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And another Random Review for today is a comic I picked up several weeks ago and finally got around to reading, Pale Horse by BOOM! Studios. This purchase was based on the fact that I want to give BOOM! a chance in some of their new products and also because I'm a huge fan of westerns and am always on the lookout for another really good western series like Jonah Hex or Lone Ranger.

My thoughts on Pale Horse are a bit of a mix bag. The premise is pretty good, being a often-times used one but with a twist: an African American in the post-Civil War years in the Old West, whose wife (a Native American) is brutalized and killed, hiding their son for him to find, and he then embarks on a huge revenge quest, all the while teaching his son how to survive and kill. Years later he is a wanted man but also a bounty hunter. Not the most original thing, but the twist of being a black man in the years right after the end of the Civil War adds a level of "the different" that I could get into.

The mood of the series is rough in the same vein as Jonah Hex and the Man with No Name, which I find appealing. My major complaint is there just doesn't seem to be enough meat for me in one issue. This is a common complaint I've had about many series from BOOM! Studios. While that may all go away in the trade format, it doesn't help me right now when I'm buying single issues. And to be quite honest, the chances of me buying a TPB for a series no one is going out of their way to recommend to me is incredibly dismal, while the chances of me picking a single issue off the rack is quite good; in other words--you've got to rope me in with one issue. Because of this huge decompression, I probably will not buy another issue unless I hear down the road that I should have given the series another chance and am missing something really good.

The creative team is all new to me. Artist Christian Dibari is good, but not on the same level as Sergio Cariello, who takes the sting of the Lone Ranger's decompressed nature away with his stunning depictions.

Anyone who picked this series up--I'd love to hear your thoughts!

For Superman/Wonder Woman: Whom Gods Destroy #1.

Elseworlds started out with a story about Batman if he had been around during the 1880s. From that point, most of them became stories about putting different heroes in different times. Most, well, a good number of them, such as:
*Batman during the Reign of Terror of France in the 19th Century.
*Steel during the days of Civil War-era Southern United States.
*Superman during the Civil War.
*Green Lantern during the days of Tammany Hall.

Some are takes on other literary works.
*Superman as the Frankenstein monster.
*Batman as Jekyll and Hyde.
*Superman living Tarzan's life and vice versa.
*A trilogy based on German Expressionist films surrounding Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Metropolis.

And then the more complex stories such as:
*Kingdom Come
*Batman: The Book of Dead, which deals with Egyptian mythology and the upcoming means to avert a cataclysm in 2012 involving a long dead bat god.
*Conjurors: A world where magic was more predominant than science, with no Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman analogues.

Superman/Wonder Woman is a much more complex idea. There's no Batman in this story, and before you realize it, Wonder Woman is not the same. It's 1996, Superman has been around since 1938 but he's as young as ever, while Lois Lane and Lana Lang are both old, but not feeble. Oh, and the Third Reich is still around. Superman can't touch them because of the Geneva Convention, and the result of one time when he crossed them... well, Metropolis is gone. However, this issue demonstrates that Greek mythology will have a giant role to play in the story, as Superman is attacked by a creature definitely of magical nature, and Lois has a vision, or dream, of Superman wreaking havoc, and Lana hanging from shackles with an anvil tied around her feet, a punishment that Hera, Zeus' wife and the Goddess of marriage, once suffered.

A prevalent theme in this miniseries is humanity. Lois and Lana's age, Superman's ties to humanity, and his growing frustrations over his inability to finish his next book, which Lois identifies as a human flaw.

This is one of the few books Chris Claremont ever wrote for DC besides his Sovereign Seven series, and it's one of the more original and engrossing Elseworlds miniseries I've ever read. Abell and Geraci do a good job on the art, not spectacular, but good, and his designs on the Greek Panthenon and the upcoming appearance of Diana in later issues are something to remember.

Robert Bloch was one of the all-time great horror and crime authors in the previous century, and while I’m familiar with him, it’s not nearly as much as I want to be. Early in his career, like many of the other great writers of the last century such as Ray Bradbury, he wrote many stories in the pulp magazines of the day. One of his most famous ones was “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper”, one of the earliest Jack the Ripper tales to be popularized. Bloch was truly fascinated with serial killers—writing the book Psycho based on a fascination with real life killer Ed Gein, which would become the movie of the same name—and it’s only natural he had an interest in the first truly notorious serial killer himself.

IDW is now publishing a comic book adaptation of Robert Bloch’s “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” by Joe & John Landsdale. To be honest, I generally avoid comic book adaptations of previous material and also, I have no real idea who the Landsdales are; my recent great experience with Darwyn Cooke’s Parker adaptations has loosened me up a bit and I figured I’d take a chance, since I’ve always been equally fascinated with serial killers and this is one of the seminal works of a great author of the subject.

