#651 SEANCE IN THE ASYLUM #1 by Clay McLeod Chapman and Leonardo Marcello Grassi (Dark Horse Comics, October 2024) Recently Dark Horse has been consistently releasing some good horror-themed mini-series, and this very promising one joins the group.
Things take place following the conclusion of the Civil War as soldiers returning home suffered from PTSD and were diagnosed as mental patients. Asylums became overcrowded and overwhelmed. In 1865, Dr. Templeton heads up the Ashcroft Hospital in Rochester NY and wants to experiment with “spectral therapy” and is working on a new medical technique he calls “spiritualist catharsis.” He invites Alice Wilkinson, a spiritualist/medium, to join his staff and engage the patients in seances.
His idea is that since as a group they seem to be hearing voices, they may be the voices of the dead, and seances may “draw the malady out from their mind.”
The first sessions do not go so well, but a dark theme rises up- - someone is calling to go “home”. A captivating beginning, and if this holds up I may increase the rating to Five Stars.
This is the first comic work I’ve seen from Clay McLeod Chapman. I’m familiar with him as a horror fiction writer, and recommend his novel, GHOST EATERS, if you are craving some spooky fare this Halloween season. FOUR STARS.
#652 FLASH GORDON #1 BY Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad (Mad Cave Studios, July 2024) If you are a fan of Flash Gordon or already familiar with the character (decades of newspaper comic strips, movies, cartoons, comic books) then you may be excited by what’s happening here. Also, if you just like space opera with an emphasis on the action side then this could become your new favorite book.
Did writer Jeremy Adams make a mistake by jumping right into the action, making it seem like we walked into the movie in the middle of the second act? I think he made the right choice. With so many choices each week on comic book shelves, this title is most likely to appeal to readers already knowledgable about Flash Gordon - - so why bore them with another re-boot of the origin story? If word of mouth is positive then the new readers will come onboard later. After all, the reason I picked this up is because I know the world and the characters.
The art by Will Conrad is simply stunning, the best portrait of these characters I’ve seen since the days of Alex Raymond. Conrad excels in the action panels and his art is so appropriate for this title.
Adams puts a little spin on the standards. As the story opens Flash has been imprisoned on Planet Death long enough to grow a beard, strapped to a vertical gurney and fed by robots injecting him with nutrients. Flash learns from a new prisoner that there is a new alliance of planets, and in his absence his love interest, Dale Arden, has married Prince Aton. There’s an assassination plot against her, and this prompts Flash to escape with urgency. Meanwhile, Dale may not be so eager for his return. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#653 X-FACTOR #1 by Mark Russell and Bob Quinn (Marvel Comics, October 2024) This could turn out to be the X-book for readers who don’t like X-books. Marvel tries to go for the funny by enlisting noted comics satirist Mark Russell as writer. This book reminds me of what Keith Giffin was doing with JUSTICE LEAGUE /JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL /JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA (1987-1992), but Russell is even more on-the-nose about it.
Superheroes as entertainment, mass marketing and big bucks - this team is assembled by an unscrupulous movie producer with his notions of “soldier-tainment”. With a world that has mixed feelings (even hatred) for mutants, it’s a huge gamble. When he sends the X-Factor team on a mission with the majority of members being brand-new and inexperienced, bad things can happen - - even death. Before the issue ends, X-Factor has a new makeover, with a new leader, and only a few former members retained.
I only found parts of this amusing, and by the end I didn’t find this funny at all. I like Mark Russell, but I like him so much better when he isn’t writing licensed properties. This is a fail for me. TWO STARS.
#654 - #655 WOLVERINE: REVENGE #1, #2 by Jonathan Hickman and Greg Capullo (Marvel Comics, October-November 2024) Make no mistake, this is a showcase for the fabulous art of Greg Capullo. It’s an action-packed slugfest with Wolverine going up against a cadre of old foes. This time it’s personal, and he’s out for . . . . revenge for the fallen. This is apparently an imaginary story, so it’s okay to kill off some classic heroes.
However, for me, knowing that it’s an “elseword/what if?” story kind of takes some of the impact away.
After two issues, the story line (which admittedly has a strong beginning) is going to morph into Wolverine’s fights and revenge (including killing). It’s nice to see the always cerebral Hickman loosen his collar and write a grand fight book. Also, if the standard is too tame for you, this is also available in the more graphic Marvel Red Band issues as well.
The story centers on the death of Magneto and a massive EMP that wipes out power across the globe. Nick Fury recruits Wolverine, Captain America, and the Winter Soldier to lead a group to one of the few remaining power sources left on the planet, a cold fusion reactor currently occupied and controlled by the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants.
I enjoyed this and loved the art, but now I’m satisfied enough that I don’t have to spend $5 a pop for the remaining issues. How many issues will it take for Wolverine to kill them all? I’m guessing between 4-5. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS, mainly for that art.
#656 - #659 DAREDEVIL: GANG WAR #1-#4 of 4 by Eric Schultz and Sergio Davila (Marvel Comics, February - May 2024) Synopsis from the Goodreads website . . . . . .
The heat is on in Hell’s Kitchen! Spider-Man recruits Elektra Natchios, former assassin turned Daredevil, to stop New York City from tearing itself apart as every mobster and super villain in town goes to war! Elektra already has her hands full with the dangerous new gang known as the Heat when a new player with powerful and lethal abilities, and skills to match her own, explodes into the fray! For the first time in her life, Elektra may be out of her depth! With the city engulfed in violence and chaos, she’s all that stands between the people of Hell’s Kitchen and a bloodthirsty criminal conspiracy! Collecting DAREDEVIL: GANG WAR #1-4.
As a tie-in mini-series to the epic Gang War in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man, this is pretty solid compared to the usual tie-in titles. While I would not consider this essential reading, if you're a Daredevil fan you'll want to see how Elektra handles the role as Daredevil: The Woman Without Fear. The good thing is that it's very easy to pick up the plot without having to read the larger Gang War series.
Erica Schultz writes a page-turning tale, with a large number of fights (as you might expect) but manages to make the most of the non-battle scenes to reveal the inner conflicts - - will Elektra respect the desires of Matt Murdock in taking responsibility for keeping Hell's Kitchen safe, or will her fighting instincts and no hesitation to kill take over? I really like Elektra in this role -- it adds a new dimension to her character. The fight scenes are spectacular.
Overall, the art is very good with some exceptions. I wouldn't call it "cartoonish" as some reviews have done, but in places it seems a little too light-hearted for the more serious nature of the story and doesn't seem to fit the premise. THREE STARS.
#660 - #663 GREEN LANTERN VERSUS ALIENS #1-#4 of 4 by Ron Marz and Rick Leonardi (Dark Horse /DC Comics, September-December 2000) Snyopsis from the Goodreads website . . . . .
A battle beyond the stars didn't end quite as imagined. Legendary cosmic guardian and former Green Lantern Hal Jordan has unknowingly left a horrific legacy to the future. When Hal vowed to respect all life, he probably wasn't thinking of the nasty, acid-dripping, murdering Aliens — and because he spared these vile creatures, he doomed the lives of countless others years later. Now it's up to current GL Kyle Rayner and the remnants of the defunct Green Lantern Corp. to clean up the mess made by his predecessor. But Kyle is still struggling with the mantle of Green Lantern that he's inherited. Further, he's struggling with the definition of heroism in a day and age when Hal's nobility is all too rare. What Kyle's about to experience in the darkest regions of space will change him forever...if it doesn't kill him first.
This was better that I expected, and a cool collaboration between Dark Horse and DC Comics. The seemingly disparate worlds of Aliens and Green Lanterns actually mesh together very well and make sense. Also, who better to script this story than Ron Marz - the co-creator of Green Lantern Kyle Raynor?
Legendary GL Hal Jordan first encountered the xenomorphs, and while despising their instinctual nature to utilize human beings and other aliens as breeding stock for their face-huggers he still felt empathy. Instead of killing them, he transported the Aliens to an uninhabited planet.
This becomes the problem for newer GL Kyle Raynor years later when the Aliens become a threat once again as more planets are sought out for habitable worlds for a growing population of space-faring races. He is more of a reluctant, cautious hero compared to Jordan and actually appears frightened to act (especially when he loses his power ring), but that made him more endearing. When his side finally wins, he's faced with the choice of what to do now (considering Jordan spared the Aliens last time) and has to make a hard decision, putting a grim ending on this engaging tale. THREE STARS.
#664 - #668 SUICIDE SQUAD: REBIRTH one-shot by Rob Williams and Phillip Tan (DC Comics, October 2016) SUICIDE SQUAD #1 - #4 by Rob Williams and Jim Lee (DC Comics, October - December 2016)
While there were some memorable titles during DC Rebirth, this effort is more indicative of the Rebirth movement as a whole: pretty non-memorable.
Jim Lee's art is never disappointing, always interesting and that's the best thing about this series - although I would not suggest this as the best example of what Lee is capable of. If you just want to read an action-packed adventure this may please you, but for me it seemed too formulaic and didn't really elicit any emotion or empathy as I read it, even as one member of Suicide Squad gets disintegrated from the boots upward.
The first story arc is “The Black Vault” and features Colonel Rick Flagg, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, June Moon and Killer Croc.
They have to head underwater in the Arctic to a secret Russian base, where they rescue a potential future member in Hack (who can create portals, among other things) and encounter an imprisoned General Zod who they just barely manage to send back to his individual phantom zone prison. They also meet the Russian version of the Suicide Squad - The Annihilation Brigade - in one word, unmemorable.
Some of the better moments:
Amanda Waller, Director of Task Force X, has a confrontation with an unnamed President, who strongly resembles Barack Obama, over the ideals of her avowed missions (from the SUICIDE SQUAD: REBIRTH one-shot issue).
The short origin-story highlights and character reveals by different creative teams in the back of each issue were more interesting than the main story. The Harley Quinn back-up story in Issue #4 was the best of the bunch. THREE STARS OVERALL.
#669 DINOSAURS FOR HIRE #1 by Tom Mason and Mitch Byrd (Malibu Comics, February 1993) I’m interested more in this title for its’ place in comics history and less for its’ content. When I came across a bunch of issues in the bargain bins I grabbed them.
This is a satirical comic that features four aliens, smaller versions of dinosaurs, whose starship crashed on Earth and they found their place as guns for hire. They are Archie (T-Rex), Lorenzo (Triceratops), Reese (Stegosaurus) and Cyrano (Pterodactyl). They began as a black-and-white 12 issue series for Eternity Comics (1988-1990, later purchased by Malibu), spawned two original trade paperbacks and finished with a 12 issue series in color for Malibu (1993-1994). This occurred before Marvel bought the publisher, morphed Malibu’s super-hero titles into their comics briefly, and then discontinued the lot. The Dinosaurs For Hire were expected to be relocated on one of Marvel’s numbered alternative Earths, but that never came about.
This in-color debut issue skips an origin recap and instead features a bunch of skits, with no plot line or theme except for some scenes that foreshadow events and characters in issues to come. There are plenty of subtle jabs at the Big Two publishers, political jokes, a bevy of scantily-glad females hanging around the dinosaurs, and some sexual innuendo one-liners that would be a big no-no these days.
There’s also reference to the popularity of the Dinosaurs For Hire, anticipating an interest similar to the TMNT craze. It never happened for Dinosaurs For Hire. Don’t know what became of artist Mitch Byrd but his work here with inks by Bruce McCorkindale and colors by Joe Allen is very appealing, with some good detail for what is essentially a funny book. There was a video game from Sega/Genesis in 1983 and a mention of an upcoming film as well as an animated television series on Fox. That never came about and Fox never took the series out of the development stage.
THREE STARS, for comics nostalgia reasons.
#670 -#671 DEVIL’S REIGN #1 of 6 by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto (Marvel Comics, February 2022) So far, I won’t be accusing this mini-series of padding: there is a ton of stuff happening in the first issue. If that keeps up, I may end up elevating my rating.
Wilson Fisk (the Kingpin) is the current mayor of New York City and is newly married to Typhoid Mary. One of his first actions is to hold a press conference about the destruction to the city and the perils presented by costumed vigilantes. He announces the Powers Act and the creation of a new Thunderbolts to act as police enforcers and arrest superheroes.
The mayor has installed his son Butch as the new Kingpin, so his criminal enterprises can continue while Fisk begins planning to seek an even higher office. Butch gets an assist from Mike Murdock, Daredevil’s brother (who posed as Matt Murdock for awhile).
There are some great speeches/sermons from Captain America and Luke Cage as the Thunderbolts attempt to arrest them. Even the Fantastic Four, who had a deal with the feds, aren’t immune - as Doctor Octopus gets access to a mysterious project that Reed Richards was working on.
Daredevil feels personally responsible for the Powers Act, as he pissed off Kingpin who was on the brink of discovering his secret identity when the Purple Man and his children mind-wiped Fisk. Purple Man is now a captive of the Mayor - for what purpose?
A great beginning in this over-sized issue, with plenty of action aptly illustrated by Checchetto in some really tight panels. FOUR STARS.
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