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BEST SHOTS: JLA, CAP, THE SWORD, DYNAMO 5 AND MORE
 by The Best Shots Team, courtesy of ShotgunReviews.comYour Host: Troy Brownfield Welcome again to the big column; I’ll be back a couple of times this week with some advance looks and further reviews of some recent release. Until next time, there’s always … The Vlog  Justice League of America #14Written by Dwayne McDuffie Art by Ed Benes & Sandra Hope Published by DC Comics Review by Rev. O.J. Flow One page into it, I noticed a marked improvement in the art in Justice League of America in this chapter over the previous one. Not to pile it on Joe Benitez, the penciller of Chapter 2 of "Unlimited," but Ed Benes' work here is that of a fifth-year senior compared what we got in issue #13. It is truly one of the highlights of #14, Benes' art, ably assisted by Sandra Hope. The action sequences are dynamic as hell, not to mention the more dialog-driven scenes (Benes does a downright creepy-looking Joker), and the varied mix of heroes and villains are rendered with extraordinary distinction. And, hey! Backgrounds! How 'bout that?? If you ask me, this is the best drawn issue of JLA to date, and were only fourteen issues into it! If you are a fan of the many battles of wits we've had over the years between Lex Luthor and Superman, this is the book for you. I'm not going to lie to you, I would like to see some more consistency in the way the battle armor Luthor sports is depicted. The originator of the armored suit, George Perez, came up with such a great design the first time around, I don't know why they keep straying from it. Anyway, Luthor's at his button-pushing best with the Man of Steel, and he's not even shy in his objective: he wants a Superman that is pissed THE F*%# off. It's a hoot to watch. Luthor's Injustice League is in complete command of the their scheme to take out the League. Superman and Black Lightning are the only heroes not in captivity (something driven home in a superbly drawn 2-page spread early on), and that's going to be short-lived in a hurry. Of course the 800-pound gorilla in the room -- the one NOT pounding Geo-Force like he's prepping for country fried steak -- is the continued integration of Super Friends lore into the mainstream DC Universe. I, for one, have always been for it. The JLA finally got themselves into a headquarters based off the infamous Hall of Justice, it was only a matter of time before the Legion of D-- sorry! Injustice League! -- situated themselves into the Florida Everglades in the greatest mobile send-up of Darth Vader ever. Hey, these were cool concepts way back in the 1970s. If they're available for use by the rightful owners, more power to them. It's especially not surprising that we'd get this from writer Dwayne McDuffie, a scribe who I believe was involved in the LOD revival in Justice League Unlimited (Hey! "Unlimited" is the name of this multi-part epic! Huh.) as that series wound down. Speaking of deriving something from another DC Comics medium, the final page is eerily reminiscent of one of the more jarring scenes in the Superman Returns motion picture. Guess we'll see in next month's conclusion how that plays out, and I'm surprised we're already so close to the conclusion. I totally dug Brad Meltzer's contributions to this volume of Justice League of America, but if "Unlimited" was his baby, we'd be about halfway through this story we most of it driven by inner monologue. Of nothing else, McDuffie's won me over my moving things along at a nice, brisk pace. The Rev. OJ Flow is, with Troy and Corey Henson, a founding member of the Best Shots team. He’s also a contributor to LifeDuringWartime and a SG moderator.  Captain America #31Written by Ed Brubaker Art by Steve Epting Published by Marvel Comics Review by Lucas Siegel It’s rare to see this listed as anything other than one of the top 2 or 3 books that Marvel puts out, and there’s a reason. Every single month, Brubaker, Epting, and D’Armata are putting out one of the best stories told in comics. Bringing real psychological thriller elements into a super-hero comic can go very wrong, and they show no signs of being intimidated. As minds are messed with, memories relived, traitors discovered, and things take a turn for the worse (which is saying something in a book where the title character died 6 issues ago), I am reminded with every page of a simple fact: this is not one of the top 2 or 3 books Marvel publishes, it is the best book Marvel publishes. All bets have been off since issue #1 of this relaunch, and wherever Bru and Co. take us, it’s guaranteed to be a great ride. You can tell with each panel that Brubaker and Epting love telling Captain America (and friends) stories, and I love reading them. A+ 5/5 Stars, etc. If you’re not reading this book, and you like super-hero, spy, or psychological thriller comics, you’re missing out. I know it sounds like hyperbole, but when you read it, I think you’ll agree. Lucas Siegel has served in the military in Iraq and co-shots the “Shots in the Dark” radio show at ShotgunReviews.com, but we all pretty much agree that the most impressive thing that he’s done is land Janelle.  The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #2Writer: Gerard Way Artist: Gabriel Ba From: Dark Horse Comics Review by Corey Henson The first issue of Gerard Way's The Umbrella Academy was a pleasant surprise when it arrived last month. I know almost nothing at all about Way and his band, so I was expecting a simple vanity project from an egocentric rock star trying to cash in on his fame; instead I got an engaging, creative story from a talented artist making an earnest go at creating comics. In this issue, we learn more about the leads, as the remaining members of the Umbrella Academy (minus the dead one and the ostensibly useless one) gather at the funeral of their "father", Professor Hargreeves. The team bickers incessantly and barely seem to tolerate one another, suggesting an authentic family dynamic that goes a long way towards humanizing each character. There's still a ways to go before any of them become fully realized, but Way