Kings Watch #4 – Review

by Jeff Parker (Writer), Marc Laming (Artist), Jordan Boyd (Colorist)

The Story: Ming comes out of the gate, ready to integrate Earth to his empire, whether its population wants to or not.

The Review: Revamping characters has got to be a rather hard task. Whenever a character needs to be updated for a newer audience, there is always the need to preserve what has been unique to the character while removing the elements that might not be working as well today. Some characters, in many ways, do tend to translate well to a modern audience thanks to a good imagination and some solid concepts behind them, but not all character are so lucky.

It’s why it’s rather impressive to see that Jeff Parker has successfully brought back some older pulp character to the forefront without removing much of what made them likable to begin with. In Kings Watch, parts of the fun was the merging of old-school sensibilities with newer methods to push forward some characters that were definitely simple back in what some might call ”the good old days”. However, with the way the story got bigger with each issues, how could Parker actually continue in a way that could keep up with the conflict without sacrificing any of the previous strengths?

The writer mostly find a way. Without being a perfect continuation to this rise in terms of threat, the opening of the issue as well as the ways the trio of protagonists deals with the army from Mongo does make for an interesting continuation of the story.

The threat that Ming represent is made clear in this issue, bringing in various humanoid beasts, aliens and some clever additions and changes in the battlefield that is the Earth that allows for the heroes to shine in various ways. The way their army and their technology makes them a superior force to reckon with makes it so the stakes are big, but also indubitably clear. Those are the kind of problems that super heroes are there for.

Kings Watch #3 – Review

by Jeff Parker (Writer), Marc Laming (Artist), Jordan Boyd (Colorist)

The Story: The protagonists finally band together as the secret of the Kings Watch stands revealed.

The Review: Patience is a virtue that I can be lacking sometimes. In a world where everyone wants everything straight away, these kind of thoughts tend to parasite things we enjoy among a multitude of others. While I am a fan of Jeff Parker, I was getting a bit tired of this mini-series, with how disconnected some of the events could seem and how its three protagonists did not seem to do much beside explain one or two points in each issues. It wasn’t tedious or boring, yet I had seen Jeff Parker write much better comics than this.

Well, it seems my impatience has been unjustly rewarded as the third issue of this series is where not only everything connects, but it also give plenty of rather entertaining and awesome moments for either fans of the characters and those that wish to know a little bit more about them.

One of the rather great elements of this issue is the sensation of spectacle, as there are some introductions and display of major players and what they can do, all done in impressive and satisfactory ways here. Mandrake the magician, the legacy of the Phantom, the secret of the Kings Watch, Ming the merciless and other such concepts are presented in ways that are rather big and expansive. It’s a bit reminiscent of modern super hero comics in a way, as reveals here are treated as results of huge buildup, which is what this story does in a lot of pages. In terms of action and development, it is a ton of fun.

King’s Watch #1 – Review

by Jeff Parker (Writer), Marc Laming (Artist), Jordan Boyd (Colorist)

The Story: It seems the end of the world is close at hand, as people investigates it, some reacts to it while heroes are on the move.

The Review: There always comes a time for any readers when they decide to follow an artist or a writer. Most people go and buy most of the series involving their favourite characters, but most of us do have a tendency to try out some of the names in the industry. It might be because of a title they wrote, or their personal view on certain subjects and theme, but whichever the reason, it makes us want to see more from that particular author.

It’s no secret that I have a fondness for Jeff Parker’s work, who made me a fan of the Red Hulk and made me love the dysfunctional yet always likeable cast from Thunderbolts. He also had a knack for inventive stories and using golden age heroes, which has been a staple for the numerous Agents of Atlas volumes written by him. With such a pedigree, it seems that him handling a bunch of pulp heroes and teaming them up together should be right up his alley, but is it so?

In a way, it’s a mixed issue, as it does bring up some of the themes rather nicely, yet fails in some other areas. One of the aspects which he does nicely, however, is bring in the general tone that is fitting of each of the character, with Flash Gordon being the reckless adventurer he always is, Mandrake being a bit unsure, yet full of mystery and the Phantom being the brave action he always had been. Even with the minimal knowledge that some may possess of these characters, Parker does not fail to bring their personalities to the forefront.

GI Joe: Cobra Files #5 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Werther Dell’edera (art), Arianna Florean (colors) and Shawn Lee (letters)

The Story: It’s not good when the nerd who runs the network (i.e. Clockspring) starts to feel jilted.

Review (with minor SPOILERS): Again, this is another really tight issue of Cobra Files.  It’s really amazing how good this title has consistently been while the other Joe titles tend to wander in the wilderness sometimes.

One of the focuses for this series has been Clockspring, who is a new(er) Joe character.  He runs the networks for this Joe team and is the classic under-appreciated “IT guy”.  He’s also developed romantic feelings for Chameleon, only to be devastated when she and Flint start hooking up.  You can just imagine that this won’t turn out well.

This issue focuses on Clockspring’s past as we follow him through his high school and college years, seeing how he’s always been “the nice guy” who girls are friendly to….until they go hook up with the dumb jocks.  Each time, he’s retreated a little deeper into his computers and that got him the skill to be where he is today.  And now he has once again lost a woman he was interested in (Chameleon) to another dumb jock (Flint).  Except that this time he has the duplicitous Tomax whispering poison in his ears and subtly maneuvering Clockspring to a point where he might stop being “the good guy”.  It’s a really interesting study in bottled up anger.  If/When Clockspring flips out, everyone will be shocked that it was all due to the Flint/Chameleon relationship, but what this issue demonstrates is that this disappointment has been building in Clockspring ever since he was a kid – Losing out on Chameleon is just the final straw.

GI Joe: Cobra Files #1 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Antonio Fuso (pencils), Emilio Lecce (inks), Arianna Florean (colors) and Shawn Lee (letters)

The Story: Having defected from Cobra to G.I. Joe, Chameleon tries to fit in.

Review (with SPOILERS): If you’ve been following the IDW GI Joe books since IDW got the license a few years ago, you know more or less what to expect from a Mike Costa/Antonio Fuso Cobra comic.  No need to sell you on the qualities of this book because it picks up pretty much from the last Cobra series and is of the same quality that Costa and Fuso have delivered all along.

Previews – May 2012

Maybe we’ll start this as a new feature?  I’ll flip through Previews, tell you what I think is worthwhile and you can tell me I’m a moron.  Sound like fun?

DARK HORSE

– Axe Cop: President of the World #1 – At some point, this odd comic that is written by 8 year old Malachai Nicolle and illustrated by his brother, 31 year old Ethan, will lose it’s magic.  Someday Malachai will probably “grow up” too much or become too self-aware, but until that happens we should enjoy the ride.  Here’s a link to my review of last Spring’s Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1.

– Early issues where you can hop on before it’s too late.  Fatima: The Blood Spinners #2 by Gilbert Hernandez, Mind Mgmt #3 by Matt Kindt and The Massive #2 by Brian Wood.

– Eerie Comics #1 brings back the beloved old Warren Publishing title.  It’s really hard to go wrong with a horror anthology in black and white.  Of course, don’t miss the big brother: Creepy Comics #9.

Cobra #10 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Alex Cal (breakdowns), Beni Lobel (finishes), J. Brown (colors), Neil Uyetake (letters), Carlos Guzman (assistant editor) & John Barber (editor)

The Story: As the new Cobra Commander takes over a SE Asian nation, his lieutenants begin to scheme against him.

A Few Things: 

1. The Cobra characters are so much more interesting. – Honestly, I’d rather this comic didn’t show what the Joes are doing… ever.  Let me summarize what the Joes are doing in case anyone wants to skip it: “We have to stop Cobra.”  We need a little pre-emptive strike action from the Joes, otherwise they’re just reactionary.  On the flip side, the Cobra main characters all ooze charisma.  Each is unique and has his/her own strengths, flaws and goals.  They’re so much more three-dimensional than the Joes.  Maybe villains are just more interesting than heroes?  Maybe Mike Costa is a better writer?  Am I the only one who sees this?

2. Scheming is good! – Well…you didn’t really think that all the main Cobra guys would just say, “Cool!  We have a new commander.  Let’s blindly follow him!”  So, it isn’t a huge surprise that everyone is scheming against Krake.  Here we’ve got all kinds of weird little alliances forming among the Cobra lieutenants and that’s cool because you know that those alliances won’t last a second longer than necessary.  Plus, the scheming gets Baroness into the action (in a towel no less) and that’s always positive.  And….it won’t surprise anyone if Krake has been a step ahead of his minions all along.

3. What’s in the briefcase? -I got a huge Pulp Fiction/briefcase vibe as we saw the Cobras geeking out over whatever image Major Bludd has on his iPad.  Tomax especially had a great look.  What could Krake have done on a hidden camera that is so horrible that he might lose his leadership position?  Is it an old YouTube video he made when he was 15 where he professed his deep love for Snake Eyes?

Captain America #8 – Review

By: Ed Brubaker (writer), Alan Davis (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Laura Martin (colorist)

The Story: Powerless, Part 3: Cap and Sharon manage to eke out a victory in a tough fight with the Serpent Squad only for Cap to lose his powers once again. Why? Who’s behind this? Sharon has one theory and the investigation leads her to the Machinesmith. In the meantime, the Hydra Queen makes several moves. It’s all going pear-shaped.

