Review - Ether #1

Ether #1 - 

Dark Horse Comics

 

Written by Matt Kindt

Art & Letters by David Rubin

 

 

Some things just don't mix.  Like oil and water, they just don't want to be together, yet we still combine them from time to time.  So what happens when the worlds of science and fantasy collide?  Even in the face of something you can't explain, could there be a rational explanation?  So this week I decided to enter the mind of Matt Kindt, and his new series Ether, from Dark Horse Comics.

 

Boone Dias is a scientist, and believes that everything can be explained.  He is driven by facts and knowledge, but that journey sends him to the Ether.  It's a world filled with magic and fantasy, yet in Boone's mind, he is set on explaining that which seemingly cannot be explained.  We find out in the story that this is not Boone's first trip into the Ether, and he is pretty familiar with the capital city in particular.  That is where this story takes place, and where he finds out that his research will be put on hold.  Something has happened in this world that could change it's very existence, and Boone's scientific mind is in need.  As the investigation goes on, at one point this book takes a turn that definitely adds to the intrigue of Boone's character.  By the end, just when you feel like you have a handle on what is going on, you're left wondering by the last page if there is more to this story than you currently realize.

 

We have seen stories where fantasy meets reality, but I like the spin that Kindt puts on that genre.  He takes skepticism and blends it with an almost blissful ignorance in his main character that he can explain anything.  The world he presents to us is full of charm and likeable characters, but we just don't know a whole lot about them yet.  The good news is, you get just enough to actually WANT to know about these characters.  When you look at the art, and even the credits page at the beginning, it feels like Rubin wants to leave you a bit unbalanced as you go through the panels to add to the mysticism of the Ether itself.  Then, in the last few pages, things seem to just straighten out and normalize.  Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but if I'm not, mission accomplished.  There is a lot to like here and, as someone who also has a scientific mind, I was really invested on how someone similar would react to an interdimensional world.  I hope we continue to get more backstory with each issue, and if we do, I'm in for the long haul.

 

RATING:  PULL / BUY 

Review - Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #1

Cave Carson Has A 

Cybernetic Eye #1 - 

Young Animal / DC Comics

 

Written by Gerard Way & Jon Rivera

Art by Michael Avon Oeming

Colors by Nick Filardi

Letters by Clem Robins

 

One thing I can say so far about the Young Animal imprint of DC Comics, it's that it has been exactly as advertised.  A little crazy, a little out there and at times a bit all over the place.  Whether or not that is a good thing or a bad thing is all in what you like from your comics.  This time we get to see a familiar face, even if it's one that not all fans may remember.  Time to dive into the pages of Cave Carson.

 

The story starts off pretty crazy, and then takes a very emotional turn.  We're dealing with an older Cave Carson, now with a grown daughter, who is dealing with a tragedy in his life that leaves him questioning his place.  Even with all of that, he still seems to be trying to lead the normal life that he and his wife wanted to live.  That is seemingly put on hold where the cybernetic eye itself seems to be going a bit haywire.  As the story goes on, you start to wonder if it is the eye or if what he is seeing is actually real.  If dealing with that wasn't enough, his old life seems to be trying to suck him back in.  The past clashes with the present a lot in this story, and that is certainly the case with the last few pages.  That's where the book takes a big turn where that conflict, and a surprising appearance by a familiar character, leave you wondering where this story is going to go next.

 

This book did one thing that the other Young Animal stories that I have read so far, I feel, failed to really do.  I really cared about Cave, how he felt and what was happening to him.  It wasn't crazy for the sake of being crazy.  This book had plenty of that, but the real meat of this book finally gave it's main character a soul.  Way and Rivera gave us a Cave Carson we have never had before, and created an unfamiliar and unique feeling to his story.  Vagary was replace by intrigue, and randomness was replaced by a controlled chaos.  This is what I was hoping to get from this pop-up imprint, and it looks like it's finally here.  Add that to the solid art from Avon Oeming, and this may be the book that finally gets the ball rolling.  Read the back story on the character in the back of this issue, do a little digging and that will make you appreciate the story even more.  I'm not 100% sold yet, but I am more optimistic with this title than any from Young Animal so far.