shows a clear understanding how to make his characters more than ciphers. We're also given our first taste of the book's main plot, as the effectively spooky Orchestra Verdammten attempts to enlist Academy castoff and violinist Vanya (the aforementioned useless one) and her unique talents to assist them in destroying the world. The conductor's master plan--to destroy the world by playing his quite literally named Apocalypse Suite--is certainly a hell of a lot more creative than your usual super-villain schemes. It reads like something out of a Grant Morrison comic, as Way has clearly been inspired by the Scottish mastermind. (Morrison even provides a glowing quote about the book that appears on the front cover; how's that for street cred?) Gabriel Ba, who has been nothing short of dazzling on Casanova, works his usual magic here. The character designs are fantastic (I want a Spaceboy action figure NOW), and his storytelling is flawless. If Morrison's shadow looms large over Way's script, Mike Mignola's influence similarly informs the visual content. But rather than simply mimicking Mignola's style, Ba takes it and adds a dash of softness and clarity that Mignola's work doesn't reach. In fact, I'd say that if I was forced to choose at gunpoint between a comic drawn by Mignola and one drawn by Ba, I'd go with the latter. That's no slight towards Mignola, it's just that Ba is simply that good, and it's a treat to finally see his work in full, vivid color, courtesy of the reliably awesome Dave Stewart. It's remarkable that an unknown quantity like Way could debut with such a stylish, imaginative concept like The Umbrella Academy. I can't imagine I'd ever buy any of his CDs (my cranky self has a bias against bands whose members are all younger than me), but I'd damn sure buy any comics with his name attached to them. The charmingly cranky Corey Henson has worked in magazines and PR, and is a founding member of the Best Shots team.  The Boys #11Written by Garth Ennis Art by Darick Robertson Published by Dynamite Review by Sarah Jaffe Reviewing The Boys again after a break is like revisiting an old friend. A filthy-mouthed, inappropriate old friend who drinks too much and always says the things that everyone else is afraid to say. You miss that guy, though, even though you never feel quite comfortable around him. You’re never sure what he’ll do next, what’ll come out of his mouth, who’ll have to run out of the room with their hand clapped over their mouth, turning shades of red or green not normally seen in nature. Some people have complained to me that this book was just shock for shock’s sake, just an excuse for Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson to let their ids run wild on the page and get away with it because they’re big-name creators. Especially since Wildstorm dropped the book because of its pokes at DC characters, people thought that it was just a couple of guys having fun. I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t think that fun for the creators is a large component of this comic, but I trust Ennis and Robertson to have more to their book than just shock and awe. I’ve said this before, but I’m hoping that this story arc will be the one to finally prove me right. Or maybe it won’t and I’ll just keep indulging the side of me that loves Adam Sandler movies and zombies and leave the quest for sociopolitical undertones to other books. I read plenty of those anyway. The final page of this issue contains one of the most gruesome images I’ve ever seen in comics or film. Robertson pulls no punches with his work, and Ennis never shies away from the shocker, but seriously, guys. I’ll never eat a pizza again. This image suggests that switch, perhaps, for this book, away from the frat-boy humor of the last arc (OK, not completely—there is a character named Love Sausage) and into a darker frame of mind, if one no more subtle than the last. The Boys are in Russia and are meeting with the last member of Glorious Five Year Plan, a Soviet-era superhero group. Vas is a giant bear of a man, outwardly friendly, but his asides to Hughie make Hughie question his loyalties. He’s got connections, though, with the police, and can help the Boys investigate the mysterious deaths of superheroes, whose heads have been exploding—literally. Why would the Boys care about superheroes dying? We’ll just have to find out. The plane that takes them to Russia has some surprise guests, and Billy’s answer to another of Hughie’s questions seems to open up more speculation on the motives of the crew. All in all, this story seems to be headed down a more serious path, with some more explicit metaphors (and not-metaphors—hooded prisoners are pretty hard to misconstrue) for today’s political and military situations. Don’t worry, though. There’s still gore, sex, and bad jokes aplenty. Maybe you won’t see what I see in The Boys, and you’ll keep buying it just for the silliness, or not buy it at all because it’s too lowbrow for you. But really, I continue to urge you all to give it a chance. Long-time team member Sarah is presently attending graduate school in an undisclosed location; if you do figure it out, we should tell you that she kickboxes.  The Sword #1From: Image Comics Writer: Joshua and Jonathan Luna Artist: Jonathan and Joshua Luna Review By: Lucas Siegel The Luna Brothers really grabbed me, and a lot of others in the comics world, by the horns with Ultra. It was a smart book, with realistic issues, and gorgeously drawn, showing that these boys would be leading the pastel-pallet revolution that is permeating throughout the industry. Then came Girls, which, honestly, let me down. I stuck with it through the entire twenty-four issue run, mostly at that point for the art and to see if it would eventually stop feeling so forced. Unfortunately, that story never panned out for me the way I hoped- there were some interesting themes and elements, but they got lost in the final execution. This now brings us to the latest Luna Brothers effort, The Sword. None of the problems I saw in Girls, especially the way it felt forced and rushed, were present in this first issue of their latest series. In fact, this is the most well-paced single issue the Luna Brothers have ever done. We meet a family, have enough time to start caring for them, and see their world get turned upside-down. The slow build to a sudden break-neck story pace worked very well, and while it can be cliché, this story device evoked no such response in this issue. If you like the Luna art style, or are unfamiliar and like artists like Josh Middleton, this book will not disappoint. In fact, while some of the characters will make you think of counterparts in previous Luna books, Jonathan is getting infinitely better; his facial expressions, especially, are much more human, and bring a greater intensity to the scenes, especially the confrontation later in the book. Make no mistake this is a fantasy book. We have a somewhat mystical sword, people who have elemental powers, and some as-yet-hidden meaning behind it all. The scripting is very natural, and the misdirection used to setup that final cliff-hanger page even had me fooled for a moment- just a moment, but still. While I’d love for the Lunas to tackle the super-hero genre again, I really enjoyed this first step into a fantasy foray. It seems they’ll keep genre jumping and honing their crafts, and by this first issue, that’s a good thing. This looks to be a much tighter story than their previous effort, and any doubt I had about their storytelling outside of Ultra has been erased. Sword #1 is a very good comic book, and I’m excited to see what the Luna Brothers have in store.  Suburban Glamour #1Writer/Artist: Jamie McKelvie Colors: Guy Major Publisher: Image Reviewer: Janelle Siegel Holy crap, I want to marry Jamie McKelvie. Well, truthfully, I want to marry his comic, but… whatever. I think it would be safe to say that Suburban Glamour blew me away. I had seen it initially in Previews and had been intrigued, but nothing could have prepared me for just how good of a comic this really is. The story follows a normal teenaged girl named Astrid who is living a life that is all too familiar to me – if I drive 10 miles from where I live, they all look like Astrid. She is the typical scene girl in every way. This isn’t meant as a criticism, but instead as a compliment. McKelvie portrays the scenester to perfection, even nailing her teenaged-girl quirks with an accuracy that made me doubt his sex. While Astrid is living a pretty normal life, hanging with her BFF Dave and going to parties, things are apparently about to change. Her imaginary friends from childhood have returned with a warning, and by the end of the issue it’s apparent that something pretty unusual is going on in the “boring” town of Lanbern. The writing on this book is wonderful. It’s so accurate to how real people talk, live, and move that it’s uncanny. This issue is mostly full of normalcy, so if you were looking for a ton of fantasy right away you won’t get it. The slow build is great, though, and it really lets you grasp what kind of a life these kids are living before things get all wonky. I find the premise extremely interesting and it’s carried out in a way that makes it believable. The art even goes above and beyond the writing. It’s odd because there are different kinds of people who write and draw their books, sometimes those who are desperate and can’t find anyone else, control freaks, or many other different kinds. Because of this we often get stuck with art that’s just passable, or writing that’s just passable, or sometimes even art that doesn’t fit a story. That’s just the limitations of people. We can’t all be awesome at everything. That is, apparently, unless you’re Jamie McKelvie. Nowhere in this book is there even the slightest hint of something subpar. Both the writing and the art are excellent, and the art fits this story like a glove. It’s something only the smallest minority can do. And did I mention the colors? No? They are so beautifully vivid and work so well that you just have to stop and take them in every now and then. It makes the book a million times more enjoyable that everything just fits. If you didn’t get this first issue, get your booty to your LCS and ask them to get it for you now. There is some language (hey, teenage kids drop the f-bomb), drinking, and drug use, so I may not give this to my 13 year old sister, but I’d say everyone else 16+ is fair game. It’s so great to read something original that I really think everyone should give this book a chance. Even if you hate those silly scenesters, you will love Astrid despite yourself. My only disappointment is that this is not an ongoing series. I want more times infinity! But I am excited to see where McKelvie takes this mini and to see if it could continue in an ongoing format. Go buy it now! Janelle Siegel co-shots “Shots in the Dark” and has worked in the comics field as an assistant editor; we pretty much agree that the most impressive thing she’s done is not strangle Lucas in his sleep.  Usagi Yojimbo: The Mother of MountainsWritten & Illustrated by Stan Sakai Published by Dark Horse Reviewed by Michael C Lorah The Mother of Mountains, the 21st volume of award-winning, critically acclaimed and masterly cartooned Usagi Yojimbo, is, to no surprise, up to Stan Sakai’s typically high standards. In this book, Usagi and longtime ally Tomoe (pronounced Tomo-eh) are captured and set to work as slaves in a secret mine, hunting for gold, caught in a plot of political and monetary imagination. The head of the gang who have pressed them into service is Noriko, Tomoe’s cousin, whose resentment of Tomoe dates back to earliest childhood. It’s a compelling battle for survival, with themes of family, loyalty and honor built into the fabric of each character arc. Sakai builds the tension between Tomoe and Noriko to a pitch climax, while offsetting the complicated, conflicted familial melodrama with the less severe, more brusque tension of Usagi’s defiance to “the Widow-maker,” the slaver who most torments our heroes. Sakai has some great exchanges between the two, most notably having Usagi, with a smirk, refer to his captor as “One-Eye” after gouging the eye out with his own fingers. It’s great to see the hero treat his captor with complete contempt. The story moves quickly and convincingly, and the sequence of Usagi’s torture at Noriko’s hands will make a deep impression on the mind of any reader. Although Sakai sometimes oversells Noriko’s cold-blooded treatment of her fellows and the slaves forced into her service, the brutality of her behavior sells the danger to Usagi’s life convincingly. Similarly, the backstory between Tomoe and Noriko (The big four-page reveal between the two is one of the few moments in Usagi history that, I felt, aimed too far toward melodrama, rather than Sakai’s under-stated, classic characterization, yet the sequence was still emotionally taut.) helps to cement the reasons for Noriko’s harshness. Continuing Sakai’s tradition of mixing short stories with longer arcs, The Mother of Mountains is a long-form epic that makes use of Usagi’s extended and diverse supporting cast. This story draws on characters from Usagi’s comic book beginnings, and his most recent adventures. Tomoe dates back to relatively early in Usagi’s adventures, while Ikeda Motokazu, the son of late, lamented General Ikeda, graduates from minor background figure to major supporting player. As such, regular readers may better appreciate the nuances of Ikeda’s son coming into the service of a lord the General once fought against, but Sakai has always been able to weave backstory in so deft a manner that I suspect new readers will pick up the subtleties without difficulty. I didn’t start reading Usagi Yojimbo until issues in the 14th trade paperback, yet never had a problem following any story points. The cartooning is, as always, beyond reproach. The lines’ rough edges convey the exhausting toil of mine work, yet Sakai also convincingly portrays the clean, noble lines of Lord Noriyuki’s court. The camera moves around, up and down, in and out, creating drama and tension, as well as levity when called for, while the panel-to-panel progressions read quickly and easily. Even the lettering, a skill rarely given its due, is laid out to keep the story’s flow moving forward, and Sakai’s manipulation of balloons and fonts adds danger to the book’s tersest moments. The rabbit ronin is sometimes dismissed by those who know no better as an “animal” comic, but I’ve been saying for years that to dismiss this series is to look past one of the greatest adventure comics of all time. The research into samurai lifestyle and feudal Japanese society is detailed and adds depth and reality to everything on the pages. Usagi Yojimbo is about characters you care for, whose adventures have heart and intelligence, in a society that teaches you about history and, more impressively, humanity. It’s one of the great comics, folks. Don’t let it pass you by. Michael C. Lorah has done the writer/editor thing for publishers that deal with comics, business, and soap operas. Insert “well-prepared for this” joke here.  Dynamo Five: Volume 1 TPBWriter: Jay Faerber Artist: Mahmud A. Asrar Image Comics Review By: Jeff I’m a big fan of throwing conventional superhero morality to the side. Sure, everyone wants to believe that the ‘good guys’ are all true north on the moral compass, and we all seem to relate to the ones who wage a barely winning and constant battle against personal demons or a dark side. To modify some Colonel Jessup, “deep down in places we don’t like to talk about at parties” every hero has an itch that needs to be scratched that would probably shock the adoring public. Personally, I believe that with super powers come super hormones, and since all heroes fight in barely-there super tights, well, color me surprised that super-promiscuity isn’t listed on someone’s list of abilities. Then along comes Captain Dynamo. He’s got laser vision, super-strength, flight, shape-shifting, and telepathy. The guy was a one-man X-team. After he died (found naked and alone in a hotel room), his widow, Maddie Warner, discovered his little black book of conquests, does some mental math, and discovers that Captain D. had been giving some of his best to dozens of women, five of whom had children. Maddie finds the children, each of which (after an exposure to radiation) displays a single power of their father, puts them together, and voila! A new superteam is born. This trade collects the first seven issues of the regular series. Every story of rookie heroes thrown together seems to follow the usual clichés in plot: explore whether they can work well together as a team or will their in-fighting destroy them; one of the team members has to decide to quit and thereby make the team vulnerable to their enemies; one of the members has to have a Logan-complex and be too cool to join even though the others know they are less than optimal without him/her; and sex has to be an issue between members, make a love triangle that threatens to doom the team. There are certainly several more, but usually these are the main topics in the first half dozen issues of a series. Fortunately, Dynamo 5 manages to dodge them all. First and foremost, Mr. Faerber never loses sight of the fact that these kids are all related. Maddie constantly refers to them as a family as opposed to a team, and it’s a concept that these five strangers have to grapple with. Up until now they thought they were alone in this world, and knowing that your father was a) a superhero and that b) you have super-siblings, is a big pill to swallow all at once. The family concept removes some typical conflicts: while the characters are buff and attractive (and Mr. Asrar’s Scrap is one of the sexiest comic characters this side of Frank Cho’s Brandy) each is a no-fly zone to the other, given the genetic issue. But it also adds some interesting bonding issues as well, as each member has a vested interest in protecting and working with each other in addition to discovering who their father really was. And when that’s not enough, there’s the new villain on the block, Synergy, who’s a teen just like the Dynamo Five, but who has all of Captain Dynamo’s powers in one hot little D-cupped package. Mr. Faerber’s writing never dumbs the characters down and always seeks to add mystery to the story, which is what makes this a terrific read. Each issue ends with a nice “Holy crap!” moment that sucks the reader into “just one more issue, just one” even though it was way past my bedtime. Nothing is really as it seems, and Maddie’s secret agenda and behind the scenes manipulations create a constant wondering of whose side is she really on. I enjoyed the fact that he didn’t try to get too complicated and that his pacing is smooth and not rushed. He’s done a great job of making the kids and their actions believable, which helps keep the reader in the story. I only hope that in the next volume the origin of the names is explored, given their uniqueness: Scrap, Slingshot, Visionary, Myriad, and Scatterbrain. Mr. Asrar’s artwork is a blend of Bagley and Cho, clear and consistent, even in action scenes, which he does with such aplomb that I can almost feel the cyclone that Slingshot creates around Whiptail, or feel the tremor through the ground as Scrap drops a car on the same villain. I’ve already gushed about Scrap, the hot Hollywood-actress-wannabe in her quasi-Goth look, and if it wasn’t wrong on a few levels I’d probably put a framed photo of her on my desk. The only real criticism I can levy is that I think he needs to establish a cup size for each female character and stick with it. Each seems to be infused with a Nike pump and can inflate/deflate at will. When someone describes a comic as ‘fun’, I often cringe. What others find fun, I find filled with juvenile potty humor, is usually poorly or just lazily drawn, and is often mildewing beneath the weight of an inane plot. In short, it’s a waste of my money. Dynamo 5 however, is the epitome of a fun comic, and one that is well worth the money. I would even go so far as to say it is one of the best team books on the market right now, one that puts the higher profile efforts like New Avengers and Mighty Avengers to shame.  Warhammer 40,000: The Damnation Crusade TPBWriters: Ian Edginton, Dan Abnett Artists: Lui Antonio, Greg Boychuk BOOM! Studios Review By: Jeff What’s not to like about Warhammer? It’s medieval crusades meets Robotech in a gothic space opera where the battles are bloody and heaped with mounds of corpses, the weapons are impossibly large and devastating, and the storylines are as complicated as some of the character names and locales. It also has legions of pretty cool miniatures that would look good in my office, except that I’d have to paint them, and since I’ve got an attention span shorter than the runtime of the WB’s airing of Global Frequency, I have to avoid them like the plague. While I’m not a regular in the Warhammer scene, I’m a familiar, which means that I was pretty interested when BOOM! Studios collected the Damnation Crusade six-issue series into a trade paperback. It’s a pretty standard Warhammer plot: in the 41st millennium, the bio-engineered Space Marines are the Emperor’s personal vermin exterminators, scouring the galaxy fore to aft, over a million worlds, purging them of basically anyone who won’t toe the Emperor’s line. Like the title says, it’s a Crusade, and at the point of this terrible swift sword are the bloodthirsty, unwaveringly courageous and loyal, (and a little nutty) Black Templars. This is their story, with the principle focus on three main characters: Neophyte Raclaw, Sword Brother Gerhart, and the Dreadnought Tankred. The ranks of the Templars are ‘recruited’ from all over the known worlds, and by recruited I mean plucked from their society and pretty much told that they are never going to see it again. Raclaw was a savage human, found on a world where he was putting on a display of gladiatorial might. Selected for service, Raclaw undergoes the genetic modifications required of a Templar, gets his own super-suit of armor, and learns the way of the warrior via on-the-job training in distant world campaigns. Sword Brother Gerhart is a battle tested veteran who constantly grapples with an enemy considered the greatest of all the Templars face: pride. And the Dreadnought Tankred, my favorite character of this whole series, is more like an assault platform with a consciousness, having long ago forsaken his humanity but not his devotion to the Emperor’s cause. As a story, it’s not for the uninitiated. This isn’t something you hand to a comic book virgin. I felt as if I had been thrown into the story somewhere near the end of Act I and expected to keep up from there. Often I had to go back and read an issue all over again to get the gist of what was happening. That’s a tough spot for a writer to put the reader in, because although they want to grab me by the throat right off the bat, I didn’t develop an attraction to the characters until almost issue three. Sure there’s the quick synopsis inside the front cover (further quickly synopsized in paragraph two above), but it makes the Emperor sound more Hitler than hero and makes me question why someone would devote themselves to his cause. The other problem I have is that these Templars are so fanatically devoted to the Emperor and so good at what they do that they almost become boring. There’s no real struggle, nothing really at stake on a personal level, and there’s no real sense that these guys can be beaten. They come, they slay, they talk amongst themselves, they repeat. It’s all the action of Braveheart meets Gladiator (only in space) but without any of the real drama. Letting the ‘bad guys’ win once or twice, downing a Battle Barge, or cutting Gerhart or Raclaw off from their brothers and having them fight on their own, would have greatly improved the story. Even that big lovable lug Tankred with his staccato and brain-damaged-like speech pattern sometimes comes across as a merely a repackaged version of the ABC War Robot from the movie Judge Dredd. The artwork sometimes muddies the water, as well. I get that it’s dark and dirty and war ain’t pretty. But the Robotech-esque scenes with Tankred could have used a more exacting pencil, as could the fight scenes. Lui Antonio handled the interiors for three of the books and Greg Boychuk handled the other three, and there is a difference between the two. Mr. Boychuk