Blade #6 - Marvel Comics

BLADE No. 6, February 2024

For those readers able to ‘stomach’ the titular character’s alliance with his arch-nemesis, Dracula, Bryan Hill’s penmanship throughout Issue Six of “Blade” was probably perfectly palatably. Indeed, the American author’s pitch that the undead Transylvanian nobleman would help Eric Brooks “unlock new powers of vampirism” arguably makes for a pretty engrossing experience, especially when the pair later spar with one another, and Gerry Conway’s Marvel Comics version” of Vlad the Impaler demonstrates just how much more his special abilities exceed those of the supposedly formidable Daywalker; “I’ve seen what I needed to see. And I know why you failed.”

Sadly though, some bibliophiles will surely struggle to shake-off the belief that the shades-wearing Dhampir would never ally himself with “his sworn enemy”, no matter what the reason, and this deeply disconcerting contrivance debatably permeates every scene within the twenty-page-periodical. Sure, some within this comic’s audience might claim that the plot points at just how desperate the Midnight Sons member has become to defeat the Adana. But others may well be disappointed by the Chicago-born writer’s decision to suddenly ‘up-gun’ the Sheriff of Vampire Nation with the power of Dracula himself, courtesy of Brook shockingly drinking his eternal foe’s blood.

In fact, this particular instalment of “Mother Of Evil” could cynically be seen as Hill rather lazily shortcutting “generations” of tutelage under Vlad in order for Eric to instantly “awaken what you’ve hidden inside of you” simply so the vampire-killer is apparently 'more in tune with his imminent Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) reboot.' Such lackadaisical ‘modernisation’ genuinely grates upon the senses, and smacks of the New York-based publisher's unhappiness at having to work within the long-established limits of Blade’s reliance upon man-made weapons to overcome his supernatural enemies.

However, what this book possibly lacks in convincing commotion, it does make up for with the prodigious pencilling of artist Lee Ferguson. The illustrator does a terrific job in imbuing both this comic’s two leads with plenty of restrained dynamism whilst they fight against blood zombies, the walking undead, vampire bats and each other. Furthermore, despite the rather emaciated, sombre appearance of Dracula, the figure moves throughout his stronghold in Chernobyl with all the regal haughtiness one would expect from a Fifteenth-century Wallachian prince.

The regular cover art to "BLADE" #6 by Elena Casagrande & Jordie Bellaire

Conan The Barbarian #5 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 5, December 2023

Somewhat intriguingly setting this adventure shortly after Conan’s “adventures on the high seas” with the now dead Belit, Jim Zub’s narrative for “The Heist” paints an enthralling picture of the sorrowful Cimmerian desperately trying to drown his great grief in the alcoholic drafts of Shadizar the Wicked. Indeed, arguably one of this comic’s hardest-hitting hooks is witnessing the heartbroken barbarian desperately agreeing to even the foolhardiest of thefts simply so he has enough coin to “return to drunken oblivion.”

Happily however, the Canadian author’s twenty-two-page plot doesn’t just dwell on the adventurer’s anguish at losing the Queen of the Black Coast and his soul-mate. But instead strives to capture the tense atmosphere generated by Robert E. Howard’s 1933 tale “The Tower of the Elephant" by depicting the thickly-muscled burglar attempting to infiltrate another of the heavily-guarded citadels stood deep within “Zamora's gleaming capital.” This stressful sequence is extremely well-written, with the Eisner Award-nominee penning a quite logical penetration of the basilica’s formidable defences, as well as some rather tongue-in-cheek exchanges between the robbers working alongside Conan - something which genuinely helps endear them to the publication’s audience.

Furthermore, the book projects an almost palpable passage of time as the quartet stealthily make their way down countless winding stairwells and past innumerable chambers packed full of devoted cultists. So tangible an atmosphere really helps sell the ever-present danger the Gloryhounds are in, and doubtless Greff’s painfully long attempt to disarm the traps protecting their highly-sought after prize will cause the odd reader to nervously look over their own shoulders for any approaching temple guards out of sympathy for the safe-cracker’s patient work; “Here, under lantern light with time running short, it pushes his abilities to their absolute limit.”

