Good King Leonardo offers
no particular theme for our selected comics for review this
week, just four interesting-looking
comics that he saw on display this past week on the new
issues shelves at That's Entertainment:
Do
Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? #15
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Philip K. Dick: Writer
Tony Parker: Art
BOOM! Studios is up to issue #15 in its 24-issue adaptation
of writer Philip K. Dick's classic science fiction novel,
"Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?". The effort is not
a graphic reinterpretation, but instead is a faithful word-for-word
graphic adaptation of the entire original novel in 24 parts.
Science fiction fans are no doubt aware that the classic
novel was the basis for Director Ridley Scott's 1982 movie
"Bladerunner," starring Harrison Ford as futuristic Los
Angeles bounty hunter Rick Decker, assigned by the L.A.
Police Dept. to search for and destroy human-seeming androids
who have illegally returned to Earth in a desperate attempt
to establish normal lives on a depopulated planet. I've
reviewed a few early issues in this series and wanted to
check-in with issue #15 to see how the series is progressing
at this later stage in the storyline.
This latest issue gives us a 22-page installment in the
ongoing adaptation of the novel. In previous issues, Decker
has successfully discovered and killed many of the group
of android returnees. This latest issue focuses on three
of the surviving androids, Pris, Roy Batty and Roy's wife
Irmgard, who are hiding-out in an abandoned L.A. apartment
complex with one human neighbor, Isadore, who is unaware
of their android origins. The storyline at this point is
low on action, focusing more on an extended narrative in
which the three fugitives plan an intricate defense of the
building for the expected eventual arrival of Decker. There's
also a cat-and-mouse intellectual thread to this issue's
narrative, in which the threesome talk quite a bit about
their dilemma in front of their human neighbor Isadore,
teasing him with clues to their origin, none of which the
good-hearted but dim-witted human picks-up on.
Artist Tony Parker continues in this latest issue to maintain
the exceptional quality of the earlier issues in the series
of faithfully presenting a major classic novel in graphic
format. The beauty of this novel is writer Dick's ability
to utilize a science fiction-based plot to transcend that
genre of entertainment, giving us a modern American classic
that addresses wider philosophical issues of what it means
to be human and lead a worthwhiole life. The sci-fi plot
and action are there, of course, but at certain points in
the plot the more literate side of the story takes center
stage. Issue #15 is one of those points in the tale; the
three "replicants" discussing and worrying about their fate
could be any real humans trying to deal with life situations.
Ironically, at times they seen to be emotionally more human
than many of the real people in the story.
While it all sounds like a story weighed-down by pretty
heavy philosophy, its actually a lot more entertaining and
enjoyable a read than that. On a final review note, its
also a lot of fun to read this series and see what portions
of the novel were either included or excluded from Ridley
Scott's partial movie adaptation of the novel. So whether
you're a hard-core Philip K. Dick fan, a general science
fiction fan or just a comic book reader looking for something
different to check out, this current issue and the rest
of the series is a high quality and entertaining read, and
continues to deserve a well-earned thumbs-up review recommendation.
Daken:
Dark Wolverine #1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dan Way & Marjorie Liu: Writers
Giuseppe Camuncoli: Pencils
Onofrio Catacchio: Inks
Frank D'Armata: Colors
After last week's review of the Wolverine-themed X-23 #1,
my interest was piqued to read and review another of the
several new titles that Marvel Comics has just started publishing
under its new multi-title Wolverine event. So this week,
we're reviewing Daken: Dark Wolverine #1. The new title
is scripted by Dan Way and Marjorie Liu, with pencils by
Giuseppe Camiuncoli, inks by Onofrio Catacchio and colors
by Frank D'Armata. For the uninitiated, Daken is the son
of Wolverine. A lengthy background narrative in the back
of this issue details his personal history as a bad guy
within the Marvel comic book universe.
