MARVEL COMICS
SEP200730 AVENGERS BY JASON AARON HC VOL 01 $34.99
JAN210583 BLACK KNIGHT CURSE EBONY BLADE #1 (OF 5) $3.99
JAN210590 BLACK KNIGHT CURSE EBONY BLADE #1 (OF 5) BLACK BLANK VAR $3.99
JAN210586 BLACK KNIGHT CURSE EBONY BLADE #1 (OF 5) CABAL STORMBREAKERS $3.99
JAN210584 BLACK KNIGHT CURSE EBONY BLADE #1 (OF 5) MOMOKO VAR $3.99
JAN210587 BLACK KNIGHT CURSE EBONY BLADE #1 (OF 5) NAUCK HEADSHOT VAR $3.99
JAN210588 BLACK KNIGHT CURSE EBONY BLADE #1 (OF 5) RON LIM VAR $3.99
JAN210611 CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE #1 $6.99
JAN210612 CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE #1 BROOKS VAR $6.99
JAN210679 CAPTAIN MARVEL #27 $3.99
JAN210681 CAPTAIN MARVEL #27 CHANG CAPTAIN MARVEL-THING VAR $3.99
JAN210696 CHAMPIONS #5 $3.99
JAN210697 CHAMPIONS #5 PICHELLI MS MARVEL-THING VAR $3.99
SEP200731 DAREDEVIL BY CHIP ZDARSKY HC VOL 01 TO HEAVEN THROUGH HELL $34.99
NOV200632 DAWN OF X TP VOL 14 $17.99
DEC200677 HAWKEYE GO WEST GN TP $12.99
JAN210639 IRON FIST HEART OF DRAGON #3 (OF 6) $3.99
JAN210640 IRON FIST HEART OF DRAGON #3 (OF 6) VEREGGE VAR $3.99
JAN210676 IRON MAN #7 $3.99
JAN210678 IRON MAN #7 BARTEL HELLCAT WOMENS HISTORY MONTH VAR $3.99
JAN210677 IRON MAN #7 MICHAEL CHO IRON MAN TWO-TONE VAR $3.99
DEC200658 IRON MAN TP VOL 01 BIG IRON $15.99
DEC200660 JUGGERNAUT NO STOPPING NOW TP $15.99
JAN210532 KING IN BLACK SPIDER-MAN #1 $4.99
JAN210534 KING IN BLACK SPIDER-MAN #1 LIEFELD DEADPOOL 30TH VAR $4.99
JAN210533 KING IN BLACK SPIDER-MAN #1 VINCENTINI VAR $4.99
JAN210687 MARVEL #6 (OF 6) $4.99
SEP200725 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE DLX ED OMNIBUS HC BYRNE CV $150.00
SEP200726 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE DLX ED OMNIBUS HC FRENZ DM $150.00
JAN210655 SPIDER-WOMAN #10 $3.99
JAN210658 SPIDER-WOMAN #10 BARTEL SPIDER-WOMAN WOMENS HISTORY MONTH VA $3.99
JAN210657 SPIDER-WOMAN #10 MICHAEL CHO SPIDER-WOMAN TWO-TONE VAR $3.99
JAN210656 SPIDER-WOMAN #10 RON LIM VAR $3.99
JAN210713 STAR WARS BOUNTY HUNTERS #10 $3.99
JAN210714 STAR WARS BOUNTY HUNTERS #10 SPROUSE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK VAR $3.99
DEC209473 STAR WARS HIGH REPUBLIC #1 4TH PTG ANINDITO VAR $3.99
JAN210553 SWORD #4 KIB $3.99
JAN210691 THOR #13 $3.99
JAN210693 THOR #13 MICHAEL CHO THOR TWO TONE VAR $3.99
SEP200715 TONY STARK IRON MAN BY DAN SLOTT OMNIBUS HC $100.00
SEP200716 TONY STARK IRON MAN BY DAN SLOTT OMNIBUS HC DM VAR $100.00
JAN210591 TRIALS OF ULTRAMAN #1 (OF 5) $4.99
JAN210596 TRIALS OF ULTRAMAN #1 (OF 5) ASAMIYA VAR $4.99
JAN210597 TRIALS OF ULTRAMAN #1 (OF 5) FRANK VAR $4.99
JAN210593 TRIALS OF ULTRAMAN #1 (OF 5) MANNA VAR $4.99
JAN210594 TRIALS OF ULTRAMAN #1 (OF 5) MOMOKO VAR $4.99
DEC200655 ULTRAMAN TP VOL 01 RISE OF ULTRAMAN $17.99
JAN210633 X-FORCE #18 $3.99
JAN210634 X-FORCE #18 LIEFELD DEADPOOL 30TH VAR $3.99
Monday, March 15, 2021
Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 17, 2021
Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for March 17, 2021
JAN211766 20TH CENTURY BOYS TP VOL 11 PERFECT ED URASAWA (MR) $19.99
SEP201312 AIR WAR STORIES #3 (RES) $9.99
JAN211216 AMERICAN RONIN TP $9.99
JAN211619 ASCENCIA #3 $3.99
JAN211758 BEAST COMPLEX GN $12.99
JAN211765 BEASTARS GN VOL 11 (MR) $12.99
JAN211042 BEQUEST #1 FREDDIE WILLIAMS II $4.99
DEC201745 BLOODSHOT RISING SPIRIT TP $24.99
NOV201392 BREATHERS #5 CVR A MADSON (MR) $7.99
JAN211722 CASTE HEAVEN GN VOL 05 (MR) $12.99
JAN211511 CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE #3 $3.99
DEC201866 COMP ARTIST SPONSORSHIP CAMPAIGN ARTBOOK SC $28.00
JAN211389 COUNT TP (MR) $19.99
NOV201379 DARK WING #4 (OF 10) $2.99
JAN211054 DEAD DAY TP VOL 01 $16.99
NOV201247 DF KING IN BLACK #1 DARKNESS REIGNS VAR STEGMAN SGN $49.99
DEC201416 DF KING IN BLACK #3 CATES SGN $49.99
DEC201429 DF KING IN BLACK GWENOM VS CARNAGE #1 CGC GRADED $89.99
DEC201428 DF KING IN BLACK PLANET OF SYMBIOTES #1 CGC GRADED $89.99
SEP201313 DOSE #2 CVR A GEBBIA (MR) $4.99
SEP201314 DOSE #2 CVR B GEBBIA (MR) $4.99
JAN211220 E RATIC #4 $3.99
JAN211780 FLY ME TO THE MOON GN VOL 04 $9.99
DEC201856 FOX & LITTLE TANUKI GN VOL 03 (RES) $12.99
JUN200933 GOLD DIGGER #279 $3.99
JAN211058 GOON TP VOL 03 FISHY MEN WITCHY WOMEN & BITTER BEER $17.99
JAN211055 HAPPY HOUR #5 (MR) $3.99
JAN211769 HELLS PARADISE JIGOKURAKU GN VOL 07 (MR) $12.99
NOV201581 HERO HOURLY ONE SHOT (MR) $9.99
OCT201114 HORROR COMICS BLACK AND WHITE #1 (OF 3) $3.99
OCT201115 HOT VALLEY DAYS & COCAINE NIGHTS #3 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
JAN211226 HOTLINE MIAMI WILDLIFE #7 (OF 8) (MR) $3.99
JAN211533 HP LOVECRAFT CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD GN $13.99
JAN211534 HP LOVECRAFT DREAM QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH GN $13.99
JAN211535 HP LOVECRAFT SHADOW OUT OF TIME GN $13.99
JAN211634 I WALK WITH MONSTERS #4 CVR A CANTIRINO (MR) $3.99
JAN211635 I WALK WITH MONSTERS #4 CVR B HICKMAN (MR) $3.99
NOV201697 IM STANDING ON MILLION LIVES GN VOL 09 (MR) $10.99
JAN211458 INVADER ZIM QUARTERLY ZIMS GREATEST PLAN #1 CVR A STRESING $5.99
JAN211459 INVADER ZIM QUARTERLY ZIMS GREATEST PLAN #1 CVR B CAB $5.99
JAN211500 JUDGE DREDD END OF DAYS TP $19.99
JAN211536 KING IN YELLOW GN $13.99
DEC201949 KINGDOM OF Z GN VOL 03 (MR) $12.99
JAN211423 KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN SUN #11 $3.99
NOV201050 LAND THAT TIME FORGOT FEARLESS #2 CVR A MARTINEZ $3.99
NOV201051 LAND THAT TIME FORGOT FEARLESS #2 CVR B LTD B&W $9.99
JAN211532 LEAVE ON THE LIGHT TP (MR) $9.99
JAN211773 LOVE ME LOVE ME NOT GN VOL 07 $9.99
DEC201952 MAGICAL ANGEL CREAMY MAMI & SPOILED PRINCESS GN VOL 01 $12.99
JAN211768 MAISON IKKOKU COLLECTORS EDITION TP VOL 03 $24.99
JAN218155 MANIAC OF NEW YORK #1 2ND PTG $4.99
