Monica Rambeau: Photon #5 - Marvel Comics

MONICA RAMBEAU: PHOTON No. 5, June 2023

Simply consisting of one long, dialogue heavy conversation between the titular character and “the emotion-manipulating prince of desire, Starfox”, it’s highly unlikely many bibliophiles perusing Eve L. Ewing’s conclusion to this five-issue mini-series were particularly impressed with its storytelling. In fact, it's arguably quite clear early on in this twenty-page periodical that the American sociologist quickly ran out of plot and thus had to heavily rely upon artist Luca Maresca to pad the comic’s contents out to the required length with numerous wordless panels and splash-sized sketches.

Leading a disappointingly long list of concerns is that frustratingly none of what transpires within this sedentary tome debatably explains any of the title’s previously printed senseless shenanigans. All the audience are told is that one of the former Captain Marvel’s unreconciled aspirations has caused the galaxy to quite literally unfold before her eyes and only by accepting that she has already “done enough” as a super-hero will the Avenger mysteriously manage to right all the fractured multi-verses her apparent lack of focus created in the first place; “Everything appears frozen as it was at the moment just before you had your epiphany.”

Just why any of these problems occurred in the first place, or how they were supposedly connected to both the American author’s dislikeable “new incarnation of the Beyonder” and seemingly forgotten Stone of Hala, is entirely avoided. Indeed, considering that Ewing bemusing skips the scene where Rambeau explains the situation to Eros of Titan with an unsatisfying “few tense minutes later…” text box, some within this book’s audience will probably be thinking that the writer didn’t quite know the finer details of her own narrative herself.

Sadly, the aforementioned contribution by Italian illustrator Maresca doesn’t add that much extra to "Monica Rambeau: Photon" either - albeit the Graphics and Advertising Photography graduate’s pencilling is perfectly proficient. Foremost of these faults is the disconcerting redesign of the Beyonder and Starfox, which look absolutely nothing like their much more recognisable classic counterparts. Of course, some case can be made for these redesigns as they’ve been specifically caused by Photon’s ill-fated influence upon the cosmos. But the gaunt, vampiric Eternal genuinely appears more likely to drink Monica’s blood than help her save anything and coupled with this comic’s other problems just adds to the overall sense of dissatisfying disorder.

The regular cover art of "MONICA RAMBEAU" #5 by Lucas Werneck

Dune: House Harkonnen #4 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 4, April 2023

Despite somewhat disconcertingly setting this “newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint” some eighteen months after the events depicted in its previous instalment, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s narrative for Issue Four of “Dune: House Harkonnen” still provides its readers with a thoroughly engrossing sequence of jostling sub-plots. In fact, considering the sheer number of characters the co-authors commendably cram into this twenty-two-page publication, its storyline is still incredibly enthralling, especially once Baron Vladimir Harkonnen manages to infiltrate House Atreides with “an operative who fits the particulars exactly” and cleverly starts pitting Lady Kailea against her dearest Duke Leto.

This traitor’s villainous influence genuinely should turn many of this comic’s audience against the exiled member of the Great House Vernius in an astonishingly short space of time, so by the end of the book the refugee’s unreasonably antagonistic attitude towards the father of her infant son seems on the verge of being treasonable. Furthermore, this particular thread allows the storytellers to make another considerable time jump into the future, by showing just how changed the now vindictive concubine has become over the space of two years since her close companion’s arrival at Caladan’s spaceport; “Why are you always angry with me? You’ve changed so much since Victor was born. You’re not the woman I fell in love with…” 

Enjoyably however, this hotbed of political intrigue is also repeatedly interrupted with several much more dynamically paced insights into Herbert’s Hugo Award-winning universe as the reader is temporarily transported to the likes of Carthag on Arrakis and Geidi Prime. Such ‘detours’ do a good job in breaking up the dialogue-heavy discussions which are putting such a heavy strain upon Leto’s relationship, and occasionally get so blood-thirsty that it may come as something of a relief to some bibliophiles when the tale’s focus returns to its far less gore-splattered scenes.

Artist Michael Shelfer must also take a well-deserved bow for his contribution to this comic’s success. The illustrator proves particularly good at imbuing a blossoming Kailea with all the glow one might expect from an expectant mother and then later adding a visible hardness to her beauty once her mind is turned against her lover. In addition, the pencilling (and colours by Patricio Delpeche) for the layouts set on Lankiveil when Glossu Rabba brutally butchers a number of fur whales single-handedly is as darkly dramatic as the majestic beasts’ mutilation is disturbingly memorable.

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and Illustrated by: Michael Shelfer

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three #4 - DC Comics

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE No. 4, June 2023

There’s a lot to enjoy inside issue four of “Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three” as Alan Burnett and Paul Dini’s narrative treads an enthralling line between a nostalgic nod back to the animated series’ televised episode “The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne” and a genuinely “not-so-funny” backstory to the tragically criminal Straightman. In fact, this second instalment to the writing team’s “Crack-Up” storyline projects such a sentimentally strong atmosphere of heart-breaking tragedy that it would surely be viewed as one of the critically acclaimed cartoon’s most touching tales should it have “originally aired on Fox Kids” back in the early Nineties.

Furthermore, the twenty-page plot arguably does a first-rate job of further incorporating the likes of Harley Quinn’s “least favourite ex-boss” and Task Force X into the Dark Knight’s pulp noir universe, courtesy of a wonderfully well-penned cameo in which Amanda Waller once again shows she’s not adverse to witnessing a tiny, blonde-haired infant being swallowed whole by King Shark if it means making a point; “Oooh! All these bad peoples fighting! This no place for baby! Buh-byeee! Lemme go, bait-breath! I’ll kick out those teeth faster than you can regrow ‘em!”

Ultimately however, it is probably the sadistically selfish behaviour of the Joker who steals the show, as he seeks revenge upon Professor Hugo Strange for “trying to con Pengy, Harv, and me into buying Batman’s secret identity!” Determined to once again give his right-hand man “a booster brain blast to keep our act fresh”, the Clown Prince of Crime will clearly stop at absolutely nothing to get his way, even ordering the memory-addled Captain Finley to cold-bloodedly strangle nurse Gretchen Gallway to death with his bare hands.

Of course none of these scintillating shenanigans would successfully convey quite the impact that they do if not for Ty Templeton’s dynamically-drawn layouts and Monica Kubina’s colours. Between them the artists genuinely bring the horrific trauma of Straightman’s origin to life, as well as add plenty of “Bash” and “Klong!” to the action-sequences when the dynamic duo finally get a lead as to the potential whereabouts of the thief who stole Waynetech’s prototype battle suit, and intercept them at Gotham City's old Eastside Carnival.

The regular cover of "BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE" #4 by Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern

Predator #3 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 3, December 2022

Considering just how much of Ed Brisson’s script for Issue Three of “Predator” consists of the audience simply watching Theta Berwick pack a hoverbike with “enough M.R.E.s, canned goods and booze to get me through next year”, this twenty-page periodical still contains an incredible amount of tension and pulse-pounding pace courtesy of a rapidly dwindling countdown until an inbound Astar Industries spacecraft arrives. In fact, by the time the young woman has spent yet another sixty minutes of this ever-ticking clock cutting down the hapless employees recently slaughtered by a Yautja, some readers may well be holding their breath in anticipation of the authorities arriving a little sooner than perhaps Sandy anticipated; “Based on the strength of the signal, I would estimate that the ship will arrive in twelve to fifteen hours.”

Of course, understandably this comic’s biggest draw is the sole survivor’s epic battle against a Predator which thought it had the drop on her. This intense clash of blades is wonderfully penned, and enjoyably doesn’t fall into the trap of the Canadian writer simply imbuing the title’s lead protagonist with super-human fighting skills either. Instead, having quickly lost a limb to the lady’s ferocious adversary, it soon becomes clear that she will only outlive her bestial opponent with a massive amount of good luck.

