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Wednesday, November 30, 2022
PGHHEAD'S 2022 COMICS ODYSSEY, Part Forty-Six
PGHHEAD’S 2022 COMIC ODYSSEY, PART 46
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 November 30, 2022 . . . 1100 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 1036 comics documented
Issue #11 is a little bit of both, focusing on Robbie Reyes, Ghost Rider of Earth-616 (our Earth) who has morphed in the All-Rider, a Ghost Rider without limits who can make anything he touches into his flaming hell ride. Reyes is struggling with the many spirits of vengeance that share the Ghost Rider body with him, and decides to go it alone against the Mutiversal Masters of Evil. He faces off against the (Doctor) Doom Above All, which requires him to access the full force of the All-Rider.
Despite the addition of help from Deathlok and Ant Man Tony Stark, interference by Dark Phoenix results in a stalemate and Reyes reverting to a weakened human form as the Masters of Evil head for the last unconquered universe of Earth-616.
Overall the Avengers Forever issues have been kind of hit or miss with me, and this one is right in the middle, a little bit of both. Jim Towe’s art in this particular issue looks rather cartoonish which doesn’t work considering the seriousness of these events.
I was looking forward to just one more issue of this and then moving onto something else, but no . . . . . .. the conclusion requires three more issues: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE ALPHA #1, then AVENGERS #63 before wrapping up in AVENGERS FOREVER #12 Sigh. THREE STARS.
Instead the focus is primarily on Ben Reilly and his efforts to regain his sense of self after the Beyond Corporation removed his shared memories with Peter Parker. He’s assumed the identity of Chasm (featured on the cover) and in an effort to reclaim what he’s lost (and perhaps attain revenge) he’s made an alliance with Madeline Pryor. That’s a character I haven’t read about since the X-Men stories of the 1980’s.
Pryor was recently resurrected through the Krokoa revival of mutants, and granted dominion over the realm of Limbo as the Goblin Queen. Wasn’t that the problem that arose out of the Inferno cross-over series from the 1980’s? Why would the ruling council of Krakow do that? (I don’t read that title so I’m not aware of the details on how this happened.)
The story here is told in four separate seasons or vignettes, which works as a departure from the standard single story issue. There’s an interesting third character in Janine (which may not be her real name), the romantic interest for Ben Reilly. She appears to have a troubled and possibly criminal past, and is transformed via the Chasm/Gobin Queen alliance into Hallows Eve. Yeah, she looks like another Goblin variation.
This issues serves as the groundwork for the upcoming Dark Web crossover event. On the letters page, Zeb Wells refers to both the former 1980’s Inferno event as well as Mutant Massacre. I’ve read both of those and was entertained by the latter by disappointed by the former (too long).
The Dark Web epic will encompass 18 issues across seven different titles. I’m going to sit that out and leave it to others to cover the story (if they are interested enough). THREE STARS.
In DEAD MALL, an old indoor shopping mall is now closed, parking lot overgrown, and scheduled for demolition. Some things have been living inside since the 1964 opening, allegedly preying on unsuspecting shoppers “Who would care if a few went missing?” asks the unseen narrator in the text captions. Those things are now starving and hungry, so the break-in by five teens who come to party is most welcome. We get glimpses of their horrific appearance from the shadows as the story moves forward.
During their exploration, the teens become separated and entrapped in certain sections of the mall, seemingly modified in some way to create a sort of maze, with some nice panels detailing M.C. Esher-like settings.
There’s not a lot of character development here just yet, but that’s to be expected in the introductory issue. The only empathetic character so far is Beth, kind of an introvert who was coaxed into going along with the trip.
The art and coloring are interesting but a bit inconsistent, reminding me of the Archie Comics house style. I’m assuming this story is marketed towards young adult readership but it provides enough substance to interest an older reader such as myself. THREE STARS.
Somehow the U.S. Postal Service carries on, but not without mass killings of their ranks. This forces them to adapt to a more aggressive performance of their duties. Despite the thinning of their ranks, they still are dedicated to that long-standing Post Office mission.
Postmaster #32 is tasked to deliver a mysterious letter and encounters highway robbers on his trek across the western states. It looks bad for him until a surprise rescue from a dual sword-wielding female warrior who he may recognize.
An interesting debut, and the dialogue makes some not-so-subtle digs at the pandemic nay-sayers and protesters. The black and white art is interesting and stylish with a manga influence. I believe this is intended as a short two-issue limited series, so I’ll most likely pick up the next issue to see how this ends.
This is presented in the magazine-sized prestige format and benefits from the larger panels. If I had to identify an emerging trend in comics, it could be this, despite the prestige formats pros and cons for comic shops and collectors. Doesn’t bother me, as I’ve already got magazine bags and boards and boxes for storage. Art lovers should appreciate the bigger pages. THREE STARS.
The opening story, “All Clear” by Megan Ferrell Burke and Arturo Laurie is my favorite, a futuristic war tale where soldiers wait out a chemical attack and choose one unlucky member to test the air quality to determine if it’s safe for the others to leave the underground bunker. Well told, with a Twilight Zone twist to it.
“Game Over” by Julys Conway and Annapaola Martello is about a soldier tasked with working out strategic war games on a computer array each day, until real life events seem too familiar. This has a more contemporary “Ender’s Game” feel to it.
“Terps” reveals how all too often allies are used in a war effort and then abandoned to their fates after it concludes, this time on a future war on another planet. Disturbing.
The final story, “The Great Man” by Rev. William J. bellamy and Cecilia Lo Valvo is the most personal and most moving of the quartet. It’s a memoir of a soldier’s experience in Vietnam as a photographer (nicknamed F-Stop) and his later assignment for the L.A. Times to photo Nelson Mandela.
All four stories display some serious writing chops with good art. FOUR STARS.
Peach and 32 previously worked together before the U.S. Postal Service was spread so thin in a post-pandemic world. The dialogue between them is both competitive and fun to follow. Turns out the original mission was a false trail but they get back on course. Following many well-depicted battles with monsters and robbers they deliver the message - - and it’s another subtle dig at current perceptions as well as a cure (although the results of the cure are subject to interpretation).
Why do male postal carriers have number designations and female carriers have fruit names? I wish that had been explained.
Stan Yak takes over on art, and while his style also appears to be manga-influenced it is definitely more action-oriented. A fun read, but if you’re on a tight comics budget this is not anything new, unusual or what I would consider essential. THREE STARS.
Flash forward from the Vietnam War in Issue #1 to today, with sole survivor Morrie “Muddy” Davis announcing his retirement. He’s a successful newspaper cartoonist whose “Junkyard Joe” Sunday comics strip has been published since January 1973.
On a cold wintry night he receives an unexpected visitor on his back porch, the missing-since-Vietnam Junkyard Joe robot soldier. Meanwhile The Custodian is hot on his trail, and he’s not a nice person.
Johns knows how to wring the emotions from a minimum of dialogue and trusts the art of Frank to sell it from facial expressions to backgrounds.
I really like the look of this book.
JUNKYARD JOE is just a small piece of the Unnamed Universe that Johns is building with six new titles hinted at in the back material as well as the return of GEIGER. Guess I’m getting in at the right time, I think. Hope my wallet can take it. FOUR STARS.
#1026 A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #2 by Cullen Bunn and Andrea Mutti (Mad Cave, November 2022)
It must be the watercolor art of Mutti that makes a big difference here. He has the ability to make a bloody scene appear even bloodier. This is a gory comic, not for the squeamish.
In Issue #2, Bunn increases the gore, the fear, the dread, the suspense. If you’re a fingernail biter, don’t read this. References to Unit 731 continue to show up, and the meaning continues to elude Dr. Nick Shaw.
Poor Dr. Shaw moved to a foreign country and the small town of Disante to get away from the violence he encountered in the big city. But here, a gruesome serial killer is keeping the emergency room busy, and seems to have a personal interest in Shaw. Nasty stuff, and I love it.
FOUR STARS.
Next . . . Three entertaining and fun monster books, all tackling these themes from different angles . . . . .
What do these two monster hunters have in common? . . . . . Alcohol! Jerri Bartman a.k.a. Count Crowley is a recovering alcohol resisting the temptation while Cal McDonald a.k.a. Criminal Macabre always has a bottle near at hand, the fuel that runs his engine.
Bartman is reluctantly attending a monster mania convention (in costume) trying to “expand the viewership” when a rampaging creature from deep beneath the earth (a Mammutaur, a human/demon/mastodon hybrid) uses the con to escape from the pursuing MacDonald.
