Outlawed #1

Writer:  Eve L. Ewing

Artist: Kim Jacinto

Cover Art:  Pepe Larraz & David Curiel

Marvel’s newest storyline to involve all of its teen heroes kicked off today with the release of Outlawed#1, and it looks as if the company has found a great way to bring these young heroes into the major spotlight of the Marvel Universe.

With a bunch of call backs to Civil War, Outlawed takes the somewhat familiar story and changes it up.  Starting off with the Champions was a smart move as Ms. Marvel, Spider-man, Nova, Viv Vision, Wasp, and others are fairly popular.

It was also cool to see some of the older New Warriors be involved, especially Speedball, whose cameo is a vital tie to the Civil War storyline.

There is a lot going on here.  It feels as, if they take this in the proper path, they have a lot of great story to tell over the next few months.  I hope it does not just become the crossover where the only things that are important are the main book and the individual issues are just fillers.  War of the Realms had a ton of filler issues that felt as if I had already seen it in the War of the Realm series.

There are a bunch of questions raised by issue #1 and I am looking forward to seeing how they answer them.  One that I am interested in is how many of these young heroes became uncertain when Kamala Khan was not around and that they needed someone to be calling shots.  Their lack of leadership skills lead to a huge problem in this book.

Either way, I love the Champions and I used to love The New Warriors and Power Pack and I’m going to get a bunch of those characters coming up.  Good times.

Spider-Man Noir #1

Writer:  Margaret Stohl

Artist:  Juan Ferreyra

Cover Art:  Dave Rapoza

I have been excited about this comic since I saw it was coming out.  I was a big fan of the previous Spider-Man Noir series, having read them in a trade paperback collection.  Then, Spider-Man Noir made his presence felt amazingly on the big screen, vocied by the one-and-only Nic Cage, in the Academy Award winning animated masterpiece, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

This issue did not disappoint.

I have never been a huge fan of alternate realities, but there is just something so stylish and special about Spider-Man Noir.  The look of the comic is unlike anything on the market currently.  The black and white imagery, with the splashes of colors as highlights, truly make this a beautiful comic to read.

This Peter Parker shares enough characteristics of the main Spider-Man that make him familiar, but not a copy.  This is a character all to himself.  He is not just another version of Peter Parker and that is why I like this version.  I also enjoy the pulpy/noir feel to the story.  This makes a nice co-read to DC’s Strange Adventures.

I have to say that I feel that the cover is a little too busy.  It suffers from the same problems that a lot of movie posters do these days.  It tried to cram all of the different faces and items on the cover, but it loses part of the story that the cover is trying to show.  The art is great, but I would rather have something more specific happening.

Other than that, I did not have any problems with the new Spider-Man Noir series and I look forward to continuing this noiry-goodness over the coming months.

Strange Adventures #1

“Chapter 1: They Floated Above the Ground”

Writer: Tom King

Artist: Mitch Gerads & Evan “Doc” Shaner

Cover Art:  Mitch Gerads & Evan “Doc” Shaner

I have always liked the character of Adam Strange, even if I really did not know much about him.

I remember seeing him appear in some old Justice League books when I was a kid and I liked the look of the character.  He appealed to me and inspired some creativity.  I remember basing a few of my own characters on the design of Adam Strange.

Yet, I did not have any books that he appeared in regularly and I truly did not know that much about the character.

When I saw the DC Black Label issue out today on the stand, and that Todd, my friend at the comic shop, had placed it at number one on list top five of the week list, I decided to give it a chance.

Then I saw that it was written by Tom King.  King has been working on DC books lately so I have not seen much of his work, but I know his run on Mister Miracle was tremendous and his Vision series for Marvel is one of my top five or so runs ever.  He seems to be able to take those characters that are not quite as mainstream or A-list as others and find that sweet spot for them.  He did it with Vision.  He did it with Mister Miracle and it feels as if he is on target once again with Adam Strange.

The story was interesting and engaging.  There were two parts taking place at the same time, creating an effective mystery about exactly what had happened.  Lots of little clues were dropped that seasoned the meal that this series is going to deliver.

I loved the art work here too.  It fit the tone perfectly.  There was an old fashioned, pulpy feel to the art which fit beautifully with Adam Strange, a character that shares many characteristics in common with a Phantom or a Flash Gordon.  There is a brightness to the art that really stands out.

However, there is a dark undertone to the story that plays wonderfully against the art.  This feels that there is something horrible getting ready to happen and I am excited to see where this takes me.

Tomorrow #1 (of 5)

“Episode One: Going Viral”

Writer:  Peter Milligan

Artist:  Jesus Hervas

Cover Art:  Jesus Hervas

Hey, there is another book from independent publishers that is about a post-apocalyptic world.  Who would guess?

I kid.  Yes, there has been a bunch of “end of the world” stories in comics these days, but they have been pretty good.  Tomorrow #1 has joined that list of solid stories.

We are seeing beginning of the end of the world in this comic via a terrible virus (which may be too close to home with the Coronavirus floating around out there these days).  There are some very fascinating characters.  My personal favorites were Oscar and Cira, the twins.  There are a couple other story arcs that are fun too, but these two are the reason to read this book.

I believe that this book could be a book that will focus on character development and that is very exciting.

Tomorrow #1 is a Berger Books comic, an imprint of Dark Horse.

Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #4

Writer:  Kelly Thompson

Artist:  Mattia De Iulis

Cover Art:  Valerio Giangiordano & Marcio Menyz

I love this comic book.

I have to say that this new Jessica Jones limited series is as good as it gets.  The writing is so solid and funny.  The mystery behind the story is mostly revealed in issue four and it is fascinating.

Admittedly, this is probably my least favorite of the issues so far, but since the level has been so high up until this point, the drop off was not that much.  My expectation was sky high because of Spider-man being on the cover.  His part is not huge in the story so that probably brought my opinions down slightly.

However, the last four or five pages brought the goodness back to a high level and finally showed us what was going on in those first pages of the comic.

I believe next issue is the conclusion of this story and I am very excited to see how it finishes.

It is a total epic series.  Love it.

Wolverine #1

“The Flower Cartel”

Writer: Benjamin Percy

Artist:  Adam Kubert

Cover Art:  Adam Kubert & Frank Martin

“Catacombs”

Writer:  Benjamin Percy

Artist:  Viktor Bogdanovic

The newest Wolverine issue has been released by Marvel Comics.

It’s fine.

Two full length stories are found inside the book, which is nice, considering the price tag of the book is a healthy $7.99.

I think I was more interested in the second story, which introduced a new female character in Logan’s life as well as brought the Vampire Nation to the front and center as a opponent for the mutants on Krakoa.  Marvel sure seems to be diving head first into stories involving vampires.  I was not huge fan of the story arc from the Avengers involving the vampires, but this one is a bit more interesting.

The first part of the issue though was, for me, one gigantic eye roll.  The end of the story specifically made me really stop and gasp, but not in the good way.

I did enjoy the art work from Adam Kubert in the first story arc.  The art of the second tale was by Viktor Bogdanovic and it fit the darker tone of the vampire story.  All in all, the art was one of the best parts of this issue.

Both stories were “To Be Continued” so it will be interesting how they do that in an issue #2.  Is it going to cut these stories in half and spread out the arc over more issues or will each issue have this monumental price tag connected to it?

I think Wolverine #1 was good enough to at least look at issue #2 and see where they go from here, but I am not sure I am ready to commit to more than that at this time.

Daredevil#18

“Through Hell Part 8”

Writer:  Chip Zdarsky

Artist:  Jorge Fornes

Cover Art:  Julian Totino Tedesco

This is a fantastic issue.  Daredevil has been one of Marvel’s best books over the last six months or so.  Ever since Matt Murdock “died” and was revealed to have dreamed a huge story arc.

While that twist was a bit iffy for me, this re-imagining of Daredevil has been spot on wonderful.  Chip Zdarsky has taken the character of Matt Murdock/Daredevil and tore it down to its basis essence.  It seemed as if we might never see the Man Without Fear again.  Now, with each issue, Matt Murdock slowly is regaining the confidence and the gravitas to reclaim his alter ego.

The fact that we have not seen the Daredevil costume during this entire run has been spectacular.  It has also shown us a Matt Murdock who had done things that were shocking and seemingly out of character.  However, everything that Murdock had done was simply a way to discover that part inside him that he needs to be a full on version of Daredevil once again.

Little things like changing from a black half-mask to a white half-mask in this issue gives you a small hint about how the character of Matt Murdock is feeling.

I also loved the storyline in this issue involving The Owl and the kidnapping of the granddaughter of Izzy Libris.  Daredevil’s pursuit of the kidnapper and eventual confrontation was just brilliantly done.

I have enjoyed as well the development of the character of Detective Cole.  His inspirational speech to the police was a definite highlight for me.

I will say that I am not sure what the cover of this issue has to do with anything that actually happened in the issue.

Daredevil is most likely close to reclaiming the red suit, but if they kept him as he is here for a little while longer, I would not complain.

Bang #1

Writer:  Matt Kindt

Artist:  Wilfredo Torres

Cover Art:  Wilfredo Torres with Nayoung Kim

So when I grabbed the copy of Plunge #1, I also spotted a number one form Dark Horse Comics called Bang.  I took this issue too.  Now, Ben, the owner of ComicWorld had not tried to talk me into this issue, unlike some other issues.  When he saw I had this one, he said that the first four pages were awesome, but the rest got too convoluted.  Not quite the same sell job as some of the other books he ( as well as Todd) has talked me into.

And yet, I really enjoyed this issue.  I enjoyed this one more than I did the Plunge #1.

Ben was right.  The first “cold open” of Bang #1 was exceptional and created a very intriguing situation.  I had not seen it coming.  However, I disagreed that the remainder was too convoluted.  I thought the rest of Bang #1 did a great job of setting up what we were going to see.  Perhaps the arrival of the science fiction writer came too quickly and dropped too much info in a first issue, but I was already in by this point.  Maybe I would have ended the issue when Thomas Cord, a James Bond-type spy that worked for an off-books agency called MI-X, arrived at the office of the science fiction writer.  Let that moment build a bit.  The story had laid out enough at that point.

There is a pulp feel to the book and it read quickly.  The world it was building had a lot of fascinating details to it that will build all the more as we see what is going on behind the scenes.

Plunge #1

Writer:  Joe Hill

Artist:  Stuart Immonen

Variant Cover Art:  Gary Frank & Brad Anderson

It is my next book recommended to me by my comic shop.  They know that I am heavily Marvel so when something comes out that is intriguing and a good read, they suggest I buy it.  They even offer to let me read it before I make a decision.

There have been books that I love that have been recommended to me (Something is Killing the Children, Family Tree), some that started strong but have slipped a bit (Sea of Stars, Far Sector), but I have to say, when they recommend one, it has never been a flopper in my mind.

This time it is a book from Hill House Comics, which looks to be under the DC Black Label and it is called Plunge.  Plunge #1 has two very compelling and beautifully illustrated covers, one regular and one variant.  I did buy the variant, but I really found the regular cover interesting and I almost chose it over the variant.

The book starts slowly, and we are introduced to our characters.  There is some excellent dialogue in the book as our new group of characters are very well written.  There is some witty banter here as well as we meet our crew that is being hired by a company called Rococo to salvage a ship of theirs that has reappeared after 40 years.

The issue takes its time to set the story and the characters up and, while that may make the first issue a little less energetic, in the long run, should pay off nicely.

There is a compelling story being set up too and the ending panel promises us that the first issue presentation is going to bring us something different.

While this issue did not blow me away, I did like the set up and the dialogue was definitely funny and enjoyable to read.  There seems to be some promise of horror involved here and I hope that this will be another book that only improves.

Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #3

Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist:  Mattia DeIulis

Cover Art:  Valerio Giangiordano & Marcio Menyz

My friend Todd at my comic shop today, as I was picking up my Wednesday released comics, asked me which comic I was going to read first tonight.  I told Todd that I was not sure, but, after looking through the pile, I knew which one it was going to be.  It is my current favorite book being released by Marvel (Somebody is Killing the Children may be my overall favorite book currently).

Not The Immortal Hulk.  Not The Amazing Spider-Man.  Not Hawkeye: Freefall (those are all awesome, but not my choice). No, the book I chose was…

Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #3.

Yes, that is right.  I have always enjoyed the character of Jessica Jones, but she has never been one that I would have guessed would be starring in my favorite current active comic.

I love this story.  The mystery aspect of what happened when Jessica was shot in the back of the head and lived is compelling as can be.  Especially as the story continues to progress and involve other areas of the Marvel Universe.  This issue’s guest appearance from Elsa Bloodstone took a character who I never gave a second though, and it created a fascinating female character that I enjoyed reading about.

The dialogue of this book is the biggest part that I love, and that is thanks to Kelly Thompson’s wonderful writing.  There is such a clever feel to the book and Jessica’s narration keeps that tone consistent throughout.

The story took another weird twist at the end of issue three and I really want to see where this goes.  I cannot wait until the next issue come out so I can see what happens.

I love this book.  It makes me feel like I am reading Mockingbird again.  And that is as big of a compliment as I can give.

Immortal Hulk:  Great Power #1

“Great Power”

Writer:  Tom Taylor

Artist:  Jorge Molina

Cover Art:  Jorge Molina

I love Spider-man.  He is my favorite character ever.  I love the Immortal Hulk series that Marvel has been putting out the last few years.  Putting them together was always going to be a great issue.  This stand alone issue goes even further.

