I Reads You Review: ROCKET RACCOON #1 (2014)

ROCKET RACCOON (2014) #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER/ARTIST: Skottie Young
COLORS: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
LETTERS: Jeff Eckleberry
COVER: Skottie Young
VARIANT COVERS: Skottie Young; Leonel Castellani; David Peterson; J. Scott Campbell with Nei Ruffino; Sara Pichelli with Justin Ponsor; Jeff Smith with Tom Gaadt; and Dale Keown with Jason Keith
28pp, Color, $3.99 (September 2014)

Rocket Raccoon created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen

Rated T

“A Chasing Tale” Part 1

Rocket Raccoon, the space-based Marvel Comics superhero created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen (first appearing in Marvel Preview #7 – cover dated: Summer 1976), received a snazzy makeover in 2008.  He's verbose, proactive, and doesn't mind popping a cap in sentient ass.  He even recently received his first ongoing comic book series, Rocket Raccoon, written and drawn by Skottie Young and colored by Jean-Francois Beaulieu.  This is also the first ongoing comic book series both written and drawn by Young.

Rocket Raccoon #1 (“A Chasing Tale” Part 1) opens three years in the past, showing how Rocket rescued Amalya, who would apparently become his girlfriend.  Moving to the present, Rocket is on Planet Nivlent, where Rocket's Guardians of the Galaxy teammate, Groot (a sentient tree-like creature), is fighting in a wrestling match.  It is there that Rocket discovers that he is a wanted man... err... raccoon... hmm... being.  In fact, Rocket is wanted for committing several murderers, which he doesn't remember committing.

I really didn't care for Rocket Raccoon #1 after reading the first 11 pages.  When the story brings in Rocket's Guardians teammate, Star-Lord, the story changes into something fun and exciting.  The energy in the story simply explodes.  I can say that the art for the entire issue is fantastic.  Skottie Young and Jean-Francois Beaulieu are a match made in comic book heaven.

There is a Saturday morning cartoon quality to the art that really takes off in the second half.  From a graphical standpoint, Rocket Raccoon #1 doesn't really look like a Marvel comic book.  In fact, Skottie Young doesn't seem like a Marvel Comics artist, which makes this Rocket Raccoon comic book look like an indie book put out by Oni Press or Top Shelf Productions.  For Marvel Comics fans, however, Rocket Raccoon looks like it will be something different, and the Marvel Universe could use a little different – something that does not look standardized.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: DANGER GIRL: Mayday #1

DANGER GIRL: MAYDAY #1
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

WRITER:  Andy Hartnell
PENCILS: John Royle
INKS: Jose Marzan, Jr.
COLORS: Romulo Fajardo
LETTERS: Neil Uyetake
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
COVER: John Royle and Jose Marzan, Jr. with Romulo Fajardo
VARIANT COVERS: John Royle and Jose Marzan, Jr. with Romulo Fajardo (subscription cover); Jamie Tyndall with Ula Mos (Yesteryear Comics exclusive cover); Jamie Tyndall (Yesteryear Comics exclusive cover); “No art” (Yesteryear Comics exclusive cover)
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2014)

I was not a fan of fan-favorite comic book artist, J. Scott Campbell (who once went by the name Jeffrey Scott), early in his career.  I thought his art was a poor imitation of Art Adams’ style and an even worse impersonation of Jim Lee’s art.  However, I became a fan of Campbell’s work over the course of his run on Image and Wildstorm Production’s Gen13 comic book series.

So when it was first announced all those years ago, I was thrilled by the news of Campbell’s first creator-owned series, Danger Girl, as part of the launch of Cliffhanger, a sort of “young guns” imprint from Wildstorm.  After the release of a preview comic, Danger Girl #1 (March 1998) introduced a group of female secret agents whose adventures were a mixture of Indiana Jones and James Bond.  In fact, Danger Girl’s young female stars were like Bond Girls, except that the girls were the ones getting to be James Bond in action.

