This week’s best cover is Showcase Presents Ambush Bug. I love how DC made the big three green for this cover as they weren’t on the original Action Comics 565.
Star Trek The Next Generation: The Last Generation #6, IDW. Meh, It looks like they didn’t know how to end this thing, so they just did.
The War That Time Forgot #11, DC Comics.
Trade Paperbacks: Showcase Presents Ambush Bug DC Comics. It’s Here! All the Ambush Bug goodness from the1980s and early 1990s stories. BTW, what the hell happened to issue #6 of the Ambush Bug Year None miniseries?
Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941 Fantagraphics. In your face golden age stories by some of the greats of comic book history but with forgotten characters that weren’t quite so great (although I've got a special place in my heart for Basil Wolverton's Space Hawk). I love this because it’s a time of experimentation. The writers and artists are learning their craft and there aren’t any established rules yet. Sure to please fans of “I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets.” It also has an excellent introduction by Jonathan Lethem. For more see here.
Magazine: Back Issue #33 TwoMorrows Publishing. The teen heroes issue. I’m not all the excited about this issue but it does have an article on Power Girl. Finally I’ll have some clarity on her mixed up back-story. Oh and Nova is in here too.
Update: Rob! pointed out that he had has a piece published in this issue of Back Issue #33. Its about the Teen Titans Megos. It was the first article I read and I didn't even pay attention to who wrote it! How cool and stupid is that!
When Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry introduced the first pilot, "The Cage," to NBC executives in it's said that the network hated much of what they saw. The network made two demands of Roddenberry if they were going to allow the show to move forward. The first was that he "lose the guy with the ears." The second was that he replace the actor playing the second in command of the Enterprise, Majel Barrett, with a man.
This was 1964 and the idea of a woman in a position of leadership, even if it was an imaginary future, was absurd to the old men who ran NBC. Roddenberry was able to keep the character of Spock but had lose Barrett's "Number One." Because Gene Roddenberry married Majel Barrett shortly thereafter she is often said to have joked about Gene's choice "kept the Vulcan and married the woman, 'cause he didn't think Leonard would have it the other way around."
IDW and writer John Byrne in particular been on a roll with their Star Trek comics this past year. Byrne is one of the first Trek comic writers in a long time that actually "gets" the original series. He has an understanding of the universe but, most importantly, an ear for the characters which makes his dialog shine.
When I heard that IDW was going to do a mini series based on the nameless first officer Majel Barrett played in the "The Cage" I was in at the premise. This comic did not disappoint.
The story follows Number One as she joins a small crew of cadets for a shakedown cruise of a new constitution class cruiser.
Of course things quickly go wrong for the these cadets and they find themselves in a life and death struggle. There's a very high body count in this story, with few of the crew making it through.
Number One is an action hero here in the Trekian sense. She works outside of regulations, operating on hunches. She kicks ass in hand to hand combat. She saves the ship and honorably gives the credit to someone else.
There's an excellent little side mystery on earth that involves the bodies of one of the cadets who died in a creative and rather horrible manner. The investigators on earth figure out what's going on about the same time Number One does back on the ship.
The artwork hearkens back to the 70's with a neat retro feel. I love the little details such as the lamp dealies hanging off the helm (see photo below) that the artist includes.
There's very little I didn't like in this comic. There is a bit of the George Lucas shrinkage problem that's been showing up in Trek in that everything has to be tied to the Enterprise in some way. Stories about other ships would be okay once in a while.
But these are minor quibbles in what was really an excellent read. Still not convinced? You can read the first four pages of the comic here.
I'd like to do a little mini-review of IDW's Star Trek: Countdown now that I've read the first two issues in the series. In the course of this review I'd like to compare the upcoming Star Trek and Watchmen films and their respective directors JJ Abrams and Zach Snyder. In the course of doing so I may be revealing minor spoilers to the Star Trek film and a major spoiler in Watchmen if you're not already aware of the Big Change from the book at the end of that movie that's consumed comic fans on the net over the course of the past year.
