Review: NIGHTHAWK #1

NIGHTHAWK No. 1 (2016)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: David F. Walker
ARTIST: Ramon Villalobos
COLORS: Tamra Bonvillain
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz with Chris Sotomayor
VARIANT COVERS: Rafael Albuquerque; John Tyler Christopher; Bill Sienkiewicz; Skottie Young
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2016)

Parental Advisory

Nighthawk is a Marvel Comics character.  While there have been several versions of the character, the first Nighthawk was Kyle Richmond, initially a supervillain and also a member of the Squadron Supreme.  Richmond, as the original Nighthawk, debuted in The Avengers #69 (cover dated:  October 1969) with two other members of the Squadron Supreme.

The “All-New, All-Different Marvel” event offers a new ongoing Nighthawk comic book.  This series focuses on an African-American version of Kyle Richmond from Earth-31916, who also uses the identity of Raymond Kane.  Nighthawk is written by David F. Walker; drawn by Ramon Villalobos; colored by Tamra Bonvillian; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

Nighthawk #1 opens in Chicago, Illinois which is both roiled by racial strife and rotten with political corruption.  The city's streets, neighborhoods, and districts are Nighthawk's stomping grounds.  In fact, we find him stomping on the “True Patriots,” a White supremacist gang that deals in guns and meth production.  Nighthawk uses his physical and mental skills to destroy them, will his partner, Tilda Johnson, as usual, helps with the robotics and technology Nighthawk uses.  Meanwhile, Kane faces a dirty offer from Dan Hanrahan; plus, a sinister figure returns.

Stunned.  I am truly stunned both by how much I like this comic book and by how good it is.  If DC Comics were not so afraid of letting African-American scribes write marquee titles, David F. Walker would be writing Batman now.  [Walker recently had a short stint as writer of the Cyborg comic book for DC.]  Although I am a fan of both Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz, I think the cover art they provided for Nighthawk #1 is kinda whack.  When I first saw the cover, I looked at this comic book with disdain.

But something made me buy it.  Maybe, it is the buy-the-first-issue fanboy gene that made me do it, but whomever or whatever I have to thank – thank you, bitches!  I think that Walker is going to tackle issues surrounding themes of anger, aggression, rage, violence, political corruption, and corporate depravity.  So that makes David F. Walker's Nighthawk a smart buy.  Besides, the covers are going to get better, aren't they?

As artist, I like the choice of Ramon Villalobos, whose work on last summer's E is for Extinction (a Secret Wars title) wowed me.  You know what?  I'm going to highly recommend this book to you, dear readers.

A

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


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

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Review: ALL TIME COMICS: Crime Destroyer #1

ALL TIME COMICS: CRIME DESTROYER No. 1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS/ALL TIME COMICS - @fantagraphics @alltimecomics

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

STORY: Josh Bayer
PENCILS: Herb Trimpe
INKS: Benjamin Marra
LETTERS: Rick Parker
COLORS: Alessandro Echevarria
MISC. ART: Victor Martinez
COVERS: Jim Rugg; Johnny Ryan
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (March 2017)

Crime Destroyer in “Human Sacrifice”

I was surprised to learn that Fantagraphics Books announced through a press release sometime late last year that they were going to publish comic books set in a new shared superhero universe.. Entitled “All Time Comics,” this imprint/universe would see the release of six comic books, each a stand-alone story featuring featuring a particular superhero or set of superheroes.

The hook with All Time Comics is that each title is a mash-up of and throwback to classic 1970s comic books, especially those published by Marvel Comics.  The first such title is All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer.  It is written by Josh Bayer; drawn by Herb Trimpe (pencils) and Benjamin Marra (inks); colored by Alessandro Echevarria; and lettered by Rick Parker.

All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1 is set in Optic City, a sort of fictional recreation of the rundown, in-a-malaise New York City of the 1970s.  Crime Destroyer, a superhero whose uniform shoulder pads have two large fists perched on them, is inside “The Penitentiary.”  He is there to see an old friend and former military buddy, “Titan,” who wants Crime Destroyer to find a family member named “Anji.”

