Friday, May 13, 2011

Comic Roundup: April 20 and April 27, 2011

  • Once again I find myself eager to write about comic books. Here are the books that crossed my threshold recently.

  • Warlord of Mars issue 6 - I've been a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series even since I discovered it on Project Gutenberg. So when Dynamite announced that they would be releasing a comic based on the series, I had to give it a try. Six issues in, I am very happy with how it has turned out. Warlord of Mars does a good job of capturing the feel of the original stories (much like Busiek and Nord did with Conan) while bringing to life the world quite closely to the one Burroughs described, right down to the costuming. In this issue, we find out more about the Green Martian, Sola, and John Carter finally admits his love of Red Martian princess, Dejah Thoris. It has been a while since I read A Princess Of Mars, but this comic evokes that story very well and I'm looking forward to reading their continued adventures.

  • Sigil issue 2 - The second issue of Sigil ends right where the last ended, with Samantha Rey and the crew of El Cazador under attack by another sigil wielder. Samantha eventually comes into her power and leaps around in time (with another unfortunate trip to her school and the tone-deaf writing of the bullies) before returning to El Cazador to resume the fight. I wonder what Marvel intends for these books once the series finishes, especially since it will take four issues to end this origin story. But I'm enjoying it enough to see where it goes.

  • Ruse issue 2 - Of the two CrossGen books, I feel like Ruse is the most successful. While the first issue reintroduced the series, this issue gets into the heart of the mystery and action that I remember from the original series. Archard and Bishop are great partners, each playing off the strengths and weaknesses of the other. While the issue was good, the cliffhanger (a very shocking one for a Victorian era mystery) has me eagerly awaiting the next issue.

  • Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness issue 1 - I have a soft spot in heart for Danger Girl. It is the one comic series that I treat as a collector instead of just a reader. I do like the series, even though it lost a lot of its charm after J. Scott Campbell turned over art duties to other pencillers. However, they found a decent replacement with this new series in Chris Bolson. I could try to explain the plot, but there's now point. Danger Girl has always been an action movie in comic form and this issue is no different. Since it is the first issue of six, it is primarily set up, but it's the kind of gun fire and explosions set up that you normally get in a James Bond movie. The Army of Darkness universe seems like an excellent fit for the occult mystery of Danger Girls past, so I expect a return to classic form for the series.


© 2011 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.

3 comments:

  1. I remember J Scott Campbell. When I started reading comics, I considered him one of the greats, especially since I was really into Image comic titles. Stuff like Danger Girl, Battlechasers, Fathom (RIP Michael Turner), Crimson, The Darkness, Witchblade, The Tenth, etc. all give me fond memories.

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  2. Oddly enough both of the Borroughs (both WS and ER) are among my favorite authors, despite having pretty much nothing in common with each other stylistically. I like ER because his novels often read as a sort of "gentleman's pulp fiction." I've never read any of his Tarzan stories, but I've read most of his Mars, Venus, and Pelucidar novels. I didn't realize they were all public domain now, you may have single handedly sold me on a kindle.

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  3. @ MMOGC - I know people crap all over Image from the 1990's, but there were some worthwhile books even then.

    @ Yeebo - That is how I read ERB. Project Gutenberg has a heck of a selection.

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