The return of the Valiant Universe continues as the first superhero legend of the moderna age is reborn, from New York Times bestselling author Joshua Dysart and Harvey Award-winner Khari Evans. Read Minds, Bend Steel, Break All The Rules Teenager Peter Stenchek si out of work, on the skids, and — unbeknownest to him — a psionic-powered ‘harbinger’ with the potential to reshape the course of human history. Toyo Harada is a wealthy business magnate, a respecte philanthropist, and the most powerful harbinger of all — or so he thought. As they forge an uneasy alliance, with Harada offer Peter a chance for redemption — or attempt to induct him into a secret network of conspiracy, subversion, and control? Peter is about to discover that he’s not alone in the world and, soon, the generation who has nothing will take on the man who has everything.
Story: 9.5/10 • Artwork: 9.5/10 • Overall 9.5/10 I want a Harbinger movie now! Harbinger #1 works on so many levels because of art, story and colors.
Harbinger #1 is an origin story of epic proportion. Peter Stanchek is your main character, high school age with amazing powers. Then there are the two sides that want Peter, Mr. Tull who evokes memories of Agent Smith from the “Matrix” and Mr. Harada who seems to be on the side of good.
Harbinger reminds me of all the reasons I loved the first “Matrix” so much. A normal guy tossed into an insane world with the potential of badass action scenes. Hopefully Harbinger #2 will not be like “Matrix” 2 or 3.
Joshua Dysart does a great job of keeping the story grounded and gritty. At first you think this is a John Hughes film with super-powers but then Dysart turns it up to eleven and you can’t wait for issue two. All the characters in the story work and don’t seemed forced. Dysart writing gives the reader a sense of Peter’s desperation for normal. When Peter attempted to find this normal, you feel for him and understand what he is doing. This is all works because Dysart’s. In 22-pages Dysart lays out the series for you without spoiling or rushing through characters. The joy that is coming in Harbinger, is watching the five main characters develop and waiting for the plot twists to unfold.
Khari Evans’ art and Ian Hannin’s colors make this book a home run! The details in every panel are amazing and the color choices are dead on. Harbinger #1 shifts the story from past to present, from Far East to Pittsburg and Evans and Hannin deliver on every scene. Again, there is a powerful moment in the book (page 16) with Peter and the decision he makes. This page works so well because everything on the page comes together at the right moment because of story, art and colors.
Valiant brings the A-game with Harbinger #1, can’t wait for the second issue!
We Lost. They Won. In the wake of an apocalyptic alien invasion, the world’s greatest super-heroes and deadliest super-villains must form an alliance to prevent their own extermination. Two arch-enemies, Nox, a driven hero, and Red Reaper, a ruthless villain, form a volatile partnership for the greater good. The enemy of your enemy is your friend – but will they be able to ultimately put aside their bitter past to prevent global genocide? What happens when all the battle lines are redrawn and foes become unlikely allies in a desperate war for the fate of the very planet – and the outcome of a species? Written by Simon Spurrier (X-Club, Fear Itself: The Home Front, Wolverine: Dangerous Games), Extermination is a superhero survival story by an author that boldly explores the dark crevices of an entire genre.
Story: 7.5/10 • Artwork: 8.5/10 • Overall 8/10
What if Batman and Lex Luthor were the last people alive on earth after an alien invasion? That is what you have in Extermination #1. Nox is your token Batman/Superman character and Red Reaper is the arch-nemesis and now they have to team-up to survive. The characters in Extermination are not very original but the plot and aliens are. The story moves well between flashbacks of Nox and Red Reaper fighting and to their current state of the end of the world alien invasion. What could make the series worth reading is the character development of Nox. A do-gooder in a world of killers, how will he adapt?
The first issue gives you enough information to make you want to read issue two. Simon Spurrier’s writing can be a little too campy at times. The acknowledged Star Wars reference isn’t needed and the blatant Batman references are rough. Spurrier needs to realize that he is dealing with a serious and dark subject matter and the story could be delivered with less camp. Nox is a great character, part Batman and part Superman, but Spurrier needs to make Nox his own.
