Good King Leonardo has decreed
that we review this week the
premier #1 issues of three
new comic book titles, so
let's see how this trio of
comics stack-up against each
other:
Superboy
#1
Publisher: D.C. Comics
Jeff Lemire: Writer
Pier Gallo: Art
Jamie Grant: Colors
DC Comics has just published
issue #1 of a new comic book
title starring the Conner
Kent version of Superboy.
For the uninitiated, this
version of Superboy is a clone
created from a combination
of Superman and Lex Luthor's
respective DNA. In previous
Superman Family comic book
titles, Conner has come to
live with Ma Kent in Smallville
and after struggling with
the idea of his mixed good-evil
heritage and has decided to
try and live in Smallville
under his Conner Kent-Superboy
dual identity, following Superman's
boyhood path in developing
into a hero for the cause
of all good.
Issue #1 is part one of a
multi-issue storyline entitled
"Smallville Attacks!" The
plot begins with The Phantom
Stranger arriving in Smallville
to warn Conner that some future
action of his will put a loved
one in grave danger. This
warning is followed by an
attack on Conner by super-villain
The Parasite, who wants to
drain Conner's powers to use
against Superman. The bulk
of the issue unfolds as a
mega-battle between the pair
both within and eventually
just outside of Smallville.
After Superboy creatively
defeats the villain, the issue
ends with a dramatic bridge
to next month's issue, as
a surprise character from
the Batman story universe
arrives in Town and dramatically
announces that its too late
to save Smallville from The
Phantom Stranger's prophecy.
I enjoyed this comic book
very much for a bunch of reasons.
The artwork is exceptional,
with Pier Gallo including
some aerial scenes of breathtaking
beauty which emphasize the
rural loveliness of Smallville,
Kansas. Secondly, Krypto is
prominently by Conner's side
throughout this storyline;
I'm a huge Krypto fan, so
any comic book co-starring
our favorite super-pup has
redeeming qualities in my
eyes, irregardless of any
other features of the story.
Third, there are two very
interesting support characters
in this new comic book title:
Lex Luthor's friendly (and
apparently love-smitten) niece
Lori and Conner's best friend,
brainy Simon Valentine, who
dramatically announces to
Conner that he knows he's
Superboy, just as the battle
action starts. It should be
fun to see how this threesome
interacts with each other
as future monthly issues unfold.
And finally, with being a
spoiler, I just love writer
Jeff Lemire's choice of the
Batman universe character
who arrives in Smallville
at the end of this issue.
This is a never, ever before-seen
pairing in the DC Universe
of these two characters, who
at first seem completely incompatible
and unlikely allies, but who
have the potential for giving
us a very fresh and entertaining
storyline in upcoming issues.
So for for all of these reasons,
issue #1 of this latest incarnation
of a Superboy title deserves
both my positive review thumbs-up
and your worthy comic book-reading
attention.
Carnage
#1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Zeb Wells: Writer
Clayton Crain: Art
Marvel Comics has recently
begun publishing a five-issue
mini-series entitled Carnage,
starring the team-up of Spider-Man
and Iron Man. Issue #1 is
part one of a storyline entitled
(naturally) Carnage and is
written by Zeb Wells with
art by Clayton Crain.
The main plotline focuses
on a monstrous, howling six-armed
version of Spider-Man running
amok through New York City.
Peter Parker/Spider-Man identifies
the thing as a follower of
the supervillain Carnage.
As the normal Spidey and Iron
Man take-on the creature,
its clear that the monster
has a desperate motive of
reaching some person, which
it tries to communicate to
the pair as it fixates on
reaching an armored car. The
issue #1 story segment concludes
on two notes. First, two figures
in Iron Man-type suits named
Royal Blue and Firebrick show-up
at the battle and kill the
creature. Secondly, its revealed
that the person said creature
was trying to reach is a particular
Marvel universe villain being
transported in the armored
car, whose identity I won't
reveal as a spoiler.
My reaction to this comic
book is to give it a mixed
review. Its not a terrible
comic, but it could just be
a whole lot better. Writer
Zeb Wells scatters thin slices
of his basic plot here and
there in the issue, all the
while overwhelming those plot
details and mystery elements
with just too much focus on
the battle scene, which occupies
almost every single page of
this issue. A much better
quality product and much more
entertaining issue would have
resulted by cutting the battle
stuff in half and expanding
the potentially interesting
plot details, such as the
mystery of the connection
between the monster and the
end-of-issue supervillain,
and expanding a very brief
sub-plot involving Tony Stark
and a corporate rival inventor.
I was also at a loss regarding
the identity of the two wannabe
Iron Men who show up on the
battlescene, as to whether
these guys are new Marvel
characters created here by
writer Wells or serve as carryovers
from some other Marvel comic
book. And finally, I'm just
not a fan of the extremely
dark and dreary colorization
and graphic style presented
in this comic book. So while
there's some good story elements
scattered a bit throughout
this issue, its not enough
for me to recommend a read
of this new series unless
you're a very loyal fan of
Spidey and Iron Man and want
to cover all the bases of
various versions of this twosome
out there in today's Marvel
publishing universe. Maybe
the cobwebs (no pun intended)
will shake-out in this mini-series
in future issues, but I'm
not feeling it.
