Review: SUPERMAN: Year One #2

SUPERMAN YEAR ONE No. 2
DC COMICS/DC Black Label – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Frank Miller
PENCILS: John Romita, Jr.
INKS: Danny Miki
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: John Workman
EDITOR: Mark Doyle
COVER: John Romita, Jr. and Danny Miki with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair
64pp, Color, $7.99 U.S. (October 2019)

Mature Readers

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Book Two

Superman: Year One is a three-issue comic book miniseries written by Frank Miller and drawn by John Romita, Jr.  It is being published in an over-sized softcover format and is part of DC Comics' prestige “DC Black Label” imprint.  Superman: Year One is a retelling of the early life of Clark Kent and of his first year as the superhero, Superman.  The rest of the creative team includes inker Danny Miki, colorist Alex Sinclair, and letterer John Workman.

Superman: Year One #2 opens at the Naval Station at Great Lakes, Illinois.  Young Clark Kent has left the bucolic grain fields of Smallville, Kansas to join the Navy.  Clark is just another untrained recruit... except that is not quite true.  Kent was born on another planet, the now-destroyed Krypton.  He was carried to Earth in a rocket ship and landed in Earth, specifically Smallville, Kansas where Martha and Jonathan Kent found him and adopted him as their own son.

The rays of the yellow sun around which Earth orbits has made Clark strong and powerful beyond human imagination.  Even holding back, Clark quickly sets himself apart from the other recruits.  But an officer has noticed Clark's peculiar abilities, and so has a denizen of lost Atlantis.  Will Clark's powers land him in trouble in two worlds?

At some point, DC Comics publicly stated that Superman: Year One would now be Superman's official origin story.  I think Frank Miller also said that Superman: Year One is set in the universe of his seminal comic book miniseries, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

If Superman: Year One is really the new official story of Superman's early years, it is certainly a strange one.  This comic book series is weird enough to be an attractive read, but I still find myself asking, “So what?!”  What is the point of all this?  What are Frank Miller's intentions?  John Bryne's 1986 miniseries, The Man of Steel, was a reboot of Superman, the character and his history.  It was both a marked departure from and a radical streamlining of all things Superman.  When The Man of Steel ended after six issues, a new, modern Superman emerged.  Superman: Year One seems like an event comics package, and Superman: Year One #2, with all its interesting oddities, does nothing to make the series seem more than a comic book produced by big-name creators.

However, the art, coloring, and lettering are oh-so awesome.  Yes, artist John Romita, Jr.'s storytelling is still clear, offbeat, and, at times, quite dramatic.  Yes, Danny Miki's inking brings a lush brushwork feel to the art.  Yes, Alex Sinclair's colors are radiant, so much so that he seems like the star creator hear.  And yes, John Workman's lettering is monumental as always.  Together, these graphic and illustrative elements crackle with power off the page and to the reader.  The story in this issue may not be great, but the art and graphics are fantastic.  The Atlantis double-page spread and the scenes with the “Kraken” are totally-awesome-dude illustrations in a comic book of awesome art.

I am still hopeful that this series can be a major, definitive Superman comic book series.  After all, Batman: Damned #3 redeemed the first two issues of that series.  I will certainly recommend Superman: Year One #2 because you, dear reader, will want to see the impressive art in it.

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SUPERMAN: Year One #1

SUPERMAN YEAR ONE No. 1
DC COMICS/DC Black Label – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Frank Miller
PENCILS: John Romita, Jr.
INKS: Danny Miki
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: John Workman
EDITOR: Mark Doyle
COVER: John Romita, Jr. and Danny Miki with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair
64pp, Color, $7.99 U.S. (August 2019)

Mature Readers

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Book One

Superman: Year One is a new three-issue comic book miniseries written by Frank Miller and drawn by John Romita, Jr.  It is published in an over-sized softcover format and is part of DC Comics' prestige imprint, “DC Black Label.”  Superman: Year One is a retelling of the early life of Clark Kent and of his first year as the superhero, Superman.  The rest of the creative team includes inker Danny Miki, colorist Alex Sinclair, and letterer John Workman.

Superman: Year One #1 opens on Krypton on the last day of its existence.  While the planet convulses in its death throes, a Kyrptionian man and woman send their infant son, Kal, off in a rocket ship to Earth.  There, under the Earth's yellow sun, Kal will more than thrive, and a human couple, Martha and Jonathan Kent, will make him their son, Clark Kent.

From the destroyed planet of Krypton to the bucolic grain fields of Kansas, this first chapter tracks Clark Kent's youth in Smallville.  He struggles to understand the nature of man and seeks to find his place in his adopted world.

If I remember correctly, Superman: Year One was meant to be the inaugural “DC Black Label” series and was supposed to debut sometime last year in the late summer or early fall.  [Batman: Damned became the first DC Black Label publication.]  DC Comics recently stated that Superman: Year One is to be Superman's official origin story.  I think Frank Miller also said that Superman: Year One is set in the world of his seminal comic book miniseries, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

All that aside, I find Superman: Year One intriguing.  There is a section of a line in the promotional material for Superman: Year One #1 that says “...the first chapter of SUPERMAN YEAR ONE tracks Clark Kent's youth in Kansas, as he comes to terms with his strange powers and struggles to find his place in our world.”  That is not quite accurate.

Writer Frank Miller does depict young Clark Kent finding a place to fit within the micro-world of Smallville High School (the freaks and geeks and outcast kids).  His only struggle is him trying to figure out when he should use his powers on bullies and to what extent he should use those powers.  In this way, Miller recalls the classic Superman character, a man of the people rather than as what he is now:  the greatest superhero of them all who is fighting the greatest threats of them all.  Also, by my reading, Clark does not seem to need to come to terms with his powers.  His powers are not something he doubts or fears; perhaps, he has to come to terms about when and where to use them.

Many previous stories about Superman's youth deal with the development of his powers in a physical context, especially concerning his strength and flight.  Miller delves into the development of Clark's super-powers in the context of his intellect and mental prowess.  Miller's young Clark Kent is thoughtful, but he is also devious and conniving.  It seems as if he is always thinking, learning, and planning, even when he is learning and receiving wisdom and knowledge from his parents, especially from his father, Jonathan.

Artist John Romita, Jr.'s storytelling is clear, offbeat, and, at times, quite dramatic.  I like how he captures the subtleties in Clark's nature and also his secretive side.  I am not quite sure that I like Romita's clear-line drawing style for this comic; Superman: Year One #1 is no where near Romita's best work, although it is better than most other comic book artists' best efforts.  Still, I am glad that super-inker Danny Miki's inking brings a lush, brushwork feel to the art.

Alex Sinclair's coloring pounds the sentimental shit out of this story; without Sinclair's power-hues, this story would, in places, trend toward the nostalgic.  Also, a book that aspires to be important needs an important letterer, and John Workman is a monumental letterer.

So I am happy to report that I am happy that Superman: Year One is off to a fine start.  As I said, I am intrigued, because I had been cynical from the time this project was announced.  Yes, let's see where Superman: Year One goes.  Maybe, it will be worthy of being the definitive origin of Superman.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: BATMAN: Damned #2

BATMAN: DAMNED No. 2
DC COMICS/DC Black Label – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Brian Azzarello
ART: Lee Bermejo
COLORS: Lee Bermejo
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
EDITOR: Mark Doyle
COVER: Lee Bermejo
VARIANT COVER: Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair
48pp, Color, $6.99 U.S. (February 2019)

Mature Readers

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Batman: Damned is a new three-issue comic book miniseries written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Lee Bermejo.  Published in an over-sized softcover format, it is the inaugural series for DC Comics' new prestige and event publication imprint, “DC Black Label.”  Letterer Jared K. Fletcher is the other member of Damned's creative team.

The central focus of Batman: Damned is that The Joker is dead, and that maybe Batman is the one who killed him... But Batman cannot remember, and there may be some sinister and thus far unknown force that done the deed.  Are John Constantine and Deadman Batman's true allies in solving this mystery?

In Batman: Damned #2, Batman recalls memories of a troubling time in his childhood, and it has something to do with his late mother, Martha Wayne.  Meanwhile, The Dark Knight’s descent into the madness of Gotham City’s decadent underbelly continues,  and that includes a trip to a club called “The Cavern,” where Etrigan the Demon is a hip-hop artist – a rapping demon!  Plus, a number of supernatural DC Comics characters make appearances... while a strange Bat-signal haunts the sky over Gotham City.

Some describe comic books as a storytelling medium of word and pictures, and some call comics and comic books “sequential art.”  I call comics a kind of graphical storytelling in which the story is conveyed to readers via illustrations and graphics that tell a story.

Brian Azzarello writes the story that artist Lee Bermejo illustrates into the comics medium.  Azzarello is one of American comic books' most popular and acclaimed writers of the past 20 years.  In some ways, Azzarello is still coasting on the strength of his breakout and most famous work, the crime comic book, 100 Bullets.  That award-winning comic book is largely the reason that Azzarello gets to write prestige projects like Batman: Damned.

If I were nice, I would describe Azzarello's story for Batman: Damned as pretentious.  I don't feel like being nice right now, so I will call it mostly junk.  Batman: Damned may be one of those death dream narratives in which the protagonist or the character through which the story is told is dying.  His story is really a long period of subjective time that passes in an instant because it is the hallucination of dying man's mind or consciousness.  Probably the most famous example of this is Ambrose Bierce's short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (first published in 1890).  A more recent and popular example is the 1990 film, Jacob's Ladder, which stars Tim Robbins as Vietnam vet who believes that he has returned home when he is actually dying after being injured in combat.  Nothing Azzarello has done so far in Batman: Damned is anywhere as interesting as that film or Bierce's story.

The member of this creative team that makes Batman: Damned worth seeing (if not reading) is artist Lee Bermejo.  His Gotham City is a hell-scape that hints at the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch.  Much of Batman: Damned's art recalls the best comic book artists who have drawn horror comic books, including Bernie Wrightson and Graham Ingels.  I also see similarities to the comic book art of the great Glenn Fabry, the legendary Brian Bolland, and the sublime Dave McKean.  Bermejo makes Batman: Damned #2 exactly what DC Comics describes – a veritable Grand Guignol.

Batman: Damned #1 became much talked about because of Bermejo's painted depiction of Bruce Wayne's penis in the story.  As good as Bermejo's art is in the second book, I wish DC Comics would have encouraged him to draw another dick – maybe Deadman's.  Batman: Damned #2 would matter more if it contained more comic book character penis

5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE #1

THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Neil Gaiman
WRITERS: Simon “Si” Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, and Dan Watters
ART: Bilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara
COLORS: Mat Lopes
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EDITOR: Molly Mahan
COVER: Jae Lee with June Chung
VARIANT COVERS: Dave McKean; Jill Thompson; Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair; Sam Keith; P. Craig Russell with Lovern Kindzierski; David Mack
48pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (October 2018)

“Suggested for Mature Readers”

The Sandman created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg

The Sandman is a DC Comics comic book series created by writer Neil Gaiman and artists Sam Keith and Mike Dringenberg.  Published by DC Comics from 1989 to 1996, The Sandman ran for 75 issues, and tells the story of “Dream” of “The Endless.”  Also named Morpheus (as well as other names), Dream rules over the world of dreams.

DC Comics announced earlier this year an expansion and quasi sequel to The Sandman, “The Sandman Universe.”  This will be a line of four comic books that will launch in September and October of 2018.  The release dates are timed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sandman #1, which was covered dated January 1989, but released to comic book stores in October 1988.  It will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Vertigo imprint.

The Sandman Universe titles are a mixture of new and revived titles.  The first is The Dreaming (Sept. 5th), written by Simon “Si” Spurrier and drawn by Bilquis Evely.  The second is House of Whispers (Sept. 12), written by Nalo Hopkinson and drawn by Dominike “Domo” Stanton.  The third is Lucifer (October 17), written by Dan Watters and drawn by Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara.  The fourth is Books of Magic (Oct. 24), written by Kat Howard and drawn by Tom Fowler.

These four titles are previewed in the stand-alone anthology comic book, The Sandman Universe #1.  Neil Gaiman provides the story for this single-issue comic book.  Simon Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, and Dan Watters write the scripts for previews of the respective titles they are writing.  Bilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, and Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara draw the art for the previews of the respective series they are drawing.  The Sandman Universe #1 is colored by Mat Lopes and lettered by Simon Bowland.

In The Sandman Universe #1, the denizens of The Dreaming discover that their master, the Lord of Dreams, is missing.  Now, Matthew the raven must traverse the realms and dreams of four characters:  Dora, Timothy Hunter, Erzulie (a voodoo deity), and Lucifer Morningstar (trapped in the body of an old man) to find Dream.  But does he want to be found?  What if he quit being Dream?

I enjoyed The Sandman Universe #1, but I would not call it an exceptional comic book.  It is a particularly well-produced preview comic book.  The best art, by far, in The Sandman Universe #1 is the work of Bilquis Evely, who is drawing The Dreaming, so I am putting this title on my reading list.

I want to try House of Whispers because I try to support Black writers of speculative and fantasy fiction, and the Jamaican-born, Canadian Hopkinson is a writer of color.  The House of Whispers preview in The Sandman Universe #1 is interesting and is the only truly unique offering in this comic book.  However, I must say that it did not quite connect with me the way I thought it would because of its various elements and ideas.

The Books of Magic preview did pique my interest; for obvious reasons, this is the closest thing to a Harry Potter comic book we likely will ever have.  I found the Lucifer preview to be a chore to read, taxing my patience for most of its six pages.

