#808 - #811 RED ZONE trade paperback by Cullen Bunn and Mike Deodato Jr. (Artists, Writers, Artisans/AWA, August 2023)
When the Moscow extraction of a Russian defector goes sideways with the U.S. armed task force taken out, the sole survivor is the middle-aged professor of Russian and Slavic culture they brought along for his knowledge of the area, having lived there in the past. Besides, the middle-aged Russian ballerina who is defecting (and is a valuable asset to U.S. intelligence) requested he accompany the extraction team.
When he's left alone, we learn that he is a former spy and all his experience and skills are being reactivated as he struggles to escape from the country. Once the word gets out, all his former foes and comrades are on the hunt to get long-overdue retribution.
Fast-paced like an action thriller should be, this is enhanced by the dynamic photo-realistic art. Like all great B-movie escapist entertainment, this is pleasing while in the moment and instantly forgettable. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#812 - #817 JUSTICE INC trade paperback by Michael Uslan and Giovanni Timpano (Dynamite Entertainment, 2015)
Another action/adventure story that is better than average, but not quite at the level of a Four Star Rating.
Combining three iconic properties from the days of pulp magazine fiction and keeping them true to the character and spirit of the original, and also keeping them from stumbling over each other is no small task. A simple solution would be to follow the pulp outline and write a formulaic story.
Writer Michael Uslan doesn't take the simple route, and this is better for it. He actually finds a way to link all three of these characters together in a logical fashion, tweaking the background material enough to have Richard Benson become The Avenger at the prompting (and later training/mentoring) of both Doc Savage and The Shadow.
The plot is not simple either, with a wormhole in time and a device invented by Doc Savage (with assistance/encouragement from Albert Einstein and Tesla - even a cameo from H.G. Wells). The Universal Quantum Machine (UQM) is capable of changing the world, so it becomes an object of interest to maniacal power brokers like mesmerist The Voodoo Master (a nemesis of The Shadow) and high intellect/scientist John Sunlight (a Doc Savage foe). Shadow, Savage, and Avenger combine forces to form Justice, Inc and work together to keep the UQM safe from dangerous hands.
The art by Giovanni Timpano provides a detailed pulp adventure atmosphere to everything. Covers by Alex Ross are up to his usual fantastic standards. A fun read. (Contains the six-issue mini-series)
THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#818 WEST COAST AVENGERS #1 by Gerry Duggan and Danny Kim (Marvel, January 2025) Do we really need another Avengers title? Any bets on how long this one will last?
The difference here is that this new team, assembled by Rhodey/War Machine with an assist by Tony Stark/Iron Man, is like a rehab house/probation for former villains seeking to reform. Doesn’t that seem like The Thunderbolts?
Those former inmates include Blue Bolt, who already screws up in Issue #1 and . . . wait for it . . . . Ultron! So far, he seems to be in sync with the mission and doing the right things. But, does anyone think he’s not going to turn to his old ways in some future issue? Already, by the end of this one he looks to be working behind the scenes - - unless that is just another Ultron construct and not the same one on the team.
Who are the good guys in this group? There’s War Machine and Iron Man and Spider-Woman, who has her doubts about this working out and seems to already have one foot out the door. Before the issue ends, Tony Stark is already trying to recruit Firestar.
The combatants this issue are the Sovereign Sons , an alt-right extreme group who excel at taking civilians hostage and demanding the U.S. government recognize them as an independent nation.
This looks to be a title with a lot of interpersonal confrontations and discord among the team members, sprinkled with some touches of humor that feel really out of place. Maybe what you were looking for? THREE STARS.
#819 THE ROCKETFELLERS #2 by Peter Tomasi and Francis Manapul (Image Comics /Ghost Machine, December 2024) Good timing with this one, being a Christmas issue focused on the family out of time, the Rocketfellers, as they decide at the last minute to purchase a live pine tree to decorate for the holiday. Daughter Rae freaks out when the tree-seller starts chopping one down for them. In her 25th century timeline it is against the law to cut trees.
So, genius dad and bioengineer Roland takes a cutting from that tree, adds his science-based magic, and rapidly grows a Christmas tree for their home. The problem is it keeps growing and busts through the roof.
A family-oriented, funny and warm issue with the threat of being found out by Cronex headhunter is delayed for at least one issue, as he dispatches drones to the four corners of the various Ghost Machine universes to search for their distinct heat signatures.