If you've managed to remain blissfully unaware about the details of both those films and want to go into them cold then read no further.
***SPOILERS***
I like to search the net for pre-information about upcoming genre films. This includes set photos from spies, designs and interviews with the creators. So if I had to summarize the "feel" I've gotten for the Watchmen and Star Trek films coming out shortly I'd have to say that I've felt for awhile that Zach Snyder, a director I haven't had much use for, "gets" his material better than Star Trek's Abrams.
In interview after interview Snyder has displayed a demonstrable love for the source material that makes it clear to me that the film's in good hands. In fact: if Snyder's recent comments on the film are true he's already saved the film from what the studio was planning before he took the director's job.
When it comes to the infamous missing giant squid at the end of the film Snyder has a pretty good reason for reluctantly removing it from the story. As they plotted it out the story was already three hours long before they even got to the climax. The squid would've taken about 15 minutes to explain, which was 15 minutes they didn't feel they had.
JJ Abrams, on the other hand, has done nothing but make comments such as "this film is not for Star Trek fans" and admits that as a child he loved Star Wars more than Trek. Blasphemy in Trek circles.
On the other hand Abrams also talks about Star Trek being about the characters and about Rodenberry's optimistic world so he does have some understanding of Trek's appeal. Whether that translates into the finished film is up in the air.
Which brings me to the Star Trek: Countdown comics. I wasn't going to read these as it seemed more like an attempt to cash in on the film than they had some story to tell. Then I came across the first 8 pages online and read them but only for a pretty geeky reason: I wanted to see if the Romulan ships that Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman designed for the film and would be included in the comic looked like the ships I loved from the original television series.
What I found was that writers Orci and Kurtzman, who are also the screenwriters for the film, have an obvious reference for Trek and can tell a good story. Forget the alternate timeline stuff we've heard about. None of that is here. Instead we have a story set solidly in "our" Star Trek universe some years after the last Next Generation film.
There's so much they get right but let me just point out one little part out of the second issue that I just finished that had me chuckling. At the end of the first comic Data appears and he's now in command of the Enterprise. If you're one of the five people that saw the last Next Gen film you know that Data was killed (he had to be since they were ripping off Wrath of Khan.) In a meeting with Spock and a throwaway line it's mentioned that they haven't met since his memory engram was installed on his double.
In one small frame of the comic they sent a delicious "fuck you" to the Braga/ Berman team that so many of us think killed Trek on television by casually undoing one of their biggest mistakes. I love this.
As for the story itself it's centered on Romulan miner Nero, who will become the villain of the upcoming film, and his attempt to stop a disaster from befalling Romulus. He's an extremely sympathetic character in these books. He's falls strongly into the Trek hero tradition of bucking the powers that be to try and prevent very bad things from happening.
Of course this won't work for poor Nero, which is the point. We get to see why he's angry and why he blames the Federation and some of it's greatest heroes for what happens.
The bottom line is that these comics are actually making me a little more confident about the upcoming Trek film, which is not what I expected. If the film's as good as the comics then we have nothing to worry about. That's still a pretty big "if."
It’s the Second Annual Atomic Romance Awards! This is my special tribute to the comic books of 2008 that have earned fame or infamy in my little corner of comic fandom. The Atomic Romance Awards reflect my personal preferences so that's why some obvious choices may not appear. But before we begin I'd like to take a moment to thank She-Hulk, my Co-presenter this time around. Also, I'd like to thank all of you, my net buddies, for stopping-by Atomic Romance this last year. It's been one hell of a ride.
Now on with the show!
Best Overall Title: The Astounding Wolf-Man, Image Comics Runner-up: Conan the Cimmerian
Best Writer: Robert Kirkman for both Astounding Wolf-Man and Walking Dead (and probably Invincible too, but I'm nont reading it right now), IDW
Runner-up: J. Michael Stryzinski for The Twelve, Marvel Comics (He could have won top honors if he had finished this series)
Best mini-series: Star Trek: Assignment Earth, IDW Runner-up: The Age of Sentry
Best Adventure Comic: Tor, DC Comics Runner Up: The War That Time forgot,DC Comics
Best Sword and Sorcery Title: Conan the Cimmerian, Dark Horse Comics Runner-up: Wolf-Skin, Avatar
Best Sci-Fi: North Wind, Boom Studios Runner Up: Star Trek: The Hollow Crown, IDW
Best Art: Chris Weston, The Twelve. Marvel Comics Runner-up: John Byrne, Star Trek: The Hollow Crown. IDW
Best Horror: Necronimicon Runner-up: The Crossed
Best Death: Rebecca gets accidentally slapped to death by Zecheriah the vampire, The Astounding Wolf-Man #7, Image Comics Runner-up: Drunk Officer pulped by a propeller in Phantom Eagle #1, Marvel Comics
Best Cover: Army@Love: The Art of War #3, Vertigo Runner-up: Amazing Spiderman #560
Worst Cover: 1985 #4, Marvel Comics Runner Up: The Man With No Name #2, one of the greatest western characters ever is drawn to look like Bush
Best Dramatic Moment: Dynamic Man (from the 1940s) discovers interracial marriage, The Twelve #2 Runner-up: Captain Wonder at his wife’s grave, The Twelve #2
Best Butt: She-Hulk on King Size Hulk #1 Runner-up: damsel in distress on cover of Conan the Cimmerian #2
Best Animal Hero: Monkey Speedball, Marvel Apes Rocket Raccoon, Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Geekout: Reading how Mirror Kirk assassinated Mirror Pike in Star Trek Mirror Images 1-5
Worst Costume: THE BLUE BLAAAADE! Oh come on, could there possibly be any other choice from 2008!? Runner-up: Jack Pot
Best Costume: Female Starhawk, Guardians of the Galaxy #5 Runner-up: The Crimson Reporter, The Twelve, Marvel Comics
Favorite Hero: Ambush Bug (If you can call him a hero)
Favorite Villain: Cranio, The Man with the Tri-Level Mind! The Age of the Sentry Runner-up: Catman, Secret Six
Horniest Villain: King Crimson, Dark Tower, Marvel Comics
Best New Character: Ape X, Marvel Apes
Worst New Character: Jackpot
Best Fake Covers: Marvel Apes
Best Essential or Showcase Presents: Savage Sword of Conan… Ha!
Most Likely To Piss Off PETA Badger Saves the world
Best Gunfight: Brothers in Arms#4 Runner-up: Bat Lash #6
Best Formerly Ugly Aliens that Are Now Sexpots: Skrulls
Best Sword Fight: Wolfskin Annual, Avatar
Best Reprint: Dr. Who Classics, IDW
Best Cross of Hellraiser Cenobites with Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality: Army of Darkness: Home Sweet Hell
Lamest Series I’m glad I didn’t read: It is a Tie Secret Invasion/Final Crisis and all of the spin offs
Best Single Issue: Fantastic Comics #24 Image Runner-up; Jonah Hex #33, DC Comics
Best Comedic Moment: Ambush Bug, it turns out, is responsible for the death of Sue Dibney, Ambush Bug Year None #1 Runner-up: A Medieval wizard buys a shit-load of goods at S-mart, AoD/Xena #1
Best Free Comic Book Day Comic: Gumby… of course
Best Trade Paperback: Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991 Runner-up: Captain Carrot and the Final Ark!
Biggest Warm Fuzzy: The Medieval Silent Knight is revealed to be an ancestor of Superman’s adopted Family, Brave and The Bold #10, DC Comics.
Best Collection of Older Comics: I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets Runner-up: The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics
Best Cameo: ‘Mazing Man: Ambush Bug: Year None. #1 Nazi Super Villains in the entrance way in Berlin Building The Twelve #1
Coolest Country in Marvel Atlas Volume 2: Boca Caliente (doesn’t that mean spicy hot mouth?)
Dumbest Moment: New Gods, New Gods New Gods!
Best Monster: Giant Eyeball Demon, Iron Man Legacy of Doom #4, Marvel Comics Runner-up: Ursus the Ultra Bear, The Age of The Sentry #2, Marvel Comics
Best Golden Age Retcon: The Twelve, Marvel Comics Runner-up: Fantastic Comics #24 Image
Worst Golden Age Retcon: Project Superpowers, Dynamite Entertainment
Worst Retcon Period: Red Sonja #29, her own Goddess set’s her up to get raped and have her family murdered.
Best Pimp Scene: Star Trek: Mirror Images #2, IDW
Best Terrorist Acronym: NACHO (Nihilist Anti-Capitalist Hate Organization) Badger Saves the World IDW
Best New Trick for an Old Dog: John Byrne doing Star Trek Comics Runner-up: DC Fontana doing Star Trek comics
Most Ruined Character: Red Sonja Runner-Up: The Wasp… because she’s like dead
Best Supporting Character: Cheeks the Toy Wonder (Of course) Runner Up: Abdul Alhazred, Fall of Cthulhu, Boom Studios
Best Western: Jonah Hex
Best Nonfiction Comic: Comic Book Comics, Evil Twin
Biggest Yawn: The Flash is coming Back!!!!! Zzzzzz
Best Revival from Suspended Animation: The Creature Commandos in Action Comics #872
Best Origin Story: The Black Widow, Twelve #8 Runner-up: Ungrounded Super Agent The Twelve #6
Lamest Promotion: Those Skrull "Who Do You Trust" ads Runner-up: What were you doing final crisis
Best Crossover: The Army of Darkness/Xena: Why Not, Dynamite Entertainment
Title I would Have Liked To Try from the Beginning But It Was Always Sold Out: Guardians of the Galaxy
Favorite Lesbian: Golden Age Black Widow, The Twelve, Marvel Comics She was Goth before there was Goth...
Best One Liner: “Hi Lois! I’ve got a weenie with your name one it” Earth 2 Superman. Ambush Bug: Year None # 3
Best Meh Ending: Y: The Last Man.
Best Capturing of the Spirit of 1980s Comics: Amazing Spider-Girl
Best Corporate Foot-Stepping: Moonstone vs. Dynamite over the publishing rights to The Phantom.
Biggest Disappointment: Project Superpowers, The heroes have been stuffed in a jar all these years? ...give me a break... Runner Up: What... No Poo flinging in Marvel Apes?
In the latest issue of The Last Generation, it's revealed that in an Alternate Universe where the Federation has been conquered by the Klingons, Ro Laren and Tasha Yar are lovers. These panels are pretty much all we get... but it's fun to imagine the possibilities which I guess is the whole point of the Star Trek Myriad Universe line.
Star Trek is so bogged down with continuity anyway you need an alternate Universe just to tell interesting story anymore it seems.
Also in this issue, Wesley goes nuts and gives himself a mohawk...
Star Trek The Next Generation: The Last Generation #2, IDW. This is basically a "What If" for Star Trek. Part of the Myriad Universe line.
The Walking Dead #56, Image. Five Years!
Cthulhu Tales #9, Boom Studios.
The Age of the Sentry #4, Marvel Comics.
Conan the Cimmerian #6, Dark Horse Comics.
Trade Paperbacks: Invaders Classic Vol 2 Marvel Comics. I was feeling a little blue about my friend Josh so I picked this up. There’s just something life affirming about Captain America and crew kicking Nazi butt.
Conan The Cimmerian #4 The main drive of Conan’s return to Cimmeria and his involvement in Caollan’s problems with the Aesir has a “Savage Sword” kinda thrust that I’m enjoying. I think much of my gratification comes by way of Tomas Giorello's excellent art. The fight with the raised monsters was kinda hackneyed though especially the end. I like Richard Corbin’s interlude as well. Shem, this time around, has nice Lovecraftian touches.
