| Issue #42 | Release Date: 1/4/12 | Vol.#10 |
But don’t go huntin’ until you read the rest of this column, now, y’hear?!?!
And now on with the reviews!
(Click title to go directly to the review)
Advance Review: SCARLET SPIDER #1
STORMWATCH #5
VILLAINOUS Webcomic
UNCANNY X-FORCE #19.1
DRAWING HEADS & HANDS
Advance Review: DARK MATTER #1
GODZILLA LEGENDS #3
AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
CHARLIE ADLARD’S CURSE OF THE WENDIGO OGN
RED LANTERNS #5
TANK GIRL: BAD WIND RISING TPB
Advance Review: LOBSTER JOHNSON: THE BURNING HAND #1
AICN COMICS PODCAST #11!
Advance Review: In stores today!SCARLET SPIDER #1
Writer: Christopher YostArt: Ryan Stegman (pencils), Michael Babinski (inks), Matre Gracia (colors)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Johnny Destructo
Showgirls. Limp Bizkit. Chromium Covers. Rob Liefeld. Raver pants so big you could hide a hobo in them while you were WEARING them. All these ill-advised, earth-shatteringly bad things came to fruition during the 90's, and since this is a review for The Scarlet Spider, I think you know what I'm getting at here. But despite Spider-Man's Clone Saga being 35% interesting story and 65% chromium ass-hair laden tripe, I do have a guilty pleasure nerve in me that tingles at the thought of it. Do we need to return to it? Absolutely not. Is it just a ploy at cashing in on the upcoming 90's resurgence in pop culture? Most likely. Am I still totally sucked in despite all this? Sigh.
For those of you who AREN'T 100 effing years old, Kaine is the (previously evil) clone of Peter Parker. He was jealous of and hated Ben Reilly, the (altruistic and previously alive) clone of Pete. Ben was even Spider-Man for awhile, having been duped into thinking that Peter was the clone and that HE was the original Peter Parker. And his Spidey costume was AWESOME. Of course, most of that doesn't matter for this story. All you need to know is that Kaine used to be a scarred-up, degenerating jerk who killed lots of people by body-modifying them to death with branding or somesuch sillitude, but now that his brain isn't deteriorating, he's trying to...well, not so much be GOOD, but at the very least... not be BAD. And that's the saving grace of this book. I was skeptical towards the seemingly over-night transformation his personality underwent. "Grrr, I'm bad! Wait, now I'm handsome and great! Doers of evil, beware my chiseled jaw!" Well, as it turns out, that's not so much the case. Sure in this book, he does some thwarting, but only so he could rob the bad-guys of their ill-gottens. I'm glad to see that his road to redemption is going to have some pot-holes, and they're going to have to keep it bumpy if they're going to avoid making the book stale. Obviously, as soon as he stops being the reluctant hero, we'll just have another Spider-Man title on our hands.
I give Marvel credit for not bringing back Ben Reilly, who crumbled like frothy Shake & Bake after being ker-stabbed by the Green Goblin, but how many Spider-Man villains are going to get the "road to redemption" treatment? The Sandman. Venom: Lethal Protector. The Black Cat. Molten Man. Black Widow. The Beetle. The "good" Green Goblin? I'm hoping Yost has something a little more original planned for our anti-hero. I like that he no longer has his procog abilities OR spider-sense. He now has organic webshooters. I hope some more differences emerge to really set Scarlet Spider from Spidey. I guess it's too much to hope that the terrible name Scarlet Spider is up for changing, since it's the title of the comic? Oh well. I also hope that his new costume is going to go through a change or two before they settle on one. I'm not fond of this version yet. I'd almost prefer the sleeveless hoodie!
I know I may be presenting a conflicted opinion on this, but I should be clear that I'm actually kind of giddy to be reading this book. I'm always in favor of second chances, and maybe if this book is good enough, it'll help to repair the damage to our childhoods that the Clone Saga made us block out in the first place, only to be remembered during a tear-filled session of hypnosis with our collective therapist. This is not only Kaine's quest for redemption but Marvel's as well, I hope. ;)
JD can be found hosting the PopTards Podcast, drawing a weekly webcomic, discussing movies, comics and other flimflam over at www.poptardsgo.com, graphically designing/illustrating for a living, and Booking his Face off over here. Follow his twitter @poptardsgo. His talkback name is PopTard_JD. He is also now co-hosting another Comic Book discussion show on Party934.com alongside Bohdi Zen. They discuss comics and play music, check it out live every Saturday from 4-5pm.
STORMWATCH #5
Writer: Paul CornellArtist: Miguel Sepulveda
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
Super Secret @$$hole Email Chain Excerpt: “I think I'm going to make an attempt at reviewing STORMWATCH, because I'm kind of indifferent to the book right now and it's always fun to spend 800 words or so trying to talk to myself in a public forum and figure out how I really feel.” -- Humphrey.
Indifference. More than any loaded word you could use to sum up a piece of media, that one always seems the most harsh but also ambiguous (at least in my experience). There are a lot of factors that could be in play there, especially when it comes to comics. Is there a lack of interest in the characters in the story? Or is the story lacking, the writing style not to one’s tastes, or all of the above? Does the art turn you off of the overall package or is there some mix and match answer here? For me – and I want to say now that I do not mean for the dreaded ‘I’ word to be taken in harsh light – when it comes to STORMWATCH here, the mix and match route is what I’m pleading.
My main source of Vitamin I is probably the characters. Extrapolating that, it’s more that there are six characters here I know and love and that aren’t quite the versions of them that I used to know and love. And there were/are three more, but five issues in I have not seen anything of them to really know them or find them compelling. One of them has been forcibly removed from the team/our reality and the most it warranted from me was a “that happened” mainly due to what I just outlined in that last sentence. Meanwhile, The Midnighter and Apollo, both of which are a somewhat sadistic (and gay) play on two of comicdoms’ most popular characters, are now back to being rookies with the most interesting part of their relationship (i.e. their relationship) no longer in play. And the Martian Manhunter is there because…anyway.
I know all that was snark-filled and a little on the mean side but I’m going with the “you have to be cruel to be kind” defense now. There are aspects of this book that I do enjoy, and want to keep doing so, but lack of attachment or interest in these characters, especially in light of their history, really obscures that. Vested interest in the characters is important to me: whether I like them or not (which was actually a big point of STORMWATCH/THE AUTHORITY), as much as I may enjoy a good bit of the aspects of this book, if the people in them do not register, the story tends to a take a hit. And now it’s time to turn back the negativity.
I like the energy this book has. There’s a character legacy but there’s also a legacy of high ideas that usually result in LOTS OF VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION and those aspects are still here. The Shadow Cabinet is a good idea as an alternative to the governmental body the old StormWatch was, though the vagueness of it so far has been both a strength and a weakness. Up until now, outside of the typical drive to save the world for saving the world’s sake, there seemed to be no real influence there by this secret group on the StormWatch gang. Thankfully this issue brings some light to the Shadow Cabinet’s rules and vicious sway as their emissary does some “shifting” of the roster to give an idea why they are a factor. Also, that Apollo & Midnighter relationship I used to know and love is making subtle hints of being that again and apparently the next arc involves a plot to steal Earth’s gravity. Now that sounds like a book I want to be reading.
The tide looks to be (hopefully) turning but for five issues now this has felt like a book of pretty big ideas with somewhat “empty” characters--empty from the standpoint of what has been shown to me here, anyway; it’s my love of most of those characters from previous outings that has kept me along up until now. Going forth, though, I do believe that proverbial corner is being turned. Paul Jenkins is coming on board and if there is anything that man’s career could be highlighted for it is his character handling. The Shadow Cabinet has revealed itself a bit, as has Harry Tanner, and they look like they could make for interesting foils and centerpoints for some adventures. Indifference is turning to hope, and I think I’m on board for another five, which is more than I’ve given most other books I’ve come down with a case (insert bad pun) on. And that, my friends, is me either convincing myself to give this another shot based off of past association with those involved, or actually believing this book will soon become what I hoped it would be from the get-go.
Humphrey Lee has been an avid comic book reader going on fifteen years now and a contributor to Ain't It Cool comics for quite a few as well. In fact, reading comics is about all he does in his free time and where all the money from his day job wages goes to - funding his comic book habit so he can talk about them to you, our loyal readers (lucky you). He's a bit of a social networking whore, so you can find him all over the Interwebs on sites like Twitter, The MySpaces, Facebookand a blog where he also mostly talks about comics with his free time because he hasn't the slightest semblance of a life. Sad but true, and he gladly encourages you to add, read, and comment as you will.
VILLAINOUS Webcomic
Writer: Gary ChudleighArtist: Graeme Kennedy
Publisher: Obscure Reference Comics
Reviewer: Lyzard
What I have learned from reviewing indie comics is that you should always give them a chance. The first issue could be riddled with negative aspects, far outweighing the positives. What I find, though, that is most important is the premise. If the reader is drawn to the story idea, then they will most likely continue to follow the series, hoping that it improves.
