Comic Book Review: The Black Hood #2

The Black Hood wreaks vengeance on the streets of Philadelphia while Officer Hettinger continues down a dark drug-fueled path. Is it good?

Duane Swierczynski and Michael Gaydos open the book with an intense action sequence as The Black Hood breaks up a street mugging in an extremely violent manner. The sequence is different than most opening action sequences due to The Black Hood’s self awareness. He realizes he is drugged out of his mind and running around wearing a creepy mask. This doesn’t deter or hinder him at all. It actually empowers him, allowing him to wreak more extreme violence than he otherwise would have without the mask. It is quite something to behold and Swierczynski and Gaydos think so too. There is a panel with the muggers’ victim capturing his image. The victim’s reaction was the same as mine: “Holy Crap!” The Black Hood has a similar reaction when he stares at the aftermath of his violence and bears witness in utter shock.

The extreme violence committed by The Black Hood becomes a running theme throughout the comic. It also showcases Hettinger’s fall into addiction. His violence begins escalating even while in uniform.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of The Black Hood #2.

Comic Book Review: Judge Dredd Classics: The Dark Judges #3

Judge Anderson is haunted by visions of Judge Death as she helps put a stop to a kidnapping. Is it good?

Alan Grant, John Wagner, and Brett Ewins start the story with a harrowing vision. Brett Ewins really grabs your attention with his depiction of Judge Death reaching out of the darkness to put his long yellow fingers around Anderson. It is extremely clear who the villain of the issue is going to be and that he has been a threat in the past.

However, Wagner and Grant decide to leave the main plot line and switch to a typical day in the life of Judge Anderson. She is tasked with bringing to justice a group of men who have kidnapped a baby. Wagner and Grant rely on exposition to detail what is happening to the Judges, who they are, and other events and happenings that are occurring. It can definitely help out new readers to the Judge Dredd world, but can be old hat for veteran readers of the series or even those who have read the last two issues.

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Comic Book Review: 13 Coins #6

A final battle between The Fallen and The Son ensues as they fight over the soul of John Pozner. Will The Son be able to resist the temptation of killing John in order for him to help them in their war? Is it good?

I skipped 13 Coins #5, but it doesn’t feel like I have missed anything. Parts of The Son are still clamoring to kill John Pozner so The Fallen will have no chance to release Semyaza. Meanwhile, The Fallen continue to pursue the path to power by taking control of the U.S. government through a puppet all the while hunting down Pozner and The Son.

As far as the characters, Pozner seems to be coming into his own. He is no longer distraught about the death of his girlfriend, neither is he motivated by hate. He seems to actually be fighting to stop The Fallen and feels a kinship towards a few of The Son. Most of the other characters remain static. Samuel is a hothead who continues to fly by the seat of his pants and gives somewhat decent commands.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of 13 Coins #6.

Comic Book Review: Altered States: The Shadow #1

The Shadow is transported across time where he will face an all-new evil that does not lurk in the hearts of men. Is it good?

Altered States: The Shadow #1 offers an interesting premise. It delves into The Shadow’s ability to meditate which allows him to refocus his energy by mentally preparing him for his next battle while also recuperating after his most recent encounter. Through his meditation he is transported to a mysterious arena where the action kicks off. He has little time to plan, only to react, as he faces a formidable alien foe. It is a quick start which draws you into the action and piques your curiosity to find out more about this new location. The quick pace continues throughout the comic and even speeds up at some points. The Shadow faces increasingly more formidable foes and has no time to even question the entity testing him.

David Avallone’s plot is highly intriguing in the beginning and keeps your attention until about three quarters of the way through.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of Altered States: The Shadow #1.

Comic Book Review: The Valiant #4

Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, and Paolo Rivera’s The Valiant series comes to a close with many of the featured characters taking different paths. Is it good?

The opening sequence gets your emotions boiling a little bit. Lemire and Kindt decide to push the story into the future. My initial reaction was “What?!? They are just going to skip the climax they have been building to? I’ve been robbed.” Fortunately, I kept reading and this emotion subsided a tad when they returned to the present. However, displaying the future, even the distant future, takes a little steam out of the journey to get there. Foreshadowing can be bad and in this case it lessens the shock factor of a later scene.

Lemire and Kindt continue to create one of the most frightening and evil villains I have read. He combines the power of nature inherent in Doomsday with the ability to prey off his enemies’ fears like Scarecrow. He is the power of nature and fear incarnate. Not only do they continue to build up the pure evil of the Immortal Enemy, but intertwined within the almost non-stop action are large character-building moments for Kay, the Eternal Warrior, and Bloodshot. Kay fully comes into her own and you feel yourself cheering her on as she unleashes the power of the Geomancer to battle Mr. Flay.

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Comic Book Review: C.O.W.L. #9

Conspiracy abounds and one of the C.O.W.L. has had enough of sitting on the sidelines. Is it good?

The second arc has finally hit its stride and gotten back to what made the first arc so enticing: strong characterization and good ole political intrigue.

The first sequence dives straight into the political intrigue, and also reveals another potential player. It peels back the onion on the happenings in Chicago to tie it to a potentially much larger narrative taking place within the United States. It is a nice reminder that the happenings in Chicago are not self-contained and choices have ramifications.

After this return to political maneuvering, Higgins and Siegel decide to refocus on the John Pierce story, which just so happens to have its own political machinations that has been left untold. They reveal some pretty big implications, but are still keeping most of this close to the chest only giving us information in bits and pieces that are nowhere near close to a whole.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of C.O.W.L. #9.

Advanced Comic Book Review: Rebels #1

A young New Hampshire boy comes of age during the Revolutionary War. Is it good?

This is the premise of Rebels #1 written by Brian Wood with artwork by Andrea Mutti. The story follows a young man by the name of Seth Abbott as he is taught the ways of a woodsman and hunter by his father and later details one of his first major encounters with British Redcoats that sets him on a path with a famous Virginian general.

The beginning of the story has a pretty good hook detailing a hard-working childhood with a stoic and reserved father figure that quickly transitions into a teaching sequence filled with suspense. However, the story quickly becomes filled with exposition once it transitions to an older albeit still young Seth Abbott. There are entire pages detailing everything from character and geographical descriptions to historical context and information about the setting and a lot of it is pure overkill. Wood doesn’t need to tell us Ezekiel Learned is like a brother to Seth. him; he should allow the artist, or at least the story he is telling us, show it. Let’s see them act like brothers with each other in both their actions and their words. This is just one example that happens repeatedly throughout the book.

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Comic Book Review: Shaper #1

A young man discovers a long-hidden secret about himself and his family that puts him on a path he never would have imagined. Shaper #1 puts a spin on the much beloved Animorphs. Is it good?

Eric Heisserer opens with a very creative hook. He introduces the story through the lens of a trading card game. He combines exposition and dialogue perfectly and allows Felipe Massafera to really show us the action and not let it be bogged down by too much exposition. The hook draws you in, introduces you to the major conflict, provides an intense action sequence, and is able to provide characterization in a very short time.

After the opening hook and its torrid pace, Heisserer slows it down and spends the middle third of the book focusing on introducing and building up the main character, a young man named Spry who is just finishing up his schooling. Spry is intriguing and has had a somewhat rough life so far, absent his father. He is a troublemaker, albeit an intelligent one. Although, that streak may have run its course because we only see him dutifully working as a janitor and stock boy, but, hopefully, we will get to see his inner troublemaker come out in later issues.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of Shaper #1.

Comic Book Review: Resurrectionists #5

The Resurrectionists are slowly coming together, but Lennox has set a trap to thwart their newfound resistance. Will they succeed? Is it good?

Fred Van Lente decides to take a step back from Jericho, Mac, and the Scout and focuses the majority of this fifth installment on Maya and Jericho’s ex-wife, Adele. It is refreshing and details a different perspective on the role of the Resurrectionists we have not seen yet.

Outside of the focus on Maya and Adele’s relationship and character building, Van Lente returns to the foundation of the story where the Resurrectionists are focused on performing a heist 3,000 years in the making. But before they can undertake this heist, they must first unite themselves by performing a caper that would have Danny Ocean beaming with pride.

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Comic Book Review: Altered States: Red Sonja #1

Red Sonja’s conscious is transferred to modern day New York, silently present in an unsuspecting museum curator until it is awakened to continue to wage war against the evil mage, Kulan Gath. Is it good?

Writer Brandon Jerwa builds up the legend and legacy of Red Sonja in just one page using a variety of differing rumors of her death to display her popularity in Hyboria. He is aided by Juanan Ramirez depicting her prowess in battle, devotion to the goddess, Scáthach, and virtue and persistence in fighting the forces of evil. However, there are some interesting depictions on the first page including a random skeleton wreathed in flames which appears in the second panel out of nowhere! Either that or Red Sonja’s sword has gained magical powers enabling it to instantly combust enemies on contact. There are a bunch of other issues with the art from Sonja’s hair covering her face as she hangs suspended in the air (Who knew she had gravity defying hair?) to a sword skewering a monster through the stomach while both of Sonja’s hands are above the creature’s back. (That sword must really have some magical properties!)

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of Altered States: Red Sonja #1

Interview: 'Resurrectionists' Creator Fred Van Lente

Fred Van Lente has been working with Maurizio Rosenzweig to produce Resurrectionists, a story about a select group of individuals who not only are able to remember their past lives, but are able to activate them as they attempt to pull off a heist 3,000 years in the making.

We had a chat with Fred Van Lente, a.k.a “The Time Dampener” (Yea, we just made this up, but hope it sticks!), on his recent work with Dark Horse Comics’ Resurrectionists and a little bit about what he does in his free time when he isn’t churning out quality stories. To sweeten the deal, Fred and Dark Horse gave us a first look at some of the artwork in the upcoming issue of Resurrectionists and an exclusive of Juan Doe’s alternative cover featuring the big bad himself, Lennox. So, let’s get to it.

AiPT!: Hey Fred! Thanks for taking the time. I have really enjoyed Resurrectionists! 

Fred Van Lente: Thanks so much!  

AiPT!: How did you first get started in comics?

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Affiliate link: Click here to pre-order the collected edition of Resurrectionists.

Comic Book Review: Papercuts and Inkstains #1

Papercuts and Inkstains #1 is a collection of three shorts with very different subject matters: the confession of a zombie, the cult gathering of the followers of Bulgeroth, and the cleaning of a cross-time gladiatorial ring. Is it good?

The first short titled “By ‘Eck on Earth,” written by Robin Jones and drawn by Kevin Pospisil, examines the origin of Howard the Zombie and what life was like before he became a zombie. Jones begins the story with a great joke and never lets his foot off the gas. He weaves zombie humor into a number of panels and when there isn’t any humor there is plenty of tension between the characters.

Pospisil’s artwork is impressive; he uses lots of shadowing in his action sequences to focus your vision. He even uses a heavier ink to denote the difference between zombie and non-zombie. He is able to effectively capture the instinctual emotions of fear, anger, and rage.

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Comic Book Review: Project Superpowers: Blackcross #1

There are strange and sinister things afloat in the small, sleepy town of Blackcross. Is it good?

Here at AiPT we have done a couple of team reviews of notable horror books, namely Nameless and Wytches. However, Nameless didn’t really have any horror to mention and the horror in Wytches came from some gruesome drawings by Jock. I never felt a sense of unease or an itch to constantly look over my shoulder. In Project Superpowers: Blackcross #1 I am absolutely terrified. I am going downstairs, triple checking to make sure the door is locked, covering my mirrors, and applying bars to my windows.

It is a deep-seeded fear of mine to be under the complete control of another where they are able to do what they will with your body, while you are only able watch unable to make a difference. Warren Ellis and Colton Worley take this premise and use it as their hook to open the book. They don’t let their foot off the horror engine the entire issue.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of Project Superpowers: Blackcross #1.

Comic Book Review: Imperium #2

Toyo Harada and his Foundation have begun their crusade to bring about world peace, but there are pieces moving against him and one is the Rising Spirit. Who are they and will the Foundation be able to withstand them? More importantly is it good?

Joshua Dysart and Doug Braithwaite left us with the impression all other avenues to secure world peace had been attempted and violence was the last resort. However, this is not the case as Toyo Harada and his Foundation psiots explore other tactics to secure their strategic objective. One of their tactics is the infiltration of a group called Rising Spirit and their H.A.R.D. Corps.

The H.A.R.D. Corps is led by a man codenamed Gravedog. The beginning portion of the book is much like the previous issue that it builds slowly to a violent climax. Dysart and Braithwaite spend a decent amount of time introducing Gravedog and building up his character while also exploring what Rising Spirit is and how the H.A.R.D. Corps fit in. There are some very interesting philosophical discussions looking at what incentivizes or motivates individuals to take action. Of note, is how Dysart characterizes Gravedog with an almost identical motivation technique as Harada: get the job done no matter the costs. This portion of the book takes up the majority of the pages and can be a little slow since there is quite a bit of dialogue with little action.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of Imperium #2.

Comic Book Review: Lady Killer #3

Troubles are brewing for Josie both on the home front and at work. How will she handle them, but more importantly is it good?

The book opens up with a lively party in Josie’s home and pays homage to The Watchmen (movie) referencing Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” This provides some massive foreshadowing because this third installment introduces significant changes in the direction of the plot as well as character development for Josie and Peck.

Josie’s character is explored in two different ways. The first is through her interactions and dialogue with her mother-in-law. She is aggressive and intimidating. Jones draws her invading Mother Schuller’s personal bubble and getting right in her face. The second and far more important evolution of her character comes during her assignment. She is faced with a dilemma and makes a choice that will shape the rest of her story. What is important to note is both her character developments focus on her work-life balance and how the two intrude on each other. It is a really good touch exploring it from both angles, work affecting home life as well as home life affecting work.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of Lady Killer #3.