They meet, and team up for a funny adventure with some excellent dialogue and chemistry (about to boil) between the two characters.
Bartman tries her best to get MacDonald into an AA meeting to no avail as the end of the monster spells the end of their relationship. Lots of fun. I read it twice. FOUR STARS.
#1028 DAMN THEM ALL #1 by Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard (Boom! Studios, October 2022)
A vastly entertaining blend of organized crime and demon summoning presented in an irreverent style that only a Brit could
conceive. When it comes to the comic work of Spurrier it’s either hit or miss for me, and this is a hit. Sadly, I’ve got too many titles on my monthly pulls to add any more. I’ll bookmark this one for a later trade paperback reading.
Ellie is a young conjurer, a “precocious little shit” who learned all her skills from arcane master Uncle Alfie. Her favorite weapon when she’s not using her summoning powers is a bloody hammer.
In the introductory issue, Ellie’s intervention saves a crime boss from death by demon and she’s recruited to help him fend off a competitor who is utilizing black magic and demons.
FOUR STARS.
In the small towns of West Virginia, a traveling sales team of five goes door to door working for a photography studio. The differences between these characters and their relationships with each other as they go about their business is interesting enough. Add the horror element and it gets stronger.
The sales team picks up hitchhiker Maxine who ends up joining the sales team. The residents of Jenner Hills, West Virginia are suspicious of them as the town has several missing person posters around for young children. During their solicitations, Maxine has a bad feeling about one particular home where their door-knocking wasn’t answered. She decides to return later to investigate and uncovers a monster nest. Seems she has some troubles with monsters in her past. A good beginning. These characters wouldn’t be as cool as they appear without some fine details from the art of Cantirino. FOUR STARS.
Here's what I had to say in my review of DEVILS HIGHWAY, VOLUME 1:
"DEVIL'S HIGHWAY is a perfect grind house movie on the comics page, a fast-paced and riveting blend of horror, crime and detection thriller. . . . . . Some readers may view the character of Sharon as an exaggeration of the heroic but mentally scarred bad-ass heroine, but I loved her. She, as well as Quinn, the disgraced FBI agent still pursuing the case are what made the story memorable for me."
DEVILS HIGHWAY VOLUME 2 is a continuation of that unlikely partnership but escalates the story, the setting, and the threat on a larger scale. Writer Benjamin Percy describes it best in the back matter of the trade paperback: "We wanted to get bigger in every way. Crank up the terror and suspense, speed up the action, elevate the stakes, and broaden the conspiracy. The murder syndicate is now international - and its dark influence has soaked into some of the institutions meant to guard us, including the Border Patrol and the FBI."
As soon as Sharon and Quinn head to the U.S./Canadian border in Minnesota to investigate an abandoned trailer stacked with dead bodies, several of them mutilated and placed outdoors in an odd configuration, they have been marked. While they are pursing the snake cult once again, they become the prey as well.
I love the hard-as-stone character of Sharon even more this time. She reminds me of the Punisher. Some new and intriguing characters are introduced, which is good because this doesn't end well and not everyone we have become familiar with survives. It's an ending of sorts but the story seems to indicate that there may be more. FOUR STARS.
You can tell just by the story titles that Ram V is really building an epic here, and it’s so good. Batman (my favorite of all DC characters) is being restored to his proper place on the plateau of great superhero titles.
This picks up where the Overture (or appetizer) finished. The mysterious and dangerous Orgham family is establishing their foothold in Gotham. The League of Assassins failed to stop them. Batman nearly died and is recovering under the care of old friend Jim Gordon, who now knows a secret (as if he didn’t before. Two-Face is playing a bigger role in the proceedings and his dark side is winning out. The internal dialogue within Harvey/Two Face as well as how Simon Spurrier is portraying him in the back-up story indicates that the struggle for body supremacy may even have a third party involved in the proceedings. An indication/symbol of the id, ego, and superego, perhaps.
If you’ve been missing out on the deeply layered intricate story and incredible art of recent DETECTIVE COMICS then grab the first trade paperback and join us. FIVE STARS.
Some of the best stories from the prolific pen of Stephen King occur with young people coming of age together in small towns, a bit of nostalgia mixed in with the horror (Stand By Me, It, Mr. Harrington’s Phone, etc . .) SPECS reminds me of those King stories in the best way.
Kenny discovers a box of older brother Zack’s comic books, and he and Ted speculate with amusement over an advertisement for “Magic Specs” that grant wishes. Soon after, a package with the gadget arrives at Kenny’s doorstop in the middle of the night.
Sure enough, as long as the wishes are small-scale, they are granted for both friends. They learn how to manage that to their advantage until one day, when a confrontation prompts Kenny to make a regrettable wish in the heat of the moment.
Booher has a knack for writing realistic dialogue and setting up compelling scenes. While the art of Shehan is the kind that I would label “minimalist” it doesn’t detract from the story but helps move it along.
The story is told as a recollection thirty-years later by Kenny who is apparently troubled by it. As Kenny sees it, “three and a half decades is plenty of time to strip the flesh off those memories and grind their bones to dust . . . . . I can tell you this. This story isn’t really about Skunk the bully. It isn’t really about a racist town looking for a scapegoat . . . It isn’t even really about me, and Ted, and a pair of magic wish-granting glasses . . . This story? It’s about wishes. The ones we make. The ones we don’t. FOUR STARS.
Book Review: UPGRADE by Blake Crouch
UPGRADE by Blake Crouch (Ballantine Books, July 2022) Hardcover, 352 pages. ISBN # 9780593157534
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
The mind-blowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion
“You are the next step in human evolution.”
At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.
But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.
The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.
Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.
Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.
And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?
Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.
My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .
I’ve heard so much about Blake Crouch that it was time to read something, but I wanted to start with a stand-alone story and this was a good choice. UPGRADE was very entertaining and thought-provoking regarding the nature of humanity /Homo Sapiens. Crouch is an excellent writer that knows how to engage readers, create interesting characters, and pull us through a fast-paced story.
The science behind what happens in a near-future America seems realistic enough and Crouch does his best to explain it, although the details made my head spin. Hopefully, some knowledgable geneticist will review this and let us know if the speculation is sound or just pseud0-science. I have to admit it convinced me.
There's also a subtle-for-some, not-so-subtle-for-others message within the story about what makes us human and where as a species we have been heading. It's a little doom and gloom, but I share many of the somewhat cynical observations: "We don't have an intelligence problem. We have a compassion problem. That, more than any other single factor is wha't driving use towards extinction.” In spite of that, the ending of UPGRADE was very satisfying to me, bittersweet and warm.
Saturday, November 26, 2022
Book Review: THE HOLLOW KIND by Andy Davidson
THE HOLLOW KIND by Andy Davidson (MCD, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, October 2022) Hardcover, 448 pages. ISBN # 9780374538569
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . .
Andy Davidson's epic horror novel about the spectacular decline of the Redfern family, haunted by an ancient evil.
Nellie Gardner is looking for a way out of an abusive marriage when she learns that her long-lost grandfather, August Redfern, has willed her his turpentine estate. She throws everything she can think of in a bag and flees to Georgia with her eleven-year-old son, Max, in tow.
It turns out that the estate is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie is thrilled about the chance for a fresh start for her and Max, and a chance for the happy home she never had. So it takes her a while to notice the strange scratching in the walls, the faint whispering at night, how the forest is eerily quiet. But Max sees what his mother can't: They're no safer here than they had been in South Carolina. In fact, things might even be worse. There's something wrong with Redfern Hill. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. It is the true legacy of Redfern Hill: a kingdom of grief and death, to which Nellie's own blood has granted her the key.
From the author of The Boatman's Daughter, The Hollow Kind is a jaw-dropping novel about legacy and the horrors that hide in the dark corners of family history. Andy Davidson's gorgeous, Gothic fable tracing the spectacular fall of the Redfern family will haunt you long after you turn the final page.
My Five-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .
On top of a compelling Southern gothic family saga, THE HOLLOW KIND blends eldritch themes with cosmic horror for a truly frightening tale. I believe this is the best yet from Davidson and I look forward to many more.
NOTES:
Nov. 18: That four-page prologue is quite a hook. I've noticed a number of horror authors using this technique with a teaser/foreshadow before the main story. It makes me want to start reading in earnest immediately to find out more. Well done.
Nov. 19: The book is divided into five sections. Part I is a palpable rise in tension, a slow build of the dread that is sure to follow in the succeeding parts. It's a cool mix of introducing Nellie and her son Max and their troubles, their hesitancy to settle into the inherited house and estate, and the beginnings of the disturbing history of the Redfern turpentine farm. Euphemia's reaction to her birth of twins is a bit troubling, as is her perception of what it means.
Nov. 21: I just finished Part Two. The flashback chapters are already horrifying. I'm thinking of a new sub-genre for this: ecological horror. As if Mother Nature has endured enough abuse at the hands of mankind and is fighting back. Actually there's a bit more to it than that in Davidson's story. But having just finished reading THE ROOT WITCH by Debra Castaneda -- that theme is stuck in my head.
Meanwhile,enough weird things are happening for Nellie and Max in the inherited homestead to bring the tension and dread to the surface. I'm already worried for these characters.
Nov. 24: Just finished Part Three. Everything is more intense. More violent. More horrific. The Redfern and Baxter families of 1923 do some wicked things. I'm not liking any of them. However, I'm growing very fond of Nellie and Max.
Nov 25: Part Four wastes no time getting to the root of the horror. A character referred to in the early chapters plays an important role and gives me yet another twisted person to despise.
Nov 26: In Part Five Davidson delivers on all the things hinted at in the preceding sections, and in a big, cosmic horror way. Truly frightening and overwhelming. I'm impressed.
Andy Davidson is the Bram Stoker Award nominated author of In the Valley of the Sun and The Boatman's Daughter, which was listed among NPR's Best Books of 2020, the New York Public Library's Best Adult Books of the Year, and Library Journal's Best Horror of 2020. Born and raised in Arkansas, he makes his home in Georgia with his wife and a bunch of cats.
MR. HARRIGAN'S PHONE Trailer (2022) Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell
MR. HARRIGAN'S PHONE on Netflix. Based on the Stephen King novella, this
film executes to perfection. Well played. Creepy, but one of the frightening
but effective stories from King. FIVE STARS.
Dr. Death | Official Trailer | Peacock Original
DOCTOR DEATH docu-drama based on the true disturbing story of Dr
Christopher Duntch. The acting is great, especially Joshua Jackson in the lead
role. This one will disturb you, as it exposes some flaws in the medical
system / university structure. FIVE STARS.
Thursday, November 24, 2022
PGHHEAD"S 2022 COMICS ODYSSEY, Part Forty-Five
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 November 30, 2022 . . . 1100 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 1015 comics documented
Writer Matteo Pizzolo takes the familiar What If theme and applies it to political and social events in the United States and speculates a disturbing environment: “A contested Presidential election plunges America into turmoil. The streets erupt in political violence. Police precincts are burned to the ground. Protesters and counter-protestors clash in bloody conflicts. Local police join forces with the National Guard, but even their combined strength is unable to quell the rage. Filling the vacuum, militia groups rise into roving gangs of vigilantes. Their unsanctioned law enforcement proves controversial and is soon challenged in the Supreme Court. In a strict interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, the Justices overturn two centuries of settled law by recognizing militias as Constitutionally protected. In an instant, every paramilitary gang in America is suddenly deputized, transforming the entire country into a vigilante police-state. Lockdowns set in. Fear spreads . . . and whispers of revolution.”
What this means in application is brought home in the opening scenes, which focus on San Francisco and a single female resident (and possibly revolutionary) who happens to be illegally out on the streets during a citywide lockdown (Day 61). The armed vigilante gangs arrive and receive carte blanche from the local police to round up “any P.O.S. on the street past curfew” and do whatever they want.
What follows are several pages of engaging dialogue between the fleeing woman (later dubbed “Dust Girl”) and an apartment building landlord who spots her climbing the exterior wall and sticks a gun out the window to stop her.
The latter part of the first issue is a flashback scene with the same character nine months earlier and living with a moonshine cooker boyfriend in a small apartment. Events on the street outside their apartment portray a pivotal and foreshadowing moment when a group of homeless/squatters get into a conflict with police over property rights and it escalates from there.
A promising debut issue that reminded me of the Vertigo TRANSMETROPOLITAN series except that this is not some tech-heavy society of the future. This could be happening right around the corner. Heavy stuff. Guess I’ll need to read issue #2 to find out what it all means, and at least learn the real name of Dust Girl. FOUR AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#992 - #993 DARK RIDE #1, #2 by Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan (Image, October-November 2022) The setting is very appealing - - a haunted amusement park. A full review of this title was posted to this blog for Wednesday, November 16. FOUR STARS.
Mary Jane has left Peter Parker. He’s striking up a new relationship with Black Cat, and has gone to work for the reformed villain Norman Osborn at Oscorp alongside Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel). Peter’s using a new high-tech spider suit and riding a glider courtesy of Osborn.
The Hobgoblin makes a return, and the cover of Issue #11 poses the question: who is it? The original — Roderick Kingsley? Or is new father Ned Leeds being coerced/manipulated into wearing the gear again? The answer is surprising, as is the reasons for all this. Issue #13 is a key issue, marking the first appearance of the Gold Goblin suit in action. THREE STARS.
#997 GOLD GOBLIN #1 by Christopher Cantrell and Lan Medina (Marvel, January 2023)
In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #13 Norman Osborn, despite resisting his temptation to go Goblin, steps back onto the Glider as Gold Goblin (suit developed by Osborn and Parker) in order to save Spider-Man from the Hobgoblin threat.
Now he’s conflicted (as if he wasn’t before) torn between his new good guy persona (enabled by Sin Eater taking away his transgressions and leaving him a cleansed man) and his Goblin tendencies. Writer Christopher Cantwell puts him through the mental wringer as he agonizes over the decision.
When some young lads ask him for autographs after a put-down of Jack O’Lantern, he experiences a new feeling -- as a hero. So which way will he turn? This mini-series will explore that. THREE STARS.
The Goodreads synopsis does a fair job of summarizing what awaits within Volume 9 of SCALPED: “In this volume, war breaks out on the reservation as Red Crow loses his grip on the reins and Dash Bad Horse faces his toughest and fiercest foe yet.” Although that doesn't quite do it justice. This is by far the most violent and consequential story arc yet. I can only imagine what awaits in final Volume 10.
What I love so much about this series is how Aaron has added so many plot threads throughout the volumes and then just pulls them out at unexpected times. Issue #50 is devoted to a long history of abuse of Indian tribes and “scalping", which reminds readers that the title may be much more than just a metaphor.
Both Red Crow and Dash Bad Horse make decisions and take actions that I never imagined despite how closely I've been following this story. Damn, this is so good! I'd love to share those scenes with you but if you've read this far then you may be reading or planning to read this series - - and I would not want to spoil it for you. You should have the opportunity to experience the same gut-punch as me.
All I'm going to say is that choking scene in the jail will stay with me for a long time, as well as Dash's partial recovery from what happened to him in Volume 8 - - and right before the damage piles on in this volume. Damn, Part 2! FIVE STARS.
SCALPED reaches the end of the trail and its a bittersweet ending, but so satisfying. Several times while reading this I had to pause, look up from the book, close my eyes and marvel at the brilliance on the pages. Also, sometimes to dab at the tears. Sometimes to smile.
This is a modern crime masterpiece, and deserves a place on the plateau with the other comic book masterpieces. And, save a place on the plateau of great crime stories in all formats.
Aaron and Guera top themselves in this final volume in one of the most incredible showdowns between characters since the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Some do not survive, and those that do are changed forever. Every single plot thread is sewn up and finished. The future of every single character of importance throughout this series is detailed.
I did not believe I would ever read a crime comic that matched the level of excellence that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have demonstrated over and over again. Move over, guys. This is it. Brilliant. FIVE STARS.
However, without a familiarity with the Project Superpowers characters, this graphic novel (originally published in six individual issues) may prove to be confusing to readers. I don’t think I would have the same appreciation for this had I not previously read some of those PS titles.
Project Superpowers originally debuted as a limited series co-plotted by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross, who came up with the idea of reviving some Golden Age superheroes in new stories. These were all lightweight characters originally published by now-extinct companies like Fox Comics, Crestwood Publications, Nedor Comics and others. No longer under copyright protections, these characters were in the public domain and easy to access.