VILLAINOUS does not have an original premise on the surface. It is quite similar to the Michael Meyers storyline. I doubt any talkbackers do not know who Michael Meyers is, but just in case, for clarification that is the killer in the HALLOWEEN series. Victor has a similar plotline to Michael’s story, not the same characterizations. Though both are classified as pure evil, Michael is mute and without remorse. Victor is taciturn but he speaks up more when he stabilizes. Both men are hunted down relentlessly, one by a psychiatrist and the other by a cop (though Victor’s psychiatrist does appear in Issue 2). Both were young killers; however, Victor’s psychotic nature is explained. What they do share is that their present day stories begin with their escape from a mental hospital/asylum and once out they return to their childhood homes.
VILLAINOUS begins with Victor, a boy constantly bullied by his classmates, coming home to find his alcoholic father has brutally murdered Victor’s mom. Victor attempts to escape his crazed dad, but ends up killing him with a shotgun. Years late, after committing a massacre at a shopping mall (explained in Issue 2), he escapes from the Straffen Asylum. On his tail is Officer Tom Bryson, whose father was killed by Victor during the shopping mall massacre. Bryson begins to look for the inside man that helped Victor escape, while Victor looks for his number one fan.
The story is compelling, with the villain being more rounded out than in the typical slasher flick. Unlike Bryson, who is the stereotypical haunted cop who will stop at nothing to catch the killer while making rash decisions, Victor is more than just a killer. Going back to HALLOWEEN, many die-hard fans and critics disliked Rob Zombie’s attempt to show where Michael Meyer’s darkness came from. Usually I agree with the idea that doing this humanizes the very thing we want to hate (this is why I never saw HANNIBAL RISING). However, this comic is not about watching teenagers drink, screw, and ultimately die in horrible ways due to their dumb mistakes. This is a series about past events haunting characters in the present.
While the main idea of the comic holds up, the artwork and the writing still need some work. The drawings and coloring don’t excite me, though I feel that this is due more to the particular method and tools used to produce it. The penmanship is shaky and the coloring is off-putting in its lack of consistency.
As for the writing, for the most part, Gary Chudleigh makes a point of twisting the cliché moments as to avoid the obvious. What was difficult for me was staying on track. In the first issue, when Bryson and Victor come face to face, the readers are given their backstories through visuals. However, more due to panel design than writing, it takes a moment to understand what direction to follow the panels in. Also, it isn’t made clear that Victor didn’t kill anyone during his escape until Issue 2. Looking back at the previous book, knowing this information, I could see it but it was not obvious at the time.
There are a few other mistakes made, along with some good choices. In Issue 2, when Victor returns home, we learn the story of what happened that fateful day years ago. As he walks through his house, the dialogue of the past runs through his mind. However, his path through the home leads him to have the story retold backward. Due to this, the audience not only re-lives the events they already read, but also what led to that very moment. Also in that issue, when we find just who stopped Victor’s rampage in the mall, it is a nice twist.
So, as I said before, indie comics usually need time to grow. Despite the problems that still plague VILLAINOUS, Issue 2 featured more positives than the first issue.
Lyzard is actually Lyz Reblin, a senior screenwriting major with an English minor at Chapman University. Along with writing for AICN, she has been published twice on the subject of vampire films.
UNCANNY X-FORCE #19.1
Writer: Rick RemenderArtist: Billy Tan
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Optimous Douche
This was the best issue of UNCANNY X-FORCE that doesn’t have one member of UNCANNY X-FORCE in it. Really, for those that are looking for a deepening of the Psylocke-Fantomex relationship or want to see how Angel is doing with his new mind wipe…well, you’ll have to wait until issue 20…I think.
Now, despite the fact the name and the .1 moniker will mislead you into thinking this is not just an UNCANNY X-FORCE book, but also a good jumping on point for new readers, at least the cover art presented honesty in advertising. This is indeed a return to the AGE OF APOCALYPSE--you know, that wonderfully dystopian universe that served as the bedrock for one of last year’s best stories, “The Dark Angel Saga.” Unlike that epic saga, though, this .1 is what we used to call way back in the stone ages of the 1990’s a ½ issue, a precursor to a new AGE OF APOCALYPSE series that has nothing to do with the band of merry mutant psychos we have all grown to love and loathe over the past eighteen months.
I would be pissed about this double blind if not for two things: one, it was a pretty spectacular read, and two, I totally dug the original series that bore the Age of Apocalypse and the afterbirth of EXILES. If I wasn’t a fan of AoA though, which I know there are many, this review would and probably should become a scathing indictment of “you should be able to judge a comic book by its cover” or at the very least expect that the pages will deliver a modicum of the team implied by the title.
All right, now that I’ve served justice and received my Ralph Nader pin of consumer evangelism, let’s take a look at the book.
The setting is the last bastion of humanity: a Helm’s Deep-like island where the mutants have driven the few remaining humans into its ghetto womb of protection. Our POV into the world is provided by one young William Stryker, and yes, this Stryker hates mutants like his 616 counterpart, but in the AoA world mutie racism is aces since mutants (at least most) are the bad guys.