Ably aiding the story-telling within Issue Five of “Conan The Barbarian” is “the diabolical Doug Braithwaite”, whose pencils do a sterling job in portraying the squalor of Shadizar and the grotesque grimness of the Cimmerian’s route to the fortress’ Moratorium. In addition, “the master of visual sorcery” does an excellent job of showing just how merciless this current incarnation of the titular character is – a cold-blooded killer whose overwhelming unhappiness causes him to care not for the people he savagely slays with his sword.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" #5 by Mike Deodato

Terrorwar #6 - Image Comics

TERRORWAR No. 6, September 2023

Described by “Image Comics” as “the strangest chapter yet in the sci-fi horror saga”, Saladin Ahmed’s script for Issue Six of “Terrorwar” probably came as a bitter disappointment to its audience in September 2023, as it mainly consists of just one long expletive laden discourse between the mysterious Doctora Z and Blue City’s sole-surviving freelance Terrorfighters. True, Muhammad Cho and his underpaid crew do momentarily battle a giant Pteranodon-shaped monstrosity whilst riding high aboard a flying luxurious limousine. But this action sequence is cut incredibly short thanks to a single, well-aimed shot at the creature.

Instead, this comic’s American author decides to painfully pad out his twenty-two-page plot with the off-screen deaths of Paulo’s entire squad, the total destruction of Central Command and more swear words than you’ll find at a hospital’s overbooked midwifery unit. Such a technique genuinely proves incredibly frustrating and arguably lazy, especially when Cho’s homicidal rivals were at the forefront of this book’s narrative until an edition or two ago. Indeed, such an almost casual offloading of the thieving, scheming government contractors strongly suggests that the creative team suddenly found themselves with far less time to tell their story than they originally thought – something which also ties in with the publisher's shock announcement that this title was now just going to be an eight-part mini-series.

Just as peculiar though is the unexpected release of Muhammad by the Terrors themselves. The “mind-bending monsters” have clearly established some sort of psychic rapport with humanity’s apparent last hope, as seen by the man’s physical pain when he later witnesses one of his colleagues blast a phantasm to pieces. Yet just why the multitude of manifestations initially withdraw their pink-hued tentacles from his brain is never explained, and instead his escape is simply used by the secondary cast as an excuse to remind the reader that “Paulo’s people are dead”.

Sadly, there debatably isn’t a great deal to celebrate with the look of this comic’s interior layouts either, courtesy of some inconsistent pencilling by Dave Acosta and disconcerting colour choices by Walter Pereyra. In fact, the scene set aboard Doctora Z’s ‘chariot’ so starkly contrasts with the visuals before it that many a reader may well initially believe it to have been crafted by a different artistic line-up.

Written by: Saladin Ahmed, Pencils by: Dave Acosta, Inks by: Jay Leisten, and Colors by: Walter Pereyra

Moon Knight [2021] #20 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT No. 20, April 2023

Featuring one of Speedball’s less formidable foes from the Late Eighties, it’s difficult not to imagine a fair share of this comic’s readers feeling rather disenchanted with Jed MacKay’s conclusion to Issue Twenty of “Moon Knight”. True, the Canadian author’s build-up is enjoyably intriguing as numerous informants from the titular character’s past start falling like dominoes during the course of a single, crimson-splattered night. Yet, this momentum is arguably soon lost once Marc Spector determines his opponents are just the badly brainwashed Harlequin Hit-Men; “8-Ball called you a couple of jokes. 8-Ball.”

Indeed, the Fist of Khonshu defeats Herb Hollister and his wife Sheila single-handedly without even breaking a sweat, before begrudgingly handing them over to Doctor Andrea Sterman and the appropriate authorities. This all-too abrupt ending is clearly penned to provide the Gemini Award-nominee’s mysteriously manipulative “Ghost In The Telephone” with some extra awe and murderous menace – presumably for a future narrative featuring them. However, it also disappointingly shuts down any meaningful sense of dramatic closure for this particular twenty-page-periodical, as the crescent crusader simply walks away despite the brainwashed assassins having cold-bloodedly gunned down, garrotted, and blown up several members of the Shadow Cabinet.

