Review Date: Friday, December 13, 2013
Here in Bongo Congo
Good King Leonardo has decreed that we come up for air
for a moment from our frantic holiday shopping to
check-out four new comic book titles for your review
enjoyment. So before we head back to the holiday
sales at the mall, let's see how these new titles
stack-up against each other: |
Publisher: Image Comics
Brandon Montclare: Writer
Amy Reeder: Art
Image Comics has recently published the first two issues of a new comic book
entitled "Rocket Girl." The front cover artwork was so beautiful that
I decided to read both issues for a combined two-issue review. The new
series is scripted by Brandon Montclare with artwork by A-list artist Amy
Reeder.
This is a time travel science fiction storyline that alternates between
"present day 1986" and a futuristic version of 2013. Rocket
Girl is 15-year-old Dayoung Johansson, who serves as a New York City "Teen
Rocket Cop" in a very sci-fi version of 2013. We quickly learn that this
is a society of futuristic high tech and rocketeering, in which the entire NYC
police force is manned by jetpack-wearing 13 to 18-year-olds, because, as
stated by a teen cop in issue #2, "it's grown-ups you can't trust...that's
why they hire people like us." In issue #1, Dayoung stumbles upon
timestream-altering corruption by the Quintum Mechanics Corporation, a company
which initially manipulated the timestream back in 1986 to create this
future version of 2013. So Dayoung timetravels back to 1986 in order to
stop the "corporate corruption" and prevent the Buck Rogers-style
urban world from ever happening.
The bulk of issue #1 and all of issue #2 follow Dayoung during her first few
days in 1986, as she connects with some young Quintum Corp. scientists who are
innocent of the upper management timestream alteration shenanigans.
There's an alternating subplot throughout the two issues, of
Dayoung naively responding to street crimes to help the 1986 New
York police force, jetpacking in-and-out of typical New York crime
situations with the expected theatrical results. By the end of issue #2,
Dayoung is bumbling her way out of her latest failed attempt to help the
cops, as the 1986 cops decide to arrest her as an interfering, weirdo
vigilante kid.
I'm giving this new title a type of mixed review that I've never written
before. Essentially, I'm giving it a very enthusiatic thumbs-up positive
review for teen readers and an adament thumbs-down negative review for
adults. So let's start positive with the teen reader review. The
creative team does a great job delivering a young adult science fiction
storyline that teen readers can personally identify with. Every
real-world teen gets frustrated at times with the rules and ways of our society
and what better way to vent against that reality than to delve into a comic
book in which the teens are given the reins to actually police the
sci-fi world of the future? Writer Brandon Montclare delivers a script
that speaks to teens and A-list artist Amy Reeder (one of my favorites since
her iconic run a few years ago on DC's Madame Xanadu title) provides gorgeous
interior and cover artwork.
On the flip side, for anyone over the age of 18, the basic premise of this
series is just too overwhelmingly illogical to sustain a commitment to
read more than one issue out of curiosity. Even a funny book version of
reality needs a thin layer of plot logic, and its impossible for an adult fan
reader to accept the idea that society willingly transfers the entire New York
City police force over to a bunch of 13-to-18-year olds. Two tweaks
of this plot premise would have worked better: either make the kids a
"teen brigade" within the larger traditional NYPD or camp-it-up like
the old Batman t.v. series and make this title a satiric joke that we
can laugh about and enjoy. Unfortunately, the chosen approach of the
creative team takes neither road, leaving us with an idea that again, any
adult reader with an ounce of maturity in them just couldn't enjoy.
So reviewer's bottom line: kids should be able to get a kick out of
this "hey, we're running the world, now!" story concept, while the
average adult fan should focus their reading time and budget on the many other
science fiction titles available on the That's Entertainment new issue shelves
and back issue bins.
Publisher: D.C. Comics
Marc Andreyko: Writer
Trevor McCarthy, Andrea Mutti,
Pat Olliffe & Jim Fern: Art
Jay Leisten & Tom Nguyen: Inks
Guy Major: Colors
DC Comics is currently up to issue #25 of its Batwoman title. For the
uninitiated, there have been several incarnations of Batwoman since the
Golden Age. Our latest Batwoman is Kate Kane, whose modern-day debut in 2006
gained some mainstream media attention as the first major DC character with a
lesbian identity. The latest storyline is part of the
wide-ranging "Zero Year" event within the overall Batman publishing
storyverse, which revises some of the standard structure of the world of Batman
as The Riddler sends Gotham into a catastrophic power failure event. The
current Batwoman issue is scripted by Marc Andreyko with a very large art
team consisting of artists Trevor McCarthy, Andrea Mutti, Pat Olliffe and Jim
Ferm, inkers Jay Leisten and Tom Nguyen, and colorist Guy Major.
