Mr`Orange
Waited for the trade: Annihilation Conquest review
A long time a go, in a galaxy far far away I started my review on the two Annihilation events, and here is the second part. Annihilation Conquest

When I first read this book I wasn’t as impressed as I was with the initial Annihilation event, where the first was a trailblazer this one just seemed to coast off the coat tails of the first.

On reflection, after re-reading the book I have realised that this is so much better, a lot tighter, better woven, and much grander in its scope and execution, the big twist had it not been spoilt for me when I first read the book would have been huge, but with now rereading the book, knowing what I know, you can see the seeds that have been planted along the way.

The four tales that are the prologue to the main event are very well written, and they all do a great job of building up to the crescendo that is the main event. The only book I have any real issue with is the Nova tie in, as the four direct issues that are tied into the Annihilation Conquest event are included in the trade, but the next four that are just as important are not, they are covered in a single page text recap, which though concise is rather disappointing as a few major events all happen off panel.

Comparison with the initial event is inevitable, the scope and scale of the invasion is parallel to that of the initial event. There is that same sense of enormity, the huge struggle that is in play, and even with the immense collection of powers, you can feel that these people are really up against it.

One of the main themes that has run over from the first event is the sense of camaraderie between the people involved, where disparate peoples have come together for the greater good, where enemies forge bonds that would not otherwise have been made to secure the safety of all. You can feel a real sense of kinship between these people, you know there is trust, you can sense that they have been through much together, and though they are all very different people, they will risk their lives for these people.

Through the happier moments and the sadder ones the writers across all the books know how to set the mood, there are many moments that made me smirk and smile, there where moments when you felt their loss and sadness. The writers touched your heart strings, they made you care about some of the most obscure of characters, they made the taking raccoon, the living tree, the robots and the various aliens so real, so human that you cannot help but feel for them.

Had someone told me that one of my new favourite characters, and character teams would be a giant tree and a talking racoon I would never have believed them, but the artistry with which these characters where brought to life within the pages of the Annihilation Conquest event made it so.

One of the more interesting aspects of this book and the last was how many of the characters have been turned on their heads, and back again. Villains have become heroes, to becomes villains again and then once more to heroes. The baser instinct of these people come through, whether they are inherently bad or good. The true nature of these people is on show for all to see, and it is a very interesting ride.

Their motivations, their self belief, their personal views of right and wrong are shown, and dissected within the many pages of the event. It is a hefty tome, well two, and though a bit pricy they are well worth the investment. I know this will be a book that I will read time and time again, it is a book that you can read as a whole or just pick the one story you really like, be it the prologues or the main event. The event has been structured in such a way that you have the ability to pick and choose, while the tapestry of the over all story is shown in all its glory when you read the event from beginning to end, it is still an enjoyable read in parts.

Coupled with the great penmanship through this event is the art work, there are slight variations in the style across the books, by this I do not mean that the work is generic, or all exactly the same, but the work is all of a realistic bent. From the likes of Sean Chen through to Tom Raney and the work of Kyle Hotz and Mike Lilly the idiosyncrasies of each artist comes through but they stay true to the overall realistic style.

The artwork in books like this is very difficult to handle, to bring together the huge scope, the enormity of the events and to couple it with the smaller more intimate moments is hard going. There are no grunts in this book, those on the frontlines are people we know, there is no chance to use generic soldiers and get away with plain backgrounds. These books are all about the details, the expressions the emotion, and all are captured perfectly. Especially by Tom Raney, who for me has always had a cartoony style to his work, but in the main Annihilation Conquest book his style has matured, and the sense of realism brings life to the event that his previous style never would have.

Throughout this book there are a number of seeds planted, story ideas and hints that hopefully will be utilised at later dates. There is the spin off from this book, Guardians of the Galaxy, but to date they have not dealt with any of them, and the next cosmic event may not either, as War of Kings to centre around the Shiar empire and Emperor Vulcan and the Inhumans and Blackbolt. The Shiar where not involved with either of the major Annihilation events as they where busy in their own corner of the universe, and the Inhumans have also had issues to deal with, so it will be interesting to see what is done with these people.

If you have not read these books, hopefully my reviews have given you a little more incite in regards to them, and why I have enjoyed them so much. You don’t have to be a sci fi fan, or a fan of events to enjoy these books, they are so well written and brilliantly drawn with great characters that you should enjoy them. They are immense universe shattering stories, but broken down into smaller more intimate ones, they cover the classic tales of love and revenge, of honour and redemption. Within these pages there is a story for everyone, a character that we can all relater to, it will be someone different for everyone of us, we will interoperate events differently, what one of us might see as a heroic sacrifice the other will see as a bad tactical decision. There will be moments that will make some of grin, while others will groan, we can see and believe the most fantastic to be real, while others, even those that read comic books will just not be able to overcome improbability of these events.

Within these books there is everything you could want from a story, you just need to give them a try.



Read more!

Waited for the Trade: Annihilation and Annihilation Conquest

Mr`Orange
With a new Marvel Cosmic event just getting under way in the far flung corners of the Marvel Universe I thought it might be time to go back and look over the last two big events that rocked this part of the MU. Annihilation and Annihilation Conquest

These are the two recent events in the intergalactic part of the Marvel universe, self contained events that centred around the attempted conquest of the galaxy by Annihilus of Negative zone and then another major MU player in the sequel Annihilation Conquest.

I will initially be reviewing the first of these events, the original Annihilation Event. The set up and structure of the events was different from the usual MU events, with a number of mini series building up into the main event. Though a lot of people complained when DC did this, Marvel have executed it much better, each part can be read as an individual story, or you can read it all as one huge story, or do as I have done with the trades, to pick and choose the best.

I read the singles and as good as the event was I didn’t overly enjoy a couple of the minis, so when it came to buying the hardcovers, I was lucky to find that the main books I enjoyed where in volumes one and three, while the less satisfactory books where in volume two, which I decided not to buy. And now, rereading the event, it doesn’t take anything away from the over all story by missing out the likes of the Silver Surfer, super Skrull and Ronan books. All the major plot points are covered in the main event book, Annihilation.

The first volume of the Hardcover collection begins with a story that was published a fair while before the event was even thought up, but has been retroactively added into the continuity of the event, and it was done with some ease. Drax the Destroyer: Earth Fall mini from 2005 was an interesting tale in its own right, much like the rest of the books that comprise this event, it can be read on its own.

The book introduces a new status quo for the character, but for people like me, for whom this was an introduction to Drax it was still an interesting story that was being told. The plot of the book revolves around a crashed prison ship in Alaska, and the inmates attempt to escape.

Though a simple enough story it was brought to life by some amazing art by Mitch Breitweiser and simple but effective storytelling of Keith Giffen. Not only are we introduced to the new “version” of Drax but also to his new sidekick Cammi. Cammi adds a human element to the book, and is the eyes with which we see their world, she gives us someone to empathise with.

The book sets up Drax’s role within the main Annihilation event, but beyond that is not really linked into the over all story, that only kicks off in Annihilation: Prologue. Here we have an introduction to the main event, to most of the characters that will be involved and where their loyalties lie. But most importantly we get to see exactly how powerful a force the Annihilation wave is, how destructive and merciless. And we see it in all its glory, as the detail and description is immense, the way in which the destruction is wrought, how it is described by the words of Keith Giffen (the architect of the event )and drawn through the work of Scott Kolins.

The one unifying element in these books is the art, it is phenomenal the whole way through, it really captures the tone of the story and the events portrayed within it.

The first volume of the three part Annihilation Hardcover series includes the Drax book, the Prologue, and by far the strongest, and most pivotal of the mini series, the Nova book.

The Nova series is written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who go on to write the ongoing series, and bring to a life a character that for me, has floundered. The last time I remember reading anything about this character was in the mid 90’s with the failed Erik Larsen series, which lasted about 7 issues.

The mini series is centred around the first major attack by the Annhilation wave in the Marvel Universe, and how helpless even a major power such as the Nova Force and its centurions are against it.

This really sets the tone for the event as a whole, highlighting the magnitude of the attacking forces, and their potential for destruction. This isn’t two random evenly matched spaces races, this is one immense fleet against the rest of the MU, and vastly underprepared, unorganised Marvel Universe.

The Annihilation wave attacks Xandar, the home of the race that built the Nove Corps ssentially runs the Centurions. The Centurions are essentially the police force, the clean up squad of the universe, responding to problems and dealing with them, with the aid of the Nova Force. The “organisation” is run by the Xandarian Worldmind which is the collective knowledge of the Xandarian civilisation.

Richard Rider, is the only remaining Centurion, and with a destroyed world, and base of operations the Worldmind needs a new home, which it finds in the mind of Richard Rider. He is also the host to the entire Nova Force, which has its own implications (dealt with in the main Nova ongoing series).

Nova with Dax and Cammi, the other two surviving occupants of the Xandar homeworld, they team up with Quasar to help evacuate planets in the way of the Annihilation wave. They succeed, but at a cost. Quasar is lost, and the quantam bands are taken by Annihilus , and he attempts to steal the Nova Force from Rider.

After they save the fleet and civilians in the way of the Wave, Worldmind Nova and Drax join forces to help stop the Wave.

This brings us on to the second of the Hardcovers which contains the Silver Surfer, Super Skrull and Ronan mini series. Of these I quiet enjoyed the Super Skrull book, and that does bring in a lot of information about the preceding events to the Wave hitting the Marvel Universe, but as I really didn’t like the other two mini’s I could not justify buying the book.

The Super Skrull book was written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach (of Middleman fame) and had the art of Greg Titus. A good looking book with a well constructed plot and scripting, it did seem a little juvenile at times. It didn’t fit with the feeling of the other books in this story.
The book revolves round the Super Skrull’s attempt to destroy the Harvester of Souls which was a planet consuming warship in the Annihilation wave. As an outsider within the Skrull empire the Super Skrull went against this ship alone, though he didn’t end that way. He found the inventor of the ship in the Negative zone, and got him to devise a way of destroying the ship. This was in the form of a virus, that the Super Skrull and a band of rag tag prisoners he releases from a Negative Zone prison (not 42) attempt to destroy the ship.

They succeed, but not without encountering some problems along the way, and a bit of creative thinking on the part of the Super Skrull. The characters that we meet here, are to be seen again in the main Annhilation mini series, and in the future when people look back on this battle in the war against Annihilus.

The Second of the books in this series was the Silver Surfer book which h dealt with the Seekers who where sent out by Annihilus to find the Heralds of Galactus and capture them. They where then to be used to feed Annihilus with the Power Cosmic and make him stronger and even more powerful. A couple die and a couple get captured, and to be honest I really didn’t enjoy this book at all, and don’t really remember much else happening. It was a dull read, and I just found it labour some to get through.

The final book is the Ronan mini series which is centred around the character Ronan the Accuser of the Kree empire. Though a major player in the Annihilation war, and the post Annihilation universe this mini did nothing to add to the story. It revolves around Ronan seeking out those that testified against him, and fighting them. He lands on a world where one of the women that testified against him now resides, she how now joined a group of cosmically powered women who are led by Gamora the most dangerous woman in the universe.

They fight, but then the Annihilation wave reaches the planet they are on, and they join the United Front led by Nova and Drax and a few others. This series is written by Simon Furman and art by Jorge Lucas.

This ends the second volume, and brings us onto the main mini, the culmination of these other series in the Annihilation event. Volume three contains the main series as well as nova Corps files, which gives us background on each of the characters involved in this series, as well as the post Annihilation wave mini series Heralds of Galactus.


The main is set a couple of hundered days after the Wave first hit the Marvel Universe, and in this time Nova has brought together an army to hold back the Negative Zone forces of Annihilus.



