Greetings from Battleworld: Secret Wars Week 21

After a couple weeks away, and on the eve of All New, All Different Marvel, we return to Battleworld for some more Secret Wars reviews. Dan Grote looks at the final issues of MODOK: Assassin and X-Men '92, and I read the final issue of Inferno...

MODOK: Assassin #5

Story: Christopher Yost

Art: Amilcar Pinna, Terry Pallot, & Rachelle Rosenberg

The biggest drawback to living in Battleworld is that God Emperor Doom forbids most people from crossing the borders of their respective territories. As such, word appears to travel slowly from Doomgard to the rest of the world, even when you’re the baron of a domain.

Baron Mordo was convinced he could draw Sheriff Strange to Killville to, well, kill him and take his place at the right hand of Doom. What he failed to bank on was that a) Strange was busy at the moment with the plot of the main Secret Wars book, b) that Strange would be dead in a little bit anyway (this book takes place before Secret Wars #4), c) the reason his archnemesis is sheriff is that he was there when Doom re-created the multiverse in his image and d) Doom probably don’t give a f@&% about Baron Mordo.

Also, as MODOK rightly points out when Mordo finishes explaining his plan like a basic Bond villain, “This ‘plan,’ and note the sarcasm as I call it that, is filled with logic errors. >>>Stupidity.”

After dispatching so many notable characters with glee over the past five issues, MODOK tries defeating Mordo rather than killing him. His love for Angela-Thor makes him want to be something more than a killing machine, though even in describing her, his love appears to be based on her capacity for murder. Finally, though, he gets tired of hearing Mordo rant and rave and liquefies his brain, with the same eyeball-popping, lavender glow the art team has made its trademark in this series.

For uncovering Mordo’s plot and saving the life of a Thor, MODOK is made the new baron of Killville. And really, after these past five issues, who’s a better fit for the job? Forget Wolverine. MODOK is the best there is at what he does.

Does he get the girl? Oh, Hel, no. Angela whacks him across the face with her axe for even puckering his fat, split lips at her. But Battleworld’s greatest killing machine does have a sweet new job and an appreciation of his capacity for love. “For in the end, what else is there? Killing … and love. >>>Just those things.”

Marvel, if you’re listening, if a couple of your 60-some-odd All-New, All-Different titles don’t work out and you’re looking for a replacement, you could do worse than to make this an ongoing.

 

 

 

X-Men ’92 #4

Story: Chad Bowers & Chris Sims

Art: Scott Koblish & Matt Milla

I could not have been happier when I found out X-Men ’92 is returning as an ongoing series next year. Chad Bowers and Chris Sims have created a fantastic book around the premise that your favorite cartoon from 20 years ago was both amazing and terrible at the same time, and based on how this miniseries ends, they’ve barely scratched the surface. And while Scott Koblish proved himself the right man for the art job with his 10-headed Sentinels and chariots pulled by Warwolves, I’m very much looking forward to what the ongoing’s artist, Alti Firmansyah, brings to the table. Her work on Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde made that mini another of my favorite Secret Wars books, and we already know she draws a great, expressive, creepy Gambit.

Back to the issue at hand, though. To steal an expression from Saturday Night Live’s Stefon, this book has everything: a 10-headed Sentinel; multiple people in optic visors; gay subtext; telepaths who pass out after using their powers; a female superhero whose clothing is strategically ripped; old catchphrases (“Za’s Vid,” anyone?); someone ordering a falling character to go limp; Onslaught with Phoenix wings, a giant gun and a bloody huge scimitar; Jim Lee’s gatefold cover to X-Men #1; a kinetically charged motorcycle; new Horsemen that don’t make any sense; the sound effect “BRAKABRAKABRAKA”; jokes about lasers; and Joseph.

The issue’s three endings (a little Lord of the Rings-y, but who cares?) make it clear the creators are already planning for the future in glorious ways, re-introducing old characters from the cartoon and from the ’90s in general.

But I’m gonna ask again: Where’s Morph?

