Leave Your Spandex @t the Door 08.08.06: Advance Reviews & Previews

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Welcome to the 80th installment of the new Leave Your Spandex @t the Door! Wednesday is Comic Book Day in the U.S., and LYS@D is here again with this week’s Early Bird Reviews, so you can catch up on what rocks and what flops this week before you head to your local LCS! I’d like to thank Travelling Man Manchester for providing me with the advance look copies for review!

The column’s reviews and Indy news will be taking a two week sabbatical while your humble writer takes a much needed holiday in Greece for two weeks,starting this Friday!

In the meantime you can enjoy new content on Mondays and Fridays with some special LYSAD previews and interviews!

Previews this week:

CASANOVA #3 from Image Comics (pages 1-4)

NEXTWAVE #7 from Marvel Comics (pages 11-15)

ESCAPISTS #2 from Dark Horse (pages 1,4,17, 20)

Panel of the week:

Venus: Un-Veiled!

July’s H-O-T Grade: Which books made the Top Ten last month? (the brackets indicate June’s placements)


1. X-MEN (new)
2. HERO SQUARED (2)
3. RUNAWAYS (8)

4. SHE-HULK (new)
5. DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON (6)
6. CASANOVA (new)
7. BATMAN (new)
8. 52 (5)
9. FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD SPIDER-MAN (10)
10.MANIFEST ETERNITY (new)

ADVANCE REVIEWS This week: screaming brides, brain-washed cubs, robots from the future, whipped scorpions, sex in space, moody martians, fairytale haircuts and ‘little men’

The Savage Brothers #1
Boom Studios
Writer: Andrew Cosby & Johanna Stokes
Artists: Rafael Albuquerque

Review Content: Dale and Otis Savage are the Savage Brothers, and not only in name! They’re the kind of hillbilly rednecks who would see the Apocalypse as a perfect opportunity to cash in!

The Second Coming is a reality, there’s lakes of fire on every neighbourhood, rains of frogs are on the forecast and the buried have risen as zombies. If you’re a frail old lady like Mrs Mitchum and you’re worried your time is up and you’re headed to heaven while your beloved is still brainlessly munching on dog carcasses back on Earth, the Savage Brothers and their zombie-extermination operation (including the both of them, an open-back wagon and two rifles) are your best bet at a happily ever After-life. After completing their latest scam, the brothers are given a new mission in the heart of the zombie-infested Atlanta, that will develop into a clever zombie-take quest when they run into a sacrifice, a dark lord of sorts and an unexpected virgin!

The Savage brothers see a great human drama of epic proportions and their minds flash with ten shameful ways to take advantage of it. Dale is the dastardly brains of the operation and Otis the ‘unwitting’ accomplice and brawn, following his brothe’s example wuth a serving of guilt. They have that certain level of obnoxiousness and brainless cunning that makes that actually charming characters, in the vein of cult film geniuses like the Coen brothers and Tarantino! Substitute Ladykillers for Zombiekillers in a setting of urban Hellfire.

Andrew Cosby has been a surefire hit with every project he has had his hand in developing with Boom Studios and this is no exception. These horror comics have the sort of fresh ideas and concepts that moviegoers have been demanding from Hollywood! It’s no surprise that these properties get picked up so fast by the studios as soon as the first issues come out.

Rafael Albuquerque is another new name artist that Boom has discovered and fostered; it makes me wonder why the big Two are still bothering with the same old tired Top Cow alumni cannibalising artists, when theirs is fresh talent like Albuquerque trying to break in. With the help of Chris Pete’s unconventional moody palette, they capture brilliantly the tone of a post-apocalyptic America. His work on the characters design brings to the reader everything they need to know about the Savage bros. Brilliant work all around!

Grade: A

Preview pages from issue 1:

Wolverine: Origins #5
Marvel
Writer: Daniel Way
Artists: Steve Dillon

Review Content: A blood-crazed Wolverine faces off against Captain America, Cyclops, Emma and the young Hellion this issue, in the conclusion of the first major arc in the title.

I had read the first issue of this title, but hadn’t seen any attraction to keep me reading. The issue’s stunning cover by Quesada and the promise of more Emma Frost (who is currently featured in more titles than Wolvie, I might add) reeled me back with this 5th issue, and I had no trouble getting up to date on the plot with the detailed summary.

Wolverine has been cut by his special red sword (whose history eludes me but is inconsequential at this point) and the assembled heroes try to take him down. It ends of course with Emma entering Wolverine’s mind leading to series of surprising revelations about Wolverine’s past, including a major uncovered secret about his family that will change Wolverine’s status quo. This discovery is going to set the direction of the following issues as wolverine sets out to discover a lost relative!

