A Review of DAREDEVIL #1 and some Ardden & Atlas Comics...

DAREDEVIL #1

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Paolo Rivera
Publisher: Marvel Comics
"Eventually I had to leave the city, my legal practice, my friends. But now I'm home, determined to put it all behind me and start fresh...because it's either that, or succumb to insanity.

Again."-- Matt Murdock

Pardon the pun, but I went into this comic blindly and came out feeling like a kid again. My formative comic-reading years were the Frank Miller years on DAREDEVIL and as far as I was concerned, the story of Matt Murdock came to a pretty definitive close in 1987 with the "Born Again" storyline. I've never held any interest in any run on DD since then. So, that would make it, what? 24 years since I've picked up a DD comic? Just about. I did pick up THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR retelling of his origin by Miller and John Romita, Jr. (loved it) and I did eventually pick up the trade of the Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada story where Karen Page got killed (didn't love it, though the art was pretty good).

So, what happens when someone weaned on the gritty and dark world of the Miller version of DD comes back to try out this relaunch? He finds one of the most enjoyable pure super-hero comics he's read in a long time. Without the need to retcon out the last 20 or 30 years of increasingly horrible events in Matt's life and the utter lack of humor and fun in his exhaustingly depressing existence, Waid embraces it all with great humor and a positive outlook.

Basically, DD is at a point in his life where he either spirals into a suicidal depression or decides that it's not the world that needs to change, but his own outlook on life. Matt Murdock has rediscovered the joy of life and it spills over into an enthusiasm throughout the entire comic and a whimsical approach to his derring-do that has been missing for way too long.

This does not mean that there's no danger or that the comic has slipped into parody zone. What this means is that Matt remembers who he was before his world started falling apart around the time that Elektra reappeared in his life. Yes, he has lost everything, including his secret identity, over the years (over and over) but he has decided to step up his game and start moving forward in control of his life rather than letting circumstances control him.

What this means for the reader is that we feel the enjoyment that Matt is feeling. It is infectious. Rather than being frustrated by those around him trying to continually bring up his DD identity, he instead just relentlessly holds the position that he is not DD and just smiles. The logic here is that really, only a few people "actually" know Matt is DD for sure. The rest of the people have "heard" it or "read" it, but we shouldn't believe everything we read on the Internet and in papers *wink*wink*. To the public, DD doesn't appear to have any special powers, so how in the world could he be...blind? It's a great way for Waid, as writer, to deal with the loss of identity and eventually be able to remove it from the platter of plot complications.

I just really enjoyed everything about it. I loved the creative way that DD prevented the kidnapping at the start of the book. Waid took an otherwise lame villain and turned him into someone who should be almost impossible for DD to defeat. The cleverness and quick-thinking of DD used to be one of charms of the character. It was a thrill to see that in play here. The visual representation of his radar sense was fascinating to see (and read). I particularly loved the "voice-over" monologuing of Matt throughout the book. It helps the reader truly see the world through his "eyes." The visual choices made in this book demonstrated some serious thought and consideration on how to visualize this aspect of the character.

Paolo Rivera does an amazing job, as artist, with this comic. Amazing. Flawless artwork and storytelling from cover to finish. The cover, particularly, is an astounding work of art and sums up DD in a single, smiling, image. The backup story by Waid and artist Marcos Martin was a brilliant piece of work to catch up any new readers on exactly what this "radar sense" actually is and how Matt uses it in his daily life.

I loved the one-page origin recap by Fred Van Lente and Martin. That is the way to do it. Get in; get out. On with the story. Sweet cliffhanger moment too at the end. My highest recommendation for fans of super-hero comics.

Huge Block of Reviews of Arrden & Atlas Comics

FLASH GORDON, COMEBACK KINGS, MINX,

GRIM GHOST, PHOENIX,  and WULF Reviews

 

FLASH GORDON: INVASION OF THE RED SWORD #2(PART 2: THE MISSION)

Writer: Brendan Deneen
Artist: Eduardo Garcia
Publisher: Ardden Entertainment

“I guess I should be surprised that you're still alive, Ming, but I'm not.” – Flash Gordon

A good follow-up to the first issue in this newest miniseries. Artist Eduardo Garcia settles in quite nicely on the art chores as we pick up on the cliffhangers of the first issue. The plot complication that scrambled the translators on Mongo so that the various races and tribes could no longer communicate is quickly resolved and Ming moves to the forefront.

I continue to really enjoy the pacing and storytelling in Arrden's FLASH GORDON comics. Vultan is developing into a favorite and plot points to pick up on are well laid regarding his relationship with his daughter. Likewise, Dale is proving herself to be a strong, attractive character fully justifying the attentions of both Ming and Flash. That I'm inwardly rooting for Ming is a sign of a well-developed villain.

This issue adds more depth to Ming's background and makes the reader almost clamor for an unlikely partnership between Ming and Flash against a common enemy – the humans who are invading the planet Mongo.

I look forward to what comes next and recommend this series and the trades of Arrden's previous FLASH GORDON series.

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THE COMEBACK KINGS #1

Writers: Matt Sullivan & Gabe Guarente

Artist: Ethan Young

Publisher: Ardden Entertainment

“The fame justifies the means!” – Jean-Luc Lambert (before blowing himself up live on television)

Okay. Not so hip to this one. Billed as a “dark satire.” I get the “dark” part, but I'm not feeling the “satire” part. It seems right now like just a “gag” project--the type of thing that a couple of guys might come up with while sitting around a beer tower at a hotel bar after hours at Comicon.

Anybody else seen “Bubba Ho Tep”, where an aged Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy still live and have to team up to take down a resurrected evil Egyptian mummy? It's good stuff. Played straight, but a very dark comedy/horror flick that (I think) is growing in cult status. Well, this is sort of spiritually in the same ballpark but instead of Elvis and J.F.K, we have Elvis and Bruce Lee and Jim Morrison and Andy Kaufman and Tupac Shakur.

It's Project Resurrection and an older Bruce Lee has to come out of hiding, for some inexplicable reason, and “get the band back together.” In this case, the “band” is the above odd grouping of dead celebrities who, in this comic, faked their deaths.

I wanted to like it. The art is pretty good, though very inconsistent in the look of the characters. It was almost like the artist couldn't decide from page to page whether our “celebrities” were supposed to look the way they looked when they “died” or actually age them by the decades that they should be. Plus the appearance of Tupac seemed especially out of place and the interaction between him and Bruce Lee was just odd and implied some kind of a past relationship that didn't quite gel with the timeline as best as I could tell.

Now, if it had been played a bit broader with a go-for-broke style comedy (like, say, BLACK DYNAMITE) I could probably appreciate it more. However, I think I could tell when something was intended to be funny...but it wasn't working for me. And especially, I didn't see the “satire.” What exactly is being commented on here? I get that it's a funny thought that these (and the big “surprise” not-dead celebrity) are actually out there functioning like a super-secret A-Team of dead A-List Celebrities (though Kaufman would be the oddball there). But beyond that, I lost interest about halfway through.

I give it a “B” for effort, but a “C-” in the end.

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MINX #1
Writer/Artist: Andrea Grant
Publisher: Ardden Entertainment

“Where do humans go when they dream? Does the soul leave the body and wander in another dimension? There is an urban legend which claims if you die in DREAMTIME you'll not awaken in real life. THIS IS TRUE. It's the reason the gods never dare to slumber sound.” – Andrea Grant

This comic intrigues me. I find Andrea Grant's art very good; in fact, I am an instant fan! And I love that she is aspiring to touch something deeper, more primal, and archetypal than your average comic book. That intrigues me.

Apparently Grant is a member of a Native American tribe and she is building this comic book around a certain spiritual worldview that believes and accepts that there is a dream dimension that we live in during our sleep. In our waking hours, we lumber along through the world of the mundane, but when we sleep we enter a world of fantastic possibilities and adventure but also horrific dangers.

Minx is the story of a woman who seems able to blur the dimensional lines and is attacked by a creature from the dream dimension and nearly killed. Instead, she spends the next seven years in a coma. In the comic, she closes her eyes in one panel and opens them in the next and it is seven years later.

Her struggle to adjust to the world and her relationships when seven years have passed for everyone else but merely moments have passed for her make a good set-up for her story. I may be inferring too much, but I get the impression based on the way this issue wrapped up, that she has quite a lot of history built up in the dream dimension called “Dreamtime” from the last seven years asleep in a coma and it is not going to be an easy transition back to the world of the mundane.

Her story is one of two worlds and I want to read more of that story. Check it out and see if you agree.

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GRIM GHOST #2
Writers: Tony Isabella & Steven Susco
Artist: Kelley Jones
Publisher: Atlas Comics

“The Fringe. It's a world wrapped around and within the living world, a place where lost souls seek their ultimate fates.” – Michael

Better and better and better. The first issue of GRIM GHOST was good. This second issue is better. The pacing picks up. The art gets more expressively dark and moody.

Michael, the man who has passed from this world into “The Fringe” but can't remember his past, begins to...remember. At the same time, we get the backstory that was missing from the first issue as to the earthly relationship between Dunsinane (Grim Ghost) and the evil, demonic Braddock.

And the thing is, neither of the three come out smelling like roses. They are all flawed yet powerful, and morally nebulous. Braddock is the most outright cruel and evil, but both Grim Ghost and Michael show aspects that reveal that they are willing to be less than holy themselves in order to accomplish their purposes.

I'm hooked. Really enjoyed it. There's something about the look and feel of this series that evokes the nostalgia inside of me but is as modern as anything else out there.

GRIM GHOST, like the other Atlas Comics titles, is solid, good comics and well worth taking a look and committing your time and energy.

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PHOENIX #2

Writers: Jim Krueger & Brendan Deneen

Artist: Dean Zachary

Publisher: Atlas Comics

"You should have killed me when you had the chance!” – Max

I don't have much more to say on this title other than, if the first issue intrigued you, then this issue does not disappoint.

The art is gorgeous. The storyline a bit harrowing when putting yourself, as the reader, into the footsteps of Ed Tyler and his resurrection nightmare. He's on the run from the aliens who were killing him repeatedly and just trying to stay alive and sometimes failing at that.

This is a comic that hits the ground running and never stops running. It is over before you realize it and leaves you on another great cliffhanger moment. The mystery is not only unfolding but deepening with the appearance, almost Constantine-like, of a mysterious “detective” who seems out of place but also knows much more about what is happening to Tyler than he should.

I continue to be impressed by the way the characters react to this situation and I noted the first inclusion of a reference to Detective Lomax from the WULF comic to tease the reader with knowledge that these Atlas characters do indeed co-exist within the same world.

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WULF #2
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Nat Jones
Publisher: Atlas Comics

“I let you down. Ever steady, ever strong, always by my side. Rest well, my friend. Rest well.” – Wulf (saying goodbye to his dead horse.)

Saving the best for last, WULF ran away with the Atlas prize this month. Simply put, the synthesis between writing and art was complete once this team had their footing after a somewhat lighter-paced first issue.

This one really does have it all. A sword-wielding barbarian with an honor code, a hard-boiled New York police detective, terrifying bloodthirsty other-dimensional monsters, and a horribly disfigured powerful evil wizard.

With a radical twist on the “buddy cop” formula, I really dig how Niles is developing the relationship between Lomax and Wulf. There is a real sense of sadness in Wulf, the Barbarian, who has lost everything (seemingly) and Lomax picks up on this and reaches out to him. He can see the good heart within. However, in a shocking scene, Wulf demonstrates violently how he still is a barbarian raised in a world where brutality rules the day and is the first choice when confronted by evil.

The desperation and depravity of the villain in this story is dark and tortured--perfect for the tone of this violent but entertaining comic book. Not for the faint of heart though.

The writing rocks this comic and the art is just slightly primitive enough to give it a look and feel of something other-worldly.

I recommend WULF highly. This was my favorite comic of the past week.

Continuing my Atlas Love Affair...

I'm loving the relaunch of Atlas Comics!  Here I review the final 2 titles in the initial phase of the relaunch.

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THE GRIM GHOST #1 
Writers: Stephen Susco & Tony Isabella
Artists: Kelley Jones (pencils) & Eric Layton (inks)
Publisher: Atlas Comics
“It pleased me to know that the last thing you would see before I hanged you would be your lover dangling from her own hangman's noose!” – Braddock

The second book in the big Atlas Comics relaunch is THE GRIM GHOST. My familiarity with the original 70s version of the character is limited to the house ads that ran in other Atlas comic books. I never came across a copy of the actual series. So, as opposed to WULF and PHOENIX, I approached this relaunch without any prior knowledge of what came before. I vaguely remember an image of a hooded man on a horse. That's about it. I can't address at what points this new series is similar to or veers away from the original concept.

When I first got my hands on the comic, I didn't have time to really read it, so I flipped through it to check out the art. I was pleased to see Kelley Jones listed as the artist. If I want a comic book to evoke a dark mood of mystery and horror, and Bernie Wrightson isn't available, Kelley Jones is the guy I would go to. A skilled artist at utilizing shadow and cinematic angles, but also expressive distortion to great effect. His run on BATMAN with writer, Dough Moench, continues to be one of my favorite runs. This series set in an other-dimensional purgatory, co-existent with ours, called "The Fringe" where lost souls continue their existence after death before moving on to heaven or hell is a perfect match for Jones. The Grim Ghost (Matthew Dunsinane) haunts The Fringe attempting to save those lost souls from coming under the control of the evil Braddock and finding themselves sentenced to eternal torment. The Grim Ghost also appears to be quite mad himself after some 200+ years trapped in The Fringe.

The Grim Ghost and Braddock have a yin-yang conflict that stretches back to their former lives. The Grim Ghost himself was a rogue-ish Highwayman from the Colonial days of America who fell in love with Braddock's wife and she gave her heart to him. Braddock murdered the both of them. Now the brutish Braddock and his band of evil demonic thugs haunt the shadows and alleyways of The Fringe looking for souls to grab. The Grim Ghost is locked in an eternal battle to gain souls for his side first...and apparently to put the beat-down on the taunting Braddock whenever he gets the chance.

This was a well-written first issue and a good set-up for the series. I found this to be a good concept for a character that really isn't just another super-hero, but something a bit more interesting.

Once again, a thoroughly enjoyable issue from the all-new Atlas Comics. Well worth your time and money.

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PHOENIX #1 
Writer: Jim Krueger & Brendan Deneen
Artist: Dean Zachary
Publisher: Atlas Comics
“What are you doing?! Kill him again!” – Malevolent Alien Captor

It's been like a 1-2-3-Punch! From Atlas Comics the past couple of weeks. Starting with WULF, then THE GRIM GHOST, and now PHOENIX, Atlas is on a solid roll with quality comic books. There's definitely a good retro-feel to the books but with the ramped up pacing, story-arc structure and quality production expected of comics and graphic novels today (including stronger language, graphic violence, and intense storytelling).

I liked WULF and thought it was a good set-up for a first issue. I liked THE GRIM GHOST a little more than WULF and now, I am on board to say PHOENIX is the best of the bunch. WULF is a blend of sword and sorcery with police action, THE GRIM GHOST is a blend of horror and masked-adventurer, but PHOENIX is full-on sci-fi super-hero action.

The original PHOENIX series back in the 70s was very much a product of the times. In a sense, it reminded me of THE SIX MILLION-DOLLAR MAN with aliens. That series centered on an astronaut from Skylab kidnapped by space aliens, who were evil observers of human evolution, and winds up incorporating some of their technology into his flight suit which gives him access to great power. So, of course, the first thing he does is use the power escape from the aliens and save the capital city of Iceland. Yep. Iceland. It was a nice effort of a comic book but while it looked nice, it was dreadfully dull to read. I like the covers though.

This new PHOENIX series is absolutely the opposite of dull though. It is an exciting, fast-paced adventure that is only frustrating in that it ends on a cliffhanger...and that means we have to wait to see what happens next.

Ed Tyler is not an astronaut (at least I don't think so at this point) in this version. He appears to just be a normal guy thrust into an awful situation. While visiting his home town, the entire population was kidnapped by aliens and brought on board their spaceship and killed one-by-one. They are obviously sifting through the people to discover the one-in-a-million human being who can wield the power of these “Phoenix” suits. So, the comic begins with them repeatedly killing Tyler and the suit bringing him back to life. Rather than eventually becoming unable to resurrect, like nearly everyone else in town, apparently, Tyler just seems to get stronger with each resurrection until he finds himself wielding dramatic cosmic power and breaks free from his alien torturers.

We don't know who these aliens are yet, so there's a mystery both as to who they are and what their ultimate purpose is in brutally and dispassionately murdering thousands of people in an attempt to find their “candidate.” Candidate for what is part of the mystery to unfold in the course of the series.

Tyler's reaction to the situation feels real. He is going to be a hero not because of the powers he wields but because he has the character and determination to do what's right and face-down a threat as daunting as these malevolent and much more advanced aliens and their technological superiority.

The artist, Dean Zachary, is a new name to me and a very impressive debut. I really enjoyed his art from start to finish. The art looks like it is reproduced from his expressive and detailed pencil illustrations then painted over it which gives the art a look very similar to the style Eric Powell uses now on THE GOON.

The design of the alien suit that Tyler is bonded to is good. Simplicity in design and believable. It reminds me of some of those 70s Marvel costumes like Capt. Marvel and Capt. Universe. Slick, sleek, and stylish.

The original Atlas Comics attempted to “out-Marvel” Marvel Comics and failed. I think the new Atlas Comics is just trying to make really good, old-fashioned fun, and exciting comic books...and PHOENIX is a great example that proves they are succeeding.