#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #3

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #3 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: Dean White

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Matt Murray

COVER: Doug Braithwaite

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Patrick Zircher; Max Von Fafner; Roberto de la Torre; Doug Braithwaite

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Bound in Black Stone” Part III: “The Fortress”

Conan the Cimmerian was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932).  In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books via the title, Conan the Barbarian. With only a few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for the better part of five decades.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they start with a new Conan the Barbarian series.  It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by José Villarrubia; and lettered by Richard Starkings.  The new series finds Conan returned to his homeland of Cimmeria just when it faces a terrible new threat.

Conan the Barbarian #3 (“The Fortress”) opens as Conan and Brissa of the Pictish Gurian Tribe enter the citadel of black stone that has risen from the frosty ground of Cimmeria.  They are following figures swathed in hooded robes that are seemingly the escorts of the band of undead Picts known as “Tribe of the Lost.”

Along the way, Conan and Brissa discover a band of Cimmerians imprisoned in a rock-hewn cell.  Now, joined by a trio of Cimmerian warriors:  Hydallan, Mago, and Tormey, Conan makes his move on a skull-clad priest and the source of the undead plague.

THE LOWDOWN:  Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now.  Conan the Barbarian #3 is the latest.

As I said in my review of the first two issues of this series, Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' revival of the Conan the Barbarian comic book series is definitely edgier than Marvel Comics' 2019 revival.  Writer Jim Zub has recalled the ass-thumpin, p***y-pounding, blood-splattering pulp storytelling that recalls Roy Thomas.  The spirit of Conan's eccentric (perhaps, mad) creator, Robert E. Howard in every word of Zub's scripts.

I'm trying to find the words to describe the storytelling of artist Roberto de la Torre.  He brings Zub's script to comic book life with fire, black magic, and mountain-leveling thunder.  De la Torre's art feels like a true inheritor to the comic book master of Conan, the late John Buscema (1927-2002).  Dean White brings out the magic in de la Torre art, while Richard Starkings' lettering gives it the thunderous soundtrack that doesn't quit.

Whew! Time for a cigarette.  Seriously, dear readers, if you love Conan comic books, you will hate yourself for denying yourself this new Conan the Barbarian.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of” Part Three, by Jeffrey Shanks.]

A+

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

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

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The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #2

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #2 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: Dean White

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Matt Murray

COVER: Alan Quah

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Roberto de la Torre; Gerardo Zaffino; E.M. Gist, Dan Parent

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Bound in Black Stone” Part II: “Homeland!”

Conan the Cimmerian was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932).  In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books via the title, Conan the Barbarian. With only a few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for the better part of five decades.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they start with a new Conan the Barbarian series.  It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by José Villarrubia; and lettered by Richard Starkings.  The new series finds Conan returned to his homeland of Cimmeria just when it faces a terrible new threat.

As Conan the Barbarian #2 (“Homeland!”) opens, Conan and Brissa of the Pictish Gurian Tribe watch from the shadows as what is left of “Hauler's Roam,” an outpost in Northern Aquilonia, is destroyed by the “Army of the Lost.”  Also known as the “Tribe of the Lost,” this band of undead Picts has unleashed other-worldly carnage … and Conan's homeland, Cimmeria, is next.

It may be too late to save Cimmeria, but Conan will try, and what he cannot save, he will brutally avenge.  However, Conan and Brissa may not be prepared to face the true darkness behind the Army of the Lost when it finally begins to reveal itself.

THE LOWDOWN:  Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now.  Conan the Barbarian #2 is the latest.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' revival of the Conan the Barbarian comic book series is definitely edgier than Marvel Comics' 2019 revival.  I did not find the latter worth the cover price, although the stories were mildly amusing.  On the other hand, Titan and Heroic's revival leaves me stunned.  In Conan the Barbarian #2, writer Jim Zub has composed the best-written Conan comic book that I have read in probably a decade.  This Conan has ripped my bodice in a way not done since Tim Truman, Tómas Giorello, José Villarrubia, and Richard Starkings were putting it down hard on their comic book adaptation of Robert E. Howard's sole Conan novel, Hour of the Dragon, a decade ago.

Zub's script reads like a Conan novel, full of intimate details and pulpy, two-fisted action-adventure.  Boots are knocked, and heads are lopped off; still, the story has depth beyond the obvious thrills.

The art and storytelling by artist Roberto de la Torre brings Zub's script to comic book life with fire and black magic.  De la Torre's art here resembles of mix of the late John Buscema's Conan the Barbarian comic books and the late Joe Kubert's Tor comics.  At this rate, de la Torre will soon be in the pantheon of great Conan comic book artists and storytellers right next to Buscema, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Tómas Giorello, to name a few.  With the lovely colors of Dean White and the hoary lettering of Richard Starkings, this new Conan is visually and graphically savage.

I like Conan enough to have watched three Conan films:  Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984), and Conan the Barbarian (2011), many times.  So I won't lose interest in this new Conan the Barbarian comic book, and I will keep singing its praises.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of,” by Jeffrey Shanks.]

A+

10 out of 10

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

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: José Villarrubia

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Phoebe Hedges

COVER: Dan Panosian

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Roberto de la Torre; Artgerm; Patch Zircher; Mike Mignola; E.M. Gist, Dan Panosian; Jae Lee; Colleen Doran; Chris Jones; Dave Wilkins; Mark Schultz; Junggeon Yoon; Ian Nicholls; Eric Ray; Jay Anacleto; Chris Ehnot

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Bound in Black Stone” Part I: “Scourge of the Dead”

Conan the Cimmerian was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932).  In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books via the title, Conan the Barbarian. With only a few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for the better part of five decades.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they start with a new Conan the Barbarian series.  It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by José Villarrubia; and lettered by Richard Starkings.  The new series finds Conan returned to his homeland of Cimmeria just when it faces a terrible new threat.

Conan the Barbarian #1 (“Scourge of the Dead”) opens in Northern Aquilonia, specifically at the outpost known as “Hauler's Roam.”  Recently arrived, Conan the Cimmerian is the closest that he has been to his homeland of Cimmeria in eight years.  But first, he must extricate himself from “the Bleeders,” the band of mercenaries of which he has been a part.

A weary Conan has returned to his homeland to seek rest and solitude, but a mysterious scout, Brissa, rides into Haurler's Roam” with a warning of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness.  Will Conan and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?

THE LOWDOWN:  Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now.  Their debut Conan title, Conan the Barbarian #1, is the latest.

When Marvel Comics resumed publishing Conan the Barbarian comic books in 2019 – for the first time since the late 1990s – I was somewhat exited.  I read a few issue, and while they did recall some of the best of classic Marvel Conan for me, I saw no reason to keep reading past the first six months of the revival.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' debut Conan the Barbarian #1 seems a bit edgier than Marvel Comics' 2019 Conan the Barbarian... at least, in hindsight to me.  Part of it may be that writer Jim Zub's introductory story fits itself in with some of the literary Conan chronologies.  For instance, “Scourge of the Dead” references the “Sack of Venarium,” also known as the “Battle of Venarium,” which is depicted in the 2003 Conan novel, Conan of Venarium, written by Harry Turtledove.

