Comic Picks By The Glick

Longtime readers should know that I’m a big fan of James Stokoe’s work.  So when Dark Horse announced that he’d be working on an “Aliens” miniseries for them, I was really excited.  After all, Stokoe had shown that he can do excellent work when it comes to licensed material in his “Godzilla:  The Half-Century War.” “Dead Orbit” isn’t in the same league as it attempts to use raw style to compensate for the fact that it’s telling a very familiar story.  How familiar? As we find out through flashbacks, the six-person crew of the Weyland-Yutani space station Sphacteria were minding their own business one day when an unmarked spacecraft came into range.  The ship didn’t respond to their hails, the crew went over to investigate and found three people in cryosleep. An accident during their revival leaves these people partially cooked and unable to talk about where they came from or what kind of thing managed to burn through the ship’s bulkhead.

If you’ve got any familiarity with the “Alien” franchise, you can probably guess where things go from here.  Stokoe tries to add a layer of mystery to the proceedings by flashing back between the past and the present, occupied by the engineer Wascylewski and two Aliens.  It works to a certain extent, but also leads to some odd gaps in the narrative. At least the series has Stokoe’s phenomenal art to fall back on. He’s always been a stickler for detail and the gritty, run-down future aesthetic of the Sphacteria offers him plenty of chances to show off.  While it’s easy to be impressed by the intricacy of his art, Stokoe also manages to deliver suspense and thrills in the anticipation of and actual Alien attacks. There’s also a selection of art, including Stokoe’s original “Aliens” pitch, with commentary to round out the volume and show you that the creator’s black-and-white art is pretty damn impressive too.  So while “Dead Orbit” certainly has style going for it, the quality of the story still leaves it as something best appreciated by existing fans of Stokoe or the “Aliens” franchise.

jason@glickscomicpicks.com

This is an odd volume in the series in that it’s as upbeat as this title ever gets.  With the Whisperer War and Savior threat behind them, the residents of Alexandrea and Hilltop set their sights on rebuilding.  There are signs of discontent, Dwight is still angry at Rick for killing his ex in self-defense while Maggie is not happy with the idea of Negan being set free, but with the bad stuff behind everyone the series is free to focus on hope for a change.  Which is good because, as the series has demonstrated in the past, nothing good comes from focusing on doom and gloom all the time. Besides, I’m sure Kirkman and Adlard are saving that for the next volume when Michonne and Eugene’s group finally comes face-to-face with the community that the latter has been talking with for the past few volumes.

“Lines we Cross” is also notable for its introduction of a new character, Juanita “Princess” Sanchez.  That’s her on the cover, in case it wasn’t obvious. She’s a lively chatterbox who rubs Michonne the wrong way, but in a friendly, amusing manner.  So far Princess is memorable for how lively she comes across in comparison to the rest of the cast as opposed to bringing anything interesting to the overall plot.  That could very easily change and her oddball nature does contrast well with the group she’s currently interacting with, so that’s a plus.

Then we get to the final issue which is the Negan spotlight that I’ve been waiting to read ever since it was solicited with the admonishment “This is what he deserves.”  It very much draws a line under the character’s arc up to this point as he struggles with living in solitude. With only his memories of Lucille to comfort him, Negan prepares to fall back into bad habits… only for Maggie to show up with the intent of settling things once and for all.  Even if his trademark braggadocio is still present, the Negan we see here is a humbled, changed man compared to the charismatic psychopath we first met twelve volumes ago. It’s honestly kind of remarkable that the creators have taken the character to this point while making his journey feel utterly credible.  Even if this is the last we see of Negan in this series, it’s still a hell of a note for him to go out on.

jason@glickscomicpicks.com

Steve is back to talk about two new manga that deserve your time and money.  We also talk a bit about "Golden Kamuy," "Not-Genshiken" follow-up "Spotted Flower" and "Delicious in Dungeon."

Yes, I really should’ve reviewed this back when it came out around the beginning of March.  Mainly because this series is almost as sales-challenged as mangaka Hiroki Endo’s other series published out here, “Eden:  It’s an Endless World!” The fact that it was a solid six months between the publication of volumes five and six gives me hope that the series is on a (very slow) schedule now.  Which is a good thing because vol. 6 features what is probably the best match in “All-Rounder Meguru” yet.

After a short scene to show us the fallout from Yamabuki’s game-ending high-kick on Yudai -- if he’s lucky, the latter will just come away from the match with fractured ribs and an arm -- we dive into the meat of the volume:  Meguru vs. Kagaya. The latter is a burly up-and-comer with a bad rep after he broke a girl’s arm in a practice match a while back. He sees Meguru as little more than a speed bump on the way to the finals match against Yamabuki, and with the title character running on fumes at the start of the match it seems like this match is over even before it starts.

That’s obviously not the case and Endo gets a great volume-length match out of the two going at it.  While Kagaya has strength and skill, Meguru has the on-the-spot adaptability that’s become his stock in trade to make the match far more interesting than you’d expect.  As with any great fight, MMA or otherwise, there’s lots of well-choreographed back-and-forth between the two combatants as neither is able to fully gain the upper hand on the other.  Right up until the end where we don’t get the “Rocky” ending, but it all winds up being a big learning experience for Meguru. The fight’s momentum is sapped a bit in the end when we get some flashbacks to flesh out Kagaya’s character.  They really should’ve come at the beginning of the match, yet they’re still well-done in and of themselves and are only a minor distraction in this otherwise great volume.

jason@glickscomicpicks.com

Meanwhile, at the other end of the “Star Wars” comic quality spectrum we have the latest adventure of Doctor Aphra.  After finding a way to safely reactivate the technopathic presence of ancient Jedi “Immortal” Rur in the wake of the “Screaming Citadel” crossover, Aphra does what comes naturally to her.  She invites a host of the galaxy’s scum, villains, and academics to participate in an auction for the crystal housing Rur.  Though Aphra may be savvy enough to keep all of the bidders in line, she’s failed to consider the possibility of betrayal from within.  While Triple-Zero and BT have been enjoying their time with the good Doctor, the lack of murder in their current assignments has left them bored of late.  So they figure the best way to fix that is to put in a call to a certain dark and sinister figure from Aphra’s past to let him know about the auction as well.

The fact that Aphra’s plan to auction off Rur goes horribly wrong shouldn’t surprise anyone.  What’s great about both halves of the story is that writer Kieron Gillen doesn’t waste your time with either of them.  The first half is spent properly introducing us to all the dubious characters who have come to bid on the crystal, setting up the betrayal, and foreshadowing all of the little things that are going to go wrong when Rur gets loose.  With the second half, it’s all expertly choreographed chaos as things go completely to hell and Aphra not only has to figure out a way to escape with her life, but figure out some way to profit from this mess too.

Kev Walker returns to provide the art for this arc and it’s fantastic to have him back.  The level of detail in his environments and characters in this series continues to be well above what he’s delivered in the past, and he’s also great with giving us an emotive cast that makes even the scumbags with the bit parts just a little sympathetic.  All of this is preceded by a story detailing how Black Krssantan came to be known and feared with some impressive art from Marc Laming. Though it has some funny bits and an interesting twist on the Wookie “life debt” it’s a little disappointing in how straightforward it is.  Still, even if Aphra herself doesn’t come away from this story with an “Enormous Profit” anyone who reads this certainly will as far as entertainment value goes.

jason@glickscomicpicks.com

It’s a credit to how Marvel has handled the “Star Wars” license that they have yet to release a genuinely bad comic book featuring it.  Some could be called boring and inessential, but this “Mace Windu” miniseries is notable for how it combines these two things. Don’t expect to learn anything about the title character here as he and three Jedi are assigned to investigate the Separatist presence on the remote planet of Hissrich.  Once there, it isn’t long before they find out that the Separatist operation is being overseen by greedy mercenary droid AD-W4 who’s looking to collect a few lightsabers for a bonus to his fee. He’s got all the droids he needs to make it happen; at least, he thinks he does.

That’s pretty much all there is to the main story.  Well, there’s also a subplot about how one of the Jedi Windu has brought along starts to freak out about their role in the Clone Wars after coming across a lot of dead natives.  That could’ve been an interesting storyline to pursue, but he’s quickly dealt with so everyone can get back to fighting droids only to be brought up again at the end to add what passes for moral ambiguity in this story.  Aside from that, the story and characterization suffer from terminal blandness. Every beat plays out in the way you’d expect with nothing being done to make the characters more interesting compared to how they’ve been portrayed elsewhere.