I liked Danger Girl.  It was a comic book version of a big-budget, Hollywood action comedy – Lethal Weapon meets Charlie’s Angels.  However, I grew frustrated that Campbell, along with writer Andy Hartnell and inker Alex Garner, only produced seven issues of Danger Girl over a four-year period.  [If you want to give them credit for 10 issues because two of the seven issues were double-sized and because of the preview comic book, you can certainly do that.].

Scott Dunbier, the Wildstorm editor of the original series, has guided Danger Girl back to life in recent years through a series of miniseries.  I was visiting a “local” comic book shop when I spotted the first issue of the latest mini, Danger Girl: Mayday.  I would have ignored it, as I have been ignoring Danger Girl comic books for a decade, but that spectacular first-issue cover by John Royle (pencils), Jose Marzan, Jr. (inks), and Romulo Fajardo (colors) caught my eye.

If there is such a thing as classic Danger Girl art, Danger Girl: Mayday #1 has it.  Royle and Marzan recall the original Danger Girl art team of J. Scott Campbell (pencils) and Alex Garner (inks).  In fact, I think Royle and Marzan are doing better J. Scott Campbell than Campbell himself.  Royle has certainly mastered the Campbell good-girl art thing:  curvy hips, shapely breateses; and booty that recalls Vivica Fox’s stripper pole ass in Independence Day.  Gimme more.  Royle and Marzan, however, are not merely copying; the drawing and storytelling is polished, professional, and some of the year’s best art.

Oh, the story, you ask.  It involves Danger Girl traitor-ho, Natalia Kassle, if I’m correct.  But I’ll figure that out later, maybe by the second issue.  For now, I want to enjoy the art of Danger Girl: Mayday.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for October 2 2013

Digital Comics: Digital new releases available from your local comic book shop are marked below. [DIG] = Digital version available. [DIG/P+] = Print-Plus digital/print combo pack available. For more information, go to www.digitalcomicsreader.com.

IDW PUBLISHING

AUG130439 DOCTOR WHO CLASSICS #5 $3.99
JUL130338 DOCTOR WHO PRISONERS OF TIME #9 $3.99
JUN130365 DOCTOR WHO SERIES 01 HC WINTERS DAWN SEASONS END $49.99
JUL130379 GI JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO #194 [DIG/P+] $3.99
AUG130478 GI JOE COBRA FILES #7 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130391 GI JOE COMPLETE COLL HC VOL 03 $49.99
AUG130420 J SCOTT CAMPBELL FAIRY TALE FANTASIES 2014 CALENDAR $19.99
APR130403 JACK COLE DEADLY HORROR HC $24.99
JUL130392 JINNRISE #7 [DIG/P+] $3.99
AUG130444 JUDGE DREDD CLASSICS #4 $3.99
JUN130339 JUDGE DREDD COMPLETE CARLOS EZQUERRA HC VOL 02 $49.99
JUL130347 KISS KIDS #2 [DIG/P+] $3.99
AUG130502 MISS FURY HC SENSATIONAL SUNDAYS 1941-1944 $49.99
MAY130381 MYSTERY SOCIETY DELUXE HC $27.99
JUN130413 V-WARS MMPB $9.99

Review: STAN LEE'S How to Draw Superheroes

STAN LEE’S HOW TO DRAW SUPERHEROES
WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS/Dynamite Entertainment – @CrownPublishing and @dynamitecomics

WRITERS: Stan Lee with Danny Fingeroth, Keith Dallas, and Robert Sodaro
COVER:  Ardian Syaf; back cover by Alex Ross
ISBN: 978-0-8230-9845-3; paperback (July 9, 2013)
224pp, Color, $24.99 U.S., $28.99 CAN

Excelsior!  Stan Lee’s back!  And he is here to teach us about comic books – this time focusing on superheroes.  That is the case in the recently released Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes.

