Savage Sword Of Conan #1 - Marvel Comics

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN No. 1, April 2019

“Heralding the return of another classic Conan title” in February 2019, it was probably easy for many of this comic’s audience to see just why “Marvel Worldwide” would tell them to “ready your battle axe” in preparation for Gerry Duggan’s sprawling five-part narrative “The Cult Of Koga Thun”. For whilst the New York-based publisher’s pre-print publicity would have them believe that the Cimmerian “isn’t a prisoner for long” aboard the slave ship Ouroboros, the brawling Barbarian doesn’t actually manage to successfully flee from his captors until near this bloated thirty-page periodical’s end, and then its readers need to steadfastly endure an incredibly long-winded multiple splash-page sequence which depicts the exhausted escapee opening a heavy box which “did not contain coin or jewels…”

Of course, that isn’t to say that Issue One of “Savage Sword Of Conan” contains a sedentary-paced storyline which is devoid of action. Far from it in fact, as the titular character does make a brutal break for freedom just as soon as he gains consciousness from having been cast adrift on the ocean five days after a “calamitous sea battle”, and brains any pirate foolish enough to get in his way. Yet this explosive injection of pulse-pounding fisticuffs, which begins with “the Marvel warrior” hurling a metal plate of gruel at the head of the hold’s guard, frustratingly doesn’t occur until a third of the way into the book, by which point many a perusing bibliophile pondering its plot inside their favourite store may well have already returned the magazine to its place on the spinner rack.

Fortuitously however, having roused from his fevered dream about skeleton pirates and scantily-clad company, Duggan’s incarnation of Conan is debatably every bit the swashbuckler Robert E. Howard penned him to be, and despite the occasional disconcerting demonstration of super-human strength, such as when the adventurer simply smashes open the hold’s heavy metal covering with his bare fists, there’s plenty of swordplay for Hyborian Age fans to enjoy. Indeed, the American author even manages to provide this tale with some sorcerous shenanigans when the great wooden ship’s captain is revealed to be a demonic snake man; "What other dark horrors does this ship hold?!”

Equally as impressive as the pacing behind Conan’s fiery breakout are Ron Garney’s interiors, which certainly show the excitement which the artist felt “because he was a character I had always wanted to take a crack at, and here was that opportunity…” As aforementioned the former “Daredevil” drawer’s work slightly suffers at the conclusion of this comic where he is ‘forced’ to pencil perhaps a few too many splash-pages to help pad out the storyline. But there can be no doubting the “klang” of steel or the Cimmerian’s dynamic vitality when the bare-chested hero is sketched battling for his life against a boat full of cut-throats.

Writer: Gerry Duggan, Artist: Ron Garney, and Colorist: Richard Isanove

The Batman Who Laughs #3 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #3, April 2019

Whilst Scott Snyder may well have intended “The Batman Who Laughs” “to be a stand-alone series where you can read it from start to finish without feeling like you need everything else”, the New Yorker’s script for “The Laughing House” most likely had any readers unfamiliar with James Worthington Gordon Junior scouring about looking for an explanation as to just why Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego would turn to the young man as his only hope to defeat the "Jokerized version of Batman who originated from the Dark Multiverse.” Indeed, despite the Commissioner alluding to all the security measures his bespectacled son must take so as to ensure the serial-killer maintains control of his psychopathic tendencies, it is difficult to believe that the Dark Knight’s only chance to succeed in this disappointing narrative is to force the remorseful youth’s personality back to when it was a murdering genius; “Look! At thirteen years old you were a legend! You had books, journals filled with routes, genius combinations!”

Equally as befuddling is “DC Comics” publicised belief that this twenty-four periodical starts to “fit together” all the pieces of its titular character’s plan, and the Burbank-based publisher’s promise that Oswald Cobblepot will play a prominent part in the sociopath’s schemes. True, the Penguin does provide one of the highlights of this comic when he goes “head-to-head with the darkest version of his mortal enemy” and watches his magnificent Iceberg Lounge get significantly torched in the process.

But all these pulse-pounding panels debatably depict is how lethal “the Bat Gimp” can be in close combat, as he surprisingly leaves the semi-conscious crime boss still alive following the cold-blooded murder of another alternative version of Bruce Wayne who apparently “actually ends up competing" with the Penguin to bring him down. Just how these senseless shenanigans progress The Batman Who Laughs’ scheme is unclear, unless the villain’s suggestion that the hapless Gotham City mobster “look into a guy who worked for you named Malone” is a galvanising clue of some kind..?

