Review: SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #1

SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Victor Gischler
ART: David Baldeon
COLORS: Andres Mossa
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
COVER: Dan Mora with David Curiel
VARIANT COVERS: John Tyler Christopher; Ken Lashley with David Curiel; Mike McKone with Rachelle Rosenberg; Chip Zdarsky; Mark Texeira; Lenticular Variant based on Giant-Size X-Men #1 by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2017)

Rated T+

War at the Gates of Hell Part 1

Johnny Blaze – the second Ghost Rider.  Eric Brooks – Blade the vampire hunter.  Damian Hellstrom – a.k.a. Son of Satan a.k.a. “Hellstorm.”  Satana – Damian's sister and the daughter of Satan.  They are the stars of a new five-issue miniseries from Marvel Comics, entitled Spirits of Vengeance.

This comic book is written by Victor Gischler; drawn by David Baldeón; colored by Andres Mossa; and lettered by Cory Petit.  The series follows a mission to keep the balance the power in an ancient war from tipping to one side.

Spirits of Vengeance #1 finds Johnny Blaze, the second Ghost Rider and the first supernatural and first superhero Ghost Rider, stopped at a bar on Route 66.  Nursing a beer, Blaze gets a fiery visit from a winged being.  Left with an item wanted by dark forces, Blaze turns to Damian Hellstrom for help and information.  A dead angel, a silver bullet; and a kept promise – Blaze and Hellstrom will find themselves caught in a war between Heaven and Hell.  They will need some help.

Writer Victor Gischler is good with dark and edgy action, but he is also an imaginative writer, as seen in his miniseries, Sally of the Wasteland (Titan Comics, 2014).  Spirits of Vengeance #1 offers the dark and the inventive, and it is a shame that what was supposed to be a regular series is only a miniseries.  Gischler could have done something good with this, and I feel safe saying that after reading only the first issue of this series.

Of course, Gischler has an excellent collaborator and storyteller in artist David Baldeón.  The Spanish artist reminds me of artist Joe Madureira.  Here, Baldeón presents elastic and supple figure drawings that give the characters life and also give them distinct personalities – even the characters who are not around for long.  This is dynamic graphical storytelling, with an excellent sense of the dark and the supernatural.  And Baldeón simply makes Spirits of Vengeance look different from other Marvel titles.

Well, I'll enjoy this comic book while I can.

A
8 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: GENERATIONS: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel #1

GENERATIONS: MS. MARVEL & MS. MARVEL No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: G. Willow Wilson
ART: Paolo Villanelli
COLORS: Ian Herring
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Nelson Blake II with Rachelle Rosenberg
VARIANT COVERS: Kris Anka; Olivier Coipel with Laura Martin
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (November 2017)

Rated T+

Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan; Kamala Khan created by Sana Amanat, G. Willow Wilson, and Adrian Alphona

“The Marvels”

Generations is an event limited comic book series from Marvel Comics.  It is a planned 10-issue anthology, published weekly.  Each issue is written and drawn by a different creative team, and each issue will feature a different team-up of a classic Marvel superhero with his or her modern-day counterpart.  The series is meant to unite the legacy of classic Marvel Comics characters with the next generation of heroes as both move into the future of Marvel Comics storytelling.

The eighth issue is Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel, which brings together two versions of a classic Marvel Comics character, Ms. Marvel.  The first is the original Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers.  Danvers first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (cover date: March 1968) and became Ms. Marvel in Ms. Marvel #1 (cover dated: January 1977).  The second is the new Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, a 16 year-old Pakistani-American from Jersey City, New Jersey.  Kamala first appeared in Captain Marvel #14 (cover dated: August 2013), and she became the new Ms. Marvel in Captain Marvel #17 (cover dated: November 2013).  This issue of Generations is written by G. Willow Wilson; drawn by Paolo Villanelli; colored by Ian Herring; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel #1 (“The Marvels”) is set in a New York City of the recent past (likely sometime in the last quarter of the twentieth century.  The story opens in the office of “Woman Magazine,” part of J. Jonah Jameson's “Daily Bugle” publishing empire.  Editor-in-Chief Carol Danvers and her editorial and management staff are trying to deal with a crisis, and also with a new intern, Karina, who is really Kamala Kahn, brought here by a mysterious space-time force.

