11/23/12

REVIEWS

The comics reviewed are chosen by David not by That's Entertainment management 
or staff. The opinions expressed are his alone. If you have an opposing view you 
are welcome to respond to David directly by Email at the address above.


Title: ALL-NEW X-MEN
Issue Number: 1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letters: Cory Petit
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero

     This is one of the most anticipated titles in the group of Marvel Now titles 
coming out. If you have not read any of the pre-publication hype about it you 
might be surprised by the cover, which shows the original X-Men in their 
earliest incarnation. Beast looks like a human, Angel and Iceman likewise have 
not been transformed and Jean Grey is there as the original Marvel Girl. Bendis 
and the rest have found a way to bring back Jean Grey - not as a clone, a LMD, 
or in some untold tale of the past. This is the original group and they will be 
plucked from their time and brought to the present. Imagine what their first 
impressions will be of their future selves, of what has gone by that they have 
not yet experienced, of the Xavier's school now named after Jean and so much 
more. In this present, our present, Jean is dead as is Xavier, Cyclops possessed 
and corrupted the Phoenix Force killing the professor in the process and the 
dying race of mutants was given a rebirth by the dispersing of the Phoenix Force 
by the Scarlett Witch and Hope. The story begins shortly after the end of AvX: 
CONSEQUENCES. Cyclops escaped imprisonment and has joined Emma, Magik, Magneto 
and others to be the protective force of the new mutants emerging around the 
world. They are mostly hunted by the rest of the world but are dedicated to the 
survival of the mutant race. We look at the present situation from two 
perspectives. Scott and the others are making very visible "rescues" of mutants 
around the world - mutants who suddenly display powers and are immediately set 
on by regular humans or the authorities. The other perspective is from the 
mutants at the Jean Grey School - Beast, Ororo, Iceman and Kitty Pride. They 
fear for all of their kind because Cyclops and the others will be viewed as 
extremists, even terrorist thus turning all humanity against their kind. They 
are in a quandary. If they fight him they lose, if they don't fight him they 
lose. But then something Bobby says gives Hank an idea. The last few pages are 
set back in the early days when the original five X-Men are having their own 
discussion about the plight of mutants in their own time. You may have seen this 
in a preview elsewhere. It is at this point in time that the older, still 
mutating, Beast arrives with a plea to his younger self and the others. The set 
up is all here and the fun is about to begin. It make take another issue or two 
to get into the really good stuff but not to worry, the next issue is out next 
week. I have been on board for this series for two reasons. I like the premise 
and am interested to see how it plays out. I also have enjoyed the writing of 
Bendis on most everything he does so I don't think I will be disappointed. The 
entire art team does a really good job making it visually appealing as well. I 
would not recommend you buy every single MARVEL NOW comic just because they are 
new first issues. The quality in story and art has to be there for any comic. I 
think this one is definitely worth your time and money.

Title: GREAT PACIFIC
Issue Number: 1
Publisher: Image
Creators: Joe Harris & Martin Morazzo 
Writer: Joe Harris
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Letters: Doug E. Sherwood
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure
Mature Readers 

