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KING’S QUEST #1
THUNDERBOLTS #1
THE PHANTOM #6
PENNY DREADFUL #1
LADY MECHANIKA: THE LOST BOYS OF WEST ABBEY #1
MOON KNIGHT #2
KING’S QUEST #1
Writers: Ben Acker and Heath CorsonArtist: Dan McDaid
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Reviewer: Masked Man
Dynamite’s shared universe of King Feature (comic strip) characters continues with KINGS QUEST. It follows up the KINGS WATCH series by Jeff Parker and Marc Laming, which was a riff on the old cartoon, DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH: Featuring Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician and his assistant Lothar, defending the planet Earth from Ming the Merciless.
Joining our main heroes this time are other King Feature characters: Prince Valiant and Jungle Jim. Oddly enough, while the main heroes are all fairly true to their classic take, Valiant and Jim are not. Valiant comes across as Conan-light, brutishly hacking his way through villains (Valiant was always the pinnacle of chivalry). While Jungle Jim comes across like an eccentric British explorer. (Jim was never a Brit). The Phantom too has changed, as Kit Walker died earlier and Lothar now wears the purple suit. Walker’s only living relative is a red headed girl named Jen (ala DEFENDER OF THE EARTH), who is now the Phantom in training.
Spoiler time: This first issue has our heroes heading back to Ming’s Empire to rescue the captured Dale Arden. They get a rough reception from Jungle Jim, who can control the Arboria jungle, since he thinks they work for Ming. Once they discover they are all on the same side, Prince Barin gives them the bad news that Dale has become Ming’s evil empress and appears to be as evil as he is now.
While KINGS QUEST isn’t the jumbled Acker created in his FLASH GORDON run (with Ben Blacker) was (I’ll give Corson credit for that), it’s still so breezy it trips over itself a lot. The running joke of Jen constantly needing to throw-up, doesn’t help matters much.
Artwork wise, Dan McDaid has a bit of a slap-dash style that I’m not crazy about. He’s a bit of Michael T. Gilbert combined David Bullock, but not as seasoned as those artists. In fact, he has created one of the worst comic book pages I’ve ever seen. Page 17, has Prince Valiant scaling a mountainside: Panel 4 at the bottom left has him at the bottom of the mountain, and panel 1 on top right has him on the top. So action wise, the first panel is the last and the last panel is the first. To ‘help’ us make sense of it, the word balloons all have long pointers. So the dialogue for panel 4 is in panel 1 and the dialogue for panel 3 is in panel 2, etc. Both Mrs. Masked Man and myself read the page and when, “Wait, what the hell did I just read.”
Dynamite has always been a mixed bag of hits and misses with these great characters. Unfortunately, KING’S QUEST seems like another miss.
THUNDERBOLTS #1
Writer: Jim ZubArtist: Jon Mailn
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Rock-Me Amodeo
So, here’s the thing. I was a fan of the original THUNDERBOLTS, waaaaaaay back in the day. Who wasn’t? The big reveal at the end of issue #1 was the best thing about 1997. But that was only one issue, it’s not why I stuck around. I stuck around because, well, I’ve always been a sucker for a redemption story. And those Thunderbolts… they struggled. They grew. They grappled with their better angels, and though everyone didn’t make the transition to hero, I (as I seem to be asked more frequently) wanted to know what happens next. I cared about them as characters because I could see where they came from and where they wanted to go. They had a lot to prove, to the world and to themselves.
These Thunderbolts… most of them have already proven themselves, for good or ill. And they’re simply on the run, they’re not struggling. Need a headquarters? Got a headquarters. By the way, I’m not a fan of this Kobik character here. The genie-out-of-her-bottle riff is always problematic, there’s no cost or balance to the use of her powers, she’s simply plot-twistus ex machina. More on that later.
Let’s see, what else do we need in this comic that other books have?
Need a mission? Got a mission. Check. Internal strife? Check. Quirky humanizing references to things like cereal and beer? Check.
But it’s all so… I don’t know. Generic. Like the characters. Abe, Erik, Norbert… I know who they USED to be. Abe was the guy whose convictions were so strong, he went to jail for the good of the team. Put down a prison riot because it was the right thing to do. Norbert… he was a jerk, but he had his moments of loyalty. Erik never thought that highly of himself, but he had a soft spot in his heart as a protector, because of his sister Lindy. They wrestled with their weaknesses, grew past the confines of their previous characterizations.
But I don’t know THESE folks. OR maybe I do, and that’s what I found a bit disappointing. They seem to be watered down versions of themselves. Norbert is still a bit of a jerk, but there’s no particular reason why he doesn’t like Kobik. Erik does make a comment about protecting Kobik, but it’s Bucky who wants her to stay close. And Abe… Abe likes beer. All vaguely likable guys. But you could rotate the names and it wouldn’t have made any real difference. Now, if Norbert had found a soft spot for Kobik, that would have been interesting. Ah well…
Moonstone might be trying to win Kobik’s trust, or perhaps she was just being nice. It’s hard to say if she was working some kind of plan, because just a few pages later, she’s challenging Bucky for leadership of the group for no particular reason except that’s maybe kinda sort of the thing she’s supposed to do. Except neither plan - if that what they were - works out, because the object of her first ploy literally rips her heart out to end the second ploy. There’s an Alanis Morrissette lyric in there somewhere.
But all of that is completely contrived, because it was done by the magic genie who can put her heart right back where it went, and I know she does because I’M LOOKING AT THE COVER FOR THE NEXT ISSUE. And unless your name is Thunderbird (or Morph, lol), you don’t get killed just as your super group is getting launched.
Speaking of the next cover and the art in general… Malin reminds me of a young Leifield. I do not judge. It’s pretty to look at, and I know what these human beings are doing and it serves the story. I’m not saying it’s bad. And actually, I see flashes of brilliance as well. I could almost as easily say he reminds me of a young George Perez, and if you saw his early early stuff, you would have wondered where he was going. Well, now we know. So I AM sincerely interested to see where Malin goes.
And will I buy the next issue? I will. But I don’t want to see a rehash of THUNDERBOLTS-lite. I don’t want to see Bucky simply be the new Hawkeye, nor do I want to see the same old same old. Make Norbert fall in love. Help Atlas deal with his emotional crap. Turn Abe into the leader he can be. Make Moonstone get physically sick every time she tries to manipulate someone. Something. Something different. Make me love them, or make me hate them. Put a lump in my throat, like when Jolt had her heart torn out, metaphorically, by the demise of her former friends. But don’t make me feel like we’re just treading water. There’s simply too much potential to be squandered.
Ahhh Jolt… I miss Jolt. And Songbird, too.
Rock Me is Dante Amodeo. Online, you can find him at www.GuyVsMan.com where he likes to explore the differences between actual grown-ass men and this current crop of slacker, live-off-their-girlfriends, can't-keep-a-job, responsibility-dodging GUYS that are overtaking the world like societal kudzu... and the women who are letting them get away with it. Or e-mail him Rock-Me Amodeohere
THE PHANTOM #6
Writer: Peter DavidArtist: Sal Velluto
Publisher: Hermes Press
Reviewer: Masked Man
After who knows how many months of waiting, Peter David’s Phantom story has finally come to a close. And despite a bunch of flaws, I still enjoyed the overall ride of this series, especially compared to Dynamite’s recent misfires.
Getting to the spoilers: The Phantom (as in Kit Walker), his best gal Diana, with her former boyfriend who’s now immortal Jimmy Wells and his new girlfriend, former sky pirate, the Baroness have travelled to the hidden city of Ophir. They hoped to prevent the Singh Pirates from stealing it’s gold, but the city was more than capable of defending themselves and anyone is captured. This issue pits our heroes against the pirate captain and the King of Ophir in the typical arena battle. There’s also the wrinkle of the Prince of Ophir being the love-child of the Queen and Jimmy Wells (he does get around). Jimmy then performs a Tarzan trick, getting a herd of elephants to come to their rescue at the end. That is after the pirate captain and king have been killed and the Prince figures out who his father is.
