Review: THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE #1

THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Neil Gaiman
WRITERS: Simon “Si” Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, and Dan Watters
ART: Bilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara
COLORS: Mat Lopes
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EDITOR: Molly Mahan
COVER: Jae Lee with June Chung
VARIANT COVERS: Dave McKean; Jill Thompson; Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair; Sam Keith; P. Craig Russell with Lovern Kindzierski; David Mack
48pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (October 2018)

“Suggested for Mature Readers”

The Sandman created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg

The Sandman is a DC Comics comic book series created by writer Neil Gaiman and artists Sam Keith and Mike Dringenberg.  Published by DC Comics from 1989 to 1996, The Sandman ran for 75 issues, and tells the story of “Dream” of “The Endless.”  Also named Morpheus (as well as other names), Dream rules over the world of dreams.

DC Comics announced earlier this year an expansion and quasi sequel to The Sandman, “The Sandman Universe.”  This will be a line of four comic books that will launch in September and October of 2018.  The release dates are timed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sandman #1, which was covered dated January 1989, but released to comic book stores in October 1988.  It will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Vertigo imprint.

The Sandman Universe titles are a mixture of new and revived titles.  The first is The Dreaming (Sept. 5th), written by Simon “Si” Spurrier and drawn by Bilquis Evely.  The second is House of Whispers (Sept. 12), written by Nalo Hopkinson and drawn by Dominike “Domo” Stanton.  The third is Lucifer (October 17), written by Dan Watters and drawn by Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara.  The fourth is Books of Magic (Oct. 24), written by Kat Howard and drawn by Tom Fowler.

These four titles are previewed in the stand-alone anthology comic book, The Sandman Universe #1.  Neil Gaiman provides the story for this single-issue comic book.  Simon Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, and Dan Watters write the scripts for previews of the respective titles they are writing.  Bilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, and Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara draw the art for the previews of the respective series they are drawing.  The Sandman Universe #1 is colored by Mat Lopes and lettered by Simon Bowland.

In The Sandman Universe #1, the denizens of The Dreaming discover that their master, the Lord of Dreams, is missing.  Now, Matthew the raven must traverse the realms and dreams of four characters:  Dora, Timothy Hunter, Erzulie (a voodoo deity), and Lucifer Morningstar (trapped in the body of an old man) to find Dream.  But does he want to be found?  What if he quit being Dream?

I enjoyed The Sandman Universe #1, but I would not call it an exceptional comic book.  It is a particularly well-produced preview comic book.  The best art, by far, in The Sandman Universe #1 is the work of Bilquis Evely, who is drawing The Dreaming, so I am putting this title on my reading list.

I want to try House of Whispers because I try to support Black writers of speculative and fantasy fiction, and the Jamaican-born, Canadian Hopkinson is a writer of color.  The House of Whispers preview in The Sandman Universe #1 is interesting and is the only truly unique offering in this comic book.  However, I must say that it did not quite connect with me the way I thought it would because of its various elements and ideas.

The Books of Magic preview did pique my interest; for obvious reasons, this is the closest thing to a Harry Potter comic book we likely will ever have.  I found the Lucifer preview to be a chore to read, taxing my patience for most of its six pages.

The Dreaming is both The Sandman Universe #1's framing sequence and the subject of a preview, which is good.  As I just wrote, Bilquis Evely's art is beautiful, and Evely's talent really shows on the killer last page she produces for this story.  As a preview of a line of comic books, The Sandman Universe #1 is as effective as it can be, but most of the effort is really up to the creative teams of the individual titles in the line.  I recommend this to readers interested in “The Sandman Universe” titles, but I doubt longtime fans of The Sandman comic book series will get much out of it.

7.5 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 syndication rights and fees.

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Review: NIGHTWING The New Order #1

NIGHTWING: THE NEW ORDER No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Kyle Higgins
ARTIST: Trevor McCarthy
COLORS: Dean White
LETTERS: Clayton Cowles
COVER: Trevor McCarthy
VARIANT COVER: Paul Pope with with Lovern Kindzierski
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2017)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger; Nightwing created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez

Chapter One

DC Comics character, Dick Grayson, first appeared as Batman's kid sidekick, Robin, in Detective Comics #38 (cover dated: April 1940).  Decades later, writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez transformed Grayson from Robin into the adult character, Nightwing, first appearing in Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (cover dated: July 1984).

Nightwing has been appearing in his own comic books since a 1995 one-shot and miniseries and an ongoing series that began in 1996.  A new Nightwing six-issue comic book miniseries, entitled by Nightwing: The New Order, looks at the future of the character.  It is written by Kyle Higgins; drawn by Trevor McCarthy; colored by Dean White; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.

Nightwing: The New Order #1 opens in Gotham City in the year 2040.  Dick Grayson is the leader of a government task force called “the Crusaders,” which hunts people with superpowers.  Since the year 2028, superpowers have been eliminated and outlawed.  However, Grayson is about to face the Crusaders' wrath, the same way he has directed it at so many others.

The allure of Nightwing: The New Order for me is that it features Nightwing, my favorite Robin.  It is kind of thrilling to see that he has evolved into the kind of authoritarian monster that it is plausible to believe Batman would become.  Irony is not dead, and the direction of the series is telegraphed early in the series.  I think Nightwing: The New Order could end up being dark and tragic, or writer Kyle Higgins could surprise us.  I hope he surprises us.

The art by Trevor McCarthy shows flourishes here and there, some nice page design, stylish figure drawing, and solid composition, although that is somewhat crowded.  That makes the storytelling a bit tight, and this story seems to need to explode, which it may do later.

Still, I think that Nightwing: The New Order is a Batman-related title to watch.  It has potential, and does not seem like cynical sales exploitation.

7 out of 10

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


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

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Review: THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE #4

THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE No. 4 (OF 12)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: James Tynion IV
ART: Carlos D'Anda
COLORS: Gabe Eltaeb
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Paul Pope with Lovern Kindzierski
VARIANT COVER: Carlos D'Anda
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2017)

Rated “T” for Teen

Kamandi created by Jack Kirby

“The Wild Wondrous West”

Created by Jack Kirby, Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth was a comic book series published by DC Comics in the 1970s.  Running from 1972 to 1978, the series starred Kamandi, a teenaged boy in a post-apocalyptic future.  In this time, humans have been reduced back to savagery in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals.

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth #1 (cover dated: October 1972) opens some time after a huge event called “The Great Disaster,” which wiped out human civilization.  In “Earth A.D.” (After Disaster), many animals have become humanoid, bipedal, and sentient, and also possess the power of speech. These newly intelligent animal species have equipped themselves with weapons and technology salvaged from the ruins of human civilization and are constantly at war in a struggle for territory.

The world of Kamandi returns in the DC Comics miniseries, The Kamandi Challenge, bringing together 14 teams of writers and artists.  Each issue will end with an cliffhanger.  The next creative team will resolve that cliffhanger left behind by the previous creative team, before creating their own story and cliffhanger, which the next creative team after them will have to resolve... and so on.  The fourth issue of The Kamandi Challenge is written by James Tynion IV; drawn by Carlos D'Anda; colored by Gabe Eltaeb; and lettered by Clem Robins.

The Kamandi Challenge #4 (“The Wild Wonderous West”) finds Kamandi and his friend Vila in the clutches of the Jaguar Sun Cult.  The cult members are feeding the pair to the cult's god, “The Great Jaguar,” which is several stories tall.  If they escape this fire, waiting for them is the Kanga Rat Murder Society in the mad, mad, mad Outback.

“The Wild Wondrous West” follows the cliffhanger that ended issue #3's “Bug in Your Ear.”  The Kamandi Challenge #3 packed more punch than the second issue.  However, The Kamandi Challenge #4 lacks the freewheeling fun of the third issue.  After reading the second issue, I suspected that this series could end up being hit and miss, simply because each new issue presented a new creative team, itself presented with the challenge of picking up some other team's story.

I am generally a fan of comic book writer James Tynion IV, especially his work on Batman titles, but I find “The Wild Wondrous West” to be little more than rehashed ideas from the original Planet of the Apes films series.  Artist Carlos D'Anda's work here is more style than storytelling, and Gabe Eltaeb's garish coloring is static in the line of communication between the reader and the story.  I will admit that I do like the last few pages of this story, because this is where the creative team seems to start to sparkle, so I look forward to where this cliffhanger ends up.

Its is not easy for The Kamandi Challenge creative teams in this series to come close to Jack Kirby's original vision of this concept.  The Kamandi Challenge #4 exemplifies that.

[Afterword by Jimmy Palmiotti]

6.5 out of 10

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


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

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Review: AMERICAN GODS #1

AMERICAN GODS No. 1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Neil Gaiman
SCRIPT: P. Craig Russell
LAYOUTS: P. Craig Russell
ART: Scott Hampton; P. Craig Russell
COLORS: Scott Hampton; P. Craig Russell
LETTERS: Rick Parker; Lovern Kindzierski
COVER: Glenn Fabry
VARIANT COVERS: David Mack; Dave McKean
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2017)

American Gods is a 2001 novel from author Neil Gaiman.  The novel won several fantasy-literary awards and is currently the subject of a television adaptation by Starz Media.  This fantasy novel blends ancient and modern mythology with Americana to tell the tale a man caught in a war between the gods of the Old World and the new American gods.

American Gods is also a comic book thanks to an adaptation by frequent Gaiman collaborator, P. Craig Russell.  Russell wrote the script adaptation of Gaiman's novel and provided the layouts for the art.  American Gods the comic book is drawn and colored by Scott Hampton and lettered by Rick Parker.  The first issue of American Gods also includes a four-page back story that is an adaptation of particular sequence (involving the succubus, Bilquis) from American Gods that is written, drawn, and colored by Russell and lettered by Lovern Kindzierski.

American Gods #1 opens in an unnamed prison where we meet the protagonist, Shadow Moon.  Shadow is in the third year of his six-year prison sentence and is nearing parole.  Being so close to getting out of prison has made Shadow anxious, and he feels that something bad is coming towards him.  Everyday he thinks of returning to Eagle Point, Indiana and his wife, Laura.  However, the world of the supernatural is what actually awaits Shadow... and a man calling himself Mr. Wednesday.

I did not read American Gods upon its original release in 2001, but five years ago, I did read the tenth anniversary edition which featured a longer text – the author's preferred edition.  I loved it; well, I don't think “love” is a strong enough word.  I consider that edition of American Gods to be life-changing in terms of my life as a writer.

I was happy to hear that Dark Horse Comics would be publishing a comic book adaptation, because I believed that, as they have always done, the people of Dark Horse take their comic book adaptations of other media seriously (Alien, Predator, and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to name a few).  They always seem determined to produce something of high quality, and I knew they would not want to fuck up Neil Gaiman's storytelling.

So far, I like P. Craig Russell and Scott Hampton's American Gods because it feels true to Neil Gaiman's storytelling and text.  The only thing that I don't like is waiting a month for the next issue.  It's that simple:  Russell and Hampton done good.  Plus, I have to say I wondered if anyone could visualize the part of the novel in which Gaiman introduces Bilquis, and Russell, one of the great visualists in the history of comic books, pulls that off.  [By the way, David Mack's variant cover for the first issue is also quite visually striking.]

So set aside your four bucks for each issue.  We have in American Gods a comics adaptation of a novel that may end up being on the short list of great comic book adaptations of a prose novel.

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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Review: SHAME: Pursuit

SHAME: PURSUIT – BOOK 2 (OF 3)
RENEGADE ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

WRITER: Lovern Kindzierski – @Lovern
ARTIST: John Bolton
LETTERS/COVER DESIGN: Todd Klein
ISBN: 978-0-9868200-5-2; paperback (April 24, 2013)
64pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.

With his cousin Chris Chuckry, Lovern Kindzierski founded Digital Chameleon. The company revolutionized the art of creating comics by making Photoshop and computer coloring the industry standards. Kindzierski also writes comic books. His latest project is Shame, a series of three graphic novels that he writes and John Bolton draws and paints. Published by Renegade Arts Entertainment, the first book, Shame: Conception, was released in 2011. The second book, Shame: Pursuit, was recently published.

