DC Vs. Vampires #6 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 6, May 2022

Considering the sheer number of super-heroes (and villains) that are depicted dying in a variety of horrible ways throughout this comic, few readers who bought Issue Six of “DC Vs. Vampires” could surely say it didn’t live up to its Burbank-based publisher’s hype of being the mini-series’ “blood-drenched halfway point!” In fact, considering just which top-tier crime-fighters are either dispatched or revealed to be pointy-fanged creatures of the night, it’s arguably somewhat surprising that James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg’s storyline didn’t contain even more bodily mutilation; “We’ve got a problem. Savant and that spider guy are dead. The team seems to have a lot of vampires on it and they’re trying to eat us.”

Foremost of these shocking demises though must be that of the Dark Knight himself, who having earlier gained “the upper hand on the vampires who have infiltrated the Justice League” with just his wits and fighting savvy, is treacherously murdered by the new Vampire King in a genuinely “jaw-dropping moment”. This gut-wrenching betrayal by one of the Bat Family from behind is incredibly well penned, and debatably would have caught the vast majority of this book’s bibliophiles completely off-guard before it takes place.

What follows however, is equally as disconcerting as the likes of Cassandra Cain, Red Hood, Red Robin and Damian Wayne all allow their emotions to get the better of them and unthinkingly throw themselves into a one-sided fight that they surely can never win. In fact, possibly one of this publication’s most impressive moments is how Green Arrow stoically steps up as the group’s new leader, and applies Bruce Wayne’s famous cunning to the situation to ensure that Alfred Pennyworth can at least save a couple of the fledgling vigilantes from a nightmarish fate via a secret submarine.

Equally as enthralling as Otto Schmidt’s dynamically drawn death of Batman, are Simone Di Meo’s pencils covering the ignominious end of the Suicide Squad. Having discovered that the Joker is not the head of the vampiric horde attempting to enslave the world, Amanda Waller is ‘forced’ to detonate several of the team’s head-bombs - with Captain Boomerang’s hapless fate at the hands of Harley Quinn also providing this twenty-two-page periodical with a moment of distinctly dark humour.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #6 by Otto Schmidt

Moon Knight [2021] #11 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT No. 11, July 2022

Whilst Issue Eleven of “Moon Knight” certainly starts out with a satisfying mixture of barbaric beatdowns and villainous comeuppances, the vast majority of Jed MacKay’s narrative may well have surprised many of this comic’s readers with it somewhat sedentary storyline. Happily however, despite the fact that all of the titular character’s interplay with his new arch-nemesis takes place over a personal phone, there is still plenty of nail-biting tension ‘on show’ between the two masked mavericks to keep this publication’s audience well and truly riveted.

Indeed, the moment Zodiac shows up outside the Midnight Mansion with a heavily-armed cartel and starts threatening to kill all of the haunted residence’s hapless neighbours in a number of horrible ways should Reese be unwilling to surrender herself to his tender mercies, it becomes clear that anything could happen within this tensely-penned twenty-page periodical – and somewhat shockingly does; “This is the path. But we’re not welcome. The way will be dangerous. So whatever you do, don’t stop running.”

Foremost of these surprises has to be Marc Spector’s decision to consult his former god, Khonshu, and beg the imprisoned Egyptian deity for assistance in his “race against time to save a life.” Bereft of his Mooncopter, his flying drone and even his Angle Wing, the superhero’s emotional upset at the deadly predicament of his vampiric secretary some seventy miles away leaps off of the printed page, to the point where even a perusing bibliophile can almost taste the desperation in the air as he drops to his knees in heavy-hearted supplication.

Nobly helping the Canadian writer pack his word-heavy script with as many eye-catchingly dynamic set-pieces as possible is Alessandro Cappuccio, whose slickly-pencilled series of panels depicting Moon Knight and his friends stealthily battering their way past Billy Russo’s henchmen in New Jersey, definitely sets a savage tone for the rest of the book. In fact, arguably one of the highlights to “The Killing Time” is the well-sketched physical tension between a distraught Reese and clearer-headed Soldier, who almost go toe-to-toe with one another inside Spector’s magical headquarters when the ex-Hydra operative attempts to stop her from going outside to face Zodiac alone.