Daniel Way has a lot of fresh ideas for the fight scene choreography (check out the extra page to the right for an example), but they fail to live up to their potential due to unfortunate shortcomings in the art. Dillon is of course the celebrated artist of Preacher and Punisher, who is a major talent in crime and horror stories, with a panache for gore and dismemberment, capturing uniquely the ugliness in violence and everyday settings. His assignment on a Wolverine title could have meant a major turn for the feel of the stories that could be told with Logan. As much as Way tries to play to Dillon’s strengths though, the intense violence is downplayed by the bright green idyllic prairie background and the X-Men’s garish costumes which take away from the intensity of the scenes. Steve Dillon can’t (and I believe shouldn’t even be asked to) draw skin-tight spandex, and the issue could have looked much better with a more basic palette and the x-men in civilian clothing.

Way has taken the phenomenal task of piecing together a precise year-by-year history of Logan’s past using all the published stories and origins, and then presenting them in a non-linear fashion, slowly uncovering pieces of the puzzle. The first of these pieces are laid out in this issue, with flashbacks to Logan’s life with Silver Fox, and his first (?) encounter with Sabretooth. These flashbacks are beautifully rendered in the patented (?) Sin City palette of graytones + blood red, bringing out the gore-y qualities of Dillon’s art. It’s surprising the same colorist can both make and destroy a page this issue. I’d rather see the whole issue in the grayscale palette than the pastel blue skies.

Daniel Way has dispelled my doubts that he can be considered ‘worthy’ to be Wolverine’s biographer this issue, with his handle on both the character, and his interactions to the x-men. Although early on Cyclops is almost made to look like a nancy boy (perhaps due to the spandex gimp costume), the pay-off in the end of the issue makes up for it, with an exchange that epitomises the Wolverine-Cyclops dynamic. Even the odd choice of Hellion from New X-Men as a guest-star can be excused for the resulting dialogue between the new mutant and Captain America.

Grade: B

She-Hulk v2 #10
Marvel
Writer: Dan Slott
Artists: Rick Burchett

Review Content: Although last issue was titled the revelation issue, it’s in fact tomorrow’s release which packs the greatest surprises.

The issue opens up with the necessary Civil War tie-in, as She-Hulk (now Mrs. Jen Jameson) and husband chase down Hellcat who is chasing Ruby Thursday (a truly classic oddball villain and former member of the Headmen), giving her the sales pitch on registration. She-Hulk is the only Marvel title where registration actually makes sense.

After that nasty business, Slott turns his attention to his simmering subplots which finally come to a roaring boil (sic)(attention: you will need to dig up your She-Hulk back issues for this, although there is a fair amount of exposition for new readers); Pug uncover more clues behind Eros’ empathic manipulations of his coworkers from an unconventional interrogation of one of the Eros trial witnesses; the secret affair between Mallory and Awesome Andy is creeping into their workspace and becomes noticed; the coolest Iron Man villain ever makes a bonus cameo; Pug confronts Jen about her marriage; the identity of She-Hulk’s boss mr Artie Zix is revealed (hint: go back to vol.1 and try to figure out who he is! It’s painfully obvious!); Shulkie gets a new archnemesis from spider-man’s repertoire as a result of her wedding; the Man-Wolf returns (if you hadn’t noticed the stunning cover); finally, a member of Jen’s supporting cast is murdered in gruesome fashion!

If the above teasers didn’t get the point across, Dan Slott has gone crazy with the plot in this issue, giving a lot of action and drama in these 22 pages: He is the cure to decompression! I admire his work ethic, as these last two issues could have easily been a whole 6-issue storyline at the hands of other writers, but Slott can still pack all the material in one issue without compromising the quality of the story. Rich Burchett replaces Paul Smith on pencils, despite the solicitation info, and does an admirable job of keeping into the book’s new look and delivering a story that reads comfortably like an old-school Marvel adventure without being weighed down by the amount of story.

Grade: B

New X-Men #29
Marvel
Writer: Chris Yost and Craig Kyle
Artists: Duncan Rouleau

Review Content: In this issue”¦ noone dies!

Trust me, for New X-Men, that’s quite novel!

Oddly enough, this murderous rampage the writers have been on didn’t bother me. Despite DeFillippis’ and Wei’s best efforts, the previous cast of the book hadn’t resonated with me emotionally. I won’t miss any of the departed characters, but nonetheless I felt the emotional impact of their passing, as seen through the grief and anger process of the surviving students. The mass funeral from a few issues back, Emma’s breakdown and Laurie’s mom’s anger at her friends last issue, as well as the kids’ reaction to Jos’s death are all strong emotional scenes that have defined this.

