It’s Saturday, August is slowly winding to an end, and if your kids aren’t back to school yet, they will be soon. I think that calls for a celebration, and how better to celebrate than by checking out this week’s
Done In One Reviews? John Constantine, the Tiny Titans, the gang from Monsters, Inc. and the crew from
Farscape are only a few of the characters we encountered in the comic shops this week. Oh… and did we hear wedding bells from Riverdale? Let’s get into it!
Archie #600 (Archie Comics)
By Michael Uslan & Stan Goldberg
The big Archie #600, part one of "Archie Marries Veronica," finally hits. Five years in the future, upon graduating from college, Archie and his friends begin discussing their different paths -- where the world is taking each of them, how the group is separating apparently for good. And Archie, thinking things over, finally makes the decision that's been weighing on his mind for nearly 70 years. It's an interesting comic, but not quite a great one. Michael Uslan has crafted a pretty good story. He's got a grasp on the characters personalities, and the way Archie makes his decision makes good sense. The scene with Archie and Mr. Lodge, in particular, is very good. But there are some problems as well. Sure, this story takes place "in the future," but Uslan basically starts with an enormous "RESET" button ready to hit in part six. Some of the dialogue is funky too -- Jughead talking about Archie "dissing" their friendship just sounds like it was written by someone trying way too hard to sound like a teenager. Then there's Betty. The story is called "Archie Marries Veronica," but the way Betty's part of the story is shaped the ending of this whole thing seems kind of telegraphed. It could be wrong, of course, Uslan supposedly has some surprises up his sleeve, but I'll be watching closely. If nothing else, I'm glad Archie Comics continues to take some real storytelling risks, and I'll be anxious to see where this story goes.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Atomic Robo: Shadow From Beyond Time #4 (Red 5 Comics)
By Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener & Rick Woodall
We jump again in time, this time to 1971. Having faced the extroversal monster three times in the past, Atomic Robo has devised a way to predict when it will appear again. He plans a pre-emptive assault, but he's going to need a little help -- Carl Sagan to the rescue! It's a curious kind of issue -- sure, we've seen Nikola Tesla all over the place in this series, but seeing Sagan is a little stranger. It works, don't misunderstand me, it's just unusual to see a fictionalized version of a real-world figure from your own lifetime. Anyway, the encounter with the creature doesn't exactly go as planned, as it learns to project itself into our dimension in little, bug-like pods that freak Robo the heck out. The last page of this issue is particularly awesome, bringing together all of the loose bits from the first three issues and promising a heck of a climax. The bizarre plot construction of this series is excellent, and this is the issue where the payoff begins. Wegener's artwork is as great as ever -- his depiction of the monster in the box especially is amusing. We also have a nice back-up with wonderful art by Rick Woodall. This is the best issue of the series yet, and I'm really psyched for the conclusion.
Rating: 4.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Doctor Who #2 (IDW Publishing)
By Tony Lee, Al Davison & Paul Grist
When last we left our hero, the good Doctor was chained up on a railroad track and waiting to get plowed by the locomotive from Hell. After the inevitable thrilling escape, he goes after the aliens that are twisting around early Hollywood. The story is a lot of fun, and boils up to another pretty good cliffhanger. Lee has a real feel for the Doctor and the tone of his world, conjuring up threats and situations that really feel perfect for the character. Seeing him in the early days of Hollywood is the sort of thing that you could see on the TV show, even if you haven't. The artwork pulls the story down a bit, unfortunately. Davison's poses are kind of stiff and some of the facial expressions actually go too far. There are several characters that just plain look like they're in agony. I'm really glad the Doctor has a permanent home in comics, but I hope the art improves as the series progresses.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Farscape: Gone and Back #2 (Boom! Studios)
By Rockne S. O'Bannon, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Tommy Patterson, Nick Schley, Juan Castro, Zac Atkinson, & Marc Letzmann
So Crichton's in the crazy universe where Aeryn's still with the Peacekeepers and Zhaan and D'Argo are still alive, and he tries to get his friends to help him look for Aeryn as they pay a visit to Hyneria, where Rygel is the Dominar. His Peacekeeper adviser is no surprise at all; I saw that plot turn coming a parsec away. John tries to adjust to that, while Aeryn, way the hell across space with the Peacekeepers, has a kid of her own, and he has the same mystery gland on his spine that Aeryn's and John's son had. There's an intimation that it's a mutation that will make Peacekeepers feared across the galaxy once more, but what does it do? No idea. There's another twist at the end that's a bit more surprising. The story's okay, but the art is extremely uneven, seemingly changing to a better (and more boldly colored) style when we get to the Peacekeeper ship, but a bit messy and loose everywhere else. Very strange. Okay – and I actually liked the twist at the end, which suggests a great deal of plot planning - but the art needs a bit of tightening.
Rating: 3/5 --Andrea Speed
Hellblazer #258 (DC Comics/Vertigo)
By Peter Milligan, Giuseppe Camuncoli, & Stefano Landini
Ah, you magnificent mess Constantine. After rushing to Phoebe's rescue only to find that he's too later, John is determined to keep his vow that she wouldn't be the girl that was destroyed because of him. Only how can he keep that vow with her already dead? Well, there are always ways around death...at least if you're a quick-witted old chap like John Constantine. Milligan continues to prove that he's a natural fit for Hellblazer. His writing really brings out the schemer in Constantine, yet is sensible enough to know when to throw the old bast**d a turn or two. That's a version of the character that I can get into – trapped between his dreams (schemes) for the future and the muck of the present – and it's been a great ride as a result.
Rating: 3.5/5 --S.A. Parvaze
Jack of Fables #37 (DC Comics/Vertigo)
By Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Russ Braun & Brian Bolland
Following the events of the Great Fables Crossover, Jack Horner undergoes a bizarre transformation, while Gary the Pathetic Fallacy loses memory of just what he can do. As they wander off, the focus shifts from Jack to his son, Jack Frost, as he makes a fateful decision about who he's going to be, now that both parents have turned out to be a disappointment. A lot of comics have promised "bold new directions" in the past, but this is a book that really seems to be living up to that promise, as the main character has essentially been replaced by his own son. There's a drastic tonal shift this issue, drifting away from the darker comedy of Jack Horner to the high adventure of Jack Frost -- in fact, this would be a case where a new first issue would have almost been justified (not that I'm asking Vertigo start renumbering the book all of a sudden). The good news is, Jack Frost's new adventures promise to have a distinct feel, flavor, and sense of adventure of their own. Also, Babe the Blue Ox isn't going anywhere. Even more to the good. It'll be tough to see if the readership embraces this new direction, but for a first issue, it's good.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
Monsters, Inc.: Laugh Factory #1 (Boom! Kids)
By Paul Benjamin & Amy Mebberson
I've been really anticipating this comic. Monsters, Inc. is one of my favorite Pixar movies, and has a world of unlimited potential for exploration, so I wanted to see what could be done with them. I'm pretty happy with the results here. Set some time after the end of the movie, Mike has become Monsters, Inc. Number One "Amuser," while Sully has settled in to an office job running the company. As the office work begins to overwhelm Sully, and he starts neglecting his friends, Mike decides to help by bringing in Boo for a visit. Benjamin's characterization of the monsters is spot-on, with even the drastic changes in Sully feeling natural and logical in the course of the story. We even pick up on a few running gags from the movie. Like the Toy Story series, it appears this one will be a series of one-off stories instead of an ongoing storyline, but as long as all four stories are entertaining like this one, that will be just fine.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
Poe #2 (Boom! Studios)
By J. Barton Mitchell, Dean Kotz, & Digikore Studios
Poe and his brother fight a golem, and then get confronted by something even scarier before their mystery takes an even darker turn. This little historical revision mystery was bound to have a religious conspiracy cross its path, and it does, but while all the familiar elements are in place, I'm still enjoying the heck out of it. Maybe because Edgar Allan Poe as an action hero (of a type) is just too good a concept to ignore. And it's written well, the action moments and exposition moments are balanced out nicely, and the art is atmospheric and moodily Gothic. A fun series, worth a look.
Rating: 4/5 --Andrea Speed
The Stand: American Nightmares (Marvel Comics)
By Stephen King, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Mike Perkins, Laura Martin & Lee Bermejo
The survivors of the superflu begin to converge, as Stu Redman encounters Frannie and Harold. Larry gets a nasty shock, and a dream points Nick in the direction of the oldest woman in the world. Just when this series was picking up, we get an issue like this one, where almost every scene is weighed down by excessive captions meticulously reciting points from the book. The scene with Larry and Rita is a prime example of this -- try reading it through, but ignoring the caption and only reading the sparse word balloons. Mike Perkins's art tells the story perfectly, nothing else is required. The only scene that doesn't suffer this way is the one with Fran, Harold, and Stu -- the one where we have enough characters to have an actual conversation. This gives me a bit of hope for the future of this series -- after this point, the characters really begin to come together and there are less solitary moments (less, they don't go away entirely), so hopefully this will be less of an issue in the future. This second volume also doesn't really have the structure the first miniseries did. It's an important stepping stone of the story, but there's no real internal narrative arc that sets this miniseries apart and gives it an identity of its own. Perkins' art, fortunately, is still excellent, and Lee Bermejo does perhaps the best cover I've yet seen in this comic. If this series is going to improve, though, the writer needs to do more adapting and less transcribing.
Rating: 2.5/5 --Blake M. Petit
Swordsmith Assassin #1(Boom! Studios)
By Andrew Cosby, Michael Alan Nelson, Ayhan Hayrula, & Andres Lozano
This is a comic I wanted to like more than I actually did. This is the story of a swordsmith in old Japan who lets greed get the better of him, and starts making his fantastic swords for anyone who can pay, not just people “in balance”, like his father taught him. Of course this leads to tragedy, and Toshiro then vows to track down each and every one of his exquisitely made swords and get rid of them. The problem with this issue, beyond being rather cliché (you can guess each story beat before it arrives) is that it's languid, as if its a comic with afflicted with sleeping sickness. I had to force myself to keep reading at times. I can say the art is great, very lovely and genre appropriate while being contemporary at the same time, and that's what pushes this into a three. But the story needs a jolt of caffeine.
Rating: 3/5 --Andrea Speed
Tiny Titans #19 (DC Comics/Johnny DC)
By Art Baltazar & Franco
It's the strangest, sweetest love story of the year as Bumblebee and Plasmus encounter each other on a rainy day. The giant slime monster and the insect-sized girl somehow find a kinship that gives us a remakably cute story. The book continues with a hysterical gag that makes a lot more sense if you know Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol, a strong Robin story, and several other one-off gags, including a really funny callback to the "Titans Apes" issue from last year. We return to Bumblebee and Plasmus on a date, which is still kind of silly, but wonderfully entertaining. This is one of the cutest contributions to the Titans mythology yet from this book, and it stems from characters that casual readers won't even recognize. It goes to show you, you can conjure up some great stories just by putting together characters in unusual combinations. While obviously we aren't going to see some deep, star-shattering romance in a book of this nature, I kind of like this relationship, and I hope we see it come back on us again.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
Unthinkable #4 (Boom! Studios)
By Mark Sable, Julian Totino Tedesco, & Juan Manuel Tumburus
The surviving members of the group seek out the Large Hadron Collider, where they feel the next devastating scenario will play out, but there's fighting in the group as not everyone agrees with the plausibility of the scenario or their next move. The law catches up with them, but not for long, as their next mission sends them to China, pursuing a scenario suggested by the Editor's prank. Now it's too absurd, it's clearly a joke and couldn't end the world or anything else, but there's something going on, suggesting the Wolf Pack has a sense of humor if nothing else. Actually, there's a lot of exposition in this issue and a lot happens, but the end twist isn't really much of a surprise. The art is appropriately gritty, but sometimes the coloring's too dark, and the characters a little too similar in appearance. A good conspiracy theory comic, I think it may be tripping over itself in its rush to the end.
Rating: 3.5/5 --Andrea Speed
Zorro #15 (Dynamite Entertainment)
By Matt Wagner & Francesco Francavilla
In a largely stand-alone issue, the new governor of California begins seeking information abot the masked man who has been humiliating his men. The result reminds me of the classic Batman comic where a bunch of kids explain their versions of the caped crusader (a story borrowed for the animated series and the Gotham Knight movie). Each officer comes up and explains his vision of El Zorro, giving the governor some wildly different incarnations of the outlaw. This was a fun issue, and the different interpretations were pretty interesting, but the story did feel a little derivative if you're familiar with the story it draws its inspiration from. It comes across as an homage -- a nice one, though. There are a few bits that advance the story slightly, including a good bit with Lolita at the end, and as always, Francesco Francavilla knocks the artwork out of the part. Very solid issue, and probably a good jumping-on point if you haven't been reading the story.
Rating: 4/5 --Blake M. Petit
August 22nd 2009, 01:36 PM
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