Saturday, February 25, 2017

The Old Guard #1 Review



Characters Wanted


Writer: Greg RuckaArtist: Leandro FernandezPublisher: Image ComicsRelease Date: February 22, 2017Cover Price: $3.99Review by: Repairman Jack

I come into Old Guard only having read Rucka’s Wonder Woman before this. Although I’ve liked it quite a bit I feel it has struggled to give any answers or worthwhile conclusions to any conflicts that have arisen. With that being said I come into Old Guard being relatively interested by the synopsis and curious if Rucka can get away from my minor complaints from his other work. So check out after the jump to see just what I thought of Greg Rucka and his story about kickass immortal soldiers.

Tank Girl: Gold #4 Review



One for me, one for you. Two for me, one for you. Three for me, one for you. Written by: Alan Martin
Drawn by: Brett Parson
Colors by: Ned Ivory
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: February 22, 2017

Check out Ryan's podcast, Columbus Comics Corner here. This miniseries has been one of my favorite comics being released in the last few months. The off the wall storytelling and pop art are great together. We had to wait for a couple scheduling hiccups. So my anticipation continued to grow for the finale to this series. It’s here now, so let’s dive into this funky world.

Harbinger Renegade #4 Review



Be all you can be...in the Renegades!


Writer: Rafer Roberts Prologue Artist: Juan Jose Ryp
Prologue Colorist: Frankie D’Armata
Penciler: Darick Robertson
Inker: Richard Clark
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: Dave Lanphear Cover Artist: Dave Johnson Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

I really enjoy Valiant’s approach to its take on superheroes. The universe is well diverse and the characters are relatable. While there’s some recommended prior reading for this series to see how they’ve gotten here. You can still hop into this title and have a grasp on what’s taking place. As they give you a run down at the start of each issue of prior events. If you’re looking to change things up outside your more commercial superhero teams, Harbinger Renegade is worth giving a chance. So let's get into the issue.




Thursday, February 23, 2017

DC Comics Best Covers of the Week 2/22/17

I Need a Late Pass

I did it again! Last week was packed full of comicky goodness and day job badness, and then I went away this past weekend, so Best Covers of the Week was unfortunately squeezed out of my schedule. But I'm sure the covers were all terrible last week, right? Let's get back in the saddle with the top five DC Comics covers for this week!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

The Kamandi Challenge #2 Review and **SPOILERS**



Gorillas and Tigers and Mobius, Oh My!

Story & Words: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Neal Adams
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Clem Robins
Main Cover Artist: Kenneth Rocafort
Editors: Brittany Holzherr & Dan Didio
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: February 22, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

People are always saying Thundarr the Barbarian ripped off Conan the Destroyer and Star Wars, but I really think it gets most of its pilfered DNA from Jack Kirby’s Kamandi. The basic premise, I mean. There are lots of episodes of Thundarr that directly satirize specific popular media, but the basic idea: a blond-haired dude wandering across a post-nuclear apocalyptic world full of mutated humanoids where, surprisingly, many of the 20th century’s structures and paper materials have remained intact. I almost expect him to hop on a motorcycle and cruise away! So yeah, I have been looking forward to this Kamandi Challenge experiment, with some trepidation. Was it founded? Well, you’ll have to read my review to find out. Right here!

Suicide Squad #12 Review and **SPOILERS**



What’ll We Do Without Waller?

Writer: Rob Williams
Penciller: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Richard Friend
Colorists: Dean White & Jeremiah Skipper
Backup Penciller: Eddy Barrows
Backup Inker: Eber Ferreira
Backup Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Cover: Romita, Friend & White
Group Editor: Brian Cunningham
Associate Editor: Harvey Richards
Editor: Andy Khouri
Cover Price: $2.99
On Sale Date: February 22, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Amanda Waller was plugged right in the chest last issue, so let’s dispense with the usual nonsense and get right to the review! Now!

The Hellblazer #7 Review and **SPOILERS**



Your Racist Grandpa

Writer: Simon Oliver
Artist: Philip Tan
Colorist: Elmer Santos
Lettering: Sal Cipriano
Cover Artist: John Cassaday with Paul Mounts
Associate Editor: Jessica Chen
Editor: Kristy Quinn
Group Editor: Jim Chadwick
Cover Price: $2.99
On Sale Date: February 22, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Okay DC Comics, this is your third try at making a John Constantine-led book outside of the Vertigo imprint, and I’m going to lay all my cards on the table: it’s not going so well. I’m not going to belabor the reasons why—I have a review coming up after this introduction for that—but I think I’ve got a few pitches that could right this ship without sending John-boy back to the veritable wasteland that has become Vertigo. As always, these are freely given with no expectations that I will get any part of the millions and possibly billions of dollars that will doubtlessly result in using these ideas. The success of DC Comics is reward enough for me.

Gordon Ramsay as John Constantine: Okay, I’m not insane. I know you can’t actually hire an actor to portray a character in a comic book. What I’m really suggesting is that you make John’s character like famous incendiary chef Gordon Ramsay: he should be shouting at and belittling everybody, and also criticizing other magicians’ spells and altars. He should also be a little misogynistic…actually, this is sort of how John Constantine is already, so maybe Ramsay is pilfering the comic book’s character’s personality.

Change John’s cigarette habit to full-blown crack cocaine addiction: When John Constantine was created, the idea of a chain-smoking David Bowie mage was still cool. Today, people would rather watch a protagonist flog puppies than smoke a cigarette. So let’s tone it down a little: get John hooked on crack. It doesn’t have to be instant, he can start by dabbling in cocaine, then move on to freebase, and finally he’s copping jumbos on the East Side with his conjuring money. He’s already an irredeemable shithead, what’s holding him back?

Make John Constantine a permanent member of the Justice League: This idea leans in the other direction, completely away from Vertigo. Turn him into the absolute joke as satirized in the Hard-Travein’ Heroz miniseries. Have him conjure psychedelic nonsense like Steve Ditko’s Doctor Strange. What have you got to lose? What we’ve got now is worse than my high school Economics class.

I don’t normally criticize the comic book I’m reviewing in the introduction, but what can I say. I’m in a mood. Here’s my review of the Hellblazer #7, which is as always unassailable and incontrovertible.

Batgirl #8 Review and **SPOILERS**



What’s App, Doc?

Script: Hope Larson 
Pencils & Cover: Chris Wildgoose 
Inks: Jon Lam 
Colors: Mat Lopes 
Letters: Deron Bennett 
Associate Editor: Rebecca Taylor 
Editor: Mark Doyle 
Cover Price: $2.99 
On Sale Date: February 22, 2017 

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Here’s a Ramones song that I like:

And here’s a review of Batgirl #8!

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #15 Review and **SPOILERS**



Saint No Sunshine When She’s Gone

Writer: Robert Vendetti
Artist: Ethan Van Sciver
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Mikel Janin
Assistant Editor: Andrew Marino
Editor: Mike Cotton
Group Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99
On Sale Date: February 22, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Green Lantern Corps is the place to be
Outer space policin’ is the life for me
Nebulas spreading far and wide
Keep Coast City…oh wait didn’t that place die?

Metropolis is where I’d rather home
I’m allergic to Kilowog’s cologne
I just adore a penthouse view
Dah-ling I love you but give me Superman’s glutes

You are my wife
Goodbye, city life
Green Lanterns, we are there!

Deathstroke #13 Review


Night of the Crime

Written by: Christopher Priest
Art by: Joe Bennett, Mark Morales, Jeromy Cox and Willie Schubert
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

I always start off my Deathstroke review by telling everyone how much I hope that I'll like the current issue.  It kind of points out my biggest problem with the series...inconsistency.  I will love one issue only to hate the next two and this sort of thing just keeps happening.  Maybe this issue will break the streak as I really liked last issue even though the addition of Raptor made me roll my eyes a bit.  So, do I love two issues in a row?  Let's find out...


Action Comics #974 Review and *SPOILERS*



And You Thought Flash Moved Quick


Written By: Dan Jurgens
Art By: Patrick Zircher, Stephen Segovia, Art Thibert, Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Just when you thought that the human Clark Kent couldn't get any creepier, he went and surprised Lois in her office with coffee and flowers............ Yeah, that's not all that creepy, but after Lois witnessed him disappear into thin air after walking into his apartment building........ and the fact that he wanted a date in return for said coffee and flowers......... well, in my book all that adds up to a big fat creep factor that no one should want to be around.  With all that going on, we also saw Clark and Steel try to help Lana Lang with her power problem, you know since they're killing her and all that and that led them to the Fortress of Solitude.  Too bad that with Steel's slow ass tagging along behind Superman that Hank Henshaw was able to track where they were coming from.  So yeah, we've got our duel story continuing here so let's jump in and see if Lois Lane can get to the bottom of this human Clark Kent by going out on a date with him and let's see if our Man of Steel is able to save Lana Lang before she goes all 'splody like the New 52 Superman and Lois Lane did.  Let's check it out.

Blue Beetle #6 Review and *SPOILERS*



Body By Beetle


Written By: Keith Giffen
Art By: Scott Kolins, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Josh Reed
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February, 22, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Well thank goodness that we had The Posse have our hero's back in the previous issue because without those meta-nogoodniks we would have been a negative a Blue Beetle in a Blue Beetle series.  Yeah, it seems that an armored up baddie going by the name Mordacai came to El Paso in order to claim the scarab for his master and to do that he kidnapped Jaime's mother to draw him out.......... Yeah, the villain was defeated to a degree, but at the end of the issue we saw that he was working for whatever lurks inside that strange ass device/prison that waits below the city and who also controls the Horde that we saw previously in this series.  Let's jump into this issue and see if whatever that thing is plans on an early release and also find out if Jaime's grounded for putting his mother in danger.  Let's check it out.

Teen Titans #5 Review and **SPOILERS**



Titans West


"Damian Knows Best, Part Five"

Writer - Benjamin Percy
Pencils - Khoi Pham
Inks - Wade von Grawbadger
Colors - Jim Charalampidis

Welcome to the finale of Damian Knows Best.  I know what you're thinking... Chris, you devilishly handsome fool, we're only at issue five... YOU always say that these story-arcs go six issues!

Well, I'm as surprised as you are!  But here we are, five-issues in... and ready to wrap up the opening arc of Teen Titans (volume 6).

Let's see how it all shakes out.


Justice League of America #1 Review and *SPOILERS*



To The Extreme!


Written By: Steve Orlando
Art By: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, Julio Ferreira, Marcelo Maiolo, Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Okay, now that the band's together, it's time to start getting gigs so we can get the JLA name out there and start inspiring folks.......... Yeah!  At least that's what I think the purpose of this book is.  It's weird to think we have a team that was just brought together for some mysterious reason that Batman's not letting people in on besides for his explanation, "We need mortals to inspire mortals".  Well, that's all fine and good Batman, but what the hell are our team supposed to do in the meantime?  It's not like we have some outer space control center that monitors everything with some jacked in Cyborg behind the monitor............ Yeah, this team doesn't have all that, but we'll see when we jump into this issue what exactly the JLA have and how well they work together when their first real threat comes a callin'.  Let's check it out.

The Flash #17 Review


Men in the Mirror

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Davide Gianfelice, Neil Googe, Ivan Plascencia and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

I have really enjoyed this Rogues Reloaded story because...well. I like the Rogues!  As a group, they are easily in my top 5 of all villain teams and depending on my mood and what house Jupiter is in, they may even sit at the very top of that list.  I wondered why Williamson kept them out of the book at the beginning of Rebirth, but now that they are back, I am a very happy guy.  Of course, the reunion hasn't been so great for the Flash and last issue ended with him on the losing end of Captain Cold's gun...now a combination of his freeze gun and Black Hole technology.  If you've been reading Rebirth Flash, you know that's bad news.  If you haven't...that's bad news.  Now that we are all up to speed, did this issue continue to impress?  Let's find out...