The Dreaming is both The Sandman Universe #1's framing sequence and the subject of a preview, which is good.  As I just wrote, Bilquis Evely's art is beautiful, and Evely's talent really shows on the killer last page she produces for this story.  As a preview of a line of comic books, The Sandman Universe #1 is as effective as it can be, but most of the effort is really up to the creative teams of the individual titles in the line.  I recommend this to readers interested in “The Sandman Universe” titles, but I doubt longtime fans of The Sandman comic book series will get much out of it.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You'


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

---------------------------

Review: SUPERMAN #1

SUPERMAN No. 1 (2018)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Brian Michael Bendis
PENCILS: Ivan Reis
INKS: Joe Prado
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Josh Reed
COVER: Ivan Reis and Joe Prado with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVERS: Adam Hughes; David Mack
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2018)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

“The Unity Saga”

Superman the comic book series enters a new era with a new writer and a new #1 issue (the third in seven years).  Superman is the most famous DC Comics superhero character.  Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 (cover dated: June 1938).  Superman was first a baby named “Kal-El” from the doomed planet Krypton.  Brought to Earth on a rocket ship (or space craft), Baby Kal was adopted by Martha and Thomas Kent, who named him “Clark Kent.”

Clark would grow up to be the superhero, Superman, and his activities and adventures were first chronicled in Action Comics.  A year later, Superman would get his own eponymous title when the comic book entitled Superman #1 debuted.  Now, comes a new Superman series.  It is written by the new primary Superman comic book writer, Brian Michael Bendis.  It is drawn by artists Ivan Reis (pencils) and Joe Prado (inks); colored by Alex Sinclair; and lettered by Josh Reed.

Superman #1 (2018) finds The Man of Steel stopping an invasion of Earth by the “Dominators” dead in its tracks.  [The Dominators a.k.a. “Dominion” were first seen in Adventures Comics #361 (October 1967), but are probably best known for being the villains in the 1988-89 comic book miniseries and crossover event, Invasion!].  Then, it is time to build a new “Fortress of Solitude,” have two separate meetings with fellow Justice League teammates, save the day several times, and discover something shocking about our planet.

I really want to like Brian Michael Bendis' Superman comic books, and for the most part, I enjoyed his debut series, The Man of Steel, a six-issue miniseries.  It could never live up to my ridiculously high expectations, but I actually wanted more of The Man of Steel.  Well, Superman #1 starts the process of meeting my Bendis Superman needs and expectations.

Bendis fills this first issue with wonderful surprises and sub-plots.  Ivan Reis' pencil art and compositions are lushly illustrated, and have a sparkling quality thanks to Joe Prado's intricate and detailed inks.  Colorist supreme Alex Sinclair delivers hues that have an opulent quality.  Josh Reed does some heavy lifting finding the right spots in the art to place word balloons and boxes.  This is a very well put together graphics package

I get the feeling that Bendis is going to portray Superman/Clark Kent as having to confront, deal with, and manage all his persona and all aspects of his personal, private, secret, and super lives.  I really like Superman #1 (2018), and I think my ridiculously high expectations might be met.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-----------------------

Review: BATMAN: Damned #1

BATMAN: DAMNED No. 1
DC COMICS/DC Black Label – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Brian Azzarello
ART: Lee Bermejo
COLORS: Lee Bermejo
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
EDITOR: Mark Doyle
COVER: Lee Bermejo
VARIANT COVER: Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair
48pp, Color, $6.99 U.S. (November 2018)

Mature Readers

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Batman: Damned is a 2018-19 three-issue comic book miniseries written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Lee Bermejo.  Published in an over-sized format, it is the inaugural series for DC Comics' new prestige and event publication imprint, “DC Black Label.”  Letterer Jared K. Fletcher is the other member of Damned's creative team.

Batman: Damned #1 opens in an ambulance where we find Batman on a stretcher.  He is dead or near death when he suddenly revives and makes his escape.  The Joker is dead, and maybe Batman finally killed him.  Or is it some sinister and thus far unknown force that done the deed?

The problem is that Batman can't remember, and what he does remember does not jibe with what information he can get.  John Constantine and Deadman aren't helping.  Now, Batman will have to go into the sordid and seedy underbelly of Gotham City to find the truth, and where he goes is dark... and maybe hot as hell.

I am a fan of artist Lee Bermejo.  I particularly like the way he draws Batman's costume, which remind me of the World War I army uniforms that British “dough boys” wore.  However, his art for Batman: Damned #1 looks like pieces for a portfolio or art exhibition as often as it looks like graphical storytelling.  It does not help story matters that Brian Azzarello's script reads like something composed by a kid in a high school creative writing program to accompany pieces in an art show.

No one seems like a reliable narrator in this first issue, especially John Constantine who, if not the narrator, provides voice over narration, one that reads as if this comic book were an episode of a true crime television series.  Honestly, the only interesting thing in Batman: Damned #1 are the four “shots” of Bruce Wayne's nicely shaped penis, which have caused quite a bit of consternation in various comic book corners of the Internet.

Once again, an event comic book does not live up to the hype, or, in this case, the hype delivers on controversy rather than on storytelling.  Even if he or she were talented, an unknown or novice writer could not get an editor to accept a script like the one for Batman: Damned #1.

Keep humpin' that chicken, DC Comics; maybe, you can keep manufacturing high first issue sales before readers catch on to the fact that they should not believe the hype.  Still, I hope the second and third issues of Batman: Damned (which will not make their original announced release dates) are better.

5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE MAN OF STEEL #1

THE MAN OF STEEL No. 1 (2018)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

SCRIPT: Brian Michael Bendis
PENCILS: Ivan Reis; Jason Fabok (pp. 21-22)
INKS: Joe Prado; Jason Fabok (pp. 21-22)
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Cory Petit
EDITOR: Michael Cotton
COVER: Ivan Reis and Joe Prado with Alex Sinclair
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2018)

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

“Man of Steel “ Part 1

In November 2017, Marvel Comics' best writer of the last two decades, Brian Michael Bendis, ended his tenure with Marvel and signed an exclusive deal with Marvel's rival, DC Comics.  It was not long before rumors of Bendis focusing on the character Superman were burning up the e-grapevine.

After serving up a Superman tale in the anthology and milestone comic book, Action Comics #1000, Brian Michael Bendis officially begins his tenure as the lead writer of the Superman comic book line with the six-issue, weekly miniseries, The Man of Steel.  Each issue will feature a different art team, and the artists for the first issue are Ivan Reis (pencils) and Joe Prado (inks), with Jason Fabok drawing the story's last two pages (pp. 21-22).  Alex Sinclair colors, and Cory Petit letters.

The Man of Steel #1 opens sometime in the past when a being named “Rogol Zaar” declares that Krypton must destroyed.  Kryptonians mean to destroy the rest of the galaxy, according to Rogol, so they must be destroyed first.  Rogol believes he is just the being who can and should do the destroying.  Back in the present, Superman believes that he has discovered that arson is plaguing a particular section of Metropolis.  Meanwhile, Clark Kent deals with work and family, not realizing that a new threat to destroy him is emerging.