This title is beginning to find it’s legs with Issue #2 but I’m still walking away. I just wanted to give this a second chance. Not for me, but maybe for you. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#820 THE NEW GODS #1 by Ram V and Evan Cagle (DC Comics, February 2025)
The big pitch:
“RAM V AND EVAN CAGLE RESHAPE THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE DCU! An old god has died, and the reverberations of his passing are felt across the universe, setting forth the soldiers of an intergalactic army and awakening the latent powers of a mysterious child on Earth. But this has all been foreseen--prophesized by the Source and fed as enigmatic images to its agent, Metron. Now, as Metron brings word of this cosmos-shattering prediction to the residents of New Genesis and Apokolips, both worlds are thrown into chaos and conflict. On Earth, Scott Free and Barda find themselves unaware of this incoming chaos while consumed with their most daunting task.”
The cool-looking art by Evan Cagle may save this for a while, but the story by the usually-dependable Ram V was convoluted and too abstract in places. In summary, I was bored. TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#821-#822 HELLO DARKNESS #5 by various creators (Boom! Studios, November 2024) An uneven issue, at least for me, as I did not enjoy these stories as much as previous issues. There does seem to be a central theme here - - - be careful if you stray off the known path.
My favorite this issue, and the most colorful and visually pleasing is “The Butterfly Field” by Jeremy Bastian and Ivan Qiu, a story told entirely without words.
Werther Dell’edera tampered with his art style (and, I don’t like it — too sketchy) for Part Three of “Something Is Killing The Children: A Monster Hunter Walks Into A Bar” written by James Tynion. This is a super-slow burn of a story, as the fabled monster hunter keeps sitting in the bar and hearing another new story about something wrong in the local town.
Second favorite story was “Shutter” by Sarah Gailey and Liana Kangas about how far one might go for love, even when the other partner appears to have caught something contagious. “The Search” by Sarah Anderson, just three pages long, looks like a children’s book in art and text. A young girl who lost her brother in the woods learns it’s best not to listen to his voice every time she returns.
The problem with “The War, Part Five” by Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan is that it’s hard to remember the characters and their situations from month to month as the story flips back and forth between a quartet of them. The couple with the pregnant mother hide out in the countryside in a secluded cabin, until they find out they are no longer isolated. This has been another slow burn of a story. We still don’t have all the details about the alleged world war that set things in motion. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS OVERALL.
#823 - #824 DREAD THE HALLS one-shot anthology edited by Jordan Hart and Chris Ryall (Image Comics, December 2024) Cover by Maria Wolf
If you only have time to read a quick elevator pitch on this book, here it is: Creative Christmas Dread. Extra points for that creativity. There are no slasher Santa stories in here, as you might expect. The editors also put some effort into separating the stories with title pages done in Christmas red and green colors, Christmas-like fonts, and gingerbread wallpaper as a background. It helps maintain the theme and atmosphere. More creativity points. Four stories. All fun. All brilliantly illustrated.
Here’s what to look forward to:
- Creepy Christmas carolers (“Dead Notes” by Jordan Hart and Fabio Veras)
- Two youngsters using bait to trap Santa on Christmas Eve (“Gone Fishin’” by Chris Ryall and Lee Ferguson)
- A small cabin sitting on top of a frozen lake and harboring strange secrets (“Northerners” by Jordan Hart and Walter Pax)
- The self-described “Krampus Slayers”by Jordan Hart and Jimmy Kucaj
Four distinctly different Christmas horror tales, in tribute to a Victorian tradition (per the afterword by Jordan Hart). I’m impressed by the overall presentation and award extra style points, elevating this to a FIVE-STAR rating.
#825 - #829 THE INCREDIBLE HULK #1 - #5 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein (Marvel, August - December 2023) I’ve always preferred the monster version of The Hulk versus the super-hero version. The fifty issue run of IMMORTAL HULK is my favorite volume of the character, with Al Ewing focusing on the horror elements for most of the time. It ended with a sci-fi twist and concluded with Banner closing the Green Door.
This series utilizes that plot element from IMMORTAL HULK. Closing the Green Door has opened the gates for a slew of giant monsters to return. Issue #1 sets the stage as an ancient evil is uncovered during an Iraq tomb excavation that definitely foreshadows a meeting to come.
Philip Kennedy Johnson takes things in the horror direction, with the Hulk as the monster within Bruce Banner - who is barely keeping him under control as both fight for command. It’s such a struggle that Banner has to go on the run again in order to protect the rest of the world.
In the remote area of Estill County, Kentucky Banner has his hands full with the FBI in pursuit after a diner incident. A teenage runaway girl named Charlie, who has some latent (possibly inherited) uncontrollable powers of her own, wants to partner with The Hulk. Meanwhile a U.S.-based horror called The Eldest / Mother of Horrors has called about all monsters to arise and hunt down The Hulk.
Issues #2 and #3 contain the story of “That Old Time Religion”. There’s a Lovecraftian / Chthulu-like creature in an abandoned mine that is being worshipped by the brain-washed zombie-like townsfolk. The battle between Hulk and “Brother Deep” takes up most of Part Two, and it is depicted by Klein in glorious dialogue-free panels.His art is rather dark during the fight scenes and the style takes some getting used to.
What I love most is the internal battle between Bruce Banner and The Hulk for control of his form and mental dominance. The Hulk here is the Hulk of old, a powerful and savage figure, simple-minded but cunning enough to carry on and keep Banner subdued. Young runaway Charlie is still hanging around, but Hulk wants her to leave. Charlie wins over Hulk when she mimics his speech patterns and attitudes. Quite the team-up.
Together they beat down the creature, a giant crab-like entity dwelling in the swamps. Yep, another Lovecraft-influenced monster.
Johnson’s run on THE INCREDIBLE HULK (Volume 6) lasted twenty issues. As much as I appreciated his version of the Hulk, I’d already grown tired of the episodic monster-of-the-month and didn’t pursue reading any further. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#830 - #832 SHIVER SUSPENSTORIES one-shot (Oni-Lion Forge Publishing / EC Comics, December 2024) This is a devilishly good holiday-themed anthology with five original stories and a classic reprint from EC’s THE VAULT OF HORROR #26 (1952).
An ornate carved Christmas ornament, made in Prague and in possession of a woman from her youth all the way to her declining years, is magical and intervenes on her behalf one fateful Christmas. (“The Last Ornament” by Jason Aaron and Kano).
“Ghost In The Machine” by Ben H. Winters and Peter Krause is a clever spin on Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” in a twisty tale involving an obsessed inventor of time travel who has no time for Christmas celebration.
“Red As Any Blood” by Jay Stephens and David Lapham details an impoverished single mother who wishes for something to give her ailing young son, and ends up shop-lifting a silver Christmas bell from a department store. This does not turn out well.
My favorite story is “Curse Of The Magi” by George North and Caitlin Yarsky, a devilish spin on the classic “Gift Of The Magi” by O. Henry.
The reprint is “Two Of A Kind” written and illustrated by Johnny Craig. What happens when a vampire and a ghoul start dating each other? How can they resist the temptation to eat their partner?
A very merry collection, and one that I will return to for a re-read upon Christmas season 2025. FIVE STARS.
#833 GEIGER #1 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank (Image Comics / Ghost Machine, April 2024) I enjoyed the first Geiger mini-series (2021) enough to pre-order GEIGER 2024 and start saving issues for a later read. Now, it’s time to get to some of them.
Some of this debut story was previewed in the earlier GHOST MACHINE one-shot, but it’s worth a repeat. Twenty-five years from now (2049), Tariq Geiger is suffering from cancer. When the Unknown War occurs, Tariq is caught in the fallout and becomes The Glowing Man. His family was not as lucky, and did not survive. Geiger is a nomad, walking the irradiated desert and punishing evildoers.
After he saves a small town from a predatory gang, Geiger has to leave when the citizens fear that proximity to him will make them seriously ill. He’s being shadowed/followed by Nate the Nuclear Knight, who left the Las Vegas King due to his brutal ways. Nate idolizes Gieger and considers him a savior.
Gieger has been ignoring Nate but after they end up saving each other after an Army attack, Nate finally earns his attention. But his story of someone else like Geiger who also glowed but was cured doesn’t persuade Geiger to accept him. However, when Geiger prevents Nate from committing suicide, they become a team.
A good beginning. The art and colors by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson are pure eye-candy. FOUR STARS.
No comments:
Post a Comment