DONE-IN-ONE REVIEWS: FEBRUARY 21, 2009

[Blake Petit]

It’s that time again! After a long week filled with toil and strife, how better to start your weekend than with some Done-In-One reviews? Each week, the Comixtreme.com staff scours the comic book stands to find some books that weren’t covered by the regular review squad. It’s as diverse a comic review column as you’ll find anywhere on the internet!

3 Geeks: Slab Madness #2 (3 Finger Prints)
By Rich Koslowski

I've been a fan of Rich Koslowski's 3 Geeks for about ten years now, ever since I stumbled across his one-shot, How to Pick Up Girls If You're a Comic Book Geek. Adventures with the geeks have been few and far between, but I've always loved getting a new one. Last issue, Allen got in a shipment of comics he had graded and, hypnotized, constructs a dome out of the comics. As his friends arrived at his house to find out what happened, they were interrupted by a mysterious cabal of hooded men seeking out their Chosen One. This issue, the mysterious "Cee-Gee-Cee" organization reveals the history of their faith, and explains Allen's place in the new order -- unless his friends can get through to him. Koslowski's stories and characters never fail to sweep me up. He takes cliched stories that any comic book reader would recognize, then turns them around on the characters that represent the readers themselves, and in the process, makes them fresh, new, and funny. This is a fantastic issue -- check it out.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit

DMZ #39 (Vertigo/DC Comics)
By Brian Wood & Ricardo Burchielli

Matty is in way over his head, but at least he knows it. He knows that he’s not been given the whole story from Parco. That the new Leader of the DMZ is making deals with every side in the war. But to what end is what baffles Matty the most. Then at the very end the truth is revealed and that will change the face of not only the DMZ but perhaps the course of the entire war and America itself. Wow, what a payoff at the end of this book. The tension has jumped up into the stratosphere with the big reveal. Love it. Matty Roth is the quintessential Everyman; his is simply trying to survive, as well trying to maintain some quasi-control over his life, despite being surrounded by so much power and at most times he’s come up wanting. The story and the art in DMZ continue to impress me even after 39 issues. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4/5—Terry Verticchio

Dynamo 5 #0 (Image Comics)
By Jay Faerber & Mahmud A. Asrar

The goal of a 99-cent zero issue, of course, is to get the attention of people who aren't already reading the title and convince them to give it a chance. As a regular reader of this title from the inception, it's hard for me to gauge just how successful it is in that regard. It looks like a pretty decent introduction to the six main characters (the five members of the team and Maddie), and it introduces a mysterious new villain and a character who will most likely turn out to be an antagonist in the series' next story arc. Judging it solely as a jumping-on point, it's probably pretty okay. As a regular reader, it leaves me just a little wanting. Sure, for 99 cents I wasn't expecting the next major breaking point in the story, but this issue is pretty much all set-up with no payoff at all. It would have helped if something here had felt a little complete. Once the story begins, I'm sure the significance of this issue will be clear, but for the moment, it's just a tad wanting.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Blake M. Petit

Firebreather #4 (Image Comics)
By Phil Hester, Andy Kuhn

Duncan has found his father near-death, speared through the chest by the lance of a giant alien robot, begging his son to kill him so that he can avenge him. As Belloc clings to life, he tells Duncan the story of his race's history with the robot invaders, and issues a dire warning that the worst is yet to come. This is without a doubt the strongest issue of this series to date. The stuff with Duncan and his father is far more emotional and realistic than earlier chapters have been. You're left feeling for Duncan, and even feeling bad for Belloc for the first time. Despite the fact that we're looking at a dragon and a half, one of whom has been run through by a giant lance wielded by an alien robot, the fact is the father/son stuff is actually highly emotional and highly relatable. This is a solid issue, and an intriguing development for the series.
Rating: 4.5/5 --Blake M. Petit

Looney Tunes #171 (DC Comics/Johnny DC)
By Bill Mattheny, David Alvarez, Scott Gross, Barry Liebermann, Frank Strom, Dan Slott, Neal Sternecky

It's Valentine's Day for the Looney Tunes, with a pair of romance-themed comics collected in this issue. In "The Debonair Devil," Pepe LePew tries to help the Tazmanian Devil snag the she-devil of his dreams, but Pepe's legendary charms may finally prove to be his undoing. Next up, Foghorn Leghorn tries to protect Daffy Duck from the curse of Shakespeare's Scottish Play, something that Daffy has no fear of. Guess which one of these fowl turns out to be right. Bugs Bunny, taking yet another wrong turn on the way to Pismo Beach, finds himself going head-over-heels for a bunny in rollerblades, and winds up doing battle with her overbearing boyfriend. The book ends with Elmer trying to hunt Bugs and winding up having to do his hunting over the telephone. Nice and silly. In fact, that's a nice way to sum up the issue as a whole. For fans of the Looney Tunes, this is a nice taste of some beloved characters. David Alvarez, who does most of the art this issue, is particularly good with the legendary cartoon stars. If you're just looking for a little fun, you could do worse than DC's Looney Tunes.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Blake M. Petit

