Taking a Look at Another Stack of Comics
Welcome to another edition of the Why I Love column, where I, Eric Ratcliffe, pick something I've read, played, listened to or watched to discuss with you fair readers. This week we had a unique new book premiere at Image, Gus explores his past in Sweet Tooth, Mark has a brutal fight in Invincible, the JSA mourn one of their own and Hawkeye/Mockingbird comes out of the gate swinging. Let's jump right in starting with independent stuff!
Book of the week #1 and easily one of my favorite reads to really kick off the month of comics [is] The Bulletproof Coffin #1! The book is written by David Hine with art by Shaky Kane and manages to balance fiction with reality in a really unique and interesting way. We follow the story of a young Contractor named Steve who seems to enjoy collecting vintage and really cool items. Steve hits the jackpot at the home of a recently deceased man and finds some really old comics done by a creative team whose names we all recognize.
The mystery of the series deepens as Steve is haunted by 2 men who appear as black and white figures dressed in suits. Steve is also a well-rounded family man and it's great to see him come home to a regular life with a wife and two kids. The highlight of this first issue for me was the short horror story "The Unforgiving Eye," which is David Hine at his best as a writer and makes me miss his horror stuff a lot.
Shaky's art is beautiful here and adds a lot to the overall story. What really pulls me in, though, is the meta mystery of what happened to the David Hine and Shaky Kane of this universe and what it means to both Steve and the old man who passed away in that house.
Verdict: Seriously pick this up, it's everything that I love about comics and shows a great love of the industry itself. A buy of the highest order.
Sweet Tooth #10 is a pretty dark read. We go back in time via the doctor's hypnosis of Gus and find out what his mother looked like and the secret of what has kept him alive. His father basically made his own bible and it makes you question just how great of a person his father was.
There are a few questions really brought up that weren't there before and a little payoff on the whole series and the mysterious plague. It shouldn't surprise anyone that religion gets involved here either.
Verdict: The series just gets stronger as time goes on and I really can't say enough good things about it. Gus is a really innocent kid and I hope things turn around for him soon as I don't want to spend a full year of the series at just this one location.
Invincible #72 may have just beaten the original Conquest fight for most bloody moment in the book so far. Ottley's artwork continues to get stronger and just those last few pages alone...I really have no idea how this stuff is going to go after that. The team does their best to fight a few Vultrimites after they are ambushed on the way to attack them and things get worse as Conquest makes a joke out of our heroes.
Half the issue really seems to be a huge fight between Mark and Conquest and shows us that Mark finally has something to take his aggression out on again. Sadly it seems like Cecil might be a dead man when our hero gets back to the earth. Overall, though, I really like seeing Mark step back up and show why he's the hero of this book. The fight is something out of a horror movie and like I said is worse than their original battle.
Verdict: This is one of the best books on the stands and just continues to shock and amaze me. Easily a buy.
Adventure comics #12 is a fun done-in-one story about young Clark Kent visiting the Legion when he's still Superboy and seeing some of his future. I liked seeing that Clark had a checklist before Connor and this is just a great little story after all the darker material, which had been happening recently in the books.
It's a more innocent time in comics or at least it feels that way in all respects of storytelling. It should be no surprise that it's written by Paul Levitz and feels like something you'd find in JMS's current run on The Brave and the Bold.
Verdict: it's a fun issue that you can read on its own with no other knowledge of Superboy or the Legion. I'd say it's a buy.
JSA Allstars #7 is the story of Damage's funeral and what it means to Judomaster. It's poignant and doesn't go heavy handed at all. Grant led an interesting life and seeing the message he left behind for Judomaster is an incredibly touching moment.
The rest of the team throughout the issue is handled incredibly well by Sturgess. From Sandy telling Judomaster exactly what happened before his death to Cyclone trying to comfort her and even King Chimera showing that he's not a complete prick.
Verdict: The lead story is a buy but the backup is a skip. The backup has been treading water for a while now and I can't wait for it to end.
Moon Knight #9 continues to show why the occasional split personality cab driver Jake is a great character and is a strong Moon Knight. His teaming up with Spider-Man here is actually fun and shows a clear understanding of both heroes. Of course when you're taking on the Sandman and you rely on gadgets for the most part, you have to wonder just how a guy like Moon Knight will pull it off.
I really enjoyed the relationship between the two heroes and how they played off of each other. The resolution actually being resolved in one issue while leaving a cliffhanger for the next issue was also pretty appreciated. You get a full story here but there is plenty to pull you back in for the next issue.
Verdict: Moon Knight is now back with the Avengers and I'm sure him being involved there as well as being pulled into Shadowland will bring new readers in. Now is a perfect jumping on point!
Frankencastle #17 continues to bring the Punisher into his new status quo as he makes amends to old friends and sets up shop in a new way declaring war on those who helped kill him. This really is a title that I think more readers need to give a shot to. It's still Frank Castle in a bit more of a Marvel like setting. He is right there with the rest of the heroes but he does things his own way and his new status quo is really interesting to follow as a reader.
I enjoyed the hell out of this issue from Frank dealing with his choice to destroy his raised family to him basically telling Henry he was wrong and calling him a good kid. This is a different kind of Frank Castle, though, to me it's still the guy Steve Rogers punched in the face, but I think even Steve would be - and I hope will be - coming face to face with him again soon.
Verdict: Read this book!
Book of the Week #2 goes to something that brought Alan Davis back to Marvel and shows that Bendis has a clear understanding of the Marvel trinity. I talk, of course, about Avengers Prime #1! Basically while trying to help pick up Asgard, Steve and Tony get into a fight and Thor has to be the rational adult...until the three are pulled into another magical realm where we experience 3 different stories.
The book got much stronger when the 3 heroes were separated. From Steve fighting an army of Trolls in a bar to Tony talking to his barely functional armor, there really was a lot to love about this issue. Alan Davis really is still at the top of his game and each page was as much as a delight as the last one. I loved the scene where Steve found himself a shield in the bar.
Verdict: Beautiful Alan Davis artwork, awesome moments from all 3 characters and a last page reveal of someone who has been long missed make this a definite buy!
Thanos Imperative #1 continues basically from where last week's prologue left off with Richard Rider (Nova) and Peter Quill (Starlord) having a surprisingly mature chat that I thought was an instant highlight of the book. In fact, reading this issue you realize just how high the stakes have been raised and I'm certain not everyone is making it out of this one alive. I love Drax's costume update and even the Surfer finally coming back into the picture was awesome.
The preview to issue #2 had Galactus and the celestials joining in on the fight, so you know things have gotten bad. Oh, and the appearances of some of the Cthulu verse's biggest weapons are pretty damn scary. Especially how fast they seem to take out some of the biggest players.
Verdict: Imperative seems to be stronger than what Conquest was, so we'll see how much the stakes are raised going forward as things really heat up. Definitely a buy!
Finally we end of the week on Book of the Week #3 which is Jim McCann's and David Lopez's Hawkeye and Mockingbird #1! This issue was probably one of the strongest #1 issues I've read in a long time. Jim shows you the strengths of both characters right off the bat and shows them as competent heroes. You can easily tell right off the bat how stressed and pulled thin Bobbi is from Dave's amazing work on the pencils as well as Jim's script.
What I find the most interesting is that Clint is pulled into as he's called the "boyscout" role when he used to be considered the bad boy of the Avengers. I find his reaction to this hilarious and easily a highlight of the book. Also, Jim gives us a return of Crossshot and a new Phantom Rider who does not seem to be on the side of the angels. There are a lot of mysteries that are set up in this issue that I can't wait to see paid off on.
Verdict: Many people online compare Clint and Bobbi to Green Arrow/Black Canary and I can honestly say as a reader of both titles, Hawkeye/Mockingbird is easily stronger than anything we got over in Green Arrow/Black Canary and I cannot give it higher recommendations. Please pick this up and try it out, you will not regret it. And look for the return of Staves and Arrows to this very site very soon! [Editor's Note: Staves and Arrows is live today!]
Well, we will see you next time, dear readers, as I discuss Avengers Academy, Young Allies, Hack/Slash and Batman #700!
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 DVDs, 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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