In 2021 I’d like to cross over the 1,000 comics review barrier, meaning reviews that I (Mike Clarke a.k.a. pghhead) contribute to the blog. That’s what this odyssey is about, beginning January 01, 2021. Wish me luck. . . .
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 933 comics documented
#929 HAWKEYE: KATE BISHOP #1 (Marvel, January 2022) The light-hearted, refreshing, younger version of Hawkeye returns for another adventure with a new creative team.
Like the Disney+ version but more experienced and savvy, this Kate Bishop is smart-phoned obsessed, independent, and a little rebellious teen (not sure of her age) bright enough to run her own L.A.-based private investigation service and skilled enough to stay out of harm.
In the opener she showcases her archery and fighting skills while halting an attempted break-in by a gun-toting gang. She talks to her opponents about personal matters, rambles a bit, and wisecracks in a way that reminds me of a very young Peter Parker/Spider-Man from back in the day.
After the intro, she’s off to Long Island NY and the Hamptons to an exclusive resort from which she received a suspicious invitation. There, she reunites with a disapproving sister, reconciles a bit, and gets engaged in new troubles. The resort harbors a cruel experiment, engineered by an off-screen female villain.
The artwork is friendly and appealing, and there is a nice fluidity to the action scenes.
This seems like an ideal introduction to super-heroes for younger readers. I still enjoyed it, even though I am not part of the demographic I believe this is intended for. Good fun. I might come back, although I can’t imagine hanging around for a long-term series. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
In the 21st century, I wondered who could follow up Snyder’s run with anything as good as that, and then wondered the same thing after King left. I actually stopped reading Batman when Tynion took over, but that didn’t last long. Now, the question is who can follow up Tynion with anything as good as that?
Enter Joshua Williamson with Jorge Molina and Mikel Janin on art. While it’s too early to conclude anything, I like the way things are starting off. Williamson doesn’t get to the meat of the story until near the end, and takes his time establishing and revealing some of the Batman mystique as he may portray it: dark, brooding, and menacing - - and maybe solitary.
The opening scene and image of Batman looking down from a rooftop at some second-rate robbers is particularly effective and sets the mood.
This issue also marks the debut of new villain Abyss (with a costume reminding me of Taskmaster from the Black Widow movie). Whether or not Abyss will become another iconic Batman villain is unknown, and he shows up dead so the rest of this introductory four-story arc will likely have quite a bit of flashback.
The heroes of Batman, Inc have confessed to murder of Abyss and Batman travels to the foreign country of Badhnisia to investigate, where he runs into a formidable adversary from the Superman titles.
I’m down for at least the first story arc. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
This is a team book, and on first reading it seemed fairly ordinary and not all that interesting. However, after a second reading a few days later I realize that Derek Landy’s story is pretty solid. Lately, I’ve been giving everything I write about here a second reading just to be fair. (My normal practice is to read once, then store it away until the story arc ends - - and then read them again all the way through once I eventually pick it back up.Sometimes it’s a year or more later.)
Remember the not-so-long ago AVENGERS ACADEMY and the 50 States Initiative to develop, train, and assign promising young super-heroes? Four of them show up here (as The Paladins) to help Cap and Tony fight a fifth graduate who turned rogue and, along with a bunch of armored mercenaries, is rescuing a Hydra mole from the clutches of S.H.I.E.L.D. Said mole is Veronica Eden (from the recent FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER mini-series), who once slept with Tony Stark in order to get his funding for a project. Instead, Tony gave her a recommendation, and she was hired by S.H.IE.L.D., which is what led Cap and Tony to try and thwart the current rescue effort.
Best line in the issue comes after Cap gives Tony the background info explaining that Eden had moved int a government position keeping tabs on Hydra training camps, where she was actually siphoning off their best recruits into her own army. When Cap asks Tony why he’s involved, he comes up with a feeble excuse about how she came in from the private sector, where Tony met her, saw her potential and set up a meeting. Cap interrupts with the greatest comeback: “You slept with her, didn’t you?”
Given their past differences (especially CIVIL WAR differences) I couldn’t imagine much chemistry between these two in a team-up book, but we’ll see. Landy can probably make it work.
The first issue is kind of cinematic and I could see this serving as the script for a new Marvel Universe series on Disney+. Of course, they’d clean up the sexy parts and edit a bit. THREE STARS.
#932 DEVIL’S REIGN #1 of 6 (Marvel, February 2022) Lots of story. Lots of action. Lots of characters. Wilson Fisk has relinquished his role as Kingpin of criminal activity and is now the mayor of New York City. Try as he might (I guess you can call it trying) he’s having a hard time walking away from his past, even after marrying Typhoid Mary. When he learns that his memory of Daredevil’s true identity has been blocked/wiped he goes into a rage and puts the clamps on all superhero activity within city limits, announcing The Powers Act. Of course he uses known super-villain criminals as his enforcers and the arrests begin.
This seems very familiar to me, like a new version of Mark Millar’s excellent THE CIVIL WAR but on a smaller scale (a city, instead of a country) and some new twists. I trust Chip Zdarsky to tell a good story. Let’s see if he can equal the excitement/impact of the mini-series that seems to have inspired this. A couple of interesting side-plots: Fisk’s forces take over the Fantastic Four’s base and Reed Richard’s labs and give Dr. Octopus access to all that crazy technology. Tony Stark decides to run for Mayor. Wilson Fisk is already planning his next move, to campaign for an even higher office.
I want to see what happens next, and will follow this mini-series (but will pass on all the myriads of spin-offs and tie-ins). THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
Red Hood allegedly and perhaps mistakenly murders a criminal who was an undercover informant and three FBI agents. Nightwing and Oracle detect something in the video that makes them suspect this was not Red Hood but a masquerade and frame-up. Dick Grayson (Nightwing) and Jason Todd (Red Hood) team up to find the real culprit, with plenty of action and fight scenes along the way.
There’s also time to fit in a flashback story about the time when Dick took a young Jason under his “wing” and mentored his development as a new sidekick (Robin) to Bruce Wayne (Batman). There are some touching exchanges and warm-hearted scenes. A good read. FOUR STARS.
No comments:
Post a Comment