Comic Book Review: Men of Wrath #5

Jason Aaron and Ron Garney’s closing issue keeps vengeance front and center with plenty of violence to go around. Is it good?

The opening page of the issue delivers an immediate shock, hooking you. The next page delivers an emotional blow shattering your hope and bringing forth an overwhelming feeling of outrage mixed with sadness. This emotion lingers throughout the rest of the issue connecting you to Ira Rath in a way that never occurred in the previous issues. However, Aaron does try to temper the emotion with the next few pages hinting the opening pages might be a dream, but also delving a little deeper into Ira Rath’s psyche and what he envisions as an end for himself.

The issue really hits its stride during the brutal action sequences. Ron Garney’s scenes are explosive and brutal. The level of violence is quite possibly greater than the original Red Dawn. There is no room for injuring or incapacitating. There is only one end.

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Comic Book Review: The Black Hood #1

A traumatic shooting takes a police officer down a troubled path leaving him scarred both physically and spiritually. How will he deal with it? Is it good?

Duane Swierczynski’s name caught my eye. I enjoyed his run on Deadpool vs. X-Force and figured I would go ahead and give this new title from Dark Circle Comics a read through.

The book reads much like a journal entry being told from the protagonist’s perspective. There is very little dialogue although there is a very good plot reason for this. (The fact the protagonist can’t talk!) The book has exceptional pacing each flip of the page pulls you further into the shoes of Gregory Heittinger wondering where it will take him and how he will function.

Heittinger’s character is deeply compelling and this is an origin story right up there with Spiderman and Batman. It may be even a little better for he is not losing someone close to him, he loses himself. The issue follows him as he makes appearances, goes through rehab, and watches TV all the while trying to make sense of the act of violence he committed.

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Comic Book Review: The Life After #7

A little bit of office turmoil, a not so joyous reunion, and a journey through some collapsing tunnels are just a few things you will see in The Life After #7. Is it good?

Joshua Hale Fialkov seems to be making it a trend in this arc to flashback and world build all the while keeping us even more confused as we continue to wonder about what is actually happening in the world of Jude and Ernest Hemmingway.

After reuniting Nettie with Jude and Ernest, Fialkov has decided to split the trio up. Nettie stays with the giant god bunny and her daughter while Jude and Ernest are marching through the tunnels. The split doesn’t help the pacing of the book giving it a fragmented feel as Fialkov jumps between the characters too often not giving them enough panel time to continue to develop and grow. He is juggling four distinct storylines at this point. It also reduces the time readers have to connect with the characters. There is an extremely emotional scene with Nettie that you just pass over with the jump to Jude and Ernest.

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Comic Book Review: Pathfinder: Origins #1

A group of adventurers has gathered to begin their next quest, but first they regale their quest giver with their credentials. Is it good?

The premise for the origin story of Valeros feels too forced. Writer Erik Mona creates a scenario where a group of adventurers has already accomplished what appears to be a great feat in defeating The Gallowed Gang, but they are forced to defend themselves and their characters when attempting to obtain another job. The quest giver points out all of their flaws and why they are not fit to be given a quest.

After about two pages, which feels a lot longer due to the large amounts of dialogue, you finally get to the origin of Valeros. He is a typical mercenary who likes to enjoy his cups a little too much. Unfortunately, this gives Mona a perfect excuse to utilize the all too often used cliché of finding a job in the local tavern. It is livened up a bit with a bit of action, but you have to suspend disbelief quite a bit when the folks trying to hire him are set upon by demons.

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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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Advanced Comic Book Review: Frankenstein Underground #1

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be Frankenstein? Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck, and Dave Stewart explore the life and history of Frankenstein. Is it good?

The comic gives a pretty clear depiction of what it is like to be Frankenstein. It starts off a little slow with Frankenstein in Mexico at an ancient Mayan ruin where he recounts his past to an old woman who happens to inhabit the ruins at the time of his arrival. He recalls the numerous occasions of being hunted, shot at, captured, imprisoned, tortured, and even thrown into the boxing ring with a familiar red demon. He explores how this affected his psyche and his search to find purpose in the gift he believes is a curse.

About halfway through the book, the story takes an abrupt shift from exploring the character of Frankenstein to the introduction of the Marquis Addet de Fabre, a collector of sorts who just has to have Frankenstein for his own.

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Comic Book Review: The Valiant #3

The battle against the Immortal Enemy requires all hands on deck as Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt do an in-depth character exploration of Kay McHenry and Bloodshot. Is it good?

Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt begin with a little bit of exposition explaining the magic box, while introducing a bit of mystery as to how the whereabouts of the box were actually discovered, while reinforcing the all-encompassing threat of the Immortal Enemy. In case you didn’t realize how scary he is, Paolo Rivera reminds you with a bone-chilling image of his raw nature. Contrasting the raw nature and fear created by this image, the next image you see depicts courage, teamwork, and recognition of the threat in what I can only describe as the entire Valiant universe of superheroes including a goat with laser vision and a fleet of high-tech warplanes mobilizing to combat their new foe.

Rivera uses a number of different camera angles to depict the action sequences, whether it is a close up of a hero’s torso ready to launch a Molotov cocktail to an over-the-shoulder angle of Gilad swinging his axe.

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