DC Comics Presents: Green Lantern #1

A tribute issue in honor of the passing of the great Julius Schwartz, long-time EIC of DC Comics. Schwartz was known for having concept covers drawn up and then would assign writers to use that idea for use in a forthcoming issue of said title.

Here, artists and writers such as Brian Azzarello, Brian Bolland, and Scott McDaniel devise two potential tales in which Green Lantern might have reason to sell copies of his power rings for only a buck each. (That my friends is a steal.)

The best of the two stories is the first, which is set during the 60s and has the Emerald Warrior on the hunt for Gorilla Grodd. The second tale has Green Lantern and Green Arrow teaming up to stop a renegade toy seller from profiting on fake Lantern rings using shoddy work conditions and child labor. The internal conflict of Hal Jordan just doesn’t seem plausible. In just about everything I’ve read on GL, Jordan loved his dad. But in this tale, Mr. Jordan is a boozer and has led to Hal having rage issues. I just don’t see that. Maybe the writer got Jordan confused with Guy Gardner?

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who Special 2012 Comic Book Annual

The second annual based on the Matt Smith Doctor is packed with fun for all sorts of Whovians. First, it’s Fez-mania as the Doctor, Amy, and Rory arrive in Fez, Morocco. There, they come across an old foe- the Slitheen. Later, the Doctor, acting solo, lands in rural England where he discovers an alien hiding behind a chameleon circuit. In another solo tale, the Doctor gets himself thrown into Alcatraz in order to free an old friend from The Rock. Rounding out the tales is a story about a Time Lord, who seems to have survived the great time war. That tale starts off really good, but it has an ambiguous ending that I just don’t understand. I’ve yet to read IDW’s 11th Doctor books, so I might have missed something.

Also, the annual ends with a cliffhanger that you’ve got to read another book in order to get the conclusion. I hate that. But, the annual itself was really good and I enjoyed it tremendously. Also, this annual continues the tradition of basing their covers on famous works of art. This cover is an homage to Warhol’s soup cans! Awesome!

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Ant-Man & Wasp #3

Turns out AIM didn’t want “Heaven” after all. They just stole it in order to recruit Hank Pym to their criminal organization. Now trapped by AIM, Pym endures the weirdest job interview of all time as he must escape over 100 traps in order to free Ant-Man from the Sleepwalker and save the universe from a temporal displacement.

Excellent stuff. I think Marvel did a fantastic job for once. But, they missed a great opp to have an ongoing Wasp/Ant-man title. However, that doesn’t stop the book from being very much Worth Consuming. Also, the background characters have influenced me to give Avengers Academy a very serious glance.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ant-Man & Wasp #2

Using a Sleepwalker/ human hybrid, AIM has kidnapped one of Hank Pym’s inventions. I say kidnap because the invention is a computer simulation of Heaven that houses the soul of Pym’s deceased lab assistant Bill “Goliath” Foster.

It’s up to Pym as the Wasp and the latest crony to bear the mantle of Ant-man to team up and rescue Foster before AIM reverse engineering of the device causes paradise to collapse.

Great mini-series. Very much Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ant-Man & Wasp #1

Ant-man and the Wasp have reteamed for the first time ever! It’s not your father’s Ant-man and Wasp and ironically, the book actually mentions that fact! I love it.

Here Hank Pym is now bearing the mantle of Wasp, in honor of his deceased lover, Jan Van Dyne. Ant-man is an upstart SHIELD drop-out who makes Guy Gardner look like a choir boy.

I thought this book was going to be in typical Marvel fashion with the two heroes fighting each other, but it doesn’t happen. Instead, there is a great buddy cop vibe and the banter is funny.

Did I say that I love it?

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who Annual #1 (2011)

This annual contains 4 stories featuring the 11th doctor and his companions Amy and Rory Pond. I love the Escher-type cover. It fits the story of the doctor landing on a planet that’s so topsy-turvy that up is not only down but left, right, and sideways. Then Rory becomes the King of England while Amy leads an alien revolt and the Doctor is imprisoned by a Napoleon wannabe. Lastly, the Doctor takes on a 4th companion, a robot T-Rex named Kevin. The interactions of Kevin with the gang over the course of a week is hilarious and it leads to the final tale in which a space station is having some trouble with immigration. However, to read the story's conclusion, you have to read it in an issue of Doctor Who’s monthly IDW publication.

Normally, that ticks me off, but thankfully, I have this issue already and so I’ll follow up soon. Hopefully.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Secret Invasion: Requiem

Janet Van Dyne, AKA The Wasp, has died and now ex-husband and long-time lover Hank Pym finds himself in charge of clearing her estate. Wanting to make amends for her death as well as how poorly he treated her over the years, Pym reflects over his love life in hopes of finding a way to honor the fallen Avenger.

In Requiem, we see the beginning of Pym and Janet’s relationship with the Wasp’s origin, reprinting Tales to Astonish #44 and then we see the end of Hank and Jan’s marriage with his epic court-martial as Yellowjacket in an early 80s reprint of the Avengers.

The two reprints, along with the filler story are superb. I really enjoyed the ending. There’s also a Official Marvel Handbook entry on the life of Janet Van Dyne. Though it’s very extensive, there’s some omissions that I wish were explained further. For instance, her bio sheet lists her as once being known as Doctor Spectrum and the Invisible Woman. I wanted to know how she took up those monikers, but the author doesn’t touch those subjects.

Lastly, it’s said Janet wore about 200 different outfits in her illustrious career and the book closes with a 3-page spread that tries to capture everyone of those costumes.

Great work, Marvel!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.