Comic Reviews – Page 3

COMIC REVIEW – Ghostbusters: Deviation (2016)

Earlier this year, IDW had this event called Deviations, which is a concept akin to the old “What If…?” comics that Marvel used to put out. The premise was to take an established event and see what happens if things turned out differently?

What if Spider-Man saved Gwen Stacy from death? What if the first Death Star wasn’t destroyed? What if the Enterprise-D was successful in destroying the Borg ship? That sort of thing…

Nine times out of ten, the end result is usually “everybody dies” because that’s what happens when hack writers are given an opportunity to craft an alternate take (or alternate reality, if you will) on an idea and they can’t think of anything better to do with it. Sometimes, they don’t. But more often that not, these “What If?” scenarios are good alternate takes that can make readers think and wonder. And they’re usually good reads as well.

Ghostbusters Deviations is not one of those stories.

The idea was interesting; depict a world in which the Ghostbusters didn’t cross the streams to defeat Gozer at the end of the first movie (and spoiler: they never do) and see how badly things turn out from there. The answer, of course, is that things turn out pretty bad; not just for the Ghostbusters, not for the city of New York, but also for the hapless reader who decided to fork over the five bucks to read this tripe. If you enjoy juvenile humor, poop jokes, and outright horrible characterizations, you’ll probably get better quality material watching the Angry Video Game Nerd webseries than you would from this comic book. At least that will cost significantly less to suffer through. I don’t mind stupid funny, but when even that’s done poorly… good lord.

As I would flip through each page of increasing levels of utter banality, my hopes for this to be something worthwhile would slowly evaporate until all that was left was an utter contempt for human life. At some point, you have to feel bad for the Ghostbusters, who have some inklings of their original personalities but have somehow regressed into being complete and utter morons. Gozer, who was this menacing figure even when he/she/it/whatever was stuck in the Stay Puft form in the movie, has become an utter caricature of him/her/it/whatever-self that it’s almost painful. The rest of the characters, along with the attempts to try and sneak in references to contemporary times to a story set in 1984, can kiss my ass because they’re not worth mentioning.

I was initially not a particular fan of the art style – a sort of caricaturistic exaggeration of the cast of characters – but it’s my understanding that this is the art style used in IDW’s main Ghostbusters series, so in that regard, the art is consistent with what little I’ve seen of the main books. And eventually, it grew on me. I can only assume that the quality of the writing in those other books are a little better than what was featured here.

I can only imagine how diehard Ghostbusters fans have reacted to this book, but as someone with only a passing interest in the Ghostbusters franchise, I am flabbergasted by how bad this book turned out, especially when the premise has potential to be interesting and offer something worthwhile. Too bad that potential is wasted on pure crap.

COMIC REVIEW – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (Mirage Studios – Volume 1)

the one that started it all… and after reading it, I’m amazed they were able to continue the series for as long as they did.

The very first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pretty much lays the groundworks for the various aspects that people would become familiar with as this became a massive multimedia empire. We are introduced to our four Ninja Turtles, their rodent sensei Master Splinter, their arch-nemesis Shredder and his Foot Clan, and the origins of all these characters as well as their bloodfeud. It leans hard into its parody and homage to the Frank Miller works, particularly Daredevil, while also crafting a compelling story with lots of bloody, violent action depicted in glorious black and white.

The artwork is truly exceptional stuff; lots of gritty detail and some beautifully rough line art of the various battles between the Turtles and their foes; whether they’d be rugged hoodlums, lethal Foot ninjas, or the Shredder himself. The decision to go black and white as opposed to color might’ve been a money thing – I honestly don’t recall – but it pretty much defined the look of the comic going forward. To the point where I would later come across a color version of this issue and it didn’t quite look as good.

For those whose first exposure to TMNT was the cartoon, reading this comic and realizing how violent it was had to be a bit of a shock and you get why the cartoon is what it is to appeal to kids. But more than anything, the bigger shock was how self-contained the story is. I’m not going to spoil things, but the ending leaves little room for further adventures, presumably because Eastman and Laird figured this was their one and only shot at getting something published. Fortunately, not only did they manage to produce a second issue and continue the story, but… well, it got big.