Issue #1 is the kick-off installment of a multi-issue story
arc entitled "Empire." The main purpose of this first story
segment is to introduce the reader to Daken's place in the
unfolding multi-story "Wolverine Goes To Hell" event. Daken
is presented here in his civilian identity as a person who
hangs-out in Milan, Italy within the world of high fashion.
While his personaility simmers with evil, folks seem to
not catch-on while he manipulates them for fun and other
as yet undisclosed reasons. By issue's end, bad guy Daken's
mind games have led to him murdering at least one person
in the fashion world. Without being a story spoiler, the
plot then reveals exactly why Daken was spending time for
awhile in the world of high fashion. The issue #1 story
segment concludes with a bridge to next month's issue, with
Daken arriving in San Francisco and donning his bad guy
costume in preparation for future mayhem.
I'm neither a regular reader of Marvel's Wolverine comics
nor a big fan of comics that heavily feature blood and gutting
a la Wolverine claw-style. So I'm personally not very entertained
by this issue. But looking objectively at the quality of
this effort for this type of comic, the issue is extremely
well-done and deserves a postive thumbs-up as a successful
effort within the genre of hack-and-slash comic-telling.
The art team does a perfect job in conveying through Daken's
facial expressions both his purely evil intent and his ability
to mask it from folks at key moments. I also think it was
a good idea to focus the entire first issue's plot on unfolding
in painstaking detail the evil personality of Daken, in
anticipation of whatever really bad stuff he initiates starting
in next month's issue. So a deserved thumbs-up recommendation
for this darkly-themed comic that holds some very interesting
storyline potential within the Wolverine event series.
Darkstar
& The Winter Guard #1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
David Gallaher: Writer
Steve Ellis: Pencils
Scott Hanna: Inks
Val Staples: Colors
Marvel Comics has just published issue #3 in a three-issue
mini-series entitled "Darkstar & The Winter Guard."
Since there are available copies of all three issues on
the That's Entertainment new issues shelves, I decided to
review issue #1 to see if its worth reading this series
from the beginning. The title is written by David Gallaher,
with pencils by Steve Ellis, inks by Scott Hanna and colors
by Val Staples. By way of background, Darkstar is a mutant
superheroine created by Marvel back in the mid-1970's as
a second-tier character. She was a mutant from the former
Soviet Union who's appeared here and there in Marvel titles,
including various X-Men and Champions storylines.
This new mini-series introduces a new young woman, Reena
Stancioff, picking-up the Darkstar mantle as she joins a
Russian-based superhero team called The Winter Guard. The
plot starts with high action, as The Winter Guard teams-up
with the American-based Agents Of Atlas superhero team in
a battle against Atlantean bad guys. After winning the day,
the story shifts to more personal issues, as two other members
of The Winter Guard, Red Guardian and Crimson Dynamo, try
to work-out their respective style and personality differences
as team members. The story literally takes flight in the
final third of the issue, as the team members jump into
a crisis caused by an interdimensional rift in the space-time
fabric. The main story is followed by a secondary story
entitled "A Plague Among Us," featuring the X-Men visiting
Russia.
I'm giving the lead Winter Guard story in this issue a mixed
review, as an average to slightly below average tale. While
the art style is a bit cartoony and the plot is light, it
is interesting for a change of pace to read a story featuring
a Russian team of heroes that echo the style of the more
familiar American-based Marvel superhero team-ups. What
really shines in this issue, however, is the back-up second
story. The pencilling artwork by Brett Booth and Ron Lim
is of very high quality, and the storyline, in which writer
Joe Pruett puts the X-Men in Russia interacting with Darkstar,
is actually much more engrossing than the lead storyline.
Its unusual, in my experience at least, for a back-up story
in a comic book to be of such higher quality than the main
tale. But that is the unusual case here, to the point where
I'd recommend reading this comic book, but suggest that
you flip to the back and start with the second story and
then read story number one as a follow-up.
Superman:
The Last Family Of Krypton #2
Publisher: D.C. Comics
Cary Bates: Writer
Renato Arlem: Art
Allen Passalaqua: Colors
Issue #2 has been released in DC's three-issue "Superman:
The Last Family Of Krypton" mini-series. I reviewed issue
#1 last month of this intriguing alternate/what if? version
of the standard Superman tale, in which baby Kal-El actually
arrives on Earth with his parents Jor-El and Lara. Veteran
DC writer Cary Bates is scripting the series, with art by
Renato Arlem and colors by Allen Passalaqua.
There's a lot of story advancement in this extra-sized,
48-page second installment in the tale. The twin younger
brother and sister of Kal-El are growing-up fast, while
Kal-El struggles to decide what his role in life on Earth
should be. Parents Jor-El and Lara have settled into their
decided roles in life, Jor-El as the head of an advanced
scientific corporation (assisted by faithful employee and
young genius Lex Luthor!) and Lara as the spiritual advocate
for the Kryptonian lifestyle philosophy of Raoism. There's
action aplenty mixed into the latest installment of this
alternate history tale, including conflicts with an anti-El
Family human terrorist group, the kidnapping by the group
of the younger twin daughter and the family's struggle in
dealing with a newfound element called kryptonite. By the
end of this story segment, Kal-El as a young adult first
dons the Superman hero costume and role as savior of Metropolis,
a life decision which angers his father and distances himself
from the rest of the close-knit El family.
By the time I finished reading this wonderfully creative
what if? take on the classic elements of the Superman story,
I felt as if I'd just read at least three issue's worth
of high quality story material. Veteran writer Cary Bates
and the art team are juggling several story themes and sub-plots
beautifully, giving us a wide range of entertaining storylines.
So much of the alternate storyline here is amazingly fresh
and brand-new to the DC universe. I have two particular
favorite new elements that are explored in this title. First
is the alternate role of Bruce Wayne. In this tale, without
giving spoiler details, the El family prevents the murder
of Wayne's parents. As such, Batman never exists, while
Bruce Wayne follows a different lifepath connected to the
El family. The second element I enjoyed was the manner by
which Kal-El still eventually becomes Superman. While he
never undergoes the Superboy experience, fate still leads
him to become the savior of Metropolis.
There's so much just plain good, entertaining alternate
storyline stuff going-on in this title concept that my only
review criticism is that I wish the title was scheduled
for more than three issues. But that's all we readers have
(for now, at least!), so enjoy the brief ride and if you
haven't done so yet, get onboard and start reading this
excellent addiition to the wide range of Superman Family
titles.
Contest
Winner Announcement!!!
Our latest
contest challenge was for you to offer a suggestion for
one of the free comics that are distributed nation-wide
the first Saturday in May in celebration of national Free
Comic Book Day. And our winner is (drumroll, please)...Gordon
Dupuis, with his entry for a Muppet Show comic book free
giveaway. Gordon writes that "with at least two titles,
going on at one time, hooking new readers would be a smart
move. Boom! Kids does the Muppets properly, its perfectly
suited for kids but with layers of puns, word-play and references
that more than suffice to keep the interest of even the
most sophisticated adult." A well-pitched case for this
comic, Gordon, one that coincidentally mirrors my review
of the Muppets comic book awhile ago. So congrats to our
winner of the $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainment.
New
Contest Announcement!!!
This week's
contest winner, Gordon Dupuis, has also suggested our new
contest challenge for you. Let's play the "Cast A Comic
Movie" game! Your challenge is to think of yourself as a
casting director, and e-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com with
your suggested cast for a movie based on a comic book of
your choice. As an example, Gordon suggests casting in a
movie based on the comic "The Infinite Gauntlet" Michael
Chicklis as Thanos, Gary Oldman as Mephisto and Leonardo
DiCaprio as Adam Warlock. As for me, I still think Brad
Pitt would be perfectly cast in a Green Lantern movie. So
e-mail us soon with your great comic book movie casting
ideas! Our selected contest winner will win a first prize
$10.00 gift certificate to your favorite home-away-from-home,
That's Entertainment!
That's
all for now, so have a great comic book reading week and
see you again next week Here In Bongo Congo!
