A Surprisingly Short Week Dominated by Marvel!
Why I Love Comics rundown for books coming out January 7th, 2008
Welcome to this week's Why I Love Comics where it's surprisingly the shortest week we've had in a long time and mostly dominated by Marvel. We go from the plot in Hellboy tying itself into someone from a very early story to Fred Van Lente pulling out all the stops in the last issue of Marvel Zombies. It's all here this week as we start with Dark Horse!
Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #2 continues right where we left off last issue. Hellboy is down for the count and is given a gift to make sure the hunters can't finish things. The bird makes a return and it's becoming my favorite character so far. It is interesting to see the flower hold so much power and make Hellboy invisible, even if he decided to throw it away to battle all the giants. He's Hellboy though! Of course he's going to want to take down all the giants.
Meanwhile, the Gruagach of Lough Lane reveals how he got where he is today using a few interesting stories connected to the very early days of Hellboy. (Stories that I've actually read.) Also, included in the back of the issue is the start of an origin story drawn by none other than Guy Davis.
Verdict: The book is really good and steeped deep in mythology. Duncan's artwork fits Mike's script and is definitely great to look at. Here's hoping it keeps up the quality. Definitely a buy!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #21 is the start of a brand new arc and introduces readers to the very talented writing of Jane Espenson who wrote for the tv show and other Joss shows. For those of you that hate Andy Dick, you will be very pleased with the first handful of pages here as Harmony shuts him down fast. This is mostly a Harmony "rags to riches" story as the last time we saw her, she had just betrayed Angel and the gang to Wolfram and Heart. I personally dig Harmony as a character and loved her evolution on Angel. It's great to see her returning to her old roots and turning Vampirism into the hip thing in Hollywood.
Of course, with Harmony being the hero and Hollywood accepting vampires as good guys, it's easy to tell what the media will do with the slayers. This feeds directly into the government's plans and here's hoping Buffy and the gang can reverse this madness.
Verdict: Great issue returning the series to its core. Definitely a buy!
We move on to DC, starting with the Faces of Evil: Solomon Grundy one-shot written by Geoff Johns with art by Scott Kolins. We get a little more info on Grundy's "year one" and this issue really shines art-wise. Grundy has always been a personal favorite, and running through his past (with everyone from Alan Scott to Jack Knight) was definitely great to read, especially when presented in the characters own words. Of course, when he pulls his best Bruce Banner impression things turn odd as he hears the curse of Grundy haunting him and pulling him to do things that he doesn't want to.
I think that was my favorite thing about the issue, humanizing the zombie and showing he was once a man. It's disturbing to see him try and escape becoming Grundy again. And that last page? It looks like some people want to ensure that Grundy isn't around for Blackest Night.
Verdict: If this is any indication whatsoever about how the Grundy solo series will play out, I definitely can't recommend it enough. It looks like the year of the zombies and wait till you see the fight with Croc! That's gruesome!
Detective Comics #852 continues right where Paul Dini's last arc left off as Doctor Thomas Elliot does his best to gain his fortune back.... by using Bruce Wayne's appearance and stealing from him. It's a smart plan that takes the whole issue to tell. His surgery worked pretty well, for the most part, and he manages to stay away from Alfred or anyone that knows Bruce closely.
His plan goes well most of the issue and it's great to see the villain slowly succeeding in getting his funds back. Of course, as the second suspicion falls on him, he ends up running for his life and finding himself face to face with the woman he almost killed, Selina Kyle. It's really all together a great start to the Faces of Evil month, especially with the team of Dini and Dustin Nguyen.
Verdict: I really like the character of Thomas Elliot and it will be interesting to see Selina take out her full revenge against him.
Secret Six #5 reveals who Junior is and shows that Scandal knows how to choose her friends properly. This thing is packed and worth every dime. I really cannot say enough positive things about how demented and fun this book is. The best moments came from Bane who never gives in to his tormentors and shows how noble he can truly be... no matter what the cost. I hope he survives the arc as I really wouldn't want him to die at this point.
Shark proves how much cannon fodder he can really be as the last time I saw him he was in the pages of Green Lantern. It made me laugh pretty hard when his jaw gets torn apart. And the Six finally deciding to get their teammate back leads to the most shocking moment we've had in a DC book in a long time. Seriously Gail, you're a very sick woman, but that's what makes the book so charming!
