The Flash #7 – Review

By: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato (writers and artists)

The Story: This attitude of not knowing where you’ll end up and barging in anyway tells me you’re not the greatest road-trip companion, Flash.

The Review: I lost my first copy of this issue about five seconds after reading it on the bus—and while remaining in the bus.  If you know me personally, this shouldn’t shock you one iota.  My theory is a wormhole within the time-space continuum sucked it in, and any moment now, news will be breaking about someone finding a fifty-year old copy of The Flash #7, an ad for Resident Evil: Raccoon City on the back, in the middle of the Badlands.

Or maybe the homeless person next to me sat on it when he came in and didn’t notice, which isn’t out of the question as he was quite snookered with McGuinness at the time.  Whatever the case, the mention of wormholes seems appropriate in discussing this particular issue of The Flash.  If Barry had any doubt about Dr. Elias’ hypothesized connection between excess use of the Speed Force and time warps, he has incontrovertible proof of it now.  It does beg the question of how he never noticed this effect before if big honkin’ rips in space burst nearby whenever he does this, but let’s set that little bit of inconsistency aside.

If you have a glass-half-full mentality, you might say that this disaster at least prompts Barry to true, self-initiated action for the first time this series.  Considering his upstanding character, and his tendency to wait for the starting gun before running, his decision to use Dr. Elias’ treadmill for his own purposes is practically revolutionary, especially since he himself admits he “can’t pretend to know what will happen” if he generates another wormhole and runs into it.

Jenna Jameson’s Shadow Hunter #2 – Review

By Jenna Jameson (created & story), Christina Z (story & script) & Mukesh Singh (art)

Heh, I was right with my review of the first issue. Issue #2 is another weird tale and it doesn’t get much better either. I really don’t know what it is about this series – maybe I was expecting something else, and I don’t mean porn or sex (though that’s one way of making this book a little more interesting).

Anyway, in this issue Jezzerie stands in the middle of a battle between heaven and hell. Both sides need her to fight with them as it would tip the scales in her favor. So they spend some time courting her to join to their respective sides. But Jezzerie’s a rebel, and in typical rebel fashion, she opts not to join any side. What follows is the weird part, which involves Jezzerie killing herself and becoming, well, I’m not going to spoil it for you. But let’s just say she’s reborn as something else. That’s the basic story so far. My high hopes of a good story from Christina Z were misplaced. It’s like Ms. Z isn’t suited for any other comic than Witchblade.

Sadly, I’ve already preordered the third issue, so I’ll most likely read (and review it here), but if I had a time machine, I would have taken it all back. I wouldn’t necessarily say this is an “F” book, because the art is decent enough, but Mukesh Singh’s work isn’t enough to save this book from mediocrity. I will vouch for Singh, however, by saying he is definitely an artist to keep your eye on. (Grade: D)

-Daniel Yanez

Jenna Jameson’s Shadow Hunter #1 – Review

By Jenna Jameson (creator & story), Christina Z (story & script) & Mukesh Singh (art)

First of all, no, it’s not a porn comic book. It may have that stigma associated with it because of Jenna Jameson’s name, but it has nothing to do with that (sorry, guys). Believe me, you’ll find more porn in those Princess Peach pictures from Super Smash Brothers Brawl than in this book.

The story is about a woman named Jezzerie who is haunted of  monsterous visions since childhood. Unemployed, she  attends a paid research program about past lives, trying to understand what these monsters are and why these dream are reoccuring. But in one of the sessions something goes wrong. It seems that the hallucinations are becoming real, and monsters have begun to manifest themselves in the real world. Jezzerie’s hair turns black and a blade grows from her arm. A mysterious guy in armor (a side kick, I presume), pops ups offering little to no help in her battle. After a few decapitations, the king of monsters talks to them and reveals his true nature.

I’m disappointed by this debut issue. I honestly thought I’d get more quality coming from Christina Z. I was looking for something with a little more substance than this. The story is just flat-out weird, and will probably get even weirder in following issues. The Witchblade influence is pretty noticeable – a blade popping up form her arm without her will. Singh’s art is very well done – there’s an abundance of reds and darks that fill this issue. I’ve already prepaid for the next couple of issues, so I will read them, but this is not a good start. (Grade: C-)

-Daniel Yanez

Jenna Jameson’s Shadow Hunter #0 – Review

The first time I saw the cover on Previews it got me interested, but not to the point of buying it. But then I read that Christina Z was working on the title and decided to buy it blindly. She wrote Witchblade since the beginning (up to #34), personally the best issues of the series.

The cover by Greg Horn is stunning. The six page comic preview penciled by Mukesh Singh (Devi). Includes an interview with Christina Z, and gorgeous pinups by Horn, Greg Land, Daniel Brereton, J. Michael Linsner, Niko Henrichon, and more art by Singh. The story is about a woman who has visions about monsters, but the monsters begin to materialize in real life.

Even though it’s 25c and you still haven’t picked it up, you can download it for free at Playboy.com. Issue #1 Ships 2/20/08 (Grade: B+)

-Daniel Yanez