#IReadsYou Review: PRODIGY: The Icarus Society #4

PRODIGY: THE ICARUS SOCIETY #4 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Matteo Buffagni
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Matteo Buffagni with David Curiel
DESIGN: Melina Mikulic
EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Matteo Buffagni
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2022)

Rated M / Mature

Prodigy: The Icarus Society is a five-issue comic book miniseries produced by writer Mark Millar and artist Matteo Buffagni.  It is a sequel to the 2018-19 six-issue miniseries, Prodigy.  The Prodigy comic books focus on the adventures of the world's smartest man, Edison Crane, who believes that he is the go-to guy when there is a global crisis to solve.  Letterer Clem Robins and colorists Laura Martin and David Curiel complete the sequel's creative team.

Prodigy: The Icarus Society pits Edison against “The Icarus Society,” a secret society of geniuses who are all richer than Edison.  And now, he is caught inside the club's internal rivalries and blackmailed into hunting for the treasures of one of the most legendary locations of all time.

Prodigy: The Icarus Society #4 opens in the Himalayas, present day.  Edison accompanies (as a prisoner) Felix Koffka as they hunt for “Shangri-La.”  Accompanying them are Koffka's sneaky wife, Prisha Patil, and his injured employee, Ruby Prentice.

Shangri-La may be a  place from the storybooks, but it has exerted a pull on the world's most evil people for thousands of years.  Now, this paradise will give up its secrets, one of which is that Edison Crane's arrival has been expected.

THE LOWDOWN:  Prodigy, in its two series, has emerged as a spinner of conspiracies, legends, myths, and lore, and has enough of it to rival cable network, The History Channel's “Ancient Aliens” television series.  This fourth issue of The Icarus Society is also the penultimate issue of the series.

Mark Millar always delivers the unexpected.  How does he do it?  Is he a genius like Edison Crane?  Or does it involve the occult?  Seriously, Prodigy: The Icarus Society #4 is full of surprises, and Millar teases an explosive ending.  Prodigy is an adventure into the unknown and the mythical, so Millar seems to anticipate our expectations with the goal of foiling them.  If we are going into the unknown, then, we don't know anything.  We rely on this most brilliant storyteller who always wants to thrill us, the way his favorite comic books did to young Mark.

Artist Matteo Buffagni wants to drag the reader in with his storytelling and wants to transport us into the unknown.  While he refuses to give away secrets, Buffagni entices us with an absorbing mystery.  David Curiel's colors, which usually convey the shadows and dark moods of Buffagni's compositions, are a celebration of light as a legendary location shows itself off in this issue.  Even Clem Robins dials down the lettering for this quiet-before-the-storm entry.

There is no filler in the comic books of Millar and his creative teams.  Prodigy: The Icarus Society could not fly without a superb fourth issue, and superb is what we get.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of his comic book, Prodigy, will want to read Prodigy: The Icarus Society.

A+

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


https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://www.netflix.com/
https://twitter.com/netflix
www.imagecomics.com
https://twitter.com/ImageComics


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: PRODIGY: The Icarus Society #3

PRODIGY: THE ICARUS SOCIETY #3 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Matteo Buffagni
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Matteo Buffagni with David Curiel
DESIGN: Melina Mikulic
EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Matteo Buffagni
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2022)

Rated M / Mature

Prodigy: The Icarus Society is a five-issue comic book miniseries produced by writer Mark Millar and artist Matteo Buffagni.  It is a sequel to the 2018-19 six-issue miniseries, Prodigy.  The Prodigy comic books focus on the adventures of the world's smartest man, Edison Crane, who believes that he is the go-to guy when there is a global crisis to solve.  Letterer Clem Robins and colorists Laura Martin and David Curiel complete the sequel's creative team.

Prodigy: The Icarus Society pits Edison against “The Icarus Society,” a secret society of geniuses who are all richer than Edison.  And now, he is caught inside the club's internal rivalries and blackmailed into hunting for the treasures of one of the most legendary locations of all time.

Prodigy: The Icarus Society #3 opens in the Himalayas, 1722, detailing two parties searching for the mythical kingdom of “Shangri-La.”  One of them is led by the pirate, Red Ana de Tourzel.  Three centuries later, Edison Crane is caught between the machinations of Icarus Society rivals.  One is the homicidal Professor Tong, and the other is Felix Koffka, the richest man in the world and the owner of the cars in which John F. Kennedy and James Dean respectively died.

When one outwits the other (or so it seems), Edison is working for man who works at a level no one else can understand.  For Edison, that means a journey into legend.

THE LOWDOWN:  Mark Millar has produced some incredible comic books since he became a Netflix executive.  The Magic Order is one of the twenty-first century's greatest comic books about magic.  Meanwhile, Prodigy has emerged as a spinner of conspiracies, legends, myths, and lore to rival cable network, The History Channel's “Ancient Aliens” television series.

Over the past quarter-century, Millar has been writing some of the most interesting and unique superhero comics:  The Authority, The Ultimates, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Wanted, Kick-Ass, and Nemesis, to name a few.  I think Prodigy should be added to that list.  While its star does not wear a costume, Edison Crane has the elements of such clever superhero characters as Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, Karnak (The Inhumans), and Ozymandias (Watchmen), to name a few.  The difference is that Millar sends Edison on better adventures than those other characters have had in years, and Edison is better dressed.

Artist Matteo Buffagni has a drawing style that merges the clean line style, photo-realism, and textured inking.  The result is storytelling that captures the intimacy and violence of the conflicts between characters and the endless possibilities of the adventures before them.  David Curiel's colors convey the shadows and dark moods of Buffagni's compositions, while letterer Clem Robins makes the dialogue pop off the page with menace and mystery.

