The title says it all. He’s a cop. He has an axe. He’s Axe Cop! Axe Cop knows the score; when a Bad Guy Planet shows up and starts causing trouble for Earth, the first thing out of Axe Cop’s mouth is “We’d better go explode it”. Thus begins this comic book adaptation of the adventures of Axe Cop and his pal Dinosaur Soldier.
Perhaps I’m speaking too soon, but issue seven of “Kill Shakespeare” is one of the best comics I’ve ever read. I don’t know what happens in the next two issues, but this may very well be the best issue in the series. There is literally so much at work in this comic that it is amazing to read. If by the end you do not feel something for these characters then you are bitter and jaded beyond help and should quit reading comics. Sadly I wish that I could say that readers could just pick up issue seven and start from here, but the pay-off comes from having read the series from the beginning.
If Robert Kirkman wasn’t writing enough as it was, he has written another mini-series with Superpatriot: America’s Fighting Force. First appearing in Savage Dragon #2, created by Erik Larsen, he has frequently appeared in the Image Universe mainly as a supporting character; now he is once again in the spotlight. The story starts with Superpatriot saving his children from an abduction by some men with Nazi markings on their uniforms. There is then a quick flashback before his android days during WWII, fast forwarding to his more recent crime fighting days. The volume is laced with more flashbacks whilst at the same time Superpatriot is trying to make progress with his personal life. Throughout the rest of the volume, in a very large nutshell, the Nazi men are trying to gather forces bringing back certain ways of Hitler and declaring war.
The Intrepids, is a new monthly from image comics. Written by Kurtis J. Weibe and drawn by Scott Kowalchuk. The story centers around a group of augmented or altered humans, who fight the good fight against mad scientists. This book plays in a mix of 50’s pulp and 40’s noir. Here you will meet Doyle (the strong guy) Chester (the gadget expert) Rose (rocket girl) and Crystal (the sharpshooter) they were all forgotten children picked by the mechanical engeniring prodigy named, Dante. In the book we get thrown in the mist of a mission, the Intrepids are hard at work sabotaging the plans of a mad scientist. This mad scientist has a love for altering animals into savage killing machines. In this case is a cyber bear, that for some reason looks a bit like a care bear on acid.
Daomu # 2 follows Sean Wu, who just so happens to be the heir to the ancient Daomu legacy. He continues to investigate the the mystery left by his slain father, Steven Wu. Once the prodigal son of the Daomu, Steven had gone rouge and become a mercenary for hire. All that managed to do was to gain him some unwanted attention. Knowing that his death was immanent he attempts to reunite with his son Sean and pass everything onto him. Sean now finds himself at his father’s house in the basement and staring face to face with a six armed humanoid in a coffin. Sean continues to stare infatuated with the creature until the voice of Tsai, Sean’s uncle gets his attention. The two go back up stairs and Tsai begins to explain Stevens mind state in his final days and how Sean is to take up the Daomu legacy. To top it all off Sean learns of an inheritance and how he needs to go on the initiative to prove his worth to the rest of the Daomu crew. Sean blows all of this off until Tsai shows him a set of 1,000 year old scrolls that are a map to great fortune. If Sean takes him up on his offer and becomes the new leader, he’ll never have to worry about anything ever again.
The Days Missing timeline is catching up with our own as its next stop is January 1, 2000 where someone made Y2K actually happen! That’s where our story begins. With panic and chaos in the street as people’s fears come true and technology has seized to work. The Steward rushes to the top of a building to stop an EMP bomb from going off, but instead catches the blast to his chest. He does what he does best and folds time in on itself giving him another day to try and fix the world. The Steward’s mind drifts to another time when such a bomb would have been created by Kestus. He thinks back to 1944 and the creation of the first atom bomb. The Steward and Kestus have a heated argument as she is trying to prevent the creation of the bomb and the Steward is allowing it to be created and controlled by the Americans. After folding time the Steward finds himself still standing on the roof of the explosion a mere day before the fake Y2K is unleashed. Kestus is standing behind him waiting for him, wondering why it took him so long to show up. The Steward is shocked as to how she found him so quickly. She explains that he gives off a very unique power signature when he uses his abilities that allows for her to track him.
Take a trip back to the golden-age with this reprint of Erik Larsen’s Popgun strip’s and his 24-hour comic “Guy Talk.” There are plenty of problems that can be scrutinized with this comic due mostly to its age, but it is still a fun read – the only question is whether or not it is worth the five dollar price tag and if you can withstand the other half of the comic that is offensive. I will be mentioning how the art works with the story but I will refrain from rating it for one simple reason – all art was similar to this comic back in the Golden Age, so if you’re familiar with the style and either like it or don’t care you should be fine.
The first and longest story in the comic is “Guy Talk,” a story flashing back and forth between two brothers having a bite to eat at a restaurant and talking about one’s upcoming marriage and two super-powered beings going at it.
Out of most American people you find, sometimes you will come across strange people. Most Americans you meet/greet they won’t be as strange as – Tony Chu. Tony is cibopathic this means he can eat a piece of bacon and know what was used to kill the pig or he could eat fruit and get a totally different reaction. With this power Tony has used his ability to take a bite out of crime and helps the F.D.A. find mysterious criminals that have evaded the law. Written by John Laymen and illustrated by Rob Guillory. Tony and John go back to school and find out about a murder that occurred not only at school, but also in space!
Our billionaire responsible for the recreation of the Illuminati has come back down from orbiting the earth on his private space station for his birthday celebration. Matthew and Wren will need to crash the billionaire’s exclusive party, but before that Matthew must clear his head if he’s going to possibly go up against the man who killed Kennedy and another who may be the Pendragon. He begins walking back to his room when he sees a glowing light coming out of the window. He kicks in the door to find Ariah sitting naked on his bed. Turns out that she can manifest her physical form on a full moon night and she’s quick to clear Matthews mind before the night is over.
With a name like “Kill Shakespeare” I wondered what type of a story I would be getting. Would it be set in England and deal with a man trying to kill Shakespeare before he could create his greatest works? And is that interesting? I never imagined that it would be a world in which all of Shakespeare’s characters and creations lived side by side and that the goal of the book was to actually kill William Shakespeare.
The story opens after the events in Hamlet. He’s just killed his father’s friend and his mother is now lying in the bed of the man who killed his father and current king of Denmark. Hamlet is banished from his home and sent to England. He’s very remorseful that he killed an innocent man that was a true friend to his father and did not get the revenge on his father’s killer. Hamlet spends his final moments at home visiting his father’s grave, until he is visited by a vision. A witch calls him forth with his father’s voice and calls him a murderer. Hamlet pulls his sword and strikes at the witch, for the accidental death of Polonius was not murder but mistaken identity. In Hamlet’s heart of hearts he knows that he takes no joy in death and is mournful for Polonius’ death.
