Run The Comics 5K, Part Twenty-Seven

 I’ve been numbering my entries, picking up where I left off with the I LOVE COMICS 3000 CHALLENGE as one of the participants on the Captain Blue Hen Facebook page. This started as a challenge from friendly comic shops in Ohio and Texas, originally as the 1,000 Comics Challenge, then the 2021 Comic Book Quarantine Odyssey, and then I Love Comics 3000.  I’m curious to see how long it takes me to read that many comics. My journey began with the 1,000 Comics Challenge on approximately March 15, 2020.

I just crossed the #500 mark, five months and four days later!

 

 #481, 482  JOHN CARPENTER’S TALES OF SCIENCE FICTION: VORTEX 2.0  #1 & 2 (Storm King Comics, June-July 2020)  If the visceral nature of the movie ALIEN, with it’s infamous chest-burster scene is your cup of science-fiction horror tea, then you’ll want to grab a cup of this.  VORTEX 2.0 gets right to it, right away, and alien parasitic invasion of human hosts followed by eventual explosive departure happens quite a bit in Issue #1.

     Unlike the original VORTEX series from 2017-2018, which was a slow build to its’ gory final issues as an alien presence invaded a space station with devastating results, VORTEX

2.0 gets violent from the get-go. 

      It certainly helps to be familiar with the original series, which will enhance your appreciation of Version 2.O, but the back-cover summaries will give you enough back-story to follow along:

“More than twenty years have passed since the Benson Station disaster as an unauthorized rescue mission brings the survivors together again. Now some 5,500 light years from home a familiar evil is rising with a score to settle.” . . . . . Out in the Cat’s Paw Nebula something evil is unfurling aboard the barring habitat. Jake Dixon is back, but has he brough back with him the very thing he tried to destroy? As the body count begins to rise, more faces from the past, both dead and alive, begin to appear as an investigation begins . . . but is it already too late?” 

       There are some very imaginative panoramas of the space habitat that will help rest your eyes between the violent images. This one moves very fast, so catch it quick if you want to hop on board. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#483  SEVEN SECRETS #1 (Boom Studios, August 2020) I have to agree with Matt Lowder (on Captain Blue Hen's Run The Comics 5K Facebook page) about this one. It’s a very promising storyline, and ultra-exciting with plenty of action and intrigue.

   The Order Of The Seven protects the unobtainable seven secrets from the world, operating from a hidden base beneath London. Highly trained protectors, working in teams of two, give up a normal life in order to serve. One such team was torn in two in the battle and chase depicted here. The story is narrated by the son of the deceased member.  Can’t wait to see what happens next. Great manga-influenced art and colors. FOUR STARS.

#484 - #495  A WALK THROUGH HELL, THE COMPLETE SERIES hardcover (Aftershock Comics, June 2020) 

"So these two FBI agents walk into a warehouse . . ."

Writer Garth Ennis took that premise and spun it into a psychological tale of suspense that straddles the line between crime and horror.  After four readings of this twelve issue series, I still get shivers. Some very fine writing and art here. This sold out quickly. A second printing is scheduled for November 2020.  You can read my complete review (almost spoiler-free) on this blog in the archives for August 18. FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS.

#496 - #500  HARBINGER RENEGADE, VOLUME 2: MASSACRE (Valiant Entertainment, 2017) Writer Rafer Roberts had just a short run of eight issues on this title before it was discontinued, giving way to HARBINGER WARS 2. I’m thinking that was probably the plan as these issues serve as a lead-in, and Roberts’ work here is quite good. Also, who doesn’t enjoy more expressive art from the pen of Darick Robertson?

 This collection of five issues only contains three that really feature the Harbinger group. The Issue #0 story focuses on an attack by H.A.R.D. Corps on Solomon’s refuge in China that turns out to be a trap, and introduces an even deadlier character. 

Issue #6 seems oddly out of place, featuring medieval knights in battle in the year 1097. I didn’t mind, as the art by Juan Jose Ryp is amazing. Not until reading Issue #0 did the relevance of this story become clear - - it’s the first appearance of an ancient psiot - the Alpha warlord.

 If nothing else, this book is worth picking up for two really outstanding issues (#5 and #8). Issue #5 features H.A.R.D. Corps yet again, this time in a bloody melee with Generation Zero in which large-scale numbers of characters on both sides perish. An important event, in that Valiant doesn’t mess around like other companies - - when it’s heroes get killed they stay killed. If you don’t feel even a tinge of sadness after reading the character insights in Issues #7 and #8 then you need to check your temperature on the empathy meter. Very well done, and moving. Issue #8 also stands out in that the Harbinger team chose a creative non-violent approach to solve their dilemma and achieve peace. FOUR STARS.