Dolphin Squad II: A Death In The Pod [Part Three] - Deadstar Publishing

DOLPHIN SQUAD II: A DEATH IN THE POD, May 2018

Bringing “this seventy two page full colour, all action graphic novel” to a satisfying conclusion with the discovery and resultant rescue of the Albino Avenger, Fabian, Danny J. Weston’s narrative for the final third of this publication definitely relies far more upon gallows humour to provide its gags than it has before. For whilst Vinny continues to deliver some of the corniest one-liners ever uttered by an aquatic mammal within the confines of a comic, such as when the “giant giant panda” Ping Po rescues Laser-Eye from a polar bear’s deadly bear-hug, and the “world’s angriest dolphin” delivers the cringe-worthy wisecrack “looks like we bear-ly made it in time”, it is actually the gruesomely lethal fate of the script’s “malicious mastermind” which arguably draws the biggest guffaws.

Helfert’s unwise decision to saw through his own handcuffed hand with a well-hidden hacksaw, rather than use the toothed-tool to cut through the wooden table leg he was manacled to, is rather reminiscent of Doctor Lawrence Gordon’s grisly resolution to Jigsaw’s conundrum in the 2004 horror film “Saw”. Yet it immediately draws more than a smile from the reader due to the ‘mean-hearted’ haranguing Dolphin Squad give the now mutilated German-accented super-villain for not just simply ‘sawing through the desk’; “Vot? Ze desk..? I… Uh -- Curse you dolphin!”

Interestingly, the author also utilises this debatably grotesque scene and the trail of blood droplets it leaves behind as a plot device to provide a reason as to how the titular threesome can track down the bespectacled scientist to his “secret emergency exit to lobby” and subsequently witness his comically dark demise in the jaws of four no longer mind-controlled minions. The look on the straight-faced polar bear as he closes the door in order to stop the audience from seeing what the quartet of snow-coloured predators are about to do to their former master is wonderfully pencilled by Weston, and one can only imagine the evil professor’s final moments as the jumper-wearing carnivores ignore his plea not to “eat me” and start “licking” their meal…

Sadly, slightly less successful is “the S.E.A.W.O.R.L.D. short” entitled “The Poseidon Misadventure” written by Mark Adams and Mark Warner. Clearly designed to emulate an earlier era in Laser-Eye’s career, before Hogan became the Whalereverine and was actually the porpoise’s “big guy on the team”, this tale certainly provides an entertaining insight into some of the super-team’s former members like Campion the sea urchin, and Anna-Leigh the sea cow. But having spent so long perusing the computer-enhanced digitised drawings of “Dolphin Squad II: A Death In The Pod”, the stylised, characterfully pencilled panels of Dave Clifford debatably prove a jarring distraction from the storytelling.

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

Writer and Artist: Danny J. Weston

Moon Knight #192 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT No. 192, April 2018

If there’s one thing which Max Bemis’ narrative for Issue One Hundred And Ninety Two of “Moon Knight” undeniably delivers, it is one of the best fight-scenes the Fist of Khonshu has been involved in since Warren Ellis’ “Scarlet” storyline was published way back in September 2014. Indeed, the five-page long sense-shattering sequence is arguably worth the cover price of this comic alone, as Marc Spector’s alter-ego initially busies himself simply biting Bushman’s hand, before becoming a physical whirlwind of devastation upon a crew of “disabled” criminals and ultimately severs a couple of the bald Burundan mercenary’s fingers; “You want to play pirates? Yo $%#& ho, mateys… I’m not one of those super heroes who won’t straight-up kill you, Bushman.” 

Sadly however, this flurry of fisticuffs is arguably all the New York-born lead singer’s script had to offer its slowly declining 20,923-strong audience in February 2018, apart from some simply bizarre conversational pieces between a cuiously ‘zombified’ Jean-Paul “Frenchie” DuChamp, a strangely therapeutic Truth, and a disturbingly polite Sun King, who, with his shades and casually open white shirt, would seem more suited to life as a Travel Agents’ representative than a living vessel of “the Egyptian sun god Ra”. Of course, this comic also contains the utterly surreal suggestion that if Moon Knight hadn’t been such a “bad, bad boy” he could have become a Herald of Galactus, the basis for a ‘mutant-loving’ series of Sentinels, or the very ‘voice of reason’ which somehow scientifically convinced Reed Richards not to undertake his ill-fated starship journey. But it's extremely doubtful that many perusing bibliophiles actually managed to make any semblance of sense from these escaped psychological patient’s mental meanderings within the titular character’s metaphorical mind...

