Kiss Me, Satan #1

Kiss Me, Satan may not be the most subtle of name choices for a new comic book, but since when have comics really ever been about being subtle?  Kiss Me, Satan is a new creator owned limited series from Dark Horse Comics written by Victor Gischler (Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth, X-Men) and with pencil work by Juan Ferreyra (Rex Mundi, Falling Skies: The Battle of Fitchburg).

The tale opens with a monologue from our presumed protagonist Barnabus Black, a gunman working for a cigar smoking Angel named Jules, as he describes just who runs the city of New Orleans.  And that somebody happens to be Cassian Steele, leader of a mob-like pack of werewolves that deal in everything from protection to prostitution.

Barnabus is tasked with protecting a small group of witches who know some pretty sensitive information regarding Steele’s unborn child.  While the wolves hunt the witches, Barnabus must also evade a team of demons sent from Hell as a “retrieval team.”  We understand that the demons are here to retrieve Barnabus, but we don’t know why yet.  Is he himself a former demon?  Is he just a soul that escaped Hell?  Did he lose a bet with the Devil and is now on the run? We don’t know, but I’m sure excited to find out.

Gischler does a good job of setting this story up and doing a lot of world building in a small amount of time and in a way that doesn’t scream, “I’m world building right now and just feeding you some information that may or may not at some point become relevant.”  That’s not easy to do.

Ferreyra’s pencil work reminds me of Raphael Albuquerque’s work on American Vampire, especially when Ferreyra unleashes the werewolves upon us for the first time.  Ferreyra is doing a good job at reversing the damage that preteen movies of the past few years have done to werewolves and vampires, and is making the frightening to be around again.

I’m very excited to see where Kiss Me, Satan will take us.  As a huge fan of werewolves and their lore, it’s good to see them popping up at one of the “Big Four.”

Kiss Me, Satan #2 comes out October 23^rd.

Action Comics #23.3: Lex Luxthor #1

Villains Month continues this week from DC Comics.  This week, Lex Luthor walks right out of prison to begin his scheming ways.

Is Lex Luthor the smartest man on Earth?  If he isn’t, he’s at least the most self-obsessed.  The story opens with Lex casually exchanging his orange prison jumpsuit for a charcoal business one.  Here we get a glimpse into the man, where he can seemingly do anything he wants with just a ten minute phone call.  Once into his suit he proclaims, “It’s time to stop being selfish.  The world needs Lex Luthor.”

The story revolves almost entirely around Luthor’s two great obsessions, himself, and Superman.  After strolling out of prison and not being greeted by the big blue boy scout, Luthor took it opon himself to find Superman.  After searching media outlets worldwide for hours, Lex comes to the only logical solution a billionaire psycho would.  He spends $80 million to put people in danger in order to draw Superman out.  He sends four privately funded astronauts into space from his private company and orders them to shut off their engines and alter their orbit in such a way that they will fall out of orbit and plummet to their doom.  Of course, they are just under the impression that this is a marketing ploy for LexCorp to come in and save the day.   What follows can only be described as genius in a way, but I won’t spoil it for you.

Charles Soule’s (27, Swamp Thing) writing shines throughout this book.  A relative newcomer to the industry (his first professional credit coming in 2009), Soule demonstrates a tremendous understanding of Luthor’s character and has him coming across oh-so-deliciously evil.  If a Lex Luthor series were ever to come back into play (Lord knows we could probably do away with one of Batman’s 11 thousand ongoing titles), I would definitely read it if Soule were to have writing duties.

The pencil work provided by Raymund Bermund is very clean, showcasing Luthor’s own opinion of himself.  There’s very little use of shadow within the book, which seems fitting.  My favorite panel however is actually the panel where the engines to the starship are shut off.  The ship is in orbit over the Earth and a lens flare reflects off the ship.  As far as my research has shown, this is Bermund’s first professional credit.

Overall, I really enjoyed this comic and I think that this is the best comic DC has put out for Villains Month.  At the end of the issue we are invited to continue Luthor’s story in Forever Evil #2, which comes out October 2^nd.

Batman & Robin #23.2: Court of Owls #1

They're baaaaack.

Who, you might ask? Who? Who? Who?

The Court of Owls.

Created by Scott Snyder (American Vampire, Swamp Thing) and Greg Capullo (Spawn, X-Force) for their initial story in Batman, the Court of Owls are Gotham City's Illuminati. They work in secret, behind the scenes, tightly controlling the inner workings of Gotham. They have been seen most recently in the pages of Talon, written by James Tynion IV (who also wrote this issue) which follows the exploits of a former Court assassin who is being chased down by his former employer.

Court of Owls follows two members, a man and his young daughter, as they make their way from their home into the underworld, where their organization calls home. As they travel, the father recounts stories of how over the decades the Court has used their deadly assassins, called Talons, to impost their physical will when scheming and manipulation weren't enough.

While James Tynion IV gives you bits and pieces of history through the pages of Talon, this comic gives us just what we've been asking for. We follow the Court throughout history, learning more and more about their way of life, their attitudes, and their philosophy.

Cutting back and forth between time periods can be a bit jarring at first, but once you have a handle on it, things start to even out.

Jorge Lucas' (Iron Man, Darkness) art lends itself very well to this story, slightly adjusting for the different times to better fit that period. My personal favorite was the art for the 1862 segment. His art combined with Dave McCaig's colors make these pages beautiful to look at.

My biggest gripe is a character from the 1862 segment known as the Gotham Butcher. He is one of the Talons from the past and frankly, his story felt a bit out of place, even if it did give a sense of how the Court would react to such a character.

Overall, this felt less like a chance to show off a great villain organization and more like an attempt to create interest in Tynion's Talon, whose readership has fallen steadily since it was introduced last October. Last month's sales fell below the 20,000 mark (which led to the recent cancellation of Marvel's Gambit), ranking in at 110th place, as reported by Diamond Comics Distributer. Comparatively, the top five comic series regularly sell over 100,000 copies, with 200,000 not uncommon.

Superior Spider-Man #12 The Leap: Part Two

Those who know me know that I have a love/hate relationship with this book. On one hand, this book is doing amazing things to one of comics' most iconic characters, that is, progression. This isn’t your daddy’s Spider-Man, or even YOUR Spider-Man. Maybe this isn't anybody's Spider-Man. But let me catch the casual fan up to speed: if you haven't picked up a Spider-Man comic in the past seven months or have been spending that time developing radioactive spiders to gain superpowers, I warn you:

That is not how radioactivity actually works. Also, life-changing spoilers ahead

In Amazing Spider-Man #697 it was revealed that Doctor Otto Octavius has switched bodies with Peter Parker, leaving Parker in Octavius’ dying, withering body. Following the events of #700, where Peter Parker (in Octavius’ body) died, the series which had celebrated fifty years came to an end and a new one began, following Octavius as the new, self-proclaimed, Superior Spider-Man.

This is one of the great things about this title, things change, events matter. The thing about comics and these characters is that they go through all of these experiences, trials, and adventures, some with huge repercussions, but rarely do the characters ever grow from them. It's like putting a wad of coal deep underground and patiently waiting until one day… you can dig up that same, unchanged wad of coal. What’s nice about this is that the hero has died, and while they may not have wanted to, their torch has been passed to a new hero—one with a different view on the world and a few different ideas on how to best protect it.

Eleven issues later and Spider-Man is at an island prison for metahumans, overseeing the execution of Alistair Smythe, also known as the Spider-Slayer, who has murdered now-Mayor J. Jonah Jameson’s wife.

Of course, Smythe manages to escape execution and enlists the help of the Vulture, Scorpion, and Boomerang. Spider-Man puts all of the civilians in a force field while he goes to hunt down Smythe, but unbeknownst to Spider-Man, JJJ manages to escape the field, for the purpose of hunting down and murdering Smythe himself. This directly leads into one of the most exciting moments of the book, where JJJ actually saves Spider-Man and then gives Spider-Man a direct order to find and kill Smythe.

The issue is mostly a battle between Spider-Man and the previously mentioned villains, which is where the hate part of my relationship with this book lies. Anytime Smythe gains some sort of advantage over Spider-Man, Spider-Man instantly has it nullified by some sort of technological set-up that happened earlier, unbeknownst to the antagonist. Unfortunately, it also happened unbeknownst to the audience, which at times seems to be synonymous with "enemy" to the authors, who refuse to share with us vital information for a cohesive narrative. I have a really hard time investing in an infallible character, which is how this Spider-Man has always come across to me. I don’t need to him to be outsmarted, but put him up against a villain who has more physical prowess than he does. Put him in a situation where I believe he may actually fail. Or hell, have him actually fail at something! Put him on Celebrity Apprentice and watch him crash and burn at selling Lemonade in Manhattan. Anything to make him lose something that he actually cares about, as opposed to something Peter Parker loved. Humanize him.

Of the three artists who have worked on this book’s still short run, Giuseppe Camuncoli’s (Hellblazer, 52) work is my favorite. His take on the characters is the most natural, compared to Ryan Stegman’s take on Mary-Jane Watson, who literally has a pencil-thin waist.

My final opinion? Superior Spider-Man continues to enrage and excite me. This issue is worth its cover price, and I’m happy to buy each individual issue instead of waiting a few months for the trade paperback. I only hope that we get the chance to see a more vulnerable Spider-Man in the future.

Superior Spider-Man #13 comes out on July 10th.

Zakk

Superman Unchained #1: The Leap

Geeks everywhere took to the streets in mass celebration this past week upon the release of Zack Snyder’s (300, Watchmen) “Man of Steel,” the first Superman film that people have felt good about since the 1978 original.  Okay, maybe we weren’t partying in the street, but we were pretty excited.

But while Zack Snyder was releasing his film, another Snyder (unrelated) was releasing his own take on the Last Son of Kypton.  Drawn by comic industry legend Jim Lee (X-Men, Justice League), “Superman Unchained #1” was released by DC Comics this past Wednesday, and frankly, I had a hard time finding myself a copy due to its popularity.

As someone whose knowledge of Superman extends to one film, one graphic novel, and a few appearances in the other comics I read and collect, Superman Unchained changed how I look at the Man of Tomorrow.  There’s no backstory, no origin, no Krypton, just great storytelling.

The story actually opens on April 9^th, 1945 during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki with something even the most creative of conspiracy theorists couldn't come up with.  As the bomb is falling, it opens up and a blue glowing nuclear man pops out!  Now, I can't confirm this, but it brings back memories of a supervillain named Chemo being dropped on the city of Blüdhaven during the Infinite Crisis DC event of the mid-2000s.  However, the two do looking nothing alike.

This issue really presents Superman in a way I’ve never seen him before.  When I think Superman, I thinking, “Truth, justice, the American way, and a very unthreatening demeanor.”  But as presented here, Superman is shown on more than one occasion either completely or slightly silhouetted or sporting glowing red eyes.  A stark contrast to how I've always seen him.

Superman’s story focuses on him stopping eight crashing satellites from hitting the Earth, and then afterward, trying to find out who’s responsible, the new cyber terrorist group Ascension, who Superman believes isn't capable, or criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, who is being moved into a maximum security prison supposedly having turned over a new leaf and has grand plans to improve Metropolis.  The two options provide an exciting back and forth as Clark Kent refuses to print in his article that Ascension is suspected, despite that the public all fears that Ascension is responsible.

One thing that didn't really work for me is that inside the print version of the issue there is a tear out (careful not to rip) double sized poster that is actually two pages of the comic.  On my first read through I thought this was just a promotion poster, so I ripped it out and kept on reading (comic used confusion, it was super effective).  The pullout is an absolutely stunning display of Lee’s work a, digital fans will miss out on being able to examine it with their own eyes.

There’s a character revealed in the cliffhanger ending (it wouldn’t be a comic without a cliffhanger) seems a bit forced, since there’s been absolutely no time to develop this new character, and Snyder is going to really have to do something to separate this villain from others or we will be seen as incredibly redundant based on his character design.  But, since everything Snyder puts his pen to turns to gold, I’ll give him a free pass.

All-in-all, Superman Unchained is a good read with an exciting take on a character that’s been around since 1939.  Superman Unchained #2 is due out on July 10^th.

Superman Unchained #1 cover by Jim Lee

Batman #21 Review

Wednesday marked the release of Eisner Award Winner Scott Snyder’s (American Vampire, Detective Comics) first issue of Batman: Zero Year, a contemporary look at the early days of Batman.  This marks the first non-film update to Batman’s origin since Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One in early 1987.

While it’s hard to say just how well this will compare to Miller’s tale (after all, it’s just one issue compared to BYO’s four), I can say that after two read-throughs that Zero Year has me intrigued.

The story opens six years in the prior, showing Gotham as the barren, broken, and likely arson-prone thugstravaganza one might expect would forge Batman (or at least plenty of crazy people in costumes).  A small boy catches a fish before being chased down by two men in red and white masks, possibly members of PETA.  Fortuitously for the boy (and less for the fish), the first thug is brought down by rope and the second by a baton.  We don't often see this Batman outside of fanfiction or “other-universe” tales.  This Batman wears a ripped t-shirt. He has a crossbow. Instead of a utility belt, he has a backpack and more gadgets visibly attached to his person than Wayne manor has secret sex dungeons.  This is what a real vigilante should look like.

Let us travel back five more months, to a simpler time before the Batman.  Following a brief encounter with the Red Hood Gang, Bruce Wayne returns home and speaks with Alfred, which is where the comic began to lose me.  Bruce is hanging upside-down using electro-magnetic boots and lifting weights—because sit-ups are for the poor—in the center of a laboratory, filled with computer consoles and large screen monitors.  We get it, he's rich enough to bribe Mother Teresa into doing a Maxim centerfold, but didn't Bruce has just returned to Gotham? Nobody knows he back, and he has no actual ties to Wayne Enterprises. So, did he pre-order the Richard Branson vigilante detective kit and have it mail ordered to his house from his training hut in the Mongolian mountains? How did he get all of this stuff so fast?  I want to see the evolution of man into beast.  I want to see him solve something without the use of technology. Isn't that why he spent seven years abroad, studying and honing his skills?

We eventually meet some new characters to this universe as well as one character’s first introduction into the New-52 outside of a backup story, but I won’t spoil the surprise.

I will say this, though: the artwork of Year One serves its story better than the artwork for Zero Year. Don't get me wrong, Zero Year's artwork is fantastic, but it doesn't fill the story's themes and motifs the way Year One did.  Year One’s use of limited shading and dulled, neutral colors serve the atmosphere Frank Miller has created for Gotham: a dreary sense of existence since popularized in [insert every war game since 2002].  Greg Capullo’s art in Zero Year feels just like his other work. It's stellar art, but nothing separates it from anything else that’s been in a Batman comic for the past few years. Maybe it doesn't need to, but this seems like a seminal story which should get a unique visual approach to Batman.

Snyder has done a good job of setting up a story that will last the next year. The reveal at the end of this book has me very intrigued for the next issue (due out July 10^th).  Pick this comic up if you want to see a Batman you’ve never seen before and a little insight into his return to Gotham, or, you know, if you just like imagining Batman vs PETA fanfiction.

Zakk