is stronger and has clearer renderings of people, but his action is overly simple, seemingly rushed, and lacks a maturity at times. Mr. Antonio is just the opposite: his people are more Bisley-esque, with less attention to detail, yet he does action and fight scenes much better. I am actually surprised at Mr. Antonio’s work here, as it is radically different from the pencils on his website of other characters he’s done, especially fight scenes between Marvel characters. This is an entertaining series, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not as good as BOOM!’s Warhammer: Forge of War series, where there is more character involvement. I look forward to the next Warhammer series, and only hope that the writers take the story to a higher level, raising the stakes and pushing the limits on what are arguably one of the toughest soldiers in all of the known universe: the Black Templars. Long-time “Shooter” Jeff Marsick has gotten more hate mail than any other member of the team. It’s true!  The 13th Son Worse Thing Waiting TPBFrom: Dark Horse comics Written by: Kelley Jones Art: Kelly Jones Price $12.95 Reviewed by Tim Janson This trade paperback collects the four issue series from Dark Horse Comics and is both written and drawn by Kelley Jones. When if comes to drawing macabre creatures, I just don’t think you can do any better than Jones. Monsters have become is calling card. I first fell in love with his art when he worked on Deadman for DC Comics. Jones understands what makes a good monster tale and it’s always a treat for me to see his art. Human characters are almost completely missing in this tale. It opens with a group of monsters sitting around and basically telling a campfire tale of the one thing they fear more than anything else…The 13th Son! The monster that hunts monsters! Some think that his existence is merely a monster urban legend but they soon find out how wrong they are as the 13th Son pounces on them, tearing them apart almost effortlessly. This creature notes that he is collecting the lives of other monsters and when he’s collected enough “he will be born!” What he is we will have to find out… Tales of the 13th Son pour in from all over as he arrives in the nick of time to rescue some poor human from werewolves, alligator men, and swamp creatures. Then the 13th Son gets a visitor…an animated skeleton who informs him that his “mother” wishes to see him. There’s no love lost between mother and son as the old crone demands he love her like a true son and the monster wants nothing to do with her. The monster’s background is recounted…In the late 1600’s, A Puritan woman, Jennifer Croft, and her husband tried to have children, yet each child died soon after being born. She cared to curse God for her children dying. Then, finally, the 13th child lived, a misshapen creature that her husband sought to drown. But Jennifer protected her child, killing her husband. But the 13th son grew tired of the horrible things his mother made him do…When he left she cursed him and now seeks revenge by conjuring up another son to destroy him. But the 13th Son has allies of his own…His father Elijah crawls out of the muck, a rotting corpse, but bent on retribution against his wife. The 13th Son and his own wife our now set to giver birth to their own child…the 13th son of a 13th son! But to survive they’ll have to face a forest full of monsters. With the possible exception of Berni Wrightson, Jones renders the most ghoulish hell spawned creatures in comics today. His heavy inking style and use of colors is always perfectly suited for horrific subject matter, and I love how his style accentuates the muscles and anatomy of his characters. There are literally dozens of creatures trampling through the forest to destroy the 13th Son and no two look alike. It’s not a great story in terms of the plot but it’s a lot of fun and anything by Jones is OK in my book. Tim Janson’s written for a variety of sites, but we like to think that it’s just Shotgun and Newsarama. Pellet Reviews! Complete Peanuts 1955-1958 Box (Fantagraphics; by Mike): A running gag in these books has Linus reply “In 500 years, who’ll know the difference?” to those who would ask unpleasing things of him. Unfortunately for Linus, five centuries from today, a lot of people are going to know. And you have to feel a little bit sorry for those who might miss out on these brilliant strips of heartache, angst and life through the eyes of childhood innocence. X-Men Emperor Vulcan #2 (Marvel; by Lucas): After the first issue was such a pleasant surprise, this one kept it up and even eclipsed the first. Vulcan is really coming into his own as a character, and I’m starting to believe he’s a Summers, both by his own actions and the reactions of other characters to him. The introduction of this new (old) alien race is very interesting, and adds a complicated layer to the Shi’ar. I’ve always been fascinated by this far-out corner of the X-Universe, and I’m enjoying seeing more here. Chris Yost is writing all of these characters very well, and maturing them and moving them forward in a way I haven’t seen many writers do in quite some time. It’s nice to see Havok, arguably my favorite mutant, exuding some confidence again. Paco Diaz Luque, along with Cifuentes and Reber, are putting out some really cool art, with great special effects showing this worlds-spanning battle. These guys bring new meaning to the term “death star,” that’s for sure. Don’t let this one pass you by as just another X-men mini, it’s a very cool story being dynamically told both in the writing and art. Avengers Classic #5 (Marvel Comics; by O.J.) I knew this series was going to be on and off for me since I had little use for reprints I already own. So the selling point month to month was going to be dictated by the original backup stories featured here. This was a good month to pick it up, at least for me, even if it takes less than ten minutes to breeze through. Macon Blair's vignette about a World War II vet whose (presumably) honorable discharge and entry into a veterans hospital coincided with a chance encounter with Captain America. He is reminded of what got him there when Cap turns up on the TV as a brand new Avenger with Thor. The uncharacteristically horrifying incident (at least for a vintage Avengers story) shared between soldiers and superheroes is rendered exceptionally by Jorge Lucas who blends some Kirbyesque flair with more contemporary draftsmanship. It was a moving story as "supporting the troops" is, genuinely, the bipartisan no-brainer stance of the decade. It was also nice to see, again, what we are missing from the late great Steve Rogers. Brave and the Bold #7 (DC Comics; by O.J.) This was probably my favorite issue of this book, despite something that didn't add up that I will get to momentarily. Since I saw this issue solicited, I was excited and impressed that artist George Perez showed considerable flexibility in the way he rendered Wonder Woman. Until just recently, Perez was pretty consistent in drawing the Amazon princess exactly as he redesigned her after Crisis on Infinite Earths some twenty years ago. It was nice to see her with straighter hair like most artists do her with these days along with the updated costume. The story here is a terrific "one & done," and I'd like to see that more after the glacial pacing of the six-part epic that launched this B&tB. Sorry, but I just couldn't invest myself the bigger story that involved Batman, Green Lantern, Supergirl and a host of others. The smaller stories were generally better than the sum of their parts. Here we get WW and Power Girl with a dash of Superman (and an old Flash rogue who's taken out of storage), and it's old school fun at its finest. What didn't quite work was the ultra-rash tendencies of Power Girl found throughout. Writer Mark Waid has her characterization down pat, but I have a tough time believing that this gal leads the Justice Society of America. She takes direction terribly, and strategy is not her strong suit. Hard to believe that the original superteam is in capable hands as she's depicted here. Otherwise it was my book of the week. All other artists in DC's stable need to bow down to the master, one Mr. Perez. His work still amazes. Best Shots is brought to you by Newsarama and ShotgunReviews.com. In addition to reviews and articles across the pop culture spectrum, The Shotgun hosts “Shots in the Dark”, a weekly internet radio show. Check out www.shotgunreviews.com, www.shotgunreviews.com/shots and www.myspace.com/shotgunreviews.com at your leisure. |
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10-22-2007, 08:44 AM
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#2 |
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1st post? Don't really understand this series...why not just read the essentials trade.
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10-22-2007, 09:00 AM
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#3 |
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Well, to answer your question....
the Essentials volume are not in color. Nor do they have new backup stories. |
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10-22-2007, 09:02 AM
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#4 |
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Good Job on the Reviews Guys,
Loved the JLA Review, I am a Big fan of Mucduffies JLA run, and he certainly knows how to write these Big, important Dc characters. The action is very good aswell, It's a blessing to see, that when superman is fast, Parasite doesn't have a chance to even activate his powers. and tosses him into orbit. Black Lightning, takes no crap from Lex luthor,,This is the way it should be, i never liked the Black Lightning that was watching President luthor back in the day. He has cool powers, and skills, and a good head, I like that he is using them. The New Shaggy man? why not!!!! Dr Light taking out superman, Well since i read that Teen Titan arc where Dr light went up against the whole cast of Teen Titans new and older members, he gave the Heroes a run for their money, a worthy foe, that dr Light is So, Cheers to Mcduffie and Benes, The last chaper should be Great. |
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10-22-2007, 09:06 AM
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#5 |
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Happy to see Suburban Glamour get some love-- very good book, no question about it.
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10-22-2007, 09:13 AM
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#6 |
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I have to echo the sentiments made in the Captain America review.
I used to spend over 200 dollars a month on comics. Had to cut down, and now I only collect 4 titles (New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, The Walking Dead, and Captain America) I was a little skeptical of the direction that the book would take after Cap's death, but I have to say that moving the supporting cast to the forefront of the book has not hurt it at all. Here we are 6 months after the death of the title character, and the book keeps moving on. The machinations of the villains are complex, and it seems like so much of the groundwork for what is happening now has been laid out very carefully from the beginning. I am very glad I stuck around. I picked up the Omnibus, even though I had the original issues, just because the package was gorgeous, and I was not disappointed. |
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10-22-2007, 09:44 AM
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#7 | |
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Quote:
Well, if you count the wedding special that started this current arc, and the #0 issue, then technically it took this series 16 issues to really get in gear. (Personally I've found it slow moving, but still very enjoyable.) |
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10-22-2007, 09:51 AM
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#8 |
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I couldn't agree more with the Cap review. I only wish I didn't have to wait a month to find out [self-edited against potential spoilers].
