Comic Reviews

Hack/Slash: My First Maniac #1

Hack/Slash returns to Image with a brand new miniseries. The title has had quite an interesting past starting off with Devil’s Due Publishing when they were still under the Image banner. Then the series started over once Devil’s Due became its own Publisher. Sadly DDP isn’t doing so hot after losing the rights to G.I. Joe to IDW and so Hack/Slash returns home. So how does this new series compare to a franchise six years in the making?

This series is more of an origin story for Cassandra Hack and begins before she becomes a Slasher-killer. Cassie has gone to live with foster parents after her mother turned into a Slasher and killed a bunch of students that were picking on her at school. Cassie found out what her mom was doing and was forced to stop her… dead! This series begins with Cassie’s mom in the process of killing two girls in the kitchen of the school. Even at a new school Cassie can’t seem to escape being bullied. She’s once again forced to kill her mom a second time, with a gun shot to the head.

Magdalena #2 – Review

When we last left Patience and Kristoff they were being attacked by a demon sent from the anti-Christ. Patience and the demon go hand to hand with each other as Kristoff hesitates to take a shot. Thinking that she was going to have a nice dinner, Patience leaves the Spear of Destiny in her hotel room. This forces her to improvise with a broken chair. Amazingly, it’s still effective as her blood courses into the wood fragment. She explains to Kristoff and the reader, that the power is in the blood not just the spear.

While the demon is dying he gives up the goods on his master. The demon yells out how weak her blood line is and that everyday his master grows stronger. Then he falls to his death off the side of the cliff. Kristoff convinces Patience to go back to the Vatican with him to hear Cardinal Hope’s plan.

Nemesis #2

Last time on Nemesis we saw that Nemesis had taken the President of the U.S. hostage! Upon reading the second issue you will have completely forgotten that the president was taken hostage until Millar reminds you with some throw-away dialog at the end. Millar and McNiven should be a dream team. This book should be interesting and exciting. Perhaps as a reader I’ve matured past Millar’s writing style and can no longer appreciate the work he’s doing.

The story begins in the past. Officer Marrow (the hero of the tale) arrives at a plantation style home with the subtitle of, “The childhood home of Matthew Anderson.” You should ask yourself, like I did, who the hell is Matthew Anderson? Well it’s Nemesis! If you can’t figure it out based on the fact that everyone in the house is wearing all white then you probably don’t understand why this book is horrible.

Last time on Nemesis we saw that Nemesis had taken the President of the U.S. hostage! Upon reading the second issue you will have completely forgotten that the president was taken hostage until Millar reminds you with some throw-away dialog at the end. Millar and McNiven should be a dream team. This book should be interesting and exciting. Perhaps as a reader I’ve matured past Millar’s writing style and can no longer appreciate the work he’s doing.

The story begins in the past. Officer Marrow (the hero of the tale) arrives at a plantation style home with the subtitle of, “The childhood home of Matthew Anderson.” You should ask yourself, like I did, who the hell is Matthew Anderson? Well it’s Nemesis! If you can’t figure it out based on the fact that everyone in the house is wearing all white then you probably don’t understand why this book is horrible.

Pale Horse #1 – Review

Cowboys and bounties, if you like these things, then you will like Boom! Studios newest title Pale Horse. The book is written by Michael Alan Nelson (Zombie Tales) and art by Christian Dibari. It’s a story of a father and son who are bounty hunters but at the same time the father is a bounty. He’s wanted for the murder of three white men. We are introduced to our protagonist Thomas, an honest black man who makes his living as a hunter/pelter. He is married to an Indian woman, and they have a child who has recently come into the world. During one his normal visits to sell his pelts, Thomas overhears three white men talking about an Indian woman, and how they had their way with her. He overheard these comments as if it were normal banter for the town.

Titans #24

The Titans return with a new direction and a new team! That’s right they’re evil now! This issue is the continuation of the Titans: Villains for Hire special from last month, in which Deathstroke created a new team of Titans to take down the Ryan Choi. There are still a lot of mixed feelings about this team and series in general. Even the writers of P.A.C. are split on whether the team is a good thing or not. One thing that cannot be denied is that the concept is interesting.

If you were a criminal mastermind, how would construct your secret base? For Deathstroke he builds a labyrinth, a prison that keeps his secrets while also keeping him and the team safe. Cinder discovers as much as she wanders the halls lost, until stumbling upon Osiris. He sits alone in his room with Black Adam and his sister, still trapped in stone. Cinder compliments their beauty, not understanding that they’re actually people. Osiris grabs her hand as she tries to touch Black Adam. Osiris isn’t the only one with a temper, as Cinder also doesn’t like being touched. She “flames on” smacking Osiris across the room.

Hit Monkey – Review

Hit Monkey is a monkey assassin, but sadly, not a very good one. He’s just a monkey that knows how to shoot a gun. He began as a digital comic on Marvel.com that grew in popularity “forcing” Marvel to actually print the issue.

The Joker’s Asylum II – The Riddler

Being unfamiliar with the origin Joker’s Asylum one shots, I seized the opportunity to read the first one shot, The Riddler, for Asylum II. My first impression was that it was a story written for a child and may have been a discarded episode from Batman Animated Series. The fact is that writer Peter Calloway (Brothers & Sisters), not surprisingly, writes the issue very much like a TV show.

This episode… sorry, I mean issue, begins with the Joker keeping the other patients at the Asylum awake with his wacky antics. He breaks the fourth wall looking out at the reader and tells them a tale about a riddle the Riddler couldn’t solve. The Joker continues narrating, as the reader is shown an art heist by none other than the Riddler. Everything is going fine until one of the hostages’ stands up to the Riddler and asks him what exactly he thinks he’s doing. From that moment on the Riddler is infatuated by the red head.

Heralds 1 of 5

It’s Emma Frost’s birthday and being the spoiled rich girl that she is, she doesn’t want anything cliché on her special day. She doesn’t want Paris, so Cyclops takes her to Paris casino. She doesn’t want to be with people she knows, so Cyclops surprises her with a room full of strangers. The fact is she hates it, but loves it at the same time.

The room full of strangers also happens to be a room of superheroes as well… and they’re all wearing mustaches. Wearing a handle bar mustache is Jen Walters a.k.a. the She-Hulk. In the daintier French mustache is Patsy Walker the Hellcat. The rest of the room includes Valkyrie of the Secret Avengers, Monica Rambeau from the Agents of H.A.T.E. and lastly Agent Brand from S.W.O.R.D. The one common link they all have is… absolutely nothing! In fact it’s probably one of the strangest ensembles in comics.

Shrapnel Hubris 1 of 3

At its core, Shrapnel Hubris could be described as the Revolutionary War… in space. Venus stands as the last free colony, putting it on the defense against the United Space Marine Corps. This edition of the USMC is comprised of genetically enhanced soldiers, making them the greatest armed force in history. Together with the Martians, the USMC see themselves as superior races to the Herlots, the Venusian colonists who are armed only with their God given talents.

The story follows several soldiers of the Venus military forces, most notably Captain Narayan, leader of Venus army. She convinces the leader of Venus to send three ships comprised from her army as well as ex-USMC’s to Mars to strike the USMC. Things get off to a rough start, upon take off from Venus one of the three ships drifts too close to the sun and is destroyed. Before their battle has even begun the soldiers must face loss. In any war, be it modern or in the future, there is always loss and mourning.

Hawks of Outremer #1 – Review

Another of Robert E. Howard’s creations, Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, makes his way to comics. Fitzgeoffrey is a warrior set in the time of the crusades, and he is a man that takes no shit from anyone. Besides sharing the same creator, Cormac also shares a lot of the same attitude from another one of Howard’s creations: Conan. Whereas Conan is a conqueror, Fitzgeoffrey is more of a Knight without a King. He is loyal to men that he dubs worthy and gives little thought of those who are not.