Deadpool #900 — Creators: Jason Aaron/Chris Staggs/Juan Vlasco; Fred van Lente/Dalibor Talajic; Mike Benson/Damion Scott; Joe Kelly/Rob Liefeld; Duane Swierczynski/Shawn Crystal; Victor Gischler/Sanford Greene/Nathan Massengill; Charlie Huston/Kyle Baker; James Felder/Pete Woods/Walden Wong
… plus one of those all-900 covers deals, although of course they’re lying (this is sort of the 200th issue, although even then they’re bringing in every Deadpool book ever published, and then squinting a little and counting alternate covers and stuff). Covers 201-900 are part of an actually-pretty-elaborate visual gag, helping to justify the joke. This does offer over 100 pages for $4.99, and if you’re a fan of the character that’s a bargain; if not, a little of Wade goes a long way — there’s a lot of filler, although the 11 pages of Liefeld (with Joe Kelly script, so it’s not bad) and 13 pages of Kyle Baker are worth the price of admission by themselves.
Punisher #75 (of 75) — Creators: Tom Piccirilli/Laurence Campbell; Gregg Huwitz/Das Pastoras; Duane Swierczynski/Tomm Coker; Peter Milligan/Goran Parlov; Charlie Huston/Ken Lashley/Rob Stull
… plus, this being the last issue of this incarnation, there’s a seven-page preview of the new ongoing PunisherMax #1, by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon. Continuing Marvel’s random-pricing policy, this offers barely half the content of the Deadpool book, for the exact same price. Pretty standard stuff here — the stories tend to run together, especially since almost all of them, at some point, reference Frank’s slaughtered-family-in-the-park origin; even the Milligan/Parlov offering, the one you’d think would stand out, is just a greatest-hits retrospective of the Ennis parts (with Parlov redrawing various climactic panels from the run), and serves mostly to remind us that Ennis ain’t here no more, and that the Punisher is pretty damn boring without him. The preview is mildly encouraging — it’s nice to see Dillon on the character again, and Aaron has the chops to at least make it interesting — but its mobster/goombah scenes make it look more like revisiting past successes (Ennis again) than forging new paths, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Jon Sable, Freelance: Ashes of Eden #1 (of 6) — Writer/Artist: Mike Grell
This is a lot like the current Grimjack mini-series, in that it’s the title’s original creator returning to his character, and providing exactly the same thing as he did in the original run in the ’80s. The good news is that it’s smooth, professional entertainment; the bad news is that that’s all it is — what seemed exciting and cutting-edge 20 years ago now seems repetitive and a little tired, the equivalent of a medium-decent episode of a TV action drama. Grell’s still a talented comics storyteller, though, and if you were a fan of his original run you’ll probably be happy to shell out your $3.99 for this newest version, and spend some time with an old friend.
Hector Plasm: Totentanz — Writer: Benito Cereno; Art: Nate Bellegarde, plus Ed Tadem, Jess Fink, John Campbell, Dean Trippe and Jason Born, and Scott Wegener and Jessie Lam
Hector Plasm is a Gothic (or. more accurately, Goth) character who’s appeared as a backup feature in a number of Image books; this is mostly a collection of some of his webcomics tales and other appearances. He’s a wandering warlock (well, actually a Benandanti, but don’t get me started) who encounters various creatures of myth and legend, sometimes fighting and sometimes helping them. Lots of cool art, if you’re into medieval prints and Ed Gorey and similar stuff, and fans of Halloween and the whole Goth genre, from Hellboy all the way down to Gloomcookie, should like this.
Uncle Scrooge #384 — Writer: Erik Hedman; Art: Wanda Gattino
The latest Boom! Disney revival, and while it’s still by European creators it’s the closest in form to its original version. Too close, probably — it’s Uncle Scrooge and Donald and the boys, and the money bin and the old number one dime and Magica de Spell pursuing it, and an old castle with a ghost and Gyro Gearloose and… well, it’s well-trod territory, and reads like one of those post-Barks issues from the late ’60s or ’70s, not terrible but without Carl’s spark, either, OK in a pinch but not as good as a reprint would have been.
Nomad: Girl Without a World #2 (of 4) — Writer: Sean McKeever; Art: David Baldean
This isn’t a bad little mini-series, actually, but Marvel needs to market it better; it’s not, as you might expect, a generic grim long-underwear punch-’em book. Instead, it’s a high-school-relationship superhero title with an appealing female lead, a lot like Spidergirl or even the Mary Jane books. Play up that subtitle and the manga influence, guys, and maybe this won’t get so lost on the stands, and be able to find its natural audience.
House of Mystery Halloween Annual #1 — Writer: Matthew Sturges; Pencils: Luca Rossi; Inks: Jose Marzan Jr.
As usual for this title, the main story also acts as a framing device to present other tales; these include a Merv Pumpkinhead romp by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham and Kevin Nowlan; a John Constantine story by Peter Milligan, Giuseppe Camuncol and Stefano Landini; an I, Zombie introduction by Chris Robertson and Michael Allred; and a Madame Xanadu by Matt Wagner, Amy Reeder Hadley and Richard Friend. Yes, they’re using this to promo all the other Vertigo titles, but hey: the framing story is OK, the Allred I, Zombie is cool enough, and the others are all decent work that should make fans of the respective titles happy (new Buckingham and Hadley art is always welcome).
Phil Mateer