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10-22-2007, 09:53 AM
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#9 | |
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Quote:
Does the Omnibus include any bonus material? I missed the series pre-Civil War tie-ins (where I got hooked) and I've been trying to figure out if it would be more economical for me to pursue the Omnibus or the TPBs. |
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10-22-2007, 09:58 AM
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#10 | |
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Quote:
get the omnibus. |
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10-22-2007, 10:14 AM
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#11 | |
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Quote:
I honestly can't say. I just started reading the book from the first page, and am about 8 issues in. I hadn't even flipped to the back to see what the extras were.  I got mine through DCBS (pre-order) and paid just over 35 dollars (and got free shipping/handling due to an error with the rest of my order) I really liked the oversized volumes, and have a great many of them. Perhaps someone else can field this question....? |
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10-22-2007, 10:16 AM
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#12 |
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Amen to the remark that Perez is the Master. This issue saves B&B as far as I am concerned. Waid is a very capable writer and in my opinon one of the top three in the industry (guess who the other two are). But in a DC that is so overwhelm with the countdown to the Final Crisis, the cosmic epic that the first six issues produced, just seemed lost (although to see Perez FINALLY do a Legion story was classic). I think for now the single stories carry enough "umph" to get us through these cosmic times. Next month the teams on Flash and Doom Patrol "clutch the pearls Mary this one will be great!"
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10-22-2007, 10:21 AM
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#13 |
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loving the direction Captain America is going, cant wait for Steve Rogers to come back though, Winter Soldier is kicking major ass
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10-22-2007, 10:21 AM
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#14 |
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JLA hasn't recovered yet from Meltzer's misguided run, but at least McDuffie's an improvement. I for one am waiting for a new artist to go with the new writer. I think the art is soooo butt-ugly. (If I wanted T&A I'd buy Heroes for Hire.) I'm sick and tired of seeing Wonder Woman and Canary drawn with butt floss up their ass. Those aren't costumes for a self-respecting hero; that's fetish gear for fanboys. Wise up, DC.
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10-22-2007, 10:23 AM
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#15 |
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p.s. Meanwhile, I hope the Best Shots crew will give some attention to the best book of last week (well, tied with Umbrella Academy): Catwoman. Really, consistently great stuff in that title!
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10-22-2007, 10:59 AM
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#16 |
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I would have liked to see Catwoman get some love as well, but Suburban Glamour got a shout out, so I'll take whatever I can get.
If you havent read, heard about or picked up Suburban Glamour yet, you should really give it a try the next time you head to your comic shop. It's a 4 issue miniseries, so not too big an investment if, for some strange reason, you do not like it. One of the best books I've read in recent memory. |
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10-22-2007, 12:00 PM
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#17 | |
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Quote:
I think there's an in-story reason for it. In Superman/Batman #6, Lex was wearing the classic Perez armor when he basically revealed to the world that he was going to let Earth get hit by a big Kryptonite asteroid while he escapes to Apokolips (or something). Then in 52, Lex sets it up so the world believes the lunatic in the Perez armor was actually an impostor (Alexander Luthor). So if Lex were to wear the Perez armor again, everyone would know he'd lied about the impostor thing. He's already got enough criminal charges to worry about. |
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10-22-2007, 12:47 PM
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#18 |
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Very good rational! I mean I don't think it's why the artist did it, but it works for an explanation!
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10-22-2007, 12:47 PM
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#19 | |
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Quote:
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10-22-2007, 12:47 PM
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#20 |
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I'll admit I was hoping for a bit more of an oomph in the first issue of Suburban Glamour, but I loved Phonogram (which I think read much better as a trade), so I'm just enjoying the slow burn and am going to just trust in Mckelvie.
Also, loved the Superman Returns scene in JLA! |
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10-22-2007, 12:51 PM
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#21 |
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As I said earlier, great reviews.
I'd still like to see Countdown back on the best shots reading list., The last 8 weeks have been very good and worthy of mention, |
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10-22-2007, 12:52 PM
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#22 |
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I pretty much agree with the Mighty Avengers review in the vlog. I really enjoyed Cho's artwork throughout and Bendis is making an effort for us to like Ares and it is definitely working on me. It was shocking what happened to Sentry but at least now he becomes a bit more interesting. If the next issue manages to ship this side of Christmas I think I will be happy enough.
Dynamo 5 always seems to get positive reviews and weren't they offering the trade at a discounted price. I must look into that once I get some cash inflow. |
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10-22-2007, 01:53 PM
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#23 | |
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Quote:
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10-22-2007, 02:02 PM
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#24 | |
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Yes, I should have mentioned that the cover price is $9.99. |
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10-22-2007, 03:59 PM
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#25 | |
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Quote:
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