The early '90s were a crazy time for comics. Most people thought comics were a license to print money, and the big companies seemed to publish almost anything, no matter how nutty the basic idea. Marvel Comics may have been the most susceptible to this madness. They churned out, like, a million books a month and there were more crossovers and crazy ideas than most fans could bear. Most of the characters and titles introduced during that time eventually faded away. Some were pretty bad (I'm looking at you Darkhawk and Warheads), but some were pure, crazy, gold that deserved to live on (Sleepwalker and Slapstick rule!).
One of the strangest, and coolest, characters to come out of that glut has finally returned in Terror Inc. In the '90s, Terror was a detective in a fedora hat, who was also dead. He was decaying away, but could take other people's body parts and stick them on to replace his rotting bits. The new Terror, from Marvel's mature readers Max label, is essentially that same guy, but he's "fleshed out" a little more. (Get it, fleshed out? Ha!) As this first issue begins, Terror fills us in on his long, weird history. It turns out, he has been around a while. He was one of the Vandals involved in the sacking of Rome. He was a warrior and hero, who got all the babes. Then he ran afoul of some black magic, and he ended up a rotting carcass that couldn't die in constant need of replacement parts. Bit of a comedown, really.
In Terror Inc. #1, by David Lapham and Patrick Zircher, Terror is working as a top-of-the-line hitman for hire. Lapham is known for writing gritty crime comics, so Terror Inc. is a perfect fit for his style. This Terror is grounded very much in the real world, with the main character being pretty much the only fantasy element. Lapham does a great job with dark machinations and tough guy dialogue. If you like Ennis' Punisher or Brubaker's Criminal, you will probably love Terror Inc. Though the action and violence are way over the top, there is also a vein of dark humor in this story that I loved. Zircher's art is equally excellent, with a level of realism and detail that I think make this his best work yet.
Terror Inc. is a great book that hasn't gotten the promotional hype it deserves. Don't let this one get away! Get all of your best body parts together and head to Four Color Fantasies where you can try out Terror Inc. #1 while it is the guaranteed Book of the Week. Now if only Marvel would give Slapstick his own Max title...
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Annihilation: Conquest-Wraith
Everybody loves a mysterious hero. You know the guy I'm talking about: the mysterious loner with no name who rides into town, just trying to mind his own business. He's a man of few words, who goes out of his way to avoid trouble, but trouble always seems to come looking for him. Someone always pushes him one step too far, and gets a serious butt-whuppin for his trouble. That's the guy I'm talking about.
Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Kyle Hotz have brought the mysterious hero to Marvel's cosmic, sci-fi universe in Annihilation: Conquest-Wraith. (Henceforth referred to only as Wraith.) In the aftermath of the huge, galaxy-wide, throwdown that was the Annihilation War, the Phalanx (a bunch of Borg-like techo-organic aliens) move in on the wrecked Kree Empire. They put up an impenetrable barrier around the Kree worlds and start assimilating everything in sight.
Then a mysterious blue loner shows up, and things start going badly for the Phalanx. He has weapons and abilities beyond their abililty to understand. He's trying to mind his own business, looking for a man wearing a signet ring of a skull engulfed in flames, but the Phalanx do not like things they don't understand. They pursue this mysterious hero, and eventually give him a name: Wraith.
Even though this 4 issue limited series is part of the massive Annihilation: Conquest crossover, it can easily be read and enjoyed on its own. (I haven't read any of the other books in the series, and I had no problem jumping into this story.) The central mystery of the series makes it compelling reading and Kyle Hotz's stylish, detailed art is a joy to behold. This series also has awesome covers from 2000 AD's Clint Langley, so you really can't go wrong.
Don't be a loner! Head over to Four Color Fantasies and pick up Wraith #2 while it is the guaranteed Book of the Week. There are still copies of #1 in stock, so if you ask nicely, you can get them both! Just make sure you smile when you ask, stranger. Nobody trusts a stranger who doesn't smile.
Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Kyle Hotz have brought the mysterious hero to Marvel's cosmic, sci-fi universe in Annihilation: Conquest-Wraith. (Henceforth referred to only as Wraith.) In the aftermath of the huge, galaxy-wide, throwdown that was the Annihilation War, the Phalanx (a bunch of Borg-like techo-organic aliens) move in on the wrecked Kree Empire. They put up an impenetrable barrier around the Kree worlds and start assimilating everything in sight.
Then a mysterious blue loner shows up, and things start going badly for the Phalanx. He has weapons and abilities beyond their abililty to understand. He's trying to mind his own business, looking for a man wearing a signet ring of a skull engulfed in flames, but the Phalanx do not like things they don't understand. They pursue this mysterious hero, and eventually give him a name: Wraith.
Even though this 4 issue limited series is part of the massive Annihilation: Conquest crossover, it can easily be read and enjoyed on its own. (I haven't read any of the other books in the series, and I had no problem jumping into this story.) The central mystery of the series makes it compelling reading and Kyle Hotz's stylish, detailed art is a joy to behold. This series also has awesome covers from 2000 AD's Clint Langley, so you really can't go wrong.
Don't be a loner! Head over to Four Color Fantasies and pick up Wraith #2 while it is the guaranteed Book of the Week. There are still copies of #1 in stock, so if you ask nicely, you can get them both! Just make sure you smile when you ask, stranger. Nobody trusts a stranger who doesn't smile.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Turning Villians into Heroes: Thunderbolts One-Shot
It's a great time to be a jerk in the Marvel Universe. I mean, they've been making some great comics over at the House of Ideas, but events have conspired to really allow the jerks to flourish. The Illuminati are all CLEARLY a bunch of self-righteous jerks, except for Namor, who's just unpleasant on his own. Tony Stark has become the big-shot king of the jerks, and I'm sure his upcoming movie won't settle him down any. With Stark in charge, S.H.I.E.L.D. has pretty much become a bunch of fascist little jerks in uniform. All the nice-guy heroes, like Spidey, are on the run or conscripted into the Initiative. (I'm thinking Slapstick here! That guy deserves his own book again. He could team-up with Squirrel Girl!)
All this jerkitude leads us to the point where a guy as evil and calculating as that Gwen Stacy-killing jerk Norman Osborn gets put in charge of the super-human dogcatchers known as the Thunderbolts. Not only is Osborn in charge, but he's got guys like Bullseye and Venom working for him! Sure, they're all supposedly kept under control by nanites in their blood, but does anyone really think it's a good idea to put these dudes together and give them deputy badges? When Moonstone is the most trustworthy person on your team, you've got problems.
In the one-shot Thunderbolts: Desperate Measures, by Paul Jenkins and Steve Lieber, Osborn truly allows his jerky side to show. He picks the team's next target mostly based on how amusing he thinks their attempts to capture said target will be. You know from his smirk that Osborn is up to no good when he sends Bullseye and Penance (the formerly upbeat Speedball) to take out a vigilante known as "Americop." Why does he pick this dynamic duo to take on Americop? I won't give it away here, but the results don't make Penance any cheerier than usual, that's for sure.
This new take on the Thunderbolts is definitely an unusual concept for a team book, and Jenkins seems to enjoy running with that oddness here. Nothing here is what readers would typically expect from a super-hero team. Giving readers the unexpected is what Thunderbolts is really all about these days, and this one-shot is no exception.
If you like your comics with a dose of dark humor, Thunderbolts: Desperate Measures should be just your cup of tea. The one thing that could have made this book better though, would be a return appearance of P-Cat, the Penitent Puss, but I suppose you can't have everything. Don't be a jerk! Pick this book up now, while it is Four Color Fantasies' guaranteed Book of the Week! (And before Squirrel Girl shows up to clean out this group of evil, evil people!)
All this jerkitude leads us to the point where a guy as evil and calculating as that Gwen Stacy-killing jerk Norman Osborn gets put in charge of the super-human dogcatchers known as the Thunderbolts. Not only is Osborn in charge, but he's got guys like Bullseye and Venom working for him! Sure, they're all supposedly kept under control by nanites in their blood, but does anyone really think it's a good idea to put these dudes together and give them deputy badges? When Moonstone is the most trustworthy person on your team, you've got problems.
In the one-shot Thunderbolts: Desperate Measures, by Paul Jenkins and Steve Lieber, Osborn truly allows his jerky side to show. He picks the team's next target mostly based on how amusing he thinks their attempts to capture said target will be. You know from his smirk that Osborn is up to no good when he sends Bullseye and Penance (the formerly upbeat Speedball) to take out a vigilante known as "Americop." Why does he pick this dynamic duo to take on Americop? I won't give it away here, but the results don't make Penance any cheerier than usual, that's for sure.
This new take on the Thunderbolts is definitely an unusual concept for a team book, and Jenkins seems to enjoy running with that oddness here. Nothing here is what readers would typically expect from a super-hero team. Giving readers the unexpected is what Thunderbolts is really all about these days, and this one-shot is no exception.
If you like your comics with a dose of dark humor, Thunderbolts: Desperate Measures should be just your cup of tea. The one thing that could have made this book better though, would be a return appearance of P-Cat, the Penitent Puss, but I suppose you can't have everything. Don't be a jerk! Pick this book up now, while it is Four Color Fantasies' guaranteed Book of the Week! (And before Squirrel Girl shows up to clean out this group of evil, evil people!)
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