JAN210998 MARIA LLOVETS EROS PSYCHE #1 CVR A MIRKA ANDOLFO (MR) $3.99
JAN210999 MARIA LLOVETS EROS PSYCHE #1 CVR B MARIA LLOVET (MR) $3.99
JAN211000 MARIA LLOVETS EROS PSYCHE #1 CVR C MERCADO (MR) $3.99
JAN211001 MARIA LLOVETS EROS PSYCHE #1 CVR D SABINE RICH (MR) $3.99
NOV201424 MARTIAN GHOST CENTAUR SC $19.99
JAN211515 MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE #1 (OF 5) $3.99
OCT201016 MIRANDA IN MAELSTROM #4 $3.99
SEP201479 MUHAMMAD ALI KINSHASA 1974 HC (MR) $29.99
DEC201956 MUSHOKU TENSEI ROXY GETS SERIOUS GN VOL 05 $12.99
JAN211770 NO GUNS LIFE GN VOL 09 $12.99
OCT201500 ONE SOUL 10TH ANNIVERSARY HC ED (MR) $24.99
DEC201963 OTAKU ELF GN VOL 01 $12.99
DEC201958 OUR TEACHERS ARE DATING GN VOL 03 (MR) $12.99
NOV201688 PERFECT WORLD GN VOL 05 $12.99
DEC201658 PERHAPANAUTS FIRST BLOOD TP $19.99
DEC201960 RAINBOW & BLACK GN VOL 02 $13.99
JAN211053 RED ATLANTIS #5 $3.99
JAN211646 ROBYN HOOD CULT OF THE SPIDER ONE SHOT CVR A IGOR VITORINO $5.99
JAN211647 ROBYN HOOD CULT OF THE SPIDER ONE SHOT CVR B JOSH BURNS $5.99
JAN211648 ROBYN HOOD CULT OF THE SPIDER ONE SHOT CVR C JOHN ROYLE $5.99
JAN211767 RWBY OFFICIAL MANGA GN VOL 02 BEACON ARC $12.99
JAN211103 SABRINA SOMETHING WICKED TP $14.99
NOV200983 SASQUATCH IN LOVE #4 (OF 4) $3.99
JAN211621 SAVAGE (2020) #2 CVR A TO $3.99
JAN211622 SAVAGE (2020) #2 CVR B WALSH $3.99
NOV201380 SAVAGE CIRCUS #4 (OF 10) (MR) $2.99
JAN211360 SCIENCE COMICS DIGESTIVE SYSTEM GN $12.99
JAN211361 SCIENCE COMICS DIGESTIVE SYSTEM HC GN $19.99
DEC201962 SPECIES DOMAIN GN VOL 09 $12.99
DEC201313 STEAMBOUND #2 (MR) $3.99
DEC201830 THAT TIME I REINCARNATED SLIME TRINITY GN VOL 03 (MR) $12.99
JAN211427 THEY FELL FROM THE SKY #2 $3.99
JAN211723 TORITAN BIRDS OF A FEATHER GN VOL 02 (MR) $12.99
FEB201389 VAMPBLADE SEASON 4 #12 (#49) CVR A MACCAGNI (MR) $4.99
FEB201390 VAMPBLADE SEASON 4 #12 (#49) CVR B MACCAGNI RISQUE (MR) $4.99
FEB201391 VAMPBLADE SEASON 4 #12 (#49) CVR C RUDETOONS REYNOLDS (MR) $4.99
FEB201392 VAMPBLADE SEASON 4 #12 (#49) CVR D RUDETOONS REYNOLDS RISQUE $4.99
FEB201393 VAMPBLADE SEASON 4 #12 (#49) CVR E HERMAN (MR) $4.99
FEB201394 VAMPBLADE SEASON 4 #12 (#49) CVR F HERMAN RISQUE (MR) $4.99
JAN211087 WALLACE THE BRAVE YA GN VOL 03 WICKED EPIC ADV $11.99
DEC201466 WALT DISNEY UNCLE SCROOGE HC VOL 05 ISLANDS IN THE SKY $29.99
JAN211525 WILD BULL & CHIPPER #1 $1.99
JAN211719 WITH DOG AND CAT EVERYDAY IS FUN GN VOL 03 $12.95
JAN211107 WORLD OF ARCHIE JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #107 $7.99
JAN211108 WORLD OF BETTY & VERONICA JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #3 $7.99
JAN211392 YOUNG LEONARDO HC $14.99
MAGAZINES
JAN211274 COMIC SHOP NEWS [90CT BUNDLE] #1752 $PI
JAN211620 CREEPS #30 (MR) $5.95
JAN211421 LOCUS #722 $8.99
DEC201709 STAR WARS AGE RESISTANCE OFF COLL ED NEWSSTAND (RES) $14.99
DEC201710 STAR WARS AGE RESISTANCE OFF COLL ED PX (RES) $14.99
