Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 4/28

All Star Western #30
Story: Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
Art: Staz Johnson/ Jose Garcia-Lopez

It's not good to be a love interest for Jonah Hex. After burying the girl who he brought back from his brief sojourn to the 21st century, Jonah heads to town to find a room and finds Tallulah Black. For those of you not in the know, or who have only experienced that character through the unfortunate Jonah Hex film, Tallulah is a female bounty hunter Jonah trained initially to hunt those who killed her family, and became his recurring love interest and partner throughout the initial Palmiotti & Gray run on Jonah Hex. This issue is a good jumping on point if you're not familiar with either character, since Jonah has to establish his identity because his historically scarred face was fixed in his time in the future. You see that they are both coldblooded killers with little regard for pretty much anyone else. You see the fireworks between them, the perfect chemistry, and the final page of their story sets up what looks to be a bloody beginning to the next issue. This issue is also the first issue of All Star Western in a while to have a back-up story, something that was a regular feature when it debuted, and this issue features the New 52 introduction of Madame .44. A more obscure old DC western character, the origin is slightly altered, but still features most of the original aspect: father who was a miner, seeks revenge on those who wronged him, but it also adds a supernatural aspect that wasn't there originally. The extra big draw on that back-up is art by living legend Jose Garcia-Lopez, who hasn't lost a step in portraying the old west.

Duffman Adventures #1
Story: Max Davison/ Ian Bootby
Art: John Delaney/ Jacob Chabot

OH, YEAH! Bingo's Simpsons comics are consistently fun, but I have gotten a real kick out of these "One Shot Wonders," single issues focusing on single characters. This issue clearly focuses on Duffman, the pitchman for Homer's favorite beverage, Duff Beer. The issue features two stories, both of which are parodies; they're pretty on the nose, not very subtle, but are so full of in jokes and well put together, who needs subtlety? In the lead story, mild mannered Kyle McKagen is called by an extraterrestrial beer can to join the galaxy's leaders in partying, the Duffman Corps. Not only do we see Duffman versions of such legendary Green Lanterns as Kilowog, Salaak, Tomar Re, and G'Nort, but there are also Duffmen from the Rigellian species (Kang and Kodos of The Simpsons), and Nibblonians and Decapodians (Nibbler and Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama respectively). When you factor in Vinostro, king of the buzzkills, you get a fun Green Lantern parody. In the second short, we get previews of shows on the new Duff Network, including "CSI: Duff," "Duffton Abbey," and "DuffTales." "DuffTales" was my favorite, with Duffman in a Scrooge McDuck costume and bill, and three of the Seven Duffs as the Beagle Boys. If you watch The Simpsons, you know that Duff Beer is from a corporation so corrupt it would only fit in Springfield (or Wall Street), and so their product placement ads work as a good lampooning of corporate greed. And the next one shot features Kang and Kodos! Nothing better than wacky tentacle aliens!

Eternal Warrior #8
Story: Greg Pak
Art: Robert Gill

I haven't talked about Valiant Comics as much as I probably should have since their return, and I feel bad that I'm only now hitting on Eternal Warrior with its last issue. This arc finds Gilad Anni-Padda, the titular immortal warrior, aged and in the year 4001, a world that has returned to an almost Middle Ages level of technology. There, he has been on a quest to find a cure for radiation poisoning to save the village he has been living with an most importantly his grand daughter, Caroline. Gilad must lead a group of men and women to defeat a death cult that has claimed the bunker that holds the cure, and to do it, must teach them how to use weapons from the old days, including mechanical war suits and laser blasters. Gilad knows that teaching them to use the weapons could again bring about the destruction that was brought about by the high technology. In the end, while Gilad wins and saves his people, he also loses, as Caroline, enchanted by the technology, seems to be the one who will bring it back and doom the world again. This theme, that of the cycle of destruction and rebirth, is important in apocalyptic literature, and Pak adds the extra personal punch of Gilad seeing it's his own blood who will bring it about again. The series ends with this issue with some plot threads left dangling, and I'm hoping to see some of those dealt with in Valiant's new future set series, Rai. But Gilad is the eternal warrior, so I can only expect to see him back.

