ARCHIE THE DECISION #1 by Tom King and Dan Parent. So, sue me: I’m a sucker for Archie comics, buying many but not all. But when I heard that King and Parent were doing an Archie comic and allegedly Archie was finally going to decide who he was going to make his true girlfriend, I got excited. In the end, he doesn’t do the deed and it just feels like a regular Archie jaunt. It’s fun and there is really nothing earth-shaking here. Recommended by Archie fans or fans of King’s work.
THE AUTUMN KINGDOM #1 by Cullen Bunn and Christopher Mitten. This came highly recommended by my local comic guy so I gave it a shot. When a family goes on vacation. The family of a writer go on a vacation as he tries to finish his newest book. But strange things happen and his daughters suddenly find themselves thrust into a world of strange creatures and trying to save their parents. It was entertaining and I’m curious to see what’s next.
BABS #1 by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. When you see the names of Ennis and Burrows together on a book, you had best figure it is going to be a wild romp, based on past history. This is no exception! Picture Red Sonya as written by Garth Freakin’ Ennis! I got to Page Two, saw our heroine complain about her chainmail bra, a nice call back to a similar complaint in a early issue of CEREBUS, and I was in hysterics. And it only gets wilder from there. Somewhat gory, certainly NSFW language and a ton of genre breaking tropes, this is about as perfect a satire as you can imagine from the creative hands of these two. This may be my absolute favorite book of recent months. Seek this book out!
BLOOD HUNTERS #1 by Erica Schultz and Robert Gill. Coming off the BLOOD HUNT mini-series, this unusual team of monster hunters is back. Dagger, Elsa Bloodstone, White Widow, and Hallows’ Eve come together again; each with their own agenda as they hunt vampires, including a certain Wall-Crawling one. I just love Elsa Bloodstone’s character and feel she has been very underutilized over the years and anytime we can get more Dagger I am a happy guy. It won’t be for everyone but I’m all in.
CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS TRUTH OR DARE #1 by Ron Robbins and Laura Braga. It’s another Archie one-shot, this time starring Trula twist and Ethel, plus the regular gang as supporting players. Kind of cool, great art from Braga, but I still hanker for some more AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE. Perfect for die-hard readers of the Riverdale gang.
CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE #1 by Jim Zub and Jonas Scharf. Sword and sorcery fans: prepare yourself for a long haul. This is part of an epic storyline that actually begins in SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #4, runs through the other three issues of this mini-series, and also in the novel CONAN: CULT OF THE OBSIDIAN MOON.. It also ties together so many of Robert E. Howard’s characters including El Borak and Soloman Kane. Zub’s story is what it is and Scharf’s art fits the tale, even if it is not as dynamic as regular series artists Braithwaite and De La Torre.
CRUEL UNIVERSE #1 by Matt Kindt, Corinna Bechko, Chris Condon, Ben H. Winters, Kano, Caitlin Yarsky, Jonathan Case, and Artyom Toplin. Oni-Lion Forge again mines the long dead concept and name of EC Comics, this time tapping into a Science-Fiction vein. Four fun stories that try to harken the classic EC stuff but ultimately fall short. Nothing earth-shattering here but some nice stories in general. All I can tell you is to get ready for more EC titles as Oni as already announced the addition of two more titles: a holiday themed one-shot entitled SHIVER SUSPENSTORIES and the Fantasy anthology CRUEL KINGDOM, that will replace this title after five issues.
THE CURSED LIBRARY ALPHA #1 by Eliot Rahal, Magdalene Visaggio, and Craig Cermak. Over the past few years, Archie Comics has been weaving a strange collection of one-shots into some sort of cohesive universe. Now, they promise to tie all those various threats together. Jinx, Danni and Madam Satan all play prominent roles as we learn that all of these one-shots were actually stories from the Cursed Library. Obviously, this will not appeal to all readers but will certainly be grabbed up by fans of this corner of the Archie Universe.
DC VS VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt. At last, a sequel to the highly successful DC VS VAMPIRES series, that picks up the plot threads from the previous run. In those issues, the world was split between the last humans and DC heroes and villains turned into vampires. In the end of the run, a new status quo was established and an actual truce was initiated, even though vampires still rule the world, with Batgirl being the Queen of one group of bloodsuckers and the other under the control of vampire Damian Wayne. It is a little confusing if you were not a reader of the original series, but Roseberg nails it and this Elsewhere tale works really well.
