Kings Watch #4 - Dynamite Entertainment

KINGS WATCH No. 4, December 2013

Issue Four of “Kings Watch” begins with a very simple sentence which reads “Earth’s defenders have joined forces, but it’s too late.” and this really does sum up much of the content of the previous two issues; idle inactivity as writer Jeff Parker slowly positions his 'playing pieces' and eventually brings all the main antagonists together.

Fortunately this edition of “Dynamite Publications” five-issue mini-series desperately tries to readdress the balance and churns out some serious action-packed adventure as the invaders from Mongo attempt to conquer the Earth.

Naturally Emperor Ming’s spearhead strikes London, the heart of the British Empire and the greatest threat to his plans for world domination. As a result artist Marc Laming gets to illustrate some cracking panels depicting the British military desperately trying to fend off Lionmen and Rhinomen from Downing Street. Enter The Phantom, Flash Gordon and the misdirecting Mandrake and there’s plenty of very well-drawn carnage for a reader to enjoy. A particular highlight being the rather nice ‘double-page spread’ of the battle for Westminster, the political capital of her Majesty's government, where the linear flow of the panels really adds to the sense of action and excitement.

Laming also seems to try and cram in as many of the different races of Mongo as an Alex Raymond fan could encounter this side of a Thirties thirteen-installment Buster Crabbe film serial. As a result the penciller has Hawkmen, giant lizards, Wolfmen, Boarmen, Minotaurs and water-breathing Lizardmen all making an appearance; not forgetting the Emperor’s own forces, the white-armoured soldiers of Mongo. Which admittedly look disconcertingly similar to George Lucas' stormtroopers but with a fin stuck to top of their helmets. In addition we also finally get a chance to actually see Ming the Merciless in all his despicable dastardliness, as the Emperor nicely bookends the issue.

This really is a very good comic book with both Parker and Laming clearly well on top of their games. Even during one of the quieter moments in the book, when the heroes ‘retreat’ to Skull Cave, there’s some lovely interplay between Zarkov and ‘The Ghost Who Walks’, and then Lothar with Mandrake as the friends briefly squabble over the attention of the witch-doctor Karma. The illustration work depicting The Phantom’s secret lair is also excellent, with a real blending of Pirates of the Caribbean and primitive African culture.

The variant cover art of "KINGS MEN" No. 4 by Ramon Perez

Judge Dredd The Early Years #1 - Eagle Comics

JUDGE DREDD THE EARLY CASES No. 1, February 1986

Collecting some of the earliest appearances of artists Ron Turner, Carlos Ezquerra, Mike McMahon and Ian Gibson from the pages of the British weekly science fiction comic “2000 A.D.”, this first issue of “Judge Dredd The Early Years” understandably provides an eclectic feast of artwork styles and quality.

 

The cover, drawn by the one and only Brian Bolland is a simply superb illustration of a Heavy Metal Kid industrial robot and shows clearly why many regard him as the definitive penciller of the lawman of Mega-City One and why he remains in such constant demand as a cover artist.

 

Unfortunately not all the interior drawing of “The Robot Wars” is of so high a standard, although none of the contributors deliver anything unpalatable. Even the numerous pages sketched by well-known “Battle Action” artist Ron Turner are strikingly well-defined and workmanlike. However it is clear as to why his style was not as popular as the dynamic and vibrant artwork of Ezquerra or McMahon. Indeed one only has to look at Judge Dredd’s initial confrontation with the killer robot Call-Me-Kenneth, manically feeding a cop into a garbage chute, or the Judges pitched battle with the Heavy Metal Kids, to see why the co-creator of Dredd and the British comic book artist were more preferable.

 

Interestingly if anyone actually produces some slightly substandard illustration work for this edition it is actually Ian Gibson, who provides the artwork for the final few pages of the issue. Better known for his pencilling on “Robo-Hunter” and “The Ballard of Halo Jones”, many of Gibson’s panels appear overworked with the main characters being swallowed up by all the detailed background surrounding them. However much of this apparent clutter could well be as a result of some garish colour choices by John Burns, whose use of burgundy, orange, yellow, dark green and light blue makes many of Gibson's panels a Technicolor travesty.