BOOKS
JAN211090 BACKSTAGERS ILLUS SC NOVEL VOL 03 FINAL BLACKOUT $8.99
JAN211509 CHIP KIDD BOOK TWO 2007-2017 HC $19.98
DEC201966 CLASSROOM OF ELITE LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 7.5 $13.99
JAN211587 FIREFLY LIFE SIGNS HC $24.95
JAN211091 FLASH CROSSOVER CRISIS HC VOL 03 LEGENDS OF FOREVER $13.99
DEC202818 HARRY POTTER CRAFTING WIZARDRY ACTIVITY BOOK $24.99
DEC201969 HIDDEN DUNGEON ONLY I CAN ENTER LIGHT NOVEL VOL 03 $13.99
JAN211031 LIVE OAK WITH MOSS $18.99
JAN211350 MONSTER ART OF BASIL GOGOS SC LTD DRACULA VAR CVR (RES) $75.00
JAN211351 MONSTER ART OF BASIL GOGOS SC LTD WEREWOLF VAR CVR (RES) $75.00
JAN211771 TOKYO FASHION COMIC BOOK HC $19.99
DC Comics from Lunar Distributors for March 16, 2021
Batgirl Returns Omnibus HC, $99.99
Batman Beyond Volume 8 The Eradication Agenda TP, $16.99
Batman Vs Ra’s al Ghul #5 (Of 6)(Cover A Neal Adams), $3.99
Catwoman #29 (Cover A Joelle Jones), $3.99
Catwoman #29 (Cover B Jenny Frison Card Stock Variant), AR
Justice League #59 (Cover A David Marquez), $4.99
Justice League #59 (Cover B Kael Ngu Wraparound Variant), AR
Justice League #59 (Cover C Jim Lee Snyder Cut Variant), AR
Justice League #59 (Cover D Lee Bermejo Snyder Cut Variant), AR
Justice League #59 (Cover E Liam Sharp Snyder Cut Variant), AR
Justice League #59 (Cover F Liam Sharp Snyder Cut Black & White Variant), AR
Justice League #59 (Cover G Lee Bermejo Snyder Cut Black & White Variant), AR
Justice League #59 (Cover H Jim Lee Snyder Cut Black & White Variant), AR
Looney Tunes #259 (Cover A Walter Carzon), $2.99
Nightwing #78 (Cover A Bruno Redondo), $3.99
Nightwing #78 (Cover B Skan), AR
Revolver TP, $19.99
Sandman The Deluxe Edition Volume 2 HC, $49.99
Sheriff Of Babylon TP, $29.99
Superman Red And Blue #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Gary Frank), $5.99
Superman Red And Blue #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Lee Bermejo), $5.99
Superman Red And Blue #1 (Of 6)(Cover C Yoshitaka Amano), $5.99
Superman Vs Shazam TP, $24.99
Truth And Justice #2 (Cover A Khary Randolph), $4.99
Truth And Justice #2 (Cover B Ryan Benjamin & Richard Friend), $4.99
Saturday, March 13, 2021
#IReadsYou Review: SECOND SIGHT #1
SECOND SIGHT No. 1
AFTERSHOCK COMICS – @AfterShockComix
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
WRITER: David Hine
ARTIST: Alberto Ponticelli
COLORS: John Kalisz
LETTERS: Jimmy Betancourt
COVER: Alberto Ponticelli with John Kalisz
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2016)
For mature readers
Second Sight created by David Hine
Chapter 1: “Vision in Red”
Second Sight is a new comic book series created and written by David Hine and drawn by Alberto Ponticelli. The series focuses on a man who once became a celebrity because of his ability to see through the eyes of psychotic killers... before he was eventually accused of being a killer.