Luckily, Alessandro Cappuccio does provide some rather theatrical layouts for this publication, which readily draw any perusing bibliophile into Moon Knight’s desperate attempt to rescue his former ‘friends’. Of particular note is the Italian illustrator’s marvellous splash-page showing the route through Manhattan Island cab driver Jake Lockley mentally envisages whilst trying to determine who will be the Harlequin Hit-Men’s next victim. Many of these panels genuinely help drive home the increasing sense of helpless loss the ex-West Coast Avenger is feeling as the corpses mount up, and additionally imbues the search for survivors by Tigra and Hunter’s Moon with some vibrant pace.

Much more action-packed and debatably entertaining though, is this publication’s celebration of Black History Month, “Moon Debt” by Danny Lore and prodigiously energetic penciller Ray-Anthony Height. Featuring “the Sheriff of the Vampire Nation”, Blade, with one of Marc’s cowled predecessors from the Mid-Seventies, this ‘secondary short’ provides a thrillingly violent insight into the Egyptian Moon God’s eternal battle against fanged blood-drinkers who stalk “the innocents walking the night.”

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

Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons Of Vengeance Alpha #1 - Marvel Comics

GHOST RIDER/WOLVERINE: WEAPONS OF VENGEANCE ALPHA No. 1, October 2023

Packed full of spine-chilling supernatural shenanigans, and some truly disconcerting physical horror, most bibliophiles perusing Issue One of “Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons Of Vengeance Alpha” probably agreed with its New York City-based publisher that its “hotshot writer” Benjamin Percy was indeed “a master at crafting hair-raising sagas for Marvel’s most hardcore anti-heroes.” In fact, those readers caught up with its narrative about “a demonic serial killer [who] is murdering innocent mutants” would be hard-pressed to find any faults with this thirty-one-page periodical.

To begin with, the American author decides to depict the titular characters’ “(never before seen!) first meeting” via a well-penned flashback, and in doing so transports this comic’s audience back to a classic era of the Uncanny X-Men, when Professor Charles Xavier was busy mentoring the likes of Colossus, Storm, Angel, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat. These scenes set “many years ago” genuinely tap into an ultra-nostalgic vein, and also help sell a significant plot twist when it at first appears that super-powered little Bram Straub will swiftly receive safety inside the School for Gifted Youngsters; “Nobody wants him… including the Orphanage he keeps returning to.”

Just as enthralling though is the terrifying creature which lurks within the poor boy’s soul and seemingly comes out whenever the youngster is disappointed or upset. Somehow able to readily defeat the most formidable of Logan’s team-mates within a matter of minutes, this giant, flame-headed entity readily grabs all the attention whenever it manifests itself – especially when his appearance results in the formation of a stomach-churning flesh column which consists of various hapless children’s twisted corpses.

Readily willing and able to assist Percy in this book’s storytelling is “acclaimed artist Geoff Shaw” of “Thanos” and “Guardians Of The Galaxy” fame. The illustrator does a first-rate job of making the ordinarily warm and welcoming X-Mansion as creepy as possible once tiny Straub crosses its threshold during an electrical storm. Whilst simultaneously prodigiously pencilling Johnny Blaze’s jaw-dropping attempt to break the record of jumping eighteen burning buses on a motorbike. In addition, the University of New Mexico graduate wonderfully captures both the fiery menace of the Ghost Rider and dangerous, quick-moving mannerisms of Wolverine, once the pair clash heads towards this publication’s end.

The regular cover of "GHOST RIDER/WOLVERINE: WEAPONS OF VENGEANCE ALPHA" #1 by Ryan Stegman

The Incredible Hulk [2023] #6 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 6, January 2024

There’s a lot of relatively straightforward storytelling to be found in Issue Six of “Incredible Hulk” which arguably harks back to the simpler days of comic books when the author would set the scene with a murderous assault upon some helpless innocents and then pen the titular character inadvertently appearing on the horizon to save the day. However, despite Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script for “Spirits Of Vengeance” following much of this tried and tested formula, its twenty-page plot also introduces the intriguing presence of “a one-hundred-year-old Ghost Rider” who appears determined “to ride down the Hulk!”

This fiery zombie mercilessly wielding a submachine-gun is easily the star of the show, appearing as a combination between Johnny Blaze’s skull-faced alter-ego and Captain America’s early days fighting Nazi Germany during World War Two. Furthermore, despite the heroic nature of the flame-covered cadaver, this publication’s author quite cleverly sets the motorcyclist up against the Jade Giant, rather than the savage monstrosity who has already slaughtered one of the settlement’s inhabitants; “He’s coming. Sal only comes when something bad is close… When the monsters are close.”

Similarly as well-penned is the believable build-up behind the Spanish-speaking settlers seeking work in Texas. True, the residents aren’t given too much ‘screen time’ before their number is brutally thinned by a blood-curdling killer. But in the time they’re given the poor labourers arguably quickly win over the audience with their love for one another, generosity towards similarly luckless strangers, and determination to ‘eke out a living’ in spite of the grotesque death fate appears to have in store for them.

Adding plenty of empathy to these penniless people’s plight is Nic Klein, whose pencilling imbues the likes of family man Jaime and young Leo, with plenty of genuinely likeable personality. Furthermore, the German illustrator does a first-rate job in sketching Bruce Banner’s painfully prolonged transformation into the Hulk. This double-splash skin-shedding is as gruesome-looking as the furious flesh-ripping is disconcerting, and alongside the excellent drawings of the “undead Spirit of Vengeance” fruitlessly attempting to gun down the founding Avenger, is well worth the cover price of this comic.

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #6 by Nic Klein

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

DOCTOR WHO: ONCE UPON A TIME LORD, November 2023

Perhaps rather unsurprisingly concluding his “incredible Doctor Who comics debut” with the Tenth Doctor confronting all of the dead souls he’s created throughout his numerous adventures, Dan Slott’s conclusion to the celebratory “Firelight” is debatably rather dissatisfactory. True, the American author does inject a few noteworthy moments within this crescendo of cameos, such as the Cybermen once again battling a handful of Daleks as John Lumic unemotionally looks on. But all these scenes are so stiflingly short-lived, that there’s rarely an appearance that maintains a reader’s attention for any significant length of time.

Indeed, considering that the Gallifreyian simply gallops past all these people without any problem, courtesy of the alien werewolf from “Tooth And Claw”, this entire yarn appears to have been penned simply to provide Matthew Dow Smith the opportunity to pencil as many of the Doctor’s numerous enemies as he can. However, the narrative’s conclusion is wonderfully written, with the all-powerful Pyromeths finding themselves utterly helpless before the stern-faced time traveller once they discover to their utter horror that the fairytale Martha Jones has carefully been telling them was actually the truth; “Suddenly they could hear it. The wheezing, groaning sound of the TARDIS…”

Far more disappointing is this graphic novel’s much smaller, “special bonus” script, which features the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler perturbingly battling the Terileptil whilst orbiting the Earth at the start of the Twenty-First Century. Based upon the popular pairing spouting nonsense as they tie the “space-faring reptilian species” up in knots with plenty of tongue-twisters, Slott lamentably just repeats this particular incarnation’s penchant for de-evolving his foes back to when they were a much less dangerous species of extra-terrestrials.

Much more successful than the writing for “Rhyme Or Reason” are arguably Mike Collins’ clean-lined illustrations, with the West Bromwich-born artist rather pleasingly capturing the physical likeliness of both Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper as they joyfully outwit the supposedly highly sophisticated, technologically advanced fish-like humanoids. In addition, there’s a real stiffness to the movement of the Terileptils in “Doctor Who: Once Upon A Timelord” which nostalgically mimics the creatures’ awkwardness when seen on the small screen during the 1982 televised show “The Visitation”.

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