Deathlok The Demolisher!: The Complete Collection

Deathlok the Demolisher is one of those aesthetically pleasing characters to me. I've been in love with his design since I was first made aware of the character in 1990, thanks to that amazing trading card set known as Marvel Universe. 

But aside from those couple of cards, my love and knowledge for the character really stalled out. I stopped reading comics for a while and then when I resumes, I just forgot Deathlok existed. That was until I found a copy of this book for very cheap at Ollie's. 

The story of Deathlok ironically begins in 1990. America has split into warring territories due to a nuclear war. In what was Detroit Michigan, solider Luther Manning is killed in combat. Only, Manning doesn't go to Heaven or Hell. Instead, Manning is in purgatory; reanimated into a cyborg killing machine called Deathlok. Aided by an internal CPU, Manning breaks free of his programming and seeks revenge on the men who turned him into a mechanical member of the walking dead. 

Deathlok's story will take the character back and forth through time meeting such mainstays of the Marvel Universe such as The Thing, Nick Fury, Spider-Man and Captain America. This collection contains all of the main Deathlok stories told by co-creator's Rich Buckler (Fantastic Four), Doug Moench (Moon Knight) and Bill Mantlo (ROM: Spaceknight). Created in 1974, as Deathlok got closer to 1990, his origin evolved. I'm very glad that Marvel decided to keep all of this in one volume because I think if I had to wait several months to read this in between volumes, I would have gotten really lost. 

Not only does this collection help me fall further in love with Deathlok; it also helps with my wish list. Issues from the second Astonishing Tales series along with chapters from Marvel Team-UP, Marvel Two-In-One and many more are included. Even if I was to have paid the full cover price of $39.99, I would have saved so much cash thanks to the inclusion of those pricey extra issues. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Deathlok: The Demolisher

Deathlok is a lot like the DC Comics character The Demon. Stylistically, he's a pretty awesome character with really great abilities. But unlike the Jack Kirby creation, Deathlok has undergone a ton of complex and often confusing retools. He still looks freakin' amazing. But his backstory is about as jumbled as the memories left in his cybernetically enhanced brain.

This Marvel Knights adaptation of Deathlok takes place in the near future. The corrupt corporation Roxxon owns just about everything to the point that squabbles over water rights and borders are fought in televised battles sponsored by the megacorporation. The bravest and most daring of soldiers are used to sell everything from cola to the newest weapons seen on the battlefield. 

An up-and-coming warrior named Travers is about to make squad leader when his CO Luther Manning kills him for disobeying orders. In hopes to still cash in on this profitable character, Roxxon develops a series of clones that just aren't up to par as there's not enough viable tissues remaining. In response, a super solider is created of the remaining Travers stock along what's left of Manning's brain. 

At first it looks like Roxxon has created the ultimate solider known as Deathlok. However, it becomes quickly clear that Deathlok is unwilling to become a pawn of the corporate machine. Desperate to find Manning's wife and son, the combined mental forces of Travers and Manning make kindling of Roxxon's military might while subconsciously the duo fight off viruses and other cybernetic stimuli created to destroy Deathlok's brain.

This book was a mixed bag. I really enjoyed the opening chapter and the ending was really good. There were some kick-ass fight scenes spread throughout. But the scenes involving Roxxon trying to control Deathlok were really confusing and quite dull. There's a lot of techno-babble that went a bit over my head and those scenes really slowed the pace of this story down to a tortoise pace. 

The metaphysical parts of Manning and Travers working together as the hive mind of Deathlok were also some really interesting segments. I could have done with more of that and a lot less of Roxxon's scientists giving their maniacal ubiquitous monologues on how to kill Deathlok.

This story was also a parody of celebrity culture, especially in how the lines of realism in reality television and the news media are often blurred for the sake of ratings. There's definite nods to several other films about the role of sport and violence in dystopian societies such as The Running Man, Rollerball, and Death Race 2000. Plus, I'd be in serious denial if I didn't mention that the Universal Solider films seem to have played a large part in the plot's inspiration as well.

 For the most, writer Charlie Huston's (Moon Knight) vision is quite gritty while border-lining on the absurd. Yet, everyday, I am stunned even more by how much reality television and pro-sports is looking a lot like the Saturday night wars in this book. So maybe it's not too weird after all.

Also, this is a Marvel Knights book, meaning that it's a little more of an adult comic than most things published by Marvel. It's even got a parental advisory on the back. The language in this book is comically X'd out. But the level of gore is quite disturbing. I haven't seen this much graphic representation of the horrors of war since the opening 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Punisher MAX artist Lan Medina must also be a huge fan of the film Scanners as there's quite a few exploding heads in this book as well. 

Definitely not a book for the kiddies. Nor recommended for those with weak stomachs and an aversion to blood and gore, even if it is just illustrations of it.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Volume 1: The Coulson Protocols

Art imitates art in this series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., based on the ABC television show of the same name. In this volume, a villain bearing stolen Stark Iron Man tech has broken into the Pentagon. Making off with a set of contingency plans to take out superheroes that go rogue, the good guy community is on high alert! For this mystery baddie looks to auction the so-called Coulson Protocols off to the highest bidder!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has some great elements as well as a few that put me off. All of your favorite characters from the show are here- Coulson, May, Daisy, Fitz and Simmons. Only there's no Fitzsimmons here. The two characters aren't a couple. Heck, they're so far apart from each other, I highly doubt these two even went to the Academy together. 

One thing I love in the comic that I wish they did in the TV series was to include the Henry Hayes Deathlok as a permanent member of the cast after the completion of season 1. They missed a great chance to do that on the show. But here in the comic, I could not be more happier that he's used in great length and not just as filler. 

Bobbi Morse, Mockingbird, is also a part of this S.H.I.E.L.D. team. But she wears a costume instead of looking like Adrianne Palicki's version on the show.

It's at this juncture, I must point out that this 2015-2016 series is not a continuation of the live action show.Though masterfully written by S.H.I.E.L.D. screenwriter Marc Guggenheim, you can't expect this book to cover the gaps in-between the show's summer hiatuses. Instead, this book is Marvel's way of integrating the Cinematic Universe with the comics. I don't mind that. But I am so behind on Marvel's new stuff from the past 3 years that there were some plot points involving the Fear Itself and Civil War II story lines that kinda flew over my head.

For one reason or another this series only lasted about a dozen issues. I don't know if that was Marvel's plan or if sales were just that bad. (Marvel has this new habit of running titles for only 12-issues, so that could be the case.) But this was one of Marvel's better current titles. I'm sad to see it didn't succeed. But thankfully, there's one more volume full of story left out there for me to read and consume!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.