Herobear and the Kid: Saving Time #1
Story and Art: Mike Kunkel

A couple weeks ago I did an advanced review of the new Scratch 9 series, and said how glad I was to see another great all ages back. And now here's another of the best all ages comics I've ever read back with a new series! Herobear and the Kid is the story of Tyler, a young boy who got a very special inheritance from his grandfather: a pocketwatch that tells Tyler of someone is good or bad and a stuffed bear that, when Tyler presses his nose, turns into a full size flying, talking, superhero polar bear called Herobear. This new series takes place not too long after the first series, at Tyler's first New Year's since his family moved into the house his grandfather left them. He and Herobear have an adventure doing battle with a crocodile, and when he arrives home, he learns the secret of his butler, the always punctual Henry: Henry is Father Time, one of whose jobs it is to aid Santa Claus in his deliveries (oh, did I forget to mention that Tyler's grandfather was Santa, and Tyler is in line to be the new Santa?), and once a year, on New Year's, he turns into Baby New Year, and it's up to Tyler to protect him or there will be dire consequences. Of course, Tyler isn't even a teenager, so you know he's going to get distracted, and the evil Von Klon is waiting in the wings. Herobear and the Kid is the product of cartoonist Mike Kunkel, whose gorgeous black and white art is a major draw to the series. This is a well written comic, with plenty to read; I would be surprised if there were any books from either Marvel or DC that took as much time for me to read. That is not to say it is overwritten; nowhere does the book feel like I'm slogging through too much narration or dialogue. Kunkel really gets into the mind of a child who still can experience the magic of the world in a way we adults can't, while still keeping the stakes high and the action and humor coming. If you have a kid, or are a kid at heart, then you should be reading Herobear and the Kid, and this issue is the perfect time to come on board.

The Manhattan Projects #20
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Nick Pitarra

This is it, the issue I've been waiting for since the series began. Early on, Albert Einstein discovered how to open a gate between worlds and dimensions, only to be left trapped in another dimension by his alternate self, Albrecht Einstein, who took the place of the great thinker. I knew Albert would be back, and now we get pay off on that long dangling thread. This issue is the story of what Einstein had to do to get back to his home world, and of what he experienced. We see exactly the kind of world Albrecht escaped, a crazy fantasy world where they believe science is magic and magic is science. We see Einstein passing through numerous other alternate Earths. And we see him having a conversation with his alternate self. Now, Albrecht has fit in pretty well with the narcissists and maniacs who make up the Manhattan Projects team, and no doubt he's not a very nice guy, but seeing the world he's from not only clearly makes him the lesser of many evils, but even Albert understands why he would do anything to escape it. And the reasoning behinds Albert's immediate assassination of Oppenheimer a couple issues ago becomes very apparent, and I feel is going to important as the series continues. I've always felt like Jonathan Hickman's strength as a writer has been his big crazy plots, but this issue does a nice job of giving us a character piece with a character who isn't a lunatic. And who could pass up a comic titled "Einstein the Barbarian"? Not me.


And a little additional recommendation. One of the seemingly exponentially number of podcasts I listen to is NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, a weekly discussion of different pop culture topics. Occasionally, host Linda Holmes will have a fun quiz that the panelists have to take, usually to their shagrin. Well, this week, she handed the quiz duties over to Glen Weldon, their resident authority on comics, who happens to be writing a book about how Batman intersects with pop culture, and so naturally his quiz was about Batman. It's multiple choice, but pretty darn tricky; I wound up getting eight out of twelve. Check out the episode and see how you do.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 12/4

Ok, and here I am back from what will hopefully the last of these extended absences. House is squared away mostly, should be moving in this weekend, and then construction of the comic house will begin. But for now, reviews!

Adventure Time Vol.2: Pixel Princesses TPB
Story: Danielle Corsetto
Art: Zack Sterling

One of the best parts of Adventure Time, both the animated series and its comic book adaptations, is the large and quirky cast. There are characters who appear only in the background, but you can just tell that an animator put a lot of work into making that character and has a whole crazy backstory for her or him. Pixel Princesses, the second original Adventure Time graphic novel, does not feature a single appearance by either of the series leads, Finn the Human or Jake the Dog. It doesn't even have their closest associates and enemies, like Princess Bubblegum, Marceline the Vampire Queen, or the Ice King in more than a couple of panels. No, this is a story featuring the "C-List" characters (hey, even Finn calls them that in an episode), headlined by the always amusing Lumpy Space Princess (LSP) in all her snotty glory. LSP wants to throw herself a surprise party with all the other princesses of the Land of Ooo as guests, but when only a handful show up, LSP throws her usual fit, and when BMO, the artificially intelligent video game system, spies on them and wishes he had what it took to be a princess inside him, the wandering mischief maker known as The Magic Man casts a spell to pull the princesses into BMO's game world. From there, it's a classic "people must fight there way to the end of the video game to escape" plot, but featuring the princesses. We get a good look into the personalities of Breakfast Princess, Skeleton Princess, Embryo Princess, Muscle Princess, and Turtle Princess, character who have only appeared in a handful of episodes, and usually with little to no dialogue. There's even a lesson at the end about being who you are and that everyone is a princess in their own right, but you're not reading this for the lesson, you're reading it for the sheer kooky madness of Adventure Time. Where else are you going to find a skeleton destroying cute baby animals with pointy teeth with a sword, monsters distracted by pancakes, and a gender neutral video game system deciding to be a mommy or a pretty princess? This is the kind of thing that is par for the course in Adventure Time, and creators Danielle Corsetto and Zack Sterling capture all of it perfectly. And if that isn't enough, you get a back-up story featuring Gunter, the Ice King's pet penguin, throwing a party for the other penguins. If you're not familiar with Adventure Time, there's no real previous knowledge needed here, and it reads very well as a standalone story, so give it a try as your first journey into Ooo.

Hellboy in Hell #5
Story & Art: Mike Mignola

It's been a few months, but Hellboy in Hell is back, and Mike Mignola hasn't missed a beat. Not exactly surprising, since anytime Mignola step up to the plate for a new Hellboy story, he hits it out of the park. After the first four issues of this new series, all of which were heavily entrenched in the mythology of the series, " The Three Gold Whips," is a one off that feels like those classic Hellboy stories where Hellboy stumbles onto someone in trouble and winds up quickly over his head. Inspired by the Grimm Fairy Tale, "The Devil and His Grandmother," Hellboy finds a soldier wandering the streets of Hell who has one last chance to save his soul by answering the riddle of the demon who he bargained with. Hellboy and the man go to where the man was directed, to the grave of the demon's grandmother where she agrees to hide them so they can hear the answer that will save the man. There are hints to the bigger plot of the series, with another reference to Hellboy's bloody knife hand, but the story mostly stands on its own. As with any work by Mignola, the story is as much a visual masterwork as anything else, with Mignola's design for the devil and his grandmother, and the trippy bits of a shrunken Hellboy and his companion dropped into a skull to hide them standing out in my mind. This story was a nice Christmas gift to all Hellboy fans; there might not be any Santa, but the other guy in red does his best to lift all our spirits.

Herobear and the Kid: The Inheritance #5
Story & Art: Mike Kunkel

For a series that's ten years old, I was pleasantly surprised to not see the twist coming at the end of this, the reprint of the original Herobear and the Kid series. You'd think somewhere I would have stumbled across it, but nope, and the new stories that have appeared over the past year seem to have almost intentionally avoided that big reveal for people like me, who didn't read the series the first time through. So, in deference to that, I'm not going to reveal it either. The story itself wraps up the threads from the previous issues in a way that leaves it well open for a new set of stories featuring Tyler and his teddy bear/best friend/superhero bear, but its a perfect story on its own. The final issue is about belief, and the kind of belief that all of us who have grown up have a hard time wrapping our heads around, the pure innocent belief of a child. Herobear and the Kid  have a final battle with the robot of Von Klon, the archenemy they don't realize they have, and Tyler gets the final piece of his inheritance from his grandfather, something that made my heart grow three sizes when I read it. Herobear and the Kid, more than any other comic book I can think of, perfectly captures the wonderment of being a child, when anything is possible. Tyler is so likable, but at the same time perfectly human, not some idealized perfect kid. I hope that, with this material back in print, Kunkel doesn't make us wait another decade for more of these wonderful characters.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 8/14

