Star Wars: Age Of Republic - Obi-Wan Kenobi #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - OBI-WAN KENOBI No. 1, March 2019

Disappointed Star Wars fans eager for an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off movie featuring Ewan McGregor were probably still very relieved in January 2019 that “The Walt Disney Company” hadn’t yet committed to any ‘Silver Screen’ motion picture if Jody Houser’s narrative for this twenty-page periodical was indicative of the storyline the entertainment conglomerate might have been contemplating. For whilst the “author who wrote the 2017 comic adaption of the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” certainly provides the book with a somewhat scintillating conclusion as Ben battles a formidable array of space pirates on the planet Dallenor with his lightsaber, the Jedi Knight’s confrontation with Hudso Shaku is frustratingly fleeting and follows something of a tedious tale about the titular character’s doubts as to whether he is suited to train an adolescent Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Force; “Perhaps the Master is meant to be as much a student as the Padawan.”

Of course Ben’s misgivings as to his ability to make good upon his “promise to his dying master to train” Shmi’s son in the ways of the Force has arguably always been an underlying theme of George Lucas’ as to just why the prophesied Chosen One would eventually transform into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Yet the Rod Parker Fellowship-winner’s story seems to take such great delight in portraying Qui-Gon Jinn’s former student as a distrustfully impotent teacher that Kenobi even has to be ‘told’ by Yoda to take his young apprentice with him on their first “quest” together, and debatably few of this publication’s 36,392 readers were subsequently surprised when the diminutive Skywalker, rather than the boy's bearded companion, ultimately bests the leader of the Krypder Riders by hurling a small scattering of stones at the back of his bird-shaped head. 

On the plus side to Issue One of “Star Wars: Age Of Republic – Obi-Wan Kenobi” however, artists Cory Smith and Wilton Santos do seemingly try to keep the future Clone Wars General constantly within the book’s spotlight, courtesy of some well-pencilled panels which quite delightfully capture the Scottish actor’s facial likeness. In fact, alongside Walden Wong’s inking and Java Tartaglia’s colouring, this “third one-shot in the comic book anthology series” is a rather visually enticing affair, even if the beak-faced inhabitants of Dallenor disconcertingly look far too cartoonish to be taken seriously as the antagonists of “Mission”.

Writer: Jody Houser, Pencilers: Cory Smith & Wilton Santos, and Inker: Walden Wong

Savage Sword Of Conan #2 - Marvel Comics

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN No. 2, April 2019

Despite having supposedly gone “back and read some of the classics from Robert E. Howard”, Gerry Duggan’s narrative for Issue Two of “Savage Sword Of Conan” debatably must have depressed many of the comic’s audience with his ponderously plodding plot depicting the Cimmerian’s arrival at the city of Kheshatta. Admittedly, the barbarian’s journey to this former “jewel of Stygia” provides a modicum of action when he brains a pair of Koga Thun’s demonic-looking cultists with a severed flaming limb for daring to suggest that they’d eaten the god Crom after he’d “sobbed like a child”. Yet these few fleeting panels, buried deep within the twenty-page periodical, hardly reflect the sort of sense-shattering shenanigans which the Hyborian Age adventurer’s creator imbued his novellas with, and certainly doesn’t inject “an opportunity for a laugh” into the storyline as its New York City-born writer apparently believed.

Indeed, arguably all “Go Ask Crom” provides its readers with is a sedentary, lack-lustre tale involving Conan uncharacteristically scouring a Scroll and Tome vault for “a book of historical maps of Ancient Kheshatta”, being ambushed by a crossbow-wielding Keeper of the Library, and then laboriously discussing with his companion Suty the fact that “the city’s landmarks are being pulled down, making a map much harder to decipher.” Such dialogue-heavy, mediocre meanderings are hardly the sort of content which “the first great fantasy editor” Farnsworth Wright would have agreed to have printed in “Weird Tales” during the Thirties, and probably lessened the blow to the book’s fans when “Comic Book Resources” announced in February 2019 that Duggan (along with artist Ron Garney) would be leaving the title in just a few months' time.

Just as disconcerting as this publication’s poor pace though is debatably the increasingly annoying relationship between the Sword and Sorcery hero and his fellow escapee, Suty, which bears a disconcerting resemblance to the on-screen buffoonery between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tracey Walter’s Malak in the 1984 film “Conan The Destroyer”. The Cimmerian has always been known for his chivalry, albeit towards “damsels in distress”, and clearly owes his life to “his newfound companion” following “a pirate attack that destroyed both ships.” But the cowardly ex-slave’s ill-fortune persistently marks him out as a significant hindrance to the success of the barbarian’s mission rather than an asset, and probably made many a bibliophile wonder just why the black-maned experienced explorer would be happy to undertake so dangerous a mission with such a debatably dangerous disadvantage in tow; “Suty, You clod! I told you to wait outside.”

Writer: Gerry Duggan, Artist: Ron Garney, and Colorist: Richard Isanove

Savage Sword Of Conan #1 - Marvel Comics

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN No. 1, April 2019

“Heralding the return of another classic Conan title” in February 2019, it was probably easy for many of this comic’s audience to see just why “Marvel Worldwide” would tell them to “ready your battle axe” in preparation for Gerry Duggan’s sprawling five-part narrative “The Cult Of Koga Thun”. For whilst the New York-based publisher’s pre-print publicity would have them believe that the Cimmerian “isn’t a prisoner for long” aboard the slave ship Ouroboros, the brawling Barbarian doesn’t actually manage to successfully flee from his captors until near this bloated thirty-page periodical’s end, and then its readers need to steadfastly endure an incredibly long-winded multiple splash-page sequence which depicts the exhausted escapee opening a heavy box which “did not contain coin or jewels…”

Of course, that isn’t to say that Issue One of “Savage Sword Of Conan” contains a sedentary-paced storyline which is devoid of action. Far from it in fact, as the titular character does make a brutal break for freedom just as soon as he gains consciousness from having been cast adrift on the ocean five days after a “calamitous sea battle”, and brains any pirate foolish enough to get in his way. Yet this explosive injection of pulse-pounding fisticuffs, which begins with “the Marvel warrior” hurling a metal plate of gruel at the head of the hold’s guard, frustratingly doesn’t occur until a third of the way into the book, by which point many a perusing bibliophile pondering its plot inside their favourite store may well have already returned the magazine to its place on the spinner rack.

Fortuitously however, having roused from his fevered dream about skeleton pirates and scantily-clad company, Duggan’s incarnation of Conan is debatably every bit the swashbuckler Robert E. Howard penned him to be, and despite the occasional disconcerting demonstration of super-human strength, such as when the adventurer simply smashes open the hold’s heavy metal covering with his bare fists, there’s plenty of swordplay for Hyborian Age fans to enjoy. Indeed, the American author even manages to provide this tale with some sorcerous shenanigans when the great wooden ship’s captain is revealed to be a demonic snake man; "What other dark horrors does this ship hold?!”

Equally as impressive as the pacing behind Conan’s fiery breakout are Ron Garney’s interiors, which certainly show the excitement which the artist felt “because he was a character I had always wanted to take a crack at, and here was that opportunity…” As aforementioned the former “Daredevil” drawer’s work slightly suffers at the conclusion of this comic where he is ‘forced’ to pencil perhaps a few too many splash-pages to help pad out the storyline. But there can be no doubting the “klang” of steel or the Cimmerian’s dynamic vitality when the bare-chested hero is sketched battling for his life against a boat full of cut-throats.

Writer: Gerry Duggan, Artist: Ron Garney, and Colorist: Richard Isanove

The Batman Who Laughs #3 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #3, April 2019

Whilst Scott Snyder may well have intended “The Batman Who Laughs” “to be a stand-alone series where you can read it from start to finish without feeling like you need everything else”, the New Yorker’s script for “The Laughing House” most likely had any readers unfamiliar with James Worthington Gordon Junior scouring about looking for an explanation as to just why Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego would turn to the young man as his only hope to defeat the "Jokerized version of Batman who originated from the Dark Multiverse.” Indeed, despite the Commissioner alluding to all the security measures his bespectacled son must take so as to ensure the serial-killer maintains control of his psychopathic tendencies, it is difficult to believe that the Dark Knight’s only chance to succeed in this disappointing narrative is to force the remorseful youth’s personality back to when it was a murdering genius; “Look! At thirteen years old you were a legend! You had books, journals filled with routes, genius combinations!”