 

On the writing side of things this first in a six-issue ‘mega-series’ has John Wagner and Pat Mills providing a simple yet effectively told tale of robot revolution within America’s Mega-City. Originally spanning several ‘progs’ of “IPC Magazines” weekly comic book, the serialised story is understandably rather episodic in format but this is still arguably the future lawman’s first ‘epic event’. Somewhat simple in plot when compared to some of the later major Judge Dredd storylines, this adventure probably hasn’t stood the test of time all that well. But its main protagonist, Call-Me-Kenneth, continues to hold a prominent place in Mega-City lore and fans' consciousness as the rogue leader of the First Robot War.

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #4 - Marvel Comics

DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU No. 4, October 2014

I must confess that I finished this particular issue of “Deadly Hands of Kung Fu” still completely oblivious to the fact that it actually marks the end of a four-issue mini-series. As a result I experienced some rather mixed feelings about how the ‘Midnight Sun decapitates numerous clan leaders’ storyline pans out. On the one hand I was still enjoying the misconception that this was just the start of a regular Shang-Chi title with hopefully a long run of issues ahead of it, but on the other, absolute horror at what writer Mike Benson was doing to my beloved martial artist and his supporting cast; as he was literally killing them.

Now I always felt that “Master of Kung Fu” worked best when the stories were solidly set in the ‘real world’ and the Son of Fu Manchu fought men of flesh and blood. Up until this point, Benson’s writing has pretty much followed a similar vein; albeit he has badly mishandled a number of notable characters. However “Out of the Past” probably injects more ‘hocus pocus’ into the world of Shang-Chi than I have ever read, including the extra-terrestrial nonsense Doug Moench conjured up for the 1980 multi-issue serial “Warriors of the Golden Dawn”.

For a start the American writer has Leiko Wu return from the dead having pulled herself out from the Afterlife via a vast pool of blood, and imbues her with “the dark power of Mao Shan”; presumably screenwriter’s short-hand for she can unfasten Shang-Chi’s manacles with just a hand gesture and manifest energy ‘constructs’ straight out of a “Green Lantern” comic. Next Benson stages a battle inside a travelling London double decker bus which is straight out of the “Universal Pictures” 2001 film “The Mummy Returns”. Before finally settling upon the notion that a good old-fashioned fist-fight between Shang-Chi and his brother, Midnight Sun, might make a good conclusion. To be fair all these plot threads coming together does generate a seriously action-packed comic, with Kung Fu kicks and deadly throwing blades 'fizzing' all over the place.

Unfortunately though this is all poorly illustrated by Tan Eng Huat, whose pencils lack any real consistency from panel to panel, or even a solid understanding of human anatomy for that matter. Jesus Aburtov’s colors don’t help matters much either, with all the proceedings seemingly having a metallic shiny edge to them even when the Malaysian artist is depicting events outside during the night.

As a result it came as something of a relief when I did discover this book was actually the end of just a mini-series, as it means Shang-Chi is now once again safe from the warped imagination of Mike Benson and the artistic talents (such as they are) of Tan Eng Huat, Craig Yeung (inks) and Jesus Aburton.

Writer: Mike Benson, Pencils: Tan Eng Huat, Inks: Craig Yeung, and Colors: Jesus Aburtov

Savage Hulk #1 - Marvel Comics

SAVAGE HULK No. 1, August 2014

There aren’t many combined writer/artists whose work will immediately entice me to blindly purchase a comic book. As my collection of “Kamandi” attests, Jack “King” Kirby is one, and “Alpha Flight” creator John Byrne is another. Alan Davis is actually a third, which caused me to snatch up this particular (first) issue of “Savage Hulk” without a moment’s pause. And why not when the Englishman has drawn a cracking cover depicting a rampaging Hulk scattering various members of the original “X-Men”. Indeed Davis’ illustration really captures that classic late Sixties “Marvel Comics Group” era depicting the green-skinned alter ego of Bruce Banner in his infamous torn purple trousers.