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #1 by Rob Liefeld. Here is all you need to know about this book: it’s Deadpool as brought to life by Liefeld. Oh yeah: we also get the return of Crystar. So, who else might show up in the future issues. It’s Deadpool so you may or may not want to dive into this, depending on how you feel about this character.
DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH #1 by Dan Didio and Jim Califiore. Mad Cave does it again and mines classic heroes of many readers’ youth. Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, Lothar, and the Phantom band together once again to fight evildoers. The story has a decided throwback feel to it, even if these characters have aged and mostly retired. Califiore always delivers the good from an artistic standpoint and this is no exception. While not as good as their FLASH GORDON series, it is worth a look, especially if you remember the cartoon.
DUCK AND COVER #1 by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque. This was not a book I was looking to buy and, honestly, was not on my radar. But I saw that it was Snyder and Albuquerque and figured to take a chance. Here’s the quick synopsis: it’s 1955 and the Russians drop the bomb on a small town. A group of kids, who were hiding under their desk, survive and now have to survive during what looks to be World War III. The big question: how did these individuals manage to survive by hiding under their desks? There is a bunch of back story leading up to this that does a great job of defining the characters and setting the table. This was a surprise grab and I loved it. Highly recommended!
EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 by J. Holtham, Chris Condon, Stephanie Phillips, Brian Azzarello, Jorge Fornes, Peter Krause, Phil Hester, and Vlad Legostaev. EC Comics is back, sort of, from Oni Comics. The first in a new line of EC titles, with CRUEL UNIVERSE coming in August, four writer/artist teams try to recreate the glory that was EC. To be honest, the stories are good and have a bit of shock value to them but I have to admit that CREEPSHOW has been doing it better. But they get points for mirroring the EC styles, right down to the classic EC font in the stories. I will continue to support the title in hopes that future stories will be a bit more intriguing.
EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1 by Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero. With the fall of Krakoa, the X-Men have splintered across the world. At the moment, Kitty Pryde is a bartender at Lulu’s Tavern, having put her past behind her. But a chance encounter with a mutant leads her to have to consider her choices. But let’s not forget that Emma Frost is looming in the background of the lives of the mutants and is making plans for her future too. With all the relaunches of the X-Men line, this may be one of my favorites, simply because it is not all about slam, bam action. There is a wonderful story with some heart to it.
FLASH GORDON #1 by Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad. When I saw the FCBD release for this book, I got real excited, as it had a great story and the art had a certain homage to the great Alex Raymond. Well, the first issue does not disappoint as Flash finds himself captured, Mongo is in turmoil and Dale . . . is the Empress? Wow! This just takes the classic Flash and turns it sideways. Love it! At the same time, Mad Cave has also introduced FLASH GORDON QUATERLY #1 by Dennis Culver, Louis Southard, Nuno Plati, and Pasquale Qualano. This title has two stories in it and they are okay-nothing tremendous, although the Western story is kind of fun.
HELLO DARKNESS #1 by Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Robert Hack, Dave Cook, James Tynion IV, Sarah Andersen, Steve Orlando, Garth Ennis, Letizia Cadonici, David Cousens, Werther Dell’edera, A.L. Kaplan, and Beck Cloonan. This must be the month for horror anthologies to come rolling out as Boom dropped this new series on us. Seven tales including a SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN multi-parter and a piece by Ennis that is also a multi-parter. Overall, the stories are a bit more diverse and, at times, hit a bit harder than EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS did for me. The focus, while having horror elements, seems to aim more to a psychological bent than just straight our gore. Of the pair, this is the better book, in my opinion.
IRON FIST 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Chris Claremont, Alyssa Wong, Justina Ireland, Frank Tieri, Jason Loo, Lan Medina, Van Randal, Elena Casagrande, Ty Templeton, and Whilce Portacio. Danny Rand’s hero reaches its’ 50th anniversary from Iron Fist’s first appearance and it’s a nice collection of five stories that tie-in the various Iron Fists in the Marvel Universe, as Danny Rand has since given up that mantle and his power. Probably the most important piece of this, SPOILER, is that the book ends with a battle between Danny and Ch’I-Lin that ends in Danny’s apparent death. However, there is a QR code which shows that possibly tells us that nobody really stays dead in comics.
