Green Lantern/Space Ghost Special #1 - A Review

Sent to investigate a message regarding a weapon from beyond the boundaries of known space, Green Lantern  Hal Jordan soon finds himself in a place his ring cannot identify. Worse yet, he is engaged in battle by a strangely dressed figure whose wrist-mounted weapons seem as dangerous as the weapon he was warned about. Naturally this is all a great misunderstanding and two lawmen of different realities will have to trust one another to survive the battle to come.

I came into Green Lantern/Space Ghost with high hopes but I'm afraid they weren't met. Given this story was written by James Tynion IV and Christopher Sebela - whose respective work on Detective Comics and Injustice: Ground Zero I've loved - I expected more than a cliche tale of two similar heroes getting into a fight, realizing their mistake and joining together in the end. The individual panels of Ariel Olivetti's painted artwork look amazing but the story flow between them is clunky at best. This isn't a bad comic - merely a passable one. Given the talent involved, however, it should have been better.


The Ruff 'n' Reddy back-up story by Howard Chaykin and Wil Quintana is a different beast - no pun intended. Set in a world much like that of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? where animated anthrmorphic animals live and work among humans, we follow two comedians - a cat named Ruff and a dog named Reddy - whose careers are floundering after their respective acts break up.

It spoils little to say the two have decided to partner up by issue's end. Personally, I enjoyed this piece but as a fan of 1940s comedians my opinion may be biased. It remains to be seen how this will play in Peoria or if the barber in Peru will get it, to borrow two old phrases from the agents of yesteryear. If nothing else, Chaykin deserves credit for briefly partnering Ruff up with a Mae West type named Sexx.

Superman: Rebirth #1 - A Review

Superman is dead. Yet another Superman lives. And Lana Lang will meet him as she tries to fulfill the final wishes of the Clark Kent she knew and loved, stealing his body from underneath the Superman memorial in Metropolis so that he can be buried next to The Kents in Smallville.
Apart from a flashback to the classic Death of Superman storyline, there isn't any action in Superman: Rebirth #1. What there is, however, is a remarkable character study of two different Supermen and the subtle differences between them. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason tell a heart-felt tale that is about the heart of Superman and who he should be, no matter what universe he is from.
The artwork for this issue is equally amazing. Doug Mahnke's pencils are in fine form throughout. Jaime Mendoza's inks are perfectly applied, neither too thick nor thin. And Wil Quintana finds the perfect color for every moment.

Astonishing Ant-Man #4 - A Review

Astonishing Ant-Man has one of the best title pages in the business. Not only does it offer a helpful recap of the series so far - it also makes you laugh! We should expect this sort of thing from Nick Spencer, of course, but it's still a nice touch.


Spencer understands what far too many Marvel writers failed to grasp about lovable loser heroes like Scott Lang or - until recently - Peter Parker. Namely that is isn't fun for readers to see a loser lose all the time. Keep dumping tragedies on a hero and you destroy any sense of fun.

Therein lies the irony of Scott's life and the secret to his likability in this series - he's good at being a superhero.  Unfortunately, being a superhero doesn't do much to pay the bills and Scott's heroic instincts are about the only thing he has going for him. He stinks on ice as a businessman, a father and a judge of character but you admire him more than you feel sorry for him... even if he has been reduced to working security for an ex-girlfriend and is parenting by proxy to keep his daughter safe.


Ramon Rosanas art is the perfect match for Spencer's script. Rosanas has a great gift for expressions and comedic timing.  The color art by Wil Quintana proves equally adept, with a variety of tints being used to subtly mark flashbacks and other special scenes.

Superman #42 - A Review

Lois Lane has finally put two and two together and uncovered Clark Kent's secret identity. But even in the face of Lois' trust being shattered, the two have bigger problems. For a hacktivist called HORDR_ROOT has also uncovered the truth of who Superman is and has plans to recruit The Man of Steel for his organization... or else!


I feel conflicted about Gene Yang's script for this issue. On the one hand, the idea of HORDR_ROOT is a novel one and the idea of an enemy who utilizes the power of information against Superman is a novel one. Sadly, the threat he presents is resolved far too quickly.

A larger problem is the character of Lois Lane, who - in the New 52 universe at least - lacks the closeness to Clark that is required to sell the feelings of betrayal she expresses here. The whole thing rings false but I fear that's more the fault of editorial demand than Yang's script, because otherwise the character interactions are wonderful.


The artwork inspires similar feelings of conflict. The pencils and inks by John Romita Jr. and Klaus Johnson are up to their usual high standard, but there's nothing in the issue that stands out as particularly fine work. The greatest problem is the color art, provided by three different colorists with distinctly different styles and palettes.  Just look at the tone of the characters' skins and you'll see the obvious disparity, with the characters appearing pale in one panel and ruddy-cheeked in the next!

Green Lantern Corps Annual #1 - A Review

Green Lantern Corps Annual #1 is an oddity.  Labeled as the conclusion to the Rise of the Third Army event, it brings several storylines to a conclusion while simultaneously failing to resolve anything.  Indeed, it seems that this three-month long crossover between all the Lantern Corps books ultimately served no purpose but setting up the next big crossover, Wrath Of The First Lantern.


Despite this seemingly pointlessness, there is much to recommend this issue.  Peter Tomasi's scripting is as strong as ever and with this issue Guy Gardner has become my favorite Green Lantern.  Forget that "one punch" nonsense with Batman.  That was a different universe and besides that Guy is dead.

This Guy Gardner storms the battlements of Oa with no ring, no weapons, no plan and no chance of victory.  There's one other thing Guy hasn't got - anything left to lose.  And a man without hope is... well, Matt Murdock may be The Man Without Fear but after this issue I'd put money down on Guy if they wrestled for the title.

And this is but one fine moment of many.  Another occurs as John Stewart and The Star Sapphire Formerly Known As Fatality restore the planet Mogo.  And SPOILER ALERT, kids.  It turns out Mogo is a her!


The artwork by guest artist ChrisCross is a fine substitute for Green Lantern Corps' usual penciler, Fernando Pasarin.  Regular inker Scott Hanna is on-hand as is inker Wil Quintana.  Together, they create some amazing visuals, though there are some minor hick-ups such as Fatality's unfortunately exaggerated figure in the panel above or Fatality's skin-tone being far lighter than usual.  Thankfully, it's not enough to sink the book and long-time Green Lantern fans should be pleased with this issue.

Captain Marvel #4-6

I've held off on reviewing Captain Marvel for the past few months because I was, for a time, confused by its' storyline.  The book opened up simply enough, with Carol Danvers being quickly established as a tough, no-nonsense career soldier turned superhero.  Things became a little more complicated as Carol, in the midst of trying to top a flight record unofficially set by her childhood idol (pilot Helen Cobb) became lost in time and wound up partnering up with a group of all-female pilots in World War II against a group of Japanese soldiers equipped with alien technology.


Issue 4 continued the storyline, with Carol continuing to fight alongside the "Beautiful Banshees" until she had a vision of her plane overhead.  Her attempts to catch up with it sent her through time again, this time winding up in the United States at a time when Helen Cobb was fighting for the right of female pilots in the USAF to fly jets and get the experience needed to become astronauts.  Somehow, Carol is able to enlist in the same program and winds up befriending her idol, all while trying to learn the history of an alien artifact that Helen Cobb may have come into contact with.  This adventure makes up the action of Captain Marvel #5.


Captain Marvel #6 sends both women forward in time to the moment when Carol Danvers gained her super-powers.  Where it goes from here, I shall not say.  Suffice it to say, whatever confusion I experienced in the earlier issues was banished by the issue's end.  Kelly Sue DeConnick wrote a great story here, though the latter chapters scan far more easily in one sitting.  If you haven't picked this book up yet, you might wait for the inevitable TP collection.  I think it will be worth the wait. 


The artwork is primarily provided by two different but skillful artists.  Issue #4, whose main story was drawn by Dexter Soy, offers more of the stylized painted artwork that wowed me in the first issue.  Al Barrionuevo and Will Quintana produced the artwork for the flashback sequences at the issue's end, offering a more classic comic book style than Soy.  Issues 5 and 6, penciled by Emma Rios with inks by Rios and Alvaro Lopez, are more Mangaesque in appearance, looking not unlike some of the early Shojo created by the Fabulous 49ers.  It's a different choice for an American comic-book, but an effective one.

All in all, Captain Marvel's been an interesting read.  It might not be everybody's cup of tea but I appreciated the story, which proved quite accessible to someone like me who hears the name Captain Marvel and thinks Billy Batson.  Give it a shot once the trade comes out.