Crushing Krisis

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DC New 52 Review: Demon Knights #1

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DC’s linewide relaunch disperses a few titles to interesting fringes of the four-color universe – army comics, westerns, and this medieval entry into the lineup.

While guns and horses might not be big draws for me, I love middle ages stories no matter the medium and the cover of this comic is to-die-for.

Why any hint of skepticism? The cover isn’t from the interior artist – it’s from Detective Comics‘ killer auteur Tony S. Daniel. Second, writer Paul Cornell – so witty on team books like Captain Britain & MI:13 and Stormwatch, seems like a peculiar fit for the thee and thou speech of Camelot.

Can Cornell dial back the quips while Digenes Neves turns in something to equal Daniel’s killer cover?

Demon Knights #1

Written by Paul Cornell, art by Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert

Rating: 3.5 of 5 – Great

In a Line: “The Celts have odd ways. Nod and smile.”

#140char Review: Demon Knights #1 is a fun read w/terrific art. Cornell accelerates to full madcap wit a bit too quickly at the climax, but it’s still great

CK Says: Consider it.

Demon Knights #1 is a comic version of a popcorn flick – a fast-moving swords and sorcery tale that eschews period language for quips like “sod this.” It would be A Knight’s Tale if not for the absence of a soggy rock soundtrack (though I’m sure Cornell has one playing while he writes it), and perfect for the World of Warcraft crowd if not for a surfeit of whimsy.

A two page intro ripped directly from the pages of The Once and Future King roots new readers on steady, familiar ground, before Cornell swiftly departs from the established myth and fast forwards four centuries. The story follows two Camelot cast-offs – Madame Xanadu, a renegade priestess of Avalon, and Jason Blood, a hapless youth who shares a body with Merlin’s demonic assistant Etrigan. In the present, a magical horde of pillagers and dinosaur-like humanoid dragons is tearing through the countryside to the fictional destination of Alba Sarum, and our erstwhile pair of heroes (and sometimes lovers, depending on who is in charge of Blood’s body) have stopped in pub directly in their path of destruction.

Any question I had about Diogenes Neves’ artwork compared to Daniel’s cover is answered by the first page, a knockout image of a storybook gone entirely wrong. We never get another reason to doubt him. His textured pencils are treated to an amazing interweave of delicate inks from Oclair and spiderwebs of crackling color from Marcelo Maiolom.

While the tone gets less less classically staid as we exit the Future King framing device, those careful details find their way into every page. Add to that a set of beautifully distinct faces and an attractive palette of pinks and purples and you have a stunning issue of art.

I don’t fault Cornell at all for not thee and thouing his way through the entire issue – it saps the life from characters and tend to be accompanied by horrific font choices. So why is this book not “excellent”? Cornell loses his footing as he ratchets the pace with every new character he introduces. By the final panel the plot has become a touch too frenetic for him to pilot surely.

While I understand the need to introduce all seven medieval soldiers to the plot, here’s one case where I would have preferred Justice League’s more leisurely pace of introductions. That said, like Jim Lee on JL, Neves provides plenty of opportunities to linger on each panel – it’s just that here the lingering is a welcome pause before the script rushes forward.

Even with the modern language and rapidly accelerating pace, Demon Knights is a highly enjoyable read due in no small part to Cornell’s wit and an unassailable and altogether stunning set of artwork from Neves, Oclair, and Maiolom. Everything here points to more fun to be had in subsequent issues, which I will definitely be reading.

(Disclaimer: I have a major soft spot for British comic book humor, sorcery, dragons as dinosaurs, woman with swords, and villains who heartlessly kill children. Basically, I am this book’s target audience. Your mileage may vary, but if you need bonus background see the outstanding blog Gone! Gone! The Form of a Man!, which is dedicated to annotating eacb issue with all the mythological and cartographic facts you need to digest it fully.)

DC New 52 Review: Grifter #1

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Jim Lee set up an intriguing team in his 90s Image Comics classic creation WildCATs, a group of alien-human hybrids caught in a extraterrestrial culture war. Lee pilfered seemingly every comic origin out there to assemble a team full of clawed men, androids, amazons, shapeshifters, teleporters, dwarves, and strippers.

The team vigilante was Grifter, a half-Gambit half-Punisher hybrid of athleticism and gunplay with a Wolverine healing factor who seemed out of place on the spandexed team. Later, readers discovered Grifter was actually closer to the core of Lee’s new superhero universe than anyone imagined, having been experimented upon while he was in the army, and granted with psychic powers that later burned out.

Of all Lee’s heroes, Grifter makes the most sense to support a solo book – but which elements of his history would get picked up in this port to the mainstream DC Universe?

Grifter #1

Written by Nathan Edmondson, art by Cafu & Jason Gorder

Rating: 3 of 5 – Good

In a Line: “I think there’s one of them on this plane.”

#140char Review: Grifter #1 goes back to basics with the Wildstorm char, taking us to his origin. Thrilling little story, if too fast a read. Good, by a hair

CK Says: Consider it.

Grifter has a slight script that introduces several points of conflict into the life of former military man, current professional con artist, and newly minted unwitting-vigilante and alien psychic-receiver Cole “Argent” Cash.

See, that sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

In a brief, fun read, writer Nathan Edmondson combines swift action with a hint of alien intrigue to make a strong case for picking up a second issue, yet Grifter has several significant handicaps. The guns-blazing cover has nothing to do with the story inside. It’s not about an established DC character or mythology. It features its lead character out of uniform for almost the entire book. It is definitely decompressed, with some pages that could have been single panels as they repeat similar perspectives. It makes at least one verifiable mistake on the scale of minutes, hours days. There are a few points requiring major suspension of disbelief, such as an unattended midnight hat stand.

Cafu’s art is modestly strong throughout, with finely detailed faces but a few gawky bodies. His Grifter is slick but muscled, though occasionally comes off as a blonde Wolverine. I don’t think he’s earned the one-word moniker yet. Edmondson wisely reminds us of Cash’s special forces training via a subplot that will yield further conflict rather than a piece of kludgy dialog, which helps contextualize his many action-hero feats on re-read.

I think the issue was more successful than not. From the shocking murder that opens it to the hints we get about Grifter’s character, this has all the makings of a super-sized, high-gloss adventure free from the entanglement of the majority of the DC Universe.

The series and character might just live up to its WildStorm predecessor, though its still unclear how much of his history this new edition will share.

DC New 52 Review: Superboy #1

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This issue presents two things I have no small amount of 90s nostalgia for: Superboy and Scott Lobdell.

Superboy has been through several incarnations, but the one I’ve always enjoyed was the 90s Reign of Supermen version, which was essential an attempt to regrow Superman in a lab in case of catastrophe – or, you know, if they just needed a spare. The result was a James Dean version of Supes, complete with bad attitude and leather jacket.

Scott Lobdell inherited the crumpled mess of X-Men left behind by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee jumping ship from Marvel’s flagship book in quick succession. He not only straightened things out, but started a new era of X-mythology that actually fielded some decent mysteries until editorial interference strangled the life from his plots.

I don’t know that the two necessarily go together, but I’m fond of them both separately, so I don’t see why they shouldn’t combine for a likeable comic series.

Superboy #1

Written by Scott Lobdell, art by R.B. Silva & Rob Lean

Rating: 2.5 of 5 – Okay

In a Line: “They call me Superboy. I have no idea why.”

#140char Review: Superboy #1, origin of a tank-grown boy & his keepers. Ends w/the start of his 1st mission. Decent, but a bit rote; rubbery art doesn’t help

CK Says: Consider it.

Scott Lobdell effectively reestablishes Superboy’s origin and finds a spare set of heartstrings to pluck along the way. He hews close to the Reign of Supermen origin of Superboy, who is grown from a genetic sample of Superman in a tank (a la Neo, in a clear artistic homage to the Matrix).

Yet, Superboy isn’t a straight-forward clone of Superman, and he isn’t as plugged in as his keepers think. The result is that he is frequently the one conducting a social experiment on his confident captors. Despite his vast intelligence, he knows nothing of human companionship – even when he’s freed from his tank no one takes the time to address him directly. He is a thing, and maybe a weapon.

The interior art is an improvement over the awkward cover, but it’s not super. Faces have a certain handsome, rubbery sameness to them, like a set of fresh scrubbed Sims loaded up for a new game. Luckily, it’s only Superboy and his bespectacled red-headed keeper you have to recall (although silver-maned and morally ambiguous Rose may be more interesting than either).

The end result is a serviceable reintroduction that puts Superboy into place to either lead or battle the Teen Titans (I can’t tell which) in his first exposure to the outside world … which doesn’t seem so wise. Lobdell is an old pro at turning in these “get from point A to point B” stories, but I’d rather see him unleash the talky battles and constant dropping of hints I loved him for in the 90s on X-Men. Hopefully he has something less rote in store for upcoming issues.

