Black Science Volume 1: How to Fall Forever

   

  This volume marks my final selection of science-themed graphic novels that I got recently at my local library when I was on a huge sci-fi kick. Black Science is a lot like the 90s Fox show Sliders, in which a group of scientists created a portal to parallel earths. Only something or someone caused the machine to go wonky and now until they can repair the portal, the scientists, their annoying lab liaison, and a couple of kids who are visiting their dad's lab find themselves jumping from parallel earth to parallel earth when the device infrequently repowers itself. God help them if they arrive on a hostile planet with 24-hours to kill before their next transition.

    Out of all of the sci-fi themed books I checked out, this was my favorite. I'm not sure why. The story, like I said, borrows heavily on the plot of Sliders. But I liked that show and this book is what could've happened if Sliders aired on HBO instead of Fox. There's sex, gore, violence, action, and a heck of a lot of plot twists and turns as the team encounters leapers from parallel earths. Plus, just who is behind the sabotage of the interdimensional portal?

    One thing I see as a potential problem for this book is that characters die about as frequently as people named 'Stark' or 'Snow' on Game of Thrones. Something's going to have to happen soon to rectify this or there won't be any characters left. But, it's that 'no one is safe' mentality that put me at the edge of my seat and running to my local library the next day to check out volume 2. Sadly, someone beat me to it...

    A great offering by Rick Remender (Age of Heroes), whose writing gives this book a modern feel, mixed  with the fantastic 50s Weird Science vibe that comes from the art by Dean White (Hulk) and Matteo Scalera (Deadpool Team-Up.

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Batman/ Superman, Volume 2: Game Over (New 52!)

 

   A new video game pits Batman and Superman in a real life battle for the Earth when Mongul returns. After vanquishing the enemy, the duo are challenged by Mongul's son for retribution, with planet earth once again in the crosshairs. Teaming with members of the Superman and Batman families, the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel are entered in a deadly tournament of champions. The winner becomes the leader of Mongul's Warworld. The loser has their home planet vaporized into atoms.

    Then it's a collision of World's Finests when Earth-2's Huntress and Powergirl infiltrate the Batcave and run amok. When the nano virus afflicting Powergirl  infects Superman, the heroes must form a quartet or both Powergirl and the alternate earth version of her cousin will ignite as Kryptonian bombs.  Echoes of Bruce and Clark's cross-earth capers from volume one bleed into this new reality with a central foe behind the alternate earth drama- Darkseid!

    This volume was heavy on action and I'm enjoying the uneasy dynamic between Batman and Superman. Their relationship seems very well established by having the two meet when they were youngsters and I'm okay with this as it plays on a Superman/Batman: Secret Files story that I just thought was aces. What I felt wasn't very clear was some of the histories of the New 52! in general.

   It's mentioned that Mongul has returned to conquer earth. But I'm not sure when he did that. For New 52! books, I've read just about everything Batman published, along with the opening chapters of Action Comics and this series (up through here.) So far, Mongul's name hasn't come up once and what little research I've done into Justice League doesn't mention the character either. So when did this happen? The classic use of tiny boxes on the bottom of pages to denote when past events occurred by the editorial staff was sorely missed by this avid comic collector.

   For a reboot, there have been some really awesome changes. I enjoyed the introduction of Powergirl and Huntress to the New 52! I felt that Powergirl was sorely missed during this reboot and it appears with her starring in a new miniseries with Harley Quinn that the editors hope to correct this oversight.

   I also enjoyed that Batman and Superman 'forgot' that they had travelled to Earth-2. In the classic DC Universe, everytime characters from earth-1 and 2 got together, it was more and more like a reunion that had to deal with a rowdy guest than any sort of earth shattering crossover that the covers would hype. That's gone here and having the two pairs of World's Finest learn to work together made for a better story. But never would Batman fist bump the Huntress- ever.

   Another change that I enjoyed was the new version of the Toyman. Instead of a dweebish nerd who uses toys to cause mischief, he's rebooted into a hip video game creator who isn't so much a bad guy as much as an entrepreneur who got mixed up with the wrong crowd. I like that he's later used as a tech expert for Superman trying to make amends for almost destroying the earth in a Mongul backed trap.

    Along with the story and character reboots, the art was very good. Jae Lee continues to thrill with his whimsically scary style. I love the watercolor effect of the coloring too. It adds to the haunting appeal of Lee's work.

   The artist is joined by Brett Booth who pencils the first act of this volume. His art is drawn in a 'widescreen' style, meaning you have to read the book sideways and the art is less contained. I liked it, but there were times when you almost needed the giant key to Superman's Fortress of Solitude acting as a directional arrow to guide the reader to which panel to view next. (PS- they had these in the olden days of comics too, kids!)

  A very good chapter in the New 52! adventures of Batman and Superman that just could've used a few tricks from the days of the classic DCU!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

 
 
 
   

New Avengers, Volume 4: A Perfect World (Marvel NOW!)

   The crack in the foundation of the Illuminati reaches it's breaking point when their world killer device is finally put to the test. Racked by guilt, the team will lose a member and face down their final 8 hours of life on earth when another anomaly in the fabric of the multiverse arises. But when the deadline for the event passes and earth-616 is spared, the Illuminati regroup to determine what went wrong with their prediction of impending doom. Their greatest fears are realized when they discover that their former comrade-in-arms has formed his own version of the Illuminati out of the most wretched villains of the Marvel Universe.

  I hadn't been such a fan of this series because I felt like there was some missing information as to why the Marvel Universe is unravelling. But after reading 'Age of Ultron,' I felt like those gaps in my knowledge were finally filled. Thus, I really enjoyed this volume. Plus, the art was amazing and there were some awesome action sequences. Also, if you've ever wanted to see the Marvel Universe destroy the Justice League then this issue is for you because the resident superheroes of the tangent universe wiped out by the Illuminati at the beginning of this book are clear archetypes of the Distinguished Competition.

   Once again, I get hooked on a storyline only to have to wait until my library gets the next volume (or buy up the next several issues.) My only hope is that volume 5 will be worth the wait. Plus with this year's 'Secret Wars' storyline which will reboot the Marvel Universe, there won't be very many issues of this series left, so I shouldn't have to wonder what happens next for too long.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

What If...Annihilation (...Reached Earth?)

   Maybe this should have been part of my Annihilation Week event, but, to be honest, I didn't even remember I had this until a couple of days ago. In this alternate earth tale, Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave reach our planet because Drax failed in freeing Galactus and the Silver Surfer from his clutches.

    The invasion fleet arrives during the events of Civil War right when it appears that Captain America is about to kill Tony Stark. So when a giant bug crashes into the Empire State Building, the two opposing forces must put aside their past differences and fight together with Nova to save the planet and the rest of the universe from total destruction.

    Featuring a cast of hundreds (many of which die a gruesome death being swarmed by massively huge bugs), the real stars of this 'What If...' one-shot are the Inhumans and the Watcher, two players that don't even factor into either Annihilation or Civil War.

    The art was amazing and stunning. The story itself was just as good if not in some ways a little better than the last couple of issues of the actual Annihilation miniseries. About the only part of this book I didn't enjoy was the last couple of pages which seems to leave the story tragically open-ended. However, knowing Marvel's history of turning stories from 'What If...' into Universe-616 canon, I would be pleasantly surprised if someone one day turned XXXXXXXXXX into the next Nova. It would make for an exciting new story or even series.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out 10 stars

Smoke & Mirrors

  In a world where science and technology exist only as the latest spell or hex, a magician from our earth finds himself trapped, relying on slight of hand to help him panhandle his way through this strange world.

  When the magician takes an apprentice, his life is in danger to a large corporation that hopes to exploit his unusual blend of magic tricks.

  The art was very good. But, it’s the story that makes for a fantastic book. I take that back, the art is so good, for the first time ever, readers can participate in a series of magic tricks and illusions. How wicked is that?

  A great read- Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.