Second Sight #1 (“Vision in Red”) introduces Ray Palmer, owner of “The Bibliomaniac,” a bookstore that focuses on antiquarian and rare second-hand books. Of late, he is plagued by bad dreams, and now two journalists, interested in his past, have added to Palmer's woes.
Once upon a time, Palmer was renowned psychic, Ray Pilgrim. Now, that past has returned because of Ray's daughter, Toni. She is using her blog to dig into a sex scandal involving The Wednesday Club, a rumored, secret club for the powerful. Something else has also returned, threatening to reopen the darkest period in Ray's life.
I have read very little of David Hine's work, but what I have read I have found to be highly-imaginative and also inventive in a way most mainstream comic books are not. In 2008, I read his original English language (OEL) manga, Poison Candy (TOKYOPOP), and was quite impressed. Because of that American manga, I thought that Hine had the potential to be the next “great” British comic book writer in America.
After reading this first issue of Second Sight, I still believe that Hine's potential is largely untapped. I think Hine's imagination will show itself in this series with stomach-turning aplomb. Secret societies, child murders, pedophilia, sadism, masochism, serial killers, and some family dysfunction to cleanse the palette – it's almost more than I can digest... almost.
Alberto Ponticelli's twisty drawing style, edgy compositions, and darkly sweet storytelling is perfect for Hine's sweetly dark story. I don't think that I can wait an entire month for #2...
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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Thursday, March 11, 2021
#IReadsYou Review: O-PARTS HUNTER Volume 3
O-PARTS HUNTER, VOL. 3
VIZ MEDIA
CARTOONIST: Seishi Kishimoto
ISBN: 978-1-4215-0857-3; paperback (April 2007); Rated “‘T+’ for Older Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S.
666 Satan is a Japanese manga series written and drawn by Seishi Kishimoto. It was originally published in the magazine, Monthly Shōnen Gangan, from 2001 and 2007. VIZ Media published an English-language edition of the manga as a 19-volume, paperback graphic novel series, entitled O-Parts Hunter, from 2006 to 2009.
The manga series O-Parts Hunter is like a game manga built around treasure hunting. Drawing from Judeo-Christian angelic and demonic traditions, Japanese folklore, and Kabbalah, it is shonen manga for older teens. O-Parts also has a striking similarity to Naruto because O-Parts’ manga-ka (creator) Seishi Kishimoto is the twin brother of Naruto’s creator Masashi Kishimoto.
“O-Parts” are artifacts containing mystical powers. They are all that are left of an unknown ancient civilization and come in the form of everyday objects like rings and amulets to the more unusual such as aircraft and masks. An O.P.T. or O-Parts Tactician has the ability to release and use the power within an O-Part. The “Spirit” is the special energy force inside an O.P.T. that allows him to release the power or “effect” of an O-Part. If an O-Part can create water, then, water is that O-Part’s effect.
O-Parts Hunter, Vol. 3 finds Jio Freed and Ruby Crescent separated in Entotsu City. Jio and his newfound partner, Ball, a fellow teen and member of the city’s underground resistance movement against Governor Jaga, fight for their lives in Jaga’s throne room against (extra cool character) Wise Yury, a powerful O.P.T. knows as “The Crimson Magician.”
Meanwhile, Ruby languishes in the dungeon, but discovers that fellow cellmate, Amidaba, knew her father. The old woman has another surprise about the pendant Ruby wears around her neck. Later, Jio and Ball take on three dangerous tasks in order to pierce the sanctum of a mysterious O-Parts appraiser named Kirin.
THE LOWDOWN: This volume has less of the esoteric mythology that drives O-Parts Hunter, which is no small matter as this series is heavy with myth, folklore, and symbols. Vol. 3 is more of a fight comic.