Furthermore, having arguably got the book’s action out of the way early on, the author has time to bring out more of Theta’s motivation for tracking down the slayer of her fellow interstellar surveyors, and depict the character’s guilt at having inadvertently caused the deaths of others by drawing the Predators’ attention upon herself. This genuine desire to do good by others blinds her to more pressing dangers and makes her much more intriguingly vulnerable than Berwick would ever acknowledge.

Just as captivating as this comic’s narrative though is Kev Walker’s prodigious pencilling, which does a great job of depicting all the emotions running through the human warrior as she realises she has fallen into an ambush and subsequently attempts to outthink her much stronger foe. Furthermore, the woman’s descent into an alcohol-induced stupor is made all the more sympathetic by some terrific facial expressions and physical exertions, with the weight of innocent murders weighing heavily upon her shoulders.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Artist: Kev Walker, and Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Thor [2020] #33 - Marvel Comics

THOR No. 33, June 2023

Essentially opening with the titular character squaring off against a gang of gun-toting guards in the grounds of Doctor Doom’s magnificent Balkans-based castle, Torunn Gronbekk’s script for Issue Thirty-Three of “Thor” probably had some readers initially checking back through their comic collection to ensure that they hadn’t skipped an edition somewhere. True, the ongoing series’ previous instalment did end with Odinson following Nidhogg to the heart of Victor’s fictional East European country. But there was no sign of the Thunder God attacking Doomstadt first nor any suggestion that the Master of Science and mystic arts had somehow brainwashed his people into becoming “a mindless army of Latverians” – These plot points are merely left to this book’s opening crawl or simply mentioned in passing by the occasional Doombot or two.

Frustratingly, such disorientation as to what this twenty-page periodical is all about doesn’t end there either, as the audience are repeatedly hurled back through time to when a trapped Thanos was busy hunting huge, tusked beasts in Vanaheim and Jane Foster finds herself penetrating “the mystical, invisible transactions that pull and push power likes currents”. Coupled with the “Infamous Iron Man” mysteriously managing to use the souls of the dead as fuel for some ghoulish spell which will supposedly “allow him to claim… the whole of the universe as his own” and many of this book’s already befuddled bibliophiles will doubtless be completely confused as to the entire point of the publication; “His questions echo through the mountain. But there is no answer. Only silence. And death.”

Unfortunately, none of these shenanigans are debatably helped by Juan Gedeon’s style of pencilling either, which whilst proficient enough, seemingly just provides this comic with the most rudimentary of pictures from time to time. The Argentinian illustrator’s work is particularly uninspiring during Thor’s fight against a pair of robed robots outside Castle Doom’s main gates, with the scene’s somewhat basic figures and barren backgrounds giving colour artist Matt Wilson little to work with when it comes to “adding dimensionality” to the panels - apart from the most basic of blends to suggest deepening shadows. Furthermore, the epic climax of “Blood Of Fathers”, when a well-thrown Mjolnir smacks Latveria’s heavily-armoured monarch square in the face, arguably loses a lot of its impact on account of Doom being presented as a lumbering, almost inanimate dullard, as opposed to “Marvel's greatest villain.”

The regular cover art of "THOR" #33 by Nic Klein

Monica Rambeau: Photon #4 - Marvel Comics

MONICA RAMBEAU: PHOTON No. 4, May 2023

For those readers admirably able to persevere through the entirety of Eve L. Ewing’s twenty-page plot for Issue Four of “Monica Rambeau: Photon”, the American sociologist’s attempt to retcon the Avenger’s origin story towards its end probably came as something of disconcerting and most unwelcome shock. Indeed, the whole notion that as a little girl Roger Stern’s co-creation purposely suppressed her ability to create “extra dimensional energy” to the point where its subsequently caused the titular character serious, universe-endangering mental health issues is so ‘left field’ that many a bibliophile will surely find themselves perusing that particular night-time scene several times over simply to confirm they’ve read the revelation right; “I hid what I was for so long that I finally felt like… It went away. Until that day. I… Look. It doesn’t matter how I got to be the way I am. Does it?”

To make matters worse though, the “tenured professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago” then depicts a shame-faced adult super-hero sobbing uncontrollably in the presence of an utterly unrecognisable Beyonder and begging the cosmic entity to help her discover what she actually desires out of life before the human mutate’s excessive unhappiness inadvertently ‘crumbles’ everything around her. None of this narrative arguably makes any sense whatsoever, and feels incredibly forced – especially when having obtained the mysterious Stone of Hala Ram from an unrecognisable Sanctum Sanctorum on Earth, Rambeau returns to the Charans in deep space only to find the race of extra-terrestrials have inconveniently decided “to relocate our people” and left a note warning her not to search for them..!?!

Quite possibly therefore this comic’s sole source of action-packed entertainment stems from an unsurprising confrontation between the titular character and Moonstone, after Doctor Karla Sofen predictably betrays Photon when her long-time adversary understandably declines to place herself in the villainous psychiatrist’s care. Disappointingly however, this sadly short-lived skirmish only lasts for half a dozen panels, courtesy of artist Luca Maresca pencilling the blonde-haired criminal illogically disclosing to Monica that she was ‘immune’ to her photons, and thus encouraging the former Captain Marvel to successfully blast her unconscious with Infrared beams instead.

The regular cover art of "MONICA RAMBEAU" #4 by Lucas Werneck

Predator #2 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 2, November 2022

Despite Ed Brisson’s narrative for Issue Two of “Predator” solely focusing upon Theta Berwick’s grim journey across the snow-packed tundra planet of Tusket, it’s highly doubtful that many of its readers were able to put it down until they’d perused the publication’s final pulse-pounding panel. Indeed, just as soon as the sole survivor’s “old, slow-as-molasses rust bucket” crash-lands upon the bone-chilling world, this comic firmly grabs the attention as its Canadian author pens its pilot desperately trying to save the artificial intelligence which she sentimentality sees as “the last thing I have left of my parents.”

Similarly as well-written though is the warrior’s slog through the depressingly white landscape which stands between her and the Astar Industries installation that houses the replacement spaceship parts she now needs. This oppressive, speechless sequence could so easily have become a boring carousel of lifeless monotony as the central character stoically trudges onwards without food for days on end. However, the human hunter’s fortunate encounter with a large horned boar, and then subsequent battle against a pair of out-of-their-depth extra-terrestrials, provides the audience with plenty of much-needed action (and even a little dialogue) to keep them wholly hooked throughout the journey.

Without a doubt however, it is this twenty-page periodical’s final third which really helps make this book so enthrallingly intense, as Theta finally arrives at her destination and discovers that a Predator has been there before her. This shocking revelation strongly suggests that Berwick quite possibly isn’t actually the one doing the hunting, especially when she spots the merciless Yautja who has slaughtered all the Astar Industries employees and hung their lifeless corpses from the ceiling is carrying her lost hand-axe. 

Genuinely helping any bibliophile physically shiver at both the comic’s cold climate and spine-tingling terror is Kev Walker’s artwork, which does a tremendous job in selling all of the varied adversities this publication’s protagonist has to face single-handedly. Foremost of the “Magic: The Gathering” illustrator’s triumphs has to be the sheer savagery and initial frustration felt by the daughter of interstellar surveyors when she is surprised by two bolt-gun firing aliens in the wilderness. Caught completely off-guard due to a nightmare-filled sleep, the ordinarily deadly killer is visibly furious at how slow she is to react to the danger she’s suddenly in; “That hoverbike -- I’m taking it -- That’s a given. That’s not a question. That bike belongs to Astar Industries. How do you have it?”

The regular cover art of "PREDATOR" #2 by Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho