Future's End: Earth 2 #1 - A Review

Five years in the future, systematic discrimination against the refugees of Earth 2 has become the rule on Earth 1.  And on the eve of futurist Michael Holt's releasing his latest technological wonder to the public, he quickly finds himself a wanted man.  All of this is due to the machinations of the evil genius Terry Sloan and his accomplice... the evil genius Terry Sloan?


Unlike the Future's End special devoted to Green Arrow, Future's End Earth 2 presumes the reader is already well familiar with the events of both the Future's End weekly series and Earth 2.  This is problematic on many fronts, particularly since there is so little of the characters that have made Earth 2 so interesting a title in recent months.  This is not a slight on Michael Holt or Terry Sloan but they have been bit-players in the drama of Earth 2 for much of the last year and to suddenly bring them front and center with no explanation of how they established themselves on Earth 1 is jarring to say the least.

Most of the characters who held the center stage in Earth 2 are absent from this issue.  Indeed, the only nod to these characters is a quick cameo by Jimmy Olsen and a cutaway that reveals Lois Lane - a.k.a. The Red Tornado of Earth 2 - being disassembled in a Cadmus lab.  None of this is explained for the readers who haven't been following Future's End and the only reason I understood any of the significance of this scene was due to Future's End: Green Arrow #1 taking the time to explain the Cadmus connection.


That said, the action of the story is well-written once one gets past the confusing continuity questions.  And the artwork by the same team who did fill-ins for Nicola Scott on Earth 2 is quite good all around.  In the final analysis, this isn't a bad comic but it doesn't seem like it is a wholly necessary one if you are an Earth 2 fan with no interest in Future's End.

Red Sonja: The Black Tower #1 - A Review

Red Sonja: The Black Tower is a sword and sorcery tale of the old-school.  By this I mean that it is heavy on action and short on plot.  There's precious little story to be found here and the action of the issue can easily be summed up in one paragraph.

Our story begins as Sonja arrives in a town where an ominous black tower appeared and inspired the townspeople to start fighting one another.  Sonja steps in when a gang of mercenaries set about trying to rape a beautiful outlander.  The leader of said mercenaries tells Sonja to back off, poking Sonja in the boob as he does so.  An orgy of violence worthy of Sam Peckinpah ensues, as Sonja kicks a lot of ass and makes her opinion on would-be rapists known quite forcibly.


The script by Frank Tieri is not deep or nuanced.  This issue is basically one extensive action scene and taken on those terms it is a damn good action scene. Yet very little is said about the titular tower and those who have come to know Red Sonja through the recent Gail Simone title may be surprised by how pointed and unsubtle this story is.


The artwork by Cezar Razik is good, if a little gory even by the standards of Red Sonja.  Never before have I seen so many severed limbs in a single comic!  That said, the action sequences are all well rendered and the action flows clearly throughout, save for one scene where it is unclear just how Sonja was able to deliver the unkindest cut of all to the mercenary leader.  Razik can also be added to that rare group of artists who can depict Sonja as a clearly dangerous warrior and yet also make her appear sexy without being exploitative.

This first chapter has my attention.  It is not like any Red Sonja story I've seen in recent memory and that alone makes the second issue worth picking up.  Hopefully we will get a little more story next time to go with the excellent action we saw here.

Green Arrow: Future's End #1 - A Review

As I commented in my review of the first two issues of Future's End, I would dearly have loved to have seen a comic detailing the events they described there.  I want to see that tale of a Green Arrow who preached unity over division - a hero who stood up for what was right at a time when others were lining their pockets or arguing over their own personal positions of power.  I want to see comics where the heroes act like heroes and work together instead of fighting one another, for cripes sake!


Green Arrow: Future's End #1 is not that comic.  It is, however, damn close.  This vision of the New 52 Green Arrow five years from now is everything I've always felt Oliver Queen should be as a character and Jeff Lemire captures that outlaw aesthetic perfectly.  The only problem is that as good as this story involving Ollie's efforts to unite The Outsiders in the wake of his impending death is, I really want to see the stories that lead up to this point.


Still, I cannot judge a comic for what I want it to be and not what it is.  Thankfully, the script for this book is good and Lemire does a fine job of explaining things for those readers who haven't been reading Future's End..  And the artwork by Andrea Sorrentino  and Marcelo Maiolo is as good as ever.  I don't know if I'll jump back into Future's End to see how the rest of this tale plays out but this issue was a welcome glance back to my favorite hero as I remember him.

Carpe Diem - I Hate Mondays TP - A Preview

This Wednesday, September 3rd, sees the release of the collected edition of Carpe Diem: I Hate Mondays by writer W.H. Rauf and illustrated by artist Rhoald Marcellius. This trade-paperback collects all of the previous Carpe Diem comics found exclusively in Titan Comics' anthology series A1.

Get ready to meet Carpe Diem: the world's seven greatest, color-coded secret agents (one for each day of the week, though everybody hates Mondays)! When danger rears its ugly head, it’s up to this motley band of super spies to issue the bloody-knuckled makeover. Whether they’re dishing out justice to satanic chefs, kicking giant kaiju butt, or saving the world from killer clowns, it’s all just other day’s work for these half-baked hired heroes.






Described as Scott Pilgrim meets The Dirty Dozen by the publisher, I would liken it more to a cross between Paul Cornell's Knight and Squire and Garth Ennis' Adventures Of The Rifle Brigade. Whatever colorful comparison you make, Carpe Diem: I Hate Mondays is chock full of everything you could hope for in a comic. I haven't laughed so hard at a book in a long time and I'd recommend it to everyone.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #1 - A Review

For all that it did right, the previous Arrow web-comic was frequently limited by its need to tie into each week's story-line. Thankfully, there is no danger of that in Arrow Season 2.5 - a series which has been designed to set the stage for the many changes that have been promised as Season 3 starts. Indeed, the comic opens up with what seems to be an illustrated version of the new opening for the show!


Fans of the show will be pleased to find that this comic adaptation of the popular TV series features the same snappy banter and adrenaline-fueled action sequences.  This shouldn't be a surprise given that the script for this issue was penned by Arrow executive producer and current X-Men writer Marc Guggenheim!  The story focuses on Oliver Queen and Roy Harper as they attempt to take over a plane full of drugs in mid-flight and ends on an epic cliff-hanger.


The artwork by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson doesn't quite equal Guggenheim's script.  Bennett's artwork is largely excellent but his pencils seem sloppy and rushed in some places, with some panels lacking the detailed line-work of other panels on the same page.  Likewise, Jadson's inks are skillfully applied throughout most of the book but there is little an inker can do to enhance lines that aren't there.

Despite this, fans of the Arrow series would do well to check this book out, even if they aren't usually comic readers.  The artwork is great in 9 out of 10 panels and the thrilling action of the story more than makes up for the occasional shortcoming in the artwork.  Highly recommended.