 

RATING:  PICK UP 

Review - Warlords of Appalachia #1

Warlords of Appalachia #1 - 

Boom! Studios

 

Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson

Illustrated by Jonas Scharf

Colors by Doug Garbark

Letters by Jim Campbell

Cover by Massimo Carnevale & Robert Sammelin

 

The world seems very divided right now.  The current political climate has people more at odds than I can recall in my recent memory.  Given that, nothing can match the division of the American Civil War.  Sure that was a different time, and a different world, but imagine if that were to happen today.  What of a state decided to secede from the union and decide to become it's own nation?  Boom! Studios imagines such a world in Warlords of Appalachia from Phillip Kennedy Johnson.  

 

Kentucky has decided to secede from the Union for religious freedom, but has seemingly lost what was billed as the Second Civil War as the story begins.  Over the back story from a radio talk show host, we see what Kentucky has become.  We also follow a man named Kade Mercer who is trying to survive in this world with his family and the people who have decided to stay in Kentucky.  As odd as it seems to imagine, the military is also occupying Kentucky in this story.  There are also some mysterious people that we learn about in this story that may play a role in future issues.  There are also a few relationships that we learn about that call certainly loyalties into question, but I won't go into spoiler territory here.  As the tension builds, a callback from early in the issue (and what turns out to be a big mistake), leads to a major turn in the story.  We also find out that a character, who seemed like an after thought at the time, is actually far more important than expected.  What we are left with in the final panel really amps you up for the rest of the upcoming issues.

 

On the surface, you think that this is a story that you may have seen or read before.  The difference here is the layers of the story that Johnson was able to provide in just one issue.  He establishes the setting, gives the main characters depth that makes you invested in them quickly and adds enough mystery to give the reader something to think about going forward.  The action isn't forced, and is actually given proper build-up to make it matter when it does happen.  You also get that sense of thinking that things did not have to happen the way that they did, and that is another thing that sets this story apart.  Credit also goes to the team of Scharf and Garbark, who depict a gritty and war torn Kentucky, but also make it feel like a place that those who stay would want to call home.  This is yet another in a series of stories from Boom! recently that have much more edge and intensity, giving the publisher a nice balance in their current story telling.  Warlords of Appalachia will make you want to return to Kentucky to see what happens next, for sure.

 

RATING:  PULL

 

 

Review - James Bond: Hammerhead #1

James Bond: Hammerhead #1 - 

Dynamite Comics

 

Written by Andy Diggle

Art by Luca Casalanguida

Colors by Chris Blythe

Letters by Simon Bowland

Cover by Francesco Francavilla

 

There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the James Bond franchise right now.  With a star that may not want to continue, to a list a mile long of rumored replacements, 007 fans need something consistent right now.  Luckily I'm here to remind you that Dynamite acquired the rights to James Bond comics, and their newest offering is finally here.  So will Hammerhead change Bond's "licence to kill" or just plain get him killed?

 

Right away in this issue we find out there is a lot at stake for the safety and security of the British people.  Bond is trying to identify a radical who is targeting a company who is taking something VERY important over for a government defense agency.  No surprise, things don't go exactly as planned and Bond is sent to another location, in the hopes that this person may strike again.  In true Bond fashion, there is a beautiful woman involved.  What he soon realizes is that there are some very alarming weapons in play here, one of them being the namesake Hammerhead.  He clearly wasn't happy with the assignment, but soon finds out how big that bigger picture really is.  We do get a little bit of a tease at the end, but in a way, you can probably guess what is coming.

 

What I loved about this book is, it brings James Bond into more of a high tech world.  Sure, Bond always had his toys, but now he's dealing with hackers and high tech arms that are leaps and bounds from anything even Pierce Brosnan would have experienced in a new age of 007.  This Bond is not as suave as he is cavalier and rebellious, but I think it works in the context of what Dynamite is trying to do here.  Diggle gives Bond edge when he needs edge, and an air of over confidence when it is needed.  Casalanduida also does a great job backing up Diggle's writing by setting the mood with each facial expression in key moments of the issue.  All in all, this story really gets you wondering "what if" when it comes to high tech arms in the real world.  I'm intrigued not only as a Bond fan, but as someone who loves a good story about high tech arms and international intrigue.  Let's see where this one goes.

 

RATING:  PULL / BUY