Their first major victory comes when Firelord manages to kill one of Annihilus’s Queens who controls his drone army. Leaving the soldiers in disarray. Though this is a phyrric victory at best, as we are soon to learn that Annihilus has captured Galactus and is now in control of the Power Cosmic. Thanos siding with Annihilus has Galactus bound and is draining Galactus of all power.

While the over all war is going on there are a number of sub plots that underway, and for me this was the biggest strength of the series. Though a lot was going on, it was all contained within this one book, and there was a lot going on. We had Drax attempting to fulfil his destiny, Nova trying to lead the United Front, warn Earth and adapt to his new power levels.

Thanos had his own plans in place and was working with Annihilus for reasons other than what was apparent. While Thanos was doing this Ronan the Accuser was back on the Kree Homeworld trying to enlist more soldiers to fight the oncoming Wave, only to discover that the ruling House had made a deal with Annihilus as well as lobotomising the Supreme Intelligence. The Kree now following Ronan finally put up resistance against the coming Wave, and hold their own.

The final battle between the forces of the United Front and the Annihilation Wave are being enacted on the flag ship of Annihilus. With the majority of the ships destroyed by the energy released by Galactus, the weakened Annihilus goes up against Nova, Peter Quill and Phyla-Vell. Without wanting the spoil the final twists and turns of the story, lets just say it brings up some interesting changes in the status quo in the lives of these people and the Marvel Universe as a whole.

The art for this final story was done by Andrea de Vito and was amazingly detailed, it really brought to life the enormity of the event, how chaotic everything was, the savage nature of the Wave and the almost hopless struggle of the heroes involved. The scripting was tight and plot perfect. So much story was packed into this miniseries, but it didn’t feel heavy, nor was is laborious to read through.

Had they ended the series here, it would have been great, but the final post Annihilation Wave books that formed the Heralds of Galactus mini series. Though in concept this was an interesting book, the execution was lacking. Not so much in the art department, which crafted a sumptuous book, but in the writing, which was just a bit dull, especially after the excitement of the previous mini series.

So that brings us up to the end of the first event, and shortly I’ll be adding the review for the second event to bare the Annihilation name. Annihilation Conquest.
Read more!

Waited for the trade: Aliens Omnibus Vol. 1

Mr`Orange
This format was reviewed on the site a little while back, and I liked the sound of it, so I took a look at the offerings available from Dark Horse, and though there were a few interesting titles, this series stood out from the rest. I’ve always liked the mythos behind the Aliens series, both the films and the books, so thought I’d dive right in. With no idea of when the original books where published, or how they fit into the continuity of the movies, I opened the omnibus and dived right in. The first of the books collected in this Omnibus was Outbreak

The book opens with a very quick, very basic retelling of (what I remember to be) the second movie of the franchise, Aliens. It is told from the perspective of “Billie” who I have taken to be “newt” from that film, who is now in a mental institution. Now, for me, this is the make or break of a decent “extended universe” or franchise book, how much of the back story does the reader know, and how to bring them up to speed. A good book won’t waste time with rerunning the whole back story, but you also need to give a nod in the direction of the source material.

Outbreak’s writer Mark Verheiden does a good job of bringing everyone up to date without labouring the point. The writing over all is good, not brilliant, as the book is quite dense and, living in a world of decompressed writing, it can get a bit much at times. The story overall is very good though, and plays on the themes set up in the later movies and the books where the government and Earth based companies want to monetise the Aliens through the use of them as biological weapons.

The book runs two parallel, but ultimately connected, storylines, one is about a mission led by a survivor from the mission to Rim (the second movie in the Alien franchise) and the freed Billie. It is around here that the book gets a little messy, now bear in mind this may be down to the fragmented way in which I read the book, or it could well be an underlying messiness in the scripting. A few scenes on-board the flight get confusing with a couple of the characters, though you can work out what is going on, it is a case of not knowing who exactly is carrying out these shenanigans.

The second storyline deals with Earth based events, a domestic infestation, and a cult that worships these aliens as the new coming of Christ?, as a saviour. This storyline bring up some interesting issues with the creatures, not only their goals, but how they go about achieving them. We learn a lot about the motivation of the aliens, what it is that they hope to achieve through these colonies. We learn that they are more than just mindless creatures, and are cunning, intelligent beings, which makes the plans of the Corporation that much more chilling.

The art was decent, pretty realistic, quite graphic in places, it wasn’t anything special, but did enough. Though they did try to capture the tone of the movies, it didn’t quite come through.



The second book is Nightmare Asylum With the same writer but this time the art is provided by Dan Beauvias and, barring one part where it is really rushed, the art is very well done. When it needs to, it captures the dark tone of the book, but the rest of the time it provides a cleaner, clinical feel to the story, therefore really amplifying the danger and darkness of the aliens.



The story continues from the end of the first book, with Wilks and Billie on a cargo ship to some unknown destination. We continue to follow the adventures and misfortunes of the pair while we learn more about the military’s plan for the aliens.

The state of planet Earth is explored some more, with live (TV) feeds being sent out by some of the survivors. We follow the fate of one pair, an Uncle and niece who are trying their best to remain alive on Earth. You can see what the writer was trying to do with this, adding a more “human” face to the book, adding in some characters you can sympathise with, almost empathise with, but they have been given such little screen time that they just become an annoyance.

The main story was very interesting though. It was based around a military commander’s attempt to “civilize” and train these aliens and make them into a more loyal army. Of all the military people in this universe, he is the only one that seems to have an understanding of the true nature of these creatures, of their intelligence and capabilities.

I’m not going to spoil the story, as I prefer to review the book rather than the plot, so while better than the first, both in terms of art and pacing, the book still isn’t quite hitting the notes of the first couple of movies. Though with four volumes of the Aliens omnibus out the stories must have caught the imagination of a fair few readers out there, and hopefully the quality keeps on improving.

Female War is the reason there are three more volumes. This book has come on in leaps and bounds with regard to the first two. It helps that the art is by Sam Keith, which really adds to the flow and dynamism of the book. At no point is it dark and broody as you would imagine an Aliens book, but the flow and structure of the book is so much better. The story flows so well, the art actually accentuates the story rather than just being there, as it was in the two previous books.

The other thing that came to light while reading this book, is that my assessment of the recap in the first book might have been off, it might have recapped the first Alien film and not the second, as that seems to be the one recapped here!

At one point it was rather confusing as I wasn’t sure if it was a recap or actually part of the new story, but it all worked itself out in the end. And boy what a story it was, very high octane all energy fun, well as much fun as it can be reading a book about an alien species decimating earth and those in charge of saving us, protecting us being corrupt and essentially in league with those that want to see our end. This time there was essentially only the one story, though it did dovetail the two previous stories, the people on earth and the extermination of the aliens. The writing has also really improved, you can tell that the writer now has a better understanding of the medium, as he has come from a TV / Screenplay background.

Finally we have a couple of small stories to cap off the book. First, is a diary account by a biologist that worked for the company and the Aliens project. He talks about the nature of the beast, its cultures and evolution, why they do what they do, and then, after that, came another short story. Though short in numbers of pages it was immense in scope, it really did tell a hell of a tale. I can’t really say anything about it, as it will spoil the story, but it covers a lot of themes that have come up during the three books in the omnibus: the nature of man, the nature of these aliens and the consequences of the interaction between the two. This last story has convinced me to pick up the second trade, which I would not have done otherwise. The book is ok, the art passable for the most part, but until this last little tale, it really didn’t engage me enough to carry on the series. Even the impressive third book, Female War, was not enough to bring me back to this universe; but this has. Read more!

Waited for the Trade: A Batch of Shorties

by Dan

With the craziness of my job the last several weeks (thanks stock markets!), I've been completely MIA from most things Internet. Yet, the comics and trades kept on coming. So, here's some shorty reviews of sixteen trades and graphic novels from nine different publishers. From the excellent Black Summer and Immortal Iron Fist to the complete opposite of excellent Black Diamond and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed plus plenty in between.









Army @ Love Vol. 2: Generation Pwned – More often than not, I love Rick Veitch’s writer/artist work. But after giving up on the critically acclaimed Can’t Get No, I was worried going into Army @ Love. Thankfully, this has been an awesome satire book with plenty of sex, drugs and war. A wonderfully crafted series that ended all too soon (there is a second “season” out now, but I’ve read that it goes in a very different, yet interesting, direction). B+

Authority: Prime – Authority fights StormWatch and it’s all Bendis’ fault. I always knew that guy was up to something! Wait, Bendix, not Bendis. Eh. Much less interesting now. An okay check in with the WildStorm universe, but after the excellent Authority Revolution it’s a clear step down in quality. C+

Black Diamond – For a story about a cross-country, raised superhighway they spend WAY too much time on anything but the cross-country, raised superhighway. Overall, this was really disappointing. The art at the beginning was just not my thing, but when it became more iconic and more graphic designer-y at the end, I really enjoyed it. D-

Black Summer – This was just an awesome Warren Ellis series. Mostly, I saw it to be Ellis' final word on The Authority and what a terrible path they would eventually have taken. Gory and violent with lots of commentary about the U.S. government. Great stuff. A

Classic Battlestar Galactica – I don’t know why, but I still dig the original Battlestar stuff more than the new. Granted, I lost track of the new show after the first season and Dynamite flooding the market with “New” Battlestar books has been too overwhelming to follow. Thankfully, Rick Remender (a fave writer thanks to Dark Horse’s Fear Agent) was let loose on the old characters and creates a fun episode of the classic show. B

Criminal Macabre: My Demon Baby – I was regretting this purchase before I read it, as I couldn't really remember how I felt about the first two collections I read years ago (apparently there's been two more that I missed). That said, I completely dug this four-issue story. Niles has a lot of Ellis in his lead character, Cal McDonald. Lots of dark humor fun and I may have to figure out what the other two books are and grab those. B





Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 2: The 7 Capital Cities of Heaven – I’ve never been an Iron Fist or Heroes for Hire or Kung Fu fan. Ever. And yet, I completely and thoroughly enjoy this title and all its Iron Fist-tastic history. I did get a little confused with who was who, including the reveal at the end that references the annual included earlier in the collection. So, sometimes there is too much history and too many characters to keep straight, but that just makes me want to sit down and read Brubaker and Faction’s entire run once volume three comes out. Great art from Aja too. This is quality comics. A-

Maintenance Vols. 1 & 2 – This Oni series just makes me giggle. Thanks to Customer Appreciation Day (aka Free Comic Book Day) for finding this one. Reading these on the can is fun, but got surreal when our trusty janitors took an adventure into the can. B+

Mini Marvels: Rock, Paper, Scissors – Turns out I've read a bunch of these shorts featuring the Bullpen Bits characters and, in all honesty, it's just not that funny the second time around. Some of the later stories that riff on Marvel events like Civil War and World War Hulk are amusing, but overall this just doesn't hold up to multiple reads. B-

New York Four – Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly do it again. Although I was frustrated by the fact that there could be a lot more story told and, more than likely, it won't happen. B+

Power Pack: Day One – A fun revamp of the kids' origin story. I've never read the original version, but I'm sure this has been updated to be, ya know, entertaining. Anyone that's been reading this series of mini-series will enjoy this about as much as the others. I'm really looking forward to the Skrulls digest though. B-

Star Trek: The Return of the Worthy – The last reprint Titan did of the old DC version of the original Trek. The main story about The Worthy was a completely predictable, 100% Trek message type of story. Not bad, but nothing new either. C+

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – When I preordered this, I was already dropping the last of the Dark Horse titles, Legacy, from my pull list. I figured this was a last shot at Dark Horse’s current Star Wars universe (although I am checking out the current Clone Wars mini). Even more concerning was the fact that this book was based on the video game of the same name and was serving as a way to fill in some of the back-story. Unfortunately, the book reads like a video game with all the paces and boss challenges included. This is definitely not for anyone but fans of the game, and even then I’m not sure it’s good on any level. D

Too Cool to be Forgotten – Very cool story that gets somewhat sidetracked/rushed at the end in order to wrap up the main ideas about father/son even though 90% of the book was just about the son. I get what Robinson was going for, and he succeeds for that 90%, but I wish the end had been drawn out or built up to better. A-

Wolverine: Death of Wolverine – This collection starts off interesting enough with Jason Aaron and Howard Chaykin’s “Man in the Pit” issue. Wolverine has been captured and put in a pit where he’s shot a few hundred times every 15 minutes to keep him subdued. The rest of the collection is Marc Guggenheim and Chaykin’s Logan Dies story, which rewrites Wolverine’s healing powers as a literal fight with Death every time he’s extremely injured. A bit odd, but, like the first story interesting. Unfortunately Chaykin’s art is incredibly distracting – sketchy and blocky with odd close ups. B-

Wolverine: Get Mystique – Hey, a Wolverine story that actually ties in to current continuity! Wolverine is chasing down Mystique after her betrayal during Messiah CompleX. Cool enough of an idea. Unfortunately, it gets a bit convoluted due to writer Jason Aaron throwing them into the middle of Iraq and Afghanistan for no real reason other than those are topically locations. C
Read more!

Waited for the Trades: Planet Hulk & Warhammer 40k Damnation Crusade

Mr`Orange

I love comics, have done for years, but more and more of late I've been shifting across to trades, they look nicer, they read better, both in terms of story and in actually holding the book in your hands, and above all they are easier to store. There for making the stories easier to re-read. I'll be reviewing trades here at Bad Genious as well as throwing in my two pence into the round tables held here. So here come my first two reviews.Planet Hulk
I think that Planet Hulk is by far one of the best self contained, in continuity year long stories out there. A great mix of both the intelligent, emotional hulk stories and a good old school hulk punch up.

In the time of decompressed writing, and five minute reads, this book shows how to use decompression to your advantage. Yeah this could have been compressed to 6-8 issues, but it wouldn't have shown off the majesty of Pak's writing, or Pagulayna's art, as well as the rest of the guys. The story was amazing, a solid overall arc, or rather three arc in the one bigger picture, the back story was good, the motivation of the characters spot on, the new characters where introduced well, and fleshed out. This was just an over all brilliant read, you can't ask for more.

After reading Jones' Hulk this must have come as a breath of fresh air, it was “Hulk Smash” back to his roots, slam down beat up blood and guts Hulk all over again, but with intelligence. There was no negative consequences to his actions, the more he fought, the more people loved him, it was like he was on the bizzaro earth. As to how he got there, well that is a story unto itself.

The story is basic, it is the Hulk’s eternal struggle for freedom, where as before it was Bruce’s struggle to be free from the Hulk this time it is the slave’s struggle to be free from the overlords of the planet. Yes the over all story is rather basic, and it does play on all the classic archetypes you’d expect in this type of story, but it is just so well crafted that you cannot but enjoy it. You have the band of unlikely companions, the romance between very different people, the rise of the slave and then the fall of his nation. There wasn’t anything “new” here, but the book was lovingly crafted, and the passion the love for the characters and the world could be felt in every word in every brush stroke.

The art was just beautiful, the action was so well portrayed, and the colouring spot on, this book was just all around perfect. From the choice of artists the colouring team, the style of inking and the overall style of art, it fit the story perfectly. Along with beautiful interiors, there where some stunning covers by Jose Ladronn. Though there where a half dozen or so artists used to keep this book on schedule, you can't tell, the book just flows that well. If you haven't read it, go buy this, it will be well worth the money.

Another book I've read and enjoyed recently is the Warhammer 40,000 Damnation Crusade book by Boom Studios. A book that probably flew under the radar of most comic book readers was recently released as a mid sized trade, not the normal size, but a little bit bigger than a digest.

Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade

For those that don’t know much about the Warhammer 40k universe, or those like me, have only a brief understanding of the place, this type of book is perfect. It gives you a broad introduction to the world, or rather many worlds that inhabit this universe, and the various races and cultures that are contained within it.

The human empire within this world is based on a very Christian/Roman model, just many many years in the future. Coupled with future technology that is grounded, for the most part in current tech, the book, and the world generally offers a relatable experience.

This trade is a good introduction into the world, as it touches bases with most the enemies, as well as the main adversaries, it also gives you an understanding of the way in which these armies of Humanity are set up, what they believe, how and why they fight. The Warhammer universe is a very intriguing one, I especially love the way they play the religious aspect of humanity, the xenophobic nature of man.

The book walks you through some major battles, as well as the life of one soldier from recruit to fully fledged brother, we learn about their devotion to the Emperor, and how he honours his most loyal and bravest of soldiers, and what constitutes the afterlife for these men. And they are all men, I don't think there was a single female character in the whole book, be that by design or chance it is something that you pick up on, how male dominated this society is.

The art was very good in places, in fact it was beautiful, but at times it was lackluster which was a shame, as something as epic as this book, really should have had art to match the scope of the story. But for me, above all else, it was the scripting, the dialogue that stood out, if was amazing, the power, the fantasism of these people really came through, you can feel their fervour through the words on the page, and it really made me smile.

Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton have really put together a solid book here, and one that is perfect for new comers to the universe, and I’m sure at the same time it has something therefor those that know the universe well.

I'd say this is a book well worth buying, and I can't wait for Boom to do some more work in this universe.
Read more!

Trades Wait For Me...Y: The Last Man

by Doug Smith

One of the benefits of falling behind – way, way behind – on reading the big stack of trade paperbacks on my shelf is that I can read multiple volumes of a series in a row. Since I knew that Vertigo’s Y: The Last Man series was coming to a close with issue 60, I elected to hold off on reading the series until it was done. The tenth and final trade paperback of the series came out a few weeks ago, so I finally sat down and read all ten volumes over the course of one week (I had read the first three volumes as they were released). And wow, what a reading experience it turned out to be! By this time I’m sure you’ve all heard what an amazing series writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra gave us, but in case you’re not sold, let me offer you this:

“Soldiers and spacemen, cowboys and ninjas, pirates and robots.”

That’s right, this series has all of the above. I didn’t even realize it until Yorick Brown, the star of the series, reminisced about his adventures. He encountered all of the above, and it’s to Vaughan’s credit that he skillfully wove all of those disparate elements into one brilliant series. All of the things we loved to play at as children; I’m just amazed he didn’t find a way to mix some dinosaur action in there as well.

.
Over the course of sixty issues, Y: The Last Man follows Yorick, the last man on Earth thanks to a mysterious plague (referred to as the “gendercide”) that kills every other man. Humans aren’t the only ones affected though; the only other male mammal to survive is Yorick’s pet monkey, Ampersand. What kept these two alive? That’s the answer that Yorick and his female companions, Dr. Mann and Agent 355, must find if the human race is to have any hope of surviving past the current generation

Their journey takes them from America’s east coast to its west coast, and then on to Japan, Australia, and finally France. There are echoes of The Odyssey, as they have to overcome one obstacle after another along the way. Since the series progresses in a semblance of real time, there is also a huge passage of time; the first 59 issues cover five years in the lives of our heroes, as they struggle (much like Odysseus) to travel in a world where mass transportation has collapsed. It’s a nice thematic element in a work that features a supporting character named Hero, and a lead named after one of Shakespeare’s most famous characters.


Vaughan very effectively puts an end to the old “if the world was run by women, there would be no wars” argument; given the chance to run the world, women prove themselves to be just as power-hungry and paranoid as their male counterparts. Society completely breaks down in the days following the gendercide; the early issues have a sense of horror about them as the survivors try to make sense of what has happened. Some women join the ultra-militaristic Amazons, while some others try to salvage what’s left of the world’s governments. With no men left, most of the world’s infrastructure collapses It’s not that women aren’t capable of doing the jobs that were performed by men, but it was an infrastructure designed, implemented, and staffed by men; women simply weren’t in the positions and given the training to step in and replace the fallen men. How many women are currently in the U.S. government, or working as police officers, or airline pilots? To Vaughan’s credit, society fares better where women had been given equal opportunity to serve alongside men (as seen with the arrival of the Australian navy).


Along with the three lead characters, there is a large cast of supporting characters who play roles of varying importance; everybody is given a distinct personality and you find yourself caring deeply for people who only appear in a handful of issues. The dialogue is sharp and real, and there is a rich vein of humor throughout the book’s run; the Russian agent Natalya and her mangling of English are particularly amusing.

Pia Guerra was a new name to me when this series launched; she handles the majority of the penciling duties over sixty issues, with an early fill-in from Paul Chadwick, and regular fill-ins from Goran Sudzuka later in the run. Jose Marzan Jr. inks all sixty issues, giving a consistency to the series that may have been lacking otherwise. But the real artistic star is Guerra; her work reminds me of Steve Dillon in that it is deceptively simple. There’s not a lot of “flash” here, very little that will knock you out and make you say “wow” at first glance, but her storytelling sense is exceptional, and that’s what I want from an artist, more than anything else: tell the damn story! And she does, and she excels at conveying emotion in her characters. And yes, she can do stunning, highly-detailed work too, as a two-page spread of Paris in the final issue breathtakingly proves.


I won’t give away any more information for fear of spoilers; I will say, however, that when we recently had a roundtable discussion about comics that made you cry, I didn’t have a ready answer. After reading the final issue of this remarkable series, I have to admit…I was a little choked up. Vaughan brings all of his characters and plot threads home with some really clever storytelling tricks and one of the most heartbreaking goodbyes I’ve ever seen, and this issue really puts the “plus” in this book’s final grade: A+

Read more!

Waited for the Trade: Fear, Fighting, Killing & Birth

by Dan

I don't wait for trades. Trades wait for me. In a big random stack next to my bed. Okay, so the X-O Manowar hardcover is new and I did wait for the trade on BPRD, but I've kept Goon Vol. 0 and the second K Chronicles compendium waiting a good ol' while. The question is, why?





Fear of a Black Marker: Another K Chronicles Compendium - The second collection of Keith Knight's cartoon strip is even more fun than the sheep lovin' good time of Dances with Sheep. Many of the strips are comedic, observational, slice-of-life tales. Nothing is slap-your-knee, laugh-out-loud funny, but every page leaves you smiling. Knight addresses everything from family to race to politics to his hip hop band, Marginal Prophets (check out their album Bohemian Rap CD for some fun stuff). 130 pages of smart, funny, well-drawn, wordy strips that everyone can relate to. A

Check out more Keef-tastic stuff here.


The Goon Vol. 0: Rough Stuff - Eric Powell's first self-published three-issue attempt at telling the story of the Goon. All the basics are here, but as the title suggests, it's all a little rough. The Goon and Franky are drawn in a mostly recognizable fashion, but the Goon's giant overbite in these early appearances is oddly distracting. The intro page to this collection actually makes note of the artistic changes and goofs on oddball creative decisions (even by Goon standards) in an incredibly funny, self-deprecating way. But, dammit, I want more talking chainsaws! B+


BPRD Vol. 8: Killing Ground - I have a hard time getting into the Hellboy series. I blame my inability to comprehend metaphor. But these BPRD books about the supporting cast are just rip-roaring fun. This volume is a bit frustrating as nothing in particular gets resolved. More than anything, it's just some excellent horror comic with a crazy Wendigo, two mystery men infiltrating the BPRD headquarters, a hero showing his true fangs and lots and lots of blood. Killing Ground does move the major plot points forward, but just doesn't give any satisfactory conclusions. B


X-O Manowar: Birth - This is a collection of X-O Manowar #0-6 with a new 10 page story. I actually read these issues about six years ago and I think I enjoyed it more in its original format. I don't know if the idea of a 6th century Visigoth in 20th century New York with the most powerful alien suit of armor ever just didn't work as well the second time around, or if the technical flaws in this hardcover edition ruined the fun.

At first, I thought it was just a case of bad lettering in the original comics. However, a page-to-page comparison shows that for this edition, Valiant Entertainment chose to shrink the panels to the point where the lettering now butts into the panel's border. Additionally, they've noticeably cut off the tops and bottoms of many splash pages. Finally, a big draw of these editions is supposed to be the recoloring by the original colorists. Sadly, the changes are too subtle to make any impact.

But for all those complaints, there is a lot of good too. The art from Joe Quesada and Steve Ditko, #0 and #6, respectively, is outstanding. And there really is something refreshing (or is it just nostalgia kicking in?) about the shared universe that Valiant did so well and Valiant Entertainment is honoring by releasing these hardcovers. The first hardcover was Harbinger, a team of super powered kids fighting the good fight. No one would be lost reading X-O without that, but when the kids show up in the fourth chapter here, it adds a wonderful extra layer. B- Read more!

Waited for the Trade: ACME Novelty Library 19

by VM

Man, life must be a really depressing place for Chris Ware.

I’m not talking about his personal life of course, since I know nothing of that. And by all accounts, his professional career is going pretty well; Jimmy Corrigan won awards, and ACME Novelty Library is one of those things that gets touted about as worthy wherever I cast my eyes in the direction of serious critical acclaim. “Masterpiece” is a word bounded about in connection with his efforts.

But judging by what I understand of his work, I’m forced into the conclusion that Chris Ware finds the world an empty and heartless place that slowly wears you down before you die. And nothing else.

There’s something very nihilistic, or at least very first-year-philosophy nihilistic about what he does. Bleak, heartless and cold. Depressing. And you’d think that this would appeal to me. I’m usually a big fan of things that show the darker side of existence. I’m habitually cynical about happy endings and the foolishness of the main thrust of humanity is something I’m pretty much certain of.

And yet, I find it difficult indeed nigh-on impossible to enjoy what Ware brings to the page here.

Actually that’s not entirely true. Ware’s art is something else. It’s a truly stunning and innovative graphical form, for which he deserves all the praise I can muster to give him. It’s resolutely simplistic, stylised and minimist in its representation of characters, but is nothing but all the more powerful in its execution as a result. It’s remarkable how he’s able to convey years of difference to a character’s life by the varying of just a few lines, and nothing short of fantastic what powerful emotions he can convey from those very same few lines.

The layouts are similarly a work of art in and of themselves. The variety of panel choices, the use of repetition and movement about a central theme – such things are nothing short of a masterclass. To read this book is to revel in the skill of a master craftsman at work. To then compare with a conventional super-hero book is to remind yourself how truly stagnant even some of the best people working there can be. And that’s not a comment that should be taken as being elitist or snobbish, but rather a tribute to just how fresh his work is that it can achieve that.

The problem I have is with the story he tells.

There’s almost nothing positive here. Almost every page, every penstroke, ever panel is dedicated to chronicling the small disappointments of life, miserable existence by a thousand tiny cuts. And after a while, it stops being affecting and simply becomes annoying. Ware chronicles the story of his female protagonist with such a downbeat air, punctuating it with such frequent despair that it ceases to be engaging and becomes simply routine- any impact lost in familiarisation.

The story presented is one of deeply emotive events. Some are far bigger moments than others (the book deals with an abortion at one point) but all are given a deep and lasting emotional resonance. Quiet tragedy is generated from everywhere, even some place as innocuous as a meal out or washing a car. And that’s to its credit; the skill with which Ware draws out pathos is quite remarkable. But for all this it has a tendency to ring hollow. Ultimately, it begins to read as nothing more than a list of the depressive horrors of everyday existence. Whilst reading I found myself asking why I was reading it. What was its point, what was it saying about the human condition? For something that has been so widely praised, I was quite surprised to find that I didn’t take anything away from it. It failed to make me think (other than making me mildly depressed). And that's the problem - for all its critical acclaim, the treatment this material gets is quite superficial.

For something tragic to have an impact, it needs to be tempered with optimism, or the promise of better things. It’s the truth of that old saying about needing the lows to appreciate the highs; the downside of existence is nothing without contrast. Like that friend who complains endlessly but never tries to change anything this book eventually dissolves into a litany of bad things that leaves the reader numb, rather than affected.

But it’s probably worth owning for the art alone. And that’s quite something.

Rating: B (Brainy)
Read more!

Waited for the Trade

by Dan

One week. Five trades. Yeah, I'm more than ready for my monthly comics. But in the meantime, I've read trades from Goon to Bone and Mahfood to Wood. It's been an interesting mash up of stuff from the To Read Pile.


Goon Vol. 3 – This series just gets better and better with each volume. After a slightly slow, but still entertaining start, things pick up with the second chapter. A space blob attacks Earth, and after the Goon quickly beats it silly, the alien merges with a Mexican horny toad and the fists and one-liners start flying. This is my favorite single story of The Goon (so far). Check out this trade, which also features Hellboy and a vampire succubus! If you can’t shell out the $12.95, at least get Dark Horse’s The Goon #6 for the Mexican horny toad story. A


Fight for Tomorrow – I read a lot of comics based on the writers. I'll get anything by Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, Greg Rucka (non-DC), Sean McKeever, Christos Gage and Scott Morse without knowing anything about the project. A couple of years ago, Brian Wood became one of these writers. In 2002, Wood wrote Fight for Tomorrow, a six-issue mini-series from Vertigo. I picked up the mini on the cheap from a friend (thanks, Kach!) but I prefer Wood’s stuff in trade as it is all incredibly rereadable. The story is about Cedric, who was kidnapped as a boy and trained to fight in illegal MMA-style fights. Once he breaks free of that world, only one thing can bring him back: the love of his life's disappearance. A great Brian Wood read with fantastic, moody art by Denys Cowan. The only negative is the cheap paper quality DC uses for its Vertigo trades. A-


The Further Adventures of One Page Filler Man – I’m a big Jim Mahfood fan. Granted, I didn’t “get” the Generation X Underground Special that came out 10 years ago. But when I stumbled across his various works at Oni a couple years later, I developed a great appreciation for his art and writing. One Page Filler Man is possibly his most surreal work to date. OPFM and his ice cream-loving kid sidekick have various successful hero adventures (like fighting zombie ninjas and searching for the mysterious Agent B, aka 80s pop sensation Billy Ocean) while OPFM babbles nonsense and recites the dictionary both forward and back. A strange yet entertaining read. B


Star Trek: The Key Collection Vol. 4 – I never really expected to like these early 70s Star Trek stories when I got the first trade, but the simplicity in the art and dialogue allows the plot to take center stage. And while the plots are somewhat repetitive (and Prime Directive busting) – find new planet, fix their problems – they are all enjoyable. The best story in this volume was the final chapter, due to a great Planet of the Apes-style twist. While a little expensive (around $23 a trade), Checker Book Publishing has done a good job of bringing these fun, old stories to today's Trek fans. B-


Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails – Well, it is fun reading the phrase "Big Johnson Bone" every other page, but other than that, the story was generic and predictable. The tall tales BJB told were a bit overbearing. But Jeff Smith's art is awesome and he draws the cutest baby bear ever - a combination of an actual bear cub and a teddy bear. The back up story about a pig was almost unreadable. The characters weren't likeable and the attempts at humor weren’t funny in the least. C+ Read more!

Waited for the Trade: DARK MISTS

by Chris

Dark Mists was a four issue mini series that started out at APC, but finished up at Markosia after the company transitioned. Written by Annika Eade with art by Lee Garbett and Yishan Yi, it takes place in Japan in 1936 and centers on an attempt to turn geishas into spies for the government. The purpose is to fight the growing power of the yakuza. The story is quite engaging, the artwork is beautiful, and the writing, while not spectacular, is quite good. Unfortunately, four issues just weren't enough space to do the story justice. The geishas were recruited and trained over the first three issues and then their activities began in the fourth issue. The end, therefore, seemed extremely rushed. What seems to be the climax of the story comes on the last page, so we really get no resolution or sense of closure with the characters. Maybe this was done on purpose with the intent of doing a sequel series, but if that never happens, we're left with a gaping hole in the tale. This brought my enjoyment of the series down significantly. All build up, a big payoff, but no emotional closure. Grade: C+ Read more!

Can Marvel sucessfully revive two 80s "hits" today? (Part Two)

by Dan

newuniversal: Everything Went White - Hi, my name is Dan and I'm a Warren Ellis whore. I'll read and (usually) enjoy anything Ellis does for any publisher. I get the Bad Signal e-mails and buy any trade with his name attached. All that said, even I was suspect of newuniversal, the reboot of Marvel's attempt to launch a new universe on the 20th anniversary of the Marvel U. The various series quickly folded and every issue is available in your local retailer's quarter bin. Marvel put Salvador Larroca on art, providing every possible hurdle to get over to read a book by my favorite writer.

The story starts out very Ellis-like with an introduction to various loser main characters and other lowlifes. The 'White Event,' which creates our new heroes, is interesting in and of itself, but Ellis gets a bit self indulgent with insanely boring pages about a archaeological dig and an incomprehensible explanation of the newuniersal thingamabobber.

Actually, the next five issues repeat the themes of the first and we never get more than some very generic character set-up and world building. And to be completely honest, it's not a very interesting world. That's right, I'm calling an Ellis book boring. Very boring in fact. Maybe a stronger, more interesting artist could have brought some of the big moments to life, but mostly the book fails because the writing just isn't engaging. One-hundred and fifty-two pages of minimal set-up is not, in this reviewers opinion, a good way to relaunch a universe. C-
Read more!

Can Marvel sucessfully revive two 80s "hits" today? (Part One)

by Dan

Moon Knight Vol. 2: Midnight Sun - The second volume of Marvel' s Moon Knight relaunch is just as disappointing as the first. If I'm to believe my friend Jon, Charlie Huston is a capable novelist, but that simply does not translate to the comic page. There are several impossible to follow conversations in attempts to be spooky, dark and brooding. There is an unfortunate overuse of scene jumps from panel to panel in attempts to show simultaneous action. There is an unfortunate overuse of time jumps in attempts to make the story interesting? mysterious? just plain confusing? The actual story being told is pretty basic although no character involved seems to have any real motivation to do what they're doing, other than to reset everything to (or as close to) the old status quo as possible. There's no reason that needed to take 13 issues, so far.

The original series artist was David Finch, who makes it through the first three issues of this seven issue (plus an annual!) collection. I've never been a big Finch fan. He does some great splash pages, but other than that I find his line work way too busy and his panel layout to have very poor flow. Nothing different in this collection. The same is true of Mico Suayan who is very successful at keeping the style of the book similar to Finch's. Of course, I don't think that's a good thing. Particularly in the attempts to make what should be very simple 8 or 9 panel pages of conversation into "widescreen" format. The only thing it succeeds at is making the reader dizzy. Even when Tomm Coker, whose work I really enjoy, comes in to play clean-up for issue number 13 the panel layouts and storytelling are sub-par, convincing me there's a big problem in the scripting.

Duane Swierczynski (writer of the new Cable series) and Jefte Palo team up to give us the first Moon Knight Annual. The story is smart and witty and the art was average, but I finished it in under five minutes. So, while it was a nice endcap to this collection, I can only imagine the disappointment of comic buyers who shelled out the $3.99 cover price for an annual and get a five minute read. I miss big thick, 30-minute read annuals.

I've always been a big fan of Moon Knight and the sizeable cast of secondary characters, which Huston admirably tries to utilize, but this new series has been a misfire from the first issue. D+ Read more!