For the last three years I have embarked on a Comics Odyssey, reading and writing reviews of comics towards an ambitious goal which I only attained on one of three attempts. This year, I still want to read more comics and write reviews, but I’m not setting a specific goal. I’ll just document them and number them. We’ll see how far I can go . . . . . . . .
this a must-have issue for collectors.
The no-frills Duke was always my favorite of the G.I. Joe cast of characters. I consider him the Captain America of the team. In Williamson’s hands, he’s the same on the inside but portrayed in a fresh way, as a kind of rogue agent who’s not satisfied with the U.S. government’s sweeping some critical info under the table - - especially when Duke was an eyewitness to an airborne battle: “We encountered a hostile jet that looked like one of ours and then . . . Whatever that thing was it snuffed out frosting’s life like he was nothing . . . And it enjoyed it.”
His private investigation leads him to another disgraced military officer, scientist Adele Burke, who was abruptly pulled off a project to investigate the defensive potential of cosmic space dust. However, a private corporation (M.A.R.S. Industries) is developing some funky weaponry, as Duke infiltrates their fortified manufacturing plant. There’s a familiar face pulling the strings (Destro?) who makes a surprising (but calculated and rational) decision regarding the captured Duke.
I enjoyed this, especially the clean and effective art of Tom Reilly, who I don’t recall from any other books before. Jordie Bellaire takes an unusual turn on the coloring, deviating in many places from the usually colorful Joe style with some darker and muted hues that you generally see used in crime comics.
Interesting stuff, that may prompt me to return for more (after I re-read my Duke and G.I. Joe issues) FOUR STARS.
Ninjak is one of my favorite Valiant characters, a combination of James Bond and Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow. To be truthful though, I haven’t really been excited by any Ninjak stories since Christos Gage was writing the book. Parker’s tale here is action-packed and entertaining, but I was looking for a little more. Mike Norton’s art is always fun to view, but I don’t think this is the best he is capable of. Having said that, I bought this book and I’ll buy the next one. This is me showing my Valiant love. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
Synopsis:
A ruthless team of super-powered killers versus the world's most lethal assassin - who will survive? The all-new explosive limited series . . . is a fast, fun, globetrotting noir tale . . . Surrounded in hostile territory, Ninjak and songbird agent Myna are in the fight of their lives! With no support, no supplies, and no way to escape, there's no way out but through!
After all, this is a fantasy world centered around a small village where everyone knows everyone and inhabited by cute animals dressed in clothes, walking on two legs and conversing. Plus, there are actual real animals interspersed throughout the story. Don’t miss the talking bear’s encounter with the real bear - it’s a hoot.
Samantha the talking bear dresses appropriately for the owner/manager of a small hardware store and is extremely helpful and
When a murder occurs in her town and the body left on display during a holiday parade, Samantha will become the prime suspect as she was instrumental in setting up the parade float where the body was discovered. Are her urges becoming too strong for her to confine her murders to the big city?
By Issue #2 it becomes apparent that there is a killer within the town who is sloppy and careless and might draw attention to what Samantha has been doing. So, she decides to become the prime investigator and flush the suspect out.
Whimsical and wicked at the same time. Just how I like my children’s literature. FOUR STARS.
That was one of the things that attracted me to this, although I read Volume 1 in 2021 so I needed to return to my review of that to catch up, because this moves forward at a rapid clip and doesn’t dwell on prior events. (I didn’t locate a copy of Volume 2 until about six months ago, then was too busy with other readings to get back to it.)
Curiously, the presence of zombies is not the prevalent theme of Volume 2. There are just brief encounters until the very end of the story. It’s actually better for this. Rather than detail zombie encounters this volume deals with events inside the Tokyo Dome, the fortified complex that is the last remaining community of humans. There is enough corruption and manipulation occurring within its’ walls to make for an even-more compelling story.
In Volume 1, Maki Akagi learned that she is a cured zombie, returned to normal by a last-ditch experiment. She still retains zombie strength and other powers, as revealed in Volume 2. Earlier, she and young boy Shotu survived the travel to Tokyo Dome, carrying a valuable vaccine that will make survival possible to everyone.
However, the corrupt commander Colonel Shimamoto of Tokyo Dome holds off on dispensing the vaccine, invites Maki to join the handful of privileged people (now dining on human flesh, as food is scarce) while the other members of her party are reduced to surviving in appalling conditions. There’s a revolt, a new reveal regarding the vaccine, and an unexplainable contamination of the water supply that will give all the zombie/rabies virus. It all works out, sorta. FOUR STARS.
It’s the story of sad sack / nerd / slacker Levi Cohen who lives in the shadow of his semi-famous father David Cohen, professional bowler who wins monetary awards. He can’t bring himself to share in his dad’s success and acknowledge it, and is a bit embarrassed by it. To further his shame, high school bullies abuse and make fun of Levi and his father.
Flash forward to his days as a grown man, and Levi is going nowhere as a member of Greenpeace, shirking his duties and obligations and going through the motions - - - until he learns his father is dying and he’s called back home. His father gifts him with a prized bowling ball, which later plays a role in defending David against the same grown-up bullies who abused him in childhood.
The story is about the struggles of trying to follow a legacy, prejudice and anti-semitism. It’s done very well (credit Remender and evocative art by Boschi). As a one-shot, I’m actually satisfied with the way this extra-sized story ends - - - but of course there’s going to be more. I enjoyed this but I’m really not interested in reading more about a bowling ball vigilante. THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.
In “Christmas Man” by Daniel Kraus and Jonathan Wayshak (whose delightfully drawn characters look like they stepped right out of Garbage Pail Kids) young Essme just wants to watch the Rudolph cartoon special on Christmas Eve but is out-numbered by her three mean older brothers who want to watch football. They make up a nasty story about the ‘Christmas Man’ to upset and frighten her, which works until “anything is possible on Christmas”.
Those who would steal delivered Christmas packages off of neighborhood porches and re-sell the items at flea markets begin to find threatening messages and body parts in the stolen packages, not realizing that they are the intended recipients. “Package Thieves” by James Asmus and Letizia Cadonici is grim, grisly, and good, good, good. FOUR STARS.
This sure looked like a crime comic (another favorite genre) but the story was a bit confusing until I realized that it wasn’t due to the translation but to an unexpected (but pleasant) twist in the storyline. THE AGENT is “urban fantasy’. It’s part crime/espionage comic, part thriller, and part fantasy.
Rhym is a drug enforcement officer staking out a deal going down in what may be the Paris subway. After the handoff and confrontation by Rhym, one suspect assumes the dealer has betrayed him and kills him with a magic bullet, and then scatters a handful of wacky weed in the face of Rhym. This disperses and drives the subway passengers awaiting an arriving train disoriented and confused, but not Rhym who appears immune.
It’s later revealed that she may be a sorceress/witch as the other major character, Sebastien Ferrant of the DGSI (French secret service), is assigned to recruit Rhym. Ferrant is a John Constantine type investigator, grim and dark but also knowledgable of the arcane arts as he solves another weird incident.
There’s more, including a suspect’s ability to shrug off bullets. I had to read this one twice, but despite not really wanting to add more to my reading list I think I want to know more. FOUR STARS.
In the initial Boom! Studios press release announcing the upcoming series, writer Tom King said this:
ANIMAL POUND is the most ambitious story I’ve ever told, and I feel like a fool for trying to do it . . . . . But the story came to me strong, and with Peter drawing, I know we’ll pull it off; we’ll make something as insane, stunning, and frightful as the times we live in.”
King changes the setting from a farm to a city/county animal shelter (Manfield Pound) with the only animal characters being cats and dogs (and a few apathetic rabbits). The first issue introduces the major characters and King immediately gets us to understand their point-of-view. The art by Gross is both expressive and endearing. The major event is the uprising of the animals who apparently take control of the compound and immediately start to make some changes.
I’m not going to spoil anything for those unfamiliar with ANIMAL FARM. If you’ve never read it, this is a great update for modern audiences. I can’t tell how closely King will follow that storyline, but as long as he keeps with the theme he’s accomplished his purpose.
This is a another comic that requires more than a casual read, needing your full attention. Plus, you’ll want to read it more than once. It’s a good example of the power of the comics medium as both an art form as well as a method of communications. There is a lot of text in Issue #1 and sometimes it gets repetitive, but there’s a reason.
Yes, this could be considered a political comic, and the situation the animals are in could represent many situations in our troubled society: authoritarianism, discrimination and prejudice, socialism, politics, corporate control, threats to democracy, etc. Pick your favorite theme.
What kept coming to mind for me is the immigration problem. Beyond everyone’s attention on the border crossings it seems like a bigger issue is being neglected . . . . . the abuse and control over manual labor workers by big agricultural farm owners who hire illegal immigrants with no intentions of helping them become citizens (and then becoming free of their employer’s control). But, I don’t intend to get on a soapbox here. Just giving you a heads-up that this comic is going to make you think about issues.
For me, the best thing about Tom King is the complexity of his stories and how there is a bigger picture that is often not apparent until the final issues. For that reason, I prefer to read his works as a complete set. I’ll pick up his debut issues in order to decide if I want to collect them when complete or wait for the trade paperback. Yeah, I’ve decided. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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