The artist Jeffrey Edwards suffers from what comic book fans hate most, the cover art and the inside art are completely different. Comic book companies love to put a big name artist on the cover but it hurts the interior artist that just slaved over 22-pages. The drastic change in art styles from cover to interior give the book a bumpy beginning. Edwards does a solid job on all the characters. Edwards best page is the Red Reaper “telepathic assault,” page seven. The alien attacks the Red Reapers mind and Edwards does an amazing job conveying the story. The color choice by Blond also works very well.
Boom has a very interesting concept with Extermination. With a little refinement this could be a very riveting ride. For one dollar, Extermination #1 will be the best comic you read this week.
I spoke to Menton and Kasra after issue 3 of MONOCYTE (which you can read here) and immediately we decided to get back together upon issue 4 being completed. Issue 4 came out May 30th and wraps up the first chapter in MONOCYTE. I was invited back to their studio to speak to Menton and Kasra about their final issue, MONOCYTE’S soon to be hardcover release, mortality,and whats next for both creators.
Comic Vault: So in Issue 4 during the fight between light and Monocyte/Augustus , there is a pivotal moment where Lapis which is Monocytes helmet says “In the land of the blind the One Eyed is King” from that moment there’s a sudden shift in Augustus . Can you expand on that moment for me?
Kasra Ghanbari: The Subtitle for the whole miniseries was in the land of the blind the one eyed is king. That scene was written almost musically, more so about pacing. So you have Augustus and you see him in full spread standing up making a declaration of what he has experienced in the face of this light creature. You turn the page and at the top of next page you see the helmet and we have the creature talk. Partly to let you know hes a witness to this and also a harkening back to the subtitle which we haven’t alluded to anywhere else in the series. But it’s also a little bit musical as a pause. You’re right from that moment on there is a very clear escalation in what he has said and Augustus is overcoming Light based on what the creäture has said.
MENTON 3: Throughout the whole book when the helmet talks versus Augustus we changed the color of the bubble image. It was important for me that the creäture in the helmet said its last thing but it’s really making a joke. When we see Monocyte with the helmet off he does have one human eye. Which is pretty much the only human eye we have in the entire book. This is one eye-ball viewing from that perspective this entire world. So what I wanted to let everyone know is that the helmet influences him in ways that we didn’t really understand and still don’t as far as the ending of this particular book. In a sense Augustus is sleeping inside of a shell kind of like a locust. So when the helmet comes off he gets to really talk without the psychological and physical resistance from the helmet. Right after that occurs its time to go get my prize , to actually die now. So the statement from the helmet is a conceit. It was making fun of Augustus but at the same time conceding that they are fucking blind.
CV:Following that Augustus Finally meets the Green Man. The Green Man addresses Augustus and I found it interesting that Augustus claims that he doesn’t want to be addressed by that name anymore and in fact Lapis is the one who ends up carrying on the conversation. So as a reader I was surprised that this meeting meant more to Lapis as a character than Augustus.
M3:Absolutely, Augustus doesn’t want to be a pawn but he doesn’t have another option. Augustus would love a reason to live but doesn’t have one nor is he willing to accept one. Lapis is consumed with the idea of playing the game. So the motivations for Monocyte have always been from Lapis and not Augustus. The humanity from the story takes place in that portion , that there is a disconnect between the two of them.
CV:I Really like the reveal that Lapis was responsible for creating The Olignostics which in turn paved way to the war in the first place. Green Man seems to have a better understanding of how this universe works than anyone and you give him one of the best moments of dialogue in the entire series. (Referring to the Anyone may look around and see the problems in this world.) Were you always planning on having that character have such a pivotal moment?
M3:You got to understand the Green Man knew the story. He actually searched for this creature because he thought by having this creature he may be able to win the war. Monocyte is even a myth to him, but he’s cool enough and collective enough that he actually knows whats going to happen here. He’s not going to fight this because whats happening is probably the wisest thing.
KG: He sees the entire order and confluence of events and rather than fight against it he recognizes the confluence and becomes part of it.
M3: He really helps, really one of the biggest heroes of the book is The Green Man. If the series continues we will talk more about The Green Man.
CV: I feel like you give him one of the biggest moments in the series , right before he passes away he has a last few words for Monocyte. The “How would you have it be” speech. Did you always plan on giving him that line and have that be such a pivotal moment?
KG: In a way for us emotionally that was the end of the book. The delivery mechanism for the book was that page.
M3: When Monocyte went to The Olignostics in issue 2 the Conduit was not willing to die. He was pretty much begging like a little bitch. Its kind of like the 40 Days o Night in the desert type thing where Monocytes like what a piece of shit humanity is. People don’t realize that that’s what Shakespeare was talking about in that Soliloquy in Hamlet he’s actually talking about what a piece of shit we are. People will use it and be like “what a piece of work this man has done” but at the end he has the line “but yet to me what is this quintessence of dust?” which is a condemnation of humanity but they don’t read that line. I’ll see famous actors recite that and they will literally leave that line out which is like leaving out the ending to Apocalypse Now. You missed the entirety of the point in everything.
CV: Right they take what they want out of it and leave out whats uncomfortable for them to acknowledge.
M3: Exactly which is fine do that with any literature that you want. I’m a huge Hamlet fan and I’ve probably read that book into the high double digits. The other reason to do MONOCYTE for me was to deliver some of the information the way i saw it in that book. I didn’t want to recreate Hamlet because who the fuck could do that but I definitely have a disgust for the people I see around me . I don’t feel like I’m above or below them but I don’t feel like I’ve ever been part of that Tribe. That isolation was something I had a lot of fun exploring in the book. So the Green Man was completely wise to that. In a lot of ways he was one of the bigger heroes in the book even though we didn’t talk about him that much.
KG: Representation-ally and thematically The Green Man because of where he comes from historically we used him to represent what constitutes a leader and what does that actually mean. Part of being a leader is having a different perspective on what constitutes sacrifice.
CV: One of the things I noticed this issue is that it seemed other than The Green Man everyone else seemed to have their own selfish motivations for Monocyte and Augustus. I loved seeing Monocyte return to Azrael and having him acknowledge that what Monocyte has done is the most selfless act as an individual that can be done.
M3: The way that we saw it and the way I intended it forever is that Azrael knew all this shit and knows what happens into the future. Azrael was very smart and knew the whole fucking thing and knows whats going to happen to Monocyte too. He’s death and he loves Monocyte very much but knows what the future holds for Monocyte as well. I wanted to touch on Brotherhood because that’s one of the things I think we lack as a society. I’m not saying I’m big enough or smart enough to judge society but I do think we lack Brotherhood. What I am saying is that if somebody is in need its very rare that we can help them but we donate to huge charities and say that we’ve helped people. Like for instance we fund high-speed trains barreling through the city but we cant figure out how to feed a homeless person on the street. We live in all this pretense where we don’t even know how fucking idiotic we are. So the way I tried to write Death was from the perspective that he knew how idiotic that was. Where we had ended up as humans. The Vampires in the book even the way we were writing Moses at one point they were human. This is what they had evolved into so even though their Immortal were still talking about humanity. That was one of the things I had a hard time talking about in interviews was when people would ask what about the humans. These are the humans you know? Even The Olignostics were humans these are the worst qualities we see in humans. Azrael knew the whole thing and that’s one of the things I loved the most about painting and drawing and writing him as much as I could because he’s a really good guy. People view death like “oh my god I don’t want to die” but it’s really like if you take a plastic flower that’s made its beautiful and each individual pedal is flawless but there’s nothing more beautiful than an actual flower. One of the reasons that flower is so beautiful is because its mortal. When you take away our mortality you take away our beauty. Like I don’t want to die you know, I have a wife and kid I love but I will accept my death when it comes. I just hope I have long enough to fear it. Where it’s like this wonderful experience like everything else.
CV: Chris Newman shares art duties with you guys. Did you feel any apprehension about handing over art duties for such a pivotal part of the series?
M3: You know I have no ego in that regard. I have a horrible ego and I’m a terrible person but in that regard no ego what so ever. It was a joy because Chris Newman hasn’t done comics before but he wants to because he doesn’t have a name yet, but he should because he’s fucking brilliant. It was an honor to give him that platform. My onset for issue four was that I wanted to view for Beatrice to be from a different perspective. So I started experimenting with a different art style but as I started to explore that art style I was just like this looks like Chris Newman so why not have him do it. I thin he did a wonderful job. At some point we would like to continue the story and his voice is an important part of that. I don’t like to touch Beatrice too much…
Chris Newman's take on Grod for MONOCYTE issue 4
CV: I wanted to touch on Beatrice as a character for a moment while were speaking about her. This issue she finally gets to see Augustus again and she want to address him as a human again letting him know that he’s loved and it seems to little too late.
M3: Part of him doesn’t even hear that yet. If we continue this story a lot of what the story is about is between Beatrice and Augustus. Beatrice is a really important character to the story. We didn’t explore her a lot because I always felt a little bit strange painting her. I don’t know if I’m the right artist for her. I like her too much to paint her, she definitely the Sophia of this whole thing. I’m a little sad that we couldn’t fit a lot of her story into this.If we explored her more people would really like her and Sheppard too. The thing I was jealous about Chris Newman was that he gets to paint Sheppard because there’s nothing more than I like to paint in this world then the Sheppard. The Sheppard is this wonderful correlation of the woman who wont fuck you and the teacher that treated you like shit. So I was jealous of Chris’s Sheppard’s and I thought he did Great with Grod too.
CV: His Grod was great! It’s the first time your seeing him be completely out of his mind evil.
M3: If we continue the story Grod gets much worse. Can I ask you a quick question as to what you think happened at the end.
CV: At the end I thought Beatrice was motivated by her own selfish desires for Augustus / Monocyte so I thought that when she went in front on Grod and told him that if Monocyte dies so does he and all of the Olignostics that it was all a lie. I thought that in the end Augustus died and we are left with Grod saving Monocyte which is now an empty shell and becomes a body or Religious figure-head for him to worship.
M3: I don’t mind addressing that and going full on into it. When Monocyte killed the very first human that was the first thing that had died like that in along time. He then legitimately became the conduit. He didn’t know that but Death did. Then when he killed the first Immortal Ryul he became the Death Conduit. So what Beatrice is telling Grod is true. If Monocyte dies every one of the Olignostics die. So it’s not a lie but I love the idea that other people may think that it is. The one thing I don’t care about blurting out is that when Monocyte killed The Green man it had the same effect on the Antedeluvians. So when Monocyte dies they all eat it. So now you have a situation where the Villains now have to attempt to keep the hero alive.
KG: Thats the lingering question we want to leave with readers. How is Monocyte going to come back? What happen to Lapis? Theres that early story where we had The Sheppard coveting Lapis. So you have Grod set against everyone wanting power in absolute form. You have Monocyte who wanted to die and is now brought back but we don’t know in what form. We have Sheppard roaming around as the Chaos element . The Green Man is now gone and the Antedeluvians are spread out all around. Make no mistake Grod places mark on Monocyte to bring him back in order to maintain control with the goal of nothing short then ultimate power. The question then becomes how physically and otherwise subservient is Monocyte going to be to Grod and if he controls him how is that going to change over time.
M3: People are like “well you don’t really have an ending there” But the ending is a very real ending. That even with this amazing selfless act by a few key individuals no one has learned shit. Their completely happy to live in Hubris and to me that was the exclamation point to put in the book. We sat down and we knew in this book we wanted to ask the question how would you have it be? That is the lingering thing. Is there a definite of what Monocyte is now? Not necessarily but we do elude to it throughout the entirety of the series. When people pick up the collected version of this and reread it they will pick up on certain things that weren’t in there. I will definitely say that there are clues upon clues upon clues. Some of the diagrams and the wordings….We really worked way to much on this book and spent way more time on this than anyone would believe.
CV: I think it shows in the work that was done on the series and the level of quality in the book.
KG: Something I would like on record is that we made a great deal of effort to put this book together. It was important enough for us to do this book just to ask the question how would you have it be and have the reader take that question seriously internalize it and consider it.
M3: In the end I want to make art, I like making art. To me this was a book of art. It was the best I could do given what I had at my disposal at the time. The fact that the book even exists is completely enough for me. If we sold two copies it might have hurt my feelings but all I wanted to do is make the book. Kasra and I have been able to do that together without killing each other which is really hard to do in my case because I’m really difficult to work with.
(Kasra remains quiet takes a long drawn out sip of coffee after Menton’s comment and we all laugh)
CV: Can you guys share with me if your working on anything else together at the moment?
M3: We have one story were talking about right now that were both strangely in love with. The funny thing about this story is that it will be really simple to understand. It wont be nearly as Esoteric as MONOCYTE. For me the strange thing about it is that I’m strangely excited to do a book like that. I say this now and then the book is going to come out and people are going to be like “I don’t understand this book”
KG: One of the things with MONOCYTE and we’ve been told this over and over so I hope I don’t sound pretentious by saying this is that its pretty singular than other things that have been produced. Which I think makes it pretty easy for Menton and myself to be typecast. This book we are working on now were just as excited and involved in and it will completely destroy any semblance of being typecast or any expectation that anyone else has of us and that is amazing.
CV: I appreciate that you guys are self aware as a reader.
M3: Well self aware , but at the same time horribly pretentious in that regard. I’ve got to do other books you know. I did Zombies Vs. Robots and Silent Hill and those are a lot of fun to do. If I’m going to do my own books I have to do shit I like. We arrived at this other story form an excitement stand point.
CV: You also have the Collected edition of MONOCYTE coming out soon. I know prior you had mentioned possibly adding a story to it. Do you plan on still doing that and if so will we see some characters return?
KG:We ended up not including an additional story for the collected edition. We went with a straight curatorial slant for it. We have a gallery of Menton’s early developmental sketches. Early Olignostics sketches, early Sheppard sketches. Then we went straight into what ended up being a very large gallery of art by world-class people. The last 40-50 pages of the book end up being a straight run through of 9 x13.5 inch unencumbered full-page art relating to the ascetic , the vibe , certain elements of the story they all relate to. We really struggled with the idea to include a new story and I’ll tell you part of me felt that it was a bit gimmicky. Like were playing a little bit with someone who was invested in the story having to get the hardcover to get those additional pages. Instead lets just give them art and interpretation with a behind the scenes and let them read the story as it was intended.
M3: It does include the digital prequel that deals with the Sheppard as well which will be nice because that will be the first time you will be able to read that in print.
CV: Anything else you guys want to mention before we wrap this up?
M3: Actually yeah I do. Me , Kasra , Ben Templesmith and a guy by the name of Nicholas Odell that owns a comic book shop in Chicago are about to go on a new adventure. Were about to start a Kick Starter Campaign for soon about a project were in love with and MONOCYTE in some ways is a bit of an Alpha program for that. We fundamentally believe comic books are art period. Whats the Sistine Chapel but an amazing graphic novel painted on the walls of an amazing building? So were going to put our dicks on the line and are going to do something about it. Steve Niles is involved , David Stoupakis is involved , and George Pratt so if anyone likes whats going on with MONOCYTE we have a project in the works now that they will love. The Kick Starter will be out soon so keep an eye out for it.
CV: Thanks For your time again guys
M3 and KG: Thank you
The Collected Edition of MONOCYTE comes out July 25th and Kasra and MENTON’S Kickstarter project should launch late June early May.
This was the first issue of the Dark Knight I decided to pick up. There were two reasons for this . First David Finch wasn’t writing this issue, those duties were given to Judd Winnick. Also Red Robin was on the cover and I was interested to see what Winnick could do with Tim Drake as a character. Sadly neither one of these two things came to reality.
The issue focuses on another Talon by the name of Alton. This is the same Talon who was assigned to murder Lincoln March. Batman stopped the Talon with March’s help. It’ and odd choice to focus on a Talon who had little impact on the overall story in the first place.
David Finch’s art this issue is more of what you would expect from him as an artist. Fights scenes look great and are drawn with great precision and detail. However I’ve never liked the way he draws facial features and this issue doesn’t do much to change my opinion. I feel like he gives his characters only one expression and find it very hard to discern what age anybody is on the page because they all look like their in the 30’s, even Tim Drake and Damian Wayne look like their in their dirty thirties.
Throughout this issue I was waiting to see if there was going to be a tie in with this character to the Drake family and Red Robin, hell I was waiting to see Red Robin appear in the book . After all Red Robin is on the cover right? Well we finally get to see Red Robin in the book ….for ONE PAGE! He doesn’t say anything he just meets up with Batman , Robin and Nightwing and is directed by Batman to find the Talon who got away. This is one of the biggest issues I have with comics lately. If you have Red Robin on the cover of your book and show him for one page the entire issue you’ve let your core fan base down with false advertising. In the end I took a chance on this book this once and I wont be returning. Stay away from this book and this series.
First off I know this book came out a few weeks back but due to the move to the new apt and a lot of other shit getting in the way I’m finally able to give you my take on this interesting new title from DC.
Dial H is part of DC’s second Wave of New 52 books and labeled as DC’s Dark line along Animal Man and Swamp Thing. That’s some pretty impressive company to keep since both Animal Man and Swamp Thing are two of the best books at DC. After the first issue I’m happy to say that Dial H belongs in that discussion as well.
This is a relaunch of a series I wasn’t fully aware of growing up but I instantly fell in love with the concept after reading. The book introduces us to our main character Nelson. Nelson is an overweight , chain-smoking depressed man. After getting into a fight with his friend over his negative habits Nelson chases after his friend to apologize. He ends up finding his friend getting beaten half to death in an alley and runs to the closest payphone to call for help. What ends up happening from there I don’t want to spoil for you . I will say that this is one of the most interesting and fresh concepts for a book I’ve read in a long time. Also Mateus Santolouco’s art is haunting and slightly off in a way that perfectly matches China Mieville’s writing. While a bit heavy in the inks, the art really shines due to the use of experimental layouts and characters that literally weave in and out of pages. It’s a fun book to look at and constantly throws new images and characters at you to enjoy.
One of several erie and fun pages of Artwork by Mateus Santolouco
The first issue moves along at a pretty good pace establishing the main characters and a nice bit of intrigue as to who the Villains in the book will be. I also love that there is so much potential with what it is Nelson may become every time he exits that phone booth. Already after one issue I’m most excited to see what China Mieville has up his sleeve for potential Superheroes and their powers in issue two. Using Nelson as the narrator during the process of him changing into random characters is enjoyable and keeps things fresh the entire issue. Mieville even does a great job explaining what the title of the book means and how things work by the end of the issue which I appreciated.
I’m excited to say that DC has another hit on their hands as long as this book stays as exciting and fun as it is. The art is great and Mieville’s ability to jump right into a pretty heavy concept and make it accessible to everyone makes this a book that’s definitely being added to my pull list from now on. I recommend this to fans of not just DC’s other Dark books but fans of comic books as a medium.
Men in Black III opened nation-wide today in 2D, 3D and IMAX. If you love a goofy world of imaginary aliens, time travel, alternate realities and Josh Brolin on his A-game; then you will love MIB3.
Etan Cohen of Tropic Thunder credit wrote the screenplay to MIB3, and you forget that it has been 14 years since the first film. Will Smith at 44 wasn’t running as fast as he was as a 30-years old. Like the premises of the MIB franchise, a massive threat is going to destroy the Earth, and it is up to Agent J and K to stop the threat. What makes MIB3 a fun film is that MIB2 was awful and they didn’t do any of the stupid sequel crap that makes sequels bad. What they did do was write a decent film with a solid cast and E.T. worthy special effects. On top of it all, they go back in time!? Time travel stories never work well because there are giant plot holes. What Cohen does with his writing is walk right through the plot holes and tugs at your emotion.
As always with a MIB film the supporting cast is very good with Emma Thompson, Bill Hader and Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin the all reality seeing alien. Hader plays a distraught Andy Warhol with a few jokes about the future. There was a little disappointment not having Rip Torn in the film, but if you go to Torn’s Wikipedia page, you’ll understand why he wasn’t asked back.
What didn’t work for the film was the villain Boris the Animal played by Jemaine Clement. And what really didn’t work was when there were two of them because one went back in time. There was something wrong with how they animated his voice. Also, his eyes are covered up, and the lack of eyes gave the character a lack of emotion.
All and all, take the kids and enjoy a Star Trek alien loaded time travel adventure that might not come around again.
Rick Remender and Renato Guedes tie in to Avengers vs X-Men could stand as a solid event story on it own. Chances are if you’ve looked at any comic book sites you’ve seen that Remender has brought back the original Captain Mar-Vell to current continuity to be the Kree and the Supreme Intelligences Champion once more.
After the teams run in last issue with the Phoenix Force they are left battered and damaged and Captain Marvel uses his ties to The Protector and Ms. Marvel to take the remaining Avengers down. While the reasons and motivations for Mar-Vell’s turn back to the Kree are a mystery Remender does a fine job giving the reader definitie misdirection with Mar-Vell as he explains his last moments to the reader. If anyone has read Jim Starlin’s fantastic Death Of Captain Marvel story you know that his recollection of his death is way different from how it originally played out.
As always Remender does a great job establishing touching moments between character on the team. Whether it’s a quiet moment between Thor and Captain Britain or something more comical between War Machine , Valkyrie and the always sarcastic Beast Remender’s dialogue never disappoints.
Renato Guedes amazing recreation of the final pages from The Death of Captain Marvel
Another area that never disappoints is Renato Guedes artwork. From the opening pages of art showing Mar-Vell on his deathbed as Thanos smiles. Following those pages Guedes throws countless beautiful pages of art at the reader. I love his attention to facial expressions and character work. With the exception of his design of Beast everything he does is on point from start to finish.
Remender and Guede’s have the rare opportunity to create a tie in story that’s has more impact than A vs. X itself. I have had more fun reading these last two issues of Secret Avengers than i have Avengers Vs X-Men and that’s largely due to Remender’s love for character development and his ability to take an older character and make him feel fresh and relevant again. Remender continues to demonstrate why hes one of the most talented writers working today and Id gladly take another team book from him to read in between the wait for Secret Avengers and Uncanny X Force. I can’t wait for the next issue.
Amazing Spider-Man #686
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Stefano Caselli, Frank Martin Jr. [Color Art]
[SIMPERIN’ SPOILER ALERT: Reading this rollicking review might spoil certain exciting elements of this book’s pulse-pounding plot for you, oh consummate Comic Vault reader! You’ve been warned!]
An entire hemisphere of Earth, including Silver Sable’s native Symkaria, has been destroyed at the hands of Doctor Octopus!
Or has it?
Given the ending to Amazing Spider-Man #685, one might think that Spider-Man, Silver Sable, and the Black Widow had failed in their bid to prevent Octavius from destroying the world once and for all in his final dastardly deed before death. However, one might think wrong–especially given that two of the other members of the Sinister Six still remaining at that point were well-versed in illusion. Longtime Spidey fans could probably see where this was going, but it would be a crime not to use such a scenario with Mysterio and Chameleon both on the same team.
That said, as Spidey and Co. continue to disrupt Otto’s dying wish, both sides begin finding that they are victims of wavering allegiances.
Again, Dan Slott provides an issue that stands up not just to the rest of the arc, but to the classics, as well. While one of the big allegiance shifts here was a no-brainer following the orbital octobot crisis from Amazing Spider-Man #680-681 (plus the cover to #687), the other was a total surprise.
It’s also been nice to see Spider-Man written in a team role as a leader as opposed to comic relief, and the way Pete asserts himself in this arc has been phenomenal. That’s not to say the old Peter Parker neuroses aren’t there, though. It will be interesting to see the aftermath of Spider-Man having realized that Doc Ock’s tech has been supplemented by technology he developed as Peter Parker for Horizon Labs–especially if that connection is made by Horizon, as well.