 The inside cover text of this new comic is very interesting reading. Depending 
on your point of view it is either a warning of what is to come or silly 
environmentalist extreme scare tactics. There are some statistics that if you 
take seriously are indeed alarming. The UN estimates that on tenth of unrecycled 
plastic ends up in the oceans of the world - 50,000 pieces per square mile. 
Since it takes hundreds of years for post-consumer plastic to degrade it is a 
growing problem. While most of us would see this as a problem the protagonist of 
the story, Chas Worthington sees it as an opportunity. We get the impression 
from the opening panels, apparently from later in the story, that a great mass 
of mankind's discarded junk has come together to form a land mass halfway 
between California and Japan and is about the size of Texas. Later that will 
become the setting for the story. But we start two weeks earlier as we meet Chas 
Worthington III, heir to a large oil fortune. At first on the surface he seems a 
bit stereotypical of a comic book rich young adventurer. We first see him 
hunting lions with the Maasai in Kenya. Perhaps he is seeking a simpler way of 
proving himself a man, as do the members of the tribe in their own way. These 
scenes are in contrast to his duties as heir. His aid and best friend Alex helps 
keep him up to date on the goings on of the corporation, things he should be 
involved in as the major shareowner. We see he has other interests that occupy 
his time while presenting the image of a spoiled heir and international playboy. 
That seems to fit with him what appear to be orange golf balls off an oilrig off 
the coast of California. But on that same rig his people are developing a devise 
that will transform oil into water. If it proves out it will revolutionize oil 
spill clean ups and if applied to plastics complex hydrocarbons it could solve 
the solid pollution problems of the world. But he is also a realist. He knows 
his own board of directors hate him and are more concerned with short-term 
profits. But he has a plan and the first step will be his own death. I must say 
this story grew on me right from the start and by the end I was hooked. There 
are a lot of details left open for speculation and that opening scene of the 
Great Pacific Gyre is most intriguing. What Chas is planning is only hinted at 
here and there but I instantly liked him. He is not the man most others believe 
him to be. The science fiction elements of the story are not overwhelming, just 
enough to set the basis for a good story. The art is decent enough and the 
layouts have a good mix and move the story along. I am thinking Chas will have 
enemies as he moves forward and needs to get clandestine for now. We will see if 
it pays off as the story goes forward. I am along for the ride.



Title: CHASING THE DEAD
Issue Number: 1
Publisher: IDW
Creator: Joe Schreiber
Writers: Matthew Scott & Tim Westland
Artist: Dietrich Smith
Colors: Sendol Arts
Letters: Comicraft
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Horror
Mature - Comics on the Edge


This thriller begins twenty years ago with a boy and girl barely in their teens 
at a playground. The conversation keys us in that kids their age and younger 
have been disappearing. Sue tells Phillip she is scared that the serial killer 
dubbed the Harvester will appear and they are prime targets. Phillip promises he 
will always be there to protect her - prophetic words. Their encounter with the 
Harvester will be a secret they keep for the next twenty years. In the present 
Sue carries a scar from that encounter but she has also had a successful career 
as the owner of the hottest real estate firm in Boston. She and Phillip are 
estranged for unnamed reasons. Her immediate concern involves her daughter, 
Lily. Sue came home late and the sitter informs her a man called saying they had 
an appointment. Distracted by the alarm clock going off unexpectedly Sue goes to 
her room and it shortly after she discover that Lily and the baby sitter are 
nowhere in the house. Thus begins a terror filled night as a voice on the phone 
instructs her to do as he says if she wants to see her daughter again. Thus on a 
stormy winter night she is driving back to Gray Haven with items the caller 
instructed her to bring. He is directing her to that place she and Phillip had 
the fatal encounter as children. But what is the purpose and who is behind it 
all?  So far it is a basic thriller with only a hint of something unworldly in a 
few panels at the beginning. Maybe it is a straight murder thriller or maybe it 
is something more. So far it has gradually built up the suspense and hopefully 
that will continue next time. The art is better than average with great 
coloring. I classify this as horror based on the cover illustration. That aspect 
of the story is yet to come.

Title: LOCKE & KEY: OMEGA
Issue Number: 1 (of 6)
Title Story: Our Regrets
Title Arc: Omega
Publisher: IDW
Creators: Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
Writer: Joe Hill
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors: Jay Fotos
Letters: Robbie Robbins
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Horror
Mature - Comics on the Edge