I’m glad I did—I found the first issue to be really engaging and full of atmosphere and tension. The coloring job in black & white lends itself well, and the creators waste no time in moving the plot along; by the end of the first issue, you’re already clearly getting an idea of where the story is going and whether the premise of Jack the Ripper alive and well in the 1940’s is really happening or a hoax…and if the former, how that could be.

The first issue read like a really great time-period crime story and by issue’s end, I’m realizing this is much more of a horror story. I kind of stumbled onto this issue by accident in the CBS while I was looking for other things and bought it on a whim. I’m glad I did!

I’m also very curious about the original pulp story and would love to read it.

I picked up Wolverine #1 because Jason Aaron is writing it. I'm a fan of Wolverine the character though like most people could do without about half of his appearances these days. I've collected Wolverine's solo comic sporadically over the years when the creative team was strong.

I thought it was a pretty solid first issue and set-up. Knowing how good Aaron is from his other works, I'm getting the sense the build-up here is about to explode in the next few issues.

Something else else Aaron does is make a very real, scary threat in the story. It comes across pretty hardcore. I personally am beginning to suspect Jason Aaron in real life is like Swearigen in Deadwood.

Will I buy more issues? I'm not sure. It was a solid start but the question is do I really feel like collecting Wolverine? Definitely an in-store decision.

Titans #27. Yes, there are spoilers.

I would just like to say that the solicitation for this issue was completely misleading and untrue. Roy and Deathstroke didn’t have to team up together. Hell, they didn’t even spend most of this book in the same room together.

Following the last issue, the Losers for Hire infiltrated the center of a drug lord named Elijah, who distributes a drug called Bliss… which is made from children. Deathstroke’s pre-school sociopaths were attacked by Elijah’s Dominators.

This issue we finally learn their names, and they are: Pisces, Brute, Spike (a Texan), and, wait for it… DJ Molecule.

As Deathstroke deals with the Dominators, Roy goes in search of the holding chambers, and gives more inner monologue, wondering about justice, the only reason he’s with these “Titans” is because of Cheshire… for Lian… and looking forward to killing Slade when he gets the chance. Then he finds the kids.

“Cheshire was right. This is a harvesting chamber. And children are the crops.”

Roy tries to get one out, and the kid dies.

“If that’s how far Elijah was willing to go to make sure his ‘product’ isn’t tampered with… then Bliss must be one helluva high.”

“…I wonder what it tastes like?”

And then Roy gets attacked by Spike. Here’s an example of the dialogue between them:

Spike: Say yer prayers, Red. I’m gonna slice and dice you like a side of Travis County BBQ.
Roy: Stuff it, Tex. You’re about as dangerous as a drunk armadillo crossing six lanes of busy interstate.

Meanwhile, Osiris deals with a Bliss-fueled vision/hallucination of Osiris, talking about bringing her back, the blood he’s spilt and the shadows in his soul, and what he’ll have to do to bring Isis back. And how many people might have to die because of it.

Roy beats Tex, gets the kids out safely. Osiris kills Elijah. Deathstroke and the others leave, with Deathstroke getting what he wanted. DJ Molecule, for some reason.

Back at base, Roy discovers his stash of drugs is missing. Cheshire has it. She offers him something else:

Cheshire: I’ve got something… far more addictive.

And the two have sex. While Deathstroke watches from a security camera, holding a vial of Bliss.

Ugh. Ugh! UGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Even when they write Roy out of character, they manage to write him out of character! The whole reason he’s become like this is because his daughter was killed! I can understand the heroin, or any other drug, but to contemplate using a drug made from children is just contradictory and stupid! And the fact that he actually had a vial of Bliss just makes it worse. (The drug inside the vial is the same color as Bliss). Exactly how long was he in the Villains HQ long enough to get his room in order AND hide a stash?

I’d say that still thinking of Lian and saving the kids would be a good thing, but that gets shot down to hell with the reveal that Roy has some Bliss on him.

More Brightest Day crap with Osiris, who’s temper tantrum can be cleverly written off as under the influence of Bliss. But now it looks like he might have to kill more to bring Isis back. Not to mention he continues to deny that it wasn’t his fault that Ryan Choi is dead, that Deathstroke is the one who did it.

As for the other two? Cinder and Tattooed Man?

Cinder: Die child killers!
Tattooed Man (possibly, or Cheshire): Cinder might be nuts but she does get right to the point.

