 | |  | THE WIZARD POLL | | |
|
| | | | |
| COMICS |  | THURSDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK | | A water-cooler review of this week's comics | | | By The Wizard Staff | | Posted March 20, 2008 | |  | | QUICK HITS
ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #5
IDW
Joss Whedon and Brian Lynch (W)/Franco Urru (A)
JIM: “Bah! TV? I just threw mine out the window! Really, who needs TV when the best shows are gracing the pages of comic books nowadays? Angel is the type of comic that’s almost making me forget it was one of my favorite programs because it is easily one of the most satisfyingly crazy action comic books you can get your hands on. As the last four issues of foreplay leading up to the big brawl between Angel and each champion of various Lords of (HEL)L.A.—get it?!—comes to a climax, it’s the type of battle that TV could never do justice and I love seeing it on the paneled page! The gang’s (almost) all back together, and if Spike duking it out with a shadow beast alongside a flaming sword wielding Angel wasn’t enough…
| | 
“…then perhaps seeing the titular hero’s dragon fight a T-Rex in the hell-raised city streets will change your mind! | | 
“While you’ll have to wait through the series-within-a-series, Angel: After The Fall’s ‘First Night,’ you’re off your gourd if you’re not back for the next issue. Looks like I’ll have to sate myself with ‘Angel’ DVDs till then…Crap! Why’d I throw that TV out the window?!”
EVERYBODY’S DEAD #1
IDW
Brian Lynch (W)/Dave Crossland (A)
RACHEL: “With the brilliant subhead: ‘They’re the last people on earth who should be the last people on earth, Angel co-writer Brian Lynch introduces a rag-tag college fraternity of six individualis as they throw a party. Everyone gets f-ed up, gets down and has a blast until the d-bags from Omega, a satirical troop of identically drawn brawny blondes, crash the soirée to claim the frat house that used to be theirs. A violent fight ensues and gets resolved by a transformer (figure). Sassy, Wheadon-esque dialogue (with no-holds-barred language) fleshes out each of the 10 main misfits before they finally get to sleep inside. Outside, something tremendously crazy happens leaving everyone, we can assume, in the titular condition. But what does that mean exactly? Probably zombies.”
FEAR AGENT #19
Dark Horse
Rick Remender (W)/Jerome Opeña (A)
JIM: “While I’ve enjoyed the mind-bending adventures of the surly, drunken, ‘good ol’ boy,’ intergalactic hero in the past, I haven’t been keeping up with the current arc of Fear Agent and that may have been a mistake. As always, the old school space story meets crazy-assed new school twist—this time in a race of aliens who actually achieved entry into heaven via a cultish mass suicide, but many of impure souls were rejected and became the living dead—and Heath’s neck deep in the poop again. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re a fan of off-the-wall, maddenlingly bizarre sci-fi stories or gruff foul-mouthed heroes bucking the odds, then don’t allow yourself to miss another issue of Fear Agent.”
FX #1
IDW
Wayne Osborne (W)/John Byrne (A)
RACHEL: “In this new title, IDW introduces a young superhero with the power to make his imagination come to life. Tom is just a kid who likes to pretend he’s a swordfighter or Nazi-hunter with his best friend, making his age rather ambiguous. Regardless, one day while playing Tom falls into a mysterious coma. Soon after waking up, he discovers he now has the power to create and use anything he can think of, like a ring-less Green Lantern. Naming himself FX, Tom dons camo pants, a sweatshirt with iron-on letters, and becomes instantly useful during a field trip to the local zoo, when a giant (talking?) ape escapes his restraints. Subduing the beast with a punch, FX gets to watch himself on the local news, quick to label the scamp a ‘new superhero.’ Sealing his new identity, a mysterious costume is left on Tom’s doorstep. Finally, the last page introduces a supernatural/fantasy element, teasing an unfriendly interest from… Skeletor?”
GHOST RIDER #21
Marvel Comics
Jason Aaron (W)/Roland Boschi (A)
| | 
ANDY: “This 100-mile-per-hour thrill ride continues unabated, as the new creative team of Aaron and Boschi open up the throttle and dip their toes into some demented waters: You get everything from shotgun-toting warrior nuns who want to kill the Spirit of Vengeance, to the cannibalistic coroner who wants to eat a nosy local deputy for dinner. Throw in Ghost Rider’s showdown with a horde of pissed-off phantoms, and Ghost Rider is one book that’ll get your heart racing past the redline in by the last page.
GHOST WHISPERER #1
IDW
Becca Smith and Carrie Smith (W)/Elena Casagrande (A)
JIM: “I’ll admit my Friday nights aren’t always orgies, keggers and motorcycle stunt driving (that’s just every second Friday of the month), so I occasionally find myself sitting down with an episode of ‘Ghost Whisperer.’ With IDW’s first issue adaptation of the TV series, I was hoping to see the comic step out from—in my opinion—the spooky show’s two biggest shortcomings: it’s formulaic episode format and the lack of an epic, Buffy-esque overarching plotline. While the issue wraps the familiar story beats and conclusion into a nice, little package that won’t challenge readers due to its similarity to the program, the introduction of what looks to be a big bad has me intrigued. I’ll give the creative team the benefit of the doubt and presume this issue played off the recognizable plot format to make first-time comic readers who are show fans feel comfortable and introduce comic readers with a comprehensive first taste for ‘Ghost Whisperer’ and there’s nothing wrong with that. I just hope the freedom of a medium that plays to die-hard fans of horror and serial heroines shoots to please a comic readers audience and not a just its mainstream TV fans.”
THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #13
Marvel Comics
Ed Brubaker (W)/Matt Fraction (W)/Tonci Zonjic (A)/David Aja (A)/Kano (A)
ADAM: “Part six of the ‘Seven Capital Cities of Heaven’ story rc sees flashbacks of Wendell Rand-Kai fleeing his showdown with the dragon Shou-Lao, the villainous Xao completing the mag-lev train he plans to use to destroy Kun-Lun, Danny Rand confronting Nu-An about the ‘Randall Gate’ (a portal to Earth that Kun-Lun’s master has been using to go back and forth to Earth at his leisure), and the Prince of Orphans enlisting all of the other Immortal Weapons to fight Nu-An’s army of Terror Priests. Davos and his father, Lei Kung the Thunderer, have a pretty awesome fight, and in the end we see that Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist, ‘has a plan.’ (Remember those words.) Not too much action in this issue, but it’s setting up for some amazing action in the next. Bring on the kung fu super-fights!”
THE INCREDIBLE HERCULES #115
Marvel Comics
Greg Pak (W)/Fred Van Lente (W)/Khoi Pham (A)
ADAM: “Amadeus Cho has a mad-on for S.H.I.E.L.D. because they nearly killed his puppy, and he and Hercules (post-World War Hulk) have taken over the ‘Behemoth’ helicarrier and infected all of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s global systems with a virus, thus prompting an automatic missile retaliation and a visit from Ares, Herc’s brother. After a gigantic battle, Herc gets rid of Ares and reveals a dark part of his past to Cho, prompting Cho to finally let up on S.H.I.E.L.D. My three favorite things about this issue are the prologue—featuring the phrase ‘furious can of gangsta-style whup-@$$’ mixed in with Herc’s ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ speak—a Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck-style exchange between Cho and Herc (think ‘Rabbit season!’ ‘Duck season!’ ‘Duck season…!’), and a very touching in-memoriam page at the end of the book for previous Incredible Herc colorist Stéphane Peru, who died in February of an apparent heart attack.”
INVINCIBLE
Image
Robert Kirkman (W)/Ryan Ottley (A)
JIM: “Issue #49 of Invincible was the classic ‘calm before the storm’ issue that falls before a (and I quote the solicit ad) ‘NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN’ fiftieth issue, and calling an issue with a two-page splash like this a ‘calm before the storm’ issue is really saying something about how f---ing nuts the storm is going to be!
| | 
“As the world’s heroes are rescued from Doc Seismic by past villains Darkwing and the Ani-Men working for the U.S. government, Mark finally has to ask what his Global Defense Agency handler Cecil Steadman has been up to and how many evil things he’ll do to keep the country safe. Looks like the end of the good ol’ days of saving the world without asking questions are coming to an end for young Mark Grayson and I can’t wait to see what happens when you piss off the planet’s most unstoppable hero, who happens to be the son of the guy who killed the Guardians of the Globe (Invincible’s Justice League) single-handedly! Looks like it's gonna be messy!” | | 
IRON MAN #27
Marvel Comics
Daniel & Charles Knauf (W)/Carlo Pagulayan (A)
ANDY: “Political wranglings and back-room deals take precedence over action and adventure, but the intrigue is just as explosive as any repulsor ray. Tony Stark’s in hot water because he dropped a clean nuke in the middle of Nebraska, while Maya, the inventor of the Extremis virus, is feeling the flames too because the Mandarin’s using her tech to create a fatal strain. While battling the U.N. Security Council, Stark convinces Maya to engineer a cure, but it’s really the Mandarin using mental manipulation, and now he’s got everything he needs to unleash his epidemic on the world. Pagulayan continues to impress, showing the ability to render the Stark tech and the character scenes with equal aplomb, while the Knaufs’ tense plot recalls classic Tom Clancy espionage.”
JUNGLE GIRL #5
Dynamite Entertainment
Frank Cho & Doug Murray (W)/Adriana Batista (A)
ANDY: “Those looking for closure will be open to disappointment by the open-ended cliffhanger of an ending. But fans of Saturday-matinee style serials will love this final B-movie installment. Here, Jana leads the plane crash survivors through a prehistoric-style jungle world, populated by giant man-eating worms, bloodthirsty proto-people and dinosaurs, of course. One of the survivors turns out to be leader of a drug ring, and a championship catfight between her and Jana ensues, complete with ripped clothing, butt-shots and hair-pulling. Jana comes away victorious, and the loser gets eaten by a dinosaur (that would make boxing and ultimate fighting SO much cooler!). But before Jana and her crew can celebrate, a giant rift in the sky opens up, dropping a space shuttle and an astronaut into their laps. What happens next? See you next series!”
100 BULLETS #89
DC/Vertigo
Brian Azzarello (W)/Eduardo Risso (A)
ANDY: “It looks like the start of a celebration, as Graves and his crew pop champagne after their recent success of their campaign aginst the trust. But that bubbly falls flat for Graves when he gets a phone call telling him that Cole Burns has jumped the fence and gone with Jack, Loop and the other renegades working against the Minutemen. Meanwhile, a drug war is brewing, as kingpin Shotgun recruits boy soldiers to his cause. Not sure how this plays into the big picture yet, but this last 12-part arc is set on high simmer now thanks to Azzarello’s plot and Risso’s seemingly limitless ability to draw any and everything; can’t wait for them to turn up the heat and watch the series boil over.”
RED SONJA #31
Dynamite Entertainment
Christos Gage (W)/Pablo Marcos (A)
ADAM:> “On her long journey down the River Styx, Red Sonja is being hounded by the Ferryman to remember different points in her life. We’re told the story of when Sonja nearly became the queen of a bold warrior-king whom she was paid to guard. When she nearly gave in to her love for the king and accepted his proposal for marriage, the king was attacked and Sonja, after defeating his would-be assassins, vowed never to give in to love again. This was a very interesting look at Sonja’s past, and the Ferryman of Styx is a great device for telling these background stories, which feature different creative teams each month leading up to issue #35. One note about continuity: On page two, during a vicious battle scene, Sonja’s chain-mail bikini bottom flips up to reveal…leather bloomers!? Well, that may be what Dynamite wants us to believe is under there, but my fanfic says otherwise!”
WAR IS HELL: THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE PHANTOM EAGLE #1
Marvel/MAX
Garth Ennis (W)/Howard Chaykin (A)
| | 
RACHEL: “A page describing the evolution of airplanes into war machines frames this World War I fighter plane drama, and foreshadows the tension we're likely to feel watching the life-or-death action of a realistic book. It’s 1917. An oddly enthusiastic Karl Kaufmann lands on a European Ally army base with what seems to be a forged order to appear there, and he can’t wait to take down his share of iron-crossed ‘Huns.’ While the first two captains he meets are too aloof to be concerned, another drunker Captain, having confirmed the fake order, marches to pry the mysterious Kaufmann from his pilot seat. Carelessly close, he is sucked into a moving propeller and explodes in a shower of gore. Free of opposition Karl takes to the air and makes his first kill, which horrifies him in its violent simplicity. Sealing his disillusionment, he lands to find out his fellow trainees have been shot down dead. This fantastic first issue establishes a ton of intriguing possibilities for the mysterious character one can assume is the ‘Phantom Eagle.’ Chaykin’s art is top-form and Ennis’ WWI-era dialogue is natural and effortlessly authentic.”
WORLD WAR HULK: AFTERSMASH—WARBOUND #4
Marvel Comics
Greg Pak (W)/Leonard Kirk (A)
ANDY: “Who knew going green could be so much fun? Non-stop action from cover to cover’s the hallmark of this installment, which finds the Warbound aliens in furious combat on two different fronts—while rock-man Korg is forced to battle Hiroim to save everyone trapped inside Gammaworld, the rest of the crew throw down with the Leader to try and thwart his mad scheme—killing a whole town so he can have some quiet to think! It all boils down to an orgy of earth-shattering violence, gorgeously rendered by Kirk in frenetic, breath-stealing action sequences. And if you want the sweetest bromance moment since those two cowboys went up the mountain in ‘Brokeback,’ check out the tender scene where Korg offers to have babies with Hiroim! (I’m sound like I’m joking, but have a Kleenex handy). Pak has transformed these supporting characters into a full-fledged ensemble that’s as tight a team book as you’ll read in the Marvel U.; here’s one peaceful reader who hopes this Warbound never ends.”
For our Extra Points reviews, click here !
| | | |
Share this article
![[Slashdot]](http://slashdot.org/favicon.ico)
![[Digg]](http://digg.com/favicon.ico)
![[Reddit]](http://reddit.com/favicon.ico)
![[del.icio.us]](http://del.icio.us/favicon.ico)
![[Facebook]](http://www.facebook.com/favicon.ico)
![[Technorati]](http://technorati.com/favicon.ico)
![[Google]](http://www.google.com/favicon.ico)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.stumbleupon.com/favicon.ico)
|  |
 | |
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
|  |
| |
|
| |
