WGTB Reviews Four Comics

Merry Christmas! Well, Happy Boxing Day as we call the day after Christmas here in Canada. Today was a day off for me and allowed me to take a break from all the holiday fun and write four quick reviews of comics I've read recently. As December 26th comics (Justice League and Amazing Spider-Man) haven't been read yet, the books written about today go back to the past two weeks. I hope you enjoy and are having a great holiday season.  

Marvel's Thor: God of Thunder #3 (February 2013) Written by Jason Aaron, art and cover by Esad Ribic, colour art by Ive Svorcina & lettering by VC's Joe Sabino. Edited by Lauren Sankovitch. PRICE $3.99

Jason Aaron, Esad Ribic and Ive Svorcina continue to pack a punch with the third issue of Thor: God of Thunder. I have really been enjoying this book since the Marvel NOW! relaunch of this Thor title and issue #3 gives me no reason to stop looking forward to the next. I'm finding it to be a cross between Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods and the 90's sci-fi hit Babylon 5 in good old-fashioned comic book form. This issue, the third of the God Butcher storyline, has Thor deep in space at an amazing place called Omnipotence City and then in the equally cool ninth-century Russia, both of which are amazingly drawn. The action seems to have cooled a bit from the previous issue but that's okay because in #3 we get a somewhat more cerebral caper-type story. This comic goes deeper into the back story of the ancient foe Thor is dealing with and we even see the God of Thunder fearful of what the future could hold. A lot happens in this issue but it is easier to follow now that I'm used to the threefold time-jump aspect of it. With regard to art, Ribic's work really matches Aaron's story and is doing it for me. This is comic book high-fantasy at its best. 4.5/5 STARS

Comic book high-fantasy at its best from Thor: God of Thunder #3 

DC's Nightwing #15 (February 2013) Written by Kyle Higgins, pencils by Eddy Barrows, inks by Eber Ferreira, colours by Rod Reis & letters by Carlo M. Mangual. Edited by Brian Cunningham. PRICE: $2.99

My next quick review is Nightwing #15 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira. I hadn't read the previous issue and picked this one up because writer Kyle Higgins really knocked a recent interview on Word Balloon with John Suintres out of the park and got me interested in the Nightwing aspect of the Death of the Family storyline. This issue was a good follow-up to Batman #15 which featured a meeting of the Gotham-based Bat Family and I enjoyed seeing Dick Grayson take off on his own to deal with the Joker's master plan. So while I'm not completely familiar with the longer storyline, I have to say this was a good, enjoyable comic book. I've always liked Nightwing and found the Joker as written by Higgins to be just as equal in evil and diabolical malice as that of Scott Snyder. This issue was also a nice break from Greg Capullo's art which seems to be wearing on me in recent issues with Eddy Barrow doing a great job here capturing the menace of the Joker awesomely. The below image was especially creepy. I think I'll come back to this issue next month and maybe go looking for back-issues to get a larger sense of the Nightwing story. 3.5/5 STARS 

Barrow's art was really enjoyable this issue of Nightwing #15

Marvel's Avengers #2 (February 2013) Written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Jerome Opena, colour art by Dean White with Justin Ponsor & Morry Hollowell. Letters by VC's Cory Petit. Edited by Tom Brevoort with Lauren Sankovitch. PRICE $3.99

In the two Avengers comics we've seen thus far from Marvel NOW!, there really hasn't been much to write home about. This comic, like its cousin book Thor: God of Thunder, is high-concept story-telling and involves some of the common evolutionary and extraterrestrial based tropes we often see in sci-fi and comics. Unfortunately (and unlike Thor) this book has taken a little longer to get off the ground. Indeed, the second issue was largely a story of the second group of Avengers assembling to go and rescue the first who are in trouble off-world. I enjoyed it on the whole and the introduction to the four principal baddies and the origins of their creators, The Builders, was especially good. I also know that this is a Jonathan Hickman book so I'm probably totally wrong about not thinking it's totally amazing and should probably re-read it in a couple days to discover what I've missed. But until then it gets a promising yet mediocre 3/5 STARS.

