A world of four color magic arrives every Wednesday.
Stories and adventures of heroes and villains, good versus evil.
Tales that entertain and excite by talented writers and artists.
Here are my thoughts Among The Panels.
Wolf Moon #1
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Jeremy Haun
Publisher: Vertigo
Comics
Price: $3.99
Cullen Bunn has been popping up all over the place in the last few months. It feels like just about every other week a new title with his name plastered on the front finds its way into my hands. Wolf Moon #1 is another great addition to a writer I am really starting to get behind.
The first thing that needs to be said about Wolf Moon #1 is that just when I was starting to feel like there was no way else to go with a werewolf story Cullen Bunn slaps me in the face with a new mythos that feels strange at first but by the end of the issue you’re right with him.
The story revolves around a hunter named Dillon Chase who has a hidden vendetta against the monster he is hunting.
It’s easy enough to guess that Dillon has had a run in with a werewolf before seeing as how one of the sides of his face sports giant claw marks. This story feels like any other run of the mill werewolf tale until, through Dillon’s inner monologue, we find out that the werewolf infliction is not caused by bites, scratches, or genetics. No, this time it chooses its victims randomly and only inhabits their bodies for three nights at a time.
Dillon tracks one of the hosts down and through an obscenely viscous fight ends up letting the werewolf escape. Just as the issue is closing, Dillon explains that he used to track down the hosts, once they no longer carried the werewolf, to try and figure out how they were chosen or find a way to get any kind of information that could lead to an answer, but as the latest victim sheds its wolf nature a person from the shadows kidnaps him and dissects him for some reason. This leaves the reader wanting so much more.
Cullen Bunn did a great job adding something new to the werewolf story that is just interesting and different enough to feel fresh.
Jeremy Haun’s art adds another layer of creepiness to an already violent story. His rendering of many different deaths is awesome. This book is pretty gruesome but it doesn’t feel gratuitous. There are a couple of panels that I had to come back to because I felt I missed how truly great the art was. Exploding heads and peeling skin never seemed so beautiful.
Like I stated before Cullen Bunn is starting to become one of my favorite writers to read and after devouring this book it just helps solidify his place on my list. I am looking forward to the next issue and more like it from Bunn.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. #1
Writer: Mike Mignola & John Arcudi
Artist: Alex Maleev
Publisher: Dark Horse
Comics
Price: $3.50
I have always been a fan of Hellboy and pretty much anything else that Mike Mignola has ever done.
When I heard that they were going to do a series featuring the first mission Hellboy was part of, I was ecstatic. I remember waiting in line with a friend to meet Mike Mignola a few years back, before I was really a fan of his, and after I shook his hand and spoke to him for a couple seconds I knew I was going to like his work. He was just such a cool dude, that I knew his work would be the same.
Going into this first issue I was a little unsure of what I was going to get. Starting back at number one and telling the first story of such an iconic character is a bit risky in my book. I went into it with high hopes and Hellboy and the B.P.R.D #1 did not disappoint.
The first half of the issue is really just to catch everyone up.
We get the flash version of how the Doctor came to meet the little red monkey creature and how he named him Hellboy. We know that he is only about nine but looks to be a full grown adult. He has been living in the B.P.R.D compound until we enter this story. Then we meet our team that is made up of a bunch of characters willing and able to risk their lives in pursuit of the paranormal. We quickly learn that they are being sent to Brazil to investigate a bunch of grisly murders. Even though we don’t get a ton of information about what is really going on it’s still awesome to see Hellboy so young and ready to go on his first mission.
The story unfolds just like you would expect but with a few laces of intrigue thrown in. If you have ever read a Hellboy comic before you will feel right at home but for new readers to the Hellboy world they will be treated to the beginning of a great new title.
I kind of wish that I didn’t know who Hellboy was at all; so that I could go on this first mission right alongside him and when the danger inevitably arrives I could honestly be worried. Even though this is not the case I am sure I will enjoy every page none-the-less. When I reached the end of this first issue it was just starting to get going. It ends kind of abruptly, which is kind of a bummer for such a slow starting issue, but I still really enjoyed every page.
Mike Mignola knows this character better than anyone else and with his guidance this book will do just as well as the others. Alex Maleev’s art does what it was intended to do and emulates Mignola’s style without trying too hard to be Mignola himself. It feels new but has the classic tinge that made Hellboy different back in the day. This book had nothing too great to brag about but it sets up, what I am sure, will be an amazing story.
Score: 4 out 5
Secret Six #1
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Ken Lashley
Publisher: DC
Comics
Price: $2.99
I was never much of a fan of the pre-New 52 run of Secret Six, but now that it was going to be revived in the New 52 I thought I might as well give it a try.
What can go wrong with a team of rag tag villains thrown together by a secret organization for no apparent reason?
Gail Simone was the last writer on this book before the re-launch so it made sense to give her the chance to revive it. I haven’t read too much of her work but what I have read I have enjoyed so I was sure that Secret Six #1 would be most likely be like the rest.
The story opens with a group of agents sent out to a dive bar to collect Catman for some reason.
After they approach him we get to see how dangerous of a person he really is. His strengths and temper burst forth for only a couple of panels before he is shut down. He soon wakes up surrounded by 5 other people. He looks around and finds out that they are all being held captive and tortured for some kind of experiment.
Gail Simone does a good job setting up the story in this way. It takes all of the distractions out of the way and just lets the characters interact with each other in a way that doesn’t feel spoon fed to us. They all go around the room and explain what they do and how powerful they are. Some of the faces are familiar but others I have never met before. They all seemed interesting and after reading this issue I want to go back and read the older series to see how it relates.
The art of Ken Lashley is a bit uneven.
The opening pages are done really well and his sketchy art style is pretty far from the usual DC hero books. It’s not the best art around but it feels pretty neat against the backdrop of unfamiliar characters and locales. The uneven part of this book is when the inking goes from Lashley inking his own work to Drew Geraci. The transition is so jarring that I had to turn back a page to see what happened. It was just way too noticeable and it really took me out of the story.
The main reason it was so harsh was because Geraci chose to ink the lines straight and clean instead of going with the natural scratchy way that Lashley’s art hangs on the page. It showed the lines more clearly and it really brought forth the fact that Lashley’s art is not really that well executed.
I just feel bad because the art really hurts the story. Gail’s story was really good but it might get overlooked because of art. I know I don’t really want to continue reading if the art stays this uneven.
Score: 3 out 5
Gotham Academy #3
Writer: Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan
Artist: Karl Kerschl
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99
Gotham Academy #3 is another great issue in a book that is getting systematically better with each new month.
This issue adds more questions and mysteries to the fold but still manages to keep a great pace while continuing to pull you in. We get a little bit more about Olive’s past and it’s revealed that her mother was once a patient in Arkham while it collapsed.
It’s starting to make more sense why Batman knows Olive and how their relationship might be bad, seeing as how most of the inmates in Arkham were put there by the Bat himself.
We get to see a couple of glimpses of Batman here and there in this issue but they are still trying to keep him out of the spotlight.
Olive and the mean girl from the previous issues are now part of a rag-tag team of outcasts that are hell bent of figuring out if the out-of-bounds North Hall on the campus is really haunted. After a little breaking and entering we find out that Olive might have been inside this building with Batman and some other kind of monster when it collapsed a year before we came into the story. They allude to the fact that there really is something supernatural going on but we only get small looks at what may or may not be going on. We get yet another great cliffhanger page to tie up this issue.
The drama between Olive and her boyfriend is finally spoken about and tied up all within some of the prettiest pages this book has had to offer thus far.
The feeling of Karl Kerschl’s are is something else. Each page is just so amazing and I feel like every time I jump back into this book I am shocked at how different and beautiful the art really is. I really hope that this book does well so that we might see more art like this. The new digital art world is exploding and there is so much talent floating around online that really speaks to the youth of today.
The writers on this title really understand how to write for all readers and manage to keep it hip. I never felt like they were overreaching to grab lingo or other things to tie in just to seem like they know what kids want to read. This book keeps getting better and better with each issue. I always look forward to it and I can’t wait until next month to see what happens.
Score: 5 out of 5
Penny Dora and the Wishing Box #2
Writer: Michael Stock
Artist: Sina Grace
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $2.99
I have always felt that while a great first issue is important to launch a series and get the word out; issue two will make or break a comic. Penny Dora and the Wishing Box #2 understands that issue number 2 needs to be better than the first and Michael Stock made sure of it.
This issue gives us more drama and intrigue than the first issue.
We actually get the see the wishing box in action and while some pretty amazing things happen the narrative is foreboding and I felt that it’s a little scary for the younger kids. We see a rift form between Penny and her best friend that ends in a walk out and also through the square boxes we learn more about their relationship and how long they have been friends.
I can tell that Michael Stock tried hard to put in real aspects of his life to make the book more important to him and to others who might know what’s really going on. I say this because there are a few dialogue things that feel like inside jokes but still play well on the page.
While this is really good for building characters it also is a bit confusing.
I have no idea what age these girls are supposed to be. This could be due the fact that the art is inconsistent when it comes to proportions. Also the way the girls talk to each other in this issue is much different than it was in the previous one. When they start to tighten up these few issues this book will be unstoppable in the children’s market.
Even with these bumps the issue is still really well done. The pages that are fully rendered and stylized make up for the not so great things. The page with the flying cat in particular is really well done and the magic seems real. The writing could use a little tuning to make sure that it stays consistent but all throughout the book you are behind Penny when she is afraid to handle and trust the wishing box.
The best thing about this book is that ultimately its reader friendly. I am excited to know that when I have kids there will be comics like this to go back to and share with them. The fact that this story was conceived by a father and daughter team brings a smile to my face every time. I hope that someday if I have a daughter that we might be able to create something like this born out of love and family.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