Writer: Jed MacKay, Artist: Alessandro Cappuccio, and Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Shang-Chi [2021] #12 - Marvel Comics

SHANG-CHI No. 12, July 2022

Somewhat shockingly bringing this ongoing series to an abrupt end, especially considering that “Marvel Worldwide” had previously announced in its solicitations a subsequent instalment concerning the titular character acting as “the world’s greatest spy”, Gene Luen Yang’s narrative for “Blood And Monsters” certainly still appears to resolve the vast majority of the comic’s long-term plot threads. Indeed, the American author seemingly does such a comprehensive job in pigeon-holing all of this book’s significantly large cast, that the central storyline actually finishes with a few pages to spare, and resultantly requires illustrator Marcus To to pad the publication out with a plethora of slow-paced panels; “For the first time in a long while, I am alone.”

But whilst Issue Twelve of “Shang-Chi” rather uninspiringly has the likes of the headstrong Esme supposedly returning “to the House of The Dead Dagger in France” because “she just missed home”, and the always angry Shi-Hua ‘simply disappearing from her room one morning’, the Michael L. Printz Award-winner’s script also seems to suddenly, and surprisingly sharply, veer towards the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), rather than maintain its roots within the printed lore. This arguably disappointing move is best exemplified with the sudden ‘adoption’ of the Ten Rings no longer belonging to the Mandarin, but instead being “armband-like rings which work in tandem as a weapon with a variety of powers.”

In addition, Yang’s conclusion depicts the terrifying transformation which the Master of Kung Fu has so long dreaded undergoing whilst using the magical bracelets, as little more than a momentary urge to amputate his grandfather’s hand, and is quickly placed back under control with a few well-meaning words from Sister Hammer and Zheng Zhilan. Such an easy resolution to a supposedly world-changing temptation is debatably wholly underwhelming, and does little to justify why in the past the likes of Takeshi have had their allegiance to the Supreme Commander repeatedly tested for fear of what their leader might become in the future.

Happily however, what this comic probably lacks in satisfying endings, it makes up for with some seriously well-sketched, sense-shattering shenanigans. The book’s Alberta-born artist does an especially good job in pencilling the mass battle scenes occurring in both Chinatown and the Jade Palace, packing each picture with a high number of dynamically-drawn combatants and mystical creatures.

The regular cover art of "SHANG-CHI" #12 by Leinil Frances Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Captain Carter #3 - Marvel Comics

CAPTAIN CARTER No. 3, July 2022

Supposedly needing to use the guest appearance of Iron Man as a solicitation selling-point, Jamie McKelvie’s storyline for Issue Three of “Captain Carter” also regrettably seems to rely upon a few too many contrivances in order to schedule its series of sense-shattering set-pieces. In fact, for those bookworms who dislike supposed top-tier secret operatives dropping their S.T.R.I.K.E. insignia-carrying handguns at the scene of a botched assassination, and billionaire industrialists just happening to travel over four thousand miles across the planet’s surface on the off chance of bumping into someone their grandfather worked with decades earlier, the American author’s twenty-page plot is arguably going to prove rather problematic to wade through.

Foremost of these manufactured moments must be the sudden ability of Peggy’s neighbour, Harley Davis, to easily hack into the British Government’s highest top secret computer system with a simple bootable zip drive and the wireless technology of a Bluetooth phone. The Brixton-based friend appears incredibly knowledgeable about accessing encrypted data records, weapon deployment archives and voicemails, to the point where she conveniently discovers within minutes that the British Prime Minister himself has verbally ordered the treacherous hit on the "woman out of time" and her comrade-in-arms, Lizzie Braddock.

Admittedly, all these happy happenstances certainly provide the Pennsylvanian-born writer’s narrative with some nail-biting pace as the titular character tackles a foreboding band of battle-hardened government agents and the infamous London traffic, in a desperate bid to detain some mysterious blonde-haired woman. But it is debatably hard to maintain a person’s willing suspension of disbelief when so many coincidences occur one after the other, even to the point where Chief Hunter luckily decides to suddenly eat his food outside as “it’s a lovely day” to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for his personal workstation to be hacked.

Heroically pencilling all these implausibilities is Marika Cresta, who does a sterling job in providing plenty of jaw-breaking “Thwck” and “Krunk” to the super-powered cast’s battering blows. The Ringo Awards-nominee does an especially fine job of illustrating Captain Carter’s intense punch-up in Briefing Room 3, where the tightly confined fighting space is impressively depicted through a series of thin, page-wide panels showing Peggy being slowly outnumbered; “I’ll pop my head in to make my excuses, then leave. Have to get that zip drive out of Hunter’s computer before he gets back from lunch.”

The regular cover art of "CAPTAIN CARTER" #3 by Jamie McKelvie

ZVRC: Zombies Vs. Robots Classic #3 - Image Comics

ZVRC: ZOMBIES VS. ROBOTS CLASSIC No. 3, May 2022

Somewhat moving away from this mini-series’ purely science fiction-based narrative where the modern-day world has been ravaged by a post-apocalyptic battle for survival between gun-toting automatons and hordes of the hungry Undead, for a much more science fantasy storyline, “Group Sects” certainly seems to contain far more bodily mutilation and flesh-devouring shenanigans than the reprint’s previous two instalments. But whilst this particular “sixty-six-page saga” catapults its audience into the semi-mythical world of Ancient Greece and a race of scantily clad Amazons that have somehow managed to survive being “decimated by nukes”, it still contains Chris Ryall’s usual enthralling combination of edge-of-the-seat dramatics and silly, laugh-out-loud moments.

Foremost of these fascinations is the speed with which the “Grecian Isle filled with warrior women” fatally falls to the zombies following Princess Dhysa’s innocent opening of the community’s protective barrier during a misguided demonstration of adolescent angst. One moment the reader is arguably as shocked as the seventeen-year-old is at her discovery as to what Queen Leolyta’s mysterious ritual actually is, and then in the next, most of the unsuspecting and unarmed Amazons are being eaten alive by a veritable swarm of walking cadavers: “No… My Queen… The seal to the catacombs below, it’s been broken wide.”

Equally as nerve-wracking as this shameful slaughter is the sudden appearance of the sole robot responsible for peppering the planet’s surface with atomic missiles, and his subsequent battle with an Undead minotaur. This pulse-pounding clash genuinely helps ‘break-up’ the potentially overwhelming amount of graphically depicted killings occurring inside the ‘Royal Palace’ with some genuinely amusing moments; most notably when the self-serving, bullet-shaped android realises that the savage creature is perfectly capable of head-butting him into electronic pieces if he doesn’t get some much-needed help from the children he’s been trying to protect.

Helping to present the sheer chaos contained within Ryall’s violent tale of destruction is Ashley Wood’s scratchily sketched layouts, which really help sell the grotesque nature of the human-chomping carry-ons taking place throughout this book. In addition, the “award-winning illustrator” adds a layer of sensuality and bare-faced nudity to its proceedings which ties-in with the stereotypical mythology of the female combatants. But may well disconcert those bibliophiles who don’t enjoy too much blatant sexual activity in their comics.

The regular cover art to "ZVRC: ZOMBIES VS. ROBOTS CLASSIC" #3 by Ashley Wood

Moon Knight [2021] #10 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT No. 10, June 2022

Essentially starting as a simple therapy sitting between the titular character and strait-laced Doctor Andrea Sterman, Jed MacKay’s marvellous manuscript for Issue Ten of “Moon Knight” probably caught quite a few readers by surprise with its mid-point shift to a narrative considerably darker than any the Canadian composer has previously penned before for this ongoing series. Sure, the lengthy fight scene set at the now haunted Midnight Mission against Ravencroft Institute escapee Rutherford Winner is extremely enjoyable and packed full of absorbing action.