Star Trek Romulans: The Hollow Crown #2 Excellent, Excellent. John Byrne has captured the sprit of TOS while using the grand flourishes of later trek series. I can’t say enough good things about it. If you enjoy Star Trek on any level and if you want to discover more about the Romulans, pick up this series. The only caveat is that it might be a tad predictable. I love the politics and plots that swirl around the Romulan throne. IDW has latched on to a great idea by exploring ST stories set with other groups of aliens besides the federation ones.
Solomon Kane #1 I have to admit I haven’t read Robert E. Howard’s SK stories so shame on me but I plan to at some point. Nevertheless, the 17th century is a ripe world to explore and the moody Solomon appears to be the just the person to take us through it. I could have used a zero issue to introduce this character his universe though. The first issue of SK has a relative calm before the storm sort of feel and Guevara’s scratchy line work and Stewart’s Fall color palette fit the mood. It’s worthy to note how Scott Allie juxtaposes the new religion of the Puritan SK with the old religion Catholicism of the Baron.
The Age of the Sentry #1-2 Sick of all the darkness in Marvel Universe, you want some of that good Silver Aged Superhero action? Then look no further than The Age of the Sentry. I initially bowed out of this but when I saw that Paul Tobin was writing some of the tales, I just new I had to support a local comic creator and I’m sure glad I did. What we have here, in essence, is Marvel’s Superman with some Captain Marvel thrown in too. Think of the kind of crazy sci-fi stories that Supes had in the late 50s and 60s and you’ll get an idea of the tone but with an early Marvel Universe twist. Each issue contains two stories with pseudo retro art. If I had to sum The Age of the Sentry up I’d say it’s akin to Alan Moore’s 1963, Alan Moore’s Supreme, and Mike Allred’s Mad Man. While the other Sentry stories were very depressing this series is golden goodness. Plus, the 2nd issue had a giant bear and Truman Capote. What more could you want?
I’ve been very busy with the taking care of Swinebread Jr. – as if you couldn’t tell from my lack of responses to all of your wonderful comments but I’m going to do a few quick reviews of SOME of what I’ve had time to read the last two weeks.
Necronomicon #2 This continues to be a great mythos series. Longtime readers of Lovecraftian horror will really enjoy the various entities that make their cameos herein. The real origin of Abdul Alhazred is a sinister treat. Also, I love that Necronomicon is set in the 1920s and how Henry Said is socially corrupted by western ways just as he is spiritually corrupted by the Necronomicon itself. I’ll have to see were this mini-series ends up but this just might be the best Cthulhu Mythos storyline published by Boom yet.
The Twelve # 12 The Twelve continues after a break and the plot thickens but then it thickens every issue doesn’t it. Finally, there’s something for Electro to do and it seems the Blue Blade has discovered the robot’s secrets. Also, the Fiery Mask’s origin might be more than it seems… I feel a retcon coming on. I’m greatly pleased with the Twelve but if you’re looking for lots of superhero fistfights you might want to look elsewhere. Happily, interaction of the “out of time” heroes is exactly want I want. Plus, I think Dynamic Man may be a Red herring, Kid Miracle-Man.
Barack Obama #1 This title is little more than a recitation of facts but it’s a nice read for a quick bio on Obama. It’s actually interesting to see Obama’s life laid out in comic book form and the various players from the political sphere rendered as comic characters is a refreshing dose of non-escapism. Folks that have read his books and watched the news won’t find much new here but I did learn a few things about him that I didn’t know. This title does mention some of the controversies surrounding the candidate as well but without context it seems kinda strange.
The Crossed #1 Looking for a good post-apocalyptic horror title? Then look no further than Crossed by Garth Ennis. This title doesn’t pull any punches and is very graphic. Crossed is sure as hell scary. Apparently a mental plague or some sort that turns folks into psycho killers has infected the world. Not for the faint of heart as no one is spared.
Giant Size Red Sonja #2 It’s great to read Sonja stories by Roy Thomas, Clara Noto and Frank Thorne. Ah the good old days. Thorne’s “The Wizard and Red Sonja Show” is fun homage to the shows that Frank and the Red Sonja gals used to put on back in the 1970s. One of the Sonja’s even looks like Wendy Pini. Also, Red Sonya of Rogatino makes an appearance too. I guess Paradox Entertainment and Red Sonja LLC have worked out their differences.
Star Trek Mirror Images #4 A fun issue all around. Kirk’s plot to assassinate Pike hits a bump in the road but he turns it to his advantage. Hey IDW, more Mirror Universe comics.
Marvel Zombies 3 #1 I like the parallel monitoring agency and the idea that Machine Man has to be one of the guys to investigate the zombie-verse but I hate that fact that Machine Man has to be this Human looking Aaron Stack guy. I liked him better when he was more of a robot.
Savage Sword of Conan #4 I drop everything and read these collections when Dark Horse puts them out. I love 'em! I think I might have convinced Dear Wormer to pick them up.
The End League #5 I don't like the new artist's style... it's gone
The Voyages of the She Buccaneer #3, Great Big Comics. Yeah, yeah I said I was dropping this title but they stuck it in my box and I was the one they ordered it for.
Conan the Cimmerian #3 Conan has made is his way back to Cimmeria and he meets up with Coallan, an old flame who has grown into a strong and very attractive woman. Hot on her heels are the invading coldblooded Aesir. I like this issue a lot, probably for it’s depiction of Coallan as she represents that strong female warrior that I’ve been pining for. I’m very interested in the women of Cimmera and how they handle themselves in a fight, so this whole new story arc by Truman is refreshing. Thomas Giorello’s artwork really brings out the blacks, which I greatly enjoy and it’s reminiscent of the old Savage Sword of Conan title. Richard Corbin also provides engaging art for a flashback sequence featuring Conan’s grandfather.
Marvel Apes #2 We’ve kinda got two things gong on in Marvel Apes. The first is the fun wackiness that is an Ape-ified Marvel Universe and the other is a “what if” story in which Captain America is a villain (although if my suspicions are correct it’s not his fault). I approve of this approach, as the novelty of a Monkey Marvel world isn’t enough to carry a story. The back up tale on the history of the Marvel Ape Universe is hilarious and so are the fake covers for other Marvel Apes titles. A nod to Mutant and Masterminds’ “Earth-Ape” should be made though as Marvel is ripping it off wholesale.
The Walking Dead #52 The zombie title that’s not about zombies continues with Rick and Carl on the road. Michonne shows up just in time to save little Carl from a zombie attack and later she helps Rick deal with the death of his wife and daughter. It’s nice to be traveling, instead of stuck in the prison as in the previous story arc and its good to have tough as nails Michonne back too. I realized while reading this issue and Conan that Charlie Adlard’s art has a definite Richard Corbin influence that really fits a horror title like this. Krikman’s pacing is as excellent as always and he ends the issue on just the right note. How does he do it?
The Astounding Wolf-Man #8 Kirkman’s superhero horror comic sees Gary on the run as he’s been wrongly accused of murdering his wife. The only thing keeping him going, is his thirst for revenge over the vampire that killed his spouse and the only way to accomplish said revenge is to seek out the Were-Wolf that made him. I love how Gary set himself up all Bruce Wayne–like and how it quickly went to shit. When you are dealing with dark supernatural forces it’s hard to simply go on patrol and fight bank robbers. I love how the Saturday morning cartoon style contrasts with the evil undertones of this book. Note: Fans of White Wolf’s Were-Wolf game should be reading this.
The End League. Is it just me or did this take forever to come out? Anyhoo, issue 4 of Rick Remender’s post-apocalyptic superhero series focus in on The Prairie Ghost this time around as he secures the services of a healer. The Prairie Ghost (who is now my favorite from this title) is strangely an appropriate cross between Jonah Hex and Ghost Rider. He’s really working for me and I feel he should have had more prominence before now. The story is a good one of desperation and survival but the art takes a right turn as Eric Canete replaces Mat Broome. I have to say I prefer Broome’s cleaner style to Canete’s. Canete’s drawings have a little of the Savage Dragon bendy bones thing going on and some super deformed traits too. Plus, it’s hard to tell what’s going in his panels. I may have to drop this title if the art doesn’t improve with the next issue.
Guardians of The Galaxy #5 I really like cosmic stuff or at least I did back in the day, but I skipped the whole Annihilation thing because I was mad about Marvel killing off the Xanderians… again. I’ve wanted to pick an issue of GOTG though but it’s always sold out. I love the original team and I’m also a fan of Rocket Raccoon and Gamora, so I figured “why not” as an issue was available. Well, I’m lost. Too much has gone on in the far reaches of Marvel space for me to track. I know most of the characters but a lot has happened to them in modern times for me to keep up. Plus, I really am not interested in the Secret Invasion crap Marvel is forcing down our throats and it’s all over this title. Crossover/event comics suck! I thought the appearance of Star Hawk was cool though. It’s funny that everybody’s costume had to be updated to look like something from the X-Men movies. They can’t be superheroes anymore I guess. They have to be “adventurers.”
Men of Mystery #72 It’s fun to read these golden age black and white reprints but frankly at ten buck a pop Men of Mystery should really be in color or a least grayscale. I particularly enjoyed the Major Midnight, Rainbow Boy and Camilla stories. It’s kinda nice to read pulpy stuff with characters I’m not familiar with as it gives me that down home serial feeling.
Star Trek Assignment Earth #5 Love it, love it love it. ST:AE is truly a fantastic comic series. This mini-series finishes out in grand fashion with a communist plot to replace Nixon as he visits China. Gary 7 and Roberta Lincoln succeed in saving the president… or do they? But all that really matters is that old tricky Dick appears to be who he is supposed to be for the sake of the timeline. John Byrne has really pulled it off with this one. ST: AE feels like a late 60s and early 70s TV show but with 20/20 hindsight. This series made me realize what a great sci-fi, espionage show Assignment Earth could have been. The AE concept should be revived as a TV show in some fashion IMO. I was skeptical about this comic but this is one of the best things I’ve read all year. Not to be missed by Star Trek fans. Side note: this great idea for a roleplaying game too.
Star Trek: Mirror Images #3, IDW. Here we get an interlude from the main storyline of the Mirror Universe Kirk with a story of a young Picard (looking like Shinzon) seizing comand as the Terran Empire begins it’s death spiral. I like the Mirror Universe a lot but I hated what they did with it in Deep Space 9. This comic shows that at least Jean Luc didn’t go down without a fight. I enjoyed the excellent storytelling and the art has an adequate sci-fi, tarot card kinda look.
Red Sonja #37, Dynamite Entertainment. The story of a reborn Red Sonja continues with acceptable although not stellar results. Her whole origin was screwed up so I guess why not start over practically from scratch. Sonja begins her training to become the warrior she once was in her previous life so she can seek revenge, sounds familiar. It’s a hero(ine)’s journey. The art is OK but the coloring needs work. I liked the nod to Claw the unconquered.
Doctor Who Classics #10, IDW. I’ve enjoyed this Who reprint title immensely. The new show is OK but for some reason I still like the old Doctor Who with Baker better and this comic has given me my fix. The two stories contained herein see the Doctor’s companion Sharon off on her final two adventures. Gibbons’ artwork is a good fit for Baker’s Who and the new coloring works for me. I believe this the final issue and I’m sad to see it go, as this series really captured the Doctor imo.
Star Trek: Romulans: The Hollow Crown #1, IDW. An outstanding comic all-around, John Byrne has recaptured his lost magic here. He is exactly what the Star Trek franchise needed and vice versa. I can’t decide which is better the art or the story and that’s a good bit of indecision to have. This title is a sequel to Byrne’s earlier Star Trek: Romulans comic and is set after the events in Balance of Terror. Get it, Read it and enjoy it. The world of the Romulans has never been richer.
The Dark Tower: Treachery #1, Marvel. This is the third and final act of the Dark Tower Comics. Amazing art and a rich universe unfold as Ronald is home and he’s not quite sane. What we got here is the Man with No Name meets Lovecraft meets Lord of the Rings. Pick up Gunslinger Born first if you are interested in reading this.
