Review - Vampirella Vol. 3 #1

Vampirella Vol. 3 #1 (2016) - 

Dynamite Entertainment

 

Written by Kate Leth

Art by Eman Casallos

Colors by Valentina Pinto

Letters by Erica Schultz

Cover by Chrissie Zullo

 

It's a new chapter, and in a way, a re-awakening for Dynamite's favorite Vampire.  What better setting to do that than in Hollywood?  Changes have come to the Vampirella comics in the beginning of this first volume.  Some subtle, some not so much, but I definitely wouldn't call it a reboot.  Still, it's enough that some long standing Vampirella fans may raise an eyebrow or two.

 

We actually start off by getting a look at our villain, named Slade.  Picture Emma Frost meets Kim Basinger, but all we really know about her is that she's dangerous.  We then see Vampirella, who is accompanied by Tristan and Coleridge, to her new Hollywood home.  Let's just say she doesn't get the warmest welcome to the neighborhood and it leaves her looking for answers.  Problem is, now she's dealing with another enemy she's not used to...social media.  So she finds herself not just trying to track down Slade, but dealing with a world she's not quite used to.  She's literally and figuratively in unfamiliar territory.  We also get another reveal towards the end that will complicate things even further.

 

Before I even get into my rating, and break things down a bit, let's talk about the new suit for a minute.  We do see the classic Vampirella look in this issue, but it appears we're going to get a much more conservative look from now on (as seen above.)  I'll be honest, it was time to update the suit.  Not because it was too revealing, but because you can't modernize this character and not do the same with her look.  Personally, I like it.  As far as the story goes, I think the identity was a bit back and forth.  One minute it seems like they're trying to cater to younger viewers, but then we see a couple of brief sex scenes in the book as well.  I'm no prude, it was just surprising given the overall vibe of the story.  I think they got the attitude of Vampirella down just fine, and the action scenes were fine.  I just think there was a bit of force humor that didn't really hit the mark.  I like the social media angle, and I'm just interested in the villain enough to stay interested.  The art by Casallos is good, but I found myself wanting to see more from Zullo after seeing the cover.  Overall, not a bad start, but will definitely have to find it's identity in the next couple of issues.

 

RATING:  PICK UP 

Review - Superman: American Alien #4

Superman: American Alien #4 - 

DC Comics

 

Written by Max Landis

Art by Jae Lee

Colors by June Chung

Letters by John Workman

Cover by Ryan Sook

 

When it comes to comics, readers seem to have almost ridiculous expectations when it comes to Superman. At times, I've fallen victim to that myself and I admit it's been somewhat irrational.  So, why not tell a Clark Kent story...a REAL Clark Kent story.  Enter American Alien from DC Comics and Max Landis.  They also snagged someone for this issue who is familiar with the Man of Steel from his work on Batman/Superman, Jae Lee.  So what makes this story different?

 

If you've been reading the story so far, you know it started from the beginning with a VERY young Clark Kent.  I won't give you those details (you'll have to read the back issues), but let's just say it's been a steady progression and the issues have grown with him.  In this story, Clark is just a student trying to get noticed at The Daily Planet.  On another funny note, he doesn't know who Lois Lane is and they have a very awkward encounter.  Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen also play a role in this issue, but there is one character who stole the show.  Lex Luthor doesn't appear in many pages, but REALLY stands out in his limited time.  I found myself thinking, this is the Lex I want to see on screen, as I was reading it.  When Clark and Lex encounter each other for the first time, it has a very unexpected result for the future Man of Steel.  There is also a pivotal encounter at the end of the issue that will make things very interesting going forward.

 

Landis gives us something we don't really get to see in other comics...a young, somewhat immature Clark Kent.  We've seen the bumbling, unsure Clark...strong, confident Clark...but it's possible that this evolution of the character is more true to life.  You put yourself in his shoes when you were that age, how did you or would you have acted in similar circumstances?  That and the way Landis brought out the best in Lex Luthor really made this a good read.  Jae Lee's art isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but his attention to subtle details make him perfect for a story like this.  Combine that with great color work by Chung, and this is a book that is definitely worthy of your attention.  Appreciate this comic for what it is, because this is a true to life story that needed to be told.

 

RATING:  PULL / BUY 

Review - Deus Ex: Children's Crusade #1

Deus Ex: Children's Crusade #1 - 

Titan Comics

Written by Alex Irvine

Art by John Aggs

Colors by Mat Lopes

Letters by Rob Steen

It's time to question humanity as you know it.  Titan Comics brings the the video game world of Deus Ex to comics.  The story actually takes place before the events of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, which won't be out until August of this year.  So what happens when one of the Augs joins an elite team of humans?

The story follows Adam Jensen, who is a part of an Interpol counter-terrorism force known as Task Force 29.  One problem, Jensen is an Aug and is now hunting his own kind.  If you're familiar with the story up to this point, humans don't exactly trust those who have been augmented after an Aug Incident that turned into a massive attack.  So clearly, the fellow members of Task Force 29 don't exactly welcome Jensen with open arms.  In this first issue, they go after a group of Augs who have kidnapped a bunch of children of government officials.  Seems like a typical rescue mission, only the media is watching their every move.  You get the impression that there is more mistrust of the media than the Augs by the Task Force.  At some point during the mission, they make a discovery that makes this much more complicated than originally planned.  When the issue ends it's hard to know who to believe, which leads to some serious questions going forward.

There are definitely a lot of trust issues here driving the story forward.  The media was a constant background voice in the issue and clearly have their own agenda.  There was a ton of action sure, but it's the tension and lack of trust that really drove the story forward for me.  Irvine manages to break the trope of video game comics by not relying strictly on action to make an entertaining story.  Even in the story time of the first issue, he even gives each member of Task Force 29 their own identity.  Another thing I loved was, at the beginning and end of the issue, there were propaganda posters that really set the tone for the world that the story is based in.  The art by Aggs was solid and extremely consistent throughout.  Deus Ex fans will not be disappointed, but even if you haven't played the game, this comic is definitely brings you in and gets you invested in the story.  Don't walk by this one at your local comic shop and not pick up the first issue.

RATING:  PULL / BUY 

Review - Arrow: The Dark Archer #2

Arrow: The Dark Archer #2 - 

DC Comics

 

Written by John Barrowman & Carole E. Barrowman

Pencils by Daniel Sampere

Inks by Juan Abarran

Colors by Kyle Ritter

 

A lot of actors like to get into character, but this definitely goes above and beyond that.  John Barrowman takes Malcolm Merlyn from screen to page in The Dark Archer digital first series from DC Comics.  Many of the DC TV series have gone to comics, but this is the first spinoff (for lack of a better term) in print.  The question is, will this be the Merlyn tale we've been waiting for?

In true Arrow fashion, we start in the present day where Malcolm definitely finds himself in a bad situation.  We quickly jump to a flashback (not too far back, looks like only a day before) where he, and a small team with him, find themselves trapped.  In classic Dark Archer fashion, we see another layer of Malcolm Merlyn's past reveal itself, and we do get the name that they teased in the first issue.  There is a little bit of information revealed about the attackers as well, which could prove to be interesting as the story goes.  Speaking of the first issue, a character that seemed like a throw away at the time, ends up playing a key role in the story at the end.  You can almost sense the "cut to commercial" nature of the end of this issue based on the final panel.

I must admit, being a fan of Barrowman and the Malcolm Merlyn character, I went into this book with higher expectations than I probably should have.  At times it was hard for me to separate the dialogue you hear on the show and the words being written in the comic.  Still I think Team Barrowman has put together a nice story here and definitely captures Malcolm's personality on the page.  The art by Sampere and Abarran is absolutely stunning.  The level of detail, especially during a downpour, rivals that of any top notch DC Comics series out right now.  This is a character that definitely needed more of a story, and now, we may see a rival for The League starting to form.  To me, it doesn't matter whether or not this translates to the screen at some point.  After two issues, and what has been revealed so far, I'm ready to peel the next layer of the onion that is Malcolm Merlyn.

RATING:  PULL / BUY

 

Review - Bloodshot Reborn #10

Bloodshot Reborn #10 - 

Valiant Entertainment

 

Written by Jeff Lemire

Art by Lewis LaRosa

Colors by Brian Reber

Letters by Dave Lanphear

 

Bloodshot Reborn was one of the first comics I reviewed when we expanded to written reviews for our podcast.  Valiant was on a roll, especially with Book of Death, and did a great job with this storyline.  Now it's time to start anew and see where Ray and Magic go next.  What I didn't expect was to be taken to the future.

