Happy Saturday, friends! Another week has closed out, and we’re here to celebrate the occasion as always with a batch of
Done-In-One reviews. This week’s episode is brought to you by the letter “U” – as in
Unknown,
Unthinkable, and
The Unwritten, all launching with first issues! We’ve got other letters in the alphabet represented of course – there’s an “H”, an “S” or two, and even a “W” there somewhere. So check ‘em out and have a great weekend!
House of Mystery #13 (DC Comics/Vertigo)
By Matthew Sturges, Ralph Reese, Bill Willingham, Eric Powell, Chris Roberson, Neal Adams, Josh Adams, Sergio Aragones & Esao Andrews
It's a decidedly different issue of House of Mystery! For the book's 13th issue, regular writer Matt Sturges invited his studio-mates Bill Willingham and Chris Roberson to team up for three bizarre tales revolving around the number 13. Although the main plot of the series is left by the wayside for this special, you get three fantastic tales to make up for it. Sturges and Ralph Reese give us an unorthodox love story about the end of the world that happens every day. Willingham and Eric Powell's story takes a totally different track -- a man is offered the one-time-only chance to end his marriage without penalty on his 13th anniversary. Roberson and the legendary Neal Adams -- along with his son Josh -- give us a sci-fi tale of a star that falls from the Heavens and how it changes the lives of two primative people -- literally forever. Of all the stories in this issue, this one in particular could have been expanded to a full issue, maybe even a miniseries. It was excellent. Sergio Aragones even pops in for an activity page of sorts to cap off this issue. This feels much more like the anthology series the original House of Mystery was, and while I don't think I would want this every issue (the ongoing story is what keeps us coming back), this was a really fun experiment in storytelling, and an issue like this one once or twice a year would certainly be welcome.
Rating: 5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Sonic the Hedgehog #200 (Archie Comics)
By Ian Flynn, Tracy Yardley & Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante
The fact that this comic even exists is amazing to me. When this title launched 15 years ago, nobody would ever have predicted it would still be going strong 200 issues and multiple spin-off series later, but here you go. It's already the longest-running video game comic of all time, and the second-longest running licensed comic since the Golden Age (after Marvel's 275-issue run of Conan the Barbarian). But enough about its longevity -- is it any good? In a word... yes. This issue features what appears to be a final epic battle between Sonic and his original adversary, Dr. Robotnik. As the two foes face off, Robotnik starts to break down in a way that's surprisingly intense for a comic for kids. What happens to Robotnik here almost makes you feel sorry for the villain -- heck, even makes Sonic feel sorry for him. At the same time, Ian Flynn uses the dramatic change to shift the status quo and introduce a new series of villains (who may or may not have come from the video games, I really don't know). It's a good spot to re-evaluate the series, to launch something new, and to set it up for a new direction beginning in issue #201. The art is strong as well, with good linework by Tracy Yardley and Terry Austin. It's Matt Herms's coloring, however, that really blows me away -- it gives the book much more energy, much more of a computerized quality that feels appropriate. I'm still stunned the book has lasted this look, but even though I'm not a regular reader, I'm definitely glad it's out there for those who are.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
Super Human Resources #4 (Ape Entertainment)
By Ken Marcus & Justin Bleep
SCI is being closed down, and the staff is getting ready to clear out. As all the heroes are seeking alternative employment, Tim gets caught up in the funky sort of time paradox that gives you clues that may just save the day. This is probably the msot plot-heavy issue of the series, but that's certainly not a bad thing when the plot is as funny as this one is. Tim's disregard for the laws of time-travel is a really great way to differentiate the character and the series from the many, many series this book is a parody of. It gives the title a nice identity of its own, and sets things up nicely at the end for future installments of the series. The revelation of the villain's plot is unique, and the background jokes about the insane dictatorial copy machine all come into play perfectly here. Justin Bleep's kooky, angular drawing style really is the perfect fit for this series, and he packs in plenty of visual gags to accompany the wonderfully funny script. It's a great wrap-up to a really fun miniseries, and I've got my fingers crossed that the gang from SCI will be back again soon.
