War Heroes #3 – Review

By Mark Millar (Writer), Tony Harris (Art), and J.D. Mettler (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: It sure has been a while since the last issue of War Heroes dropped, hasn’t it?! Regardless though, you just can’t keep a cool concept down. And War Heroes is definitely based around a cool concept.

The Story: A group of soldiers finds out the hard way that the terrorists have gotten their hands on some superpower pills…

What’s Good: Mark Millar is a master of the “Oh, Shit!” moment. Whether it be something brutal, something outrageous, or something crass and possibly offensive, Millar knows exactly what it takes to push his readers’ buttons. That fact is why War Heroes #3 works so damn well on a very primal level.

Let’s face it, a superpowered Al Qaeda is a scary notion. I know it, you know it, and Mark Millar sure as hell knows it. So what does he do? He powers up Al Qaeda for his story and lets one of the terrorists effortlessly tear through a group of U.S. Troops. The chaotic scene, which takes up a majority of the pages in War Heroes #3, sets up the rest of the story and really let’s the War Heroes art team shine.

The visuals by Tony Harris and J.D. Mettler do an excellent job of bringing the script’s violent, gritty desert battle to the page. Harris and Mettler’s work brilliantly captures a look that falls somewhere between rough, realistic documentary footage (the opening, for example) and a big budget war movie (the imposing super-terrorist, for example). Simply put, as far as style is concerned, Harris and Mettler absolutely nail it.

What’s Not So Good: When I finished reading War Heroes #3, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “That’s it?!” Since a large action scene takes up most of the book, it’s a very fast read that, at times, comes across as somewhat obnoxious. The reason? Mark Millar loves to write the swears. While I have nothing against adult language and realize that people use it all the time (especially in stressful situations), Millar’s choice of words borders on parody at times.

Furthermore, the biggest problem with the artwork is that, occasionally, the action doesn’t flow from panel to panel all that well. It makes the action hard to follow and somewhat confusing. For a comic that’s all about the action, it’s frustrating that the visual storytelling doesn’t always get the job done.

Conclusion: War Heroes #3 has a few problems and sort of falls into the “style over substance” category since it’s so heavy on action, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking it up. As I said before, the foundation of the series is based on a cool concept. One that’s definitely worth following.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Terror Inc. – Apocalypse Soon #2

By David Lapham (Writer), Koi Turnbull (Pencils), Scott Hanna & Mark Pennington (Inks), and Sotocolor’s C. Garcia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The character work in the first issue of Terror Inc. impressed me far more than the plots being developed.  I hope things get more exciting and less predictable in the second issue because it’d be a shame if such a fun character was held back by a weak story.

The Story: It turns out that the young kid rescued by Terror last issue is a “typhoid mary” capable of spreading the deadly virus Terror was sent to retrieve.  Now that very kid is back in the hands of the terrorists that planned on using him, it’s up to Terror to find and return the kid so that a cure can be found for those infected by whatever it is that “Kid A” is carrying.  The issue also advances Terror’s story about The Duque he dealt with quite some time ago and it seems that it has some times to the present situation….

What’s Good and  What’s Not So Good: Terror Inc. #2 is a solid step up from Terror Inc. #1 in almost every way.  The artwork is a bit more dynamic, the storylines become more exciting, Terror becomes even more interesting, and lastly, things come together in a more satisfying manner.

I’m particularly fond of the way that David Lapham weaves the story he’s telling into the story that Terror tells. It brings some interesting twists into a plot that initially felt pretty generic.  In addition, credit is due to Koi Turnbull and the rest of the art team for being able to keep up with a fairly wild story that is headlined by an even more wild character.  It calls for some challenging scenes and the art team pulls them off extremely well.  While a few panels are a bit cluttered and some things look a little rough, the book, as a whole, is quite nice looking considering the material.

Conclusion: Terror Inc. continues to impress.  In fact, I would go as far as to say the series is almost as awesome as the covers for the series.

Grade:  A-

-Kyle Posluszny

Deadpool: Suicide Kings #1

By Mike Benson (Writer), Carlo Barberi (Pencils), Sandu Florea (Inks), and Marte Gracia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’ve made no secret about how much I like Deadpool. In fact, I’ll pick up pretty much anything the character is in. To me, more Deadpool is a good thing (unless, of course, he gets in the way of the story or is written as though the person writing him is trying too hard…I’m looking at you Duane Swierczynski). So, needless to say, buying Suicide Kings was pretty much a no-brainer for me. Especially since I found Mike Benson’s first crack at Deadpool, the Games of Death one-shot, to be a pretty entertaining read.

The Story: Deadpool, as usual, takes a job thinking he is going to get paid the big bucks. As it turns out, his employer isn’t exactly being all that honest with him. Soon Deadpool finds his face all over the news for performing an act of terrorism.

What’s Good: Mike Benson does a better job of handling Deadpool in the first issue of Suicide Kings than he did in Games of Death. It goes a long way toward making the book an enjoyable read despite the extremely standard set up and the fairly standard execution. Also good about Suicide Kings is a good portion of the artwork. It manages to successfully straddle the line between silly and serious that suits the Merc with a Mouth extremely well.

What’s Not So Good: Well…you read the plot summary above (I hope). Fact is, if you’ve read a Deadpool story before, nothing about the storyline is going to surprise, shock, or even feel remotely original. Sure it is delivered decently enough, but I feel like I already know how the entire mini-series is going to play out. Another negative about the book is that from time to time the artwork makes the characters look very poorly proportioned and quite inconsistent.

Conclusion: Suicide Kings is the start to a serviceable Deadpool story, but don’t go into it expecting anything new. Enjoy it if you are a fan, but it’s far from an essential read.

Grade:  C-

-Kyle Posluszny

Invincible Iron Man #6 – Review

By Matt Fraction (Writer), Salvador Larroca (Artist), and Frank D’Armata (Colorist)

The Story: Matt Fraction concludes the opening arc of his new Iron Man series with the much anticipated showdown between Tony Stark and Ezekiel Stane. As always, Mr. Stark has a plan, but Stane isn’t willing to go down without a fight. Can Iron Man outwit and defeat the son of Iron Monger?

What’s Good: As cerebral as it is physical, the battle between the two geniuses does not disappoint. I was a little worried that the things that made this arc such a joy to read would take a back seat to slam-bang action but, thankfully, that is not the case. Matt Fraction’s words give each strike an emotional, personal impact and masterfully cashes in on the personal examination Tony Stark has been doing since the first issue. At the same time, Salvador Larroca delivers his best work on the series through some strong facial expressions and surprisingly brutal violence. A fitting and unexpected deep conclusion to what has been a fantastic arc.

Believe the hype because The Invincible Iron Man is the very definition of a must-buy series.

What’s Not So Good: That I couldn’t shake the feeling that this might have been a bit more visually attractive with a different artist attached to it. Larocca does some fantastic work when the Iron Man suit is in play, but his people just seem a bit off from time to time. It is far from a damaging negative, but it would be nice if the artwork was as strong as the writing is.

Conclusion: You really can’t go wrong by picking this issue up, especially if you have been following this series since it debuted. The payoff is great and everything comes together extremely well. A near-perfect read for new, casual, and hardcore fans alike. Also, as a side note, be sure to pick up the David Aja variant. It rocks!

Grade: A

-Kyle Posluszny

Ultimate Iron-Man II #1 (of 4) – Review

By Orson Scott Card (writer), Pasqual Ferry (artist), Dean White (colorist) VC’s Cory Petit (letterer)

This sequel to Ultimate Iron Man takes place right after the events of Volume 1. But don’t let the sequel status throw you off. Even though one may think it’s unaccessible to new readers, the first page synopsis does a good job on bringing you up to speed. The premise is simple: Tony Stark’s father has been framed in the murder of his corporation’s top competitor. Now, Tony has no choice but to take over in his father’s absence.

So far I really like the way the story’s progressing. Orson Scott Card does a good job of using an attack on Stark Industries to warrant Tony using his prototype armor to protect the building. He is severely injured (losing an arm), and has to sit out for a while to recover from the explosion. As Tony is in the hospital he monitors the news and the public’s reaction – they believe Stark’s Industries has a “robot” that may be a threat to the public.

As the issue continues, it’s revealed that there are other people involved with the attempt to destroy Stark’s building, while two government officials that resemble secret service meet with Tony. Their intention is for Tony to build them a robot (which is really Tony in his armor) by the weekend so that they might use it to eliminate a band of terrorists housed within a country that isn’t in a current state of war with the U.S.

Tony and James Rhodes (both in their prototype armor), finally get to use their suits for some real world tests. This sequence shows them learning how to control their flying and weapon systems. As the firefight (or slaughter) begins, Tony prevents Rhodes from taking any risks, as he can’t regenerate his body like Tony can.

After the killing stops, a boy is revealed and appears to have a bomb strapped to him while Rhodes warns Tony there may be a detonator around. The boy pleas for Tony and Rhodes not to kill his father who is reveled in the final panel in a struggle with another man. This puts them in the situation of who to kill and who not to kill.

The story’s strong in this debut issue – I really liked it. Because there’s not a lot of random chatter, Card is free to give the characters more personality. The art and colors are really done well and I can’t wait to see how the rest of this series plays out. Definitely worth a look in my book. (Grade B+)

-Matt Allen