Why?  Because it is written by Tom Taylor, who just finished a run on one of the best Spider-Man titles ever, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.  I am not sure I have ever read a writer who gets Spider-Man more than Tom does.  That shines through in this issue as well as it did in that series.  Then, throw in the Hulk goodness and you’ve got yourself a fantastic story.

Spider-man gets turned into the Hulk.  It is amazing.  There is an epic cameo from Loki as well, playing the basic Loki character we got in the recent Loki series.

It is kind of funny how every time Spidey turned into Hulk, his one eye piece gets broken.  There is a running joke about pants that is just laugh out loud funny and a joke that you may not think about.

I truly thought this was fun and dramatic.  I would read anything Tom Taylor writes that has Spider-Man in it.  This was great.

X-Men/Fantastic Four #1

“The Impossible Boy: The World Has Changed”

Writer: Chip Zdarsky

Artist: Terry Dodson

Cover Art:  Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson

The new mini series bringing together two of the Marvel Universe’s top teams, The X-Men and the Fantastic Four.  In fact, the storyline involved in this issue is a stroke of genius and makes perfect sense bringing these two teams into the same orbit.

You see, the X-Men are living on their own little world now called Krakoa, where all mutants are welcome.  And Reed and Sue Richards have a son, Franklin, who is an omega-level mutant.  Professor Xavier and Magneto are drawn to the young teen and want him to come to Krakoa and Reed and Sue were not interested.

Immediate conflict.

Not just conflict, but conflict that stems out of character, because Franklin is having power issues, slowly having his power draining, and the mutants tap into that.  Now we have cracks in the relationship between the Richards and their son.  They brought back a connection with Franklin and Kitty Pryde from a previous mini-series.  Franklin’s sister Val, a human, is involved as well.  There can be some serious character development going on here if the writers allow it.

The art is different.  My friend at my comic shop said he disliked the art, but I found it interesting.  Some of the facial shots are iffy (looked as if some noses are odd), but the rest of the art is decent.  Sue Richards looks tremendously beautiful.  She is easily the best looking character in the book.

Chip Zdarsky has been great over the last few years and this only solidifies his run.

I really enjoyed this first issue and I have some high expectations as it continues.  This has so much potential to be really awesome.

Ravencroft #1

Writer:  Frank Tieri

Artist:  Angel Unzueta

Cover Art:  Kyle Hotz & Dan Brown

This must be Misty Knight week because she was everywhere.  She was in Captain America.  She was in Jessica Jones: Blind Spot.  And she is a major character in Ravencroft #1.

Ravencroft #1 has a definite Thunderbolts vibe to it, which I think was a really great thing.  The use of John Jameson and the questions involving his alter ego Man-Wolf are interesting.

I like all of the combinations of characters that kept showing up in the issue and I am excited to see what this mini-series will continue to be.

Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #2

Writer:  Kelly Thompson

Artist:  Mattia De Iulis

Cover Art:  Valerio Giangiordano & Marcio Menyz

This is my favorite book out right now.

After two issues, I love the world that they have built with Jessica Jones and the mystery of what is going on is so compelling that I really do not know what is going on.

Last issue it looked as if Jessica Jones had been shot in the head and killed.  Now, she appears to be fine, but she believes that she was dead.  But unsure why or how.

I love the guest stars, from Luke Cage to Doctor Strange and seeing how Jessica Jones interacts with them was awesome.  The voice of Jessica Jones as the books’ narrator fits so perfectly.  Jones’ thoughts and banter about the rest of the Marvel Universe are funny and just brilliant.

I am thoroughly entertained by the first two issues of the comic and I cannot wait to see where this story goes.  Congrats to Kelly Thompson and Angel Unzueta for this excellent comic.

Ruins of Ravencroft: Dracula #1

Writer:  Frank Tieri

Artist:  Angel Unzueta

Cover Art:  Gerardo Sandoval & Romulo Fajardo Jr.

I have been enjoying these issues focusing on the history of the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, and this one starring Dracula may be my favorite of the bunch.

These are all building toward the new mini-series Ravencroft  which should be out next week.  There are plenty of Marvel characters and ties to this series, from Carnage to Misty Knight, the role call of characters involved seems unlimited.

And the use of Dracula here, specifically in a match-up with Captain America while Bucky takes care of business is a fun flashback.  It also gives up the answers of what happened to Jonas Ravencroft.

There are some definite horror elements to be found in this issue and not just with the use of Dracula.  Some of the results of the experiments going on at Ravencroft were shocking and awesome to read.

Man-Wolf being in the series is another nice nod to the horror genre and a solid tie to the characters of Marvel.

I think I enjoyed this more than the other Ravencroft one shots and I am ready for the new series coming next week.