Ignition City #1 — Ariter: Warren Ellis;  Art: Gianluca Pagliarani Doktor Sleepless #12 — Writer: Warren Ellis;  Art: Ivan Rodriguez Ellis is a 1950s sf pulp writer reincarnated for the 21st century. Ignition City is a what-if-the-space-race-had-gone-differently alternate-Earth tale much like Ministry of Space, but grittier, and focused more on the human elements; it would have fit in a magazine like Galaxy of If or even Fantasy and Science Fiction. Doktor Sleepless is sleeker and more modern, an examination of near-future hi-tech communications hardware, with the software filtered through Carlos Casteneda and H. G. Lovecraft. It’s in a quiet stage … Continue reading →

Dark Reign: Hawkeye #1 (of 5) — Writer: Andy Diggle;  Penciler: Tom Raney;  Inker: Scott Hanna Not Clint Barton: this is a Dark Avengers spinoff, so the guy in the costume with the arrows is actually Bullseye, and Norman Osborn and the other “Avengers” are around, and much mayhem ensues; if you’re reading all the Dark Reign stuff, this is definitely worth a look. I’m going to make my weekly ratings complaint, though: there’s a lot of arrows through heads and pens through eye sockets and the like, and no “Max” or “mature readers” in sight. Considering that this is … Continue reading →

Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye #1 (of 3) — Writer: Grant Morrison; Artist: Cameron Stewart Whoa: I had no idea this was coming out this week. You can have your expectation-raising, slam-bang blockbusters like Final Crisis, but Seaguy is the Grant Morrison I want. It’s best to read the first series before tackling this one, but get to it, because this is the heir to Animal Man and The Invisibles: small-scale, reality-bending, full of little moments that can make you whistle in awe or break your heart. Pray for a decent ending (Morrison is sometimes more about the cool zen … Continue reading →

Who Wants to be a Superhero?: Defuser #1 — Writer: Jeremy Barlow; Art: Kajo Baldisimo Pretty bad — but not bad enough to derive any real pleasure from ripping on it. Save that for the one-page profiles of the other nine contestants whose characters could have been featured in this Dark Horse marketing crossover bonanza, complete with “Who’s Who”-type dossiers on each character. Look, particularly, at the entries for “Braid,” “Hygena,” and, um, “Mister Mitzvah,” a character so ill-conceived (“A direct descendent of King David!”) that words fail me. Yeesh. It’s all done with a straight face, too; the lack … Continue reading →