Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/29

Batgirl Annual #3
Story: Cameron Stewart & Brenden Flecther
Art: Bengal (Chapter 1)
        David Lafuente & Gabe Eltaeb (Chapter 2)
        Ming Doyle & Ivan Plascencia (Chapter 3)
        Mingjue Helen Chen (Chapter 4)

One of the pluses of the recent new wave of Batman related titles is how each book stands almost entirely on its own feet; you can read Grayson, Batgirl, Gotham Academy, Gotham by Midnight, or the reimagined Catwoman and not have to read any other Batman comic to understand what's going on in that title. This past week's Batgirl Annual is a great comic, and while it is a perfect standalone story, what it does is set Batgirl's adventures in the wider context of what's going on in Gotham City. If you haven't been reading Batgirl, Barbara Gordon has been the defender of Burnside, the hip, Brooklyn-esque neighborhood of Gotham for the past year or so. But this issue, after finding an amnesiac UN official wandering through her neighborhood, Barbara is sent on a collision course with many of the other members of the Bat-family. The first chapter has her working with Helena Bertinelli, the director of the spy organization Spyral and another agent, Dick Grayson, who Barbara thinks is dead and who does his best to keep his identity a secret; the second chapter has Barbara run into Spoiler, recently reintroduced to the DCU and currently appearing in Catwoman; chapter three features a team-up with Kate Kane, Batwoman, whose title has ended and is currently in limbo; and finally Batgirl goes to Gotham Academy, where she meets Olive Silverlock and Maps Mizoguchi, the protagonists of that title. The main plot element, what Batgirl and her allies are looking to find and stop, is an absolute McGuffin (it's called the Negahedron, such a classic 50s pseudo-science name it works best as something that you don't think too much about) to arrange these character meetings, and that's perfectly fine. Each interaction has its own flavor and purpose. The Gotham Academy segment pulls the two books Brenden Flecther writes together and allows us to see Maps, that book's consummate fangirl, get to work with a superhero and get some sidekick dreams, which is just adorable. Batwoman has pretty much disappeared since her title ended, and it was just nice to see Kate back. But I think long time fans were really looking at those first two chapters for something big. In the pre-reboot times, Barbara Gordon as Oracle had very strong ties to both Helena Bertinelli and Stephanie Brown in their other identities, Stephanie as the third Batgirl and Helena as Huntress. These are the first real interactions between the new era Batgirl and her former friends, and while the rapport is different, it's still nice to see how they fit together. Helena and Barbara work together as a well oiled machine, fighting their way through the troops of the terrorist organization Gladius, all while trying to avoid Dick Grayson (and Dick's pain at having to avoid Barbara is palpable). Spoiler is still a novice, and she's so pleased to nearly best Batgirl at the super-hero game; I would love to see Baba work more with Stephanie when Steph's apprenticeship in Catwoman is over. All-in-all, the issue mixes action, adventure, and strong character moments to wonderful effect and makes it essential if you're enjoying any of the titles that are involved. Oh, and on a final note, I love Barbara momentarily recognizes Dick Grayson, who disguises his face and voice, by his butt, which seems to be his new defining physical characteristic; it's such a nice nod to what's going on in Grayson and hilarious in how well Barbara remembers Dick. I want those crazy kids to find a way together, sue me.

Copperhead #9
Story: Jay Faerber
Art: Scott Godlewski & Ron Riley

The second arc of the sci-fi Western Copperhead moves forward at breakneck speed, as Sheriff Clara Bronson gathers a posse to retrieve her deputy, Boo, who has been kidnapped by a band of outlaws. Last issue saw Boo's part of the story, as the outlaws make their way to The Bastion, a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and what Boo does to try to stop them or at least slow their progress. This issue is Clara's story from that same time period, and we get to see certain events from the previous issue from a different point of view. But before their paths cross, we see Barton gather a posse that is made up almost entirely of people she doesn't trust: Cletus, the criminal she dealt with in the first arc, Ishmael, the artificial humanoid hermit who lives in the desert, and two other artificials provided by local land baron Hickory, who is not a nice man at all. The journey through the wasteland is a classic Western trope, and we get the character interaction that defines much of Jay Faerber's work; he finds a way to keep the action of a series going while mining his characters for important personal beats. Even after he has proven trustworthy and not a bad guy in the past, Bronson still doesn't trust Ishmael, which is to be expected, as she has stated how little she trusts artificials. What's more interesting is to see how Ishmael interacts with the two other artificials, how they view him as an outsider and how they think about their own place in the world. And while Bronson talks to Cletus, and we get a better idea of exactly what is going on in his head, it's the artificials that really captured my attention in this issue. Their "bred for battle" attitude and culture, how they act when confronted with death, and the way they look at the death of their own once it happens, it fills in some gaps about how these beings exist. This worldbuilding is key in good science fiction, and I'm glad to see that Faerber has all this background. In addition to this, the slow burn about Barton's ex-huband's escape from jail continues; this is going to be a big deal when he arrives on Japser (the planet where Copperhead is), and the little bits here and there about him just make the tension even higher. Next issue wraps up the second arc, and all the pieces are now in place for a showdown.

Invisible Republic #5
Story: Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Bechko
Art: Gabriel Hardman & Jordan Boyd

Invisible Republic the series from Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko that takes place on a planet after a dictatorship has fallen and follows a reporter who has found a diary of an unknown cousin of that dictator, wraps its first arc with an issue that takes place nearly entirely in those diaries. Maia Reveron, cousin to Arthur McBride, has found a life away from her cousin with beekeepers and honey seller Archi and Luis, who said they could pay her way out of indentured servitude and take her on as an apprentice. But as her connection to McBride is revealed, things start looking bleaker. Even moreso when Maia winds up in the middle of a demonstration, finds out that Luis is working with McBride's underground, and when the demonstration becomes a riot, Maia has to make a decision. It's a telling moment for Maia, who we see as a good and loyal person being more and more swept up in events beyond her control, but who still tries to do what's right in her mind. It's an issue that will change the status quo moving forward when, at the end of the issue, we meet a character from that flashbacks for the first time in the present. There's so much to love about this series, with it's depth of character and it's wide world, but what continues to blow my mind each issue is Hardman's art. The gritty world he's crafted fits perfectly with the tone of the series and defines it. Everything is absolutely clear, nothing gets lost in a single panel, but everything is dirty and used. This isn't the pristine world of Star Trek or the Western influenced sci-fi of Firefly. The closest I can think of is Lazarus (which also had a very solid issue this week, by the way), a future world that is very much extrapolated from the world as it is now, with all the dirt and creases you'd see. The riot scene, where the military comes down on McBride and disperses the crowd violently, can be viewed as some commentary on recent events in America, but knowing exactly what McBride is and how manipulative he is, that particular commentary has its legs cut out from under it: McBride is not some innocent revolutionary as he would have the people believe. He's a cold blooded killer. And watching him build his cult of personality makes him all the more powerful and creepy as a character. Science Fiction is genre that embraces all kinds of stories, and Invisible Republic, with its politics and humanity, is one of the strongest science fiction comics on the market. It's a perfect time to go out and snag all five issues that are out and read them together, and be ready when the new arc starts.

The X-Files Annual 2015
Story: Mike Raicht
Art: Kevin VanHook & Mat Lopes

While there were some good monster-of-the-week style stories in the recently completed X-Files Season 10 comic, much of that series was dedicated to building a new, cohesive mythology for the series to move forward. This year's annual, though, is a monster story of the best order, the kind that not just tells a spooky story, but delves into Mulder and Scully. The story follows Mulder as he barges into a high school reunion to try to find out what happened to a student who disappeared years ago in a haunted house. This is a very Mulder thing to do, as is lying to Scully to drag her along. I know a lot of people who are Mulder fans could read this issue and be really annoyed at Scully for not just her skepticism but her annoyance at Mulder, and while it seems a times very harsh, I can see why she's upset; Mulder dragged her away on a weekend to investigate a case without telling her; she has very right to be annoyed. But as the case of the disappearance of Colin Matthews deepens, Mulder learns more about Colin and his friends, Tristan Nolan and Kelly McGreevy, who have made a career as ghost hunters by talking about what they witnessed the night Colin disappeared, and details about psychic powers and exactly what kind of people these now adults were set Mulder on a path that not only leads him to confront Tristan and Kelly, but to get some resolution on a case for once. But because he's Fox Mulder, he looks a little deeper, and what he finally deduces is even more disturbing than a disappearance, It's got a great twist ending, like many of the best X-Files, and it's the twist within the twist that really makes it. I was also impressed that, while it's referenced in places, the fact that Mulder investigates a disappearance in the anniversary of the disappearance of his sister, there's no big long speech about Samantha. Mulder's own hunt for his sister is the thing that's defined his entire life, and how he deals with it here is allowed to play out subtextually, in a show not tell way. With The X-Files about to return to television, I'm not sure how much big mythology stuff that the comic has been doing is going to be valid anymore, so stories like this, strong done in one monster stories, are a great place for the comic to live, and this issue would be a good prototype for upcoming stories.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 3/18

Batgirl: Endgame #1
Story: Cameron Stewart & Brenden Fletcher
Art: Bengal

The silent comic isn't easy to do. I've read quite a few of them over the years, and I have often found them confusing. The artist has to have a very strong sense of storytelling, and I can only imagine the writer has to provide a strong script, or have a strong relationship with the artist, so they know the style the writer is trying to convey. The Batgirl one shot tying into the big Joker story running in Batman right now, "Endgame" is one of those really strong silent comics. Batgirl, who has been living in Bristol, one of the outer boroughs of Gotham, stands defending the bridge from the main city as those not infected by the Joker's toxin flee before the bridge is blown. It's a taut, well paced story, with legions of grinning, Joker looking Gothamites try to kill those who remain uninfected; it's a zombie apocalypse with a really creepy laugh track. But if the Jokers aren't enough of a problem, Tiffany Fox, daughter of Lucius Fox, has been separated from her parents, and Batgirl has to rescue her form the sea of Jokers. The Foxes were featured supporting cast members in the last year of Batwing, but haven't shown up as a family since then, and if you know the hardships they went through there, a reader can only imagine the devastation of losing their surviving daughter. So Batgirl uses a combination of brains and skills to save the girl. She also has help from Frankie Charles, her roommate who in the most recent issue of Batgirl (#40, also on sale this week, and a fine comic in its own right), joined Batgirl's crusade, seemingly as a new Oracle of sorts. Bengal is an artist I'm not familiar with, but his art is perfect for this issue. His Jokers are creepy, grinning ghouls, and his Jker (the real one, not the infected people) who appears on a screen briefly has an air of menace and madness. But it's the scene where Batgirl has to communicate with Tiffany over a distance using hand signals that sold me. The facial expressions and hand gestures are more eloquent than many words balloons. This is a great comic to show how far Batgirl has come as a character, confident and strong in the face of the man who crippled her; if the New 52 Batgirl needed an issue where she proved she had moved beyond the trauma of the Joker, this was the one.

Invisible Republic #1
Story: Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Bechko
Art: Gabriel Hardman

The dystopian sci-fi is a genre unto itself, and Image comics has some great ones going right now, with Lazarus, East of West, and the recently launched Descender. But I figured I'd give Invisible Republic a shot, on the strength of its creators alone. Hardman and Bechko did a tremendous job on the second volume of Star Wars: Legacy, exceeding all  my expectations, and another science fiction story seems right up their alley. And it did not disappoint. On Avalon, a distant world, reporter Croger Babb is getting nowhere asking people about how they felt when the Malory Regime fell. There's no explanation of what the Malory Regime was, but you don't need it. The look of the world, and the reaction people are giving Babb, makes it pretty clear things haven't been good on Avalon for quite sometime. And things for Babb aren't looking much better until he finds a bum burning stacks of paper. He buys the paper and settles in to read it, after we see that he is not exactly looked upon well by his fellow reporters, and we flash back to a time before Avalon was settled, when people had just arrived, before faster than light travel had been perfected, and to two people on the run: Maia Reveron, who wrote the memoir, and her cousin, Arthur McBride. Again, we enter in medias res, with Maia and Arthur camping alone on a beach, hungry and seemingly cast out. But an encounter with soldiers turns quickly brutal, as the soldiers attempt to talk them into joining the army of the Commonwealth, and when they are refused decide to simply conscript them. The fight scene is brutal, and it's clear that Arthur has a killer's instinct, while Maia has a softer heart, something that I can only imagine will come back to bite them, as she spares one of the soldiers after Arthur kills the other two. The final page reveal sets up the direction of the series, as it turns out Arthur eventually became the strongman and dictator of Avalon. It feels like we'll be watching the creation of a monster in one narrative, while Babb will be dealing with the fallout of Arthur's regime in the other. While this is a first issue, the world has a lived in feel; it's familiar without being derivative, like watching Alien for the first time. Hardman's art, with it's gritty textures, perfectly suits a world in decline. If Image keeps releasing new, smart, and interesting series like Invisible Republic, I might as well just hand my wallet over.

The Manhattan Projects: The Sun Beyond the Stars #1
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art:Nick Pitarra

After returning from hiatus, it's nice to see that Manhattan Projects hasn't lost a step; it is still the craziest comic out there. This first issue of the new mini-series, The Sun Beyond the Stars, has a slightly tighter focus than the previous volume, with it's sprawling cast. The opening sequence, which feels like the teaser to a science fiction movie, introduces us to Primor, a mad alien scientist, and the Sionna Science Union, the government that he seems to have it out for. Primor's weapon of choice are spores that seem to sprout world killing monsters, and he has no problem obliterating planets and betraying allies to get them. Primor escapes at the end of the teaser, but if we've been taught anything by the first volume, is that nothing stops a mad scientist from attaining his goal, so I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing Primor again soon. The main story of the issue begins with finding Yuri Gagarin, cosmonaut, imprisoned on a space station, in a holding cell, hearing the story of an alien named Garru who apparently ate all the young of an entire species by accident, thus committing genocide. Yuri is apparently here for a parking violation, his ship wandering into the area as he looked for his lost dog, Laika, shot out into space during the last volume. We get a particularly funny court scene, when Yuri and Garru are brought before Ryleth the Hammer, and we learn Garru's full name, or at least his known alias. It's by no means safe for work, and I try to keep the swearing to a minimum on here, but it struck me as so funny I got an odd look from my wife as I laughed violently at it while sitting on the couch. The issue ends with Yuri and Ryleth heading to a bar, and a reunion, one that does not go exactly as expected. Jonathan Hickman is a writer who tends towards huge casts and crazy ideas flying every which way. But this issue, along with his recently launched The Dying and the Dead, are more intimate stories, focusing on one character. That doesn't mean the ideas are any less crazy or interesting, and that the books don't feel like Hickman stories. And Nick Pitarra is working at the top of his game, with wonderful and completely original alien designs. I'm curious to see where the rest of the cast of the Manhattan Projects are, or whether this will be a Yuri and Laika story exclusively, and exactly what Primor is up to. It's bad science all over again, and I couldn't be happier.


Dan Grote brings us a review of a Matt Signal favorite writer working with everyone's favorite Merc with a Mouth...

Deadpool’s Art of War TPB

Story: Peter David

Art: Scott Koblish

While Deadpool defies normal comic book conventions as a rule, he tends to defy the most rules in his miniseries. He’s killed alternate versions of himself, classic literary characters, and even the entire Marvel Universe.

In Deadpool’s Art of War, Marvel’s mirthful mercenary runs through Sun Tzu – the original author of the text from which this series takes its cues – changes Loki back to his classic look (while taking pot shots at J. Michael Straczynski and Matt Fraction in the process) and destroys Manhattan by pitting Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against the combined forces of the Nine Realms (That’s right, nine; Angela’s not in this one), in a battle that will never be spoken of again.

All this is so that Deadpool can publish his own version of The Art of War and make money. All he has to do is convince the Norse god of mischief to wage war on Midgard.

Peter David seems such a natural fit for Deadpool – a humor-driven character with occasional bouts of pathos – that it’s nearly unbelievable he hasn’t written him before, save, apparently, for an off-panel cameo in X-Factor. Artist Scott Koblish makes things fit even more like a glove, having penciled ’Pool in Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn’s (nearly over) ongoing series. Koblish drew the flashback issues in the main title, such as when Deadpool teams up with Power Man and Iron Fist against the White Man or when he teams up with Iron Man against alcoholism. Koblish excels at drawing DP in when-in-Rome-style costumes, and he gives Wade a pretty sweet/ridiculous Asgardian helmet early on in the book, while he’s playing Loki against Thor.

Look for guest appearances from all your favorite Asgardians – except Angela – and pretty much all of Earth’s heroes, from the Avengers to the Fantastic Four to the X-Men. Also, because Loki is waging war on Manhattan and the Hulk makes an appearance, look for an easy nod to the Avengers movie.

(Please note: I wasn't able to find a good image of the cover to the trade paperback of this series, so that is the cover to issue #1.) 

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 12/17

Batman #37
Story: Scott Snyder/James Tynion IV
Art: Greg Capullo/John McCrea

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Joker story, "Endgame," takes a decidedly creepy turn this issue. Not to say that the work these creators have done with Batman's greatest foe has been pure comedy at any point, but this issue was that ratcheted up the tension and added a very horror movie feel to this clash. The opening splash page, of a frozen Bruce Wayne staring out of the page at the reader begins the issue with a sense of distinct unease. Once Bruce comes out of the paralysis from Joker's drug, we begin to see just how dire the situation is, with a new strain of aerosolized Joker toxin turning Gotham into a city of madness. And none of Batman's old cures are working. Batman has over one hundred cures devised for Joker toxin. If you think about the New 52 timeline, that's over ten cures a year, meaning either Joker gets out of Arkham even more than you'd think, or Batman spends a lot of time coming up with possible cures; maybe Joker isn't the only one a little obsessed with his rival. With no cure, Batman must head to Gotham Presbyterian Hospital to find the first infected person. The journey is the issue's action peace, as Batman fights his way through a hospital filled with people corrupted by Joker. And when he finds patient zero, well, if there was any doubt about whether Joker knows Batman's secret identity, it's gone now. Snyder brings Duke Thomas, the kid who has been popping up in his run (and was Robin in the possible future from Batman & Robin: Futures End) , as Joker gives Batman a chance to relive his worst memory. And while that's great material, the scenes with Jim Gordon make this issue into one of Snyder's best. As Gordon researches Gotham Presbyterian to try to figure out why Joker started his assault there, Gordon finds photos from over the past century. Photos that all have the Joker in them. And then Gordon hears a sound in his apartment. The following scenes, with Gordon and Joker in the apartment, are straight up horror movie scenes, and Capullo's Joker is so much creepier with a face than without. The pale skin and the black suit make him seems like an undertaker, a clown, and death itself mixed together. The issue cliffhanger sent a shiver up my spine. The back up ties into the Joker's seeming claim of immortality, or a connection to the dark heart of Gotham, with John McCrea adding his manic style to a tale of madness and clowns. And even if it's set a hundred years ago, you know clowns and Gotham don't mix. Batman #37 shows everything that Snyder and Capullo have been doing right for three years now, and moves "Endgame" on to an historic confrontation between comics' greatest rivals,

Lumberjanes #9
Story: Noelle Stevenson & Shannon Walters
Art: Brittney Williams & many more

I love scary stories, and I love telling them. I think I said in a previous review of an issue of Lumberjanes that I never went to camp, so I never told them around a campfire, but I've been at a Halloween party or two where people have shared a tale of the supernatural or two. This issue, the cast of Lumberjanes each get to tell a story around the campfire, each drawn by a different artist. "Tailypo" is a classic campfire tale, one I remember reading in one of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark volumes in my younger days; Felicity Choo does an admirable job of making the long tailed monster scary. The Aimee Fleck drawn, "Wrong Number" is a variation on another classic theme of the campfire tale, but since it's told by Jen, Roanoke Cabin's councilor, it has an ending that is a little less harrowing than it's usually presented as. "Bad Candy," drawn by Becca Tobino, is a whirling, trippy vision, perfectly in tune with the personality of the energetic Ripley, and the message at the end of the story reinforces to themes of friendship that underlies all of Lumberjanes. I'm a fan of Faith Erin Hicks, so her tale, "Ghost Girl," told by Jo, is the one that struck me the most visually. Mal's story, "Lonely Road," is one I'm not familiar as a campfire story, although it starts out like one we all know, and winds up with a twist that is a much more real life terror; Mal is a planner, someone who thinks things out, and I like that her tale of terror remains grounded in something that can be combated (for which she gets a bit of teasing from Molly). "Old Betty," with art by T. Zysk, is gorgeously drawn and atmospheric, giving off something of an EC Comics vibe. All of this is framed by art from Brittney Williams. Each of these stories is no more than a few pages, but no story seems rushed. It's a great one off that will give a new reader a great jumping on point for one of the best all ages comics on the racks now.

Multiversity: Thunderworld
Story: Grant Morrison
Art: Cameron Stewart

Wow. After what was the most complicated and intricate issue of Multiversity in "Pax Anericana" we get this gem. Not to say "Pax" was bad, far from it, but this issue is so brimming with the joy of Captain Marvel and everything that he embodies. The basic premise is that Dr. Sivana has gotten in touch with Sivana's from across the multiverse to gather suspendium, the mineral that he discovered that can effect time, to steal enough time to make a new day, Sivanaday, where he can triumph. It's a big, crazy plot, one perfect to a world of Golden Age simplicity and joy. He also has built an artificial Rock of Eternity so he can use science to create and empower his own Sivana Family. Pretty soon, the Sivana's are fighting the Marvels, and not just Captain, Mary, and Junior, but appearance from the likes of Uncle Marvel and Fat Marvel, the Monster Society of Evil appears, and in the end, Captain marvel must fight Black Sivana, a Sivana/Black Adam mash-up, to save himself and the Multiverse. In the end, good triumphs conclusively over evil for the first time in Multiversity, the wonder of magic triumphs over analytic science, and Sivana is bested as much by his own duplicity as it is by Captain Marvel. But as fun as the story is, the scene is completely stolen this issue by artist Cameron Stewart. I've rarely seen the Marvel's world look so wholesome and gorgeous; the only other story that comes to mind is Jeff Smith's Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil! That kind of wonder filled, childlike art was perfect for a story that at its heart is about joy and simplicity defeating cold, calculating analysis. Special call outs to the page with the first appearance of the technological Rock of Eternity, the first appearance of Captain Marvel, the splash page of the Monster Society of Evil (including 52 era butterfly Mr. Mind), the designs on all the multiversal Sivanas, especially snake Sivana and Hannibal Lector mask wearing Sivana, and the beautiful, sunshine filled last page. I feel like each issue of Multiversity has worn its influence in its sleeve, and maybe it says something about me as a reader that this is my favorite so far, a simple tale of good versus evil.

Sandman: Overture #4
Story: Neil Gaiman
Art: J.H. Williams III

Every issue of Sandman: Overture is a masterpiece. I guess you'd hope that, since it's at least four months between issues, but if that's what it takes to get a comic of this quality, I'll take it. This issue slides between Dream having a conversation with his father, the embodiment of time, and entering the city of stars to confront the being who is about to bring about the end of everything. It's nice to see that Dream's relationship with his father is no better than his relationship with any other member of his family. This issue explains exactly why the sequence with Daniel from issue two had to happen when it did, and Gaiman does a very good job of making what could be awkward timey-wimey stuff make perfect sense. Williams's shifting page and panels structure as Dream wanders, speaking to his father, and his father's shifting age, makes it clear that time to eternal beings is something that mortals cannot comprehend. The star city bits feature call backs to the Dream story from Sandman: Endless Nights, as Dream talks to the anthropomorphized stars, and once again meets Sto-Oa, the star who took the heart of Dream's first beloved. More interesting is Dream confronting the mad star, and learning exactly how that star relates to Dream. The flashback in this issue, the story of Dream and that star, is one of, if not the, earliest story of the Endless that we have seen; the personalities of Dream and Death in it are a clear indication of that. We have seen stories of Death early in her, for want of a better word, life, and the Death here is the cold, matter of fact being there, not the Death who has come to understand the value of life. But we have rarely if ever seen Dream so... soft-hearted. Dream has always been the character who has no problem taking a life to defend his realm, no compassion when he responsibility is invoked. And maybe now we know why. We see more of the little girl Dream picked up last issue, and her name, Hope, invokes the classic duel from Sandman #4, "Hope in Hell," so I wonder how integral she will be to this final battle, for good or ill (ill, probably, if the Wyrd Sisters are to believed in issue three, but they see things differently than most). The art is stunning, too stunning for someone with my limited vocabulary when it comes to art to even define, but this is Williams at the height of his powers. Sandman: Overture is a comic that, when I open the book, I hold my breath, and it stays held until the very last moment, it is such an immersive experience; maybe once every quarter is all I can take, but I'm waiting for that next one with that same held breath.

Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman #5
Story: Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
Art: Gabriel Hardman

I wasn't sure how much Wonder Woman I'd be reading after the Azzarello/Chiang run ended. And while I'm not sold on the direction of the ongoing, Sensation Comics, the anthology series in the style of Legends of the Dark Knight and Adventures of Superman has given me my monthly dose of Diana. This issue is a full issue story from Star Wars: Legacy Vol.2 creative team Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, with pre-Flashpoint Diana infiltrating Apokolips to save two of her Amazon sisters who had been sent to spy on Darkseid. I think it was George Perez who conceived of the antagonism between Themyscira and Apokolips, and I have always thought the two mythic realms make great foils. Diana fights the Female Furies, Darkseid's elite squad of women warriors, and faces down the despot of Apokolips himself. She finds out exactly what the Amazons on Apokolips are up to, and in the end she does the right thing, saving the planet despite all the evil it contains because she knows that not every life on the dread world is evil. And she inspires. She inspires the people of Apokolips with her strength and compassion. The issue's final line is a perfect ending to an issue where we see Diana at her most inspirational. I like that aspect of Wonder Woman a lot, one that was used in my favorite run on the character, Greg Rucka's, that Diana is a person whose mere presence and attitude makes people want to be better. Bechko and Hardman get that, and that makes for a great Wonder Woman story. I really enjoyed Hardman's take on Apokolips; he's an artist with a gritty style, and that perfectly suits the world of evil, it's master, and his servants. This is a good done in one story for anyone who has missed traditional Wonder Woman stories in recent years, and well worth picking up.

Terrible Lizard #2
Story: Cullen Bunn
Art: Drew Moss

A girl and her dinosaur fight a giant ape. Do I really need to say much more than that? Ok, here's a bit more. Jess, the daughter of a leading scientist, and Wrex, the temporally displaced T-Rex she bonded with in the previous issue spend much of this issue throwing down with a giant ape who has a crab arm. It's a gorgeously drawn battle from Drew Moss, full of all the action you'd expect from that simple, yet awesome, set up. But after the fight, the issue finds its heart. Jess and Wrex spend the day after the fight doing everything you'd do with a favorite pet, just to a scale where your pet is gigantic, another brilliant series of pages by Moss. But there are storm clouds on the horizon, as the mystery of how the ape was pulled into the present, the army's distrust of Wrex, and Jess's father's experiments all hang overhead. Cullen Bunn does a good job establishing Jess and Wrex's bond. For a writer whose work I think of as action and horror, he's doing a bang up job crafting an all ages book.



And, from the desk of Dan Grote...

Ms. Marvel #10

Story: G. Willow Wilson

Art: Adrian Alphona and Ian Herring

During the past year, Kamala Khan has experienced a lot of firsts: Getting powers, finding out she has them, using them, using them for good, wearing a costume, fighting an archenemy, teaming up with Wolverine and getting a pet.

(Yes, Lockjaw is not technically a dog, but I still want to scratch him behind his giant ears and kiss his wrinkly forehead.)

In issue 10, Kamala gives her first superheroic speech, inspiring a group of teens to rise up against their captor, a cockatiel/scientist named the Inventor, who has been harvesting their bodies as a form of alternative energy to, among other things, power his giant robots.

Let that last sentence sink in a minute. Drink in every ounce of its Silver Age flavor. Mmm, satisfying.

Kamala’s speech is meant to motivate not just the captive teens but millennials in general, countering stereotypes of a generation of shiftless smartphone junkies. The teens initially don’t want to be rescued because the Inventor has convinced them they are worth more as energy than as human beings.

There’s also a concern about overpopulation that was also stated in another Marvel book I bought last week, but I’m not sure if that’s coincidence or part of some editorial fiat.

Anyway, like any good villain, the Inventor teaches Kamala that heroics often endanger those close to the heroes, and so he kidnaps Lockjaw.

The last page ends with the words “To be concluded,” meaning this crockpot meal of a first arc is finally about to ding. I've very much enjoyed how Wilson and Alphona have taken their time developing Kamala this past year, but I’m also ready to see how Ms. Marvel’s second act plays out.

Recommended Reading for 9/5: Star Wars: Legacy Vol. 2

Two Wednesdays ago, the final Star Wars comic from Dark Horse was released. Fittingly enough, it was the final issue of the second volume of Star Wars: Legacy, the series set the farthest into the future of any Star Wars story, and the era that Dark Horse was the most responsible for defining. It was an appropriate ending for the Expanded Universe era that has defined so much of Star Wars for the past twenty plus years, the era that brought so many people into, or back into, the galaxy far, far away.

I admit, when a second volume of Star Wars: Legacy was announced, I was a bit worried. The first volume of Legacy, which was a much earlier recommended reading, is one of my favorite Star Wars stories of all time, following the adventures of Cade Skywalker, Luke's descendant, who struggles to find his place in a galaxy ruled by the Sith. The series was created by my favorite Star Wars comics creative team of all time, writer John Ostrander and artist Jan Duursema, and while other artists drew an occasional issue, those two creators defined this entire sweeping era.

So, volume two was announced, and it's by two creators whose names I knew, but whose work I had never read, Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman. And I was torn. Yes, this is a spectacular era (one I even ran a few adventures of the Star Wars Saga Edition RPG in, that's how much I love it). And they're creating their own characters, so it's not like it's continuing the adventures of the characters whose stories I felt Ostrander and Duursema really wrapped up. But still, there's always a chance it will fall flat. But I was excited when I picked up that first issue of the series, and was very, very pleased to see that this series was going to be a fitting successor to the original.

The protagonist of the second volume of Legacy is another descendant of the main characters of the classic trilogy, but a very different one. Cade Skywalker was a Jedi in hiding, a drug addict who was using to avoid visions from the Force and running from his destiny. Ania Solo takes much more after everyone's favorite rogue, her great great great grandfather, Han Solo. Not a Force user, Ania ran a junkyard out on the Galactic Rim, trying to keep her head down and make a mostly honest living, until stumbling across a lost lightsaber and droid leads her into the middle of the great galactic events that seem to dog Solos, no matter how hard they try to avoid them. So pretty soon, Ania, and a small group of her friends, are out having adventures, being threatened by all sorts of beings they would just rather be left alone by.

Ania is a great contrast to Cade Skywalker in that she is not a haunted, brooding character. Cade was a rogue as well, trying to live the life of a bounty hunter instead of fulfilling his destiny as a Jedi, but he was always feeling the pull of the Force. Ania is a rogue through and through; when problems come up, she gets her hands dirty and finds the quickest solution. She isn't a person who looks at the metaphysical, isn't someone who thinks she has a great destiny to be embraced or avoided; she just finds the way that gets her out of the most trouble and might help her turn a profit. That is not to say that she is just out for herself. Ania is a fiercely loyal friend, who puts her life on the line repeatedly to help those that she views as her true friends.

Those friends are the usual collection of ragtag Star Wars heroes and heroines. Sauk is a Mon Calamari, one of Admiral Ackbar's people, whose homeworld was made uninhabitable in the last Legacy series. Possibly even moreso than Ania, Sauk wants nothing to do with big galactic action; he just wants to be an engineer. But he and Ania are good friends, and he is as loyal to her as she is to him. AG-37 is an assassin droid, but one who has been operational for well over a century, and, while still an assassin droid, has a good side, one that is friendly and courteous. The final member of the main cast is Jao Assam, an Imperial Knight who isn't too good at listening to his superiors, and winds up working with Ania and company after he goes on an unsanctioned mission.

Friendship and loyalty is probably the most central theme in this volume of Legacy. Nearly every story comes down to one or more of these characters being in mortal peril and the others having to save them. Jao is drawn into Ania's orbit when he defies orders and goes in search of his missing master, Yalta Val. When Sauk hears that his people are starting to reclaim their homeworld, he falls into the hands of slavers, and the others rush to the rescue. When bounty hunters kidnap Ania, AG is nearly destroyed saving her life. And the final arc sees Ania and company working with the Empress Fel, the head of the re-formed and reformed Galactic Empire (and Ania's distant cousin) to retrieve Jao from the hands of the Sith. Loyalty to your friends is one of the core themes of Star Wars; it's the major reason why Han Solo comes back to save Luke at the end of the first movie, so it makes sense a series focusing on the spiritual and physical descendant of Han Solo would so strongly focus on it.

Of course, when you're talking Star Wars, as much as you love the heroes, the franchise is famous for its villains. The list of great villains could go on forever: Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Maul, Grand Admiral Thrawn, the Yuuzhan Vong, and Darth Krayt are just a few. Bechko and Hardman introduce a new Sith in the first issue of the series who soon reveals himself to be Darth Wredd. The last Ostrander/Duursema issue of Legacy left the One Sith, the order that once ruled the galaxy, in shambles, its members hiding and waiting for their time to rise again. After the initial arc, Wredd begins hunting other Sith, and this leads to various questions about his motives. Is he trying to take out the competition? Or is he really not as evil as he seems. By the end of the series, when his history is revealed, you see he's a subtly drawn character, with interesting motivations unlike any other Sith we have seen before.

I also really enjoyed the lack of Jedi in this series; that's not to say I dislike Jedi, but it's interesting to see other types of Force users. Instead of Jedi, we spend a lot of time with Imperial Knights. A concept introduced in the previous Legacy series, Imperial Knight serve the Force by following the Emperor or Empress. The concept was well fleshed out, and we got to know some of the Knights very well in volume one, but this series shows even more stark contrasts between the two orders, and how much more strict the Imperial Knights are, as they are a military order in service of a government, after all. While this is shown at times to be a problem, this strict adherence to the rules set forth by the Empire, the Knights are never looked down on, never looked on as nothing more than  Force using Stormtroopers. They are an interesting variation on the classic theme of the Force using hero, and I like that we got to spend some time getting a spotlight on the concept and characters.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this series was how small the big stakes were. The classic trilogy is about the Galactic Civil War. The New Jedi Order is the story of the Yuuzhan Vong War. The first Legacy series is the battle between the One Sith and most of the other forces in the Galaxy. These are stories set around big characters, doing big things. Ania's story is really about her and her friends just trying to make it from one day to another. Even when they run into big events and big people, like Empresses and Imperial Knights, it's really just a distraction and a sideline to them trying to stay out of jail or make a few more credits. The story ends on a big note, on a massive final battle, but that was reserved for the climax. And, without spoiling too much, in the end, Ania doesn't choose to stay a part of that wider world. She goes back to her smaller, happier life.

Artist Gabriel Hardman, along with the other artists on this series, gave it a wonderfully grotty look. Star Wars has always had the feeling of a lived in universe, not a clean, pristine sci-fi world. Ania's ship is like the Millennium Falcon, nothing new about it, and she starts out as a junk dealer. Even on Coruscant, the galactic capital, the world isn't as shiny as it was after the war. It makes for a stark contrast to many other science fiction comics, and even other Star Wars comics, and it gave the series a unique feel.

And that's the end. I'm sure I'll be writing more about Star Wars in the future. We have the upcoming Marvel series, the new Star Wars: Rebels cartoon, plus the new movies and all the media that is going to spin out of them. But this really marks the end of an era. I loved the Star Wars movies a lot as a little kid, but fell out of that deep affection until I was 16 and read Heir to the Empire. From there it was all downhill. I now have all the Dark Horse comics (some in collection rather than single, but I have them all in some form), have read all the novels, and spent countless hours playing the various video games. I love Star Wars, always will, in any of its myriad forms. And I want to thank all the creators who have helped make it this wide, Expanded Universe. The Force will be with you, always.

Three trades of Star Wars: Legacy Vol. 2 are out currently: Prisoner of the Floating World, Outcasts of the Broken Ring, and Wanted: Ania Solo. The final volume, Empire of One, will be released in mid-October. All the single issues should be available from your better comic shops.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/24

Ghostbusters #6
Story: Erik Burnham
Art: Dan Schoening

Egon Spengler, the brains of the Ghostbusters, has always been my favorite of the legendary quartet of supernatural investigators, and the new issue of IDW's Ghostbusters series is a strong spotlight for Egon. Earlier in the series, we found out Janine Melnitz, the Ghostbusters' trusty girl friday, was a descendant of Beowulf, and had to take up the family legacy of fighting the ghost of Grendel. Even though she won, she had help, and her spirit ancestors took offense, so she was trapped between life and death, and now Egon and Janine's current boyfriend, Roger (who bears a striking resemblance to Real Ghostbusters Egon, by the way), have to voyage into her mind to save her. Not only do we get a great view of Janine's inner life, seeing her memories from the point of view of Egon and Roger, but we also see Egon having to deal with Roger, and how short his patience is when in an unfamiliar position. While there is plenty of action, as Egon fights the Viking ghosts that are currently inside Janine, the majority of the issue is dialogue between Egon and Roger, the two of them bickering as they voyage through Janine's mind. Erik Burnham is a dab hand at dialogue, and does a good job of making Roger likable, frankly more likable at times than the usually taciturn Egon, so the reader can completely understand what Janine sees in him. After an opening arc with  a temporary team of Ghostbusters, it feels good to be back with the originals, and this issue is a perfect jumping on point if you're a fan of Dr. Egon Spengler.

Lazarus #2
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Michael Lark

After an outstanding first issue of world building, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark's dystopic corporate future comic, Lazarus, spends its second issue character building, and introducing us to the Carlyle Family. Other than Jonah, who we met last issue, we meet the other Carlyle siblings, Steven, Johanna, and Bethany, as well as the family patriarch, Malcolm. The siblings seem to be as at war with each other as they are with any of the other families (except for Jonah and Johanna, who are very... close, in that creepy Game of Thrones sort of way), and we get hints of secrets, especially those about Eve, the family protector, the Lazarus, and our protagonist), and exactly what her relation is to the others. There is also a mention of the siblings' mother, although she isn't shown, which strikes me as something we're waiting for a big reveal on. Malcolm seems to be a cold, clever manipulator, who discusses Eve as simply "the Lazarus" when she isn't present, but treats her as a favored child when she is with him. None of the children seem to have his skills, and all seem to have something of a short fuse. Bethany launches herself at Jonah with murder in mind from his verbal barbs. Dr. Bethany seems to be the one who cares the most about Eve, but whether that is as a sister or the product of an experiment seems to be up in the air right now. The discussion about going to war with Family Morray is the driving force for this family meeting, but it seems Malcolm has his own way of dealing with that, as we see Eve go off on her secret mission at issue's end. This will give us a view of exactly what the other families are like next issue, continuing to grow this world. And be sure to check out the backmatter for the issue, which includes a timeline of the life of Malcolm Carlyle, full of interesting background information and I'm sure hints of things to come.

Star Wars: Legacy #5
Story: Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
Art: Gabriel Hardman

The first arc of the new incarnation of Star Wars: Legacy wraps up with a big reveal from our mystery Sith Lord and Ania Solo standing tall. As Darth Wredd reveals himself to the public, showing his face on the holonet as he prepares to kill Master Yalta Val, the Imperial Knight he has been impersonating for the past few issues to show the weakness of the current government, Ania steps up to save Master Val. Ania's doubts about her fitness are assuaged by the assassin droid with a heart of gold AG-37, and so she steps up and faces odds that should mean her destruction. The little guy standing up to the big guy is a big part of the Star Wars mythos, and so Ania takes strongly after her ancestor, Han Solo, as AG reminds her, by getting involved in these kind of affairs with just a blaster and an attitude. But she also takes after Han in an even more important way; when the chips are down, she is loyal to her friends, willing to risk her life to save both AG and Sauk, her Mon Calamari friend. Artist Gabriel Hardman's art is top notch this issue, especially the art as the communications array comes crashing down, and our heroes make their escape. This is Star Wars as its meant to be: action, character, and a touch of humor. The final page sees Ania reach the attention of the Galactic Triumvirate, and especially Empress Marasiah Fel, her distant cousin if my reckoning is correct, so it looks like Ania's adventures are just getting started.

The Unwritten #51
Story: Mike Carey & Bill Willingham
Art: Peter Gross & Mark Buckingham

"The Unwritten Fables" continues, as this dark alternate world only grows, well darker. Its interesting to see Tommy Taylor and his friends in their full power, as readers have all heard about exactly how badass the fictional Tommy is in the books within the comic, and while Tom has worked some magic, its nothing on the scale of casual power that Tommy works here. Last issue gave us a somewhat chilling impression of what exactly Snow White and Bigby Wolf's cubs have become under the influence of Mister Dark, but seeing Dare, who nobly gave his own life in the "real" Fables timeline here casually attacking Tommy and his allies, while preparing to once again torture his father just shows how bad things have gotten. And Mister Dark casually killing three members of the witches council from the Fables without breaking much of a sweat once again reinforces what a threat he is. And the world seems to be reaching out to the children, as Sue Sparrow, the Hermione of the Tom Taylor books, casts evil spells and takes something from Mister Dark's treasure cache. And Dark's building of a new Boy Blue continues, which is just beyond creepy and wrong, and perfectly in character. I love the way that Frau Totenkinder conceives of Tommy and his crew, "stories told by stories made up by the stories to whom we are only stories." This sort of meta, wheels within wheels, storytelling has been what The Unwritten has been about since the beginning, and adding the extra dimension of the folklore Fables characters just gives Carey another mirror to reflect it all off of.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 3/20

Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray #1
Story: Frank J. Barbiere
Art: Chris Mooneyham

I love comics and movies influenced by pulps, that sort of story that is full of action and character, with a crime of supernatural edge. The high concept of Image's new series, Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray is that an Indiana Jones-esque treasure hunter has acquired the abilities of five literary characters: the detective, the archer, the wizard, the samurai, and the vampire. However, it seems that these powers are killing him. We see Fabian use his powers on one of his hunts (although it seems like he's as much a thief as he is a treasure hunter), and then bed his client. He is also on a quest to find a mystical artifact that he is hoping will awaken his sister from a mystically induced coma. The details are a bit sketchy, but it's only one issue in, so frankly we got more story than we do in a lot of issue ones.There's some great set up of a cult or evil society chasing after Fabian, and in the end Fabian and a man I assume is his brother-in-law, or at least his sister's significant other, run afoul of a tribe that may or may not have the stone they seek. It's a lot of classic pulp and serial tropes tossed together that work really well. The characters grab you right away, and you see there's more to Fabian than meets the eye. The art fits the book perfectly, with the grit that suits the period. Like a lot of pulp influenced stories, the series is set in the 40s, and seems to thoroughly researched. This is a very impressive first issue, and sets up a series that has a ton of potential.

Justice League #18
Story: Geoff Johns
Art: Jesus Saiz/ Gary Frank

While I have found Justice League a bit hit or miss since the New 52 began, the issues starting with "Throne of Atlantis" have been firing on all cylinders, and while this issue seemed like it was going to be a downtime sort of issue, we got a good amount of forward momentum, as well as expanding the team and really meeting the New 52 versions of some characters we either haven't seen or have gotten very little exposure to. After needing to call in the reserves during the attack by Atlantis, the League decides it's time to find some full time members. The most interesting of these characters is the New 52 Atom, a completely new character. While hints of Ryan Choi had been dropped, and Ray Palmer was a recurring character on the late, lamented Frankenstein Agent of SHADE series, it seems this Atom is Rhonda Pineda, a student at Ivy University, the school that both Palmer and Choi have been associated with, so it's possible her background will tie in more with them. I want to see more of this character, and how she is going to fit in with the new team. I also enjoyed seeing a completely new character, Goldrush. I've found a distinct lack of brand new characters in the New 52, so any chance to expand and try new things is welcomed by me. Johns ends the issue with something a mystery and cliffhanger, moving the series towards the upcoming Trinity War. I was also excited to see the art for this issue by the dramatically under-rated Jesus Saiz, who has been flying under the radar for too many years. I hope this issue raises his profile enough to get him on a major book soon. The Shazam back up story, which has been the highlight of the series for much of its run (which is not a slight at the main story. The back up is just that good), continues as well, setting up Billy's final confrontation with Black Adam and the Seven Sins. I like how Billy has grown from the seeming brat he was at the start into someone who clearly wants to do what's right but has baggage that is making it hard, and I like the further development of the other kids staying at the foster home with Billy. Artist Gary Frank also wins the award for creepiest designs of the week for the personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins. Those are some creepy monsters.

Saga #11
Story: Brian K Vaughan
Art: Fiona Staples

Every issue of Saga is a gift, a perfect comic. Picking up right after the events of last issue, we watch as Alana, Marko, Hazel and the rest of our protagonists flee the birth of the giant space creature, while The Will tries to keep his own ship together. We get very little of The Will and his crew, though, as this issue really focuses on Marko and his father, as Barr meets the end that he has been expecting for the past few issues. The really incredible scene is Marko's flashback to a memory of his father. The entire sequence is in their native language, so none of it was decipherable to me, but the art perfectly conveyed the story and the emotion of Marko's fond remembrance of a parent now lost. Vaughan finds a way to pack so much emotion into one issue, and Staples makes it so real; it's that kind of synergy that makes this medium work as well as it does. On the other end of the spectrum, the opening scene, the flashback to Alan and Marko's more... intimate moment before the birth of their daughter, is hilarious. It's bawdy and so real in how awkward it is. And even with all this personal stuff going on, Vaughan finds a way to mix in some new sci-fi/fantasy aspects to the story that continue to build the world. If every comic was half as good as Saga, the industry would be a wonderland of amazing work.

Star Wars: Legacy Vol.2 #1
Story: Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
Art: Gabriel Hardman

It's great to be back in the future of the Galaxy Far, Far Away. As excited as I was for new Star Wars: Legacy, I admit the lack of John Ostrander and Jan Duuresema had me a little nervous. Fortunately, new creators Corinna Cechko and Gabriel Hardman brought their A-game on this first issue. We're thrust right into a universe where the clean up from the last war is under way and the fallout from the Sith War is not entirely done. While it was nice to see the ruling triumvirate again, Empress Fel, Admiral Staazi, and Master K'Krukh are the only characters to return from the old series, and that's good; having a lot of teases of the old series would just make people expect to see all those characters again, while this feels like more of a fresh start. Ania Solo, the descendant of Han and Leia on what I assume is their son Jacen's side (versus on their daughter Jaina's side, who are the Fel dynasty), is our new hero, and takes after her great grandfather, Han. While Cade Skywalker was on the fringe of things, running away from his past as a Jedi Padawan and the loss of his father, it seems Ania has been living on the fringe for her whole life, is used to it, and is looking for a way to get out of it. She's tough, savvy, and smart, just like all the best Star Wars heroines. By the end of the issue, we have met Ania, her friend/sidekick Sauk, a Mon Calamari (Admiral Ackbar's people) engineer, an Imperial Knight imprisoned, and a Sith with an agenda of his own. All the pieces are in place for an exciting Star Wars series, familiar and still with some interesting new twists.


By the way, this is my 100th post, which is pretty exciting, and I'm hoping to do something midweek for post 101 that will celebrate hitting the milestone. Stay tuned!