Done-In-One Reviews for July 5th/11th, 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.
Bizarre New World #2 (APE Entertainment)
By Skipper Martin, Christopher Provencher, Wes Dzioba & Tone Rodriguez
Skipper Martin continues his unique tale of an ordinary guy who gains the ability to fly. Having accepted his new power, Paul Krutcher decides to try to figure out where it could have come from. The resulting sequence, in which he confers with a series of engineers about how a human could defy gravity, is really quite entertaining -- it's the sort of conversation your average comic geek has, assuming your average geek has above-average knowledge about physics, biology and chemistry. Paul makes a decision that seems to make him happy -- but may cause unwanted scrutiny. Tone Rodriquez also contributes a back-up story about a Mexican child who finds himself with the same gift as Paul and tries to use it to change his own life. It's a nice little tale, but more interesting for the implication that what's happening to our main character isn't an isolated phenomenon... or is it? It's a nice enough back-up, but the main story is still of more interest. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit
Dynamo 5 #5 (Image Comics)
By Jay Faerber & Mahmud A. Asrar
This is kind of a surprising story for the young Dynamo 5 title. I would have expected a story dealing with the late Captain Dynamo's return eventually, but I would have thought Faerber would have spent more time establishing the characters and their world before heading in that direction. On the other hand, taking that angle so early is just another element that makes this book a unique, entertaining read. The last-page reveal fits perfectly with the overall concept of the series, but still managed to be a legitimate shocker. The characters are forced to grow a bit here as well, which is something many of them sorely need. Faerber has thrown us a curve ball with a status-quo changing sstory before the status quo was even really established. It's a bold idea, and it's working. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit
Fantastic Four and Power Pack #1 (Marvel Comics)
By Fred Van Lente & Gurihiru
The newest Power Pack features both a departure and a return -- original artist Gurihiru is back, but original writer Marc Sumerak is gone, replaced by Fred Van Lente. Van Lente, fortunately, has a nice feel for these characters. As Jack Power laments his own lack of celebrity, a new kid comes to school that just makes him feel it even more -- Franklin Richards, son of Reed and Sue of the Fantastic Four. Van Lente is having fun playing with the Power/Richards friendship here, which was one of my favorite aspects of the classic Power Pack series. Franklin and the Power kids being friends is a natural fit, and I'm really glad to see it hasn't been forgotten. Gurihiru's return is welcomed -- the artwork on the Hulk/Power Pack series was okay, but didn't quite fit after the past few years of Gurihiru. So far, I'm quite enjoying this -- now if only Marvel would put out an Essential Power Pack trade to go along with it. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit
Friday the 13th: Pamela's Tale #1 (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
By Marc Andreyko, Shawn Moll, Dustin Nguyen
Marc Andreyko has made his mark with comics about strong, powerful women, and tells their stories
very well... but this issue takes that idea to the extreme. On the afternoon of a very familiar Friday the 13th, a hitchhiker gets picked up by the kind-looking Pamela Voorhes, who begins telling the girl her own story. It seems that the evil that haunts Camp Crystal Lake didn't begin with Jason's "death" in the water, as we've so long believed. The evil was there much earlier. Whether it was within Pamela to begin with or within a monstrous "bad seed" remains to be seen, but either way, it's clear that the roots of this darkness are very deep indeed. This is a nice look at the origins of one of the most enduring horror icons of the last 30 years, and fans of the franchise will be very satisfied with this issue. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit
Honor Brigade#4 (Spinner Rack)
By Tom Stillwell & Bradley Bowers
Tom Stillwell and Bradley Bowers's unique new super-team origin story continues this issue as Lightning Rod and Toyboy run are hunted down by a new sort of man of steel. We also see serious changes for a few more characters this issue, as more and more of them continue to evolve in ways that set them up to be real heroes. It may be a six-issue story, but this whole thing is reminding me very much of the classic stories of how the Avengers or the Justice League first came together -- disparate characters brought together by a common threat. The Honor Brigade has more shades of gray, but that just makes it more interesting. I find myself really taken with these characters and the world Stillwell has created. Hopefully we'll get to see more of these guys after this initial miniseries is over, because the world of comics needs books like this -- books that aren't afraid to have fun. Rating: 4/5 [/i]-Blake Petit[/i]
Justice League Unlimited #35 (DC Comics/Johnny DC)
By Matteo Casali & Scott Cohn
A good JLU story manages to slip in a moral lesson without getting preachy. This issue comes quite close to treading that line, but makes up for it by continuing to introduce even more characters into the "Diniverse" League than we saw on the TV show. Steel's niece, Natasha Irons, is a bit too eager to leap into action, and when the gargantuan threat called the Millenium Giants attack, that impatience may prove to be disastrous. The Natasha story feels somewhat familiar to folks who read 52, but as that isn't really the target audience for this comic, that's okay. I also appreciate that the writers are bringing in more DCU characters and concepts, fleshing out the animated universe even more. The artwork is okay, but the transitions could use work. If a reader didn't already know that Natasha's armor had size-changing capabilities, the sequence where she grows to match the height of a Giant doesn't flow very well and looks somewhat confusing. Still, it's a pretty good issue for fans of Steel's corner of the Superman family. Rating: 3.5/5 -Blake Petit
