Tag: dc

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Strange Adventures #1 Review

Writer: Tom King
Artists: Mitch Gerads & Evan “Doc” Shaner
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Covers: Mitch Gerads & Evan “Doc” Shaner

Who is Adam Strange? A hero? War criminal? Neither? Both? These questions drive Tom King’s latest post-modern deconstruction of the superhero genre. In the midst of a promotional book tour for his new wartime memoir, Strange finds himself at the center of a murder mystery where he is the prime suspect. Has the savior of Rann finally cracked? Or are there more sinister forces at work? A surprise, last-minute addition to the cast may have the answers. King is in his element here, taking full advantage of the miniseries format to tell a tight, suspenseful story about a lesser-known member of DC’s cosmic cast.

As for the art, this is one of the most gorgeous books on the shelves. Mitch Gerads, of Mister Miracle acclaim, once again joins King for a deeply human experience. His facial work is second to none, elegantly capturing the nuance of each emotionally charged scene. There’s a grittiness in his work that makes every panel feel perfectly grounded, even as a man soars across the sky with a jetpack. 

While Gerads handles the earthbound scenes, Doc Shaner delivers all the color-popping, cosmic action you would expect from a Silver Age staple. Shaner’s lines are strikingly clean, presenting every scene in perfect detail. In many ways, Gerads and Shaner are the perfect foils, each playing to their respective strengths to build something that feels simultaneously steeped in both realism and fantasy. The result is a must-read comic that promises to be one of the year’s best.

Review by Harrison Stewart

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The Green Lantern #3 Review

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Liam Sharp

Colorist: Steve Oliff

Letterer: Tom Ozrechowski

Variant Cover: Jae Lee and June Chung

 

When DC’s The Green Lantern series was announced, writer Grant Morrison described his pitch as a more grounded take on the character. Hal Jordan is a space cop and this 12 issue series would be treated as a police procedural, one that focused on the day to day rather than the apocalyptic storylines that the corps has been known to deal with. Naturally that means the third issue features Hal Jordan trying to arrest God.

 

No, not that God. Just an alien that happens to look like the God from the Old Testament. The Earth has been put on the black market and along with characters like Steppenwolf from the planet Apokolips, this Shephard is an interested buyer. No one is buying the Earth if Hal has anything to say about it.

 

This issue is another fantastic entry in this must-read series. Morrison continues to buck against the decompressed storytelling that has become the norm in comics. Each issue is meant to serve as a near self-contained story that adds to an overarching storyline told throughout the 12 issue series. Meaning that any reader can grab any issue off the shelf and hop in without feeling lost or feeling like they were cheated out of a full story.

 

While facing off with God may not sound like typical police procedural fare, Morrison has done a great job making the series feel like a grounded take on the character while keeping the surroundings and plot lines as strange as one would expect from a Morrison sci-fi comic. It strays far from feeling like a typical superhero comic. This is classic British science fiction comic book storytelling. Think old school 2000 AD rather than DC Comics.

 

Issue 3 is filled with high concept science-fiction goodness. It somehow manages to be politically relevant without issues feeling forced or out of place. The creatures from Dhor that play a prominent role in the issue are Randian caricatures, showing the result of an amoral society built around a rampant free market. There’s a ncie allusion to our society’s apathy towards an increasingly dismal looking future on planet Earth. And the ending and next issue might promise some comment on police brutality.

Liam Sharp is the perfect artist for this book. His work is again something out of 2000 AD mag. Every panel is so intricately detailed that one can spend chunks of time picking out new favorite details. Sharp’s work on this series has been some of the best in comics right now. You can tell he is leaving everything on the page.

 

Green Lantern #3 is a stand out issue of an excellent comic series and is a must read for any fan of the medium. Check it out and grab issues #1 and 2 to catch up on one of the most rewarding series in comics coming out right now!

 

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Hawkman Found #1

Writer: Jeff Lemire
Penciler: Bryan Hitch
Inker: Kevin Nowlan
Colorists: Alex Sinclair and Jeremiah Skipper
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics

Metal continues to be one of the most bombastic and wildly imaginative crossover events in
DC’s history. At times it can be difficult to follow and connect it to the main DCU, but
nevertheless Scott Snyder and every other creator involved have done a great job expanding
the DC multiverse.

The latest tie-in issue is Hawkman Found, which provides a nice setup for the next issue in the
main Metal series. Hawkman’s death at the hands of Barbatos has been a major focal point
throughout Metal, but here the spotlight shifts directly to Carter Hall as he tries to escape the
sort of limbo state he’s been trapped in for so long. If you read the recent Metal tie-in Batman:
Lost, there are definite parallels between that book and this one.

It’s always a treat to see Jeff Lemire write a DC comic. Though he’s been delivering fantastic
indie titles like Black Hammer and Descender, this issue brings readers back to his stellar
Green Arrow run a few years ago. Though this issue is a mini spinoff, Lemire is able to
effectively explore the character of Hawkman with the space he does have. I’m also stoked for
his upcoming DC series The Terrifics, which he’s described as a love-letter to Lee and Kirby’s
Fantastic Four.

The real highlight of this issue though is Bryan Hitch’s art. In just one issue Hitch captures the
mythic, Conan-like elements of Hawkman. Plus, there are some great battle scenes between
Carter and a race of monstrous humanoid birds. Coupled with the gorgeous colors by Alex
Sinclair, Hitch’s art gives this comic a strong blend of surrealism and cinematic action
sequences. If you’re enjoying Metal, definitely pick this one up.

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Doomsday Clock #1

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Publisher: DC Comics

It’s finally here. Ever since the mouth-dropping twist at the end of the Rebirth one-shot, DC fans
have been waiting to see how exactly Watchmen would merge with the main DC universe. The
answer will be explored throughout Doomsday Clock, which is a 12-issue series written by Geoff
Johns and drawn by Gary Frank.

The last major revelation was that Dr. Manhattan had tampered with the space-time continuum
and created the New 52 timeline. Doomsday Clock starts off in the Watchmen universe, taking
place about eight years after the events of the iconic Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons story. I’ll go
ahead and say that if you haven’t read Watchmen in a while, you may want to refresh yourself
before going into this book.

That said, this first issue offers a lot of potential for the series as a whole. Beyond being a love-
letter to the source material, it provides an interesting look at this world as it inches closer and
closer to annihilation. We see a character from the original story posing as Rorschach,
Ozymandias apparently seeking to redeem himself and Dr. Manhattan is still missing.
Meanwhile, all hell has broken loose across the globe.

The only tie to the main DC universe comes at the end of the issue, but we still have 11 more
issues to get the answers we’ve yearned for for the last year and a half. After the fairly
underwhelming crossover The Button earlier this year, this book is a worthy follow up to both
Rebirth and Watchmen. Geoff Johns returns to comics writing with a bang, and with art by the
amazing Gary Frank this is one of the biggest collector’s items of the year.

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Deadman #1

Title: Deadman
Written, Drawn and Colored by Neal Adams
Letterer: Clem Robins
Publisher: DC

 It’s a pretty big deal to have a comic in 2017 written and illustrated by the legendary Neal Adams. The man who helped revitalize characters like Batman and Green Arrow in the 1970s alongside writer Denny O’Neil is back with a bang. His newest work brings back one of the weirdest and most interesting characters in the DC universe.

Not unlike the equally psychedelic Mister Miracle book by Tom King and Mitch Gerads, Deadman #1 is about our hero coming back from the dead and the mystery surrounding his assassination. In order to discover the full truth of what happened to him and the connection to the League of Assassins, Boston Brand will need the help of Batman, Zatanna and Doctor Fate.

Back when Deadman was first created in the 1960s by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino, Adams played an instrumental role in popularizing the character. The first arc he contributed to as a penciler also dealt with Brand coming back from the dead, so it’s only fitting that he’s helming the new reboot.

It goes without saying that this is a gorgeous book from start to finish. Adams’ bombastic and wildly surreal style coincides perfectly with the story’s supernatural elements. Not only that, but it’s a compelling narrative as well. Even if you haven’t read the last Deadman miniseries, Adams does a nice job making this one an easy jumping-on-point, with little ties to anything else going on in the DC universe right now. Now if Warner Bros. and DC could just get Guillermo del Toro to make a Deadman movie I’ll be really happy.