Conan is apparently 14 or 15 at the time of the battle, but Zub may be setting his age at 16.  Eight years later, this story, “Scourge of the Dead” begins, and Zub references Conan's “twenty-four summers.”  In an interview, Zub said that this story takes place after the original Robert E. Howard Conan short story, “The Frost-Giant's Daughter.”  In some Conan chronologies, Conan is almost 30 at this point.

That said, by firmly planting Conan in a literary tradition, Zub makes this story feel like something substantial in the catalog of Conan fiction and storytelling.  This is something more than just another licensed comic book tie-in.  Also, having Conan face a seemingly unstoppable horde of ravenous killers also gives the story a kick.

The art and storytelling by artist Roberto de la Torre is what really sells Zub's script.  De la Torre's art here resembles of mix of the late John Buscema's Conan the Barbarian comic books and the late Joe Kubert's Tor comics.  De la Torre makes me feel the blood, violence, and the heat of bone-breaking, and he creates a sense of foreboding and then, terror when the horde strikes.

The art looks even more gorgeous under the colors of José Villarubia, one of the best and most skilled comic book colorists working in American comic books over the last three decades.  Richard Starkings' lettering is the cherry on top of this excellent graphics package.

Will I lose interest in this new series?  There is a good chance that I will, eventually, but I may stick around for longer than I did with the Marvel relaunch.  This new series is not standard Conan the Barbarian, and I like Conan enough to have watched three Conan films:  Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984), and Conan the Barbarian (2011), many times.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of,” by Jeffrey Shanks.]

A

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

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: BATTLE CHASERS ANTHOLOGY

BATTLE CHASERS ANTHOLOGY

IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Joe Madureira and Munier Sharrieff

PENCILS: Joe Madureira; Adam Warren

INKS: Tom McWeeney with Joe Madureira; Adam Warren

COLORS: Liquid!; Christian Lightner; Aron Lusen; Ryan Kinnaird

LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft

COVER: Joe Madureira with Grace Liu

ISBN:  978-1-5343-1522-8; paperback (September 25, 2019)

32pp, Colors, 24.99 U.S.

Rated “T/ Teen”

Battle Chasers created by Joe Madureira

Battle Chasers is an American fantasy comic book series created by artist Joe Madureira.  Launched in April 1998, the series was sporadically published for nine issues over a period of a little over three years.  Battle Chasers #1 to #4 (cover dated: April to October 1998) were published by Image Comics' studio, Wildstorm Productions, via its “Cliffhanger” imprint.  Issues #5 to 8 (cover dated: May 1999 to 2001) were published by DC Comics via Wildstorm Productions and its “Cliffhanger” imprint.  The series returned to Image Comics for Battle Chasers #9 (cover dated: September 2001).  Although there was some art produced for a Battle Chasers #10, the issue was never published.

Well, Battle Chasers #10 finally arrives June 14th, 2023 (at least 21 years late) albeit with new series artist.  So I decided to go back and reread the original run, and there is a handy way to do that.

Battle Chasers Anthology, originally published in September 2019, collects every Battle Chasers comics story.  That includes Battle Chasers #1 to 9; the eight-page story from Battle Chasers Prelude (cover dated: February 1998); the 10-page story published in Frank Frazetta Fantasy Illustrated (cover dated: Summer 1998); and the Joe Madureira-Adam Warren “Red Monika: Interlude” serial, which was originally published in Battle Chasers #6 and #9.

[This volumes also includes a 21-page sketchbook section; a 10-page pin-up and illustration gallery; and 27-page cover art gallery.]

Battle Chasers takes place in a “steampunk” nineteenth century-type fantasy world.  It focuses on five main characters.  The first is Gully, a ten-year-old girl who possesses a pair of magical gloves left behind by her father, the great warrior, Aramus, who disappeared.  Next is Garrison, a legendary swordsman and grieving widow; he has a powerful magical sword.  Knolan is a powerful 500-year-old wizard.  His companion is Calibretto, a towering “Wargolem,” who is also an outlaw and the last of his kind.

The four join forces to find Gully's father.  They must also stop four extremely powerful villains that were inadvertently released from imprisonment by the fifth main character, Red Monika, a rogue and a voluptuous bounty hunter.  Meanwhile, the legacy of Aramus, the machinations of King Vaneer of the Unified Territories, and the secrets of Knolan begin to poison everything and everyone around them.

THE LOWDOWN:  I was a huge fan of Joe Madureira a.k.a. “Joe Mad” in the 1990s.  I used to call him “the young master” because his talent, abilities, and art seemed to explode every few months into something even better and more beautiful.  I even collected multiple pages of Joe Mad's original art.

So I was ecstatic when his first creator-owned comic book, Battle Chasers, was announced in 1997.  I was so excited about Battle Chasers when it arrived in the spring of 1998 that I also bought one of the variant covers.  I enjoyed the series, but it was a bit hard to follow because … well, because Mad took two and a half years to deliver nine issues.  For instance, there was a 16-month delay between the publication of Battle Chasers #6 (August 1999, DC Comics) and #7 (January 2001, DC Comics).

In the end, Joe Mad abandoned the series to work in the video game industry and went on to co-found a video game company.  Eventually, he did return to Battle Chasers, and Battle Chasers Anthology was published in 2019.

It is through Battle Chasers Anthology that a reader can see how imaginative, inventive, and fun to read Battle Chasers was and is.  Having the series gathered in one book allows a reader to enjoy the series without waiting months or a year-and-half to read each chapter.  The story flows, so the overall narrative comes across as impressive and well-thought out, and except for some wonky names for people, places, and beings and some awkward dialogue, the script writing by Munier Sharrieff is really good.  Engaging plots, interesting character, and surprising cliffhangers make this an exciting and gripping read.  Battle Chasers is a wild gumbo of video games scenarios, Dungeons & Dragons, and anime and manga.  Still, it is original rather than being a pastiche, although on the surface, it might appear to be as such.

To that end, along with the end of his run on Marvel Comics' Uncanny X-Men, Battle Chasers is peak Joe Mad art.  His creature design for this series is still impressive, and there was nothing like it, at least in American comic books, back then.  Battle Chasers' character design is also quite good, simply because none of the lead characters or main supporting and guests character look remotely alike.

Like Tim Townsend did when he inked Joe Mad, Tom McWeeney uses his inks to control the wild energy and eccentricity that showed itself in Mad's comic book art after he left Battle Chasers.  In the 1990s, I thought that there were no better comic book colorists than Liquid Graphics a.k.a. Liquid!  Twenty years later, the studio's work on this comic book still looks amazing.  Even the lettering by Richard Starkings & Comicraft stands out as exceptional – even today.  I'm starting to believe that, in spite of their lateness, Battle Chasers and the other two original Cliffhanger titles were not only peak 1990s mainstream comic books but also a peak in mainstream comic books in general.

