#IReadsYou Review: KARNAK #1

KARNAK No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Warren Ellis
ART: Gerardo Zaffino
COLORS: Dan Brown
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
COVER: David Aja
VARIANT COVERS:  Gerardo Zaffino; Jim Cheung with Justin Ponsor; Skottie Young; Eric Powell (Monster variant) Kaare Andrews (Hop Hop variant)
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2015)

Rated T+

Karnak created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“The Flaw in All Things” Part 1

Karnak is a Marvel Comics character that is part of the super-human race known as the Inhumans.  Karnak was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and debuted in Fantastic Four #45 (cover dated: December 1965), the same issue in which the Inhumans first appeared.

Unlike most Inhumans, Karnak was not exposed to the Terrigen Mists.  Because he did not undergo Terrigenesis, he did not develop additional powers like other Inhumans.  A martial artist, Karnak can find the weakness or the flaw in anything (people, ideas, objects, philosophies, structures, and systems).  Using his training and strength, Karnak exploits his talents and can turn a weakness into a weapon.

Marvel Comics is apparently expanding the profile of the Inhumans even more, and that includes launching Inhuman solo titles.  The first one is Karnak, which is written by Warren Ellis; drawn by Gerardo Zaffino; colored by Dan Brown; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.  [Of note:  due to unforeseen circumstances, the art team will change in future issues.]

Karnak #1 (“The Flaw in All Things” Part 1) finds Magister Karnak doing his thing at the Tower of Wisdom.  His thing is interrupted when S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Coulson come calling for his help and whisk him off to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base in the Arctic.

It seems that William and Sarah Roderick have lost their son, Adam.  He recently underwent Terrigenesis and afterwards, was abducted.  The culprit seems to be I.D.I.C. (International Data Integration and Control), an old splinter group of A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics), thought to be defunct. Now, Karnak, the baddest philosopher since I-don't-know-who, will find Adam and I.D.I.C.

Karnak is another intriguing series from the mind of Warren Ellis, one of most the imaginative and inventive writers of North American and British comic books.  When I first heard that there was going to be a Karnak comic book, I was all like “Puh-lease!”  However, once I learned that Ellis would be the writer, I was intrigued.

I read Ellis' Karnak as an amalgamation of a fixer, special operative, troubleshooter, and martial artist.  He is the Inhuman blunt instrument, called in when no one can get the job done.  I wonder if Karnak will be a pop comic, full of kick-ass and action swag, while offering up something new in terms of ideas, plots, and settings.

Surprisingly, I am as impressed with the art of Gerardo Zaffino and Dan Brown as I am with Ellis' story-script-concept.  Zaffino's compositions are representational in a moody and impressionistic way, but the art makes for kinetic storytelling – as if the narrative is always urging forward.  The colors are alluring; they are like candy, and I think Brown's hues were the elements that kept drawing me deeper into this first issue.

I heartily recommend Karnak.  Readers looking for the really different in the All-New, All-Different Marvel will want to buy this first issue, even if it means mail order or digital.

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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#IReadsYou Review: STAR WARS #68

STAR WARS No. 68 (2015)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

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

STORY: Greg Pak
ART: Phil Noto
COLORS: Phil Noto
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Mark Paniccia
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebuski
COVER: Phil Noto
VARIANT COVER: John Tyler Christopher; Kaare Andrews
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2019)

Rated T

Part I: “Rebels and Rogues”

In 2015, Marvel Comics restarted their publication of Star Wars comic books with a brand new Star Wars #1.  I wrote a review of it and went on to review a few more issues of the series, plus the first annual.  Jason Aaron was the new series first writer and wrote issues #1 to 37.  He delivered a number of really good story arcs and several really good stand alone, single-issue stories.

Kieron Gillen replaced Aaron.  Gillen did stellar work on Marvel's initial Darth Vader (2015) title, which was drawn by Salvador Larroca.  In fact, I can make a good case that Gillen and Larroca's Darth Vader was the best of Marvel's new line of Star Wars comic books, and, to this date, still is.  Gillen and Larroca reunited as the new Star Wars creative team with issue #38, and Larroca drew the series until issue #55.  Gillen recently ended his tenure on Star Wars with issue #67.