Shame is set in the Middle Ages, described as the infancy of humanity’s spiritual development. The series focuses on two witches, Shame and Virtue. Shame is Virtue’s mother and daughter, and Virtue is Shame’s mother and daughter – as far as I can tell. Their father is Slur, the willowy and physically shifting demon of ignorance. Shame imprisoned Virtue in Cradle Mound, a jail made of thorny vines and guarded by flesh-eating plants, monstrous birds, and Harpy-like nannies.

Shame: Pursuit finds Shame waging war on the world, destroying her rivals who are magic users and killing anyone else who gets in her way. Slur is always nearby to encourage Shame or prick her nerves. Meanwhile, Virtue comes closer to breaking free of Cradle Mound, but she will need help. That comes in the form of Merritt, a brave young warrior who is not quite like other warriors.

It is like nothing I’ve read in quite a while. Shame: Pursuit is a doozy, and I had a difficult time figuring out what was going on because I had not read the first book, Conception. I didn’t even know that this series existed until Renegade Arts Entertainment sent me a copy of Pursuit for review, although I think I had heard of Renegade Arts before I received the book.

I find the characters to be quite attractive and engaging, especially the lovable Merritt. Everyone, except Merritt, seems to be so devious and deceptive. Also, the story is weird, like a Ralph Bakshi animated fantasy film.

I really like the art for Shame by comic book artist and painter John Bolton, whose work I’ve admired for ages. There is a dreamy quality to his art that is ideal for fantasy storytelling. Bolton has been one of the few artists whose paintings for comic books are as effective as comic book art drawn traditionally with pencils and with pens and brushes for inking.

Bolton paints Virtue with a photorealistic touch, giving her the qualities like that of a model who walks the runway for the biggest shows and gets the all the magazine covers. What Bolton does with Merritt’s facial features, physique, and clothes is uncannily, eerily natural and genuinely human. I say witchcraft is involved in this man’s art.

Strange as Shame: Pursuit is, I want to find the first book, and I would like to read the final book.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: THE JUDAS COIN graphic novel

THE JUDAS COIN
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER/ARTIST: Walter Simonson
COLORS: Lovern Kindzierski
LETTERS: John Workman
COVER: Walter Simonson with Lovern Kindzierski
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1541-5; hardcover
96pp, Color, $22.99 U.S., $26.99 CAN

Writer/artist Walter Simonson is an acclaimed comic book creator who has been producing work for 40 years. He is a revered figure in the comic book industry, especially for his work on The Mighty Thor and Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics. For DC Comics, he produced comics published in Detective Comics and took on Jack Kirby’s creations in the comic book series, Orion.

Published by DC Comics, The Judas Coin is a new original graphic novel from Walter Simonson. The Judas Coin is basically an anthology of six short stories featuring various DC Comics characters – all heroes, except for one villain who is essentially a co-lead. Each character belongs to specific time period in the DC Universe – from the first century A.D. to the late 21st century. The Judas Coin follows one of the silver coins that Judas was paid to betray Jesus Christ, and along the journey, the coin leaves a trail of betrayal and deception and a pile of dead bodies.

After beginning with Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ crucifixion, The Judas Coin stops in 73 A.D. for the story “Blood Peace.” Marcus of Rome (also known as the Golden Gladiator) accompanies the Emperor of Rome into the forests of Germania for a meeting that turns out to be a setup for assassination. The coin next appears in 1000 A.D. for the story “Black Blade; Silver Heart.” Jon Rikkson, who is The Viking Prince, and his men sail for the Mediterranean, but they detour into a strange land where the Green Man and his tree-worshipping zealots offer death.

1720 A.D. is the setting for the story “Mutiny,” starring Captain Fear, scourge of the Spanish Main. After his first mate, Bull, mutinies, the most daring and ruthless buccaneer must use his wiles to regain his ship before the sea or the Spaniards claim his life. “Ill-Gotten Gains” is set in 1881 A.D., and finds Bat Lash in the boomtown of Tombstone in the Arizona Territory. Lash has decided to out-play a group of card sharks, but when they catch him, they want to play by the rules, which could mean Lash’s neck.

The cursed coin of Judas moves to the Present Day for “Heads or Tails,” a story in black and white. Two-Face decides to relieve the Gotham Museum of a group of rare coins that it is exhibiting, but he’s not the only crook in town looking to score some ancient money. Can Batman stop them or will he just be caught in the middle, watching an ancient curse play out? Finally, the coin makes a stop in 2087 A.D. for the Manhunter 2070 tale, “An Epilog-2087.” Answering the distress call of a vessel carrying rare coins, Starker the bounty hunter (also known as Manhunter) rides his star-ship deep into space. There, he finds some old playmates who once left him for dead.

Apparently, The Judas Coin began as an idea Walter Simonson had for a graphic novel. In fact, the only reason for The Judas Coin to exist is to give comic book readers something we need on a regular basis – Walter Simonson comics, and that’s a damn good thing. The Judas Coin won’t do much to elucidate and to advance the continuity that is the DC Universe. The body of work that is DC Comics has been created by an inestimable number of writers, artists, editors, and publishers, all with different ideas and many looking to rework the ideas of others.

Walter Simonson and his cohorts, superb colorist Lovern Kindzierski and the great letterer John Workman, take characters and ideas from the DC Comics wellspring and work wonder. The Judas Coin is that thing that makes comic books so alluring, and it’s not continuity. It’s fantastic storytelling that holds the imagination captive.

Simonson gives each story its own style and language – allowing the story to capture the essence of the genre to which it belongs. The Bat Lash tale is a sparkling Western with comic flourishes, like an episode of the old Bat Masterson television series. “The Mutiny” with Captain Fear is an old-school pirate comic book story. The Manhunter 2070 has the comic vibe of Berni Wrightson’s Captain Sternn, and almost seems like it was a segment of the animated film, Heavy Metal.

While I find this entire book to be exceptional, my favorite is the Batman/Two-Face story (“Heads or Tails”). Here, Simonson’s art is in beautiful black and white and is printed in the landscape format, so you have to turn the book sideways to read it. “Heads or Tails” looks like a newspaper comic strip; in fact, the graphic design for this story makes it look like it is part of an actual newspaper. [Readers may notice that Simonson’s art for “Heads or Tails” has a resemblance to the work of Howard Chaykin.]

Wow! The Judas Coin is so good it made me ramble. This is one of the best comics of the year by one of the best, Walter Simonson.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The New 52 Review: MISTER TERRIFIC #1

MISTER TERRIFIC #1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Eric Wallace
PENCILS: Gianluca Gugliotta
INKS: Wayne Faucher
COLORS: Mike Atiyeh
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
COVER: J.G. Jones with Lovern Kindzierski
32pp, Color, $2.99

Mister Terrific was a Golden Age comic book character that first appeared in Sensation Comics #1 (cover date January 1942). Created by Charles Resizenstein and Hal Sharpe, he was a superhero who mastered martial arts, had a photographic memory, and was an Olympic-level athlete, as well as being a self-made millionaire.

In Spectre #54 (Vol. 3, cover dated June 1997), a young African-American male character, Michael Holt, who has a talent for learning, became the new Mister Terrific. Holt has an Olympic gold medal, owns Holt Industries, and is the third smartest man on the planet.

Mister Terrific #1 (“Software Update”) opens to find the titular character in London, England taking on a rival tech CEO and his biomechanical battle armor. After some internal exposition gives us some background on Mr. Terrific, strange things begin to happen. An ordinary guy gains the intelligence of someone extraordinary. Why is this happening and to whom will it happen next?

I see Mister Terrific as a blend of elements from Batman, Blue Beetle, and Iron Man, which all began as comics about rich playboy-types who became costumed adventurers and then superheroes. A more recent comparison is Hardware of Milestone Media, a smart black guy superhero, and I’d say that reading this first issue of Mister Terrific reminds me of reading a Milestone comic book.

Mister Terrific may go the way of Milestone Comics. One of the stores where I occasionally shop still had several copies (although I don’t know what they began with), and this first issue is NOT of such overwhelming high-quality that readers will be demanding that it stick around, as they would for a more high profile title. Mister Terrific is not at all bad; it’s just a little above average, which can be lethal for a comic book in a tight economy. The ending is interesting enough to make me come back, though, and I am curious to see where writer Eric Wallace takes this series.

B

September 14th
BATMAN AND ROBIN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batman-and-robin-1.html
BATWOMAN #1 2.99
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batwoman-1.html
DEMON KNIGHTS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/demon-knights-1.html
FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/frankenstein-agent-of-shade-1.html
GREEN LANTERN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/green-lantern-1.html
LEGION LOST #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/legion-lost-1.html
RED LANTERNS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/red-lanterns-1.html
SUPERBOY #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/superboy-1.html

The New 52 Review: ANIMAL MAN #1

ANIMAL MAN #1
DC COMICS

STORY: Jeff Lemire
PENCILS: Travel Foreman
INKS: Travel Foreman, Dan Green
COLORS: Lovern Kindzierski
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
COVER: Travel Foreman with Lovern Kindzierski
32pp, Color, $2.99

Animal Man is a DC Comics superhero character. Created by writer Dave Wood and artist Carmine Infantino, Bernhard “Buddy” Baker had the power to borrow the abilities of animals (like a bird’s ability to fly). Baker first appeared in Strange Adventures #180 (cover dated September 1965), and first appeared as Animal Man in Strange Adventures #190.

Animal Man starred in a comic book that ran for 89 issues from 1988 to 1995. The best known lot of that series was a 26-issue run written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Chas Truog. With DC Comics’ revamp of its superhero comics line, “The New 52,” Animal Man once again has his own comic book series, this written by Jeff Lemire and penciled by Travel Foreman.

As Animal Man #1 begins (The Hunt, Part One: “Warning from the Red”), Buddy is reading an interview he gave to a newspaper. He believes that his being an actor and also an animal rights activist and spokesman has been part of the natural progression of his life. Buddy is starting to miss being a superhero when he gets a chance to save the day in a horrible hostage situation. Being Animal Man again, however, leads to a strange situation with his daughter, a trip into The Red, and a meeting with his new adversaries.

I am an admirer of cartoonist Jeff Lemire’s work, in particular the Essex County Trilogy. Still, I had my doubts about him writing a superhero comic book, which Lemire blasted to bits. This new Animal Man is off to an exceptionally good start, mostly because it is so different. In the tradition of past Animal Man writers: Morrison, Peter Milligan, Tom Veitch, and Jamie Delano, Lemire uses the uniqueness of Animal Man’s power to explore themes and ideas not often explored in comic books (if at all).

I don’t want to spoil the goodness for you, dear readers, but Lemire borrows “the Red,” created by Jamie Delano during his Animal Man tenure. As off-the-wall as this comic book seems during its first half, the second half just blew up in my face. You can watch Lemire and Foreman coming together as a creative force with a unique vision and with a distinctive voice with which to proclaim that vision. I can’t wait for the second issue.

Artist Travel Foreman – I mean this honestly – is just taking superhero comics to someplace different. This is evident in the way Foreman executes a graphic narrative and in the way he designs and composes the art for a superhero comic book. Yes, I can’t wait for the second issue.

Note to self: stop babbling; just enjoy.

A

August 31st
FLASHPOINT #5
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/flashpoint-5.html
JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/justice-league-1.html

September 7th
ACTION COMICS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/action-comics-1.html
BATGIRL #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batgirl-1.html
BATWING #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batwing-1.html
DETECTIVE COMICS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/detective-comics-1-2011.html
HAWK AND DOVE #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/hawk-dove-1.html
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/justice-league-international-1.html
MEN OF WAR #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/men-of-war-1.html
STATIC SHOCK #1 2.99
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/static-shock-1.html
STORMWATCH #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/stormwatch-1.html