In the Ellis version of PS, these heroes were subdued and banished to an otherworldly phantom zone in a climatic battle that took place near the small town of Blackcross. In the opening scenes, a man sets himself on fire (a la Pyroman) and walks into the waters of Lake Nedor but doesn’t die. A pharmacist receives a package that releases a gas that sends him to the emergency room and leaves an imprint of a skull and crossbones (symbol of Black Terror) on his torso.
Several Blackcross residents have bizarre incidents where they experience the feeling of others trying to occupy their bodies. When some also have a run-in with the American Spirit, a demonic presence that seems intent on preventing the hero crossovers, the survivors band together to try and figure out what is happening, under the leadership of a resident possessed by The Green Llama.
Ellis maintains the dark and mysterious setting throughout, aided by the atmospheric details of Worley. The art and moody coloring remind me of Francesco Francavilla’s art. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#1015 FEAR OF A RED PLANET #1 (AfterShock, November 2022) A full review of this issue appears on the blog for Wednesday, November 23 FOUR STARS.
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
New Title Review: FEAR OF A RED PLANET from AfterShock Comics
FEAR OF A RED PLANET #1 by Mark Sable and Andrea Olimpieri (AfterShock, November 2022) The advance promotional information on FEAR OF A RED PLANET refers to the new AfterShock comic as a blend of western adventure with science fiction. I feel that, aside from the myriad of Star Wars comics, science-fiction is an under-utilized genre in comics so I looked forward to this title. I’m ready for a good “space western.”
FEAR OF A RED PLANET is the story of Marshall Carolina Law, the only law enforcement officer for a small community of hard-working miners on a Mars colony. She’s suddenly faced with investigating the first murder on the planet in fifteen years.
The descriptions reminded me of a favorite guilty pleasure movie from 1981, OUTLAND, with Sean Connery and Peter Boyle. It was essentially a retelling of the classic HIGH NOON western film but set on an international space station. Sean Connery plays the sheriff, who upsets the corporate rulers who then send a spaceship full of hitmen after him. Rather than escape from the station, he decides to stay and fight. When a concerned worker asks him “what about your men?", Connery utters my favorite line of the film “my men are shit.”
The outward signs indicate that FEAR OF A RED PLANET is a western set in space. However, like the better blends of those two genres (the classic tv series FIREFLY comes to mind) after reading the debut issue it’s evident there’s so much more going on here than a simple story.
A standard rule for writing good fiction is “show, don’t tell” and there are plenty of examples of that in Issue #1. In fact, so much detail is provided that it took a second reading for me to fully appreciate the story. Along with Marshall Carolina, there are six other characters who will most likely play pivotal roles in the evolving storyline. They are all introduced in Issue #1 and we learn about them through their actions and dialogue. I’m surprised and also impressed with how fast-paced this introduction is while writer Mark Sable manages to work all these side issues and reveals into the story without interrupting the flow.
It also required a second reading/viewing to fully appreciate the work of Italian artist/colorist Andrea Olimpieri, an unconventional style that is very expressive in staging, panel size and placement, and choice of colors/hues. If you’re tired of paying for comics that you can read in 10 minutes and remember every detail, then you will surely get more for your money in FEAR OF A RED PLANET.
The Mars colony was established in 2050 by Randolph Atlas, the C.E.O. of Atlas Aerospace and a visionary who believed in “rugged individualism” and saw the settlement as an escape from the shackles of life on Planet Earth. Unfortunately, that colony failed and the Atlas-Huoxing Gongs Corporation took over. By 2070 they have entrapped the small community of valuable mineral miners in a cycle of work to pay your debts, always owe the “company store” and never earn enough to return to Earth. Workers are placated by alcohol drugs, and sex workers — although that only serves to damp down their disgruntlement for a limited time.
The text material in the back of the book is a written memorandum from the Corporation to Yates Reiser, the cruel Colonial Overseer in charge (and victim of brutality from revolting workers in Issue #1) that both reveals their interest in profits over human interests and indicates how they view all the other characters in the story (most are deplored but considered essential). The text is packed with additional information about those pivotal characters and seems to violate that “show, don’t tell” rule. However, these characters are deep enough that this provides an essential reference to understanding the story and the relationships as it moves forward. I think I’ll be referring to this often. A very good debut. I’m hoping that the creative team can deliver on the promise of a great story established here, and I feel confident that they will. FOUR STARS.
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