In O-Parts Hunter Graphic Novel Volume 3 Kishimoto emphasizes wide open battles with lots of action lines and a dash of wuxia. Other action sequences are elaborate, stunt filled ordeals that are right out of a Hollywood adventure flick like National Treasure or an Indiana Jones movie. The central conflict and mystery continues to cook at a nice simmer.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: I’m partial to manga built around obtaining objects of power or winning some points formula, such as in Dragon Drive or Yu-Gi-Oh!, but O-Parts Hunter has the added sass and edge of something like Naruto. All in all, this is a nice improvement over the previous volume.
B+
7 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
https://www.viz.com/
https://twitter.com/VIZMedia
https://www.instagram.com/vizmedia/
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialVIZMedia
https://www.snapchat.com/add/vizmedia
The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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Wednesday, March 10, 2021
#IReadsYou Review: THE ETERNALS #1 Still Shows Off Jack Kirby's Imagination
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Jack Kirby
PENCILS: Jack Kirby
INKS: John Verpoorten
COLORS: Glynis Wein
LETTERS: Gaspar
32pp, Color, .25¢ U.S. (July 1976)
The Eternals created by Jack Kirby
“The Day of the Gods”
The Eternals are a race of humanoids in the Marvel Comics universe. They were created by the legendary comic book creator, writer-artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The Eternals #1 (cover dated: July 1976). The Eternals are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth. They were created by the immensely powerful alien race, the Celestials, along with a destructive counterpart, the Deviants.
The Eternals' first comic book series ran for 19 issues from 1976 to 1977, with issue #19 having a January 1978 cover date. Marvel Comics canceled the series before all its subplots were resolved, but The Eternals remained popular with fans, and Marvel published a 12-issue miniseries, The Eternals, in 1985 and 1986. I never took much interest in these characters, but they are the stars of an upcoming movie from Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. So I bought a copy of the first issue of the original series on eBay.
The Eternals #1 (“The Day of the Gods”) opens in a newly discovered, massive, underground Incan temple hidden beneath the high plains of the Andes in South America. The discoverers are Doctor Damian; his daughter, Margo, and the doctor's mysterious young assistant, Ike Harris. The site turns out to be the legendary “Chamber of the Gods,” and it holds the “Galaxy Plague,” an Incan stone carving that depicts the Incas' “Space God” and his space craft.
This discovery leads Ike Harris to tell the doctor and his daughter the story of the “Space Gods” that visited Earth far in the planet's prehistory and later, visited the Incas. During their first visit, the Space Gods used their “cosmic chemistry” on “the apes” they found on Earth to create three races. Those races were the “Eternals,” the “Deviants,” and humans. Ike Harris is really an Eternal named “Ikaris.”
Ikaris is searching for the chamber's greatest treasure, a great “Reflector” that will summon the Space Gods back to Earth. What Ikaris, Doctor Damian, and Margo do not know is that Kro, a Deviant, is leading a force of lackeys to the chamber to destroy the Reflector and to stop the return of their Space God creators.
THE LOWDOWN: This story starts off with one of those typically bombastic titles, “The Day of the Gods,” that often started off many of its stories during the first two decades of Marvel Comics' existence. From page one, Jack Kirby offers one of his typically epic and cosmic stories that extend to the far reaches of time and space and space-time.
It seems to me that here, Kirby was influenced by author Erich von Daniken's 1968 book, Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past, or the 1970 documentary film based on the book. Von Daniken is one of the primary 20th proponents of the “ancient astronauts” hypotheses and ideas. Influences aside, The Eternals #1 is all Jack “King” Kirby.
Kirby's awesome architectural and structural illustrations depicting the Chamber of the Gods take in Aztec and Incan art, designs, and stone wall murals. Kirby fills the pages with massive, brawny edifices and interiors that seem too big for the page. The characters are also big, drawn in Kirby's melodramatic, awkward poses. Kirby may not be among the best figure drawers in the history of American comic books, but the way he drew characters created much of the visual and graphical language of superhero comic books. His work over a two-decade period in the 1960s and 1970s still defines the storytelling in mainstream comic books.
The lettering by noted comic book letterer, Gaspar, is perfect for this kind of Kirby story. It pounds out the meaty, fast-paced story and captures its constant crescendo. Glynis Wein's colors are muted, which I think is good. She keeps from hiding the power of Kirby's pencil art, which inker John Verpoorten smartly accentuates.
