All-New Wolverine #9 - A Review

Laura Kinney doesn't work for SHIELD but she is willing to lend a hand when Maria Hill asks nicely and pays for her take-out. It seems they lost an agent investigating some new bio-weapon, which turned out to be pheromones meant to attract Fin Fang Foom. And the missing agent turns out to be an alternate universe version of the original Wolverine, from the future. And those facts are the least strange thing about the day the all-new Wolverine is about to have.


The cover may say this is a Civil War II tie-in but Tom Taylor keeps the script mercifully free of any reference to that event, save for gratuitous (and hilarious) cameos by Iron Man and Captain Marvel. This issue is high on laughs and short on drama, which is as it should be.

Marcio Takara's artwork is most enjoyable. The lack of backgrounds and pixelated skies in some panels threw me off a little bit but his character designs are good and the action of the issue flows well. And Matheus Lopes continues to impress with his color work.

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Eight

Discord and Twilight Sparkle



Clark Kent changing into Superman.



My friend Terry Parr drew this when I asked for a picture of myself as a super librarian.
Not a bad likeness, though I think I look like Patton Oswalt playing The Doctor.


The Doctor and Marty McFly - another crossover that needs to happen.


Prince Charming, in search of a princess.


My new and improved Jack Knight (Starman) costume.


Boba of the House of El.  Combination Superman/Mandalorian armor.


Zombie Hunter  S. Thompson!
This gentleman does a good zombie comic called Stillborn.



Robin Sparkles and Poison Ivy.


Taffeta Darling as Thanos.



Move over, Hawkeye Imitative!  The hot new meme of 2014 is girls dressed as Rocket Raccoon trying to match impossible superheroine poses! (Thanks for this one, Diane!)



I didn't get a chance to ask of she was a certain character, but she rocked the chainmail.

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Five

Black Canary- Classic Model With Mask


Jimmy Olsen & Lois Lane


Twin Kaylee.  Double the engine-power & triple the shiny!


Black Canary Sans Mask


A trio of G.I. Joe soldiers.


Gwendolyn & Marko from Saga.


Ghost.


Supergirl, Aquagirl and Jinx from Teen Titans.


Detective Chimp!


Captain Marvel & Captain Marvel.


Everything is awesome!  It's Emmet from The LEGO Movie


Black Cat, Green Arrow and yet another Black Canary


An awesome dragon!  Not sure if she's a specific one but it's still impressive.

Austin Comic Con - Part Three

Sailor Moon


Chell from Portal.


Captain Marvel, Bullseye and Elektra.


The Green Hornet and Kato.


The Fourth Doctor and Link.


Classic Star Trek crew.


Hit Girl.


Nightwing and Harley Quinn. He was much more excited about meeting Green Arrow than she was.
He also lamented that everyone kept calling him Batman. I was one of the few who recognized him!

Speaking of Harley, here's a nice dress inspired by Harley Quinn.


Steampunk Poison Ivy, The Greatest American Hero as a baby, Darth Vader as a Tween Girl and Grifter.
Somewhere, someone just had an idea on how to make this into a fan-fiction story.


I shall pose for your picture, for Doom likes the cut of your green cowl.
Then Doom will return to his quest for an ultra-rare Doctor Hooves variant figure!
It shall be mine! So swears Doom!


Ariel - here seen with a newly working pair of legs - was working at the booth for Silver Leaf Costumes.


No, Babydoll! Watch out for No Face!

Captain Marvel #11 - A Review

It is a rare thing for bad artwork to spoil my enjoyment of a well-written comic book.  Yet Filipe Andrade has managed that feat and as a result I'm dropping Captain Marvel from my subscription.  Andrade's artwork is so awful I can't even bear to feature any more of it on my blog than I have to - hence the scan of this issue's far superior cover below.   


To my mind, this image is above is how Captain Marvel should be presented.  Strong.  Capable.  Tough.  At the very least, she should appear to be a human female and not evoke thoughts of the super-skinny aliens from the movie A.I. as Andrade's characters do.  To describe the figures he depicts as freakishly skinny would deny me the opportunity to use a number of ten-dollar words such as emaciated, malnourished and anorexic.    


I wish I could stay for the excellent writing of Kelly Sue DeConnick and Christopher Sabela.  There's a good story underneath all this about Carol Danvers coping with a medical problem that leaves her unable to fly and dependent on a SHIELD-issue flying motorcycle.  However, I fear it's not worth the aggravation of trying to interpret what I'm looking at on every page. 

Captain Marvel #10 - A Review

Much of what I have to say about Captain Marvel #10 I already said in my review of Captain Marvel #9.  Kelly Sue DeConnick (assisted, this month, by Christopher Sabela) still writes great, action-packed scripts that give us new insights into the character of Carol Danvers every issue.  The artwork, by Filipe Andrade, is still aesthetically displeasing to my eye and I still think it resembles a poor attempt to ape the style of Aeon Flux


Thankfully, there is still much to admire about this comic and some things I can speak about that I did not note last month.  For instance, I love how Captain Marvel - unlike so many comics of late - uses its' title page as a reference guide for those fans who may have missed an issue, new readers picking the book up for the first time or absent-minded critics who sometimes forget the story after reading 50 other comics in the past month.  Naturally, given the usual tone of this book, this recap page is as insightful in terms of characterization as the rest of the script.

Speaking of the script, Deconnick's plot in this issue has become "real".  Suffering from some strange symptoms, Carol's doctor has advised her that she needs to stop flying as the strain on her body seems to be slowly killing her.  Naturally Carol isn't taking the news well, as being a pilot AND a superhero with the power of flight... well, NOT flying is not an option to her.  The drama here is played out well but I hope the hints that this is a temporary, orchestrated condition ring true as I fear it will seem far too derivative to have this lead into a serious medical storyline ala The Death of Captain Marvel.


I must also note that while I'm not a fan of Filipe Andrade's art, upon reflection I don't think it's quite so bad as I said it was last month.  His action scenes are atrocious but his stylized characters with their elongated limbs and angular features are not quite so off-putting in the slower scenes that just feature characters talking.  Faint praise I know but it is praise none the less, which is far more than I was willing to give Andrade's last month when his art came close to driving me off this book.

I'm still here though.  And I'll be here for one more month, at least. 

Captain Marvel #9 - A Review

Never have I seen so great a disconnect between the quality of artwork and the quality of writing than Captain Marvel #9. The writing by Kelly Sue DeConnick is as fine as ever, of course.  The script for this issue, focusing on Carol Danvers trying to get through a typical day-in-the-life, presents a wonderful jumping-on point for those who have not yet begun reading this title.  The title page even gives us a basic summary of our hero and the book, satisfying the old Stan Lee dictum that every comic book should be built as if it were going to be someone's first comic ever, because it probably will be. 


Sadly, once we get past the title page and the recycled Dexter Soy artwork, the pencils and inks of Filie Andrade drag this comic into the abyss of mediocrity.  The kindest adjective I can apply to Filipe Andrade's artwork is "stylized".  Sadly, it is the style of someone who appears to be aping Aeon Flux after having a couple of stiff drinks. 

To call Andrade's figures disjointed would be putting it mildly.  As it is, I find this manner of artwork visually displeasing and it killed my enjoyment of this issue. I still recommend Captain Marvel as a series to all comic readers but I'd also suggest skipping this issue.  If you need an introduction to this series, start with Issue #7 instead. 

Captain Marvel #8 - A Review

I'm a deep believer in the Stan Lee dictum that every comic should be written as if it were going to be someone's first comic, because it very well might be.  At the very least, if the story itself cannot recap the action thus far, there should be some manner of summary page at the front of the comic.  Sadly, this lesson is frequently lost in these days of decompressed storytelling and writing for the trade.  Thankfully, Captain Marvel #8 gives us both a summary page and a first page that gives new readers a chance to catch-up.


Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick has made this title something unique and special. Sharing the writing duties this time with Christopher Sebela, DeConnick spins a tale that is action-packed but filled with a lot of wonderful character moments as well.  The odd friendship between Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau grows even stronger as the two are forced to bond in a rather literal fashion.







I've said it before and I'll say it again - Dexter Soy deserves an Eisner nod for his work on this title.  There are some panels that I can't believe aren't painted, such is the level of detail and quality achieved with simple pencils and ink.  Coupled with DeConnick's scripts, this book is a must-read for all fans of strong heroines, big action and good comics.

Captain Marvel #7 - A Review

It amused me when this new Captain Marvel book started, seeing so many sexist little fan-boys complaining about how Captain Marvel can't be a woman, how Carol Danvers taking the title was a slap in the face to tradition and the existence of this book was base pandering to the vocal minority of female comic readers, blah blah blah.  It amused me, because in their grousing they revealed their ignorance.  For this is not the first time a woman has taken the name of Captain Marvel!  And amusingly enough, we find that she's not too happy about Carol Danvers taking the name either in Captain Marvel #7. 


One thing I've loved about this book is the exploration of how super-powers might be used in a capacity other than fighting super-villains.  Other books have explored the concept before but - to my knowledge - none have done so with an Avengers-level hero.  We saw it in the first arc and get more of that in this issue as we see Carol Danvers assisting harbor patrol agent and ex-Captain Marvel Monica Rambeau with a salvage operation. 

The story focuses upon the two heroes as they try to locate several downed airplanes and sunken ships  that were brought down under mysterious circumstances.  Frank, a photographer colleague of Carol's from her magazine writer days, shows up pleading for help regarding New Orleans' decaying levies, thinking that a prominent superheroine might be able to help in some way.  A bargain is reached as Carol agrees to see what she can do if Frank agrees to help them with taking pictures of the wreckage.  Naturally, there are complications and the issue ends with our heroes discovering just what might be responsible for the sunken vehicles. 


The relationship between Carol and Monica takes center stage for most of the issue.  Not surprisingly, given the book so far and co-writer Kelly Sue DeConnick's pedigree, this issue passes The Bechdel Test.  More impressively, Monica Rambeau's backstory and just why she refuses to work underwater anymore (the result of a classic Avengers storyline)  are neatly and naturally explained in the dialogue and marked off with a famous "As Seen As" caption box.  Hats off to DeConnick and co-writer Christopher Sabela for bringing back that little slice of Marvel history!


Dexter Soy continues to wow me with his artwork.  I usually prefer a more realistic style, but Soy's stylized characters suit this book well.  Soy leaves most of his pencils lightly inked, effectively using the shadows in the heavily inked areas to emphasize the parts that are "in light".

If you haven't picked up Captain Marvel before, this is a good issue to start with.  I recommend this book to any who like stories with strong female protagonists, quirky superhero books that look at the effect superpowers might have on the day-to-day operations of a world and quality comics in general.