#IReadsYou Review: BIG GAME #2

BIG GAME #2 (OF 5)

IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Pepe Larraz

COLORS: Giovanna Niro

LETTERS: Clem Robins

EDITOR: Sarah Unwin

COVER: Pepe Larraz with Giovanna Niro

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Leinil Yu with Sunny Gho; Pepe Larraz

28pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2023)

Rated M / Mature

Big Game is a new five-issue comic book event miniseries from writer Mark Millar and artist Pepe Larraz.  Big Game is a crossover event series that pulls together all the franchises that are part of Millar's company/imprint, “Millarworld.”  That includes Kick-Ass, Kingsman, Nemesis, and The Magic Order, to name a few.  Colorist Giovanna Niro and letterer Clem Robins complete the series' creative team.

Big Game is a sequel to the first Millarworld comic book miniseries, Wanted (2003-04).  The stars of that series, The Fraternity, the super-villains that secretly rule the world, defeated their superhero adversaries in 1986.  Now, this entity is concerned about the reemergence of superheroes, so it unleashes it new superhero killer, Nemesis (from Nemesis: Reloaded), on a hero assassination spree.

As Big Game #2 opens, Edison Crane (Prodigy) and Bobbie Griffin meet the Chrononauts, Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly.  Crane, the world's smartest man, wants the duo to take him and Griffin back in time to 1986 for proof of that what Griffin says is true.  Superheroes did exist in the past.

Meanwhile, Doctor Choon-He Chung (The Ambassadors) and her international rescue squad, The Ambassadors, search for a missing Ambassador.  Plus, two early Millarworld favorites are forced together on new comics day.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been receiving PDF review copies of Netflix/Millarworld's comic book titles since late 2021.  Big Game #2 is the latest.

Some of Millarworld's most popular comic book franchises and series have been adapted into Hollywood feature films.  They are Wanted (2008), Kick-Ass (2010), Kick-Ass 2 (2013), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), and The King's Man (2021).  These movies are so disparate that you, dear readers, would be surprised to know that their source material originates from a shared universe.

As a longtime Millarworld fan, it is both terrifying and thrilling to read Big Game, especially because Nemesis is on the prowl and is killing some of my favorite Millarworld good guys and anti-heroes.  Writer Mark Millar is having himself quite a bit of fun by tearing things apart, but the smart Millarworld readers (Is there any other kind?) know that Mark has shocks and surprises in store for us.  Plus, :nothing is really what it appears at first” is a truism in every one of Millar's comic book series.

Pepe Larraz's art is similar to the work of Bryan Hitch, a specialist in event comic books, and Larraz's storytelling style certainly suggests that this is truly a BIG event.  He is also good at creating an air of menace, suggested in the faces of the characters and in the overall narrative.  Giovanna Niro's colors serve this “dark universe” quite well, and Clem Robins' lettering is uniquely fashioned to amplify the soundtrack of Millar's scripts.

Big Game #1 had me curious to see what was next.  After reading that first issue, I almost guaranteed that the second issue of Big Game would blow the doorway to your imagination off its hinges, dear readers.  My hinges gave out.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and especially of his Millarworld titles will want to read Big Game.

A+

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can buy the BIG GAME VOL. 1 trade paperback at AMAZON.

https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/

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#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #4

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #4 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: Sunny Gho and David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Greg Tocchini
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2022)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, The Magic Order focused on the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.

A second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2, has arrived.  It is written by Mark Millar; drawn by Stuart Immonen; colored by Sunny Gho and David Curiel; and lettered by Clem Robins.  The new series focuses on a magical turf war between The Magic Order and a group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.

The Magic Order 2 #4 opens in Glascow.  The allies of the warlock Victor Korne have retrieved another piece of the Stone of Thoth, a talisman from ancient Egypt that summons anything from space, time, and beyond.  Standing in their way is The Magic Order … oops.

Standing in the way of The Magic Order is troubled wizard and drug addict, Francis King, who has just killed a fellow member of the Order.  What will the Order do?  What will Moonstone cousin, Kevin Mitchell, do to Francis?  Meanwhile, Korne's forces begin to take their revenge on humanity for spending five hundred years bowing to puny humans.

THE LOWDOWN:  With each issue, The Magic Order 2 surpasses it predecessor.  That is quite the accomplishment, as The Magic Order is awesome, dude.

I'm getting tired of praising Mark Millar; he's just too good.  I can't do words like him, so it is getting hard to praise.  But it ain't getting hard to keep on loving his comics.  Holla!  If only he'd stop writing something great like The Magic Order 2 and write something mediocre like whatever crossover events Marvel and DC Comics are churning out.  Harry Potter and Doctor Strange wish they could be as good as The Magic Order 2.

And to Hell with Stuart Immonen and his super-talented ass.  He's been rocking my world since Shock Rockers.  Here, his storytelling bleeds electricity and casts a glamour on his readers – especially me.  With the potent colors of Sunny Gho and David Curiel, Immonen delivers something that is simply great and a blast to read.

God, it's only issue four.  I don't know if I can make it two more issues.  Dear readers, come on experience the joy of The Magic Order 2.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ImageComics
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https://twitter.com/netflix
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#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #3

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #3 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: Sunny Gho and David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Jason Shawn Alexander
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2021)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, The Magic Order focused on the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.

A second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2, has arrived.  It is written by Mark Millar; drawn by Stuart Immonen; colored by Sunny Gho and David Curiel; and lettered by Clem Robins.  The new series focuses on a magical turf war between The Magic Order and a group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.

The Magic Order 2 #3 opens in Romania, one thousand years ago.  The first of the Moonstones leads a band of wizards from the thirteen corners of the Earth against the dark wizard, Soren Korne.  Their victory against him – a twist of fate involving a creature known as “Othoul-Endu” – changed the world for humanity.  The Magic Order was born, and it made the bad things go away.

Back in the present, Korne's descendant, Victor, has gathered his forces, and they are making their move to retrieve the pieces of the Stone of Thoth, a talisman from ancient Egypt that summons anything from space, time, and beyond.  Standing in their way is The Magic Order … and standing in the way of the Order is one of their own, the troubled wizard, Francis King!

THE LOWDOWN:  In the wake of the Black Wedding, as seen in The Magic Order 2 #2, I was ready to go deeper into the sequel to my favorite Mark Millar written, creator-owned comic book, The Magic Order.  Of course, this third issue does not disappoint.

