G-Men United #3 - G-Man Comics

G-MEN UNITED No.3, October 2023

Containing five stories, or six if the rather mischievous Editor-in-Chief is to be believed in his foreword, there can surely be little doubt that Issue Three of “G-Men United” certainly gives plenty of bang for its buck. Indeed the anthology comic is an excellent example of Rik Offenberger’s ever-expanding universe, with all manner of imaginative costumed crime-fighters, demi-gods and deities depicted battling fire-breathing dragons, fending off murderous forest beasts, and even becoming the centre of attention for an unscrupulous boss of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; “She could be the world’s greatest champion, or the end of all life on Earth. I’m only going to have one chance to win her trust.”

Foremost of these adventures though is undoubtedly “Fire!” which sees the Agent cajoling poor Maya Santiago into mentoring the potentially deadly Atomik Bombshell. Penned across just eight pages, this yarn does an excellent job of showing the super-heroine’s nervousness at tackling such a great responsibility, as well as quickly hurling the audience into a seriously high-octane scrap against an impressively sketched giant winged serpent – complete with Sister Flag trying to blow the mythical beast away with a hand-held bazooka.

Somewhat slower paced, simply on account of Taranis excitedly showing his beloved Dara the splendour of his “long-missed home”, Avalorr, is Eric N. Bennett’s fantasy-based tale “The Eyes of Esh-Kar”. Rather intriguingly touching upon the central protagonist’s chauvinism, or perhaps his lady’s ungratefulness at being rescued just prior to her being mauled to death by a sharp-toothed monster, there’s a fair bit of character development to be found within its dungeon & dragons-flavoured doings which helps bring artists Ron Williams and Victor Raniery’s wonderfully sketched medieval metropolis to vibrant life.

Lastly, many a bibliophile may well be enthralled by the third instalment to “The Night Lili” due to the ongoing narrative quite neatly dealing with both the aftermath of the True Knight’s injuries battling against a dark-hearted demonette, as well as setting the super-heroes up for a rematch. Initially, this refight appears to be a bit of a one-sided affair, courtesy of Red Halo’s involvement. But all is not what it seems when it's revealed that the original Astor’s body is disconcertingly “beginning to be someone” else, and resultantly the nefarious Lili can’t simply be banished to another realm just yet.

The regular cover art of "G-MEN UNITED" #3 by Stefani Rennee

Daredevil [2022] #7 - Marvel Comics

DAREDEVIL No. 7, March 2023

Containing an interesting take on the titular character’s personal war against the “Laws of Man”, as well as setting up a potential roller-coaster of a ride for its subsequent instalment, it is easy to see why Issue Seven on “Daredevil” was the sixth best-selling comic in January 2023 – at least according to the online trade magazine “ICv2.com”. Indeed, despite the Man Without Fear teaming up with a band of minor league super-villains against Charlotte’s Police Department during an eviction exercise, there probably wasn’t many within this book’s audience who were particularly supportive of the ‘Thin Blue Line’ as the authority's threaten, bully and batter the unhappy occupants of a high-rise flat.

In addition, Chip Zdarsky’s script does a first-rate job in showing Matt Murdock’s costumed alter-ego using his ‘supporters’ to the best of their special abilities, such as when Speed Demon is directed to defuse a series of explosive charges set up throughout the building just before they’re detonated with the tenants and cops still inside. This command clearly comes rather easily to a seasoned crime-fighter such the red-hued Defender. But it isn’t penned too over dramatically, at least until Hornhead ‘spots’ an unfound bomb on the roof with just seconds to spare, and simply just shows Bill Everett’s co-creation taking on the additional responsibilty of leading an army in his stride.

Likewise, this twenty-page periodical’s plot provides its readers with plenty of evidence as to just how good the blind lawyer can be by having him tackle Castlemax’s illegal eviction notices at both the source, and in the courts. This two-pronged attack appears to work really well, and again adds an element of legitimacy to Matt’s somewhat ‘holier than thou’ claims that he is now answering a far higher calling than simply being the protector of Hell’s Kitchen; “Sometimes fear is the only weapon -- The gentlest weapon. We needed to stop him from doing more harm.”

Similarly as successful as Zdarksy’s penmanship is the artwork of Rafael De Latorre and Marco Checchetto, who along with inker Elisabetta D’Amico and colour artist Matthew Wilson, manage to imbue all the outraged and angry residents with a palpable sense of injustice. Furthermore, the illustration team impressively imbue the oafish government officials with all the arrogance required for so-called justice department agents to justly receive the odd smack in the mouth and kick to the head – especially when they’ve pencilled whacking a kid just because the adolescent bit one of them in defence of his terrified mother.

Writer: Chip Zdarsky, and Artists: Rafael De Latorre & Marci Checchetto

The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries [2024] #6 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN AND SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES No. 6, August 2024

Despite the rather enjoyable premise of Mystery Incorporated being used by the master villain of the piece to accidentally commit their nefarious crimes for them, courtesy of the fiend concocting a “sleuthing competition with a huge prize”, the pedestrian pace of Amanda Deibert’s twenty-page plot won’t have arguably excited many of this mini-series’ readers in June 2024. Furthermore, the storyline disappointingly relegates the Dark Knight himself to a rather disagreeable secondary character, who just ‘bookends’ this publication to initially arrest the hapless teenagers, and then later captures the true crook at its end; “Just as I suspected.”

Debatably this narrative’s biggest annoyance though can be found in Velma Dinkley’s holier than thou haughtiness, and the young girl’s obsessive compulsion to solve a riddle - even when it’s abundantly clear to the audience that the knee-high sock-wearing sleuth is being set-up. Such a fixation also requires the “New York Times bestselling comic book writer” to pen many a contrivance so as to let the young girl reach her goal, with the most notable being when the team are allowed to just walk past a national bank’s security unit straight to its central vault, and crack its lock so they can peruse its numerous safety deposit boxes.

Of course, many a bibliophile will need to be mindful that this issue’s more ludicrous sequences were probably written with humour in mind, such as Shaggy Rogers replacing Scooby-Doo at a dog grooming salon whilst the others explore the shop for evidence. But it’s hard to ignore the likes of Fred Jones fortuitously finding a stethoscope in a flower pot right beside the strong room just after he had successfully completed “an online safecracking course this summer while I was bored.”

Disappointingly adding to this overriding feeling of lethargy are Dario Bruizuela’s layouts, which apart from an initial flurry at the start when Daphne Blake is sketched running for her life from a ghost inside Huntingstun Library, generally struggle to add any adrenalin to the periodical’s proceedings. In addition, many of the panels appear disconcertingly empty apart from the figures of the central cast, with the scenes set inside the bank’s safe looking particularly plain and uninteresting.

Written by: Amanda Deibert, Drawn by: Dario Brizuela, and Coloured by: Franco Riesco

Uncanny X-Men #3 - Marvel Comics

UNCANNY X-MEN No. 3, November 2024

Delightfully crammed full of pulse-pounding action, along with some utterly enthralling insights into both the “completely untrained young mutants” who Rogue has promised to coach, and the truly terrifying Hag, Gail Simone’s narrative for Issue Three of “Uncanny X-Men” should genuinely take long-term fans of the super-group’s franchise back to it’s ‘Golden Years’ under Chris Claremont’s prolific pen. In fact, the twenty-page periodical’s plot is pretty near perfect, with the American author even somehow managing to convincingly convey Anna Marie LeBeau’s deep-rooted love for Gambit within the space of just a few text boxes; “And I wouldn’t trade this bed nothin’. Nor this fella its loaded with. My rambunctious boy.”

Furthermore, the comic should keep any new readers hooked with its barbed warnings concerning Corina Ellis’ relationship with Sarah Gaunt’s emaciated alter-ego. Up until this point the good Doctor and her Sentry Team have been depicted as being all-powerful, most notably in their complete overhaul of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters mansion. However, despite all the so-called “most sophisticated A.I. security ever conceived”, it appears evident that the Hag can simply move from cell to cell without any problem whatsoever – an ability which intriguingly bodes ill for Captain Erza, or anyone else who may stand in the self-proclaimed witch’s way in the future.

Of course, the meat of this super-heroic sandwich rests with Nightcrawler testing out the Outliers remarkable abilities, whilst simultaneously giving the audience a little bit of background as to where the adolescents come from. This action sequence is really well paced, with Deathdream’s powers particularly proving memorable after the boy almost throttles poor Kurt Wagner to death. Indeed, the entire ensemble are all shown to be quite dangerous once the red mist of battle falls over their eyes.

Also worthy of a mention has to be David Marquez, who provides this publication with some proficient pencilling and well-planned layouts. The initial horizontal panels used for the comic’s dialogue driven opening set an even pace for the various conversations taking place, and doesn’t truly stop until Rogue takes her new charges in-hand with a dynamically-drawn farm-based interpretation of the famous Danger Room – complete with haystacks, a ship’s mast and plenty of wooden stakes.

The regular cover art to "UNCANNY X-MEN" #3 by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson

The Incredible Hulk [2023] #17 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 17, November 2024

Described by its New York City-based publisher as beginning ‘the crescendo to Legacy Issue Nine Hundred of Incredible Hulk’, Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s opening for “City Of The Idols” certainly should have utterly enthralled any Hulk-heads with a genuinely touching tale of two girls being lured to a truly unpleasant fate in Las Vegas. But whilst the destiny of the wannabe actresses easily holds the attention, especially once its revealed that they’ve inadvertently walked straight into the heart of an underground vampire coven, the rest of this twenty-page periodical’s plot is arguably far less surprising; “I knew you nearly four thousand years ago. We died together. Our bones were entombed together.”

For starters the titular character simply just walks straight through “the Entertainment Capital of the World” without so much as batting an eye, right up to the entranceway of Lycana’s subterranean temple, and is then rather disappointingly just invited down to meet Eldest. Such matter-of-fact penmanship undoubtedly allows the central antagonists to lock horns as quickly as possible. However, it must surely have made some readers feel the American author had missed a trick not to show the founding Avenger facing off against some of the foul fanged-fiends which he had just established litter the dark streets of the gambling metropolis.

Likewise, the actual battle between Bruce Banner’s alter-ego and his regrettably ordinary-looking female foe may strike some as being a rather ‘fight-by-numbers’ affair, seeing as it’s already been established in past instalments, and then reinforced in this actual publication, that the Hulk cannot physically hurt his opponent. This knowledge, driven home by Eldest’s disagreeable haughtiness, always points to the anti-hero’s human side caving in to her demands to sacrifice the Green Goliath so as to save poor Charlie Tidwell, and resultantly this book's narrative delivers no shock whatsoever when the gamma scientist does just that.

What does strike home though are Nic Klein’s layouts, which try to hold the audience’s eyes with a staggering buffet of physical horror, emotional despair, and bold-faced brutality. Indeed, in many ways it’s a pity the illustrator didn’t stick to showing Eldest in her more Lovecraftian-manifestation, rather than return to pencilling her as a simply smartly-dressed individual whose hands just happen to transform into pointy tentacles similar to James Cameron’s mimetic polyalloy T-1000 shapeshifting assassin.

Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist: Nic Klein, and Color Artists: Matthew Wilson with Nic Klein

Conan The Barbarian #16 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 16, November 2024

Considering that the entirety of this twenty-two page periodical explores the titular character’s shocking belief that Crom doesn’t actually exist, it’s difficult to imagine all that many readers of “The Hidden World” will wholly agree with the British-based publishing house's claim that this book forms part of a “triumphant new era of Conan”. In fact, Jim Zub’s tampering with one of the fundamental foundations of Robert E. Howard’s most famous literary creations could well be seen as fairly sacrilegious by some dog brothers and sword sisters; especially when the Canadian author suddenly seems to double-down on his anti-deity narrative by proposing that the barbarian’s father also had his doubts as to Cimmeria’s indifferent god.

Furthermore, the Animex Honorary Award-winner wraps the young adventurer’s doubts regarding his people’s religion around an arguably unconvincing plot which depicts Osmin seeking revenge for not being chosen to accompany Wulfhere’s doomed band of warriors. Admittedly, the bearded bully is evidently full of drink and misgivings as to just why his fellow fighters have ‘adopted’ the black-haired Outlander so willingly into their midst. But his brutal, out-of-the-blue attack upon an unarmed, and frankly distracted Conan, still smacks of the writer needing some contrived spark with which to imbue his script with some much needed action. Indeed, up until the point where the drunkard suddenly emerges from the trees vehemently questioning the barbarian's manhood, the majority of this tome’s audience probably thought the disagreeably arrogant Aesir had been killed as part of the lost patrol.

To make matters worse though, once the Cimmerian has defeated his foe, courtesy of Doug Braithwaite pencilling him splitting the fool’s head with a small hand-axe, the camp’s reaction is to immediately blame the "savage" for the death and cast him back out into the winter wilderness. Considering just how hard the heavily-muscled protagonist has fought for these people of Asgard in the past, and that it was Osmin who first cowardly clubbed Conan from behind to (re)start their non-canonical grudge-fight, such an illogical reaction appears to have been manufactured simply so the future King of Aquilonia can once again be sketched wandering the snow-covered countryside on his lonesome; “I gave up my hunt, doused your enemy’s fire, fought in your damned blood feud… of that’s not enough, step forth and try to take more.”

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" #16 by Colleen Doran

Creepshow [2024] #1 - Image Comics

CREEPSHOW No. 1, September 2024

Pushed by “Skybound Entertainment” as being “creepier than ever”, this opening instalment to the third volume of “Creepshow” probably struck many a reader as being a rather hit and miss affair with its supposedly spine-chilling contents – most notably due to the arguable lack of logic or dread occurring within its first story by Chip Zdarsky. In fact, “Let ‘Er Trip” is debatably just plain odd as a desperate mother tracks down her errant eighteen-year old daughter to a local cult, and then inexplicably guts all of the sect’s knife-wielding zealots using the repressed power of her mind; “I shoulda lowered my dosage -- GK!!” 

True, the Canadian writer’s script certainly allows artist Kagan McLeod to pencil plenty of decapitations, eviscerations and innards-splattering sequences towards the tale’s cataclysmic conclusion. But just why taking a mouthful of mushrooms should suddenly imbue the housewife with such phenomenal powers is never properly explained, even by the Creep, and certainly doesn’t seem to live up to the publisher’s “guarantee” of this Eisner Award nominated horror anthology comic book actually scaring its audience to death.

Much more successful however, is James Stokoe’s fish-filled, foul-smelling “Scrimshaw”, which atmospherically evokes all the suspense a bibliophile may well expect from an isolated island whose sole source of income lies in trawling its waters. Somewhat reminiscent of actor Christian Slater’s character talking one-on-one with Louis de Pointe du Lac at the start of the 1994 movie “Interview With A Vampire”, this ten-page plot does a great job of quickly building up an almost mesmeric ambiance, as well as swiftly misdirecting the attention away from the grizzled storyteller with an enthralling old fisherman’s myth so as to provide a genuinely nerve-shuddering shock at its end.

Alongside such intriguing penmanship, the author/illustrator also provides his yarn with some incredibly detailed panels, which really help paint a vividly vibrant picture of an isolated world where hand-carved human body parts occasionally wash up upon the coastline, and are treasured by an increasingly wide-eyed murderer who enthusiastically searches the shore for just such grisly treasure. Furthermore, the concept of a mysterious Scrimshander, shrouded in the ocean’s detritus, is particularly well-depicted, with the creature's disconcerting demeanour easily captivating the eye whenever it makes an appearance.

Writers: Chip Zdarsky and James Stokoe, and Artists: Kagan McLeod and James Stokoe