STARSHIP GODZILLA #1 IDW PUBLISHING
Hey, great news everyone another Godzilla title with no Godzilla in it. And while the concept of turning MechaGodzilla into a spaceship is different, nothing else is. A ragtag crew of strays and rogues … that’s pretty standard in most sci-fi these days. The possiblity of future giant monsters with the introduction of Kaiju eggs? Haven’t seen that since Son of Godzilla in 1967. Writer Chris Gooch’s story isn’t bad but take Godzilla’s name out of the title (and in this case, make the starship not look like MechaGodzilla and you have a perfectly good sci-fi tale. When are they going to learn that the core audience for these newer Godzilla titles are Godzilla fans. We want to see Godzilla. A descent sci-fi story skewered by slapping the big guy’s name on it. You don’t put Godzilla in the book, you are wasting our time. 6 out of 10 Grahams.
DETECTIVE COMICS #40 FACSIMILE EDITION DC COMICS
Another wonderful look back at a time when comics were good. This time we are traveling back to May of 1940. The good old days when Bruce Wayne had a damsel in distress regular girlfriend named Julie. Robin had just made his first appearance two issues prior. And although we didn’t know it yet, we were being introduced to Clayface version one. A villian who would return in the epic Mud Pack storyline in Detective Comics #604 (July 1989). I assume this issue is getting the Facsimile treatment due to the buzz of a new Clayface movie. But this is so much more. Because back in the day, Detective Comics was an anthology book and like the title says, it focused on detectives. So along with out Batman story, we check in with Spy, Red Logan, the Crimson Avenger, Speed Saunders, Steve Malone, Cliff Crosby, and the amazing Slam Bradley. Some of these characters still exist in the modern DC Universe. Slam Bradley is known to hang out with Black Canary and Catwoman. The Crimson Avenger joined the Law’s Legionarres (better known as the 7 Soldiers of Victory. Speed Saunders has direct ties to Hawkgirl. When I read these facsimile editions, I also feel bad for the characters who fell by the wayside. They deserve some mentions in modern comics. I seem to remember a jaw-dropping Detective #500 where some of the backup detectives popped up and it was one of my favorite comics at the time. May have to pull that one from the archives and give it another read. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
DC’S ZATANNIC PANIC! #1 DC COMICS
While I can appreciate DC taking a look at Halloween related stories in one of their holiday one-shots, I didn’t get a lot out of this one. Even one with the clever reference to the Satanic Panic scare of the 1980’s. With a cast including Zatanna, Plastic Man, Ambush Bug, and John Constantine, I thought this one was right up my alley. But while most of the stories are cute, they are not scary. Creepy, especially in the case of the Plastic Man story, but not scary. And writer Callie C. Miller’s take on Ambush Bug (even if it did include Cheeks and Argh!yle!) was mild in the usual craziness I expect from a Ambush Bug story. Enjoyable but very low key. 7 out of 10 Grahams.
ROOK EXODUS #7 IMAGE/GHOST MACHINE COMICS
I had begun to wonder what had happened to Ghost Machine’s third initial title. Seeing as Redcoat and Geiger have hit double digits. But, we’re back on Exodus where we left off. New Wardens, new animal groups as the plan continues to inch forward. But even with the help of the Goat Warden, can they save Bloodhound from madness and rescue him from the Spider Warden Arachnid? Creators Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok continue their intriguing story. It’s just a shame that we had such an extended wait. 8 out of 10 Grahams.