One of the many things that Millar does supremely well as a comic book writer is make his characters, the good, the bad, and the depraved, engaging.  It is one thing to fashion personalities for fictional characters that are the good guys.  It is quite another to make even the most despicable villains have motivations that feel genuine to the readers – even if those motivations are … also despicable.

If The Magic Order is really like a blend of Harry Potter with a Martin Scorsese mob film, the series needs comic book artists whose storytelling chops are strong enough to make The Magic Order more than that.  Here, there are dark arts families that are as ruthless as a mob family, and the magic is as big as anything found in Harry Potter media.

What Stuart Immonen brings to this mix is power and scope.  Whatever he presents on the page, he imbues with the sense that there is more.  He makes the masters of the dark arts characters malevolent and malignant rather than simply being evil.  And what about the struggle of the heroes?  Well, it's worse than it looks.  The good guys may be powerful, but Immonen depicts that struggles and troubles as ever bigger.  I've been reading comic books so long, and Lord, it is good to know that there are still artists that can grab my imagination and sweep the cynicism and cobwebs away.

Seriously, what Millar and Immonen are delivering in The Magic Order 2 would scare mobsters and make boy wizards pee their pants.  If you aren't reading The Magic Order 2, dear readers, your pull list is out of order.  And you don't need to be a wizard to fix this pitiful situation.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ImageComics
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https://twitter.com/netflix
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#IReadsYou Review: STAR WARS: Crimson Reign #1

STAR WARS: CRIMSON REIGN #1 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

STORY: Charles Soule
ART: Steven Cummings
COLORS: Guru-eFX
LETTERS: VC's Travis Lanham
EDITOR: Mark Paniccia
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Steve Cummings with Guru-eFX; Ario Anindito with Edgar Delgado; Clayton Crain; Valerio Giangiordano with Arif Prianto; David Lopez; Rahzzah; Khoi Pahm with Lee Loughridge
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (February 2022)

Rated T

Part 1: “The Orphans”

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters was a Marvel Comics Star Wars publishing event that was comprised of 34 individual comic books, published from May to October 2021.  The series imagines a series of events that occur between the time bounty hunter, Boba Fett, collects Han Solo frozen in carbonite in 1980s The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back) and his appearance in 1983's Return of the Jedi (Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi).

Coming out of War of the Bounty Hunters is the comic book miniseries, Star Wars: Crimson Reign.  It is written by Charles Soule; drawn by Steven Cummings; colored by Guru-eFX; and lettered by Travis Lanham.  According to Marvel, Crimson Reign is the second installment of a trilogy that will reshape the history of the Star Wars Galaxy during the “Age of Rebellion.”

Star Wars: Crimson Reign #1 opens in the halls of the group known as “Crimson Dawn.”  Qi'ra of Corellia is now the group's leader.  She has taken on the killers, liars, and thieves that make up this group and has given them a purpose.

Qi'ra has gathered a diverse group:  “The Knights of Ren,” “Chanath Cha and the Orphans,” Deathstick, Ochi of Bestoon, Margo and Trinia, and the Archivist to carry out of her plans, which is to destroy the Sith in order to free the galaxy.  Her main targets, of course, are Emperor Palpatine a.k.a. “Darth Sidious” and his apprentice, Darth Vader.  Qi'ra begins her mission by sending her allies against the galaxy's criminal syndicates, but has doom for herself and her group already been foretold?

THE LOWDOWN:  I have enjoyed the vast majority of the Charles Soule's Star Wars comic book work that I have read.  I have enjoyed Steven Cummings art since I was first exposed to it in some OEL (original English language) manga from Tokyopop, including Pantheon High (2007), Star Trek: The Manga (2007), and CSI: Intern at Your Own Risk (2009).

However, Star Wars: Crimson Reign #1 isn't the kind of first issue that will inspire me to go out of my way to read the rest of the series.  It is professionally written, professionally drawn, professionally colored, and professionally lettered.  This isn't a bad comic book.  I simply have little interest in Qi'ra's conspiracy, which is contrived past the point of being credible.  I find it hard to believe that not one syndicate leader would notice that the troubles begin shortly after Qi'ra and her ilk begin meeting with the syndicates.  Does it take two issues for even one of them to figure this out?

Lucasfilm and Marvel seem determined to retcon the fuck out of the original Star Wars trilogy and the imaginary timeline surrounding it – known as the “Age of Rebellion.”  That is their prerogative, but it is mine to choose to read it.  I choose not to.  I have never been that curious about “what happened” between the films, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).  But if that is your thing, Crimson Reign is not only a miniseries, but it is an event that will take place in various issues across Marvel's line of Star Wars comic books.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Marvel's Star Wars comic books may want to try Star Wars: Crimson Reign.

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/Marvel
https://www.marvel.com/
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#IReadsYou Review: HEROES REBORN #1

HEROES REBORN #1 (OF 7)
MARVEL COMICS

STORY: Jason Aaron
PENCILS: Ed McGuiness
INKS: Mark Morales
COLORS: Matthew Wilson
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Carlos Pacheco and Rafael Ponteriz with Nolan Woodard; Ed McGuiness with Matthew Wilson; George Perez and Al Vey with Morry Hollowell; Iban Coello with Espen Grundetjern; Jeffrey Veregge; John Tyler Christopher; Joshua Cassara with Dean White; Mark Bagley and John Dell with Romulo Fajardo, Jr.; Stanley “Artgerm” Lau
48pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (July 2021)

Rated “T+”

“Whatever Happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes?”

Heroes Reborn was a Marvel Comics summer event series and crossover publishing initiative.  It was comprised of the seven-issue comic book miniseries, Heroes Reborn, and eleven tie-in comic books.  The entire thing was scheduled to be published over seven weeks, from May 5, 2021 to June 23, 2021.

Heroes Reborn is set on an Earth in which the Avengers – Earth's Mightiest Heroes – were never formed, and Blade the Vampire Hunter seems to be the only person who remembers that the world should be different – that it has been “reborn.”  The Heroes Reborn miniseries was written by Jason Aaron; drawn by Ed McGuiness (pencils) and Mark Morales (inks); colored by Matthew Wilson; and lettered by Matthew Wilson.

Heroes Reborn #1 (“Whatever Happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes?”) opens in East Los Angeles.  That is where Blade is looking for answers.  Two weeks earlier, he woke up covered in blood in a flophouse of London's East End.  The first thing he did was try to contact Avengers Mountain, but it was not there.

Blade discovers that he has awakened in a world that is both familiar and wildly different.  In this world the Avengers never existed.  The Squadron Supreme of America has always been “Earth's mightiest heroes.”  They are Hyperion, Nighthawk, Power Princess, Doctor Spectrum, and Blur.

Phil Coulson is currently the President of the United States.  Blade reaches out to the Avengers teammates that he can find, but to no avail.  And the Squadron's Nighthawk does not like the “truth” with which Blade has confronted him.  Now, Blade must travel to the arctic and find the one man – the one legendary hero – who can fix this wrong Earth.

THE LOWDOWN:  First, I must be honest with you, dear readers.  With but a few exceptions, I hate big Marvel and DC Comics crossover events.  They are generally a mess – the closest thing to a cacophony of actual sound and fury signifying nothing that comic books can get.

Heroes Reborn #1 is one of the exceptions.  It is actually a really good first issue; the rest of the miniseries and all the tie-in issues are a mixed bag.  Only the first issue is entirely the work of Aaron and McGuiness, who is essentially the back-up artist on issues #2 to #7.  Jason Aaron is the writer on the lead stories in those issues, each of which focuses on a member of the Squadron Supreme and/or their activities.

I assume that many readers already know that the Squadron Supreme is Marvel's pastiche version of DC Comics Justice League of America.  I don't think that the team has ever been known as the “Squadron Supreme of America,” so it is funny that this is the group's name in Heroes Reborn.

The Heroes Reborn miniseries and its tie-ins are basically an overview of a world in which the Squadron and not the Avengers protects Earth.  Some of the changes are quite intriguing, such as the fact that the Squadron is more like DC Comics/Wildstorm Production's The Authority than the Avengers.  Some changes are not as good, but could be upon further development.  By the end of the one-shot that wraps up this event, Heroes Return #1, I did want to see more of the Heroes Reborn world, even with my reservations.

The series was published a year ago, so I don't believe I should worry about spoilers.  The Squadron replaced the Avengers in a plot hatched by Marvel's satanic villain, Mephisto, using the “Pandemonium Cube” (Cosmic Cube), with Phil Coulson as his wickedly evil and ambitious lackey and front man.

All that said:  I really liked Heroes Reborn #1.  Jason Aaron offers an especially intriguing first issue script with flourishes on conspiracy and mystery.  Ed McGuiness' manages to be both stylish and excellent in his storytelling; Mark Morales' sharp inks bring out McGuiness' sparkling design.  Matthew Wilson's color, as always, are gorgeous.  Letterer Cory Petit is also one of those “of course his work is good” guys, and he is indeed good here.

In general, I like Heroes Reborn, and I feel comfortable recommending it to fans of Marvel event series and to fans of the Squadron Supreme.  I didn't get as much Blade in this series as I would have liked, but sometimes, I have to take what I can get.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Marvel event series will want to try Heroes Reborn.

B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/Marvel
https://www.marvel.com/
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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #2

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #2 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Gene Ha
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2021)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, The Magic Order focused on the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.

A second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2, has arrived.  It is written by Mark Millar; drawn by Stuart Immonen; colored by Sunny Gho; and lettered by Clem Robins.  The new series focuses on a magical turf war between The Magic Order and a group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.

As The Magic Order 2 #2 opens, the wizard Francis King returns from an addiction center … just in time, as the Order needs all the members it can summon.  The Moonstones, Cordelia and Regan, and their cousin, Kevin Mitchell, have discovered that a piece of the Stone of Thoth has been taken.  A talisman from ancient Egypt that summon anything from space, time, and beyond, the Stone of Thoth has been guarded by Kevin's chapter of the Order.  It was divided into four pieces and hidden, and now, an unknown enemy is searching out the pieces.

Five hundred years after The Magic Order made all the monsters disappear, they are mysteriously reappearing.  And the dark forces that are magic's underbelly are emerging.

THE LOWDOWN:  I've been saying this for a few years.  The Magic Order is my favorite Mark Millar written, creator-owned comic book.  When it debuted three years ago, the series gave us a thrilling introduction to a new world and new universe of magic, magical beings, and magical conspiracies.  The Magic Order is really like a blend of Harry Potter with a Martin Scorsese mob film.

To read and enjoy and understand The Magic Order 2, one does not have to have read the original series.  Mark Millar throws readers right into a riveting and alluring conspiracy, and his script for The Magic Order 2 #2 recalls the riveting thrills of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and the alluring conspiracy of Watchmen.  One of the things that made these comic books so great was that reading them was like experiencing something that had never been seen in the mainstream American comic books that had come before them.

Becoming a Netflix executive did not stop Mark Millar from being one of the very best comic book writers in the English language.  He has given The Magic Order 2 #2 to us as a warning, just in case we thought that he might have slipped.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
https://twitter.com/themagicorder
http://www.millarworld.tv/
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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #1

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #1 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Greg Tocchini; Mark Chiarello; Ozgur Yildirim; Stuart Immonen
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2021)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, The Magic Order focused on the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.

A second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2, has arrived.  It is written by Mark Millar; drawn by Stuart Immonen; colored by Sunny Gho; and lettered by Clem Robins.

As The Magic Order 2 #1 opens, it has been six months since Cordelia Moonstone cast that spell involving her late brother, Gabriel.  Right now, her brother, Regan, and his friend, Eddie, are dealing with a boy and his awful imaginary friend.  Meanwhile, Cordelia is living her best lust … er... life.

Now, it's time for a family reunion, of sorts, for the birthday of their niece, Gabriel's daughter, Rosetta “Rosie” Moonstone.  But the festivities are interrupted by a visit from the London chapter of the Order.  An old bloodline of dark forces is starting to flow again.

THE LOWDOWN:  I think The Magic Order is my favorite Mark Millar written, creator-owned comic book.  When it debuted three years ago, the series gave us a thrilling introduction to a new world and new universe of magic, magical beings, and magical conspiracies.  The Magic Order is really like a blend of Harry Potter with a Martin Scorsese mob film.

