Howard The Duck #4 - A Review

The good news is that Howard The Duck recovered the necklace he'd been hired to retrieve. The bad news is that his client turned out to be a Skrull and he stiffed Howard on his bill. The printed statement regarding payment for services rendered kind of bill.  Not the duck-bill kind of bill.

But the worse news is that the necklace contained something called an Abundant Gem that could give its barer reasonable cosmic power.  Looks like Howard needs a Doctor. And since that British guy isn't published by Marvel UK anymore, that means Doctor Strange!


Howard The Duck has quickly become one of my favorite titles and this issue is a good example of why. This issue revels in the inherent silliness of classic Marvel Comics, depicting a vapid Johnny Storm who can't be bothered with worrying about having lost a cosmic artifact 10 years earlier and a Doctor Strange who plays poker with cosmic entities. And through it all Howard plays the straight-man to everyone else's insanity.

Chip Zdarsky's scripts are a riot and after this issue I want to see him writing a Doctor Strange series.  Joe Quinones' artwork is brilliant and he does a fine job of parodying Steve Ditko's style in the sequence where Howard steps between worlds. And the colors by Rico Renzi and Rachelle Rosenberg are perfectly chosen.


As usual, the back-up story is also an enjoyable treat. The plot centers on Howard being recruited to steal the secrets of Pym Particles for The White Rabbit. It is to Chip Zdarsky's credit that he managed to get through this story without making a Trix joke. And the artwork by Katie Cook and Heather Breckel is adorably hilarious.

For my money, there's no funnier, finer book to spend your four bucks American on.  And best of all, it's one of the few Marvel titles out right now that isn't part of a crossover!  So if you haven't given Howard The Duck a shot yet, do so!

All New Invaders #14 - A Review

It is a time of adjustment. The original Human Torch Jim Hammond, still a newbie SHIELD agent, is catching up with his estranged sidekick, Toro, who has just been revealed to be an Inhuman rather than a Mutant. But they will have little time to reminisce when their new friend Iron Cross requires help dealing with an army of Neo-Nazi cyborgs!


This is the penultimate issue of All New Invaders yet I already find myself missing it as if it were gone. Perhaps that is because of the feeling that James Robinson had so much more to say with this book and so much more to do with the new characters he created for it. And I'm dearly sorry we won't get to see what happens to Speedball's cat and can only hope the poor creature slinks off into Comics Limbo without some completest deciding it had to be dissected for the shock of it.


While the story may have a hint of ennui, the artwork is as exciting as ever. If I were to sum up Steve Pugh's artwork in one word, I could only say that it is epic. And the colors by Guru-FX make every panel vibrant and beautiful.

Looking To The Stars: The Week In Review

Since I actually got a considerable number of comics this week and since, due to a really heavy homework load, I’m off the reviews rotation for a while (gad, but I love Grad School around mid-terms) here’s some of my thoughts on a few of the books that came out this week. Little treat for those of you who can’t live without my reviews. (Don’t laugh. I got letters.)

Amazing Spider-Man #518

“Skin Deep” concludes as a mixed bag. While this book did offer the first positive thing I have seen come out of the idea of Spidey as an Avenger (I laughed-out-lout at the scene where Spidey asks Tony Stark if he can borrow some equipment and trash it…) it still reeks of a story built by editorial order right to the bitter, last-minute “surprise” ending. Still, the vibranium-covered villain was the most interesting of the baddies created by JMS and I hope he’ll get used again some day.

Final Score: 6 out of 10.

Conan #14

In recent memory, no writer and artist have come together to revive a defunct classic so well as this. Busiek and Nord have created a masterpiece worthy of the legacy set down by RE Howard. If you aren’t reading this book, there is something wrong with you.

Final Score: 10 out of 10.

Daredevil #71

Brian Michael Bendis continues to phone it in as, yet again, we get to see the same story repeated from a different viewpoint. While this was a novel idea the first time, it has been so long since anything has actually HAPPENED in this title that I’m totally lost as to how things stand NOW. The only thing that keeps me reading is the knowledge that Ed Brubacker will be taking it over soon enough. And yet, that’s not soon enough.

Final Score: 2 out of 10.

Hellblazer #206

A one-off issue from the current storyline that comes at the worst possible moment. After all the revelations of the last issue (John’s sister dead, his spectral ally being a demon he has a bad history with, etc…), the last thing we needed is an issue centering upon John’s sidekick Chas going on a wave of badness after enduring the corrupting influence of a demon for too long. Not that this story isn’t enjoyable on its’ own merits, but the timing is annoying as piss. Still, this is Carey writing so I’m sure this will all tie into the bigger story at the end.

