Secret Avengers #1 – Review

by Ales Kot (Writer), Michael Walsh (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colorist)

The Story: The Fury, A.I.M agents and an evil Latverian agents walk into a bar…

The Review: With the previous volume still freshly concluded, it’s a bit hard for those who rather like the continuation of regular numerical order to be happy. With many titles being launched and relaunched, some might be skeptical to see some concepts being merely tweaked with a whole new number one on the cover, especially if it’s a continuation of previous elements established prior. However, there might be some reasons why renumbering can also work.

Case in point, this new volume of Secret Avengers, while using several ideas and characters of the previous volume by Nick Spencer, is one that feels justified in its new number one. The reason is very simple: while it keeps the espionage vibe and some of the plot threads introduced in the latest arc co-written by the sole writer here, Ales Kot, it has a decidedly different tone that makes this another book altogether.

The first notable thing is the fact that Kot, in his own ways, allows for the absurdity of super heroes to resonate on the page, playing with comedy for all its worth. Using the seriousness of each situations to its advantage, the writer presents another side to allow the ambiguity of the characters, their relations and many other smaller details to present a good dose of humor without hurting the very scenes themselves. How Black Widow relaxes, what happens after Hawkeye manages to flee the A.I.M agents for a second, the type of experiments M.O.D.O.K. has been doing and many other smaller details are put in to make it a fun ride.

Zero, Vol. 1 An Emergency – Review

by Ales Kot (Writer), Michael Walsh, Tradd Moore, Mateus Santolouco, Morgan Jeske, Will Tempest (Artists), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

There are some times in a comic’s enthusiast life when we take chances. Perhaps it’s because of good reviews, because we liked what we saw of the writer prior to reading this, because of a low price points or whichever reason is best, but we just try something new. It might turn out to be a disappointing affair, something that did sound good in terms of concept, yet the execution is somehow lacking. Taking chances doesn’t automatically mean the experience will be good.

However, there are other times when the best happen, when a certain leap of faith gets rewarded in ways that could not be anticipated in the slightest. It becomes something almost transcendental, upon which untold riches can now be seen.

The latter is how my experience with the first trade of Ales Kot’s Zero can be summarized. With but the recommendation of one of the employee where I buy my comics to base myself upon and the 9.99$ price to encourage my purchase, I went blindly and found something spectacular.

Zero is a comic about Edward Zero, a secret agent, a spy if you will, that works for an agency unoriginally called The Agency. His story, which starts in 2018 and then ends in 2038, is told in various moments throughout his carrier, with several moments in the first five issues showing just where he ends up in 2038. With the trade comprising of the first five issues which all tell a complete tale, Kot is able to bring a lot to the character of Edward Zero, about who he is and what he does.

X-Files Season 10 #8 – Review

By: Joe Harris (writer), Michael Walsh (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors), Robbin Robbins (letters)

The Story: An old source of Mulder’s reappears to point him toward a new conspiracy.

Review (with SPOILERS): This issue sings because of the return of Michael Walsh to art duties.  When Walsh is doing the art, The X-Files, Season 10 reminds me of a good high school reunion: all the people that you wanted to see are there, none of the bad people and everyone kind acts and looks the way you expect them too.  This whole series is nothing but a nostalgia trip for people who enjoyed the TV series, so it means everything that Walsh is so expertly able to peg the characters.

Much of this issue is about Mulder’s second informant on the TV series: X.  I’ll save you the wikipedia and remind you that Mulder’s original source (Deep Throat) was murdered at the end of Season 1.  In Season 2, we met the mysterious X who gave Mulder a lot of tips over his time on the series, but never seemed quite as friendly as Deep Throat.  Perhaps it was just that Deep Throat had an avuncular air to him??  Regardless, X was a minor character on the X-Files from 1994-1997….and that was a long, long time ago.  But, when you first see X in this issue, you brain goes, “Oh yeah…..it’s that guy from 21 Jump Street who also played Fox Mulder’s informant on the X-Files.”  Walsh’s depiction is so perfect.

X-Files: Season 10 #5 – Review

By: Joe Harris and Chris Carter (story), Harris (writer), Michael Walsh (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Tom B. Long (letters)

The Story: The climax of the first arc as Mulder and Scully deal with the (possibly) alien Acolytes in Yellowstone Park.

Review (with SPOILERS): This issue is the first hiccup for a series that has been mostly flawless since its launch a few months ago.

The things that I’ve loved about the first four issue are still there.  Namely, the combination of writing and art makes this seem like a completely organic continuation of the X-Files TV series; when you read the word balloons, it is almost like David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have come over to narrate a comic just for you.  The speech patterns are the same, the art makes the characters look authentic without being too photo-referency and even the coloring matches the original TV series.  I also applaud the creative team for making this a 5-issue arc which keeps it snappier than a longer arc would have felt.

X-Files Season 10 #4 – Review

By: Joe Harris & Chris Carter (story), Joe Harris (writer), Michael Walsh (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Robbie Robbins (letters)

The Story: Mulder finally tracks down a kidnapped Scully.

Review (with minor SPOILERS): This series has still got it’s mojo.  What I loved so much about the first issue was how it felt like a natural continuation of the TV series.  Not only did the story kinda make sense as the next phase for these characters, but I actually heard the actors’ voices in my head as a I read the comic.

That “hearing the actors’ voices” thing continues strongly in this issue.  Right from the opening scene, we see Mulder and Scully running around, calling out each other’s names: “SCULLY!” and “Mulder–?”  I mean, how many times did we hear THAT during the course of the series?  Even the way the dialog is written enhances the feeling of nostalgia.  Mulder was always just yelling, “SCULLY!”….there was never anything questioning when he did it.  Scully, on the other hand, always sounded a little unsure when she called out, “Mulder–?”  It’s so smart for the comic to smack us in the face with that heavy dose of nostalgia in the opening pages because it almost calibrates our brains to believe that this IS the X-Files…..not some licensed property…..but the REAL X-Files.  So, afterwards, all of the character’s dialog sounds just like you have the actual actors reading the comic to you.  I love it.

The X-Files: Season 10 #2 – Review

By: Joe Harris & Chris Carter (story), Harris (writer), Michael Walsh (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Shawn Lee (letters)

The Story: With Scully kidnapped, Mulder enlists some old friends to find her.

Review (with SPOILERS): The first issue of X-Files kinda snuck up on me with how good it was.  I was just expecting some derivative product that was low(er) quality and designed just to get X-Files fans to plop down a few dollars.  But, when I read that first issue, it was almost like we had the TV show back on again.

Even if this second issue didn’t sneak up on me (since I expected it to be really good), it keeps that magic rolling right along.  The most important thing is how effectively creators are able to capture the look and feel of the actors who played the characters in the series…..it really does feel like you’re consuming The X-Files and not just some story with that name on the cover.  I guess a good example would be to compare to those X-Files novels that came out in the mid-1990’s when the series was in its heyday.  I will admit to having actually read a few of those and they were entertaining enough, but you didn’t hear Mulder’s and Scully’s voices when you read the novel.  The novels felt more like someone telling me a story about Mulder and Scully (“Once upon a time, the was an Agent Mulder and an Agent Scully and there were alien honeybees that spoke the Navajo language….”); this comic feels like you’re experiencing the story yourself.  A lot of credit needs to go to Michael Walsh.  He has clearly spent a lot of time watching the series because he just knows what these characters look like.  It isn’t like he is watching X-Files and just pausing the action to draw the face that he sees, it’s more like he is just a fan like us and remembers what they looked like almost 20 years ago.

So, when we get introduced to Agent Doggett in the opening pages, it looks like the guy who came on the X-Files ~2000 and not the fat, gray-haired guy who plays a werewolf on True Blood.  When we see the Lone Gunmen, they look just like the dudes we remember.  I mean, I’m not sure I WANT to see what the actor who played Frohike looks like in 2013.  It’s just really good art that perfectly captures the look and feel of the series.

The X-Files #1 – Review

By: Joe Harris & Chris Carter (story), Harris (script), Michael Walsh (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Robbie Robbins (letters)

The Story: Mulder and Scully are back to investigate weird things.

Review: This issue was a really pleasant surprise.  The saying, “You can’t go home again” is often true.  Anyone who has ever rewatched a beloved old TV series or reread some old comics knows this feeling.  Our enjoyment of stories can be very linked to a time and place in our lives, making it hard to go back.

I was a huge X-Files fan.  It was a series that ran during a pivotal time in my life.  The first season ran during my senior year of college (and had nothing but time on my hands) and the finale ran after I’d finished graduate school, gotten married and secured respectable employment (when I had to pick and choose my TV watching).  My wife-to-be learned very early on that Sunday evenings were not to be trifled with.

Comeback #1 – Review

By: Ed Brisson (writer and letters), Michael Walsh (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: In the near future, an agency exists that can go back in time and save loved ones before they die in accidents, etc.

Quick Review: This is a snappy enough story.  It probably won’t light anyone’s socks on fire, but it is very smoothly written, has an entertaining premise and very attractive art.

The basic concept for the story is interesting: What if a loved one died in an accident, but there was a private agency that could go back in time and pluck your loved one into the future?  Who wouldn’t want to do that for a family member?