DC New 52 Review: Suicide Squad #1

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It seems like every comic book villain has been made into a hero, or at least a terrible person masquerading as a hero, which I suppose is pretty true to real life.

DC isn’t immune to the epidemic, but they haven’t been struck with it quite as hard as Marvel, where the X-Men to such an extent that they literally have no rogue’s gallery left.

DC’s Suicide Squad mirrors the concept of Marvel’s similar Thunderbolts: what if a group of some of the most irredeemable villains were offered temporary clemency to use their powers to benefit the government?

I’ll confess that the only thing that looks familiar here is Harley Quinn, who I only know from Batman cartoons. Will a squad of villains I’ve never met resonate at all?

Suicide Squad #1

Written by Adam Glass, art by Federico Dallocchio & Ransom Getty

Rating: 2.5 of 5 – Okay

In a Line: “A scream lets me know we’re making progress.”

#140char Review: Suicide Squad #1 is an effective intro that seems to tread Deadpool “bloody & whacky” ground, but I don’t know that I care about any of the villainous chars.

CK Says: Consider it.

Suicide Squad #1 stands in the middle of the pack of average DC Relaunch books with a nuanced story structure but inconsistent artwork. It comes down to whether this team of minor-league villains is compelling enough to support their own book, which is as much about them as about the plots they are subjected to.

So how is their first plot? Adam Glass sets up an interesting narrative, where half the team get brief origin stories – not of their villainous ways but of the missteps that lead to their capture. It’s a seriously effective device for a team book, and it jives well with the brutal interrogation they’re all being subjected to.

Deadshot and El Diablo both have human vices, but the deranged Harley Quinn is pure chaos and King Shark is a one-note cannibal. It would have been a good choice to throw in one or two members that weren’t in the same torture session as the squad, even if that meant holding a few characters back until next issue.

Federico Dallocchio handles the team well in the heavy blacks of the one-on-one torture sequences, but some of the other pages have a gawky silliness to them (especially on Quinn), which pushes the book into comedic Deadpool territory. A spread of the entire team on their first mission is especially bad. Can Dalocchio only draw this team well in low light and bondage gear? If so, it’s hard to know which version of Suicide Squad to come back for next month – the moodier, darker tone or the sillier one.

Despite the reintroductions I’m not sure this issue did enough to distinguish any one character for newer fans, though I will admit that a few last-minute twists piqued my interest. I think it is worth picking up the second issue to see if the team can get to the purpose of their new mission without committing mass murder, but the final direction in art will have a lot to do with if it’s worth sticking around beyond that.

DC New 52 Review: Deathstroke #1

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Meet Deathstroke, AKA Slade Wilson, DC’s silver fox of a meta-human assassin. He’s DC’s answer to Marvel’s Bullseye – and maybe even Deathlok: an unflinching, unfailing assassin who can also mix it up hand to hand with his enhanced strength.

(Of course, Marvel shot back with Wade Wilson, AKA Deadpool, who started out as a legitimately entertaining anti-hero became one of the most profitable solo characters in comics.)

From Deathstroke’s preview it sounded like it would be a blood’n’guts title reliving the past glories of a popular 90s character.

Did I get it right? And, even if I did, is that such a bad thing?

Deathstroke #1

Written by Kyle Higgins, art by Joe Bennett & Art Thibert

Rating: 3 of 5 – Good

In a Line: “And sharpshooting. Everyone forgets I sharpshoot.”

#140char Review: Deathstroke #1 manages to inject some context & intrigue into anti-hero DS for new readers. A fun brisk ish w/a minor twist. Slightly >avg.

CK Says: Consider it.

Deathstroke’s re-debut eeks out on the plus side of average, with less blood and guts than promised (not a bad thing) and a little more thought-provocation than expected.

The story by Higgins takes a tact that not many of the 52 books have to this point, which is to tell a complete one-shot story in the debut issue. We travel from intro to a firm, bloody resolution in a single read, with a single plot thread dangling to carry us to the next issue.

I enjoyed the heavily inked artwork. Particularly, the age and gravitas of Slade’s unmasked face is consistent and effective, as opposed to the slick lines of him in costume. It supports the idea that Deathstroke isn’t being taken as seriously as an assassin anymore. Maybe it’s more of a young man’s game.

Deathstroke’s leet-speaking fanclub is annoying at first, but as the issue presses on they develop a bit of charm as his unwanted Greek chorus.

Despite being rather middle-of-the-road on the whole I find myself interested enough to want to read a second issue, mostly because of the smart twist at the close that reinforces a legitimate point of mystery (even if it is stolen from Tarantino).