Final Score: 7 out of 10.

JLA Classified #5

BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA! That’s all I have to say.

Final Score: 8 out of 10.

Knights of the Dinner Table #101

We’re back to the on-going storylines with this issue and not a moment too soon. Joss Whedon fans may want to pick this one up as the Knights gaming group get into the “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” role-playing game. It reminded me of my own group, with the one lone female player trying to talk everyone into it and then everyone slowly admitting that they not only watch Buffy, but enjoy it. Aside from that, the magazine delivers as always with a very amusing rant about the Starship Troopers movie and the works of Heinlein in relation to it and the other usual amusing columns for gamers and gaming-related matters. There’s a reason why this comic/magazine has lasted 100 issues. It will easily last 100 more.

Final Score: 9 out of 10.

Lullaby #1

Fan of Fables that I am, I just had to give this one a shot. Though initially turned-off by the Manga-esque artwork, it grew on me as I kept reading. The plot is a bit scattered at the moment, centering upon two people- a girl who is obviously Alice of Alice in Wonderland and a young man who seems to be Jack Hawkins of Treasure Island. Beyond that, it’s hard to say where this story is going but you can be sure I’ll be here to read the next chapter.

Final Score: 7 out of 10.

Spider-Man/Human Torch #3

Why is Dan Slott not writing a Spider-Man book on a regular basis?!?!

Expect to see that statement shouted by me, and a number of other critics, over the next year. For Slott has created the only Spider-Man title I can recommend to anyone without any reservations. In this issue, he not only shows his famed ability to write a fun story like no other (and what is more fun than the concept of a Spider-Mobile?) but he tackles some serious emotional moments, showing Spidey and the Ol’ Matchstick bonding through some talk about their lost loves. All this and some fruit-pies. Best book of the week.

Final Score: 10 out of 10.

Tune in next week. Same Matt time. Same Matt website.

Spider-Man/Human Torch: I'm With Stupid #1 - A Review

Written by: Dan Slott
Penciled by: Ty Templeton
Inked by: Nelson
Colored by: Sotocolor’s F. Serrano
Lettered by: Dave Lanphear
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

I think I owe Dan Slott my life. Had it not been for this book, I may well have had a rage-induced heart attack. At the very least, I would have said “To Hell With Spider-Man” this week after the latest Marvel Knights: Spider-Man, where Mark Millar proved beyond any reasonable doubt that he had no idea how to write Spider-Man as anything other than a bumbling imbecile who is just there to prop up the “uber-kewl” villains.

Dan Slott knows these characters. He knows them. He loves them. And he knows how to write them. And that love and knowledge is evident in every panel of Spider-Man/Human Torch. From the introduction, we know this is going to be a tribute to the Marvel Comics of yore…

Friends. Rivals. Brothers in arms. Separately, they are formidable. Together…they’re a pain in the butt. Case in point…

We come in on the tail end of a battle with Mole Man, won thanks to a brilliant plan by Johnny Storm. Naturally, Johnny is thrilled that he managed to win using his brains for once, proving everyone wrong about how stupid he is. Not only that, but he’s sure to make the front page of the papers for this. Or so he would have, had Spidey not bumped him off the front page.

Figuring that what he needs to make the front page is some snazzy pictures, he tracks down the guy who takes those really good pictures of Spider-Man and makes him a better offer. And so it is that Peter Parker reluctantly takes a job as the Human Torch’s personal photographer. Partly because the money is a lot better than what Jolly J. Jonah Jameson pays and partly because he can’t say no in front of Aunt May, who wishes he’d stop following around that dangerous Spider-Man. And where it goes from there, I shall leave it for you to discover.

It’s rare in these days of decompressed writing to get a story that features three super-villain encounters, one random bank robbery and numerous scenes that all take place on just one or two pages. What Slott has written here is a valentine to the hearts of old fanboys like me who wish for a little more heart to our heroes and a little more bang for our buck. It also helps that this is easily the funniest book I’ve read in the last month, with several laugh-out-loud moments and a classic “Peter as the Heroic Trickster” moment for all you mythology buffs out there.

The artwork is, as the title says, picture perfect. Templeton has proven himself to be a talented mimic in the past working on the “Batman Adventures” line. He does an excellent job in capturing the styles of Kirby and Ditko while making something all his own here.