JONNY QUEST #1 by joe Casey and Sebastian Piriz. The Jonny Quest cartoon truly was my favorite cartoon growing up, so to see these characters getting a reboot, as has already been done by Dynamite on titles like POWERPUFF GIRLS, THUNDERCATS, and SPACE GHOST, made this old guy feel like a kid again. The story is mostly set in the era the cartoon was in but something happens that propels Jonny, Race, Dr. Quest, Hadji, and Bandit in our present, where they discover that things have changed and an old adversary is still around. The story is a ton of fun, so much so I can hear their voices as I read it, and the art smacks! This is such a fun book that I almost wish it was a bi-weekly series!
KARDAK THE MYSTIC #1 by Joe Corallo and Butch Mapa. Archie brings us the tale of a magician who gains ability from a mystic amulet he acquires. Kardak is not a new character to comic fans but has been given new life in this one-shot. It has a 1950’s, pre-Code mystery series’ feel to it, in both the story and the look. It is not great, but does the job, actually a bit better than some of the stories in the new EC reboots.
LADY MECHANIKA: THE DEVIL IN THE LAKE #1 by Joe Benitez, M.M. Chen, and Sya Oum. The good news? LADY MECHANIKA is back! The bad news? Benitez is not handling the art on this. Either way, the story is a ton of fun and Oum does a good job handling the art. Fans of this character will love this, as the story continues from the previous run. For new readers, it’s a quirky little Cyberpunk inspired tale with a character who has grown since her beginning. Go find the trades and catch up before diving in.
MARVEL 85TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Ryan North, Iman Vellani, Sobir Pirzada, Alan Davis, Christopher Priest, Yuji Kaku, Steve Skroce, Joshua Cassera, Stephen Byrne, and Carlo Paguayan, It’s the 85th Century and Earth is not what it used to be, as evident by Wolverine and an aged Deadpool head in a jar, tour a museum that shows off artifacts from a bygone age of the Marvel Universe. That leads us into a host of stories from an earlier time. As it turns out, the Wolverine/Deadpool connecting pieces are the most fun, as everything else feels like leftover stories that had been sitting in a vault and Marvel was looking to publish. Ms. Marvel, Excalibur, Spider-Man, and more all get their turn before the dynamic duo get their day. Honestly, it was eight bucks I will never see again!
MARVEL ZOMBIES: DAWN OF DECAY #1 by Thomas Krajewski and Jason Muhr. I have loved the Marvel Zombie line of books because they are just a ton of strange, grisly fun. In this run, Groot is responsible for bringing a space virus back to Earth and accidentally infects the Avengers, leading to tons of chaos as the World’s Greatest Heroes become zombies. Can The Hulk stop them? Tune in next issue to find out. This may or may not be your cup of tea, but I thought it was a cool ride, although I got more mileage out of the DCEASED series of titles.
THE NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA #1 BY James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno. Welcome back to the NICE HOUSE universe in this sequel of sorts. As in the previous book, a group of people with diverse talents have been housed together as the world ends. Just like the last one, it is an interesting combination of plot and characterization as you spend the first issue trying to acclimate yourself with all of them. I loved the first series, even if I had to go back and read the entire epic once it was finished to capture all the nuances of it. I expect the same will happen with this one. But the first issue is a great start and I would recommend anyone who if thinking of picking it up to read THE NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE first, so as not to be confused.
NIGHTWATCHERS #1 by Juni Ba and Fero Pe. IDW has been rebooting their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, following the conclusion of the long run. In the main series, things have happened and each issue focuses on the individual turtles. This spin-off, follows Nightwatcher, whose identity is unknown until the very end of the book although, if you did read the previous run, you probably figured out who they were early on. Either way, it was a fun story and, between this and the rebooted series, might have made me a TMNT fan again.
NYX #1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Francesco Mortarino. Following the end of the Krakoan Era for Marvel’s mutants, several new teams have sprung up. This is one of them, consisting of Anole, Prodigy, Sophie Cuckoo, Ms. Marvel, and Wolverine…the other one. In the first issue, while they all get used to each other, they face off against The Krakoan, formerly Hellion. Oh yeah: Krakoan isn’t alone as there is a whole group of mutants with their own agenda, including the other Cuckoos. And, as has become tradition with Marvel mutant titles as of late, there is a QR code at the end of the issue that gives you an extra page, essential to everything. An interesting start but I need to see where they go from here to give it a full thumbs up.
PEEPSHOW #15 by Joe Matt. Not a first issue, but it almost feels like one since it had been 16 years since issue#14 appeared. And it will certainly be his last as Matt passed away from a heart attack in September at age 60; literally dying at his drawing board. In fact, the last four pages of this posthumously released book were inked by his longtime friend Chester Brown, best known for YUMMY FUR. Back in the Eighties, PEEPSHOW was part of a whole plethora of autobiographical comics and was one of the better ones. This is a great tribute and final word from an underrated cartoonist who literally died for his art. Go find back issues or the collected trades.
PHOENIX #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Alessandro Miracolo. Jean Grey is back from the dead and now once again the host of the Phoenix. Her new mission, with the end of the Krakoan Era, is to defend the universe, which leads her to being part of a new team that includes her father-in-law. Fun stuff if you like the space stories that Marvel delivers. And don’t forget to scan that QR code for an extra page of story.
THE ROCKETEER BREAKS FREE #1 by Stephen Mooney and Staz Johnson. IDW turns out another ROCKETEER mini-series and there isn’t much more to say that I haven’t said before. I was a Rocketeer fan from the first time I saw Dave Steven’s work and have remained that way ever since. Mooney writes a fun story and Johnson does his best Stevens imitation. Lots of action and excitement and hey…Betty! It won’t be for everyone, as it’s kind of the different between Classic Coke and New Coke. But it does certainly scratch an itch that I have missed since Steven’s untimely death 16 years ago.
STANDSTILL #1 by Lee Loughridge and Andrew Robinson. Did you ever wish you had the power to stop time and do whatever you wanted to? Well, that is the whole premise of this book as our main character has that ability. Telling you more than that would spoil it, especially because we don’t get to know what his mission in. And I love that, as we don’t know if he is a hero or villain. A bit grim and grisly but overall a great first issue.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINA TURTLES #1 by Jason Aaron and Joelle Jones. I have drifted back and forth with TMNT over the years, although I am proud to say I was there at the beginning of it all; back when this weird looking black and white book hit the comic shelves. All these years later, despite the spin-offs, movies and cartoons, I still love them. This new series, written by Aaron with a rotating cast of artists, finds Raphael in prison and, over the course of the issue, we discover that he has incarcerated for an un yet revealed crime and is also acting as an informer for the warden. The story is fun, Jones’ art is not her normal stuff and it fits. The next few issues feature art by Rafael Albuquerque, Cliff Chiang, Chris Burnham and Darick Robertson, as each will tell a single tale of the rest of the group.
UNCANNY X-MEN #1 by Gail Simone and David Marquez. If you have read this far, you know that Krakoa is gone and it is a new day for Marvel’s mutants and there are a host of teams out there: some in the open and some in hiding. This run, by Simone and Marquez, focuses on the Uncanny team, made up of Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler. Besides having our mutants, a dragon, a sketchy group operating in the former mansion, we get a new group of mutants who arrive, as our team is on the road. It is an interesting take on things but I severely wish we could go back to one or two X-titles and not all of these. Giev me ONE or TWO teams and move on.
UNIVERSAL MONSTER FRANKENSTEIN #1 by Michael Walsh and Toni Marie Griffin. Image comes out with their third series based on the classic Universal Monsters, this time with the Frankenstein Monster. As in the previous series, this takes the concepts and twists them a bit and the result is incredibly satisfying. The story has nothing to really do with the legend of the creature, but does involve new characters interacting with him. A nice little tale that sets the table for the forthcoming issues.
