76 #1
Image
I picked this up because I’m a huge fan of B. Clay Moore. I’m now also a fan of Ed Tadem as well.
This book is done in two parts: East Coast and West Coast. Set firmly in 1976. To help set the mood we get all sorts of lists of what was cool and popular. A very nice touch. The first part by Moore is an East Coast martial arts tale of heroes protecting the hood. Cool art from Tadem really works for this. I’d love to know what moore was listening to when he wrote this.
The second part is West Coast by Seth Peck and Tigh Walker. Bounty hunters going up against some bad ass dudes. Also very fun.
Put on some Sly and the Family Stone and lose yourself in another era that was more fun that we remember!
Abe Sapien #1 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
I love Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.
And it’s about damn time Abe got his own miniseries. This is a flashback story of Abe’s first solo mission. We get some further flashback setting up the mission and glimpes of other who have also tried to proteect the world from strange things. The mission is the recovery of a very special dagger made to kill demons. It’s in a sunken boat and it’s a no brainer that Abe should go. Too bad for Abe the mission quickly truns into a fight with a demon….
Clandestine #1 of 5
Marvel
I remember this group from the niniites, or was it the eighties? I’m not sure, but I remeber getting each issue because I loved Alan Davis’s artwork. He created this group and while it had ties to Captain Britan and Spidey it was definitly it’s own thing.
Davis does a nice job with the scriting, he catches people up who aare unfamiliar with the group with out boring those of us who know them. I also really like the secret group following the every move of our heroes waiting to make their move. Sinister plans!
And as always it’s worth the cover price just for the wonderful artwork by Davis which were inked by Mark Farmer perfectly.
Detective #841
DC Comics
Yee Haa! This was really fun. Between Dini on this title and Morrison on Batman it feels like a new silver age with Batman.
Dini has Batman going up against the madhatter and a new crew who are replicating characters from Alice in Wonderland. They manage to elude Batman a few times and when he finally captures the Madhatter he gets a interesting surprise.
Wonderful stand alone issue.
The End League #1
Dark Horse comics
A new team book from Dark Horse that takes place on an earth in which a hero screwed up and killed a big chunk of the population of the planet. The first issue fills us in on back story and lets us know what the situation is. What the situation is, is dam dire indeed. In this day an age with so many superhroes it’s hard to create new oones that don’t seem a bit like other already being done. But in this post catrstophe story similarites are ok, because it’s written with strong characters who are great outside of their powers. This looks to be a lot of fun in a deconstrctionist way.
Fables
Dc/Vertigo
#69 wraps up the latest story arc in this wonderful series, which is The Good Prince. We’ve seen the frog prince Ambrose fall to depair and melencholy. His solution was to go back to the lands of Fables and avenge his family. His route there was through what was thought to be a bottomless well, though in truth it was a passage which enabled him with the use of magic to enlist dead fables to help him. I enjoyed the idea of this and I also enjoyed seeing some favorite old characters again.
Ambrose stakes a claim in the old lands and with the use of magic and makes it a sancutary that the Advasaries troops can not harm. Issue 68 ended with Ambrose sacrificing himself to save the sanctuary. In 69 there is a surprise or two and a wrap up which gives the fables a place to be safe.
Strong writing and wonderful art, as always. There were also a few hints dropped as to what may be coming. I imagine we will have a few smaller stories leading up to a big final confrontation between the two sides.
Justice Society Of America #12
DC Comics
This is an issue that while advancing the story doesn’t have a lot of action. The team is recruiting more members, legacies to older heroes. I love issue like this because it really adds to the mysthos of the team. We see a new Amazing Man, Jakeem Thunder is back, another judo master, the new Mr. America ( who spits out a few words at the end which will ead into a big battle I’m sure) , we meet Black Lightening’s other daughter and we also meet the great grandson of Franklin D Roosevelt.
If these new mmbers will go full time or just be part time is not known, but it sure looks like the roster is getting pretty big. Though this worked for years in the Legion and can actually work well here giving each story a different team line up from the larger whole. I like where this seems to be going.
Northlanders #3
DC/Vertigo
Brain Wood continues the journey of Sven as we see him start to make his move to reclaim the lands that should be his. His Uncle is not as cokcy now that he discovered sending troops aftrer Sven may not be a good idea.
The writing here is so well done, the story moves forward while also filling in background a bit at a time. I also love tha art by David Gianfelice. It suits the period perectly and really does what great comic art should do, it suggests movement between frames letting the tal emove forward in the readers imagination.
Great new title!
Project Superpowers #0
Dynamite Entertainment
Opening salvos in a new title are always interting. SOmetimes you read something and know it will take a few issues to warm up, sometimes one issue is all it take to be hooked.
I’m hooked. This has a real Roy Thomas feel to it with callsic heroes and flashbacks to a team that fought in World War two by the remaining memeber. Magic, great action, and intrigue and mystery. This sets up the series really well and I NEED to know what happens next.
A bit similar to All Star Squadren and the Invaders only written now for a hipper audience. Plus great covers from Alex Ross. You can’t misss this book.
The Vinyl Underground #5
DC/Vertigo
I’m really enjoying this title a lot. After wrapping up the first “case” we have an issue with morrison looking for his mother and troubled by his past. It’s a bit surreal as he is accompanied by a younger versionof himself who only he sees. His crew is concerned that he is missing because he may be doing drugs again, but his personal walkabout leads to some very interesting revelations which will have some long term ramifications. Hopefully he gets his s*%t together fast enough to get back and find out what it is that caused the latest psychis episode leading to the teams next case.