Titans #5 - DC Comics

TITANS No. 5, January 2024

Very much living up to “DC Comics” pre-publication promise of “The Titans are going green” in this twenty-page-periodical, Tom Taylor’s plot for “Out Of The Shadows” still probably dissatisfied a number of its readers with its super-wordy narrative. Indeed, even the titular super-group’s battle against “the new and improved Demolition Team” is resolved via Beast Boy angrily giving one of the villains a considerable tongue-lashing, as opposed to transforming into one of his famously flamboyant animal forms; “Gar. They’re subdued. The town and the people are safe. It’s done.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean for a second that this book’s “New York Times bestselling author” doesn’t later depict Changeling in a multitude of guises as Logan impressively transmutes into a mass of butterflies, dung beetles and then ladybirds in order “to heal the Borneo rainforest”. But these marvellous, multi-bug makeovers are included simply to show the extent of the former Doom Patrol member’s special powers, as opposed to exciting the audience during the aging sidekicks’ stand-off against numerous criminals “with a construction motif”.

Arguably much more involving, though just as dialogue driven, is Nightwing’s last minute deduction that the Flash’s future murderer is actually Wally West’s alien-possessed wife. This well-penned revelation is already known to any bibliophile familiar with the ongoing series. Yet the shock generated by the investigative journalist nonchalantly attempting to detonate a Qwardian Doomsday Weapon inside the Titan trophy room on Mars is still somewhat palpable, due to the reactions of both Dick Grayson and the Scarlet Speedster as Linda impotently taps the neutralised device’s activation button repeatedly.

Perhaps slightly discombobulated by this comic’s inaction is Nicola Scott, whose sketches of Swamp Thing seemingly make the Avatar of the Green appear disconcertingly thin and utterly unimposing. In fact, the protector of plant life is regrettably difficult to spot in many a panel, due to the peaceful yet supposedly powerful giant’s lack-lustre stature, and some of colourist Annette Kwok’s dark-hued palette choices. Happily however, the Australian artist doesn’t disappoint when it comes to Beast Boy’s aforementioned insect-based transformation sequence, with the depiction of the protagonist willingly losing a tiny part of himself whenever one of his green-hued creepy crawlies dies probably being the highlight of the book.

Writer: Tom Taylor, Artist: Nicola Scott, and Colorist: Annette Kwok

Doctor Who: Once Upon A Time Lord [Part One] - Titan Comics

DOCTOR WHO: ONCE UPON A TIME LORD, November 2023

Whilst it’s rather unlikely that many of this hard-back graphic novel’s readers will actually “be on the edge of your Tardis as Martha recounts three unbelievable tales of The Doctor facing off against his deadliest foes”, many should still enjoy Dan Slott’s penmanship for the book’s opening adventure “Firelight”. Indeed, a fair few Whovians probably felt that it was something of a shame the “Eisner Award-winning Spider-Man writer” wasn't asked to use his forty-page plus plot as the basis for the science fiction television programme’s Sixtieth Anniversary celebrations; “So all of those incredible ludicrous things I said you did… You actually did all of that?!”

For starters it is arguably all too easy to imagine actor David Tennant thoroughly captivating a small screen audience with the Tenth Doctor’s antics as he desperately attempts to have his time machine get swallowed whole by an enormous killer space salmon. The entire build-up to this ‘Jonah and the whale’ moment is wonderfully entertaining and rather pleasingly adds an extra element of interest to the superstitious Sycorax, courtesy of the vicious intergalactic plunderer Admiral Scarrr and his ‘Moby Dick’ like obsession with the mighty Troutanicus.

However, probably this comic’s best yarn concerns the Time Lord’s decision to match wits with both the Third Reich and the alien Osiran Horus during the Second World War. Absolutely crammed with all the Egyptian puzzles and mummeries a fan would expect from a narrative clearly inspired by Robert Holmes’ “Pyramids Of Mars”, this pillaging of the extra-terrestrial's treasure beneath the sands of North Africa contains a mesmerising mixture of shocks and tongue-in-cheek humour - most notably when the obnoxious and utterly arrogant Colonel Heinrich Munsterhausen demands that the 'god' send him straight to the Realm of the Dead, and is promptly executed by a robot mummy.

Disappointingly though, this book’s artwork does occasionally prove something of an obstacle due to Christopher Jones’ splendid layouts quickly being replaced with the much rawer pencils of Matthew Dow Smith as the action moves from the peaceful planet Bibalabinko to the stormy Plasma Seas of Sirenia Seven. Admittedly, Smith’s proficient panels still help with the storytelling. But when compared to the prodigious artwork of the “Young Justice” illustrator, the stark contrast in quality is disconcerting to say the least.

Writer: Dan Slott, and Artists: Christopher Jones & Matthew Dow Smith

Creepshow [2023] #3 - Image Comics

CREEPSHOW No. 3, November 2023

Disconcertingly delivered like something out of “Tharg's Future Shocks” than the American comedy horror anthology franchise, Zoe Thorogood’s space-age saga “Eternity, Eternity, Eternity” probably caused a fair bit of consternation to those anticipating a ghoulish tale from beyond the grave. Indeed, arguably the ten-page tale’s sole connection with George A. Romero’s popular series is the obligatory brief inclusion of the Creep as narrator, and several buckets worth of gruesome bodily dismemberment; “With nothing left, I began to deconstruct. Life had won. I lay on the ash covered wasteland I once called home.”

To make matters worse though, the comic creator’s pencilling doesn’t arguably add all that much dynamic life to her adventure about an immortal woman getting thoroughly bored with living forever either, courtesy of some rather flat-looking panels with empty backgrounds. This artistic style does admittedly have its moments, most notably at the story’s start when scientist loses her pet cat and husband through unhappy circumstances. But by the time the illustrator’s main protagonist has injected herself with “only one viable dose of serum” and plucked out an eye in frustration at its singular effect, the sole purpose of many a subsequent picture appears to simply be to shock the audience with another gawdy show of self-mutilation.

Much more mesmerising is “Sacrifices” by Joel Farrelly, which does a cracking job in combining a modern-day crime thriller with a Cthulhu-like deep sea deity. Persistently twisting and turning, the ‘subversive comedian’ repeatedly keeps his audience on the edge of their seats, even when the narrative’s major mobster sniffs out his wife’s treachery and unsurprisingly intercepts professional thief Eddie before the light-fingered rogue can escape off his luxurious ocean-liner with a highly-valuable red diamond.

Admirably helping to sell this tentacle-filled yarn is Goran Sudzuka, whose design for the giant crab creature Ag’Biknoir appears to have been delightfully snatched straight out of the pages of either a H. P. Lovecraft or Jules Vern novel. Furthermore, the Croatian does an excellent job in quickly shifting Berkman’s facial fury in not getting his jewel “by midnight tonight” over to sheer insanity, once the crook realises his god has already come for its sacrifice and he has nothing more to look forward to in life than a brain-splattering thump from a gigantic antsy appendage.

Writers: Zoe Thorogood and Joel Farrelly, and Artists: Zoe Thorogood and Goran Sudzuka

Planet Of The Apes [2023] #5 - Marvel Comics

PLANET OF THE APES No. 5, October 2023

Those readers who stuck around for Issue Five of “Planet Of The Apes” in August 2023 were probably rather perplexed by the comic’s disappointingly palpable, apathetic atmosphere as the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention mission to save mankind supposedly hits another “speed bump”. Indeed, it’s hard to recollect a title where the writer’s narrative arguably smacks so much of them just wanting their story to be finished, and resultantly penning some stunningly underwhelming set-pieces simply to make it happen; “I’d hoped… I’d hoped we were better than them.”

For openers, the desperate struggle for American democracy and the imminent fall of Washington DC., which saw Sergeant Tobon bring her apes halfway across the world from the International Simian Research Centre in Ghana, actually consists of just a dozen or so poorly-equipped terrorists who quickly retreat in the face of a swarm of simians running amok across Duke Ellington Bridge. This highly-anticipated battle is genuinely over before it’s even started, and any suggestion of a nation-wide struggle for survival is quickly scythed down by David F. Walker’s unsatisfactory focus upon a single nearby street being held by four ill-armed combatants.

Of course, the American author does try to imbue some sense of danger and urgency in his (significantly shortened) fifteen-page piece, by having the United Nations Peacekeeper suddenly marry park ranger Omatete, for fear that they might not ever be together again. However, considering that the pair debatably have never before displayed such an inclination, this supposedly emotionally moment sadly smacks of being an ill-thought-out, empty contrivance to just keep the tale going for a few more painful panels.

Unforgivably though, even Juliana’s swift decision to walk out on the victorious United States military and somehow conclude her own adventures by safely trekking all the way to Atlanta without incident, doesn’t come across quite as abruptly as Walker’s conclusion to this publication’s secondary yarn “Pug’s Tale”. The “award-winning comic book writer” doesn’t even bother with a title or explanatory paragraph for this chronicle, and disconcertingly just states that the French gorilla somehow crossed the English Channel into Dorset at the head of a huge Ape army, and defeated all the Exercitus Viri camped there – who were inexplicably holding the land’s inhabitants and children captive for some nefarious purpose..!?!

Writer: David F. Walker, and Artists: Dave Wachter & Andy MacDonald

Blade #5 - Marvel Comics

BLADE No. 5, January 2024

Disconcertingly skipping the much-hyped fight between the titular character and the Adana, this twenty-page periodical’s plot probably had many within its audience surreptitiously double-checking to make sure they hadn’t missed an instalment of Bryan Hill’s lengthy “Mother Of Evil” narrative within mere moments of starting it. True, Issue Five of “Blade” does contain a confrontation between the Daywalker and his supernatural nemesis. But it’s disappointingly set in the aftermath of the pair’s highly anticipated ‘off-screen’ skirmish, and rather disagreeably ends with an utterly impotent Eric Brooks being cast back to our present reality with his tail well and truly tucked between his legs; “Our business is done. This is goodbye.”

To make matters worse though, Marv Wolfman’s co-creation has apparently learnt absolutely nothing from the hell-creature easily breaking his wrist and seizing Lucifer’s Sword – apart from perhaps an ability to behave in an incredibly dislikeable manner towards the Sorcerer Supreme. Everything bad which happens in this book has been as a result of Dhampir’s arrogance and unwillingness to listen to the advice of Doctor Strange. Yet just as soon as the half-vampire can stand again he is threatening to unheroically scythe down the Master of the Mystic Arts because he arrogantly still believes he knows how to defeat the “indescribable, overwhelming power” of his foe.

Perhaps this comic's biggest headscratcher though comes at its confounding conclusion, when Blade willingly kneels in supplication at the feet of Count Dracula, and offers the blood-drinking fiend Lucifer’s Sword if the Transylvanian nobleman will help him better understand himself. This bizarre scene was presumably penned by the American author so as to tap into the old proverb of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. However, whilst Hill has clearly conjured up a formidable rival for Brooks to battle in the Adana, a partnership with the vampire-killer’s biggest adversary, Vlad the Impaler, is arguably pushing this ongoing series’ logic a little too far..?

Disappointingly, this script’s unwillingness to portray the savage carnage of Eric’s ferocious struggle against werewolf, cultist and demon-spawned creature also means that Elena Casagrande has little to do except pencil him getting madder as he talks with either Stephen Strange or the Adana. This genuinely feels like a real waste of the Eisner Award-winning artist’s talent, which is debatably only given room to manoeuvre when it comes to pencilling the incredibly painful internal struggle taking place between Tulip and the devil now physically residing inside her body.

The regular cover art to "BLADE" #5 by Elena Casagrande & Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Planet Of The Apes [2023] #4 - Marvel Comics

PLANET OF THE APES No. 4, September 2023

Entirely set upon a besieged ocean liner “one hundred miles east of New York”, it is hard to imagine just how a writer could better stir up an almost overwhelming sense of injustice within their audience as David F. Walker does with his narrative for Issue Four of “Planet Of The Apes”. For whilst Exercitus Viri’s merciless armed assault upon Juliana Tobon’s precious passenger ship doesn’t succeed in its mission to wipe-out the world’s last sizable population of apes in captivity. The terrorist’s attack does still cause the sea vessel to be “strewn with blood and death”.

To be honest though, this palpable hostility in any reader towards the irrational anti-simian group is generated well before this comic’s disconcertingly high kill count is even hinted at, and arguably starts with the book’s opening panel as the gas-mask wearing, holier-than-thou pirate leader arrogantly declares that “the human race is depending on us” just as his soldiers’ raid begins. Indeed, the conceit of these fanatics as they mercilessly gun down unarmed chimpanzees is genuinely distressing, and doubtless caused many a bibliophile to involuntarily cheer once the monkeys begin successfully fighting back against the smaller boats surrounding their transportation.

Equally as inspiring as the “award-winning” author’s penmanship however, are Dave Wachter’s layouts, which add a tremendous amount of dynamic and emotional energy to the chaotic scenes breaking out around the ambushed U.N. Peacekeeping force. At one point it shockingly appears to be all over for Tobon, and the illustrator takes this moment to pencil some serious determination upon the faces of the enraged primates as they realise that it is now or never if their species are to survive another day; “No one was giving orders, Everything the apes did – every action they took – they did on their own.”  

Far less pulse-pounding, but just as enthralling, is this publication’s secondary story “The Smartest Gorilla In The World”, in which Walker depicts a now talking Pug realising his band of simians in France need to visit the country’s surviving zoos and animal preserves to protect their inhabitants. Well-drawn by Andy MacDonald, this five-page tale is somewhat sensitively told by having a human prisoner suddenly realise that the Exercitus Viri’s propaganda is wrong and that his captors are neither animals nor savage.

The regular cover art of "PLANET OF THE APES" #4 by Joshua Cassara & Dean White

Dune: House Harkonnen #7 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 7, July 2023

Taking a somewhat more measured approach to their storytelling than the frantic dash through numerous people, places, planets, and proceedings of this mini-series’ previous instalments, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s script for Issue Seven of “Dune: House Harkonnen” should have maintained the interest of many within its audience upon its release in July 2023. True, the twenty-two-page periodical still slightly suffers with its authors' attempt to absolutely cram as many different politically-based shenanigans as they can within its cover. But the fact that the reader can now ponder upon the various events for a good score of panels every time, at least allows the characters and incidents upon Arrakis, Geidi Prime and Ginaz to increasingly generate an aura of intrigue and excitement.

Foremost of these insights into the “feudal interstellar society” is arguably Gurney Halleck’s decidedly dangerous attempt to escape imprisonment in the Harkonnen slave pits by inciting his savage guards to beat him close to death, and then using his stay at the prison hospital to stow himself away inside an off-world bound cargo of razor-sharp crystals. Well-paced and packed with plenty of tense moments as the unbroken bondsman risks all for his liberty, the talented minstrel’s plight should cause the odd bibliophile to actually hold their breath in case the noise gives the character away to his brutal overlords.

Similarly as heart-stopping and overwrought are the actions of the Ixian rebellion, as they desperately smuggle in weapons and a message from Prince Rhombur Vernius - the planet’s rightful ruler. Again the writers do a tremendous job in making even the most innocuous of daily tasks on the occupied sphere super-edgy, with every citizen encountered suspected of either being a loyalist saboteur or a Tleilaxu spy.

Undeniably the biggest contributor to this comic’s success though has to be the pencilling of Fran Galan, who quite beautifully imbues this publication’s incredibly numerous cast with as much dynamic emotion as a figure upon a printed page can muster. Whether it be Liet’s utter heartbreak at losing the woman he loved to his best friend and departing to “be alone with his thoughts”, or Duke Leto Atreides’ desperate attempt to reconcile with his long-time concubine only to find Kailea more hostile towards him than ever, the illustrator does a fantastic job in bringing each and every character to vibrant life.

The regular cover art of "DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN" #7 by Raymond Swanland