HOWLING COMMANDOS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. No. 5, April 2016 |
There can be little doubt that Frank J. Barbiere tried to
bundle Issue Five of “Howling Commandos Of S.H.I.E.L.D.” with as much
action-packed gunplay, fist-fights and magical mumbo jumbo as this twenty-page
periodical could take. For whilst the Rutgers University graduate’s narrative
still provides plenty of exposition regarding just who The Adversary is that
has been causing the “elite black ops unit of monstrous agents” so many recent
problems, as well as moments of character development such as Nadeen self-doubting
her own suitability to become part of “Dum Dum” Duggan’s strike force. It does
so against the dynamic backdrop of S.T.A.K.E.’s covert team defending the world
against one of its “weird[est] and bizarre threats” as Anath-Na Mut storms New
York City’s Grandview Museum with an assault-rifle carrying zombie army
desperately searching for the Mask of Amenhotep.
Such a weird storyline must surely have
bewildered this comic’s 12,281 regulars, let alone any curiously perusing bibliophiles,
especially when the book begins with an overcoat-wearing Hit-Monkey nonchalantly
approaching some of the Sphinx’s undead minions before blowing them away with
its twin submachine guns. But so incredulous an ambush is actually just the
start of an extraordinarily entertaining publication-long pitched battle. Which,
whilst undoubtedly taking a “fun approach” to depicting Vampire by Night head-staking
heavily-armed cadavers, Warwolf tearing away at glowing Egyptian spectral
warriors, and Man-Thing tangling with a multi-tentacled Hellspawn, still
manages to create an increasingly tense atmosphere as both Navid and his
cosmic-powered master are revealed to be little more than pawns in a greater
being’s powerplay.
Barbiere’s penmanship also manages to create some
genuinely engaging moments amongst all the ‘lively’ chaos of the combat, and in
doing so clearly highlights how far removed he wanted this “military book” to be
from a “very cold and tactical” read. Indeed, few of this magazine’s audience
could have stifled a belly laugh when the ‘high and mighty’ Sphinx is brought
low by the Commando’s resident Japanese Macacque, or later not felt Duggan’s
validation as Jasper Sitwell finally groans “I…mmm…Commanndoooo!” when the S.H.IE.L.D.-suited
zombie starts blazing away at The Adversary’s non-corporeal form.
Disappointingly however, the energetic script does seemingly take its toll upon the breakdowns of Bren Schoonover. The Midwestern-based
freelancer does an incredible job of bringing dynamic life to the majority of
his panels. Yet somewhat mystifyingly seems to struggle quite abysmally when pencilling
either of the Hassan twins, as well as Nina Price in her occasional humanoid
form.
Writer: Frank J. Barbiere, Art: Brent Schoonover, and Color Art: Nick Filardi |
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