Pigeons From Hell #1 (of 4) — Writer: Joe R. Lansdale; Artist: Nathan Fox
This is an adaptation of a Robert E, Howard horror story, but Lansdale has updated and modernized it so that it’s more like a sequel. The plot — group of young adults show up at an isolated Bad Place, and Bad Things happen to them — isn’t exactly original; the art, reminiscent of Paul Pope in the way the characters look simultaneously ugly, interesting and oddly attractive, is a selling point (and the faceless, stylized ghosts at the end are cool).
Annihilation: Conquest #6 (of 6) — Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; Pencillers: Tom Raney and Wellington Alves; Inker: Scott Hanna
The finale; if you haven’t been following Nova, the save-the-day characters are going to come out of left field (with a deus ex Warlock, but not the one you were expecting), but the story’s satisfactorily told, and the writers should get points for killing off the two most annoying heroes. I got cosmiced out on this about halfway through the first mini-series, but more loyal fans should be jazzed at the announcement that the surviving characters will be appearing in a monthly Guardians of the Galaxy comic, starting next month.
Perhapanauts #1 — Writer: Todd Dezago; Art: Craig Rousseau
Although this is a first issue, the title’s had two previous mini-series at Dark Horse. This reintroduces the characters — a team of paranormal weirdness fighters that includes a Sasquatch, a ghost, a telepath, a smartass chupacabra (named, annoyingly, Choopie), and so on. OK, and a decent introduction to the cast; it’s worth a look, but if you get it make sure to pick up the alternate cover, a nice team-running-at-the-audience shot by Art Adams.
Captain Action #0 — Writer: Fabian Nicieza; Art: Mark Sparacio
A reboot of the character, with a completely new origin involving alien parasites, a team of super-heroes, and the n’er-do-well son of the original Captain Action. Nicieza’s an old hand at this, and although none of the story elements are exactly new, he’s effective at moving them around; at $1.99, this is a good opportunity to check out the book, and see if you want to climb on board from the beginning. As with the Perhapanauts, go for the “alternate” cover, in this case a tribute to the series’s ’60s/Bondian roots, by Paul Gulacy.
Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #1 (of 4) — Writer: David Michelenie; Penciler: Ron Lim; Inker: Bob Layton
Another iteration on the Iron Man/Dr. Doom time-travel stories, but this time with the original writer and artist (although Layton’s just doing the inks, over Ron Lim). It’s refreshing to see a Tony Stark who’s actually heroic and in-character, but the dealbreaker for me was the reveal of the “mystery” villain, someone whom, right now, most Marvel fans (through no fault of this book’s creative team) want nothing to do with.
Countdown to Final Crisis #2 (of -51) — Writers: Paul Dini with Sean McKeever and Keith Giffen; Art: Scott Kolins
OK: spoilers, I guess, if you don’t want to know that the whole issue’s a big fight, the first few pages with Giant-Turtle Jimmy Olsen vs. Darkseid, and then most of the book with Orion vs. his dad. Lots of big panels, culminating in (choke, gasp) the death of Darkseid!!! Um, yeah; if I hadn’t read a Grant Morrison interview about Final Crisis this week, where he talked about how Darkseid is that book’s main cosmic bad guy, I’d feel a lot more astounded at this development (or, given the unpermanent role of death in DC books, maybe not). Lots of big Kirbyesque battle panels, although Kolins isn’t quite able to pull them all off effectively.
Captain Marvel #5 (of 5) — Writer: Brian Reed; Penciler: Lee Weeks; Inks: Jesse Delperdang
Well, there’s the interesting revelation that the “sleeper” Skrulls are true sleepers, in that they don’t know they’re Skrulls until they get triggered; that, at least, explains quite a bit about recent Marvel history. This book itself? Eh. Let’s just say that it ends with a Captain Marvel present again in the Marvel Universe, but not in a particularly satisfying way (although it’s marginally better than the Paul Jenkins sucked-into-a-convenient-timewarp bit).
X-Men: Divided We Stand #1 (of 2) — Writers: Carey, Kyle & Yost, Young, Yost, Fraction; Art: Peterson, Takeda, Young, LaFuente, McKelvie
Five short stories, each focusing on what former residents of the X-Mansion (both students and teachers) are doing now that the X-Men have “broken up.” None of the art’s particularly stunning, and for $3.99 it’s for X-completists only.
Phil Mateer
