The Comic Bloke’s Review Block #8 – 4/21/06
By: Chris Delloiacono
The Block is open for business once again! As I mentioned in the teaser, it’s a true ABC week as there’re only three books reviewed, and each of those letters gets used. Pretty cool…
ABC, it’s easy as…
Oops, the way Michael Jackson’s finances are going, if I finish that line he’ll probably be standing outside my house with his clammy white hand hanging out looking for a nickel.
Close one.
Anyway, I’m heading out to the Pittsburgh Comicon this weekend, so the light week of reviews is very welcome.
Hope to see some of you in the Burgh.
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #4
Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciler: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Publisher: Marvel Comics
This was one of funnier comics that I’ve read in some time. Warren Ellis continues to have fun at the expense of superheroes, giant robots, and ridiculous origins. Not to mention the most amusing moment of vigilante justice against a corrupt cop I’ve ever seen.
I can see why some people are annoyed at Ellis’s disregard for superheroes. Many of his spandex tales seem angry. This one, though, continues to be an absolute joy. After all, Ellis isn’t messing with any old favorites here. Does anyone consider Elsa Bloodstone, the former female Captain Marvel, Machine Man, or Boom Boom amongst their favorites?
Didn’t think so.
If you start reading Nextwave they just might move up on your list. This is the treatment these characters deserve. Casting these losers as comedic foils trapped in a never-ending romp, quite simply, works.
And do I ever love these two-issue arcs. Let’s do two and move on.
Score: A – Chip of the Week!!!
Ex Machina: Special #1
“Life and Death” Part One
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Penciller: Chris Sprouse
Inker: Karl Story
Colorist: JD Mettler
Publisher: Wildstorm > DC Comics
I’m happy to see Wildstorm maintaining the artistic consistency of Ex Machina. Brian Vaughan and Tony Harris need to work together on every single issue of that title. Transmetropolitan and Preacher are two examples of titles that kept the creative team together beginning to end. It’s just the way it should be.
In a similar fashion to the various Preacher miniseries and one-shots, WS this month unveils the Ex Machina: Special two-part mini. It’s a different art team, but the same writer, telling a tale of Mitchell Hundred before he became the Mayor of New York City, back when he was just a hoo-hum superhero.
The story isn’t fantastic yet, but it’s a solid action story featuring an evil animal controlling antecedent to Hundred’s Great Machine. The origin of the villain, Pherson, is original, a bit scary, and quite dramatic. This features the best avian drama since Bodega Bay faced that bird poop onslaught back in the ’63.
The flashbacks to Hundred’s superhero days are usually brief in the pages of Ex Machina, so it’s fun to see the Great Machine in a lengthy storyline. There’s nothing here, at least yet, that points to this being a really important story, but I’m sure Vaughan has a reason for doing this. It’s not clear yet.
On the art side, Chris Sprouse and Karl Story nail it big time. They use the same neat layout approach Tony Harris does on the monthly. Most importantly the characters are true to the style and look that Harris brings each month.
This is a good beginning that hopefully will hit great next month. We shall see. If nothing else we get Ex Machina twice a month for two months.
Score: B
Conan #27
“The Blood-Stained Crown”
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Timothy Truman
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
This second part of the story was slightly better than the previous part, but I still didn’t like it all that much. The mirror storyline of a prince in Conan’s future and Conan himself just doesn’t work well. It’s clunky, contrived, and there’s no discernible payoff.
Kurt Busiek is about to close out more than two years on Conan, so I would have given him credit for putting to an end the story of the prince (unnamed as far as I know), which he began back in issue #0. He doesn’t even do that. I want more of Conan and less of this moax, and his all-too evil major-domo.
I’ve been reading Dark Horse’s Conan for the serial aspect of continuing adventures and developing characterization. If I wanted to read a tale of Conan from any old place in time I’d have just picked up one of the myriad other one-shots or minis that Dark Horse offers. Dark Horse should learn from what Wildstorm did with Ex Machina this month and keep the main book free from poorly thought out continuity hops.
Score: C
Kick to the Bollocks:
To the New York Rangers:
Thanks for limping down the stretch, boys. Instead of locking up first in the division and the third seed in the Eastern Conference you lost five in a row and got dumped to sixth in the conference.
Worst of all, it’s the Devils in the first round, who won eleven in a row to leap past us.
One more point!
This has been a jubilant season with a return to competitiveness for the first time in nearly ten years, now it looks to end on a sour note with a bitter pill to swallow if we lose to the guys in red and black.
Either way it’s been a great season, hopefully it’ll last a lot longer.
Good luck, gents!
On the bright side, I won both of my fantasy hockey leagues this year. Not bad. Course since neither one paid any prize money, what was really the point, you know?
The two, count ’em, two championship “trophies” and three bucks will buy me a comic!
Woo-Hoo!
Contact me at acegecko@comcast.net if you have a book you’d like me to review. Hell, just drop me a line and make suggestions of good books and I’ll find ’em on my own. I’m always looking for the next great thing.
Bloke’s done. See ya next Friday!
