wktf and Sam Wilson's Comic and tpb Reviews, 8/9/06

[Sam Wilson]

Sam Wilson’s Reviews

Another short but sweet week with my top two picks being Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2 and Squadron Supreme.  Another notable book this week is the new Martian Manhunter limited series, being reviewed by my esteemed colleague, Joe.  I found a new love for that character within the Justice League animated series. Nothing really else to say, so sit back and let’s get on to the reviews…

The Red Line #1
Ludovico Technique
Written by: Geoffrey Thorne
Drawn by: Todd Harris

Independent publishing has brought us some great and lasting characters; two that spring to mind are Matt Wagner’s “Mage” and “Grendel”, Eastman and Liard’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”  (hey, they weren’t always a kiddie cartoon, they got their start as a bad a$# black and white magazine sized comic).  The question is, is the “Red Line” the next evolution in independent publishing?  Quite possibly.

The principle character in “Red Line” is a young woman named Sudra Jones, like a lot of people Sudra has parents who love her and want to see her succeed (and maybe are a little to hard on her), but unlike a lot of people Sudra lives in a world where cyborg cops are a reality (these cops are dubbed the CHESS men).  Apparently cyborg cops and superhumans, one of whom derived his powers from an alien jewel our heroine Sudra has gotten her hands on.  I’m getting ahead of myself though.  As I was saying, Sudra was an over-achieving high school senior waiting for the freedom of graduation and wondering what lay ahead, when her entire world is turn upside-down.  A terrible tragedy befalls her, a tragedy that is unfortunately all too common.   Using the alien jewel Sudra embarks on a quest of revenge, and thus a hero (well, maybe) is born.

“Red Line” is a straight up superhero tale and succeeds on all fronts as far as that is concerned.  In fact, I really don’t have any problems with “Red Line”. Even though the lead character is a black woman, I don’t see why it wouldn’t appeal to a broad audience, the themes brought up are universal and have been tested tride and true in the superhero genre.  The art is crisp, even though the coloring is a little flat it suits the tone of the book, and the writing is even and flows well from page to page.  If you are looking for a change from the big two, check this book out.  It could be the next big thing…      

Squadron Supreme #6
Marvel Knights
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Drawn by: Gary Frank

Squadron Supreme is the Marvel Knights relaunch of JMS’s Marvel MAX series Supreme Power. Supreme Power is a modernization of Mark Gruewald’s Squadron Supreme, a story about an alternate Earth’s superhero’s and how they got tired of regular folk fu$#ing up the planet, so they decided to take it over and become it’s rulers. Kinda like JLA’s Earth 2 Justice League, another old story that was recently revisited in the JLU animated series. Yes, superheroes going nutty is a popular topic, such the thing being centerpiece to the Batman “Gang War” storyline, the current OMAC storyline and let’s not forget the classic Alan Moore story The Watchmen. Marvel Comics has kept its mainstream heroes under lock and key, for now. Anyway, enter J. Michael Stracynski, he had his own foray into the “superhero’s going crazy and taking over” genre with his Rising Stars series, which was chronically late and to my knowledge is still not really finished. Meh, it’s all for the best, because I believe JMS is getting the chance to tell the story he really wanted to tell with Marvel MAX’s Supreme Power (and now in Squadron Supreme under the Marvel Knights banner).

The team as Mark Gruewald introduced them is still there, kind of. JMS put his own twist on each character, and gave us a couple of new ones as well. We still have Mark Milton, Hyperion (a true child of the gov’t), the costumed vigilante Nighthawk, an extreme personality who makes Batman seem calm and rational. The Blur, a corporate superhero, Dr. Spectrum aka army corporal Joe Ledger and his strange fish lady friend (aka Amphibian) and finally Zarda. Zarda is like Wonder Woman after a few drinks and with no moral compass. In the new Squadron Supreme series, starting off where “Supreme Power” left off, we find out there are a lot of superhumans running around Earth, and the government has assembled them into two teams, one public and one covert. Both teams consist of a few new characters (Inertia, Tom Thumb) and characters that have been introduced in “Supreme Power” and the “Hyperion” limited series (Hyperion, Dr. Spectrum, Blur, Power Princess, Emil Burbank, Amphibian, Arcanna, Shape and Nuke). After the brutality of the last two story arcs, JMS decides to finally bring Nighthawk into the fold, who we last saw in the pages of “Supreme Power” and the Nighthawk limited series.   The Squardron’s resident speedster, “Blur”, pays Nighthawk a visit, begging him to come over to the team to bring a much needed balance.  After the way the team has been used to bring order to Africa and the Middle East, Blur sits uncomfortable and he hopes by bringing Nighthawk into the fold things will mellow out a little.  Meanwhile the powers that be decide to enlist Emil to come up with counter measures to other countries super-soldier programs, and to share the info he already has on countermeasures for the Squardron.  All this and Hyperion meets up with an old friend at the end…

Hands down, Squardron Suprmeme is the best Marvel book most people aren’t buying. So pick this book up, pick up some of the trades of Supreme Power for the backstory, there is an oversized HC collecting the first 12 issues, and a few other sc tpb’s collecting the same issues plus the Nighthawk and Hyperion tpbs. Damn if this isn’t a fine book and you are doing yourself a disservice if you aren’t reading it.

Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Mark Brooks

Last year Marvel made every effort to make its “Ultimate” annuals special events, not the dumping ground for old stories annuals had become in the recent past.  They succeeded on all fronts, in Ultimate Spider-Man Spidey started dating Kitty Pryde, in the Ultimate’s Nick Fury showed us who is boss and in the Fantastic Four we caught a glimpse of the Ultimate U’s Inhumans.  This year promises to be no less disappointing, and things are kicked off with “Ultimate Spider-Man Annual” #2.  We have the Punisher, Daredevil, Foggy Nelson, Moon Knight, Captain Jean DeWolff and the Kangaroo?  Yes.  The Ultimate Kangaroo.  Anyway…

Before you read “Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2” you may want to check out the recent USM storyline “Gang War”, when Spidey went head-to-head with the Hammerhead based on information he got from the Kingpin (which put Spidey in a moral quandary, but operating under the advice of Captain DeWolff, he figured as long as evil was thwarted it was all good).  Moon Knight got stabbed by Elektra and put in a coma, Elektra got killed, and the Black Cat looked hot (as always).  Flashing forward to USM Annual 2, Moon Knight wakes up, the Punisher breaks out of jail (last seen in “Ultimate Marvel Team Up”) and this time Jean DeWolff is feeding info to Spidey.  Apparently some car is gunning for the Kingpin’s territory, DeWolff says she can’t really do anything about it without probable cause, so she convinces Spidey to get a little proactive.  What Spidey doesn’t know is Capt. DeWolff works for the Kingpin.  Yeah.  Things get messy.

This is another outstanding annual and possibly one of the most entertaining stand-alone issues I’ve read in a long time. Each character gets a little bit of back-story, the Kangaroo, Punisher, Moon Knight, even Daredevil.  Reality is starting to catch up to Peter Parker, and mixing it up with the “dark” side of the Ultimate Marvel U isn’t really what he’s about, but to get things done he has to throw down.  This issue is a must have for regular readers of USM, and stands fine on it’s on for non-reader, definitely check it out.

Wktf’s Reviews

Yet another slow week for me.  The trades were more interesting than the comics, what with the Marvel Super Women trade and the third installment in the Ultimate Galactus trade collection.  Still, of note in some Marvel comics (such as Beyond) is Tom Brevoort’s tribute to the wonderful, late Mark Gruenwald on the tenth anniversary of his passing.  As far as my reviews, they’re a little truncated this time.  A lot going on this week so less time to spend on them.  Can any of you guess, however, what the three characters whose titles I’m reviewing and have in common with each other and with me?

The Incredible Hulk # 97
Marvel Comics
Written by: Greg Pak
Drawn by: Aaron Lopresti

With all the Civil War noise that’s going on in the Marvel Universe it’s good to know there’s one title out there that’ll give you a break from all that conflict with some ripe conflict of its own.  Yep, I’m talking about The Incredible Hulk, whose “Planet Hulk” storyline has been selling out like crazy and generating rave reviews.  And no wonder, this is a Hulk with attitude, a permanent mad-on, and out to do some serious smashing.  Having crash landed on the far distant war planet of Sakaar (and, I think Namor was right, the Illuminati will have serious hell to pay for that one), he’s been subjugated, enslaved and forced into battle.  The Hulk forced to battle?  Poor guy, right?  Joining forces with some familiar faces, including one of the Brook and a Stone Man from Saturn (one of the very same from Thor’s origin story), Hulk has defeated every obstacle in his path, escaped his captors, battled to save a small village, and come to be worshipped nearly as a god, certainly as an uber leader.

This issue takes a new twist for the Hulk in this story, which really is an old twist for the character as he himself references.  And just as his followers expect more from him, after he wins in battle once again with an entire mountain supported on his massive back, just as he does what his followers consider unexpected (but, again, we loyal Hulk readers know better) he gets a surprise of his own from one of his troops.  Really, this feels like an interim story in a long saga.  But it’s true to the roots established for it to date.  The Hulk’s a major bad-ass.  The story’s fresh and captivating.  Hulk can cut loose (sure, he’s cut loose before) with his savage friends in tow.  This book’s become one of my favorites again.

She-Hulk 2 #10
Marvel Comics
Written by: Dan Slott
Drawn by: Rick Burchett

Yet another artist jumps into what’s been feeling like a revolving door of artists on this book, and Burchett does a yeoman’s job, slightly mimicking the Paul Smith style that recently departed.  The effects of Starfox’s rape case are still being felt.  The ice queen of She-Hulk’s law firm is still in love with Awesome Andy and Shulkie, newly married to John Jameson, is acting like she has a school girl crush.  Only Pug, her law partner, seems wise to Starfox’s effect on her.

One thing Slott seems especially good at is combining old school Marvel characters with good old fashioned schlock, and this book is great evidence of that.  The story’s title, “I
Married a Man-Wolf,” is cut from those really awful but fun 1950s horror films (remember Michael Landon in “I was a teen age Werewolf”?).  We see the Hellcat, the Grey Gargoyle fresh from his battle with Thor Girl (um…okay, that battle was, like 3-4 years ago), Alistair Smythe (of the Spider Slayer [see last issue, no joke!] fame) and, of course, you know from the title that John is about to transform into that great ‘70s Marvel character, the Man-Wolf!  Oh, yeah, the Recorder is here to but he gets a thoroughly modern twist put on him (and, as a result, the law firm of Goodman, Leiber, Kurtzburg, and Holliway [those first three names, at least, should tickle the fancy of any long-time comic book fan] is out its only copy of She-Hulk vol. 3 #7).  This book, thanks to its whimsical nature, is not for everyone.  But for those who like great storytelling, characterization, fun action and plenty of humor, this book’s for you.

Marian Manhunter #1 of 8
DC Comics
Written by: A.J. Lieberman
Drawn by: Al Barrionuevo

One thing that’s always defined The Martian Manhunter is his aloneness.  In nearly every story that’s focused on him, from New Frontier to the JLU Animated Series, we get to experience his sadness and solitude at being the only survivor of his green Martian race.  In the Brave New World one-shot we learn that, in fact, he may not be alone after all.  A paradigm shift after all these decades!  And, in this story, we learn that there’s a (are you ready?) some kind of government or secret society plot to keep and study J’onn’s brethren.  The evil scientists and researchers are evil.  J’onn’s gamut of emotions, as he trends more and more toward baser human emotions, is poignant but not unexpected for such an empathetic character.  Actually the only thing that’s new and different here is his costume which has been retooled a bit.

So, sadly, for a character I really like, I’m finding little to interest me in this series.  The art’s actually pretty good though the story seems a bit commonplace.  The Manhunter may well be one of those characters who plays better as he always has, as a perennial supporting cast member of an ensemble book.   Even so, for a limited series, he deserves the best DC can offer him.  Perhaps this mini-series will trend that way but, for now, while not a bust in any way there’s simply nothing too terrible captivating going on, surprisingly, despite the complete 180 turnaround as the universe’s lone surviving green Martian.

[Sam Wilson]

Trade Reviews

Several months ago we gave you two different universe’s versions of The Sinister Six, one from the Marvel (616) Universe and the other from the Ultimate Universe.  This week we revisit that theme with a look at Marvel’s most tortured lovers, Marvel’s version of Greek or Shakespearean tragedy, Daredevil and Elektra both from the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe.