This issue shows off their larger plan, as the rapidfire series of tragic events have cauterised the young mutants into a pro-active ‘New X-Men’ group. Unlike the original New Mutants team of the 80s and the 90s Generation-X, this decade’s young mutants group was more ‘static’ and lacking motivation. They weren’t X-men in training, just mutant students, and even a small representation of the total student body at that. After HoM, the climate has shifted, the mutant student population was indeed decimated and the remaining kids began training to become X-Men.

In this issue, we see them finally come to their own as an x-team, but it may not be their smartest decision. Thanks to the late Reverend Stryker, Nimrod is operational again and he has sought Forge to rebuild his frame, threatening to crash Storm’s wedding if he doesn’t and showing him a glimpse of Nimrod’s murderous past (and possibly Forge’s future) to convince him. The New X-Men have pieced together the clues revealing that Nimrod has returned, but the senior X-Men won’t believe them, so they decide to take matters into their own hands. It’s a rash decision but a justifiable one, following on the heel of the last storyline.

Duncan Rouleau returns to the x-titles with this fill-in issue, making a huge impression. Rouleau was very popular in the X-Office during the late 90s with assignments in X-Men Unlimited (back when that was a big deal showcase of hot talent), Annuals and signature short runs in X-Factor and Alpha Flight v2. He then migrated to DC and the Superman office for a run that featured an even looser style. His work this issue is more reigned-in, supposedly to fit in with the regular artist’s style, but is still instantly recognisable thanks to the characteristic anatomy deviations and the ‘meatiness’ of the facial features and expressions.

Grade: A

Beyond #2
Marvel
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Artists: Scott Kolins

Review Content: After the somewhat mediocre set-up issue, the creative team gets its bearings and delivers a killer follow-up. From C to A in just one issue, it seems McDuffie and Kolins are doing something right, capturing a unique atmosphere of the original Secret Wars updating with a Lost feel!

The impromptu Secret Wars team is reeling from the shock of Spider-man’s murder (subtly clued by this issue’s cover). Medusa’s immediate action to affect the Inhumans’ brutal laws to punish the murdering Venom will polarise the group and create delightful tension that leads to individual traits and psychologies shining through their interactions.

Even amidst such a big and varied cast, every single character gets at least one great moment during the initial squabble and the following battle with a returning Great Kirby villain. The Wasp tries to assert herself as an Avenger and American and Hank Pym has reverted to his ‘Dr Pym’ costume and powers from the West Coast Avengers (my favourite incarnation), with a useful miniaturised artillery in his pack. The Hood is providing a creepy commentary on the events, mirroring my own reader-crush on Medusa and her current rendition. Kraven’s dialogue is particularly enjoyable as McDuffie provides him with a barrage of sitcom one-liners and punchlines (essentially writing in the style of Ron Zimmerman, Kraven J’s controversial creator who came from a sitcom writing background) which clash humorously with the rest of the cast who simply don’t ‘get’ the joke.

The last page features the return of a long-missing Marvel anti-hero, who will be no surprise to any of you following Marvel’s solicits! In fact, anyone who has seen the covers for the next two issues, will also be able to predict the second major twist this issue, which also negates my main complain about the first issue. Don’t expect more spoilers from me, do your own research!

Scott Kolins is doing some of his finest and most detailed work, on the same level with his memorable Earth’s Mightiest Heroes series. He obviously has a great affection and preference towards Lady Medusa who continues to steal the show. The scene of Scorpion’s innovative punishment is the best example, where Medusa’s often hard-to-portray powers are used to the most violent and visually impressive effect.

Grade: A

Annihilation #1
Marvel
Writer: Keith Giffen
Artists: Andrea DiVito

Review Content: Picking up where the four annihilation mini series finished, this first issue is a surprisingly accessible read that kick starts a major epic in the Marvel universe. Although events in all four limited series are recounted throughout the issue, all the characters are reintroduced and I didn’t have any trouble following the story even though I hadn’t read nothing but the first half of one of the prelude series.

Annihillus has discovered the reality proper has been expanding into his Negative Zone taking up his territory and he’s decided to take it back by waging war on the ‘positive’ matter universe by unleashing an ‘annihillation wave’ that has destroyed whole planets! Richard Ryder (a.k.a. Nova) and a changed Starbrand are heading the resistance, along with help from notable marvel cosmic heroes like Drax (fresh from Giffen’s recent reimagining), Gamora, Ronan the Accused (now a wanted man by the Kree), Silver Surfer, Moondragon (pictured on the cover but nowhere to be seen inside, unfortunately) and more! The assembled soldiers from the Nova Corps attempt to fend off another incoming invasion in a brutal battle sequence but not without severe losses. In the end they uncover a secret alliance (presumably unveiled in the closing issues of Silver Surfer) which might well mean the end of the war, as a long-standing cosmic entity crumbles in front of a new pair of Cosmic threats.

Nova has matured a lot as a character from his days with the New Warriors, developing into a war-seasoned general and I can’t imagine him reverting to the earlier incarnation.

The opening issue is extra-sized 32 pages without an added cost. Even so, Divito has managed to cram enough action to justify two double-sized issues! Most panels are literally crammed with background characters and locales, and the issue succeeds in capturing the enormous scope of this event which at least feels like it will have real resonance in Marvel history, joining such cosmic classics as the Kree-Skrull war, Operation Galactic Storm and the Infinity stories.

Grade: C

Martian Manhunter #1
DC
Writer: A.J. Lieberman
Artists: Al Barrionuevo

Review Content: Following the events of Brave New World (one of my DC’s many smart marketing strategies this year), the Martian Manhunter has discovered he is not the last survivor of his race on Earth. Following the other Martian’s trace telepathically, he will discover he’s the victim of a secret organisation’s project. Meanwhile an encounter with a scared and angry crowd will make him rethink his superhero career.

The new look he is sporting is both a step forward (finally covering up some green skin) and one backwards (Jonn keeps his original Martian appearance 24/7, which unsettles not only the citizens of DC, but also the reader).

I’ve never been a fan of the Martian Manhunter, apart from Darwyn Cooke’s admirable handling of him in New Frontier and the Oreo-addicted alien take from Giffen/DeMatteis which have both been unfortunately both been nixed in favour of a ‘grim and gritty’ (I hate the term too) take on the character, producing a dark and brooding misanthropic version of Superman. To put it bluntly, he mopes an awful lot, about his powers, about the respect he gets, about people not recognising him on the street and attacking him (although who can blame them, since he has a new face and costume, and looks like a big angry green martian with a grudge), being alone, then not being alone and ending in the quite pompous self-realisation that he’s the second most powerful guy on Earth (did he take into account the sorcerers, the divine entities, the cosmic villains?).

Although the creators are trying to set a certain mystery around the character and the art looks top notch, in the end the story failed to entertain but instead proved a depressing experience.

Grade: D

Fables #52
Vertigo
Writer: Bill Willingham
Artists: Mark Buckingham and Gene Ha

Review Content: While the great forces in the Adversary’s lands gather to vote on waging war at Fabletown, Red Riding Hood has a makeover and Flycatcher shows his real colours! In a special back-up story, Willingham is joined by Gene Ha (doing amazing work as per usual) in the first of a series of features introducing new Fables into the book. The first such story focuses on the Crow brothers and Rapunzel (check her out hidden in the corner of the cover!)

An all-around excellent issue, spending equal time between the two settings. In the Homelands story, Willingham introduces a variety of characters from new Fables locations like the Land of Oz while also exploring the sensitive politics at play, Gepetto’s clever manipulation of appearances and Pinocchio’s new loyalties. Meanwhile in the Fabletown story, the real Red Riding Hood finally gets the spotlight, becoming a more rounded character after spending several months as a wandering cipher while major events were unveiling. Her new haircut courtesy of mr Buckingham is a perfect fit and helps her grow into her own character. Finally, Rapunzel’s short story in the back-up explains her predicament, being a Fable with ever growing hair trying to fit in the Mundy world; thesolution that has been implemented by the Fabletown authorities is both reasonable and cruel, and immediately defines this new Fable and makes her a character I want to see more of.

Grade: B

Capsule Reviews from last week’s shipment:

All-New Atom #2
DC
Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: John Byrne

Review Content: It’s a shame Byrne has truncated his run on this title from 6 to 3 issues, as his work here (helped by inker Nelson) is the best I’ve seen in the last decade from him. The new Atom continues to explore his powers, while his scientist cabal argue about the scientific explanation of his shrinking (kudos to Gail Simone for correctly referencing the scientific principles and constants involved!). He finds a new mount in the form of a puppy (which seems somehow less dignified than an ant in my eyes, but I haven’t realised why), gets courted by a potential new girlfriend and irrevocably damages his chances at having grandchildren with said girlfriend by hurting the Atom Jewels (or he lovingly calls them, his ‘little gentleman’) before stumbling into the enemy’s lair!

Now if only someone would edit out those distracting science quotes, we would have a solid B issue!

Grade: C

Aaaaand that’s a wrap for this week! I’m waiting your comments and feedback through email to Manolis@gmail.com. If you self-publish your own comics or represent an indy comics company, add me to your press release list, and I will run your news in this space every week.

Manolis Vamvounis
a.k.a. Dr. Dooplove

ah, the good old Dr Manolis, the original comics Greek. He's been at this for sometime. he was there when the Comics Nexus was founded, he even gave it its name, he even used to run it for a couple of years. he's been writing about comics, geeking out incessantly and interviewing busier people than himself for over ten years now and has no intention of stopping anytime soon.