Mark Millar has stated that he wants to write comic books that readers really enjoy reading, and, in addition to his writing skills, he has a talent for gathering superb creative talent.  Prodigy: The Icarus Society #3 is the result of superb talent working hard for our enjoyment.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of his comic book, Prodigy, will want to read Prodigy: The Icarus Society.

A+

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


https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://www.netflix.com/
https://twitter.com/netflix
www.imagecomics.com
https://twitter.com/ImageComics


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: PRODIGY: The Icarus Society #2

PRODIGY: THE ICARUS SOCIETY #2 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Matteo Buffagni
COLORS: Laura Martin
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Matteo Buffagni with David Curiel
DESIGN: Melina Mikulic
EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Matteo Buffagni with David Curiel
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2022)

Rated M / Mature

Prodigy: The Icarus Society is a new five-issue comic book miniseries produced by writer Mark Millar and artist Matteo Buffagni.  It is a sequel to the 2018-19 six-issue miniseries, Prodigy.  The Prodigy comic books focus on the adventures of the world's smartest man, Edison Crane, who believes that he is the go-to guy when there is a global crisis to solve.  Letterer Clem Robins and colorist Laura Martin complete the sequel's creative team.

Prodigy: The Icarus Society pits Edison against “The Icarus Society,” a secret society of geniuses who are all richer than Edison.  And now, he is caught inside the club's internal rivalries and blackmailed into hunting for the treasures of one of the most legendary locations of all time.

Prodigy: The Icarus Society #2 opens in the prison, the Maine Correctional Facility.  Professor Tong of the Icarus Society has forced Edison to free him from his imprisonment there.  Tong has had an explosive device placed inside Edison's stomach and now, he will force our hero to play a game of cat-and-mouse with one his Icarus rivals, Felix Koffka.  Must Edison, like the members of this secret society, fly too close to the sun.

THE LOWDOWN:  Of Mark Millar's recent Netflix comic book series, I am a huge fan of The Magic Order, but I am always thinking about Prodigy.  After reading the first series, Prodigy, I was intrigued and thrilled, and after re-reading it in trade paperback form, as Prodigy: The Evil Earth, I admired it all the more.  Edison Crane is another great Mark Millar creation.

Millar has been producing some of the best comic books in North America for the better part of three decades.  Even after becoming an executive with one of the most powerful media companies in the world (Netflix, of course), he continues to produce great comic books.  Let's be honest, most comic book creators rest on their laurels when they hit the jackpot, and if and when they do produce new comic books, they are sometimes disappointing works.  This is not the case with Millar, who delivers a monster of a second issue for this new series.

Millar used Prodigy: The Icarus Society #1 to introduce readers to Edison Crane's state of mind (more or less) and to his new challenge.  With issue #2, Millar quickly reveals that this sequel will be as intense, if not more so, than the original.  The mythologies, the conspiracies and the occult flourishes are even more delectable, and the villains … well, they are great f*****g villains.

The art team of illustrator Matteo Buffagni and colorist Laura Martin also threaten to fly too close to the sun.  Matteo's art recalls the “widescreen” storytelling of DC Comics' late, great The Authority (one of the treasures of Millar's bibliography).  Matteo makes The Icarus Society #2 feel like a Marvel Studios movie, full of big ideas and big expectations.  Laura Martin's colors establish a series of rich and varied moods and atmospheres that draw the reader inside this perilous new world that Edison Crane faces.

More excellent lettering from the perpetually excellent Clem Robins tops it all off, and there you have it.  Prodigy: The Icarus Society #2 washes over my imagination with a giant wave of intrigue and now, we can all be assured that this series will be fantastic.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of his comic book, Prodigy, will want to read Prodigy: The Icarus Society.

A+

10 out of 10

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


https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://www.netflix.com/
https://twitter.com/netflix
www.imagecomics.com
https://twitter.com/ImageComics


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #6

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #6 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Greg Tocchini
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (April 2022)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order 2 is a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Stuart Immonen.  It is a sequel to The Magic Order, a 2018-19 miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  The Magic Order is a group of sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protects humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.  Colorists David Curiel and Sunny Gho and letterer Clem Robins complete the creative team of the current series.

The Magic Order 2 finds The Magic Order and its new leader, Cordelia Moonstone (an “escapologist”), caught in a turf war.  Their adversaries are Victor Korne and his group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.

The Magic Order 2 #6 opens and it seems as if Victor Korne has won.  He has used the ancient Egyptian talisman, the Stone of Thoth, to summon the creature, Othoul-Endu, from the “Outer Dark.”  With the creature's power, Korne can think anything and it will happen.

A wayward son and a child will ride to the Order's rescue.  But for the Order, nothing will be the same … even if they survive.

THE LOWDOWN:  As I wrote in my reviews of the fourth and fifth issues:  with each issue, The Magic Order 2 surpasses it predecessor.  That is quite the accomplishment, as the first miniseries, The Magic Order, was and is awesome, but the imagination of Mark Millar is like a magic wand.  Now, The Magic Order 2 #6 closes this great series.

I feel comfortable saying that The Magic Order series is the best English-language, magical fantasy comic book franchise of the moment.  Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios may indeed deliver a gem in its upcoming film, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but Marvel Comics' Doctor Strange comic book...  Well, don't believe the hype.  Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange showed the potential in comic books about magic, and with The Magic Order 2, Millar pays off on that potential.

Artist Stuart Immonen and colorist David Curiel create a symphony of lightning and supernovas.  I could feel the energy of Immonen and Curiel's work in my eyes.  This story is alive, so alive that it feels like a curtain closing on an act rather than feeling like a finale of an arc.

Comic book readers who hate good comic books are not reading The Magic Order 2.  So I ask again.  Are you reading it, dear readers?

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A+

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


https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
https://twitter.com/themagicorder
https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: PRODIGY: The Icarus Society #1

PRODIGY: THE ICARUS SOCIETY #1 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Matteo Buffagni
COLORS: Laura Martin
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Matteo Buffagni with David Curiel
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Bill Sienkiewicz
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2022)

Rated M / Mature

Prodigy: The Icarus Society is a new five-issue comic book miniseries produced by writer Mark Millar and artist Matteo Buffagni.  It is a sequel to the 2018-19 six-issue miniseries, Prodigy.  The Prodigy comic books focus on the adventures of the world's smartest man, who believes that he is the go-to guy when there is a global crisis to solve.

Prodigy: The Icarus Society #1 opens in Maine where a credit controller has just spontaneously exploded.  In fact, this is an entire afternoon of spontaneously exploding people in Maine  When the mayor and the governor don't know what to do, they call the Pentagon, and the Pentagon calls Edison Crane, the world's smartest man.

The person behind these explosions is the just the beginning of “The Icarus Society.”

THE LOWDOWN:  Of Mark Millar's recent Netflix comic book series, I am a huge fan of The Magic Order, but I am always thinking about Prodigy.  After reading the first series, Prodigy, I was intrigued and thrilled, and after re-reading it in trade paperback form, as Prodigy: The Evil Earth, I admired it all the more.

Millar uses Prodigy: The Icarus Society #1 to introduce readers to Edison Crane's state of mind (more or less).  Our hero is in need of a challenge.  Millar builds the issue slyly; the new threat is all around Crane, preparing to reveal itself.  At the same time, rascally Millar teases us with this idea:  doesn't it seem as if Crane is deliberately setting himself up to be challenged and abused?...

The art by Matteo Buffagni for The Icarus Society is quiet compared to Rafael Albuquerque's fast and furious storytelling in the earlier series, The Evil Earth.  Buffagni creates a story that conveys the current malaise (of Crane) and simmers with the coming menace (from the “rival” geniuses).  Colorist Laura Martin is a master of creating the varied moods of action and violence, and here, she delivers on shadowy and secretive and sudden violence.  Clem Robins does much the same, carrying the reader through the wavy flow of time and pace in this story.

I can tell from this first issue that Millar and Buffagni are going to throw everything and many kitchen sinks at us.  Prodigy: The Icarus Society reminds us that a month with at least one Mark Millar comic book is a good month, indeed.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of his comic book, Prodigy, will want to read Prodigy: The Icarus Society.

A

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


https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://www.netflix.com/
https://twitter.com/netflix
www.imagecomics.com
https://twitter.com/ImageComics


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #5

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #5 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Ryan Sook
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2022)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, The Magic Order focused on the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.

We are now deep into a second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2.  It is written by Mark Millar; drawn by Stuart Immonen; colored by Sunny Gho and David Curiel; and lettered by Clem Robins.  The new series focuses on a magical turf war between The Magic Order and its new leader, Cordelia Moonstone, and a group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.

The Magic Order 2 #5 opens with the story of Francis King and his father, the Lord King.  Then, in the forests outside Bucharest, The Magic Order gathers to battle the warlock Victor Korne and his allies.  This may be the Order's final bid to keep Korne from gaining the last piece of the Stone of Thoth, a talisman from ancient Egypt that summons anything from space, time, and beyond.  But Cordelia and the Order have been a few steps behind their enemies since this conspiracy began, and now, it is worse than ever.

THE LOWDOWN:  As I wrote in my review of the fourth issue:  with each issue, The Magic Order 2 surpasses it predecessor.  That is quite the accomplishment, as the first miniseries, The Magic Order, was and is awesome.

If The Magic Order series is not the best English-language, magical fantasy comic book franchise of the twenty-first century, it is damn close.  In The Magic Order 2 #5, Mark Millar offers a penultimate issue that would make a monster of a final issue.  I may be running out of words to describe how good this series is, but luckily, Millar is not cursed with my deficiency because the words in his storytelling are magic.

Stuart Immonen turns Millar's script into superb comic book storytelling, but what else is new?  Immonen has been an ass kicker in storytelling for ages, so he must be a member of The Magic Order.  David Curiel's lovely colors make the story pop off the page, and Clem Robins' lettering super-charges art and colors that are already super-charged.

Comic book readers who hate good comic books are not reading The Magic Order 2.  Are you reading it, dear readers?

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A+

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


https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
https://twitter.com/themagicorder
https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #4

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #4 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: Sunny Gho and David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Greg Tocchini
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2022)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, The Magic Order focused on the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.

A second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2, has arrived.  It is written by Mark Millar; drawn by Stuart Immonen; colored by Sunny Gho and David Curiel; and lettered by Clem Robins.  The new series focuses on a magical turf war between The Magic Order and a group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.

The Magic Order 2 #4 opens in Glascow.  The allies of the warlock Victor Korne have retrieved another piece of the Stone of Thoth, a talisman from ancient Egypt that summons anything from space, time, and beyond.  Standing in their way is The Magic Order … oops.

Standing in the way of The Magic Order is troubled wizard and drug addict, Francis King, who has just killed a fellow member of the Order.  What will the Order do?  What will Moonstone cousin, Kevin Mitchell, do to Francis?  Meanwhile, Korne's forces begin to take their revenge on humanity for spending five hundred years bowing to puny humans.

THE LOWDOWN:  With each issue, The Magic Order 2 surpasses it predecessor.  That is quite the accomplishment, as The Magic Order is awesome, dude.

I'm getting tired of praising Mark Millar; he's just too good.  I can't do words like him, so it is getting hard to praise.  But it ain't getting hard to keep on loving his comics.  Holla!  If only he'd stop writing something great like The Magic Order 2 and write something mediocre like whatever crossover events Marvel and DC Comics are churning out.  Harry Potter and Doctor Strange wish they could be as good as The Magic Order 2.

And to Hell with Stuart Immonen and his super-talented ass.  He's been rocking my world since Shock Rockers.  Here, his storytelling bleeds electricity and casts a glamour on his readers – especially me.  With the potent colors of Sunny Gho and David Curiel, Immonen delivers something that is simply great and a blast to read.

God, it's only issue four.  I don't know if I can make it two more issues.  Dear readers, come on experience the joy of The Magic Order 2.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A+

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


https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
https://twitter.com/themagicorder
https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #3

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #3 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: Sunny Gho and David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Jason Shawn Alexander
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2021)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, The Magic Order focused on the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.

A second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2, has arrived.  It is written by Mark Millar; drawn by Stuart Immonen; colored by Sunny Gho and David Curiel; and lettered by Clem Robins.  The new series focuses on a magical turf war between The Magic Order and a group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.

The Magic Order 2 #3 opens in Romania, one thousand years ago.  The first of the Moonstones leads a band of wizards from the thirteen corners of the Earth against the dark wizard, Soren Korne.  Their victory against him – a twist of fate involving a creature known as “Othoul-Endu” – changed the world for humanity.  The Magic Order was born, and it made the bad things go away.

Back in the present, Korne's descendant, Victor, has gathered his forces, and they are making their move to retrieve the pieces of the Stone of Thoth, a talisman from ancient Egypt that summons anything from space, time, and beyond.  Standing in their way is The Magic Order … and standing in the way of the Order is one of their own, the troubled wizard, Francis King!

THE LOWDOWN:  In the wake of the Black Wedding, as seen in The Magic Order 2 #2, I was ready to go deeper into the sequel to my favorite Mark Millar written, creator-owned comic book, The Magic Order.  Of course, this third issue does not disappoint.

One of the many things that Millar does supremely well as a comic book writer is make his characters, the good, the bad, and the depraved, engaging.  It is one thing to fashion personalities for fictional characters that are the good guys.  It is quite another to make even the most despicable villains have motivations that feel genuine to the readers – even if those motivations are … also despicable.

If The Magic Order is really like a blend of Harry Potter with a Martin Scorsese mob film, the series needs comic book artists whose storytelling chops are strong enough to make The Magic Order more than that.  Here, there are dark arts families that are as ruthless as a mob family, and the magic is as big as anything found in Harry Potter media.

What Stuart Immonen brings to this mix is power and scope.  Whatever he presents on the page, he imbues with the sense that there is more.  He makes the masters of the dark arts characters malevolent and malignant rather than simply being evil.  And what about the struggle of the heroes?  Well, it's worse than it looks.  The good guys may be powerful, but Immonen depicts that struggles and troubles as ever bigger.  I've been reading comic books so long, and Lord, it is good to know that there are still artists that can grab my imagination and sweep the cynicism and cobwebs away.

Seriously, what Millar and Immonen are delivering in The Magic Order 2 would scare mobsters and make boy wizards pee their pants.  If you aren't reading The Magic Order 2, dear readers, your pull list is out of order.  And you don't need to be a wizard to fix this pitiful situation.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A

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


https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
https://twitter.com/themagicorder
https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER #1

FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER #1 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Derek Landy
ART: Federico Vicentini
COLORS: Matt Milla
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
EDITOR: Alanna Smith
COVER: Dan Mora with David Curiel
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Bengal; Butch Guice with Frank D'Armata; Ziyian Liu
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2020)

Rated T+

Sam Wilson/The Falcon created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan; Falcon costumed designed by Alex Ross

James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; The Winter Soldier created by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting

Sam Wilson a.k.a. The Falcon is a Marvel Comics superhero.  Wilson/Falcon first appeared in Captain America #117 (cover date: September 1969).  The Falcon uses mechanical wings to fly, and he has limited telepathic and empathic control over birds.

James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes is a Marvel Comics superhero.  Writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby introduced “Bucky” as a sidekick to Captain America in Captain America Comics #1 (cover-dated March 1941).   Published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics, Captain America Comics #1 also introduced Captain America.

Over six decades later, writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting reinvented Bucky as being brought back from supposed-death to be the brainwashed assassin called “The Winter Soldier.”  The character, which debuted in Captain America #1 (cover dated: January 2005), was the villain slash adversary in the 2014 film, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will team up in an upcoming Marvel Studios television series, “The Falcon & the Winter Soldier,” for the Disney+ streaming service.  Marvel Comics is getting in on the action with a five-issue limited series entitled... Falcon & Winter Soldier.  It is written by Derek Landy; drawn by Federico Vicentini; colored Matt Milla; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

Falcon & Winter Soldier #1 opens at the Indiana home of Bucky Barnes, where he and his cat are enjoying some morning solitude.  Then, a group of men, armed with military-style weaponry, break into the house to kill Bucky.  [This attack is similar to the one that heavily-armed German security forces launched into Bucky's apartment in the 2016 film, Captain America: Civil War.]

Later, in New York City, The Falcon decides to pay a visit as Sam Wilson to the local office of an agency called the “Office of Federal Utilities.”  There, he finds an entire office of dead people... and the Winter Soldier, but Bucky says he didn't do it – kill all these people.  So, it seems that the dramatic attempt on Bucky's life has reunited The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.  They decide that they will have to hunt down the identity of the new leader of Hydra, but a gifted new killer is also hunting them.