Similarly as ‘hit and miss’ as this book’s writing is its artwork by Jacen Burrows. The one-time “Avatar Press” exclusive contractee really does an incredible job for this periodical’s (infuriatingly misleading) cover illustration by depicting the “deadly vigilante” tightly bound beneath the waves and encircled by a school of hungry sharks. Yet, besides the American’s aforementioned dynamically drawn ding-dong on board Bushman’s “death-barge”, seemingly struggles to subsequently bring any real sense of life or animation to the rest of his sketch’s figures, especially those post Spector’s altercation across “a rolling mysterious seascape” and set upon “Isla Ra.”

Writer: Max Bemis, Artist: Jacen Burrows, and Inker: Guillermo Ortego

Sherlock Holmes: The Vanishing Man #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE VANISHING MAN No. 1, May 2018

Whilst the “Dynamite Entertainment” creative crew may well have leapt at the opportunity to “fill in” some of the “as-yet-unrecorded adventures” which Doctor John Watson was always insinuating with their own anecdotes, this opening instalment to “Sherlock Holmes: The Vanishing Man” seems perturbingly similar to Arthur Conan Doyle’s December 1891 short “The Man With The Twisted Lip” rather than an innovative addition to the internationally popular franchise’s comic-based canon. True, “the curious case of Michael Williams” initially focuses upon the disappearance of a solicitor’s “excellent” yet lowly office clerk rather than a “respectable businessman” such as Mister Neville St. Clair. But the similarities in both characters being supposedly reliable men “at... work and home, who [then violently] disappear without a trace from foggy old London Town” will undoubtedly inauspiciously strike a chord with any readers familiar with the amateur sleuth’s well-documented fictional biography.

Fortunately however, it doesn’t take Leah Moore and John Reppion’s collaborative narrative for this twenty-two page periodical too long before it starts to take on a life of its own, as the hapless, well-meaning druggist Lloyd comes to a grisly end simply because he “had a shop in Tooting once”, and the titular character accepts an infinitely less ‘run-of-the-mill’ investigation involving missing Brigadier Ronald Makepeace and an ancient Egyptian Mummy’s curse; “It’s something from a Boy’s Own Adventure! How could I resist such a case?” These additional sub-plots really help add some enthralling complications to the story-telling, not least of which is Professor Moriarty’s notable surprise appearance in a dead chemist's store clutching a vial of Holmes’ precious “poison”…

Equally as enticing is the husband-and-wife writing team’s attention to detail towards their tale’s supporting cast, most notably that of young urchin Wiggins and the far less likeable Mister Withers. As far as the diminutive Baker Street Irregular is concerned, one can almost feel his excitement at being promised the change from a gold sovereign for completing a seemingly straightforward errand, and then later taste the petrified boy’s palpable fear having witnessed a pharmacist being brutally beaten to death right in front of his horrified eyes. Whereas Mister Hookham’s male assistant, ever present and watchful throughout his boss’s dealings with Holmes and Watson, is clearly capable of lying to his employer, as demonstrated by artist Julius Ohta pencilling the man brazenly walking into his superior’s office upon seeing the older man's guests and claiming he didn’t “hear anyone come in."

Writers: Leah Moore & John Reppion, and Illustrator: Julius Ohta

Red Sonja/Tarzan #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA/TARZAN No. 1, May 2018

On the face of it a title uniting “the iconic heroine of swords-and-sorcery with the quintessential jungle adventurer in deadly conflict” probably sounded like a money printing licence to “Dynamite Entertainment” when it initially considered “its first-ever Red Sonja/Tarzan crossover miniseries”. After all, the “publishing imprint of Dynamic Forces” had already turned to someone “noted as being one of the most influential women in the comic book industry” to pen its script, and writer Gail Simone has since gone on record enthusiastically stating that as far as she is concerned “Tarzan is the king... When I was a kid, I read every Edgar Rice Burroughs book I could find. I loved the jungle aspects, the family stories, and I loved how Tarzan had to fend for himself at the start. It was just exhilarating to me.”

Sadly however, even someone with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of this twenty-two page periodical’s central characters is arguably going to struggle to come up with a convincingly credible way to bring the pair of popular fantasy franchises together without turning towards utter contrivance or complete co-incidence. And sorrowfully, the Oregon-born author’s narrative unsubtly ticks both of these boxes in spades, ludicrously bringing the “She-Devil with a Sword” forward in time some twelve thousand years courtesy of a visit to the confusingly named Tower of Everywhen and a somewhat tense audience with a ‘mere’ blue-skinned semi-naked Traveller; “I need you, witch. I need your gift… I will sit here until I melt, if need be. If it takes a thousand years.”