Of course, the good guys come in the form in the AoA version of the X-Men. William is the Batman of the team, a normal joe that has honed human abilities to the peak of perfection. Joining William are some familiar faces like Magneto, who serves as the team leader, Rogue (or Mrs. Magneto), the good guy version of Sabertooth and of course the obligatory Jean Gray. A few other generic mutants join this rag tag team, but merely serve to drive the story forward more than flesh out their own distinct personalities.
Thankfully it doesn’t matter because this last stand town and the ancillary muties all fall to shit through the course of this action-packed issue. The Muties’ plan for final survival rests on the shoulders of bringing to life a clone of the one and only queen of genocide, the Scarlet Witch. The plan is simpl:; wake up this newly baked witch to get her to utter that famous phrase that wiped out all of Grant Morrison’s work – everyone in chorus, “No more mutants.”
Of course, things don’t work; you can’t create a series about mutants if they are no more. Newbie Witch’s powers only extend so far, meaning she erases all of the powers of the X-Men and leaves all of the bad mutants like the AoA captain of Snikt and plasma kaboom, Wolverine. The X-Men escape and watch the island fall from a distance. The irony of earth’s last humans being made up of predominantly depowered mutants should be lost on no one.
I’m thrilled for a return to the AOA and will be first in line when the new title launches in March, especially if this creative team is in control. Remender has more than earned his stripes this past year as the mutant world’s top creative force and Tan’s style of gritty playfulness is more than aptly suited for the dystopian landscape. Yes, I’m going to call shenanigans on the fact Marvel misdirected fan love to get us to imbibe a new title, but at least it was a hot babe on the other side of the gloryhole instead of a toothless fat tranny.
Optimous has successfully blackmailed fellow @$$Hole BottleImp into being his artist on Average Joe. Look for Imp's forced labor on Optimous brain child in mid-2012 from COM.X. Friend Optimous on FaceBook to get Average Joe updates and because ceiling cat says it's the right thing to do.
DRAWING THE HEAD AND HANDS
Written and Illustrated by Andrew LoomisPublisher: Titan Books
Reviewer: superhero
Hot on the heels of releasing Andrew Loomis’s FIGURE DRAWING FOR ALL IT’S WORTH, Titan Books re-releases another long sought volume from Mr. Loomis’s instructional library, DRAWING THE HEAD AND HANDS. In all honesty, there’s not much more praise that I can heap upon this book than I already gave to FIGURE DRAWING FOR ALL IT’S WORTH (You can see my review for that by clicking here.). As significant as FIGURE DRAWING was, DRAWING THE HEAD AND HANDS is just as impressive a must-have book for anyone learning to draw or who just needs some important reminders on how to render these two essential parts of the human anatomy.
As almost everyone that’s ever attempted to pick up a pencil and draw a human figure knows, hands are possibly the hardest part of the human form to capture accurately. They can be a bane to even the most experienced of artists. Trying to portray the correct anatomic shape of those appendages that enable all of us to pick up and manipulate anything within our reach can be a real pain. Fortunately, it seems as if Andrew Loomis has created a terrific educational aid for anyone trying to get a handle on how to get the human hand illustrated the way it should be. In this book are a plethora of diagrams that lay out step by step the best ways to get a grasp on drawing hands. These diagrams, along with Loomis’s paragraphs and paragraphs of tips, should be able to help anyone improve their ability to get their illustrated characters’ fingers and thumbs to look better than the crab-hands many inexperienced artist tend to scratch out when they are initially learning how to draw.
Obviously, Loomis doesn’t just stop with showing us how to draw hands in this book. Also included are figures charting out the best ways to understand the anatomy of the human head. This is the part of the book that impressed me the most. It breaks down every part of the face and head and provides some clear tips on how they all relate to each other as far as their dimensions and distances match up. Loomis’s own illustrations of the human face are just terrific and he walks you though some step by step processes that will give almost anyone a better understanding of how to, well, draw a good depiction of the human head. Pointers are given for different age groups and genders so that a basic understanding of anatomy of different age groups can be grasped. I can’t express how much this part of the book captured my interest. It’s stuff that has been taught to me before but seeing it all laid out in this well-produced book just made me remember small tricks that I’d forgotten long ago. Not to mention, again, that Loomis’s own illustrations/examples are so brilliantly drafted that they serve as an inspiration in and of themselves.
As with FIGURE DRAWING FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH, a lot of the information in this book has been presented in other books since DRAWING THE HEAD AND HAND’s original publication. But I have to say that this edition of DTHAH is really beautifully executed and Titan Books has to be congratulated once again for putting Loomis’s work back into publication. Loomis was obviously a master and, as I said in my review of FIGURE DRAWING, this is a book that is a must for any art student or even any art professional who’s looking for a refresher on how to illustrate two of the most arguably difficult aspects of the human figure.
Discovered as a babe in an abandoned comic book storage box and bitten by a radioactive comic fan when he was a teenager, superhero is actually not-so mild mannered sometime designer & cartoonist, Kristian Horn of Los Angeles, California. Some of his work can be seen at www.kristianhorn.com and check out his blog at www.parttimefanboy.com. You can check also out his webcomics at www.babybadass.com and thediplomatics.com, which is currently in development.
Advance Review: In stores this week!DARK MATTER #1
Writers: Joseph Mallozzi & Paul MullieArtist: Garry Brown
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Reviewer: Optimous Douche
I’m sorry to disappoint, but this review will be very light on my usual river of verbal diarrhea because while I love to talk comics and I loved this inaugural issue of DARK MATTER, one simply can’t write about what they don’t know. And this issue leaves you knowing very little. However, this is by design and the fact I closed the last page with more questions than answers is a testament to the mystery in space Mallozzi and Mullie are building one panel at a time.
Mallozzi and Mullie are no strangers to all things space having been chief architects of the movie that launched a thousand TV shows, STARGATE. But don’t think DARK MATTER rests on the laurels of the past. Gone are any concepts of Egyptology or man staring agape at the concept of interplanetary travel. The stars are already ours and the trajectory we took to get there is spun directly from our own reality.
As much as I hate heavy spoilers or play-by-play analysis, neither is easy to escape for a new property that will not be revealing its intent or purpose until later issues.
Alone and floating in space, we are introduced to our first character in any good space mystery – the ship. Unlike The Enterprise or Serenity, though, this floating cold husk goes nameless…at least for now. Actually, there are no names in this inaugural issue--not for the ship or any of its inhabitants that one by one splooge out of stasis chambers almost like infants fresh from the womb.
However, unlike an infant each inhabitant awakes with some knowledge. This knowledge has nothing to do with their names, their mission or how they ended up in the deep freezel what they do have are skills. Each person awakes intrinsically knowing their function on the ship. You have the leader, the muscle, the combat expert and the boy genius. There are others as well, but their purpose remains as much a mystery as their identity.
There’s one other life form on the ship, depending of course on how you quantify life. Amidst the crew discovering who they are, they awaken the ship’s defense systems, a crew-cut android with few answers, but a huge propensity for kicking ass and taking names…you know… if the characters actually had names.
I won’t spoil the ending, but any fan of sci-fi worth their salt will instantly recognize the pastiche artist Brown took from. I’ll give you a hint: it happened a long time ago in a galaxy far far away to a ship that was merely on a peace keeping mission. Aside from this one little borrow, though, Brown delivers his own unique style throughout the rest of the book. His rendering of the vessel’s innards are reminiscent of a techno-organic nightmare, and the dark tones and scraggly lines are the perfect atmosphere given the dark mystery that brews throughout the dialog on the crew’s mission of self-discovery.
I enjoyed this issue, but I would caution our writers to start providing some answers within issue 2. The comic market is glutted these days, to say the least. Twenty years ago when the indie market was starting to come into its own, readers had far more patience with the slow reveal. Today, though, we need to know the concept is original, not just well executed. Given their track record, though, I’m willing to stay on board M&M’s mystery ship for one more orbit around the comic shelves.
GODZILLA LEGENDS #3
Writer: Mike RaichtIllustrator: Tony Parker
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Reviewer: Mr. Pasty
GODZILLA LEGENDS is already on issue numero three-o, which I find disturbing, because that means there’s a pair of ‘Zilla books somewhere in the longbox that I haven’t seen yet. This latest offering, however, was impossible to miss, probably because it has a giant red monster on the cover with a tagline that screams in large, crackly font, FEATURING TITANOSAURUS. Never has something so simple been so freaking effective. I mean seriously, all they did was take “Titan,” already a badass name, and combine it with the tried-and-true “osaurus.” Boom. Now you have Titanosaurus and get the fuck out of the way, because he’s a big red boss coming to stomp some citizens.
Or so I thought.
The book opens with some teenage whinetit carrying on about his angst-of-the-week. Then some dopey psychic comes and somehow manages to whisk him away from his suburban lifestyle via five minute conversation with his clueless parents. Apparently Tristan, our protagonist, is being offered a spot at a remote school for “gifted” children with special powers who may not fit into society, which makes for a much shorter sentence when you simply call it an X-MEN ripoff. You can imagine my disbelief, when charging in with a colossal hard-on for a monster named Titanosaurus, and ten pages later I’m mired in a paint-by-numbers-plot with nary a lizard in sight. This was a WTF moment, if ever one existed.