In late 1986, DC Comics published a special, event miniseries, entitled The Man of Steel.  Written and drawn by John Byrne, then one of the most popular and powerful comic book writer-artists, The Man of Steel re-imagined, rebooted, and modernized Superman.  After decades of stagnation up to the mid-1980s (according to some), the Superman comic book line needed a course correction.  Byrne's The Man of Steel was a seismic shift in terms of what a Superman comic book could and should be.

Brian Michael Bendis' The Man of Steel 2018 is quieter because it does not need to modernize Superman.  John Byrne already did that, beginning with The Man of Steel during his subsequent two-year run as writer-artist and writer on Superman, Action Comics, and The Adventures of Superman titles.  Since he does not have to modernize Superman, Bendis can focus on the character and personality of the Man of Steel.

Bendis presents Superman/Clark Kent as stoic and stalwart, but with a generous sense of humor.  I think that this Bendis Superman of the comic books is so like the cinematic Superman portrayed by beloved actor, the late Christopher Reeve.  Bendis's Superman is not so different from Patrick J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's Man of Steel, as seen during their recent run on the flagship comic book, Superman, except the emotional component of Bendis' Superman/Clark Kent is a bit edgier, even with the humor present.

Apparently, from what I have read, Bendis is rewriting Superman's origins.  Still, 2018 The Man of Steel does not seem like a sea change in terms of Superman's world and fictional mythology the way the 1986 Byrne miniseries was and still is.  However, from a character and emotional point of view, Bendis may adding or changing something rather than fashioning a new Man of Steel

8.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: HAWKMAN #1

HAWKMAN No. 1 (2018)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Robert Venditti
PENCILS: Bryan Hitch
INKS: Andrew Currie and Bryan Hitch
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Starkings & Comicraft
EDITOR: Marie Javins
COVER: Bryan Hitch with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Stejpan Sejic
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Awakening” Part One: “What's Past is Prologue”

Hawkman is a DC Comics superhero.  There are multiple versions of the character, and two of them are the best known.  The first is the “Golden Age” Hawkman, a human archaeologist named Carter Hall, who is the modern-day reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian prince named Khufu.  That character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville and first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published in 1940 by All-American Publications (which eventually entered a merger that would form DC Comics' predecessor, National Periodical Publications).

The second is the alien police officer, Katar Hol, from the planet, Thanagar.  Created by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert, Hol first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #34 (cover dated: March-February 1961).  The common denominator among the various versions of Hawkman is that they wear large, artificial wings, attached to a harness made from the special Nth metal that allows them to fly.

There is a  new comic book series starring the character, entitled Hawkman.  It is written by Robert Venditti; drawn by Bryan Hitch (pencils and inks) and Andrew Currie (inks); colored by Alex Sinclair; and lettered by Starkings & Comicraft.  The series finds Hawkman/Carter Hall trying to unravel the secrets of his many pasts.

Hawkman #1 (“What's Past is Prologue”) finds the superhero Hawkman flying over an island twelve miles south of Santorini, Greece.  Carter Hall is an archaeologist and an explorer of the ancient and unknown, and the greatest unknown seems to be Carter Hall.  Hawkman is searching for a relic, “the Nautilus of Revealment.”  With the help of Madame Xanadu, Carter will use the Nautilus to make discoveries about his reincarnations and surprisingly, to discover something about his fate.

After reading a few pages of Hawkman #1 2018, I was sure that I would not like it, but by the end of the first issue, I was really liking it.  I don't think I need to go through a litany about the creative team.  Robert Venditti is an imaginative writer.  Bryan Hitch is an influential stylist, and inker Andrew Currie usually captures both the power and grace of Hitch's pencil compositions.  Colorist Alex Sinclair is subtly muting his usual vivid coloring here to serve the moodiness of the story.  Starkings & Comicraft's lettering shifts fonts and designs and is excellent... of course.

What really stands out is that Hawkman #1 suggests that Hawkman 2018 is trying for something different.  Like Carter Hall, this new Hawkman comic book will offer a story that is about exploring the ancient and unknown.  There is a sense of mystery and of a little magic.  Venditti and Hitch are trying to do something than can truly be described as different.  I hope...

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: DETECTIVE COMICS #1000

DETECTIVE COMICS No. 1000
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

EDITORS: Chris Conroy and Dave Wielgosz
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Steve Rude; Bruce Timm; Michael Cho; Jim Steranko; Bernie Wrightson with Alex Sinclair; Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair; Tim Sale with Brennen Wagner; Jock; Greg Capullo with FCO Plascencia
MISC. ART: Mikel Janin; Jason Fabok with Brad Anderson; Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts;
96pp, Color, $9.99 U.S. (May 2019)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Detective Comics is an American comic book series published by DC Comics, and it is the longest continuously published comic book periodical in the United States, according to the Guinness World Records.  Its first issue, Detective Comics #1 (cover dated:  March 1937), was published by Detective Comics, Inc., a forerunner of DC Comics.  Detective Comics is best known as the comic book series in which Batman/Bruce Wayne first appeared, in Detective Comics #27 (cover dated:  May 1939).

The first volume of Detective Comics was published from 1937 to 2011 (for 881 issues).  Then, as part of “The New 52” initiative, the series was relaunched in the fall of 2011 with a new Detective Comics #1 (cover dated:  November 2011).  In 2016, after 52 issues of “The New 52” run, Detective Comics reverted to what would have been its original numbering if it had not been relaunched – with Detective Comics #934 (cover dated:  Early August 2016).

March 30, 2019 marked the 80th anniversary of the first appearance of Batman.  Although Detective Comics #27's cover date is May 1937, it apparently debuted for sale March 30, 1939.  Just in time for this Bat-birthday is the arrival of Detective Comics #1000.

To celebrate, Detective Comics #1000 is an anthology (which the series originally was) featuring ten short stories created by an “all-star” list of comic book creators.  It also features a twelve-page preview of Detective Comics #1001 and has three pin-up illustrations.

For this review of Detective Comics #1000, I'll offer a few comments one each story:

“Batman's Longest Case”
STORY: Scott Snyder
PENCILS: Greg Capullo
INKS: Jonathan Glapion
COLORS: FCO Plascencia
LETTERS: Tom Napolitano

Snyder and Capullo have been THE rock star Batman creative team of this decade, but this story, introducing another of Snyder's contrived secret societies, is a misfire.

“Manufacture for Use”
STORY: Kevin Smith
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Todd Klein

I think this is the first story I have ever read this is about the gun that killed Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne.  I like this slightly imaginative slash inventive tale from filmmaker and sometimes comic book writer, Kevin Smith.  The art is standard Jim Lee Batman art – not Lee's best work, obviously.  The coloring by Alex Sinclair is gorgeous though.