Equally as artificial is this story’s main antagonist, the truly vile Eson Duul; a heavily-muscled, lank-haired ‘pig of a man’ who has been accurately described by his creator as being "Tarzan gone wrong." Heavily prejudicial towards the “degenerate” French, and sadistically cruel to both the wild animals he keeps tightly caged within his filthy zoo, as well as his troupe of sycophantic hangers-on, the seriously chauvinistic big game hunter initially appears to be precisely the sort of “classic-style villain… that would fit in with [either] an Edgar Rice Burroughs.. or a Robert E. Howard story.” Unfortunately though, this repugnant “basically awful” ogre’s believability is then subsequently ruined by Red Sonja’s revelation that, alongside Carl Snyder and Stephanie Despouy, he has “some ability to defy time” and has existed since at least the Hyborian Age…

Somewhat more successful than Simone’s script is her collaborator’s competently-composed artwork. It’s clear from this comic’s dynamically drawn figures and testosterone-fuelled facial features that Walter Geovani both “love[s] crossovers, and… feel[s] downright possessive of Red Sonja.” Indeed, the Brazilian illustrator’s tense stand-off between Duul and an enraged Lord Greystoke makes for a truly mesmerising confrontation, and entirely justifies Gail’s decision “to put aside another project that we were working on for six months [just] so he could draw this.”

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA/TARZAN" No. 1 by Adam Hughes

Star Trek: Boldly Go #18 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: BOLDLY GO No. 18, March 2018

As series finales go, Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott’s concluding instalment to their “Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations” story-arc must have come of something of a huge disappointment to its readers in April 2018, due to its narrative’s nonsensical shenanigans and utterly unfollowable logic. In fact, many bibliophiles may well have viewed this supposed “climactic final chapter of the epic I.D.I.C. saga” as a fitting time to bring the “IDW Publishing” title to a close, bearing in mind just how this particular exploration of the “various corners of the Star Trek multiverse” frustratingly petered out.

For starters, the titanic tussle between James Kirk and his former close friend, Gary Mitchell, actually takes place on board a Federation Starship using a tri-dimensional chess set rather than the cataclysmic physical fisticuffs this comic’s previous edition debatably promised. Admittedly, this surprising plot-twist does somehow allow the U.S.S. Endeavor’s temporary captain to ‘dabble’ in the “no-win scenario” universes this story-line has previously depicted, and resultantly shows Nero’s Romulan invasion of Vulcan failing, Klingon Kirk finally confronting Simon Grayson in the ruins of Khan’s courtroom, as well as Doctor McCoy’s miraculous revival of “Captain Kirk of the Plantship Enterprise.” But just how any of these re-engineered realities actually help the Starfleet officer’s cause against an all-knowing, omnipotent opponent is anyone’s guess, especially when he is shown purposely sacrificing those worlds which contained ‘friends’ he didn’t personally know..? 

Equally as bizarre is Kirk’s conclusion that as he can’t ever beat Mitchell, his only way of besting his foe is to reject Gary’s god-like gift and allow himself to be disintegrated by the combined firepower of the multi-verse fleet his “manipulation of realities” has permitted him to co-ordinate. This moment of self-sacrifice arguably makes no sense whatsoever, as “the most famous and highly decorated starship captain in the history of Starfleet” is currently the only person stopping the homicidal former Lieutenant Commander from literally destroying everything in existence.

Potentially just as perplexed by this final battle’s bemusements as its audience probably was, is artist Josh Hood, whose story-boarding for Issue Eighteen of “Star Trek: Boldly Go” seems as regrettably stiff and wooden as Plant Kirk’s anatomy. Clearly more than capable of sketching a starship-packed galaxy, or a likeness of actor Gary Lockwood, the commercial illustrator unhappily still appears unable to inject many of this comic’s numerous action-packed sequences with any perceptible semblance of animated life, and thus a lot of the tension this publication required to succeed is lamentably absent from its visuals.

The regular cover art of "STAR TREK: BOLDLY GO" No. 18 by Josh Hood

Moon Knight #191 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT No. 191, March 2018

It must have been hard for this comic’s 21,504 readers to imagine a more anticlimactic confrontation than the one Max Bemis penned for Issue One Hundred And Ninety One of “Moon Knight”. Apparently destined to contain a fearsome face-off between the titular character and two of his deadliest enemies, as well as the blood-chilling possibility of Marc Spector’s infant daughter being hurt in the cross-fire, this fourth instalment to the New York-born writer’s “Crazy Runs In The Family” story-arc genuinely appeared set to deliver an all-action twenty-page long periodical which would arguably help the American author take a step closer to his run on the title emulating the impact of Gregg Hurwitz, Brian Michael Bendis, or more recently Warren Ellis.