The Magic Order 2 #1 reads best if you, dear readers, read the first series, but I believe that most readers can love this first issue even if this is their first taste of the spell that is the universe of The Magic Order.  Millar throws the readers right into a riveting and alluring conspiracy, and every page is a wonder that makes me want more.  I could have screamed when I looked at the last page, knowing that I have to wait for more.  Truthfully, the opening of this second series is like the opening of the first; Millar throws the readers right into murder, mystery, dark magic, and conspiracy.

Stuart Immonen is probably the perfect replacement for original series artist, Olivier Coipel, as like Coipel, Immonen is a veteran artist with exceptional skills at composition and with strong storytelling skills.  The franchise does not miss a beat from first to second, mainly because Immonen's art looks similar to Coipel's.  Sunny Gho's colors convey the story's shifting moods, but also hint at the sense of menace and dread that hangs over this first chapter.  And as always, letterer Clem Robins makes sure we hear the coming fury.

Lord knows I've been waiting, and The Magic Order 2 #1 does not disappoint on any level.  The excitement, secrets, thrills, and magic are back.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
https://twitter.com/themagicorder
http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE SECRET SERVICE #1

THE SECRET SERVICE #1
MARVEL COMICS/Icon – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Mark Millar and Matthew Vaughn
WRITER: Mark Millar – @mrmarkmillar
ARTIST: Dave Gibbons
COLORS: Angus McKie
COVER: Dave Gibbons
VARIANT COVERS: Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2012)

Mature Content

The Secret Service created by Mark Miller, Dave Gibbons, and Matthew Vaughn

The Secret Service was a six issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar; drawn by Dave Gibbons; and colored by Angus McKie.  The series was created by Millar, Gibbons, and writer/director/ producer Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) and was published in 2012 by Icon, a pseudo-creator owned imprint of Marvel Comics.  Vaughn directed a film loosely adapted from this comic book and entitled Kingsman: The Secret Service.  [The Secret Service has since been re-branded as Kingsman: The Secret Service to tie-in closer to the film.]

The Secret Service is apparently inspired by “classic” James Bond films and the spy thriller genre in general.  [I must note, dear readers, that I consider the James Bond films from Dr. No to A View to a Kill to be the “classic Bond films.”]  The story focuses on a super-spy and his young and wayward nephew whom he recruits into “the secret service.”

The Secret Service #1 opens in Zermatt, Switzerland where we find Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame in the clutches of mysterious, “middle-Eastern” types.  Later, in Peckham, South London, Gary “Eggsy” London is dealing with another awful night of home life with his mother, Sharon, and her English-white trash husband, Darren, and his rowdy pals.  So Gary decides to have a night of bad behavior with his own pals, but that will land him in trouble.  Once again, it's Gary's Uncle Jack to the rescue, but Jack London is secretly an MI6 agent, and he is ready to redirect his troubled nephew.

I saw Kingsman: The Secret Service on DVD not long after its home media release.  I thought some of it was really good, but most of it was mediocre slash OK.  I got a kick out of Samuel L. Jackson, Sofia Boutella, (that sexy-M.F.) Mark Strong, and Michael Caine (cause there is never enough Michael Caine).  I liked Taron Egerton, but he does not totally sell me on the idea of him being an action hero.  I put up with Colin Firth's character because he is played by Colin Firth.  Did I mention Mark Strong?

Reading The Secret Service comic book for the first time, what surprises me is how matter-of-fact the first issue seems.  It is unassuming and so lacks glamour (unlike the film) that after a few pages I thought The Secret Service was going to be a disaster.  However, I soon picked up on the steady pace, solemn pace.  There is something real and earthy about the interaction between Jack London and his sister, Sharon.  Reading it, I felt like I was eavesdropping on some real-world, old sibling melodrama.

By the end, I wanted to read more.  I'll see the new movie, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, but I hope the new comic book, Kingsman: The Red Diamond, is more like this comic book.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://twitter.com/Marvel
https://www.marvel.com/
https://www.marvel.com/comics
https://www.comixology.com/Marvel_Comics


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: KICK-ASS VS. HIT-GIRL #1

KICK-ASS VS. HIT-GIRL #1
IMAGE COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Steve Niles
ART: Marcelo Frusin
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: John Workman
DESIGN: Melina Mikulic
EDITOR: Rachael Fulton
COVER: John Romita, Jr. with Peter Steigerwald
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Matteo Scalera; Andre Lima Araujo with Chris O'Halloran
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(November 2020)

Rated “M/Mature”

Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl created by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.

Kick-Ass is a comic book series created by writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita, Jr.  The initial Kick-Ass comic books were published by Marvel Comics' “Icon” imprint, before the series moved to Image Comics.  Kick-Ass is now known as Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years, and is comprised of four book collections (or graphic novels)

Kick-Ass #1 (cover dated: April 2008) introduced Dave Lizewski, a teenager who becomes a real life superhero.  Dave takes the name “Kick-Ass,” and his superhero activities are publicized on the Internet and inspire other people to become like him.  Dave eventually gets caught up with the ruthless father-daughter vigilante duo, “Big Daddy”/Damon McCready and “Hit-Girl”/Mindy McCready (both introduced in Kick-Ass #3 – cover dated July 2008).  The McCreadys are on a mission to take down the Genovese crime family.

Kick-Ass 2018 (now known as Kick-Ass: The New Girl) introduced a new Kick-Ass.  She was Patience Lee, an Afghanistan war veteran who returned home to Albuquerque, New Mexico and discovered that her husband had left her and also had run up large debts.  Taking on the Kick-Ass identity, Patience started off stealing cash from neighborhood criminals before eventually killing off the local boss and his gang and taking over his operations as the new crime boss, using the name, “Kick-Ass.”

Hit-Girl now travels the world doing her own thing in her own comic books.  But it is time for Kick-Ass/Patience Lee and Hit-Girl to finally meet, and they do so in the new comic book miniseries, Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl.  It is written by Steve Niles; drawn by Marcelo Frusin; colored by Sunny Gho; and lettered John Workman, with original Kick-Ass artist, John Romita, Jr. providing cover art.

Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl #1 opens in the aftermath of Patience killing her brother-in-law, her sister's husband, Maurice.  At Maurice's funeral, Patience does a lot of thinking, and she decides to destroy the criminal empire that she has built.  But not everyone agrees with that move.  Elsewhere, a young killer makes her noisy arrival in Albuquerque, NM.

THE LOWDOWN:  I am a fan of the Kick-Ass comic book franchise, especially of the comic books produced by both Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.  I think that the original Kick-Ass series is a revolutionary moment in superhero comic books, probably the biggest shift since the dawn of Marvel Comics in 1961 with the publication of The Fantastic Four #1.  For one thing, Kick-Ass liberated superhero comic books of nostalgia and sentimentality.  This was the first step in creating a comic book that convincingly depicts what it might be like if superheroes existed in our real world.

The post Millar-Romita, Jr. Kick-Ass comic books are entertaining, but they read more like Vertigo crime and hard-boiled comic books than like Kick-Ass superhero comic books.  In this first issue, Marcelo Frusin's graphical storytelling is stylish and fast-moving, filled with edgy drama and hard-hitting violent action.  Writer Steve Niles builds the first issue on anticipation.  He offers a simmer that the readers know will result in explosive, but pivotal violence; readers just have to wait.

The colors by Sunny Gho throb and sometimes take on a neon quality.  The coloring gives this story's edginess a moody filter.  Meanwhile, John Workman does what the best letterers have been doing for decades – create the illusion of an audio track so that a comic book, in this case, Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl #1, is a thing of sound and graphics.

So, what is the verdict on Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl #1?  Well, I'd like to be cynical, but by the time I reached the last page, I really wanted more.  And I shall come back for more

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Kick-Ass comic books will want to try Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl #1.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.steveniles.com/
https://twitter.com/SteveNiles
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://imagecomics.com/


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: BLACK PANTHER and the Agents of Wakanda #1

BLACK PANTHER AND THE AGENTS OF WAKANDA No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jim Zub
ART: Lan Medina
COLORS: Marcio Menyz
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
MISC ART: Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
COVER: Jorge Molina
EDITOR: Wil Moss
VARIANT COVERS: John Buscema with Dave McCaig; Inhyuk Lee; Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho; Yoon Lee
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2019)

Rated “T”

Black Panther created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“Eye of the Storm” Part 1 of 2

It makes sense that Marvel Comics would publish more than one Black Panther comic book series.  After all, the 2018 Black Panther film was a worldwide box office smash and won three Academy Awards, as well as receiving a best picture Oscar nomination (the first film based on a comic book to do so).  The release of that film spurred a reportedly big jump in sales of Black Panther comic books and trade paperback collections, to say nothing of the merchandise sales that left some retailers sold-out or short of supply.

The latest Black Panther ongoing comic book series is Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda.  It is both a Black Panther title and an Avengers-related series, spinning off from Jason Aaron's run on Avengers.  Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda is written by Jim Zub, drawn by Lan Medina; colored by Marcio Menyz, and lettered by Joe Sabino.

Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #1 finds Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp and Colonel John Jameson III/The Man-Wolf in Miami fighting the “Scavengers.”  This group of tech-thieves is in Miami to find a lost cache of experimental S.H.I.E.L.D. weaponry.  Soon, however, Okoye, the tactical head of the “Dora Milaje” and director of “the Agents of Wakanda,” is leading her teammates to a meeting with their boss, Black Panther.

T'Challa, the current Chairman of the Avengers and the King of Wakanda, has located an example of the kind of situation for which the Agents of Wakanda was created – gathering intelligence and dealing with immediate hazards the Avengers cannot.  Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. is experiencing some kind of demon invasion.  Can Black Panther, The Wasp, Okoye, and Fat Cobra (the immortal weapon and kung-fu champion) stop this invasion... or even discover the power behind it?

Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda writer, Jim Zub, described this comic book as “[Jack] Kirby-fueled Mission: Impossible in the Marvel Universe” to Marvel.com.  He said the team is “a strike force of misfits and monsters tasked with defending humanity.”  The Agents of Wakanda aren't the first superhero group to take on the “weirdness” in the “weird corners” of its comic book universe.  There is also DC Comics The New Terrifics.

The Truth is that everything about a superhero comic book universe is weird, so comic book writers who claim that there is a particularly “weirder” segment ripe for storytelling better bring it.  Jim Zub, a good comic book writer who has produced some comic books that I have enjoyed, does not bring it.  In Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #1  Zub's dialogue is bland, and he makes the characters, some of Marvel's best, seem somewhat run-of-the-mill.

Lan Medina's art is really good... in a few places, and is storytelling is... professional.  Marcio Menyz's coloring is really good, and the color effects caught my attention.  Joe Sabino's lettering is also professional and maybe... a bit perfunctory.  But practically nothing in this first issue is exciting.

If Jim Zub can give Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda the spark he gave his former Image Comics series, Wayward, then, this could be an exceptional superhero comic book.  Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #1 doesn't seem like the introduction to something that will be exceptional.

5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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#IReadsYou Review: HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #1

HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Mark Waid
PENCILS: Javier Rodríguez
INKS: Álvaro López
COLORS: Javier Rodríguez
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
MISC. ART: Phil Noto
COVER: Steve McNiven and Mark Farmer with Sunny Gho
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Nick Bradshaw with John Rauch; John Buscema with Jason Keith; David Marquez with Matthew Wilson; Javier Rodríguez and Álvaro López
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (September 2019)

Rated T

History of the Marvel Universe is a comic book miniseries that chronicles completely, for the first time, everything that was, is, or will be in the Marvel Universe.  History of the Marvel Universe is written by Mark Waid; drawn by Javier Rodríguez (pencils/colors) and Álvaro López (inks); and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

History of the Marvel Universe #1 opens at “the End of Time.”  There, Franklin Richards and the planet-devouring Galactus await the final death of the universe.  Although both will move to the universe born of the death of this one, Richards is concerned about memories.  Before it all ends, he wants the history of this universe to have meant something.  Richards asks Galactus to help him remember everything.  Thus, Galactus recounts the history of this universe, beginning with a first chapter.  It starts at the so-called “Big Bang” and ends both in the Wild West of The Rawhide Kid and The Two-Gun Kid and in the wild north of Canada where a boy named James Howlett emerges.

There is no doubt about it.  Marvel Comics' History of the Marvel Universe #1 has more than a passing resemblance to DC Comics' 1986, two-issue miniseries, History of the DC Universe.  It is true that Mark Waid and Javier Rodríguez could find no better template than the one writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez laid down in History of the DC Universe.