This critically acclaimed horror mystery has gripped me from the beginning and 
is now into the final six-issue arc that will wrap things up. It is possible to 
begin reading LOCKE & KEY with this mini-series and get the gist of what is 
going on but I strongly urge you to start from the beginning. This is a multi-
faceted saga that can be appreciated one arc at a time but the entire story 
needs to be taken in to be fully appreciated. Naturally there are collected 
editions that will enable you to do that if you can no longer find individual 
issues. At this point the villain of the piece, a demon by the name of Dodge, 
has possessed the body of Bode Locke, the youngest of a family living in the 
ancestral home. The house has many secrets, the major one being a doorway to 
another dimension filled with demons that are psychic parasites. They can cross 
over but need a human host to inhabit. If they do not have one they turn into an 
inert magical metal. The Locke's over generations has fashioned keys from this 
metal - each with magical properties of all types. Doge has manipulated and 
killed his way into obtaining the one key to finish his plan, the Omega Key. It 
will unlock the dimensional gateway to usher the rest of his kind into our 
world. This opening chapter of the finale is split into two themes. On the one 
hand we watch Dodge, in Bode's body, gathering the final things he needs to 
accomplish his task. Everyone else is unaware of any of this and those that 
accidentally find out are dealt with. The rest of the issue ties in with the 
story title, "Regrets." One of the core group of friends of Tyler Locke, the 
older brother, is filming a documentary of sorts to show at the big cave rave 
after the prom. It is probably not a good Idea the cave is the very one Dodge 
plans to unleash the demons into.  Our filmmaker tasks each one of his friends 
to say on camera what their biggest regret might be. What advise would they give 
themselves if they could go back to visit their younger self? He is not just 
filming these friends but others in the class. Sometimes the quips are comical 
and others, like Tyler's, are very serious. We know from reading the entire 
story The Locke family has had one tragedy after the other in their lives so it 
is no surprise that Kinsey Locke's regret is deeply tragic as well. There is 
only one brief scene that might indicate something new, another key, will be 
formed before the end. This is the set up and I expect the tension to build to 
hopefully an amazing ending. I have said from the start hope appealing the art 
of Rodriguez is to me. I know that is a subjective thing but for me his style 
really fits well into the big picture. Fans of the series will not be 
disappointed with the way this arc has been introduced. It will be difficult to 
wait for each new issue knowing the end is in sight. 

Title: FANTASTIC FOUR
Issue Number: 1
Title Story: Unstable
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Lee & Kirby
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Mark Bagley
Inker: Mark Farmer
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero

Yet another Marvel Now #1 issue is out and on my review list. I am a bit jaded 
about all these new #1 issues already, especially for those titles that are not 
significantly different from the previous numbering. The DC New 52 made sense 
because with very few exceptions the plots and character backgrounds where 
different post FLASHPOINT. FANTASTIC FOUR had a new number 1 just two years ago 
and yet here we are again with another restart of the numbering just because 
there is a new creative team taking the same characters with the same history in 
a new direction (aka new story arc.) But I digress. Things have settled down 
from the latest adventures in this tile and the companion book FF so it is time 
for another adventure. Strangely enough the catalyst for the what is to come 
begins millions of years ago where the FF are found trapped inside a dinosaur's 
mouth and Reed has sustained a rather nasty injury to his left arm. It is that 
injury once they are back in the present that forces Reed into making a 
decision. Once back the others are back to some routine activities - Sue looks 
after the kids, Johnny is off on a spectacular date, Ben is tangling with the 
Yancy Street Gang - but Reed is making a startling discovery. By the end of the 
story he proposes that the team take the kids with them through space and time 
in the modified space ship Pestilence. They can explore places together, have 
adventures together for as long as they like and because the Pestilence can 
travel through time they won't be gone long at all. But as a back up plan they 
will pick a team of heroes to stand in their place incase they don't come back 
to the exact time they left. It all sounds like a great education opportunity 
for the kids of the Future Foundation - plenty of adventure with hopefully not 
so much action. But of course he is hiding the ulterior motive.  I think it is a 
good a start as any for a new story arc. There is one panel that indicates what 
may be happening one year from now and Franklin voices a bit of foreboding bad 
things. So we are not all that comfortable that all will be a fun adventure, 
which is what you would expect anyway. The art is good enough to convey what it 
has to. This is the set up for what is to come so it is not all that exciting. 
Feel free to jump on to the book at this point and see if this is worth 
following.

Title: FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND
Issue Number: Graphic Novel (HC)
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
Creator: Bill Willingham
Writer: Bill Willingham
Artists: Craig Hamilton & Jim Fern
Inkers: Craig Hamilton, Ray Snider, Mark Farmer & Jim Fern
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Letters: Todd Klein
Cover Artist: Daniel Dos Santos
Price (USD): $22.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Fantasy
Mature - Comics on the Edge

You may have seen previews of this graphic novel in the back of several Vertigo 
titles recently. The premise at the beginning has Bigby Wolf searching for a new 
location for Fabletown. The Mayor had tasked him with this duty and after 
possibilities in Maine and Pennsylvania did not pan out he traveled further west 
to Iowa. It turns out that Blackbeard had been secretly investing in a small 
town called Story City and in fact pretty much owned the place. Since the Mayor 
wanted to know more about those financial dealings it fit well with Bigby's 
task. If you saw the preview you know that as he approached the town through the 
woods he happens into a pack of werewolves hunting a human but before he can 
intervene he is tranquilized and brought into town as a prisoner. It is after he 
awakens in a jail cell that he begins to learn the secrets of Story City. To his 
surprise one of the leaders is an old ally from World War II. Arthur Harp was an 
early recruit into the secret American spy organization OSS. Bigby had been 
wandering around behind enemy lines killing Germans whenever the opportunity 
arose. He happened on Harp who had been injured when his cover was blown. The 
two formed a team and soon Harp had the power he needed to do real damage to the 
enemy and Bigby had the intelligence data to focus his efforts more effectively. 
This whole flashback sequence is a journal of their collaboration leading up to 
a major mission to take out secret efforts to create a different kind of super 
soldier in a famous old castle. Without giving out too much detail I will say 
the Nazi plan involved a famous character of literature and while the mission 
was eventually a success Bigby was apparently the only survivor. So imagine his 
surprise to see his old friend alive and married to the female Nazi blood 
specialist both of whom were apparently buried under the rubble of the German 
castle. It seems they both were infected with Bigby's blood during the bloody 
fighting at the castle. They were turned into werewolves and soon found it was 
pointless to fight each other as neither died from any wounds. So they kept 
their presence secret and labored at creating a generation of werewolves first 
by using the special properties in their blood on selected subjects until they 
were successful with a core group. They then migrated to the US clandestinely 
and eventually settled in this isolated town where they bother no one and are 
left alone, or so says Harp. So this is how this town grew into an isolated 
population of werewolves living seemingly normal human lives. But there are 
darker secrets and faction among the younger generation who have plans of their 
own. The main plot of the story has Bigby learning more of the secrets about 
life in Story City that will eventually put him in direct conflict with nearly 
everyone there. Whether this can be a place for the new Fabletown or something 
that will become more sinister is the gist of the plot. I enjoyed this story as 
much as any of the arcs in the ongoing FABLES series. Willingham establishes the 
genesis of the American werewolf seamlessly into FABLES history and presents a 
drama based on that premise that has an interesting conflict of ideas and 
purposes. And he even manages to give a tip of the hat to an iconic figure of 
literature. It is a very satisfying story that held my interest from beginning 
to end. I was less impressed with the art, especially since the cover 
illustration is so well done. The mechanics are fine throughout the story but I 
found rendering of the faces of the characters somewhat minimal and lacking 
definition at times. Bigby does not really resemble the character I am used to 
and other characters could be more detailed than they are. It is a minor point 
though. I would recommend this book for FABLES fans for sure. For the rest of 
you it is a good sampling of Willingham's work that would make an excellent gift 
for the holidays.

                                    *****
TRIVIA CONTEST!!!!     WIN REAL PRIZES!!!!!

If you think you know the answer to the trivia question send your guess via 
Email to me at ComicBkNet@aol.com
 and you could win the prize. The first six 
correct answers will be assigned a number and a roll of the dice will determine 
the winner. You should put your real name in your message so we know who you 
are. Prizes must be claimed at our store within 30 days of winning. The prize 
will be a $10 credit slip, which will be redeemable for merchandise at regular 
retail or in-store ongoing specials only.  Only one prize per person will be 
allowed per every 4 weeks. I will be the sole judge of the correct answer even 
if more than one answer could be correct. Submit only one answer per Email 
please but guess as often as you like.

Last week's trivia question:
Who fought the Pinocchio Patrol in their debut issue?
The Pinocchio Patrol were the first foes of Peter David's SOULSEARCHERS & 
COMPANY. The winner by the dice is David Lizewski.

THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:
From Comico to Innovation to Caliber, name this comic book detective series.

Folks, you never know who among the readers is knowledgeable about the question 
so don't hesitate to send in an answer - even days after it appears.