PGHHEAD’S 2023 COMICS ODYSSEY, PART 12
This marks the third consecutive year that I will attempt to document my comics reading by writing at least a mini-review. The goal is 1200 books read and reviewed in 2023, although I missed the mark in 2022 by 88 books. Still, I like that number as it’s easy enough to track - - - 100 books per month on average. Wish me luck!
# GOAL FOR March 20, 2023. . . 267 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 272 comics documented
Aaron deserves credit for working in as many Avengers characters past and present into this storyline (quite the task) and then topping it off by introducing a huge multiverse with even more variations on familiar characters. Everybody gets some panel time, although some are much shorter than others. This issue is the standard number of pages, but it’s a super-sized issue because of the immense size of many of the players who join the battle.
Beginning with Mephisto of Earth-616 (that’s the Earth we know) who doesn’t regret the defeat of his minions (and fellow Masters of Evil Ghost Goblin, Black Skull, King Killmonger) and escape from the timeline by Dark Phoenix and Doom. Only Young Thanos, who’s just there to gain “knowledge”, remains to taunt him for his failures. He also stands accused before the Council of Red (all the alternate versions of Mephisto) but that’s just part of his plan - - get them all together so he can absorb their energies and become Monstrous Mephisto.
While Avenger Prime (a version of Loki) goes up against Doom, Ka-Zar (wielding a cosmic power) joins up with the main bunch, who also initiate new Avengers member Galactus. Gorilla Man shows up with Ursa Major (Russian super-bear) and brings with them a former dead Celestial now transformed into a giant Deathlok. Colossal, indeed!
The story moves on in AVENGERS FOREVER #15 and then wraps up in AVENGERS ASSEMBLE: OMEGA. Three And One-Half Stars.
Eight strangers from different time periods find themselves on a planet far from Earth, mixed up in a deadly game where they are hunted by Predators. It’s a large cast of characters but don’t worry about trying to remember all their names as many will not return for Issue #2. However, we learn enough about them to care and make us squirm when they bite the dust.
That makes Ed Brisson’s story more impactful, and Netho Diaz’s art is explosive in all the right ways. A familiar character from the first Marvel PREDATOR series turns up at an opportune moment and adds another layer of interest to the storyline. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
a lot of promise. I read a couple of those recent Spider-Man issues and didn’t really find the character of Janine Godbe/Hallow’s Eve particularly interesting, more of a secondary character and love interest for Ben Reilly.
But skilled writer Erica Schultz (Bylines In Blood, Deadliest Bouquet, etc) makes her much more interesting. She’s on the run, isolated, impulsive, and not sure of the power of her newly acquired magic. During the Dark Web event, Janine was given a bag of magic Halloween masks, each with their own special powers. In Issue #1, she uses them to rob a bank and during a narrow escape she may have unwittingly unleashed a bigger problem. Plus, who doesn’t want to see more werewolves in comics?
During that Dark Web event, Maxine Danger of Beyond Corporation (sponsor of Ben Reilly as Spider-Man) erased Ben’s memories to make him easier to control, which transformed him into the dangerous Chasm, leaving Janine isolated and on the run with her bag of masks while she tries to formulate a plan to get Ben out of Limbo.
Hallow’s Eve is a character with a lot of potential, and allows new readers to the Spider-Man family a good jumping-on point. Michael Dowling’s art is also kind of special and suits the mood that Schultz is working to create perfectly. FOUR STARS.
The Multiversal Masters Of Evil have been reduced to just Doom Supreme, Dark Phoenix and Mephisto - - but they have grown more powerful as well as gigantic. In AVENGERS #66 Mephisto “absorbed all of his variants, granting himself immense power and growing to colossal size”.
Kuder’s art has been amazing throughout this series, and he outdoes himself this issue with some great scenes. For openers, that two-page spread of Galactus crushing and devouring Doom, The Living Planet while the Doom variants are driven away is breathtaking. The Thor family rallies. Deathlok the Celestial turns his big gun on Mephisto.
Meanwhile Robbie Reyes, the Ghost All-Rider and Brandy, the Starbrand console each other as they watch the battle, realizing that it can’t be won without their involvement which also means depleting more of their weakening bodies. Also, who’s who among the various Phoenix?
Aaron has one more twist to unravel before the finale in AVENGERS ASSEMBLE: OMEGA. The God Quarry was not just the rally point for Avengers Tower - - it was the proverbial finger in the dam. “Mephisto’s grand plan was never to rewrite existence. It was to end it.” THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.
It’s a bit of a mix of crime and super-hero fare, and contains several layers within the mystery introduced in Issue #1. You have to pay attention because the story does not play out in sequential order. A series of exposes of prominent citizens with criminal intent by a costumed vigilante known as No/One is followed by their murders.
The killer leaves messages under the signature of Richard Roe. After the confession and imprisonment of the alleged killer, the murders continue in copycat fashion.
Things become complicated as the person confessing to being Richard Roe is Aaron Kern - - who is the son of Ben Kern, a high ranking-member of the Pittsburgh Police and running for election. Lots of exposition in this debut issue. However, when the vigilante goes into action, Borge’s art really shines in a fresh and fluid way.