I wanted to read Battle Chasers Anthology just in case I decided to read the finally arrived Battle Chasers #10 (Image Comics).  I enjoyed this collection so much that I feel that I have to at least read this new issue.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of artist Joe Madureira and of his former comic book series, Battle Chasers, will want Battle Chasers Anthology.

A

[This volume includes an introduction by Jeph Loeb and an afterword by Joe Madureira.]

[MISC ART: Joe Madureira; Joe Madureira and Tom McWeeney with Liquid!, Joe Maduriera and Alex Garner; Joe Madureira and Vince Russell; Joe Madureira and Richard Starkings; Ed McGuiness and Liquid!; David Finch and Liquid!; Travis Charest and Richard Friend; Ed McGuiness and Jason Martin with Justin Ponsor; Travis Charest and Richard Friend with Liquid!; Joe Chiodo; Adam Warren with Liquid!; Humberto Ramos and Sandra Hope with Liquid!; J. Scott Campbell and Richard Friend with Liquid!.]

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

https://twitter.com/JoeMadx

https://www.airshipsyndicate.com/

https://twitter.com/ImageComics

https://imagecomics.com/

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https://www.twitch.tv/imagecomics

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The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Titan Comics Returns "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" to Comic Books Shops on August 2nd

"Conan the Barbarian #1 COVER D." "Retro Theme" variant cover art by Patch Zircher.

ROBERT E. HOWARD'S LEGENDARY CONAN IS BACK IN A NEW TALE OF BRAVERY AND HEROISM! CONAN THE BARBARIAN FCBD EDITION LEADS INTO THE DEBUT ISSUE

Years after the battle of Venarium, a weary CONAN returns to his homeland to seek rest and solitude. However, a mysterious scout rides in to warn the Cimmerians of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will CONAN and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 (ONGOING):

Writer: JIM ZUB

Artist: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE

Colorist: JOSÉ VILLARRUBIA

Letterer: RICHARD STARKINGS OF COMICRAFT

Publishers: HEROIC SIGNATURES & TITAN COMICS

FC, 32pp, $3.99, On sale: August 2, 2023

Issue #1 covers:

MAY231133 COVER A: DAN PANOSIAN

MAY231134 COVER B: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE

MAY231135 COVER C: ARTGERM

MAY231136 COVER D: PATCH ZIRCHER RETRO THEME

MAY231137 COVER E: MIKE MIGNOLA

MAY231138 COVER F: E.M. GIST

MAY231139 COVER G: WRAPAROUND HYBORIAN AGE MAP

MAY231140 COVER H: COLORED BLANK SKETCH

MAY231141 COVER I: FOIL CONAN MOVIE NOVEL REPLICA VIRGIN 

MAY231142 COVER J: 1:10 INCENTIVE: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE VIRGIN B&W INKS

MAY231143 COVER K: 1:25 INCENTIVE: DAN PANOSIAN VIRGIN B&W INKS

MAY231144 COVER L: 1:50 INCENTIVE: MIKE MIGNOLA VIRGIN B&W INKS

MAY231145 COVER M: 1:100 INCENTIVE: ARTGERM VIRGIN B&W INKS

APR238820 FOC JAE LEE VIRGIN

APR238821 FOC MIKE MIGNOLA VIRGIN

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

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#IReadsYou Review: THE BATMAN'S GRAVE #1

THE BATMAN'S GRAVE No. 1 (OF 12)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Warren Ellis
PENCILS: Bryan Hitch
INKS: Kevin Nowlan
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Richard Starkings
EDITOR: Marie Javins
COVER: Bryan Hitch with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Jeehyung Lee
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2019)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

The Batman's Grave is a new twelve-issue, comic book maxi-series.  It is written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Bryan Hitch (pencils) and Kevin Nowlan (inks).  Ellis and Hitch worked together on the comic book, StormWatch (1997), and are best known as a team for their run on the hit comic book, The Authority (1999), which the two created.  Colorist Alex Sinclair and letterer Richard Starkings complete the creative team.  The Batman's Grave finds Batman a.k.a. “The World's Great Detective” forced to inhabit the mind of a murder victim with a half-eaten face in order to solve the crime.

The Batman's Grave #1 opens at Wayne Manor, the stately home of Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman.  We find Bruce's butler and Batman's brother-in-arms, Alfred Pennyworth, tending to the graves of Bruce's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne.  There is a third grave.  It is empty, and Bruce will one day fill it.

In Gotham City, Batman saves a young couple and their child the way no one saved young Bruce and his slain parents.  Alerted to an unanswered 911 call, Batman finds himself at a rundown apartment building.  There, he finds the corpse of Vincent William Stannik.  By his own admission to Alfred, Batman can only think like a victim.  And this almost psychotic identification with murder victims causes him to immerse himself in the lives the victims and to obsess over every detail of their deaths.  But will this focus on the victim as he approached death lead Batman to his own grave?

I often lament that comic books featuring the world's greatest (comic book) detective are more often than not more superhero-action comics than they are mystery comics.  After reading this first issue's 24 (not 20) pages, I think that The Batman's Grave will be a mystery comic book that will have Batman play detective to solve murder cases.  At the same time, The Batman's Grave's creative team will investigate the minds of both Batman/Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth.

In fact, I love (and yes that is the word I want to use) Warren Ellis' depiction of Alfred Pennyworth as a tired, old friend, exhausted by a war on crime of which he wishes Batman was also exhausted.  Ellis presents Bruce Wayne and Batman as one in the same – psychotic.  I am especially curious to see where Ellis takes this series.

The artists of The Batman's Grave, Bryan Hitch on pencils and Kevin Nowlan on inks, are a dream team.  Hitch's eccentric, stylish pencils can only be inked by a veteran and/or supremely talented inker, and of course, that is Nowlan.  The resulting art is beautiful, mysterious, and haunting – the perfect graphical storytelling for a tale of murder, obsession, and graves.  Alex Sinclair, as usual, colors the crap out of the art and embellishes this story with a perfect mood that recalls Edgar Allen Poe.  Letterer Richard Starkings, as usual, does standout work; I guess if you have Ellis, Hitch, Nowlan, and Sinclair, you have to have Starkings on the team, also.

So I am ready for more, and truthfully, this is the only Batman comic book I feel like I have to read right now.  I recommend that you try at least The Batman's Grave #1.

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 reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: KING CONAN: Wolves Beyond the Border #1

KING CONAN No. 21
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ARTIST: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Tomás Giorello
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2015)

Wolves Beyond the Border: Part 1 of 4 “The Iron Crown”

Conan the Cimmerian (also known as Conan the Barbarian) was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932).  In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books, and with only few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for over four decades.

