 COMICS |  | THURSDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK | | A water-cooler review of this week's comics | | | By The Wizard Staff | | Posted July 17, 2008 | |  | | QUICK HITS
Less talking, more reviewing!
GHOST RIDER #25
Marvel Comics
Jason Aaron (W)/Tan Eng Huat (A)
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ANDY: "This issue takes the phrase 'holy war' to a whole new level, as the Ghost Rider has apparently met his match at the hands of The Deacon (imagine a Hulk-sized bruiser in the body of an Aryan nation soldier, but riddled with religious tats). The Deacon works for Zadkiel, and his job is redeeming sinners and kicking Ghost Rider's ass. After a brutal fight that sees GR beaten and stabbed and Deacon shrugging off his penance stare, the Spirit of Vengeance has not choice but to beat Deacon senseless with a Bible! (Talk about a Sunday school lesson.) Though I'm not a fan of Huat's over-stylized art, Aaron's hard-hitting, mystery-laden plots and realistic dialogue make Ghost Rider a supernatural super-book that's the leader of the pack when it comes to readable anti-heroes."
HELLBLAZER #246
DC/Vertigo
Jason Aaron (W)/Sean Murphy (A)
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DAVID: "Jason Aaron finishes up his quick, two-part arc with this chilling issue, bringing Constantine back to Newcastle to deal with the elemental demon that was summoned there so many years ago. As an aside, Hellblazer fans are treated to a look back at John's past as the singer for the mysterious punk band, Mucous Membrane. The horror here lies in the terrible things Aaron decides to do to his characters, whether it's slitting their own risks or pulling out their own intestines. Spooky."
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #119
Marvel Comics
Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (W)/Rafal Sandoval (A)
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ANDY: "Sh—gets seriously epic in part 3 of 'Sacred Invasion,' as the Skrull infiltrator stands revealed, and it's none other than—Amadeus' pup?!? Yup, it's the dog days of summer for the God Squad when the dog bears his fangs and sabotages their trip through the dreamtime of fallen pantheons, leaving the heroes wide open to attack from thousands of dead deities. Luckily, Hercules' plan to smash everything works, and Snowbird provides the finishing touches by going all WMD on the assembled godly bad guys. Unfortunately, she may have kicked the bucket in the process, and she—even more unfortunately—had the road map home. But that's of course presuming the gods can defeat the big cheese of the Skrull religion, Kly'bn, who shows up on the jaw-dropping last page. Pak and Van Lente keep the plot moving at light speed and pepper the ish with plenty of light-hearted moments, which make the action even splashier when the danger quotient rises. Marvel might want to consider a new adjective for this series; 'Incredible' doesn't quite do Herc justice anymore."
JOKER'S ASYLUM: POISON IVY #1
DC Comics
J.T. Krul (W)/Guillem March (A)
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STEVE: "This issue was a lot of fun and had a lot of the gratuitous cheesecake Batman fans have come to expect when Poison Ivy is involved. The premise is that the Joker is telling stories about some of the more prominent villains in Batman's Rogues Gallery. This story deals with Ivy's fanatic eco-activism to the point of having her plants kill the head developers of a subdivision she came across shortly after her transformation into Poison Ivy. Apparently this grudge stuck with her enough to target only these three men in very specific, gruesome ways. Guillem March's art is cartoonishly dark here, and makes a great medium and atmosphere for a Batman story through the Joker's eyes. If you're a Poison Ivy fan and have some extra cash this week, pick this one up. It's self-contained and won't leave you hanging."
MARVEL 1985 #3
Marvel Comics
Mark Millar (W)/Tommy Lee Edwards (A)
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DAVID: "A lot of action happens in this issue, making it a real page turner. MODOK shows up and wrecks shop, as do Fing Fang Foom, Mole Man and Ultron. To provide the much-needed human element, Millar goes further into the past of Toby's father and their relationship. This series still seems like an interesting take on the 'comic book characters in the real world' plot, and all these characters look great illustrated by Edwards."
THE PERHAPANAUTS #3
Image Comics
Todd Dezago (W)/Craig Rousseau (A)
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ANNE: "Big makes his yearly trip to Scotland, this time accompanied by Merrow. After all this time, his secret is revealed—he's actually visiting his lady, the Loch Ness Monster. In the Bermuda Triangle, on the edge of the Perhaps, the Mothmen scheme revenge for the Perhapanauts' betrayal, and to defend the honor of their laws, the Soo-lees. And we get to see Merrow's origin story: How an injured Peter wandered into her glade and she took a human form to heal him, and how they fell in love. But Merrow knew that she wasn't human and that if she were to go with him back to Earth, she would have to go as herself, and never tell him the truth. I was actually a little choked up after this one. And finally, Choopie, as the new king of the troublemaker gremlins, must renounce his throne and tell them that they are not welcome among the Perhapanauts. They manage to change his mind with the weaponry they devise, and end up on probationary membership—which is good, because they were adorable."
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