The group is still assembling in Avengers #2

DC's JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull #1 (February 2013) Written by B. Clay Moore with art by Tony Moore. Colours by Dave McCaig, letters by Wes Abbot & edited by Ben Abernathy. PRICE $2.99

Easily one of the best comic books of the month, The Whistling Skull #1 is the first issue of a mini-series that creators B. Clay Moore and Tony Harris hope will eventually be turned into an ongoing run with forty odd issues. Set (sort of) in the DC Universe, the Whistling Skull is a Justice Society of America World War II story centred around a British non-Crown affiliated protagonist who fights the Nazi's. In parts it is very funny and entertaining, while in others it is downright grim and gory. Tony Harris' art at the beginning was a little tough to get used to, but the book never-the-less grew on me and by the end I was really enjoying this fusion of fun and intrigue. Come to think of it, this is what a comic book should be so I'm going to give it a high grade and say I'm already looking forward to the second issue. 4.5/5 STARS

Tony Harris' art takes some getting used to, but eventually grows on you.

WGTB reviews Dragonstorm #1

After having read and reviewed Stormchasers #4 by UnstoppableComics last month, I decided to follow-up with the publisher and get another comic. Why not right? I liked it last time and I've been doing my best think outside the Big Two box lately and read stories I might otherwise not come across. What I got was one of Unstoppable's latest offerings, a book called Dragonstorm #1 which did not disappoint. 

Unstoppable Comics' Dragonstorm #1 (April 2012) created, written and lettered by Jaydee Rosario with cover by Pat O'Donnell and pages 1-9 interior art by Joel Cotegar (inks by Alex Riveera) and pages 10-22 by Craig Shepard (inks by Michael Summers). 

First off, the name 'Dragonstorm' and the cover caught my attention right away. Having lived in Japan, I'm always willing to give anything that even remotely references the great ancient cultures of Asia the benefit of the doubt. But as I was reading the book and learning about the namesake hero, I soon realised Unstoppable was trying to pull a fast one. The true protagonist of this story is not Dragonstorm, but actually a teen-aged girl named Lyllian and this really sparked my interest. Indeed, much of the story is all about how Lyllian and Dragonstorm came to meet each other and how this sets us up for what could be an interesting dynamic for the rest of the series.

Lyllian and Dragonstorm from Unstoppable Comics Dragonstorm #1 (April 2012) Dragonstorm himself resembles a cross between Nightwing and (Marvel's) Captain Marvel.

You see (and I'm trying to be careful not to give things away here) Lyllian's mother and father are now out of the picture (euphemism!) and her own grandfather has forced Dragonstorm to train her for a task that has yet to be revealed. However, it is also made very clear to us that Dragonstorm is not the Grandfather's friend and Grandpa in this case is not a jujube dispensing nice guy (like mine is!) but rather the enemy and chief antagonist of the series. Okay, I’ve probably already given too much away, but this overall premise, while being somewhat similar to other stories, is never-the-less different in that it focuses on a female lead, which even in today's market is something irregular.* Suffice it to say, it will be interesting to see how this male/female -- guardian/ward relationship develops and could be a refreshing change for comic fans. 

While a common trope in comics, Dragonstorm is aiming to introduce the Guardian/Ward dynamic within the context of a male/female relationship. Risky perhaps, but could this also be in interesting innovation? Image of Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake from DC's Batman #654 (June 2006).

Moving on to the art, these responsibilities were divided with the first half of the book done by Joel Cotejar and the latter by Craig Shepard. Both artists did a good job and the panels, while more Image Comics mainstream than Big Two mainstream (take from that statement whatever you'd like), never-the-less complement and amplify the story. With regard to their portrayal of the Dragonstorm himself, I think he has some cool powers, including a wing-shaped force-field, and I look forward to learning how he came about as well as how he develops and changes over time.

Dragonstorm's 'wings' in Dragonstorm #1, April 2012

Grandpa's quite the baddie in Dragonstorm #1, April 2012

So there you go. Somewhat brief thoughts on the latest from the Unstoppable Comics stable. If you can get your hands on a copy of Dragonstorm give it a shot -- it's always good for us readers to look beyond the Big Two to see what the newer guys are doing. I've linked to their company's website above if you're looking to track down a copy and please let me know what you think about the book in the comment section below. 

*NB: I'll probably be stepping away from the blog for the next little bit (I have other scholastic commitments) but once again thanks for reading WGTB and please feel free to leave any comment about the blog. I'm still relatively new at this and always looking to improve. Also, if you're looking for a great conversation about the issue of female super-hero leads check out the most recent conversation between Kelly Sue DeConnick and John Siuntres at the Word Balloon podcast. It's very good.