Comic Book Review: IXth Generation #2

Political intrigue, a formidable threat, advanced physics, a dose of philosophy, and a whole bunch of questions make for an interesting second installment. Is it good?

Matt Hawkins and Stjepan Sejic begin IXth Generation #2 with a recurring question from the first issue: Does the resurrection process truly bring the person back to life or is it a new person with a digitally downloaded consciousness and genetic replica? The question is not fully answered (and hopefully won’t be for some time), but it serves its purpose effectively as the hook. It is not an unrealistic notion given our technological advances and sparks your inner philosopher whether you debate the ethics of the resurrection or actually attempt to answer the straight-forward dilemma.

Hawkins’ dialogue does a good job of empowering Aphrodite IX, but also showing who she is as a person and how she interacts with her subjects and siblings. She treats them both as family and has respect for them. Aphrodite IX’s internal monologue is crucial;

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Comic Book Review: Death Vigil #6

The machinations of Maria and the Necromancers take center stage as their plan to overwhelm Bernadette and the Vigil unfolds. Is it good?

Stjepan Sejic sets a foreboding tone with Death Vigil #6. The cover is bleak, portraying the gravestone of Samuel Lewis with his pickaxe and shovel replacing a traditional epitaph. He creates a sense of danger and struggle for the Vigil. They are on the defensive. The Necromancers and the monstrosity known as the Orach are wreaking havoc upon the city and its civilians. Fortunately the contest between the Vigil and the Necromancers leaves plenty of room for Sejic’s unique humor, whether it is an abrupt end to a “centuries in the waiting boast” or Bernie’s fretting over the Vigil members. Sejic really nails Bernie’s facial expressions as she berates Sam, going from concern to anger to fear all in half a page.

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Comic Book Review: IXth Generation #1

IXth Generation #1 takes place in the distant future where humanity has ascended to godhood in the form of the IXth Generation. Godhood is not all it’s cracked up to be and the utopia of their generation is anything but. Is it good?

The IXth Generation is made up of nine ascended beings who take their names from the ancient Greek gods, though it is unclear whether they have similar attributes. They have awoken after 700 years of slumber and have found godhood to be utterly and completely boring, so naturally they entertain themselves through constant war with each other. There is a catch; upon death, the IXth Generation is able to transfer their consciousness to a cloned version of themselves. One member, Aphrodite IX, stands above the fray and has pulled the Switzerland card remaining neutral until now.

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Comic Book Review: American Legends #1

American Legends #1 looks to explore the early 19th century frontier with famous historical characters Davy Crockett and Marie Laveau, to name a few, as a plot to eradicate the Lewis and Clark expedition unfolds. Is this historical fiction good?

Writers Bill and Zachary Schwartz use a unique style utilizing mini-stories within the book. It makes the book rather hard to follow. It reads quite like a raging, flooding Mississippi River tossing and turning everything in its path knowing it will eventually end up in the Gulf of Mexico. To elaborate on this point, the first three pages are telling three different stories. In the first page we are introduced to Jean Lafitte who is enjoying the festivities of Mardi Gras.

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Review: Genius #5

The conclusion to Genius‘ story begins with a race against the National Guard and their Abrams tanks! Destiny must zoom in and out of traffic on her motorcycle to force cars into each other, delaying the Guard as much as possible. Cars are no obstacle to an Abrams tank as they steamroll over them. Hopefully the civilians were able to escape their vehicles before they were smashed to bits. The beginning is full of action and purpose, but does the rest of the comic live up to the exciting beginning? Is it good?

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Review: Genius #4

The party is over and Destiny faces two huge challenges: betrayal and loss in one of two issues of Genius on shelves this week. Will she capitulate and fold her hand or will she continue to fight? But an even better question: is it good?

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Review: Genius #3

Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman begin Genius #3 with an absolute shocker. They take the reader back in time to when Destiny was only 12 or 13 years old and reveal a kid who is not trying to blend in as she was in Genius #1, but is instead taking her first steps on the road of violence.

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Review: Genius #2

Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman take the reader out of the war zone and into the press room to unveil another level to Destiny Ajaye’s genius. The war will not only be fought in the streets, but will also be fought in the living rooms of the everyday American watching the late night special or browsing the internet.

Representing the media, Bernardin and Freeman introduce Izzy Cortina, a rough and tumble editor who demands results. She is all about breaking the news and will go to whatever lengths to do so, and does she ever! She jumps out of a helicopter into the South Central streets after her pilot refuses to land fearing being shot down by the LAPD or the gangbangers.

In the meantime, Destiny is still engaging the LAPD on the ground and leading her gangbangers, while her videos go viral on the internet and are picked up by Izzy’s news channel. Destiny’s talents are on display from the mixing of chemicals in the creation of explosives to deftly handling a sub-machine gun all the while keeping her eye on the bigger picture. She juggles everything perfectly forcing the hand of LA’s SWAT team.

Bernardin and Freeman do a wonderful job of adding realism to the story incorporating talking heads arguing over the morality of the “South Central Siege” as well as including leaders such as Al Sharpton and Jim Brown discussing how they will address the situation. They also briefly touch on police corruption. These details add the extra touch in reinforcing the believability of the story.

The book builds to an excellent climax with Destiny and her gangbangers coming to a head with LAPD’s SWAT team. Afua Richardson’s action sequences are up to par whether it is bullets riddling gangbangers or cracking the shield of a cop in cover. Her use of highlighting the characters in certain panels reinforces the emotions of the characters, whether Detective Grey is in orange yelling to pull the officers back or a mother and her two kids highlighted in blue are taking cover from the gun fight. She also does not use traditional panels throughout the book, but on one page has the flow set up wonderfully from a kitchen setting blending into a bird’s eye view of the city with cars burning and police vehicles looking like ants. The page doesn’t end there, but also shifts to Destiny armed with a rifle on the rooftop to a picture of what she is seeing through the scope. Richardson does this a number of times and each time the story flows effortlessly.

Following the battle with SWAT, Bernardin and Freeman leave an excellent cliffhanger that will challenge Destiny in a way the reader has not seen yet and test her genius once again!

8.4	Bernardin and Freeman add another layer to Destiny’s brilliance and, coupled with Richardson’s artwork, improve upon an already entertaining series.

Review: Genius #1

Genius #1 is the story of Destiny Ajaye and her rise to power in uniting all of the Los Angeles gangs against the Los Angeles Police Department. Writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman begin with a mixed message letter to a Brigadier General that not only identifies Destiny as the leader of the Los Angeles gangs but also refers to her as “Suspect Zero” the unknown leader that only one man, Detective Grey, believes exists. The letter is not really a letter at all, but appears to be a summary and lead-in to the ensuing pages of the book disguised as a letter.

Following the letter to the Brigadier General, Bernardin and Freeman set up a good comparison between how Destiny and her crew are preparing in contrast to the police. Destiny’s crew is stocking supplies, readying weapons, and resting while the police are scrambling, moving into assault mode without a plan, and sending in a desk jockey to figure out what exactly is going on. The two sides could not be further apart when it comes to organization.

However, the meat of the story does not begin until Detective Grey muses on how “Suspect Zero” rose to power through the ranks. The combination of Bernadin and Freeman’s writing with Afua Richardson’s visual portrayal is harmonious. They portray Destiny as a person who “will do anything to keep from getting noticed” through a simple multiple choice test where she erases Portugal and circles Germany to answer which country is not an Axis Power. It is extremely simple but conveys the powerful message of needing to fit in to survive. There is one panel where she discovers the game of chess and her face is superimposed over the board. The reader can tell she just gets it and her intellect for tactics will be hard to rival.

The police find out the hard way. Destiny deploys her troops wonderfully when the police move in. The way she is able to eliminate the police air support is exceptional and really shows how brilliant her tactical strategies are. Not only does she have an excellent tactical mind, but she is ruthless too. Richardson once again does a good job of presenting the reader with the visual, highlighting Destiny in red to portray her brutality. The red ribbon she uses on the page to connect Destiny to her victims is an added effect, symbolizing not only the bullets’ paths but also a trail of blood she leaves in her wake.

Not everything is rosy; there are some minor annoyances including what seems to be a recurring theme in opening books— multiple time jumps from the past to the present without any cues to let the reader know. There also seem to be some panels that are forced in to create a transition, but come off as awkward and out of place.

Bernardin, Freeman and Richardson have created a riveting story where the biggest question yet to be answered is can Detective Grey stop Destiny before the LAPD is wiped out?

7.8	An exhilarating story of a rise to power and a gang war against the LAPD make Destiny Ajaye one to keep your eye on.

Review: Death Vigil #1

The Death Vigil is an “Ancient League of Immortal Protectors” whose job is to protect all life from Necromancers and their ghoulish friends who inhabit the Underplane. They are equipped with special weapons called veilrippers, which have some awesome powers. At one point Samuel Lewis, the Digger, uses his pickax veilripper to summon a Viking raiding ship. The summoning highlights writer Stjepan Sejic’s ability to weave comedy into an intense battle sequence when one of the Vikings exclaims the “Necromancer has a fine nose! I shall take it!”

In order to get to the fight sequence, Sejic introduces us to one of the villains, a necromancer named Jon and his girlfriend Clara. The two are having a nice, fun date but the tone becomes grim quickly when Jon recalls the death of his father and takes Clara to visit his grave. Jon sacrifices Clara, who is one of the gifted, a type of person that appears to have an ability to connect with the Underplane. Her death opens up a portal, where Jon summons what can only be described as demons to kill the Digger!

The art, also done by Sejic, in the combat sequence shows the veilrippers can also be used as weapons in their own right. Sam attempts to hack and slash his way through a morass of red root-like creatures. The fight rages on with the Vikings coming to Sam’s aid, but Jon has reinforcements of his own summoning a terrible monstrosity known as a Banshee. The Banshee has three skull heads and purple veins running out of its mouth, two massive hands with seven fingers each and the ability to sing a song that knocks our Vigil member completely across the graveyard.

Luckily, Sam has help from other members of the Vigil, Bernadette the Reaper and Hugin, the Raven. The Raven is awe-inspiring. Sejic has an entire page dedicated to him as he easily tears apart the Banshee and feasts on its three heads. The Vigil put an end to Jon by sealing off his gift with Sam’s veilripper. Jon had some type of demonic symbol on his chest that once pierced by the veilripper closes off his connection to the Underplane and the demonic forces.

One of the best sequences is left until the end of the book, where Bernadette must close off the portal by recruiting Clara to become a Vigil member. Bernadette instructs Sam to move her away from the glowing portal in order to not scare the crap out of her. Unfortunately, he drags her in front of a statue of the grim reaper. Bernadette awakens her and Clara’s reaction is predictable but also hysterically funny because she has a massive freak out!

Sejic doesn’t leave us on a happy note, but instead portends the massive task the Death Vigil has in defending life itself. Death Vigil #1 gives a straight up good vs. evil fight, but with a fantastic combination of humor and seriousness that will have you coming back for more.

9.2	The fight between good and evil has never been more fun! Stjepan Seijc combines witty humor with a life or death battle and fantastic art to make this one of your must haves!