It’s funny to go back and revisit this issue, like, what? Decades after the fact. It’s been reprinted several times, it’s even been posted on the official Ninja Turtles site for all to see before the big change in ownership. The original printings command high prices, but you could probably find reprints easily enough. The book holds up after all these years and is worth checking out if you bare any fandom to TMNT. And if you’ve already read it, read it again. It’s fantastic.

COMIC REVIEW – Star Trek: Debt Of Honor (1992 DC Comics One-Shot)

So this is an interesting little beast; a Star Trek movie-era one-shot story published in a prestigious hardcover graphic novel from DC Comics that is basically an excuse to give you as many callbacks, winks, and nods as you could possibly fit within 90+ pages of comic book. To the layman with no clue about Star Trek, this means very little, but to the hardcore Trekkie out there, Debt Of Honor references so many things, features so many guest characters including those who have only been spotlighted in a single episode of Star Trek, and makes so many callbacks to past moments and eras that it almost overwhelms the entire book. It’s usually the worst kind of thing when so many callbacks are made and the whole thing coasts on nostalgia that it detracts from the overall product.

And yet the funny thing about Debt Of Honor is that these nods aren’t just quite little things. Some of them contribute quite a bit to the overall story, which has quite a few layers to it. Captain Kirk, commanding the second ship to bare the name U.S.S. Enterprise, still feels guilt over the loss of the previous Enterprise, and is about to partake in a mission to take on a menace from his past. What follows is a story that bounces between present day and flashbacks, which touch in a number of eras. From Kirk’s days on the Farragut to the five-year mission and even The Motion Picture and its dull gray uniforms gets some love.

Complimenting the superb storytelling and writing is the wonderful art. Everything looks like what it’s supposed to; none of the ships depicted have weird proportions or anything of the sort. There’s a genuine effort in some cases to have the characters somewhat resemble the actors who portrayed them. Though it is funny seeing Kor depicted as he appeared in “Errand Of Mercy”, considering that DS9 would bring the character back and give the modern Klingon look. This came out before that was a thing, so that’s not an intentional mistake… but it is funny.

Debt Of Honor is one of the few Star Trek graphic novels that I still have laying around and is one that I often go back to every now and then. It’s a damned fine book with the perfect balance between fan service and solid storytelling; one that anyone working in a popular franchise should strive to achieve. This gets my highest recommendation.

COMIC REVIEW – TMNT #5 (IDW)

So I’ve been recently playing catch-up with IDW’s new TMNT comic book and came across the newest issue, which features its own take on the classic TMNT origin story… kind of an interesting angle to say the least. The idea that the Turtles and Splinter are basically re-incarnations of Hamato Yoshi and his children in a past life is certainly something out of left field and credit where it’s due; it’s a rather unique way of framing things. I’m not sure if I can completely buy into it, but maybe as the series progresses down the line, this will be explored further down the road.

Perhaps the biggest change to come out of this – and I don’t think I’m spoiling anything here since there are already cover previews of future issues that give this away – is that three of the Turtles trade in their original red bandannas for the colored ones that have been prominent in all the various television, movies, and other media that isn’t the original Mirage comic books. I figured this was going to happen sooner or later, so this wasn’t much of a surprise. I do feel some people are going to be a bit miffed that they’re ditching the red masks for the colored one, but at the end of the day, this isn’t the old Mirage universe. It’s a reimagined one with fewer shell puns… fucking Dirk.

I kinda like how they’re taking various elements from the various mediums (one of the micro-series books apparently feature human Bebop and Rocksteady) and merging them into a new narrative storyline. It’s a different take on the Turtles and whether it ends up being worth a damn or not, at least you can’t say that it’s going to be predictable. As long as they maintain the style and substance that made the original TMNT such a joy to read and such, then it’s damn well going to be a fun ride.

If nothing else, it’ll give me some fodder for more Turtle talk around here.

COMIC REVIEW – Batman-Spawn: War Devil (1994 DC Comic)

So once upon a time, we took a look at Spawn/Batman, the Frank Miller-penned crossover between the Dark Knight and… I don’t know if Spawn has any “cool” nicknames. Anyway, that book was published by Image Comics and is supposedly part of Miller’s Dark Knight Universe, for whatever that’s worth. That same year in 1994, DC Comics put out their own Batman/Spawn crossover comic called War Devil and also features both heroes taking on demonic forces from Hell… it also features the artwork of Klaus Janson, who happened to be the artist behind The Dark Knight Returns. Funny how that works out.

Right off the bat, War Devil feels a bit less tongue-in-cheek than Spawn/Batman does, as the characters feel less like shallow parodies of themselves and are more true to their usual interpretations circa 1994. I also find the story somewhat intriguing and would later learn that the backstory of War Devil is based on a real historical mystery regarding Roanoke Colony, the first attempt at an English colony in what would become North America that failed due to the mysterious disappearance of the colonists. Tying it to more demonic forces seemed like a natural choice.

It’s only unfortunate that War Devil doesn’t quite dwell into this as much as it could have, as the prestige one-shot format meant they had to get through this in roughly forty or so pages. Some aspects would’ve benefitted from more fleshing out, particularly any interactions between Spawn and Batman to build up that partnership more than the couple moments at most. The artwork is kinda messy at times, but I wouldn’t call it outright terrible; merely a different style. It almost works. Almost.

Between the two books, War Devil is only slightly better than Spawn/Batman in that it tells a better story and the heroes aren’t treated like one-note caricatures. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a must-read, either. Maybe some day, we can revisit the idea of a Batman/Spawn crossover story and give it some real juice.

COMIC REVIEW – Superman (2011) #1 (THE NEW 52!)

Well, folks… The New 52 is here… It kinda sucks.

Some time ago, I sampled the first issue of Grant Morrison’s Action Comics, depicting a much younger, less powerful, and more rebellious Superman. I decided that I quite enjoyed that take on the character and was looking forward to the follow-up issue. I’m not sure if the same could be said for this other Superman book.

For what it’s worth, the first issue is all about establishing the new status quo going forward. Beginning with the demolition of the old Daily Planet building before introducing to the new media-saavy Daily Planet under new ownership, we eventually get the new Lois and Clark; the former now a new media correspondent while Clark remains partial to the printed word – a clash of philosophies… oh, and also not married as well as Lois no longer having knowledge of Clark’s double life. There’s less focus on Clark/Superman in this issue, putting the spotlight on the supporting cast and other happenings to set up future stories. In fact, the only time Clark is given any real focus is towards the end of the book, where he passes by Lois’ place to apologize for their earlier spat, only to meet up with Lois’ boyfriend named Jonathan… oops.

Whatever you want to say about the narrative – which isn’t so much George Perez than it is editorial mandate, though Perez’s need to bury the book in seemingly endless exposition doesn’t help matters, either – the artwork is tremendous. Perhaps a bit cramped with so many small panels, but when it comes to the rare bits of action, those play out wonderfully. I wish we had more of that instead of the other stuff; then I’d have more of a reason to stick around.

Good try, I suppose… but nope, still not sold on The New 52!…

COMIC REVIEW – Action Comics (2011) #1 (THE NEW 52!)

Well, folks. The New 52 is among us… and yeah, it largely sucks… but one thing that doesn’t suck (so far) is Grant Morrison’s Action Comics.

Action Comics gives us another take on Superman that is not only distinct from what we have come to know him as, but also has its roots in the earliest years of Superman lore. This rougher, take no prisoners rebellious Superman might be a stark contrast to the “big blue boy scout” that people are familiar with, but it does harken back to Superman’s younger days when he was a guy who took matters into his own head and went against the establishment before he eventually became it. This is also a less powerful Superman; tall leaps and bounds, some of the familiar powers, but not quite there yet.

I’m not a fan of the “current” Superman reboot, but this Action Comics take is promising. Honestly, out of all the New 52 drivel, this one intrigues me the most. If nothing else, at least this Superman has a personality and a hot streak that might not jive with what has been a traditional depiction of Superman, but is far and above better than the other stupid thing. And I like Rags Morales’ art here. It’s clean, it’s nice, it’s fine.

A promising start to a promising 1 out of New 52. Let’s see how long this goes before they fuck it up.

COMIC REVIEW – Flashpoint (DC Comics miniseries, 2011)

It seemed like the usual event comic that these major comic book publishers like to shoot out every year or so to give collectors more stuff to collect and maybe even read. You know how these things usually work; they usually have a core miniseries of five issues or so, spread the wealth across multiple one-shots or spin-off miniseries, and resolve the story with some changes in the status quo, sticking with those changes until the next year’s event comic. That sort of thing.