This paperback book is the third in a series “how-to” books published under Stan Lee’s name by Watson-Guptill Publications (a division of the Crown Publishing Group).  Under a cover by Ardian Syaf, this 2013 book is co-written by Danny Fingeroth, Keith Dallas, and Robert Sodaro.  Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes is a follow-up to Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics and Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics.

The stated purpose of Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes is to give aspiring superhero creators information on just about everything related to the comic book superhero genre: from sidekicks and secret hideouts to super-villains and monsters.  The book also has 24 step-by-step exercises designed to help readers learn how to draw a variety of superhero types – from poses and powers to secret identities and secret bases.

I did not have to peruse through too many chapters of Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes before I began to think that the book was about superheroes as much as it was a “how-to” art book, if not more so.  There are 13 chapters in this book, and all of them are basically written surveys of superheroes, costumed heroes, and super-powered humans and heroes, from Gilgamesh all the way to the new superheroes being introduced by Dynamite Entertainment.

With chapters devoted to “Sidekicks and Teen Heroes” and “Robots, Androids, and Cyborgs,” Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes is a broad overview of the elements that make up and the ideas that shape and structure superhero comic books.  This book can either be a refresher course for those familiar with superheroes or a guide for those unfamiliar who want to enter the unique world of reading that is American superhero comic books.

As a book about superheroes, Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes is good.  As a how-to art book:  well, there are better, and that includes Lee’s own How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way (1978), produced with the late John Buscema.  In fact, the earlier Watson-Guptill book, Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics, offers more about drawing theory and procedure than Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes.  So buy this book for what it is (about superheroes) and not for what it is advertised as (a how to draw book).

B

www.crownpublishing.com
www.watsonguptill.com


Contributing artists:  Vinicius Andrande, Javier Aranda, Mark Bagley, Ed Benes, John Byrne, Tim Bradstreet, John Buscema, J. Scott Campbell, Jim Cheung, Chris Caniano, Will Eisner, David Enebral, Francesco Francavilla, Ale Garza, Phil Hester, Joe Jusco, Jack Kirby, Jim Lee, Adriano Lucas, Steve McNiven, Frank Miller, Ivan Nunes, Lucio Parillo, Paul Renaud, John Romita, Jr., Alex Ross, Tim Seeley, Joe Shuster

Review: The Black Bat #1

BLACK BAT #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @dynamitecomics

WRITER: Brian Buccellato
ARTIST: Ronan Cliquet
COLORS: Mat Lopes
LETTERS: Rob Steen
COVERS: J. Scott Campbell (A), Joe Benitez (B), Ardian Syaf (C), Billy Tan (D), Marcos Martin (subscription cover)
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Rated T+

Dynamite Entertainment has brought The Black Bat back from the public domain comic book graveyard in a new comic book series. The character that appeared in Black Bat Detective Mysteries, a short-lived, 1930s pulp magazine, published for six issues. The first Black Bat is thought to have had an influence on the creation of The Batman.

The Black Bat #1 opens with the Black Bat kicking ass. He’s looking for Silk, a police snitch who will become his assistant. The story also goes into flashback mode in order to take a look at the man who would become the Black Bat, Tony Quinn. He was a brash defense attorney for the mob who compromised his ethics for financial gain. It cost him a lot, but now as the Black Bat he can seek redemption… or vengeance?

Images and graphics in The Black Bat resemble image and graphics in and perhaps the spirit of Batman comic books. However, what writer Brian Buccellato offers is closer to “street level” comic books that Marvel Comics has produced over the years, featuring characters like Daredevil, Moon Knight, and The Punisher. It’s vigilante vs. organized crime, and the superhero costume seems extraneous in the moody, urban fiction edge of Buccellato’s script.

Artist Ronan Cliquet has a graphic style and visual sense that is perfect for the comics yarn Buccellato spins. Cliquet’s compositions and designs are flashy in a Batman mode, but a bit earthier. Once again, crime fiction edges out costumes. Dynamite Entertainment’s The Black Bat does have potential.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Comic Book Review: JUPITER'S LEGACY #1

JUPITER'S LEGACY #1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

CREATORS: Mark Millar and Frank Quitely
WRITER: Mark Millar
ARTIST/COVER: Frank Quitely
COLORS/LETTERS: Peter Doherty
VARIANT COVERS: Bryan Hitch, Dave Johnson, Phil Noto, J. Scott Campbell, Christian Ward
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (April 2013)

There is a new comic book series from superstar writer, Mark Millar, the creator of Kick-Ass and Wanted, both of which were adapted into films. It is entitled Jupiter’s Legacy, part of his “Millarworld” line, and Millar’s co-creator is artist Frank Quitely. The series focuses on the children of the world’s first superheroes and their struggles to live up to a legacy that is practically poisonous to the new generation.

Jupiter’s Legacy #1 opens in 1932 in Morocco. The story’s first focus is Sheldon Sampson, the heir to a fortune wiped out during the Wall Street crash of 1929. He has convinced his friends to follow him on a journey to a place he has seen only in his dreams. Called The Island, Sampson believes that the place will offer gifts that can save the United States of America, which is in the midst of the Great Depression.

A little over 80 years later, the great superheroes have achieved even greater things, but there is trouble. The world’s first superheroes have grown old, and their children cannot live up to their parents’ remarkable legacies.

I enjoyed reading Jupiter’s Legacy #1, but I cannot really render a final or whole judgment after reading one issue. That’s the curse of modern comics storytelling. A scant twenty pages of text plus decompression – spreading a storyline over four to six issues (if not more) and that combination forms a truncated chapter, if not a woefully incomplete episode.

I will say that there are some interesting ideas here. As intriguing as this take on superheroes is, Millar’s allusions to the current real world political and financial climate are the most attention grabbing material. Millar draws parallels between the 21st century and the 1920s and 30s in a brash way – as if to say that he does not care whether anyone agrees or disagrees to any extent.

Jupiter’s Legacy is not Frank Quitely’s best work, although, as usual, it is more attention-grabbing than the work of most other artists. For me, the best of Quitely remains New X-Men. Still, Quitely’s visual style is so unique and iconoclastic that I’d be interested in his art even if he were only producing still-life drawings for an extension course at the local junior college. Plus, Quitely’s compositions for Jupiter’s Legacy give off an unsettling vibe. Something bad is coming, and Quitely does something bad quite well.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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

I Reads You Review: Star Wars #1

STAR WARS #1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Brian Wood
ART: Carlos D’Anda
COLORS: Gabe Eltaeb
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Alex Ross
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

“In the Shadow of Yavin” Part One (of Three)

In the timeline of Star Wars Expanded Universe, “The Rebellion” is a five-year period that begins with the Battle of Yavin, the climatic battle in Star Wars in which the Death Star is destroyed. It includes the events depicted in the classic Star Wars films (the original trilogy): Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. This story period ends with the death of the Emperor, high over the forest moon of Endor and also as the Rebellion starts to transform itself into a government.

This is the story period in which Dark Horse Comics is setting its new Star Wars comic book series, simply entitled Star Wars. The series will explore new storytelling possibilities that “The Rebellion” period offers (according to Dark Horse Comics editor, Randy Stradley).

[According to Dark Horse: This is Star Wars as you remember it . . . and as you have never seen it before! We’re taking you back to those heady, adventure-filled days following the destruction of the Death Star—when the Empire ruled, the Rebels were on the run, and the galaxy was a dangerous place where anything might happen! The creative of Star Wars is writer Brian Wood, artist Carlos D’Anda, colorist Gabe Eltaeb, and letterer Michael Heisler. Alex Ross provides the cover for the first issue.]

Star Wars #1 opens after the Battle of Yavin, in which the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Galactic Empire’s fearsome space station, the Death Star. Still, the Alliance struggles. New allies are hard to gain, as even systems and worlds that have been able to fend off the Empire’s advances, refuse to side with the rebels. The Alliance also needs new sources of supplies, and most of all, they need a new permanent base.