I fell for it.
Writer Mark Raicht led me down a path with little pieces of cheese and I was too cynical to notice I was being set up, and that’s what makes GODZILLA LEGENDS such an effective comic book. It’s a bit of a slow starter, but once it hits second gear we get all the carnage we would expect from the green giant and then some, including aliens, black holes and global conspiracies. When all was said and done, I had to tip my hat to the way Raicht layered the narrative, and his pacing, while deceptive at first, was perfectly executed. None of that would matter, however, had illustrator Tony Parker not held up his end of the bargain. He does, in earnest, and presents Titanosaurus in sort of a chaotic grace as it clomps its way across the landscape.
The bottom line is GODZILLA LEGENDS delivers. It delivers for fans of the franchise, fans of berserk monsters and fans of comic books. There’s a pretty good chance if you’re reading this that you fall into one or all of those categories. If so, pick this one up; you won’t be disappointed.
Web heads who can’t get enough of Mr. Pasty’s word vomit are encouraged to watch him operate as Nostradumbass over at MMaMania.com here. Love, hate and Mafia Wars requests should be directed here.
AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
Writer: Brian Michael BendisArt: Gabriele Dell'otto
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Henry Higgins is My Homeboy
Every once in a while, I'll find myself reading another Marvel set of annuals. It takes me back to buying annuals in my childhood, finding these epic stories contained within the back issues of ten years ago. Naturally, seeing the phrase "Marvel Annual" excites me. Unfortunately, this one, following on the coattails of a past attack on the New Avengers, isn't as fun as it should be.
Writing: (2/5) With such a large cast, Bendis doesn't have much time with any one particular character. This can lead to a general lack of character. No one ever has time to be quite enjoyable or fleshed out completely. Likewise, much of the dialogue is bland; while it's not explicitly bad, it's not as enjoyable as it easily could be.
It's also incredibly, INCREDIBLY anticlimactic. It builds to an interesting point, featuring a good scene of Wonder Man going mental in front of a live crowd. However, the built-upon fight scene is solved immediately, as is the defeat of the Revengers. After such an explosive fight scene in the past issue, it's terribly disappointing. That's what's so depressing about this issue; It takes a fairly common Marvel issue of late (do the superheroes bring more bad into the world then prevent), and it's a cool way to play it. Wonder Man is one of the more public-friendly members of the team, and having him be the one who turns is interesting. It's a very lacking event, though. This had the potential to be more, and squanders it.
Art: (3/5) Dell'otto is very hit or miss in this issue. When the art backs off and gives itself room to breathe, it's rather cool. It can be expansive at times, the framing is usually well done, and it takes advantage of its afforded space. More often than not, though, when it closes up it loses its appeal. The faces detract heavily, usually. They are incredibly dull, not very distinct, and appear the same from person to person.
The colouring is actually quite good, though; bright in a very cool way. The defeated Simon glowing against Iron Man's suit looks remarkable, and it's a strength held by most of the book.
Best Moment: I like the “good the Avengers d”o debate, so when this issue uses it, it's quite engaging.
Worst Moment: There's a painful, PAINFUL deus ex machina in this one.
Overall: (2/5) You would expect more from this comic.
CHARLIE ADLARD’S CURSE OF THE WENDIGO OGN
By Mathieu Missoffe & Charlie AdlardPublisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Reviewer: The Dean
This week, I told myself to go ahead and spend another $10 at the shop as a little “Happy New Year!” treat. So surprised and unprepared was I by my sudden generosity, that I quickly became overwhelmed by the many choices on the shelves. Do I catch up on a story arc only a few issues old? Maybe invest in one or two new relaunched series I had passed on in previous weeks? That’s when I remembered that new, slightly oversized French title from Dynamite I saw when I first walked in. At $7.99, I grabbed the recently translated horror/history title and scampered to the cash register before I could change my mind, or convince myself that I wanted to see just how bad HAWK & DOVE really is. Luckily my gamble paid off, as CURSE OF THE WENDIGO became my favorite read of the week--plus I get to act like a total snob when I tell people about this French comic I read!
The story, set during World War I, kicks off with opposing French and German soldiers putting a team together to hunt down whatever it is that’s been taking their men. For CURSE OF THE WENDIGO, Missoffe nicely blends horror, history, and Native American legend for 48 wonderfully illustrated pages by THE WALKING DEAD’s Charlie Adlard. I found myself enjoying Adlard’s work here much more than in THE WALKING DEAD, and not just because of the washed, mood setting color from Mambba, which helps emote the weary and claustrophobic feeling of a long war spent in the trenches. What I loved most about Adlard’s work here is the subtlety that any series about zombies just doesn’t get to employ too often. If read at too quick a pace, a few of the more chilling moments, as well as the general setting of the story, may be lost on the impatient reader, but a more careful approach is rewarded with a great deal of atmosphere and character in every panel . Adlard also keeps a lot of the horror hidden, which adds to Missoffe’sWendigo mystery in no small way, and any gore beyond the modest amount included would have changed the tone of the story drastically.
French comics, due in part to their larger page size, throw in more panels per page than your average American comic (approximately 9 panels to our 5 as Adlard mentions in the included interview), and contain about 20-25 more pages on top of that. This means stories with a larger scope, like CURSE OF THE WENDIGO, can either be condensed into one issue, or extended into a second or third issue to drag it out a little longer. CURSE OF THE WENDIGO wraps in one issue, so not too much time is spent on any one scene or character, lending to the issue’s quick pace. But while I enjoyed the speed at which the story can be digested, I ultimately felt another issue could have only helped the overall story, since a great deal of the impact of one main character’s sacrifice was lost to the limited time spent developing him. I can’t say that the story would have benefited from the omission of any particular aspect, as the Darwinist themes and human drama add a lot, and are played well by the WWI backdrop and the alliance of French and German soldiers. But Wohati, the story’s Native American hero, had the more interesting journey in this tale, and it’s a shame that much of his story might have been scrapped to include the other enjoyable, yet less impactful plot points, or just to avoid a second issue. But despite my own wish for more of Wohati, the story really is very well balanced, and Missoffe deserves a great deal of praise for that. Like Adlard’s art, Missoffe doesn’t waste any time with any needless exposition or pointless, unsatisfying side stories, as every scene either contributes to, or unveils the Wendigo mystery. While more character development would have been nice, it’s hard to fault Missoffe when the story is as well put together as it is here.
Outside of Asterix, I’m pretty sure CURSE OF THE WENDIGO is the only French comic I’ve ever read, but I enjoyed Missoffe’s work so much here (as well as the French format in general) that I intend to make sure it isn’t the last. In future reads I’d like to read Missoffe paired with another French artist, but that’s only to broaden my own knowledge of French artists, as this is the best I’ve seen Adlard, and the two seem to pair together well. I’m not going to say you should skip over other weekly titles to make room for this in your budget, but if you find yourself willing and/or able to spend another $7.99 in the coming weeks, there are far worse ways to spend it.
RED LANTERNS #5
Writer: Peter MilliganArt: Ed Benes/Rob Hunter
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: The Writing Rambler
Backstory is an interesting thing. In the medium of film, when done right we get modern classics the likes of BATMAN BEGINS, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, etc. When done wrong we get the STAR WARS prequels. In The world of Green Lantern comics we’ve recently had “Secret Origin” show us how much mythos and depth can be added as part of a backstory. But the one thing that all backstories have in common, whether they are successful or not, is that the reader/watcher actually cares about the material going into it. And therein lies the biggest problem currently facing the RED LANTERN CORPS: most people have no connection to these characters, yet with the latest issue we are yet again being force-fed multiple quick backstories that even I am growing tired of.
Issue 5 is upon us in this series and even I (the most savage of RED LANTERN defenders) am finding it extremely difficult to continually defend this book to naysayers. It just needs to be said: the constant barrage of backstories is killing this series before people can even get the chance to like the characters. I really want to believe that Milligan and Benes want this book to succeed, but it seems like they have no idea how to get the ball rolling on what could be a fantastic series. The first 3 issues of RED LANTERNS were interesting to say the least. I really loved how it started off. There was a new idea of The Corps growing beyond just being creatures of rage and serving a purpose of justice for the universe. But with issues 4 and 5 the book has fallen into a mess of multiple backstories being rushed while 2-3 different arcs are trying to be fleshed out. To put it simply, there is TOO MUCH GOING ON AT ONCE!
If these first 5 issues were supposed to be a backstory to introduce new readers to the Corps then by all means the book should have focused simply on Atrocitus and his leadership of the Corps and go forward from there. Then at least the reader would have a connection with the character and would be ready to go forward wherever the story would take us. But instead, we have multiple flashbacks rushing the origins of several characters that most new readers (and even those of us who have followed since the beginning) have no clue about other than they wear the Red Lantern uniform. To add to the backstory problem, we have been constantly jumping back and forth to a story on Earth that has somewhat of a payoff in this issue, but because of the constant jumping around, the impact of that payoff is diminished because there’s no real connection to these characters.
