Repurposed Review

Batman & Robin #13(DC Comics; Grant Morrison/Frazier Irving): There's so much going on in this book that things feel a bit blurred, but in an enjoyable way. The issue feels like it was structured in a way that was meant to overwhelm the reader a bit in order to get a sense of how frantic things are in the story. It worked enough for me to consider it a success, but could definitely vary in effectiveness from reader to reader. Though it could be considered mostly setup, it is easily one of my favorite issues of the title, through a combination of the anticipation it built in me for the next issue and providing my favorite Damien scene since the character was introduced. Morrison weaves his magic and Irving is a perfect fit for its delivery. Can't wait for the next issue.

Fourthman Reviews: Mighty Avengers #10 & Thunderbolts #119

By Lee Newman

The Mighty Avengers #10
Published by Marvel
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Mark Bagley

Mighty Avengers, you had such promise when you started. There was the idea of a registration Avengers team. There was the powerhouse of your line up. To start out you had BMB and Frank Cho and followed that up with Mark Bagley. Kind of like a certain President, you took that mandate and literally flushed it down the toilet. Oh, you didn’t lie to us, not really. You were just plagued by delays and boring drawn out stories that lost their dramatic impact by having the albatross of being three to four months behind the rest of the Marvel Universe behind you. As an imaginary story years down the road, you might have lived up to your promise, but alas it was not meant to be.

This is, by far, the worst issue yet. Really, nothing that is in this comic has been done and redone for forever. The promise of excitement by the funny coloring and the time displacement was lost by a first page that had nothing to do with events of the last issue and still leaves my head itchy. Then Bendis uses his new toys, thought bubbles, to paraphrase the words in the narrative boxes right next to them. Then there is the Sentry as babbling nutcase. Yeah, that got tired a couple years ago. He is the most powerful being in your universe stop coddling him, have him do something or let him get killed by the Skrulls. Please. Cliche after cliche pretty much hits us after this point. The Sentry throws Ben out a window to catch him? We have never seen that in a comic before. There is some witty banter between Doom and Stark, but it is all too little. Really the only clever part in the whole story is the use of Mastermind’s gambit to give the trio a way out of the past.

Bagley. I just don’t get the love. It must be that he is fast. Because, otherwise he seems like pretty typical 90's Marvel House art and when I use the word House art, I am never being kind. Really it is the coloring here by Ponsor that should be showcased, given the book the old school vibe that everyone seems to think is there.

This story does two things to me.. It bores me and it insults my intelligence by assuming that I have never read a comic before. Bad show guys, bad show.

Thunderbolts #119
Published by Marvel
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Mike Deodato, Jr.

So over in Iron Fist, Brubaker and Fraction have been dragging a story that was okay into the decompressed ground. Well now Ellis, a writer that I have the utmost respect for, is doing the same.

Here’s how it all plays out...

The Thunderbolts in lock down in the mountain: genius.
Norman showing his true schizophrenic colors: brilliant.
Swordmaster pitting security guards against security guards: priceless.

However, the bimonthly schedule is playing havoc on my tiny brain. I don’t even remember who the villains are or why Doc Sampson is with Robbie. I read way too many books to be lost until half way through, wondering if I read the last issue before it all starts to make sense. It all boils down to us being on part four of a storyline that should probably be finishing up, but instead there is a nice “to be continued” at the end of the issue.

Warren is writing for the trade? Really? I am so disappointed.

Deodato does fine with what he is given, but there is not much to work with. A 30 second shoot out takes up FOUR PAGES and then has an epilogue that is a TWO PAGE SPLASH SPREAD!

It isn’t a bad book, it has just gone on too long. It’s time to put this one to rest, guys.

Fourthman Reviews: The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home

By Lee Newman

The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1
Published by Marvel
Written by Peter David w/ Stephen King and Robin Furth
Art by Jae Lee
Colors by Richard Isanove

I remember reading The Gunslinger for the first time. It is one of those novels that left an impression on me. I read it again every few years. Part of this is that I think along with The Shining and The Stand, it is Stephen King’s best work and unlike those tomes a reread is not a monumental undertaking. The promise of those three books keeps me returning to his work. I’ve yet to read anything even half as good as those three books, but there is always hope. Unfortunately, for every Needful Things, he puts out four or five books of the caliber of The Dark Half or From a Buick Eight. I have yet to finish The Dark Tower. After reading The Gunslinger, I usually give The Drawing of the Three another go, excited that this time I will get more than a third through it before I stop. That has yet to happen.

I am only reviewing this book at the request of a friend. Saturday, I attempted to read the first volume of the comic series on a road trip. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Good conversation is hard to come by and a two hour ride with your daughter, her friend, the friend’s parents, and your minister can provide interesting diversions to plowing through a Stephen King adaptation. I finished it Sunday evening and decided I should catch up on some other books and let it stew before I picked up the next chapter. This was probably a good thing. If for no other reason it gave some separation between the two and also allowed the complexity of the story to seep in. There were parts of The Gunslinger Born that were confusing. Some of this had to do with the similarity between Lee’s designs for the various characters. Some of this had to do with the fact that it is one of those epic fantasies. I have always had a hard time wrapping my head around that stuff. Outside of Lord of the Rings, I have never really fully grasped a fantasy story; I guess it is a limitation on my imagination.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

That confusion aside, it was a worthwhile endeavor. The muddiness of the story midway through makes complaints I heard about the book during its initial release understandable. However, as I said it is a complex story and by its end, it was worth the time. The Long Road Home literally picks up from the very last page. The Ka-Tet is on the run. Roland is crushed. In fact, other than a major event happening to Roland, the status quo does not change at all in this book. Much of it harkens back to the journey of the Hobbits and Gollum in Lord of the Rings. I guess Tolkien would be proud that his book would still be influential all these years later.

Really, I guess it is unfair to say that it borrows (but it does) as the epic journey is such a large theme in literature and there are some interesting aspects here. The turn of Sheemie following the villains was a big part of the end of the first series, but to see it in all its Tolkien grandeur here brings him down to Sméagol’s level. This is an interesting turn for the former servant and should lead to good character development. In fact, other then what happens to Roland, Sheemie has the most interesting plot development when he enters the Dogan. It is this fine plot twist with cliffhanger and only those two things that leaves me waiting for the next issue. They are the saving grace to an otherwise fairly decompressed and boring story.

Jae Lee is uniquely suited for this book. Fortunately, many of the similar characters from the first run are dead or not present in this comic. This makes it a little easier to follow as I can differentiate the characters. Whether or not this is true a month from now when issue two comes out, who knows. The art is fine here; the problem is the coloring saps every bit of emotion and life from the book. Really after 300+ pages it is all beginning to look the same. There was plenty of gore to divert my attention the first time around, but nothing here other than a ravine towards the end. Lee’s lack of backgrounds and Isanove’s relentless coloring of the same desert sky into the background is getting boring. The darkness may even be contributing to the muddiness that I feel creeps into every issue thus far. It is a visually arresting book, but after 8 issues, enough is enough, give me something other than style.

I have a feeling that this volume like the last will read better as a collected whole. This isn’t a bad thing, but one wonders why Marvel would not just bet the farm and release them as quarterly or annually Graphic Novels.

Fourthman Reviews: Young Liars, New Dynamix & Comic Book Comics

by Lee Newman

Young Liars #1
Published by Vertigo
Written and Illustrated by David Lapham

As far as I know, the only thing I have ever read by David Lapham is issue one and two of Spider-Man: With Great Power.... I know that he is famous for Stray Bullets and some mystery graphic novels, but I haven't read any of those. This book isn'[t exactly making me rush out to read any of his other work.

Here we have the sordid romance of Danny Noonan and Sadie Dawkins. It is very well written with a keen eye on dialogue. Problem is I don't like the characters and it seems to me the events that are set in motion at the end of this first issue are just deserts.

The art does nothing for me either. It is competent enough, it has that adult cartoonist style to it. The lines are strong and consistent, but while it is more polished then say Black Hole, it lacks the emotional power of something like Blankets. It just leaves me kind of "meh".

In a sense this is the anti-Vinyl Underground. Both have characters that I despise. This one is superbly written, the other not so much. Liars is not pretty, Underground is gorgeous. Yet based on first issues alone, something about Underground has kept me compelled to keep reading, this one... I may just thumb through issue 2.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

The New Dynamix #1
Published by Wildstorm
Written by Allen Warner
Art by JJ Kirby

A comic book about missing Super Heroes. Seems like there is one of those every other week these days. Here the twist it is a character we haven’t seen in a while, Black Halo, is going to figure out what is going on. We also have the Sword and a new hero named Love Rocket.

I was unfamiliar with even the old characters here. Probably has something to do with me missing the Image years of Wildstorm. There has been an awful lot happening in the Wildstorm Universe as of late. Armageddon and Revelations. Horribly late titles and oh yeah, apparently it is part of the DC multiverse now. Great books like Welcome to Tranquility are on hiatus. It all leaves one scratching their head, saying “what’s going on?”

That is exactly the feeling I had reading this book. Not knowing who anyone was bad enough, but it all just kind of happens. There are long soliloquies in word bubbles, but they don’t ring true as dialogue and more often than not, they don’t really help the story progress. There is an interesting enough premise, a super powered being takes a kid hostage during a super powered being crisis. This guy wants Black Halo to come out of hiding, but it doesn’t turn out the way it was supposed to. Wow, when you say it like that, it just seems that much more derivative.

The art is weird. The character designs are nice enough and Kirby has a strong line and sense of action. However, he has an uncanny knack for choosing to put the weirdest expressions on the faces of his characters. It is a little unnerving.

All in all, if I weren’t a junkie and didn’t have a near limitless budget for comics, I would probably give the second issue a pass. However, I know that second issues are sometimes capable of turning a series around. So here’s hoping it comes out on a light week and doesn’t end up in the back up pile.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

Comic Book Comics #1
Published by Evil Twin
Written by Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Ryan Dunleavy

As you may be able to tell, I absolutely love comic books. They are my favorite form of entertainment. Through the years, various writers and artists have found a myriad of ways to take this medium and tell any number of different stories. From the simple beauty of Little Nemo In Slumberland to the complex prose/graphic design fusion of Jonathan Hickman's work, there is simply no other flight of fancy that elicits the same joy and excitement from me.

This particular endeavor by the genius's behind Action Philosphers is especially appealing to me. While their previous book was intriguing, it was a niche book in a niche segment of entertainment. While the idea of that book appealed to me, I heard about it a little late and never got around to checking it out. For the second time this week, I am compelled to read an earlier work becuase of the strength of a first issue. This book is just what the title implies, it is a comic book about comic books. To be more exact, it is a comic book history of the medium. It picks up the story in October 18, 1896 (the day William Randolph Hearst started publishing The American Humorist) to the dawn of the Golden Age. It is an informative and often hilarious look at the early years of the funny book.

Dunleavy employs a cartoon style for much of the book. The genius here is that he mimics early forms of comics. This adds to the heavily researched work by Van Lente and actually shows the thought and care given this project. It also sheds a glimpse into just how much the art form has changed over the years.

I've thought about this one for two days now. It really impressed me more than any other comic I have read recently (except for Dave Sim's absolutely incredible Glamourpuss) and while some may disagree with me, I think it is a perfect comic book in it's fusion of words and pictures to give us a history like none other before it. It is a unique achievement and something the creators should be proud of. For me, it is the best comic book of this week.

Fourthman Reviews: LOGAN #1

by Lee Newman

Logan #1
Published by Marvel
Written by Brian K Vaughan
Art by Eduardo Risso

Wow, leave it to BKV to make the most interesting Wolvie story since Millar’s final issue. Like Wolverine (Vol. 2) #32, this book is set in World War Two. Here, Logan meets Atsuko in the Japanese country side and after the last page which has an awesome reveal… you know this can’t end well.

Vaughan is sparse with the internal monologue. While the lack of narration hurt early issues of Wolverine Origins, Vaughan uses it to cut down on the Noir kitsch and allows the character to breath. Here we find out (at least in this Marvel Knights title, which the line really seems to be going the Elseworlds route of late) that Wolverine’s memory has been spotty for a long time. Evidently, the House of M events brought back the repressed memories on display here (further confounding my attempts to figure out what that MK means in the top right corner of the cover). There is an interesting story set up here with plenty of foreshadowing to what is in store the three issues. As always, BKV brings solid dialogue and great plotting.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

Risso and colorist Dean White set a powerful palette in place. The setting and the art recall Frank Miller and Chris Claremont’s inaugural run with the title in the 80’s. Juxtaposing the modern mutant with the 40’s soldier works quite effectively, but the real star here is the shadows. With those, the art team provides a dark and foreboding backdrop to much of the book adding to the coming suspense while showcasing every detail.

A top notch effort. Worth picking up before scant ordering makes it hard to find. With all the hype of the end of Y, movie talk and Vaughan’s gig as Lost writer, this may be hard to find in a week or
two. Also, like Origin before it, when Wolverine is good, the fans go crazy.

Fourthman Reviews: Ropeburn

By Lee Newman

Ropeburn #1
Published by Fragile Press
Written and Illustrated by Jeremy Smith

Imagine all the heart of Peanuts mixed with the meditation on the mundane found in Clerks and you will have an idea of what Ropeburn is like. It in format and overall artist style, it is more reminiscent of Schultz. In angst and setting, it is a companion to Kevin Smith’s work.

Jeremy Smith is a winner of the Xeric Award (editor's note: Jeremy is selling his work directly from his blog, in addition to through Diamond). The Xeric Foundation started by Peter Laird is a corporation that offers financial assistance to folks looking to self publish their work. Jeremy used his award to get Fragile Press off and running. His first comic is this collection of slice of life anecdotal vignettes. The humor is smart assed, but the spirit of the book looks for the silver lining. If you look at the cover, you’ll see a single splash of color in a bloom rising from the crack of a grey dull world. That is what the humor of the book does. It looks at the things that frustrate us and makes light of them.

Much of the book appears to be auto biographical. More than half the strips are centered around Pizza Delivery boys and their trials & tribulations. The reason I say that it seems to be autobiographical, is that the dead on voice that is associated with these pieces can only come from experience. If Smith has not worked as a delivery boy then he has a keen eye for the world around him. Even if he has, that eye is just as acute.

Much of the rest of the material falls into the same category thematically, but is not as genuine. They are cute. Just as humorous, some are more thought provoking – for example, there is a series of one page panels that display a single man’s struggle with devils surrounding him that are peppered throughout the book.

The art is appropriate. It is of the newspaper strip variety, with clean lines and a strong sense of character design that leads to a very consistent look. Honestly, the whole project reminds me of the early work by Snoopy’s creator and this reader hopes that Smith’s career is as long & storied.

Fourthman Reviews: Project Superpowers/RASL/Kick Ass

Project Superpowers #1
Published by Dynamite
Written by Jim Kruegner w/ Alex Ross
Pencils by Carlos Paul w/ Alex Ross

I really enjoyed the zero issue of this book. So much so that I became excited for the title. I did not enjoy Justice and after not enjoying The Twelve #1, I was dreading the release of this title. The #0 shipped and I read The Twelve #2, suddenly this book seemed like it could rock.

Wait a second, I had the same hopes for Justice... and then delays and a spotty story ruined that book for me. Here I find much the same as far as story is concerned. First of all, this is a #1 and I understand the whole idea of giving content not available elsewhere in the #0, but Jungle Girl and Black Summer, while enhanced by the #0 were not dependent on it. Here, you are thrust into the middle of the story and beyond it being impenetrable for new readers; the damn thing does not logically progress from the last issue. Instead, there is some new crap thrown at us, all of which makes very little sense. I assume this is still the distant future, but there is no indication in the book of its setting or time. Things just sort of happen and all of it requires that you have read the #0 to understand it, but even beyond that some of those things make no sense. Why were the Llama and Dynamic Man immune to the events of #0? How did Dynamic Man come to his position of power? These are things that hurt the narrative and need to be addressed now, not later.

The events in the end of the issue are just enough to make me read issue #2, but it has to wow. I am sure this will sell like hot cakes, hell Justice did, but this is not a good start. Issue #0 was a great story told through characters and actions and was a neat idea. Here everything that was good about #0 is either ignored (characterization) or used for convenience (the urn was merely a set up for random fights). It sucks that two issues in (and with the book on time), I am where I was at on issue 7 of Justice.

The art is better than the story, but not by much. The character designs are great, and Paul does a great job of adapting to Ross's style. This is something that is hard to do. I don't think Epting draws the new Cap costume very well in full view, but Paul seems to do okay with the designs here. Problem is the book flip flops between Alex Ross esque painted photo realism and absurdist out of place humor. There is too much emotion happening. This takes the characters out of the realm of serious comic book characters and into the realm of caricature. It is odd and lessens otherwise solid art.

I will check out issue #2, but this is based on the strength of the #0 and has almost nothing to do with what was read here.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

RASL #1
Published by Cartoon Books
Written and drawn by Jeff Smith

First off, let me get this out of the way. For the younger readers out there, this book has mild language. It is not as all ages friendly as Smith’s previous work. Parents will want to make the decision as to whether or not this book is appropriate. There is nothing you won’t see or hear on network TV, but fans of Bone and Shazam!: Monster Society of Evil may want to think twice.

Next onto the book itself. Much like Bone, the start of RASL puts us firmly into the action and seeds a mystery. I am sure much will be explained over the coming issues. For those curious as to what the book is about? Rasl is an art thief. He can travel through time and/or dimensions and this makes him very hard to catch. In this first issue, he ends up in a place that is not what it appears to be and he finds out something (that is not entirely clear) that leads him to believe that he may have people following him. There are problems with “the Drift”, his means of travel as well. The issue is very fast paced and well executed. Many intriguing ideas and scenarios are introduced. This is as good as first issues get. Smith brings his unique character designs to the table and his ability to tell a compelling story from the start is on full display.

There is no doubt that this is the beginning of something special. If you have never read Bone or Monster Society this is as good a place as any to start. While you are at the shop pick up the other two as well, they are superb comics.

"Ultimate Comics, we're doing it up right with a midnight opening for Dark Tower: The Long Road Home!"

Kick-Ass #1
Published by Icon
Written by Mark Millar
Pencils by John Romita, Jr.

The Millar hype machine went into overdrive for this book. The guy putting the Fantastic into Fantastic Four, the author of the smash Civil War, and the creator of this summer’s Wanted, wants to make sure when he does an Icon book, it sells. So a viral campaign, a poster campaign for retailers, and a spreading the word of mouth campaign later, how is the actual book?

Love or hate Millar, he likes to give us big ideas. It would seem that a book about a lonely and miserable teenager becoming a vigilante would have already happened. Who knows? It may have, as there are a lot of comics I have yet to read. I am fairly sure this is the first one to happen in the “real” world. Told as an issue long flashback that gives us the origin of our hero, Dave Lizewski, this issue lets us in on something other than just the beginning of Dave’s story, it also lets us know that many, many people have taken up his idea and run with it. Between a throwaway phrase from Dave and the opening sequence, things may get out of control for more than just our young protagonist.

The rest of the book focuses on why this young man chooses to put on a mask and a wetsuit to take up crime fighting. It is an interesting character study into the mind of the isolated teenager. The lonely kid, who in this world all too often turns to gun play in cafeterias. I almost wish that some read this book and go this route. It would lead to more tragic stories, of course, but less body bags of innocent children. Millar handles it all with a keen eye on the voice of the “geeky” teenage kid. I am sure that his message board has been great research for this project. That’s right kiddies, brother eye is watching and being inspired.

This is not the only book to sport pencils by John Romita, Jr, this week, but unlike X-Men Legacy, this book sports not only good work by JRJR, but the emergence of a different style. Oh, the lines are the same, but he is going for a more realistic character design and I like it. Dean White’s colors give it all a nice tone and it works well.

If this book continues to be a meditation on the consequences of “real life” vigilantism, then we may have something special here. We already have a special #1.

Lee Newman works at Ultimate Comics, where they'll be participating in the Marvel midnight offering of the new Stephen King project, DARK TOWER: THE LONG ROAD HOME, at 12am on March 5th.

Double Duty: Batman & The Outsiders #4

Batman and the Outsiders #4
Published by DC
Written by Chuck Dixon
Pencils by Julian Lopez

FourthMan's Take:

I should really like this book. I dug The Outsiders and am a huge fan of Batman. I fondly remember the days when Dixon was a good writer. He still shows that gleam every once in a while (check out The Iron Ghost for proof).

Thing is: this book has been forgettable so far. On top of that I can’t even remember when issue #3 came out, making it that much harder to remember the details of the book. For those of you in shock about that, remember that on average I read 10 comics and a trade a day. That puts me at close to 500 single issues a month, delays on books can cause huge problems with my comprehension.

With that out of the way, this issue does pick it up some. I still don’t quite understand this team or some of Dixon’s out of character voices. For example: Green Arrow, of all people, should be all about some second chances. Yet his attitude towards Batgirl borders on strange. Is there some jealousy there and if so why? These are the kind of character issues that make a book stand out, but when dropped like this make it forgettable. Oh yeah, there is the whole “Brother I” thing, too. Is Dixon being a smartass?

The big thing here though is the “Remac”. Unfortunately a lot of the tension that could have been built on this idea is given away almost immediately. We see a regular OMAC pretty much copy the “Remac”’s abilities. This is a missed opportunity. I don’t see how withholding that till next issue would have harmed anything. It is nice to see the OMACs playing a huge role in the DCU again, check this week’s Countdown for more on that.

The biggest plus on this book is the art. Lopez has some shaky lip scenes at points, but overall it is very nice. His Batman and Batgirl are very impressive and his Green Arrow iconic. Might have to hunt down some more of his work

All in all, this book is better then the last three, but it will really only be a true achievement if I remember what happened when #5 ships.

Huxford's Take:

I held off on reading Lee's take on the issue until I had already read it. I was originally expecting that he might have a more positive take on the issue than I expected I would (based on previews for the book on Newsarama). Imagine my surprise in finding out that we had many of the same gripes. Well, at least the gripes were in the same area. Given Green Arrow's problems with certain members of the League of Assassins recently, I can understand him not being understanding of Batgirl's presence right away. I was a bit surprised by how familiar he was with her role with the League and how little faith he had in Batman choosing her to be on the team. The resolution of his concern was every bit as clunky as the introduction of it, really.

In fact, this whole issue doesn't have even a coherent, consistent voice. It makes me wonder if Dixon's script wasn't changed to a noticeable degree by editorial. I can grasp not liking his work on the issue, but not the idea that it feels incompetently slapped together. That doesn't seem like Dixon at all. I'd have to agree that the artwork from Lopez here is a positive. It, also, isn't completely consistent...but it is largely enjoyable. Even when given a goofy, out-of-place Remac shape-changing display. I'm not sure how well this book is going to hum along with the apparent sloppiness effecting the first 6-8 issues (at least partially caused by the whole Bedard/Dixon shuffle).

