Monday, March 11, 2019
It’s the Monday after moving the clocks ahead one hour so be careful on your morning commute. Some people may not be wide awake yet. It was downright balmy when I got the newspaper this morning. The temperature was above zero. A sure sign of spring is smelling the first whiff of skunk while out and about. Plus the cardinals are starting to sing. Yes, we had over 10 cms of snow fall yesterday and our plowing service even came by to clear it away but warmer weather will get here eventually and all that ice will melt.
Batman #66 – Tom King (writer) Jorge Fornes (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Knightmares part 4. This trip into Batman’s brain stars the Question and Selina. I don’t like that she smokes. I was hoping that the 2-issue interlude for the Flash crossover would mean that Mikel Janin would be doing the art for this issue so I was sorely disappointed.
Immortal Hulk #14 – Al Ewing (writer) Kyle Hotz (art) Paul Mounts (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). Wow. What a great way to reintroduce Betty Ross. “We Only Meet At Funerals” shows how far the character has come since she first showed up as Thunderbolt Ross’s daughter and as a love interest for Bruce Banner. I like that the love story is still there with the menace to society ramped up more. It’s been too long since I’ve seen Kyle Hotz’s art on the racks. It’s as close to seeing Berni Wrightson back drawing comics again. The surprise appearance on the last page gave me a hoot.
Avengers #16/LGY #706 – Jason Aaron (writer) David Marquez (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). It almost looks like the Vampire Wars is over when the Avengers regain control of their team mate Ghost Rider. I liked the way Roberto was rescued because it wasn’t what I thought was going to happen and I was pleasantly surprised. The solution justifies Blade’s involvement. I suppose the Vampire War will go on the back burner once the War of the Realms starts in a month. There’s another surprise appearance on the last page but I think we won’t be seeing this character again any time soon.
Doomsday Clock #9 – Geoff Johns (writer) Gary Frank (art) Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). I’ve been waiting for this moment in the maxi-series for a while now. The doctor is finally in. the big blue butt-naked god-like being, Doctor Manhattan, makes a solid appearance. There sure are a lot of DC super heroes in this issue. I don’t know what the end result of the encounter between the heroes and Doctor Manhattan is going to be but I’m hoping that it’s a doozy.
Blossoms 666 #2 – Cullen Bunn (writer) Laura Braga (art) Matt Herms (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). The Blossom twins are vying for the right to sit atop the Infernal Throne. They thought their deadly games were just between the two of them. A surprise twist keeps this creepy story interesting but I don’t think I would be so interested if it wasn’t for the great art. Betty and Cheryl never looked so good.
Meet the Skrulls #1 – Robbie Thompson (writer) Niko Henrichon (art) Laurent Grossat (colour assistant) VC’s Travis Lanham (letters). Let’s meet mom Gloria, dad Carl and daughters Madison and Alice, a family of Skrulls living amongst us tasked with trying to stop Project Blossom. If they can do that, their fellow Skrulls can take over the Earth. This was a lot better than I expected. I liked the youngest Skrull who was raised on Earth. She’s the reason I want to find out what happens next in this 5-issue mini.
Ronin Island #1 – Greg Pak (writer) Giannis Milonogiannis (art) Irma Kniivila (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). You can tell by the title of this new comic book that there will be samurai involved. It looks like a coming of age story about two young martial arts students on an island but then morphs into a far eastern Walking Dead. Greg does a great job of introducing the two young rivals Kenichi and Hana but I’m not interested in finding out how they survive against zombie samurais.
Young Justice #3 – Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Patrick Gleason & Viktor Bogdanovic (art) Jonathan Glapion (inks pages 12, 14, 15 & 18) Alejandro Sanchez (colours pages 1 to 5) Chris Sotomayor (colours pages 6 to 16) & Hi-Fi (colours) Carlos M. Mangual & Josh Reed (letters). Seven Crises part 3. I loved the reunion scene with Bart/Impulse and Conner/Superboy. We find out how Superboy got to Gemworld and where the other members of Young Justice wind up. There’s a nice little surprise that will rock the team later.
Ziggy Pig – Silly Seal Comics #1 – Frank Tieri & John Cerilli (writers) Jacob Chabot (art) Stefani Renee (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). I picked this off the racks because I liked the art. It’s a silly symphony of funny animals and it kind of reminded me of Howard the Duck. It’s not for kids so pay attention to the parental advisory on the cover. Hey, Deadpool’s in it.
Domino: Hotshots #1 – Gail Simone (writer) David Baldeon (art) Jim Charalampidis (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). Cold War part 1. This is a spicier continuation of the 10 issue Domino run with the added hotness of the Black Widow and the White Fox. The ladies play politics while tracking down some dangerous alien tech. Many separate agendas means lots of drama. Throw in the surprise appearance on the last page and there’s no doubt that I will want to read the next issue. I like Gail’s take on Domino but what kept me reading was the art and I’m glad to say David does a bang up job.
Amazing Spider-Man #16.HU – Nick Spencer (writer) Iban Coello (art) Edgar Delgado (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). How do you get a lapsed Spider-Man fan to pick a Spider-Man comic off the rack? You put a hot Black Cat cover by Greg Land on it. This issue starts off the “Hunted” story where Kraven the Hunter stalks animal themed super humans. The story runs until May with an epilogue in Amazing Spider-Man #22. There will be 9 issue including 3 more .HU issues to tell the full story. That’s almost a new issue every week or two. I think this will be a fun story. Well played Marvel, you pulled me back into the fold. I was amused while reading this because there are so many similarities between Spider-Man and the Black Cat’s relationship and Batman and Catwoman’s. I always felt that Marvel and DC poached each other’s ideas and this is a blatant example of that.
Conan the Barbarian #4 – Jason Aaron (writer) Gerardo Zaffino (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC’s Travis Lanham (letters). I was not enamoured of the art on the first page but it works great for this sword and sorcery comic book. What keeps me coming back for more is the writing. This self contained issue tells a tale of King Conan and why he was the Lion of Aquilonia. Man, I wish cover artist Esad Ribic would do an issue or better yet a story arc.
Avengers LGY #711: No Road Home #4 – Jim Zub, Mark Waid & Al Ewing (writers) Sean Izaakse (art) Marcio Menyz (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). Well hell, this is turning out to be a pretty good story. This issue features the origin story of Nyx and her dark brood. Find out why she wants to snuff out all light. Now I want to find out how the heroes prevent Nyx from getting her hands on the three Shards of Night so that she can plunge everything into darkness. I’m looking forward to next week when the battle for the shard hidden in Nightmare’s realm is fought.