Inferno#5
Story: Dennis Hopeless
Art: Javier Garron & Chris Sotomamayor
 

Last week I finished reading Essential X-Men Vol. 8, a massive collection that wraps up with the original "Inferno" crossover, so it seemed fortuitous that the final issue of the Secret Wars mini-series that tied into the crossover should come out this week as well. The Darkchylde now rules the Inferno Domain, both through force of arms and by decree of Doom, and all the forces who oppose her are gathered ion the Morlock tunnels: the X-Men, Goblyn Queen and her army of goblins, and Mr. Sinister and his army of Boom-Boom/demon hybrid clones (and only in comics would that statement appear and make perfect sense). But these three groups have their own axes to grind with each other, and pretty soon they're not only battling Darkchylde's demons but each other. I was hoping to see a grand last stand for our heroes, but mostly they fall under the onslaught, and it comes down to Colossus and Domino against Darkchylde. This whole series has been about Colossus coming to terms with the fact that he lost his sister, and even to the final battle, he is hoping that he can somehow save her. It's a great battle too, with swords drawn and no quarter given (at least by Darkchylde). The ending is at best bittersweet, as Colossus does finally accept that his sister is gone, and it's his love for Domino that allows him to finally do what must be done. But by the time this has happened, pretty much everyone else is dead, and so Colossus, Domino, and Boom-Boom, our core cast of heroes, use the Soulsword to teleport away from the crumbling Domain. It's interesting to see how many of the different Secret Wars tie-ins are ending with Domain hopping, and it makes me wonder if certain characters are being positioned for appearances in the finale of the core series. While I kind of doubt it, I would love to see these versions of the characters again. Colossus maintains his nobility while being haunted, and Dom and Boom-Boom are fun, balancing out the darkness of Colossus. Major kudos go to artist Javier Garron, who populated every fight scene with tons of cameos of mutants from various eras. His art was outstanding throughout the series, and I'd love to see on an ongoing soon. The final couple pages tie up one last loose end, dealing with Madelyne Pryor and her son, the ten year old Cable, who is still my absolutely favorite part of the series. Like Dan said above with MODOK, Marvel, if you're listening, a Goblyn Queen and young Cable mini-series or ongoing spinning out of this series would totally be a book I would buy.

 

Greetings from Battleworld: Secret Wars Week 10

Welcome back to Battleworld. Today we start with Dan Grote looking at the new version of a favorite X-Men reality and at Ms. Deadpool's continuing adventures...

Age of Apocalypse #1

Story: Fabian Nicieza

Art: Gerardo Sandoval

This isn’t your father’s Age of Apocalypse.

I mean, it mostly is. A lot of the same elements are there. Strictly speaking, it’s not Earth-295, the reality in which the original 1995 story took place, later revisited in Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force and a short-run series by David Lapham. If it were, a lot of the characters in this book would be dead, not the least of which being Apocalypse himself.

That said, it IS a world (or a domain of Battleworld) ruled by En Sabah Nur in which Magneto and his X-Men are considered terrorists. AND it’s written by Fabian Nicieza, one of the architects of the original AoA. Not to mention artist Gerardo Sandoval is clearly channeling a darker shade of Joe Madureira, the artist on Uncanny X-Men during that era.

The POV character in this series is Doug Ramsey, aka Cypher, whose mutant power is to translate any language. Doug is apparently the chosen one of this story, or The Special, to steal a phrase from The Lego Movie. Because like that movie’s Emmett Brickowski, his abilities are so classically uninteresting as to be overlooked by almost everyone. But the X-Men want him on their side, and they sacrifice a number of their own in a failed attempt to save him, so there must be something to him.

Doug ends up in the hands of Mr. Sinister, who has his prelates, Scott and Alex Summers, take him to the human ghetto, where he learns by playing Alphabet Soup with the dialogue that the humans are planning to unleash a virus to kill all the mutants. Leading the humans are Carol Danvers and Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau.

Like Inferno and X-Men ’92 (still my favorite of all the Secret Wars books), this one trades in nostalgia for a time when the X-Men sat atop Marvel’s editorial heap. It’s weird that so many of these Secret Wars X-books exist solely to say “Don’t you miss us, guys?” as if it were the fans who had changed tone and direction so drastically over the past 15+ years and not the books themselves. That said, I am looking forward to this fall, when Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos’ Extraordinary X-Men hopefully restores the missing flagship in the X-line.

Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos

Story: Gerry Duggan

Art: Salva Espin and Val Staples

Last month, the big question about this book was “Why isn’t it Mrs. Deadpool VS. the Howling Commandos?” seeing as Dracula sent his monster minions to accompany Shiklah on her quest to spread her brothers’ ashes with the order to kill her.

Turns out the Howlers don’t like Drac either. How could they? He’s got that weird white hair and body armor and is not at all charming, flying in the face of everything that made Tomb of Dracula a great read. Oh, and they didn’t kill the Invisible Man; they just left him behind to spy on their master in their absence. So now we have a true Legion of Monsters team-up book.

As ever, the heart of Mrs. Deadpool remains its humor, inspired by those Looney Tunes shorts where Bugs Bunny messes with the big, furry, orange monster. Shiklah attempts to pull the Medusa trick a second time, only to find the titan’s head has been replaced with a watermelon and bananas and the real thing is hiding in the Living Mummy’s extra-roomy wrap. Marcus the Minotaur with a symbiote and manageable diabetes is an endless font of horse-related fight puns. Frankenstein’s monster smashes zombies with the joy of a psychopathic child, until his fear of fire gets him burned at the Man-Thing’s touch.

Ghost Deadpool sticks around as the book’s narrator and teller of Man-Thing jokes, and has a hard time watching his wife-in-another-reality kissing other dudes, even if it is just to hurt them and establish dominance over them. The arrival of Ghost DP’s guardian angel may be one of the book’s best moments.

At book’s end, a pair of funky and scaly (respectively) new Thors show up at Dracula’s castle with questions about “some crazy exorcist jive,” widening the book’s scope from standalone monster romp to Secret Wars-adjacent monster romp. Stay tuned.

And I'm looking at the third issue of one of the earliest Secret Wars tie-ins, Inferno...

Inferno #3
Story: Dennis Hopeless
Art: Javier Garron & Chris Sotomayor

While Age of Apocalypse is just getting its start, Inferno is ramping up to its conclusion. Colossus's attempts to free his sister, Illyana, from her evil other self, the Darkvchylde, have ended badly. Of his team, Nightcrawler is now a dragon monster in Darkchylde's thrall, Boom-Boom is missing, and he and Domino are working with the Goblin Queen, Madelyne Pryor, and her thrall/boyfriend, Havok. So things aren't good for our heroes. This issue is centered around a massive battle, as Illyana finally has a way past the magical dome that keeps her and her demons prisoner, namely Nightcrawler's teleportation abilities. What we get is a massive battle scene, including a breathtaking two page spread, that is just crammed with cameos of all sorts of X-Men character. Most any X-character you can imagine is in the background here, fighting demons. Javier Garron does an excellent job of making the pages crowded with demons and mutants, but never losing any clarity; you can still follow the scenes and the fights while checking out the backgrounds for cameos. Colossus and Domino are now trapped in the dome without Nightcrawler to get them out, and the two share a heart-to-heart about how Colossus needs to think and deal with Goblin Queen, as it's clear she's using him. Hopeless uses most of his Cable & X-Force team as the main characters in this mini-series, and continues to write them very well. I liked that team a lot, and it's nice to see them back. Frankly, I would love to see more of young Cable in this series. Cable makes a lot of sense as a ten year old, after all; all the padding and big guns are perfect for the mindset of a kid that age. If Old Man Logan can come back to the Marvel Universe after this event, why not young kid Cable? The issue ends with the appearance of a character who I think all X-fans have been expecting in this series, since he was central to the original "Inferno" storyline. Now past the halfway point, and with a fourth faction in place with the debut of Sinister (my favorite X-villain), Dennis Hopless has a lot of balls in the air to catch safely over the next two issues. Inferno is an exciting mini-series of high action, and I'm looking forward to the payoff.

Greetings from Battleworld: Secret Wars Week 4

Hello all, Matt here, and welcome to our first official Greetings from Battleworld, weekly Secret Wars reviews. Dan wanted to focus on Secret Wars reviews for a while, and so we figured, instead of cramming them in with Monday's reviews, we'd give you two days of reviews a week for a while. Each week, Dan and I will hit the highlights from Battleworld. This week, we start with two from Dan, MODOK: Assassin and Inferno, and then two from me, Infinity Gauntlet and Where Monsters Dwell. This isn't going to be comprehensive, since Marvel is releasing six to ten Secret Wars titles a week, and will probably range from two to five a week of the best books Marvel will be doing. Enjoy!

MODOK: Assassin #1

Story: Christopher Yost

Art: Amilcar Pinna, Terry Pallot and Rachelle Rosenberg

The gleeful assassin is by no means a new character type – see the Joker, Bullseye, Deadpool, et al – but the gleeful assassin who’s part robot and can transform the chair that supports his giant noggin into a sweet purple roadster, well, that’s certainly one way to turn a convention on its, um, giant noggin.

MODOK: Assassin is part-noir, part spiritual fill-in for the dearly departed Deadpool. Our hero, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, cruises the streets of the Battleworld domain of Killville, taking out targets on the orders of the Assassins Guild and largely anyone else he feels like, occasionally running afoul of the domain’s ruler, the Dr. Strange villain Baron Mordo.

As is a running theme of many of the Secret Wars books, characters concern themselves with cross-border breaches that could earn the wrath of God Emporer Doom (GED for short), and the issue ends with the appearance of a thing that’s familiar to the reader but not to the protagonist, specifically a Thor that appears to be Angela.

Writer Chris Yost starts the body count ticking early in this series, killing off three major Marvel characters – one on orders, one out of spite, and one just for funsies. Yost also does a great job drawing a map for the reader, as MODOK narrates his way across Killville and describes the surrounding territories, including the Monarchy of M, 2099 (“a city drowning in temporal stupidity”), and a territory lousy with Sentinels. Oh, MODOK kills some of those, too.

Amilcar Pinna gets MODOK’s proportions perfectly, from the enormity of his head to the dangliness of his arms and legs to the cartoonlike assortment of bladed and missile-launching weapons protruding from his body. It’s a violent book, but it’s a fun book. And while it doesn’t feel like required reading for Secret Wars, it’s a great palate-cleanser for the weight of Hickman and Ribic’s main book.

Inferno #1

Story: Dennis Hopeless

Art: Javier Garron

Inferno feels less like a Secret Wars book and more like a What If or one of DC’s Convergence titles. It’s one of a few books that visit classic X-Men storylines (See also X-Tinction Agenda, Old Man Logan, Years of Future Past, Age of Apocalypse, House of M) and show geezers like me the X-Men as we remember them, with a little twisting of the timeline for good measure.

In this story, Manhattan fell to the demons of Limbo, despite the X-Men’s best efforts. Once a year, Cyclops – the domain’s baron – permits Colossus to lead a raid on the Empire State Building in an attempt to retrieve his sister, Illyana, who has been fully consumed by her demon Darkchild persona. Once a year, he fails, and any X-Men who go with him die or are crippled.

It’s a pretty grimdark premise, but what makes this book work is watching the X-Men interact like the world isn’t burning all around them. Colossus finds love and support in Domino and friendship in characters like Nightcrawler and Boom-Boom. They quip (Kurt, to a demon: “My name is Kurt Wagner. You remind me of my father. Prepare to die”). They take out lesser X-villains like Pyro and Omega Red. We even get to see a variation on the old X-Club science team, with Beast, Forge and Dr. Nemesis.

And yeah, then there’s some more injuries and deaths and stuff, but it’s an alternate-reality X-story, so is that really a surprise?

Where Monsters Dwell #1
Story: Garth Ennis
Art: Russel Braun

I didn't expect to see a comic from the team that brought us most of the back half of The Boys doing a crossover comic for Marvel at any point, well, ever. Garth Ennis has in the past shown little but contempt for the tropes of mainstream superheroes in general, and his crossover issues of titles he's written have shown their share of irreverence. That's why it should surprise no one that this comic has absolutely nothing to do with Secret Wars. Other than being set on Battleworld, which isn't mentioned or referenced in anything but the text page at the beginning of the issue, this could be a post World War I monster/weird war comic that takes place in the regular Marvel Universe or be creator owned if Ennis wanted to change some names. That's not a dig; it's a statement of fact. As a matter of fact, the comic is a lot of fun.

The opening scene is there not for plot but for pure character, to establish just what kind of a sleaze our lead, Karl Kaufmann (The Phantom Eagle, a pre-existing, if obscure, Marvel character), is; he has gotten the princess of a tribe pregnant and, after swearing he'll talk to her father, flies off. When he arrives back at his airfield, it's even more clear as he is not only broke and clearly running out of credit with people who he's friendly with, but he has a guy called, "No-Balls" (A Garth Ennis character if I've ever heard one), after him because he's responsible for his nominative condition. And when he's seemingly able to con the seemingly naive Clementine Franklin-Cox into paying him to fly her to meet the ship she needs to make, well, it's a way to escape No-Balls and his men. Only Clementine is nowhere near as naive as she seems, and pretty soon there are pterosaurs flying by, machine guns being fired, planes crashing, and more dinosaurs.

Russell Braun draws the heck out of both the WWI era planes and the dinosaurs, and my only complaint is that there weren't more dinosaurs, something I think will be remedied in upcoming issues.

Garth Ennis writes in a couple of different modes, and while this starts out of the gate as pure fun Ennis, like his Marvel Knights Punisher and some of the more off-the-wall issues of Hitman or The Boys, never get too complacent in that; Ennis can turn on a dime and bring the emotional resonance. And that would be great, but I just want more dinosaurs.

Infinity Gauntlet #1
Story: Dustin Weaver and Gerry Duggan
Art: Dustin Weaver

If you're going into the first issue of The Infinity Gauntlet expecting god-like characters and the main cosmic heroes of the original epic, which I have written about a time or two, I'd suggest you reset your expectations before you read this issue. While Thanos has a couple cameos in here, this is not a comic that follows up the original series. As a matter of fact, it seems to follow up Annihilation more than Infinity Gauntlet, as this region of Battleworld is overrun by the bugs of the Annihilation Wave. We don't have a lot of details about what happened, but it's clear the Nova Corps called Earth for backup against the Wave and lost. Now, our lead are a family trying to survive in a world where man is no longer the alpha predator. The issue, narrated by a young woman named Anwen, follows her, her father, her sister, and her grandfather, as well as their dog, as they make their way through this world. We find out her mother was a Nova recruit who never made it back from the battle with the bugs. It's great character work, as we get to know each of these characters in a few short pages, and care about them when the bugs find them. Weaver's art is astounding; I liked his work on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, but he's grown in leaps and bound between then and now. The issue ends with a reunion and a tease of exactly what the Infinity Gauntlet and gens have to do with the story. While this is clearly a first issue with a good amount of set-up, it's handled well, and any comic that can introduce that many new characters and get you invested is one worth checking out.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 2/27

All Star Western #17
Story: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justi Gray
Art: Moritat/ Staz Johnson

A new story begins in this All Star Western, bringing Jonah Hex, still in Gotham City seemingly against his better judgement, up against another of DC Comics great characters, the villainous immortal, Vandal Savage. As a plague ravages a neighborhood called Death's Doorstep, Catherine Wayne, wife of current Wayne patriarch Alan, is kidnapped while trying to give the victims aide, and Hex, along with his current partner/sidekick Amadeus Arkham, and two other bounty hunters are sent in to retrieve her. Moritat does a beautiful job giving the creepy, near deserted and corpse strewn Death's Doorstep a horror movie feel, and when the plague victims attack, the scenes seem right out of a modern zombie thriller. The fights are brutal, and Hex shows his usual casual feelings about taking a human life. Meanwhile, Vandal Savage is presented somewhere in between the madcap barbarian warrior he is in Demon Knights, set in England in the Dark Ages, and the calculating serial killer from his appearance in DC Universe Presents, set in the present. Savage has the air of his more jovial self, filling himself with wine, women, song, and gambling, but does not charge in to immediately take what he wants, instead laying out an elaborate plan. Hex already is more than prepared to kill Savage for cheating at cards, so when he finds Catherine in Savage's clutches next issue, who knows exactly what's going to happen, but I know it's going to involve a hail of bullets. The back up story is also the first part of a new one this issue, introducing the Stormwatch of the 19th century. Specifically, this issue features Jenny Freedom, the embodiment of the century, who controls steam (as Jenny Sparks, of the 20th century, controlled electricity, and Jenny Quantum of the 21st manipulates the building blocks of existence, as scientific understanding grows), fighting a mad scientist/anarchist on a blimp who is controlling ancient, Mesoamerican mummies, and plans to kill Chester A. Arthur. It's a fun steampunk western, and with the appearance of Adam One, the leader of Stormwatch at the end, we know there's more to come. All Star Western has done a great job since the beginning of its run in balancing its lead and back ups, and tying them together after a time. I look forward to seeing what happens when and if Jenny and her teammates, who I hope we meet next issue, run across Hex.

Batman Incorporated #8
Story: Grant Morrison
Art: Chris Burnham & Jason Masters

Ok, I knew that this book was going to be the elephant in the room if I didn't review it, clearly indicating a severe dislike for what is the keystone Batbook of the week, if not the month or year (difficult to say, in a month with the excellent Batman #17, wrapping up "Death of the Family," a book that should reverberate through the Bat titles for a while as well). Fortunately, I wound up enjoying the issue a great deal. I admit, when Damian was first introduced, I hated him. He was replacing Tim Drake, my favorite Robin. He was obnoxious and arrogant. And he was homicidal. None of these thing endeared him to me. But slowly, over the course of the past few years, especially in the early issues of the Morrison Batman and Robin, he grew on me. And now, I admit, I'm going to miss him. The highlight of this issue for me had nothing to do with Damian's battle with his evil clone, or Batman breaking out of a deathtrap that would have done in Houdini. Hell, it wasn't even Red Robin, the aforementioned Tim Drake, fighting off a group of Talia's soldiers and acting like the Tim of yore, and not the current version, one I have various issues with. No, it was the scene where Damian and Nightwing, Dick Grayson, team up again, for what is currently the last time.The rapport Morrison built between them, the fact that Damian actually likes and respects Dick, came through, as Damian admits that Dick, who was Batman when Damian first officially became Robin, was his favorite partner. They work well together, and have an easy camaraderie. Knowing what was coming made this moment all the more poignant. Death in comics is more like the common cold than anything permanent, I admit, and when you come from a family who has access to boiling pits of chemicals that can raise the dead, well, it might be an even quicker turnaround. But still, Morrison and other writers have done a great job over time of making an unlikable character very likable, and I'll miss Damian as long as he's gone. Now, we just have to see how Bruce reacts, and what happens next.

Star Wars: Agent of the Empire- Hard Targets #5
Story: John Ostrander
Art: Davide Fabbri

Agent of the Empire has proven to be a fun series, with a perfect espionage, James Bond caper sort of feel. I've talked before, in a review of previous issues of this series and in my list of favorite Star Wars characters, about my affection for the "noble Imperial" as a character type, and I think Jahan Cross fits that bill very well. But what he is also is a spy, and his morals are greyer than even characters like Thrawn, Pellaeon, or Baron Fel. In this issue, Cross's plan to save the young Count Dooku, distant relation to the Prequel villain of the same name and current count of Serenno, comes to fruition. It's one of those spy plots, with wheels within wheels, but much of the issue is focused on Cross in combat with Boba Fett. Davide Fabbri is one of my favorite Star Wars artists, with a lively style that fits the pulpy worlds that populate the Galaxy Far, Far Away, and his backgrounds are nicely detailed. This adds to a big fight by making it feel more definite, less sketchy. Cross cleverly fights Fett, but knows that he can't beat him. His stalling action works, and his plan goes off without a hitch. But in the process, one good woman dies, and Cross has no problem seeing a villain killed in complete cold blood, and the Empire winds up with a pawn in place; Cross still doesn't quite see the evil in the Empire, but sees it as a necessary one. This is not a man who would settle in nicely with the Rebel Alliance. Cross is a hard man, one who fits into the world of double dealing and backstabbing perfectly. In the end, the fate of the young Count Dooku is placed in safety, but his fate is far from certain, as anyone with a passing familiarity with Star Wars knows that Alderaan isn't going to be safe for much longer. Also, for those of you out there who are fans of John Ostrander's Star Wars work, did you pick up on the name drop that now connects Agent with both Republic and Legacy? If you didn't, go back and try again. I've always loved how Ostrander ties together works that exist in a shared universe, and it's little nods like this that make the universe seem like a place that exists as a whole, and not isolated pockets.

The Answer #2
Story: Mike Norton & Dennis Hopeless
Art: Mike Norton

The Answer is a series that debuted during my brief hiatus, and is one of three books I feel bad not reviewing at the start to try to get it some more attention with issue one (the others are Kill Shakespeare: The Tide of Blood and, no one is more shocked than me, Justice League of America's Vibe). After last issue, where the quirky superhero calling himself The Answer saved librarian Devin Mackenzie from gun toting guys who tried to kidnap her, we open in a bus station, where Answer is trying to get Devin to safety. Unfortunately, more gun wielding thugs appear, this time with a creepy looking nurse and orderlies, and a madcap chase ensues. Devin is picked up in a limo by people claiming to represent the Brain Trust, an organization that is a think tank for the world's smartest people, of which Devin is one. I like Devin a lot as a character, this sort of smartass, take no crap from anyone, librarian, and she doesn't take any guff from the Brain Trust people. They provide evidence proving The Answer is an escaped lunatic, and in the end she goes off with them and Answer is carted away by the nurse. But Devin knows that something's up, and it becomes clear to the reader that the Brain Trust is tied to the mysterious self-help program, Apeiron (picture Tom Cruise from Magnolia meets Scientology, all wrapped up in a guy with one of those crappy little trianlges of hair under his lower lip). The Answer himself is a hectic, madcap sort of hero, in the style of The Creeper or Madman, quirky and probably not all there, but the good guy nonetheless. This is a fun, self contained series, and one I hope does well for Mike Norton and Dennis Hopeless, creators whose other work I also quite like, and hope that it ends as strongly as it began.