It seems that Anji has disappeared, which she often does, but this time, she is apparently under the sway of rising cult leader, “The White Warlock,” leader of the “Wotan Cult.”  Crime Destroyer is ready to rescue Anji and deliver some serious beat-down to this cult and its leader.  However, local superhero, “Atlas,” does not want Crime Destroyer (who is from “Swan City”) operating in his city, Optic City.

All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1 is a retro comic book.  It reminds me of the kind of comic books the late, great Jack Kirby, who practically co-created the Marvel Universe in the 1960s, produced in the 1970s.  An example would be Kirby's own mid-1970s run on Captain America for Marvel Comics.  I think that All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1 is also quite similar to Marvel Comics titles produced in the 1970s and early 1980s that are either influenced by or are pastiches of Kirby's 1970s's comic book output.  Marvel Two-in-One Starring The Thing comes to mind, especially those issues produced by writer David Michelinie and artist and Kirby-copycat, Ron Wilson.

The artist for All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1 is the late Herb Trimpe, who drew this comic book before he died last year.  Trimpe, who drew the first comic book appearances of Wolverine of the X-Men, produced quite a bit of comic book art that was clearly influenced by Jack Kirby.  The art here is a bit rough around the edges and is quite chunky, but it also reminds me of the art the late Spain Rodriguez drew for his Underground Comix comic book, Trashman.

Here, Trimpe's pencils are perfect for this gritty and grimy tale of Crime Destroyer, a superhero that blends elements of Marvel Comics' urban superheroes/anti-heroes Luke Cage and Blade.  However, there is just a hint of cinematic hero, Mad Max, which gives this story a trashy, post-apocalyptic aura.  I still have not made up my mind if Ben Marra's inks help create such an aesthetic or works against it.

I do like Josh Bayer's storytelling.  Bayer does not take his story too seriously, but does take the comics to which he is honoring seriously.  This comic book is funny and action-packed, and the villain is a metaphor for the kind of people who are real threats to our real world.  By the end of this comic book, I really did want more of Crime Destroyer.

All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1 is not perfect, but I find myself still thinking about it.  Part of me does want more, and it is up to the readers to decide if they want more comic books like All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1, even if only for a little while.

B+

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 THUNDERBOLTS #1

THUNDERBOLTS No. 1 (2016)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Jim Zub
ARTIST: Jon Malin
COLORS: Matt Yackey
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
COVER: Jon Malin with Matt Yackey
VARIANT COVERS: Mark Bagley with Sonia Oback; John Tyler Christopher; Anthony Piper; Chris Stevens with Frank Martin
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2016)

Parental Advisory

There is No High Road: Part One “Power and Control”

The Thunderbolts are a Marvel Comics superhero team.  Over the years, the team has mostly consisted of supervillains, reformed and otherwise.  The Thunderbolts first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449 (cover dated: January 1997) and were created by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Mark Bagley.

Marvel Comics recently launched a new ongoing comic book series featuring the team, entitled Thunderbolts, of course.  It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Jon Malin; colored by Matt Yackey; and lettered by Joe Sabino.

Thunderbolts #1 (“Power and Control”) introduces a version of the Thunderbolts that is known as “Winter Soldier's Team.”  Coming out of the Avengers: Standoff! story line, the team consists of Winter Soldier (James “Bucky” Barnes); The Fixer (Paul Norbert Ebersol); Moonstone (Karla Sofen); and Atlas (Erik Josten); Mach-X (Abner Jenkins), and maybe Kobik.  Winter Soldier has decided to take up Nick Fury's mandate of protecting Earth from all threats, but things are complicated.

First, let me say that I am getting a kick out of the art of Jon Malin.  He seems like a third generation disciple or maybe even clone of Rob Liefeld.  If you took Liefeld's back-in-the-day work on New Mutants, X-Force, and Youngblood and made the compositions stronger or more polished, you would get Jon Malin.

I am a fan of the work of Jim Zub, especially for his work on his creator-owned series, Wayward (Image Comics), and for Samurai Jack (IDW Publishing), a continuation of the former Cartoon Network animated series.  For the past few years, I have been hoping that Zub would take over an ongoing comic book series for either Marvel or DC Comics.

That said, I am disappointed in Thunderbolts.  Not that I ever expected much of this comic book from the time I heard about it, but I had hoped that Zub would get to write a series that took advantage of his imagination and inventiveness.  I don't think this is it.  Thunderbolts is mere filler material, the also also-ran of the Marvel Comics line-up of Avengers-related team books.  I am not even going to say that if anyone can save this book, it is Jim Zub.  I don't plan on finding out.

C-

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


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

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Review: DARK KNIGHT III: The Master Race #8

DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE No. 8
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello
PENCILS: Andy Kubert
INKS:  Klaus Janson
COLORS: Brad Anderson
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Andy Kubert with Brad Anderson
VARIANT COVERS: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair; Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair; Klaus Janson with Brad Anderson; Bill Sienkiewicz; Riley Rossmo
32pp (plus 16-page insert), Color, $5.99 U.S. (May 2017)

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger

Dark Knight III: The Master Race (also known as DKIII) is a nine-issue Batman comic book event miniseries.  It is the second sequel to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (also known simply as The Dark Knight Returns or DKR), the 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries written by Frank Miller and drawn by Miller (pencils) and Klaus Janson (inks).  DKR focuses on a 50-year-old Bruce Wayne who comes out of retirement to resume fighting crime as Batman.

DKIII is written by Brian Azzarello and Frank Miller; drawn by Andy Kubert (pencils) and Klaus Janson (inks); colored by Brad Anderson; and lettered by Clem Robins.  DKIII finds Batman united with Superman to stop a murderous group of people from Superman's home planet, Krypton, from taking over the Earth.

Dark Knight III: The Master Race #8 opens with the new Batgirl (Carrie Kelley) witnessing the seeming death of Batman.  However, Superman placed Batman's body in a Lazarus Pit, and now Bruce Wayne is not only alive, but young again.  Meanwhile, the “master race” of Kryptonians from the Bottled City of Kandor invade the home of Wonder Woman's and the Amazons (an island now called “Amazonia”).  The Kryptonians are sure that they will win their fight with the Amazons, but Wonder Woman and her people have something that can match the Superman-like powers of a master race.

After much criticism and complaining about DKIII (with only scattered praise), I have to admit that I think that DKIII #8 is not only the best issue of the series, but it is also a truly good comic book.  DKIII has been wildly inconsistent, but DKIII #7 and #8 move the narrative forward more powerfully than a locomotive.

I don't think... No, I know that I have not had this much fun reading the other issues of DKIII as I had reading #8, although #7, as I've said, is quite good.  Wonder Woman in full battle mode is a beautiful thing, and of course, this story barrels forward because #8 is the penultimate issue (although it was originally intended to be the last issue).  Of note, a younger Bruce Wayne adds fuel to the rumors that many more series set in the DKR universe are to come.

Dark Knight Universe Presents: Detective Comics #1 (Insert comic book)
STORY: Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello
PENCILS: Frank Miller
INKS: Klaus Janson
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair

I have not really enjoyed these mini-comics inserted into the center of each issue of DKIII, but I did like DKIII #7's“Strange Adventures,” which focuses on Green Lantern and two denizens of Thanagar.  This issue's “Detective Comics” insert is the best of the lot, thus far, and is Frank Miller's best work as an artist for these inserts.  This insert also features some familiar characters and story elements that first appeared in DKR, and that makes me happy.  Plus, this is “To be continued...”

A

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


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

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DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 19, 2017

DC COMICS

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Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 19, 2017

MARVEL COMICS

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IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for April 19, 2017

IDW PUBLISHING

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