Equally as befuddling is “DC Comics” publicised belief that this twenty-four periodical starts to “fit together” all the pieces of its titular character’s plan, and the Burbank-based publisher’s promise that Oswald Cobblepot will play a prominent part in the sociopath’s schemes. True, the Penguin does provide one of the highlights of this comic when he goes “head-to-head with the darkest version of his mortal enemy” and watches his magnificent Iceberg Lounge get significantly torched in the process.

But all these pulse-pounding panels debatably depict is how lethal “the Bat Gimp” can be in close combat, as he surprisingly leaves the semi-conscious crime boss still alive following the cold-blooded murder of another alternative version of Bruce Wayne who apparently “actually ends up competing" with the Penguin to bring him down. Just how these senseless shenanigans progress The Batman Who Laughs’ scheme is unclear, unless the villain’s suggestion that the hapless Gotham City mobster “look into a guy who worked for you named Malone” is a galvanising clue of some kind..?

Quite possibly this book’s biggest problem though, is Mark "Jock" Simpson’s artwork which certainly makes its opening sequence involving James Gordon and his offspring appear as lifelessly flat as the cardboard boxes surrounding them in the store room. Disappointingly wooden-looking and consistently too dark, perhaps due to an overly-enthusiastic David Baron as colorist, even Batman’s highly-anticipated confrontation against the Grim Knight seemingly lacks the vitality a perusing bibliophile might expect from such two such well-matched adversaries…

The regular cover art of "THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS" No. 3 by Jock

Star Wars: Age Of Republic - Count Dooku #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - COUNT DOOKU No. 1, April 2019

“The seventh one-shot in the canon comic book anthology series Star Wars: Age of Republic”, this twenty-page periodical’s storyline probably didn’t win over many new fans to George Lucas’ prequel universe with its sedentary pacing and politically-charged plot focusing upon Count Dooku simply “laying the groundwork for his Sith-Master” on the planet Sallust. Indeed, the former Jedi doesn’t even ignite his lightsaber in anger until this publication’s very end, when the disillusioned nobleman is forced to fight alongside Jak’zin against “the very [criminal] group my master asked me to seek out.”

Admittedly, this demonstration of Jedi swordplay undoubtedly provides “the Cost” with some much-needed action, and invariably reassured its audience that Yoda’s one-time Padawan was just as adept with the close-combat weapon as actor Christopher Lee’s portrayal demonstrated in the 2002 silver screen motion picture “Attack Of The Clones”. But such pulse-pounding panels are debatably disconcertingly few for a comic based upon one of the franchise’s most memorable antagonists, even if much of the suave, silver-haired villain’s menace comes from his stealthy manipulation of matters behind-the-scenes; “Gain his trust. Discover what his mission on Sallust is. And ensure that he doesn’t learn about the alliances you are there to build.”

Just as disappointing is this book’s missed opportunity to provide Darth Tyranus with some much-needed background as to just why Dooku left the order and “fell to the dark side of the Force”, or depict an intriguing insight into his days as a “respected Jedi Master” training Qui-Gon Jinn. Instead, all Jody Houser’s lack-lustre narrative delivers is a tantalising glimpse of the Count’s “duelling demonstrations with Master Yoda” at the Jedi Temple, and a ton of dialogue-driven debate involving the uninteresting Representative Kap Klyp, as well as the Sith’s successfully stealthy attempt to solicit the reason behind a Jedi Knight’s presence on the “obsidian world of lava streams and turquoise lakes.”

Mercifully, despite this comic’s less than scintillating first half it does contain the excellent artwork of Luke Ross, whose sketches of the tiger-headed Jaz’zin and titular character are a real treat to the eyes. In fact, such is the São Paulo-born illustrator’s ability to capture the likeness of Christopher Lee that it is arguably easy to belive that any perusing bibliophile reading this magazine quickly started to imagine the late English actor performing the penciller’s storyboards.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - COUNT DOOKU" No. 1 by Paolo Rivera

Conan The Barbarian #3 - Marvel Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 3, April 2019

Whilst happy happenstance has undeniably played an important part in ensuring the survival of Conan the Cimmerian during so many of Robert E. Howard’s Sword and Sorcery novellas, it is difficult to believe that the majority of this particular adventure’s audience were entirely sold upon Jason Aaron’s premise that the barbarian would have died at the age of seventeen years if not for an incredible run of good fortune. Indeed, starting with the well-muscled thief’s miraculous escape from a mountainous landslide which required his captors to spend three days digging their captive “out from under the rubble”, the Alabama-born author’s script for Issue Three of “Conan The Barbarian” seemingly contains little else than a catalogue of auspicious escapes, ranging from an ancient tree's blessed branch breaking just as the savage youth is being hung for robbing the Nemedian’s Royal Gold Store, through to a lucky lightning bolt striking down the Red Tree Hill Inquisitor moments before the lawman was about to hew his haplessly-bound prisoner in half with a powerful axe blow.