Ok let’s talk about the bad. Man, this issue seems rushed; David clearly mismanaged his space here. The ending is super quick and the denouement is only one page, giving no time to wrap-up the subplots in a satisfying way. I also didn’t enjoy the fact that the Phantom pretty much lost every fight with another major character. Jimmy beat him, the Queen of Ophir beat him, and the pirate captain pretty much beats him as well. Damn David, did you forget who the main character was?
But as I said, I enjoyed the overall ride of the story. Using the Billy Zane (THE PHANTOM) movie as a guide, David does have a good time with all the characters, and the adventure and action are all well done. Sal Velluto’s art is pretty great through out the series as well. His character posing isn’t always the best, getting rather clunky here and there. But he has classic illustrative style that I like to help make up for it. While I’m at it, Eugenio Mattozzi’s coloring is pretty damn fine as well.
If you are an adventure and/or Phantom fan and the publishing schedule made you miss this, keep an eye out for the trade. On the Masked Man’s scale of Crap, Poor, Decent, Good and Great, THE PHANTOM just scores a GOOD.
PENNY DREADFUL #1
Writer: Krysty Wilson-CairnsArtist: Louie de Martinis
Publisher: Titan Comics
Reviewer: Lyzard
I struggle to recommend PENNY DREADFUL, the TV show, to friends. While its premise, the mixture of various classic horror literature such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and Dorian Gray has its charm, the show is a slow burn. While the payoff is worth your patience, the pacing of the show and its overextended attempt to shroud what isn’t really hidden can be off-putting to viewers who just want terror instead of tension. I guess for those people PENNY DREADFUL, the comic, is a better alternative. It certainly isn’t for fans of the show. Not only is the plot rushed, leaving no room for an air of mystery to grow, but the comic quickly diverts from the television’s first episode narrative. Hopefully the Vanessa/Malcolm storyline was your favorite as none of the other characters and their threads are even alluded to in the book. Yes, it is the first issue, and perhaps in further publications the comic will delve deeper into the world of PENNY DREADFUL but it is very clear that Wilson-Cairns is not attempting to replicate the tone of the show, one of its biggest assets.
I must give credit to artist de Martinis, who rises to the occasion of capturing the piercing, eerie stare of Eva Green. While the show’s detailed mis-en-scene greatly amplifies the gothic aesthetic, de Martinis’ minimalist sketch style provides a haunting quality as he switches between accurate portrayals of the actors and bare silhouettes.
Obviously, as a fan of the show I have a bias towards the changes the comic has taken to the property. But I stand by my word that it is best fit for non-viewers. The altered storyline has its merits, even concluding with its own unique twist. PENNY DREADFUL isn’t as complex or traditionally Victorian gothic as its Showtime counterpart, but the comic has its place for those that haven’t access to the channel/show.
Lyzard is Lyz Reblin, a graduate student at the University of Texas pursuing a master's degree in Media Studies... which is just a fancy way of saying she plays a lot video games, watches far too many horror films, and then tries to pass it all off as "research."
LADY MECHANIKA: THE LOST BOYS OF WEST ABBEY #1
Writer: M.M. ChenArtists: Joe Benitez and Martin Montiel
Publisher: Benitez Productions
Reviewer: Masked Man
Joe Benitez’s steampunk cyborg is back for another adventure. Returning with Joe is writer M.M.Chen and background artist Martin Montiel, both who worked with Joe on the last adventure, “The Tablet of Destinies”. While I’m not much of a steampunk guy, I’ve become a fan Ms. Mechanika.
If you don’t know, Lady Mechanika lives in a fictional steampunk world, based on the Victorian Age (aren’t they all). She lives in Mechanika City, a pseudo London and fancies herself an investigator/adventurer for hire. How she became a cyborg is the great mystery of her life. Her first adventure: “The Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse” touched on the mystery, while “The Tablet of Destinies” did not. But now her shrouded origin is coming back into play with “The Lost Boys of West Abbey”.
Here come the spoilers: In a not too original plot, someone is abducting the so-called lost (homeless) boys of West Abbey for cybernetic experiments. The issue kicks off with a nice X-FILES like teaser. Not knowing her where her own cybernetics comes from, our Lady is intrigued and looks into it. Her gadget guru, Archie Lewis is in tow, with his usual drunk, nonchalant sense of humor. After a gruesome flash back, we are introduced to the cop assigned to the investigation, Detective Inspector Singh (hmm, just had a PHANTOM flash). Being an orphan once himself, he’s more interest than the rest of the force to get to the bottom of this, and willing works with our Lady. Meanwhile, we get a hint of what is going on- true spoiler time - an old geezer is looking to cheat death by having a cybernetic body built, with a touch of the golem Jews myth thrown in.
So I gotta say it’s a great start. Even if it’s not the most original plot, all the characters are fun and engaging, and it’s all put together well. Chen is doing what he did before, just writing a good adventure story. And that’s all I ask. Too often comic book writers are trying to find new ways of story telling. Usually by taking the focus of the narrative, and putting it on hip dialogue, over stylized action, or so-called ground breaking plot or character twist. In a word, they are mucking it up. Chen on the other forgoes the desire to impress anyone, and then actually does by giving us good character moments and a good evolving plot that moves at a good pace. This is no set-up issue, but a great first chapter of a story.
Artwork wise, I feel Benitez is settling down to a slightly loose sketch style, compared to his tighter usual art. It almost makes me think he may have taken my advice to find an art style that he can be consistent on. It always seemed like his art would look rushed and lose steam as projects came to an end. Here his artwork still looks great and perhaps the looser style will prevent him from turning in subpar work. I couldn’t be more happy for him- or me. LADY MECHANIKA: THE LOST BOYS OF WEST ABBEY looks like another stand-out adventure book for the steampunk and non-steampunk fan alike.
MOON KNIGHT #2
Writer: Jeff LemireArtist: Greg Smallwood
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Masked Man
After a great kick-off, the last MOON KNIGHT series started to loose steam, and nearly became a parody of what Warren Ellis started. Now that the vaulted SECRET WARS are over, MOON KNIGHT has been relaunched with Greg Smallwood returning as the artist and indy fan fav Jeff Lemire taking over the writing.
In keeping with what Warren Ellis set-up, Lemire has Marc Spector as a man without a life, talking with ancient Egyptians gods about trying to achieve balance. While he’s not adopting the stand-alone issue format of Ellis’ run, I’m pretty happy to say the creative spirit is back.
So what’s our buddy Marc Spector up to now, (AKA spoiler time)? Well he’s being held against his will in a throwback sanitarium, where people are trying to convince him, he is not Moon Knight. When he tried to make a break for it last issue, he had a vision of New York city with an ancient Egyptian make-over and his captures were ancient Egyptian flunkies. In this issue, he again makes a break for it, but this time he has help. Discovering characters from his previous series are imprisoned with him.
One thing I like about this is Lemire seems like he is trying to rebuild Moon Knights world, and not just the character (which is all Ellis did). And I love the two goons Lemire is having him deal with. They are basically a riff on the old James Bond villains Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd. The overall plot is interesting as well, but the bigger asset is, Lemire is telling it well.
As before, Smallwood artwork is just great here, and really fits the not quite typical superhero title MOON KNIGHT has become. He also really pushes his storytelling with different styles and page layouts. It all works and looks great to boot. The ‘zapping’ pages are really nice and help with the storytelling. Instead of detracting from it, as oddly layout page often do.
Lots of love to Jordie Bellaire, the colorists too. While I find her X-FILE work as dull as dirt, she totally kicks @$$ here and helps tie the whole issue together. So if you enjoyed MOON KNIGHT under Ellis and even Brian Wood, I suggest you come on back, because the water is just fine.
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