One final positive observation,
however. There's a funny Spider-Man
themed Mazda automobile ad
on the back cover of this
issue, with a cute play on
words on the well-known "with
great power comes great responsibility"
Spider-man quote, that's worth
taking a look at.
Generation
Hope #1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Kieron Gillon: Writer
Salvador Espin: Art
Jim Charalampidis: Colors
Our third premier comic book
title this week is issue #1
of Generation Hope, published
by Marvel Comics. The comic
is written by Kieron Gillon
with art by Salvador Espin
and colors by Jim Charalampidis.
The title stars Hope Summers,
the young X-Gene mutant who
was raised in the future by
Cyclops's son Cable and has
starred in an extensive Hope
Summers and Cable series of
comics prior to this new title.
Issue #1 is part one of a
multi-issue storyline entitled
"The Future Is A Four-Letter
Word." A page one narrative
explains that having returned
to the present day from her
previous adventures with Cable,
with the assistance of the
X-Men, Hope has gathered together
four fellow mutant teens;
by touching each of them,
she has helped them gain control
over their out-of-control
mutant powers. In this issue
#1 plotline, Hope, her new
group of four teens, Cyclops
and Wolverine travel to Tokyo
to help a fifth known out-of-control
young mutant, who has morphed
into an out-of-control giant
monster-that-ate-Tokyo. The
issue interweaves two sub-plots.
In the first, we meet each
of the group of new teen mutants
and learn their thoughts,
hopes and fears about their
new team situation. In the
second, the entire group confronts
the out-of-control Tokyo mutant
teen, with the issue ending
in a large-scale acceleration
of the battle, which no doubt
will continue at the center
of next month's issue #2.
This is an entertaining comic
book for a few reasons. First,
I enjoyed very much the character
of Hope Summers in the issue
of Cable that I reviewed last
year, so its satisfying to
see Marvel continue to progress
her adventures within the
Marvel comic book universe.
Writer Kieron Gillon gives
us a very interesting and
entertaining plot concept,
that of Hope and the X-Men
gathering newly-emerging mutants
and using Hope's touch abilities
to assist them in gaining
mastery over their out-of-control
powers. Its very creative
for Gillon to place the final,
most dangerous mutant in trouble
in a Tokyo setting, echoing
the well-known Godzilla monster
movies set in the same locale.
The art team's style is very
appropriate to this comic
book setting and the dialogue
is engaging, particularly
the thought narratives as
each character conducts an
inner dialogue with themselves
regarding the stress of joining
the new team.
As a final comment, its worth
noting that the main story
is followed by an eight-page
illustrated narrative entitled
"The Saga Of Hope," which
provides a detailed and very
useful summary of the adventures
of Hope Summers to-date in
various Marvel comic books,
followed by a list of nine
softcover reprints of the
various Hope Summers/Cable
tales. So a very well-deserved
positive review recommendation
to read this latest installment
in the ongoing Marvel Comics
adventures of Hope Summers,
her new emerging team of teen
mutants and the original X-Men.
Contest Winner Announcement!!!
Our latest contest
challenge was for you to rename
Marmon Place, the private
way next to That's Entertainment,
with a name appropriate to
the theme of our favorite
pop culture emporium. For
example, Ken at That's Entertainment
suggested renaming the street
as Lois Lane! Ken and I also
together brainstormed the
idea of going the Superman
route and renaming the street
"Truth, Justice And The Amercian
Way!"
And our contest winner is
(drumroll, please)...Gordon
Dupuis, who suggests renaming
the road as Wonder Way. Gordon
adds "after a being a regular
for eight years I'm still
washed with an overpowering
sense of coolness and creativity
every time I step through
the door." The Bongo Congo
panel of contest judges agreed
that the name "Wonder Way"
serves as an appropriate symbol
for the whole range of wonderful
things that That's Entertainment
represents for all of us fanboys
and fangirls, alike. Congrats
to Gordon, who wins the contest
first prize of a $10.00 gift
certificate to you-know-where.
New Contest Announcement!!!
Let's cleanse our contest palates this week with a simple, standard trivia contest. This question was actually the final question at the end of a recent episode of Jeopardy. We wanted to use it this week, because while it seems potentially deceptive, it was actually a very straightforward question to answer. So e-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com and tell us what are the only two countries on Earth (yes, just Earth, no other planets, please!) that have the letter "X" in their countries name. As always, in the event of multiple correct answers, the winner of the $10.00 first prize gift certificate to That's Entertainmnet will be selected from among the correct entries by a roll of the dice.
That's all for now, so have another great comic book reading week and see you again next week Here In Bongo Congo!!!