Sunday Comics: Does Robin Finally Get Some?

 Welcome to another week of Sunday Comics.  Sorry for the delay folks I’m out on the road. In any event, If a Marvel writer doesn’t pick up soon then I’ll put them in myself.  Shout to Task and Bravo for holding it down.  Without further ado, the Sunday Comics.     Red Sonja  – She-Devil […]

 Welcome to another week of Sunday Comics.  Sorry for the delay folks I’m out on the road. In any event, If a Marvel writer doesn’t pick up soon then I’ll put them in myself.  Shout to Task and Bravo for holding it down.  Without further ado, the Sunday Comics.

 

 

Red Sonja  – She-Devil With A Sword 29

Writer:           Michael Avon Oeming and Brian Reed

Artists:            Homs

Publisher:       Dynamite

.

Oeming seems to have a penchant for characters based in fantasy and mythological settings. He and fellow scribe Brian Reed continue their great run on Red Sonja, with some startling revelations.  Longtime fans might be put off, but it frees our heroine to go into new directions.  Kulan Gath and Scathach are still there to appease the fans though.  This is what a Red Sonja comic should be, unlike the unnessecary Spider-Man/Sonja crossover a while ago.

 

Transformers Spotlight – Blaster

Writer:           Simon Furman

Artist:             Emiliano Santalucia

Publisher:       IDW

 

 

“These aren’t your mommas Transformers” describes IDW’s Transformers best, especially if you’re only familiar with the 80’s cartoon like so many of us. This issue focuses entirely on Blaster, and the Autobot traitor that tried to assassinate him. It’s an interesting story, and gives a lot more depth to an Autobot that previously had so little.  If you’ve been reading Transformer comics for years, or if you’re just trying to relive some childhood memories, this issue shouldn’t disappoint. Try it out, and maybe it’ll feel like sitting in front of that television again, clutching a sweaty action figure, singing along to “Autobots wage their battle to….”   And I think a lot of people would like that.

 

New World Order 1

Writer:           Gustavo Higuera

Artist:             Giuseppe de Lucca

Publisher:       Image

 

 

Any first issue of a comic should leave readers with many questions, questions they want answered in upcoming issues.  New World Order goes a little overboard and piles mystery upon mystery, each one of course interconnected with another. This issue alone has giant lizards, the Vatican, US government, Nazis, aliens,  Buddha and several secret societies. It’s unknown if the lizard was an alien. The issue is interesting, but hopefully it won’t become a jumbled mess due to so many players and happenings. 

 

Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer 6

Writer:           Nat Jones, Jay Fotos, Josua Ortega

Artists:            Nat Jones, Jay Fotos

Publisher:       Image

 

The final issue of Death Dealer wraps everything up nicely. That’s a notable accomplishment, especially for a comic that’s based on a single painting.  The writers built a nice world and story around the Death Dealer, so if you’re a fan of fantasy type settings, this should be right up your alley. Don’t expect Frazetta’s art though. He only handles one cover, though the interiors aren’t ugly by any means.

 

The Foundation 1

Writer:           John Rozum

Artists:            Chee

Publisher:       Boom! Studios

 

 

Another first issue this week, but this one starts with a bang. Nothing really happens in this issue, but it’s still very entertaining. The Foundation is an organization that found out Nostradamus predictions were right, and they help them come true, paving the way to a brighter future. So here and there, a disaster has to occur, a man has to die. Issue one has one of the Foundation’s agents trying to keep a man alive, by preventing him from stepping on a plane set to explode.  He holds the man at gunpoint, in a bathroom until the plane is in the air. That doesn’t sound interesting, but Rozum and Chee make it work, giving the comic a Reservoir Dogs vibe; you can always feel the tension.  Be sure to follow the next couple of issues

 

Gotham Underground

Writer: Frank Tieri

Artist:  J. Calafiore

 

 

Gotham Underground is a throwback to old Batfamily comic books of the mid 90s, where a storyline ran that involved every member of Batman’s clan in some way or form. Robin, Nightwing, Oracle are all here, and the storyline ties some way or another into their respective books. It’s good to see this book serving as the backbone of the Bat Books, and there’s also a pretty good story of Batman hiding out as his other alter-ego, local hooligan Matches Malone, to try to infiltrate Arkham Asylum (and getting really beat up doing so). As in some other DC books, there are villains running scared of being kidnapped, and are looking for paid protection in the criminal underground. All in all, this series is a good addition to the Bat books out right now and introduces some new, violent faces in Gotham City.

 

 

Teen Titans 44

Writer: Sean McKeever

Artist: Eddy Barrows

 

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: no one can write teen angst quite like Sean McKeever.  Known for writing the Spider-Man high school comic Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, he made the jump to DC and was wisely given the task of making DC’s youngest superhero group less titan and more teen.  Having just witnessed their future selves attack the present, Robin and the Teen Titans are vowing to not let that future become a reality. However, that means Robin telling Wonder Girl how he feels about her, despite knowing that part of her will always love Robin’s best friend, the late Conner Kent, aka Superboy.  Meanwhile, Kid Devil is feeling resentment towards Blue Beetle, all the while knowing that only one of them survives their future encounter. And why is Miss Martian losing her care-free attitude and thinking about her murderous, White Martian race? Keep an eye on this group (and any book with the word ‘Titans’ in the title.) I see big things in 2008.

 

 

Wonder Woman 16

Writer:  Gail Simone

Artist:  Terry Dodson

 

 

Wonder Woman has gotten a bad rap over the years. As her own book will tell her, she’s simply never been as popular as the other two biggest players in DC. Acclaimed writer Gail Simone, however, is out to change that, and has been doing a great job of it so far. The new Wonder Woman arc “The Circle” is first of all, beautifully drawn and colored.  Dodson makes the Amazon look curvy and gorgeous without the ridiculous exaggerations that plague so many comic books today. Also, the story involves Diana Prince and an army of white gorillas fighting off a Nazi invasion of her homeland. That in itself would be more than enough to give this book a recommendation.  But best of all, it’s also a partial retelling of Wonder Woman’s origin, as if Simone is purposely rewriting her birth to fit her own mold, so to speak. No complaints here. 

 

Throwback Paperback

Teen Titans: The Future is Now!

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist:  Mike McKone

 

A few years back, the great Geoff Johns wrote a story that many believed would be the basis of the future of the DC Universe for years to come, and still could be. The Teen Titans traveled to a decade in the future, where the world had been changed due to an unforeseen crisis. Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl had taken the mantles of their mentors and had certain extreme ways of handling their opponents. There’s also a fun back-story of Superboy and the Titans traveling even farther into the future and meeting the Legion of Superheroes, just as Superman did in his teenage years. But the best  parts of The Future is Now is seeing how the Titans handle seeing themselves as the real leaders of DC, especially Robin, who had sworn years ago to never follow in the footsteps of Bruce Wayne. The bleak outlook may never come to fruition, but it’s still a great read and a good way to get familiar with this new generation of Teen Titans. Plus, it’s pretty cool to see how Batman would be if he carried a gun.