“The Legend of Knute Brody”
STORY: Paul Dini
PENCILS: Dustin Nguyen
INKS: Derek Fridolfs
COLORS: John Kalisz
LETTERS: Steve Wands

This is another good idea turned poorly executed Paul Dini story from Paul Dini.  However, this story has the best Dustin Nguyen art I have seen in quite awhile; maybe Derek Fridolfs' inking helped.  John Kalisz colors are also nice.

“The Batman's Design”
STORY: Warren Ellis
ART: Becky Cloonan
COLORS: Jordie Bellaire
LETTERS: Simon Bowland

The art team of Becky Cloonan and colorist Jordie Belliare produce some attractive art for this story.  Warren Ellis offers a thoughtful examination of how young men can end up as violent, remorseless criminals.  Ellis also presents a rather screwy, oddball version of what mercy from Batman looks like.  This is a nice story.

“Return to Crime Alley”
STORY: Denny O'Neil
ART: Steve Epting
COLORS: Elizabeth Breitweiser
LETTERS: Andworld Design

If any writer deserved to have a spot in Detective Comics #1000, it is classic Batman writer, Denny O'Neil.  His offering for this anniversary comic book features a Batman supporting character, Leslie Thompkins, that O'Neil created with artist Dick Giordano.  This is a powerful, powerful tale starring the one of the few characters who can give both Batman and Bruce Wayne pause.  Steve Epting's beautiful illustrations, Elizabeth Breitweiser's watercolor-like hues, and Andworld Design's lettering make this the best story in Detective Comics #1000.

“Heretic”
STORY: Christopher Priest
ART: Neal Adams
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Willie Schubert

The second best story in Detective Comics #1000, “Heretic,” features art by one of the greatest Batman artists of all time, Neal Adams.  It is set in the world of Ra's al Ghul, a character that Adams had a hand in creating.  Christopher Priest offers a potent tale about the fate of those become ensnared in both Batman and al Ghul's sphere of existence.

“I Know”
STORY: Brian Michael Bendis
ART/COLORS: Alex Maleev
LETTERS: Josh Reed

Okay.  The third best tale in this comic book is Bendis and Maleev's “I Know,” which depicts a confrontation between an aged Bruce Wayne and The Penguin.  This is an edgy tale with a Film-Noir feel, and I really like Maleev's design of each page.

“The Last Crime in Gotham”
STORY: Geoff Johns
ART: Kelley Jones
COLORS: Michelle Madsen
LETTERS: Rob Leigh

This is a nice tale by Johns and Jones.  This isn't Jones' best Batman work, but it is nice, and it is made all the better by Michelle Madsen's (as usual) gorgeous coloring.

“The Precedent”
STORY: James Tynion IV
PENCILS: Alvaro Martinez-Bueno
INKS: Raul Fernandez
COLORS: Brad Anderson
LETTERS: Sal Cipriano

This is a nice, sentimental tale about the importance of Dick Grayson/Robin to Bruce Wayne/Batman.  The art team, the colorist, and the letterer turn in some pretty art.  Brad Anderson's colors are practically radiant.

“Batman's Greatest Case”
STORY: Tom King
ART: Tony S. Daniel and Joëlle Jones
COLORS: Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Clayton Cowles

Meh.

“Medieval”
STORY: Peter J. Tomasi
PENCILS: Doug Mahnke
INKS: Jaime Mendoza and Doug Mahnke
COLORS: David Baron
LETTERS: Rob Leigh

This is story is basically twelve pages of filler exposition, but the art, colors, and letters are eye-catching.  “Medieval” also offers the preview of a big character debut that is supposed to happen in Detective Comics #1001.

Detective Comics #1000 is, by my estimation, better than last year's Action Comics #1000, which was apparently the bestselling comic book of 2018.  I think many of the creative teams in Detective Comics #1000 are better at capturing the history and characteristics of Batman and his supporting cast, than their Action Comics #1000 equals were with Superman, even if the Batman teams largely fail to tell stories that convey the mystique of Batman.

It took a little over eighty-two years for Detective Comics to get to one thousand issues, so many of the Batman writers, artists, and editors who established the character are deceased.  The shame of it is that many of the people who really deserve to contribute to Detective Comics #1000 are long gone from the world of the living, that includes Batman creators, artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger (arguably the greatest Batman writer of all time).

I would replace most of the artists in Detective Comics #1000 with such late luminaries as Carmine Infantino (one of the most important Batman artists of all time), Jim Aparo, Bob Brown, Gene Colan, Sheldon Moldoff, Don Newton, Marshall Rogers, and Dick Sprang, to name a few.  I would brush away almost all the writers who actually appear in this comic book for a number of Batman writers who are deceased, such as John Broome, Gardner Fox, and Frank Robbins, to name a few.

There are quite a few living Batman creators who should have stories here:  writers Mike W. Barr, Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart (a frickin' crime that he is not included here, really) Doug Moench, Grant Morrison, and artists Brian Bolland and Alan Davis, to name a few.  Frank Miller provides a variant cover for Detective Comics #1000, but...  Also, Alan Moore...

But I have learned to take what I get... even when there could be better.  Detective Comics #1000 will be the high-water mark for one-thousandth issues until some other titles reaches a thousandth issue.  Oh, well.

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE IMMORTAL MEN #1

THE IMMORTAL MEN No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: James Tynion IV
PENCILS: Jim Lee and Ryan Benjamin
INKS: Scott Williams and Richard Friend
COLORS: Jeremiah Skipper and Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Carolos M. Mangual
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2018)

Rated “T” for Teen

The Immortal Men created by James Tynion IV and Jim Lee

“The End of Forever” Part 1

DC Comics has launched a new superhero comics initiative, “The New Age of DC Heroes,” coming out of its Dark Nights: Metal event miniseries.  This line of comic books will consist of eight new comic book series:  The Curse of Brimstone, Damage, New Challengers, Sideways, The Silencer, The Terrifics, The Unexpected, and the subject of this review, The Immortal Men.

The Immortal Men is created by James Tynion IV and Jim Lee.  The series is written by Tynion; drawn by Lee and Ryan Benjamin (pencils) and Scott Williams and Richard Friend (inks); colored by Jeremiah Skipper and Alex Sinclair; and lettered by Carlos M. Mangual.  The series focuses on a young man who is an emerging metahuman and who may also be the last hope for the survival of a group of immortal heroes.

The Immortal Men #1 introduces Ghost Fist, Reload, Stray, and Timber.  They are the last of the “Immortal Men,” protecting humanity from the shadows since the dawn of time.  The Infinite Woman, The Hunt, and the “Bloodless,” are in the process of destroying everything about the Immortal Men.  Their most important target just may be the Immortal Men's savior, Caden Park,  a young man plagued by visions of another world.

