Review- Free Comic Book Day Reviews Part Three

Free Comic Book Day Reviews Part Three

I have been lackadaisical in my reviews and did not do a Free Comic Book Day overview this year. Rather than do one at this late date, I'm just going to list two stores with each batch of Free Comic Book Day comic reviews. Please note that the comics reviewed did not necessarily come from the shop listed in this review, nor does the shop endorse these reviews.

Not all of the comics that I'll be reviewing over the three parts of my Free Comic Book Day reviews will be FCBD editions. Some are singles that I paid for on FCBD while others were offered for free as part of the FCBD festivities. I always pick something up at each shop, as those free comics aren't free to retailers and vultures are lame.

In this third and final part of my overview and review of this year's FCBD festivities I'll go over the last of the five stores that we hit on our journey across two counties as well as review for another batch of comic books.

Big Ben's Comix Oasis in Allen Park, MI, has been serving the populace for over three decades now, which is pretty crazy to think about. I remember the humble beginnings of this store as the Book Bank, when it had used books and few card tables filled with back issues and quarter boxes along with a few racks of new comics. I watched the place carry less books and more comics...move into the downtown area of Allen Park into a bigger store with still more comics...move two other times and finally into it's current incarnation, where it is arguably the largest comic book store if not in all of Michigan, then in the Metro Detroit area for certain.

My hatchlings.

Keyser Soze: Scorched Earth/ The Rift Free Comic Book Day 2017 (Red 5, cover date May, 2017)

Keyser Soze is a pretty cool concept, although you get very little about the gist of it across the 16 pages of story included here. Modern comics give the artwork plenty of room to breathe. The downside is that it takes multiple issues to hammer your point home. This is a risky game in the $3.99-4.99 age of comic books. Time is money, money is tight, and attention spans are short.

The Rift seems solid if unoriginal. A rift in time brings a WWII pilot into the modern day. It's nothing that hasn't been done a million times before. I'd read it for free from the library.

The Walking Dead #163 Cover A (Image, cover date February, 2017)

Unless you have just woken up from a coma, you know about The Walking Dead. It's as culturally pervasive as superheroes. I read the first eleven issues years ago and failed to see what the hype was all about, as I disliked Kirkman's decompressed style of writing.

Credit where credit is due: This issue is great. Worlds better than the earlier issues, both in writing and artwork. I have reassessed my opinion of The Walking Dead and now can see why everyone is gaga* over it.

*I was reluctant to use the word gaga, as Lady Gaga kind of ruined the word for me. But then I thought about how Lady Gaga admits that she stole the word from Queen's Radio Gaga, which is where I stole it from before she came around, so I will retain my homage to Queen and keep using the word.

Vampirella #0 (Vol. 4) (Dynamite, cover date, February, 2017)

I'm not a huge Vampirella fan (even though I own all 15 Archives), but this was some good stuff! I'm not hip to her continuity or story beyond the fourth Archive (where I stalled on my marathon) so I can't say what is what, but as far as picking up this comic book, reading it, and deciding if I liked it, this worked.

Free Comic Book Day 2017: General (Dark Horse, cover date, May, 2017)

Why on Earth would Dark Horse title this book General in the indicia?

The Avatar sequel is like Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, promised and repeatedly delayed for so long that it has become a joke. Not only that, but expectations will be heaped so high on it that it can't help but disappoint. Nobody is going to care by the time that it comes out. That said, the comic is pretty good and beautifully illustrated. I like Avatar, I just think that it's James Cameron's white whale.

Briggs Land is not my cup of tea. Your mileage may vary.

Z2 Comics- Free Comic Book Day 2017 (Z2, cover date, May, 2017)

The Ballad Of Franklin Bonisteel (Or “The Shreveport Kid”) has a completely unique and fresh feel to it, even if the concept goes over well tread ground. I'll keep my eyes open for this one. The back-up feature, Murder Ballads, isn't awful but it isn't anything I would pick up, either.

Tex Patagonia FCBD Color Edition (Epicenter, cover date May, 2017)

While comic books are an American invention (comic books, not the comic strip), our friends across the pond have been exploring and blazing their own trail with fascinating results. European culture is of course different from American culture, so it should come as no surprise that their comic writers and artists approach the artform completely different than we do.

Epicenter has been bringing us colorized English language translations of European favorites. This is every bit as good as their other offerings, Magic Wind and Zagor, also both popular overseas but completely unknown in North America.

Tex is set in the 19^th century. There is a similar thread with Magic Wind in that he is an outsider of a different race who becomes equal to the indigenous population through a test or event. If you enjoy stories set in the Old West or Mexico then this is for you. European comics have a clear, brisk layout without sacrificing character development. American comics have aped this format over the past 15 years but haven't quite figured it out yet. Tex is definitely worth checking out.

Crossed + One Hundred #1-3 (Avatar Press, cover dates November, 2014- February, 2015)

I was a huge Crossed fan, reading it for quite a while until I got bored with it. Then I heard that Alan Moore was writing a new series set 100 years into the future of the original outbreak. The thing with comic books is that there are so many being fired at you from every publisher, week after week, that it is impossible to keep up with it all. I snagged these three issues out of a dollar box at a local comic store.

Without going into the plot or providing a synopsis (which is what most “reviews” really are: book reports), I'll get to the meat of the problem with this series, at least as far as the first three issues are concerned. There is zero sense of urgency. At no point in time do the Crossed pose a threat for more than two pages in any of these issues. It's your typical, boring post-apocalyptic scenario, with civilization rebuilding itself in the aftermath of a catastrophe. I expected better from Alan Moore. I expected more from Alan Moore.

None of the characters are the least bit engaging. I cared so little for any of them that I kept waiting for the Crossed to kill any or all of them off so that I wouldn't have to trudge through their story any more. Alan Moore has all of the characters speak in the newly evolved slang, which was neat for about five pages but quickly became grating.

I have no resolution for this arc, and I don't even care to go online and find a synopsis for closure. I simply don't care. Imagine a conversation with someone boring, where your mind trails off but they keep on rambling. That's what Crossed + One Hundred is. The fact that Alan Moore is attached to it only adds insult to injury. Oh well. At least I'm only out three bucks. 

Reviews- FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2013 offerings Part the Fourth

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2013 offerings Part the Fourth

Note: Free Comic Book Day will be referred to as FCBD from here on out in these reviews.

The Walking Dead: FCBD 2013 Special (Image, cover date May, 2013)

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artist: Charlie Adlard

Colorist: Cliff Rathburn...if you consider gray tones to be a color, that is.

Ah yes, The Walking Dead...the savior of and modern day benchmark for Horror comics. I really wish that I had heard of this title before everyone and their brother hyped it up as the second coming, because by the time I was given the first deluxe hardcover as a X-Mas gift a few years ago I already had a chip on my shoulder toward this title. Instead of Hey, let me check this out, it was more like Fine, I'll read the goddamn thing to see why everyone won't shut up about it. I honestly don't see what all the hoopla is about it.

This FCBD issue is pretty good, more of a character story than a full on zombie story. I gave the first 11 issues of this title a chance but it wasn't my cup of tea. I am happy that everyone loves it, and I'm happy for all of the recognition that it has brought back to comic books. We have boatloads of Horror comic books to choose from these days, more than at any point in the past 40 years, so thank you for that, Robert Kirkman. I just don't see what makes this title mean so much to so many people. I realize that the problem must lay with me since everyone and their brother loves this book. Hey, at least folks are reading comic books again.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5. 

Valiant Comics FCBD 2013 Special No. 1 (Valiant, cover date May, 2013)

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

Colorist: Various

This is a sampler of various Valiant titles as well as a sneak preview of their Harbinger Wars crossover. X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, and Quantum & Woody are all interesting concepts and are decent reads. My plate is too full and my wallet is stretched too thin to check all of this stuff out, though. It's all well done and highly readable.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5. 

Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H. a/k/a FCBD 2013 Avengers/ Hulk No. 1(Marvel, cover date May, 2013)

Writers: Joe Caramagna, Paul Dini, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and others.

Artist: Clips from the forthcoming animated series formatted as comic book panels

Well this is interesting. Marvel/Disney use stills from the forthcoming animated series Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H. and Avengers Assemble cartoons and issues them as a FCBD sampler. It would be nice if they used the visibility of the animated series to remind folks that comic books still exist. The general population is unaware that these things are still published month in and month out.

This is all ages reading, but the Hulk series doesn't even come close to resembling the comic book version. The Avengers is closer to the movie versions of those characters. I honestly didn't care for this comic but my six year old son loved it. Given the target audience for cartoons I'd say that this is a success. I'm happy that he is interested in superheroes. Now if only they could figure out how to make the comics appeal to adults and children again...

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2 out of 5. 

DC Nation FCBD 2013 Super Sampler (DC, cover date July, 2013)

Writers: Mitch Watson, Scott Beatty, and J. Norres

Artists: Luciano Vecchio and Todd Nauck and Lary Stuker

Colorist: Heroic Age

...and in answer to Marvel's all-ages animated series FCBD sampler, we have DC's Cartoon Network shows, the new Teen Titans Go! and the forthcoming Beware The Batman. Unlike the Marvel animated comic, this one collects two stories from DC's all ages comics. The Batman story was originally presented in DC Nation Super Spectacular No. 2 and the Teen Titans Go! story is from Teen Titans Go! No. 12.

My son loves these cartoons, and I watch some of them with him. I'm more inclined to pay attention to Batman than I will Teen Titans, which is offensive to me due to the horrid art style. Again, I understand that these are directed toward children, and since my son loves it, mission accomplished.

I have read these stories to him a few times and enjoyed the Batman one a lot. I found Anarky's costume to be a complete and total ripoff of Moon Knight, which is ironic because Moon Knight is a complete and total ripoff of Batman. Doug Moench created Moon Knight and would go on to write Batman during the 1980s.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2 out of 5. 

Banshee Origins (IDW, cover date December, 2012)

Writer: Jonathan Tropper

Artist: Mike henderson

Colorist: Jeremy Colwell

Many stores put out all of their freebies and preview books on FCBD. I snagged this since I went to seven stores that day and I was running out of things to grab. I guess that this is a prequel to the Cinemax series.

I've got level with you: I absolutely hate it when creators use comic books as a funnel system or test market for their “IP”, and as a comic fan I find it insulting to be treated as a test market or “brand buzz builder” for Hollywood. Make a comic book or make a movie. If it is good then expand into either/or. I dislike calculated marketing like this. Worse still, I remember nothing about this title. I know that I read it on the plane on my flight home from our vacation, but when I flipped through it just now to refresh my memory I have a big fat blank. Nothing stuck in my mind and everything about this leaves me cold. That's worse than sucking, because at least that is an emotional response to a piece of work. This is just nothing.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 0 out of 5. 

Review: Curse of the Wendigo

CURSE OF THE WENDIGO (Dynamite, 2011; Softcover; Actually released in 2012)

Original graphic novel originally published in France in 2009

Writer: Mathieu Missoffe

Artist: Charlie Adlard

This was one of those off the cuff, quasi-impulse buys and reads. It sounded cool from descriptions online and in Previews, and was cheap enough (MSRP $7.99) and short enough (48 pages) where no significant investment of time or money were involved. A read-it-in-one-sitting scenario for sure.

It's funny, I didn't realize that Adlard was the artist for The Walking Dead until I read the cover blurb. I am like the only person who has read The Walking Dead that didn't become obsessed with it. Indeed, it was Adlard's artwork which helped put me off on that title, so it's kind of funny that I enjoyed it so much here. Maybe I liked it because it was colored here, or maybe I should go back and give TWD a second look. Or not.

The gist: This story takes place during World War I. Something is killing soldiers on both sides of the battlefield. A truce is called between the warring French and Germans to find out what it is. Anyone who has read The Uncanny X-Men or The Incredible Hulk issues from the mid-70s to early '80s should know what a Wendigo is, and if you have not read those classic issues, then use the Google button on your Internet machine and find out for yourself, because I'm not telling you. Needless to say, this is Horror tinged goodness.

There are interviews in the back of the book with the creators, which explained a few things for me. For one, these are graphic novels, but in Europe, where these 48+ page skinnier books are prevalent, they are called albums. So I am guessing that all of these “albums” that I have been buying from creators (i.e. Untouchable, H20, etc.), are all English language translations. Interesting.

The OCD zone- This book has super thick paper and smells wonderful. I was surprised to see that this has sewn binding. It only has one signature, but to see sewn binding for a 48 page book like this was still a shock. 

Originally posted on my myspace blog on 3/15 & 3/26/2009

THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN VOL. 1 (Image, 2008)

Collects The Astounding Wolf-Man Nos. 1-7 (cover dates May, 2007- July, 2008)

Outstanding! Equal parts old-school superhero comic and ironic wink and nod, this series appeals to Silver Age comic lovers as well as the too-cool-for-superhero hipster crowd, and it works! It actually frickin' works. Great writing by Robert Kirkman and great art by Jason Howard which falls somewhere between old school superhero and cartoon-y, Gen Y friendly. it can be read as a serious superhero comic or a silly nod to it. (I choose the former) This series has real potential, and I am chomping on the bit for Volume 2 (which I own but haven't got to yet in the backlog).

SPIDER-MAN J: JAPANESE KNIGHTS (Marvel, 2008)

Collects selections from Spider-Man Family Nos. 1-6 (cover dates April, 2007- February, 2008)

Oohhh, and then there's this. Note to self: always read Previews solicitation copy before placing your order! I used to pre-order everything Spider-Man and X-Men, but no more! This craptastic shitfest reprints and adapts Japanese Manga Spider-Man, and it totally sucks. So much so that I couldn't even read more than a few pages before I closed and the book and decided to get rid of it. No, this was not a true review since I couldn't stomach the vomit-inducing mangacrap artwork, but it's as close as I will ever get to reading this! Needless to say, I did not order Volume 2.

THE FANTASTIC WORLDS OF FRANK FRAZETTA VOL. 1 (Image, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Frank Frazetta’s Creatures, Frank Frazetta’s Dark Kingdom, Frank Frazetta’s Dracula Meets The Wolfman and Frank Frazetta’s Swamp Demon (cover dates April- August, 2008)

These were decent one-shots with good artwork. Lots of extras in the back of the book with the same high quality presentation of the Death Dealer Hardcover (minus the slipcase and built-in bookmark...also minus $20 off of the MSRP!).

THE WALKING DEAD BOOK 1 (Image, Hardcover Second Printing 2008)

Collects The Walking Dead Nos. 1-12 (cover dates October, 2003- September, 2004)

This was a X-Mas gift, and was an okay read. I am neither running out to buy the rest of the series, nor did I throw the book against the wall in disgust when I was done reading it. Or for you netspeakers out there...meh . 

X-MEN: THE COMPLETE ONSLAUGHT EPIC BOOK 3 (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Avengers No. 402, Cable No. 35, Incredible Hulk No. 445, Iron Man No. 332, Thor No. 502, Wolverine (Vol. 2) No. 105, X-Force (Vol. 1) No. 58, Uncanny X-Men No. 336, X-Man No. 19 and X-Men No. 55 (cover dates August- September, 1996)

Marvel sucked during the '90s. Not only did they suck, but they tried really hard at it! You cannot tell me that these guys were not trying to outdo each other in trying to make crappy comic books. The dialogue is overly written, littered with those annoying* boxes that serve as footnotes, as if you are supposed to stop where you're at, sift through dozens of long boxes, and peruse the point of reference. Just awful. 

The artwork is a train wreck of Liefeld influenced dreck. The Richard Strakings/ ComiCraft computerized fonts look gimmicky, as does the severely dated computer coloring enhancements by Malibu Studios. I guess that these were breakthroughs at the time and precursors to modern day techniques, but they have not aged well. The artwork by Andy Kubert, Joe Madureira, and Angela Medina are all varying degrees of suckiness. 

Every single costume is changed except for Captain America. Thor's enchanted Uru Hammer now has a chain attached to the handle instead of the stirrup that used to be at the end. Every hero has long hair that seems to "float" in the air like it's underwater...thanks for pioneering that look, Liefeld. Thor's hair is past his ass, and even the Sub-Mariner has long hair. Why? He never did before. The devolved Wolverine was a horrendous idea. 

What were comic book creators on in the '90s? The dialogue by Mark Waid, Scott Lobodell, and Peter David are all laughable, being unintentionally funny. Actually, all of the writing is bad, but I am too lazy to list everyone's name, ditto all of the terrible "artists". Anthony Castrillo's pencils in X-Force #58 were so Byrne-esque that I had to do dome research online to see if this was some Byrne pseudonym. He really has the look and feel down, almost coming off as a tracing of Byrne's pencils at times. He was the only bright spot, aside from the teaming of a neophyte Mike Deodato, Jr. and veteran Tom Palmer. Deodato's early style was very much of the era, and he was also busy drawing every single hero as an overly musclebound, long hair floating in the air like it were underwater, character as the rest of these hacks. I feel sorry for you kids who grew up on this decade's comics, and I am glad that I sat it out.

X-MEN: THE COMPLETE ONSLAUGHT EPIC BOOK 4 (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Fantastic Four No. 416, Cable No. 36, Onslaught: Marvel Universe, Uncanny X-Men No. 337, X-Men: Road To Onslaught and X-Men No. 57 (cover dates September- October, 1996)

What's that smell? Oh wait, it's the writing in these issues! I like my comics as serious as the next guy, but when the characters are this serious, this dramatic, without any trace of humor whatsoever then it's totally laughable. If I were buying monthlies back then I would have quit!

THE TWELVE VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects The Twelve Nos. 1-6 (cover dates March- August, 2008)

…and here we have Marvel’s answer to Dynamite's Project Superpowers, and Marvel wins hands down. This is superior in every way, shape and form, thanks to J. Michael Straczynski's excellent writing and the team of Chris Weston and Gary Leach turning in finely detailed artwork that is absolutely beautiful. I really enjoyed seeing characters that were cheesy back-up features from various Golden Age Masterworks dusted off and brought back to life. I think that perhaps that is one of the reasons that this trumped PS; the characters weren't just some ad-hoc conglomerate, but they all retroactively existed in the Marvel Universe. I don't mind ret-cons in this respect. Unfortunately, this series has been put on hiatus for science knows how long, as JMS is busy doing some movie or whatever. This is one of the Marvel Premiere Edition Hardcovers, and I gotta say that I love the format. Sure it has glued and not sewn binding, but these are usually on the skinny side so it is not an issue to me.

CLANDESTINE: BLOOD RELATIVE (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Clandestine (Vol. 2) Nos. 1-5 (cover dates April- August, 2008)

Another solid batch of tales of the Destine family and their adventures. Alan Davis' warm writing and artwork make this an enjoyable read. I dislike how the covers are collected in a gallery in the back of the book rather than their proper location as chapter markers. This whole thing reads like one giant story, so maybe that was the point. Who knows?

ESSENTIAL MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE VOL. 2 (Marvel, 2005)

Collects Marvel Two-In-One Nos. 26-52 and Marvel Two-In-One Annual Nos. 2, 3 (cover dates April, 1977- June, 1979)

Nearly every single Bronze Age journeyman handled this title, and it didn't miss a beat. The Thing is entertaining as the star of his own series, and I hope that they keep the phone books coming all of the way through his solo series in the '80s.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL. 10: IDENTITY CRISIS (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Nos. 37-40 (cover dates May- August, 2008)

This series remains a satisfying, if continuity challenged, read. It's a treat to see Swarm again!