Kamala idolizes Carol Danvers, the original Ms. Marvel, but in this corner of time and space, Danvers does not know Kamala.  Also, “Woman Magazine” is in a state of crisis because of its circulation, but especially because Danvers and her staff are having trouble figuring out who is their audience and what do they want from the magazine.  However, the magazine may soon be under new management – alien management!  Nightscream of the alien Shi'ar Empire is masquerading as a human named Barbara Nelson.  Can Kamala save the magazine and also help the original Ms. Marvel stop and alien menace, even if the original does not want help from the new version?

Of the eight issues of Generations that I have read as of this writing, Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel #1 is my second favorite after my favorite, Generations:  Iron Man & Ironheart #1.  It is certainly better than last week's previous Carol Danvers Generations appearance Generations: Captain Marvel & Captain Mar-Vell #1.

Part of Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel #1's success is due to its story written by G. Willow Wilson.  Wilson is a truly unique storytelling voice in American superhero comic books.  She embraces the good, the bad, and the ugly in humanity.  She creates characters that capture the beauty and... un-pretty we can find in people.  In Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, she created a character who is a superhero that believes that she should first do no harm.  And yes, this is a one-off, throwaway story, but Wilson delivers a tale that epitomizes the resourcefulness and determination of Kamala.

The other part in delivering this winning tale is the work of artist Paolo Villanelli and colorist Ian Herring.  I like that they recall the work of Ms. Marvel's originating artist, Adrian Alphona, without lazily imitating him.  Villanelli and Herring create a bright, sunny, positive story that makes me wish this Generations tale had a second life.  Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel #1 is certainly a Generations comic book worth reading.

A
8 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: DEFENDERS #1

DEFENDERS No. 1 (2017)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted in Patreon.]

STORY: Brian Michael Bendis
ART: David Marquez
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC's Corey Petit
MISC. ART: Michael Gaydos with Matt Hollingworth; Mike Mayhew; Olivier Coipel and Mark Morales with Jose Villarrubia; Jason Latour; Dave Cockrum and Rich Buckler with Paul Mounts; Lenil Francis Yu
COVER: David Marquez with Justin Ponsor
VARIANT COVERS: Jack Kirby, John Verpoorten and Paul Mounts with Joe Frontirre; Ron Lim with Rachelle Rosenberg; David Mack; Alex Maleev; Neal Adams with Paul Mounts; Skottie Young
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2017)

Rated T+

The Defenders is a Marvel Comics superhero team.  The original version of the team first appeared in the comic book, Marvel Feature #1 (cover dated:  December 1971).  The team's original lineup included the characters Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Namor.  Since that time, there have been several versions of the team with differing and fluctuating memberships, and differing mission statements from team to team.

Now, Marvel Comics is introducing a new version in the new comic book series, Defenders.  It is written by Brian Michael Bendis; drawn by David Marquez; colored by Justin Ponsor; and lettered by Corey Petit.  The members of the Defenders are Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist – the lineup that will be featured in the Marvel/Netflix series, “Defenders.”

Defenders #1 opens with the return of a villain that was supposed to be dead, Diamondback.  He is determined to prove to everyone that the streets of New York City are his.  When he launches an attack on a Defender, he gets to prove just how formidable he is, but is it enough?

I remember reading The Defenders comic book series in the 1980s, and it was terrible.  I kept reading it because I thought that it had the kind of characters that could yield a really good comic book, but it never did, in my estimation.  I abandoned it, and never read a Defenders comic book again – not even Secret Defenders... until now.

I believe in Brian Michael Bendis, so that is why I picked up this new Defenders comic book.  Plus, Bendis is working with artist David Marquez, with whom Bendis produced a nice run on Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man and on Invincible Iron Man.  So how is the latest Bendis-Marquez joint?

I like it, but not for the reasons you might normally guess, dear reader.  I like this depiction of Diamondback.  I am intrigued by everything about him – his character, his motivations, his machinations.  I can't say that I particularly care about these individual Defenders, at least not yet, but I'm sure that Bendis will work on that.  If there is one thing he does very well, it is produce page after page of dialogue, philosophizing, blather, rumination, etc. that make for great character probing.

Marquez's satiny compositions and Justin Ponsor's rich colors hit the eyes with milk shake smoothness.  The mood of the story constantly shifts, however, and the character drama seems to meander.  Where Marquez and Ponsor really shine is on Diamondback.  The art makes you believe he is every bit as bad-ass as Luke Cage.

