Monday, February 6, 2017
What a great Super Bowl 51 last night. The New England Patriots deserved to win that one. I was cheering for the Atlanta Falcons but they just couldn’t sustain their amazing first half efforts and lost. Such is sports.
Bullseye #1 – Ed Brisson (writer) Guillermo Sanna (art) Miroslav Mrva (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). He’s back from the dead and back on the racks in his very own book that’s heavy on the bloodshed. What else would you expect for a comic book about a psychopathic killer for hire? Bullseye kills for fun, unlike the Punisher, so that’s a bit of a turn off. In part 1 of “The Columbian Connection” Bullseye is hired to retrieve a mob boss’s son from a sadistic Columbian drug lord. He is also being chased by an F.B.I. agent seeking revenge for Bullseye killing her husband. These characters may not have any redeeming qualities but Ed’s writing is solid and Guillermo’s art is nice so I’ll keep reading until the mindless mayhem and blood flow gets to be too much. There’s a back up story in this giant sized issue by Marv Wolfman (writer) Alec Morgan (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters) that shows just how tough Bullseye is. This book is targeted (har) for fans of the Punisher.
Batman #16 – Tom King (writer) David Finch (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) John Workman (letters). “I Am Bane” starts here. This new story is a direct consequence of the mission to bring back the Psycho Pirate to cure Gotham Girl. Bane wants the Pirate back and he’s going to Gotham City to get him. The first few pages where Bronze Tiger ambushes Batman were a little confusing but it goes to explain why the Psycho Pirate is so important to the story. Bruce tries to keep his loved ones safe from Bane but Damian, Dick and Jason are too stubborn to listen. This sequel to “I Am Suicide” had me hooked with the last page.
Paper Girls #11 – Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Cliff Chiang (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) Jared K. Fletcher (letters). I am so happy that this book is back from its four month break. We catch up with the girls somewhere lost in time but we can’t tell if it’s the distant past or the future. I’ve said time and again that I’m not a fan of time travel stories but I have grown to care about these girls and want to see what happens to them.
Star Wars: Darth Maul #1 – Cullen Bunn (writer) Luke Ross (art) Nolan Woodward (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). Whoever created the look for this villain deserved an Academy Award for make-up. Most fans would say that Darth Vader is the best Star Wars villain but Maul makes Vader look like a weenie in my opinion. Maul has a hate on for Jedis that Cullen exposes to great effect. Looks like I’m going to hang out at the Maul for a while.
Vampirella #0 – Paul Cornell (writer) Jimmy Broxton (art & colours) Travis Lanham (letters). Vampi’s back on the racks but this new effort was lacking in anything interesting to make me want to keep reading. First off; Vampirella is barely in it. Then there’s her waking up with amnesia to provide a clean slate for new adventures but you don’t know enough about her to care what happens next. I’ve been a fan since the Warren Magazine days and I have been disappointed with the latest attempts at bringing her back. It’s a good thing this issue only cost two bits US.
Karnak #6 – Warren Ellis (writer) Rolland Boschi (art) Dan Brown (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). This finale sees Karnak complete his mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. leaving the bad guy in a sorry state. I didn’t get the part about what Karnak wanted for payment so maybe I missed something over the course of this 6-issue mini that took 16 months to complete. What kept me hanging on was that I really liked how Warren portrayed this Inhuman. I hope his new Wildstorm book doesn’t drag on like this.
Superman #16 – Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason (writer) Tony S. Daniel & Clay Mann (pencils) Sandu Florea & Seth Mann (inks) Dinei Ribeiro (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). We find out why the bad guy Prophesy is draining powers from all the Supermen and women in the conclusion of “Multiplicity”. He needs all that power to save his universe from doom. I really hope they don’t bring Doomsday back. So now that the Multiverse has been saved again let’s see what the next threat is.
Hawkeye #3 – Kelly Thompson (writer) Leonardo Romero (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). I loved the TV show Veronica Mars and this comic book reminds me of that show. I think it’s how Kelly uses Kate to narrate what’s going on. This is fun light reading with just a hint of menace.
Moon Knight #11 – Jeff Lemire (writer) Greg Smallwood (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). Okay, part 2 of “Death and Birth” has a lot of jumping around that seems confusing at first but I’m sure it’ll all make sense eventually. We are getting a lot of insights into Marc’s alternate identities so I am going to trust in Jeff and keep reading.
Champions #5 – Mark Waid (writer) Humberto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). The teen team tackles racism. I’m glad this didn’t just deteriorate into the kids beating up skinheads and white supremacists. They tried hard to do the right thing. Does Mark write Gwenpool too? I would read that book if he did based on her appearance in this issue. I just might check out her own book now.
Monsters Unleashed #2 – Cullen Bunn (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC’s Travis Lanham (letters). It’s wall to wall super heroes fighting giant monsters from space. Meanwhile, Elsa Bloodstone thinks she has found who is causing all this destruction and Moon Girl thinks she knows why. I think Marvel is using this stunt as a way to undo all the animosity created by Civil War II and Inhumans vs. X-Men.
Nova #3 – Jeff Loveness & Ramon Perez (writers) Ramon Perez (art) Ian Herring (colours) Comicraft’s Albert Deschesne (letters). Hold onto your helmets folks this one’s pretty intense.
Unstoppable Wasp #2 – Jeremy Whitley (writer) Elsa Charretier (art) Megan Wilson (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). I like Nadia and this is a good way to find out more about the other female heroes in the Marvel U that I don’t follow. Taina Miranda is totally new to me and I don’t read Devil Dinosaur and Moon Girl’s comic book. Plus, I think the art is really good.