 

Fast forward 30 years and L.A. is a wasteland.  Bloodshot is obsolete, old and has taken up a role as protector of a small village.  A lot goes into how he and the people are surviving, and we also learn the fate of several other Valiant characters along the way.  If I'm being honest, things did drag along a bit after the first few pages, but I decided to read on.  The action starts to kick in towards the end, and after a quick jump to present day, we get a surprising reveal and conclusion at the end of the book.

 

While I loved this series from Issue 1, this issue seemed to lack a lot of the emotion of the previous issues.  Lemire's strength is in his dialogue and creating emotion, which I feel was definitely lacking in this issue.  To me this was too much of a Mad Max Fury Road meets Old Man Logan storyline, and lacked to emotion to draw the reader in.  The previous Bloodshot Reborn issues weren't necessarily filled with action either, but the story was intriguing, and Ray's internal struggle really made you want to read on.  That's a big piece that was missing here.  I will say bringing on Lewis LaRosa does kick the art up a notch.  The detail is very good, matched well with Reber's colors.  To me, this book just didn't live up to the expectations of previous issues.  I'm hoping that changes in Issue 11, so I won't give up just yet.

 

RATING:  PICK UP  

Review - Devolution #1

Devolution #1 - Dynamite Comics

Written by Rick Remender

Art by Jonathan Wayshak

Colors by Jordan Boyd

Cover by Jae Lee

Nobody does a post apocalyptic story like Rick Remender.  This time he has taken it to a whole other level with Devolution from Dynamite.  This story sets a very interesting premise and definitely makes you think.  So just how unique is the premise?

Human beings, animals, everything had devolved and it was done deliberately.  I won't spoil the premise of why it was done or what was changed, because I feel like that is the most interesting part of the story.  Speaking of the story, it follows a character named Raja and she is one of the last homo sapien  left on Earth.  She is on a journey to try and re-evolve mankind and save the species.  It seems like she is constantly under siege every time we follow her, which I suppose, can be expected in a completely uncivilized world.  There are actually a couple of cliffhangers at the end of this book, but one involves characters that sort of come out of left field.  I'm sure we'll find out more about them in Issue 2.

What I loved the most about this book is how Remender goes into great detail about why the world is the way it is in the present day of the story.  The social commentary on society and premise brought forth is both thought provoking, and at times, downright terrifying.  You could easily classify this as a horror book depending on how you look at it.  The art by Wayshak is nothing short of stunning and matches well with the story that is being told.  This book definitely takes you on a ride and gets your blood pressure up more than a couple of times.  I definitely can't wait to see where this one is going.

RATING:  PULL 

Wolf #5 - Image Comics

 

Written by Ales Kot

Art by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz

           Lee Loughridge

 

A new arc and a new artist is not the only change in Wolf #5 from Image Comics.  For those who don't know, Wolf follows paranormal detective Antoine Wolfe who seems like a much more stressed out and serious version of John Constantine.  In the first volume he is joined by an orphan teenager, who turns out to play a bigger role in his life than he expected.  So, after the events of Issue 4, where are we now?

 

Fast forward four years and things are not looking good for Wolfe.  He's in a prison and there is definitely some mystery behind it all.  Something is being done to him, and readers of the first volume may pick up on a few subtle hints here.  Anita is all grown up and trying to find him, but for an atypical teenager, she is definitely having some typical teenage issues.  She sets off on her own investigation and finds out some very interesting things about Wolfe's whereabouts and the world around her.  Now how she handles what she has found will set off the next issue in the arc.

 

If you enjoyed the first volume, this story will not disappoint.  Ales Kot does a great job with the dialogue, really making you feel like you'd know how these characters sound and act if brought to life on screen.  While the art was good in the first volume, I feel like Ortiz's style suits the story a little better and gives it a little more grit that kicks it up a notch.  I will say, if you didn't read the first volume, this is not a book you can just jump right into.  The story is good, the characters are interesting, but read Volume 1 before deciding to grab Issue 5.  Otherwise, the added depth and some shock value, will be lost on you.

 

RATING: PICK UP