Fourthman Reviews: Zorro/Amazing Spider-Man/Hulk

By Lee Newman

Zorro #1
Published by Dynamite
Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Francesco Francavilla
Zorro is one of those vague memories from my childhood. I remember digging a couple of movies and a television show, but not much more. I know the mask, the hat, the cape, the sword and his trademark, but origin? Yeah, not so much. So unlike The Lone Ranger, I was excited about this book, but had very little preconception.

Wagner takes a very pulpy approach to the story. It is a discussion on the nature of a legend, not too dissimilar from Ditko’s similar discussion in Mysterious Suspense. This is interweaved into an origin story as well as soldiers account of the first activity of a vigilante. It is an exemplary work, almost immediately you have real concern for Diego and Bernado. There is also a clever twist in the origin which takes you down a somewhat unexpected path.

With the moral play (again referencing Ditko) that is presented, Wagner is a perfect fit for the book. What is most notable about this particular work is that he does not fall into the trap of just writing Hunter Rose in a different costume. This is the problem which has plagued his work on Batman.

Francavilla...I’m gonna have to punch that name into Wikipedia or Google. Before Left On Mission, I had never heard the name, but now I need more. His layouts are amazing with a variety that gives an added energy to his already lively pages. His detail work is just as impressive. When the boys are in the cave, the torchlight seems to actually flicker on the page. This achieved by painstaking attention to the shadows and the use of a heat glare effect. Wagner is credited as the art director on the book, but I don’t see how this art is different from Left On Mission. It makes me wonder what the title means.

I was excited by this book the second I heard about it and I was not let down in the least. With this and his new Grendel book, I think Wagner, a noted master comic writer, may be at the top of his game.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

Amazing Spider-Man #551
Published by Marvel
Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by Salvador Larroca

Spider-Man has not been this good in a very long time. Dan Slott knocked the first three issues of “Brand New Day” out of the park and while Guggenheim’s run was not as good, it somehow manages to finish stronger. Part of this lies in the mystery re-established in the last three pages. Most of it has to do with the mistake that Jackpot makes in the issue. It is one of those perfect Spidey moments that harkens back to the death of the Stacys or the Goblin saga. I will be honest: I am not spending much time trying to figure out the mysteries. I am going to let the answers come in their own time. There is still much that doesn’t make sense from the “One More Day” fallout, but, as long as the stories remain on this level, I will hang around.

There are other inspired moments. The fact that Peter seems to be constantly out of fluid is a nice touch. The new publisher of the renamed “DB” is a winner and shows his heart in this issue. With the revelation of the identity of Mr. Negative, you have to wonder if this guy doesn’t have some ulterior motive.

The problems that I had with the coloring in issue 549 seem to be resolved her. Spidey seems to reside in his surroundings now. There are a couple of issues with some faces particularly with Jackpot and Mr. Bennet, but overall the art is very nice. You do have to wonder if Larroca felt a little rushed though as there is a distinct lack of backgrounds in much of the book.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

HULK #2
Published by Marvel
Written by Jeph Loeb
Pencils by Ed McGuinness

THIS WEEK IN CSI: S.H.I.E.L.D....

I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist, especially after page 6.

Alright, here’s the deal: this is not, by any strech of the imagination, a GREAT comic book. Loeb has written a couple of those. They star Batman. There is one with Superman. I hear there is a good one with Spider-Man. This comic is fun, though. A heckuva lot of fun. It really doesn’t make one lick of sense, but a team of Iron Men carrying a golden helicarrier will make up for a lot of stupid. That AND Tony contemplating the wisdom of staying dry are worth the price of admission alone. There are a few twists here. Some people are wrong about identities and the last page was STUPID with a ten story tall capital S.

McGuinness is McGuinness. Either you love him or you hate him. I fall closer to the former, but this is not his best work. The spread on pages two and three is five different kinds of fugly, but at least She-Hulk doesn’t look like a passenger on the short bus any more.

This book makes me laugh. That will keep me reading, even if it is pretty dumb.

Fourthman Reviews: Abyss #3

Abyss #3
Published by Red 5
Written by Kevin Rubo
Pencils by Lucas Marangon

Red 5 Comics is the best new publisher period. Too bad this is not their best book. The problem with parody is that all too often, people throw in too much. That’s why I don’t really go for the whole Airplane or Scary Movie thing. As a parody of Wanted, Abyss functions really well. In fact in that aspect I would call it pitch perfect. Problem is it is marred by all the pointless Scarface gags. It drags down an otherwise great book. There are some inspired gags here that take jabs at Superman, Batman, the Thunderbolts, etc. Knowing your comic history makes this a more enjoyable book. It did produce several audible laughs and that is hard to do for me. The pencils are fine. It is what I expect of a funny book, but the coloring. Who the hell let Top Cow’s digital coloring guys loose at this thing? It makes it very hard to look at. All in all, Abyss is almost a good funny book.

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Fourthman Reviews: Loaded Bible #3: Communion

By Lee Newman

Loaded Bible 3: Communion
Published by Image Comics
Written by Tim Seeley
Pencils by Mike Norton & Christopher Johnson

Seeley brings the first act to close with all the pomp and circumstance of a Star Wars movie. In fact, the last page is greatly reminiscent of Attack of the Clones. As far as a solid action saga, it is as exciting as Star Wars, but the religious aspect of this book seems to grow with each issue. It is interesting to me that a self-proclaimed non-religious person gets the feeling of the “character” of Christ down perfect. Here we have an anti-establishment rebel, consorting with the “enemy” and being hunted by the stalwart leaders of the current incarnation of the Church. There is also a parallel in the Lilith thread this time, which bodes well for Book 2.

Most interesting to this reader is the interaction between Jesus and Sistine in this chapter. It would seem that this Vampire has taken the role of Magdalene. It will be interesting to see how the events of this book play down the line. Seeley has managed to create a world that is very rich. So much so, that now on top of the other two “Books” of Loaded Bible, I would, also, like to see a prequel story about the Vampire Wars. Wow, I sound like I did for years about Star Wars. I guess that’s cool, because this book is generating the same kind of awed fanboy response from me at this point.

Norton’s pencils are much removed from the last issue. They are not as drop dead gorgeous as they were in Norton’s last issue of The All New Atom, but they are significantly advanced from the pencils in Loaded Bible 2. The real neat trick here is that Johnson’s pencils are not intrusive. I would be very hard pressed to tell you where one artist stops and the other begins. I have my suspicions about a couple of panels and one page in general, but I can’t really tell. It is very much the best looking of the three so far.

Loaded Bible 3: Communion does its job amazingly well… it leaves me wanting more right now. Hey, Tim, if you want me to buy the trade, convince Image to do a nice hardcover!

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Fourthman Reviews: Loaded Bible 1 & 2

Fourthman (aka Lee Newman) writes reviews for UltimateComics.com, which are syndicated here at SchwappOnline.com with the permission of all parties.

Loaded Bible: Jesus Vs. Vampires
Published by Image
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Nate Bellegrade and Mark Englert

So this book was hidden away in a box of books that were pulled for me when I got a bit too ambitious in my pulls. This is when I had a real world job and couldn't always find time to read ten comics a day. It has beckoned at me many times, but with Starlord choosing the third volume of Book One for this week's review group book, I thought it was about time for me to give it a read.

Sorry, Tim Seeley, I have truly slept on a master... Hack/Slash is now one of my favorite horror books and this here Loaded Bible is an unsung masterpiece. Set in a future that stems from a very familiar America, the world has been ravaged by Vampires. The Church has taken up the fight against these creatures of the night and at the head of their army is the Messiah returned. This Christ is as different from the New Testament Christ as that Jesus’ father is different from the Old Testament God. In a world were his flock is being eaten, Christ must be a little stronger with his message. This is all the fun of Battle Pope without the laugh a minute script or the overly heretical thematics. In fact, in many ways the way Seeley handles the Christ figure is a testament to a true understanding of the Faith. He is careful in this first issue not to have the Son of God speak out against more boiler plate issues of the Church, but there is the implication that Jesus is not quite in line with the way the Bishops of the Vatican would want things. Interesting touches like having Jesus attracted to a Vampire and his relationship with Bishop Parrish show an understanding of the divine made human. What could be an outrageous heretical story is actually a thought provoking meditation on the nature of the idol. This is a smart and intelligent read with an ending that begs for continued adventures.

The art is superb. It is not photo realistic. In fact there are touches of Mignola here and there. It is consistent strong and conveys the story in a coherent matter. The character designs take in familiar faces and archetypal characters and employ them in the style seamlessly. Action sequences are huge and fun, while not at all confusing.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

Loaded Bible 2: Blood of Christ
Published by Image
Written by Tim Seeley
Pencils by Mike Norton

The first issue of Loaded Bible was a breath of fresh air. It was intelligent and controversial. It was religious and Political in the same breath. It showed a great understanding of faith and that is one of the reasons that it was such a compelling read.

The second volume spends more time meditating on the idea of Vampires and the contradictions of the Church then on action or politics. Both of those are there, but much of the issue is Lilith spouting off why it is important not to kill the Humans and Christ dealing with the revelation that he is a clone. There are moments of absolute brilliance. When Christ decides that the only way he can truly understand the vampires is to become one and subjugates himself to the bite of an infant sucker he has saved. The healing that takes place was a little confusing for me. It is not as black and white as other things in the first two issues. In fact, it is fairly ambiguous and leads to questions that I hope are resolved in the third act. Like what didn’t we see in the trailer that night and what became of the baby?

There are also lots of exciting scenes. We find out who the traitor to the church is and why he fed information to the Vampires. We also get to see Bishop Parrish take the reins of the Vatican. A compassionate and faithful man now leads the Church, will it continue down its destructive path? There is also the great moment when the army of clones is unleashed on the Vampire invaders. We also get our first real glimpse inside the human resistance to the church. This is as idea heavy as the first issue, even if it is not a singularly satisfying. It seems to need the next chapter, much as Empire Strikes Back needed the finale of Return of the Jedi. It’s not a bad thing, just anticipatory.

Mike Norton takes over the penciling duties on this issue. It gives the comic a more traditional look, but it loses some of its character. Even still there are inspired panels, the bite of a vampire baby, the release of the clone army, or Christ’s inoculation of vampire blood.

Like Star Wars, you know this story is going to carry on. I hope that sales are enough to justify many more books in the Loaded Bible lore. This is an exciting and fresh take on vampires. It is epic in scope and demands to be carried on.

Fourthman Reviews: Fantastic Comics #24

On SCHWAPP, I'm endeavoring to open things up to allow others to be part of the blog. Someone I've always respected the reviews of would be Lee Newman aka FourthMan at Newsarama. He's, also, part of the team over at Ultimate Comics.

Next Issue Project #1: Fantastic Comics #24
Published by Image Comics Written and Illustrated by Various

The idea behind the Next Issue Project is awesome in and of itself. With all the attention being paid to reviving Golden Age characters in the likes of books such as The Twelve or Project Superpowers, it is often forgotten how much of this material was presented. In the Golden Age, the anthology was king. Conventional wisdom has the golden age starting around 1933. It is important to note that Superman did not appear until 1938 and that is when super heroes began their domination of the medium. Before then, comics could be any number of things. The Next Issue Project takes long cancelled golden age titles that have fallen into the public domain and revives them fresh for our more modern sensibilities.

Fantastic Comics debuted in 1939 and was published by Fox Syndicate. As you can see in the cover of that first issue, Sampson was also on the cover as were blurbs for all the characters promised in Image’s first issue. Indeed, all these characters and more make appearances in this book. Image has taken the time to reproduce the size and page count of the comic as well as put some vintage styled ads in the book as well. Either for their future entrants in the series or mock ads that contain the credits for the issue or what may very well be vintage ads, these commercials solidify the feel and look of the original book.

Much care is taken in the stories themselves as well. There are straight up homages to the era as in Larsen’s Sampson tale. Here colors bleed into lines and the pages have an aged look. The story even feels like an old story with a dubious moral being portrayed. In fact, the unflinching freedom of the era is a theme throughout the book. The creators put away their inhibitions and PC manuals and make the stories fun. Amazons are scantily clad, sexy, and ready for action.

Sampson is not the only metahuman presented here. Mike Allred and Joe Keating deliver the most impressive story in the book playing with many of the same characters that Ross and Krueger are fiddling with over at Dynamite. However, as is usual of the work that Allred allows his pencils to grace, the story here is more metaphysically inclined then Project Superpowers.

The rest of the anthology is delightful, from Andy Kuhn’s Casanova-esque take on Yank Wilson to the Prince Valiant like “Golden Knight”. I would find it hard to believe that there is not at least one story in this giant comic that would appeal to everyone. Heck, even B. Clay Moore produces a prose piece that would be just as at home in the back of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The package itself is also appealing. Image has chosen to produce this on a heavy card stock paper. When the pages are in their more natural white, they are brilliant; allowing the colors and thin lines to jump off the page. With a cover that most certainly pays homage to the original, this is one of those books that literally jumped out of the boxes as we were processing our delivery last Tuesday. It is the kind of book that makes us pause for a moment. There are very few things that draw the entire crew away from the day long task. Not even the power of Walking Dead or Planetary can stop all of us from trying to get home before dark. However, this book and last year’s Marvel Vault had even Alan Gill, owner of Ultimate Comics, pleased to take a break from the labor intensive task at hand to give it a once over and bask in it’s glory. I have heard grumblings here and there over the $5.99 price tag, but being a huge fan of the Ignatz series of golden sized books from Fantagraphics, I can tell you this book is a bargain in almost every sense. What other book with that price tag boasts artwork from the likes of Allred, Larson, Sienkiewicz, Ashley Wood, and others with top notch stories from Joe Casey, Moore, and Scioli? Not even Popgun offered an a list like this.

While most definitely an exciting collection for the pure comics enthusiast who longs for the days of Kirby, Ditko, and Stan Lee; this book also crosses a broad spectrum of interests, styles and stories. Image should be proud to produce an anthology of this caliber. Here is hoping that the Next Issue Project sustains a long and healthy run.