“Mace Windu” comes to us courtesy of writer Matt Owens.  I’m not familiar with him and while the end result is polished enough to not seem like a first attempt at writing comics, it’s not something that makes me want to actively check out more work from him in the future.  The above-mentioned blandness of the story also carries over to the art from Denys Cowan. Cowan has demonstrated a memorable scratchiness to his art in previous works, something which has been smoothed out into a more conventional look here.  As I said at the beginning, this isn’t a bad comic because it’s too competent to be called that. Yet it feels all the more annoying for its mediocrity and failure to do anything interesting with the title character.

jason@glickscomicpicks.com

We’re technically on the third volume of this series, as I’m counting the “Weapons of Mutant Destruction” crossover, and pretty much all of it has been focused on the new Weapon X/Weapon H storylines.  That’s a lot of time to devote to one subject in this day and age, but that’s not a bad thing as writer Greg Pak, now working with his “Incredible Hercules” co-writer Fred Van Lente, has been delivering a consistently enjoyable team book with this title.  That trend continues here as our team of mutants -- now adopting the Weapon X name from Reverend Stryker’s rebooted program -- is on the hunt for Weapon H. Or, the Hulkverine if you will. Working against them is Stryker and the remnants of his organization, including Weapon H’s creator Doctor Alba.  Alba’s got her own agenda as the creator of what she sees as the perfect killing machine and the doctor wants nothing more than to see it live up to its potential.

Pak and Van Lente have a good handle on the core cast and, more importantly, give them all some time in the spotlight for this story.  They even chose an appropriate guest-star for this arc and she gets to put in a substantial contribution as well. The writers also get the cast to deliver some quality banter amongst each other and that enlivens things as well.  As for Weapon H himself, he’s your standard “good guy in a bad situation” who fits the role well enough. He’s kind of personality-free at this point into his shelf-life which is more of an issue for the upcoming Pak-written “Weapon H” series than this current hunt for him.

Weighing this arc down a bit is the art from Marc Borstel.  Though it’s largely competent and filled with good detail there’s a plasticine sheen to it which isn’t that appealing.  It gives the characters a somewhat unnatural look to them, something that’s amplified during certain action scenes where they look “posed” into a panel.  Ibrahim Roberson is also credited as an artist here as well, but he was apparently drafted to provide stylistic consistency with Borstel than display his own style.  All this being said, vol. 3 of “Weapon X” is still another surprisingly enjoyable entry into this series which has me looking forward to seeing what the creators can do now that they no longer have to focus on the Hulkverine.

jason@glickscomicpicks.com

Cave Carson’s cybernetic eye may be part of this series’ title, but the last time we saw the explorer that titular eye was making a break for it.  That leaves Cave in a very bad place as the first issue in this second volume begins with a flashback to the time that he met Superman.  Or is it really a flashback at all? Parts of this issue are a huge head trip as the title character has to come to grips with whether he wants to continue the fight against the Whisperer and his minions.  While it holds together well enough to make sense, it’s a stark shift from the feel of the first volume which was a fun adventure brimming with irreverence. It’s also a good indication of what the reader is in for with the rest of vol. 2 as things just get crazier from there with Cave and company barrelling through multiple universes to stop the bad guys.

So if you thought that the first volume was too weird for you, then you’re REALLY not going to like this volume.  Those of you hoping to see writer Jon Rivera, with Gerard Way still onboard as co-plotter, really let his freak flag fly are going to be in for a treat because as crazy as things get he’s still able to keep the characters and their goals involving and relatable.  The real star of this volume is Mike Oeming’s art as the narrative’s descent into alien psychedelia really gives him a chance to go nuts. Virtually every page is a visual onslaught on the senses as Oeming draws mental freakouts, malformed aliens, and familiar DC heroes with a mad energy that keeps you reading even if things don’t make a lot of sense.  So yeah, this second volume of “Cave Carson” is definitely not for everyone. Those that it is for, however, are going to love it to death (and should wait in rapt anticipation of the next series: “Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye.”)

jason@glickscomicpicks.com