Revolutionary War: Death’s Head II #1 – Review

by Andy Lanning, Alan Cowsill (Writers), Nick Roche (Artist), Veronica Gandini (Colorist)

The Story: It might sound wise not to betray and piss off a time-travelling freelance peacekeeping agent, yes?

The Review: There has been a certain re-emergence of Death’s Head in the Marvel universe. Thanks to the work of Kieron Gillen in making him a part of his S.W.O.R.D. and Iron Man runs, the vocal and somewhat polite robot made quite an impact in terms of general appreciation. With the Revolutionary War storyline going on, the opportunity to present his history as well as updating him is definitely present, yet can Andy Lanning and Alan Cowsill actually do as nice a job as Gillen when it comes to the freelance peacekeeping agent?

For the most part, the tale does represent a good lot of what is fun with the many versions of the character, with the three different interpretations being reintroduced in this issue. It is by no mean a perfect issue, with some problems plaguing it in some important areas, yet it succeeds in the most fundamental of aspects: fun.

The best thing about this issue is the characterization, with a fast-paced and hilarious attention to the speeches, declarations and actions of both protagonists. Both Death’s Head and Death’s Head II are similar, yet different in important aspects, showing who’s the actual upgrade and how they differ despite their resemblance in terms of approach and quirks. Their interactions, throughout the issue, goes from begrudging respect, comedy and rather neat action which sells that there is definitely room for both in the Marvel universe.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #24 – Review

James Roberts, John Barber (Writers), Atilio Rojo, James Raiz, Nick Roche, Livio Ramondelli, Robert Gill (Artists), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist)

The Story: Ultra Magnus and the crew of the Lost Light meets some violent Ammonites, Starscream deals with people losing faith in him and the team in the dead universe discuss things.

The Review: Enjoying something is not necessarily a proof of its quality. Being able to love something for the greatness inside despite its fault is always something nice to see. It’s something that can go with every form of media or culture, which means comics aren’t expelled from this particular vision. There are many comics that some could consider bad, yet for nostalgic reasons or because of other inscrutable definitions, one can learn to enjoy something for what it is.

This is pretty much how I am feeling right now for the big crossover that is Dark Cybertron. It’s really not as great as MtMtE can be sometimes and there are numerous faults in terms of storytelling and presentation, yet there are several elements that do manage to entertain throughout each issues, with this one not being any exception.

Maximum Dinobots #1 – Review

By Simon Furman (writer) Nick Roche (pencils) Josh Burcham (colors) Chris Mowry (letters)

The Story: Unsure who to trust, and trapped on Earth and on the run from the Autobots, Decepticons, and Scorponok, Grimlock is the last free Dinobot. To clear his name and rescue his fellow Dinobots, he’ll need to fight to uncover the truth behind Epsilon Holding’s CEO, who holds a secret that may enslave all the Transformers in the galaxy.

What’s Good: Grimlock. You can’t go wrong with the big guy. I really like the loner personality he’s developed over the years. I doubt a standalone series would hold up too long, but there’s some room to work a few one-shots I think. The IDW art style rarely disappoints. The battles are chaotic but clear, especially the flashback of Cybertron. I’m not sure how effective it is outside of Transformers titles, but here the exquisite details really get to shine.

What’s Not So Good: As good as the writing is, it’s difficult to determine where this story falls in the overall Transformers continuum. We have Scorponok, Headmasters, and enslaved Dinobots. There’s no real explanation or setup, which is what makes me think it’s part of the larger IDW story. But Maximum Dinobots implied a separate story to me. We’re also left with a lot of questions. How did this company capture the Dinobots? How did Grimlock escape? Why can’t they go to the other Autobots for help? The story centers on these events and none of those questions are answered in this book.

Conclusion: I’ve always thought of the Dinobots as Autobot SWAT. Not so much the weapons or tactics portion, more the taking on dirty jobs with an ends justifying the means feel. That said, other than Grimlock the Dinobots are barely in the book. I’m sure that will change, but so far it’s “Maximum Grimlock.”  The book makes a lot of assumptions about the reader’s working knowledge of the story, and you know what happens when you assume. Despite an unclear continuity, the book makes for a fun read. Be patient though, I feel like answers are coming in due time.

Grade: B-

– Ben Berger

News: IDW Launches New Dr. Who Mini-Series

Fans of IDW’s first Doctor Who miniseries featuring the Tenth Doctor had one constant request — give us the past Doctors, too. In August, they’ll get their wish Tenfold, on the pages of Doctor Who: The Forgotten.

This new series not only finds a clever way to present a story featuring all of the Doctor’s incarnations, but it also features award-winning artist Pia Guerra in her first regular assignment since the acclaimed Y, The Last Man series came to a close.

Doctor Who: The Forgotten is a six-part tale written by Tony Lee (Starship Troopers) and featuring resident Doctor Who expert and colorist Charlie Kirchoff (Doctor Who Classic, Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur) adding hues to Guerra’s linework. Artist Nick Roche will again provide covers for IDW’s Doctor Who series.

In Doctor Who: The Forgotten, Dr. Who finds himself stranded in a strange Museum that’s dedicated to him; and with no TARDIS in sight. The Doctor and Martha must make sense of their surroundings, hindered by one small fact: the Doctor has lost his memories of every one of his previous incarnations! With items relevant to each Doctor in their possession, The Doctor must try to use them to regain his memories before it’s too late.

In the popular Doctor Who novel “The Eight Doctors,” writer Terrance Dick, of whom Tony Lee is a great fan, re-visited previous incarnations of the Doctor in the midst of adventures from the original series. In IDW’s Doctor Who: The Forgotten, Lee decided to take the alternate route and create all new adventures for the classic Doctors. “Although it’s always nice to revisit old friends,” Lee says, “I think we can give more ‘forgotten tales’ in these short flashbacks. We have the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan meeting Egyptians; we have the Second, Jamie and Zoe meeting space lizards; the Third, Jo and The Brigadier defeating aliens on Dartmoor; the Fourth and Romana in millennium Paris; the Fifth, Tegan and Turlough facing a more recent addition in a Village cricket match; the Sixth and Peri in a courtroom; the Seventh and Ace in an alien war torn city; the Eighth alone in a Count of Monte Cristo setting; and the Ninth and Rose in the trenches of World War I. And every single one of them has been an utter joy to write.”

The creative partnership between Lee and artist Pia Guerra was initiated after they met recently at the Earls Court VIP launch of the Doctor Who Exhibition. In a pub afterwards, they talked about what their favorite episodes were and how they wished certain characters could work great in a story together. “We formed a strong bond that day, I feel” Lee said.

Lee added, “The funniest thing is that in the UK I say I’m writing this book and suddenly everyone’s excited. In the US, I talk about the books to nods, and when I mention Pia — that’s when the squeals start.”

Doctor Who: The Forgotten #1 (JUN08 4045) will arrive in mid-August. Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur TPB (JUN08 4047), collecting the first IDW miniseries, will be available in August as well.

Doctor Who #1 – Review

By: Gary Russell (writer), Nick Roche (art), Joe Phillips (art assists), German Torres (ink assists) & Charlie Kirchoff (colors)

I just want to start saying that I’m not an old school fan – I started watching Doctor Who with the new 2005 series. I love Eccleston as the Doctor as well as Rose. I didn’t quite like Tennant as the new Doctor at first, but eventually, I grew to love him. I can’t say the same for Martha Jones’ character, because she just wasn’t Rose. I guess I like them blonde. Anyway, back to the review of Doctor Who #1.

The story goes on about Martha Jones wanting to taste chocolate milk shakes from around the galaxies. They get to a space station but a Sycorax kidnaps the Doctor with the intent of keeping him in his collection of “unique species”. He’s in to make a profit out of it. Martha Jones helps rescue the Doctor and they free the other hostages and travel back to the safety of London.

This issue feels like a teaser to an episode of the series. The “enemy” feels a bit off, not being on the same level as the Doctor. It just doesn’t feel menacing, and because of that the story lacks tension. With the TV series how they can escape or survive the enemy always keeps you guessing – but here’s it’s just predictable. The art also feels a bit too “cartoon-ish” for the series, almost as if it’s targeted to kids. Sadly, I cannot recommend this book. Skip it and stick to the TV series. (Grade: D+)

-Daniel Yanez