That’s why the three-member, X-Wing, exploration team of Senator (Princess) Leia Organa, flight officer Luke Skywalker, and fighter pilot Wedge Antilles enter the Dominus Sector in the Outer Rim Territories. Meanwhile, Han Solo, with a death mark on his head in practically every system, and Chewbacca go on a mission for the Rebel Alliance. Mon Mothma, leader of the Alliance, makes a shocking offer to Senator Leia.

Meanwhile, the Emperor prepares to make his own moves in the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin. How will Darth Vader fare?

[This issue comes with a code to download a free digital issue of the comic book.]

First, I have to admit that when I read Star Wars novels, I read the ones involving characters from the original Star Wars film trilogy. Secondly, I can’t remember reading a Dark Horse Comics-produced Star Wars comic book that I did not like. Thus, I love this new Star Wars series. What’s do I like about it? The work of the creative team is what.

Dark Horse Comics may push the “come back to the adventure” angle, but for this series to thrive, the characters and the character drama will have to capture the reader’s imagination. Enter Brian Wood, an illustrator, comic book artist, and writer known for writing captivating characters in science fiction and fantasy settings.

Wood not only imagines and fashions conflicts within individual characters, but he also constructs lines of tension and conflict between allies and friends. The reader might wonder what is going on between Luke, who thinks often of what has been lost (even after victory), and Leia, who looks steadfastly towards the future. In Han Solo, Wood presents a man who is both a hustler and a survivor, but he seems to asks, can this man be hero in what might essentially be a lost cause. Also, Wood may be the only writer outside of George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan who has probed so deeply into the desires and struggles behind the mask of Darth Vader.

Visually and graphically, artist Carlos D’Anda never lets the reader doubt that this is classic Star Wars. In terms of style, D’Anda’s art recalls the very first Star Wars comic book artist, Howard Chaykin. D’Anda takes the cartoonish elegance of J. Scott Campbell (obviously an influence on him) and turns it into compositions that emphasize storytelling over quirkiness and style. However, it is the detail D’Anda puts in the Star Wars tech and star ships, the customs, sets, backgrounds, and backdrops that are the most impressive. Looking at the detail he puts into drawing the X-Wing and Tie Interceptors, for example, makes me wonder if D’Anda draws this solo. Gabe Eltaeb’s sparkling colors make the art even livelier.

I’ll just get it out of the way and say that this new Star Wars starts off the New Year as one of the best new series of the year. Readers of Star Wars comics and fans of the original Star Wars trilogy should try this Star Wars comic book, at least once.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for November 21 2012

IDW PUBLISHING

SEP120285 ADVENTURES OF AUGUSTA WIND #1 [DIG/P+] $3.99

SEP120381 CONTROPUSSY GN $19.99

SEP120317 DANGER GIRL DANGER SIZED TREASURY ED #3 $9.99

JUL120293 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FORGOTTEN REALMS #5 [DIG/P+] $3.99

MAY120372 FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE ALIVE #2 [DIG] $3.99

SEP120376 HAWKEN TP $19.99

SEP120280 JUDGE DREDD #1 [DIG/P+] $3.99

SEP120281 JUDGE DREDD #1 SUBSCRIPTION CVR $3.99

SEP120298 KISS #6 [DIG/P+] $3.99

JUL120377 LOAC ESSENTIALS HC VOL 01 BARON BEAN $19.99

SEP120370 ROCKETEER CARGO OF DOOM #4 [DIG/P+] $3.99

SEP120313 SNAKE EYES & STORM SHADOW #19 [DIG/P+] $3.99

SEP120344 STAR TREK ONGOING #15 [DIG/P+] $3.99

SEP120324 TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE ONGOING #11 [DIG/P+] $3.99

SEP120326 TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ONGOING #11 [DIG/P+] $3.99

Review: Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics

STAN LEE’S HOW TO DRAW COMICS
WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS/Dynamite Entertainment

WRITERS: Stan Lee with David Campiti
COVER: John Romita with Dean White (limited edition cover: Francesco Francavilla)
ISBN: 978-0-8230-0083-8; paperback
224pp, Color, $24.99 U.S., $27.99 CAN

He was born Stanley Martin Lieber in 1922, but the world of arts and entertainment knows him as Stan Lee. For Marvel Comics, Lee has been a writer, editor, and publisher and has been associated with Marvel Comics since 1939 when it was Timely Comics.

