My Week In Comics #2 - - - January 14, 2024

MY WEEK IN COMICS #2 - - - January 14, 2024

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 . . . . . . . .

#16 - #21  AVENGERS: SEASON ONE original graphic novel by Peter David with art by Andrea Di Vito, Jon Buran, Nigel Raynor, Mike Bowden & Walden Wong (Marvel Worldwide Inc, March 2013)

Before I start deconstructing this original graphic novel, allow me to list some of the positives:

1) This is a complete in one volume story that requires no prior knowledge of these characters and does not require any reading beyond this title (unless you get hooked by the to-be-continued preview of AVENGERS ASSEMBLE at the end of the volume). 

2) AVENGERS SEASON ONE is a fun story that showcases the Big Three of Avengers lore (and the characters featured most prominently in the movies at the time of original publication in 2013): Thor, Iron Man, Captain America. (Bonus: The Hulk).

3) Despite the inclusion of five different artists to complete this, the story is unaffected and seems fluid and fast-paced in most places - - although some of the transitions between artists were more abrupt because of the changes in styles and inks. But the casual reader may not notice.

I enjoyed the story and don't regret reading this, although as a part of Avengers lore it is completely unessential. Here are the things that pulled me out of the story:

1) The back cover promo material states that this is an "all-new original graphic novel, modernizing the formative first days of these super-hero icons that defined pop culture". It goes further to refer to the day after the Avengers were formed, and to ask what happened then? Well, this is that story, or at least it is intended to fall in-between AVENGERS #1 and #2 (1963).

The Iron Man armor portrayed here is the red and yellow third generation (at least) while AVENGERS #1 has Iron Man in that original clunky yellow armor. He doesn't change to red and yellow until Issue #3, and even then it's not the version shown here. Is this the "modernizing" referred to in that promo blurb?

2) Captain America does not appear between Issues #1 and #2. He doesn't get thawed out of the ice block until Issue #4. More 'modernizing'?

3) Where are Giant Man and The Wasp? They were part of the original team in Issue #1, etc.

4) The Hulk is so out of character for how he was represented back in 1963.

So, be forewarned. If you can overlook all those things you might enjoy this. If not, it might just upset you. I'm on the fence about this one.  THREE STARS.

#22  INVASIVE #1 by Cullen Bunn and Jesus Hervas (Oni-Lion Forge Publishing, December 2023)  Creepy, grotesque and chilling from the first page to the last page. The premise is a nasty one, as a detective and a doctor team up to investigate whether there is a serial killer lurking among the black market surgeons performing plastic surgery/body modifications.

The scenes showing a support group of people unhappy with their appearance and addicted to surgery chilled me to the bone - - - because that’s a real thing. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.

Synopsis: 

Beyond excess, beyond ethics, beyond science . . . Enter a terrifying new experiment in pain! . . . Dr. Carrie Reynolds was a veteran trauma surgeon with a godlike mastery of muscle and bone. But outside the operating room, her rigidly ordered life spiraled into chaos when her daughter, Heather - a recovering plastic surgery addict - suddenly disappeared, only to mysteriously reemerge in a catatonic state, her vocal cords removed . . . the latest in a series of victims scarred by a battery of brazenly cruel medical procedures that have baffled police and left an alarming number of once-ordinary citizens maimed, mutilated, or dead on arrival. Deep beneath the streets of Carrie's city, a new kind of underground hospital has just opened its doors . . . and, once inside, there are no rules, no oaths, and no taboos too deep to not to be broken. Together, a new class of surgeon has sworn to pierce the final threshold of accepted medical orthodoxy one incision at a time. The scalpel is their tool. The alleys are their operating theater. Murder is their medicine.  

#23  OUR BONES DUST #1 of 4 -  story and art by Ben Stenbeck (Image Comics, December 2023)  It’s great to see regular Mignolaverse artist Ben Stenbeck get all of the spotlight on this original creation. There are two storylines here that begin to come together near the end of this introductory issue, and could provide a more interesting story than what appears here.  One is extremely brutal and graphic, the other more exploratory, curious and empathetic. 

    Yet, this is just another in a long line of comics set within a post-apocalypse Earth, and while I do enjoy this genre I’ve read enough lately that I don’t need more. 

   The extraterrestrial explorers and/or A.I. are interesting and seem to be more civilized and considerate than the native species. The opening where the landscape is excavated in cubic sections for examination and then put back together Tetris-style is visually wondrous. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS. 

Synopsis:

A feral child equal parts predator and prey, navigates a nightmare landscape of brutality and blood inhabited by scattered cannibal tribes. An interesting place to poke around for a curious Artificial Intelligence.

#24 - #25  ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1 by Jonathan Hicks and Marco Checchetto (Marvel Worldwide, Inc March 2024)  If you’re looking to start fresh with Spider-Man and are considering any of the recently released #1 titles, you ought to give this a shot. Hicks strays a bit from the standard Peter Parker/Spider-Man tropes and sets the stage for this new generation of stories. But, if you need to begin at an actual “beginning”, then this one does that better than the others. Just keep in mind it’s a brand new beginning. Checchetto’s art nails the body language, expressions and reactions in all the right places. Just don’t expect to see a lot of action scenes. In fact, there’s very little in the way of costumed or armored characters in this issue. Hickman doesn’t spare the dialogue or words in this introduction, but it’s necessary and he’s got a knack for it.  

     So, if you’re a Spider-Man fan or just really like Marvel Comics - - don’t procrastinate, just buy Issue #1. Also, stop reading this now because I’m going to spoil it from this point forward. . . .

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Peter Parker is a bearded, married (Mary Jane, who else?) middle-aged man with three kids, including a teenager. He was never bitten by a radioactive spider, never saw Uncle Ben die, and never went through the “with great power comes great responsibility” mantra.

He works under J.Jonah Jameson at The Daily Bugle and reports to his uncle, Ben Parker, the news editor. Aunt May passed away (unexplained). There’s a great scene where Jameson and Uncle Ben talk shop, considering starting up their own rival newspaper.

     Yet, Peter Parker isn’t 100% happy with his life and Mary Jane can sense it. He feels a void, as if he’s missing that higher purpose, and something that was supposed to happen to change that — never did.

The first text page reveals that in this world The Maker prevented the spider bite, as well as the creation of all super heroes, so that he could rule the world from the shadows. He killed thousands, and framed Iron Man/Tony Stark for it. Fisk/Kingpin is buying up Manhattan. There’s a disgruntled member of the Osborn family, set to settle some scores (in a costume, hint). 

     The blue sphere that Parker was seen carrying around in the opening pages turns out to be a communications device. When Pete opens it up, a holographic image of Iron Man fills him in on what happened, lets him know he has a destiny and provides a “pico tech stealth suit and a bio-organic catalyst necessary for you to undergo a post-human transformation.”  Therefore, Ultimate Spider-Man.

  Stark adds that he’s picked six other persons to contact and turn into heroes, so expect to see more in the Ultimate Universe.

   I’m not feeling it. No criticism of Hickman or Checchetto. I just don’t want to go down this road. Will I read Issue #2?  Will I read more Ultimate debut titles?  Sure, that could happen. We’ll see. FOUR STARS.

#26  THE THREE STOOGES VS. CTHULHU #1 written by Adam F. Goldberg & Hans Rodionoff with art & colors by Diego Tapie (American Mythology Productions, 2023)  Larry, Moe,and Curley meet a fisherman who found a sunken pirate ship as well as cursed waters. Horrified and running away in fear, the Stooges figure he won’t miss his boat so they set off to find the treasure for themselves.

   Thinking they’ve found the lost kingdom of Atlantis breaking above the ocean surface they enter to explore, pick up the wrong idol, come face to face with Cthulhu, the tentacle-faced Elder God, narrowly escaping. They enlist the help of H.P. Lovecraft and with his assistance run into the fish-people who follow Cthulhu. 

     I had some nostalgic fun reading this. The art is appropriately silly and fun. There’s a couple gags. It’s not scary, more like a kid’s version of Lovecraft’s cosmic horror. A disposable fun read, instantly forgettable. I had to scan the pages again to write this summary. THREE STARS.

#27  BEYOND REAL #1 by Zack Kaplan with art by Fabiana Mascolo + Toni Fejzula (Vault Comics, December 2023) A decent, if all too familiar theme (think of The Matrix) from a writer I respect. However, it’s a little too fluffy in the word-play and the art,coloring, and lettering really don’t appeal to me and keep pulling me out of the story. I wanted to like this book . . . but I don’t. THREE STARS.

Synopsis:  When struggling artist June is injured in a severe car accident that leaves her boyfriend in a coma, she begins to experience strange visual phenomena.  Soon she able to see that we are all actually living in a computer simulation.

     June must set out on a journey of possibility and peril into the metaphysical layers of the simulation to reach the world’s creator and save her true love from death.

#28 DOCTOR LEVIATHAN #1 written,drawn, and lettered by James Matthew Banks Jr. (Leviathan Comics, 2005)  This comic was gifted to me (thank you, Captain Blue Hen) and is a self-published black and white horror comic that walks a fine line between detailed but inconsistent artwork, a choppy story, and amateur production.  While I hate to slam hard-working creators I also feel obligated to point out comics that just don’t work. Hopefully, Banks will get much better if he stays at it. Apparently he has (stayed at it, that is), because a trade paperback of Doctor Leviathan was released in 2017 and is selling on Amazon. 

   In an unspecified future the world is overrun by super-powered criminals in both human and monster form.  They kidnap a judge’s daughter and Doctor Leviathan comes to the rescue. The art reminds me in a good way of some underground comics I enjoyed in the early 1970’s and in a bad way of a lot of the mediocre stuff that was being published during the 1980’s black and white indie comics explosion. TWO STARS.

#29 - #33  OTAKU USA Magazine Fall 2023 (Sovereign Media) I saw this on a bookstore newsstand and was curious, so I picked it up. If I was a bigger fan of Japanese pop culture, this would be my Bible. Still, this was a nice update to my knowledge of manga and anime. 

    Every issue features 32 or more pages of manga previews, which is most appreciated in this larger magazine size. There were two previews this issue, and both have me pondering if I want to check and see if the local library has copies, or just buy them.  FOUR STARS.

   The first, “The Darwin Incident” with story and art by Shun Umezawa (published by Kodansha) is about the upbringing of Charlie, a “humanzee” (half-human, half-chimpanzee) as he prepares o enter high school. He’s about to get dragged into a terrorist plot by the ALA (Animal Liberation Alliance). 

   The second tale “Gannibal” with story and art by Masaaki Ninomiya (published by Ablaze) is about dark doings in a seemingly charming mountain village. A new police officer is assigned to the village, begins investigating human bite marks left on a corpse, and finds the locals suspicious, guarded, and hostile. This is also a streaming series on Hulu. I’m assuming this is an adaptation of it.