Wktf’s Review

Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Volume 2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Frank Miller
Drawn by: Frank Miller
Inks by: Klaus Janson

When thinking about Marvel Universe Daredevil/Elektra trade paperbacks there are two that jump immediately to my mind.  This one, of course, the one that started and, for a brief period, abruptly ended it all.  And then there’s Daredevil: Fall From Grace, the outstanding trade by D.G. Chichester and Scott McDaniels where DD not only dons his armored costume but Elektra’s “purified” self becomes tainted by pain and hate once again.  Both are great trades (and pretty thick, too, I might add) and I dig ‘em both.  But it came down, as I held both in my hands, to which one was I most excited about reading again after so many years, and that decision took about two seconds.  But then I felt I had another set of problems.  What is there to say about this work of Miller’s that hasn’t already been said, and how many comic books readers out there actually have NOT yet read these stories?  So, having just reread this work after so long I thought I’d write this review for me.  It’s a little self indulgent but I hope it works for everyone else. 

First some words about Frank Miller’s Daredevil work.  This writing and art still screams of freshness and innovation even so long after I first read it, 25 years ago, as a college junior and senior, when I hooked my two scoffing roommates on Daredevil.  Miller’s crime-driven, angst ridden stories and dialogue plus his fist pounding, acrobatic and desperate superhero/villain fight scenes were like a drug to comic book fans.  And his wild cinematic camera angles, his incredibly expressive art both simplistic and powerful, the deep and rich New York atmosphere he creates, especially with his liberal and innovative use of black and shadows, still captivates and inspires excitement.  I lived in some pretty awful parts of New York City and bar hopped and shot pool in some pretty rough parts of the city for nearly ten years throughout the ‘80s before getting married and moving out to the Jersey ‘burbs.  I lived in a run down section of Queens right by the Triboro Bridge and next to a low income housing project, on a street in Brooklyn where the cars were routinely stripped overnight by the time I’d leave for work in the morning.  I also was attacked and robbed at knife point on the subway platform in this same neighborhood also made famous by a station clearing bust on Brooklyn’s corrupt 77th police precinct, and even lived up in Harlem during my graduate school days.  I lived in Miller’s New York and, let me tell you, this work with its rain soaked streets, back alleyways, and dark bars really takes me back to those days.  Now, with more reading under my belt, I also can see Will Eisner’s Spirit influence on Miller, especially in the story where DD goes into the sewers to seek out Vanessa, The Kingpin’s wife (see my The Best of the Spirit review at http://www.statueforum.com/showthread.php?t=20795 for this reference).

And the stories were like nothing I’d ever read before.  Miller’s Daredevil Visionaries Volume 1 work showed us how captivating his art was, and he was just beginning his career.  But with this volume he assumes the mantle of writer as well as artist and, here, he really shines.  Miller brought The Kingpin back to the Marvel Universe in force and made him the brilliant and powerful freak of nature he has remained since.  Wilson Fisk was the brainchild of Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr., but it was Frank Miller who made him a Marvel fixture.  Punisher fans should take note that it is in this very volume that Frank Castle begins to emerge, almost like he’d been gestating for years in Marvel limbo, as a major Marvel player.  And, of course, Bullseye, who’d been one of DD’s key villains for only a few years at this point, rockets to the nearly unstoppable psychopathic maniac we know and love today.  Both Bullseye and The Kingpin become the key adversarial forces in Darevil’s life.  And then there’s Elektra.

Here Miller introduces us to Daredevil’s first and strongest love, the love of his life.  There have been others before and since but it is Elektra who is Matt Murdock’s one great, true love.  Before he became Daredevil, Matt trusted her with his history and secrets and, together, they’d found their soul mates.  Then Elektra’s father was slain, her heart turned and hardened, and she left him seemingly forever.  But then she reemerges, suddenly and brutally, a driven and powerful assassin, over a bloody and rain soaked Hell’s Kitchen alley way, to open the wounds in Matt’s heart and become, for a time, his most dangerous and tortured adversary.  They hold their feelings for each other in check, battle each other, become entwined with The Kingpin and Bullseye, and then, as swiftly as she reentered his life, she is taken from him leaving Matt broken, bitter, and mentally unstable.  I probably don’t have to tell you this story is one of the true great epics in superhero comic book history.  Likely, you’ve read it before decades ago and/or own this trade.  But, if it’s been years, like me, since you’ve read it, pick it up again and give it a spin.  With 315 pages of story, reprinting Daredevil #168-182, this book probably will remain in print forever.  There’s still nothing quite like it.

By the way, anyone who’d like a review of Daredevil: Fall From Grace should just let me know.  I’d be happy to oblige.

Sam Wilson’s Review

Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra
Marvel Comics
Written by: Greg Rucka
Drawn by: Salvador Larroca

“Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra” is the Ultimate U version of Frank Miller’s original “Elektra Saga” which took place during Daredevil 181 to 190 (more or less, all non-Frank Miller “modern” Elektra stories are not included).  Parallel to that, I personally consider Greg Rucka to be every bit the “Ultimate” or “modern” version of Frank Miller.  Since he first burst on the scene Rucka brings to comics everything Frank Miller did that made him such a revered storyteller.  Humanization, action, a certain mystique and realism, all things both writers are masters at, not so much with Frank anymore (ugh, have any of you read DK2 or that all Star Batman crap?).  Rucka first caught my eye with his work on Detective Comics, back during the “Bruce Wayne, Murderer” storyline.   He also worked on the 2nd Elektra ongoing series for Marvel Comics (you know, the one with all the Greg Horn Covers), which I thought was handled well, thus sparking my interest with “Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra”.  I won’t lie, I’m a fan of most of the Ultimate Universe, in my opinion I believe it to work so well because unlike the regular Marvel U, it free of 40+ years of mucked up continuity, that and the talent is top notch.  In all honestly though I feel Ultimate U fan or know, DD and Elektra does not disappoint.

UDD&E is mostly a story about Elektra; Matt Murdock is more or less a supporting character.  They are all at Columbia, but they are freshmen rather than in law school, and Elektra is Greek, but she is a first generation Greek-American, her father is an immigrant who owns a chain of dry cleaners in Queens.  They are well off but not wealthy, and he is very much the hard working immigrant with a dream.  Elektra is still well trained in the martial arts, and her sensei is a nice old Japanese lady who seems more like a second mother than a martial arts master.  Elektra finds romance with blind pre-law student Matt Murdock, and friendship with her two roommates, but soon things become tense when one of Elektra’s roommates is sexually assaulted by one of the richest kids in school.  It becomes a case of he-said she-said and he ends up getting off scott free. Elektra isn’t cool with this so he throws her roommate’s attacker a beating.  As payback one of Elektra’s father’s dry cleaners is torched, and so it spirals out of control.  Like the Miller Elektra, Rucka’s Elektra is shaped by things out of her control, but it seems like her personality already leaned towards the dangerous side of things, life events just helped push her over the edge.  The conflict in this book is very much internal as it is external, and it is almost heartbreaking to see things spiral out of control for young Elektra, and then watch her shun all those who want to help her out of the way (including Matt Murdock). 

So is Greg Rucka the modern day Frank Miller?  Meh, I dunno, he’s a good author in his own right, his work, while similar to Miller’s, is still quite different (“Queen and Country”, while great, is nothing like “Sin City”, and everything Miller puts out these days is pure crap anyway).  I know one thing though, if you are a Rucka fan, “Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra” is definitely worth checking out.

[Redjack]

Thanks, Sam.

Check's in the mail.

[Sam Wilson]

Thanks, Sam.

Check's in the mail.

what, you were gonna pay me?  Man... 

[masigl4179]

Hey Sam and Wktf,
I've been away since the site went down but its good to have your reviews back up. Also, even though it's not on my list for this week I also want to give a shout out to the creators of Red Line and let them know how much I really enjoyed that book when I bought it at the 2006 San Diego Comic Con. In any event, I have 14 picks(21 individual comics)
14) Ultimate X-men#73- I'm sure I've stated this in previous reviews but I'm not really a fan of Ultimate X-men or Robert Kirkman, but I really liked his first issue on the title, so I've been buying it to see how everything is resolved. My only complaint with the title is the fact that this story with the Magician really seems to be dragging out although I'm really excited about the fight between him and Phoenix next month.
13) Firestorm#28- I'm disappointed Firestorm ranked so low with me this month, because I genuinely enjoy this title but I think it's still trying to find it's legs after the whole One Year Later story arc. I'm happy that the Professor is back and that the Russian Firestorm Pozhar makes an appearance as well, but I think it's just going to take a minute for me to get readjusted to it all.
12) Civil War: Frontline#5- I pretty much always enjoy this title because it has decent stories and it comes on very consistent basis. I guess the biggest thing for me to comment on is the firing of a well-known regular reporter at the Daily Bugle. Now that surprised me.
11) Ms. Marvel#6-Now, that we are past that wack story with that alternate universe magical villian I finally feel like this title is moving ahead. Unfortunately, instead of moving ahead on its own, it's moving into Civil War. In any event, I rather enjoyed this title because we get to see a pro registration hero and I enjoyed her interaction with Wonder Man.
10) Green Arrow#64-65-As time goes on, I guess I'm starting to enjoy Judd Winick's writing on single character titles more and more because slowly but surely, he is hooking me on Green Arrow. I really like how Winick was able to use One Year Later to improve upoin the character and I love how GA took down Deathstroke. I'm also happy to see Speedy is still alive and well and hear mention of Conner Hawke as well. I'm really, really looking forward to next issue so we can finally see exactly what happened one year later.
9) Fantastic Four: First Family#1-6-I'm not the biggest fan of Joe Casey but if you sit down and read this early Fantastic Four adventure like I did in one sitting like I did, I'm sure that you will admit that it is a good read.
8)Wolverine:Origins#4-5-Ugh, I tried to avoid this new ongoing Wolverine title from Daniel Way(the new Garth Ennis) and Steve Dillion(Garth Ennis old partner on Preacher) because I thought it should have been told in the orginal Wolverine title, but two things made me pick up these issues. 1) The baddest fight you will probably ever see between Wolvie and Captain America, and 2) they finally came up with something new i.e. a shocking revealtion about Wolverine's past. If you are Wolverine fan check it out, because the first ongoing is hit or miss now with the Civil War story.
7) Secret Six#3-Bottom line Gail Simone is a good writer, and Secret Six is a good story, and I love how she keeps turning random acts of violence where the sh*t hits the storm in this book.
6) She-Hulk#10- I really enjoy this title, so much that I actually went back and bought the first 3 issues of this relaunch. Hell, I also need to go back and buy the trade of the last series as well, because it's just that good and I knew that last year but I just didn't want to fork over the dough but it's worth it. Well, in this issue, it the love triangle between Pug, She-Hulk and her new husband John Jameson(Man-Wolf) all comes to a head, and I'm sure the resolution to the StarFox saga is on the horizon as well.
5) 52 Week Fourteen- This book is consistently good as always and I'm sure that it will be heralded as one of the greatest experiments in comics of all time. I liked seeing Steel and I'm excited about the prospect of The Question and Renee Montoya running into Black Adam in Kahndaq.
4) Superman#655- I can really tell the difference between Kurt Busiek's work on this title and what I believe is feel in work on Action Comics until Geoff Johns and Richard Donner take over, because here Busiek has such a sharp take on Clark Kent, his personality and relationships as well as  the powers and unique abilities he has as Superman. I also like how a magazine someone has in this issue was actually the cover of Action Comics. Overall, this has been one of the best years to read Superman Comics.
3) Beyond#2- Dwayne McDuffie had me kind of worried in the beginning, but as usual he blew me away with the end. McDuffie is like Priest, because reading one of his stories is always worth the journey. Hopefully, 6 issues is enough time for him to really flesh out his story.
2) Squadron Supreme#6- Wow, I think Book of Lost Souls is currently my favorite JMS title, but lately he has been consistently blowing me away with how smart and well-written Squadron Supreme is. I live the geo-political angle and I can tell really tell how educated JMS about foreign policy.
1) Fables#1- I was worried that Fables might have lost it's momentum after the landmark 50th issue, because I wasn't really feeling last issue's Cindrella story, but this month's issue has convinced me once again how brilliant this title is. If you aren't reading this title do yourself a favor and read it.