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 . . . . . . .
#456 - #457 BATTLE ACTION #1 of 5 by various creators (Rebellion Publishing, May 2023) This was an effort to revive an older title from the archives of Rebellion/2000AD (England), but with new stories featuring characters from back issues. If you like air and sea battle action, the magazine-size format helps embellish the art. The details of WWII warplanes and battle ships are authentic and admirable.
As war stories go, this is pretty standard fare. Tell about a battle or an incident with just enough character development to create some interest.
In “Johnny Red: The Falcon” Garth Ennis and Keith Burns revive character Johnny Red, the British-born leader of Soviet Russia’s Falcon Squadron during WWII. It’s an origin story of sorts, relating how the squad adopted the name and why a falcon was purchased when ducks interrupted their flights and landings became a problem.
During WWII British Flower Class corvettes (escort vessels) did courageous work on convoy duty in North Atlantic waters. The “H.M.S. Nightshade" is a much as character as the two crew members featured here, their life-long friendship tragically interrupted by the war. Story by John Wagner (the original creator) with marvelous authentic art by Dan Cornwell. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#458 - #460 JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #441 by various creators (Rebellion Publishing, March 15, 2022) I’m not a regular reader, but every so often I like to check in with JUDGE DREDD or 2000AD as they are among the few remaining comics magazines dedicated to science-fiction themed stories. (HEAVY METAL is close, but is a blend of sci-fi/fantasy/etc. - - and where has it been lately?)
The downside is that JUDGE DREDD & 2000AD contain serialized stories every issue. That makes it tough to pick up on the plot when you are starting at random (Part 3, for example) and not on the ground floor.
However, I’m still entertained by the five different episodes here, and always admire the visualizations.
Among my favorites this issue were “Judge Dredd -Praise Zort!,Part 2” by Rory McConville and Staz Johnson where Dredd and company have to resort to political diplomacy to make peace with a remote country based on worship of the celestial diety Zort; “Death Cap, Part Three” where Judge Anita Goya’s family have been massacre and she’s going on the hunt for the perpetrators which results in her being infected by a fungal virus; and “Surfer, Part 3” as young sky-surfer Zane almost passes audition for a movie role but finds himself accused of reckless endangerment and “surfing below permitted levels” and goes on the run from the judges. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#461 BATMAN #149 by Chip Zdarsky with art by Michele Bandini & Steve Lieber (DC Comics, August 2024) This is a re-cap issue of sorts before the big anniversary Issue #150. Batman is my favorite DC character, but there are so many titles and mini-series that it compromises my time and budget - - so I keep it close and tight. I’m only purchasing DETECTIVE COMICS every month, and the occasional mini-series that captures my attention. I checked out Zdarsky’s first issues when he took over the reigns of BATMAN, and liked it, but could tell it was going to be a super-long story arc. I decided to wait and read at one time in trade paperback. I haven’t ordered any of them, but I’m going to do so soon.
Here, the conflicts with Failsafe and Zur appear to be resolved. Batman is dealing with a clone that was created by Zur to be Robin to Failsafe. He’s aging quickly and Batman/Bruce is doing is best to work through the changes to his body, knowing that he will eventually die (a cruel twist by Zur). This causes Bruce to soul-search and reflect on his connections.
The end result is Bruce (who comes into money again) re-establishing a new mansion and including the Bat-family in his plans, whom he feels closer to than ever. Seems like Zdarsky is plotting a new direction and this could be interesting. This was an engaging issue despite the lack of an actual threat/conflict or battle. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#462 DEATH RATIO’D by Mark Russell and Laci (AWA/Artists,Writers, Artisans; May 2024 The publisher’s synopsis:
In this futuristic dark comedy by Eisner and Ringo Award-winning writer Mark Russell, life and death are ruled by social media. One too many dislikes...and you're dead.
When Arnold awakes from a coma twenty years into the future, he discovers that society is now ruled by social media. Enough "likes" and "upvotes" can unlock fame and fortune but - watch your step! - enough "thumbs down" clicks and the collar around your neck explodes. And you're done. Now, confused and running on his last Like, Arnold must navigate a world in which the slightest online misstep can have fatal consequences.
This is a perfect one-shot story, which I need to keep in mind for end-of-the-year best complete-in-one-issue books. I’m not going to spoil it for you - - this needs to be read unaware for maximum effect: laughs, head-nodding agreement, and overall enjoyment.
Mark Russell is one of the great satirists working in comics today. His observations of modern life are keen. This story reminds me of an early
episode from Season One of BLACK MIRROR on Netflix, very similar in
the way that humans become motivated by “likes”. FOUR STARS.
#463 - #464 FREE AGENTS #1 (Image Comics, July 2024) The publisher’s synopsis:
Series Premiere. Giant-Size! Bargain Price! An all-new ongoing series! Kurt Busiek (Astro City), Fabian Nicieza (Deadpool), and Stephen Mooney (Half Past Danger) introduce a team of young veterans, survivors of a massive intergalactic war. Salvo. Pike. Katari. Shakti. Ridge. Maraud. Chalice. They've fought every day of their existence and won a terrible victory. Now they're stranded on Earth, free agents for the first time. But when relics from their long war appear, threatening their chance at better lives, their greatest battle begins.
I couldn’t resist that wraparound cover despite the fact that I tend to avoid most superhero team books. Also, I pay attention when two of the three creators I admire are involved with a book. Much respect for Kurt Busiek, especially his AVENGERS FOREVER (from the late 1990’s) and ASTRO CITY. Now those are superhero books that I really enjoyed. I’ve admired the dynamic art of Stephen Mooney ever since HALF PAST DANGER. However, even though I respect Fabian Nicieza and his body of work (NEW WARRIORS) I’ve never really enjoyed anything I’ve read by him. I think it might be the way he writes dialogue.
Will this be a different enough superhero team book to keep me going? Nope. But I think it’s worth your $3.99 to decide for yourself.
The premise is just different enough from standard team fare to make it appear fresh. After reading this, I struggled to remember all the team character names and their powers, and it made me weary. I just don’t want to have to pay this much attention to a new team book. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#465 MOON KNIGHT: FIST OF KHONSHU #0 by Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio (Marvel Comics, September 2024) “Knonshu: Strikefile”. Marvel planned this issue as a surprise, so there was no advance solicitation or notice. Comic shops were told about it just a few days before the release date, so that may explain why you may not have seen this at your local shop.
Regular readers of MOON KNIGHT need not worry - - this is nothing more than a brief re-cap and indication where the new series is going. If you’re not a regular reader but curious, this will provide you a jumping-on point. Without it, I’m afraid you may be lost in the current continuity even though this is meant to be a start-over of sorts. I have to admit it was a little confusing for me to follow all the iterations of Moon Knight mentioned in Issue #0. I think Marvel made a mistake and lost an opportunity to get the attention of more new readers by not allowing more time for shops to react, although speculators are probably loving this.
Issue #0 is just splash page after splash page of cool images with a smattering of text boxes narrated by the god Khonshu as he reflects on all the characters and his love/hate relationship with many of them. While it does create curiosity and interest, this just wasn’t enough to make me want to jump on.
In my opinion, Moon Knight is the most tinkered with character in the Marvel Universe. You can’t count the number of differing versions on your hands. For me the only one that I really got into was the series scripted by crime writer Charlie Huston, followed by the Warren Ellis and Jeff Lemire versions— although those got a little too strange and difficult to follow as they went on.
I will be checking out the new WEREWOLF BY NIGHT series, and hope I won’t be discouraged. TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#466 - #470 POPTROPICA: MYSTERY OF THE MAP children’s graphic novel by Jack Chabert and Kory Merritt (Amulet Books/Abrams, 2016) Synopsis:
Based on a concept by Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney comes Poptropica, a brand-new graphic novel adventure series by Jack Chabert and Kory Merritt. In "Mystery of the Map," Oliver, Mya, and Jorge take a ride in a hot-air balloon, only to crash-land on an unknown island filled with extinct animals and a horde of angry Vikings. Welcome to Poptropica, an uncharted group of islands whose existence is hidden from the rest of the world. As the three friends embark on a perilous search for a way home, they quickly discover the shocking reason they were brought there something that threatens the very existence of Poptropica and their ability to ever make it off the island!"
A great, fun read for younger minds that provides adventure and humor in a fantasy setting. First of a series that is based on a children's video game. No familiarity with the game is required to enjoy this. Glad I found this one. Think my grandson will like it. FOUR STARS.
#471 WILLIAM OF NEWBURY #1 written, drawn, colored, lettered by Michael Avon Oeming (Dark Horse Comics, 2024) The promotional synopsis . . . . . .
From the co-creator of the Eisner Award-winning, bestselling Powers comes this brand-new anthropomorphic supernatural series that's Hellboy meets Redwall. Loosely based on real events in 12th century England during what was known as "The Anarchy." A time where the country was beset with plague, civil war, and demons. William of Newbury is a neurotic monk, fearful of the earthly world, but confident and unwavering in the face of true evil. He fights the dead to restore peace, but his brother is intent on stopping him, fearing for his soul. Newbury is dark, yet quaint, deadly yet cute.
I wanted to like this debut issue more; but I also don’t want to over-state my impressions. If you are a fan of the REDWALL fantasy series (no comics versions that I am aware of) and MOUSE GUARD then I think you will really like this.
There’s a limit to how many semi-serious comics with animals as main characters that I want to read. Also, I can’t think of any reason why these characters needed to be animals, except that they are kind of cute, especially that rascally rabbit that argues with befuddled but determined to be benevolent William, the raccoon of the title.
The art, colors, and lettering are stylish and are among the best I’ve seen from Oeming. Still, I don’t feel it. THREE STARS.
#472 - #473 X-MEN #1 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman (Marvel, September 2024) I actually liked this book and 1) it’s a superhero team book and 2) it’s an X-Men title. Why is that unusual? Don’t I read team books? Yes, I do but I’m pretty selective. However, I’ll usually check out some debut issues, which I plan to do with several of the new X-titles. One of the series I decided (back in the mid-1990’s) to stop reading were the various X-Men books. Too confusing, for one - - and kind of repetitive, for me at least (since I’ve read several decades worth of them).
For me to stick with a team title for longer than a few issues it needs to really engage my attention and be different enough that it seems fresh to me. I’m explaining all this to help those of you reading these reviews to be able to put it into perspective. I’m normally going to be more critical of these books compared to other reviewers. If I give it more than 3 Stars, it has to be much better than average.
What I liked most about the new X-MEN is a different look to the art, with these characters as visualized by Ryan Stegman. Still familiar, but a couple things look different. As far as debut issues go, I thought this was above average story-wise. MacKay does a good job of filling in the blanks as the story moves along, never taking his foot off the pedal to brake and pause. Lastly, most of these characters are familiar to me, and they haven’t changed that much over the years: Cyclops, Beast, Magneto, Psylocke, Magik, Juggernaut, and Wolverine. I know a little about Glob and Xorn. I’m interested in Kid Omega and Temper, new to me and I hope they don’t become annoying.
The island of Krakoa is no longer a safe haven for mutants.This X-Men team has set up in an abandoned factory all the way north in Alaska but still fly all over for missions, this time to rescue Wolverine from the remnants of Orchis and salvage some new mutants (but there’s a surprise). Beast tries his best to make the local Police Chief comfortable with their mutant neighbors and it goes well until Magneto speaks his mind.
I will be checking out the next issue. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#474 - #478 CHEW, VOLUME TEN: BLOOD PUDDIN’ by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image Comics, August 2015)
This many volumes into a long-running series, and things tend to get played out. For many readers, it's a dropping off point. For me, I'm still laughing and being entertained by the inventiveness of John Layman, but agree that the plot lines seem to be fading or repetitive. But, it's the amazing art of Rob Guillory, the Easter eggs throughout, and the crazy names for various food-related abilities that the characters and villains have, and the general far-out nature of the premise that keep me going. Down a bit from my previous Five Star ratings, but this still stays wonderful to me.
Tony Chu finally gets his showdown with The Collector here, and it's a bit anti-climatic but the build-up was worth it. He can't get the job done without the assistance of super-chicken Poyo and his family and associates. The "scenes that didn't actually happen" are amusing, especially the confrontations in Hell. That final panel is a bring-down. I'm wondering why Layman decided to end this volume that way. It does make you want to pick up the next one right away. FOUR STARS.
#479 NAMOR #1 by Jason Aaron with art by Paul Davidson & Alex Lins (Marvel, September 2024) “Last King Of Atlantis, Chapter One: Prince of the Blood”. I haven’t read any recent comics featuring Namor, so I don’t know if Aaron is picking up where the last story left off or just chose to begin this introductory issue here. I’m wondering if this is the beginning of a mini-series. It’s kind of epic, and there’s enough showcased in the first issue to provide a longer-running series. While I liked this, both the presentation and the art, I’m not sure I want to keep going - - for reasons of time and comics budget. If you’re a Namor fan, you need to investigate this.
Apparently, Namor has committed a serious offense, and is now shackled in a special detention unit of the offshore Sea Cage Prison operated by the United Nations. He is treated cruelly by the guards, made to grovel before a bucket of piss in order to obtain moisture. Namor is no longer self-confident. He despises himself, and has vowed never to swim in the oceans again. There’s a neat flashback to his youthful days when he was equally despised by his blue-skinned Atlantean classmates, knowing that he was their future king.
But things change after an invasion of the prison, a fight and a recovery where he’s informed by Stingray that seven different warlords are fighting for his throne, and the conflict and sea-going disruptions are getting the attention of surface dwellers who may intervene in dangerous ways for the sea-dwelling races. Stingray gets Namor a four-day work release to try and fix the in-fighting dilemma and he seems to reluctantly accept. A nice set-up, and good to see that Aaron is still on top of his story-telling talents. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#480 WHAT IF . .? DARK: THE TOMB OF DRACULA one-shot by Marv Wolfman and David Cutler (Marvel, 2024) Seeing Marv Wolfman’s name in the credits gave me hope that this might be a new story worthy of the glory days of Tomb Of Dracula. This is a good story, but not worthy. It failed to move me.
The premise here is “What If . . . the legendary DRACULA transformed BLADE the Jaywalker into a full-fledged vampire?” After a brief flashback to real events from Tomb Of Dracula the story details how Blade’s pregnant mom was bitten by a physician-turned-vampire (created moments before by Dracula), resulting in his birth as a human/vampire hybrid.
Flash forward 27 years later and Blade’s trail of vampire-slaying leads him to Dracula, who ambushes him and bites his neck. The transformed Blade bites his girlfriend just after his transformation, and she does not return in any other scenes. (???) Does Blade stop killing vampires, stay out of the sunlight, and start feeding off people? Nope. He still hangs out in daylight (with shades), kills vampires, and eventually finds his way back to Dracula, where things wrap up and sacrifices are made.
So, what was the big what if? about Blade going full-on vampire? Beats
me. Not really a satisfying story, but I was entertained reading it. THREE STARS.
#481 - #482 WEREWOLF BY NIGHT one-shot by Derek Landy and Fran Galan (Marvel, November 2023) This is more of a team-up book, and Jack Russell, the Werewolf By Night, shares the spotlight with Elsa Bloodstone - - it’s a good action-oriented story that features them both.
They approach their target independently of each other and end up working together considering the nature of the threat and the number of his shadow-form minions. The prey is dark sorcerer Doctor Nekromantik, holed up in his transplanted castle in the Rockies and about to use a young girl as a conduit for Khabarian, king of the suffering wastes, to cross over. Werewolf and Moonstone have some prior chemistry, but decide to put it on the shelf and stick to business. There’s enough action and different enough art to hold my attention, but not sustain it - so glad this is a one-shot. I hear that the werewolf revival Marvel is planning won’t be Jack Russell (a great dog name) but someone new. TWO AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.
#483 WEREWOLF BY NIGHT: BLOOD HUNT one-shot by Jason Loo and Adam Gotham (Marvel’s September 2024) The new Werewolf By Night is Jake Gomez, a teenage Native American who inherited the werewolf gene from his father, a former enforcer for the Los Lobos gang. How appropriate is that name?
He controls his inner animal by exercising his rage inside an abandoned dinosaur-themed amusement park. The story apparently occurs during the first night of the Blood Hunt vampiric event, judging from the presence of the Sun and daylight when he enters the park. When the moon comes out (I guess the Dark event doesn’t provide a complete blackout, just no daylight) he turns but quickly reverts to human form when he hears voices - a group of fellow high-schoolers surrounding a pentagram.
Without giving away too much of the story, there is a resurrected criminal who is the favorite uncle of one school member - a ghost who then turns out to be someone more dangerous and deadly. Add in some vampiric cops who come to investigate the park, and things get plenty bloody and gory.
Writer Jason Loo name-drops some old Marvel characters (Red Wolf and Lila Cheney) so he seems well-versed in Marvel lore. The criminal even refers to an event with Johnny Blaze from GHOST RIDER #5 in 1973.
I liked the story, but didn’t really learn enough about Jake Gomez to get attached to him. I was persuaded to pre-order the WEREWOLF BY NIGHT: RED BAND story, anticipating more werewolves and blood. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