Quite possibly this book’s biggest problem though, is Mark "Jock" Simpson’s artwork which certainly makes its opening sequence involving James Gordon and his offspring appear as lifelessly flat as the cardboard boxes surrounding them in the store room. Disappointingly wooden-looking and consistently too dark, perhaps due to an overly-enthusiastic David Baron as colorist, even Batman’s highly-anticipated confrontation against the Grim Knight seemingly lacks the vitality a perusing bibliophile might expect from such two such well-matched adversaries…

The regular cover art of "THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS" No. 3 by Jock

Star Wars: Age Of Republic - Count Dooku #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - COUNT DOOKU No. 1, April 2019

“The seventh one-shot in the canon comic book anthology series Star Wars: Age of Republic”, this twenty-page periodical’s storyline probably didn’t win over many new fans to George Lucas’ prequel universe with its sedentary pacing and politically-charged plot focusing upon Count Dooku simply “laying the groundwork for his Sith-Master” on the planet Sallust. Indeed, the former Jedi doesn’t even ignite his lightsaber in anger until this publication’s very end, when the disillusioned nobleman is forced to fight alongside Jak’zin against “the very [criminal] group my master asked me to seek out.”

Admittedly, this demonstration of Jedi swordplay undoubtedly provides “the Cost” with some much-needed action, and invariably reassured its audience that Yoda’s one-time Padawan was just as adept with the close-combat weapon as actor Christopher Lee’s portrayal demonstrated in the 2002 silver screen motion picture “Attack Of The Clones”. But such pulse-pounding panels are debatably disconcertingly few for a comic based upon one of the franchise’s most memorable antagonists, even if much of the suave, silver-haired villain’s menace comes from his stealthy manipulation of matters behind-the-scenes; “Gain his trust. Discover what his mission on Sallust is. And ensure that he doesn’t learn about the alliances you are there to build.”

Just as disappointing is this book’s missed opportunity to provide Darth Tyranus with some much-needed background as to just why Dooku left the order and “fell to the dark side of the Force”, or depict an intriguing insight into his days as a “respected Jedi Master” training Qui-Gon Jinn. Instead, all Jody Houser’s lack-lustre narrative delivers is a tantalising glimpse of the Count’s “duelling demonstrations with Master Yoda” at the Jedi Temple, and a ton of dialogue-driven debate involving the uninteresting Representative Kap Klyp, as well as the Sith’s successfully stealthy attempt to solicit the reason behind a Jedi Knight’s presence on the “obsidian world of lava streams and turquoise lakes.”

Mercifully, despite this comic’s less than scintillating first half it does contain the excellent artwork of Luke Ross, whose sketches of the tiger-headed Jaz’zin and titular character are a real treat to the eyes. In fact, such is the São Paulo-born illustrator’s ability to capture the likeness of Christopher Lee that it is arguably easy to belive that any perusing bibliophile reading this magazine quickly started to imagine the late English actor performing the penciller’s storyboards.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - COUNT DOOKU" No. 1 by Paolo Rivera

Conan The Barbarian #3 - Marvel Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 3, April 2019

Whilst happy happenstance has undeniably played an important part in ensuring the survival of Conan the Cimmerian during so many of Robert E. Howard’s Sword and Sorcery novellas, it is difficult to believe that the majority of this particular adventure’s audience were entirely sold upon Jason Aaron’s premise that the barbarian would have died at the age of seventeen years if not for an incredible run of good fortune. Indeed, starting with the well-muscled thief’s miraculous escape from a mountainous landslide which required his captors to spend three days digging their captive “out from under the rubble”, the Alabama-born author’s script for Issue Three of “Conan The Barbarian” seemingly contains little else than a catalogue of auspicious escapes, ranging from an ancient tree's blessed branch breaking just as the savage youth is being hung for robbing the Nemedian’s Royal Gold Store, through to a lucky lightning bolt striking down the Red Tree Hill Inquisitor moments before the lawman was about to hew his haplessly-bound prisoner in half with a powerful axe blow.

Of course, that isn’t to say that the titular character doesn’t then try to make the very best of his providential predicaments by scattering the settlement’s well-armed soldiers with a bone-breaking bough or threatening to cold-bloodedly crack the scrawny neck of a well-meaning disciple of Mitra if he isn’t released from his lowly jail cell. But none of these exciting escapades ultimately conclude well for Conan, and despite the brutish adventurer’s best efforts he is consistently recaptured either by the mining town’s impoverished people or by an uncaring ‘sheriff’ who prefers to callously kill his own cleric with a crossbow through the throat than allow the Cimmerian to get out of his chamber and flee certain death; “Conan killed the priest. We all saw it… Move the body up the mountain before the dogs get wind of it. I want them good and starving when the time comes. Which won’t be long.”

Mercifully however, what entertainment might debatably be lost through Aaron’s penmanship is easily recollected by Mahmud Asrar’s excellent pencilling, especially whenever the “Pakistani-Austrian comic book artist” chooses to draw Robert E. Howard’s creation straining against his shackles or utilising his near super-human strength so as to momentarily overcome his captors by charging his full bulk into a long-standing tree and bringing it down upon their unbelieving heads. In fact, for those readers who like to imagine the fate Conan is so desperately fighting against, the illustrator’s opening page depicting an unnamed semi-conscious Hyrkanian falling to his death amidst a pack of blood-frenzied wild dogs easily lasts in the mind’s eye well after this twenty-page periodical is finished.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" No. 3 by Esad Ribic

Crackdown #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

CRACKDOWN #1, February 2019

Timed to coincide with the February 2019 release of “Crackdown 3” exclusively for the Xbox One eighth generation games console, this opening instalment to “Dynamic Comics” mini-series set within “the hyper-powered world” probably pleased fans of the open world action-adventure video franchise with its incredibly dynamic opening and unabating assault upon the senses. Yet for those readers unfamiliar with the “not-so-distant future” where “civilized society is more plugged-in and interconnected than ever” Jonathan Goff’s narrative was probably a rather overwhelming submersion into the lives of “an elite international crime-fighting task force”, due to the “Halo” writer’s suffocating use of numerous text boxes filling in all manner of knowledge gaps for the uninitiated; “But no-where’s a paradise. And San Reno, like everywhere with promise, attracts its fair share of snakes. And by snakes I mean gangs. And in San Reno’s case, gangs means a dozen or so small armies…”

Fortunately however, for those readers able to wade through this word-heavy webbing, Sub-Commander Rollins’ unsuccessful attempt to capture Kuma Delonte before a ‘devastating blackout plunges the major metropolitan area into darkness and chaos’ arguably progresses at an enjoyable gun-toting gallop, with its storyline surprisingly managing to provide each of the heavily-armed Agents with their own moment in the spotlight. Of course, there is very little opportunity in between all the slayings, explosions and censored expletives for this fast-paced twenty-two page periodical to provide anything resembling character development. But at least it is possible to recognise the specialist roles each member of the leading cast delivers, whether it be the brute force of Marco Hernandez or sniping skills of Tayo Okafor, even when artist Ricardo Jaime’s slightly scratchy-styled pencils debatably don’t help make everything within his panels as clear as perhaps a perusing bibliophile might want.

Additionally, the sudden removal of both the augmented cops' authoritarian leadership, along with their advanced technology, actually helps make Goff’s media tie-in far more enticing than its initial premise of the protagonists simply stepping in to assist “traditional law enforcement” before it is overwhelmed by an unprecedented collaborative campaign between the conurbation’s main criminal fraternities. Indeed, despite this book’s aforementioned faults, its cliff-hanger, which concludes with Rebecca standing upon a deserted roof-top with just three of her astonished team-mates staring out across an all-too dark cityscape, must genuinely have made many followers determined to pick-up this title’s next issue just as soon as it appears on their local store’s spinner rack.

Writer & Letterer: Jonathan Goff, Artist: Ricardo Jaime, and Colorist: Natalia Marques

The Immortal Hulk #13 - Marvel Comics

IMMORTAL HULK No. 13, April 2019

It must have been hard for any within this comic’s open-mouthed audience to recall another book which so consistently assaulted their senses from cover to cover, as the creative team behind Issue Thirteen of “The Immortal Hulk” does courtesy of their “A Booth In The Midwest” storyline. For whilst Al Ewing’s somewhat nonsensical script for this twenty-page periodical may well have proved a trifle difficult to follow considering it contains Rick Jones’ sightless skin cadaver miraculously morphing into A-Bomb and Carl “Crusher” Creel somehow managing to defeat “Banner’s Dad” simply by touching Brian’s son as the scientist sits haplessly bound alongside “The Devil” in a chair, its visual storytelling is an absolute feast for the eyes, with regular penciler Joe Bennett even managing to incorporate the likes of Jeff Goldblum’s monstrous malformation from the 1986 horror flick “The Fly” and a toxic waste melted Emil Antonowsky from the 1987 science fiction film “Robo-Cop” into some of his early panels.

Similarly as successful is the Brazilian artist’s awesome-looking sketches of an emaciated Hulk pounding away at all manner of horned demons in a furiously desperate attempt to rid the Below Place of the flesh-chomping fiends. Absolutely packed full of thunderous punches, eye-winching bites and limb-wrenching amputations, this extensive fight sequence between the titular character and the One Below All’s seemingly endless minions never lets up, even when the gamma-enhanced giant’s blue-skinned side-kick is literally torn asunder before his horrified eyes; “Get up, Jones! Get up and fight! Jones!”

Of course, that isn’t to say that Ewing’s penmanship doesn’t provide a modicum of entertainment as well, as the Absorbing Man’s sub-plot to outwit Brian Banner by failing to succumb to the villain’s mantra of “Strength without pity. Strength without judgement” demonstrates. Predominantly an arch-nemesis of the Asgardian God of Thunder, Thor Odinson, the Bronx-raised criminal could so easily have “beaten the living crap outta” the supposedly mild-mannered suited figure before him once the former Master Of Evil had absorbed the properties of some surrounding rock. But much to Eugene Judd’s apparent delight, Creel choses to release “the Banner half” of the Hulk instead, and subsequently imbue the Green Goliath with all of his much-missed formidable potency.

First published on the "Dawn of Comics" website.'

The regular cover art of "IMMORTAL HULK" No. 13 by Alex Ross

Exciting Comics #1 - Antarctic Press Comics

EXCITING COMICS No. 1, February 2019

Proudly publicised as a “premiere title” returning to stores “for the first time in over seventy years”, Issue One of “Exciting Comics” undoubtedly delivers upon Ben Dunn’s editorial promise of teleporting its readers back to “a time when heroes knew what to do and fought for what was right” with its wonderful concoction of street-level super-heroic shenanigans, Ancient Egyptian altercations and zany acrobatics. In fact, this “Antarctic Press” anthology’s only disappointment comes with each “Superverse” tale’s cliff-hanger conclusion, which always seems to arrive far too soon and invariably means that the book’s audience must frustratingly wait a while before they can get their hands on the next exhilarating edition…

Starting off this “new shared universe” is “The Revenge Syndicate”, a collaboratively-penned piece by John Crowther and Bradley Golden, which follows the feisty vigilante Black Jaq as she tackles Fats McQueen’s hard-hitting protection racket in New York City. Stunningly sketched by Carlos Tron, this twelve-page knock-out is as attractive to the eye as the female crime-fighter’s punches are bone-breaking, and contains an ending which shows just how close to the line a person may go when their fists are fuelled by their heart.

Similarly as successful, “The Scorpion’s Sting” must have momentarily taken its fans back to a far simpler storytelling time before radioactive substances haphazardly affected parts of the populace and creators relied upon the mystic arts and supernatural potions of our world’s ancient civilisations for their character’s super-powered origins. Brought bang up to date however, with a disturbing script focusing upon modern-day terrorist atrocities and the devastation of archaeological heritage sites, David Furr’s narrative rather neatly combines the two, and undeniably sets up plenty of anticipation for this story’s subsequent instalment by leaving its leading cast surrounded by bloodthirsty murderers just as Professor Samuel Kocian begins to feel the full effects of his chance encounter with a predatory arachnid.

Finally comes David Doub’s “Madam Mask”, an incredibly fast-paced nine-pager which zips along with such gusto that it debatably requires a second read before all of its plot points, such as the titular character’s motivation for industrial theft being that her grandmother requires $30,000 dollars-worth of medical care, properly come to light. Drawn by Larry Spike Jerrell with all the dynamic athleticism which the legendary Steve Ditko imbued his Amazing Spider-Man with, this uber-energetic escapade easily captures all the high-octane antics of a Twenty First Century thief and then without warning scintillatingly lands any perusing bibliophile smack bang in the middle of an Early Forties “Whiz Comics” adventure.

Writers: Bradley Golden & John Crowther, David Furr and David Doub