Collaborating with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Lee created such characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the Hulk, among many others. In addition to writing comic books, Lee has also authored several books. Perhaps, Lee’s best known non-comic book, book is How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way (1978), which he co-authored with the late artist, John Buscema.

Stan Lee’s latest how-to book is Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics. Co-written with David Campiti, Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics is essentially an update of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, but with less emphasis on “the Marvel Way.” In his introduction, Stan writes that it was time for a new book, one with “a cornucopia of cutting-edge, techno-savvy instructions.”

I have a copy of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, one through which I’ve thumbed countless times, and the difference between the 1978 book and this one is jarring. Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics is, for one thing, bigger, and there is much information on digital lettering and computer coloring. How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way is essentially analog, but obviously that’s because computers weren’t being used to produce comic book art and graphics when it was written. Campiti’s hand is all over the sections on computers and digital processes to create comics because he runs Glasshouse Graphics, a company that provides everything from story and art to pre-press and custom publishing for comic book publishers and other clients.

Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics provides a broad overview of creating visuals for comic books. There are sections on penciling, inking and coloring; lettering and word balloons. Readers can learn about creating costumes; what makes great action; perspective and foreshortening; page and panel layout; and how to create visually appealing covers. There is information on digital advances, creating a portfolio, and getting work in the industry.

Not to dismiss the earlier book, Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics, but Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics is a complete book offering both theory and procedure. A budding comic book creator can get tips on penciling, inking, coloring, and lettering a comic book using both new and traditional methods, and he or she can examine numerous black and white diagrams that illustrate the basics of creating comic book graphics. Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics is a text book because it explains the why’s and how’s, often using the advise and expertise of industry professionals. There is even a section on using Google Sketchup to create skyscrapers, buildings, and other exterior landscapes.

There is apparently a limited edition of Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics. I don’t know whether or not it’s a hardcover, but this paperback edition is the one to get if you have an eye on becoming a professional comic book artist. The paperback is made to be handled a lot.

A-

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS:
Neal Adams, Erica Awano
Dan Borgones, Nick Bradshaw, Ariel Burgess
Aaron Campbell, J. Scott Campbell, Chris Caniano, Eman Casallos, John Cassaday, Frank Cho, Vince Colletta
Bong Dazo, Mike Deodato, Jr., Steve Ditko
Tina Francisco
Ken Haeser, Tabitha Haeser
Bob Kane, Gil Kane, Michael Kelleher, Jack Kirby
Fabio Laguna, Jonathan Lau, Jae Lee, Jim Lee, Jun Lofamia
Gemma Magno, Jezreel Morales
Earl Norem,
Ariel Padilla
Cliff Richards, Al Rio John Romita, Alex Ross, Mel Rubi
Steve Sadowski, Gaspar Saladino, Edgar Salazar, Mel Joy San Juan, Alexander Sicat, Joe Sinnott
Anthony Tan, Wilson Tortosa, Michael Turner

I Reads You Review: ROCKETEER ADVENTURES VOL. 2 #2

ROCKETEER ADVENTURES VOL. 2 #2
IDW PUBLISHING

WRITERS: Tom Taylor, Paul Dini, Walter Simonson
ARTISTS: Colin Wilson, Bill Morrison, John Paul Leon
COLORS: Dave Stewart, Serban Cristescu
LETTERS: Robbie Robbins, Chris Mowry, Shawn Lee
PIN-UP: J. Scott Campbell with John Rauch
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
COVERS: Darwyn Cooke (A, C), Dave Stevens (B)
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

Inspired by the Saturday matinee movie heroes of the 1930s and 40s, The Rocketeer is Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jet pack that allows him to fly. The Rocketeer’s adventures are set mainly in Los Angeles in and after the year 1938. The character was created by artist and illustrator, Dave Stevens, who died in March of 2008.

After a long absence from comics, The Rocketeer returned in 2011 in Rocketeer Adventures. Edited by Scott Dunbier and published by IDW Publishing, this four-issue, anthology comic book was a tribute to Stevens and featured Rocketeer short stories (about 7 to 8 pages in length) from some of the premiere creators in American comic books. The tributes continue in Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2.

Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2 #2 opens with “Work to Do,” story by Tom Taylor and art by Colin Wilson, which places The Rocketeer on a European battlefield with a job to do. In “Betty’s Big Break,” writer Paul Dini and artist Bill Morrison take our hero to the set of a B-movie where he becomes a “Rocket Rustler,” much to Betty’s chagrin. Writer Walter Simonson and artist John Paul Leon send The Rocketeer flying like a flying monkey to save a special young lady in “Autograph.”

I found the first issue of Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2 to be a tad bit over the top as a tribute to a respected, deceased artist. Why? While honoring Dave Stevens’ memory, the slam bang action that is The Rocketeer lost its pop and became like something preserved in amber and golden hues. Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2 #2 is different. These three Rocketeer stories read like real Rocketeer stories and not tributes meant to be placed in the burial chamber of some great figure’s tomb.

“Work to Do” is a gritty battlefield fantasia with heart and pop. As for the second story: I’ve long been perplexed with the popularity of Paul Dini’s comic book work. I’m sure that he has an entire wing devoted to him at the Academy of the Overrated. I have found enjoyment in a few of his comic book stories; “Betty’s Big Break” is one of them. I think it would make an excellent graphic novel if expanded. I don’t know if Walter Simonson has ever disappointed me; if he has, it was not by much. “Autograph” moves like an action movie, and its references to the late 1930s are wonderful.

I don’t think that I have to say anything about the artists who drew these stories. They are all consummate professionals and their graphic storytelling and art are sparkling. On the other hand, that J. Scott Campbell pin-up is rather ordinary. It’s like something Campbell would knock off while sitting at a convention table. Of course, he would over-charge for it, though it’s worth no more than 25 bucks.

A-

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for January 18 2012

IDW PUBLISHING

NOV110329 CLASSIC JURASSIC PARK TP VOL 04 RETURN JURASSIC PK $17.99
NOV110280 COBRA ONGOING #9 $3.99
NOV110286 DANGER GIRL DANGER SIZED TREASURY ED $9.99
NOV110287 DANGER GIRL REVOLVER #1 (OF 4) $3.99
NOV118011 DANGER GIRL REVOLVER #1 (OF 4) NEWCOMIX.COM B&W ED $3.99
NOV118012 DANGER GIRL REVOLVER #1 (OF 4) NEWCOMIX.COM COLOR ED $3.99
NOV110317 GHOSTBUSTERS ONGOING #5 $3.99
NOV110297 MEMORIAL #2 (OF 6) $3.99
NOV110319 STAR TREK ONGOING #5 $3.99
NOV110340 STEVE CANYON HC VOL 01 1947-1948 $49.99
OCT118132 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #1 GLOBAL CONQUEST ED $3.99
OCT118133 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #2 GLOBAL CONQUEST ED $3.99
OCT118134 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #3 GLOBAL CONQUEST ED $3.99
OCT118135 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #4 GLOBAL CONQUEST ED $3.99
OCT118136 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #5 GLOBAL CONQUEST ED $3.99
OCT118137 TMNT MICRO SERIES #1 RAPHAEL GLOBAL CONQUEST ED (PP #999) $3.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for December 14 2011

IDW PUBLISHING

SEP110344 CHUCK JONES DREAM THAT NEVER WAS HC $49.99

OCT110424 CLIVE BARKER OMNIBUS TP $29.99

SEP110342 DEAD RISING ROAD TO FORTUNE #2 (OF 4) $3.99

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I Reads You Review: AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #1

"Need another Spidey title like you need a hole in your head"

AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #1
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Zeb Wells
ARTIST: Joe Madureira
COLORS: Ferran Daniel
LETTERS: VC’s Joe Caramagna
COVER: Joe Madureira and Aron Lusen (Variant coves by Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado; J. Scott Campbell and Edgar Delgado; and Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, and Richard Isanove)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.
Rated T+

The new Spider-Man comic book series, Avenging Spider-Man, acts as the latest Spider-Man team-up title. The most famous is Marvel Team-Up, which first ran from the 1972 to 1985 (Vol. 1). There is an “afterword” in the back of Avenging Spider-Man, in which editor Stephen Wacker writes that this new title is going to be a star creator-oriented comic book that will feature oddball comic book characters, as well as popular characters as guest stars.

The star creators to start this are writer Zeb Wells (a star?) and artist Joe Madureira (still a star, but likely not as bright as he was back in the 90s). The team-up joins Spider-Man and the Red Hulk.

As Avenging Spider-Man #1 opens, Spider-Man and his Avenger teammates are battling A.I.M. and a giant A.I.M.Bot. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor J. Jonah Jameson has just shot the starter pistol to begin the New York City Marathon. The marathoners, however, immediately find their progress impeded by an invasion of diminutive yellow monsters. Hopping a ride to NYC on the back of the Red Hulk, Spider-Man finds himself arriving just in time to lose to the invaders – even with the Hulk’s help?!

Back in the mid-1990s, penciller Joe Madureira (also known as Joe Mad) and inker Tim Townsend formed one of the best (if not the best) art teams working in superhero comics. Maduriera’s anime and manga influenced style were transformed into solid comic book art by Townsend, an inker with a master illustrator’s touch. Madureira’s art did not suffer much when he left Marvel for Wildstorm Productions and Image Comics to produce his creator-owned title, Battle Chasers (published under Wildstorm’s Cliffhanger imprint). By the beginning of the 21st century, however, Madureira had left comics to work in the video game industry.

Joe Mad returned to comics in 2007 for The Ultimates 3 from Marvel Comics, but his art was no longer inked by Townsend or inked at all for that matter. Now, Madureira’s art was colored directly from the pencils. For me, it left much to be desired. As best as I can tell, Madureira’s is producing the art for Avenging Spider-Man the same as he did for The Ultimates.

It is not that I think Mad’s art here isn’t good. I do think that compared to the work he did on Uncanny X-Men with Townsend inking, this Avenging Spider-Man art is inferior, at least in terms of style and draftsmanship. However, I still admire Mad’s compositional and design skills. Some other artists may stretch out stories with splash pages or pages composed of big panels simply because those pages are more attractive to sell as original art. Mad uses splash pages and big panels to create a heightened sense of the dramatic or convey the power of action, force, movement, etc. The way Mad positions characters and objects in panels and the “camera” angles he uses reflect what Stan Lee preached in his How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way (co-authored with John Buscema).

As for the story: it’s mediocre. I’m amazed that Marvel and DC Comics can still get away with producing remarkably mediocre material, the kind of toad burger product that would spell doom for a publisher not financed by a multi-national media corporation. I’m surprised at the mediocrity because I remember when Zeb Wells first showed up on the comics scene; he was supposed to be some kind of golden boy. Is that golden as in piss gold?

My grade reflects my still-alive love of Joe Mad, but the grade should be lower because of the story.

C

[This comic book includes a preview of Avengers: X-Sanction #1 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.]

P.S. I’m going to buy a copy of Avengers: X-Sanction #1 just to rag on it. The five pages that are previewed here are just lousy. I’d really be disappointed if it turned out to be good, thus denying me some fun.