The Review: I have been a big Davis/Farmer fan since the 80s and absolutely loved them here. Davis is at once a master of draftsmanship, with elegant, detailed faces with close-up texturing. At the same time, he knows his way around a superhero fight, with varied panel structures and camera angles, with quicker and more stylized shapes to focus the reader’s eye on the dynamism as opposed to the detail. A great example of this is on the first page. Cap as the center of the action has the most detail, but it is clearly the composition doing the work here. Check out the stances and angles, the V-shape made by Cap’s leg with the Eel’s, the detail-free Sharon in an uber-energetic Kirby-esque pose. The page radiates energy. Then in the next couple of pages, the close-ups of Cap and Sharon’s faces are wonderfully detailed, emotive and lifelike, in the way a Neal Adams face comes alive. The other artistic roots I felt while reading this book was Mike Zeck. Zeck defined the Captain America for several years and I almost felt Zeck’s great style being channeled in this book, but better.

Storywise, it’s hard to go wrong with Brubaker. His name on the top of the credits virtually guarantees that you’ll be treated as an intelligent reader. Moreover, he’s so good at the thriller and the espionage motifs, which are so much a part of Cap’s WWII and cold-war mythos, that the intrigue and layered mystery pulls the story towards a climax you know is going to be good. The dialogue is crisp and believable (insofar as some villains have to have a bit of an over-the-top style to them) and the plot twists are great. I loved the Cobra interrogation scene and Sharon’s next steps, and I was eating up the Hydra Queen moves.

Cobra #9 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Alex Cal (artist), J. Brown (colors), Neil Uyetake (letters), Carlos Guzman (assistant editor) & John Barber (editor)

The Story: Cobra has taken over a SE Asian country.  The Joes want to stop them and the new Cobra Commander’s lieutenants are fighting amongst themselves.

Three Things:

1. The story is really kinda rocking. – There’s a LOT to enjoy about the “story” aspect of this comic and the overall Cobra Command story-arc.  For one thing, we readers don’t know what to expect at all.  That is so rare in comics.  Not only is IDW’s GI Joe universe pretty new (~40 issues) since they completely rebooted it a few years ago, but to say that the naming of a new Cobra Commander ushered in a new status quo would be a huge understatement.  In comics, “classic” villains become less frightful the better we get to know them.  Sure, some writers are still able to pull a rabbit out of the hat and make Joker scary, but having a villain who is still 90% unknown is WAY more effective.  I love that we have no real idea what the new Cobra Commander is up to; he clearly has a plan, but he isn’t sharing it with us yet.  And, all the other classic Cobras like Baroness, Destro, Major Bludd, etc. are new enough that we don’t really know what to expect from them either.

2. Shame about the art. – I’ve been mostly complementary about the job that Alex Cal has done of the last few GI Joe issues he’s drawn, but this was a big step back.  Large chunks of the comic are still solidly “competent”, but there are a few other places where the sequential storytelling just falls apart.  Basically, if the panel consists of a head or a person talking, the art is fine.  But if there is action, there are problems.  One arises during a big Snake Eyes and Agent Helix fight where I couldn’t tell what the hell happened because a few panels were unclear.  IDW has been putting some inexperienced artists on these Joe titles and I think they’d be better served by going back to a 8-panel grid as the basic storytelling tool.  Gotta walk before you can run!

GI Joe #9 – Review

By: Chuck Dixon (writer), Alex Cal (artist), J. Brown (colors), Shawn Lee (letters), Carlos Guzman (assistant editor) & John Barber (editor)

The Story: The Joes must react to the first big act of the new Cobra Commander.

Four things: [SPOILER WARNING]

1. Beginning of a new crossover story. – Coming out of the Cobra Civil War where a new Cobra Commander was selected (the winner was whoever killed the most Joes), we had to wonder: What will the bad guys do next?  Well…..they’re taking over a damn country!  Not a big country like the United States or Germany, but a little country that no one cares about.  There are….of course….real world parallels.  Should the Joes be given unlimited resources to fight bad guys in a country that nobody cares about?  IN real life, should we care about bad guys in Somalia and Afghanistan?  It’s always nice to see comics tickle current events.  I also give IDW huge props for numbering this Cobra Command crossover.  If they’re going to cross over, I want a sequential reading order and not just a bunch of titles happening under a banner.

2. Love the vibe of secret Cobra. – I LOVE that in this GI Joe universe that Cobra is a secret organization.  They’re not outward and overt, but kinda behind the scenes and emerging.  That makes it much more difficult for the Joes to fight them (or even get the resources to fight them) because people question how real and dangerous this Cobra organization is.  Again, there are real world parallels and regardless of how you personally come down on current (real world) events, it’s fun to see a comic that is relatable.

Cobra #8 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Antonio Fuso & Werther Dell’edera (art), Scarletgothica (colors), Shawn Lee (letters) and Carlos Guzman & John Barber (editors)

The Story: Now that the new Cobra Commander has been named, how will the remaining high-level Cobra operatives organize themselves in the new organizational chart.

Five Things: 

1. Fuso is doing the best art on the GI Joe books right now. – With the exception of whatever book Robert Atkins works on and Fuso’s art on Cobra, the GI Joe books have had some really problematic art.  It isn’t even a question of, “I don’t care for the style.” but more of a “What the hell just happened?  I can’t tell with this storytelling!”  Fuso has no such problems.  His style is simple and angular and I don’t think anyone would ever call it “beautiful”, but the storytelling is perfect and his characters tell the story that needs to be told.  Sometimes it’s easy to overlook those basics, but given the problems that some of the other GI Joe books have had, I really appreciate what Fuso is doing in this issue.

2. Cobra is a much more interesting book than GI Joe. – It’s just more fun to watch the bad guys as their plans are so much more interesting than anything the Joe’s are up to.  Even though there is a new Cobra Commander, you wouldn’t expect that the other A-lister Cobras would just mindlessly fall into line behind the new guy.  No sir, they’re all got their hopes and dreams and schemes.  All the plotting makes for a very interesting read (especially now that the art is telling the story so nicely).

3. This issue is kinda between major events. – This issue feels a little like it’s killing time.  We just hit the climax of this Cobra Civil War event with the naming of the new Cobra Commander (after the various A-list Cobras were duking it out to be the new Commander by killing as many Joes as possible).  But, we aren’t quite into the next story cycle yet.  So, this issue is between story beats.  For what it’s worth, Costa does use the time to establish the major baddies like Major Bludd and Baroness in the new status quo, but there still isn’t a lot going on.

IDW reveals three new G.I. Joe series

When IDW Publishing announced they had reached a deal with Hasbro to plan a re-launch of the G.I. JOE comic book franchise, they kept their mission plans secret. But now, with the impending release of the kick-off issue, October’s specially priced G.I. JOE #0, it’s time to discuss the plans in detail.

G.I. JOE #0, a $1.00, 24-page comic being released next month, will debut three new series launching in early ‘09. The issue contains three stand-alone five-page stories unique to the #0 issue, as well as character sketches and commentary from artist Robert Atkins, previews of upcoming covers, and interviews with the new G.I. JOE creators. The issue features two regular covers, one from Dave Dorman and one from JonBoy Meyers, as well as two special incentive covers from Atkins and a wraparound image by Ben Templesmith.

As to the content of the stories themselves, well, so far, the only news announced to fans has been the return of acclaimed G.I. JOE writer, Larry Hama and the addition of artist Atkins. While Hama is indeed back in the fold, he’s returning as part of a larger action team that will present these three initial comic book series in which G.I. JOE and COBRA are fully revitalized and re-established for a new generation of fans.

The first title to come storming out of the gate in January will be the singularly titled G.I.JOE, written by Chuck Dixon and featuring art by Atkins. This title moves ahead in the timeline from Hama‘s series and looks at the fledging G.I. JOE organization as it explores an all-new threat, a shadowy organization that is first introduced to the team in a #0 issue story. Dave Johnson (100 Bullets) will provide covers for the series, as will Atkins. The first issue features a special wraparound variant cover by superstar artist Gabriele Dell’Otto (Secret War).

Larry Hama will be heading up G.I. JOE: ORIGINS, a series that re-envisions the G.I. JOE team for a new generation. Hama will be putting his great strength of blending strong characterization and action storytelling, honed over decades of writing these characters, to effective use in looking at the formations of the G.I. JOE organization and just who the characters on the team really are. Hama will be joined on this series by artist/colorist Tom Feister (Ex Machina). Each issue will come with two regular covers, one by Andrea Di Vito and one by Feister himself. The series launches in February.

Finally, launching in March will be the third round of this initial salvo: G.I. JOE: COBRA, a four-part miniseries written by Christos Gage and Mike Costa, with art by Antonio Fuso, and covers by Howard Chaykin (American Flagg) and Fuso. This series provides a unique look at the new status quo for the primary threat in the G.I. JOE universe. The series views the sinister COBRA organization from a ground-floor view as a familiar G.I. JOE team member seeks to infiltrate Cobra and learn their inner workings.

In addition to these titles, IDW will be launching comics that lead into next summer’s G.I. JOE live-action major motion picture from Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, as well as deluxe reprints of past fan-favorite tales. Details for both these projects will be released soon.

G.I. Joe #0 (item code AUG08 4120, a 24-page, $1 issue, will be available in October. G.I. Joe #1 launches in January 2009; G.I. Joe: Origins #1 debuts in February 2009; and G.I. Joe: Cobra #1 premieres in March 2009.