The Curse Of Brimstone #1 - DC Comics

THE CURSE OF BRIMSTONE No. 1, June 2018

Announced by Justin Jordan whilst on the “New Age of DC Heroes” panel at New York Comic Con, the Pennsylvania-born author was quite correct in his assertion that his script for Issue One of “The Curse Of Brimstone” both looks and feels “much different than a lot of DC superhero titles.” For whilst the twenty-page periodical’s plot appears slightly reminiscent of the ‘naively sell your soul to the Devil’ narrative readers might expect from the “Colombia Pictures” “Ghost Rider” film franchise, this book’s writing is so realistically-detailed, so emotive and so engaging that it’s clear the publication’s creator is genuinely taking his audience on a very personal journey, rather than simply conjuring up some contrived circumstance with which to imbue Joe Chamberlain with his super-powers.

Foremost of these enthralling ‘hooks’ is the attention to detail which the Harvey Award-nominee lavishes upon his story-line’s central protagonist. Desperate “to save his small, forgotten town”, yet even more so to ensure that his sister finishes her Nursing qualifications and start’s “some place new”, the stark poverty of the disabled ex-factory worker’s son is absolutely palatable throughout this piece, and no more so than when he discovers his father has jeopardised his sibling’s future by foolishly handing over a portion of their meagre funds to a family friend who subsequently “damn near took off his leg this morning with a chainsaw.”

Similarly as enticing is Jordan’s suave, smooth-talking incarceration of the Devil himself. Polite, as well as infinitely amiable, the well-dressed car driver comes across with all the persuasive charm this series’ audience would anticipate from God’s fallen angel, and it certainly proves no surprise that the angrily frustrated young Chamberlain quickly falls for the archetype of evil’s befuddling discourse regarding the Home Office and making him their agent… Indeed, Officer Figard’s ability to resist the well-groomed man’s temptations earlier in the tale, makes the sheriff’s strength of will even more impressive upon reflection; albeit such a display quickly results in the lawman’s grim demise.

Enjoyably, all of this characterisation and exposition is rather well-pencilled by Philip Tan, whose work, despite arguably lacking the clean look of so many super-hero comic book contemporaries, still does an awfully good job of emphasising its horror-based themes. In addition, the occasional “Magic: The Gathering” illustrator seems to enjoy hiding the odd understated reference within the contents of some of his drawings, such as when Joe accepts a ride from the Devil and is carefully watched doing so by a snake concealed within the undergrowth or a sluggish lizard gazes at the youth’s ever-chugging truck unreliably starting-up. These subtleties really help add extra atmosphere to the proceedings of each panel, and also encourage any perusing bibliophile to pay far more attention to the artwork than normal.

Storytellers: Philip Tan & Justin Jordan, and Colorist: Rain Beredo

Doctor Strange [2015] #13 - Marvel Comics

DOCTOR STRANGE No. 13, December 2016

Containing a somewhat disconcertingly over-sexualised opening third, which focuses upon the ruler of the Dream Dimension trying to continually entice “the world’s greatest surgeon” into bed with a veritable harem of half-naked beauties, Jason Aaron’s narrative for Issue Thirteen of “Doctor Strange” must have rather bemused its audience with his whimsical approach to one of the Sorcerer Supreme’s “major enemies”. Indeed, even the Dread Dormammu’s horrifying assault upon Karl Amadeus Mordo with a swarm of large, red-eyed vicious rats is seemingly played for laughs, despite the Baron clearly being in fear for his very life having unsuccessfully sworn to the “Master of the Mindless Ones” that “Strange will die at my hands. No one elses.”

However, rather than make the Alabama-born writer’s storyline an enjoyably witty journey through Nightmare’s “astral realm created by mankind's subconscious psyche”, the persistent humour, potentially inappropriate and juvenile in places, quickly grates as soon as one realises that in belittling the nigh-omnipotent demon’s trap, the American author has wasted a great opportunity to pen a genuinely macabre, tension-packed confrontation between the two ever-battling magic-users. Certainly, it seems odd for the Inkpot Award-winner to believe that the one-time Fear Lord would plausibly try and “break” the Master of the Mystic Arts by simply increasing the number of young women who want to sleep with the titular character in each and every scene?

Similarly as bemusing, is just how Doctor Strange actually evades the dimension Everinnye demon’s well-laid snare and somehow subsequently turns the tables upon his white-faced foe. The Defender clearly states within this twenty-page periodical’s text that he doesn’t have “a special magic spell to save the day”, and so simply weaves “a new” one in order for the “four billion people dreaming on the planet Earth” to stop doing so. This apparently means that the Ancient One’s protégé then needs to survive all of their nightmares, yet it is never explained how he actually does this or acquires enough mystical power with which to physically dwarf the understandably deflated Nightmare; “No. No, What… What just happened? What did he… No!!!”

Resultantly, the strongest element to “Night Of Four Billion Nightmares” undoubtedly lies with the artwork of Chris Bachalo. “Internationally recognized as one of the most popular artists in the comic industry”, the Canadian Illustrator really does a cracking job of pencilling the skull-laden walkways of the Dream Dimension, and despite his work being inconsistently inked by five different people, provides plenty of pulse-pounding terror in his drawings of huge venomous vipers, knife-wielding killer-clowns and a nostalgic nod to Steven Spielberg's “Jaws”.

Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: Chris Bachalo, and Letters: VC's Cory Petit

Red Sonja #4 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA No. 4, April 2017

Arguably, there comes a time every now and then during any ongoing comic book series when a particular edition will cause its audience to pause and strongly consider whether or not they’re going to push on and finish reading the publication. Disappointingly, Amy Chu’s script for Issue Four of “Red Sonja” potentially provides just such a watershed moment, arriving approximately half-way through the twenty-page periodical, at a point when New York City police officer Max Mendoza, “from Bushwick”, is disconcertingly revealed to be “the last surviving Meruvian”, and the gigantic “demon beast of Khauran” nonsensically smashes its way through an upper storey window of the Metropolitan Museum of Art simply to show it is still playing the role of Kulan Gath’s guard dog; “You’re late, you disgraceful beast. Finish them off. And hurry up. I’m tired of this place.”

Admittedly, up until this juncture the Boston-born writer’s narrative for this title had always trodden something of a fine line between an innovative re-imagining of Robert E. Howard’s heroine and clichéd, preposterous bunkum. But to suddenly suggest that “Sir Max” is the sole surviving orphan of a “tiny miserable kingdom of Mages”, and is therefore miraculously capable of magically raising all of a banquet’s cutlery off its tables as if he were some sort of culinary-controlling variant of “Marvel Comics” Magneto, is debatably going a step far too far. To make matters worse, the Harvard Business School graduate also tests even the most fervent of fan’s willing suspension of disbelief by subsequently suggesting that the script’s evil sorcerer has somehow kept his truly monstrously-sized, tendril-draped bright red dragon safely under wraps from the civilised world since he first arrived in America over a hundred years ago… 

Of course, such contrived revelations do at least inject a rather word-heavy, dialogue-driven plot with some much-needed pulse-pounding action. The main protagonists’ race down to the Museum’s “Arms and Armoury Hall”, and fortuitous finding of Hyborian Age forged weaponry is arguably one of this comic’s few highlights, as is their subsequent close combat battle against the green-blooded demon, which sees the pair lopping off the creature’s writhing tentacles as if there is no tomorrow. However, even these short-lived scenes, enthusiastically pencilled by artist Carlos Gomez, pale into insignificance when compared to the Spaniard's truly sense-shattering depiction of the Big Apple’s emergency services evacuating “the Met Museum” in the mistaken belief it has been the target of a suspected terrorist attack.

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA" No. 4 by Mike McKone

Moon Knight [2016] #14 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT No. 14, July 2017

In many ways it isn’t hard to see why “Marvel Worldwide” cancelled this series with Issue Fourteen of “Moon Knight”. For despite all the “New York Times bestselling” author’s supposed brilliance, Jeff Lemire’s screenplay for “Death And Birth” was as befuddling a drawn-out mess as Greg Smallwood’s illustration work was a visual triumph of story-boarding, and resultantly, there can surely be little doubt that the comic’s 24,283 strong audience were only purchasing the book simply for its excellent-looking artwork rather than the nostalgic narrative of a man who twenty-six months earlier had signed a two-year deal to work exclusively with the New York City-based publisher.

Indeed, the end of this ongoing title had apparently been on the cards for some time if the rumours are to be believed, and certainly provide some explanation as to why its Canadian author took to “Twitter” at the beginning of 2017, in order to clarify that as far as he was concerned this particular edition was only to be the creative team’s “last issue”, and that the “book [itself] is not being cancelled.” Whatever the reasoning, if this twenty-page periodical's atrociously padded-out story-line is anything to go by, then its cessation was arguably a blessing in disguise, especially when the Goodreads Choice Awards-nominee himself refers to his time penning the title as “a weird, sometimes terrifying fever dream.”

Admittedly, that’s not to say that this particular edition isn’t without its merits, as Marc Spector momentarily faces brief cameos from Jacob “Jack” Russell (“Werewolf By Night”), Raul Bushman, Stained Glass Scarlet, Black Spectre and his “good old friends Bobby and Billy and Doc Ammut.”; “You’ve been missing your treatments, Marc. I shudder to think what kind of trouble you’ve gotten yourself into. Well, no more… Today we begin a new session of aggressive therapy.”

But such fleeting, action-packed confrontations are quite noticeably contrived so as to simply inject an otherwise dialogue-heavy, wearisomely sedentary script with some desperately needed entertainment, and deplorably all except the jackal-headed nurses and crocodile-faced psychologist soon prove to be just illusionary phantoms conjured by Khonshu in the Moon God’s bid to delay his inevitable destruction at the hands of the ancient deity's former servant. In fact, without the bald, gorily-painted African mercenary, pulse-poundingly pencilled by Smallwood, attacking Doug Moench’s co-creation with a pair of fearsome blades, this publication’s frustratingly thin plot would actually have been forced to conclude significantly earlier than it does…

Writer: Jeff Lemire, Artist: Greg Smallwood, and Color Artist: Jordie Bellaire

The Amazing Spider-Man [2015] #30 - Marvel Comics

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 30, September 2017

Selling an impressive 56,560 copies in July 2017, at least according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”, this book’s portrayal of Peter Parker as both the tough chief executive officer of Parker Industries and the ‘natural leader’ of a defeated Avengers must have caused some considerable consternation amongst Spidey’s fandom. For whilst there’s no argument that the “fictional superhero” is perfectly capable of taking the initiative in a crisis situation, the supposedly well-planned, overly confident, even arrogant, web-slinger presented by Dan Slott towards the end of this twenty-page periodical is hardly recognisable from the hesitant, street-level crime-fighter whose popularity would quickly make him become “Marvel's flagship character and company mascot.”

Indeed, the unqualified haughtiness and lack of respect Spider-Man shows his arch-nemesis, Doctor Octopus, in “Master Planning”, genuinely beggars belief, particularly when the Berkeley-born writer knows full well how dangerous a foe Otto Gunther Octavius has proven himself to be in the past, even before the mechanically-appendaged leader of the Sinister Six came to acquire all of the wall-crawler’s super-powers as well; “Don’t hold back on my account. As you can see, I now possess all your powers as well. We are evenly matched.” Unsurprisingly, such abnormal hubris ultimately ends in Web-head facing an even greater threat of his own making, on this occasion six heavily-armed spider-riders alongside Superior Octopus, and resultantly doubtless made many of this publication’s readers wonder why having had so much recent regard for his other main adversary, Norman Osborn, in this title’s previous story-arc, Parker shows so little for the man who has actually beaten him in the past..?

Fortunately, dubious characterisation aside, this “Secret Empire Tie-In” does provide any perusing bibliophiles with plenty of enjoyable cameos, starting with the lead ‘villain of the piece’ himself, the Mjolnir-wielding [Hydra] Captain America. In fact the inclusion of Quicksilver, Mockingbird, Taskmaster, Hercules, the Wrecker, Kamala Khan and Amadeus Cho at the beginning of this comic, all of which are dynamically pencilled by Stuart Immonen, actually helps provide what is predominantly a rather wordy-heavy, sedentary narrative with some much-needed pulse-pounding action, even if the super-heroes themselves are making a headlong retreat away from the invading terrorist organization so as to “get ‘em tomorrow.”

The regular cover art of "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" No. 30 by Alex Ross

Star Trek: Captain's Log: Pike #1 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: CAPTAIN'S LOG: PIKE No. 1, September 2010

Pitched after the events on Talos IV, “which were detailed in the classic television two-parter, The Menagerie”, Stuart Moore’s script for “Star Trek: Captain’s Log: Pike” probably proved something of a disappointment to its 6,038 readers in September 2010. For whilst the twenty-two page periodical contains plenty of action-packed excitement, both aboard the Constitution-class starship as well as in outer space, and certainly features plenty of ‘screen time’ for the comic’s titular character, it seems a pity the prose novelist elected to create a new antagonistic extra-terrestrial species for this story rather than continue his narrative’s nostalgic feel by utilising one of the many races previously encountered on the Sixties Television series.

Admittedly, in many respects the Halogians do a stellar job of providing the U.S.S Enterprise and her crew with some formidably powerful opposition. Their “suspicious” spacecraft design, which initially “matches no know configuration” within Mister Spock’s records, definitely gives the Federation vessel a run for its money in the firepower stakes, and some “twelve years later” causes almost catastrophic damage to Captain Colt’s Class J Ship due to its “radiation beam... generating intense heat.” Likewise, the tendril-covered crustacean-looking beings are clearly capable of posing a considerable threat when encountered at close quarters as their phaser-fight with Pike, Yeoman Colt, and Ensign Stevens, which is dynamically-pencilled by J.K. Woodward, attests; “Wonderful. Two more deaths… For no reason whatsoever. Maybe someday…”

But surely of all the Rim Worlds “not currently Federation-affiliated” the American freelance editor could have selected one that was a little less arguably clichéd and much more familiar to his audience, such as the Tholians, the Gorn, the Andorians, the Klingons, the Romulans, or even a ship of political refugees from the planet Chero? Perhaps then, Moore wouldn’t have had to invent such a contrived case of jeopardy in this publication’s second act, where the Halogians have somehow managed to penetrate Earth’s Solar System undetected and are about to ignite Jupiter’s core, having discovered the “giant ball of gas” is actually a failed sun twinned to our own “G-type main-sequence star.”

Somewhat less perplexing, though similarly frustrating, is this comic’s lack of Number One and Spock. Both bridge officers prominently appear in the tale’s opening moments, yet are then conspicuous by their absence throughout the remaining tome as Captain Pike suddenly selects to take J. Mia Colt with him on a boarding party instead of the half-Vulcan, and the entire book’s script unexpectedly shifts to arguably focus more upon the “pert and shapely” Yeoman from Operations Division, and her sky-rocketing career to becoming a Starfleet Captain…

‘First published on the "Dawn of Comics" website.'

Writer: Stuart Moore, Art and Colours: J.K. Woodward, and Letters: Robbie Robbins

Kong Of Skull Island #8 - BOOM! Studios

KONG OF SKULL ISLAND No. 8, February 2017

Doubtless on paper, James Asmus’ idea of spending an entire twenty-two page periodical on a “Kong verses Kong” battle “as they tear through Skull Island, fighting to the death” seemed like a good one. But whilst the pair of battering and biting giant-sized hair-covered heavies must have provided this comic’s audience with more than a modicum of pulse-pounding enjoyment, the two towering apes’ bout of fisticuffs soon arguably becomes something of a pugilistic bore, which even the bizarre introduction of a flock of screeching Pteranodons can’t help spice up. In fact, it’s quite frustrating as to the contrived lengths the Harvey Award-nominee’s narrative seems to go in order to keep the combatants persistently swinging at one another, or at the very least attacking something.

For starters, having seemingly concluded that Valla’s infinitely more savage opponent has the upper hand, especially once armed with the sharp-pointed rib-bone of a previously fallen foe, the script has the facially-disfigured brute’s baby primate suddenly scamper away in terror and inadvertently attract the hungry attention of some flying reptiles. These pterosaurs, quite understandably take flight after their prey, and in doing so fortuitously distract the Exile’s ‘victorious’ adversary just long enough to allow Ewata’s trained Kong to kick the heavily-scarred beast into a nearby fast-flowing river and allow their 'gladiatorial match-up' to be significantly lengthened. Such coincidental happenstances downright plague this pyblication's drawn-out storyline, and even go so far as to have artist Carlos Magno dynamically pencil the huge leather-winged lizards swooping down upon their petrified little fur-ball of a meal with outstretched talons, simply to provide the two “enormous gorilla-like” apes something with which to swat aside in their grisly gusto to pummel one another to death. 

Quite possibly the most disconcerting sub-plot to Issue Eight of “Kong Of Skull Island” though, is the utterly bizarre decision made by four natives, including their clichéd hook-handed leader, to leave the relative safety of their settlement and scout out some new land which “will be our liberation from those beasts”. Just what makes Aguul believe he can build “a stronghold from where we can tame this place -- for our children” in the middle of the behemoth-infested jungle is anyone’s guess, but the decision appears as incredulously stupid as his later conviction that attempting to kill the baby Kong in front of its mother won’t result in the maternal monster effortlessly ripping her son’s would-be murderers apart with her bare hands. Of course, in saving her child, the furious parent once again momentarily takes her eye off of Valla, and inauspiciously pays the penalty by falling down “another mine collapse… or rather, a further cratering of the same faulty tunnel.”

Writer: James Asmus, Illustrator: Carlos Magno, and Colors: Jeremy Lawson