Flash Gordon – Zeitgeist #3 – Review

By: Eric Trautmann (plot and script), Alex Ross (plot and art direction), Daniel Indro and Ron Adrian (art), Slamet Mujiono (colors), Joseph Rybandt (editor)

Chapter Three: The Monsters of Mongo: Flash, recently escaped with an assist from the luscious Princess Aura, is shot down in the territory on the lion men. Pursuing agents: should we use surgical strike? Ming: no, make it messy. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Adolph is getting some military aid from old Merciless. Hail Ming!

What’s Good: This is one of two sword and planet titles I’ve picked up from Dynamite this week (see Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #10, for the other). Sword and planet is a fun, escapist form (well, let’s face it, the whole comics medium is an escapist form, but this is more escapist than say, the street level crime of the Kingpin or something). Ross and Trautmann make full use of its conventions. We’ve got alluring evil princesses, quick getaways, strange moons with dangerous aliens, an empire full of goons, all lead by an implacable tyrant. Our hero is daring, truehearted and consummately dangerous, and he’s setting his sights on the bad guy. This is swashbuckling adventure for adventure’s sake, modernized with better tech and science, but at its core, beats a heart of pulp.
The art by Indro and Adrian under the direction of Ross is awesome. I love the draftsmanship and especially the close attention to facial expression, and the shadow and texture required to make it real. The castles and moons and trees and ships and other costumes are evocatively alien, and basically, it is a fiesta for the eyes.

Flash Gordon – Zeitgeist #1 – Review

By: Eric Trautmann (writer), Alex Ross (plotting and art direction), Daniel Indro (illustrator), Slamet Mujiono (colors), Joseph Rybandt (editor), Alex Raymond (creator)

The Story: Ming the Merciless is looking for fun on a Friday night. Earth is handily in his cross-hairs. The Earth of 1934 reacts with confusion to the super-technology attacking them that manifests as natural disasters. Everyone except Dr. Hans Zarkov. And by coincidence, Flash Gordon, emissary of the President of the USA, and Dale Arden, cartographer, happen to be with him as he is blasting towards Mongo.

What Was Good: Right out of the gates, I have to declare that I grew up on Filmation’s Flash Gordon cartoons as a kid, so obviously I’m coming from a pulpy place of love for sword and planet adventures. Although this is early in the story, I could already see Trautmann assembling the pieces that make Flash Gordon fun. These are: (1) the terrifying Ming and his fragile empire, (2) Flash, the brave, classic hero, (3) Dale, the damsel-love interest, (4) Zarkov, the scientist ally, and (5) the servants of the emperor, but not necessarily loyally so. Ross and Trautmann also pulled in some elements that promise to give this story a theme or gravitas that the pulp original did not have. The addition of the Third Reich and Hitler say a lot about the kind story this is going to be and the foils and thematic contrasts that will be offered. All that being said, this issue was only the inciting incident. The real story begins in issue #2.

Artwise, I was delighted. Indro was a bit quirky, but I found myself liking the way he exaggerates certain elements (Zarkov, for example), cleaves close to traditional styles for heroics (Flash and Dale), while pursuing very modern takes on villainy (Ming and his entourage). All of it was well done and the detail in the 1930s tech was wonderful, right down to the fraying piece of tape labeling a switch in Zarkov’s laboratory.

Vampirella #1 – Review

By: Eric Trautman (writer), Wagner Reis (art), Marshall Dillon (letters) and Inlight Studio (colors)

The Story: Vampirella gets updated for a modern age and sets out to battle some problematic vampires.

What’s Good: The art is pretty good.  The characters all look good and appropriate.  No oddly proportioned bodies.  Everything is nice and dark and moody.  This art will work for this series.

What’s Not So Good: Pretty much everything else.  It isn’t bad per se, but the overall direction of this comic is a little troubling.  Do a Google image search on Vampirella.  Chances are you are going to get a lot of cheesecake.  So when you slap the name “Vampirella” on the cover and have cheesecake cover art, you have some expectations of getting the 1970’s style Archie Goodwin/Frank Frazetta goodness.  I wanted a slight amount of campiness and I wanted cheesecake from this title.  Instead what we are served under the deceiving cover is an okay female vigilante story.  Vampirella now wears normal clothing and is a vampire killer.  And there is nothing wrong with that, but they just shouldn’t call it Vampirella.  Of course, if they called it something else, it probably wouldn’t sell very well.

The biggest problem with this book is that without the camp and cheesecake, there isn’t much to differentiate it in a very crowded comics landscape.  What we have is a mixture of Blade, Buffy and Batwoman.  Except those stories are already written.  I don’t need another one.  When I read a comic that isn’t Marvel/DC, I really want something that is edgier than what corporate editors at Marvel or DC would feel comfortable with…and this comic didn’t deliver.

Action Comics #888 – Review

By Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann (writers), and Pere Perez (artists), Javier Mena (colorist) and Travis Lanham (letterer)

The Story: Flamebird continues the fight against false Rao, alone since Nightwing is incapacitated. Luckily the cavalry arrives in the form of the JSA and Wonder Woman to even the odds.

What’s Good: I love the way Rucka delves into Kryptonian mythology; and then allows it to play out again before our eyes. It gives the whole arc a very Joseph Campbell Hero With A Thousand Faces vibe that I really, really like. Flamebird and Nightwing continue to be two of my favorite characters (although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to the return of Superman in the book too.) Not only do Flamebird and Nightwing have interesting histories, Rucka does a great job of characterizing them here. Flamebird takes center stage as she did in the last issue, but Nightwing isn’t short-shifted by any means—and if the cliffhanger is any indication, he’ll be coming back strong for #889.

Perez does quite well on art. The scenes in the Phantom Zone are just awesome. The very creative panel layouts look very J.H. Williams-esque, which is about the highest compliment I could give. The biggest problem is that it feels very inconsistent. It has moments that it reaches great heights, and on the very next page will slip into “just okay” (although, it’s worth noting that the art is never bad.)

There is a backup feature, and its serviceable enough. Captain Atom has never been one of my favorite characters, but this kept me entertained in spite of that. The writing was decent, if clichéd in places, and the artwork was quite enjoyable. It didn’t add a whole lot of value to the book for me personally, but I think someone who likes the character more would get much more out of it.

Final Crisis: Resist #1 – Review

By Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann (Writers) and Ryan Sook (Art)

The Story: Mr. Terrific and a few of his subordinates, including a human teleporter and a sentient A.I. system, are holed up in a vault at Checkmate HQ; while under siege from hordes of Darkseid’s minions.  Mr. Terrific stages guerrilla warfare by sending out his teleporter, SnapperCarr against Darkseid’s assets and resources.  Things go from bad to worse when Snapper runs into Cheetah and is exposed to a virus that subdues his meta-gene, rendering him powerless. Mr. Terrific is then forced to make a risky tactical decision that pays off big and allows the remnants of humanity to have a fighting chance in resisting Darkseid.

What’s Good: In typical fashion, Greg Rucka spins a nice tale by relying on strong dialogue and subtle, but powerful, character sketches. The secret weapon unleashed at the end of the story, is a good symbol of the moral ambiguity that pervades the heroes’ desperate actions throughout the Final Crisis.

What’s Not So Good: It seems all the Crisis tales are crowded affairs, but this one, in its dim-lit, bunker based setting, takes the atmosphere to claustrophobic levels. Since this one-shot could be told in a few panels in the main series, the story is largely tedious and boring; and with the exception of the big reveal at the end, unnecessary.

In Conclusion: Much criticism has been leveled at the Final Crisis tie-ins for not being connected to the actual Crisis at hand. Though this book is indeed connected to the event, it seems a bit underwhelming. However, the new players on the side of the good guys spice up the playing field and should play a crucial role against the forces of evil, or at least make interesting cannon fodder.

Grade: C+

-Rob G.