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 . . . . . . .
#514-#515 X-FORCE #1 by Geoffrey Thorne and Marcus To (Marvel, September 2024) I’ve been selectively sampling the new lot of X-books, and found another one that I like: X-FORCE.
Mr. Fix-It a/k/a Forge first amplifies his powers using a technique first employed by Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast, then creates a device, high energy encased in a globe, called Analog that detects life-altering fractures across the world. He then hand-picks a team of mutants - Sage, Tank, Betsy Braddock/Captain Britain, Rachel Summers/Askani and later brings in Surge. Deadpool is just a guest-for-hire, much to the relief of the female members of the team, and paid for his services - - a clever use of his abilities by Forge that is humiliating but appropriate considering the threat.
The threat is a bio-mass that consumes people and energy, traced to Nathaniel Essex/Mr. Sinsiter - - the second time he’s come up in a recent Marvel book (see WOLVERINE: DEEP CUT #1).
The story is engaging and presented in an order that makes sense, right to the point and not rambling. The art is fluid and explosive where it needs to be. Good stories contain plenty of important details/scenes and are worth multiple readings, rewarding readers who come back for another round. This is one of them. THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.
#516 THE PEDESTRIAN #1 by Joey Esposito and Sean Von Gorman (Magma Comix, August 2024) Do you like your superheroes to be odd, and the story and art a little quirky? Then, the book for you is THE PEDESTRIAN.
A black man in goggles and a plain white one-piece pajama with hoodie fast-walks through his town righting wrongs. “Justice always has the right of way!” is the motto of his mission. That suit and the weird nature of this book remind me of Mike Allred’s MADMAN comics.
Small town Summer City seems like a nice quiet place to live, but something strange is lurking under the surface, as the debut issue only hints at, as in the mysterious single reddened eye of the school teacher following a car accident. Also, young people hope to leave the city as they can’t get a decent job in their desired professions and have to resort to delivering pizza’s, etc. Into this environment strolls the Pedestrian, quietly confronting small-time wrongdoers and rescuing helpless residents.
I don’t know if this makes for a sustainable continuing series or a short mini-series but there is enough curiosity aroused here to prompt me to check out Issue #2. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#517 ABBOTT 1973 #1 by Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivela (Boom! Studios, January 2021) I did not read the first ABBOTT 1972 mini-series, but based on what I have read here it appears a decent title slipped under my radar. That only makes me appreciate review sources like Comics From 20,000 Fathoms more, as they help readers find out about some titles that might go unrecognized otherwise.
Elena Abbott is a determined investigative journalist in 1970’s Detroit, a “detective for the people”. She also possesses some not-completely untapped abilities as The Lightbringer, an occult force that counteracts the darkness called The Umbra that terrorizes the city. This title is enhanced by its inclusion of real issues that Detroit faced back in the 1970s - the first black mayor, racist politics, anti-feminism, abortion rights, and same-sex relations. I was impressed by this, and may have to seek out the collected editions. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#518 HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #1 by James Tynion IV and Tate Brombal with art by Chris Shehan (Boom! Studios, October 2021) The publisher’s synopsis:
“Discover the inner workings of the House of Slaughter in this new horror series exploring the secret history of the Order that forged Erica Slaughter into the monster hunter she is today.
You know Aaron Slaughter as Erica's handler and rival. But before he donned the black mask, Aaron was a teenager training within the House of Slaughter.
Surviving within the school is tough enough, but it gets even more complicated when Aaron falls for a mysterious boy destined to be his competition.”
I read SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN’s first collection and was immediately pulled into the eerie world-building going on. HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER is a spin-off series detailing the early days of these independent monster-hunters and it is equally enthralling. I was impressed by the vivid character development and creepy atmosphere as visualized by the art. Along with SIKTC, HOS is another series that I need to collect and catch up to. FOUR STARS.
#519 - #520 A VICIOUS CIRCLE Book 1 of 3 by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo (Boom! Studios, December 2022) This once-promising title suffered from long delays between issues. Taking two years to release a three-issue mini-series makes it tough to hold your audience.
I was initially attracted to this by the art inside, and I wanted to see what Boom! might do with their first title in the magazine-sized prestige format. I now know that I didn’t need to hurry up and read it, and now I’m not sure I want to pick up the final issue, just released this month (even though I have Issue #2).
The absolute best thing about this is the photo-realistic expressive art and color choices of Bermejo, including the choice to illustrate the 1950’s New Orleans scenes in black-and-white.
It is difficult to clearly figure out what this is about from the story and panels. Thankfully, there is a full description of the title on the back cover: “Shawn Thacker is a trained assassin from the future who seeks revenge on the only other man with his affliction - each life they take forces them both to travel between vastly different past and future eras.” THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#521 - #522 CRUEL UNIVERSE #1 anthology by various creators (Oni-Lion Forge/ EC Comics, August 2024) This is exactly how I remember the old EC science-fiction titles (the few that I’ve read), except for the quality of the art.
While this was satisfactory, it’s not quite the same degree of exceptional found in the art of the EC originals. The cover of CRUEL UNIVERSE is how I remember them. However, I’m not complaining. The stories reminded me exactly of old EC, with those cutting edge messages under the surface.
My favorite stories are the two bookends this issue. 1) In “The Champion” by Matt Kindt and Kano interplanetary humans and aliens of all types are kidnapped, imprisoned, and conscripted into gladiator fights for entertainment. The twist ending (every story here has one) reminds not to make hasty assumptions about the main character/narrator.
2) “Priceless” by Ben H. Winter and Artyom Topilin details how a wealthy but aging invalid employs an “experiencer” to perform certain activities that he wished he could engage in. Those visualizations and emotions are then extracted from the experiencer’s memories and transferred to the invalid. He finally receives an experience that he considers priceless.
“Solo Shift” by Corinna Bechko and Caitlin Yarsky is a time-travel tale about an astronaut in lonely isolation exploring a black hole who discovers another ship. A murder mystery with a twisty difference. “Drink Up” by Chris Condon and Jonathan Case is about a man obsessed with remaining young and healthy who finally uncovers an underground site containing the Fountain of Youth.
So far, both this science-fiction title and the earlier horror anthogly from the resurrected EC have been impressive. Here’s hoping they are successful enough to attempt this with crime, war stories and other genres. FOUR STARS.
#523 X-O DATABASE #1 by Clifford E. Van Meter and various artists (Valiant/Voyager Communications, 1993) I found this little 10-page item in my archives, and enjoyed the trip down nostalgia lane. I believe this was not sold individually but was shrink-wrapped with an X-O MANOWAR trade paperback.
Everything you could possibly want to know about the character is here: history, origins, cross sections of the symbiotic alien X-O suit (following in the trail blazed by Marvel SECRET WARS in the mid-1980’s), even a glossary of alien phrases, settings, character names, etc. Essential for all early X-O fans, one of my favorite titles during the glorious early years of Valiant. THREE STARS.
#524 BLOODSHOT #0 by Kevin Vanhook writer/penciler with inks by Dick Giordano (Valiant/Voyager Communications, March 1994) Who remembers foil covers? I couldn’t resist another trip down early Valiant nostalgia lane with this prequel to the Bloodshot series which details how both Bloodshot and Eternal Warrior first met.
Back in 1866, Gilad (Eternal Warrior) was traveling on a Spanish ship when it was attacked by marauders who would later come to be known as agents of the Mafiosa, the crime family of Sicily. Gilad harbored a grudge for centuries and carried his battle against the Mafiosa into the 20th century. Here is where he first encountered Bloodshot prior to his origin, when he was Angelo Mortalli, who would later be betrayed by the Mafiosa and salvaged during the operation that created Bloodshot.
It’s a bit of spin on how I remembered the origins of Bloodshot, but I might have to find my copies and re-read to be sure. Interesting, but not that memorable - - and Bloodshot doesn’t really appear in many panels as this focuses more on earlier days. THREE STARS.
#525 ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 by Jim Shooter and John Dixon (Valiant/Voyager Communications, August 1992) At this point in the original Valiant universe, Gilad the Eternal Warrior had already made a guest appearance in several titles.
This debut issue provided origins for him and brother Arum (Armstrong, of ARCHER & ARMSTRONG) as well as the first appearance of Neville Alcott, British government intelligence agent who played a role is early Eternal Warrior adventures and is a major character in NINJAK.
The storyline begins before history in Anatolia where an emboldened Gilad leads his tribe in an ill-fated assault on a Mesopotamian fortress.
End result: they flee and the surviving tribe members scatter. Brother Arum departs on his on path, and Gilad meets the first of many geomancer who will shape his future.
Flash forward to 1992 and in Oklahoma Gilad gets his first assignment from Neville Alcott. Shortly before departing for London, he is assaulted in his hotel room and saved by long-distance teleportation by current geomancer Geoff. This sets up the second part of Unity, the first Vailiant cross-over event, and the final two pages are drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith.
Jim Shooter packed a lot of information, character development and action into a single issue. Memorable. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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