Comic Book Review: Escape from New York #2

Snake Plissken has made it to the ”free” Republic of Florida, where he has his first run-in with the twin gods running the state. Is it good?

Escape from New York #2 is the typical thirty pages in a comic book, but it feels a lot longer. The main reason is the sheer amount of dialogue that occurs within the book. Many of the panels have so much dialogue it takes up over half the panel!

Chris Sebela offers an interesting critique on the meaning of freedom. The twins who rule the ”free” Republic of Florida let their citizens do what they want as long as they serve in their military and are not supposed traitors to Florida. Hell, Sebela takes it a step further when the twins negotiate with Snake out of the barrel of a gun.

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Comic Book Review: Escape from New York #1

Snake Plissken returns with an attitude and a ton of Rambo-style action. But is it good?

Escape from New York #1 is an opening issue, but if you have not seen the movie (I’ll admit I haven’t seen this one) it takes quite a bit of the first half of the issue to figure out why Snake is being hunted down. Fortunately, the why recedes to the back of your mind as writer Christopher Sebela and artist Diego Barreto jump into an exhilarating chase sequence.

Snake Plissken is “Public Enemy Number One” as Sebela so eloquently puts it and he is on the run. Diego Barreto’s artwork is able to convey the ingenuity and believability of Snake’s actions whether he is jumping from an Army Jeep onto a helicopter or bringing down a helo with power lines. Each panel leading up to these actions clearly conveys the steps taken to accomplish his desired outcome.

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Affiliate link: Click here to get your copy of Escape from New York #1.

Review: Dead Letters #5

New threats have bubbled up in Here, as the gang war between Jones and Ma continues to rage on. Is it good?

Christopher Sebela and Chris Visions continue to flesh out more and more of the world of Here. They begin Dead Letters #5 by introducing the reader to the method of how new souls arrive and directly contrasting it to how Sam arrived in Here. Visions provides an excellent visual depiction of the process Sebela describes in a conversation between Sam and his new boss, Fante. The first panel adds a dash of extremely cynical comedy as a bus heading to “Look Out” closes in on an unsuspecting pedestrian. The mood shifts dramatically to extreme sadness as the recent victims of death are lined up with heads down-cast and shoulders slumped still experiencing their causes of death. Visions provides a graphic depiction of how people die and are transported and relocated to Here.

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Review: Robocop #4

The cover by Goñi Montes is marvelous; Robocop dances to the touches of Killian’s fingers as the master controls the puppet. 

Is the rest of the book just as good?

The city of Detroit is at critical mass as the citizens continue to riot, demanding the return of their firearms. 

Meanwhile, Robocop is enjoying a Monster Truck show and even getting to take a ride in one! (Well, behind one, that is.) The ride is so enjoyable, Nash offers to give Officer Lewis a ride as well.

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Review: Black Market #3

Ray and Denny’s past catches up with them in a number of ways in Black Market #3, but is it good?

Frank Barbiere and Victor Santos have finally hit their stride in Black Market, where Ray and his brother Denny track down Supers to drain their blood for a company called Biochem. The story starts out on November 8, 2012. Ray has agreed to help Denny patch up one of his injured crew members, and the tone of the story is ominous. Barbiere uses Ray to narrate the opening scene and sucks the reader in with an excellent bit of writing: “But all the good intentions in the world can’t fix what I’ve done.” The reader immediately desires to find out what exactly can be worse than what Ray has already done in the previous two issues.

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Review: Robocop #3

The powder keg that is Detroit gets even bigger when Murphy and Lewis discover Mister Hutch and his split-open head. Both decide to take matters into their own hands, forgoing the chain of command and beginning their own detective work. Where will their investigations lead? Is it good?

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Review: Black Market #2

Ray and Denny return in Black Market #2, but instead of moving the story forward writer Frank Barbiere continues with a retrospective into Ray’s life before he teamed up with his brother Denny and Biochem.

The book begins with Ray working for the police as a medical examiner; he is performing an exam on a hopeful bank robber. Unfortunately for the bank robber, there was a Super who intervened and did he ever intervene. The bank robber has a giant gruesome hole in his chest! The sequence not only gives the reader a glimpse into Ray’s past, but also provides background on the budding conflict between the Supers and everyday folks, especially the police.

Once Ray leaves work and returns home, his brother Denny shows up at his door begging him to save a man’s life at the warehouse! It seems Barbiere is attempting to rewrite Denny’s return into Ray’s life. Here he has Denny showing up on November 8, 2012, although in the first book Denny appeared at Ray’s house for the first time on June 14, 2013 to proposition him to work with Biochem. This plot hole gets even larger when Barbiere jumps to June 15, 2013 where he introduces Ray to the fully stocked warehouse! Is the reader to presume Ray already knows about the warehouse when he is supposedly first being introduced to it?

Following this gaping hole, Barbiere adds another one. After the ending of the first book, Ray is adamant Denny and Bruiser should not drain too much of Hotspot’s blood and leaves them assuming he will not be killed. However, the reader concludes this is in the past since Ray states on the very last page of book one, “… I Kill Superheroes!” The reader is also led to believe Hotspot is their first victim; this is not the case. Following Barbiere’s excellent back story to Bruiser, a former-hero and vigilante crime fighter, the trio pursue and subdue Electric Lad, but what they do with him is left to the reader’s imagination. Most likely he was killed, but then Ray’s protestations in the first book seem to have little or no meaning.

