MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
WRITER: Genndy Tartakovsky
PENCILS: Genndy Tartakovsky
INKS: Stephen DeStefano
COLORS: Scott Wills
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
COVER: Genndy Tartakovsky and Stephen DeStefano with Scott Wills
VARIANT COVER: Art Adams with Paul Mounts
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2017)
Rated T+
Luck Cage created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita, Sr.
Luke Cage is a Marvel Comics superhero. Also known as, “Power Man,” Cage was created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., and first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (cover dated: June 1972). Cage was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, but he eventually gained superpowers in the form of durability, unbreakable skin, and superhuman strength.
As Power Man, Cage has been most associated with another superhero, his partner, Iron Fist (Daniel “Danny” Rand). However, Cage has also been a solo act (as has Iron Fist). As part Marvel Comics' latest publishing event/initiative, NOW!, we have the new four-issue comic book miniseries, Cage! It is written by Genndy Tartakovsky; drawn by Tartakovsky (pencils) and Stephen DeStefano (inks); colored by Scott Wills; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Tartakovsky is the creator of the Cartoon Network animated classics, “Dexter's Laboratory” (also “Dexter's Lab”) and “Samurai Jack,” and the animated film franchise, Hotel Transylvania (Sony Pictures Animation). Tartakovsky, who has occasionally produced comic books, returns to the medium with his distinctive take on Luke Cage-Power Man, giving this new comic book a 1970s pop culture and blaxploitation vibe.
Cage! opens in New York City, 1977. Cage heads to Chinatown for a rendezvous with his lady, Misty Knight. When she doesn't show, Cage starts looking for answers and discovers that heroes from all over NYC are disappearing. After he is kidnapped, Cage meets the villain behind the kidnappings, Professor Soos. Soos has concocted some crazy Island of Dr. Moreau plan to have the kidnapped heroes fight the abominable animal hybrids he has created.
Cage! #4 opens on a mysterious island of an unknown locale. Deep beneath its beautiful and thick jungle is the lair of Prof. Soos. Cage, forced to fight, is successful against Soos' man-animal monsters. The other kidnapped heroes, like Dazzler and Brother Voodoo, are not. Cage's victories, however, do not earn him freedom or even a cash prize! His success only means that he now has to fight the ultimate opponent, one who is a shockingly skilled martial artist.
If Marvel Comics' continuity is important to you, dear reader, don't take Cage! seriously in terms of Marvel continuity. It is a special, event miniseries, but Genny Tartakovsky has created a comic book that is a love letter to and good-natured spoof of Marvel Comics titles published during the mid to late 1970s. You can tell by which superheroes make appearances and which costumes they wear.
I love Cage!, and I wish that it were an ongoing series. I know, however, that what makes it special is that it is a short-term event. Cage! recalls classic Luke Cage-Power Man and also the spirit of one the recurring characters on “Dexter's Laboratory,” “Action Hank.” Hank is the stereotypical blaxploitation character as a heroic crime fighter and a television action hero. Hank has characteristics that borrow from popular 1970s and 80s action heroes like Shaft and Rambo and iconic actors like Chuck Norris and Mr. T. Genndy's Luke Cage reminds me of Action Hank, and that is a good thing.
In the end, Cage! is the kind of comic book that I would have loved to have read as a child. It gives me that feeling of joy and wonder that keeps me reading through the comic books that can't quite give me that feeling of joy and wonder.
A
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
-----------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment