Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 5/18

Future Quest #1
Story: Jeff Parker
Art: Evan "Doc" Shaner, Steve "The Dude" Rude, Jordie Bellaire

The character mash-up series is pretty popular right now. Dynamite has two running, Gold Key Alliance, which combines classic Gold Key characters like Magnus Robot Fighter, Dr. Solar, and Turok; and King Quest, with the King Synidate heroes Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, The Phantom, Prince Valiant, and Jungle Jim. Dc gets in on the act this week with Future Quest, which looks to tie all the 60s and 70s action cartoons from Hanna Barbera together into one universe, and the first issue is quite successful. Readers get characters from three of the better known cartoons of this era: Space Ghost, Jonny Quest, and Birdman. If you've never watched these shows, then have no fear: each character is introduced in a way that lets you know what their deal is. The opening is an origin for Space Ghost, something I'm not sure existed in the cartoon; if it did, I never saw that episode. Most of the issue centers around Jonny Quest and his extended family, his father Benton, his foster brother Haji, and his bodyguard Race Bannon, as well as his dog, Bandit, investigating vortexes opening up around the world and letting things from other worlds and times into the modern world. We also see an alliance between Dr. Zin, the Quest family's arch nemesis, who has allied with the international criminal syndicate F.E,A.R., and because of this, Quest has gotten in touch with Inter-Nation Security, who sends two agents to aid Quest, Deva Sumadi and Ray Randall, who happens to be Birdman. This allows the Quest and Birdman characters to mingle logically, and the vortexes make it clear how Space Ghost will pop in. It is a smart comic that still embraces it's crazy cartoon roots. And to add to that nearness to its roots, "Doc" Shaner and Steve Rude's pencils are both really impressive. It's beautiful, clean, and both artist have distinct styles but they complement each other nicely in this comic. It's an exciting first issue, filled with action and character, and I'm looking forward to future issues as we see more of these classic animated characters join the series.

Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files: Wild Card #2
Story: Jim Butcher & Mark Powers
Art: Carlos Gomez & Mohan

The first issue of the new Dresden Files mini-series, Wild Card, set up the characters and the stakes of the series. This second issue is where the action really kicks off. Last issue's cliffhanger left Harry in the clutches of a giant owl. Harry gets out of it, with the aid of his half-brother, Thomas, and through quick thinking. That opening fight really sums up a lot of what makes the Dresden Files great to me. Harry is in a mistmatched fight with something way bigger than him, he gets the crap beaten out of him, and then he out-thinks his foe; Jim Butcher's writing always rewards cleverness over main force. But once that's over, Harry doesn't get to rest, as he has to go and meet with Lara Raith, head of Clan Raith of the White Court of Vampires, and his half-brother's half-sister on the other side; Jim Butcher loves his comics, and so the relationships between characters in his books are just as complex. And because Lara like to point out how superior she is to everyone, she will only talk to Harry while they spar. And Lara's a vampire, so she's physically stronger, and not a suck your blood vampire, but a succubus, so there's some... colorful narration from Harry as Lara pummels him. The information Harry gets isn't what he was hoping for, as he has no further clues to the deaths of the girls he is investigating, but instead learns of a brewing war between the White Court and the mobs of Chicago, led by Gentleman John Marcone, who has his own supernatural connections, which all seems suspect to Harry. And one of the scenes that take place away from Harry shows that the supernatural killer from last issue is the one orchestrating these crimes. What his endgame is remains to be seen, but it's an intricate game being played, with Harry trapped in the middle of things. On the art front, I want to call out the way Gomez draws Lara Raith, who makes her first comics appearance this issue. Gomez has done a good job of presenting many of the female characters in more realistic body types; Karrin Murphy, the main female character in the books, is described as short and not described as stereotypically buxom, and he's done a good job of keeping with that. When Lara pops up she is very much in the 90s Image bad girl look, and for that character, it absolutely works, as Lara is described that way, being a succubus and all. It's exciting to see more characters from the books popping up, and the series is an fun, exciting tale of intrigue and wizardy, like the best Dresden Files stories. If you've ever enjoyed Jim Butcher's stories of Harry Dresden, this is a perfect series for you.

Lucifer #6
Story: Holly Black
Art: Stephanie Hans

Holly Black follows up the end of her first arc on Lucifer with a one off issue that sets up coming events and introduces new characters, a kind of story in the tradition of both the original Lucifer and it's antecedent, The Sandman. Rosemary is on her way home from college, bringing her boyfriend, Takehiko to meet her parents. Sounds pretty normal, right? Well, it turns out Rosemary's parents are Satanists, and she's very up front about that. The issue starts out mixing both the amusing domestic scenes of Takehiko in a most unconventional household with Rosemary telling him about some of the darker aspects of her parents' past, like the girl who died in the first Satanic church, and about exactly what the different Satanists believe. But there's clearly more going on with Takehiko, things involving spontaneously cracking mirrors and wings on his back, things involving ghosts that he can see. And when they go to the Satantic church for a service, things start to get intense. The Satanists play a prank on Takehiko, and when they do, he demonstrates exactly what his powers are. What was a mundane story with tinges of horror now becomes a flat out horror stories, with revenge seeking ghosts and demons. And the revelation of exactly what Takehiko's ancestry is should have occurred to me sooner; it makes such perfect sense, is so elegantly done, and plays so nicely off the events of the original Lucifer series. The end of the issue sets up the next arc, and finds a way to build on everything that has come before and pushing it in an entirely new direction. It's also an excellent jumping on point, as what little you would need to know is explained by the characters organically in the story without a huge info dump. Add in Stephanie Hans beautiful art, with gorgeous shadows, and characters who are as handsome or beautiful as her demons are ugly, and you have an issue that is the perfect place to try this series, especially if you were a fan of the original Lucifer comic and have been holding out on trying the new volume. You will enjoy this issue, I have no doubt.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 1/20

Batman #48
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, FCO Plascencia

Well, here it is: the next confrontation between Batman and the Joker, and it is honestly like none you've ever read before. As Bruce Wayne, his memory slowly returning, sits on a bench in a Gotham park, he is joined by the Joker, seemingly normal, healed, and doing fine. And they just talk. Talk about life, about peaceful places, and about life. It's a strange scenario, with the Joker now being the one who is talking about how important it is to simply be and to let your actions carry forward. There are moments where it's clear that both of these old enemies are fighting their true natures, although I think this arc has made me question of that nature is true or just a construct of what they lived through. I knew that it would be devastating to watch Bruce give up what he had built in this life to once again become Batman, and while he hasn't taken up the cowl at the end of the issue, it's obvious that's where it's going. The only thing sadder is seeing Alfred, denying, ignoring, hoping that Bruce will keep the happy ending that he has wished for him for so long. I think, when Snyder's run on Batman ends I'll miss his Alfred even more than I'll miss his Batman or Jim Gordon.

The conversation between Bruce and Joker only takes up half the issue, as the rest spotlights Mr. Bloom and exactly what his plan and thinking is. We lean exactly what Bloom believes, why he made his move now, and why he's the perfect arch-enemy for Jim Gordon's Batman. His beliefs about a twisted almost natural selection about how the city is a failed experiment, stands in direct opposition to Jim Gordon, who has always fought to keep order and keep the city alive. I give a lot of credit to artist Greg Capullo, who makes Bloom this distorted, twisted monster, whose physiology continues to morph and change, and whose minions are equally strange and monstrous. And part of the climax of the issue guarantees even more monsters by the end of the story. The last three pages of this issue are some of the most tensely paced and put together pages of any comic I've ever read, the first ending each of the plotlines running in the book on a dark note (if this were a different kind of comic, I'd think there was no going back), the second dealing with Alfred, and the final is one of the best, most exciting splash pages I've seen in a long time. He's coming back next issue, folks, and while Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are winding down their run, it looks like it'll end on a high note.

Lucifer #2
Story: Holly Black
Art: Lee Garbett & Antonio Fabela

Mike Carey's Lucifer is one of the best series ever produced by Vertigo, maybe second only in my estimation to Sandman itself, and so a new series with the character made me leery. But the first issue was strong, and this second one was as well, strong enough to want to call out for anyone else who loves Lucifer Morningstar and had my doubts. Holly Black, a writer I'm mostly familiar with from various fantasy anthologies, was clearly a fan of the Mike Carey series and hasn't thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Lucifer retains the scars, both physical and mental, from the previous volume, and he's in a buddy cop drama with the Archangel Gabriel, the same one from Garth Ennis's run on Hellblazer; we're deep in the weeds of Vertigo continuity without getting lost, and that says a lot for Black as a writer. In their quest to find out who killed The Presence (the DCU/Vertigo codephrase for God, although both of our leads just call him father) and assaulted Lucifer with a weapon of the same metal, this issue takes Lucifer and Gabriel to Hell, because where are there going to be more beings who want God dead, not to mention Lucifer suspects Hell is the source of whatever hurt him and killed God. But Hell seems to be in a state of civil war, with Lillim and some demons serving the current queen, Lucifer's former lover Mazikeen, while others seek to place a demon upon the throne again. Lee Garbett draws some great demons, and the battle between Lucifer and Gabriel against one of Hell's army is phenomenal. While Lucifer is still the star of the show, and rightly so because he's amazing, Gabriel is sort of the comedic foil to Lucifer, making glib comments and giving someone for Lucifer to talk down to; also, didn't this guy learn his lesson about consorting with demonesses in Hellblazer? Sheesh, We do get to see Mazikeen again, and Lucifer and she have a brief reunion before she gives him his next lead, sending him and Gabriel off to another famous Vertigo location for next issue. But as is the way with most comics that exist in the same world as Sandman, we also get to spend time with some mortals who are being drawn into the workings of these mighty beings. Teena Hornick has found the jar that contains the demon Azazel from Sandman with the expected malign results, and I'm curious if we find out how Azazel's jar escaped the Dreaming next issue, and Lorin Hammon, a young man who found a feather from the wing of an angel, continues to feel the pull of the feather to who knows where. Holly Black is beginning to weave a tapestry like all great Vertigo series, with threads that will intersect in hopefully unexpected and new ways, and in a way worthy of the name Lucifer.

Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat #2
Story: Kate Leth
Art: Brittney L. Williams & Megan Wilson

After Dan's sterling review of issue one, I couldn't resist picking that issue up, and loved it so much I added the book to my pull list, and I'm very glad I did, as issue two is just as fun as issue one. So, Patsy Walker now has an idea, to set up a temp agency for super powered folks who don't want to be either superheroes or supervillains, but she needs capital to start it. So she gets a job. A retail job. A retail job at a mall. I don't know how many of you out there reading this have done that, but I worked for a year and change at the Borders Books (remember Borders? I miss Borders) at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey, and boy howdy does Kate Leth capture the nightmare of mall retail.  But this is a superhero comic, so Patsy has bigger problems than being recognized by Millenials as Patsy from the comics or her painful 17 year old manager (I never had that problem. I was the 17 year old shift supervisor! Take that establishment!). When a superpowered shop lifter shows up, Hellcat gives pursuit, and not only doesn't catch her, but she hears that a mysterious "she" has ominous plans for her. But one of the charms of the book is that supervillains don't seem to be the biggest pain in Patsy's life. No, that's Hedy Wolfe, the Veronica to Patsy's Betty in the comics Patsy's mother wrote about Patsy's teen years, and the current publisher of those comics. Patsy dealing with Hedy is the highlight of the book, as Patsy reads Hedy the riot act and Hedy doesn't care. I like that Hedy doesn't seem to be supervillain evil, just mean, selfish person evil, which is way more difficult to deal with, just like it is in real life. But Patsy doesn't just have enemies. We get some more time with Ian Soo, Patsy's new roommate, and he's a great guy, and an excellent entry point into Patsy's world; she's been a superhero for so long now her life is super crazy and Ian reacts like most of us would when she casually mentions having been dead. And after the crappy day at work, Patsy calls a bunch of her friends, who all happen to be superheroes (they're all on that cover above), and they go out for burgers. I would love to see a series that as just superheroes hanging out doing normal stuff if Kate Leth wrote it; even f it's only two pages before crazy superlife interferes, it's absolutely fun. I'm glad that Marvel continues to publish these kind of fun, all ages titles, and Patsy Walker is a great addition to the bunch.

Star Wars #15
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Mike Mayhew

After the "Vader Down" crossover, it's nice to get a little break from the main action of the Star Wars ongoing, so going back into the journal of Obi-Wan Kenobi is an excellent choice  for Jason Aaron. Making the issue even more exciting is the choice of Mike Mayhew, best known to Star Wars fans as the artist on The Star Wars, the comic mini-series based on George Lucas's original draft of the Star Wars screenplay. Mayhew's art, which he colors himself, looks painted, although as I'm no expert, I'm not sure if it's done with actual paints or digitally. Still his character look phenomenal. He's doing a great job transitioning Kenobi from the Obi-Wan of the prequels to the Old Ben of A New Hope, and the same can be said of his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru Lars. I will say the artistic high point of the issue is two pages of Obi-Wan going toe-to-toe, unarmed, with a raiding party of Sand People. It's a reminder of the great Jedi Obi-Wan was before the dark times sent him into hiding. The story has Obi-Wan trying to help young Luke Skywalker in a way that isn't just stopping thugs from interfering with his life or saving him from sand storms, which is a nice touch. It's not like Obi-Wan had much to do for the nineteen years he was on Tatooine other than watch out for Luke. The highlight of the issue for me, though, is a scene where Owen shows up at Ben's hut with some parts that Ben acquired for Luke's skyhopper (picture a flying go cart) and had Jawa's give to the boy, telling Ben to take them back and leave Luke and the Lars family alone. For a character who appears in three of the first six Star Wars films, Owen has very little story of his own. And while this scene is still just him talking about Luke, it really cements something that was strong subtext in A New Hope; Owen really cares about Luke and honestly thinks he's protecting him. Sure, he's gruff, but when you see things from his perspective, you can sympathize more with him. I'd like to see a similar small spotlight on Luke's more patient Aunt Beru in an upcoming issue. And from the end of this issue, I assume we have at least one more of these Obi-Wan stories in the future, as we get an appearance by the Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan without the facial scar he has in the present, a scar that could easily have been inflicted by a lightsaber. Jedi vs. Wookiee, huh? That's an issue I look forward to seeing.