Despite the plot holes, Barbiere is able to create a sense of anger amongst the common folk towards the Supers. During Bruiser’s back story, the Supers were friendly. Both sides were fighting to clean-up the streets, but once the streets were cleaned the Supers became reclusive, retreating amongst themselves. They were not seen as heroes anymore, but threats to a way of a life.

Victor Santos’ artwork continues to provide a good mix of realism with the fantastic. Shan twirling her hair as she flirts with Ray really emphasizes the good life he had before Denny. While the aftereffects of Electric Lad’s powers on Ray and Denny create a real sense of danger and depict the power the Super’s have over the everyday man. Adam Metcalfe’s colors keep the book lively from Electric Lad’s blue to the glowing red of the Super DNA.

6.0	The gaping plot holes disengage the reader from an interesting story idea.

Review: Dead Letters #2

Writer Chris Sebela shifts gear from the heart-pounding action of Dead Letters #1 to begin to shape the world of Here. The reader is exposed to a short history lesson of what Here is, how it was supposed to function, and how it all went wrong, mainly underestimating people and their ability for free will.

The history and world building create a nice flow for Sam’s new employment. He sets off investigating the disappearance of a woman named Beryl who was in deep with both of the major gangs led by Jones and Ma. Sam’s internal monologue once again steals the show as he dives into his work in an attempt to save his mind. Sam is not only distracting himself when he begins to follow Beryl’s footsteps through Here, but Sebela uses the opportunity to build up how society has changed when time is no longer the most important commodity. And maybe the most frightening aspect is Sam’s idea that it hasn’t really changed much at all. “Life ain’t fair. Turns out Death ain’t either.”

Beryl’s path eventually leads Sam to a club and her former husband. The setting is perfect for a nice shoot ‘em up sequence. Chris Visions’ art during the action sequence again is great; he includes the fine details of the shot glass being splattered by the bullets to the alcohol running off the bar into Sam’s hair. Jones’ big thug is especially terrifying in his red suit and yellow shirt with his evil smile screaming “I’m evil and I’m going to hurt you.” One of the best panels in the book is when Jones is recounting his life before he arrived in Here. Visions combines Sebela’s narrative with a fantastic visual of Jones’ past being shown in his sunglasses from the barn where he was raised to the tools he used.

Following the initial world-building process and an enjoyable action sequence, Sebela gets back to character development and discovering more of Sam’s hidden talents: specifically his resourcefulness, street smarts, and most importantly his talented tongue. Sam is a masterful politician playing Jones and Ma off each other as he continues to dig up more information about Beryl and what happened to her.

The ending of the book gets a little bit confusing attempting to follow the panels, although that might be because what is happening in the panels is chaos. At one point Sam slips away and appears to find what he has been looking for. Yet it is not clear exactly what he has found - whether he is peering into the past using an advanced relic or has actually found hard files. After finding the information, the story jumps to one of sheer terror and one thing is for sure Sam’s talents might not be able to get him out of the mess he has found himself in.

8.7	The book starts off a little slow as Sebela and Visions build the world of Here, but ramps up the action, mystery and sheer terror towards the end.

Review: Black Market #1

Black Market #1 is the story of Raymond Willis, a down on his luck mortician, who is out to change not only his circumstances but his wife’s as well. In order to do this, Ray walks down a path that leads to the Black Market.

Writer Frank Barbiere does a masterful job of connecting Ray to the reader. One of the first sequences involves Ray’s boss Benito yelling at him to finish his work today and make sure he is in before 4:00 a.m. the next day. Not only does it seem as if Ray is being worked to death, but he is struggling to make everyday purchases at what appears to be the local drug store. He rummages around in his pockets as people in line behind him give him impatient stares, stare at their watch and tap on their cell phone as he searches for cash. To make matters worse and create even more sympathy for Ray, his wife Shannon has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) a disease which damages nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Victor Santos’ artwork is essential in conveying how down on his luck Ray really is. Whether he is chasing after a missed bus, walking to his large brown bland apartment building, or entering his spartan apartment with a number of bills spread out on the nightstand, Ray’s life could definitely use a major improvement.

Not only does Ray have personal problems, but he also has a history of trouble stemming from work he has done with his brother, Denny. However, the past is the past, and when Denny shows up on Ray’s door, he brings a whole new set of troubles that Ray is too easily convinced to make his own.

Meanwhile, Barbiere is also telling an action-packed story. Ray has already made his deal with Denny and is carrying it out. Their objective: a superhero named Hotspot, who is saving innocent civilians from a burning building. The brothers, with the help of muscleman, Bruiser, easily weaken and capture the Super. However, Supers don’t go down easily and Santos is able to be creative with the fight scene having panels subset into the larger page drawings. The design creates a sense of mass chaos and intense struggle with medical supplies and bits of flame flying across the page.

In the end Hotspot is captured, but what Ray, Denny and Bruiser do to him next is what is at the heart of Black Market. The book is only held back by a somewhat confusing narration by Ray that jumps back and forth between timelines. The confusion is apparent during the sequence where Ray is taking care of his wife, but he narrates about events that have yet to be revealed to the reader. It definitely has the reader wanting to know more about the events, but is generally perplexing with the dual timelines.

7.9	Black Market takes the reader into the underbelly of a Superhero universe, where a downtrodden man commits desperate acts in order to help the one he cares so much about.

Review: Dead Letters #1

Combining the Bourne Identity with a mob war and mythological overtones gets you a fantastic comic in Dead Letters #1. Writer Christopher Sebela has the reader craving more from the very start. Our protagonist, Sam, has lost his memory and is plunged into the action-packed world of Dead Letters.

And is the world ever action-packed, Sebela moves straight into a chase scene with bullets flying, fast cars and adrenaline-fueled leaps of faith. All the while the reader is exposed to Sam’s thoughts as he attempts to make sense of the chaos around him. The most important part of the sequence is the reader’s ability to connect to Sam. He isn’t a caped hero, he is very human - and extremely resourceful.

Sebela does an excellent job of allowing the reader to connect with Sam by writing a majority of the book through Sam’s stream of thoughts. Certain situations allow him to recall how characters may react, other times objects may trigger specific memories. If Sebela hasn’t already hooked you with the almost non-stop action combined with Sam’s self-discovery, he adds a curve ball, which blows the story wide open.

Sebela’s story is so engrossing; one might even glance over the fantastic art by Chris Visions. His artistic style is gritty conveying a very tough world, although there are a couple of panels which convey the complete opposite and portray a more idyllic life where folks are washing their vehicles in the driveway or enjoying a meal at the local diner. Visions does a great job of capturing the style of the denizens. They wear varying degrees of attire from MIB-type suits and shades to a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. However, the bad guys are very distinctive. Their fashion is reminiscent of early 20th century, with stylish bowler hats, fancy cigarette holders, and fur coats. Meanwhile Sam wears a raggedy bluish-white t-shirt and bluish pants with bandages on his arms as if he was just released from the hospital. Visions with the help of Ruth Redmond’s colors reinforces Sebela’s writing and portrays Sam as the human he is. Redmond’s colors bring the comic to life and reinforce the mood Sebela has created.

One of the more interesting parts of the book is the type of paper they use. The texture is fantastic and helps add to the feel Sebela has created.

Dead Letters #1 introduces the reader to Sam and his action-packed adventure filled with mob warfare, backstabbing, an epic chase sequence and most importantly a mystery about not only who he is, but where he is.

9.5	Action and mystery combine for an epic opening act, which can only get better with the cliffhanger at the end.

The Empty Man #1 Review

The premise of The Empty Man #1, Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Ray’s new mystery thriller is figuring out what exactly is The Empty Man.

The story starts off five years in the past in Mountain Home, Arkansas, where Abram is preaching to his small congregation in a closed down gas station. The congregation is quite small, but one distinctive feature is the fact all of the women have a veil over their heads. All but one.

After leaving the small gas station, Bunn takes us to the present in Atlanta, Georgia. But it doesn’t really feel like an urban area, but more of sleepy suburbia with single family homes and two car garages which Del Ray really perfects. A typical suburban mom has just arrived home with the groceries and is looking for the rest of her nuclear family. The scene should be a creepy buildup, but it falls flat. There are no creaky stairs or other ominous warnings, just a constant ssshhh, which appears to be insinuating a scratching sound, but doesn’t really register with the reader until the source of the sound is revealed and even then it is difficult to figure out what is happening.

Once the source is revealed, it is a gory and grotesque scene with excellent coloring, The actual drawing could be a little clearer as to what exactly is happening, but many of the panels are filled with clouds of smoke or dust that take away from the action. Although to Del Ray’s benefit this may be in hopes to inspire a sense of curiosity and mystery with the reader.

Our two main protagonists, Special Agent Jensen and her partner Walter are introduced as part of a “multiagency task force” investigating The Empty Man. Bunn does a great job as he does in the Magneto series of conveying the thoughts of Walter and the dialogue between Jensen and Walter conveys the sense the two have been on the case together for quite awhile enough to get under each other’s skin, but also enough to have the respect of the other.

After our protagonists take a tour of the crime scene, letting Del Ray and colorist Michael Garland show the true horror and outright creepiness The Empty Man can inflict, they begin a series of interviews with the locals. Sadly the interviews appear to be just page filler, as their goal of conveying the sense of terror and hopelessness around The Empty Man is given much more credence in the following pages with an actual recount of The Empty Man’s previous attacks.

The pages leading up to the ending are the most enjoyable, when Bunn introduces a nice ripple to up the level of creepiness found within the book. The ending itself is a little lackluster, but warrants a follow-up to see where Bunn and Del Ray are going to take The Empty Man.

7.4	The Empty Man is a mystery-thriller begging to be a horror story. If Bunn and Del Ray are able to push the boundaries reaching true horror this will be a book to keep an eye on.