I really don’t know what to say at this point. I can’t recommend the book to anyone other than those who are already fans who really want something good to eventually come out of all of this chaos. I’m not sure what it will take at this point to get back on track. Here’s hoping that Milligan will just slow down and take these stories one at a time, giving us a fun and exciting story arc that will make us care about these characters. I hope he does and that he does it soon, because without it I doubt this series will last much longer.
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TANK GIRL: BAD WIND RISING TPB
Writer: Alan C. MartinIllustrator: Rufus Dayglo
Publisher: Titan Books
Reviewer: superhero
This edition of TANK GIRL sees the timeless romance between TG and Booga finally go on the rocks. After years and years of an epically intense sexual tryst, Tank Girl and her beau, the mutant kangaroo Booga, finally decide to call the whole thing off. What could have caused this terrible sundering of one of comicdom’s most famous romances? Who left who? What crass and debased reason could there be for two of the comic world’s crassest and debasest (I know that’s not a word!) characters to finally just get fed up with other???
This is the basic story behind this latest chapter of the Tank Girl saga, TANK GIRL: BAD WIND RISING. Oh, it’s not as sappily romantical (again, not a word!) as all that but it is filled with just as much insanity and lunacy as what you’d expect from a Tank Girl project. Alan C. Martin carves out another maniacal story that involves TG and her compatriots getting mixed up with evil scientists, time travel, and other things that normal folks shouldn’t get involved with. Rufus Dayglo once again provides the art chores and continues to justify the reason why I consider him one of my favorite artists working today. Martin and Dayglo have delivered another crazy cool episode of TANK GIRL that just made me giggle with enjoyment. I enjoyed this book from the opening pages and I have to say that I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a Tank Girl story this much since I originally discovered the comic way back in the early ‘90’s. Maybe it was the primer of TANK GIRL: SKIDMARKS that got me acclimated to the Martin and Dayglo teaming, but for me this book reminds me of why I first fell in love with Tank Girl in the first place. This collection is classic Tank Girl all the way and I loved every page.
I will say I was a tiny bit disappointed with the real reason why Tank Girl and Booga split up. I was hoping for them to have an actual all out split-up. I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone but Booga and TG’s split isn’t anything that’s involved with actual relationship issues. But, y’know, looking for an actual romantic subplot in a TANK GIRL book is like looking for positive affirmations in the Necronomicon. It’s just not something that’s going to happen. And I’m fine with that because all of the other madness surrounding their breakup was entertaining enough. If you haven’t ever tried a TANK GIRL comic before then this is a collection you should pick up. It’s just crazy enough to be entertaining as all get out but not over the top lunatic enough to be frightening to a new reader. This is a perfect Tank Girl story and I can only hope that future editions will be as good.
Advance Review: In stores today!LOBSTER JOHNSON: THE BURNING HAND #1
Writers: Mike Mignola & John ArcudiArtist: Tonci Zonjic (pencils/inks) & Dave Stewart (colors)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Reviewer: Johnny Destructo
I’m gonna get a 3 Stooges-style poke in the eyes for this, but as much as I love looking at Mike Mignola’s abyss of ink, I…no, wait. I should rephrase that in a less awkward way. Umm..I like his art. But as much as I like his art, and because of that, feel that I should like Hellboy as a comic…I just don’t. I find Hellboy borderline boring and despite my many attempts to like it, I put it down and read something else. I know I’m the minority with regards to this, but tough-titty-toenails for me, the cheese sits alone.
I’m not sure what Lobster Johnson has to do with Hellboy, or what his deal is, exactly, but much like Orangina, this issue was a perfect blend of crisp, pulpy goodness. Our man LobJohn has so little face time in this issue, he’s more apparition than man, but his presence is felt throughout, if only in anticipation. Native American ghosts, prohibition-era Mobsters, a sassy reportstress with fantastic gams, and a man cloaked in shadow who’s only line is “NEIN”? These are the ingredients to a well-crafted mystery…fondue? Omelette? Mystery..Lasagna! Well, whatever your favorite food, this is it. As long as you like the ingredients above, I suppose.
And the art! Tonci Zonjic does a stellar job here. Despite a sparsity of detail, every emotion is felt, every action realized, and without the “laugh-track” of the sequential art world: speed-lines. Let’s face it, it’s no easy task to draw an action scene without a series of perspective forced lines to indicate motion, while keeping the panels from feeling static or stagnant. *coughcoughAlexMaleevcough*
Now the question remains, am I going to enjoy Lobster Johnson’s character once I discover more about him, or if I’m just into the mystery presented, but I’m certainly excited to see more of him. Well-written, beautifully illustrated in a classic style and it’s got me hungry for more. Well played LobJohn…well played.
AICN COMICS PODCAST #11
Looks for more of the Holes rambling about comics on Poptards in future AICN COMICS columns!
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
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