But once Marc Spector’s psychiatrist is surprisingly revealed as being an imposter, “Session” genuinely seems to delve ever deeper into the costumed crime-fighter’s deadlier side as he unapologetically buries the mass-murdering Waxman alive inside an airtight steel sphere housed within “the foundation of this overpriced condo building.” Indeed, the Fist of Khonshu is so determined to hurt Sterman’s odious replacement “beyond all comprehension”, that he even ensures the vampire Reese isn’t present during his prisoner’s interrogation, because he realises his blood-drinking receptionist would doubtless be appalled at the anti-hero’s inhumane treatment of Waxman, even after the serial killer has desperately told Moon Knight the location of Zodiac.

Of course, this comic’s opening bout of pulse-pounding fisticuffs is equally as enthralling, due to it providing any perusing bibliophile with an incredible demonstration as to just how savage close combat can be in the Marvel Universe when two street-level antagonists go toe-to-toe against one another. Initially, a man armed with a knife might not seem the strongest of adversaries for Spector’s alter-ego to encounter. However, this quickly changes once the audience are informed about Winner’s abduction by Hydra, and his brain’s rewiring into a veritable killing machine as part of the terrorist organisation’s horrendous-sounding Pygmalion Project.

Helping to sell all these sense-shattering shenanigans is Alessandro Cappuccio, whose illustrations quite beautifully transform from sweeping splash pages of brutal slugfests into tightly focused panels of Waxman’s increasingly petrified face. In fact, one of the most convincing elements of this publication’s storytelling is the astonished horror upon the faces of Soldier and Tigra as Marc cold-heartedly ensures his utterly helpless captive suffers “execution by gentrification.”

Writer: Jed MacKay, Artist: Alessandro Cappuccio, and Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Alien #11 - Marvel Comics

ALIEN No. 11, June 2022

Pulsating with plenty of pace, Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script for Issue Eleven of “Alien” must surely have held the attention of many a reader with its cast’s headlong dash across Euridice’s extra-terrestrial infested surface. In fact, the sheer desperation of Jane and the few surviving Spinners is genuinely palpable, particularly at this comic’s cataclysmic conclusion when all seems lost despite the party’s almost superhuman efforts to reach Gamma station and the seeming safety of the United States Colonial Marine Corps.

Enjoyably, none of these adrenalin-charged flights from terror appear to be ‘plot-thin padding’ either, with even the colonists last stand against a swarm of alien drones in a wheat field providing a fascinating insight into Callan’s feisty determination not to have her ‘flock taken away’ from her by the formidable creatures. Likewise, the character of Leo also receives plenty of spotlight, whether the white-bearded settler is busy swinging a hand-axe against a swarm of heavily-fanged, rodent-sized Tubers, or standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jane in the face of overwhelming odds armed only with a shotgun; “No. I -- I won’t be food for these things. Kill me. Jane. Kill m --”

Ultimately however, this publication’s biggest moment comes with the sudden appearance of Gregory, and the disconcerting fate the organic-hating synthetic has in store for the decimated Spinners. Absolutely dripping in cold-hearted menace and a deep, resonating hatred for his “embarrassing” former friends, the Weyland-Yutani android is quickly established as being cut from the same cloth as the Nostromo’s science officer Ash, as he mercilessly guns down an unsuspecting Leo without a moment’s hesitation and later abandons the shell-shocked stayers at the very heart of an alien hive.

Also thoroughly deserving of “props” for the success of this twenty-page periodical is former “X-Men” illustrator Salvador Larroca, whose incredibly detailed and highly atmospheric layouts really help sell the soul-shattering emotional journey out of Sanctuary so many of this comic’s cast are dragged through. In addition, the Spanish artist does a first-rate job of imbuing Gregory with plenty of sinister menace once the overly-religious robot has cleverly been revealed by Jane as being as traitorous a mechanical creation as he is homicidal.

The regular cover art to "ALIEN" #11 by Marc Aspinall