he draws women. Most of the "megapowered" ones, yeah, don't seem to have a lot of clothing on, but they're almost all "A" and "B" cups, and he draws them all differently. I can't tell you how refreshing this anatomical proportionality is. Look, thighs that aren't bigger than their waists! Who'd have thunk it? The male characters also come in all shapes and sizes, although a couple (like our eponymous hero) are exaggerated on purpose. Note to would-be artists: See, when you do this, when you exaggerate one or two guys as opposed to everyone, you give your stories more believability, no matter how hokey and superhero'ey. Don also provides a "story so far" box on the inside front cover, so you might want to jump on if you haven't read his stuff in awhile. There's some great bits in here making fun of avant-garde cartoonists, the Motor City Con (okay, a Motor City Con... and gee, for some reason reading about that gave me strange flashbacks, especially since I just E-mailed Don my MCC report, at his request - suckah), comic icons of one sort of another (esp. GA/SA comics, in which Don seems to have an excellent grounding - I mean, you gotta love a guy who has characters like the Phantom Jungle Girl and Gower Goose and Yarn Man and...), even the Spider-Man mythos (the Slick is so wonderfully pathetic!). And this issue introduces Forbidden Frankenstein, a character Simpson apparently originated in his "Anton Drek" X-rated comics, which I've never had the, er, pleasure of reading. This stuff is all pretty PG, though, as MM and FF mix it up, sort of, on the streets of Detroit. Next up - lots of vampires and shit, as the Tomb Team makes its debut! Not to mention, of course, the undead Mooncat, whose origin is also recounted here (seems she was once a fangirl... hey, what are the odds?). As I say, there's a lot to get into here, but the upcoming Who's Who stuff should help quite a bit. Nice detailed art, even effective use of photos in some of the backgrounds; captivating if complicated storylines; and hey, proportional anatomy. Go wrong. So, what did y'all think? SKELETON KEY #9 By Andi Watson Here's what I thought... Yay - Andi's finally put a "story so far" blurb on the inside front cover! This should help readers tremendously - I know it helped me, as it turned out I've been missing a few subtle (oh, okay, maybe not so subtle) plot points here and there. Great picture of Kitsune, scratching her head as she holds a piece of paper saying "Plot" on it. I know exactly how she feels. <g> So Tamsin, Kitsune and their wee acrobatic friends are trudging through an icky, swampy forest trying to find Tammy's skeleton key and friend Yale so Our Heroes can get home. They're not exactly hot on the trail of renegade witch Oni (who has the key and Yale), though. Tammy feels sweaty and dirty and in need of - ho, what's this? They come upon a finishing school, in the middle of the forest! Sheeyeah, right. But they don't want to look a gift school in the mouth, so they knock on the door - and are admitted. The "school," however, is currently the residence of Mis, another witch involved in the power play for the key. He suspects Tammy and Kitsune are of some value, and endeavors to learn more about their motives. And the raccoon bag-come-to-life has caught up with our heroes too. Well, one thing leads to another, there's a balmy mix-up... oh, and suddenly Tammy's pregnant. Go figure. I find Watson's art has been getting cleaner but, at the same time, less complex. I like that it's accessible and easier to follow, but I miss the detail that he used to put into the earlier issues. I also like that he can laugh at himself, as Mis and his servant Clayton trade comments on the dark rings around Tammy's eyes and the spots on Kitsune's forehead. An enjoyable fantasy/pseudo-superhero book with a lot more going on than first meets the eye. Highly recommended. So, what did y'all think? Preview Issue Writer: Louis Neal Here's what I thought... The "Undergut" concept reminds me a lot of Defiant's late, lamented DARK DOMINION. It's described as "a preternatural realm of myth, folklore, and magic" and "a human unconscious." We open on our title character trying to piece together a mystery involving why wounded folks on three specific ambulances keep turning up DOA - he's found a hospital staffing roster which threatens to blow the lid open on the case, only he got it illegally, and his lawyer girlfriend Casey reminds him it's inadmissible. She also promises to work on this case with him so they can both nail the creeps. Very nicely played-out scene, and I like the relationship between Jack and Casey. Of course, you know that soon it's alllll going to change... :) Jack has these weird dreams - he doesn't know yet that they come from the Undergut. He goes into work a few days later and finds himself fired, screwed over by a crooked fellow cop. He returns home to find Casey's been kidnapped - apparently by denizens of the Undergut, who appear to be... transforming her... Lots of neat potential here, and decent art from what I could see (my photocopy was kinda crummy). It's solicited in this month's Previews and is scheduled to come out in June from Maelstrom Comics. More fantasy than noir, so I might wind up enjoying it a great deal. At Peter David's request, I'm pulling a couple of his books from my read-two-weeks-ago-but-didn't-review-'cause-of-Motor City pile, and I've thrown in a book that came out this week just for good measure. THE INCREDIBLE HULK #441 Writer: Peter David Here's what I thought... It's a nice change of pace to have an issue begin a number of weeks after the previous issue ended - it offers a bit more realism and weight to the events. Betty's no longer laughing; Bruce has yet to return from his Maestro stunt. She keeps a candle burning in the window, but it and her belief are starting to flicker. She's also decided to write memoirs of a sort, telling of her life with Bruce, in order to pay the bills and exorcise a few personal demons, and the family lawyer - Bruce's cousin Jen, aka She-Hulk - pays a visit to help with the contractual stuff. There's a nice scene in which Jen destroys some vulture-paparazzi cameras, and a nicer one in which she comforts Betty. Meanwhile, Matt's in trou-ble, nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah. Seems the powers that be are as pissed about him tranking Betty's legs as we readers were. Good, I wanna see the slimeball trashed. Well, Omnibus gets trashed, as a jury of his formerly happy citizens gets ready to lynch him ("anybody got any lynch?" - The Firesign Theatre). Guess the Leader knows when to cut his losses; he's nowhere around. And Betty tries to write her book, and keeps deleting her attempts. I think Peter got a lot of jokes out of his system with these scenes. Even worked in the obligatory Travolta/Thurman Batoosie scene all but promised given this issue's title. Meanwhile, Jen talks to Doc Samson, just before the Shadows get him. Does Joe Straczynski know about this? Jen decides to fly out to join him. And Betty gets down to brass tacks, writes from the heart, and starts the story for real. Which is exactly how every story should start, I think - but it's where this chapter ends for now. I have no idea why anyone would trash Medina's art - he makes everything look very... sweet this issue, he nails the dissolve from Omnibus' face to Talbot's, and he alters his art style in rhythm to Peter's writing switches throughout. Oliver does her usual nifty job on colors. And Peter keeps us in suspense, right along with the characters. Keep the faith, Betty; I know I will. AQUAMAN #20 Writer: Peter David Here's what I thought... On the subject of Garth's return - If Leah Adezio's happy, I'm happy. Leah, are you happy with Garth as he's currently written? I do like the fact that he's been with Atlan, and time is subjective in Orin's father's realm. I also like the return of Atlan to our realm, and look forward to the inevitable father-son confrontation. Now, if we could just get AJ and Mera outta there... Atlan ought to be able to do something for his daughter-in-law and grandson, no? But Atlan has other grandson problems in the meantime - seems Koryak has allied with Kordax. Must be bonding from the name similarity. I hope Peter puts a little more ambiguity into Koryak, I really don't want to see him become Stock Evil Guy. On the other hand, if the prophecy is to continue ad nauseam, which certainly seems possible, down the line we're bound to see Koryak vs. AJ... Just like we're seeing Orin vs. Orm now. Ocean Master's mind has long since rounded the bend, although he's still somewhat receptive to the belief his current subjects place in him. It helps that this belief feeds his power, and he aims to direct it against Orin. Who plays his trump card, since he needs Orm's help in defeating the imminent alien invasion. After he gets over the initial shock that Neron's "gift" of increasing Ocean Master's powers also gave him a really bad case of acne, he reveals their brotherly bond - and Orm learns the truth of this revelation through psychic connection (which includes a nice captioned tribute to pre-CRISIS continuity). Unfortunately, Strom breaks the rhythm of this touching reunion - the bastid. And Orm goes ballistic. Oh geez, thanks a heap, Strom. We're led to believe Orm kills his followers as well as devastating the mountain under which they make their home. You can bet all the major players are somehow alive (except maybe Strom, I can't help but hope the idjit's fried), but the invasion starts next month so they don't have that much time to regroup. Nice play among the various relationships, which gets complicated but stops short of being confusing. Good art on the male characters, bad art on the females - much too wasp-waisted to be anatomically plausible (even granted that Dolphin's body's been messed with by aliens). Tom McCraw has his usual terrific grasp of colors, but some of Nakrosis' letters seem to run together a bit - I think he needs to space them out more before Orin battles someone like, say, the Flick. :) And if you haven't read ATLANTIS CHRONICLES, I still say you're missing a lot of the key points of this saga. SOULSEARCHERS & COMPANY #16 Writer: Peter David Here's what I thought... The good news production-wise is that Richard has finally found a new regular penciller for this series in Dave Cockrum, who will start with #17. I still miss Amanda Conner tremendously, but at least she's doing the covers (with Steve Leailoha inking). Well, at least she did this one. Sometimes I think Peter can write these in his sleep. On the one hand, the comedic nature of the book plays to his strengths; on the other hand, it sometimes seems like, because he's so strong comedically, he doesn't put in as much effort. There's one brief scene that could be described as character development here, between Janosz and Kelly, but most of the issue is set-ups and punchlines. Which is fine, as long as you realize that going in. This time around Peter pokes fun at conventions - conveniently enough, since I haven't seen him at one since Chicago '95. Coincidence? Who knows? Be prepared for obligatory Neil Gaiman jokes, badgirl jokes, programming jokes, Marvel jokes, and a few nice things thrown in like a tribute to Thurston and Lovey Howell and a villain whose Cherman accent keeps cuttink in and out. Also some nice action scenes, which I appreciate seeing in this book now and again, and a nice plug for the good work of the CBLDF. Me, I'm just glad Peter refrained from making any Friends of Lulu jokes; I'm fragile that way. <g> Not the most spectacular SOULSEARCHERS I've ever read, but it's lighthearted and probably good preparatory reading for the oncoming convention season. [These reviews are reprinted with permission from the rec.arts.comics Usenet newsgroups and are copyright 1996 Elayne Wechsler-Chaput , whose wrist is killing her this week (and it's the one I use... well, never mind) but who is grateful for a 3-day weekend so she could type everything a little more slowly and still get out the Minimum Weekly Review Requirement...] DC COMICS PREVIEWS: Earl-E Warnings [Okay, it's a somewhat lame title, but at least I got my first initial in there, and it makes a nice companion to the Pen-E-Late stuff I do sometimes, eh? :)] Some things to remember: By their nature, these p/reviews will have tons of spoilers, so I don't think I need to insert copious spoiler space. If you don't want to know anything about these books, wait a few months until they come out, and don't read this post. Also, by and large the preview photocopies I've received from DC Comics are not for books I'd normally have on my to-buy list anyway (oh sure, they couldn't send me KINGDOM COME #1 or the JLA revamp, now, could they, grumble grumble), so chances are I'll be harsher on these than I usually am on books for which I plunk down actual cash-money. Please bear in mind that Your Mileage May Vary - y'all know where your tastes differ from mine, so I'll try to be as honest as I can about what I don't like so that you can decide if you might like it better. Credits and titles may be incomplete because many of these books don't feature credit pages. Each preview book comes with a page of hype from the Marketing - Retailer Services department. I don't know who writes this page. Ready? Deep breath now, we're going under: ARTEMIS: REQUIEM Writer: William Messner-Loebs This looks like the book for those horny adolescent boys who didn't think the Amalgam title ASSASSINS went far enough. They'll have fun counting the crotch shots, butt shots (hey, there's one on page 6 where the panel edges are even pointing inward right at the butt, in case you didn't notice, like big ol' needles waiting to, heh heh, prick her), nipples, bondage scenes, undressings, whippings - I mean, I'm sure a lot of them will have to put the comic down to count things, because it's sheer one- handed reading from beginning to end. The plot, such as it is, concerns Diana wanting to rescue Artemis from Hades' realm, where she spends much of her time in chains and torn clothing while her tormenter tears her flesh - but it's okay, 'cause her tormenter is Dalkriig-Hath, her husband. Yes, it's that bad (or "good," depending on what turns you on). No matter what happens in the other five issues (which appear to be concerned with D and A - or is that T&A - escaping Hades' realm), this one sets the stage. You've been warned. The hype page starts, "Guys, guys, forget XENA! DC has the only warrior princesses you'll ever need!" Well, first of all that tells you the target audience is certainly not the Other Half of the potential reading population out there. Secondly, I've watched XENA. I adore XENA. This is no XENA. AZTEK: THE ULTIMATE MAN #1 Writers: Grant Morrison and Mark Millar * the credit box was blank, but Champagne's name is mentioned in the hype page Not too bad. The great majority of this issue is concerned with a fight - but it's a sort of strange, 3-way fight, as the New Hero in Town (not only sans code name but sans identity period) protects Incompetent Rogue (Piper - no, not that Piper) from Established Vigilante Hero (Bloodtype), then winds up assuming Bloodtype's identity once he gets killed (and you're glad to see him go). As the title implies, it appears Morrison and Millar are going for the same tack that James Robinson uses in STARMAN, that of making the city itself a character in the drama as well. The hype page tells me all this stuff about Aztek that this issue of the comic doesn't (his "incredible powers are derived from his quasi-mystical helmet..." and "he is the avatar and champion of Quetzalcoatl, the Atzec god of light" and stuff like that), which I kind of felt like I didn't want to know yet, but I guess DC has to create enough interest in the product to warrant future purchase, so I suppose I can understand a lot of the later plot points being given away. M&M use the narrative device of the hero (who still hasn't chosen the code name Aztek by the end of the first issue) submitting a running report to let us know about some of the features of his kewl kostume, and Harris does a really nice job on the sense of place we feel, especially in working with perspective. All in all, it's a little too... male for my tastes (this is sort of a running joke that I have with DC editors, I always ask them, "Listen, as long as you're going to come up with a completely new superhero, would it hurt that much to make the hero female? I mean, not change anything else, just make Him a Her?"), and it's a tad gory here and there, but overall the concepts seem intriguing, and the writing and art are solid. I do recommend you check the first issue out. BATMAN: G.C.P.D. #1 (of 4) Writer: Doug Moench I'm the wrong audience for this too, I'm afraid. It's pretty much a police procedural with the very briefest of Batman & Robin cameos (you only see them in the distance, this is about the Gotham City PD). The hype page compares it to NYPD BLUE, but I've never seen that show - I don't watch cop shows. So I asked my husband, who does, and he said it's typical of the basic Steve Bochco stuff - so if you like what he does, this is probably a good book for you to pick up. Relatively complex plot, which I couldn't follow because I personally couldn't maintain the interest. Montoya fans, of which I am one, will like her role in this. The art looked kinda half-done in places, and there were a lot of overlays of stuff that it looks like they'll be pasting in later, so I'm not sure Sienkiewicz is finished with his part of things yet. DETECTIVE COMICS #700 Writer: Chuck Dixon Okay, the hype page says this takes place after the "Contagion" crossover, and leads into "Legacy," which they describe as "a pivotal two-month crossover story among the Batman books," for those people who can't get enough crossovers, I guess. Okay, Batman folks might not want to read the rest of this sentence, but I don't follow the books so I have no compunction in telling y'all that Ra's al Ghul is behind the plague. I might not have blurted this out, except that I get like 12 pages of this 48-page comic so it's not like I can really comment on the plot or anything. Nolan does lots of nice pinups that he'll be able to sell for big bucks at conventions. The page 1 pinup of Bruce, Dick and Tim is really nifty. Talia is mostly clothed herein, from what I could gather. The pages 2-3 splash looks like it's going to be wonderful, there's all kinds of instructions about airbrushing the glow from the lights into the night sky, adding a computer image of the moon's surface and inking the stars to be knocked-out from the night sky. This was my favorite part, reading the liner notes, because I couldn't very well read the story... If you're already reading the book, you'll be getting this "landmark" issue, but it looks like it's being positioned mostly for the diminishing-into-nonexistence Collector Market... ERADICATOR #1 (of 3) Writer: Ivan Velez I liked this one much more than I was prepared to, given that I haven't been following the Superman books as a rule and I had no idea what had become of the Eradicator. I think it's a bit padded in places, but I enjoy Velez' flair for language and emotion. We catch up on Erad's current predicament, which is that he appears to be full-out bonkers, seeing phantoms from Krypton in the middle of Metropolis city streets. Superman gets him into the closest equivalent to a straitjacket, at STAR Labs, where we find out the needed exposition (apparently Erad now has a human consciousness, a former STAR Labs doctor named David Connor [that must be a terribly high-risk job :)]). Robinson and Lowe give us a nice page 11 synopsis - hey, I never knew stuff like Erad being in the Outsiders. In fact, the art on the whole book, even before coloring, is nicely done, well-angled and clear. Anyway, wouldn't you know it, Erad blows a gasket even under surveillance (they just don't build those observation rooms as strongly as they used to, eh?) and decides Earth is better off without his destructive tendencies. He's not sure how to do away with himself, though, and his human component still has a few attachments to which he wants to make his final farewell (so you just know something else is going to go wrong). The tough part comes when, in confronting David's wife Maria and their sons (and her brother, whom he first mistakes for the new man in Maria's life, precipitating another attack of insanity), Erad tries to reassure "his" son that he's really David - and can't. Something's stopping him. He doubles over in pain, then suddenly hears a voice beckoning him "home." He takes off like an arrow and finds himself in the Antarctic, where he sees a bright light, leading him to... Krypton??? Really fascinating stuff here - as I said, I felt it a bit padded, but I'm intrigued enough to want to get the whole series. PREACHER SPECIAL: SAINT OF KILLERS #1