I bought a copy of Falcon & Winter Soldier #1 for a friend of mine to read.  I was a little interested in it, as a fan of The Falcon, but not enough to purchase it for myself.  I got it back and decided to read it, and I have to admit that it was way better than I thought it would be.  Writer Derek Landy offers a simple, but straight-forward story.  There is a goal, uncover Hydra's new secrets, and there is a shocking new adversary, a gifted young killer.  The cover of Falcon & Winter Soldier looks like it belongs to a high-octane action comic book series, and it turns out that Falcon & Winter Soldier #1 reads like an actual, honest-to-goodness, high-octane action comic book.

Artist Federico Vicentini is not a polished illustrator and draftsman.  Some of his figure drawing and background details look awkward and funky.  However, his storytelling is clean and clear, especially important for this genre of comic book.  Matt Milla's coloring is good enough, but not particularly imaginative, and Joe Caramagna's lettering is by-the-books, but good enough.

Falcon & Winter Soldier #1 is not great, but it is the kind of satisfying start that could make me come back for the second issue.  I might even buy the inevitable trade paperback collection.

7 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: STAR WARS: The Rise of Kylo Ren

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF KYLO REN
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.  Also, visit Star Wars Review Central here.]

STORY: Charles Soule
ART: Will Sliney
COLORS: Guru eFX
LETTERS: VC's Travis Lanham
EDITOR: Mark Paniccia
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Clayton Crain
MISC ART: Carmen Carnero with Rachelle Rosenberg; John Tyler Christopher; Jodie Muir; Stefano Landini and Nicola Righi; Giuseppe Camuncoli with David Curiel
ISBN: 978-1-302-92418-8; paperback (August 11, 2020)
112pp, Color, $15.99 U.S., $20.99 CAN

Rated T

Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren is a Marvel Comics trade paperback collection of the Star Wars comic book miniseries, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #1-4 (December 2019 to March 2020).  The miniseries is written by Charles Soule; drawn by Will Sliney; colored by Guru eFX; and lettered by Travis Lanham.

The Rise of Kylo Ren is an official part of the Star Wars “canon” and explores the backstory of Kylo Ren.  He is the face of the Dark Side in the Star Wars “sequel trilogy” of films:  Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren opens long ago and introduces the mysterious leader called “Ren” and his “Knights of Ren.”  Two brothers, Karrst and Filin,” learn the high cost of being recruited by Ren.  The story moves to the present which finds the Jedi Temple of Luke Skywalker in flames, as Ben Solo, the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo and the nephew of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, watches.

Soon, Ben is accused of murder by three fellow Jedi students:  Voe, Hennix, and Tai.  Escaping their attempts at justice, Ben seeks the counsel of Snoke, a user of the Dark Side of the Force, who has been in contact with Ben for some time.  Snoke points Ben to the Knights of Ren as a “good stop” on his journey to the Dark Side.

But will Ben truly be able to find himself and his place with the Knights?  How will he measure up to the expectations of the Knights' leader, Ren, with his talk of “good death” and of the “Shadow?”  How will Ben deal with his former classmates as they pursue him in the name of justice.  And most of all, when will Ben be able to embrace his new name?...

THE LOWDOWN:  In the recent “Skywalker Saga” Star Wars films, Kylo Ren is a figure of intrigue and mystery.  Except for a few flashback sequences, visions, and what little Luke Skywalker and Kylo himself say, little is known about his past.

In a little more than 90 pages of narrative, writer Charles Soule illuminates the history of Kylo Ren and chases away at least some of the shadows of Kylo's past.  In the little more than five years since Marvel Comics resumed publishing Star Wars comic books, Soule has made himself one of the very best writers of Star Wars comic books.  While he offers a tale of duplicity and violence, Soule also reveals the true struggle of Kylo Ren, to be liberated from the expectations and legacies of others so that he can chart his own path.

After reading Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren, I have no doubt in my mind that Charles Soule could spin many a wonderful yarn featuring Kylo Ren.  I don't want to minimize the work of artist Will Sliney, who is a good graphical storyteller.  Or the work of Guru eFX, which brings this story's settings to life with a variety of hues.  Or the work of letterer Travis Lanham, who is always quite good at capturing the right tone of the characters' dialogue.  However, Charles Soule's writing is the star in Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren simply because he does what so few have done – deliver on the potential of the character known as both Ben Solo and as Kylo Ren.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Star Wars comic books and of Star Wars canon will certainly want to read Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren.

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: FALLEN ANGELS #1

FALLEN ANGELS #1 (2020)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Bryan Hill
ART: Szymon Kudranski
COLORS: Frank D'Armata
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
EDITOR: Jordan D. White
EiC: Akria Yoshida a.k.a. “C.B. Cebulski”
COVER: Ashley Witter
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mark Bagley and John Dell with Israel Silva; Gabriele Dell'Otto; Greg Land with Frank D'Armata; Pepe Larraz with David Curiel; Rob Liefeld with Romul Fajardo, Jr.; and Tom Muller
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2020)

Rated T+

The X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; Fallen Angels created by Jo Duffy and Kerry Gammill

“Bushido”

The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team and franchise created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Jack Kirby.  The X-Men #1 (cover dated: September 1963) introduced readers to a professor and his students who had unique powers and abilities because they were “mutants.”

One of the X-Men spin-off titles was Fallen Angels.  Created by writer Jo Duffy and artist Kerry Gammill, Fallen Angels was more accurately a spin-off of the X-Men spin-off, The New Mutants.  The Fallen Angels was a team that featured two New Mutants, Sunspot and Warlock, and Boom-Boom of X-Factor.  The team's only appearance was in the eight-issue miniseries, Fallen Angels (cover dated:  April to November 1987).

This past summer (2019), writer Jonathan Hickman revamped, rebooted, and re-imagined the X-Men comic book franchise via a pair of six-issue comic book miniseries, House of X and Powers of X (pronounced “Powers of Ten”).  October 2019 welcomed “Dawn of X,” the launch of six new X-Men titles.  The new series are Excalibur, Marauders, New Mutants, X-Force, X-Men, and the subject of this review, Fallen Angels.