This is no surprise however as the writer has taken the somewhat unusual step of this making this edition a direct follow-on to the March 1970 “X-Men” story “The Mutants and the Monster”. As a result, the storyline to “The Man Within” takes up where the last issue of “X-Men” finished before the mutant super-hero group’s comic book became just a reprint title. On the face of it this probably seemed a good decision, hopefully tapping into a generation of readers who long to hark back to the simpler days of when Stan Lee was the publishing company's Editor-in-Chief. However the exploits of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman and the other X-Men were clearly cancelled at this point in their adventures for a reason and Davis’ attempt to continue their 'journey' struggles as a result.

In fact little of actual interest takes place within this comic, besides the Hulk destroying a missile launcher with a large boulder, until the issue’s very last page when the Abomination literally leaps into the proceedings. Up until this point however, all that happens is Professor Xavier provides the reader with some amazingly convoluted scientific explanations as to how he’ll be able to cure Doctor Banner of his gamma curse using a mental exhaustion device.

What this comic book does provide however is some superb drawings of the incredible Hulk by Alan Davis, as the monster battles a swarm of dual thrust supersonic rockets. The artist captures all the action in a series of panels which are superbly inked by Mark Farmer and coloured by Matt Hollingsworth. There’s also some of the best sketches of the Hulk coming to rest and returning to his human form that I have ever seen. The peaceful, almost childlike expression on the monster’s face as he stares at a breath-taking ‘photorealistic’ rendering of the night sky is simply stunning. It is therefore a pity that later, when Davis pencils the start of the reverse transformation process, that his drawing of Doctor Banner physically becoming the Hulk is disappointingly poor and greatly at odds with the quality of his work throughout the rest of the book.

The variant cover art of "SAVAGE HULK" No. 1 by Alex Ross

Justice Inc #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

JUSTICE INC No. 1, August 2014

As a huge fan of Thirties and Forties pulp magazine super-heroes “Justice Inc” by “Dynamite Entertainment” is a six-issue comic book series which holds the promise of action and excitement, teaming up notable luminaries The Shadow, The Avenger and nostalgic icon Doc Savage within a single storyline.

Understandably proud of such an achievement, the American comic book publisher has released Issue One with several different covers, most notably the main one by legendary painter Alex Ross. However for once I didn’t find the 1997 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award winner’s artwork the most enticing available, and instead plumbed for the title’s variant cover B by Gabriel Hardman with colors by Jordan Boyd.

Unfortunately the interior artwork by Giovanni Timpano and Marco Lesko is a major disappointment when compared to the pencilling of any of the special covers, even the Baltimore Comicon exclusive “artboard variant” by Ross; which consists of just the initial sketch used for the book’s main cover. There’s simply a complete lack of consistency with Timpano’s work throughout the issue, with the Italian artist fleetingly capturing the James Bama Sixties paperback reprint widow’s peak look of Doc Savage in one panel and then seemingly losing all sense of facial anatomy for the next few pages. As result the Man of Bronze has never looked worse for the majority of the comic despite the Toscana-born penciler having the opportunity to illustrate the heroic adventurer as both a young and older incarnation. Indeed if I wasn’t familiar with the look of the young explorer from the cover illustrations of the old Street and Smith publications from the Thirties, I wouldn’t have recognised them as the same character at all.

Michael Uslan’s story is equally as disappointing and confusing as the plots flit from the modern day Himalayas to 1939 New York and back again without much warning. As a result I quickly found myself confused as to both where I was and when I was in the story. Add to the mix that the narrative revolves around time travel and thus moves some of the characters from one time stream to another and it is a disorientating mess… and I haven’t even mentioned The Avenger and The Shadow yet.

The regular cover art of "JUSTICE INC" No. 1 by Alex Ross

Amazing X-Men #3 - Marvel Comics

AMAZING X-MEN No. 3, March 2014

Featuring a simply stunning Ed McGuinness close-up cover of Hank McCoy, angrily snarling so ferociously that one can almost feel upon the face the spittle escaping from his roar, Issue Three of “Amazing X-Men” probably had those of its 51,431 readers who didn’t like the blue furry world-renowned biochemist wondering as to whether they were going to enjoy this third instalment of “The Quest For Nightcrawler” or not. For having so dominated the magazine’s front illustration it comes as no surprise that Jason Aaron’s narrative spends its entire first half depicting Azazel’s battle with the “would-be stowaway” on board the red-skinned demon’s ship as she sails “far beyond the realm of the flesh. Upon the great frozen sea of oblivion.”

Fortunately any bibliophile with an acute allergy to George Buza’s voicing of the Beast in Genesis Entertainment’s 1992-1997 “X-Men” animated television series should still have enjoyed the Alabama-born writer’s swashbuckling tale, as it is absolutely packed full of just the sort of piratical high adventure that one would expect to find in an old Errol Flynn motion picture. Beginning with the founding X-Man’s swordfight with Nightcrawler’s father amidst the vessel’s entangling rigging, the American author’s pacing is almost non-stop, and only finds the time for a small reflective piece on Kurt Wagner’s past closeness to Ororo as younger, more innocent X-Men, once “Doctor McCoy” has been dispatched overboard courtesy of a cowardly cutlass in his back; “I’m the new Devil as well. Heh. Agnostic overboard.”

Capturing and convincingly conveying such fencing flurries upon the heaving decks is the sublime artwork of Ed McGuinness, inker Dexter Vines and colorist Marte Gracia. The “blue gorilla” gracefully leaping and cartwheeling from mast to mast has arguably never looked better, even when drawn by “Avengers” luminary George Perez, and the American penciller’s idea of having the mutant adorned with a pair of engineering googles worn tightly drawn above his yellow eyes proves a particularly endearing touch.

Indeed the only fault to be found with this particular comic is the New York-based publisher’s bizarre decision to include a half-page advertisement for “Iron Man” Annual One mid-way through the climactic confrontation between Storm, Nightcrawler and Captain Billy the Kid? The flier’s artwork of the Golden Avenger, somewhat reminiscent of a Steve Ditko illustration but one on a terribly bad day, jars horribly with the clean, sleek, almost cartoonish look of McGuiness’ modern-day renderings beside it and as a result disconcertingly breaks any spell the series of preceding panels previously created.

Writer: Jason Aaron, Penciler: Ed McGuinness, and Inker: Dexter Vines

Howard The Duck #1 - Marvel Comics

HOWARD THE DUCK No. 1, January 1976

Despite being my favourite comic book character of all time, I only finally bought this three-foot tall anthropomorphic duck’s first edition a few years ago. Having been content up until that point to have a notable gap at the start of my twenty-odd issue run of the “funny animal”. Cost was predominantly the reason behind my reluctance to obtain it, but compared to the prices I’ve seen it ‘fetch’ recently I think my copy, despite a slight yellowing to its interior pages, was a real bargain.

Indeed “Howard the Barbarian” is a superb example of Steve Gerber’s zany writing at its best. The duck’s creator provides a plot packed full of action, satire, fantasy adventure and even a breaking of the fourth wall, with Howard turning to the reader in one panel, cigar in bill, saying “I realize this is strange, folks… But what the heck?” Admittedly the reader’s introduction to the cynical fowl is a rather depressing one, with Howard’s first panel, a full-page illustration by co-plotter Frank Brunner, portraying the duck contemplating suicide on the bank of the Cuyahoga River. However this is pure Gerber, doing something completely different with his characters from that of the other American comic book writers of the mid-Seventies… and besides, most readers who bought this 1976 issue were already fans of the fowl following his popular appearances in “Giant-Size Man-Thing”.

This issue also enjoys some excellent artwork as Frank Brunner is responsible for both the drawing and colouring, and Steve Leialoha provides some great inking. There’s a real Robert E. Howard sword-and-sorcery pulp fiction feel to the panels, especially with Beverley Switzler’s Hyborian maiden costume, and Howard looking cartoonish yet resplendent with his horned barbarian helmet and sword scabbard. It is thus no surprise that these days Brunner is perhaps better known for having illustrated many of the covers for the 1974-1995 black and white magazine series “The Savage Sword of Conan”.

Most amusing however is Gerber’s tongue-in-cheek solution to a plot which revolves around the duck outwitting sorcerers, warriors, living stone statues and giant flying lizards. For rather than try and best all with sword and might, Howard claims the prized gem-key with a simple flick of his stogie… and then relies upon a cameo by the Amazing Spider-Man to actually save the day.

N.B. This Issue was re-reviewed on 20/02/2018

Writer: Steve Gerber, Illustrations: Frank Brunner and Inker: Steve Leialoha