Some people consider Mark Waid an unofficial Marvel Comics historian; I imagine some people at Marvel probably think that.  Waid does a good job gathering the varied “histories” about the beginnings, the ancient times, the recent centuries, etc. that have been depicted in five decades of Marvel Comics titles.  Waid also mixes in threads from Marvel's predecessor Timely Comics and the two decades of material the predates the publication of The Fantastic Four #1.  Of course, Waid has to take into consideration decades of “retcons,” in which Marvel Comics scribes went back and changed things after the fact – the Avengers of one million years ago, introduced in Avengers #1 (2018).  I won't say that this first issue is a great read, but there are some interesting bits in this first issue.

I can say that I love the art team of Javier Rodríguez (pencils/colors) and Álvaro López.  Here, they don't have to engage in graphical storytelling, so much as they have to draw pictures that illustrate Mark Waid's text.  [Waid's script is presented in caption boxes, not word balloons, all well-crafted by Joe Caramagna.]  Their art reminds me of art of Alan Davis.

Speaking of which, Davis' longtime inker, Mark Farmer, inks Steve McNiven's cover pencil art – with excellent results.  So, in conclusion, History of the Marvel Universe #1 is an occasionally interesting curiosity, but honestly, you, dear readers, don't need to read it to enjoy Marvel Comics titles.  History of the Marvel Universe #1 is not the monumental work that Marvel Comics' monumental history deserves.  [I think the history of the Marvel Universe would be best told in a long-running, ongoing comic book series, which won't happen.]

6 out of 10

[This comic book includes four pages of annotations, which list the Marvel Comics publications which acted as reference for the story in History of the Marvel Universe #1.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: X-MEN #1 (2019)

X-MEN No. 1 (2019)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jonathan Hickman
PENCILS: Leinil Francis Yu
INKS: Gerry Alanguilan
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Jordan D. White
EiC: Akria Yoshida a.k.a. “C.B. Cebulski”
COVER: Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mark Bagley and John Dell with Israel Silva; Mark Brooks; Tom Muller; Whilce Portacio with Chris Sotomayor; Leinil Francis Yu; Chris Bachalo with Edgar Delgado; Artgerm; Marco Checchetto; Russell Dauterman
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (December 2019)

Rated T+

The X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“Pax Krakoa”

The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team and franchise created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Jack Kirby.  In The X-Men #1 (cover dated: September 1963), readers were introduced to a professor and team-leader and his students who had unique powers and abilities because they were “mutants.”  The leader was Professor Charles Xavier a/k/a “Professor X.”  His students were Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey (Marvel Girl), Warren Worthington III (Angel), Henry “Hank” McCoy (Beast), and Bobby Drake (Iceman).

This past summer (2019), writer Jonathan Hickman revamped, rebooted, and re-imagined the X-Men comic book franchise via a pair of six-issue comic book miniseries, House of X and Powers of X (pronounced “Powers of Ten”).  October welcomed “Dawn of X,” the launch of six new X-Men titles, although all except one bore titles that have been previously used.  The new series were Excalibur, Fallen Angels, Marauders, New Mutants, X-Force, and the subject of this review, X-Men.

X-Men 2019 is written by Jonathan Hickman; drawn by Leinil Franics Yu (pencils) and the recently-deceased Gerry Alanguilan (inks); colored by Sunny Gho, and lettered by Clayton Cowles.  The series will apparently focus on Cyclops and his hand-picked team of mutant powerhouses who will stand between the mutants' sacred land (the island of Krakoa) and the threat of the human world.

X-Men #1 (Pax Krakoa) finds the X-Men engaged in a mop-up operation, destroying the last stronghold of Orchis, the organization that was attempting to build a more powerful generation of the mutant-hunting robots, the Sentinels.  Cyclops, Storm, Magneto, and Polaris find little real resistance from the minions of Orchis.  However, they do find a “posthuman” and a large group of mutant children in need of rescuing... and in need of a home.

So it's back to Krakoa, the living island and mutant nation-state.  Many are still adjusting to this new home and the new state of mutant affairs.  Meanwhile, their enemies are not going quietly into the night, nor is their evil science.

For the first two decades of its existence, the X-Men comic book series (later titled Uncanny X-Men) had an intimate feel to it.  The series basically focused on a small band of heroes and adventures who (1) had few allies and (2) fought “evil mutants” in order to protect the larger world of humanity.  Even when the team line-ups changed or when a second group of “New Mutants” entered the picture, the X-Men comics felt like an intimate affair with its tales of the mutant-us against the world.

From the mid-1980s on, Marvel Comics published an increasing number of X-Men and X-Men related ongoing series, finite series, graphic novels, and assorted one-off publications.  Then, the hit film, X-Men (2000), presented the X-Men's home and base, “Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters” (Xavier Institute for Higher Learning), as an actual school, packed with minor children who were mutants.  Marvel Comics followed suit, and suddenly Professor Charles Xavier a.k.a. Professor X's mansion went from half a dozen or so inhabitants to housing untold dozens of students, in addition to members of the X-Men who were suddenly being depicted as teachers and counselors.

So during the past two decades of X-Men comic books, the X-Men titles have stopped being superhero comic books and have become mutant soap opera, dystopian, science fiction, serial dramas.  That would not be a problem except there are too many characters, too many plots, and too many comic books.  No matter how many Spider-Man, Superman, or Batman comic books there are, those titles still focus only on Spider-Man, Superman, or Batman.  There is still an intimacy between the reader and a single character.  Too many Avengers or Justice League comic books become redundant, like an over-supply of superhero characters.  That's the problem with the X-Men... still... even after the latest spiffy, new reboot.

Jonathan Hickman's House of X and Powers of X were finite series with a purpose, a goal, and (more or less) an endgame.  Each series had a beginning, a middle, and an end – even during the moments when that was presented in a non-linear fashion.  Both of these comic books were wonderful, satisfying, complete reads.

But we seem to be back to the status quo that was not supposed to be, at least, post-Hickman revolution.  X-Men 2019 is the start of a wave of new X-Men titles, “Dawn of X,” soon to be followed by more waves.  Well, maybe Hickman will continue to surprise us and later issues of X-Men 2019 won't feel like padded story the way this X-Men #1 does.  One can hope, even a former X-Men fan like myself.  But I have a feeling that sales on the “Dawn of X” titles will have plummeted so much by the end of 2020 that Marvel Comics will already be planning the next relaunch.

5.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


--------------------------

Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA #1

CAPTAIN AMERICA No. 1 (Legacy #705)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review ws originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Ta-Nehisi Coates
PENCILS: Leinil Francis Yu
INKS: Gerry Alanguilan
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Alex Ross
VARIANT COVERS: Adam Hughes; Joe Jusko; David Mack; Jim Sternako; Frank Miller with Edgar Delgado; Leinil Francis Yu; Paul Renaud; Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; Marko Djurdjevic; Ron Garney with Matt Milla; Mike Zeck with Richard Isanove; John Cassaday with Laura Martin
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (September 2018)

Rated “T+”

Captain America created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

“Winter in America” Part 1

Captain America is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.  Captain America was Steve Rogers, a frail young man who reached the peak of human perfection via the experimental “super soldier” serum.

He first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated:  March 1941), which was published by Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics.  After Captain America Comics was canceled in 1949, there was a revival of the series from 1953 to 1954.  Captain America fully returned to modern comic books in The Avengers #4 (cover dated: March 1964).

Steve Rogers/Captain America embarks on a new beginning again with a relaunch of his title series.  The new Captain America comic book series is written by Ta-Nehisi Coates; drawn by Leinil Francis Yu (pencils) and Gerry Alanguilan (inks); colored by Sunny Gho; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.  In the new series, Captain America faces an existential crises as he wrestles with how people view and perceive him in the wake of the Hydra Captain America impostor that briefly took over the world as an authoritarian dictator.

Captain America #1 opens in the Sayan Mountains of Russia months earlier.  There, something new is emerging from the ashes of Hydra.  In the present day, Captain America and the Winter Solider battle a small army of men who resemble Cap's old adversary, Nuke.  They are killing civilians in a mass shooting event in and around the National Mall in Washington D.C.  As Captain America battles to save lives and stop these killers, he will also have to face another harsh reality.  No one really trusts him anymore... even the people who should know him best.

I would not call Captain America #1 2018 a great comic book, but it is the best written Captain America comic book that I have read in ages.  Ta-Nehisi Coates cleverly uses the battle at the National Mall's aftermath to depict not so much Captain America in crisis, but the Sentinel of Liberty as man at odds with the people, places, and nation he has sworn to protect and to defend.  It makes for great reading, because we known this is the true Captain America, but the dramatic tension brought by the distrust of Cap from the other characters makes for some good reading.

Leinil Francis Yu has been a skilled graphical storyteller for over two decades, but his drawing style has taken an ugly turn the last several years – as far as I am concerned.  He is better here, and Sunny Gho's evocative colors strengthen how the narrative conveys its ideas and heightens the drama.  Letterer Joe Caramagna creates a steady sense of rhythm that paces the narrative flow for both the action scenes and for the character scenes that confront Captain America.

I think Ta-Nehisi Coates will make me a regular Captain America reader for the first time in ages.  I think this is the beginning of a good age for Captain America.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

---------------------

Review: DAREDEVIL #1

DAREDEVIL No. 1 (2019)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted in Patreon.]

STORY: Chip Zdarsky
ART: Marco Checchetto
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Devin Lewis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Julian Totino Tedesco
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Alex Maleev; Joe Quesada; Skottie Young; Gabriele Dell'Otto
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (April 2019)

Daredevil created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett with Jack Kirby and Wally Wood

“Know Fear” Part 1

Daredevil is a Marvel Comics superhero created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett.  The character first appeared in Daredevil #1 (cover dated: April 1964).  Daredevil is Matt Murdock, a vision-impaired attorney who was blinded as a child after being exposed to a radioactive substance.  That substance enhanced his senses to a supernatural level and gave him a 360-degree radar sense.

Marvel Comics is giving Daredevil the comic book something of a reboot.  Daredevil 2019 is written by Chip Zdarsky; drawn by Marco Checchetto; colored by Sunny Gho; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.

Daredevil #1 opens in the wake of the events depicted at the end of writer Charles Soule's run on Daredevil and in the subsequent five-issue miniseries, Man Without Fear.  After recovering from grievous injuries and intense physical therapy, Matt Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen.  As the story begins, Matt has already acted once as Daredevil (although apparently not in costume).  However, there is a new sheriff in town.

Straight outta Chicago comes Detective Cole North.  He has been tasked by New York City Mayor Wilson Fisk, formerly known as The Kingpin – the crime lord of New York City, to take down costumed superheroes in NYC.  When he dons the Daredevil costume for the first time in a long time, Matt may end up doing Detective Cole's work for him.

Daredevil #1 (2019) is quite a good start for the new series.  First, there is Julian Totino Tedesco's beautiful cover art.  Inside, Marco Checchetto offers his most disciplined compositions to date, with an emphasis on storytelling that makes the most of atmosphere and mood and characters' emotions.  Previously, Checchetto was good at these things, but his drawings seemed to emphasize style.  Sunny Gho's colors are beautiful and emphasize reds and blues to create a sort of rose-tinted Film-Noir look.  The artists' depiction of Daredevil's radar sense is also quite nice.

Writer Chip Zdarsky's storytelling here reminds me, in some ways, of writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzuchelli's “Born Again” story arc in Daredevil (1964) #227-231.  It is also something of a spiritual heir to the last year of Frank Miller's original run on Daredevil as writer-artist/designer (with Klaus Janson as artist).  I don't know if Zdarsky's work on Daredevil will reach the great heights of Miller, but I like how Zdarsky emphasizes Matt's moral conflicts and his past, as well as emphasizing Wilson Fisk as being an existential threat to Matt Murdock-Daredevil.  Clayton Cowles lettering creates a nice rhythm for Zdarsky's script.

I was not looking forward to Daredevil (2019), but happenstance dropped a copy of Daredevil #1 (2019) in my lap.  I am glad I read it, and I am recommending it to Daredevil fans.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

---------------------------

Review: KICK-ASS #7 (The New Girl)

KICK-ASS No. 7 (2018)
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Steve Niles
ART: Marcelo Frusin
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: John Workman
EDITOR: Rachel Fulton
COVER: Marcelo Frusin.
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jock; Rafael Grampa
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2018)

Rated M/Mature

Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl created by Mark Miller and John Romita, Jr.

This year, writer Mark Millar and creator John Romita, Jr. revived their wildly popular superhero comic book series, Kick-Ass.  The duo transitioned from the story of Dave Lizewski, and Kick-Ass (2018) began the story of the “New Girl” who became Kick-Ass, Staff Sergeant Patience Lee, a combat veteran in the Afghanistan part of the “(Global) War on Terror.”

Both Millar and Romita moved on to other projects after the sixth issue of Kick-Ass.  The seventh issue introduces a new creative team.  It is comprised of writer Steve Niles; artist Marcelo Frusin; colorist Sunny Gho; and letterer John Workman.  At this point in the series, the new girl is still kicking ass, but she is making new and even more dangerous enemies.

Kick-Ass #7 finds Sgt. Patience Lee Kick-Ass moving along quite nicely in her new life.  As Kick-Ass, she has taken over and consolidated several criminal gangs.  She takes down drug operations and divides the spoils among the criminals who have joined her new gang.  Lee does this while keeping only $800 from her Kick-Ass operations for herself, and she still works as a waitress at a diner.  The latest self-styled crime lord that she has targeted is Hector Santos, who mostly seems to stay in hiding.  Santos is also a little more savvy than most of the criminals that Kick-Ass has been kicking around, and our anti-hero may be walking into a trap.

I loved and still love the original Kick-Ass comic books, which were published by Marvel Comics' Icon imprint.  Kick-Ass is my favorite work of artist John Romita, Jr., and it is my favorite work of Mark Millar, although his new comic book, The Magic Order, could overtake it.  I was not excited to hear that a new creative team would take over the series with the seventh issue of Kick-Ass (2018).

However, Kick-Ass #7 turns out to be a thoroughly enjoyable comic book.  Writer Steve Niles and artist Marcelo Frusin do not miss a beat in keeping the series consistent with the momentum Millar and Romita, Jr. built over the previous six issues.  The transition from originals to the new creative team for the “New Girl's” story is for all intents and purposes seamless.

In his story and script, Niles slowly builds the tension before exploding the story with a surprising change of plot.  No one can duplicate John Romita Jr.'s unique visual and graphical style, but Frusin makes Kick-Ass his own graphical storytelling feat.  This is still Kick-Ass (2018), but now, this gritty crime story is a gritty crime comic book.  Instead of Romita's explosive pop comics illustrations, Frusin gives us art that recalls recent popular crime comic books like 100 Bullets and Criminal.

Colorist Sunny Gho, who always seems to be offering something new with his comic book coloring, heightens Frusin's sense of tense drama and explosive action with subdued colors.  As always, John Workman proves that he is a master letterer with indispensable fonts and word balloons that are as beautiful as the art and are perfectly placed.

So I need not worry.  Steve Niles and Marcelo Frusin will make sure that Kick-Ass keeps kicking readers' imagination.  I am ready for the next issue.

8.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: RETURN OF WOLVERINE #1

RETURN OF WOLVERINE No. 1 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Charles Soule
PENCILS: Steve McNiven
INKS: Jay Leisten
COLORS: Laura Martin
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
EDITORS: Mark Paniccia and Jordan D. White
COVER:  Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten with Laura Martin
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: John Cassaday with Laura Martin; Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten with Laura Martin; Todd Nauck with Rachelle Rosenberg; Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (November 2018)

Parental advisory

Chapter One: “Hell”

Four years ago, Marvel Comics published Death of Wolverine.  Written by Charles Soule and drawn by Steven McNiven (pencils) and Jay Leisten (inks), the four-issue miniseries saw Wolverine a.k.a. Logan die as a result of injuries and loosing his supernatural healing factor that was a result of him being a mutant.  The most famous version of the Wolverine character:  the one who has been a member of the mutant X-Men and the one that made his first full appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 (after having appeared in the last panel of #180), was dead.

Now after a year of Marvel teasing, Wolverine/Logan is returning in the five-issue comic book miniseries, Return of Wolverine.   The Death of Wolverine creative team of Soule, McNiven, and Leisten return for this resurrection event.  Laura Martin on colors and Joe Sabino on letters complete the creative team.

Return of Wolverine #1 (“Hell”) opens.  Wolverine awakens.  We know who he is, but he does not know who he is.  He is in some unknown location.  There is a saber-tooth tiger and a mammoth in cages near him.  A grievously wounded man tells Wolverine that he should be dead.  A woman who wants Wolverine to find her son tells him that he is a hero.  They both want Wolverine to find some organization called “Soteira” and a woman named “Persephone.”  They both want him to kill and destroy the woman and her organization respectively.  Still unsure of who is he or what happened or is happening, Wolverine figures, why not.  What else does he have to do?

Legendary comic book writer, Alan Moore, had a lot to say about DC Comics' announcement that it would produce prequel and sequel comic books based upon his and artist Dave Gibbons' also legendary, 12-issue comic book series, Watchmen.  As Moore has long disputed the contracts and rights issues between him and DC over Watchmen, he refused to participate in the eventual multi-comic book project, Before Watchmen (2012).

Moore described the comic book creators who signed on for the prequels as alternately “possibly halfway decent writers and artists” and people who don't even deserve the title of “creators.”  That irked some comics folks; I seem to remember Marvel Comics writer Jason Aaron being particularly miffed.  I think that Moore's comments can be accurately levied against quite a few comic book creators, past and present.

However, I think that it is not so much that comic book writers and artists are halfway decent; rather it is that they often produce halfway decent comic books, even when they are working on what is supposedly important, event comic books.

Return of Wolverine #1 is halfway decent.  I would say that the majority of the comic books written by Charles Soule that I have read I have really liked.  I halfway like Return of Wolverine #1, but not for the story, which. is halfway decent...   No., this is a poorly written comic book.  It is beneath a writer as highly-paid and as respected as Charles Soule is.  I hope future issues are better.

Meanwhile, I really like Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten's gorgeous artwork and goddess colorist Laura Martin's colors over those beautiful illustrations.  McNiven, Leisten, and Martin art recalls the art of Barry Windsor-Smith on the Wolverine origin story, “Weapon X,” which was originally published in Marvel Comics Presents #72 to 84 (cover dated:  March to September 1991).  Windsor-Smith infrequently produces comic book art; in fact, his last published comic book work may be the five-page section he drew for Wolverine #166 (cover dated:  September 2001).  So McNiven-Leisten-Martin's faux-Barry Windsor-Smith is the reason I will continue to read Return of Wolverine.

Thus, my grade for Return of Wolverine #1 is based on the art.  If it were based only on the story, it would get a failing grade.

5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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