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Review Date: Wednesday, August 17,
2011
Here in Bongo Congo
Good King Leonardo made a personal royal visit this
past week to the new issues comic book shelves at That's
Entertainment and has decreed that we review the following
three new issues that caught his eye while on his state
visit: |
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Warlord
Of Mars: Fall Of Barsoom #1
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Robert Place Napton: Writer
Roberto Castro: Art
Alex Guimaraes: Colors
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Dynamite Publications
has added another title to its Warlord Of Mars comic
book series with this past week's issue #1 debut
of Warlord Of Mars: Fall Of Barsoom. As I mentioned
in my review earlier this year of the Dejah Thoris:
Princess Of Mars title, the series is based on Edgar
Rice Burroughs's classic John Carter: Warlord Of
Mars pulp novels, in which the late 19th-century
American is transported to Mars and has exotic action
adventures within the Martian civilization, whose
residents refer to the red planet as Barsoom. The
new title is scripted by Robert Place Napton with
art by Roberto Castro and colors by Alex Guimaraes.
The issue #1 inside cover
establishes the story setting as 100,000 years before
John Carter's fictional arrival on Mars. Entitled
"Book One: The Tide Of Battle", the plotline establishes
political thriller maneuvering in a science fiction
setting by alternating two plotthreads. In one storyline,
a reckless Martian emperor dissolves the political
alliance that has united three humanoid races in
peaceful co-existance for eons. All three races
begin to clash, while two additional barbaric races
of red and green warriors decide to jump into the
growing chaos. The second subplot weaves planetwide
environmental catastrophe into the storyline, as
Martian scientist Tak Nan Lee documents an unexpected
speed-up in the depletion of the planet's oceans
and breathable atmosphere. The two storyline's merge
in an issue-ending cliffhanger, when Lee stumbles-upon
a chaotic battle while out in the wilderness and
rescues a barbaric red princess, who appears to
be an early version of the well-known Princess Deja
Thoris.
This is an interesting
addition to the ever-widening Dynamite Publications
grouping of John Carter story universe titles. The
artwork is exquisite, as the artistic team goes
to great pains to visualize this exotic planet in
which multiple alien races co-exist in a lush setting
that combines pulp fiction art deco style with old-fashioned
royalty trappings. I was also very entertained by
the political thriller approach to structuring a
new Barsoom adventure title. There are so many colorful
alien races and individual characters enlisted in
this tale, that there's a great opportunity here
for future monthly issues to entertain us with a
wide range of storylines and adventures. My one
constructive criticism centers on scientist Tak
Nan Lee; from his wardrobe to his jetfighter to
his 21st century American style of speech, he seems
somewhat out-of-place in this very exotic science
fiction otherwordly setting. I have a theory that
future issues of this title may reveal that he's
an out-of-time travelor from Earth, similar to the
John Carter storyline.
But irregardless of that
one point, this is a fun and fresh addition to the
wide-ranging John Carter/Barsoom story universe,
and well-worth reading from the very beginning with
this month's kick-off premier issue #1.
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Richelle
Mead's The Dark Swan: Storm Born #1
Publisher: Sea Lion Books
Richelle Mead & Grant Alter: Writer
Dave Hamann: Art
Nelson Cosentino De Oliveira: Colors
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A new comic book publishing
house called Sea Lion Books has just released issue
#1 of a new comic entitled "Richelle Mead's The
Dark Swan: Storm Born." For the uninitiated, this
is a comic book adaptation of popular writer Richelle
Mead's Storm Born novel series. The fantasy/magic
title stars Eugenie Markham, a "freelance shaman"
living in Arizona who assists regular folk who have
problems with otherwordly creatures (demons, bad
spirits, etc.). The comic book is written by Mead
herself in partnership with Grant Alter. The art
is produced by Dave Hamann with colors by Nelson
Cosentino De Oliveira.
Issue #1 quickly establishes
Eugenie's fictional world situation for the reader
with an entertaining six-page scene in which she
assists a man who's favorite running shoe is inhabited
by a bad demon. The remainder of the issue balances
two intersecting plotlines. In one, we're introduced
to the characters in Eugenie's private life, including
her fellow-shaman stepfather, mother, eccentric
roommate and a guy she quickly falls for in a bar.
The second plotthread entangles Eugenie in the evil
side of the world of magic, as she seeks to assist
a client who's young sister has been supposedly
kidnapped by bad-guy fairies. Our heroine's personal
and professional world's collide in an issue-ending
cliffhanger, as Eugenie and her new boyfriend are
attacked by an ice demon.
This is an extremely
entertaining and fresh addition to the ever-growing
inventory of magic realism comic book fiction on
the market these days. It rises above the pack with
a wonderful mix of humor and drama, along with a
successful balance between story narration and magical
action-adventure. The real slam-dunk success here
is the in-depth quality of writer Richelle Mead's
plot. Obviously adapted from a successful novel
series, the comic book truly reads as a graphic
adaptation of a fictional world that was originally
constructed in novel format. The writer's narration
of the tale is at least three times the amount of
detail usually imported into a comic book storyline,
with the result that it successfully adds a richer-than-normal
story narration in balance with the character dialogue.
Those writing highlights
aside, the two very best features of this new comic
book title are the artwork and humor. The art team's
work is top notch, with pleasing colors, graphic
style and excellent command of character's facial
features. I particularly enjoyed the range of humor
in this comic book, from the little touches such
as the possessed running shoe to the broader comedic
strokes, such as Eugenie's oddball roommate who
passes as a Southwest Native American to pick-up
chicks at bars. One word of caution: this is not
a comic for kids, with its at-times graphic sexual
depictions of Eugenie's growing relationship with
her new boyfriend. As such, the publisher might
wish to toss a "some adult-themes" warning on the
front cover of future issues. That point aside,
my thumbs-up positive recommendation is for all
good comic book readers to rise above the fray of
the many youth and teen-oriented magic fantasy offerings
such as the Harry Potter and Twilight series, and
enjoy this excellent graphic presentation of a very
entertaining magical fantasy series written for
the adult fan.
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Captain
America Corps #2
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Roger Stern: Writer
Philippe Briones: Art
Matt Milla: Colors
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The Marvel Comics five-issue
mini-series entitled "Captain America Corps" is
up to issue #2 this month. Given that this is the
summer of Captain America, both at the movies and
in various comic book titles, I was curious to see
how this limited edition series stacked-up with
the other Captain America venues out there right
now. This series is scripted by Roger Stern with
art by Philippe Briones and colors by Matt Milla.
The issue #2 story segment
is entitled "Enemies Of The State." A quick two-page
introduction summarizes the issue #1 story segment.
Set in an unspecified future timeframe in New York
City, our main character is Shannon Carter, the
Avenger known as the superhero American Dream. Shannon
is the niece of SHIELD agent Sharon Carter and is
following in Cap's Avenger footsteps. A Watcher-like
being called The Contemplator assembles Shannon
with four versions of Captain America from four
alternate realities, in order to counter someone
who is erasing the many Captain Americas from across
the multiverse, thereby threatening the nature of
reality itself. The Contemplator transports our
five heroes to one of those altered realities, in
order to impress upon them the bleakness of a world
order without Cap's influence. Without being a detail
spoiler, our team battles federal police state forces
to try and redress the altered mess. By issue's
end, they've freed several Marvel hero characters
from imprisonment and set themselves up for further
conflict in next month's story segment with that
reality's version of a band of superheros who are
still loyal to the police state.
I was drawn into this
story more than any other alternate reality-themed
comic book that I've read in the past few years.
The title's creative team have put a huge amount
of thought and effort into incorporating a very
wide range of alternative/what if versions of Captain
America into a single storyline. Its fascinating
to read the details of each Cap's personality and
style differences, from the female future Cap embodied
in Shannon Carter, to a Golden Age-styled Cap and
even an alternate Cap who embodies many of Wolverine's
raw personality traits. However, the quality home
run here is writer Roger Stern's brilliant idea
to give each separate Cap limited personality segments
drawn from our well-known hero's complex personality.
Separately, they're each limited and somewhat flawed
in their abilities and behavior, but when our five
heroes work together, they literally combine into
one multi-talented Cap and succeed in their efforts.
A final shout-out has to go to the art team's simply
stunning, poster-worthy two-page spread on pages
4 and 5 of the story, in which our fivesome battle
the police state's giant bad robot version of Cap.
All in all, this is the freshest alternative story
spin on a well-known A-list superhero that's out
there in this summer's new issue reading stacks.
I'm planning on back-reading last month's issue
#1 to fully experience the five-issue unfolding
of this wondrous "what if" tale, and I'd suggest
that all fanboys and fangirls out there do the same!
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Contest Winner Announcement!!!
Our contest challenge this week
was for you to identify a current "exclave" example in the
U.S., in which a land area is part of one U.S. state while
being completely surrounded by the territory of another
state. And our contest winner selected via a roll of the
dice from among several correct entries is (drumroll, please)...Gregory
Goding, who correctly identified The Kentucky Bend as a
famous American exclave. Alternately known as "Bubbleland,"
the bend is a piece of land within an oxbow loop of the
Mississippi River that is legally in Fulton County, Kentucky
but surrounded by land legally within Tennessee and Missouri.
Another interesting correct answer was submitted by Jeremy
Mower, who points out that Liberty Island, home of the Statue
Of Liberty, is legally land within New York State while
completely surrounded by water legally designated as part
of New Jersey. Congratulations to Gregory who wins our first
prize $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainment!!!
New Contest Announcement!!!
As we mentioned last week, its
time this week to go back to a comic book-related contest
challenge. There are so many great comic book villains out
there, both in comic book form and on the movie screens
in comic book genre films these days, that have inspired
us to offer you a villain challange this week. So e-mail
us at Gordon_A@msn.com
with your submittal of your favorite comic book/graphic
villain; tell us who he, she or it is and why you favor
this person/thing as your number one bad guy/girl/it in
comic books past or present. Our winning entry will receive
the first prize $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainment,
so tell us now who's your favorite "bad to the bone" character!
Bongo
Congo Review Schedule Announcement!!!
Just a quick note to our loyal readers: as you know,
I also write fiction short stories (see www.alaniragordon.com
for information on my story publications and availability).
I have a few story writing comittments that need immediate
attention, so to schedule some writing time, so for the
time being, I'll be providing fresh comic book reviews
for you on a biweekly basis instead of weekly. That said,
the next column of new reviews will be available for your
enjoyment on Friday, September 2. Thanks for bearing with
me on this schedule adjustment and I hope to get back
to providing you with brand new comic book reviews on
a weekly basis as soon as possible.
That's all for now, so have a great
"Dog Days Of August" comic book reading week and see you
again in two weeks Here In Bongo Congo!!!
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