Sadly however, having initially paired the ex-mercenary off against the Sun King, and shockingly shown Marlene Alraune to be perfectly capable of stabbing an off-guard Bushman in the thigh with a small knife, the ensuing fracas quickly degenerates into an appallingly ludicrous comical clash, which sees the suited super-hero hurl his fiery trousers into the face of Patient 86, and then subsequently battle the bearded fire-starter in little more than his boxer shorts. Such an utterly fantastic bout of fisticuffs genuinely undermines any sense of jeopardy or danger which this publication’s opening had created, and doubtless many a perusing bibliophile was rather glad when the scene sputters out after just a handful of panels simply because Amon Ra’s flames are in danger of ruining Diatrice’s garden swings…

Regrettably, not even the surprise return of The Truth, seemingly fully-recovered from previously having both of his eyes gouged out by a pair of Moon Knight’s crescent-shaped throwing blades, manages to imbue this book with any semblance of menace either, even when the hulking killer discloses to Bushman that he is actually unable to control his lethal influence over another person and “sometimes it just kind of happens without me trying.” Indeed, one of this storyline’s saddest sights, wistfully pencilled by Jacen Burrows, is that of a pot-bellied Raul despondently munching upon a cracker alongside the heavily-tattooed brute and being unknowingly influenced by the villain’s Truth Touch; “I can’t stop eating. I eat because I feel powerless… Not that it matters. I just got replaced as enemy number one, so I might as well just…”

Writer: Max Bemis, Penciler: Jacen Burrows, and Inker: Guillermo Ortego

The Brave And The Bold: Batman And Wonder Woman #3 - DC Comics

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: BATMAN AND WONDER WOMAN No. 3, June 2018

Firmly focusing upon the Dark Knight’s enthralling exploration of Tir Na Nog alongside Princess Diana of Themyscira, Liam Sharp’s narrative for Issue Three of “The Brave And The Bold: Batman And Wonder Woman” treads a wonderfully fine line between bombarding its readers with arguably superfluous fluff concerning the “world of Celtic myth” and leading them by the hand through the thorough, “liminal” thought processes of “the World's Greatest Detective.” Admittedly, Bruce Wayne’s metal abilities aren’t initially up to the challenge of solving “the mystery of a murdered god”, due to his mystical journey literally ‘wiping him out’. But his memory and quick-wits are soon returned to him courtesy of the warm, scented waters of a sprite-drawn bath and a spot of “skinny-dipping”.

Indeed, no sooner has the initially befuddled billionaire ‘slipped’ his Batsuit on, than he is commandingly riding an all-white steed through the beautiful yet sad "Land of the Young", honing his senses to a place where “you tell me we cannot trust time” and contemplating the peculiar peace between “natural enemies” the Fomorians and the De Danann. This insight into Batman’s usual practice of applying logic and science to his deductive methodology is a delight to behold, especially when he suddenly throws aside “hard evidence” and “rigorous scientific testing” for “a stone with a naturally worn hole through it…”

Interestingly, the caped crime-fighter’s surprising ability to “see through faeries magic” with a hag stone, and subsequently confront three foul-looking monstrous beings, additionally provides the Derby-born writer with an opportunity to demonstrate another of the wealthy philanthropist’s investigative tools, an insinuating tongue which goads his suspects into acts of desperate violence; “You feck! I’ve killed better men than you for less… We loved our king!” Such an ‘out of the blue’ vehement outburst brings the Dark Knight’s preliminary enquiries to a pulse-pounding conclusion, whilst also providing Wonder Woman an opportunity to pit her superhuman muscles against those of the larger-sized Fomorian warriors.

Sharp’s artistic skill is equally as impressive within the confines of this twenty-two page periodical, with the co-founder of “Madefire Inc” pencilling some breath-taking scenic views of Tir Na Nog, not least of which is the land’s “very tangible border” double splash, as well as plenty of sense-shattering fisticuffs once Batman decides to adopt a more straightforwardly physical interrogation technique and employs both sleeping gas and his steely fists upon his foes. In fact, even this book’s enormously dialogue-heavy conclusion, set within the highly detailed tall towers of the Court of the De Danann, remains “interesting” despite a truly phenomenal word-count.

Writer/Artist: Kevin Sharp, and Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr.