In 2021 I set a goal to post reviews here for 1,000 comics, and finished the year at 1,008 reviews. It was a stretch - - not to read that many comics, because I actually read quite a bit more. The challenge is to find and take the time to write a fair review of what I read - - but I made it. I’m up for a new year, and a new challenge. My goal for 2022 is to read and document 1,200 comics. That’s an average of 100 books per month, easy enough to check and update. Wish me luck!
# GOAL FOR FEBRUARY 09, 2022 . . . 134 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 140 comics documented
This wacky 8-part science fiction / mystery/ space opera series featured a Swiss creative team and writer on all eight issues, and different European artists per each volume. To make it even more global, INFINITY 8 was originally published in France.
I’d recommend it only if you’re curious like me and really don’t care as much about the stories (silly and sometimes confusing). Infinity 8 is a space-faring ship/headquarters for a global organization intended to curb threats to the cosmos or sometimes just the ship itself. Each volume usually involves an attractive female agent who must don a space suit and leave the confines of the ship, usually in the company of a horny alien life form or a horny robot.
THREE STARS.
This is actually Volume 2 or Season 2 of the series. Unfortunately, there is no indication of that anywhere for readers believing they are picking up a new series.(The copy I have does not have 'the story so far' text on it.) The story just takes off and assumes that all readers must be regulars with no need for explanation. That hampered my enjoyment of this.
The team is pretty interesting: Jack Lawson, highly trained former FBI agent trying to find out what happened to his father ( a former Hoax Hunter of sorts); Ken Cadaver, a former NASA scientist with powers of telekinesis and an expert on reanimation technology; Regan Tate former child star possessed by a demon during filming and now posting magic energy blasts, language skills, etc; and Murder, a former astronaut who takes the form of a suit filled with crows (following an exposure to an energy rift in space).
The team’s effort this issue lead them to the Paris catacombs where skeletons have been misbehaving and secret passages abound. The color scheme is dark and monochromatic in many places, making some of the details appear too murky for my satisfaction. THREE STARS.
The main character is a psychic detective who wears a medieval knight’s helmut over a tuxedo. The story involves a search for the Bones of Gooseflesh and an expedition to the Himalayan Mountains that includes encounters with monks, monsters, and a big Yeti. Gianni’s art is exquitesly detailed and worthwhile.
Both story and art remind me of several of the more “out there” stories from the Hellboy legacy. Coincidentally, back-up story is a stand-alone Hellboy tale written and illustrated by master Mike Mignola.
FOUR STARS.
I loved this series and read all the issues when they originally came out, up until the departure of series creator/writer Mark Waid in a falling-out with Crossgen admin/owner.
New writer Scot Beatty did a commendable job of carrying-on and remaining true to the spirit of these Victorian-era sleuths/adventurers - Simon Archard (who takes all the credit) and Emma Bishop (the real problem solver who does all the heavy lifting). Plus, who doesn’t like Butch Guice’s semi-realistic art style?
A sinking airship strands Archard and Bishop on an island where they join adventurer Theophilus Dare in seeking the treasures of a lost city, encountering prehistoric monsters and a female villainess recalling H. Rider Haggard’s novel SHE. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
It’s London 2050. Olivia’s mother and father are scientists forced to immigrate to England following the “Contraction” after a terrible war:
Anger lifted foreigners in its grip and dropped them into camps. But, even in the camps some outcasts were cast out more than others (her family is apparently Arabian descent, but not specified). Erasure is a condition of exile. And identity becomes something to fight for.”
When her parents are gunned down in the street, Olivia ends up in an orphan camp, befriends a young boy (Pip) who’s abused by a lecherous headmaster. Olivia escapes and ends up with a street gang (the all-female Esthers) who teach her the street rules and how to steal from displaced Americans who live in luxury but are confined to a certain area of London. The gang’s all here in various twists on their personalities: the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Nicola NIckleby, etc.
There are new elements here that I can’t for the Dickens recall (been decades since I read Oliver Twist) and some clever social commentary touches added by writers Darin Strauss and Adam Dalva. A mini-series I would like to read in its’ entirety. FOUR STARS.
Bruce Jones pens a good prequel to Red Shadows, which doesn’t begin until Issue #2. This is a stand-alone story. I’m not sure if its also an adaptation of Robert E. Howard or a Jones original, but it’s a neat compact little tale.
Puritanical demon-slayer Solomon Kane is on his way to Torkertown and takes a short cut and finds himself at a crossroads between two pathways, and two armies from the underworld. You can’t tell who’s real or imagined and if incidents are happening in realtime a dream world, but it works out in the end and the wicked and greedy get what they deserve.
The art work by Rahsan Ekedal is a bit rudimentary and doesn’t enhance the story the way it should. THREE STARS.
#127 TOMMY GUN WIZARDS #1 (Dark Horse, August 2019)
I love Sami Kivela’s art so I scooped this one up. The story takes place in Prohibition Era Chicago 1931, but instead of alcohol what is prohibited is an elixir called lick which imbues its’ imbibers with magic. Elliott Ness is in charge, along with the regular cast of Untochables.
There’s a noir feel to the undertakings, a welcome mix of horror weirdness, mysticism and pulpy crime tales. I’d also like to find a collection of this and see how it plays out.
FOUR STARS.
#128 - #129 BOP #1 (Kitchen Sink Comics, 1982)
Here’s a rarity you don’t come across every day, a music-themed comics magazine. Billed as “America’s First & Only Music Comix Magazine” - - I believe it can still make that claim 40 years later as I have not come across anything quite like this: a collection of short comics stories and text pieces all based on musical themes (even though there have been plenty of biographical and fictional comics focusing on a single artist or group). Plus, nobody else I know of has tried the musical format in a magazine size.
Having said that, this is pretty unremarkable in spite of the inclusion of some recognized and veteran talent: Rick Geary, Marc Hempel, Dean Mullaney, Harvey Peaky, Trina Robbins and Alex Toth.
A second issue of BOP was announced, along with a table of contents, but never released. This is the one and only.
THREE STARS.
With THE DEVIL TREE newcomer Blood Moon of Saint Lucie, Florida make their debut with a horror mini-series with an interesting premise that unfortunately falls down in execution. The story-telling and art on display here reminds me of the black-and-white comics explosion four decades ago when so much was being published that many upcoming creators found an outlet. Some rose to the top, and some were never published again.
Amateurish is an unkind description of what transpires in THE DEVIL TREE. I think describing this as coming in just shy of professional work is more appropriate. Uneven story-telling. Some awkward dialogue, although improving in Issue #2. Uneven illustration, with some panels that show creative promise and rise above.
Supposedly based on true events/urban legend, the story centers around a massive tree that seems to call out to the curious and bend their will to its’ malicious intent. Paranormal investigators warn people to stay away.
Jim, a retiree having a bad day fishing at a Florida canal goes into the forest to turn moist soil for more worms, and covers buried skeletons at the base of the tree. He reports the find to the local police, but somehow keeps being drawn back to the site explaining that he wants to assist police. His argumentative wife seems to know something about this, which leads him into further danger.
In a separate plot thread, Lily, seemingly possessed by the tree, picks up a hitchhiking couple and brings them to the tree. She has an uncanny knowledge of their failing relationship (as if a mind reader) and torments them in order to feed their fear to the tree. Issue #2 ends on a cliff-hanger. TWO STARS.
Issue #3 marked the debut installment of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents re-boot in a complicated introductory story (no backstory for the characters) with cyborg werwolves, nuclear subs, a giant army, and superheroes ably illustrated by masterful Paul Gulacy.
“High Guard” is an historical comic retelling America’s race to the moon in 1868. The high point of the magazine is several articles and illustrations dedicated to novelist Larry Niven’s Ringworld series with a preview of the new (at that time) Ringworld Throne. “Living Gods” deals with the Earth of the future after enduring 17 wars plus 2 comet strikes. “Mission To Mars” concerns a billionaire’s funding of an expedition to search for alien artifacts on the Red Planet. “Hell Below” deals with monsters beneath the Atlantic ocean waves threatening an oil rig.
A neat menu of artists/illustrators in this final issue: Steve Ditko, Paris Cullens, Boris Vallejo, Mike Mignola, Walt Simonson, Richard Corben, Dave Gibbons, Gil Kane, Tomm Coker, etc. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
I'm guessing Mike McKone was selected for artist based on his ability to convey various facial expressions, which he's admittedly good at. However, his action scenes are flat and the overall art just doesn't look very good.
This was the first of a planned series of original graphic novels released straight to expensive hardcover, and also an effort to blend the cinematic Marvel universe into the comics to appeal to a broader audience. Maybe Ellis was tripped up by that theme, as this seems to be noticeably absent of his usual social commentary and deep plot threads/conspiracies. There are some subtle messages woven in regarding war, the military/industrial complex, etc - - but as I said, subtle. Not the usual Ellis style.
However, this is an entertaining and engaging read with quite a bit of humor within. Stark is arrogant and vain, a la Robert Downey Jr.'s take on Iron Man. Thor is conflicted between his human and godlike sides. Cap is a bit too wooden here. Hawkeye is depicted as clownish, and the other members berate him - especially Stark who hints at Clint Barton's weak circus skills and sloppy drunk nature. Bruce Banner/Hulk shows up, not wanting to call on his green monstrous side, but he can't help himself.
The story centers around a WWII Nazi robot weapon that Cap didn't entirely eliminate back in the day and a tree-like tentacled monster threat that Thor didn't entirely eliminate back in the day. The two get merged thanks to an upstart weapons manufacturer who then can't control them. Off we go. THREE STARS.
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