The problem with DC Comics' “The New Age of Heroes,” is that while some of the writers and artists involved in this new line are some of the most popular comic book creators, they are not necessarily the most imaginative and inventive.  Sorry, dear readers, to inform you of this.  I love Jim Lee's art, but he has built a career out of drawing some of the most popular comic book characters ever created:  X-Men and The Punisher for Marvel and Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Justice League, etc. for DC Comics – all created by other people.  When Lee created his own “universe” of comic book creations, the result, the “Wildstorm Universe,” was mixed, with characters that are not iconic or legendary... or particularly popular, for that matter.

The grade of “B-” that I am giving The Immortal Men #1 is generous because I am a fan of both Lee and this series co-artist, Ryan Benjamin.  However, this concept is mediocre material that is a rehash of other people's work, ideas, and concepts – Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary and Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, for example.

Yet, I am intrigued by The Immortal Men.  I hope that James Tynion IV can deliver a better script than what is in this issue; he is certainly capable of it, as I have enjoyed quite a bit of his writing.  The problem is that in a distressed market, as the comic book Direct Market currently is, star creators put their names on comic book product that they would not accept for publication from unknown or new comic book creators – such as The Immortal Men.

5.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: XERXES: The Fall of the House of Darius #1

XERXES: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF DARIUS AND THE RISE OF ALEXANDER #1 (OF 5)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Frank Miller
ART: Frank Miller
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
EDITOR: Freddye Miller
MISC. ART: Paula Andrade
COVER: Frank Miller
36pp, Color, $4.99 (April 2018)

Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander is a five-issue miniseries written and drawn by Frank Miller with colors by Alex Sinclair.  Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander is a companion series to Miller's 1998, five-issue miniseries, 300.

Historically inspired, 300 is Frank Miller’s fictional retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae and the events leading up to it.  Miller tells the story from the perspective of a fictional version of the king, Leonidas of Sparta.  Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander (Xerxes, for short) focuses on Persian King Xerxes, who sets out to conquer the world to avenge his father, Darius's defeat.  Xerxes, a “god king,” wants to create an empire unlike anything the world has ever seen, but soon faces his adversaries, The Greeks' own “god king,” Alexander the Great.

Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander #1 opens in 499 B.C. with the sacking of a city which turns into a grudge on the part of emperor of the Persian Empire, Darius.  490 B.C., the Persians return with a vengeance, but this time they will face Themistokles and the forces of Athens.  Later, General Miltiades leads the Greeks in an epic battle at Marathon.  Will Greek “democracy” survive Persian “tyranny?”

I find Xerxes to be far less racist than 300, with its historically simplistic and strident “war of civilizations.”  Frank Miller has been one of the most influential creators of American comic books over the last four decades.  Publishers fawn over him and throw money at him, yet you would not know it by Miller's publicly displayed persecution complex.  Comic book stores generally stock his publications in copious amounts.  Miller writes and draws practically anything he wants, yet he complains about the censorship of his work, which has happened... when?

300 was the creative culmination of a prince of the realm so blessed with privilege that such an embarrassment of riches made him think that he was THE persecuted comic book creator of the late twentieth century.  Yet 300, with its beautiful color renderings by Miller's then-wife, Lynn Varley, was a huge success in a decade, the 1990s, that saw Frank Miller reach his high-point as a comic book artist, illustrator, and graphics artist.

Xerxes #1 recalls the graphical design and graphics tour de force of both 300 and Miller's Sin City (also published by Dark Horse).  That is on display in the costumes (especially the uniforms of the Persian archers), in the weapons and tools (Greek blades and shields), and in the staging of action sequences (when the Persians climb Hephaistos).  Xerxes #1 is a graphics, design, and illustrative, visual feast for the comic book reading eyes and imagination.

The more you can set aside and ignore the Greek democracy vs. Persian tyranny tripe, the more you can enjoy Xerxes #1.  Xerxes' soliloquies about Greek democracy ring as hollow as Obi-Wan Kenobi telling Anakin Skywalker that his (Kenobi's) allegiance is to democracy and to the Republic before their epic duel to the death or grievous bodily injury (in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith).

Alex Sinclair, known for coloring Jim Lee and Scott Williams' comic book art at DC Comics and for coloring Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson's art on Dark Knight III: The Master Race, is Xerxes' colorist.  Sinclair is one of the best colorist of this still young twenty-first century, but he does not hold a proverbial candle to Lynn Varley.

I would not call Xerxes publication late, not by two decades or by ten years.  Still, without Varley's colors, Xerxes does come across as something, if not late, then, too long in coming to be relevant to anything.  Maybe not having Lynn Varley could discourage comparing Xerxes to 300, which is a good thing.  300 came at the end of Frank Miller's peak period, and it is best not to think about what was anymore.  Xerxes is good enough and helps us accept what is, now.

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE #12

THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE No. 12 (OF 12)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Gail Simone
ART: Jill Thompson; Ryan Sook
COLORS: Trish Mulvihill; Laura Martin; Andrew Crossley
LETTERS: Clem Robins
MISC ART: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Joe Prado with Mark Chiarello; Adam Kubert
COVER: Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVERS: Ryan Sook; Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Joe Prado with Trish Mulvihill
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (February 2018)

Rated “T” for Teen

Kamandi created by Jack Kirby

[Afterword by Paul Levitz]

“The Boundless Realm”

Created by Jack Kirby, Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth was a comic book series published by DC Comics in the 1970s.  Running from 1972 to 1978, the series starred Kamandi, a teenaged boy in a post-apocalyptic future.  In this time, humans have been reduced back to savagery in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals.

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth #1 (cover dated: October 1972) opens some time after a huge event called “The Great Disaster,” which wiped out human civilization.  In “Earth A.D.” (After Disaster), many animals have become humanoid, bipedal, and sentient, and also possess the power of speech. These newly intelligent animal species have equipped themselves with weapons and technology salvaged from the ruins of human civilization and are constantly at war in a struggle for territory.

The world of Kamandi returned in the DC Comics miniseries, The Kamandi Challenge.  Ostensibly a tribute to the 100th anniversary of Jack Kirby's birth (1917), The Kamandi Challenge brought together 14 teams of writers and artists.  Each team produced a single issue (or worked on a single issue) of The Kamandi Challenge, which ended in an cliffhanger.  The following issue's creative team would resolve that cliffhanger left behind by the previous creative team however it wanted.  That team would craft its own story, which also ended in a cliffhanger, which the next creative team would have to resolve... and so on.

The Kamandi Challenge came to an end with the recently published twelfth issue, featuring two creative teams.  The first team is writer Gail Simone; artists Jill Thompson and Ryan Sook; colorists Trish Mulvihill; Laura Martin; and Andrew Crossley; and letterer Clem Robins.  The second creative team is comprised of writer Paul Levitz; artist José Luis García-López (pencils) and Joe Prado (inks); colorist Trish Mulvihill; and letterer Clem Robins.

