Reviews

Super Zombies #2 — Writers: Marc Guggenheim and Vince Gonzales; Art: Mel Rubi A zombie plague infects Earth’s population, including the superheroes, and bad things happen. Stop me if you’ve heard this before…. At least with Marvel Zombies, there was the elicit thrill of seeing your childhood heroes chowing down on their friends and family — and Kirkwood and Phillps made a great team, and took the story in unexpected directions. Here, it’s a generic superhero world, with generic characters you’ve never heard of, and the whole thing is so cynical, so slapdash and hacked-out, that the only sensations generated … Continue reading →

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 →