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: MARS ATTACKS POPEYEIssue Number: One-Shot
Title Story: Panic From the Sky
Publisher: IDW
Writer: Martin Powell
Artist: Terry Beatty
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Comedy/Science Fiction
Sometimes I pick up a comic just because I can't resist the title so when I saw
MARS ATTACKS POPEYE I just had to read it. And you know what? It wasn't bad. It
basically is a "what if the Martian invasion happened in the Popeye universe."
This skips the whole pretending to come in peace part. The twist is that as the
Martians leave their ships the first person they meet is the Sea Hag. Using her
powers she gains control of their minds and that will play into the story. By
the time Popeye returns from a trip with Olive's brother, Castor Oyl, the town
has already been attacked and destroyed. Fortunately Olive, Wimpy and the gang
found safety in the storm cellar. Realizing they have to do something the whole
gang pitches in to formulate a counterattack plan. What I like about this story
is that all the main characters, except Bluto are involved. Eugene the Jeep
becomes their clandestine operative. Professor Wotasnozzle works his genius on
the Martian ray guns. Alice the Goon brings a Goon army to help the cause and
even Pappy reluctantly joins in by the end. Of course the Sea Hag and the
Martians have some forces of their own to bring into play - but then Popeye has
spinach! It's all a fun romp, though there are some minor annoyances. There are
several scene shifts that are very abrupt. The other problem I have with the
characterization is Popeye himself or rather his dialogue. Powell tries too hard
to have the written words "sound" like the cartoon character but in my opinion
he overdoes it. Aside from that I found it to be a fun story. The Martians may
have gotten top billing but Popeye is the star of this comic.
Title: MARVEL'S IRON MAN 3 PRELUDEIssue Number: 1 (of 2)
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Christos Gage with Will Corona Pilgrim
Artist: Steve Kurth
Inker: Drew Geraci
Colors: Sotocolor
Letters: Joe Sabino
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero - Movie Prelude
Yes, IRON MAN 3 is coming just in time for Free Comic Book Day this May. This
comic is called a prelude so it is set in the movie universe. Assume everything
that happened in the first two movies preceded this story. While Pepper is
overseeing the construction of Stark Tower in New York Tony is in Malibu with
James Rhodes rebuilding the War Machine armor. The plan is while Tony is busy
elsewhere Rhodey will use the armor to track down an international operation
selling military grade weapons. It seems the organization involved is the Ten
Rings, the same group that held Tony when he invented the armor the first time.
As he gets closer and closer to the truth things heat up with each encounter. As
this first half closes War Machine is in Hong Kong where the Ring has upped the
ante by taking hostages in what appears to be a suicide mission to spread a
killer virus. All these events happen over months and Iron Man barely appears in
the issue at all. I mentioned the building of Stark Tower, which Tony is helping
with as Rhodes begins his mission and by the time War Machine engages the enemy
in Hong Kong Iron Man has his hands full with the invasion of New York as seen
in THE AVENGERS movie. So not only is what Rhodey is up to a prelude to the next
Iron Man movie but they are tying in continuity with THE AVENGERS. While there
is not much plot there is lots of action. Don't look for this to be a major
story. Think of it as more of bits of information that is good to know before
the next movie. At least that is the way it seems so far. The second half may
have more to it.
Title: PUNISHER: NIGHTMAREIssue Number: 1 (of 5)
Title Story: Enemy Close
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Scott M. Gimple
Artist: Mark Texeira
Colors: Frank D'Armata
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Anti-Hero
Parental Advisory - Violence
This limited series explores the origin of the Punisher while telling a parallel
story of a young vet who lost his family under similar circumstances in the
present. As it opens Frank Castle is narrating his latest take down of a street
thug who recently killed members of a rival gang. He recalls a promise he made
to his daughter. He warned of the dangers in the city, even referred to the
boogeyman being out at night but that he would always protect her from it. Of
course in reality on one fatal day he could not protect her and now he has
become the boogeyman, a monster. The parallel story is about Jake Niman who was
with his wife and daughter in Central Park one day when they got caught in the
crossfire of a gangland shooting. Only Jake survived with six gunshot wounds and
severe burns. Frank finds the story buried in the paper and decides to look
deeper into Jake's history. What kind of man was he? What kind of soldier? He
manages to find Jake's account of his military service and that plot is
unraveled in detail with a proper shift in art and coloring to distinguish it
from the main story. Jakes journal talks about the duality of being a soldier.
He refers to his military persona as Johnny telling things about what he does
and his attitudes as a weapon of the army. He repeats the phrase "Johnny kills
so good" several times. The other half he calls J. That part of him helps the
victims of the war, paints schools, helps remote villagers register to vote and
the like. J is the decorated veteran, the good guy. Johnny is the killer. In the
main plot Frank has taken up Jake's case and proceeds in his usual fashion of
intimidation to track down those responsible for the shooting that left Jake
alone and hospitalized. He vows to track down and kill those killers. But Jake's
journal has had an effect on Frank. In the end Jake may have his own opinion
about Frank's intentions. This is a well thought out plot that has the two
stories woven together seamlessly. There is plenty of action as is normal for
the Punisher. The art is exceptional bringing it all together nicely. The
unasked question is what will happen to Jake? Will he survive his wounds? If so
will he become like Frank Castle, and avenging vigilante? There is a lot of
story left to go and it will no doubt explore that possibility.
Title: MORBIUS: THE LIVING VAMPIREIssue Number: 1
Title Story: Midnight Son
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Joe Keatinge
Artist: Richard Elson
Colors: Antonio Fabela
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Gabriele Dell'Otto
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Horror
This new series really had its launch in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 699.1 in which
Morbius escaped from the Raft as Otto Octavius was being broken out by the
villains he hired. That story could very well have been the first issue or the
zero issue of this series but probably wouldn't have gotten as many readers as
read ASM. This issue begins five days after that breakout showing a wounded
Morbius being chased by a street gang. This sequence not only sets up the
shocking ending of the first issue but also allows new readers to find out more
about the main character through his narration while on the run and fighting the
others. He defines himself as being vampire-sh. He is stronger than most men,
heals from most wounds, can glide not really fly through the air briefly and has
the typical bloodlust. Unlike vampires of myth, or perhaps actual vampires, he
cannot change into a bat, he is not undead and is not affected by crosses or
garlic but can indeed be killed by a stake in the heart or other catastrophic
injuries. To sum it all up he is not a vampire, he is not a hero, he is not a
villain. He has been striving to cure himself of this curse but is now homeless
on the streets of a small suburban area and has run afoul of the street gang
that controls the turf. Half of the book takes up the narrative with a brief
recap of his early days. The other half gets into how while hiding in Brownville
he tried to get involved with a single mom trying to keep her son from getting
involved with the gang only to have the leader St. Germain warn him off. The
story is told to get us sympathetic with Morbius. He does not want to kill for
blood but eventually he will because his disease demands it. He tries to stay
apart from others but his ethic will not always let him turn a blind eye. That
aspect of his being may make the Living Vampire a dead vampire. I like the art
in every aspect. There are varied panel layouts and the coloring and lettering
emphasize key points and sequences perfectly. With the launch in ASM this series
will probably get a better start in readership than it otherwise would have.
Whether that is sustainable remains to be seen.
