NEXT LEVEL ONE SHOT DC COMICS
Welcome to the dawn of DC’s Next Big Thing. Which basically follows in the footsteps of past Next Big Things. All of which were poorly recieved, lead to a bazillion cross-over issue, and ended very unsatisfactorily. Which is a shame as Gerry Duggan’s script actually starts out really well. Rick Flagg has discovered something is wrong in the DC universe and it is driving him mad. He turns over his notes to Deadshot who is now stuck with the knowledge that doomed Flagg. Along with a lot of action comes a whole lot of things I want to complain about but right now have to listed under spoilers. We also get a brief explination between clones and drones. Right there should be a big red flag. The ending here is a big let down and rather ruins what could have been a big surprize further down the series. It then immediately starts the sales pitch for the third layer of Next Level titles that include a new Demon title, an all new Teen Titans, and a new Jonah Hex title. All of which are connected to this one-shot. I am having evil flashbacks of the third layer of titles from the New 52 line. Remember Earth 2 Society, We Are Robin, and Justice League 3001. Yikes! Or better yet, remember after Zero Hour when de-aged Ray Palmer started his own version of the Teen Titans with all new teens. (You can almost see me shaking my head in disappointment, can’t you.) And just how the heck are you going to continue the story in a title set in the old west and the far future with events set in today? What may have started off with a good beginning quickly reminds us that the Big Two comic publishers can’t seem to come up with anything new and exciting. Don’t believe me, read this issue and say Secret Invasion and seeif something clicks. I honestly don’t think this fall on the creative team. Art and colors are appropriate for the subject matter and up until the ending, the story is being good. Chalk it up to sales totals. 5 out of 10 Grahams.
GODZILLA CONQUERS THE MULTIVERSE #2 MARVEL COMICS
Ok, I used up all my self control in the last review. So everybody get ready for Spoilers! Well, issue number two and all of Doom’s crew are dead except for Spider-Man. And while some of the deaths are somewhat gruesome, this story is over. While Spidey is very popular, there is nothing he can do against a Godzilla Knull team-up. Unless …
well … he used Kang’s severed arm to travel back in time to find Odin and his original Avengers team! And they have been waiting for news of the Great Kaiju War! Just when I think it can’t get any more ludicrous. Evil symbiote Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom cooked in his own armor, oh and a guest appearance by Godzilla. What more could you ask for? Turns out a lot. 3 out of 10 Grahams.
ACTION COMICS #1 FACSIMILE EDITION
DC reminds us again just how great the Golden Age was. And makes us question how we ended up here. Properly sized but I’m pretty sure that the paper was thicker, this is one of the all time classics. The very first appearance of Superman (or is it?). By the legendary team of Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster, just a couple of young men from Cleveland. And this is definitely not your Superman. Here, he can’t fly but can leap tall buildings in a single bound. He’s not the big blue boyscout as he later became. He works for the Daily Star. He asks Lois out on a date. No, sir. This version of Superman is really different. And since Action Comics was an anthology title, Superman was just part of the package. Chuck Dawson filled the need for a western cowboy character that was popular at the time. Other heroes filled popular nitches like Zatara, who hadn’t gotten his trademark moustache yet. Humorous antics with Sticky-Mitt Stimson. Historical drama with Marco Polo. Boxing great ‘Pep’ Morgan took us inside the fighting world. Five Star Reporter Scoop Scanlon took us on his journalist beat. And Tex Thomson (pre-Mr. America super-hero identity!) solved murder on the ranch. This had something for everyone who could come up with a dime and provided posterity with one of it’s most iconic cover images. But just how did that tire end up on that side of the rock? 10 out of 10 Grahams.
THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO #2 AMP COMICS
The creative team keep the story flowing nicely. Bringing in former student Tony Villancana (played by actor Michael Pare’) as a secondary character helps keep the link to the television show alive. And having Ralph reunite with Pam was nicely done with her reminding him that he died holding her hand. And also re-establishes that Ralph did die and the aliens brought him back. What I like most about this title is that while we do get some of the slapstick humor, writers Don Handfield and Joshua Malkin focas more on the drama. Which was where some of the best moments of the television show came from. This title shows that this concept works equally as well as a drama with some comedy as it did as a comedy with some drama in it. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
SANTOS SISTERS FUN SPECIAL #1 AMERICAN NATURE
So, a mini-series starring the Santos Sisters AND Flaming Carrot?! Sign me up, UT! And the best part is that this mini-series continues the over the top insanity from the girls’ original title. An old man dressed as a baby? A gang of thugs dressed in matching jumpsuits? Then straight into a search for lost treasure and a haunted house ghosts? And we’re only 9 pages into the issue? Wow! Then we enter the Land of Nod and find the lost hero, the Flaming Carrot. Turning the rest of the issue into a cross between a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road picture and the Wizard of Oz. But, by far, my favorite bit has to be when Ambar and Alana suddenly find themselves in new masks and suffering from Disco Fever! Priceless! Again, the good folks at American Nature and the Santos Sisters creative team (along with guest Bob Burden) prove that fresh new enjoyable comics can still be found. 10 out of 10 Grahams.