The Stand: Captain Trips #1, Marvel. I’ve read the Stand and watched the TV miniseries. So I was intrigued in how all of this could be condensed down into three comic mini-series. So far we’re off to a tube-necking good start. It’s seems the events in the comic are set in the early 80s as old cars and ghetto blasters are prominently depicted. I like the renderings of Stu, Larry and Frannie and Randal Flagg (although he’s only on the cover). It’s actually kinda nice to get away from King’s over exposition with the images recalling so much of the information from the book without the need for words.
I thought I’d make some quickie reviews of last week’s comics
H.P. Lovecraft’s Vault of Horror #3 Horror and Sci-fi favorite Richard Corbin finishes out his mini-series which adapts some of the gentleman from Providence's smaller works including poems. The adaptations here are well done and the Heavy Metal art style suits these mythos tales quite well, although I wasn’t completely behind the black &white drawings until this issue. I’d consider the Arthur Jermyn adaptation in this issue quite stellar by making one of Lovecraft’s more obvious stories into something much more enjoyable to read. The last two tales in this issue are freely adapted from H.P’s horror poems The Well and The Window. Both are short but engaging.
She-Hulk #32 Secret Invasion invades She-Hulk with mixed results. I’m not interested in this lame crossover that is infecting the Marvel universe but I do like the Super-Skrull who figures as the main villain, so that’s something. The coloring is bowling me over as it remindes me of Heavy Metal (again). It’s such a dramatic visual look and unlike how comics colors used to appear that Shulkie seems like she’s in a sci-fi, anime movie.
Star Trek Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment #5 This is one of the best if not thee best Star Trek comic series that I’ve read, but what else could you expect from D.C. Fontana. The voice of the characters is correct and their actions are in line with the TOS. Fontana ties in concepts like the Preservers and the Organians, and she brings back popular characters such as the Kor, Koloth and the hottie Romulan commander from the Enterprise incident. Plus, she makes the Edosians important to the future of the Star Trek Universe, which is much appreciated. More ST if it is written by Fontana.
Necronomicon #1 A wonderful new Cthulhu Horror miniseries from Boom Studios centered around the most famous sanity-blasting tome off all time. Set in the 1920s, the narrative is told through a letter from an Arab student that comes to study at Miskatonic University and who ends up joining forces with academic occultists because of his language skills. The story, so far, is top notch and the Vertigo art style by Andrew Ritchie suits the Lovecraftian Horror theme.
Northlanders #9 You can’t tell realistic Viking tales without taking about Lidisfarne. This issue is part one of two-part standalone story on the sacking of a Monastery on the Northern coast of England in 793 A.D. A boy feels crushed under the yoke of medieval Christianity and calls upon the old gods for help and the Vikings seem to be the answer to his prayers. With adequate art and a solid narrative, this two-parter is kinda a placeholder until the next longer story arc commences.
Ambush Bug: Year None #2 Mitsu Bishi, Amber Butane, Blue Beetle, and Jann Jones are present and accounted for. What else do you need to know? Might not be as fun for folks that aren’t as familiar with all the crazy crap that’s been going on in DC comics that last few years but the OMAC Cheeks takes the cake! Did I mention Angryish Bear? Oh Well I just did.
Life Sucks Graphic Novel I recently finished up the graphic novel Life Sucks written by Jessica Abel and Gabe Soria. This isn’t my usual sort of fair, but I just had to give this vampire slacker story a look-see. If I had to give you a shorthand description for this it might be Love and Rockets crossed with the Lost Boys plus a dash of Clerks.
Life Sucks isn’t your typical vampire story. When the luckless vegetarian Dave is transformed into a vampire, none of his problems are solved, he still has to pay the rent and the Jocks still seem to get the girls. It’s supposedly Young Adult but I wouldn’t let that stop you if you’re looking for something different.
Of course things quickly go wrong for the these cadets and they find themselves in a life and death struggle. There's a very high body count in this story, with few of the crew making it through.
- Dean Wormer