Star Wars #68 introduces the new creative team of writer Greg Pak and artist-colorist Phil Noto.  Letterer Clayton Clowes completes the creative team.  The first story arc, “Rebels and Rogues,” chronicles the missions that take place just before the 1980 Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back (also known as Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back).

As Star Wars #68 opens, the Rebel Alliance has learned that Darth Vader has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space to find the new rebel base, which will lead him to the young rebel with whom he is obsessed, Luke Skywalker.  Now, the rebel leadership is sending Luke, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and the droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, on a mission, but this is a desperate three-pronged mission of deception that will send these friends in different directions.

First, Luke and R2-D2 must find a way to protect a rebel refueling station in the Inner Rim.  Leia and Han will head to the “Core World” of “Lanz Carpo,” in order to infiltrate the communication center of a Imperial-friendly crime lord.  Finally, Chewbacca and C-3PO head to K43, an uninhabited volcanic world on the edge of “Wild Space.”  Rebel leadership wants to lure as many Imperial Star Destroyers to K43, which, with the use of detonators, Chewie and Threepio will turn into a mini-Death Star.  Two of the three prongs of this mission will encounter surprising interlopers.

This first chapter of “Rebels and Rogues” is intriguing, but only Luke and Artoo's mission really interests me.  I can give Gillen credit for writing a story that feels like classic era or original trilogy Star Wars.  I have mixed feelings about Phil Noto's art.  I liked him as the primary artist on the recent Poe Dameron ongoing series (2016-2018), but I was not that impressed with Noto's art on the Chewbacca miniseries (2015-2016).  Here, his graphic style and graphical storytelling seem perfect for Luke's mission, not so much for Chewbacca's, and even less for Han and Leia's.

But I am a rotting-to-the core “Marvel Zombie” when it comes to Marvel's Star Wars ongoing comic book series, so I will keep reading.  In the case of the new Star Wars comic books, I am not ashamed to be a fanboy.

7 out of 10

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


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

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Review: TONY STARK: IRON MAN #1

TONY STARK: IRON MAN No. 1 (Legacy #601)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Dan Slott
ART: Valerio Schiti
COLORS: Edgar Delgado
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida
COVER: Alexander Lozano
VARIANT COVERS: David Aja; Alex Ross; Kaare Andrews; Adi Granov; Alexander Lozano and Valerio Schiti with Eber Evangelista
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “T+”

Iron Man created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby

Self-Made Man: Part One “What's the Big Idea?”

Iron Man is a Marvel Comics superhero that debuted in Tales of Suspense #39 (cover dated: March 1963).  Iron Man is the alter-ego of Tony Stark, a weapons manufacturer, industrialist, and wealthy, glamorous ladies' man.  After an accident, Stark builds a suit of armor to save his life, and with that armor, Stark becomes “Iron Man.”

In the midst of another restart event, Marvel Comics has launched a new Iron Man comic book.  It is entitled Tony Stark: Iron Man.  It written by Dan Slott; drawn by Valerio Schiti; colored by Edgar Delgado; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

Tony Stark: Iron Man #1 (“What's the Big Idea?”) finds Tony reunited with a former rival, Andy Bhang, whom Tony wants to join the team of geniuses at “Stark Unlimited.”  However, the arrival of the legendary super-beast, Fin Fang Foom, will test Tony smarts, Iron Man's armor and tech, and Bhang's place among the “team Stark genius collection.”

Dan Slott was a writer on The Amazing Spider-Man comic book series beginning in 2008, and he became the series sole writer beginning in 2010.  Surfing the Internet, I often got the feeling that a lot of Spider-Man readers had enough of him; they thought he had been writing Amazing for too long.  After being a regular reader of The Amazing Spider-Man during my childhood, teen years, and young adulthood, I stopped being a regular reader in early 1990s.  I returned for a few years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  I returned again as a regular reader about four years ago.

I like Dan Slott's The Amazing Spider-Man, which feels like classic ASM:  humor, action, cliffhanger thrills, and occasional heartbreaking and poignant stories, but he did recently exit the series after The Amazing Spider-Man #801.  Now, as the lead Iron Man writer, I think he will bring a similar tone to Tony Stark: Iron Man.  I am not crazy about that because I was perfectly happy with Brian Michael Bendis chronicling the adventures of the new Iron Man, Riri Williams/Iron Heart, in Invincible Iron Man and Victor Von Doom as Iron Man in Infamous Iron Man.

Even the artist Tony Stark: Iron Man, Valerio Schiti, reminds me of Stuart Immonen, who drew many issues of Slott's Amazing Spider-Man comic books over the last two years.  Tony Stark: Iron Man is not a bad comic book.  It is well written and well drawn, but I am not sure that I am ready for Dan Slott's “The Amazing Iron Man,” even if it is entitled Tony Stark: Iron Man, the way I was always down for Slott's The Amazing Spider-Man.

6 out of 10

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


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

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Review: IMMORTAL HULK #1

IMMORTAL HULK #1 (Legacy #718)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Al Ewing
PENCILS: Joe Bennett
INKS: Ruy José
COLORS: Paul Mounts
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
COVER: Alex Ross
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida
VARIANT COVERS: Clayton Crain; Kaare Andrews; Sal Buscema; Alfredo Alcala with Eber Evangelista; Dale Keown with Jason Keith
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated T+

Hulk created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee

“Or is He Both”

The Hulk is a Marvel Comics superhero and monster character.  Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, the Hulk first debuted in The Incredible Hulk #1 (cover dated: May 1962).  Hulk comic books have mostly covered two characters.  The first is Dr. Robert Bruce Banner (mostly referred to as “Bruce Banner”), a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved, but brilliant physicist, who is exposed to gamma rays via the explosion of an experimental bomb.  This gamma ray exposure physically transforms Banner into the Hulk, a green-skinned (originally grey-skinned), hulking and muscular humanoid that possesses incredible super-strength.

Marvel Comics recently relaunched (again) its Hulk comic book franchise, and the result is the new series, Immortal Hulk.  It is written by Al Ewing; drawn by Joe Bennett (pencils) and Ruy José (inks); colored by Paul Mounts; and lettered by Cory Petit.

Immortal Hulk #1 (“Or is He Both”) opens somewhere in rural America (the desert southwest?).  Bruce Banner is caught up in a convenience story shooting and ends up dead along with two other people.  The man is dead, but is the monster?  Thomas Edward Hill is about to find out!

I had the pleasure of reading some early Hulk comics via a reprint collection.  I was struck by how much those first four years of Hulk comic books and appearances blended elements of science fiction, sci-fi B-movies, horror fiction, and monster stories.

Writer Al Ewing and artist Joe Bennett have come together to revive the darker elements of the Hulk IP and of the world of The Incredible Hulk.  Immortal Hulk #1 is a fantastic first issue, and it reminds me more of a horror comic book from an independent publisher (say Zenescope Entertainment) than it does a Marvel Comics title.  Bennett's compositions blend with Ruy Jose's intricate and bejeweled inking and  Paul Mounts perfectly-tuned colors to create a moody, brooding horror comic book that seethes and rages to release the power of the monster contained within its covers.

And when the story explodes, the pages can barely contain its star, the Hulk, even the double-page spreads.  I hope Al Ewing has not merely teased us with a debut issue that will ultimately not reflect the overall tone of Immortal Hulk.  I don't mind the Avengers appearing in this series, but I hope it stays dark fantasy/horror, the way Alan Moore's Swamp Thing did even when the Justice League of America appeared in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #24 (cover dated: May 1984).

8.5 out of 10

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


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


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Review: IRON FIST #1

IRON FIST No. 1 (2017)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted at Patreon.]

STORY: Ed Brisson
ART: Mike Perkins
COLORS: Andy Troy
LETTERS: VC's Travis Lanham
COVER: Jeff Dekal
VARIANT COVERS: Mike Perkins with Andy Troy; Alex Ross; Kaare Andrews
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (May 2017)

Rated T+

Iron Fist created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane

Iron Fist a.k.a. Daniel “Danny” Rand is a Marvel Comics superhero.  The character was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane and first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15 (cover dated:  May 1974).  Iron Fist is a practitioner of martial arts, and he wields the mystical force known as “the Iron Fist,” which allows Danny to summon and focus his chi.

Iron Fist has had his own comic book series numerous times, but is best known for his association with the character Luke Cage/Power Man.  The two were stars of the long-running comic book series, Power Man and Iron Fist (which was recently revived).  Now, there is a new solo series, Iron Fist.  It is written by Ed Brisson; drawn by Mike Perkins; colored by Andy Troy; and lettered by Travis Lanham.

As Iron Fist #1 opens, we learn that Danny Rand is in a funk since the destruction of K'un Lun, the mystical city where Danny became the Iron Fist.  Now, Danny travels the world finding fights wherever he can, but these dudes he fights, no matter how skilled they might be, are beneath Danny.  Now, someone is about to call Danny out and offer him a way to find answers.

I think I picked up this Iron Fist #1 because it was (1) a first issue and (2) I like Jeff Dekal's cover art.  However, this is actually a good read.  I am not that crazy about inconsistent Mike Perkins' art, which ranges from good pages to hot mess pages.

There are several fight scenes and sequences in Iron Fist #1, but there is a page-turning quality to the funk writer Ed Brisson depicts in Danny Rand.  By the end of this issue, I really wanted to know, “What's next?”  For a superhero comic book, that's a good mark.

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 reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #4

"With great power..."

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #4
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Sara Pichelli
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Kaare Andrews
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.
Rated T+

As it was revealed previously, the new Ultimate Spider-Man series takes place before the “Death of Spider-Man” storyline that took place in Marvel Comics’ Ultimate line a few months ago. With Ultimate Spider-Man #4 (AKA Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #4), the new series finally catches up with events as Miles Morales witnesses Peter Parker’s final moments.

Like Parker, Miles was bitten (just recently) by a spider and the result is arachnid-like powers. After witnessing the death of hero, Miles can no longer ignore his strange new powers. With the help of his best friend, Ganke, Miles is ready to suit up, even if everyone else isn’t ready for the new (Spider) kid in town.

This fourth issue of the new Ultimate Spider-Man series is a nice change of pace as writer Brian Michael Bendis has Miles deal with things new to him – the responsibility that having powers brings, the how-to of being a superhero, and the difficulty of replacing a legend. So far, Bendis is gradually revealing Miles to us, but he is also delving into the African-American teen, as if Miles were also new to him.

The art by Sara Pichelli features a clean, almost classical line work. It’s the wonky coloring that sometimes distorts that cleanness. Colorist Justin Ponsor over does it on the gradation when he doesn’t have to. There are times when Ponsor wants to suggest light reflected off Miles’ face, and it instead resembles an albino-like skin condition.

A

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

I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #3

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #3
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Sara Pichelli
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Kaare Andrews
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.
Rated T+

In Ultimate Spider-Man #3 (AKA Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #3), Miles Morales has decided to ignore the powers he got after the strange spider bit him, but his best friend Ganke won’t let him. Even after a heroic act, Miles chooses normal because he is happy to let Spider-Man (who is still alive at this point) be Spider-Man. As Miles settles into his new school, Brooklyn Visions Academy, fate deals him a blow.

At this point in the new Ultimate Spider-Man series, writer Brian Michael Bendis is telling a story driven by characters not living or doing the superhero thing. This is a recognizable story: a teen boy wants to go to school and be normal. Circumstances exist, however, which means that regardless of how hard he tries or works, normalcy simply is not. This issue reminds me of the early issues of The Amazing Spider-Man which featured scenes of Peter Parker finding his way in the world in which his powers placed him, but wanting to be just one of the guys.

The clean drawing style of artist Sara Pichelli deftly visualizes Bendis’ character drama-style story in a way that makes it as exciting as a depiction of super powers. Perhaps, that is why the scenes in which Miles uses his powers seem so fresh, new, and exciting. It’s as if both Miles and the readers were seeing superhero supernatural for the first time.

A

I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #2

"Part Two"

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #2
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Sara Pichelli
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Kaare Andrews
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.
Rated T+

The result of the “Death of Spider-Man” Ultimate Comics storyline was that Peter Parker was killed. Miles Morales, a teenager of African-American and Latino heritage, is the new Spider-Man (or Ultimate Spider-Man II).

As Ultimate Spider-Man #2 (AKA Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #2) begins, Miles is testing his new powers, but he needs answers. What is happening to him? Can his pal Ganke help him? Meanwhile, Miles’ father reveals his and his brother’s (Miles’ uncle) troubled past.

Perhaps, I over-praised writer Brian Michael Bendis in my review of the first issue of Ultimate Spider-Man #1, and did so at the expense of artist Sara Pichelli. Bendis is good in this series, but so is Pichelli. First of all, she draws some of the most convincing looking Black people I’ve ever seen in American comic books. Secondly, she is perfect for Bendis’ character-heavy stories with their sometimes exceeding sense verisimilitude and realism.

Pichelli is also a master of drawing facial expressions and subtle gestures. The way she can shift, from panel to panel, the emotion or tone via a look, expression, or gesture from a character is uncanny. During Miles’ conversation with his father, the reader will understand exactly when Miles is shocked, confused, hurt, or when he wants to exclaim, “Say what?!” to his father.

Sara Pichelli is as important as Bendis in making Ultimate Spider-Man one of the top five superhero comic books currently being published (in my estimation, of course).

A

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 includes a backup feature that reprints pages from “A Moment of Silence” and “Heroes,” two of Marvel Comics’ 9/11 publications. These are pin-ups from Sam Keith, Richard Corben, Adam Kubert with Richard Isanove, Michael Avon Oeming, and Tom Raney and Scott Hanna with Hi-Fi

I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1

"Everybody's talking 'bout the new kid in town"

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Sara Pichelli
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Kaare Andrews (Variant covers by Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

I don’t read many titles from Marvel Comics, and it has been that way for the past seven years, at least. During the last decade, I’ve occasionally read titles from Marvel’s Ultimate line and, for the most part, enjoyed them. However, I had ignored the “Death of Spider-Man” Ultimate storyline which ran through most of this year. Peter Parker was killed, and Miles Morales, a teenager of African-American and Latino descent, is the new Spider-Man (or Ultimate Spider-Man II).

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (AKA Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1) begins 11 months prior to the main story and is set at an Osborn Industries laboratory on Long Island. Norman Osborn is demanding that his latest hire, Doctor Markus, reverse calculate the specifications of a genetically altered spider. What spider? That would be the spider that bit Peter Parker and gave him his special powers; the spider’s genetic alterations were the result of Osborn Industries.

Eleven months later, Miles Morales and his parents are attending a lottery that will decide which Brooklyn, New York students get to attend the charter school, Brooklyn Visions Academy. Miles’ life, however, is about to take an even bigger turn because young Mr. Morales has a date with a special spider.

A few years ago, I started reading back issues of Static, one of the titles published by the comics publishing wing of Milestone Media, a company dedicated to bringing diversity in terms of race and ethnicity to comic book superheroes. Reading those early issues of Static, I was struck by how much they reminded me of the early issues of The Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Now, I’m struck by how much this Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man reads like an early issue of Static. Spider-Man writer Brian Michael Bendis has adapted, updated, and reworked the stories of many of the Spider-Man comic book writers that came before him, notably Lee and Ditko. Now, it seems as if he has taken the fresh style and urban tone of Static writers, the late Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington, III, and fashioned that for Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man. I kid you not; this Spider-Man comic book is an early issue of Static.

I don’t have a problem with that because (1) this is a good opening issue and (2) the story looks, reads, and feels right for a contemporary story of superhero fantasy in which the star is a person of color. This is an auspicious beginning, and I hope Miles Morales welcomes in new readers the way Peter Parker did 50 years ago.

A

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1 includes a backup feature that reprints pages from “A Moment of Silence” and “Heroes,” two of Marvel Comics’ 9/11 publications: Bill Jemas (story), Mark Bagley (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Hi-Fi (colors), Sharpefont’s PT (letters); and Joe Quesada and Alex Ross (cover illustration)

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux