God is Dead #4 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman & Mike Costa (writers), Di Amorim (art), Juan Rodriguez (colors) and Kurt Hathaway (letters)

The Story: The Norse gods continue attacking the other pantheons while the Earthly scientists test their secret weapon.

Review (with SPOILERS): This is a series that probably could be better with more adventurous art, but it would still have a hollow core of a story.  There’s nothing too mind-bending about the premise for the series or the storyline that has developed from it.  Basically, many pantheons of gods have returned to Earth and now the gods are fighting for supremacy with lowly humans trapped in the middle.  It’s just kinda stale and because the art is very direct and straight forward – there just isn’t much to get excited about.

The big event from this issue was seeing the Norse gods attacking the Egyptian gods.  It’s pretty standard stuff.  Odin postures at Anubis; Anubis postures back.  Odin grabs Anubis around the neck and rips his head off.  Turn the page and there is a double-pager of Odin holding the head and making some proclamation.  Then we get to see Thor smash in Ra’s head with his hammer.  Yay Norse gods!  I guess…

The problem is that I’m not really invested in any of these characters.  These aren’t the same Norse gods from Marvel’s comics, so it’s just watching one set of gods beating up on another set of gods.  I’m not personally a worshiper of any of these gods, so it isn’t like I can say, “Hell yeah!  Thor is THE MAN!” or “That is such bull$hit!  Everyone knows that Anubis is more powerful than Odin!”  I’ve never wasted a second of my life wondering whether the Egyptian gods were powerful or not.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up Special #1 – Review

by Mike Costa (Writer), Michael Dialynas (Artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist)

The Story: With Spider-Ock and the rest of the team figuring out the mystery behind the time-travelling Doctor Octopus and Abomination, it’s time to bring the fight to Dr. Jude.

The Review: With how capes comics are usually written nowadays, it’s hard not to perceive them as long-form storytelling, divided in arcs in order to reach their endgame near the end of their run. It was thus in runs like Green Lantern by Geoff Johns, Batman by Grant Morrison, Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis and countless other ongoing past and present. With such forms of storytelling, it’s rare to see simple stories being told and completed with a small number of issues, with the simple goal of bringing entertainment without caring too much about repercussions or continuity.

With the Arms of the Octopus, Mike Costa achieves this simple yet fun method of plot writing. With some twists, action and some clever characterization, Costa made this story rather enjoyable in the previous issues, putting Spider-Ock, the past X-Men and the Hulk in front as they collaborated to solve the mystery of the time-travelling Doctor Octopus. However, does Costa maintains the fun and give the readers a satisfactory conclusion in his very last chapter?

This issue does succeed with both terms, albeit in different ways. The more traditional approach to super hero stories work quite well as the heroes defeat the villain in a way that is on par with previous storytelling methods. They defeat the villain of the piece, Dr. Jude not with fisticuffs but with some clever thinking and cooperation on everyone’s part. It’s part throwback to tales from the 60’s and the 70’s with a modern twist that makes this quite enjoyable for those looking for something competent storytelling. It might not be the most ambitious, but it does its job fairly well.

Indestructible Hulk Special #1 – Review

by Mike Costa (Writer), Jacob Wyatt (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: Bruce Banner arrives on the scene to help solve the mystery around this seemingly time-travelling Doctor Octopus. Science and smashing ensues.

The Review: Some writers understand the very basic, yet fun approach that can work wonderfully with certain characters. Each specific title, along with their protagonist, have a certain strength that needs to be put front thanks to the flaws and unique angle that its cast possess. Mark Waid understand how Daredevil’s dashing attitude may lead itself to problem, as Matt Fraction can see the quirks of being one of the non-powered Avengers and how it might affect your perception of daily life in Hawkeye. Those may not be the most ambitious or the subtlest concepts for ongoing titles, yet both works thanks to the creative team sticking with this very vision of their heroes as well as the world that spin around them.

This is the kind of approach that Mike Costa seems to have in mind with this issue, as heroes cooperate together to not only solve a mystery, but kick a little butt as well in the process. This team-up, with special focus on Bruce Banner, seems like an issue from older times, which isn’t a disadvantage in the least.

God is Dead #2 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman and Mike Costa (writers), Di Amorim (art), Juanmar (colors) and Kurt Hathaway (letters)

The Story: The Gods have returned to Earth.  Some people aren’t happy about that.

Review (with SPOILERS): There are a few decent moments in this issue, but it doesn’t seem to be interested in tackling the really big questions that would put it over the top.  There is more slam-bang than anything deep.

If you missed the first issue, the basic premise is that in modern times, several pantheons of Gods return to Earth: Zeus, Odin, Quetzacoatl, etc.  They are not benevolent Gods and demand to be worshipped and honored.  Some humans fall right into line as governments crumble.  Some humans hang on and resist…

The issue largely misses the mark because it takes the easy and noisy path.  Most of the action takes place with humans fighting Gods and infighting amongst the Gods themselves.  There’s just nothing novel about seeing a US military being threatened by Gods or aliens or whatever and taking the drastic step of using nuclear weapons in a US city.  We’ve seen that.  We’ve heard the dialog about the “innocent civilians” and we’ve heard the commander dismiss that concern as a necessary sacrifice.  We’ve seen these types of threats stand impervious to “our” biggest weapons before.  I guess it beats home the message that it will take a non-traditional approach to defeat these Gods, but I would have hoped that writers as talented as Hickman and Costa could have come up with a better way for us to get to this point.

All-New X-Men Special #1 – Review

by Mike Costa (Writer), Kris Anka (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: Beast, along with the rest of the past X-Men, fight a mysterious time-displaced Dr. Octopus alongside Spider-Ock.

The Review: There are many reasons to be wary when words like ”Annual”, ”Special” and other such words follow the name of a regular ongoing title. While such accompanying words aren’t necessarily a sign of lesser quality, they aren’t always handled by the regular creative team, which may seem like something rather undesired by the fans. The fact that they mostly tell stories that don’t really connect with the main plot of the ongoing in question doesn’t guarantee a bad story, yet those that follows the plots and subplots about their favourite characters may find many reasons to be unsatisfied. Expectations aren’t always high when it comes to those issue, generally.

It’s a good thing that this very issue is actually quite nice, then, as Mike Costa try to tell an ambitious tale featuring the cast from three different books in three mere issues. With the first one being the introduction to this extravaganza of time travel and costumed heroes, the writer makes some pretty smart choices in his presentation and with how he handles several elements.

The first thing he does correctly is the fact that he gets just who he is writing as the voices of each characters feels right. While not all characters gets the same amount of panel time, Costa seems to know how to balance the different characters around, with the young Beast still being the genius readers know, without possessing the confidence he displays in his current iteration. There is also the somewhat clueless and always-learning Iceman, with his lack of experience and his generally attitude toward the feminine gender. The character he really do make shine though is Spider-Ock himself. The arrogance, the high intelligence, the demeaning attitude and the professionalism about his role as Spider-Man is spot on, with Costa managing to balance Slott’s characterization with a sense of fun that not all writers care to put on display.

God is Dead #1 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman and Mike Costa (writers), Di Amorim (art), Juanmar (colors) and Kurt Hathaway (letters)

The Story: Gods return to the Earth.  Some people dig it, some people don’t.

Review (with minor SPOILERS): This is an interesting issue.  I’m not sure it is a great issue, but it was entertaining and raised a few philosophical questions that could be intriguing if the creators choose to pursue them.

Honestly, the main impetus to buy this comic was the Hickman name on the cover.  I just think that Hickman is a font of nifty ideas.  He’s also gifted from a graphical design and presentation standpoint and coming along as a pure writer.  He’s one to watch and he’s rarely guilty of being boring, so I’ll sample just about anything with his name on the cover.  Until I read the issue, I wasn’t aware that this was a collaboration with Mike Costa, but his name shouldn’t keep anyone away.  Mike Costa’s GI Joe: Cobra title has consistently been the best GI Joe book the last few years by featuring tight plotting and aspiring to be something other than a fanboy ode.

The basic premise of God is Dead is that the gods of old return to the Earth.  We’re talking about Odin and Zeus as well as the old Aztec and Hindu pantheons.  When the gods get here, they inspire some parts of the population to descend into religious fervor and we get things like groups in Mexico doing human sacrifices on top of the old Aztec pyramids.  Some other parts of the population want to continue with the modern world, so we’ve got a nifty little source of conflict for the series.  We also learn that the gods are working together with a plan for world-domination in a scene that is very much like seeing a supervillain team-up in a Marvel or DC comic book.

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 #2 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Antonio Fuso (pencils), Emilio Lecce (inks), Arianna Florean (colors) & Neil Uyetake (letters)

The Story: GI Joe interrogates the former Cobra Commander’s son.

Review: Even if this issue was a couple weeks late, it is still showing why Cobra Files is the best of the GI Joe titles.  What really sets Cobra Files apart is that it isn’t trying to thrive on fan-service.  All the other Joe comics have some amount of characters referencing the past or or gadgetry having to look like 1980s toys or overt sexiness of the characters, but not Cobra Files.  If the creators wanted to, they could totally go down that path.  I mean, they have Lady Jaye on the team and we know from past GI Joe comic experiences that Lady Jaye can be drawn with an enormous, heaving bosoms–but not here.  In fact, in Cobra Files you can’t really even tell that Lady Jaye has bosoms; she’s just another soldier with her own particular expertise.

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.

Blackhawks #8 – Review

By: Mike Costa (story), Cafu (pencils), Bit (inks), Guy Major (colors)

The Story: When the day’s flying is done, every bird must go back to its nest.

The Review: Just a few days ago, I noted in my review of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6 that with Nick Spencer going off that title, I didn’t really believe there was any title that could really take its place.  Upon reflection, I may have overstated things a bit.  After reading this issue, I firmly believe that Costa might have, given some more, written turned this series into such a title, which makes its cancellation all the more tragic.

From the first issue I ever read, I noticed and greatly admired Costa’s sprightly writing, which has a similar combination of wit and intelligence as Spencer’s.  Even with tons of exposition being exchanged, he keeps the pace breezy, making sure each bit of information comes through a logical part of the dialogue.  He also knows the right timing to throw in a smart joke and break up the tension (“Attila wet his pants.”  “My nervous system was being short-circuited!”).

Blackhawks #7 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Cafu & Carlos Rodriguez (pencillers), Bit (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: A “Keep Out” sign is pretty meaningless when you fly a plane into it.

The Review: It goes without saying that getting cancelled would not count among the top ten experiences of your life.  For any creator who cares about his work, there’s the heartache, of course, not only from the realization his baby has no support, but also from the fact he won’t get to see that baby grow up.  Also for anyone who cares about his work, he now has the difficulty of trying to wrap up at the last second stories he hoped would play out for a while.

What you often get is a mad scramble to draw the act to a close and finish with a bang, much like you do in this issue.  There’s a clear feeling of haste throughout, as Costa must rely on heavy exposition, much more than he’s done in any issue I’ve read of him thus far, to speed the action toward its climax.  Hence Lincoln’s narrative spiel taking the Blackhawks from their shaky recovery from a direct attack on their turf to their de facto final mission, all within five pages.

At any rate, Costa disguises the blistering pace of the issue pretty well, using a combination of lively dialogue (“Those guys are firing carbon-fiber needles at 3,000 meters per second…You were briefed to stay out of range!  They dissolve from friction after 4,000 feet.”  Canada: “How much math am I supposed to do here?!”) and meticulously timed action sequences, throwing in a few slow-mo panels to break up the rush just before you get overwhelmed.

Blackhawks #6 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Cafu (penciller), Bit (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: The moment you let the media in, everything goes to hell.

The Review: Remember how last month, in Voodoo #5, I mentioned that I hate research and I don’t keep up with the news as well I ought?  To make it clear, that applies to the comic book biz, as well.  So it probably shouldn’t surprise you to learn that two weeks after picking up Blackhawks for the first time and enjoying the heck out of it and looking forward to following it diligently, I discovered that it’s on the chopping block.

To be frank, having only just leaped onboard, it’s hard to get too choked up about the loss, but I’m feeling some pangs, nonetheless.  Costa won me over almost instantly with his smart, nuanced writing last issue, and he continues to impress here.  The opening is almost an exercise in how to deliver an action-packed scene, convey the necessary exposition, and make it all sound natural and lively.  In just a few lines of dialogue, you know exactly what’s going on with the creepy-crawly hive mind of robots, and you also get some great character bits (asked if he can land a plane with power, Canada replies, “Girl, I could land a brick.”).

Costa can also tackle complex political and social issues credibly, without dumbing down the ideas or going over the top (see Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray in Freedom Fighters).  The discussion between Blackhawks spokesperson Mr. Schmidt and the U.N. representatives over the team’s mission is a perfect example.  Costa renders the debate over emerging technology and society’s ability to absorb in a very well-balanced fashion, though colored by Mr. Schmidt’s dry rebuttals to the pointed questions he receives:

“Change is destructive, yes, but are you really trying to avoid what our future is supposed to be?”

“Well, maybe out future is ‘supposed to be’ some supervirus wiping out 98% of the population and leaving only those naturally immune.  Would you suggest shutting down our epidemiology centers and stopping scientists who work on cures?”

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?

Blackhawks #5 – Review

By: Mike Costa (writer), Cafu (penciller), Bit (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: Dogs on a satellite!  Hm…doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, huh?

The Review: Can you believe it’s been just about half a year since the new 52 premiered?  At what point do I stop calling it “new,” I wonder?  Anyway, quite a few titles I collected at the beginning have fallen by the wayside since then, so of course I’ve been scoping around for new ones to pick up in their place.  Blackhawks was one of those I heard quiet praise about, and once I saw Cafu switch over from Grifter, I knew I had to at least give the series a shot.

In any case, the Blackhawks, much as it’s weird to say so, is one of my favorite properties, or at least the concept of them is.  Now that the vast majority of heroes in comics have superpowers of some kind, it’s actually kind of a big deal to have a team composed of nothing more than ordinary humans demonstrating extraordinary aptitude in their particular skill-sets as they take on the big baddies of the world.

And that they certainly do in this issue, facing head-on the big momma of them all, the aptly named Mother Machine.  Like most mothers, this villainess is ruthless in her desire to take her charges under her wing.  To chastise the Blackhawks for their disobedience, she lays on all kinds of punishments: “I’ve also shut down the oxygen compilers and internal heaters.  You’ll slowly start to smother, but in the hours it takes for that to happen, you’ll also gradually freeze.  Or else, you would, except…I’ve just disengaged [this satellite] from orbit.”  What’s hilarious is she sees this grim experience or joining her as a fair choice.

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!

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.

G.I. Joe #0 – Review

By Chuck Dixon, Larry Hama, Mike Costa, and Christos N. Gage (writers), Robert Atkins, Tom Feister, and Antonio Fuso (artists), Andrew Crossley and Chris Chuckry (colors)

What You Get: Three short stories that serve as teasers for three upcoming series from IDW: G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: Origins, and G.I. Joe: Cobra. One story takes us back to the beginning where the Joes hear the first iteration of a new terrorist group, Cobra. The second story shows us how Duke is recruited onto the Joe team and gains his call sign. And the last story features a covert op by one of the more obscure characters in Joe lore, Chuckles!

What’s Good? There’s a lot of potential here. Larry Hama knows Joe history inside and out and even after all these years he shows he still has what it takes. I love how all the writers keep the exposition to a minimum while the acronyms and military terms are properly used with no explanations given whatsoever. It’s called “not talking down to the reader” and I appreciate that. All three writers (and artists) make out well given the small workspace they’ve been given and this issue is a great example of how to get readers excited about the new G.I. Joe series.

What’s Not So Good? I realize that there’s a G.I. Joe movie coming out next year and Hasbro rapes comic book publishers with the licensing costs, but having three series out next year is too much too soon. Comics are expensive as it is — does IDW really think people are going to buy all three titles at $3.99 a pop? Do we really need cardstock covers?

Conclusion: At $1.00, buying this issue’s a no-brainer. Granted the production values are excellent and the stories conveyed here seem to have genuine promise, but like most of IDW’s titles the prices of these forthcoming G.I. Joe series cannot be possibly justified (unless they’re 48 pages each). As excited as I am to read these on-going series, I’ll be holding out for the inevitable trades.

Grade: B+

– J. Montes