The issue #25 story is entitled "...Or High Water" and is set six
years in the past, with the plot centering on West Point Cadet Kate returning
home for the funeral of her killed Uncle Phil Kane. The tale is woven
from two alternating sub-plots. The first storythread reveals soap
opera-style dynamics among the various members of the extended Kane-Wayne
family both during and after the funeral. Naturally, everyone is put-off
by the seemingly cool and domineering Cousin Bruce Wayne, who hosts and
controls the funeral-related family activities. The action picks-up in
the second sub-plot; as Gotham City descends into the Riddler's power
black-out, Kate goes on nighttime vigilante patrol. Without being a detail
spoiler, she sees some interesting action dealing with street criminals as well
as interacting with a group of Metropolis cops who are augmenting the
Gotham P.D. to assist in the black-out. By issue's end, Kate successfully
deals with her corner of the blacked-out Gotham and reunites with her retired
Army Colonel and mentor Dad to await another storyline in next month's issue
#26.
I liked this comic book for three reasons. First, it makes an
entertaining and interesting supporting plot contribution to the main
"Year Zero" storyline unfolding in other Batman-related titles. Secondly,
I also enjoyed the story as a one-issue stand-alone script, which had a
nice single-issue start and finish as opposed to the multi-issue storylines
which are the norm in most new comic books these days. And third, I got a big
kick out of the catty dynamics among the members of the extended
Kane-Wayne family, as they unfolded around the funeral. The highlight
is a wildly entertaining tiff between Bruce Wayne and a teen cousin named
Bette, in which the two back-and-forth diss each other in a scene worthy of a
cheesy television soap opera episode. That catty scene alone
(rowr!) is worth the price of admission to reading this comic book!
On a final review note, I was at first confused about some changes to Kate's
personal situation. I was aware that DC had made some revisions to her
storyverse since I last reviewed Batwoman a few years ago, but was surprised to
see that the Kane and Wayne families are now cousins and she's actually
now portrayed as a blood relative of Bruce Wayne. On the other hand, it
is a neat story structure development and adds a nice counterbalance to
Bruce Wayne's traditional identity as a lonely Playboy
millionaire. I was also intrigued by the inference in this issue that, at
least in this six-years-ago flashback tale, Kate has no idea that
Bruce Wayne is Batman. So all-in-all, a positive review
recommendation is well-deserved for this solidly entertaining latest issue
addition to both the Batwoman comic book title and the wide-ranging "Zero
Year" Batman storyverse mega-event.
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Sam Keith and William Messner-Loebs:
Writers
Sam Keith: Art
Jim Sinclair: Inks
Ronda Pattison: Colors
IDW Publishing recently released issue #1 in a returned series of The
Maxx. For the uninitiated, The Maxx was a popular alternative comic
book title in the mid-1990's that spun-off a very popular animated cartoon
series version that was broadcast on MTV in that timeperiod. This is a
very existential, abstract comic book storyverse set in a violent inner-city
urban environment and centering upon three main characters: The Maxx, an odd,
Wolverine-like creature who lives an urban homeless life, Julie, his
hooker-like city-assigned social worker and Mr. Gone, a serial rapist who has
metaphysical abilities similar to Dr. Strange in Marvel Comics. The new
series is scripted by Maxx-creator Sam Keith and co-written by William
Messner-Loebs, with art by Sam Keith, inks by Jim Sinclair and colors by Ronda
Pattision.
As a back-of-the-book narrative explains, this new series is a revised edition
of the original Maxx comic book run. Thus, issue #1 presents a tweaked
update of the original Maxx origin story segment. The plot alternates
between introducing the main characters and presenting the first
plotthread. We meet The Maxx, a confused homeless creature who worries
that he is mentally ill as he alternates between his urban
homeless situation and another reality in which he's living in the
Australian Outback where he roams as a spirit animal named Br'er
Lappin. We meet Julie, the "freelance social worker" who
handles The Maxx's case for City Social Services yet dresses and behaves like a
street prostitute. And in the main plotthread we follow the vicious trail
of the creepy Mr. Gone, who mesmerizes his female victims before brutally
raping and maiming them. Issue #1 ends in a dramatic bridge to issue #2,
as the good-hearted Maxx follows Mr. Gone's trail and confronts him for
further action in next month's story segment.
The storyverse of The Maxx is an acquired taste; this is a comic book concept
geared toward a narrow niche of readers who enjoy very abstract,
hallucinagenic-style fiction in the vein of such literary giants as William
Burroughs. The original comic book series and animated t.v. series
succeeded in delivering this style and plot very effectively and in an
entertaining manner, and I'm pleased to report that the reissued and revised
title does the same. Think of this as a Director's Cut of the title, in
which creator Sam Keith doesn't make any drastic changes to the product, just
makes story and artwork tweaks here and there that adjust the tempo and details
of the issue in a way that's more personally satisfying to him and refreshing
for the fan base.
My favorite element of this new series is a clarification regarding the
alternate reality element of the tale. It was very muddled and confusing
in the first run of The Maxx, and as such Sam Keith makes the situation much more
understandable from the get-go in the new issue #1. Hence we understand
from the very start of this saga that there are two legitimate realities at
play here. The Maxx isn't crazy, he's actually ping-ponging between a
dreary urban street existence and the alternate reality of an
Australian nature setting, full of good and evil spirit animals and fantastic
action situations.
This isn't a comic book series for young readers or for folks looking for a
traditional comic book fictional read. But if you're an adult fan of
outside-of-the-envelope existential and experimental fiction, I can't think of
a comic book title of the past few decades that has provided a better
graphic product within that genre than Sam Keith's The Maxx. So welcome
back, 2013 version of The Maxx, and here's hoping that our beleagered anti-hero
continues his monthly adventures in such high quality issues as the excellent
issue #1 of this revised series!
The Transformers: More Than Meets
The Eye #24
Publisher: IDW Publishing
James Roberts & John Barber:
Writers
Several Artists & Colorists
IDW Publishing currently publishes three separate comic book titles featuring
the well-known Transformers, those popular outer space sentient robots warriors
that began merchandise life as a Hasbro toy and morphed into movies and
comics. I've never read one of these popular comic books and decided to
check-out the current issue #24 of their "More Than Meets The Eye"
title. This issue is installment number four of an ongoing 12-issue story
arc that crosses among the three Transformer titles. The series is
scripted by James Roberts and John Barber and is drawn by a wide-ranging team
of seven artists and colorists.
Issue #24 kicks-off with a very useful one-page summary of the story to-date,
explaining that three separate teams of Transformers are having an
interconnected adventure in three different outer space locations. While
we read a few brief scenes about two of the adventuring Transformer teams, most
of this issue focuses on the third team that's manning The Lost Light, a
massive Transformer spaceship that hyperjumped and landed deep undersea on an
alien water planet. The crew quickly learns that a mysterious army of
mini-transformers have hitched a ride on their quantum light jump; the situation
quickly escalates into an all-out battle between both groups, as the mini-guys
assemble/transform themselves into one giant warrior robot. The issue concludes
in a dramatic bridge to the next story segment, as The Lost Light crew makes an
exciting discovery about a missing giant Titan robot that led them into
their mission in the first place.
This is a solid and entertaining comic book read for a few reasons.
First, the co-writers give us a credible plot that transcends the idea of just
presenting the toy-based Transformers in comic book format. This quality
outer space science fiction plotline could have easily been presented in any
standard superhero comic book series, which gives the Transformers more
credibility as actual story characters as opposed to stiff playthings off
of a toystore shelf. Secondly, the writers duplicate the subtle sense of
humor among the Transformers that was evident in the first Transformer movie
and which helped make that film such an entertaining success. These guys
may have robot bodies, but their personalities are as quirky and fun as the
living beings presented in many quality comic books. And third, a
shout-out is well-deserved to that huge art team for providing high quality and
well-crafted artwork. I was particularly impressed by the final dramatic page
in which The Lost Light crew stumbles upon their gargantuan quarry.
My only constructive criticism review comment is that its somewhat hard at
times to differentiate among the various Transformers, given that they all
basically look alike and that there are so many of them. Page 2 of this
issue actually presents a "roll call" listing of 28 main
characters in this 12-issue story arc. But I think the tale still
provides a high level of reading entertainment if you do what I did: just
ignore trying to sort these guys out and follow the story flow for a ride
through the action-adventure of these neat and entertaining outer space robot
warriors-with-human-hearts.
Contest
Winner Announcement!!!
Our latest contest challenged you to correctly tell us the origins of
establishing Thanksgiving as a legal federal holiday. And our contest
winner is (drumroll, please...) Keith Martin, who correctly tells us that
President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation in 1863 establishing the legal
holiday as an annual National Day Of Thanks in the midst of the ongoing
terrible Civil War conflict. Congratulations to Keith who wins our first
prize $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainment!
New Contest
Challenge Announcement!!!
Its that time of the year again that the Bongo Congo Panel of Contest Judges
holds our annual "Best Of The Year" comic book contest! Your
challenge is to e-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com
no later than Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day!) and tell us what your
favorite 2013 comic book title or titles have been, with a few words about why
you liked the comic(s) so much. Among my personal favorites this
past year were Marvel's Daredevil and Hawkeye titles, as well as this year's
story arcs of Atomic Robo from Red 5 Comics. So tell us what you loved
from among the many 2013 offerings on those new issues shelves at That's
Entertainment! Please note that our $10.00 first prize to That's Entertainment
is redeemable for regular retail merchandise or in-store, ongoing specials,
only.
That's all for now, so have another two great holiday
season and comic book reading weeks and see you again
on Friday, December 27 Here In Bongo Congo! |
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