VENOM WAR #1 by Al Ewing and Iban Coello. Is it just me, or are we all getting tired of Venom and his entire collection of symbiotes? This one allegedly will finally settle the idea of who will carry the original Venom symbiote. Let’s be honest: Eddie Brock has his team and his son Dylan has his and, somehow, Spider-Man finds himself with the original creature and may carry that mantle. The art is great and the story is fine. But Marvel: ENOUGH! There are no less than TEN mini-series/one shots connected to this event. Tell a simple story, keep it streamlined and move on. The end of this mini-series may also represent the end of my connection with venom, unless Marvel can pull a rabbit out of its’ hat.
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1 by Jason Loo and Sergio Davila. Marvel does suddenly LOVE their Red Band books. Now, don’t get me wrong: I LOVE having Jack Russell back as the REAL Werewolf by Night and hopefully this will lead to Marvel resurrecting some of their other classic creatures, specifically Frankenstein. Honestly, this is probably the goriest of their Red Band books as Jack Russell needs to figure out if he is responsible for a series of murders or is it someone or something else. The story is a great little mystery tale with some of my favorite B level characters in it, that have gotten new reader life thanks to the recent BLOOD HUNT. The highlight is Davila’s art, that feels like the classic 70’s titles.
WOLVERINE #1 by Saladin Ahmed and Martin Coccolo. Welcome to another new #1 from the X-Universe. Wolverine is kind of pissed at the world and has screwed off to the wilds of Canada to get his head together. Unfortunately, Cyber has decided to hunt him and Nightcrawler has decided to find him. Pity poor Logan, who only wants to be left alone but the brutal killing of his family of wolves only seeks to enrage him. The title is just okay, because we have seen all of this before. Logan gets mad, Logan kills people, Logan sulks. The art is okay too.
WOLVERINE: REVENGE #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Gerg Capullo. Welcome to Wolverine overload as this Red Band title tries to cash-in on the renewed interest in the Canuck. Logan is hanging out in the Savage Land, hunting with the locals when nick Fury…the REAL Nick Fury…shows up and recruits him to fight alongside Captain America, Winter Soldier and others in a fight against the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, currently run by Mastermind. Things go from bad to worse when it is revealed the Brotherhood consists of Sabretooth, Omega Red, Deadpool and Colossus. It is a different take on Wolverine and, based on what happens in the story, is set in some corner of the Multiverse. Red Band? Sure, a couple of grisly moments but nothing most have not seen before. Hey Marvel: STOP trying to punch up sales by bagging stuff!
X-FACTOR #1 by Mark Russell and Bob Quinn. Here we go, gang-ANOTHER X-book! This team consists of Angel, Feral, Firefist, Xyber, Cameo and Jacok. This is the public team, complete with a PR firm backing them. It is Mark Russell, so I expected it to be filled with a bunch of in-jokes and some quirky characters. Before the issue is done, almost the entire team is replaced, for any number of reasons…death included! It’s not as much fun as you might expect, but it does represent another side of the Mutant world.
X-FORCE #1 by Geoffrey Thorne and Marcus To. With the Krakoan Age ended, there is still a need for an extreme mutant team and it looks like that duty falls on Forge. So he puts together that team, featuring himself, Sage, Tankm Captain Britain…the new one…and Askani, better known as Rachel Summers. And, one might expect, the stuff going on that they must faced has a bit of a connection to none other than Nathaniel Essex. The story is fun and, except for a bit of craziness involving Deadpool, not as outrageous as some of the previous versions of the team.
X-MEN #1 by Jed McKay and Ryan Stegman. As you may have seen by now, the end of the Krakoan Era has resulted in a batch of new mutant teams. Does anyone remember when we only had three or four? The classic team, the New Mutants, and X-Factor? Since then, we’ve had X-Force, X-Men, Dark X-Men, Extreme X-Men, and just about every possible iteration you could think of. Good ole’ Slim Summers is running this team from their base in…Merle, Alaska? It was here that Sentinels were once built and some of them are still there. This team, featuring Cyclops, Beast, Magneto, Psylocke, Kid Omega, Temper, Magik, and Juggernaut, with some guest appearances, seems to be the most cohesive. And don’t forget that QR code to find out a bit more about the shadowy forces hiding in the background and try to figure out who they are, although fans already have some ideas, including Cassandra Nova and her brother.
No comments:
Post a Comment