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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2016 15:48:53 GMT -5
And this week's offbeat issue for me:  The Guantlet Part 3. Written by Kalman Andrasofszky. Art by Leonard Kirk & Neil Collyer. Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky. After a 6 month delay Chapterhouse Comics continues the new adventures of an updated Capt Canuck. Canadian Super Spies Redcoat & Kebec follow Capt Canuck & Blue Fox as they infiltrate an enemy ship. Meanwhile at Equilibrium HQ (Cap's organization run by Cap's brother) Agent Phil Wise (from PACT) breaks into the vault where Capt Canuck's suits are stored. By the end of the book he uses the suit to become the new Northguard as all the players are on the ship. Next issue: a big fight! I enjoyed Capt Canuck back in the 70's when he first debuted. I have friends in Canada & have always had an interest in Canadian pop culture. So I have been following this new CC series & enjoying it. It's superheroes as secret agents filtered thru Canadian ideals/viewpoints. This arc basically will spin off a new Northguard series (#2 just came out) as Chapterhouse expands beyond just Capt Canuck. The first collection of #1-6 called Aleph is out.  The art this time was not as good as Kirk doing full art. Check out Capt Canuck & Northguard (by Anthony Falcone & Ron Salas). I would also recommend Chapterhouse Comics' other non superhero titles in other genres from fantasy to sci fi to reprints of classic Canadian comic books. Chapterhouse ComicsScore: 7/10. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 30, 2016 8:39:47 GMT -5
Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes #1  Written by Tim Seeley and David Walker Art by Fernando Dagnino Colored by Sandra Molina Summary: At the end of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (the second film in the original series)the Earth exploded in a fiery nuclear blaze but as we learn in the next film, Escape From the Planet of the Apes, we learned that Zira, Cornelius and Milo rocketed away from the doomed planet just in time and ended up traveling back in time to the early 1970s.
But what if the spacecraft went further back in time to the early 1900s instead? Well, that's exactly what happens here as instead of landing in 1970's California they land at the turn of the century in Africa where they adopt a young shipwrecked boy they name Tarzan and whom they raise alongside their own son as they attempt to create a new Ape society to stop their future from happening.
Plot: As a rule I'm not a big fan of these types of crossovers as they tend to be more miss than hit with me and feel as if they are just quickly thrown together without much care to take advantage of the popularity of the properties involved. However, every rule has its exceptions and this book by Tim Seeley and David Walker is just such a one. Instead of coming up with some waifer thin reason to unite two separate properties Seeley and Walker draw on an already existing element from Planet of the Apes(a time traveling Space Ship) to create an organic reason and they then build on that with strong characterizations of both the Apes Zira and Cornelius and Tarzan to create a story with a real sense of purpose. There is one minor continuity glitch as the future of the POTA films is listed as 2016, but it's possible that is a result of the Ape's time travel. Either way I'm not about to let a niggling issue like that be a distraction from a fun concept driven story as this.
Art: Unlike some of the other Apes crossovers the art here by Dagnino is truly stunning, he creates these beautifully lush jungle landscapes with a lot of detail that look like a matte painting from a film and not only does he nail the faces and costuming of the Apes but the individual gorillas of the Mangani are each unique and easily identifiable which is impressive.
Conclusion: With beautiful art and a convincing reason to exist Seeley and Walker artfully avoid the usual pitfalls of these inter-company crossovers.
Grade: 9/10 I saw the ad for this and, for a moment, I was 10 again and thinking this was the GREATEST IDEA EVER, but I quickly figured it would be contrived and disappointing, so I put it out of my mind. I don't remember seeing it at the comic-book shop yesterday. But your review makes me think I was a little hasty. Is this an ongoing series or a mini? If there's a slow week in comics soon, I might try it out. It definitely could have felt contrived, honestly it's hard not to when doing these kind of mash ups, but they really put some serious effort into making it feel as organic as possible. It feels more like a fun What If...? or Elseworld book than a cash grab to me, and I don't know about you but that's my kind of comic. As for how long it goes, I'm not sure but I'm fairly certain it's just a mini. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 30, 2016 9:46:26 GMT -5
Frostbite #1 Written by Joshua Williamson Art by Jason Shawn Alexander Colored by Luis NCT Summary: In the not so distant future the world has been plunged into a new ice age and he entire globe is frozen over. Humanity stands on the brink of collapse, food is scarce, heat is a commodity and now the very cold carries a disease that can freeze you solid from the inside out. One woman has the cure and if she can get from Mexico City to Alcatraz then humanity just might make it but a mobster named El Fuego stands in her way...
Plot: I first encountered the work of Joshua Williamson in 2012 on his digital comic Masks and Mobsters and I immediately loved his film noir style of story telling and since then he's continued to impress with stories like " I Hate It When He Does That..." in Legends of the Dark Knight, Captain Midnight, Ghosted and Birthright but Frostbite may end up being his best yet. Williamson wastes no time in throwing us into his new world, in a rapid succession he quickly establishes that it's the future, it's cold, life is tough and it's getting tougher with new threats everyday. There's no long exposition, it's just laid out there and allowed to speak for itself which is the way a good sci-fi story should be. There isn't a lot in the way of characterization, we meet the antagonist Fuego on the first page as he lights a man on fire after getting the information he needs and are then introduced to our protagonists Keaton and Barlow(two tough smugglers) as they take a job from Victoria Hawthorne whom we learn is a scientist with the cure to Frostbite which is a disease that freezes you solid, but for now they're little more than cardboard cut outs as Williamson chooses to illuminate the world they live in before hopefully developing them further. It's a short coming as it doesn't give us a lot to latch onto but the world is incredibly interesting and the mystery of why someone would want to stop the cure is more than compelling enough to keep you going.
Art: Like Joshua Williamson, Jason Shawn Alexander is another of my favorite modern artists currently in the business. It's perhaps not surprise that my first encounter with his art was 2007's New York comicon exclusive Hellboy: They That Go Down in Ships and his dark, gritty style that just oozes mood has been a favorite of mine ever since and it's one that fits perfectly with the writing sensibilities of Williamson. In an issue that's main goal is to unobtrusively introduce us to this post-apocalyptic frozen waste land there are a few other artists that would be suited to getting its nuances across but perhaps none better than Alexander as the contrast between his intense, inky details in the foreground and the use of perfectly shaped negative space in the background really gives you the sense that the world is lived in while allowing your own imagination to create the peripheral details making it feel like you're truly exploring every vista he offers. It's a delicate balance but he makes it beautiful in a haunting way.
Conclusion: Although light on the specific details and characterization the world that's introduced to us here just beckons you onward making the lure of the unfolding mystery impossible to deny.
Grade: 9/10 |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 10:03:26 GMT -5
Frostbite sounds great. I really like Williamson. That is one of the reasons I am disappointed with his current Flash because I know he is capable of better stories.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 30, 2016 11:22:28 GMT -5
Frostbite sounds great. I really like Williamson. That is one of the reasons I am disappointed with his current Flash because I know he is capable of better stories. When it was first announced that he was going to be doing an ongoing with dc I was pulling for him to be on Batman or Detective but when it turned out to be the Flash I was a little let down as I'm not a big fan. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 11:27:21 GMT -5
Frostbite sounds great. I really like Williamson. That is one of the reasons I am disappointed with his current Flash because I know he is capable of better stories. When it was first announced that he was going to be doing an ongoing with dc I was pulling for him to be on Batman or Detective but when it turned out to be the Flash I was a little let down as I'm not a big fan. I think he could write a decent Shazam/Capt Marvel.... |
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Post by dogwelder on Oct 1, 2016 23:46:54 GMT -5
Frostbite sounds great. I really like Williamson. That is one of the reasons I am disappointed with his current Flash because I know he is capable of better stories. Agreed. Enough with the speedsters. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 9:19:47 GMT -5
Frostbite sounds great. I really like Williamson. That is one of the reasons I am disappointed with his current Flash because I know he is capable of better stories. Agreed. Enough with the speedsters. It is actually a decent story. It's just that we have seen variations of it before....multiple times. Too many modern stories are recycled over & over. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 9:35:17 GMT -5
Agreed. Enough with the speedsters. It is actually a decent story. It's just that we have seen variations of it before....multiple times. Too many modern comic stories are recycled over & over. Fixed it for you. It's not a modern phenomenon, it's a big 2 super-hero comic phenomenon that has been happening since the Golden Age. Stories, villains, scenarios, tropes, cliches, etc. get trotted out and recycled, revisited, retconned, reimagined, homaged, swiped, plagiarized, again and again. The old thought was why come up with something new when the audience cycles out every 6-8 years, until fandom developed and folks became life-long fans who started seeing the same thing and recognizing the redux. How many time s has Joker showed up to menace Gotham, Batman finds a way to stop him, and either he appears to die or he goes to Arkham, returns/escapes and does it all over again have we seen since 1939? The entire comic book industry is built on recycling stories over and over. It's part of the fabric of the industry from the beginning, not a problem seen only in modern comics. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 9:59:07 GMT -5
It is actually a decent story. It's just that we have seen variations of it before....multiple times. Too many modern comic stories are recycled over & over. Fixed it for you. It's not a modern phenomenon, it's a big 2 super-hero comic phenomenon that has been happening since the Golden Age. Stories, villains, scenarios, tropes, cliches, etc. get trotted out and recycled, revisited, retconned, reimagined, homaged, swiped, plagiarized, again and again. The old thought was why come up with something new when the audience cycles out every 6-8 years, until fandom developed and folks became life-long fans who started seeing the same thing and recognizing the redux. How many time s has Joker showed up to menace Gotham, Batman finds a way to stop him, and either he appears to die or he goes to Arkham, returns/escapes and does it all over again have we seen since 1939? The entire comic book industry is built on recycling stories over and over. It's part of the fabric of the industry from the beginning, not a problem seen only in modern comics. -M Yeah I get what you are saying & I agree. I guess I feel that these ideas seem to be recycled much closer together anymore. I know Steve Rogers has been replaced before as Capt America but twice in the last few years? It just feels like it has gotten worse. How many times has Ollie lost his fortune in the last few years? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 2, 2016 21:40:26 GMT -5
 The Lies: Part 4 - Written by Greg Rucka. Art and Cover by Liam Sharp. WW rescues Steve & Barbara Mivera/Cheetah. The good: the art is amazing. The relationship between Steve & Diana. How Diana is written. The bad: I still have no idea what this story is really about. And I hate this format of two stories running at the same time alternating every other issue. I still think the Year One story should have run in a revived Sensation Comics. And Rucka still suffers from taking six issues to tell a two parter. I will stick with WW because I really love the YO story & I do like the way Rucka portrays Diana. I do think once the alternating format ends it will get better. I also think Rucka would do better with a co-writer to help his decompressed story telling. Plus the art by Sharp & Scott is top notch. Score: 7/10. I don't know if it's really all that decompressed, I think the alternating issues make it feel like that. I just read the parts together and they work well together, and especially in the modern story the characterization is fantastic. I especially like the way Diana is portrayed in this issue, the way she reacted to the women when she freed them was perfect. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 2, 2016 21:43:15 GMT -5
It is actually a decent story. It's just that we have seen variations of it before....multiple times. Too many modern comic stories are recycled over & over. Fixed it for you. It's not a modern phenomenon, it's a big 2 super-hero comic phenomenon that has been happening since the Golden Age. Stories, villains, scenarios, tropes, cliches, etc. get trotted out and recycled, revisited, retconned, reimagined, homaged, swiped, plagiarized, again and again. The old thought was why come up with something new when the audience cycles out every 6-8 years, until fandom developed and folks became life-long fans who started seeing the same thing and recognizing the redux. How many time s has Joker showed up to menace Gotham, Batman finds a way to stop him, and either he appears to die or he goes to Arkham, returns/escapes and does it all over again have we seen since 1939? The entire comic book industry is built on recycling stories over and over. It's part of the fabric of the industry from the beginning, not a problem seen only in modern comics. -M I like the variations on a theme that superhero comics often do, it's true that there are a lot that come off as derivative but there are just as many that are really fun too. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 21:50:32 GMT -5
I don't know if it's really all that decompressed, I think the alternating issues make it feel like that. I just read the parts together and they work well together, and especially in the modern story the characterization is fantastic. I especially like the way Diana is portrayed in this issue, the way she reacted to the women when she freed them was perfect. Once I have all parts of an arc I re read the whole arc in one sitting. So when I am sure this arc is done I will let you know if I changed my opinion. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 3, 2016 5:49:18 GMT -5
The Lies: Part 4 - Written by Greg Rucka. Art and Cover by Liam Sharp. WW rescues Steve & Barbara Mivera/Cheetah. The good: the art is amazing. The relationship between Steve & Diana. How Diana is written. The bad: I still have no idea what this story is really about. And I hate this format of two stories running at the same time alternating every other issue. I still think the Year One story should have run in a revived Sensation Comics. And Rucka still suffers from taking six issues to tell a two parter. I will stick with WW because I really love the YO story & I do like the way Rucka portrays Diana. I do think once the alternating format ends it will get better. I also think Rucka would do better with a co-writer to help his decompressed story telling. Plus the art by Sharp & Scott is top notch. Score: 7/10. Nice homage to the Conan the avenger paperback cover! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 8:21:23 GMT -5
I finally read Wonder Woman #7 over the weekend. The art was nice and complimented the story--the earthy tones of the jungle setting and the dark, supernatural tone. I loved the scenes with Wonder Woman and Steve. I hope he will be a big part of the new series and there is some romance involved. This story seems to be dragging a bit to me (as other poster said, it might read better once completed and read in one sitting). 4 issues of this story and still no clues why Wonder Woman can't find Paradise Island. I am sure what happened on the last page of this issue will play into that and am hoping for a big pay off that will set Wonder Woman up for super-stardom in the world of Rebirth.
6/10
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