The rotating art on this story has also surprisingly not been as jarring as one would expect. Stefano Caselli returns for the last two issues of the arc after getting a two-issue break from Humberto Ramos, but the switch barely registered to me either time. Sure, Caselli’s art veers more toward the realistic than Ramos’ more animated style, but both artists have grown on me to the point that I’m glad to see either on a story.
If you’re a spider-fan and you haven’t been keeping up, you’re missing out.
Issue: Night of 1,000 Wolves #1 Writer: Bobby Curnow Artist: Dave Wachter Publisher: IDW Publishing Release Date: May 2012 Price: $3.99
“In the Dark Ages, the tranquil life of Harrick Benjyon and his family is shattered by unthinkable tragedy. Before they can react, the family find themselves under seige by hordes of wolves with one aim. Death. A race for survival becomes all the more impossible by the arrival of the supernatural… and the dark secrets that lie at the heart of the Benjyon family. Another classic horror tale from the company that brought you 30 Days of Night and Locke & Key!”
Dying Breath: 4.5 out of 5
I’ll make this review simple… BUY THIS BOOK! Night of 1,000 Wolves sprints right out of the gate and never slows down. The artwork by Wachter is so consistent on the characters, which leads to some gnarly looking wolves to the drop dead GORE-Geous monster wolf (still not sure if it is a werewolf yet) at the end. He nailed this book. Matter of fact I want a large poster of that final page, it was just so damn awesome. Like I mentioned, the story crafted by Curnow never skips a beat. His pacing is perfect for a first issue. He grabs you by the throat at the start, loosens up a little in the middle just to tease you, and then finishes you off at the end. The dialogue is perfect and the mystery is just beginning to unravel. From the start this is one horrific tale that you will grab you and not let go. I was not expecting this, but I am damn sure glad I got it. Can I have issue #2 now?
Artwork: 5.0 out of 5 • Story: 4.5 out of 5
If you would like to buy or know more about Night of 1,000 Wolves you can find it at http://www.idwpublishing.com
Issue: Deadworld: War of the Dead #1
Writer:Gary Reed Artist:Sami Makkonen Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: August 2012
Price: $3.99
“The zombies have over run the Earth! A small outpost, remnants of a twisted scientists’ scheme to defeat the plague holds out against the army of King Zombie. Their secret weapon are the Lepers-victims of a bizarre experiment that left them with dead flesh in breathing husks with skin that even zombies won’t touch. This new series of Deadworld is perfect for new readers to join in the frenzy of what has been called the “grand-daddy” of all zombie comics.”
*Note: This series will be weekly throughout the month of August.
Dying Breath: 5.0 out of 5
Welcome back my old friend. It is about damn time that we meet again. The last time we saw this cast of characters in Deadworld, was with the highly praised Slaughterhouse OGN. The events that will unfold in this series are picking up around one year after that. Award winning artist Sami Makkonen (Sarjis Awards), is back to bring Deadworld into the realm of color. I have to admit at first I was skeptical when hearing this, but these pages are GORE-Geous! Sami’s style has a rugged beauty to it, that I think is only enhanced by the addition of color. The gritty look of his panels add to setting up the perfect look for this undead universe. I have to quickly throw mention to his interpretation of King Zombie, it is jaw dropping. I know what you are asking yourself now, “Dan, if the art is that good can the story be on the same level?” Hell yes it can reader, HELL YES. With there being a gap between issues and OGN’s, Gary Reed has to make sure that people recall what came before, as well as make it open to new readers. He nails this on the head and then drives it home with the opening of this arc. While not all previous characters are covered here, the ones that are shine brightly. No one really pulls in the spotlight on them, which shows how well Reed was able to juggle setting things up. The BIG highlight to the story was the breakdown of how the community is protecting itself from larger groups of the undead. It was just the amount of detail that went into that scene that proved why I place Gary on such a high pedestal when it comes to writers. This issue had more than I could have ever wanted from a new Deadworld series. The artwork and story are done at such a high level, that you had better get a ladder ready for when this book is in your hands. Hands down a MUST BUY!
Artwork: 5.0 out of 5 • Story: 5.0 out of 5
If you would like to know more about Deadworld: War of the Dead #1 please go to http://www.idwpublishing.com/or http://www.garyreed.net/.
