Friday 29 March 2024

Daredevil: Black Armor #3 - Marvel Comics

DAREDEVIL: BLACK ARMOR No. 3, March 2024
Wasting very little time in setting up this mini-series' central cast “in the battle for their lives beneath the streets of Hell’s Kitchen”, the sheer pace to D.G. Chichester’s twenty-page plot for Issue Three of “Daredevil: Black Armor” is positively palpable. Indeed, by the time Matt Murdock, or rather Jack Batlin, has thrown no more than half a dozen punches against a formidable array of the Marvel Universe’s most prestigious villains, the majority of this book’s bibliophiles will surely be physically gasping for breath; “Stay down, you fool!”

Happily however, the “legendary writer” doesn’t simply pad this publication out with meaningless fist-fights, but instead intermingles some genuinely emotional moments within the adrenalin-stacked morass of bone-breaking, jaw-cracking mash-ups. Foremost of these is probably the less than favourable fate of brave Juan and poor Randi at the horrendous hands of Tekagi. Readers will doubtless be traumatized by the well-meaning pair’s apparently fatal fortune, and this apparent willingness to cull prominent personalities by Ann Nocenti’s successor helps dangle the Sword of Damocles over everyone else’s head too.

Just as convincing is the American author’s ability to make his audience believe, albeit momentarily, that a group of hapless captives possibly might overcome Baron Wolfgang von Strucker’s squad of cold-hearted killers. Nobly led by Daredevil and ‘coached from the corner’ by Doctor Calvin Zabo, the New Yorkers enthrallingly manage to use every trick in the book to ‘eke out’ a slim chance for survival. Albeit ultimately, the group are understandably overwhelmed by the likes of Batroc the Leaper, Tarantula and Lady Deathstrike.

Of course, another of this comic’s triumphs has to sit upon the shoulders of Netho Diaz, whose layouts provide a visual feast for the eyes – whether the illustrator is pencilling the Man without Fear fending off the deadly blows from the leader of Hydra, or simply energising his fellow captives into a final show of solidarity against their murderous opponents in the ring. Furthermore, the artist includes some nice nods to the titular character’s history, such as Murdock unknowingly donning the (reversed) yellow and red colour-scheme of his original costume, or Matt’s late father shadowing his son whenever he adopts his old man’s boxing stance.

The regular cover art to "DAREDEVIL" #3 by Mark Bagley & Romulo Fajardo Junior

Wednesday 20 March 2024

What If...? Dark: Moon Knight #1 - Marvel Comics

WHAT IF...? DARK: MOON KNIGHT No. 1, October 2023
Described by its New York City-based publisher as being part of “a new series of stories in the classic Marvel What If? tradition…but with a darker twist”, Erica Schultz’s narrative for Issue One of “What If…? Dark: Moon Knight” probably didn’t strike its audience as being any more morbid or tragic than many of the other publications set in the alternate reality “outside the mainstream Marvel Universe continuity.” Indeed, in many ways the American author’s main premise to simply replace Marc Spector as the avatar of an Egyptian deity with a witness to his brutal demise is arguably pretty standard stuff when it comes to Marvel’s long-running heritage; “I am Khonshu, Every decision has infinite outcomes… and not all outcomes are positive.”

Happily however, that doesn’t mean that what follows the masked mercenary’s death at the hands of Raul Bushman is simply a play by numbers plot, with “the first woman to write a Spawn comic” swapping out both the now deceased schizophrenic titular character and his sinister lunar god for girlfriend Marlene Alraune, and the hawk-headed divinity Ra. This somewhat surprising switch is well-written, and actually allows the ghost of Spector to lurk in the background of everything which the female history graduate later achieves in her role as Luminary – Whether it be battling thugs in dark alleyways or holding expensive events, such as an auction selling Burundan antiquities.

Furthermore, the former art director does a great job in depicting both the small African nation’s murderous General, and his similarly abhorrent subordinates, as the book’s central baddies. Of particular note is arguably the confrontation between Marc’s successor and a lieutenant from the Burunda People's Defense Force, which has all the satisfying hallmarks of a bully getting his just comeuppance at Alraune’s hands when the braggart least expects it.

Equally as entertaining are artist Edgar Salazar and colorist Arif Prianto, who together do a great job in depicting all the high-octane action (and quite considerable heartfelt grief) Schultz’s script requires. In fact, one of the highlights of this thirty-page one-shot is the sheer chaos crafted during its opening, where guns are blazing, numerous bullets whizzing and a helicopter dramatically landing, all whilst an understandably distracted Moon Knight is fending off the colourfully-costumed Bushman.

Writer: Erica Schultz, Artist: Edgar Salazar, and Color Artist: Arif Prianto

Tuesday 19 March 2024

Adventures Of Superman #463 - DC Comics

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN No. 463, February 1990
Whilst on the face of it a simple foot race between the Flash and Man of Steel might not seem enough to pad out this comic’s twenty-page plot, Dan Jurgens’ script for Issue Four Hundred and Sixty-Three of “Adventures Of Superman” certainly seems to give its audience plenty to think about as the two competitors complete a lap around the world. In fact, the American author uses the head-to-head contest to pen a genuinely fascinating insight into the heroes’ psyches, and show his readers what really makes the two Justice Leaguers tick; “Even though I have super human powers I’m not trained as a runner, and this is more physical work than flying to the moon!”

Foremost of these well-written ‘hooks’ is arguably the chip on Wally West’s shoulders that he is viewed by all those around him as being “not quite as fast as the original Flash”, Barry Allen. This ‘slight to his speed’ is repeatedly brought up throughout the twenty-five-thousand-mile marathon by a number of fellow onlooking metahumans, and persistently needles the founding member of the Teen Titans to the point where he himself actually begins to doubt whether he can defeat Clark Kent’s alter-ego in a fair sprint for the endpoint back in Metropolis.

Likewise, the Ortonville-born writer does a similarly successful job sowing reservations in Kal-El’s mind, predominantly due to the somewhat over-confident Kryptonian’s opponent somehow keeping up with him despite all the hurdles the winding ‘green carpet’ creates for the runners. This gradual decline in Superman’s ordinarily-high self-assurance makes for some truly hypnotising moments, most notably once Mister Mxyzptlk’s scheme progresses to the Soviet Union stretch, and dramatically takes Newstime magazine’s latest manager to both his physical and mental limits.

Ably assisting Jurgens’ pencils with his own finishes is Art Thibert, who together with this book’s lead storyteller, provides plenty of visual clues as to the increasingly weary condition of the pulse-pounding race’s contestants. These layouts prove especially telling as the competition reaches its conclusion, with both contenders clearly wearing their hearts upon their sleeves, as they desperately search for that final surge of energy to help them cross the goal line first.

Story & Pencils: Dan Jurgens, and Finishes: Art Thibert

Monday 18 March 2024

Batman #5 - DC Comics [Part Two]

BATMAN (FACSIMILE EDITION) No. 5, February 2024
Starting out the second half of this comic with a truly disturbing tale which actually sees the titular character threaten to cold-bloodedly murder a hapless physician if the man doesn’t save Robin’s life, Bill Finger’s "The Case of the Honest Crook" certainly should have kept its audience on the edge of their seats. True, parts of the thirteen-page plot are a little unbelievable, such as Batman singlehandedly defeating Smiley and the crime lord’s gun-toting gang despite being shot three times during the fight. But just as soon as the Boy Wonder is clobbered close to death, this narrative proves particularly enthralling, and the Dark Knight’s invulnerability to bullets could arguably be written off as simply being a result of his anger-driven adrenalin.

Bob Kane’s artwork is also rather beguiling, due to the artist pencilling plenty of panels depicting Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego aggressively punching and kicking his numerous foes to the floor. Indeed, it’s debatably hard to imagine a more brutal Caped Crusader than the one sketched in this story, as he savagely batters any and all who would stand in his way – including a medical doctor who’s door the cowled crime-fighter just happens to knock upon in his bleeding sidekick’s moment of need; “That’s the first time I ever saw it look like that! It- It was terrible… Like a demon’s!”

Likewise, "Crime Does Not Pay" provides some intriguing insights into Batman’s additional arsenal of crime-fighting tactics, courtesy of the “strange creature of darkness” donning the disguise of an out-of-town mobster in an attempt to infiltrate a murderous team of bank robbers. Furthermore, there’s a genuine notion of teamwork between the Dark Knight and Robin in Finger’s script, which helps better establish them as a legitimate dynamic duo, rather than the Caped Crusader simply sending his colourfully-costumed partner off on various errands.

Perhaps this comic’s best visual moment also appears in this yarn’s opening sequence, as the two super-heroes swing down from a high-storey rooftop so as to fall upon a pair of hoodlums. Kane provides a strong sense of momentum to this action, largely thanks to a well-drawn splash page showing his co-creations’ viewpoint from their great height - which later ends with the antagonists both careening into their fleet-footed opponents on the ground with bone-breaking force.

Writer: Bill Finger, Penciler: Bob Kane, and Inkers: Jerry Robinson & George Roussos

Saturday 16 March 2024

Batman #5 - DC Comics [Part One]

BATMAN (FACSIMILE EDITION) No. 5, February 2024
Pitching the Dark Knight against arguably his greatest adversary, the Joker, Issue Five of “Batman” certainly must have started well for its audience way back in March 1941. Indeed, Bill Finger’s plot for “The Riddle Of The Missing Card?” is arguably fairly intriguing as the Clown Prince of Crime surprisingly teams up with Queenie, Diamond Jack Deegan and the oafish Clubsy, so as to commit a series of burglaries against Gotham City’s wealthiest gamblers; “My – My… Look at all the people anxious to lose their money.”

Of course, the fact the titular character's co-creator rather boldly announces early on in the tale that Bruce Wayne’s shaving cut will inadvertently later save the cowled crime-fighter’s life, does debatably ruin the shocking notion that “one person other than Robin [now] knows the true identity of Batman.” But this premature revelation doesn’t detract too much from an adrenalin-packed narrative which requires Bob Kane to sketch both “the first appearance of Batmobile with a bat-shaped ornament and also the first boat owned by Batman”, simply so the reader can visually keep up with the comic’s fast paced chase sequences.

Unhappily, "Book of Enchantment" is debatably far from as entertaining, largely due to it relying upon the Dynamic Duo facing off against an increasingly silly line-up of personalities taken from various nursery rhymes and folk tales. Furthermore, the preposterous suggestion that the masked vigilantes just happen to have thwarted a crime on the doorstop of a scientist who can somehow physically whisk them away to a dragon-infested Land of Fantasy is surely a step too far for even the most imaginatively willing of Bat-fans to reconcile with.

Kane’s layouts are also something of a mess with this story, requiring any perusing bibliophile to follow the odd pointed panel arrow and numerous corner numbers so as to actually understand which disappointingly pencilled picture is next. The artist’s firedrake does admittedly look pretty good. However, its appearance is disconcertingly brief, so simply gets swallowed up by Bob’s seemingly never-ending merry-go-round featuring a one-eyed Cyclops, Jack’s long-bearded giant, Humpty Dumpty, Simple Simon, and numerous other man-eating minions locked within the Wicked Witch’s bizarrely populated “torture dungeon”.

Writer: Bill Finger, Penciler: Bob Kane, and Inkers: Jerry Robinson & George Roussos

Friday 15 March 2024

Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons Of Vengeance Omega #1 - Marvel Comics

GHOST RIDER/WOLVERINE: WEAPONS OF VENGEANCE OMEGA No. 1, November 2023
Opening up with as bloodthirsty a welcome as any one new to this “brutal team-up” could want, Benjamin Percy’s script for Issue One of “Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons Of Vengeance Omega” also arguably does a good job of bringing such oblivious bibliophiles bang up to speed with what’s occurred in this mini-series’ previous instalments. Admittedly, much of this context is established via a significantly wordy summary at the comic’s start. However, this initial ‘info dump’ is then enthrallingly built upon by Talia Warroad, when she decides to enlighten the hapless Jeff Bannister as to the birth of Bagra-Ghul, and the demon’s subsequent grafting onto baby Bram’s body.

Such ‘straight to the point’ penmanship easily allows the audience to subsequently experience Hellverine’s internal battle when it comes to the hellfire-flamed killer being ordered to murder an infant mutant, whose parents have just ruthlessly incinerated an innocent family simply for the crime of owning the “biggest house on the neighbourhood”. This diabolical dilemma really lies at the very heart of the thirty-page plot’s resolution, establishing a line in the sand that even a heavily mind controlled Logan won’t easily cross, and one that enables the X-Man to mentally fight back for command of his adamantium-laced body; “I got your pitchfork right here.”

Likewise, the American author delivers when it comes to pitching the two titular characters against one another in an exhilarating, dynamically drawn action sequence by artist Geoff Shaw. Indeed, this ‘white knuckle ride’ repeatedly ‘wrong-foots’ the reader by persistently suggesting that perhaps one of the finale’s onlookers is about to die during the conflict - Whether that be Bram, Father Pike, or the gun-toting C.I.A. agent who “really preferred my life before I met you and Johnny”.

Lastly, Percy should be congratulated for providing both the aforementioned Warroad and Bannister with plenty of beguiling personality throughout the sense-shattering shenanigans on show. It would have been all-too easy for the writer to solely focus upon just the Ghost Rider and Wolverine for this book. But instead, both the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and her slightly reluctant partner-in-crime prove integral to infiltrating Weapon Plus’ Headquarters, and bringing the programme administrator’s deadly plans to a fiery end.

The regular cover of "GHOST RIDER/WOLVERINE: WEAPONS OF VENGEANCE OMEGA" #1 by Ryan Stegman

Thursday 14 March 2024

Conan The Barbarian #8 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 8, March 2024
There surely can be little doubt that Jim Zub’s narrative for Issue Eight of “Conan The Barbarian” depicts the titular character at his most merciless, brutally hacking to death any hapless wannabe hero who foolishly stands between the possessed Cimmerian and his quest to recover an ancient sword. But for those followers of Crom who were expecting this sword and sorcery adventure to resemble something penned by Robert E. Howard himself, “Sacrifice” is arguably bound to have fallen significantly short of its mark. 

To begin with the Canadian art instructor pens Belit as a disconcertingly resentful captain of the Tigress, who actually attempts to throw her beloved’s blade into the ocean for fear that it continues to remind him of “a lost lover”. Such aggressive mistrust on behalf of the Queen of the Black Coast genuinely seems to jar with the Hyborian Age pirate’s personality as portrayed way back within the pages of “Weird Tales” in 1934, and even causes the future King of Aquilonia to angrily comment that “petty jealously is beneath you.”

Making the twenty-two-page plot even more unconvincing though, is the author’s attempt to assure his audience that Conan has carried the exact same hand-weapon for years, during many of his earliest exploits. This notion simply doesn’t ring true, and debatably takes something away from Howard’s subsequent short stories, such as (the unfinished) "The Snout in the Dark" and "The Slithering Shadow" - Neither of which understandably make no mention of the black-haired barbarian continuously wielding a supernatural sword capable of killing a Dark God; “After Belit’s death, the Cimmerian carried the ancient Pict blade as he trekked through the Jungles of Kush.”

Lastly, for those fans of Zub who are familiar with his writing, the notion of the warrior once again becoming possessed by a demonic spirit and carrying a mythical hand-weapon is very similar to Jim’s multi-part storyline concerning the Tooth of the Nightstar, which he produced for “Marvel Worldwide” just three short years ago. Indeed, the similarities between the two tales are irritatingly quite striking, with the supposedly strong-willed thief simply being turned into a one-man killing machine, who savagely slaughters all before him in a gory bloodlust due to the evil powers controlling his mind.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" #8 by Ashleigh Izienicki