By the time I reached the end of The Eternals #1, I really wanted to read The Eternals #2. I don't want to pay premium collector's prices for the second issue, so I better find a book collection. Oh, reading this also made me want more Jack Kirby.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Jack Kirby will want to read The Eternals... or some of you, dear readers, will want to read it to prepare for the film.
8 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.
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Tuesday, March 9, 2021
#IReadsYou Book Review: STAR WARS THE HIGH REPUBLIC: Light of the Jedi
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC: LIGHT OF THE JEDI
RANDOM HOUSE/Del Rey
[This review was originally posted on Patreon, and visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
COVER: Joseph Meehan
ISBN: 978-0-593-15771-8; hardcover (January 5, 2021)
400pp, B&W, $28.99 U.S., $38.99 CAN
Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi is a 2021 Star Wars novel from author Charles Soule. Star Wars: The High Republic is an all-new storytelling initiative set in the world of Star Wars. This publishing program will feature interconnected stories that will be told across multiple publishers, including book and comic book publishers, and that will be targeted at multiple age groups of readers.
Star Wars: The High Republic's saga takes place 200 years prior to the events depicted in the film, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), in an all-new time period. The High Republic is set in an era when both the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order are at the height of their power, serving and protecting the galaxy. This is a hopeful and optimistic time, and the Republic and the Jedi are noble and respected.
Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi opens in a golden age. Intrepid hyperspace scouts have expanded the reach of the Republic to the furthest stars and into the Outer Rim. Worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate on the Core world of Coruscant and its leader, Chancellor Lina Soh. Peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the order of Force users known as the Jedi Knights, who are at the height of their power. The light of the Jedi spreads across the Republic, and every citizen knows that “We are all Republic.”
The Republic has a new project, “the Starlight Beacon,” which will connect the inhabitants and new settlers of the worlds of the Outer Rim to the Mid Rim and Core worlds. In fact, the “Legacy Run,” a Kaniff Yards Class 4 modular freight transport, is traveling through hyperspace with a full contingent of new setters to the Outer Rim. Then, a shocking catastrophe in hyperspace tears the Legacy Run apart, and multiple pieces and sections of the ship emerge from hyperspace like a flurry of shrapnel.
These “Emergences” from hyperspace into real space threaten disaster and total destruction for the entire Hetzal System, an Outer Rim system of mostly agricultural worlds. The Jedi quickly race to the scene, but the scope of what will be called “The Great Disaster” pushes even the Jedi to their limit. A single mistake on their part could cost billions of lives.
Behind this emergency is a new enemy, a band of marauding and mysterious “space vikings” known as “the Nihil.” The threat of the Nihil has largely stayed beyond the boundary of the Republic, but this hyperspace disaster is part of a new sinister plan that just might strike fear into this golden age of the Republic.
THE LOWDOWN: Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi is the first Star Wars novel that I have read in about eight and a half years. The last one I read was author James Luceno's Star Wars: Darth Plagueis (2012), which was part of the defunct “Star Wars Expanded Universe.” Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi is the perfect book to welcome a returning Star Wars novel reader to the franchise.
Charles Soule is a novelist and attorney, but I know him as one of Marvel Comics' very best Star Wars comic book writers … ever. I was surprised to see that he would write one of the novels that would launch Star Wars: The High Republic, but Soule turns out to be one of those perfect choices.
Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi works because Soule's prose and storytelling slowly draws the readers into the narrative. Then, he forces readers to race through this book that roils like a summer potboiler novel. The chapters are relatively short; there are 44 of them, plus a prologue, an epilogue, and a few interludes, but almost everyone of them packs a wallop. Anytime is the right time for a book that you, dear readers, can't put down.
Soule gives readers a good taste of the characters: Jedi, non-Jedi, and adversaries in Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi, but character writing isn't what Soule does best in this book. In a way, the characters' personalities, conflicts, histories, relationships, doubts, goals, motivations, etc. seem somewhat allusive. I think that is partly because these characters are still in a state of development so early in this publishing program.
Still, Jedi like Avar Kriss, Loden Greatstorm, Bell Zettifer, and Elzar Mann promise to be quite interesting and fun. What is the highest recommendation that I can give Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi? By the time I reached the end of this book, I really wanted there to be more.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Star Wars novels will certainly want to give Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi a try.
8.5 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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