Noble Causes #39 (Image Comics)
By Jay Faerber & Yildiray Cinar

With just one issue to go in Jay Faerber's longest-running series, we finally find out the truth about how the less-than altruistic Celeste wound up married to the geriatric former superhero named Colonel Comet after the title's five-year jump. The time-travel tail entails a shift in Yildiray Cinar's linework and a totally different color palette to go along with the time-travelling villain. Celeste's early encounter with the young Colonel Comet is pretty transformative -- it's safe to say that this is not the same Celeste we met back at the beginning of the series, no longer merely Rusty's bitter, self-centered ex-wife. This is a major development for the character, and it's greatly entertaining to boot. Supposedly, one of the reasons Faerber is shutting down the series is because he wants to move on to new characters. If that's the case, you sure couldn't tell from this issue. This may be one of the best yet, and more than ever, it leaves me hoping that the characters in the Noble family find a way to make it to the forefront again.
Rating: 4.5/5 --Blake M. Petit

Shrapnel: Aristeia Rising #2 (Radical Publishing)
By Mark Long, Nick Sagan, M. Zachary Sherman, Bagus Hutomo, & Leos “Okita” Ng

The battle over Venus heats up, but Sam's obvious tactical expertise draws attention, from friends who are shocked by her never mentioned past, and – unknown to her – by the enemy, the Marines sent to bring the planet into line. Most of this issue is the battle and the resulting fallout, and while it all has the feeling of good military sci-fi ... the art is a problem. It's in the digital painted style of Radical comics, and it's honestly pleasant much of the time, if perhaps a little too soft focus, but the coloring is too dark. During the battle sequences – more than half the book – it's close to impossible to tell what's going on. Who's doing what to whom? We get some idea from the dialog, when there is some, but if there isn't you're left looking at panels that honestly could be random. A solid science fiction story, but the art really let it down this issue.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Andrea Speed

Tangent: Superman's Reign #12 (DC Comics)
By Dan Jurgens, Carlos Magno & Julio Ferreira

The heroes of two worlds gear up for a a final battle against a world-conquering Superman and his former foe, the Ultra-Humanite. It's pretty much a by-the-book conclusion -- the confluence of heroism against unspeakable odds, the valiant sacrifice of one of the heroes, the moment at the end where things kind of all go back to their original state. Considering how long it took to get to this point, it's a letdown of an ending. There's just not enough meat here to act as the climax to a 12-issue maxiseries. If the series had run for six, or even eight issues, the ending would have been better. Not great, but better. But in the end, this isn't spectacular enough. The artwork is so-so, and writer Dan Jurgens does a good job on the final cover, but it's not enough to make the whole package worth recommending.
Rating: 3/5 --Blake M. Petit

Tiny Titans #13 (DC Comics/Johnny DC)
By Art Baltazar & Franco

"Clubs" seem to be the topic of this month's Tiny Titans In the main story, the Tiny Titans hold another pet club meeting, but when Aqualad's pet squid gets nervous, everything gets pretty messy. Things just get worse, though, when the kids try to wash their uniforms on their own. As usual, this comic is full of quick jokes, great visual gags, and delicious puns. Other stories include a hysterical short featuring Kid Flash wanting to join Psymon's science club, and a longer short about Raven -- on her way to a Bird Scouts meeting, encountering a couple of prospective new members. These stories work so well on so many levels. Kids will find the characters cute and the jokes funny, while their parents or older siblings -- more familiar with the traditional incarnations of these characters -- will notice a whole different layer of jokes just for them. It's no wonder this is the Teen Titans' favorite cartoon in the DCU.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit

X-Files #4 (Wildstorm/DC Comics)
By Marv Wolfman, Brian Denham & Carlos Badilla

Mudler and Scully have been in some tough scrapes before, but being nearly run down by a gas tanker truck is not one of them. Luck is on their side though. As well they are getting closer to the bizarre connection between the re-emergence of the Chinese Tong and the deaths of the Chinese Seniors. While I liked this issue, and I believe that Marv Wolfman has the overall tone of the X-Files down, I felt that the explanation of what was happening to be a bit weak, that something was missing from the truth concerning the events. I know that the truth is never so clear cut, but in this issue there were a few lines of vague explanation and little else; it’s that explanation that separates the X-Files from an ordinary cop show. This was however perhaps the bloodiest X-Files story I have ever seen, in that Scully shoots two people right between the eyes and Mulder caps a third perp three times. Yikes. Don’t mess with these people. The art is good, the action well done. Blood spurts in all directions. All in all a good X-Files outing, but I can’t help but desire some aliens and government conspiracies for the future.
Rating: 3/5—Terry Verticchio

Zombie Tales #11 (Boom! Studios)
By Ralph Soll, Unai, Digikore Studios, Kris Krizan, Jon Reed, Drew Berry, Bryce Carlson, & Axel Medellin Machain

This is kind of an underwhelming edition of the series. In the first, a Confederate general learns, courtesy of a slave, how to raise the dead and supply an army to fight the North – a story not so much offensive as ill advised - whilst the zombie/Human freedom saga story comes to an end with an ending that honestly doesn't make a lot of sense. It was good before we got to the very end, and then I was just kind of wondering who thought that was a good idea. The last story has people from a small town trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, but discovering they themselves might be as bad as any zombie. The art is decent, nothing really stood out good or bad, which is funny, because both covers for this issue are fairly good. It's okay, but this series has produced much better.
Rating: 2.5/5 --Andrea Speed