Batman #23
Story: Scott Snyder/ James Tynion IV
Art: Greg Capullo/ Rafael Albuquerque

Zero Year continues on in the breakneck pace, with this issue paying off not only much of the set up from the previous two issues, but much of what was given us in Batman #0 from a year ago. The issue opens with the Red Hood gang invading Bruce's penthouse and basically beating the hell out of him and burning the penthouse, juxtaposed with Bruce falling into the caves below Wayne Manor. Bruce escapes into below Gotham, and makes his way through the subterranean caverns to Wayne Manor, where he is met by Alfred. The symmetry of the two events is presented beautifully, and Capullo is in top form. It's also wonderful to see Bruce find his way to the Manor and have Alfred waiting, affirming the strong relationship between them that Snyder has been writing since his first issue on the series. Snyder continues to tease the identity of the Red Hood Leader; based on classic continuity, it should be the Joker, and the beating with the crowbar he gives Bruce is a nod to Joker's beating of Jason Todd, and the dialogue sounds very Joker like, but I feel like Snyder might have an ace (or a Joker) up his sleeve when the big reveal comes. Also interesting are Phillip Kane's words to Riddler as he leaves his employ. I'm curious to see exactly what changes Snyder has made to the Riddler's background, and whether we'll see them in next month's Villain's Month Riddler issue.And the issue ends with one of the most iconic scenes from the Batman canon: the bat on the bust and the realization of what Bruce must be. Snyder adds his own twist on it, while maintaining touches from Batman: Year One, including Bruce talking to his father and the bell on the table, and it is still a powerful scene every time I've seen it done. This issue's backup, "The Pit," is about Bruce's physical training, and ties into the main piece by showing how Bruce can take such a savage beating, but also ties nicely into the eventual driving force behind what Bruce does: fear. While he won't kill, the driving, obsessive need to keep going inspires as much fear as the fear of death. And now, next issue, it's time for him to don the cowl for the first time. I can't wait.

Batman: Li'l Gotham #5
Story & Art: Dustin Nguyen & Derek Fridolfs

And on the other end of the Batman spectrum is Li'l Gotham. This is not just an incredibly fun book, but the perfect comic for those who miss the pre-Flashpoint Batman continuity. This is a delightfully all ages comic; it never talks down to its readers, and has great action, but is well suited for younger readers as well as those of us who like a superhero romp that isn't steeped in angst. The first of this month's two stories is a Mr. Freeze tale, about Freeze being released from Arkham and after having a good day, he decides to freeze the city in that state of perfection so when Nora awakes, she will find the perfect city. This is the tragic Freeze created by Paul Dini, not the more disturbed New 52 version, and I have a very soft spot for this incarnation of the character. Probably second only to Claremont's Magneto, this Freeze is a villain who you can empathize with, although he is clearly not exactly right in the head. The second story is a Cinco de Mayo tale (since this is a digital first comic, the holidays each story touches on are usually a couple months behind) of Red Robin, Robin, Katana, and Abuse (a Gotham vigilante who Damian befriended, a kid who was experimented on with Venom so he could grow to adult size, sort of a very angry Captain Marvel) trying to infiltrate Bane's gang. It's a light tale, and is cut with scenes of Batman, Huntress, Zatanna, and Red Hood playing Scrabble and Nightwing and Oracle out on a date. While I have embraced the New 52 and all its changes, these are the incarnations of these characters I grew up with, and to get a chance to see them again makes me smile. I love how Nguyen and Fridolfs find a way to write Damian as both bratty and endearing, and I like this incarnation of Katana, although part of me feels like she is taking the place of Cassandra Cain who is verboten by some strange DC fiat. If you want so fun Batman action without any continuity that you can share with anyone, I can't think of a better book.

Herobear and the Kid: The Inheritance #1
Story & Art: Mike Kunkel

Herobear and the Kid is one of those all ages books I missed the first time around, and have heard nothing but amazing things about. Now that BOOM! is publishing new material, I was hoping they would do exactly what they're doing, which is reprinting the original mini-series. The Inheritance is the original Herobear and the Kid story, initially selfpublished by creator Mike Kunkel. Tyler is ten, and he and his family have just moved into the house that belonged to his grandfather before he passed away. For a kids comic, it starts very frankly, at Tyler's grandfather's funeral, and is narrated beautifully by Tyler as he remembers his grandfather. When Tyler receives his inheritance, he is surprised to find it is just a stuffed bear and a broken pocketwatch. When Tyler goes to school, we see a lot of the typical schoolyard tropes: the geeky kid, the bully, the pretty girl. Kunkel handles all these characters well, but it's only after Tyler is soundly thrashed by the local bullies that he smacks the stuffed bear on the nose, and it spins around on its own and changes into a polar bear in a cape. That's the end of issue #1, so we haven't really gotten to meet Herobear yet, but Tyler is a likable protagonist, and this comic feels to me to be about the wonder of childhood and so a teddy bear superhero is a perfect vehicle for all that is special about childhood.

Saga #13
Story: Brian K. Vaughan
Art: Fiona Staples

Saga is back! It seems the time between new arcs on Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples space/fantasy/war/romance comic gets longer each time. This issue picks up a bit before the end of the last issue, setting up exactly how Marko, Alana, Hazel, and their extended family wound up on the planet Quietus in the home of D. Oswald Heist. The family dynamic with the addition of Marko's mother, Klara, is fun, as she clearly is not a fan of Alana, but after the death of her husband, she wants to stay with her family. There's some great action once the family arrive on Quietus, with living bones attacking them, and as Hazel points out in her narration, the first impression give by Heist is not the best, adding some humor to a tense scene. Meanwhile, The Will has crashed his ship and is stranded with Gwendolyn and Slave Girl. There's a Tracy and Hepburn banter going to between The Will and Gwendolyn that is clear to everyone but them, especially to the spirit of The Stalk, that seems to appear to The Will and tells him what she really wants for him. For an issue where there is very little action, a lot happens here, especially when The Will makes a statement at the end regarding Slave Girl. I think I've stated before that I think Vaughan is the master of the cliffhanger in comics, and while this issue's end isn't a jawdropper of WTF!!! proportion, it is the beginning of what I think is serious character evolution for The Will. The thrill of Saga has been how well wrought all the characters are, so this cliffhanger is actually more meaningful to me than a ship crashing into a blackhole.

The X-Files: Season 10 #3
Story: Joe Harris
Art:Michael Walsh

When it aired, I was a huge fan of The X-Files. I'm talking huge; watched every episode multiple times, owned all the novels, comics, episode guides, poured over it's arcane mythology. I stuck with it to the bitter end, and am one of probably eight people who saw the second feature film on the big screen (on the second weekend it was out (it opened opposite The Dark Knight. There was no competition there). And despite the lackluster last couple seasons, I had to admit a new season presented in comic form like Buffy and Angel, with show creator Chris Carter "executive producing" it, the same way Whedon does his comics, made me very curious. Three issues later, I'm actually pretty pleased. Writer Joe Harris has the character's voices pretty much dead on, and artist Michael Walsh, whose work on Comeback I loved, has their likenesses down while still putting it in his own style. The creators have quite a ways to go, since the series finale prophesied an alien invasion that never happened, and the mythology grew so complex by the end it took a map to find your way out of it, but Harris jumped in headfirst, with a mystery involving Mulder and Scully's son, William, long since given up for adoption, alien/human hybrids, and cults pursuing Scully. This issue brings back one of The X-Files most notorious characters, Cancer Man, the mysterious smoking man who seems to have all the answers. He and Mulder have a confrontation in a diner, and the dialogue given to the mystery man is so perfect I could hear Wiliam B. Davis's voice in my head. The last page gives a reveal that sends a shiver up my spine as it hearkens back to some of the best of the mythology episodes of the series, with Mulder unwrapping a gift from Cancer Man, who for once flat out makes a pronouncement about his relationship to Mulder. There's more going on with ol' CM than it seems, as he has now been killed twice and yet seems mostly fine, although there is a hint that he might not be as healthy as he seems. Scully, meanwhile, is running through the countryside with an alien to protect her from other aliens, and... yeah, it's good to be back in X-Files territory. Let's just hope that the truth is really out there this time, and not a whole lot of unanswerable mysteries.