Criminal, Volume 1: Coward

 

Ed Brubaker is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I love his work on Captain America and I absolutely love his gritty crime tales.

In this book, a criminal with a perchance to run away when heists go bad is recruited to scout out a deal involving stolen diamonds in the local police department’s evidence locker. Added to the mix is a corrupt cop who’s in for the take and the “Coward” couldn’t feel more uneasy with the deal.

As I said before- It’s gritty. It’s harsh. It’s freakin’ awesome. There is some violence, sex, and nudity- so parents don’t let your 10-year olds be running this. But if you’re 18+ and you love Tarantino or Scorsese, this is the book for you. 

Can’t wait for volumes 2 and 3!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Scratch9, Volume 1: Pet Project

A very cute and very original all-ages tale in which a house cat runs away from his person and gets caught by a mad scientist, hoping to use the animal for some sort of mind switching experiment. Only, the plan backfires and the kitty gets the ability to conjure his previous 8 lives in order to save some friends he met along the way from said evil genius.

From a mummy with a portal to the afterlife to a futuristic cyber-cat armed with heat-seeking missiles, the 9 lives of Scratch are filled with humor, adventure, and fun.

Sure, this book is geared for kids, but it’s filled with praises from some of the best in the comics biz, including Marvel Knights co-creator Jimmy Palmiotti. So, even adults will delight. 

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

DC Retroactive: Superman - The '70s #1

The 70s were an unsung era for the Man of Steel. There was Kirby taking over Jimmy Olsen and introducing the New Gods, Cadmus, and the Forever People. Then you’ve got the creation of Intergang and the possible link of new Daily Planet owner, Morgan Edge, being the ringleader. Finally, the 70s proved a man can fly with Christopher Reeve starring as Superman.

 

Here, we have a great-Earth 2 reprint that tells how Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane got hitched. Along with that tale is a lost story in which a very overworked and underslept Superman is confronted by phantom versions of his greatest enemies. Could a certain imp from the 5th Dimension be behind all this?

A real fun read. Though the ubiquitous love triangle between Supes, Lois, and Lana Lane is childish and takes away from the action elements of the forgotten tale.

Brings back great memories though. 

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Uncanny X Men Annual 2000

A young girl just coming to terms with her mutant powers is brutally injured in a random school shooting. Now blind and possibly permanently paralyzed, the girl wallows in her misery. Only, these pity parties are having dramatic effects across the globe as millions are randomly subjected to her blindness and immobility. So, it’s up to Professor X and Cable to help ease the girl out of her cocoon, possibly coach her to walk again, and use her new powers for good.

It’s a good story, but there is one serious flaw here- the girl was shot point blank in the face. A scene shows her in an ER with blood and gauze covering her. Yet, the very next day, she’s shown in her hospital bed with a porcelain skin and not a blemish or stitch to be found. That’s just totally unrealistic. I know your thinking this is a comic book. But, she doesn’t have a healing factor like Wolverine, so her head should be covered with bandages and such.

Very poor plotting or poor art direction. Not sure which, but it’s not very forgivable.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Dark Sector, Issue Zero

 I’m not really a video game person anymore and normally, I wouldn’t have bought this book. But, it came out of a grab bag and I gave it a shot!

   Boy, was that some good shootin’!

   This is a prequel tale, explaining why there is a hybrid zombie-animal attack in a fictitious central European City and why the main character of Dark Sector has been asked to infiltrate the quarantined site.

   The story was very good and the art was fantastic. I think Top Cow was on to something here and it is a crying shame they never made a series. I think that could have been something special.

   Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman, The 90s

   In the lost tale, Wonder Woman, having just returned from months in outer space, has lost her title as Wonder Woman and is exiled from her island home of Themyscira. Now with very little superheroing to do and no longer her homeland's ambassador to the outside world, Diana is bored stiff. To fill her time, she volunteers for a girls day camp. Only these campers are more interested in shopping and being lazy than the great outdoors. The dialogue and plot are very funny as Diana tries to whip these kiddies into shape.
  