I am willing to follow this series for a bit because of my affinity for Bendis with Marquez, but I won't lie.  This is not standout material, overall, and I expected more from this team for a first issue.  But I want to see where Diamondback takes crusade.

B+
7.5 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 site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: BLACK PANTHER: World of Wakanda #1

BLACK PANTHER: WORLD OF WAKANDA No. 1 (2017)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Roxane Gay (with Ta-Nehisi Coates consultant)
ART: Alitha E. Martinez
COLORS: Rachel Rosenberg
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
MISC. ART: Brian Stelfreeze
COVER: Afua Richardson
VARIANT COVER: Brian Stelfreeze; John Tyler Christopher; Natacha Bustos; Khoi Pham with Frank D'Armata; Skottie Young; Alitha E. Martinez with Rachelle Rosenberg
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2017)

Black Panther created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Rated “T”

“Dawn of the Midnight Angels” Part 1

A sure sign that Marvel Comics is already preparing for the February 2018 release of the Black Panther film from Marvel Studios is that Marvel doesn't think that one Black Panther comic book is enough.  We already have writer Ta-Nehisi Coates' ambitious Black Panther 12-issue series.

Now, we get Black Panther: World of Wakanda, which will explore Wakanda, the African kingdom which Black Panther/T'Challa rules.  The writer of World of Wakanda's main story is author and feminist, Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist).  The story is drawn by Alitha E. Martinez, who was part of the original art team of the Marvel Knight imprint's Black Panther Volume 2 (1998), which was written by Christopher Priest.  Rachel Rosenberg colors, and Joe Sabino letters.

Black Panther: World of Wakanda #1 (“Dawn of the Midnight Angels” Part 1) focuses on the “Dora Milaje” (“Adored Ones”), the female personal bodyguards of Black Panther and the royal family.  We see the first meeting between Captain Aneka and Ayo, the young woman who would become her lover and partner in revolution.

I would describe this opening chapter of “Dawn of the Midnight Angels” as not great, but good.  The characters and the character drama is intriguing, but the Sub-Mariner part of it bores me.  I think writer Roxane Gay is on to something with the dynamics between the leads.  The art by Alitha E. Martinez is a mixed bag – good storytelling but average quality on the composition.  That aside, I highly recommend this title to Black Panther fans.

“The People for the People”

STORY: Yona Harvey and Ta-Nehisi Coates
ART: Afua Richardson
COLORS: Tamra Bonvillain
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino

“The People for the People” is an origin story featuring another female character who is a thorn in Black Panther's side.  That would be Zenzi, leader of The People, the group currently trying to topple the Wakandan monarchy.  Written by Yona Harvey and Ta-Nehisi Coates, the story attempts to dispel some of the mystery around Zenzi, and this first chapter definitely makes her a character worth discovering.  The art by rising star Afua Richardson personifies how her stylish graphics and compositions add zest and energy and intrigue into the stories Richardson draws.  Encore

A-

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


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

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Review: DAREDEVIL #1

DAREDEVIL No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Charles Soule
ART: Ron Garney
COLORS: Matt Milla
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
COVER: Ron Garney with Matt Milla
VARIANT COVERS: Joe Quesada; John Tyler Christopher; Tim Sale with Dave Stewart; Larry Stroman and Tom Palmer with Rachelle Rosenberg; Alex Maleev (Hip Hop variant); Patrick “Rick” Lance photographed by Judy Stevens (Cosplay variant)
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2016)

Daredevil is a Marvel Comics superhero created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett.  The character first appeared in Daredevil #1 (cover dated: April 1964).  Jack Kirby contributed to Daredevil's creation, but to what extent is unknown.  In Daredevil #7, artist Wally Wood created the red uniform by which the character is known into modern times.  Daredevil is Matt Murdock, a vision-impaired attorney who was blinded as a child after being exposed to a radioactive substance.

Frank Miller had an influential run on the Daredevil comic book series, first as an artist and later as the writer and artist.  He made the character popular and also important in the Marvel Universe.  As part of the “All-New, All-Different Marvel,” the Daredevil comic book series is relaunched, and it seems (at least to me) to recall Frank Miller and even the work of those influenced by Miller.  Daredevil is written by Charles Soule; drawn by Ron Garney; colored by Matt Milla; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.

Daredevil #1 opens on the Manhattan Bridge in New York City, where Daredevil is rescuing Billy Li.  He is a witness in a case that Assistant District Attorney Matt Murdock of the New York County District Attorney's Office has put before a grand jury.  The target of that grand jury, the mysterious criminal Tenfingers, wants Li dead and has decided that maybe Murdock should also be killed.  Plus, Daredevil's apprentice, Blindspot, continues to learn.

The story by Charles Soule isn't bad, but it isn't anything special, at least not yet.  It simply takes the classic Daredevil paradigm that connects Matt Murdock's case to a bad guy that Daredevil is pursuing.  I guess this is how it should be, and if done right, can be entertaining.

What I do like is the drawing by Ron Garney and the coloring by Matt Milla.  This combination recalls the black and white, original art of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson and also the pencils, inks, and colors of Klaus Janson – all done by this creative duo during their glorious run on Daredevil.  Garney and Milla's work here also reminds me of Jim Lee's art on the first two issues of Deathblow (a 1990s Wildstorm title), which was – let's face it – a rip off of Frank Miller's art on Sin City.

Garney and Milla's jimmied negative space and faux toning simply looks right for Daredevil.  Like I said earlier, this isn't great, but it makes me want to keep reading for a bit.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #1

CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Al Ewing
ART: Luke Ross
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
COVER: Luke Ross
VARIANT COVERS: Ryan Benjamin; Ulises Farinas with Ryan Hill; Skottie Young; Mike Grell with Chris Sotomayor
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2015)

Rated “T+”

Captain America created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; The Avengers created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

As part of its “Avenger NOW!” initiative, Marvel Comics is debuting some new titles and relaunching others.  Captain America & The Mighty Avengers is a re-launch of the recent The Mighty Avengers, and it arrived at the same time as All-New Captain America.  Written by Al Ewing (who wrote the previous Mighty Avengers series), drawn by Luke Ross, colored by Rachelle Rosenberg, and lettered by Cory Petit, this series finds the new-look Captain America (Sam Wilson a.k.a. The Falcon) as the leader of The Mighty Avengers.

Captain America & The Mighty Avengers #1 (“We Take Care Of Our Own”) opens with Captain America in action, and he ain't playin' at all, girl.  Meanwhile, the Amazing Spider-Man is trying to make up with the Mighty Avengers for the actions of the Superior Spider-Man, but is Luke Cage buyin' Amazing's story.

I read the first issue of The Mighty Avengers #1 sometime ago, and was not interested enough to read past the first issue.  It was not a bad comic book, but I simply could not find a reason to keep reading, beyond mild curiosity.  And comic books are too expensive, or at least they are too expensive for a “mild curiosity” purchase.

Now, Captain America & The Mighty Avengers #1 opens in the aftermath of Avengers & X-Men: Axis, which saw some personality changes among the super-powered set.  So some of our favorite superheroes, particularly The Avengers, are acting in strange ways or sport darker persona.  The good thing about this new title is that “dark” and “menacing” do not result in a “grim and gritty” comic book.  Captain America & The Mighty Avengers #1 is a fun read.  Heck, I might read more... because fun can make sticker shock go away.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: NIGHTCRAWLER #1

NIGHTCRAWLER (2014) #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Chris Claremont
ARTIST: Todd Nauck
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Chris Samnee with Matthew Wilson
VARIANT COVERS: Chris Samnee with Matthew Wilson; Humberto Ramos with Edgar Delgado
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2014)

Rated T+

Nightcrawler (also known as Kurt Wagner) is a Marvel Comics superhero character and is best known as a member of the X-Men.  Nightcrawler was created by writer Len Wein and the late artist Dave Cockrum, and the character debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (cover dated: May 1975).

Nightcrawler is a mutant and his most obvious power is the ability to teleport across short or long distances.  He also possesses superhuman agility and adhesive three-fingered hands and two-toed feet.  He has indigo or blue-colored fur (which allows him to blend into shadows), yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a prehensile tail.

Nightcrawler has appeared in numerous X-Men and related publications, including the 1980s and 90’s series, Excalibur.  He has been the star of two miniseries and a short-lived ongoing series.  Nightcrawler was killed off in X-Force (Vol. 3) #26 (cover dated:  April 2010), which was part of the X-Men: Second Coming crossover publishing event.

Nightcrawler recently returned to the Marvel Comics land of the living.  Now, there is a new Nightcrawler ongoing comic book series from the creative team of writer Chris Claremont, artist Todd Nauck, colorist Rachelle Rosenberg and letterer Cory Petit.

Nightcrawler #1 opens at the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning.  In the Danger Room, where the X-Men hone their skills, Nightcrawler engages Wolverine in a fierce one-on-one battle session.  Storm, Beast, and Dr. Cecelia Reyes watch.  Nightcrawler is also having a difficult time with his new surroundings, especially a school full of strange, new mutant students.  Nightcrawler travels to Manhattan to visit his longtime girlfriend, the witch Amanda Sefton.  But a normal romantic evening is not to be – not for an X-Man.

Chris Claremont is not credited as a creator of Nightcrawler.  He has written the character longer than anyone else, and he was the first to write the character extensively.  So Claremont is practically Nightcrawler’s father and co-creator, but you could not tell that judging by Nightcrawler #1 alone.

It is not a bad read.  This is just mostly nothing.  It is as if Claremont’s creative engine has not only run out of fuel, but has also simply worn down from overuse.  Even if it could be re-energized, I wonder if Claremont’s imagination could ever deliver the X-Men stories he once did.  Lord, how I hope that I am wrong.

I cannot explain exactly, but I think that Nightcrawler #1 would be different if Marvel were not publishing so many X-Men comic book series.  I think Claremont would have more leeway in what he could do with this character and this series without having to work around all the other X-books.  I hope for better because I really looked forward to this new Nightcrawler comic book series.  I love the character, and I love Claremont writing the X-Men.

Even Todd Nauck’s art is uninspired.  It is like a step down from what he has done before now.  My review grade is generous.

C+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Review: STAR WARS: LEGACY Volume 2 #5

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #5
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

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

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (July 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World: Part Five

“Prisoner of the Floating World,” the first story arc of the recently launched Star Wars comic book series, Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2, comes to an end.  According to publisher, Dark Horse Comics, Legacy Volume 2 takes place “approximately 138 years after the events depicted in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.”  Legacy Volume 2 focuses on junk dealer Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo.

The storyline began when Miss Solo finds a battered Imperial communications droid and a lost lightsaber.  Because of these finds, Ania ends up on the run with her friend Sauk, an ice harvester and refugee from Mon Calamari.  Later, AG-37, an ancient assassin droid, joins them.  Meanwhile, young Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, searches for the master to whom he is apprenticed, Imperial Knight Yalta Val.  The quartet becomes involved in a Sith conspiracy centered on the building of a communications array in the Carreras System.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #5 opens with Ania blaming herself for everything bad that has happened and rejecting any connections that she has to a family legacy.  Now, Ania finds herself racing between a planetoid and the space station that holds the Carreras System’s communications array, which are on a collision course.  The Sith behind this new conspiracy reveals himself as Darth Wredd, and he stands between Ania and her comrades and escape.

This final issue of Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2’s first story arc has forced me to make this clear.  Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is the best new Star Wars comic book series of 2013 – better even than Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda’s new eponymous Star Wars comic book series that has been getting a lot of attention.  Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is the best Star Wars comic book since Marvel Comics’ Star Wars (1977 to 1986).

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2’s creative team of Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman are creating Star Wars Expanded Universe fiction that recalls George Lucas’ original Star Wars films.  I don’t know how long Bechko and Hardman will work on Legacy Volume 2, as I’m certain Marvel or DC Comics will hire them away from Dark Horse, if they have not already done so.  In the meantime, we have this great comic book series.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS: Legacy Volume 2 #4

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #4
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

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

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part Four

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new comic book series from the creative team of co-writer Corrina Bechko and co-writer/artist Gabriel Hardman. This Star Wars comic book takes place “approximately 138 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” Legacy Volume 2 focuses on junk dealer, Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo.

Young Miss Solo finds a battered Imperial communications droid and a lost lightsaber. Soon, Ania is on the run with her friend Sauk, an ice harvester and refugee from Mon Calamari. Later, AG-37, an ancient assassin droid, joins them. Meanwhile, young Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, searches for the master to whom he is apprenticed, Imperial Knight Yalta Val. The quartet becomes involved in a Sith conspiracy involving the building of a communications array in the Carreras System.

As Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #4 opens, Governor Biala of Shifala begins to realize that she cannot trust Imperial Knight Yalta Val, who has taken control of the construction of the Shifalan communications array. Little does she realize that this Val is an imposter and is actually a Sith warrior.

Ania, Sauk, AG-37, and Jao fall into a deadly trap, and Sauk makes a discovery about a disappearing planet. Can they escape with these secrets and their lives?

Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda’s new eponymous Star Wars comic book series is getting a lot of attention. However, Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman’s Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is the best new Star Wars comic book series of the year. I’m starting to think that Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is the best Star Wars comic book series I’ve read, after my beloved Marvel Comics’ Star Wars, of course.

Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman have created a comic book with such dense character drama, superb character development, intricate politics, and intense plotting that it reads like a Star Wars novel… after only four issues! This is Star Wars as George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan imagined it.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS: Legacy Volume 2 #3

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #3
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

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

SCRIPT: Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (May 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part Three

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new Star Wars comic book series from Dark Horse Comics and writer Corrina Bechko and writer-artist Gabriel Hardman. The events depicted in this Star Wars comic book take place “approximately 138 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.”

Legacy Volume 2 focuses on the character, Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. Young Miss Solo, the owner of a junkyard, is on the run after inadvertently stumbling onto a conspiracy involving the Carreras System. It begins when she finds a lost lightsaber.

As Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #3 opens, young Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, is deep inside the Surd Nebula, as he continues his search for Imperial Knight Yalta Val. Elsewhere, in the Carreras System, Ania and her friend, Sauk (a refugee from Mon Calamari), and the assassin droid, AG-37, are aboard the droid’s ship, trying to escape pursuing snub fighters.

Meanwhile, the Sith continue to manipulate the construction of a communications array in the Surd Nebula. Perhaps, Jao Assam and Solo and company need to find common ground… or space.

Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda’s new eponymous Star Wars comic book series recalls both the original Star Wars films and Marvel Comics’ Star Wars comic book series (1970s-80s). It is about re-imagining classic Star Wars. The second new Star Wars comic book series, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin, is fun just because it puts Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine in mortal danger.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is as “real Star Wars” as a Star Wars comic book can get, as far as I’m concerned. Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 artists, penciller-inker Gabriel Hardman and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, are doing their best impersonation of Al Williamson, a quintessential Star Wars comic book and comic strip artist, without it being a mere copy or pastiche. So, when I read this well-written series, I look at Hardman and Rosenberg’s art and think that I’m seeing Star Wars personally guided by George Lucas and Al Williamson, even if Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 really isn’t.

Anyone who reads Star Wars comic books must read Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS: LEGACY Volume 2 #2

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #2
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

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

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (April 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part Two

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new series set in the Legacy era. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Legacy is a time period that begins 40 years after the end of the original Star Wars (or Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) and continues to some indeterminate time.

The events depicted in Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 take place “approximately 138 years after the events of A New Hope.” Legacy Volume 2 focuses on the character, Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. Young Miss Solo is also the owner of a junkyard.

As Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #2 opens, Ania Solo and her friend, Sauk, a refugee from Mon Calamari, are on the run in the sewers of Carreras Minor. Meanwhile, the captors of Imperial Knight Yalta Val make him an offer they don’t want him to refuse. Then, a younger Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, starts to think that Val is in trouble, but now, he must convince the Imperial Court. Also, the lightsaber she found brings Ania more trouble, but AG-37 comes to the rescue.

My review of Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #2 does not hold any new praises. The second issue offers more of the same, and ain’t it grand that issue #1, which provides the same, is so wonderful?

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 creators, co-writer Corrina Bechko and co-writer/artist Gabriel Hardman, are spinning one hell of a Star Wars yarn. They have an excellent character in Ania Solo, and the supporting cast is pretty good, too. If Star Wars by Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda is the best new Star Wars comic book in some time, then, Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is determined to be more than next-best.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS: Legacy Volume 2 #1

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

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

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (March 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part One

Dark Horse Comics recently launched a new Star Wars comic book series. Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is written by Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, drawn by Hardman, colored by Rachelle Rosenberg, and lettered by Michael Heisler.

In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Legacy is a time period that begins 40 years after the end of the original Star Wars (or Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) and continues to some indeterminate time. There was a long-running comic book series, Star Wars: Legacy, which Dark Horse Comics launched after the release of the film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new series set in the Legacy era. The events of Legacy Volume 2 take place “approximately 138 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” [Of note, the previous series began 130 years after A New Hope.] This new series focuses on the character Ania Solo, who is the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo and who also owns a junkyard.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #1 opens as Imperial Knight Yatla Val leads a mission to the Carreras System in the Outer Rim. This is part of a larger effort by the Triumvirate, which is a unity government made of the Jedi Council, Imperial Court, and Galactic Alliance, to connect the galaxy. The mission meets an unexpected snag.

On an ice mining platform in the rings of Carreras Minor, Ania Solo shows her latest finds to her friend, Sauk, a refugee from Mon Calamari. The young junkyard owner has recovered a lightsaber and an Imperial communications droid, and both will mean trouble for her.

Sometimes, I review books and don’t give a thought to revealing spoilers; if I spill a secret, it either does not bother me much or I wince a only a little. Other times, I am fastidious about saying too much, to the point that my review ends up being a timid paragraph dedicated to secret-keeping.

In this new review, I’m definitely being the latter. I want to be tentative and persnickety about my review of Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #1. Co-writer Corrina Bechko and co-writer/artist Gabriel Hardman give this first issue so many layers, such depth, and rich texture that it seems more like the first chapter of a prose novel than the first issue of a comic book. In Ania Solo, they have the potential to create one of the truly exceptional and great Star Wars Expanded Universe characters.

The art by Gabriel Hardman recalls the art Al Williamson produced for Marvel Comics’ adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back in the publisher’s long-running Star Wars comic book series. I don’t know anything about the quality of Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman’s previous work on Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes, but Dark Horse should chain them in the company dungeon and keep them working on Star Wars comics.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

I Reads You Review: GAMBIT #1

"The Remy LeBeau Affair"

GAMBIT #1
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: James Asmus
PENCILS: Clay Mann
INKS: Seth Mann
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Clay Mann and Seth Mann with Rachelle Rosenberg; variant cover by Chris Bachalo
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

Marvel Comics superhero character, Gambit, is known as a member of the X-Men (one team or another). Before he was an X-Man, he was Remy LeBeau, a thief. He has the mutant ability to mentally create, control and manipulate pure kinetic energy. The best example of those powers-in-use is when Gambit “biokinetically” charges objects (such as playing cards) and turns them into small explosives.

Marvel has previously published two ongoing Gambit solo comic book series. The third is a new series written by James Asmus and drawn by the team of Clay Mann (pencils) and Seth Mann (inks). Asmus is an actor, playwright and sketch comic (and, yes, that’s what it has come to).

Gambit #1 (“Once a Thief…” Part One) finds our (anti) hero back to his old life on the wrong side of the law. Businessman Borya Cich is holding a fundraiser for the students of Empire State University at his palatial, private estate in Sagaponack, New York. Cich also has a reputation as a mogul who bankrolls “costumed bad-guys.”

With an invitation in hand, Gambit plans to not only attend the fundraiser as a guest, but to also crash Cich’s secret stash of super-gadgets and magical items. Security is tight, but Remy LeBeau, super-thief, can handle it. When the unexpected happens and things go wrong, LeBeau has to avoid being handled.

Having writers who come from outside of the comic book industry write comic books means having writers that inject fresh ideas into the medium. The fresh idea in Gambit #1 is having Remy LeBeau act as a kind of scruffy, superhero version of Thomas Crown (of the film, The Thomas Crown Affair) or maybe even of Danny Ocean (Ocean’s Eleven). I did write just a few paragraphs ago that it has come to that. What I mean is that this is just another comic book trying not to be a comic book, when the creators can make it act like a movie – of the kind you’ve probably already seen a hundred times.

I must also admit that while I didn’t expect much of this issue, I did find it mildly entertaining in spots. However, Asmus writes way too much interior dialogue, and the other characters are mostly empty paper.

When I first flipped through the book, I was appalled by the art. After reading it, I can say that the compositions and storytelling are good, but that murky, fake, watercolor-style color has got to go. I wouldn’t mind reading future issues of this series, but I won’t pay $2.99 again to do it.

C+