The Kamandi Challenge #12 opens with the story “The Boundless Realm” (by the Simone-Thompson/Sook team), which introduces “Kamanda: The Last Girl on Earth.”  Who is she and what does she have to tell Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth as he enters his final battle with “The Misfit?”

The second story is “Epilogue the First: The Answers” by Levitz- García-López.  Kamandi meets his creator Jack Kirby and gets some answers.  But what kind of answers are they?

Let us make no mistake, Jack Kirby is a great artist, worthy of being a comic book icon (or the comic book icon) and being in the hallowed halls of museums and academia.  The problem with tributes to great artist is that those tributes are sometimes offered by people who, while they are influenced by great artists, are not themselves great artists.  In fact, sometimes the people who offer tributes are hacks, in spite of the greatness they admire.

And The Kamandi Challenge is the creation of some who are middling talents, some who are hacks, some exceptional talents that produced middling work in this series.  In this final issue, from the ugly Frank Miller front cover to the “it was all a dream” type ending, The Kamandi Challenge #12, like the earlier issues, is a tribute in name only to Jack Kirby.  Yes, there are some good moments and good issues in this twelve issue maxi-series, but The Kamandi Challenge is a cynical attempt to make money using Jack Kirby's name and legacy.

The best thing about The Kamandi Challenge #12 is Paul Levitz's afterword, which is a true and loving tribute to someone who was obviously a friend, the truly talented and late Len Wein.

5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE JETSONS #1

THE JETSONS No. 1 (OF 6)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Jimmy Palmiotti
ART: Pier Brito
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
COVER: Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts
VARIANT COVER: Dave Johnson
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2018)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Meet the Jetsons”

“The Jetsons” was an animated situation comedy produced by Hanna-Barbera.  It originally aired during prime time from September 1962, to March 1963 for 24 episodes on ABC.  “The Jetsons” titular family was Hanna-Barbera's Space Age counterpart to “The Flintstones,” a TV series in which the family lives in a Stone Age-like world.  The Jetsons live in the futurist Orbit City, where the buildings hover far above the surface of Earth.

The family was George Jetson (the main character), a loving family man; Jane Jetson, George's wife, mother of their two children, and a homemaker; Judy Angela Jetson, their 16-year-old daughter and a high school student; Elroy Jetson, their highly-intelligent six and a half year old son.  The lead cast also included Rosie, the Jetsons' household robot, whom the family loves and will not replace although she is an outdated model.  Astro is the Jetsons' family dog and is Elroy's best buddy and one of George's best pals.

DC Comics has been reinventing and re-imagining classic Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoons in new comic book series since early 2016, the best example being Scooby Apocalypse, which is “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” with a sci-fi, monster apocalyptic twist.  “The Jetsons” are re-imagined in the new six-issue miniseries, The Jetsons.  It is written by Jimmy Palmiotti; drawn by Pier Brito; colored by Alex Sinclair; and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

The Jetsons #1 opens in a post-apocalyptic world.  The family is still comprised of George Jetson; his boy, Elroy; daughter, Judy; and Jane, his wife.  And their home is still located in a city that floats above the surface, but in this alternate Jetsons scenario, the surface of the Earth is entirely water.  Jane is no longer a homemaker, she is a scientist and she has bad news about the fate of the planet for her fellow scientists at the International Space Station.  This scenario also presents Elroy as older, and he and his friend, Lake Cogswell, are about to start something big.

Although this version of “The Jetsons,” is set in a darker, apocalyptic world, writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Pier Brito present a bright and colorful future that is closer to the future scenarios presented in DC Comics titles in the 1960s and 1970s.  Alex Sinclair's colors accentuate this hopeful future of helpful technology that makes that aftermath of “extinction level events” and apocalypse quite livable.

The Jetsons is similar in tone to the settings of the happy 1950s to early 1960s family sitcoms that are now a staple of digital sub-channels like MeTV and AntennaTV.  Apparently, the nuclear family can survive decades (and centuries) of social change, societal upheaval, and the end-of-the-world.  In the end, the nuclear family rocks the casbah and the apocalypse.  And, if the first issue is any indication, those pesky brown people and darkies still barely register (although there are hints of things ominous beneath the waves and in the past).

Still, The Jetsons is an enjoyable read.  I have learned not to expect much from DC's Hanna-Barbera reboots/re-imaginations, and that makes it easier to separate the good, the bad, and the ugly and to also appreciate the really good.  So far, The Jetsons are good enough to earn a second look.

6 out of 10

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.

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Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #1

JUSTICE LEAGUE No. 1 (2018)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Scott Snyder
PENCILS: Jim Cheung
INKS: Mark Morales
COLORS: Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Tom Napolitano
EDITOR: Rebecca Taylor
COVER: Jim Cheung with Laura Martin
VARIANT COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (Early August 2018)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

“The Totality” Part One

The Justice League (also known as Justice League of America or JLA) is DC Comics' premiere superhero group.  Conceived by writer Gardner Fox and first drawn by artist Mike Sekowsky, the Justice League first appeared as a team in The Brave and the Bold #28 (cover dated:  March 1960).  The seven original members were Superman, Aquaman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman.  The team received its own book with the debut of Justice League of America #1 (cover dated: October 1960).

For the third time in seven years, Justice League debuts with a new first issue.  This new Justice League 2018 is written by Scott Snyder.  This debut issue is drawn by Jim Cheung (pencils) and Mark Morales (inks); colored by Tomeu Morey; and lettered by Tom Napolitano.

Justice League #1 opens with a comet of golden light streaking across space... and across several periods of time.  Next, there is a glimpse of the Justice League's “Hall of Justice.”  Then, we find Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Aquaman, and Hawkgirl lead fellow superheroes, including Cyborg and Mr. Terrific, into a fight against bands of Neanderthals that have been biologically and technologically advanced by Justice League supervillain, Vandal Savage.  However, the arrival of some familiar supervillains and arch-nemesis and of something wicked/mysterious this way comes makes a League victory seem Pyrrhic.

Since 1985, DC Comics turns to a cosmic event to either save itself financially or to simply increase sales with a high-profile publishing event.  And quite frankly, I am not interested in another Scott Snyder, time-spanning, multi-universal conspiracy.

But I enjoyed the art in Justice League #1.  I will read any comic book story drawn by Jim Cheung, whose pencils are nicely inked by Mark Morales in this issue.  Tomeu Morey, as usual, colors with the power of Shaka Zulu, turning in such beauty that I was willing to wade through a story in which I had no interest.  Letterer Tom Napolitano, for the umpteenth time, makes the unreadable quite readable.

I have to admit this:  I will keep reading Justice League (2018), if future art teams are as good as the one in Justice League #1.

