Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1 – Review

By: Peter Milligan (writer), George Pérez & Fernando Blanco (pencillers), Scott Koblish (inkers), Tom Smith (colorist)

The Story: Crazy people hunting down other crazies…that’s a reality show pitch, right there.

The Review: There are basically two traditions you can take in writing an Elseworlds (for lack of a more apt term) story: make pointed comparisons between the world you’re writing and the world it’s based on; or just tackle the Elseworld on its own merits, as if it’s the only world people would know.  Though each strategy has its pros and cons, generally it’s better not to waste too much time calling attention to the specific alterations.

Secret Seven essentially takes the second route, and of all the Flashpoint tie-ins, it feels most genuinely like an entity unto itself.  If not for the Flashpoint logo emblazoned across the cover, the events of this story could easily take place in the normal DCU.  This is good since the story and characters largely stand on their own; you’re not distracted pointing out what’s familiar.  It’s also bad because it doesn’t use the creative potential of the altered Earth to full advantage.

This issue focuses on two of the current Seven: Rac Shade, the Changing Man, and June Moone, the Enchantress, both relatively obscure characters.  Enchantress’ involvement with DC’s premiere team of mystics, Shadowpact, makes her more familiar to you, but that’s also because Milligan’s version of her sticks very close to the original.  Shade, largely absent from the stands since the mid-nineties, might as well be making his debut in this title, since you’re probably like me and have never even heard of him before.

Perhaps Milligan wants us to read this series less as a Flashpoint tie-in and more as a special mini featuring the DC character he’s best known for writing.  You’d have to be a Shade fan to fully enjoy this issue, as most of it assumes you have some knowledge of his mythos; concepts like the Meta Hightable, the M-Vest, and even the basis of his powers are thrown at you without much explanation, leaving you frequently puzzled as to what characters are talking about.

Doc Macabre #3 – Review

By: Steve Niles (writer), Bernie Wrightson (art), Tom Smith (colors), Shawn Lee (letters) & Tom Waltz (editor)

The Story: Doc Macabre gets to the bottom of the hauntings plaguing his town.

What’s Good: What a great little 3-issue story this was.  I’m not sure I’d call it horror, because it isn’t scary or gory.  It’s more like a Ghostbusters with great art.  Over these three issue Niles and Wrightson have worked as a solid team to develop a precocious monster hunter by the name of Doc Macabre and his personable robot assistant Lloyd (who looks like a lamp).  In this issue they come to deal with an appropriately creepy bad guy who has been causing all these hauntings and zombie infestations in their town and take him down.  It is just a cute and fun story that I urge you to seek out whenever IDW collects these three issues.  Let’s support original material, folks!

The big lure for me in trying this series in the first place was the Wrightson name on the cover and he doesn’t disappoint.  As comic fans we’ve grown accustom to seeing our favorite creators of our youth just kinda lose it.  Sometimes their quality actually goes downhill and sometimes they just fail to adapt with the times, but Mr. Wrightson is still just knocking it out of the park.  Based on his lifetime body of work and this series where he demonstrates that he’s still at the top of his game, we should all be buying anything with his name on it.  There is nothing to find fault with in the art for this series: great layouts, incredible inks, useful panel designs, good use of background (or lack thereof).  It’s all just wonderful stuff.  Well executed coloring too!

Doc Macabre #2 – Review

By: Steve Niles (writer), Bernie Wrightson (art), Tom Smith (colors), Neil Uyetake (letters) & Tom Waltz (editor)

The Story: Young Doc Macabre ties to deal with a ghostly uprising.

What’s Good: Lookie who the artist is: Bernie Wrightson.  He is legitimately one of the real masters of the comic art form to come along in the last 50 years.  If you haven’t heard of him, take a second on Google Images and then come back to this review.

So, if the name “Wrightson” is enough to make me instantly grab a book off the shelf, is there a story in here good enough to justify having an artist of his caliber around?  It turns out there is.  Steve Niles has written a fun story where a precociously gifted young man with an angelic face has chosen to turn his talents into being a kind of Ghostbuster.  He invents all sorts of weird things and then hires himself out to take care of ghosts and zombies.  Only he is really inexperienced and seems to still have some of that teenage immortality that causes him to get in a little over his heard at times.  It has some horror themes, but isn’t a scary or gory tale.

But, I think a lot of this writing is Niles, lobbing meatballs for Wrightson to smash out of the park: “Here, draw a NAKED GHOST!  And then draw Doc Macabre in a funky science suit!”

Returning to the art, one of the reasons I like to review comics is to share the things that I love with other people and I love Mr. Wrightson’s art.  His storytelling and sense of how to frame a scene are just impeccable.  He has a glorious sense of how to shade objects to convey contours or shininess.  And the detail… Absolutely awesome. While his panel-to-panel work is really something, there are a few splash images in here (such as one that shows the Doc messing with a new invention) that’ll just knock your socks off.  It is just so nice to see an artist submitting finished linework for the colorist to work with because a lot of modern artists leave a lot of the heavily lifting in terms of contours and shading.

Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe #1 – Review

By Garth Ennis (writer) Dougie Braithwaite (pencils) Robin Riggs Sean Hardy Don Hudson Michael Halblieb Martin Griffith, John Livesay (inks) Bill Oakley (Letters) Shannon Blanchard Tom Smith (colors)

This is wonderful and ridiculous for the same reason: The Punisher kills every hero and villain in the Marvel Universe. Even as weird and unrealistic as all of this sounds, it remains a totally entertaining and satisfying read.

Punisher’s origin remains similar, with a minor change – it’s heroes who kill his family – not the mob. From there, he kills Cyclops and Jubilee only to be sprung from jail by a wealthy group of investors who were disfigured in similar hero battles. These guys want to finance The Punisher’s quest for revenge to reach their goal of a hero-less society. Since Frank Castle’s not a super powered being, Garth Ennis makes sure to note that he’s outsmarting these guys not outfighting them. Doom, Kingpin, and Wolverine all give Castle a beating before he’s able to sneak out a win. Throughout the book Daredevil tries to bring The Punisher back  to reality, before it’s too late. The flashback of young Frank saving Matt Murdock from getting beat up really adds to the poignancy of the book’s final moments.

Dougie Braithwaite’s art compliments Ennis’ writing very well. It’s a nice trip down memory lane to see the mid-1990s art again. I like the implication of Castle’s murders rather than showing brains everywhere. Nothing against brains, but sometimes the imagination is worse than anything you can be shown. It’s a technique used to great effect here. A number of the heroes have similar faces which gets distracting. Aside from a wrinkle or scar Castle, Wolverine, Cap and others look the same. That said, everything else shows a lot of good detail especially the interior backgrounds. My biggest complaint is on a few different pages. While killing, Castle sometimes gets this panicked, war-cry look on his face. It implies that he’s out of control, or uncomfortable with what he’s doing. It just seems out of place for the character.

Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe holds up pretty well. It’s so over the top it’s almost funny at times, but the core of the book is the story which remains satisfying. There are better stories out there, and it’s harder to fully appreciate since it’s just an alternate time line story, but it’s a complete story and one no true Punisher fan should miss. (Grade: B)

-Ben Berger

Spike: After The Fall #2 – Review

By: Brian Lynch (writer), Franco Urru (art), Art Lyon, Tom Smith (colors), Robbie Robbins (letters)

While Spike remains the highlight of the book (rightfully so), this series isn’t without its problems. The book in many ways requires you to both watch Angel and have read the post-television comics. So while this is probably great for people who have, it’s going to be a tough sell for the “have nots”.

In true Angel form, the dialogue and character relationships remain consistent with the show, so that’s definitely on Brian Lynch’s side. And while Spike is a very engaging character as is the post-television world of Angel, the trouble is how much you need to know about both to get what’s going on. We learn in Angel: After The Fall that Illyria is losing control over her body and is now switching back and forth between herself and Fred. I’m not saying there needs to be a huge recap but making the assumption that the readers of this comic will have read the others and watched the show is a mistake.

My complaints remain the same for Franco Urru’s artwork. The backgrounds still lack detail as do the characters. Even though his close-ups look nice, he rarely uses them because there’s so much action. The extreme close-up of Spike in vampire-mode is probably the best example of this. There aren’t many more details here than any other panel, but Urru really makes them count. The last panel is my favorite, I can’t imagine a worse situation for a protector than being chained up in a room with the zombified bodies of their flock.

Though prior experience with Spike and his world are a plus, issue two is better than issue one. Lynch does a good job of keeping things interesting with great little moments, even though it can be confusing at times. I just wish we could get a flashback or something to bridge the gap between the show and the comic for those of us who haven’t been following it. (Grade: B-)

– Ben Berger

Spike: After The Fall #1 – Review

By Brian Lynch (writer), Franco Urru (art), Art Lyon, Tom Smith (colors), Robbie Robbins (letters)

The problem with Joss Whedon’s properties being continued in comics is that he can’t write all of them. The result is like Coke Zero… almost, but not quite. Spike was one of the most popular characters on Angel and Buffy so it’s no surprise that his story has been continued. I just wish we could get a better setup of his world.

Brian Lynch’s writing of Spike is on point with Whedon’s. Most of the dialogue comes from Spike, and he feels just as cynical as always. Unfortunately, the people he’s protecting are so annoying it’s unclear if they’re just around to annoy him. If you were living in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles would you venture out into the wasteland without a champion to protect you? Me either. My biggest criticism, however, is the lack of setup. If I hadn’t seen the finale of Angel I would’ve been totally lost. Even still, there’s a lot of unanswered questions: Why is LA still in ruins? Is it a global epidemic? I don’t need a lot, but a flashback or two would go a long way in making this book more accessible.

Franco Urru’s artwork is inconsistent and the “effects” are heightened by Art Lyon’s coloring. With the exception of Spike, every character blends into the buildings, which blend into the sky. It all looks very muddy. This gives a good, albeit standard post-apocalyptic feel, so I understand the heavy use of reds and earth tones. I know part of it is because Spike needs to move around at dusk or later to avoid direct sunlight, but there’s gotta be a better way. That being said, there are a few good panels of the devastation, which give a great sense of loneliness; Spike’s group may be the last human survivors in LA.

Spike: After The Fall may turn out to be very good. Maybe Lynch is a slow starter, and we’ve yet to really see where this is going. I’m finding it tough though, and I watched the show! So I can only imagine how it would be for a newcomer. One thing’s for sure: without some clarity as to what’s going on this series is in danger of losing readership. (Grade C+)

– Ben Berger