PGHHEAD’S 2022 COMIC ODYSSEY, PART 43
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 10, 2022 . . . 1033 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 967 comics documented
Confused and conflicted primary character Dash Bad Horse allows his new live-in lover (Carol, estranged daughter of Chief Red Crow) to transport him down a sex-fueled drug spiral, eventually persuading him to use heroin and crack. It nearly gets him killed (in more ways than one) if not for a fortuitous development when his life is on the line.
This five issue collection is book-ended by that story. In between are one-issue character reveals that Aaron does so well.
A new character with multiple names and disguises a la Human Target/Chameleon comes to the new Prairie Rose Casino to work his card shark moves and card-counting schemes to take in a big haul, when he spies an even bigger opportunity in the form of Dash, whom he can blackmail into assisting with a casino robbery. Aaron has a knack of making me sympathize with some pretty dark characters, but not this one. He's worthy of being despised, and I believe that was the intention. The final story in this volume deals with the casino robbery, and it's grim, gritty, bloody, brutal and dark as hell, befitting the mood Aaron has created for his saga. R.M. Guera illustrates both of those tales in his inimitable noir style.
Davide Furno illustrates the spotlight tale and backstory of Britt "Diesel" Fillenworth, the one-sixteenth Kickapoo and mostly white criminal. Furno's work has significantly improved from the last issue. He's no Guera, but there are some very well done panels in this story detailing the years of abuse that Diesel suffered and explains how he became the sociopathic thug he is today (as well as a backup FBI undercover agent). I hate what he does but I feel bad for him.
"The Ballad of Baylis Earl Nitz”, illustrated by Francesco Francavilla goes over his backstory in detail, resulting in my understanding his motivations better (but not agreeing with his methods). Nitz is an FBI supervisor of Dash and Diesel and also on a bloody quest for revenge against Red Crow that is highly personal.
R.M Guera is back on art for "I'll Never Get Outta Of This World Alive" which gets into specific details regarding the night in 1975 when two FBI agents were gunned down, and for the first time finally reveals who the murderer is as well as the killer of Gina Bad Horse, Dash's mother. This was foreshadowed in Volume Two but comes to a head here as this may play an important part in the story to come.
Kind of a pivot volume with a few new wrinkles and lots of additional adornments that are just delightful. FIVE STARS.
This expands on the story from Volume One and reminds me how the BREAKING BAD television series pulled its’ main character deeper and deeper into some dark places. Poor Mitchell Moss, Nashville hot chicken restaurant owner and chicken-suit wearing vigilante, just wants to get his dysfunctional family back together and keep them safe. In some very funny scenes, nobody believes him when he makes a confession about where’s he been and what he’s done. (You won’t need to read Volume One. The story contains a good synopsis.)
The bizarre explanation of what happened that he gives to the investigating police detectives is somehow believed. It’s pretty outrageous and so off-the-wall you have to laugh.
There’s a good reason they buy it, and Mitchell seems he can’t get away from the chicken-suit confrontations with criminals as these cops won’t let him. So strap up, adjust your napkin, and get ready for some action with the Russian mafia and a gang of Albanian Bikers called the Irate Basturds.
I need some more amusement right now, so I’m going to red this again. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.
If you've thought there is too much drama in SCALPED and wanted more action, Volume Six will punch your ticket. This is fleet, frenzied, and so very, very intense from start to finish.
Suffice to say that some desperate character (I've lost count) do some unexpected and desperate things this time. Dash is a man of principles, but you don't want to be on the wrong side of him.
Things between the Hmong investors and Red Crow come to a head. FBI Agent Nitz believes he finally has a witness that can testify against Red Crow. Diesel gets out of jail, again. Catcher, the aging alcoholic, former Rhodes scholar and radical lets the Thunder Beings guide his hand as to who to help and who to hurt. Carol gets some bad news, and the bond between her and Dash is going to grow whether she likes it or not. Superb stuff.
Consistently compelling and engaging. Dark and desolate. Sad, to the highest degree. FIVE STARS.
Fantasy-lovers may embrace this title. BRIAR is an alternate telling of the story of Sleeping Beauty (Briar Rose). In this version, princess Briar isn’t awakened and keeps sleeping for another hundred years. She revives almost by accident in a devastated world unlike the beautiful kingdom and pampered lifestyle she once enjoyed. She’s quickly captured and confined, to be sold into slavery, and befriends a blue-skinned warrior woman who comes to her defense. The world building here is interesting and Cantrell keeps a tight rein on the text and narration, allowing Garcia to shine through several word-free panels.
I like fantasy, but I’m just not feeling it here. I really have no criticism of this book. Okay, maybe the color choices don’t wow me. It might be that I’ve read enough print anthologies with alternate takes on fairy tales that this doesn’t seem fresh to me. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
There’s actually four characters to follow in Ridley’s carefully crafted story that includes law enforcement themes and concerns from all sides. Commissioner Montoya wants to upgrade the department and provide inspiration. She struggles with self-confidence and confides in her brother.
Then there are the three cadets recently promoted to the force. Park is a female beat officer recently commended as doing the right thing when there was a different reason for her actions. Now she has to act the role even though she feels undeserving and has something to prove. Wells would rather be a parole officer and gets his wish. You know something will happen but his first encounter with a felon on probation is a positive one. Ortega is top of his class, so he’s assigned to the most challenging precinct in Gotham, where fellow officers already try to break down his confidence.
There’s a tiny disclaimer box on page one that states that in the interest of authenticity there is language of a racially offensive nature. That’s kind of funny, because every instance in Issue #1 is redacted with a black box through the words. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
The first thing I noticed about this book is the outstanding art and colors. Brad Anderson’s work on colors really makes Gary Frank’s art pop. Very effective. The story takes place during the Vietnam War, 1972. A new recruit is dropped off by helicopter to join a jungle platoon. He doesn’t speak and no one seems to take much notice of that or even that he’s a robot until half of his uniform is blasted away.
When his programmers in Washington DC send a directive to head south after his troop is ambushed, Junkyard Joe defies orders and transports the only survivor, a wounded Muddy Davis, north to safety.
A recovering Davis laments the loss of his platoon but wonders where Junkyard Joe is. He has only his sketches to remind him. I’m assuming next issue will occur in present day with an update.
As a war comic, this is a good one. It reminds me of the old WEIRD WAR TALES from DC Comics. The front cover even has the checkerboard design at the top that DC used to utilize way back when. FOUR STARS.
Nick Shaw is a new emergency room doctor in Atlanta, Georgia in 1985. One of his early patients is a man allegedly suffering from serious self-inflicted wounds who has to be strapped down to the gurney. He whispers secrets to Shaw, and even knows his name, before escaping his restraints and violently attacking him. The encounter brings up long-suppressed early childhood memories in Shaw related to “Unit 731”, so disturbing that two weeks later he joins Doctors Without Borders and heads to Honduras.
Unfortunately for Nick, there are more patients being brought in for emergency assistance in Honduras, as a skull-faced psychopath is experimenting with torture on his victims. More suppressed memories surface and nearly render Shaw immobile.
Mutti’s work here is flawless, from facial expressions and body language to his clever water-colored shadings and an ability to illustrate violent struggles. Whew.After I receive Issue #2, I’m going to start over in anticipation of discovering more that I missed during that first impulsive reading. FIVE STARS.
#955 OLD DOG #1 written, drawn and colored by Declan Shalvey (Image, September 2022)
The best thing here is the art and colors by Shalvey which are creative and dazzling. The story seems more familiar, until it takes a science-fictional tone near the end that will most likely drive it forward.
Jack Lunch is a disgraced CIA officer, relegated to tedious surveillance teams and now spending his days inside a van watching a video camera feed. When that job goes awry, he leaves the van to assist his team and his life is forever changed.
Lynch begins working for a shadow group and is teamed up
with an unlikely partner that will provide future tension.
THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
The criminal underworld fights back using the dark web, regular internet and social media to get the word out that they will pay big bucks for not just the murder of Frank Castle, but for any piece of information that helps in the hunt. You’d think that Frank would keep a low profile with everyone looking for him. Nope.
He heads to the foreign country of Svetzgata to serve justice on the criminal Brotzki family. This results in multiple sightings and multiple attempts on Frank’s life, leading to a final confrontation with old nemesis Jigsaw. There’s plenty of action as befits the Punisher trademark, but it doesn’t appeal to me.
Somehow with all the Hand’s resources, tech and weaponry behind him Frank becomes unstoppable and indestructible. All the drama has been drained. I’ve heard good things about the current PUNISHER title, so I’ll need to check that out before deciding whether I’m going to read anymore Punisher. TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS.
Main character Joe D is a roadie for Satanic-themed heavy metal band Mass Acre. Unwittingly, their music summons demons which Joe D dispatches, since he’s a “seventh son of a seventh son who used the powers that are his birthright to cast out spirits inadvertently summoned by hapless rock stars.” He’s sort of retired (although the story makes this difficult to determine due to flashback scenes that aren’t clearly defined) and has to get back in the game when his musical daughter becomes the pawn of another aspiring demon/adversary from Hell.
The story is very wordy, and drops way too many Satanic names and references for its own good. I like Seeley’s work but he needs to uncomplicated this a bit. An interesting aside is that the idea for THE ROADIE came to him while changing his one-year-old daughter’s crappy diaper. Gotta love writers who get inspired by everyday mundane activities and spin them into gold.
So, if the blend of rock music and demonic invasions sounds interesting then by all means check this out. I just couldn’t get excited about this story or characters due to my familiarity with this theme.
And, if you want to read some really first-rate horror fiction along these lines, check out THE FINAL RECONCILIATION by Todd Keisling and/or WE SOLD OUR SOULS by Grady Hendrix. They are excellent. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#958 UNBREAKABLE RED SONJA #1 by Jim Zub and Giovanni Valletta (Dynamite, October 2022)
If only the story and art inside were as enthralling as the cover. However, if you’re a fan of Red Sonja you will probably enjoy this. There just isn’t enough here for me to want more.
The opening act with a priestess and her warriors finding a hidden treasure cache and a gateway to another realm doesn’t involve Sonja but I suspect it’s a preview of what lies ahead. The main story has a drunken and sleepy Sonja falling victim to a small purse snatcher. When she finally catches up, the thief is unmasked as a young feisty red-headed female who calls herself “Red Sonja”. Earlier in the story, Sonja was trying to recall the female mentor who taught her fighting skills and has a blurry recollection. It’s probably all connected. To keep it interesting, there’s a monstrous being who was summoned by an unknown that Sonja has to fight.
TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS.
In Issue #35 "Listening To The Earth Turn" with art by Danijel Zezelj he introduces two brand-new characters, Mance and Hazel, two senior citizens eking out a meager living in isolation on the remote edge of the reservation away from the populace. Their story is both inspirational and sad, illustrating how hardy, determined and resourceful Native Americans have needed to be in order to survive. When hard times arrive, the last thing on their minds is turning to the government for assistance.
Shunka, the bodyguard and enforcer for Chief Red Crow, gets the spotlight treatment in "A Fine Action Of An Honorable And Catholic Spaniard" (Issues #36-37) in a powerful story that reveals a side of Shunka not seen before, a weakness that can be exploited. It’s yet another character reveal that creates empathy for yet another hard ass player. I'm going to end up liking everybody before this saga ends.
R.M. Guera returns for the balance of this volume with his gritty, expressive art style for Issue #38 and "Family Tradition", the story of how Wade (Dash's alleged father), a lucky Vietnam War survivor (who has a chance meeting with someone else named Dashiel) returns to the reservation and joins up with the Dog Soldier Society in a flashback story.
Wade returns in the four-part "Unwanted" and attempts to reunite with son Dash and assist with discovering who killed Gina Bad Horse."Unwanted" is the capper on this Volume, and exemplifies justification for titling this volume "Rez Blues". You'll be plenty sad after you finish reading this.
It's a treatise on neglected and unwanted infants, whether the decision is made to abort or bring up in poverty with a single parent or maternalistic "granny". Both past and present are reflected in similar situations: what to do about a pregnancy. Dash and Carol go through separate rehabs after a violent separation and meet again by chance. In a heartbreaking scene, Carol wants to tell Dash she's pregnant, he wants to tell her he loves and forgives her, and neither can bring up the words resulting in only fond farewells.
Another powerful volume. I'm ready to be pummeled with emotions some more. Bring it, Aaron and Guera! FIVE STARS.
The mysterious Orgham family arrives at the docks, involving a giant melee with the League of Assassins and GCPD stuck in the middle. This creepy royal family (three pupils per eye) have ties to Arkham Asylum and have designs on the property. Batman nearly drowns and is rescued by an old friend (Gordon) and new associate (the powerful nameless street urchin from Simon Spurrier’s backup feature). Two-Face shows why he’s earned that name, and also appears in the new back-up feature. Another good story from Spurrier, but marred by the art of Hayden Sherman, which just doesn’t suit my tastes.
As the story, while still absorbing, seems to be getting a bit predictable, so I’m taking my ratings down a peg this issue. FOUR STARS.
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