    The reprint tale builds upon Diana's exile from Themyscira. It also introduces Artemis as the new Wonder Woman- a short-lived reign that was too short if you ask me. It was a good tale as well, but I thought that the lost adventure was just a little bit better. 

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars,

DC Retroactive- Wonder Woman 80's

 

    In this special, a lost tale of Wonder Woman’s has her pitted against a ‘clone’ of herself. Meanwhile, paramour Steve Trevor commandeers a jet in hopes of tracking the Amazonian down in order to determine once and for all if the Princess of Themyscira loves him or not! A great use of American tax dollars and resources, folks!

   As an added bonus, there’s a reprint from 1982 that explains some of the origin and backgrounds of the villains who are trying to defeat Wonder Woman.

   Unlike in the 1970s volume, both stories have either a conclusion or a caption explaining that the tale is to be continued. The 80s story is a little confusing as Trevor is from Earth-2 and Wonder Woman doesn’t know anything about multiple earths despite decades of teaming up or fighting visitors from Earth’s-2 and 3. There’s obviously some retconning prior to this reprint that I didn’t know about and it makes for a difficult read at those plot points. Otherwise, both stories have great art and a reasonable overall storyline.

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman - The '70s #1

With DC getting ready to reboot its universe yet again, the publisher issued a series of one-shots that reflect the history of some of it’s greatest creations by reteaming original creative teams of the past 40 years with new “lost tales” of the DC Universe.

In this Wonder Woman special, Dennis O’Neil pens another tale about the powerless Amazon Princess. With her home island having sunk into the sea, Diana finds a mysterious submersible responsible. In order to save her people, she must confront her past and solve a series of tasks. She’s supposed to solve 3 mysteries but only completes 2. When asked of this, she responds that she thinks everything is back to normal and then the tale stops! No “The End” or “To Be Continued?”

The companion reprint piece from 1972 isn't any better. That too also ends abruptly with no “Tune in Next Time” or even a small blurb telling the reader which issues can be found to conclude this tale. Very poor editing, if you ask me. Not impressed. Hopefully, things will be better in the other Retroactive volumes.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Realworlds Justice League of America #1

Essentially, this book would be set on what would be considered ‘Earth Prime’, which is our earth- kinda. Here, there are no super heroes, except those found published in DC Comics and those Mediocre Competitors.

A group of friends, who used to pretend play as the Justice League of America, have become adults. Life’s not quite turning out as they expected. So, when a wealthy chum offers them a chance to live a day like the JLA, they reluctantly jump at the chance.

The art is gritty and the colors change from sepia (in the past) to gritty reality gray to bright pastels for the future. It’s weird reading about folks acting like Superman, Batman, and Ralph Dibny AND listen to them moan about bills, divorce, etc. What is this- Spider-man?

Elseworlds is DC’s imprint in which your favorite characters are put into realities that shouldn’t exist, like teaming Houdini with Batman. In Realworlds, we see how super heroes affect the lives of those who are influenced by the comic book realm of pop culture. It’s a Marvel-like take, but it’s not bad. There are 3 other books in the series, and I look forward to reading them as well.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

House of Mystery Volume 1: Room and Boredom

    Meet Fig Keele, she’s a college student who used to be the star of a series of children’s books written about her imaginative adventures with stuffed animals and child detectives. Her life has taken a sad turn and with a recent stay in a local mental ward, Fig’s lost her zeal for life. That is until she wakes up to find herself the owner and patron of the House of Mystery saloon and inn. Now, it’s all she can do to escape from the House and a masked couple who want to take Fig with them to their race of others called the Conception.

   This is a great opening chapter with an eclectic and charming ensemble cast. This series reminds me somewhat of the great British show, the Prisoner. Keele tries really hard to escape, but the House is always one step ahead. Worth Consuming

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Living in Infamy #1

How to sum up this book? The cover says it all. Imagine it’s the last scene from Goodfellas in which Henry Hill picks up his paper. Only, Henry Hill wasn’t a mobster, but a super villain who turned state's evidence and wound up in witness protection.