Nightwing #134 (DC Comics)
By Marv Wolfman, Jamal Igle, Ryan Sook
This is exactly the sort of story I was hoping we would get when Marv Wolfman took overNightwing, picking up on events and characters from the past to tell stories that are entertaining and relevant to the character today. Dick Grayson's old girlfriend Liu is back, and involved with an old foe who has found his way back to the straight and narrow path. Seems like a good deal. But for some reason, a new hitman wearing the uniform of the late Vigilante has taken aim at Dick -- not at Nightwing. It seems like Wolfman is ignorning the recent Vigilante series with this book, crafting an all-new take on the character of his own. That won't likely upset anyone (the miniseries was pretty forgettable), and it makes for some good character drama. Any time a hero's secret identity is under attack instead of the hero himself, it raises some red flags. I quite like what Wolfman has done with this title, and I hope he keeps it up for a long time to come. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit
Phantom #17 (Moonstone)
By Mike Bullock & Silvestre Szilagyi
In the nation of Uganda, a brutal dictator is kidnapping children, torturing them, and brainwashing them to an indoctrination that makes them worship HIM as a god. And that isn't just the story of this comic, folks, that's the truth. I'm not usually a fan of real-world politics leaking into comic books, but this is the sort of story where it works. For one thing, Uganda is part of the Phantom's usual African stomping grounds, so it makes perfect sense for him to address the issue of these "Invisible Children." For another, this is a more clear-cut sort of issue than the divisive politics that usually make it into politics -- the Middle East can be debated to death, but there can be little doubt most thinking people would condemn these actions. And third, this is a comic that puts its money where its mouth is. For every purchase of one of the "B" covers of this and the next two issues, Moonstone will make a donation to an organization dedicated to ending this travesty. Add on the fact that it's your usual great story by Mike Bullock, and there's more reason than ever to check out The Phantom this month. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit
Superman Confidential #5 (DC Comics)
By Darwyn Cooke & Tim Sale
People who have been put off by the "talking Kryptonite" featured in this story, buck up. This issue we get a fairly reasonable explanation for the phenomenon, and while it gives the story as a whole sort of a "silver age" feel, that's not a bad thing at all. We get a dandy explanation of the Kryptonite and the scattershot nature of Tony Gallo, we find out why it's not a good idea to leave Martha Kent out of the loop, and we see a young Superman truly willing to take risks. So far, I've thought this arc as a whole was sort of so-so, but this issue shows marked improvement. This is the sort of storytelling I expect from talents like Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale. As this first story arc nears its conclusion, it's finally taking off. Rating: 4/5 -Blake Petit
Voodoo Child #1 (Virgin Comics/Voices)
By Mike Carey & Dean Ruben Hyrapiet
I was surprised Wednesday when I saw a run on this book at my local comic book shop. Apparently, there had been some media coverage of this New Orleans-based comic book co-created by Nicolas Cage and his son Weston, and that coverage was translating to pretty healthy sales. I was skeptical. Being from the New Orleans area myself, I often find comic books set down here to be stereotypical at best and insulting at worst, but I was willing to give Mike Carey the benefit of the doubt. What we have, instead, is something fairly typical -- a Civil War-era slave boy is killed, 140 years later his spirit returns to the streets of New Orleans to fight for justice. There are some interesting ideas here, but the first issue doesn't really have teeth. It may simply need room to develop some of the ideas, and to its credit, the book gives us a bit more realistic a view of New Orleans than most comics do (all things considered). Perhaps Carey just needs a little more time to let loose. Rating: 3/5 -Blake Petit
Welcome to Tranquility #8 (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
By Gail Simone, Chriscross, Neil Googe, Georges Jeanty, Jason Pearson
This issue is a nice break of sorts from the regular goings-on in the town of Tranquility, as Gail Simone, Neil Googe and a few guest-artists show us events from Tranquility's past. We see young Tommy Lindo and her sister in the days after the death of their father. Zombie Zeke's story is nicely chilling -- a classic tale of ambition gone wrong, and for fans of the Emoticon, we see the first encounter with his grandfather. This sort of issue is really a nice diversion. Tranquility, both as a series and as the town itself, clearly has a wealth of backstory just waiting to be told, and the occasional "flashback" issue like this one seems like a nice way to both fill in the blanks for popular characters and lay some groundwork for future storylines. This issue was a great breather in a great comic book. Rating: 4.5/5 -Blake Petit
July 14th 2007, 03:37 AM
Linear Mode