This issue still doesn’t do anything in terms of sympathy for Cheshire. She bemoans that the kids are going back to their parents, unlike Lian. Every time they try to pass her off as sympathetic I just remember what she did in Villains United. To add more to that, the reason she let Roy raise Lian in the first place was because she said she couldn’t. Obviously she was unfit to do so. But she was perfectly willing to raise the child she had by Thomas Blake. The idea of her having sex with Roy makes my stomach turn, simply because there is nothing attractive about this uber-witch, and to pass her off as that is the same as a slap in the face.

Deathstroke managed to subdue DJ Molecule (UGH) by firing… foam? Into DJ’s mouth? Since when could his staff do that?

In the scene where Roy kicks his arm on the floor during his little temper tantrum, the posture of his leg doesn’t make sense given the amount of force applied to that gaudy gold thing.

Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion

Got the HC from the local library. This is a collection of a 6 issue miniseries by Billy Tucci.

This is the true story of the 141st infantry being surrounded and cut off. Obviously Rock and his grunts from Easy were not really there, but their presence does not change the tone of this story; nor do the appearance of a few other recognizable faces.

That being said, I find that this book would have almost been better not having those characters involved at all...but I fully understand the reasoning behind the decision.

The story is riviting, and one can imagine that Rock or any of the men he has with him might actually get the final shot that they all expect at any moment. Each of the crew of Easy get's a moment here...but again, not at the detriment of the story itself. SureShot is the one who, in my opinion, gets the biggest chance to shine...even though a lot of what he does is off "camera." This story, more than most I've read, shows the horros of war and the toll that it took on those that fought under the American Flag. Including the Japanese regiment that is part of the story.

The writing is very well paced...even when it seems to slow in places...it amps right back up again. The artwork is beautiful, even if it does make identifying some of Easy a little more difficult than when Joe Kubert draws them.

Very well done book, and highly recommended for those that love War Stories.

Next Up is Fax From Sarajevo

I don't collect any Radical Comics right now--does anyone here? I'm curious what their output is like.

One thing I did pick up was a $1.00 of Mata Hari, which is actually a preview of the first 20 or so pages of the upcoming graphic novel (for $1.00 I'll buy almost anything). Mata Hari, of course, being the infamous actress spy of WWI, and one of the infamous people in the last century.

It was pretty good! Good enough in fact, to make me totally curious about Mata Hari and want to learn more about her life on my own. Story-telling seemed to click by both writer & artists, and the content was fascinating.

Pretty bold choice for a practically unknown independent comic book company.

The first two issues of "Driver for the Dead" have been excellent... not the type of book I'd normally pick up, but I got a preview copy at Comic Con and liked what I saw... beautiful art and compelling story for fans of voodoo and zombies...

Titans #28 Review - Spoilers.

Yet another issue of Deathstroke's merry band of sociopaths this month of October. This time around they're getting paid to bust somebody out of Arkham Asylum, while at the same time Deathstroke is looking for somebody else. After months somebody is finally looking into Ryan Choi's "disappearance", Ray Palmer. Roy is once again high and has to be quietly restrained by Cheshire so as to not try and slit Deathstroke's throat, or the Joker's, or anyone else's for that matter. Tattooed Man dwells on his dead son. Cinder wants to murder an Arkham inhabitant named Nursery Crime. Osiris kills the asylum guard who got them in and is responsible for all the inmates getting free. And then Deathstroke finally finds who he is looking for... a young woman named Allegra Garcia, before Batman intervenes.
...
Again with the children. For the last three issues of Titans that's all it seems to involve and no one seems to be bothered by it.
*The death of Lian Harper, Roy's daughter by undeserving witch Cheshire.
*Children being kidnapped and harvested as the main ingredient for a designer drug called Bliss.
*The death of Tattooed Man's son at the hands of Slipknot.
*The introduction, or mention, of a villain named Nursery Crime, who apparently has a history with both Cinder AND little children.
*The introduction of Allegra Garcia, who appears to be twelve or thirteen years old, wearing an inhibitor collar and stuck in a cell with words and crude images scrawled on her wall. Scared out of her mind and possibly deadly. Wait, it's Arkham. Yeah, she's deadly.

What is with DC in thinking that children make for good drama? It's sadistic, vicious, and all too easy. Children are probably reading this comic right now. I mean, they know who Titans are, and they know who Deathstroke is? Is this what they need? Even if the story isn't aimed at them, it's still disgusting and done for no other reason then to try and incite petty drama and darkness. In terms of the reveal of Allegra Garcia, chances are she might actually be the new member who Eric Wallace hinted at. And from the looks of things it's a "you don't know what she is" cliche going on here. Everybody had assumed the new member might be Rose. Still, chances are she might be.

Tattooed Man and Cinder finally get a bit on initiative as Tattooed Man dwells on his son's death and wonders what kind of a man he's becoming now that he's become involved in the death of Ryan Choi, and it's implied that Nursery Crime has had a history with Cinder, whose backstory implies she's suffered at the ends of molestation and sexual abuse when she was younger.

Someone FINALLY makes an effort into looking for Ryan Choi after he's been "missing" for months.

Roy's been a... member of Titans for three issues, and in each issue he's been high. His first words are "let's do this" with a rather bloodthirsty look on his face, and while talking with Cheshire she has to control him from wanting to slit Slade's throat. Then he mentions he could do the Joker's. We find out from the way he is seeing THREE Cheshire's that, yes, he is high.

Osiris is slowly turning more into Superboy-Prime rather than Black Adam Jr. as I have stated before, with him dwelling on whether or not to kill a security guard to help Isis. Then decides he NEEDS to. And when the guard unlocks the cells just before he dies, Osiris decides not to help his teammates, to teach them that it wasn't a good idea to make fun of him.

Speaking of, the asylum cells have been open for five seconds, and alright most of the patients have their gear. Zsasz has a knife, Mr. Freeze has his gun, hell, Firefly has a got a tank of either gasoline of kerosene and a match! What the heck?!

I figured that DC was beginning to get desperate with this title when the solicits read that Brightest Day fans should tune in for the Osiris tie-in element, the only BD solicit I could think of that asked fans to tune in. And the element? Three or four pages of Osiris deciding to kill the security guard.

The issue ends once again with the team being overwhelmed by a giant group against, just like it did in the last two-part storyarc. Joy.

^ That book sounds like everything I hate about comics at the moment. I don't know how anyone could enjoy that type of content. Especially in a book called Titans. I have little doubt a lot of it is editorially-mandated though. DC's current editorial leadership is the worst in the company's history IMO. They need a massive shake-up there STAT.

Surprisingly, I don't even want this book burned. NO book deserves that.

But I wouldn't mind if ever issue of this, Rise, and Cry for Justice were rounded up, along with the original art and scripts and notes, and put inside the basement of a church in a small town which is going to be flooded to make an artificial lake.

RE: Titans. I generally avoid even reading reviews of it; Sarky's latest reminds me why--what an awesome series.

Meanwhile, I recently read a comic I enjoyed quite a bit: The Sixth Gun by Oni Press. I picked this up on a whim and am glad I did, as I'll likely complete the series. It takes place in the Old West but with a mystical/horror element as well. The story centers around a mystical six-shooter and hints at an interesting history behind it. There are pinkertons, ghosts, a leading man with ambiguous morals and lots of mystery.

The writing by Cullen Bunn is very tight and packs a lot in the first issue, and the art by Brian Hurtt is dynamic, exciting and very well suited to the genre. He draws great horror-type scenes, and also great western scenes. His art feels like it'd be perfect for Jonah Hex.

Solid buy.

Something else else more positive. Knight & Squire #1.

With the continuing flow of darkness, depravity, and dead children in some DC Comics, another bright spot has opened up in this long-needed miniseries about the British Batman and Robin, Knight and Squire.

The first of the series opens into a pub called The Time In A Bottle, which is a neutral ground for Britain's many superheroes, villains, rogues, and adventurers. Besides the Knight and his plucky sidekick, the Squire, we meet the likes:

*Jarvis Poker, the British Joker, a "cover version" of the Joker who admires his style but at the same time can't bring himself to commit any ACTUAL crimes. Not very tasteful, in his opinion.
*The Shrike (or rather, the British Shrike), a new costumed player who has yet to decide if he wants to be a hero or a villain.
*Faceoff, an implied "heavy duty" hero and homosexual.
*Captain Cornwall and Cornwall Boy, said to be descendants of Merlin with ties to his brand of "land magic". Always at each other's throats.
*Heroes such as Salt of the Earth, the Milkman, Rush Hour I, II, and III, Captain Moondust.
*Villains such as Death Dinosaur, Blind Fury, Stone Cold Luke, and the Dark Druid.

However, in Britain, they have with them a sense of moderation, unlike the American heroes who go to big extremes in their field of superheroics. You're either a paragon of justice or a filthy murderer.

Now, one might be a bit consumed by the use of British slang and lingo, but this issue offers a perfect example of how superheroics work in England, rather than slowly revealing it. The ones who steal the show this issue are Knight, Squire, Shrike, and Jarvis, as most of the reveal behind the Time In A Bottle's history and the history of Britain's superheroics is explained to the Shrike by Squire.

The artist feels the issue with dozens of original, and as of yet, unnamed villains and heroes inhabiting said Pub, my personal favorite being Death Dinosaur.

The story as a whole reads at times like a Monty Python sketch about superheroes, or a superhero comic about Monty Python. Does that sound right? Either way, this gives the Knight and Squire a chance to shine outside of Batman or Justice League comics, as for years Grant Morrison has been slowly revealing bits about their history to his readers.

^I can't wait to pick up Knight & Squire #1!

Today I also read a comic that was accidently put in my pull-pile, and I left it there, Spawn #199. I used to be a Spawn reader for a longtime when it debuted in the 90's--I still have issues #1 - 80. At that point, I realized I had no idea why I was still collecting and dropped the title, as there was little I liked about it anymore. I'm a huge fan of McFarlane's artwork, but the storyline for Spawn wasn't my cup of tea. I'm now collecting Haunt by McFarlane and the immensely talented Robert Kirkman, so for the first time in years, I'm collecting a McFarlane comic again. Very recently, my CBS accidentally put #199 in my pile, I decided I'd leave it in there and see how Spawn was doing all these long years later since I've been enjoying Haunt.

I'll tell you it wasn't bad by any means...it just wasn't quite what I'm looking for right now. There is a new Spawn from the one I know, and while I recognize Sam & Twitch, I have no pull to the characters. I also feel like this is a pretty similar story to Spawn when I dropped it 12 years ago--basically not much of a story at all but scheming demons and angels using Spawn to create Armageddon.

Something else else that was a plus and made me feel okay with having made the purchase was the artwork. It was Eric Larsen's pencils with McFarlane inks. Larsen has never been a favorite of mine, but I do like his layouts. McFarlane, meanwhile, is one of my favorite inkers, so seeing his embellishments on Larsen's work made for a really cool mix. I liked it a lot. They're not the regular creative team, just a one-off combo, so it was cool that I got this issue in particular. I always kind of lump them together anyway because they were the big Spider-Man artists who left to co-form Image with the other 5.

It's funny that I bought an issue of Spawn. Not only did I read it long ago, I used to have a good friend "kind of" into comics that would only read Spawn and Batman. Spawn was just so popular in the 90's. Nowadays, I don't know anyone (online or in person) who collects it.

Codename: Sailor V is, in a way, the prologue to the Sailor Moon series created by Naoko Takeuchi, and sets the stage for the main series.

It’s the story of Minako (Mina) Aino, a junior high school student who finds a talking white cat with a crescent moon mark on his forehead named Artemis, who tells her that she is really a soldier of love and justice. Minako learns that she’s the reincarnation of the princess of Venus, and she’s given the equipment and ability to transform into a sailor-suited soldier of justice, Codename: Sailor V. However, Minako has no interest in wanting to be a soldier of justice and is happy just being a normal guy and a fan of idols. Artemis has to put up with her laziness and deals with training a less-than-ideal soldier, and reports to a never-seen “Boss” through a command center .

From those of you who ever watched Sailor Moon, you’ll remember the mentions made of Sailor V, a mysterious, masked heroine who had her own video game, comics, and an anime coming out. It later turned out that Sailor V was actually Sailor Venus, and had awoken earlier than the other Sailor Soldiers. Sailor V has drastically different powers from Sailor Venus, as well as a drastically different costume.

The villains of Codename: Sailor V are a group called the Dark Agency. Under the lead of a mysterious figure called Danburite, the Dark Agency is constantly trying to take over the world, steal energy, and rake in cash. How do they do it? Idols. Pretty much every enemy and agent they use serve as beautiful, gifted idols for the public to fawn over. The Dark Agency makes constant attempts at stealing energy through music, television, video games, cosmetics, travel, and even through selling fattening chocolates and endorsing a weight-loss program around Valentine’s Day. The Dark Agency, however, turns out to be a sublet of the Dark Kingdom, the main villains of the first Sailor Moon story arc.

Minako usually finds out about them because she’s such a fan girl. However, she usually gets prevented from actually participating in any live events or concerts and thus misses out on the general brainwashing attempt, only to learn what’s going on a while later. It’s because she’s such a fan girl that herself and Artemis learn what the Dark Agency is up to.

The supporting cast besides Minako and Artemis are Minako’s best friend, Hikaru, who bears a resemblance to Ami Mizuno (Amy, Sailor Mercury) and Amano Gurikazu, a geek who Minako considers an annoyance yet has large knowledge of current idols (who bears a resemblance to Umino/Melvin from Sailor Moon). Others outside of school are Minako’s overbearing mother, who usually scolds her daughter for her pop culture interests yet she herself winds up a victim due to her hypocrisy. There’s also the police superintendent Natsuna Sakurada who is a closet V fan but has to pretend to be against her, and disgruntled young officer Toshi Wakagi who usually suffers because of V.

There are various cameos and mentions to the regular series in Sailor V. In fact, the boy who runs the arcade Minako frequents is actually a reoccurring character from Sailor Moon, Motoki Furuhata, and it is suggested that Natsuna is somehow related to Haruna Sakurada, Sailor Moon’s junior high teacher.

It’s actually kind of weird to read Codename: Sailor V, for the somewhat ditzy and hyperactive way that Minako is portrayed. As someone who started watching Sailor Moon with the episode where Sailor Jupiter was introduced, I’m more used to the more serious depiction of Minako than to her fan girlish persona. To me, it’s as if she suffered a stroke which caused a severe personality upheaval.

However, this offers a rare chance to demonstrate a Sailor Moon character’s development and history before the series started. I was lucky to find this online at mangafox.com.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/codename_sailor_v/v01/c001/

I've been able to do quite a bit of comic book reading in the last 2 days and so figured I'd catch up on several reviews I wanted to do, including several here in Random Review Corner--1 new one, and 3 comics I've already reviewed here and so figured I'd continue to use this thread to update. So forgive the next four consecutive posts!

I read Scarlett #2 and was left with the same impressions of the first issue. It's a very well-done, interesting series and I'm curious to see where it's going. What differentiates it is the story-telling methods Bendis and Maleev are choosing to use and that makes it a refreshing read.

The story itself is pretty solid so far even though #2 didn't quite advance the plot as far as I would have hoped. I'm not sure if a nation-wide revolution is where this comic is really going or if that is just hype I've read elsewhere, but if so, I'm still not seeing how the comic can get there even quasi-realistically. But then again, I may be completely wrong on whether that is where it really is going.

Maleev's artwork is a wonder to behold. The artwork, combined with the unique style of story-telling have earned Scarlett a permanent place on my pull list for now.

At the risk of quoting myself too many times, I figured I'd keep it going so my impressions overtime are apparent.

Astonishing Wolverine / Spider-Man continues to be a highly entertaining read with excellent writing and beautiful artwork and I'm glad I've stuck it out. I've finished #3 and since this is a 6 issue series, I'm committed to getting the whole thing. I suspect this will make an awesome trade once it's complete.

There are several very strong points to the series, particularly the Kubert artwork and the science-fiction bent in plot that is a nice change of pace for Logan especially, as well as Peter (whose sci-fi is usually more grounded; this is more Marvel Team-Up 'off the wall' sci-fi). But the strongest part of this series is how well Jason Aaron gets and understands both Spider-Man and Wolverine. He writes them incredibly well! His Spider-Man is perfect and he writes Wolverine in a way that showcases the characters depth and doesn't even come close to the parody of the original character he often is portrayed as.

Anyone wishing there was a fun superhero story for Wolverine and Spider-Man that has high stakes and a tight plot but isn't mired in tragedy and "grim & gritty"--do yourself a favor and buy this trade when its available.

Well, I finally did get around to reading #3 of Shadowhawk and my impression of the comic is...it just isn't anything very good. It's not terrible, or even 'bad', but it isn't great, or even 'good'. It's just okay. I like this character a lot, but if this was a host of other characters I would be dropping it without a second thought. I think three issues is enough time for any series to get it's footing and grab the reader and this hasn't done so.

The problem lies in both the writing and artwork. It feels very raw and very flat. There isn't anything striking about it.

I think #3 was my final issue. Unless I'm in the CBS looking for anything to buy to tide me over until my next big run, I don't really have much of a reason to continue. It's too bad--if Valentino was the actual artist, that would probably be enough to keep me around a little longer.

One of the big announcements coming from the smaller publishers in recent months has been the team-up between BOOM! Studios and Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment to create three new superhero titles. I'm slightly skeptical about more superhero comics entering this market unless they are hands-down excellent, but figured all three would be worth a try. Of course quite a lot would depend on the actual creative teams as it's obvious Stan's involvement is limited (though he'll probably take all the credit like he's done his whole career--but that's a conversation for somewhere else ).

Soldier Zero was the first to come out, about a veteran from Afghanistan confined to a wheelchair and trying to move on with his life before a meteor hits that will ultimate give him a supehero power set and armor to make him Soldier Zero. If that's vague, it's because that's all we get in #1...it's only part of the origin and there isn't much action. Of course, a big part is the awkwardness for the soldier trying to get by in a wheelchair and how uncomfortable other people are around him.

This last bit is interesting though a little 'on the nose' in delivery, but that's part & parcel for a Stan Lee comic so it isn't surprising. It also fits with the old Marvel 'tragic hero' angle. I think in premise it's a good one and something I'd like to see more. But 6 or so pages of it is a bit much; this should have been condensed throughout the issue so we could get a full origin here.

Paul Cornell, who I'm just becoming familiar with in Action Comics and Knight & Squire, is handling the writing and the dialogue is very good. The plotting, as a I mention above, is a bit slow and vague so far.

Javier Pina provides the artwork and does a nice job. My problem is it isn't anything spectacular because it doesn't feel very detailed; the backgrounds are almost completely empty in every panel. That always smells like a rush job to me where corners were cut and as some LWers may know, I *hate* that.

I'd give this a solid C+ / B- and at this point, I'm unsure whether I'll get #2. I certainly will try the other 2 comics though. Is anyone else going to pick any of these up?

I'm still thinking about it.

The premises are interesting, but the last few weeks have been big for me, book-wise. I'm also not sure if I need to be jumping into another superhero universe right now. Maybe if there's a slow week and my store still has copies.

A review of one of my favorite Elseworlds stories, "Supergirl: Wings."

This is one of those rare examples where a hero other than Batman and/or Superman was granted an Elseworlds story that wasn't simply an annual or used as a type of sequel for something else. Heck, even Wonder Woman and Green Lantern only got two.

The basic story is a retelling of Peter David's first half of the last Supergirl series, the "Earth-Angel" saga. Matrix is now literally an angel, one of many whose task is to save those teetering on the brink of damnation, the Amenlee. Her compatriot is Zauriel, part of those who work with human souls before they are born, the Kindel. Matrix is expressing doubts about her latest charge, a girl named Linda Danvers who is resisting her every attempt at helping her. One of the reoccurring themes of this story is the idea of love and liking. Matrix and Zauriel are SUPPOSED to love humans, they don't actually have a choice in the matter. But Zauriel admits that he actually likes them beyond what his role is supposed to be, yet Matrix keeps expressing more and more doubts on whether or not she has the capacity to do so, along with the doubt that Linda can truly be saved. When you think about it, people always talk about guardian angels, yet we have to wonder if they actually love us because they choose to, or because that's what they are there for. Growing to love and like something, and being born to love something are two entirely different things.

In all of this there is Matrix's charge, Linda Danvers, who is supposedly very self-willed towards the dark side. Although we never actually see Linda committing any sins so we just go on Matrix's judgement, as well as the Spectre's, who attempts to claim Linda twice in the story. Linda's boyfriend, Buzz, is believed to be one of the guiding reasons behind Linda's sins, but as Buzz points out, everything she did was of her own free will. We're even told that Linda's original guardian angel "went down in flames, so to speak". However, Linda comes along quicker in her revelation than Matrix, which would be easier to assume, as Linda is not forced to conform to the ideas and life that Matrix was born for. Linda winds up being the one to save Matrix in a moment where she shows the most strength out of everyone in the story.

Beyond love there is also change, as Matrix keeps trying to resist her doubts and free will and longing for the days when she was just an extension of God's will, but every time she is nearly assimilated with another form of God and about to lose her identity she resists at the last minute. Whether she likes it or not, she's changing, and with those changes her newfound anger at Linda, and later the human race, continues to grow. At one point Matrix "possesses" Linda, and is disgusted at the so-called cage that is humanity. She is disgusted by the five senses and the bacteria and disease in a person's body. "They're dying from the moment they're born!" In a moment when Matrix, still in Linda, begins to make out with Buzz, Matrix becomes so repulsed after nearly enjoying it that she stops in the middle and almost kills Buzz with a lamp.

Matrix is constantly shown different perspectives on the human race beyond what her angelic existence knows, with help from others such as Zauriel and the Phantom Stranger. There are angelic re-imaginings of Superman, Swamp Thing, and Aquaman present in this story. Superman appears, first as the husband of a happily-married couple with two children in Kansas, and later we learn that he is an angel who is actually living among humanity without having gave up his abilities. Swamp Thing and Aquaman appear as reflections of God based on the Earth and the oceans, the Deva of the Trees and Ceetka, respectively. There role demonstrates an attempt at blending together the idea of sprites and nature spirits with ideas of God and angels, as angels themselves can be seen as counterparts to nymphs and fairies in certain other religions. An interesting note to point out is that no religion is actually identified in this book, although people would assume that because it deals with angels it's more attuned to a monotheistic religion. God is never referred to as "him" or "her", but "Hir", bringing on the idea that God is genderless, or rather, our personal idea of God differs amongst each person. We're also introduced to Buzz as a demon named M'yaa, who also appears as the Devil in a Batman-esque depiction in the final moments before Matrix nearly caves in.

Most people are always criticizing the Earth-Angel story, but in my opinion it's much more enjoyable than the whole "bad girl emo" shpeel we had to deal with for the first two or three years of the current Supergirl series.

Yes, there were a couple of things I found about the ending that were hokey, such as the scene of all the secondary characters gathering, and smiling, during the moment of big truth, and when Matrix/Linda sports her new appearance with the blank shield on Matrix's outfit now sporting an "S", even though there's no actual reason for it. But I was willing to overlook it due to the fact that someone was willing to do a Supergirl (not Superman or Superboy) Elseworlds that didn't put her in the future or just recast her into another timeline, but took the less-then-popular "Earth-Angel" storyline and reworked it into a struggle of good versus evil where the proponent of good is the one who is more likely to fall than the girl she is trying to save. In regular comics, it was up to Matrix to save Linda's soul, here, it becomes the other way around.

I give a lot of positive reviews on Legion World so when I read something I feel very negatively about, I'm almost shocked by it and instantly want to know if anyone is enjoying it. Such is the case with Knight and Squire by DC and Paul Cornell.

These are two characters I like a real lot--I loved the way Grant Morrison brought the concept back to DC and I love the obscure and surprisingly complex history of the characters. So I was excited for a mini focused on them, which only furthered my disappointment.

I found #1 to be an issue in which almost nothing of any note happens, and instead if jam-packed with British in-jokes. I like British culture quite a bit (especially London and it's history) but I have no great knowledge or interest in that many obscure references to British pop-culture. I actually felt a bit cheated by it for spending my money on this.

Not a single moment provides any way to giving insight to either Knight or Squire, which is unfortunate. Given this Knight is very similar to the current Dick-as-Batman scenario, it would be a good time to showcase the fact that Knight is the son of the original (and former Squire) who has taken up his father's mantle.

I'm pretty bummed out by how bad I thought the issue was.

Something else else that I did find highly enjoyable was the Valkyrie one-shot by Mice Templar's Brian Glass and the consistently good Phil Winslade. I wish this was #1 of an ongoing series as it did a great job establishing Val in this new Asgard era and made me want more.

Glass is an excellent writer as seen in Mice Templar and he's a natural to handle the Asgardians in the MU. Here he does a great job at showcasing the various facets of Val. She's an ass-kicker and that needs to be shown, but he is also clear that she is not a man-hater (groan) and actually her origins in Der Ring des Nibelungen show her as someone who believes in the idea of love and that men, like women, can truly be worthy of it.

Phil Winslade has been knocking it out of the park with his Jonah Hex stories in the last few years and he continues it here. His action sequences felt very 70's to me which is fitting since it's the era most associated with Val. He does a good job at making his art scratchy/gritty like in Hex, or more clean / well-finished as here. I thought he did a great job.

The use of Piledriver was welcome and well-done. It's probably his best appearance since the mid-80's by Stern.

What could possibly be the very best work Mark Millar has ever done, and by far the best artwork Leinil Yu has every produced, has arrived in the form of Superior, an independent comic released by Marvel's Icon imprint. Millar is a writer many love to hate, but I've always felt he was very talented and his independent work has always been his best stuff. He is a naturally at evoking the 'teenage emotions' in his reader, but here, he does a great job evoking the sense of wonder that a kid or pre-teen would feel and it was very refreshing! Millar's recent track-record included a sub-par Fantastic Four run and a really good Nemesis miniseries (creator-owned) and I think here he turns that creator-owned success in quality into a streak (likely continued with Kick-Ass II).

Leinil Yu, who is an artist that to be honest, I find to be one of the weaker 'hot' artists in comics, is suddenly proving me wrong by providing artwork for a story that he clearly loves and is invested in. The level of detail is huge! The scope switches from tight 'small-screen' moments to scenes incredibly epic and grand, while throughout the whole thing conveying a sense of wonder.

Dave McCraig, who does the colors, also does a wonderful job bringing some 'pop' to the artwork. Superior really felt like an iconic, coloful superhero who could exist in the great eras of comics past as well as today.

The premise, in which a pre-teen with MS suddenly finds himself transformed into a grown-up superhero (similar to Captain Marvel, but with some twists including not knowing how to change back) is very solid. Millar does a great job making very clear the lead character's point of view in being shocked and then terrified at the turn of events.

Something else else should also be mentioned: there is no excess violence, sex, smut, gross humor or other trademarks many may think should be here. In fact, this is very clearly something you could hand an 8 year old, while incredibly entertaining to a 30 year old like myself.

I highly recommend this and I also dare those with a preconception of Millar (or Yu, like me) to try it out and be surprised...and delighted.