Verdict: Unpredictable, dark, disturbing and fun! What more can you ask for in a comic? Definitely a buy!
Finally, we move on to Marvel, starting with Eternals #7 where Ikarus decides to strike out on his own, Sersi finds herself in a very weird place, and the dreaming celestial starts to gain emotions. I am surprised at how much I've fallen for this book. Seeing Ikarus heading out on his own and completely beating down Druid's forces was a definite highlight of the book. It was also interesting to see where dieing celestials go home.
The sleeping celestial's conversation with the Watcher was interesting as well as it seems that he has gained feelings for the warriors he watches over. It will be great just to see what happens next.
Verdict: The X-Men have arrived to help turn the tide of battle and it looks like Ikarus tricked Druid into a false sense of security. It's on now ladies and gentleman, place your bets! Definitely a buy.
Punisher #1... I am not entirely comfortable calling it that, as they've just taken the War Journal title out of the book. It's still the same thing. Anyway, Frank decides it's up to him to end Norman Osborn before he can do any serious damage to the country. He's almost successful until the Sentry manages to stop him. This leads to one of the cooler uses I've seen of the Sentry in a while where Frank leads him on a wild goose chase and does his best to take the man with the power of a thousand suns down before his can take him in. Things go from bad to worse as Frank manages to cut himself open and loses a lot of blood.
That's where help comes in as Castle gets a mysterious contact from a man referring to himself as a friend and soon Frank's on his way to meeting this man of mystery. He successfully manages to ditch the Sentry and the last page has him passing out right where his contact wanted him. Here's hoping this isn't leading to Frank getting into more trouble.
Verdict: Great new direction for the character! The fight with the sentry was both crazy and well choreographed. It will be interesting to see just who this contact is.
The Invincible Iron Man #9 has Tony Stark taking the steps to erase the information in his mind making sure Norman Osborn can't get it. Maria Hill is forced to help in a scene that makes you shake your head and Pepper is given the reins to the company. This is another series where every issue is a packed read. Tony has certainly had better days and does his best to juggle his decisions. Maria is almost killed in a very thriller-like scene that leaves you biting your nails.
It's interesting to see the spin that Norman was able to pull off here much like he has been in Thunderbolts since after Civil War. It's great to see Matt Fraction setting up exactly what he is and I can see how this is going to somehow tie into Pak's War Machine series.
Verdict: Such a great series that just gets better. Definitely a buy!
Book of the week is Secret Invasion: War of Kings which was right on target and a great lead into War of Kings. The Inhumans have determined it's time to fight back and with that Black Bolt uses the most powerful weapon in their arsenal. It's really great to see them take a proactive stance in the cosmic landscape which has definitely gained the attention of all around.
The highlight of the book came when they confronted the Kree. Ronan is pretty much shot down and bows before his new king as Black Bolt is made the king of the Kree Empire. Seriously, this is the most imposing Black Bolt has ever been. He's angry and he's about to take it out on the one man who deserves to be put in line. Hopefully, Vulcan's brother Alex is able to help with that.
Verdict: Another Abnett and Lanning series that hits it right out of the park. It's obvious we are about to get an amazing new comic series.
Finally, we end the week with Marvel Zombies 3 #4 where Aaron Stack really lays everything out on the line, Jocasta fights down her demons, and Morbius finally steps up to round out one of the best miniseries in a long time (from any company).
It's really great to see certain characters being the heroes that you want them to be. Jocasta facing down her inner demons and seemingly shutting them down for good was a great moment, especially saving the Agents in the way she did.
Aaron using Lockjaw the way he did was brilliant and I didn't see that coming as he made one of the best quips of the whole series. Seeing the alternate zombie versions of characters from different worlds is pretty amusing, especially when that Cap tried to shut down Aaron and he just takes him down in one of the coolest ways possible.
Verdict: Marvel Zombies 4 is all the Midnight Sons which of course include Daimon Hellstorm and Man Thing, which is definitely a buy as well as this one. Here's hoping Aaron finds himself in a new home soon.
Well, that's it for this week folks!
Join us next time as we look at Action Comics, BPRD and Final Crisis #6. See you then!
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching dvd's, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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