DONE-IN-ONE REVIEWS - MAY 31st 2007

[B. Schatz]

Done-In-One Reviews for Maay 31st, 2007

Done-In-One Reviews are capsule sized reviews of some of the titles we missed covering from this week’s comic book shipment. This thread contains those reviews below.

Done-In One Reviews

JSA Classified #26 (DC Comics)
By Frank Tieri, Matt Haley, Jerome Moore & Dave Baron

The new JSA Classified arc shines the spotlight on perennial DCU heavyweight Wildcat. When he finds out that the loser supervillain Sportsmaster actually tried to gamble on who would win in a fight between them, Wildcat makes it his mission to uncover the superhero betting ring and shut it down before it goes too far. While the idea of gambling on superhero fights isn't a new one, Tieri uses Wildcat very effectively to demonstrate how such a thing could be more dangerous, more disastrous than is even apparent on the surface. Haley and Moore's artwork is really strong, and the way Baron uses his color palette to distinguish between the present and the flashback sequences is very effective. This book has been on a non-stop upswing since it was repurposed to spotlight different JsA members with each arc, and it's great to see Wildcat getting to share in on the fun. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit

The Miscellaneous Adventures of Stykman #2(AKA Comics)
by Jonnie Allan

Honestly, I’m not sure what to write in this space. On the one hand, I really want to recommend this comic book. Stykman is very much like The Tick in its approach to humor (though, admittedly, nowhere near the sheer brilliance) and has a few really funny moments – many just arising from the absurd looking hero. But on the other hand, there’s the slight religious tinge to the story. Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for a broad variety of topics in my comic books, and that often includes religion. However I get a little uncomfortable when the contents of a book are used to preach a religion. And then, when that deadpan serious preaching is followed by a vaguely hilarious SMOTING FROM ABOVE… well, it makes the book hard to pin down – and not in a good way. If not for the preaching, this book would be a solid four out of five, but I’m going to have to knock it down a few pegs just for pulling me out of the sheer entertainment this could’ve been. Rating: 2.5/5 -B. Schatz

Teddy Scares #1 (Ape Entertainment)
By Jim Hankins, Ben Roman, Christine Larsen, Rolando Mallada & Drew Rausch

The creepiest toy line since Madballs graduates into its own comic book series. The Teddy Scares are children's toys that were lost, abused and abandoned, winding up residing in the same junkyard. The four short stories in this volume manage to give each of the five bears a pretty good spotlight, from the dimwitted cyclopean Abnormal Cyrus to the poet and narrator Edwin. Most of the stories are pretty funny, too -- the sort of macabre humor that works so well in books like Haunted Mansion and Wolff and Byrd... but there's a bit of drama here as well. Redmond Gore's story is both tragic and chilling, showing this property to have a bit more depth than the premise would indicate. This isn't a kids' comic, and it's not for someone who can't take a joke about their childhood treasures, but if you like to see wholesome things shown through a rather horrific prism, this is a book you'll quite enjoy. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit

Wrath of the Titans #1 (Bluewater Comics)
By Darren G. Davis, Scott Davis & Nadir Balan

The Bluewater Comics Ray Harryhausen Signature Series launches with this sequel to the camp classic movie Clash of the Titans! Harryhausen, for you young'ns in the audience, is one of the pioneers of stop-motion animation in special effects, and his techniques were used to great affect in films, like Clash, which would inevitably be filled with CGI nowadays. This series picks up about five years after the end of the film. The Greek hero Perseus is married to Andromeda, who is expecting their first child, and Perseus's father Zeus is jubilant about his approaching grandchild. Jealous Hera, though, and a still-grieving Thetis (mother of the monstrous prince Perseus slew in the film) plot a way to use the approaching child to exact their revenge on Perseus. Darren and Scott Davis have written a story that perfectly captures the flavor of the movie, and Nadir Balan's artwork is wonderfully faithful to Harryhausen's designs, while still showing a talent for the storytelling requirements of the comic book format. This is a series that will doubtlessly be of most interest to people who remember and love the movie, but as I'm one of them, this is definitely a book for me. Rating: 4.5/5 -Blake Petit

[Jim Wright]

I loved JSA Classified and its look at Wildcat. I really loved the art as well. It made the fight scenes past and present very dynamic.
I didn't see Wrath of the Titans, but I'm going to have to find it. Clash was one of my alltime favorite movies being the big Greek Mythology nut that I was as a kid. (The book I checked out the most from my elementary school library was Greek Mythology by the D'Aulaires [I hope I spelled that right])

[Blake Petit]

I knew I couldn't be the ONLY mythology nut here.

[Jim Wright]

Oh yeah. Mythology was the pre-printing press comic books. The stories still hold up too.