(of 4) Writer: Garth Ennis I only got a few pages of this one as well, none of them dialogued. Steve says he could follow the story from the art, but he's more of a western fan than I am. So I've decided to do a riff on the hype page, which reads as follows: "It's the bloody tale" (oh goody) "of one man's fall and horrifying rise to become a remorseless agent of death" (oh joy) "across the dusty slaughterhouse landscape of the Old West." Can I lose my lunch yet? "It's 1886 and a grizzled stranger rides out on a mission of mercy for his dying family, only to be waylaid by a gang of thieves and murderers led by the vicious, ratlike Gumbo McCready." You can tell he's ratlike 'cause he's called Gumbo, I guess. "Killed brutally" - have I said 'oh goody' enough yet? - "and drawn into Hell, the stranger's icy soul" (badly worded - his soul isn't killed brutally, that would be his body) "and all-consuming thirst for revenge" (neither do I believe his thirst was brutally killed, unless they had a helluva Gatorade back in those days) "bring his arrival to the attention of death's angel." And don't you hatewhen that happens? "Intrigued by the undying hatred in the gunslinger's soul" - is everybody but me intrigued by hatred? - "the angel offers him the chance to exact retribution... if the stranger will pay a terrifying price." Of course; ain't it always the way? "Armed with guns forged from the angel's sword, the stranger must walk the Earth forever after as the patron saint of killers." That's it- nice, normal, ordinary people don't get patron saints, but killers do? Have fun, Ennis fans, I'm afraid I won't be there with you. Writer: Paul Kupperberg Remember up above where I talked about the running gag I have with some DC folks about why they can't make brand-new characters female? It started with this title, about which Johanna and I first heard on our visit to the DC offices last September. As I recall, Dan Thorsland really didn't have an answer to this question - there is no reason why Takion can't be female, other than that nobody thought of it. So we get Josh Sanders, another relatively successful young good-looking white man - which is odd, because I could swear the way Dan was talking, this guy was someone who'd "never be missed" when forged by Highfather for the New Gods' great purpose (sorry, just watched THE TEN COMMANDMENTS last weekend). First off, he's a psychologist, so his patients will miss him. He's got a steady girlfriend, Nancy (well, everyone knew her as Nancy), who works as a nurse. This doesn't exactly sound like someone "whose removal from the mortal plane touches nothing," but what do I know? Anyway, Josh is suddenly bestowed with all the powers of the Source - how Highfather manages to do that is beyond me, but maybe it'll be explained in future issues of NEW GODS - in an effort to cleanse said Source of the taint that remains therein. But that's pretty much the means to an end as far as this intro issue, which deals interestingly with Josh's feelings at suddenly containing a myriad of senses in addition to sight - which he's never had. Kupps gives a good feel for the cosmic, heightened by the stark contrast between Josh's life as a blind man and Takion's near-limitless stretch of his newfound senses. The language bounces around as much as Josh/Takion does. Lopresti's art is certainly up to this encompassing task, and he even does a credible Frank Miller ripoff on page 7 (which I do hope gets credited, at least an "after Miller," somewhere in the final print). He also makes Takion nekkid except for a strategically-placed black sash sorta thingie that hides his genitals and drapes back to a cross between a cape and a comet's tail. But this female gaze is definitely pleased to see some not-a-big-deal male butt shots here and there for a change. I like the idea of Josh immediately telling his girlfriend that something's happened to him - not only will she prove to be a good sounding board (unless the creative team plans to chop her up and stuff her in a fridge or something), but there's something very appealing about this change being something with which both of them will have to learn to live. I'm intrigued by the time-and-space-jumping too. My only fear is that this will soon become so commonplace as to sink into routine boredom - when you start cosmic, there's very little upward movement to make. And we may have a problem already, as the first superhero Takion encounters is Crab-Face Guy, about which the less said the better; and the issue ends with Highfather abandoning Josh to fend for himself - which of course he's ill-prepared to do, as he unleashes powers he can't yet control and things start exploding around him. But I'm psyched enough about this addition to the Fourth World mythos to at least buy the first few issues. Recommended. So, now that I've done the p/reviews, I'm exempt from actually reviewing these books when they come out, right? :) [This p/review is copyright 1996 Elayne Wechsler-Chaput, who's busy getting ready for the Metro NY Friends of Lulu meeting this evening, wherein the "secret society" will no doubt concern itself with wacky handshakes and decoder rings. Hey, you, hand me that fez! :)] |
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