Of course, that isn’t to say that the titular character doesn’t then try to make the very best of his providential predicaments by scattering the settlement’s well-armed soldiers with a bone-breaking bough or threatening to cold-bloodedly crack the scrawny neck of a well-meaning disciple of Mitra if he isn’t released from his lowly jail cell. But none of these exciting escapades ultimately conclude well for Conan, and despite the brutish adventurer’s best efforts he is consistently recaptured either by the mining town’s impoverished people or by an uncaring ‘sheriff’ who prefers to callously kill his own cleric with a crossbow through the throat than allow the Cimmerian to get out of his chamber and flee certain death; “Conan killed the priest. We all saw it… Move the body up the mountain before the dogs get wind of it. I want them good and starving when the time comes. Which won’t be long.”

Mercifully however, what entertainment might debatably be lost through Aaron’s penmanship is easily recollected by Mahmud Asrar’s excellent pencilling, especially whenever the “Pakistani-Austrian comic book artist” chooses to draw Robert E. Howard’s creation straining against his shackles or utilising his near super-human strength so as to momentarily overcome his captors by charging his full bulk into a long-standing tree and bringing it down upon their unbelieving heads. In fact, for those readers who like to imagine the fate Conan is so desperately fighting against, the illustrator’s opening page depicting an unnamed semi-conscious Hyrkanian falling to his death amidst a pack of blood-frenzied wild dogs easily lasts in the mind’s eye well after this twenty-page periodical is finished.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" No. 3 by Esad Ribic

Crackdown #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

CRACKDOWN #1, February 2019

Timed to coincide with the February 2019 release of “Crackdown 3” exclusively for the Xbox One eighth generation games console, this opening instalment to “Dynamic Comics” mini-series set within “the hyper-powered world” probably pleased fans of the open world action-adventure video franchise with its incredibly dynamic opening and unabating assault upon the senses. Yet for those readers unfamiliar with the “not-so-distant future” where “civilized society is more plugged-in and interconnected than ever” Jonathan Goff’s narrative was probably a rather overwhelming submersion into the lives of “an elite international crime-fighting task force”, due to the “Halo” writer’s suffocating use of numerous text boxes filling in all manner of knowledge gaps for the uninitiated; “But no-where’s a paradise. And San Reno, like everywhere with promise, attracts its fair share of snakes. And by snakes I mean gangs. And in San Reno’s case, gangs means a dozen or so small armies…”

Fortunately however, for those readers able to wade through this word-heavy webbing, Sub-Commander Rollins’ unsuccessful attempt to capture Kuma Delonte before a ‘devastating blackout plunges the major metropolitan area into darkness and chaos’ arguably progresses at an enjoyable gun-toting gallop, with its storyline surprisingly managing to provide each of the heavily-armed Agents with their own moment in the spotlight. Of course, there is very little opportunity in between all the slayings, explosions and censored expletives for this fast-paced twenty-two page periodical to provide anything resembling character development. But at least it is possible to recognise the specialist roles each member of the leading cast delivers, whether it be the brute force of Marco Hernandez or sniping skills of Tayo Okafor, even when artist Ricardo Jaime’s slightly scratchy-styled pencils debatably don’t help make everything within his panels as clear as perhaps a perusing bibliophile might want.

Additionally, the sudden removal of both the augmented cops' authoritarian leadership, along with their advanced technology, actually helps make Goff’s media tie-in far more enticing than its initial premise of the protagonists simply stepping in to assist “traditional law enforcement” before it is overwhelmed by an unprecedented collaborative campaign between the conurbation’s main criminal fraternities. Indeed, despite this book’s aforementioned faults, its cliff-hanger, which concludes with Rebecca standing upon a deserted roof-top with just three of her astonished team-mates staring out across an all-too dark cityscape, must genuinely have made many followers determined to pick-up this title’s next issue just as soon as it appears on their local store’s spinner rack.

Writer & Letterer: Jonathan Goff, Artist: Ricardo Jaime, and Colorist: Natalia Marques