Archive for September, 2007
September 17, 2007 | Comics
Sentences: The Life Of M.F. Grimm
Percy Carey, Ronald Wimberly
Vertigo/DC Comics
$23.99/$19.99 US (Hardcover)
**** (out of five)
The world of Hip-Hop is one of dazzling peaks and terrifying valleys and nobody knows this better than Percy Carey.
Rising alongside the industry itself out of the streets of New York City in the 80s, Carey, under his emcee name: M.F. Grimm, went from street-tough punk to rubbing elbows with and often performing alongside icons like Doom, Snoop, Dre, Tupac and many others.
But as Grimm’s fame grew, so did his list of enemies and the result was a series of bloody gun battles from the snowy streets of Harlem to the warm California nights.
Just as his career looked like it was set to soar he was ambushed in an attack that left the would-be star without the use of his legs.
Always a survivor, Carey went back to making music, but also kept dealing drugs and guns until he got caught and sent up for four-to-life.
In prison, Carey found a new strength and upon his release he reinvented himself and is now one of the leading forces in underground Hip-Hop.
The rise, fall and rise again of this real-life Hip-Hop icon, told in his own words with no punches pulled and no attempt to glamourize a sometimes shady industry that so many aspire to be part of, is an absolutely mesmerizing read.
Carey, along with talented artist Ronald Wimberly, has crafted a gripping cautionary tale that is accessible and simply outstanding.
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September 17, 2007 | Trades
Invincible Ultimate Collection Vol. 3
Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Bill Crabtree
Image Comics
$34.99 US (Hardcover)
**** 1/2 (out of five)
Year 1 saw him discover his powers and take on his super-villain dad in a fight that almost cost him his life.
Year 2 had him stop a global invasion, rescue a mission to Mars and find true love.
As amazing as it sounds, Invincible is even busier in Year 3.
The enthralling adventures of teen hero Mark Grayson really heat up in this third deluxe hardcover collection of the fantastic monthly comic as Mark journeys to the other side of the galaxy for a bizarre reunion with his dad, faces a battle to the death with the nefarious Angstrom Levy and, most dangerous of all, finds himself entangled in a love triangle with his girlfriend Amber and his fellow hero, Atom Eve.
With a near-perfect blend of action, humour and romance, Invincible — written by comic book wunderkind Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Ultimate X-Men) and drawn by the brilliant Ryan Ottley — truly lives up to its billing as: “probably the best superhero comic book in the universe.”
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September 17, 2007 | Trades
Catwoman: It’s Only A Movie
Will Pfeifer, David Lopez, Alvaro Lopez
DC Comics
$23.99/$19.99 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Catwoman’s got herself a new kitten and now it’s time to find out exactly who the tomcat that fathered it is.
One of the most compelling storylines of DC Comics’ One Year Later event, which fast forwarded most of its monthly titles by 365 days and dropped many of its characters into completely new situations is that of Selina Kyle, A.K.A. Catwoman.
Selina had gone from vivacious cat-burglar and crime fighter to new mommy to little Helena and handed over the skin-tight leather suit to her friend, Holly.
While the whole situation was a huge shock, the biggest lure of this storyline was the mystery of who Helena’s daddy is.
Could it be Selina’s old friend and one-time lover Slam Bradley? How about the Dark Knight himself?
Well the truth is revealed in this second post-OYL collection, written by Will Pfeifer and drawn by David and Alvaro Lopez, which also sees Selina struggle to save Holly from some of Catwoman’s previous misdeeds, take on a deranged film buff who’s aim is to make the ultimate picture — at the cost of thousands of lives — and have to break into Lex Luthor’s headquarters on a very personal mission.
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September 17, 2007 | Trades
Stormwatch: Post Human Division Vol. 1
Christos Gage, Doug Mahnke
Wildstorm/DC Comics
$21.99/$17.99 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
It’s either a bold new world for Stormwatch or the end of the road.
After years of being the UN’s go-to super-team, Stormwatch got its funding pulled and now answers solely to the U.S. government. Along with the downgrade in status come the inevitable cuts to funding and personnel, but director Jackson King isn’t about to let that stop him from creating a new force to be reckoned with.
Instead of tackling super-powered criminals with high technology and waves of superheroes, King assembles Stormwatch: Post Human Division, a team made up of second-tier heroes and one-time villains designed to get inside the bad guys’ heads and figure out how to stop them without breaking the bank.
Of course when the villainous Lord Defile finds out about PHD, he simply can help but take it as a personal challenge…
The re-launch of the Wildstorm Universe has met with mixed results (don’t even get me started on the new WildCats series), but Stormwatch: PHD, written by Christos Gage (Deadshot, Union Jack) and drawn by personal fave Doug Mahnke (JLA, Seven Soldiers) is definitely one of the best of the lot.
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September 17, 2007 | Trades
Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits
Gail Simone, Nicola Scott, Paulo Siquiera, James Raiz
DC Comics
$21.99/$17.99 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
It’s the end of an era for the Birds Of Prey as one of their key members calls it quits.
Black Canary wants some time away to raise her new young friend Sin, whom she rescued from a life of torture and cruelty in Southeast Asia (and she’s also destined to become chairperson of the new Justice League Of America, but that’s another review).
Instead of folding up show without their longest-serving member, this all-female team of heroes, led by computer genius Barbara Gordon, comes up with not just one replacement, but some new stars and a whole new supporting cast to reinvigorate the series.
Enter such DC Universe stalwarts as Manhunter, Big Barda, Judomaster and Gypsy to help make BOP a true team.
But the good feelings around the new squad are short-lived as the infamous Spy-Smasher, an old acquaintance of Barbara’s begins poking around this secret society and sets her sights on either destroying it, or even worse, controlling it.
Gail Simone’s penultimate collection as the longtime writer of this quick-witted and action packed series is a good one — made even better by the addition of the eye-catching art of fellow female creator, Nicola Scott.
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September 17, 2007 | Trades
After The Cape: How Far To Fall
Howard Wong, Jim Valentino, Marco Rudy, Manny Trembley
Image Comics
$12.99 US (Papeback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
The man formerly known as Captain Gravity is feeling some pretty immense pressure.
Ethan Falls has a drinking problem — one so bad that it got him kicked off the prestigious United Heroes and has now led him to a life of crime.
Making matters worse is that Ethan is lying to his wife and two young kids about how he’s coming by the money he’s stealing by using his gravity powers and a powerful crime family is now manipulating him down a even darker path.
It won’t be long before his former teammates will confront him about his actions, the criminals will push him into something he can’t walk away from and his family will discover his charade.
Is there any way out other than a bottle?
This brief but insightful look at the high price of addiction, written by Howard Wong and Jim Valentino and drawn by Marco Rudy and Manny Trembley, is an emotional roller-coaster that is sure to tug at your heartstrings.
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September 17, 2007 | Trades
Martian Manhunter: The Others Among Us
A.J. Lieberman, Al Barrionuevo, Bit
DC Comics
$23.99/$19.99 US (Paperback)
*** (out of five)
There are very few truths in the DC Universe — the fact of the matter is that things change.
That’s how Superman goes from being the “last son of Krypton” to having a cousin, three arch-villains and a little boy of Kryptonian heritage all show up on Earth.
Another of these once truths is shattered in the first volume of the new Martian Manhunter series written by A.J. Lieberman with art by Al Barrionuevo and Bit (yes, just Bit).
That truth is that J’onn J’onzz is the last of his kind, the only living green Martian left after a plague wiped them out ages ago.
After discovering an ancient Martian totem, J’onn begins a fevered search for clues as to the existence of another of his kind. After breaking several laws and bending a few morals, he is shocked to discover not one, but five of his kind being kept and experimented on by the U.S. government.
The mystery of their existence and what the government was trying to do with them makes for some pretty decent reading and is almost enough to make up for Lieberman’s strange and somewhat distracting predilection for naming almost all of the supporting characters in this book after Manchester United soccer players (Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Alex Ferguson).
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September 17, 2007 | Comics
The Mice Templar #1
Bryan J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming
Image Comics
$4.20/$3.99 US
**** (out of five)
OK, so you’re saying to yourself: “Mice with swords, eh? Haven’t I read that book already?”
Sure, there might be a temptation to compare Bryan Glass and Michael Oeming’s new series The Mice Templar to David Petersen’s acclaimed series Mouse Guard simply because they both feature sword-wielding rodents, but this comparison is about as sound as saying Batman and Superman must be the same because they both wear capes.
Both series have a clear vision of what they’re about and the only thing beyond the obvious that they have in common is that they’re both excellent.
This first issue, a whopping 56-pager, sees young mouse Karic learn of the legend of the Templar, a band of brave mice who banded together to in the name of justice to protect their kind from the dangers of the outside world.
When rats attack Karic’s village and take his family prisoner he finds himself allied to a mysterious stranger named Pilot who offers to train him to become a warrior of legend: A Templar.
Glass and Oeming have begun an epic that promises excitement, intrigue and adventure.
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September 17, 2007 | Comics
Brit #1
Bruce Brown, Cliff Rathburn, Robert Kirkman
Image Comics
$3.25/$2.99 US
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Hallelujah, Brit is back!
But for how long remains to be seen.
Normally going a few rounds with some escaped dinosaurs is a walk in the park for the indestructible warrior, so imagine his surprise when after the battle he notices he’s had a tooth knocked out!
When his next mission is to take out a weapon of mass destruction before it detonates over Japan, will he even be able to survive?
Brit is one of the most fun, wild, crazy action-adventure characters in recent years. Creator Robert Kirkman says Brit is a book where anything can happen and the new writer/artist team of Bruce Brown and Cliff Rathburn has really seized upon that and are going wild.
I know I’m not alone in hoping for a long run for this kick-ass new ongoing series.
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September 17, 2007 | Comics
Suicide Squad: From The Ashes #1 (of 8)
John Ostrander, Javi Pina, Robin Riggs
DC Comics
$3.65/$2.99 US
*** 1/2 (out of five)
It was the defining act for the leader of the Suicide Squad.
After blaming himself for a mission gone wrong, Rick Flag headed right into the lion’s den to make amends — by blowing it up.
And true to his team’s name, it was Flag’s last mission as he held off the enemy leader at the cost of his own life.
Six months later and Squad creator Amanda Waller gets a tip she never expected: Flag is alive and being held captive in Russia.
Rounding up her team members — Bronze Tiger, Deadshot, Nightshade and Captain Boomerang — Waller sends them into a sure trap on the hope their former leader truly is alive and waiting for aid.
The classic Suicide Squad was one of the best and most underrated series of its era and bringing not on it back, but also original series writer John Ostrander is fantastic news. From The Ashes is destined to be another Squad classic.
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