Deathmate Prologue

From the Box of Random Unread Comics.

Title: Deathmate Prologue
Date: June, 1993
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment / Image Comics
Writer: Bob Layton
Penciler: Barry Windsor-Smith, Rob Liefeld
Inker: Jim Lee, Bob Layton, Danny Miki, Dan Panosian
Colorist: Joe Chiodo
Letterer: Mike Heisler
Editor: Mark Moretti

This was the opening scene to the large-scale Valiant/Image crossover event. It opens with a death, and Solar consumed by grief and retreating into the Unreality where he meets up with Void. Fascinated by each other, they kiss and become one. That's the first story.

The second story starts in a dream sequence that is essentially a Rob Liefeld rollcall of Image and Valiant characters. It's the Geomancer who's dreaming, and he wakes up in a panic and runs right into a fight with the Berzerkers, which leads to Prophet getting involved. Turns out Prophet is in on the whole dream thing and we're off and (literally) running.

I don't really know either set of characters, so this felt a little disjointed, but it was sufficient to get the idea across that there is some kind of Crisis-On-Infinite-Earths-level event heading in the heroes' direction. So while a bit more backstory would have been nice to make me feel a bit more invested, this was still a reasonable opening to the coming saga.

Rating: 5.5/10

Solar Man of the Atom #26

From the Random Box of Unread Comics.

Title: Solar Man of the Atom
Issue: 26
Date: October, 1993
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Writer: Tony Bedard, Kevin Vanhook
Penciler: David Wong
Inker: Fred Fredricks
Colorist: Carol Vanhook
Letterer: Jade
Editor: Don Perlman, Bob Layton

Phil (Solar) and Gayle find themselves traveling through rural Georgia when Solar recognizes a photo of a small-town mayor as an alien foe who had escaped from a previous battle.

Now, Rusk the spider-alien, Mayor Russel to his friends, runs the little town of Terminus, GA, as well as its textile plant. And he's got the corrupt sheriff right out of central casting on his side.

Gayle proceeds to break into a public library at night to find... well, information she could have just found with no problems if she'd waited until normal business hours. Instead, she gets caught and damseled by the aforementioned sheriff.

Solar proceeds to do his thing, while Gayle actually talks a bit of sense into the locals. As it turns out, blood-drinking spider aliens fall into the category of "Try that in a small town".

I'm being a bit harsh here, because the flow of the plot was pretty good, and the decision to make Rusk more pathetic than menacing was an interesting choice that contributed to the tone of the story. I also liked the fact that the townsfolk were not completely blindly obedient to the bad guys.

The interactions between Gayle and Phil were good, and the dialogue all made sense. This was my first time reading this series, and for a random issue, I found it pretty accessible as a new reader.

Rating: 6/10

Action Comics #687

From the box of random unread comics.

Title: Action Comics
Issue: #687
Date: June, 1993
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Roger Stern
Art: Jackson Guice, Denis Rodier
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Mike Carlin, Jennifer Frank

Reign of the Supermen! This is one of the four issues introducing the new "Supermen" following Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday. These issues (complete with gimmicky cutout covers) each featured a "pretender" to the role of Superman, based on phrases associated with the character: "Man of Steel", "Man of Tomorrow", "Metropolis Kid", and in the case of this issue, "Last Son of Krypton".

The actual character in this case is the Eradicator (no, not Rhea Ripley). The story is written so that it is possible to believe that Eradicator is actually some sort of reincarnation of Superman, who has gone full-on Kryptonian at the loss of his humanity.

In the background, we see lots of details of the ripple effect of Superman's death. This is one of those stories that felt like a gimmick at the time. After all, no one believed for a minute that Superman was actually dead. He was simply spending some time "dead in the DC Universe", as one does. But looking at this story years later, the fact that the Superman's death turned out to be as temporary as everyone knew it would be seems less important, and the story itself is quite good.

Writer Roger Stern juggles a ton of little details and character interactions and does a nice job of introducing Eradicator-Superman while adding to the overall mystery. While I wasn't buying that Eradicator really was Superman, and I knew that we were getting the real Superman back eventually, I was left intrigued to find out how we get there and what other plot twists lie ahead.

Nice piece of an epic story that still holds up pretty well.

Rating: 7/10

Spring-Heel Jack: Revenge of the Ripper #2

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Spring-Heel Jack: Revenge of the Ripper
Issue: 2
Date: 1993
Publisher: Rebel Studios
Writer: David Barbour
Artist: Wayne Tanaka
Letterer: Gary Kato
Cover: Tony Harris, Tim Vigil

This story combines the 19th Century folk legend Springheel Jack with the infamous Jack the Ripper, and brings it all into a modern setting.

Although this was the second in a three-issue series, much of this issue was devoted to explaining the Ripper's backstory as Prince Albert Victor, grandson of Queen Victoria. His dealings in the occult granted him immortality through the commission of ritualistic murders, and he was later captured and held prisoner by the British government in a succession of psychiatric asylums.

Opposing the Ripper is Spring-Heel Jack, a tulpa conjured by a woman with psychic powers. As London detectives attempt to stop the Ripper from replicating his past crime spree, and Spring Heel Jack begins his own campaign to locate the Ripper, it becomes apparent that the Ripper has a new target in his sights: Diana, Princess of Wales.

The art style is is grim black-and-white, befitting the story's noir style with its callbacks to steampunk. Some of the action could be a bit hard to follow, and the incompetence of the Princess' security detail was a bit dismaying (although it's nothing that we haven't seen from the GCPD in pretty much any random Batman story).

I liked the Spring-Heel Jack character a lot. He's more interesting than the villain, and I'd be interested in reading more of this series and his previous series just to get more sense of his backstory, as almost all of the exposition in this issue is focused on the Ripper.

Rating: 6/10

The Realm #2

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: The Realm
Issue: 2
Date: 1993
Publisher: Caliber Comics
Writer: Brent Truax
Artist: Donald Marquez, Brian Michael Bendis, Patrick Zircher
Letterer: Donald Marquez, Brian Michael Bendis, Patrick Zircher
Cover: Lurene Haines

This comic has some historical interest as it features some early work by Brian Michael Bendis, who did art and lettering on 15 pages of this issue.

This issue features an extensive recap of events that have taken place earlier in the story (including a previous Realms series), so it's a good jumping-in point in spite of being the second issue.

We are introduced to a world in chaos in the aftermath of an event called the Daemonstorm, which has not only released widespread destruction, but has also caused time to flow at different rates in different areas of the Realm, resulting in some lands who are years recovered from the Daemonstorm, and others where it is remembered as yesterday.

The world itself is mostly a Tolkien-inspired fantasy setting, but there is some really good and original worldbuilding in places that breaks it out of the standard fantasy mold. The society of the Latigo Elves is particularly interesting, and should make for an interesting backdrop as the story unfolds.

There was a lot going on in terms of plot being established and characters from the previous series being reintroduced, but none of it ever felt too overwhelming in spite of a somewhat wordy writing style. The multiple layers of plotting and intrigue kept the story interesting, and there were enough small interactions to get to know some of the key characters.

This is another title that I missed out on when it was published, in spite of me generally seeking out fantasy comics. It has an 80s b/w boom vibe, and was published about 5 years too late to really be part of that era, but the complexity of the story makes it stand out from a lot of 80s fantasy comics I've read.

I'd like to check out more of this sometime.

Rating: 8.5/10

Shade: The Changing Man #35

Well, here we are about an hour until we head to the airport. Two more comics in the stack after this one. Looks like I will be reading (and possibly reviewing, wifi permitting) those two on planes and in airports. The itinerary is Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok to Mumbai to (lovely) Newark NJ. Long trip with long layovers. Definitely adventure material.

In the meantime, here is some more classic 90s Vertigo for you.

Title:Shade: The Changing Man
Issue: 35
Date: December, 1993
Publisher: DC Comics (Vertigo)
Writer: Peter Milligan
Penciler: Chris Bachalo
Inker: Rick Bryant
Colorist: Daniel Vozzo
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Shelly Roeberg, Karen Berger
Cover: Chris Bachalo

Shade and Lenny are trapped in Brian Juno's Garden of Pain, where Juno intends to torture Shade as part of his plan to ascend as a god. Meanwhile, Kathy is dead, or at least having a near-death experience, sitting in a cosmic waiting room with a group of angels who have a deal to make with here.

Wordy in places, but once it gets going, this story brings the intensity. Like the other issue of Shade that I recently reviewed, this is the conclusion of a major storyline, and it hints at another new phase in the relationship between Shade, Lenny, and Kathy.

Lenny, as is often the case in this series, gets most of the best lines and moments. I always enjoy reading stories she appears in. She's one of the very few characters that exist truly outside of tropes and classification.

Aside from the general verbosity in places, and some confusing elements early on (understandable as I has not read the issues leading up to this), this is a really solid conclusion with great dialogue and a few surprises. 

Rating: 7.5/10 

Animal Man #65

Continuing to make my way through the last of the small stack of random comics I brought with me when we moved to Vietnam. Looking forward to heading home for a month-long visit and the chance to stock up on some new comics.

Title: Animal Man
Issue: 65
Date: November, 1993
Publisher: DC Comics (Vertigo)
Writer: Jamie Delano 
Penciler: Will Simpson 
Inker: Will Simpson 
Colorist: Tatjana Wood
Letterer: Richard Starkings 
Editor: Julie Rottenberg, Lou Stathis 
Cover: Randy DuBurke

This issue was mostly setup, with no big climactic battles, and the biggest bit of plot development saved for the last page, but it was also loaded with great dialogue and character development.

There is also lots of sex (none of it "on-screen") and even more talk about sex, as Ellen tries to get Buddy to help her experience his connection with the Lifeweb. This is new for both of them, and the ensuing discussion ranges from the nature of, well, nature, to the question of how much Ellen really wants to know about the "weird side" of Buddy.

Meanwhile Cliff and Lucy are exploring their own sexuality in a scene that felt very really and full of all kinds of awkward teenage emo. 

Maxine meets two new guests on their way to the farmhouse, and Buddy and Grandma have a discussion about God, who might or might not be paying a visit to the farm Himself.

This was one of those issues that nicely gets away from formula, lets the characters be themselves, and allows for some good interaction and some thoughtful dialogue, Not every "superhero" series (and I realize that Vertigo's Animal Man lives somewhat on the very outer edge of that genre) gets to explore the kind of philosophical questions that this issue delved into, and even fewer could devote an entire story to those questions. This was excellent, start to finish.

Rating: 8.5/10

Swamp Thing #130

Okay, two days to departure, and it's comic marathon time! It's actually not that huge a marathon, but I do have five more comics in my to-read stack after this one, and I'd like to get them all read and reviewed before getting on the plane on Tuesday.

I will pretty much buy any comic with a Charles Vess cover, which I am pretty sure is how I ended up with this issue.

Title: Swamp Thing
Issue: 130
Date: April, 1993
Publisher: DC Comics (Vertigo)
Writer: Nancy A. Collins
Penciler: Scot Eaton
Inker: Kim DeMulder
Colorist: Tatjana Wood 
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Stuart Moore
Cover: Charles Vess

The Swamp Thing reappears, weakened and delusional, in Pennsylvania after a meeting with the Parliament of Trees. Desperate to get home, he starts moving south, hallucinating as he goes, and becoming more and more weakened and damaged by various encounters along the way, until he no longer has the strength to go on.

Meanwhile, sinister forces are closing in on those he loves ad various events and conspiracies run their course.

This was all well executed, but it has the problem that I have with a lot of the more recent (okay, admittedly, 1993 no longer counts as recent, but by "recent" what I really mean is anything-post-Allan-Moore) Swamp Thing stories is that they always feel like throwbacks to the classic stories. Everything in this issue (with the possible exception of the final page) felt like Swamp Thing material that I had seen before. It's still good, but no one seems to have ever come up with a direction for this series and this character beyond what Allan Moore did with it from 1984 to 1987.

So not a particularly original or innovative story, but well-paced and great visuals. And the Charles Vess cover is awesome.

Rating: 6/10

Thump'n Guts #1

Today is our third day at Arisia. Today's review is a comic that someone put a whole stack of copies of on the convention freebies table. Free is my favorite word! I'll take one!

Title: Thump'n Guts

Issue: 1

Publisher: Kitchen Sink Press

Date: 1993

Writer: Kevin Eastman

Artist: Kevin Eastman, Simon Bisley

Colorist: Steve Lavigne

Letterer: Steve Lavigne

This story was something of a reversal of the Silver Surfer scenario. In this case, it's the villain who is trapped on Earth by a force field that keeps him from escaping into the cosmos.  Of course a force field won't keep this monster from wreaking havoc on Earth, so when he is awakened and freed from his buried prison by an oil drilling rig, it's up to a rather monstrous band of heroes to stop him.

Nice combination of the humorous and the monstrous. The plot tries to do a lot in a short space, so the story can feel a bit choppy and you need to pay attention to get what's going on. The action is over-the-top and fun, although there isn't enough space to really give each characters chance to shine.

What there is in this story is mayhem. Lots of mayhem. Hopefully the character development will follow in future issues.

Rating: 5.5/10

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Limited Edition Preview

Title: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Limited Edition Preview
Date: 1993
Publisher: Malibu Comics
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Artist: Gordon Purcell
Editor: Tom Mason

Preview ashcan distributed in Hero magazine for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine comic series from Malibu Comics. Not much actual comics in this preview. There are fairly generic interviews with the writer and artist, followed by a preview page in script, sketch, and finished form. There's also a nice center pinup of the cast and the space station, and a sketch of one of the original characters from the comic series. The interviews felt like sports interviews, where the players are just picking from their lists of cliches. These sorts of things are necessary, but in this case they didn't add much. I would have liked to see a bit more in the way of finished pages so that there was more sense of what to expect story-wise from the full-length book.

Gordon Purcell's artwork looks good, and the digital coloring gives it a photo-like quality that works well for a TV adaptation.

Rating: 4.5/10