It’s all part of Kyle Higgin’s Massive-verse, and also is complimented by a podcast featuring Rachel Leigh Cook and Patton Oswalt. I’m not completely sold on this book, and the thought of a 10-issue run is a bit daunting. I’m going to sit back and observe for a bit before deciding to move forward. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
A interesting debut that raises many unanswered questions before it wraps up in Issue #1. When does the story take place? The backgrounds are somewhat futuristic and remind me of the first Blade Runner film. Both story (moody, dark) and art (bloody, gritty) remind me of the house style and tone of many Avatar comics. If you’re a fan of some of those you should check this out.
As the story begins the aforementioned and cloaked serial killer plants a bomb in an underground gathering of what appears to be a cult during a ritual sacrifice of a young woman. Detective Washington learns of this but doesn’t arrive on the scene until it’s too late. He’s the only survivor of the explosion. He is then “exiled” by the police department. What does that actually mean? (Unexplained). Did he uncover something he shouldn’t have, either the cult or the serial killer, and who in law enforcement and/or government wants to cover it up?
One year later, Washington is back on the force, and paired up with another detective (who he doesn’t completely trust). When they investigate another break-in and murder and what appears to be evidence of the re-appearance of the serial spine-ripper, he’s cautioned not to pursue his theories. Who can you trust?
Not bad but not great and another book that has me on the fence about continuing. I’m also wondering just how much Wesley Snipes has to do with this beyond coming up with the initial idea, just like I wonder about Keanu Reeve’s comic. THREE STARS.
Trust Jim Starlin not to rest on his laurels and write a simple storyline or downgrade the art chores. There is a lot of depth and characterization here. He also manages to fit his complex story into each issue through the use of smaller vertical or horizontal panels, sometimes panoramic and sometimes a simple character close-up. But no matter the size, the detail is there, even when Starlin employs white or black backgrounds for dramatic effect. There is magic here.
Issue #19: “Trap!”: The team decides to take the fight directly to Monalo’s headquarters on Tempest-7. However, once inside the maze of his fortress Monalo unleashes an unending horde of cyborg warriors that overwhelm Dreadstar’s group.
Issue #20: “The Fallen Hero”: Just when it looks like they can’t win, Oedi the Catman finds his way directly to Monalo in his armored mechanical chair and knocks them both out of an upper tower window and directly into the deep sea below. This
Issue #21: “Blow Out”: While trying to evade the battleships, The Beauty (the Dreadstar space vessel) warps too many times and the teleportation drive overheats and fails. The drive’s space-bending radiations escape their containment and cause a section of space to become a multi-dimensional rift. The crew of The Beauty then exists within hundreds of dimensions simultaneously which distorts both their perceptions and limbers up their bodies (like Mr. Fantastic) - - all imaginatively detailed in Starlin’s art. Doc Delphi manages to fix the drive but absorbs too much radiation as his body disincorporates. Whew! Starlin not only puts his characters through their trials and sorrows (especially Willow) but he doesn’t spare them either. FOUR STARS.
The story is equal in quality, and layered with complexity and emotion. Batman and The Joker venture inside the abandoned subway tunnels and complexes below Gotham to the heart of the nest of zombie-like, super-strong Joker clones. The secret behind who has been unleashing them and killing prominent Gothamites associated with a fatal wedding is revealed in shocking fashion. Everybody’s in for a nasty showdown. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.
The art in this book is exceptional, and it’s hard to tell where Janin ends and Ordway begins unless you are really scrutinizing the panels. So the main villain of the JSA and the stalker throughout time turns out to be classic foe Per Degaton. Johns does a nice job of summarizing his history without bogging down the story in pages of flashbacks. He was stopped by Sgt Rock and Easy Company in his torturous time-travel experiments during WWI for Nazi Germany. However, they assumed he was electrified and disintegrated by the time disc when it actually transported him away from danger and into another time period.
What still bothers me is that “Now” dateline for the Justice Society of America, here fighting a horde of Bizarros and Angle Man. Is this really the 1940’s, especially when the Doctor Fate that jumps into the battle along with Huntress is Khalid and not Kent Nelson. How did that happen? FOUR STARS.
There’s an element of fatalism about the move, as they expect to be captured or killed once the Instrumentality arrives. Much of the issues is a flashback/spotlight on Willow, her tragic upbringing and an early encounter with a younger Doctor Delphi that helped her break her drug habit and abusive relationship. Back in the present, Skeevo expresses what each member is privately thinking: “This is the end, isn’t it? As the issue ends, the enemy continues to close in on the steadily shrinking band. FOUR STARS.
As the issue opens, the Church of the Instrumentality is preparing for the televised execution of Dreadstar and company on the uninhabited planet of Crystalial. They are chained to an immovable object, awaiting delivery of a portable atomic bomb created by Mezlo to be delivered. However, before the planet and Dreadstar’s crew can be obliterated, a rescue occurs, the tables are turned on the Instrumentality and what began as a fatal defeat becomes an ultimate victory.
Starlin planted a few plot clues several issues back, and reveals his hand now. What appears to be another Instrumentality associate with a change of heart (Ultraviolet turned first) is a ruse, revealing the return of a familiar and welcome character. The art is splendid and a joy to view. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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