Fallen Angels 2020 is written by Bryan Hill; drawn by Szymon Kudranski; colored by Frank D'Armata, and lettered by Joe Sabino.  Fallen Angels focuses on the outsiders of Krakoa, mutants who don't belong in paradise because of their anti-heroic pasts.

Fallen Angels #1 (“Bushido”) opens as Kwannon does something bad.  Meanwhile, on Krakoa, the living island and mutant nation-state, Psylocke is in a state of meditation, in this new world of “Mutantkind,” unsure of her place in it.  But she gets a warning, a demand that she face a new threat, a god named “Apoth,” and it seems as if Psylocke's past is starting to come back to her.  Seeking the aid of Mr. Sinister and gathering the mutant warriors, Cable and X-23, to her side, Psylocke begins her personal mission of revenge.

I have come across commentary on the inter-webs that Fallen Angels is the best of the first wave of “Dawn of X” titles.  I am sorely disappointed to say that I have practically nothing to say about it.  The first issue barely registers with me, which is surprising.  I am a fan of Bryan Hill's writing, and his potent, forceful storytelling always moves something in me.  I'll check in on Fallen Angels later, but I still think that fans of this new X-Men direction should check out at least the first issue of all six titles.  In the meantime, I don't have a grade for Fallen Angels #1.

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: MILES MORALES: Spider-Man #1

MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN No. 1 (2019)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Saladin Ahmed
ART: Javier Garrón
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Brian Stelfreeze
EDITOR: Nick Lowe
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida
VARIANT COVERS: Marko Djurdjevic (Fantastic Four Villains Variant); Lee Garbett; Adi Granov
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2019)

Rated T

Spider-Man created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee; Miles Morales created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli

Miles Morales is a Marvel Comics character who is one of the characters known as Spider-Man.  Miles Morales first appeared in the comic book Ultimate Fallout #4 (cover dated: August 2011) and existed in a universe different from the universe where the original Spider-Man lived.  Now, the Afro-Latino teenager, whose full name is Miles Gonzalo Morales, lives and works in the main Marvel Comics universe (the MCU) as Spider-Man.

Miles has a new ongoing comic book series, Miles Morales: Spider-Man (a continuation of the comic book title, Spider-Man).  This is a new direction for Miles Morales with a new creative team.  Miles Morales: Spider-Man is written by Saladin Ahmed; drawn by Javier Garrón; colored by David Curiel; and lettered by Cory Petit.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1 opens in the wake of the events depicted in the miniseries, Spider-Geddon.  Miles has recently begun a new school term, and is taking a class in which the instructor demands that Miles and his fellow classmates keep a journal.

Miles is struggling to balance school and his personal life with his activities as Spider-Man.  He is trying to maintain a relationship with Barbara, who is his girlfriend, although both seem to be reluctant to say that outright.  For all his struggles, however, Miles sees that there are those who are struggling more than he is, especially in an anti-immigrant political climate, and it is worse than Miles thinks.

Practically every Miles Morales comic book I ever read was written by Brian Michael Bendis, Miles' co-creator.  I am wary of reading Miles comic books not written by Bendis, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story Bryan Edward Hill wrote about Miles for the Spider-Man Annual #1 (2018).

After reading Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1, I am confident in new Miles writer, Saladin Ahmed.  I did not read Ahmed's Black Bolt series, which received quite a bit of acclaim and claimed a win at the 2018 Will Eisner Awards.  I like that Saladin's story and script are true to the personality Bendis fashioned for Miles, and I also like that Saladin is developing Miles personality and character as he continues to grow-up, going from young teen to older teen.  I am also happy that Ahmed is writing a story that tackles real world issues literally and metaphorically.

Artist Javier Garrón is the right choice to create the art and storytelling.  His compositions are strong, and his page and panel design recall the work of Spider-Man co-creator, the late Steve Ditko.  Ditko balanced the world of Peter Parker-Spider-Man by drawing an ordinary seeming everyday life for Parker.  When Parker became Spider-Man, Ditko added imaginative elements and inventive compositions that made the scenes feature Spider-Man seem to pop off the page.

Garrón's art is in a similar vein, and David Curiel's coloring of the art electrifies everything.  When a classic Spider-Man villain (who has a surprising reason for appearing) shows up, this story crackles and sparks with energy.  In fact, the splash page featuring Miles and that surprise villain is an example of how much power Garrón and Curiel's combined art has.

So I am ready for more Miles Morales: Spider-Man.  For now, at least, the post-Brian Michael Bendis Miles Morales has a bright future.

8 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 information on reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: AVENGERS #1 (2018)

AVENGERS No. 1 (2018)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jason Aaron
PENCILS: Ed McGuinness
INKS: Mark Morales
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
COVER: Ed McGuinness and Mark Morales with Justin Ponsor
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Aaron Kuder with Jason Keith; Greg Land and Jay Leisten with Frank D'Armata; Esad Ribic
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (July 2018)

Rated “T+”

Avengers created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“The Final Host”

In the 1970s and 1980s, Marvel Comics published comic book adaptations of popular and cult science fiction and fantasy films, from the Stars Wars films to movies like Dune (1984) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984).  Some of them had beautiful art (Al Williamson's killer work on Marvel's The Empire Strikes Back adaptation), but the script adaptations were often weak.  Reading these film to comic book adaptations was like reading storyboards for a film with some of the boards were missing.  That is when you realize the “motion” in motion pictures makes the medium of film not all that related to the medium of comic books with its static or still graphics.

