Comic Book Review - Green Arrow

Happy Free Comic Book Day! Hope everyone has enjoyed reading comics on this great, lazy Saturday. 

If you can't figure out who today's comic book review is on, I suggest reading some DC comics. You should be able to find him quickly. It's also rated T for Teen if anyone cares.

Anyways, this comic book review is on the April 2016 Green Arrow comic titled, "Primal Instincts"

BACKSTORY:

I will keep it brief: He's got Werewolf AIDS after being bitten by biker gang leader, Dolph "Big Bad Wolf" Marrock. The people infected are called Warg's, which is ironically the just another term for wolf. Green Arrow was bitten by Marrock has contracted a Lukos infection that causes him to act out with wolf-like primal instincts, hence the name. If you want more details, check out this article by Dan Avery on NewNowNext.

STORY:

The Patriots, a rebellious, KKK looking group (not the football team), had just been cleared by the courts of any wrongdoing at a recent Midnight Parade attack that targeted Wargs. Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) is frustrated with the decision, knowing they let a dangerous group walk free.

Storyteller: Benjamin Percy, Art: Szymon Kudranski, Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb, Letterer: Rob Leigh, Cover: Szymon Kudranski; Variant Cover: Neal Adams, Jim Lee, and Alex Sinclair; Group Editor: Brian Cunningham; Editor: Harvey Richards

The story jumps to a restaurant where Oliver is conducting a business deal for researches on developing carbon nanotubes. Oliver lets his business partner do most of the talking, distracted by a Korean gangster known as Kraken.

Kraken leaves for the bathroom and Oliver follows him just as he is starting to lose control of himself. Queen attacks Kraken, tackling him out a window onto the dining room floor. Kraken shoots back at him and runs to the back alley to escape, his limo patiently and predictably waiting for him.

Before Oliver can chase after him, he is suddenly shot with tranq arrow...by Emiko. Emiko, his sister, takes him back to their base of operations and injects him with Lukonex to settle the symptoms.

Meanwhile, at the New Christian Church and Outreach Center, the Patriots begin to plot on how to get Dolph Marrock out of solitary confinement and allow him to cause havoc in the city.

Oliver, having a renewed sense of determination, readies for war with Dolph upon hearing word he just escaped from prison.

IMPRESSIONS:

I thought the story was okay. It wasn't my favorite and sort of misleading. the cover alone (a sweet Neal Adams variant cover) had me thinking it was going to be a Green Arrow vs Green Lantern fight. There is no Green Lantern in this story at all.

The overall story also seems to be a rather safe interpretation of the KKK and white supremacist groups vs a liberal (or even LGBT) society. The Dan Avery article above brings some interesting insight into that and although I don't fully agree with the every point, I do feel the story was chunky. Not bad, but it could have done more build in the beginning of the story to impact the ending better. That being said, I probably should have read the first one in the series.

The art by Szymon Kudranski in combination with Gabe Eltaeb color work and Rob Leigh's lettering really made the story visually interesting. Especially with the montage escape scene of Dolph. I think the story does more good than bad overall.

I'll give the comic one scared Green Arrow. Even though he is on a war path, part of me feels he would be somewhat scared.

Again, sorry for the late review. I just passed my drone test this week so I have been behind on basically everything. Will try not to do that again and maybe next week I will do a small article on drones. They are pretty cool! -J.J.

Comic Book Review - Klaus

Created and written by Grant Morrison, Illustrated by Dan Mora, Letters by Ed Dirkshire, Designer: Scott Newman, Editors: Eric Harburn & Matt Gagnon

For those of curious minds, this comic book review is on the second issue of Klaus (not the 1st). I get comic books at random from my comic book store. I could ask for comic books in order, but I prefer the adventure of finding random ones. 

Anyways, in this review I will not be covering the events in the first issue of the 7 part series, so I recommend reading the first one if you like reading in order. 

STORY:

The story takes place in a walled-off city, controlled by a profit-seeking king named Lord Magnus. After cancelling Yuletime, Klaus (known by the people as the Yuletime Spirit) infiltrates the castle to bring toys to the kids of the city. Klaus goes non-lethal Assassin's Creed on the guards at night, raising alarms across the city. In the morning, all the kids of the city are greeted with toys and play in the streets with the reanimated toys. Toy birds flew through the air, windup frogs hopped around the snowy streets, singing echoed through the square. Pretty magical. 

Then, the evil Lord Magnus confiscated all the toys and gave them to his son, Jonas, who was confined to his castle due to illness. Lord Magnus orders his troops to find the "Yuletime Spirit" and kill him. Before night falls, Jonas is angry with the toys as they did not come to life for him. Simple, lifeless toys made of painted woods.

At night, Klaus attempts his escape beating up a few guards and turning the gigantic warrior of the town, Olav, into a snowman. Klaus quickly tries to escape at the gate, but finds it locked. He turns around to be faced with a pack dogs, followed closely by guards. The story leaves on the cliff hanger line: "And a Merry Yuletime to you, too..."

IMPRESSIONS: 

I really enjoyed the story. Based on the cover, I was expecting a gritty Game of Thrones meets Logan Christmas tale. It had touches of Game of Thrones (being thrown into a medieval world and all), but the artwork was both dark and colorful. Night scenes felt like it was darker, grittier world. In the morning, especially with the toys, the colors were brighter and filled with hope. The artwork matched the theme and progression of the story beats. For me, the artwork made the story much more engaging than other comics I have read.

The writing was slick and wasn't overly reliant on older styles of language like some fantasy/sword & shield type stories can be. It was an interesting way to write it, more similar to screenplay. All members involved really did a fantastic job. Dan Mora & Scott Newman had awesome artwork and design for the piece. Ed Dirkshire had a subtle touch to the letters that I think goes unnoticed too often. It helped drive the story while not being in the way. And of course, the story was well-written and crafted in a way that makes you want to read more.

OVERALL:

Its a great story that wasn't that violent. I mean nobody died...except maybe the people thrown off the wall. They might have died, but if they rolled after they hit the ground they could life...with a limp. I would recommend this story for those who are looking for a short, simple series for the holiday season. It might be better to get started tracking it down now before the holidays and cold winter roll around again in a five to six months. Or maybe you want to cool off in the summer...its up to you. I'll give Klaus 4.5 snowballs!

Comic Book Review - The New Incredible Hulk - 1990

I can't believe new and 1990 are in the same universe anymore #anotheryearolder

Created by: Stan Lee, Written by: Peter David, Designed by: Dale Keown, Bob McLeod, Joe Rosen, Glynis Oliver, Edits by: Bobbie Chase, and finally the Psychotherapist: Tom DeFalco

As a warning: SPOILERS AHEAD! 

Story:

The story begins with Bruce Banner stuck inside his own mind with both versions of the Hulk (Grey Hulk and Green Hulk) and Doc Samson. Attempting to help Bruce with his mental issues, Doc helps Bruce challenge his past and face his fears and emotions. Each time Bruce attempts to confront his emotional childhood involving the death of his mother, Rebecca Banner, Bruce and the Hulk's are attacked by an Xenomorph-looking creature (a visual representation of his Dad). 

Seeking additional help, fearing Bruce has withdrawn deeper into his multiple personality disorder (MPD), Doc Samson asks the help of Ring-Master, a.k.a. "Maynard Tiboldt," to hypnotize him further.

Bruce finally overcomes his emotions and fear of becoming like his father when visiting his mother's graveyard. Bruce reveals the monster to be his father and watches him crumble to pieces. His mother appears and talks the Green and Gray Hulk to combine with Bruce. Bruce makes his final transformation into an idealized form of Bruce Banner/Hulk, later known as, "The Professor."

Impression: 

I thought it was an interesting story about the psychological baggage Bruce carried and it was fun to visually see/read the process (probably helped that they had a psychotherapist on hand). I enjoyed the story and how easy the arc was to follow, yet not feel watered down. It might seem like a simple story, but there was quite a bit of complexity and events in the story that had to be covered in a short span. I loved how it ended with the Hulk, his almost devious smile plastered on his face, saying to Betty, "Honey...I'm Home." It left me wanting to read the next issue, but I have no idea how to find it (I grabbed this one from a 50 cent bin at my local comic book store).

Overall: I'll give it a solid three out of four HULK-SMASHES!

Let me know your thoughts on this review and if there are any comic books you would like me to review next. You can expect one comic book review a month starting today. I almost have a schedule down, so once I do, I will announce it. Remember, if there is anything you want me to blog about (or if you want to contribute), leave a comment or email me at the contact page. 

-J.J.

Comic Book Review - Fantastic Four

Two months ago, I picked up a bunch of random comic books and I thought it would be fun to give my thoughts/recommendation on a few of them. This week, I will be giving my thoughts on Marvel’s Fantastic Four.

Marvel’s Fantastic Four - Volume Two Issue One - November 1996 - Created by Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, and Scott Williams.

The one that I found was an origin story of the Fantastic Four. I was actually quite unfamiliar with Fantastic Four’s origin story and this was the first Fantastic Four comic book I had ever read. This comic book (Volume Two, Issue One) is from November of 1996 and it was a little exciting to read a comic during the decade I had spent a portion of my childhood in.

Spoiler Warning: If you don’t know the origin of the Fantastic Four, you may want to skip ahead as I spoil the whole issue….then again, you had like over 20 years to get to this particular issue so if you haven’t read it yet, will you really read it now? Anyway, onwards and upwards!

STORY:

The story starts with Ben Grimm piloting the Excelsior prototype in a training simulator for Dr. Reed Richards. The training simulator is collecting data that was going to be used to test the Excelsior Spaceship’s new Quantum Drive. The Excelsior Project is intended on advancing human space exploration and making contact with alien life. Meanwhile, Susan Storm is heading out to meet with Reed and Ben to watch the Excelsior launch and provide PR tie-in for their casino. Before Susan leaves, she is confronted by Special Agent Wyatt Wingfoot of S.H.I.E.L.D. Wyatt Wingfoot, by orders of the President of the United States, takes over the Excelsior Project in light of news from NASA that an unusual energy fluctuation with the Stellar Anomaly.

Jumping back to the Excelsior Project location, Ben is making his way to the Central City airport to pick up Susan when he runs into Johnny and his girlfriend driving a black Lamborghini Diablo (which really puts a stamp on the date). After some witty banter, they engage in a game of chicken that ends in Johnny’s girlfriend rightly turning the wheel to avoid certain death. Ben continues onward and picks up Susan, along with Special Agent Wingfoot and his team.

At the launch site, Dr. Herbert informs Reed that he has been taken off the project by Washington. When Dr. Richards pushes to learn more, Ben, Susan, and Special Agent Wingfoot arrive and Wingfoot takes over command. After some argument and resistance, Reed and Ben are locked up. Then, Wingfoot instructs Susan and Johnny to input the final launch codes though the use of a bio-metric scanner. They both comply, but Susan and Johnny refuse to help and further. Susan and Johnny are swiftly subdued and escorted to their holding cell.

From the prison, Ben and Reed watch Wingfoot’s team fuel the Excelsior and arm it with nuclear weapons. Johnny and Susan, while being escorted to their cells, cause a diversion and disarm their guards. They make their way to Ben and Reed’s cells, break them loose. Just as the group escaped, Wingfoot launches Excelsior heading straight for the Stellar Anomaly. The group quickly found spacesuits and chase after Excelsior in the Prototype spaceship. They successfully escape make it into space. Before they could get to the Excelsior, Wingfoot fired the missiles containing the nukes. The Stellar Anomaly starts to expand and radiation levels rise, causing the group to abandon ship through the escape pods.

The escape pods land on an island in the Caribbean island and Johnny Storm lands while on fire. In fear, he dived into the water trying to put himself out. When he resurfaces, he finds a long string of flesh that he pulls onto the land. What comes out is Reed, a real-life Stretch Armstrong. Reed concludes that their exposure to cosmic radiation had changed their bio-molecular structure giving them superhuman powers.

On another part of the island, Ben starts to slowly morph into a rock creature “Thing.” Susan, separated from everyone, finds the Quantum Drive and starts to look for the others to help her fix the core’s reactor before it explodes. As Susan travels deeper into the island, she finds Ben completely changed into the rock creature. The two are immediately attacked by an unknown source before moving back to Johnny and Reed, who had just fallen into a tunnel and were surrounded by weird alien ape like creatures. The creatures take Johnny and Reed to their leader.

Once they make it to their domain, Reed and Johnny watch as Ben and Susan, both chained to an odd altar, face down what I could only describe as a boney, Alien/T-Rex love child. The monster lunches toward Susan, but before it ate her, she turned invisible. From Ben’s perspective, the monster had just dinned on Susan and that made Ben more than a little angry. Ben broke from his chains and clobbered the monster to death. Johnny and Reed quickly joined the fight and cleared out the remaining alien ape creatures.

Then, the classic villain reveal. A green, staff wielding menace self-proclaimed as Moleman approached the group, ready to fight and ultimately destroy mankind. That is where it ended. 

IMPRESSION:

I am going to start off by saying that Fantastic Four had not really interested me from a comic book standpoint and the latest movie did not exactly increase my desire to seek it out. Regardless, I gave it a shot and I was impressed with the comic overall. The characters had great chemistry and the dialogue was light and witty at times. It definitely shows some age, but it is not off putting.

My favorite part of the comic was the art direction. In the newer comics, the artwork and design is cool and sleek, but I liked seeing this “older” style that felt more like a comic book and less like an graphic novel.

I give this comic a solid 4/5. I would definitely recommend it to people who have an interest in the Fantastic Four, but are just starting out. Some may so go for the older ones, but I thought this one was pretty good.

Now you know what I think, but I would like to know what everyone else thinks. Which Fantastic Four comic would you recommend to a friend or fan of comic books? Leave a response in the comments below. Also, let me know what comic books (or movies) that you would like me to read/watch next.

Oh, before I forget, the giveaway. This September's newsletter will detail when the giveaway it is starting and what it will be. So, signup for the newsletter if you want the inside scoop!