RUN THE COMICS 5K, Part Thirty-One

 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 - - all goals met by the group of Captain Blue Hen customer participants.  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.

#573  IMMORTAL HULK #37 (Marvel Comics, November 2020) When this book was originally announced as a new Hulk title with an emphasis on the horror elements of the Hulk legend, I was excited to see what Al Ewing and Joe Bennett might come up with. Those early issues were so fresh with a great focus on some of the things that make Hulk stand apart from other  titles, especially the darker aspects of the character. 

   As the storyline progressed, IMMORTAL HULK started to drift away from the stand-alone slightly spooky stories (reminiscent of some classic SWAMP THING and MAN THING issues) and the Hulk became engaged in prolonged battles with the Avengers and other super-heroes. I still enjoyed it (Bennett’s art is so good) but not quite as much. Now, Ewing has managed to meld those two dichotomies with the current story arc featuring The Leader.

   This manifestation of The Leader is quite different. He seems to exist as an ethereal presence inside the minds of Bruce Banner and Rick Jones, tormenting and twisting them mentally while biding his time before a physical appearance. In Issue #37, it’s revealed that he’s also infected Doc Sampson and was bedeviling him at an early transformational moment in his childhood. The Leader is actually frightening, and his now revealed persona is more scary and more powerful than any previous versions I have read. The horror is back!

  I love how Ewing makes reference to pop culture icons in subtle ways. Here, it’s the Green Door of fabled horror movie as well as pop song fame. 

This book continues to reward repeated readings. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#574  NIGHTWING #74 (DC Comics, November 2020) I’ve been picking up a few of the JOKER WAR tie-in issues, purely on impulse. This time it was a very cool variant cover with a fight between Nightwing and Punchline (which doesn’t happen) that caused me to purchase this. i’m not expecting much, so when the art is good and the story is entertaining and actually does lead into BATMAN #99 then that is a bonus. Can the combination of Robin (Tim Drake), Red Hood, and Batgirl snap Dick (as NIghtwing Ric) out of his Joker-induced hypnosis/madness and restore the true Nightwing? Or, will it take a non-powered secondary character who sees the real person underneath the Ric persona to bring him back?  There’s a neat bit of irony (and sadness) in the conclusion. But, as you might have guessed, NIghtwing is back and Batman is assembling a team again just in time for BATMAN #99 and the conclusion in BATMAN #100. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#575  BATMAN #99 (DC Comics, November 2020) There’s a masked street vigilante secondary character who hasn’t been given much panel time or even dialogue who’s been methodically beating the crap out of Joker’s minions that I’m beginning to like. I’m affectionately referring to him as Rooster Clownburn (in homage to John Wayne/True Grit). This is the build-up to the big showdown issue, with a neat surprise/twist at the end. There’s nothing this issue to lend credence to my batsh#t Biden vs. Trump theory, but there’s plenty of interesting moralizing from characters on all sides. Another good issue. FOUR STARS.

#576  IMMORTAL HULK  #0  (Marvel Comics, November 2020) “At Ground Zero”.  I am amazed and delighted by the way current writer Al Ewing pulls long-forgotten and seldom-used storylines from old Hulk comics and makes them an integral part of his plots. 

     Bruce Banner’s father, the abusive and mentally-disturbed Dr. Brian Banner, has played an important role in the current Hulk saga. In Immortal Hulk #0, those back issues that inspired Ewing are featured with the new story added that book-ends the older stories and also provides a linking intermission. 

 

    The reprints are well-worth the cover price, great stand-alone stories that explore both the Hulk/Bruce Banner’s psyche and a troubled childhood under the dominating hand of his father. (The Incredible Hulk #312 from1985 by Bill Mantlo and Mike Mignolo; and  The Incredible Hulk #-1 flashback issue by Peter David and Adam Kubert).

  IMMORTAL HULK #0 serves as an informative lead-in to IMMORTAL HULK #37 as The Leader makes his first physical appearance before Brian Banner.  I was getting underwhelmed by the Minotaur/Abomination series of stories, but The Leader tale currently unfolding has renewed my interest in this book.  I look forward to the remaining 12 issues (scheduled to end with #50). FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#577  FINGER GUNS  #5  (Vault Comics, September 2020) While AFTERSHOCK is my number one favorite when it comes to indie comics publishers, I also follow several other small companies. VAULT is on my radar, and they’ve come a long way from their beginnings with just a few science-fiction and fantasy titles per year. They also follow a limited series format and mirror the output of Aftershock in some ways with their genre offerings. I believe they are a small publisher to keep an eye on in 2020 and beyond. Vault may be even more diverse than Aftershock in genre selection with some books that seem to defy categorization (but that doesn’t mean I won’t try) such as FINGER GUNS. 

      Are you looking to find a title to appeal to the middle-school and high-school teens in your life, something that they can relate to?  FINGER GUNS gets my vote. I’ll even try to give it a short pitch and call it “teenage angst fantasy.”  Although while some youthful concerns and preoccupations seem less important to older family members who can still remember when they shared the same worries - - - the conflict in this series is very real for far too many: an abusive parent, in this case a nasty tempered wife beater who will also strike out at his teen daughter if she tries to intercede.

      FINGER GUNS is about teenage male-female friendship, bonding over a shared discovery that they can point their hand in various gun-like configurations and actually affect the emotions and moods of others. The early issues of the series dwell more on the fantasy aspect as Wes and Sadie experiment with their powers and go through a learning curve. The latter issues are more serious, as in this final issue Sadie intercedes with purpose in a family battle. Things don’t go exactly as expected, especially the outcomes. It’s happy and bittersweet at the same time. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS. 

#578  BLEED THEM DRY  #3 (Vault Comics, September 2020) Ninjas and vampires in a far-future setting. However, beyond the cool fighting and bloody violence is a story of multiple layers with a few twists along the way to confound, confuse, and captivate readers. Humans and vampires co-exist (sort of). A human/vampire detective team is assigned to investigate a series of murders of prominent vampires by a stealthy assassin-like figure. 

I wasn’t sure where the story was going, but after reading Issue #3 at the presumed mid-way point, I have a clearer understanding. (No spoilers). THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#579 - #585 SHADOWLANDS: DAREDEVIL Hardcover. (Marvel Comics, 2011) Reprints Daredevil #508-512 and Shadowland:After The Fall one-shot. Written by Andy Diggle and Antony Johnston. Art by Roberto De La Torre and Marco Checchetto. There are many things to like here, which makes the one glaring error even more disappointing. There’s no need to avoid spoilers here, as by now everyone who follows this character knows that the “bad, tyrannical” Daredevil has a defining moment and becomes the “good, humanitarian” Daredevil again. The Shadowland saga expanded across several Marvel titles, and it would require an omnibus to collect them all. (Of course, that happened later). However, to leave out that one key issue or issues where Daredevil makes that transition is a major omission here. The story flows so well from issue to issue until #511 when Foggy Nelson discovers the remains of a  battlefield, a conflict that is not included in this hardcover.  Even worse, #511 ends with a captured Nelson being choked by Daredevil in a killing rage, and #512 begins with Matt Murdock catching a train out of town. The resolution/transition scenes are completely absent from this collection. I was going to rate this highly based on the first three issues, but  THREE STARS is more than generous. I plan to write a more detailed review on my blog later, once I get over the disappointment. 

#586 - #590  SHADOWLAND hardcover (Marvel Comics, 2011) Reprints Shadowland #1-5 written by Andy Diggle with art by Billy Tan.

Now I realize my error. I should have read this hardcover before the SHADOWLAND: DAREDEVIL hardcover. Marvel could have helped  readers avoid that confusion by simply labeling these books SHADOWLAND, VOLUME ONE and SHADOWLAND, VOLUME TWO.  They both earned THREE STARS and I have now posted longer reviews of both volumes on the blog. Look in the September archives for them.