That’s what Living in Infamy is all about and I think it’s brilliant. The characters are engaging, the art fantastic, and I was cursing myself for only having the first issue of this mini-series. I cannot wait to get my hands on the last 3 books of this series. An aside, I love publisher Ludovico Technique’s logo. It’s Alex’s eye from that iconic scene in A Clockwork Orange in which he’s bound to a chair and forced to watch violence. The eye looks just like Malcolm McDowell’s. A very clever nod to Kubrick's classic film.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ambush Bug #4

  

   It’s the final issue of the Ambush Bug miniseries and the star of our show is finally going into a Battle Royale with Darkseid. Only, this death wish must be postponed until story’s end. Instead, the Bug is targeted for death by a villain who accidently wound up in the wrong book. As this villain realizes he’s been placed in the wrong title with another character who is completely aware he’s in a comic book too (AB!), the walls of continuity come crashing down. Plus, it seems that writer and creator, Keith Giffen, has broken into editor Julie Schwartz’ liquor cabinet and is holding the ending of this book hostage until Ambush Bug becomes a monthly title.

 Sadly, Ambush Bug never got a monthly title. But, he did get several more one-shots and a couple more mini-series. I look forward to them as they surely are as wicked fun as this one, right?

 Normally, I don’t do this, but there’s a Showcase Presents that collects every appearance of the Bug and I might just have to get it. Some back issues are really expensive, especially, his first appearances in DC Comics Presents and Action Comics. I just must read every Ambush Bug story and I don’t mind buying a book that has some previously read and owned material in it in order to accomplish this feat.

 Worth Consuming.

Ambush Bug #3

Okay- Ambush Bug and Darkseid are going to battle to the death for real- only not this issue. Instead, the Ambush Bug has decided to take advantage of the new DC universe brought forth by the Crisis with a small selection of Who’s Who. Just don’t expect any big names in this guide. It’s for all the forgotten characters, like Egg Fu (who will one day return in the pages of Countdown). Oddly folks like Space Cabby and teen leader of the free world, PREZ, are noticeably absent.

Meanwhile, Jonni DC, Johnny’s sister, has her own problems as the new universe is wrought with continuity problems that only she can correct.

Once again, bizarre content, brilliant fun. 

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ambush Bug #2

 

If you are expecting to see the Darkseid/ Ambush Bug battle as cliffhangered in the last issue, you’ll have to wait. Instead, part-time PI Ambush Bug takes a case involving a giant mutated koala bear named Quantis. I usually hate it when a super villain’s real name is a tease to their MO in terms of crimes committed. For example, a moniker I do like is Edward Nygma or E.Nygma for the real name of the Riddler. But to have a guy named Charlie Tunna get turned into a radioactive fish villain is too much.

Yet, to have the koala’s name be Quantis is really clever, because few people realize that Quantis is a name for an airline that serves Australia almost exclusively and koala bears are from Down Under as well.

Lots of great gags and easter eggs. I really enjoyed it.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who Fairytale Life #3

Yeah- I was right. The plot to A Fairy Tale Life is taken from the Season 6 episode of Doctor Who called 'The Black Spot.' In that episode, a crashed medical bay’s AI nurse malfunctions and captures pirates stranded at sea when they become ill or injured.

Here, the residents of the Fairy Tale planet are whisked away to the Black Tower when they are ill by flying Medical signs. I kid you not! Only, when they take you back to the Tower’s medical bay, you are scheduled for termination. In this issue, Amy awakes in the medical bay facing death from an incurable disease, while the Doctor and a knight travel to the Tower in search of lost friends and answers.

I’m having trouble rating this book because the plot was used from a recent episode of Doctor Who. The publication time and the time of the show’s airing are so close together, I find it hard that either media plagiarized the other. But shouldn’t show producer, Steven Moffat, or another high up have realized the similarity of the two and made some sort of plot change? Talk about your morphic fields (It’s a Torchwood reference, look it up!)

I liked this book. I just think it’s weird that both a comic mini and an episode would operate under almost identical plotlines and not go undetected.

I’ll rate it worth consuming with a big fat asterisk.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.