And by that context alone, the DC Comics event Flashpoint seems like the usual sort of thing with an interesting (for me, anyway) premise; due to unknown circumstances, the Flash a.k.a. Barry Allen finds himself in a world completely different from the one he’s familiar with; where the Amazons and Atlanteans are at war with each other, where the US government is in possession of a certain Kryptonian boy, and where Batman is actually Thomas Wayne, father of the late Bruce Wayne who spends his days running casinos in Gotham City and is an overall more brutish Batman than his son would have been. Now the Flash has to find a way to change things back to the way they were before his memories of the old timeline fade away forever… or before the world ends. Whichever comes first.

There were a few reviews I’ve read online that seem to feel that Flashpoint felt more like a Flash story that somehow became an event comic but never read like one. It’s probably a fair assessment, since the Flash is the main character and even from the get-go before the big climatic revelation in the final issue, I sort of knew that whatever happened in this story was probably Barry Allen’s fault…

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COMIC REVIEW – Batman: A Death In The Family

You know, it’s hard to go back to this one nowadays. Not because it’s a bad story or anything; on the contrary, A Death In The Family is probably one of the better Batman stories out there, even when you take the controversial circumstances surrounding its conception out of the equation. But rather because the big twist would be undone a decade after the fact and thus the impact of the story is ultimately lost.

So this is the story commonly known for the death of Jason Todd – at the time, the second character to assume the mantle of Robin and a somewhat unpopular character due to his more impulsive nature compared to the original Robin, Dick Grayson – who had assumed the identity of Nightwing by that point. In a rather bold and unorthodox move for its day, DC would place the fate of Jason Todd in the hands of its readership by way of a telephone poll where caller would call one of two numbers to determine whether Todd would survive his fatal blows or perish… and callers voted to kill the character off by an extremely slim margin, much to the chagrin and outrage of the mass media, appalled by the idea of DC killing off one of their most well-known characters, even if it isn’t technically the same character they were thinking of.

While A Death In The Family might be known for the killing of a major character, it shouldn’t detract from the fact that everything that comes before and after the scene of the crime is excellent, beginning with Jason Todd coming across information regarding the location of his birth mother in some foreign land. Unfortunately, also in this foreign land is the Joker. Things pick up steam, then Robin gets killed off, and now Batman has to deal with grief and a desire to end the Joker once and for all; a task that becomes a bit more complicated.

A Death In The Family remains one of the perennial Batman stories ever tol. Not only due to its main climax, but also for being a solid story overall with some fantastic art from Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo. And while Jason Todd has long since been resurrected because DC has run out of original ideas, thus rendering the big climatic turning point moot, this is still a good thrilling read from the days when such stories were done on a regular basis. Recommended.

COMIC REVIEW – Power Rangers Zeo #1 (Image Comics)

Image Comics got their hands on the Power Rangers license and only managed this; their only Zeo comic that was going to be the first chapter of a much longer story. And then… things fell apart and we didn’t get new Power Rangers comics until the Saban Powerhouse things the following year. It’s a shame, because out of all the Rangers comics up to this point, this was probably the best of the bunch.

It does the best job of giving us a primer on our main characters without going into ten pages of pointless exposition a piece, it gives us a predicament for our heroes to overcome, and then it tosses in our A-plot of the Machine Empire ravaging Master Vile’s domain because Zedd kept the Power Coin energies and now the Rangers have to claim that power back. All the while giving Billy a plot point about the faintest possibility of his powers being restored… even though he voluntarily stepped down because he wouldn’t look good in a skirt.

The real tragedy is that this was a solid first chapter of what would’ve been a compelling little story if Image played their cards right. The plotting was good, the characters are somewhat true to form, the overall artwork is quality stuff – even if Billy has his old glasses that he stopped wearing mid-Season 2 – and it didn’t feel like the usual throwaway licensed drivel. Hell, it doesn’t even look like the roughshod crap that usually came out of Image at the time. The fact that I’ve got this much to say about this one issue says volumes about how good it is.

Maybe someday, a deal can be worked out so that the Bierbaums will be able to continue this where they left… but given the state of comics afterwards – both in terms of Power Rangers and in general – my hopes aren’t high in this regard.