Rating: 4.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Unknown#1 (Boom! Studios)
By Mark Waid, Minck Oosterveer, & Fellipe Martins
This is a new mystery series that concerns a brilliant but eccentric (and gorgeous, of course) woman who can solve any crime, any mystery. She's seeing what could be considered supernatural hallucinations, which are explained quickly with a diagnosis that gives her a limited time frame to work her (figurative) magic. After solving a suicide that was actually a murder, she hires a new assistant on the spot and takes off to Europe to solve involving quantum mechanics and perhaps something that might be considered a tad supernatural. This reminded me just a little bit of another Waid creation, “Potter's Field”, where John Doe is our brilliant investigator, although he has a narrow field in which he works (no pun intended). It moves fast, though, I'll give it that. The artwork is good, with clean lines and good coloring, but I'm a bit torn about the depiction of the people. Her new assistant looks like the most thick necked guy imaginable, a cross between Brock Samson, Ben Grimm, and a refrigerator, and she wears strangely sexy clothes for someone solely dedicated to solving the unsolvable. (Also, she's sick? Really? Beyond the hallucinations, she seems better than me on any given day.) I'm intrigued by the possibilities here, but I'd be lying if I didn't cop to feeling some sense of deja vu.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Andrea Speed
Unthinkable #1 (Boom! Studios)
By Mark Sable, Julian Totino Tedesco, & Juan Manuel Tumburus
Post 9/11, a writer of military thrillers – think Tom Clancy, and you're not far off the mark – who lost his military brother in the attack, is approached to join a clandestine government group of various eccentric specialist (some in rather unusual fields) who are charged with thinking up the next possibly unthinkable attack. They brainstorm some scenarios, but there's division in the group, and eventually it's disbanded. Some years later, the writer, Ripley, is a sad sack, never quite over the breakup of the think tank and his relationship. But then he sees there's been a terrorist attack that was exactly like one they speculated on in the think tank – the first of a couple of similar incidents, all following what they thought up in the think tank. Is this an inside job? Is the government staging these attacks for some sinister reason? I can see a lot of people having a problem with the premise of this comic, but it works as a conspiracy thriller. The art is gritty, atmospherically messy, although it does go overboard at times. A good thriller, although some people are just going to reflexively hate this.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Andrea Speed
The Unwritten #1 (DC Comics/Vertigo)
By Mike Carey, Peter Gross & Yuko Shimizu
The creative team behind Lucifer reunites for a magnificent new series about the nature of fiction and the way that sort of real magic impacts the world. Tom Taylor is the son of one of the most famous writers in the world, but carries a lot of bitterness about the way his dad abandoned him years ago. Even worse is the fact that Wilson Taylor based the boy magician in his novels on young Tom, and the sea of fans that love the adventures of Tommy Taylor -- the same fans that allow him to make a living -- also make it impossible for him to be taken seriously himself. A strange young woman presents evidence that perhaps Tommy isn't who he thinks he is, and the revelation stuns not just Tom, but a world of fans. The line between reality and imagination is extraordinarily thin in this series, and Carey has crafted a wonderful story that explores that divide with real ease. Gross's art is also really strong, with a nasty-looking villain that helps distract from the deliberately Harry Potter-esque hero and helps give this property a life of its own. This is the most exicting Vertigo launch since Y: The Last Man, and with the 40-page first issue only costing a dollar, there's no reason not to try it out.
Rating: 5/5 --Blake M. Petit
The Walking Dead #61 (Image Comics)
By Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard
We get both triumph and tragedy this issue -- a find by the side of the road offers comfort our cast hasn't seen in a long time, but Ben's recent games take a horrific turn that gets even worse after the dust settles. A newcomer also arrives, a priest, but with the hell the world has turned into even a man of the cloth isn't above suspicion. It's hard to explain why this issue in particular is so great without spoiling some of the most shocking character moments in this series thus far. What happens here, but I'll do my best. While the end isn't necessarily something I expected, it isn't terribly shocking either. Looking at the way certain characters have been developing, it's clear that Kirkman has been building towards something like this for some time. That doesn't make the events of this issue any less brutal or intense, however, and that in and of itself helps make this one of the best installments of this series in quite some time. The great thing about this book is that there's almost never any way to predict where it's going to go next, and that makes it exciting as hell.
Rating: 4.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
May 16th 2009, 12:51 PM
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