5.5 out of 10

[This comic book includes a preview of Teen Titans #20 by Adam Glass, Bernard Chang, Marcelo Maiolo, and Rob Leigh.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE WILD STORM #1

THE WILD STORM No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Warren Ellis
ARTIST: Jon Davis-Hunt
COLORS: Ivan Plascencia
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
COVER: Jon Davis-Hunt
VARIANT COVERS: Tula Lotay; Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2017)

Rated “T+”

“The Wild Storm – Chapter One”

Started by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, WildStorm Productions was one of the founding studios of Image Comics.  The WildStorm Universe, the fictional shared universe of comic books published by WildStorm, debuted in WildC.A.T.s #1 (cover dated: August 1992).  I think I loyally enjoyed WildStorm titles for about five years, gradually losing interest as the decade and the 20th century waned.  Jim Lee sold WildStorm Productions and his intellectual properties to DC Comics in 1999, and eventually the WildStorm Universe was folded into the DC Universe (DCU) proper.

It can be argued that the most interesting and perhaps, most influential comic books to come out of the WildStorm Universe were written by Warren Ellis (his run on StormWatch, his creation of The Authority and Planetary).  Now, Ellis is back to reinvent or reset the WildStorm universe – small “u.”  The title that begins the reset is The Wild Storm, written by Ellis; drawn by Jon Davis-Hunt; colored by Ivan Plascencia; and lettered by Simon Bowland.

The Wild Storm #1 opens with the return of Zealot and Voodoo.  What is important, however, is that someone wants to kill Jacob Marlowe, CEO of HALO, the world-changing tech company.  What's up with Angela Spica?  Who wants to kill Marlowe more than Miles Craven of I.O. (International Operations)?  Is it Michael Cray?  Wake the CAT.

I enjoyed Warren Ellis' work for WildStorm (well, except DV8), so I have hopes for The Wild Storm.  Are they high hopes?  I think I'll see how high or if I should levitate those hopes after each issue.  Ellis says that you do not have to have read earlier WildStorm comic books to understand The Wild Storm.  Still, I think 75 percent of the thrill of The Wild Storm is being familiar with these characters; how else can you really enjoy the new riffs on these semi-old melodies?

I like the clean, modern line of artist Jon Davis-Hunt.  It reminds me of the artists who have drawn Marvel's Iron Man comic books over the past few years.  There is a hint of realism mixed with earthiness and futurism in Davis-Hunt's compositions in this first issue.  So besides Ellis' story, I really want to see what Davis-Hunt does from here on out.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You'


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. SUICIDE SQUAD #1

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. SUICIDE SQUAD No. 1 (OF 6)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Joshua Williamson
ART: Jason Fabok
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
COVER: Joshua Fabok with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVERS: Amanda Conner with Laura Martin; Gary Frank with Brad Anderson
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2017)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

The Justice League is the greatest superhero team in the world (at least, in the DC Comics universe).  The Suicide Squad is the deadliest team of super-powered individuals on the planet.  Now, these two teams clash in DC Comics' event, crossover miniseries, Justice League vs. Suicide Squad.  Published weekly, this series is written by Joshua Williamson; drawn by Jason Fabok; colored by Alex Sinclair; and Rob Leigh.

Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1 opens in Death Valley, California for some deadly doings at The Catacombs, the most top secret prison in the world.  But the main action is in the nation of Badhnisia.  That is where we find Deadshot, Captain Bommerang, El Diablo, Enchantress, Killer Croc, Killer Frost, and Harley Quinn.  They are Amanda Waller's “Task Force X,” also known as “Suicide Squad,” and they are there to stop a super-powered zealot from destroying the nation as part of some kind of vague, but ominous religious rite.

The execution of said mission draws the attention of the Justice League:  Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, Flash, and Green Lantern-Simon Baz and Green Lantern-Jessica Cruz.  They are ready to shut Task Force X down for good.  Let's get ready to rumble!  Wait!  Another bad-ass group wants to join the fun.

I could be cynical about Justice League vs. Suicide Squad, but to be honest, I wanted to read this as soon as I heard about it.  So how is Justice League vs. Suicide Squad#1.  It's good with some nice slow boiling and building of tension, but it only teases the climax.  This first issue suggests that the entire six-issue series won't be padded with extraneous scenes in order to get to six issues – at least it seems that way.

It's OK to like this even if you aren't the biggest superhero comic book fan or reader.  C'mon, you know you want it.  The Justice League and the Suicide Squad were bound to tangle; it's only natural.  Also, series artist Jason Fabok is proving that he can handle drawing and storytelling in big superhero comics with big characters and even bigger stories, and I like looking at his art.  Hey, gotta run.  I have a few more issues of this series to read.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SUICIDE SQUAD #1

SUICIDE SQUAD No. 1 (2016)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rob Williams
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Nate Piekos of Blambot
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Lee Bermejo
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (October 2016)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

“The Black Vault” Part One: “I Wanna Be Sedated”

Suicide Squad by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru

Suicide Squad is a DC Comics team.  It first debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 (cover dated: August/September 1959) and was created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru.

The second Suicide Squad appeared in Legends #3 (cover dated: January 1987), the 1986 DC Comics event miniseries. Created by John Ostrander, this Suicide Squad was “Task Force X,” an anti-hero team of incarcerated super-villains that undertook high-risk, black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.

With the re-launch of DC Comics’ superhero line, “The New 52,” there was a new Suicide Squad comic book series.  The Suicide Squad was a team of super-villains, in which the members took on risky missions in exchange for time served. The team’s base of operations was Belle Reve Penitentiary, a special prison for meta-humans and super-villains located in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.

With the “Rebirth” event, there is a new Suicide Squad comic book.  It is written by Rob Williams; drawn by Jim Lee (pencils) and Scott Williams (inks); colored by Alex Sinclair; and lettered by Nate Piekos.

Suicide Squad #1 (“I Wanna Be Sedated”) finds Amanda Waller, the head of Task Force X, making a trip to Belle Reve Penitentiary where she meets with Colonel Rick Flag, Suicide Squad Field Commander, and his second-in-command, Katana.  Together, they will select a squad of super-villain scum for a mission to retrieve or destroy an alien item that a rogue Russian state is studying.  However, this Suicide Squad:  Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang; The Enchantress, and Killer Croc may not be badass enough to compete this mission.

The main story is 13 pages long and is not long enough for me to get much of a feel for the quality of the beginning of the story arc.  I can say two things.  First, I don't feel I need to read more. Second, Jim Lee is on the down side of his career.  Compared to even his average work, this is poor.

“Never Miss”
STORY: Rob Williams
ARTIST: Jason Fabok
COLORS: Brad Anderson
LETTERS: Nate Piekos

“Never Miss” is kind of an origin story slash biography slash early tale of the career of Deadshot.  I liked it.  It's dark and depicts Floyd Lawton a.k.a. Deadshot as a man who is much more complicated and conflicted than his costumed self suggests.  Writer Rob Williams smartly depicts the high costs of being Deadshot, and Jason Fabok's dark compositions makes this tale's tragic angle feel genuine.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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