Many Conan comic book stores are adaptations of or are, at the very least, based on the Conan stories written by Robert E. Howard.  One of the most acclaimed Conan comic book writers of the last decade, Tim Truman, has taken an original REH story, “Wolves Beyond the Border,” to create the new comic book miniseries, King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border.  The artist for the series is Tomás Giorello, who has worked with Truman on earlier Conan comic books.  Series colorist is José Villarrubia, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft provides the lettering.

King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border #1 (“The Iron Crown”) opens in Tarantia, the capitol of the nation of Aquilonia, where an aged Conan is king.  Conan's bodyguards, Crassus and Dariun, wait in the shadows of the “Street of Dogs,” while their king lurks in the shadows of a den of thieves-type tavern.  In one of his dark moods, Conan spoils for a fight., but someone is also lurking and watching the king.  He is Gault, and he has come to tell a dark tale of a cursed crown, of the Picts, and of the wolves of the border.

The story “Wolves Beyond the Border” is a story that REH began writing in the 1930s.  It became a fragment that Howard did not finish, nor was it published in his lifetime.  Conan is mentioned in the story, but does not appear in it.  In a piece that is published at the end of this first issue, Truman writes that he has loosely based King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border on the “Wolves Beyond the Border” fragment.  That may not matter to many readers.  Truman also hints that he may use the story to connect REH's three most significant characters:  Kull, Conan, and Bran Mak Morn.  That may matter more to the fans of REH's fiction and to fans of comic books based on his work.

I am a huge fan of Tim Truman and Tomás Giorello fantastic comic book adaptation of Hour of the Dragon, the only Conan novel that REH every wrote.  Obviously, I was more than excited when I read about Truman and Giorello coming together again to work on King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border, and I am not disappointed by the resulting work.

Roy Thomas was the first to write Conan comic books, and I have always thought of him as the best Conan comics writer.  Truman is the next guy up for me.  He retains the power and sensibility of REH and if his prose, but Truman can also create original text that seamlessly blends with REH's words.  Truman's work has always mixed a sense of adventure that was every bit as imaginative and inventive as it was brawny.  He does that here.  Every panel is filled with language that strains against the grain, determined to break loose and to send the story careening off into adventure.

Giorello takes the muscularity of Truman's storytelling, delivering the most beautiful art work that surges the narrative forward.  Many of the panels are like small paintings, capturing the spirit of REH and the power of Truman's script.

OMG, I need a cigarette.  Four issues won't be enough, but, dear readers, we will have to take what we can get.  I heartily recommend this exceptional comic book to Conan fans and to readers looking for quality comic books.

A

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


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

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Review: INCREDIBLES 2: Crisis in Mid-Life and Other Stories #1

INCREDIBLES 2: CRISIS IN MID-LIFE! & OTHER STORIES No. 1 (OF 3)
DARK HORSE COMICS/Disney Comics – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

SCRIPT: Christos Gage; Landry Q. Walker
LAYOUT: Emilio Urbano
PENCILS: Gurihiru; J. Bone; Andrea Greppi
INKS: Gurihiru; J. Bone; Roberta Zanotta
COLORS: Gurihiru; Dan Jackson; Angela Capolupo
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt; Chris Dickey
EDITOR: Freddye Miller
COVER: Gurihiru
VARIANT COVER: J. Bone with Dan Jackson
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2018)

Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles is a 2004 computer-animated film written and directed by Brad Bird.  The Oscar-winning film focuses on the Parr Family, a family blessed with super-powers, as they unite to face a vengeful foe.  This year saw the release of the long-awaited sequel film, Incredibles 2, also written and directed by Brad Bird.

The nominal head of the family is husband and father, Bob Parr, a.k.a. "Mr. Incredible," whose powers include “mega-strength and invulnerability.”  Wife and mother, Helen, a.k.a. “Elastigirl,” has the power to bend, stretch and twist into any form.  Eldest child and only daughter, Violet, has the power to become invisible and to create force fields.  Son and middle child, Dashiell, a.k.a. “Dash,” has the power of super-speed.  Baby and eventually toddler son, Jack-Jack Parr, is a polymorph and has an array of powers, some of which have not yet been revealed.

The Parrs are the superhero team, The Incredibles, with the parents portrayed as being middle-aged and having been superheroes since they were at least in their twenties.  Lucius Best, a.k.a. “Frozone,” is Bob's best friend and a superhero with the power to freeze water and ambient moisture in the air into various shapes and forms – from a small ball of ice to huge sheets of ice.

Dark Horse Comics published a four-issue comic book adaptation of the first film as The Incredibles (2004).  In 2009, BOOM! Studios published a four-issue miniseries, The Incredibles: Family Matters #0-3.  BOOM decided to make The Incredibles an ongoing series that began with the issue #4, and the series continued into 2010 before ending with issue #15.

The Incredibles return to comic books this year (2018) via Dark Horse Comics with the new three-issue miniseries, Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories.  [This is not a comic book adaptation of the film, Incredibles 2.]   The main story, “Crisis in Mid-Life!” is written by Christos Gage; drawn and colored by Gurihiru; and lettered by Jimmy Betancourt.

Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories #1 opens with Mr. Incredible receiving an honor he once did as a much younger superhero.  This time the ceremony ends with decidedly different results.  So now, it is time for a midlife crisis, but Bob Parr takes it in stride and initiates a plan to pass his super-heroing knowledge and skills onto the next generations – his kids Violet and Dash!

Also, Bob's silly bedtime story (with some fibbing) for Jack-Jack turns into the beginning of a true story for Violet and Dash in “Bedtime Story.”  “In a Relaxing Day at the Park,” Jack-Jack comes to the rescue of a fellow toddler who is in distress, while Papa Parr gets some rest.

The respective creative teams on the three stories in Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories #1 do such good jobs that I hope publishing Incredibles comic books will be a long-term project for Dark Horse Comics.  Christos Cage captures the spirit of the Incredibles films and the personalities of the characters in his two stories (“Crisis in Mid-Life!” and “Bedtime Story”).  Landry Q. Walker reproduces the magic that is Jack-Jack in the vignette “A Relaxing Day at the Park.”

The artists and colorists each present their own unique take on the visual and graphical elements of the Incredibles, but stay true to the look of the films.  Letterers Jimmy Betancourt and Chris Dickey deliver fonts that recall the lettering in classic 1960s Marvel Comics titles.

I have been careful in this review to be vague about many details of the stories contained in the first issue, but trust me, dear readers, Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories #1 is true Incredibles.  Hopefully, this comic book will become the standard of what it means to be a true Incredibles comic book.

9 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: HAWKMAN #1

HAWKMAN No. 1 (2018)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Robert Venditti
PENCILS: Bryan Hitch
INKS: Andrew Currie and Bryan Hitch
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Starkings & Comicraft
EDITOR: Marie Javins
COVER: Bryan Hitch with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Stejpan Sejic
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Awakening” Part One: “What's Past is Prologue”

Hawkman is a DC Comics superhero.  There are multiple versions of the character, and two of them are the best known.  The first is the “Golden Age” Hawkman, a human archaeologist named Carter Hall, who is the modern-day reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian prince named Khufu.  That character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville and first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published in 1940 by All-American Publications (which eventually entered a merger that would form DC Comics' predecessor, National Periodical Publications).

The second is the alien police officer, Katar Hol, from the planet, Thanagar.  Created by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert, Hol first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #34 (cover dated: March-February 1961).  The common denominator among the various versions of Hawkman is that they wear large, artificial wings, attached to a harness made from the special Nth metal that allows them to fly.

There is a  new comic book series starring the character, entitled Hawkman.  It is written by Robert Venditti; drawn by Bryan Hitch (pencils and inks) and Andrew Currie (inks); colored by Alex Sinclair; and lettered by Starkings & Comicraft.  The series finds Hawkman/Carter Hall trying to unravel the secrets of his many pasts.

Hawkman #1 (“What's Past is Prologue”) finds the superhero Hawkman flying over an island twelve miles south of Santorini, Greece.  Carter Hall is an archaeologist and an explorer of the ancient and unknown, and the greatest unknown seems to be Carter Hall.  Hawkman is searching for a relic, “the Nautilus of Revealment.”  With the help of Madame Xanadu, Carter will use the Nautilus to make discoveries about his reincarnations and surprisingly, to discover something about his fate.

After reading a few pages of Hawkman #1 2018, I was sure that I would not like it, but by the end of the first issue, I was really liking it.  I don't think I need to go through a litany about the creative team.  Robert Venditti is an imaginative writer.  Bryan Hitch is an influential stylist, and inker Andrew Currie usually captures both the power and grace of Hitch's pencil compositions.  Colorist Alex Sinclair is subtly muting his usual vivid coloring here to serve the moodiness of the story.  Starkings & Comicraft's lettering shifts fonts and designs and is excellent... of course.

What really stands out is that Hawkman #1 suggests that Hawkman 2018 is trying for something different.  Like Carter Hall, this new Hawkman comic book will offer a story that is about exploring the ancient and unknown.  There is a sense of mystery and of a little magic.  Venditti and Hitch are trying to do something than can truly be described as different.  I hope...

8 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.

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

Review - KING CONAN: Wolves Beyond the Border #4

KING CONAN No. 24
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ARTIST: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Tomás Giorello with Jose Villarrubia
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2016)

Wolves Beyond the Border: Part 4 of 4 “The Worms”

Conan the Cimmerian (also known as Conan the Barbarian) was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932).  In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books, and with only few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for over four decades.

One of the most acclaimed Conan comic book writers of the last decade, Tim Truman, has taken an original REH story fragment, “Wolves Beyond the Border,” and has created a four-issue comic book miniseries, King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border.  The artist for the series is one of the best Conan comic book artists of all time, Tomás Giorello, who has worked with Truman on earlier Conan comic books.  Series colorist is one of the best Conan color artists ever, José Villarrubia.  Richard Starkings & Comicraft provides the lettering for this miniseries.

In King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border, Conan is the aged king of the nation of Aquilonia.  He is alerted to a conspiracy involving his longtime enemies, the Picts.  Kwarada, Witch of Skandaga, plans to gather the various Pictish tribes to her side, a confederacy that she will use to invade Aquilonia and eventually all the lands to the east.

In order to convince the other tribes to follower her, she needs the lost “Crown of Brule,” but not all Picts will follow her, in particularly, the Wolf Tribe.  The crown, an iron circlet, has come into Conan's possession.  In order to stop Kwarada's plot, Conan forges a tenuous alliance with an “old friend,” the high priestess Nai, and the war leader of the Wolf Tribe, Bril.

As King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border #4 (“The Worms”) opens, Conan and the wounded Bril travel through the forest in order to reach “Uamh-Dagon.”  There, Kwarada plans to sacrifice the boy, Brune, Bril's nephew and the next chief of the Wolf Tribe.  With the boy's life and an incantation, Kwarada hopes to raise a dark army from the bowels of the earth.

Robert E. Howard began writing “Wolves Beyond the Border” in the 1930s, but it remained a fragment that he did not finish.  Conan is mentioned in the story, but does not appear in it.  In a piece that was published at the end of the first issue of King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border, Truman wrote that he loosely based King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border on the fragment.  That may not matter to many readers.  Truman also hinted that he might use the story to connect REH's three most significant characters:  Kull, Conan, and Bran Mak Morn.  That may matter more to the fans of REH's fiction and to fans of comic books based on his work.

What really matters is that King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border is an excellent Conan comic book.  I consider Tim Truman, Tomas Giorello, and Jose Villarrubia to be the modern gold standard in Conan comic book creative teams.  How good is this comic book?  Well, I was sad when I came to the last page because I could have read at least one more issue.

Truman's sense of adventure is in evidence here, and as always, his story and script are imaginative and inventive.  Of course, Truman would never leave out the brawny storytelling that the best Conan comics require, but this isn't some phony masculine fantasy.  Wolves Beyond the Border can be enjoyed by anyone who loves Conan or the genre known as swords and sorcery.

Giorello takes Truman's script and creates the most beautiful art.  Giorello's graphical storytelling captures the essence of the world of Conan, where sullen-eyed, sword-wielding warriors, slayers, thieves, etc. tread the world.  Villarrubia's colors finish the process, adding the final touch that creates an undreamed of age of shining kingdoms spread across the blue mantle of the world like stars embedded in the firmament.

King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border #4 delivers on the promise of the first issue.  Four issues are not enough, but still, they are four great issues.

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.

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

Review: NEW X-MEN #114

NEW X-MEN No. 114
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

STORY: Grant Morrison
PENCILS: Frank Quitely
INKS: Tim Townsend
COLORS: Brian Haberlin
LETTERS: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
COVER: Frank Quitely
32pp, Color, $2.25 U.S., $3.50 CAN (July 2001)

X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“E is for Extinction” Part One of Three

When Joe Quesada became Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, one of his first goals (apparently) was to make the company's flagship titles regain some of “their former glory.”  One of the franchises in need of some polishing was the X-Men, and Quesada recruited writer Grant Morrison, known for his work at DC Comics, to take the X-Men in a new direction.

Morrison took X-Men, the X-title that began in 1991.  Its title was changed to New X-Men, but retained the series numbering.  Thus, the new direction began with New X-Men #114, written by Morrison; drawn by Frank Quitely (pencils) and Tim Townsend (inks), colored by Brian Haberlin; and colored by Richard Starkings.

As New X-Men #114 (“E is for Extinction” One of Three) opens, Scott Summers/Cyclops and Logan/Wolverine are in the process of destroying a Sentinel, after saving a persecuted mutant, Ugly John, from the death machine.  Meanwhile, Professor Charles Xavier, a.k.a. “Professor X,” attacks his renewed mission to help a new generation of mutants with a sense of urgency that can also be described as an episode of mania.

Jean Grey is trying to assist him, and so is Henry “Hank” McCoy a.k.a. “Beast.”  However, each has his or her own issues.  Jean and Scott's relationship is in a difficult state.  Hank has undergone a shocking “secondary” mutation that sometimes physically complicates his ability to be a super-scientist.  What the X-Men do not realize is that a new enemy has arisen from seemingly nowhere, and she wants to launch a campaign of genocide against all of mutantkind.

As a kid, I read most of my comic books so many times that they practically fell apart.  As an adult, the only comic books that I read repeatedly were Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, The Sandman, and anything by Alan Moore, Frank Miller, and Will Eisner.  I also often re-read works of alternative comix creators like Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Daniel Clowes, Peter Bagge, and R. Crumb, to new a few.  Everything else was one-and-done.

I must admit, however, that I have lost track of how many times I have read the New X-Men story arc, “E is for Extinction,” especially “Part One” in New X-Men #114.  I think that the reason is because no matter when I read it, this story arc feels fresh and ground-breaking.  New X-Men # 114 especially seems new and an exhilarating; it is as if by reading it I find myself on the cusp of a revolution.

Well, New X-Men ended up being only “kind of a revolution.”  The rest of Grant Morrison's run on this series was never as explosive and “begin-with-a-bang” as “E is for Extinction,” mostly because this first story arc was so different from anything an X-Men comic book had ever been.  It was as if there were a decades' worth of advancement between New X-Men #114 and the two decades of X-Men comic books that had come before it.

Also, I find that Morrison's best work on an established comic book series is usually his first 12 issues, as was the case here.  After the first year, Morrison's work on established series or characters turns weird or contrived, although that weirdness is usually still better than most other comic books coming out at the same time.

It also did not help that Frank Quitely was incapable of keeping up a monthly schedule, so that the first two years of Morrison's run on New X-Men is a patchwork of inconsistent art styles, some of them ugly and some of them being an ill fit with Morrison's storytelling.  It seemed as if Quitely was the only artist who could make Morrison's New X-Men stories seem truly revolution.

Another thing that I have to admit is that I had and still have mixed feelings about the villain, Cassandra Nova, who turns out to be some kind of sibling to Professor X.  I think a better choice for “E is for Extinction” villain would have been either an obscure X-Men villain from the distant past or an obscure Marvel character reconstructed or “retconned” into being a mutant.  The entire subplot slash narrative angle involving Cassandra and Professor X is almost a bridge too far for me.

Still, even with my complaints, I think that New X-Men #114 is one of the all-time great single issues ever published in American comic books, so I am going to read it again.  In fact, I am going to find other individual New X-Men back issues (especially the Quitely-drawn ones) so that I can enjoy Grant Morrison's “revolution” of the X-Men.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaus


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

Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA: White #1

CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jeph Loeb
ART: Tim Sale
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Comicraft's Richard Starkings
COVER: Tim Sale
VARIANT COVERS: Tim Sale; Skottie Young
60pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (November 2015)

Rated “T+”

Captain America created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

“You Can't Take it With You”

Captain America is a Marvel comics superhero. He was created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated:  March 1941), which was published by Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics.  Captain America had a sidekick named James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes.  The original Bucky was created by Simon and Kirby and also first appeared in Captain America Comics #1.

Captain America: White is a five-issue miniseries written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale.  The series follows the World War II-era adventures of Captain America and Bucky.  Captain America: White is part of Loeb and Sale's “Marvel Color” series, a group of comic book miniseries which present an intimate portrait of some of Marvel Comics' greatest characters during their early years.  Previous installments in this series include, Spider-Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow, and Hulk: Gray.

Captain America: White #1 (“You Can't Take it With You”) opens during Captain America's first meeting with the Avengers, after he was “defrosted,” which was originally depicted in The Avengers #4 (cover dated:  March 1964).  A conversation with Nick Fury, with whom Cap fought during WWII, turns his mind back to the war and to his partner, Bucky, believed to be dead.  The Captain remembers how, as Steve Rogers, he trained James Buchanan Barnes, which led to him being Captain America's partner, “Bucky.”  Captain America remembers that, as his bond with Bucky strengthened, he began to worry about the danger their missions posed for his dear, younger partner.

I did not know about Captain America: White until I saw a listing for it in the Diamond Distributors' new release list the week the first issue shipped.  I was even more surprised to discover that Captain America: White #1 reprinted the contents of Captain America: White #0, which I obviously also did not know existed.

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale are fan favorite creators individually and as a team.  However, they are not favorites of your humble reviewer, dear readers.  Loeb has written a few comic books that I have enjoyed:  The Witching Hour (a prestige-format miniseries from DC Comics), Batman/The Spirit #1, and about half of Batman: Hush, to name a few others.  Other than those, I cannot see why Loeb is considered such a exceptional comic book writer.  There are some Tim Sale works that I have liked.

Captain America: White #1 and #0 (which is re-presented/reprinted in #1) are professional productions.  They are not bad, but they are not particularly good, although the creative team and staff's efforts to produce something exceptional is obvious.  What else could we expect of a comic book project that began development over seven years ago?  I can give credit for effort.

But... the story simply does not interest me that much, at this point.  I am curious about it, simply because Rogers' relationship and deep feelings and concern for Bucky seem weird and filled with sexual repression.  Tim Sale's composition, design, and graphic style here seems like a weird and desperate mimicry of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson's art for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.  I do like Dave Stewart's gorgeous coloring.

Hmmm.  Will I read more Captain America: White?  I don't know.  I am curious.  Maybe, it will grow on me, and I'll have another thing to add to my short list of Loeb and Sale projects that I like.

C+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

I Reads You Review: CONAN RED SONJA #1

CONAN RED SONJA #1 (OF 4)
DARK HORSE COMICS/DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @DarkHorseComics and @dynamitecomics

WRITER: Gail Simone and Jim Zub
ARTIST: Dan Panosian
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Dan Panosian
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2015)

Part 1 of 4: The Age of Innocence

Conan the Cimmerian (also Conan the Barbarian) was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard, first appearing in magazine, Weird Tales (1932).  Marvel Comics brought Conan to comic books in 1970, with the long running series, Conan the Barbarian.  In Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover dated February 1973), writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith created a high fantasy sword and sorcery heroine.  She was named Red Sonja and was loosely based on “Red Sonya of Rogatino,” a female character that appeared in the 1934 short story, “The Shadow of the Vulture,” written by Robert E. Howard.

Conan and Red Sonja are reunited in comic books again in Dark Horse Comics' new four-issue miniseries, Conan Red Sonja.  This series is written by Gail Simone and Jim Zub, drawn by Dan Panosian, colored by Dave Stewart, and lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicraft.

Conan Red Sonja #1 (“The Age of Innocence”) opens when Manus Drath arrives on the Barachan Isles, off the coast of Zingara.  He has brought with him a container of mysterious seeds for an unwary farmer to plant.  Meanwhile, in the city of Enshophur, in the country of Koth, Conan and Red Sonja find themselves after the same prize.  Their quest will take each into royal chambers, where they will learn that not everything is what it is supposed to be.

I have not read very many comic books written by Gail Simone, but what I have read, I have enjoyed.  I only discovered the work of writer Jim Zub within the last two years and have found great pleasure in his recently launched creator-owned series, Wayward (Image Comics).  Thus, I am not surprised that the Simone-Zub union would create such a hugely enjoyable series as Conan Red Sonja.

Conan Red Sonja captures the spirit of a Conan adventure as well as any Conan comic book ever has.  It is brawny and pulpy and has a humorous streak that cuts across most of the first issue.  Red Sonja's sly wit is the perfect foil for Conan's murderous sense of humor.  What makes their union so special is the reality that these two cannot trust each other long enough for them to take on a long campaign together.  It will be interesting to see how this duo comes together at just the right time to take on the darkness that is ahead of them because of their actions in this first issue.

Dan Panosian's art tells a lean and mean story, and Panosian captures how quickly our barbarian heroes can change fate with the sharp edge of their swords.  Panosian sets the mood; this first issue is just the beginning – the introduction and set-up.  The real pain is yet to come, and the art portends in all the right places while offering up the Hyborian version of a heist story.

Conan Red Sonja #1 makes me want to keep reading.  I hope that the rest of this series lives up to my high expectations.

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: SUPREME BLUE ROSE #1

SUPREME BLUE ROSE #1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

WRITER: Warren Ellis
ARTIST: Tula Lotay
LETTERS: Richard Starkings
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (July 2014)

Rated M / Mature

Supreme created by Rob Liefeld

It's true.  About two decades ago, I read a few comic books featuring Supreme, Rob Liefeld's version of Superman, produced for his company, Extreme Studios, and published by Image Comics.  Actually, until I recently read that Supreme was Liefeld's version of Superman, but more aggressive than the Man of Steel, I did not remember much of anything about the character or his comic books.

Now, there is a new Supreme comic book, Supreme Blue Rose written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Tula Lotay.  It is like nothing any of the original Image Comics founders could have imagined one of their comic book would be.

Supreme Blue Rose #1 introduces a young woman named Diane Dane.  We first meet her in her dream world, where a wheelchair-bound young man warns her not to trust someone named Darius Dax.  Back in reality, Diane is an unemployed journalist with no job prospects or even expected freelance assignments.  Diane visits National Praxinoscope Company, where she meets Darius Dax.  He has a job for her – find Ethan Crane, and the payout for doing so could be as high as one million dollars.

I am intrigued by Warren Ellis' concept, as I usually am by his comic books.  However, I sometimes find my intrigue turning into disinterest when “this sounds cool,” turns into “where are you going with this.”  Honestly, I don't know if I want to make an effort to keep reading Supreme Blue Rose, but then again, may I will read more.  I find that Ellis keeps me curious, and there are not too many comic book creators that make me curious and intrigued.

I love Tula Lotay's art and graphics for this series, especially the illustration-design combination that yields the cover for Supreme Blue Rose #1.  On the interior art, the combination of traditional inking and digital inking creates graphical storytelling that engages the imagination, so I could not help but want to read this art.  There is also a sketchbook section in this first issue that opens the door on the illustrative thought process behind Supreme Blue Rose.

I think some people will like Supreme Blue Rose, obviously.  Others may be surprised, once again, by what imaginative comic book creators can do with Rob Liefeld's creations.

B

www.imagecomics.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

I Reads You Review: GROO VS. CONAN #1

GROO VS. CONAN #1 (OF 4)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier
ART:  Sergio Aragonés and Thomas Yeates
COLORS: Tom Luth
LETTERS: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S. (July 2014)

I don't remember when or where I first encountered Groo the Wanderer, the classic 1980s independent comics character created by cartoonist Sergio Aragonés.  Groo first appeared in Destroyer Duck #1 in 1982 (which I believe I owned at one time).  I really got into the character during the long-running comic book series,  Groo the Wanderer, which was published by Marvel Comics' imprint, Epic, for 10 years from 1985 to 1994.   Aragonés plotted and drew Groo comic books and co-conspirator, Mark Evanier, provided the characters' dialogue.

Groo apparently began as a parody of the Conan the Barbarian comic books that Marvel Comics began publishing in the early 1970s.  Groo lives in a world that resembles Medieval Europe (with some anachronisms), although he has traveled to lands that resemble Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East, among others.  Groo is a large-nosed buffoon/oafish type; is probably the most stupid person of his time; and is clueless about his environment and surroundings.  However, this accident-prone fool is an almost supernaturally-skilled swordsman, which is why he tries to work as a mercenary, among other jobs.  He has a pet dog, Rufferto, that accompanies him.

I stopped reading Groo comic books sometime around the turn of the century (still sounds weird to me to say that).  However, when I discovered that the long-planned, crossover comic book featuring Groo and Conan the Barbarian was finally about to be published, I knew that it was time to return to Groo.

Groo vs. Conan #1 opens with Conan the Cimmerian in battle against a typical all-powerful and evil wizard.  Conan's appearance is no coincidence, because the story switches to the “real world” (or a cartoon version of it); there Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier are talking about bringing Groo and Conan together.  Sergio is not crazy about the idea; then, fate changes things.  And a king known as Murcia is about to give Conan a reason to join the story.

I started off excited to read Groo vs. Conan #1.  Then, I began to be annoyed by its meta-fiction quality and comic-within-a-comic story structure.  Then, I started to understand where the story was going (or where I thought it was going), and I enjoyed it, feeling disappointed when I came to the last page.  I must say that I like having Thomas Yeates drawing the Conan segments of the story and Sergio drawing the Groo parts of the story, as well as the scenes featuring himself and Mark Evanier.

Groo vs. Conan #1 promises that this four-issue issue miniseries will be unique both in terms of graphics and art and also in terms of the plot and narrative.  Unique is good, and if the creative team can come close to their best work, Groo vs. Conan will also be a great read.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

I Reads You Review: BLACK PANTHER (1998) #1

BLACK PANTHER (1998), VOL. 2 #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Christopher Priest with Joe Quesada
ARTIST: Mark Texeira with Alitha Martinez
COLORS: Brian Haberlin
LETTERS: RS, Comicraft’s Siobhan Hanna
COVER: Mark Texeira
EDITORS: Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti
EiC: Bob Harras
32pp, Color, $2.50 US, $3.50 CAN (November 1998)

The Black Panther, also known as T’Challa, is a Marvel Comics character and was the first black superhero in mainstream American comics.  Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the Black Panther first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (cover dated July 1966).

The Black Panther received his first starring feature in the comic book series, Jungle Action, beginning with #5 (cover dated July 1973).  The character would eventually star in an eponymous series, Black Panther, which ran for 15 issues in the late 1970s.  In the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were two Black Panther miniseries and a feature in the anthology series, Marvel Comics Presents.