Title: TO HELL YOU RIDEIssue Number: 1 (of 5)
Title Story: White Man's Guilt
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writers: Lance Henriksen & Joseph Maddrey
Artist: Tom Mandrake
Colors: Chris Peter with Matt Lopes
Letters: Nate Piekos
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Supernatural
This story is set in the Colorado Mountains and involves Native Americans
traditions and folklore. It tells of one particular era and the consequences of
the arrival of white settlers affect on the natives and their culture. The
events in the late 1800's are then brought forward to the present to become a
major factor in the life of one Native American descendant in particular. The
set up begins in 1881 as miners searching for gold desecrate a sacred burial
ground. Because the dead have been disturbed the tribe know a sacrifice has to
be made to appease the dead. But they deem the greedy settlers unworthy to fight
brave warriors in battle. Instead they conduct a ritual of atonement. It
involves four warriors each with a colored arrow. One by one they shoot off an
arrow toward the mining camp and then race down to be struck by their own arrow
in sacrifice to the spirits. But after the second warrior succeeds in this
ritual suicide the miners are ready and shoot the last two before they can
receive their arrows. According to the legend the black arrow and the red arrow
never fell to earth. The dead warriors gave up their spirits and became
Watchers. When the living come in contact with a Watcher their flesh rots away
from their bones. Thus a curse is upon this land and in their own time the other
two arrows will reach ground and the Watchers will return. That is background
for the story to be told in the present day. Seven George is perhaps typical of
the descendants of those days. They have been relegated to menial roles; earning
a living the best they can by farming or doing work for white men. Seven George
is referred to by the whites as Two-Dogs, a name he hates. He smokes and drinks
too much like many of his kind with no hope for a great future. Lately he has
been cutting down trees at an abandoned ski resort to cut them up for firewood
to sell. It is one such night he witnesses the destruction of one tree by the
black arrow. This along with other strange occurrences involving birds convince
him that the legend is true and it makes him fear what will come. The set up is
an interesting story and Mandrake's art is superb in the telling. While we are
not yet all that sympathetic with Seven's lot in life we may get there. This is
more about the things to come with a little bit of why it must be. At the same
time we learn about how Seven and his ancestors have been put down, and in one
case made the scapegoat for white man's sins. You get the feeling there will
eventually be a reckoning for the decades of injustice. That is the essence and
it is off to a good start.
Title: NEW AVENGERSIssue Number: 1
Title Story: Memento Mori
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Steve Epting
Inker: Rick Maygar with Steve Epting
Colors: Frank D'Armata
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Jock
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero
The restart of NEW AVENGERS under the MARVEL NOW banner involves the Marvel
Illuminati. Years ago several key people got together to form an organization
that could deal with earth-changing moments in secret, even from their loved
ones. They were Professor Charles Xavier, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Prince
Namor, Doctor Strange and Tony Stark. T'Challa, the Black Panther, rejected the
idea and urged the others to abandon the idea. The story in the present reveals
whom T'Challa will turn to when such an earth-changing event occurs. The events
leading up to this meeting of the minds began the day before in Wakanda. It
involves traditional games - task set out before the youth of Wakanda to see
whom among them are the best of the generation. They will be the Makers of the
future. In this latest contest Kimo, T'Dori and N'Kono have found the object of
their search and properly activated it. T'Challa is there to congratulate them
on their success and reveals that it is only the beginning for they will be
reaching for the stars. Whether they activated it or it happened by coincidence
a dimensional gate opens. On the other side they meet a woman and man dressed as
if they are super beings attended to by several men in military garb. More
startling is the planet filling the sky. When the female reveals why they are
there everything goes from bad to worse. There is a lot of mystery about this
other place and these people. They speak of their own purposes as if T'Challa
and the others mean nothing to their task. Could this be a foreboding of what is
planned for Earth? As things unfold T'Challa prays to the goddess for guidance
in what he knows he must do. This first issue is merely the opening scene in
what will be a much larger play. As with his run on FANTASTIC FOUR Hickman is
laying the groundwork for an intricate story involving some of the most powerful
people in the Marvel Universe. Epting and Maygar are terrific artists making the
team on this book a perfect match for an epic tale. This reboot is a worthy
successor to the previous run by Brian Bendis. Anyone who stopped reading the
title when he left should give it a chance.
*****
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:
Writer/artist Jerry Ordway's first name is a diminutive of...?
The long version of Jerry is Jeremiah. The winner by the dice is Keith Martin.
THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:
What did Xombi, and Bloodshot have in common?
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.
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