A weekly column in which Jake gives
short blurbs about the comics he’s
picked up that week. Reviewed in the order read, which varies but generally by
increasing anticipation. Disclaimer: he
knows very little about art, at least not enough to considerably honor such
tremendous undertakings, so…yeh,
there’s that.
Godzilla in Hell #1
Story: James Stokoe
Art: James Stokoe
IDW
To paraphrase Calvin Candy, with the
title they had my curiosity but with James Stokoe you had my attention (and my
3.99). The story is in the title. Godzilla winds up in Hell. How doesn’t really matter.
Think Dante’s
Inferno but with a giant atomic-breathed lizard going through the rings of Hell
instead of a Kratos-clone (or a whiny poet, depending on your version). Stokoe tells his story through the art as the
only actual non-physical text in the book is the sound Godzilla makes when he’s powering up his mouth
cannon. And really, that’s all one needs. The art is palpable enough to let you hear
the roars of the monster and the accompanying explosions in your head, without
the book actually having to tell you.
Another note to make is that, interestingly enough, Godzilla usually
feels rather small compared to the cavernous Hell, thanks to a choice of
perspective. This is obviously an
intentional choice because whenever Godzilla acts or powers up, he suddenly
feels massive, without actually increasing in size. Godzilla in Hell is a brilliant and beautiful
piece of comics.
Mercury Heat #1
Story: Kieron Gillen
Artwork: Omar Francia
Color: Digikore Studios
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
Avatar Press
I believe this is the first Avatar book
on the Pull List, so reader discretion advised, I guess. Mercury Heat is a cyberpunk tale spinning out
of the mind of the ever-talented Kieron Gillen, about Luiza Bora, a new police
officer on Mercury. Hence the pun of the
name. Bora’s first outing is a sound affair, a good setup and a great
deal more action-oriented than many of Gillen’s recent works. We
get a good feel for the protagonist and the world she inhabits. Francia, of the Mass Effect comics, is no
stranger to darker (tonally) sci-fi stories (perhaps unpretty is a more exact
if more confusing word), and he does a solid job here. Some of the action
beats, while complex in nature, are easy to follow thanks to Francia’s direction. Mercury Heat is a good book, especially if
you’re craving some hard-R
cyberpunk in your life.
Planet Hulk #3
Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Marc Laming
Colors: Jordan boyd
Lettering: VC’s Travis Lanham
Marvel Comics
Bad week to be Planet Hulk, since the
inclusion of dinosaur fighting means it’s
going to get compared to Godzilla in Hell in my mind, and such a comparison
does not favor the Marvel comic. The
preview line reads “WILL
THE DEADLY LAND OF HULKS FINALLY BREAK GLADIATOR STEVE ROGERS” but frankly Hulks aren’t the problem. Doc Green and his incessant chattering
is. The smart Hulk’s waxing political and
philosophical is enough to annoy both reader and Rogers, though the latter is
fairly unsympathetic, thanks to uninspired and dull dialogue and thought
captions. At least Laming’s art is great, though not
great enough to save the book. The fight
between Devil Dinosaur and a massive Sea-Hulk is amazing although besmirched by
the aforementioned captions. Honestly,
after a promising start, there’s
not a whole lot of worth going on in this book.
Consider it dropped.
Captain Britain and the Mighty
Defenders #1
Writer: Al Ewing
Penciler: Alan Davis
Inker: Mark Farmer
Colorist: Wil Quintana
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Marvel Comics
A successor to the much-loved Captain
America and the Mighty Avengers, CBMD is another Secret Wars title stemming
from a What if? What if Dr. Ho Yinsen
walked out of that cave with the armor instead of Tony Stark? The result is near utopia. What if that utopia was carved out, and
placed on Battleworld right next to Mondo-City One (Marvel’s Judge Dredd, stemming from
the time-hopping arc of Jeff Parker’s
Thunderbolts, a personal favorite). The
result is more dire. Ewing doesn’t skip a beat from one Mighty
book to the next and, while the characters are a tad different and the
storyline doesn’t carry
over, the voices of each are flawless. Easily stealing the show is the fascist zealot
Boss Cage, who’s 2000 A.D.
style is something Ewing is familiar with.
Joining Ewing on art is recent Ultron Forever collaborators Davis and
Farmer. The art sells much of the
emotion, from the righteous anger of White Tiger to the desperation of Baron
Yinsen in the face of a phaser round.
Mondo-City One’s
version of War Machine and the zone’s
imposing skyline are also a treat. With
a fun set-up and engaging characters, CBMD is a promising first issue.
Hawkeye #22
Writer: Matt Fraction
Art: David Aja
Color Art: Matt Hollingsworth
Lettering: Chris Eliopoulos
Marvel Comics
It’s out. Finally. I read it.
Finally. Moving on, both with this column and my life. Finally.
Siege #1
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artists: Filipe Andrade, James
Stokoe, Jorge Coelho
Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Marvel Comics
This.
This is the book I’ve
been looking forward to ever since it was revealed in the early days of Secret
Wars announcements. Forced to defend
Battleworld against the scourges of the South, space pessimist Abigail Brand
leads a motley crew of defenders in a war they can’t possibly win. There’s a lovely bit of grim
resignation about the book, considering the invaders must give their lives
against foes God Doom can just whisk away.
Heralding from the gone-too-soon S.W.O.R.D. series (an instant classic,
if you can find it), Gillen is gloriously back behind the eyes of Commander
Brand, whose bitter narration guides us through this most dire of books. The art is something to be lauded as
well. Andrade, normally not my cup of
tea, is a great it for this book, with his exaggerated figures giving the pages
a suitably strange, alien quality. The
splash pages, each one done by Andrade, Stokoe, and Coelho respectively, are
incredible both as separate pieces as well as a part of the whole. In particular, Stokoe’s attack of the Giant Ant-Men is a wonder to behold,
enhanced by Brand/Gillen’s
wonderfully pessimistic narration. The book has been explained as “Nextwave if it were a tragedy.”
A bold comparison, but, if the first issue is anyway to judge, a
correct one.
Book of the Week
Moon Knight #17
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Penciler: Ron Ackins
Inkers: Tom Palmer w/ Walden Wong
Colorist: Dan Brown
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Marvel Comics
In what is likely the last issue of
this volume of Moon Knight, Bunn and co. deliver an excellent tale that’s both one-and-done and a great
conclusion to the run. With a preview
line like TERROR AT THE THE CHURCH OF KHONSHU and the issue title of Duality,
the book promises a lot from the get-go and delivers on all of it, with Marc
Spector infiltrating a homeless shelter that seems to have sinister ties to his
patron god. Bunn keeps the issue moving,
despite the repeating lines of dialogue, which are used to suggest a cult-like
and carbon-copy atmosphere. The opening
pages focus on the unnerving smiles of the employees, brilliant crescents that
are pasted-on and hungry. Things take a
dip into the weird (which is always fantastic) when Marc confronts the issues
villain. Here, the art truly excels,
portraying the ethereal and beautifully sinister nature of the antagonist and
her surroundings. Brown makes excellent
use of a limited palette, allowing the striking yet complimentary choice of
color to pop off the page. Spector’s suspicious yet dogged
response to these events show Bunn’s
firm grasp of the character. The
culmination of a strong upswing in quality, this run of Moon Knight goes out
with a bang.
So what did you pick up this week?
Agree or disagree with anything said here? Let us know in the comments.
Labels: Avatar Press, Battleworld, Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders, Comics, Godzilla, Godzilla In Hell, Hawkeye, IDW Publishing, Marvel Comics, Mercury Heat, Moon Knight, Planet Hulk, Siege