Batman Beyond #5 Review and *SPOILERS*



The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same


Written By: Dan Jurgens
Art By: Bernard Chang, Marcelo Maiolo, Travis Lanham
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

It's time to get back to the future and see what Terry McGinnis is going to do now that he's discovered that Bruce Wayne is still alive.  Yeah, with people finding out that Terry was still alive previous to this series, it seems like we're getting miracle resurrections all over the place........ but that only stays true if our hero can catch up to Terminal in time so that he can take his mentor back and give him a great big, embarrassing hug that's sure to piss Bruce off something fierce........ that's why I suggest that Terry does it while he's still unconscious.......no fuss, no muss.  Okay, let's jump into this issue and see if we can see anymore goodies coming from Terry's new prototype Bat suit and if he'll be able to get to Bruce in time.  Let's check it out.

Wonder Woman #17 Review and *SPOILERS*



Serpent Tea Party and Word Association


Written By: Greg Rucka
Art By: Liam Sharp, Laura Martin, Jodi Wynne
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

So Wonder Woman's a nut job and the rest of our heroes like Etta Candy, Steve Trevor and Barbara Minerva are on the run from Veronica Cale and her Godwatch......... Yeah, that about brings everyone up to speed with what's going on right now.  Oh........ Oh, we also have Ferdinand the Chef jumping back into the pages of Wonder Woman here because in the previous "Truth" story, we saw Etta needing friends anywhere she could find them and it seems that Ferdinand....... who should really be calling himself Ferdinand the Hobo is the only one she can trust in a world that's out to take anyone down who's close to Wonder Woman.  While all of this is going on though, our hero is sitting in a padded room having conversations with a snake that lives in her arm that's talking in circles and driving me nuts.  Let's jump into this issue and see if we can get some clarity on what's going on with our hero and what Godwatch will do to get to her and in turn, get to Themyscira.  Let's check it out.

Detective Comics #951 Review


Stick Around

Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Christian Duce, Alex Sinclair and Sal Cipriano
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

It's time for the League of Shadows and I...wait a second!  I thought Batman said there was no such thing!  First the Court of the Owls and now this?  I don't want to throw shade at the World's Greatest Detective, but... Of course, we really have no idea what this League of Shadows is and what they are after, but we did see who looks to be the leader...Lady Shiva!  Now that is enough to get me excited on it's own, but add in the fact that this story promises to up the screen time for Cassandra Cain and I am all in.  So, did this beginning up my hype level?  Let's find out...


Tuesday, February 21, 2017

PREVIEW: Teen Titans #5


Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home

Written by: Benjamin Percy
Art by: Wade Von Grawbadger, Khoi Pham
Cover by: Jonboy Meyers
Variant cover by: Chris Burnham
Cover Price: $2.99
On Sale Date: February 22, 2017
 
“Damian Knows Best” finale! The final showdown between the Teen Titans and the Demon’s Fist is here! Will the Teen Titans rally behind their little leader? And will Ra’s al Ghul let anyone walk away alive?
 
Check out some preview pages below!

PREVIEW: Suicide Squad #12



Warden Force X

Writer: Rob Williams 
Penciller: John Romita Jr. 
Inker: Richard Friend 
Colorists: Dean White & Jeremiah Skipper 
Backup Penciller: Eddy Barrows 
Backup Inker: Eber Ferreira 
Backup Colorist: Adriano Lucas 
Letterer: Pat Brosseau 
Cover: Romita, Friend & White 
Variant Cover: Whilce Portacio with Alex Sinclair 
Group Editor: Brian Cunningham 
Associate Editor: Harvey Richards 
Editor: Andy Khouri 
Cover Price: $2.99 
On Sale Date: February 22, 2017

“BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE” part two! Determined to unmake all the world’s institutions of governance and control, [REDACTED] orchestrates a series of prison breakouts across the DC Universe, forcing Harley Quinn, Deadshot and the rest of the Suicide Squad into their most dangerous mission yet: keeping their former super-villain comrades in jail.

Click on through for some preview pages!