The Avengers #1 that arrived on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 got me to thinking about comic books that try to capture the sound and vision of films.  We see comic book writers trying to write for comic books the kind of big, loud, special-effects driven stories that only films can tell.  Once upon a time, people said that comic book stories that were written like other comic books were bad things.  Now, we have comic books trying too hard to be like films and television.  That is the real problem, and brother, Avengers #1 2018 has many problems.

Marvel Comics is just beginning another relaunch of its comic book line, something called “Fresh Start.”  The venerable publisher is returning to its “Legacy” characters after publishing new versions of those classic characters – new versions that some retards described as “black, homo, and freaking female.”  So enter Avengers #1 2018 (Legacy #691).  It is written by Jason Aaron; drawn by Ed McGuinness (pencils) and Mark Morales (inks); colored by David Curiel; and lettered by Cory Petit.  At the core of this old-is-new Avengers are classic (white male) Tony Stark/Iron Man, classic (white male) Thor, and classic (white male) Steve Rogers/Captain America.

Avengers #1 (Legacy #691) opens on Earth, one million years ago and depicts the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC.  Then it moves to present day Earth, where Thor and Steve Rogers are trying to convince a reluctant Tony Stark that the world needs the Avengers to return, and the Avengers can only return the right way with them – the original Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man.  It may no longer be a matter of choice when cosmic beings start falling to Earth.

It is clear to me that Marvel is trying to make the Avengers 2018 comic book series be as close to Marvel Studios' Avengers movies as possible.  Writer Jason Aaron tries to make it seem like there is a story here and not just action scenes, but there is not much of a story here.  This is the Avengers comic book as a Michael Bay movie – if Bay did a mash-up of his Transformers films and the Avengers films.  Avengers #1 is big, loud silent scream, and Aaron squeezes in a few quiet, faux-character scenes, mostly featuring the She-Hulk and the Ghost Rider, in a failed bid at adding substance.

Marvel Comics' problems are not “diversity characters.”  The main problem is the embrace of event comic books and other publishing stunts that are flash instead of story.  DC Comics got the message, and its 2016 “Rebirth” initiative was a return to an emphasis on story, even when those stories may be average at best.  At least, DC and its creative teams are working at giving readers substance in story, plot, and character.

Maybe another problem is that many of Marvel's best writers have moved on from Marvel.  Most of the really good comic book writers that wrote for Marvel over the last two decades (Mark Millar and Ed Brubaker, for example) are now in Hollywood, at Amazon or Netflix, or are producing comic books for Image Comics.  Marvel is left with writers like Jason Aaron and Cullen Bunn who are inconsistent, writing comic books that are surprisingly good or woefully average.  And in his bid to make an Avengers comic book act like an Avengers movie, Aaron delivers woeful with Avengers #1 2018.

Marvel is also constantly recycling pencil artist Ed McGuinness, but as usual, his drawing style is pleasing to the eye, although McGuinness' art looks like a chibi slash lolicon version of the art of flaky comic book creator, Arthur Adams.  David Curiel's colors over McGuinness and Mark Morales' (inker) illustrations are gorgeous, though.  Of Avengers #1 2018's creative team, Curiel delivers the best work.

In about a year or so, the sales of Avengers 2018 will be less than half of what Avengers #1 2018 is now.  Who will get the blame, then?  Marvel Comics' editorial policy?  Marvel's recycled creative teams?  Scapegoat “diversity characters?”

This is an Avengers comic book trying to be event entertainment, when being a good comic book is all that is necessary to please most comic book readers.  And no, Avengers #1 is not worth its $4.99 cover price.

4 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: 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.


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

Review: DARTH VADER #1

DARTH VADER No. 1 (2017)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. Visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

STORY: Charles Soule
PENCILS: Giuseppe Camuncoli
INKS: Cam Smith
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Jim Cheung with Matthew Wilson
VARIANT COVERS: John Tyler Christopher; Phil Noto; Mark Brooks; Adi Granov; Skottie Young; David Lopez; Rod Reis
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2017)

Rated T

“The Chosen One” Part I

Of course, you know that The Walt Disney Company owns Marvel Comics, dear readers.  Shortly after acquiring Marvel Entertainment, Disney bought Lucasfilm, Ltd., the owner of all thing Star Wars.  Marvel Comics, the original home of Star Wars comics, is once again publishing Star Wars comics, and this time, these comic book are officially part of the Star Wars canon.

Two years ago, Marvel launched the comic book series, Darth Vader.  Written by Keiron Gillen and drawn by Salvador Larroca, the series was set immediately after the events depicted in the original 1977 film, Star Wars (or Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope).  In this comic book, we watched as Darth Vader was forced to work his way back into Emperor Palpatine good graces because the Emperor held Vader responsible for the destruction of his ultimate weapon, the Death Star, by the Rebel Alliance – as seen Star Wars.

Now, there is a new Darth Vader comic book series.  It is written by Charles Soule; drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils) and Cam Smith (inks); colored by David Curiel; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.  This series is set after the events depicted in the 2005 film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, although some of it recounts events that took place at the end of that film.

Darth Vader #1 opens as Anakin Skywalker awakens as the monster in a suit of cybernetic armor, Darth Vader.  He is filled with pain and rage over the death of his wife, Padmé Amidala.  After Emperor Palpatine brings his new dog, Vader, to heel, he begins the task of making the new Sith Lord prove that he can help him in the task of building and defending a Galactic Empire.  First task: Vader must build a lightsaber worthy of a Sith.

A Star Wars comic book has to be really bad or pretty average to get a grade of less than B+ from me.  I am a decades-long Star Wars fan and get a kick out of reading Star Wars comic books.  I am giving this new Darth Vader #1 a grade of B+, although I don't much care for Giuseppe Camuncoli's art.  This opening chapter is okay, but it does set up the possibility of some really exciting chapters to come.

So, go get this new Darth Vader #1, Star Wars fan.

B+

[This comic book includes the bonus story, “No Good Deed...” by Chris Eliopoulos with Jordie Bellaire.]

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


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

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

Review: KANAN: The Last Padawan #6

KANAN: THE LAST PADAWAN No. 6
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. And visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

WRITER: Greg Weisman
ART: Jacopo Camagni
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Pepe Larraz with David Curiel
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2015)

Rated T

Book 1, Epilogue: The Last Padawan

“Star Wars Rebels” is a 3D CGI animated television series that appears on the Disney XD cable network.  Produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation, “Rebel” is set 14 years after the film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), and five years before the events depicted in the original film, Star Wars (1977).

“Star Wars Rebels” takes place during an era when the Galactic Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and features several new characters.  One of them is the former Jedi, Kanan Jarrus, who has spent years hiding his Force powers and lightsaber.  He is the star of the comic book series, Kanan: The Last Padawan.  The series is written by Greg Weisman (a former executive producer of “Star Wars Rebels”) drawn by Pepe Larraz, colored by David Curiel, and lettered by Joe Caramagna, with covers by Mark Brooks.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #6 leaves the past and opens sometime in the period in which “Star Wars Rebels” takes place.  Kanan Jarrus, the former Jedi Padawan, Caleb Dume, is now part of the motley crew of the freighter starship, “The Ghost.”  This six-person rebel cell is one of many small clusters of rebels fighting the Galactic Empire.  In addition to Kanan, there is the teenaged Ezra Bridger; the Twi'lek, Hera Syndulla; Mandalorian teen artist, Sabine Wren; Lasat honor guard, Zeb Orrelios; and astromech droid, C1-10P (aka “Chopper”).

As the story opens, Kanan returns to the planet, Kaller, where his life as a Jedi-in-training effectively ended.  The crew of the Ghost is on the planet to pick up supplies to help refugees.  However, upon arrival, Kanan and his rebel companions find the supply crates empty.  As they begin a search for these supplies, which they simply must have, Kanan fears that the ghosts of his past are beginning to catch up with his present.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #6 offers a change from the previous issues of the series, which all occurred in a time years before the events depicted in “Rebels.”  Also, Jacopo Camagni draws this issue, while series artist, Pepe Larraz, draws only this issue's cover.  Stylistically, it is not a big change, as the art in Kanan tends to stay close to the design and art direction of “Rebels.”

That is what Kanan: The Last Padawan tries to be – true to the animated series upon which it is based, and it succeeds at that.  Among Marvel's Star Wars comic book series, Kanan is almost the odd man out, as it is distinct, in a number of ways, from the other series.  However, that makes it a good tie-in comic book, giving readers two extra “Star Wars Rebels” stories per year.

I am curious to see where this series goes.  “Star Wars Rebels” has so much potential for delving into the years before the setting of the original Star Wars film trilogy, as well as offering some surprises.  Kanan: The Last Padawan reflects that, so I am in for the long haul.  It is not a great comic book, but it is a very good one.

B+

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: KANAN: The Last Padawan #1

KANAN: THE LAST PADAWAN #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

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

WRITER: Greg Weisman
ART: Pepe Larraz
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Mark Brooks
VARIANT COVERS: Phil Noto, Kilian Plunkett; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Skottie Young
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2015)

Rated T

Book 1, Part 1: The Last Padawan

“Star Wars Rebels” is a recently launched 3D CGI animated television series.  It is produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation and is set in the Star Wars universe, of course.  “Rebels” is set 14 years after the film, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), and five years before the events depicted in the original film, Star Wars (1977).  “Rebels” premiered on October 3, 2014 as a 44-minute, television film, entitled Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion on the Disney Channel.  “Rebels” premiered as a TV series on October 13, 2014 on Disney XD.

“Star Wars Rebels” takes place during an era when the Galactic Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and features several new characters.  One of them is the former Jedi, Kanan Jarrus, who has spent years hiding his Force powers and lightsaber.  The fourth title in Marvel Comics' return to publishing Star Wars comic books returns to the time when Kanan was a Jedi Padawan (apprentice).

Entitled Kanan: The Last Padawan, this new series is written by Greg Weisman, a former executive producer of “Star Wars Rebels,” who also wrote several episodes of the series.  Kanan is drawn by Pepe Larraz, colored by David Curiel, and lettered by Joe Caramagna, with covers by Mark Brooks.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #1 opens 15 years before “Star Wars Rebels.”  Jedi Master Depa Billaba and her Padawan, Caleb Dume, are on the planet Kaller.  Master Billaba leads a contingent of the Grand Army of the Republic against Separatist droids.  The Jedi and the clone troops hope to chase the droids and their leader, General Kleeve, from the planet.  Don't expect the Kallerans to be grateful.  Meanwhile, there is darkness on the horizon.

First, I have to say, “Wow, who is Pepe Larraz?”  What a fantastic artist.  He reminds me of the art team of Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger.  With colorist David Curiel, Larraz captures the mercurial nature of Master Billaba and the wild and inquisitive nature of Caleb Dume.  Larraz's compositions capture the boundless potential of the young Padawan.  I also need to at least mention how good the cover art by Mark Brooks is.

As for the story, I found myself surprisingly intrigued.  I have not read many comic books written by Greg Weisman, but what I have read I've liked.  He makes the relationship between Master and Padawan seem genuine, balancing authority and obedience with camaraderie and patience.  I expected Kanan: The Last Padawan to be the least of the new Star Wars comic books, but Weisman is writing an intriguing story that demands to be read.

I can't wait for the next issue of Kanan: The Last Padawan.  Marvel Comics has delivered another winning Star Wars comic book.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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