Changes at Marvel Comics brought on by the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy gave Black Panther new life and his longest running series to date.  In 1998, Marvel Comics asked Joe Quesada to work for Marvel in an exclusive capacity.  Marvel contracted Quesada and his partners at Event Comics, including inker, Jimmy Palmiotti, to produce a line of Marvel comic books dubbed “Marvel Knights.”  Quesada edited the Marvel Knights line and worked on a number of low-profile characters, which included Black Panther.

Writer Christopher Priest and penciller Mark Texeira helped launch Marvel Knight’s Black Panther Vol. 2.  Priest used characters from the 1990-91 miniseries, Black Panther: Panther’s Rage, and introduced new characters, in particularly Everett K. Ross, an attorney in the Office of the Chief of Protocol at the U.S. State Department.

Black Panther Vol. 2 #1 opens with Ross, dressed only in his underwear and holding a pistol, perched atop a toilet.  How did he get there?  It’s a long story, and we get to read about it as he explains how he ended up in that predicament to his boss.

Ross is assigned by the State Department to keep an eye on T’Challa a/k/a The Black Panther, the king of the African nation of Wakanda.  The Black Panther is also an Avenger, and he is in the United States to investigate The Tomorrow Fund.  This is a program funded with money from Wakanda to help inner city American youth, but now the fund is tied to the death of a child.

For Ross, it is a misadventure that begins in the Leslie N. Hill Housing Project where he is to meet a king.  It hits a high low point when Ross meets the devil.

Writer Christopher Priest stated that he used the character Everett K. Ross to bridge a gap between the African culture in which much of the Black Panther mythos is based and Marvel Comics’ predominantly white readership.  I can’t speak to that.  I think comic books have maintained a “predominantly white readership” for a number of reasons.  That includes substandard marketing, advertising, and public relations, to say nothing of the publishing and editorial policies regarding who is hired and assigned to create comics.

I think that Black Panther Vol. 2 #1 is a good comic book because Priest simply delivers some exceptional character writing with Everett K. Ross.  He uses Ross both as the point of view and as the character through which Black Panther’s background and activities are seen and filtered.  It is a fresh and novel way of conveying the weird fiction that is superhero adventure comics.

I am currently rereading Priest’s Black Panther from the beginning.  I don’t know how long he maintains Ross as a storytelling vehicle, nor do I remember if this story maintains the level quality with which it begins.  But Black Panther Vol. 2 #1 remains one of the more unique re-launches that I have ever read.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Review: KING CONAN: The Hour of the Dragon #3

KING CONAN: THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON #3 (#11 in the series)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ART: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Gerald Parel
EDITOR: Philip R. Simon
28pp, Colors, $3.50 U.S. (July 2013)

Adapts the novel by Robert E. Howard
The Hour of the Dragon Part 3 of 6: “Zenobia”

Originally serialized in the pulp magazine, Weird Tales, from 1935 to 1936, The Hour of the Dragon (also known as Conan the Conqueror), is the only novel Robert E. Howard wrote starring his signature character, Conan the Cimmerian.

Dark Horse Comics is adapting The Hour of the Dragon into comics as two six-issue miniseries.  The first is King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon, and the second will be entitled King Conan: The Conqueror.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon is written by Timothy Truman and drawn by Tomás Giorello, already acclaimed for the Conan comics they have produced together over the last several years.  They are joined by their stellar collaborators, José Villarrubia on colors and Richard Starkings & Comicraft on letters.

In The Hour of the Dragon, an aged King Conan recounts to the young scribe, Pramis, the tale of how he met his wife, the late Queen Zenobia.  At that time, Conan was King of Aquilonia, but a small band of conspirators against him revive Xaltotun, an ancient sorcerer.  The wizard uses his magic to help the army of Nemedia nearly destroy the army of Aquilonia.  But the king is not dead.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #3 opens in the bowels of the dungeons of King Tarascus’ castle.  There, Conan faces a man-eating gray ape; once again Zenobia, who freed him from his cell, comes to the rescue.  Meanwhile, Tarascus plots against the very creature that brought him victory over Conan – the wizard Xaltotun.  Little does he know that a free Conan is probably as dangerous as Zaltotun’s sorcery.

There is nothing new to say about King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon.  It was damn good to begin with, and this third issue is also... damn good

Writer Timothy Truman and artist Tomás Giorello are telling a story in bold masculine strokes with relentlessly muscular scenes, delivered in an unapologetically bloody visual language.  Yet with José Villarrubia’s colors, it all looks like a fantastic jeweled tapestry.  King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon is the best Conan comic book from the best Conan comic book publisher.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: KING CONAN: The Hour of the Dragon #1

KING CONAN: THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON #1 (#9 in the series)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ART: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Gerald Parel
VARIANT COVER: Sanjulián
EDITOR: Philip R. Simon
28pp, Colors, $3.50 U.S. (May 2013)

The Hour of the Dragon is the only novel featuring Conan the Cimmerian (or Barbarian) written by author Robert E. Howard, Conan’s creator. The novel originally ran as a serial in the pulp magazine, Weird Tales, from 1935 through 1936. The novel was first published in book from as Conan the Conqueror (1950, Gnome Press).

Dark Horse Comics is producing a comic book adaptation of the novel as two six-issue miniseries. The first series, King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon, will be released to comic book stores this week (as of this writing). The second miniseries will be titled King Conan: The Conqueror.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon is written by Timothy Truman and drawn by Tomás Giorello, already acclaimed for the Conan comics they have produced over the last several years. They are joined by their stellar collaborators, José Villarrubia on colors and Richard Starkings & Comicraft on letters.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #1 opens in Tarantia, capital city of the kingdom of Aquilonia. King Conan is visiting the burial chambers of his late Queen, Zenobia. It is there that a young scribe, Pramis, meets the king and begins recording the tale King Conan tells him – the story of how he met Zenobia.

The story begins in remote Nemedia, on the eve of the Year of the Dragon. In another crypt, a group of malcontents and conspirators, seeking help to capture the thrones of kingdoms they covet, summon a wizard dead for three thousand. Now, King Conan must face a traitorous alliance backed by the resurrected sorcerer, Xaltotun.

I was ecstatic upon hearing that Dark Horse Comics was going to adapt into comics, Robert E. Howard’s sword-and-sorcery novel, The Hour of the Dragon, one of my all-time favorite books. I think that the novel has only been turned into comics once before, in the early to mid-1970s by Marvel Comics.

I am happy with the resulting first issue of King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon. Tim Truman seems to have absorbed the essence of the novel, while relocating the best of Howard’s prose into comics. The novel does have some rough patches, in which the story meanders, so I wonder if this will show over the course of a 12-issue adaptation.

Personally, I’m ready to put Tomás Giorello’s name next to the great Conan comic book artists, Barry Windsor-Smith and John Buscema. Giorello’s art has the pen and ink texture of book illustration and a graphic style that captures the bizarre sensibilities of pulp fantasy tales. José Villarrubia’s colors complete the illusion that the art belongs to a bygone pre-World War II era of fantastic fiction. However, there is no mistaking King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon for a pastiche. This is real-deal Conan.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux