Wednesday Number Ones 2/14/07
Wednesday Number Ones is a weekly feature here at Comic Pants. We take the books that are premiering a first issue from that week and give a quick opinion on them. From time to time we may also include more than issue number ones in this feature. If a noteworthy one-shot or the first issue of a new story arc is released, we may talk about it in this feature.
This week we will cover Forgotten Realms Streams Silver #1, Godland #16, Wyrms #1 of 6, Punisher Presents Barracuda Max #1 of 4, and Return Of The Super Pimps #1.
Nick Budd Read and Thought:
Punisher Presents Barracuda #1 of 5
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Goran Parlov
Company: Marvel Comics
Blood, sex and wanton violence. Basically, what you would expect out of Garth Ennis when he’s doing a story on auto-pilot. And yet, with Barracuda, a mini series that spins out of the events of the recently concluded Punisher Max story line and comically pairs the cipher of the book with the hemophiliac child of a mob boss, he still somehow gives a virile life to what would normally be a very weird, easily forgettable concept. The tone of this book, which is a further exploration of the almost barbarian-like assassin, nails the same flavors of Ennis’ Punisher series, hitting the notes of over the top comedy meets harsh, gritty shoot-em up action with a sense of extravagant originality. What is especially good about it is artist Goran Parlov. Not only does his eye capture action well, but he expertly imbues the character of Barracuda with the monster-like quality that makes him so readable. While not a gold medal winning first issue, there’s still a lot to like about Barracuda.
Dave Farabee Read and Thought:
Wyrms #1 of 6
Writer: Jake Black (adapted from Orson Scott Card)
Artist: Adriano Batista
Company: Marvel Comics
Based on the Orson Scott Card novel of the same name, Wyrms certainly earns points for the originality of its sci-fi/fantasy premise: 13-year-old girl is a diplomat who’s secretly an assassin, and may just be destined to bear a child who’ll destroy the world. Interesting enough notion, but I just couldn’t get into the characters enough to care about all the politicking and prophesying. Maybe that’s an issue because the novel’s being serialized in comic-sized chunks, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten into the novel either. Dunno. Net result’s the same, though: neat ideas that fall flat because I don’t care what happens to these people. This is oddly mirrored in the art, which, for all its impressive detail in costume and setting, leaves the characters looking vacant and bored. A “maybe” at best for fans of the genre. I suspect prose is simply a better home for Card’s style of world-building and subtle character interactions.
Dan Grendell Read and Thought:
Forgotten Realms: Streams of Silver #1 of 3
Writers: R.A. Salvatore & Andrew Dabb
Artists: Val Semeiks, John Lowe, Marc Deering, Rob Grabe, and Joe Pimentel
Company: Devil’s Due Publishing
DDP continues their adaptations of R.A. Salvatore’s Forgotten Realms novels with this latest saga, detailing Bruenor’s search for his ancestral home of Mithril Hall and featuring the first appearance of the popular assassin Artemis Entreri. This is a great translation of a fun fantasy book, and the art is strong and kinetic. If you’ve been following these, you’ll like this one as well, and if not, this is as good a place as any to start.
Randy Lander Read and Thought:
Return of the Super Pimps #1
Writer: Richard Hamilton
Artist: Ulises Roman
Company: Dial C For Comics
Remember Blood Syndicate? The fantastic ’90s comic from Milestone about a super-powered gang? If you don’t, you might want to dig through back issues for that rather than reading Return of the Super Pimps, which is as bad as that book was good. When you’ve got a cast of characters that includes Ghetto Blaster, Wielder of the Fantastic 8-Track Suit, and you’re playing the whole thing as straight as an old school Kirby and Lee comic, well… that’s just a big mismatch of tone. When the artwork is so over-saturated with color that the only way I can follow the action is through the over-written captions, that doesn’t help much either. This book could have been a hilarious tribute to the blaxploitation era or a serious love of superheroes homage book with an unusual setting and straightforward take on the genre. Instead, it tries to be both, and winds up being a mess.
D3 (David Martindale) Read and Thought:
Godland #16
Co-Creators: Tom Scioli & Joe Casey
Company: Image Comics
Godland is one of those unfortunate but common cases of a comic that maintains a very high quality level but doesn’t have sales proportionate with its quality level. Doing a cheap issue (60¢) as a jumping on point to lure in new readers sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as well as one would hope. The issue felt very much like the “previously on” blurbs before tv episodes. A very large part of the issue is essentially a laundry listing of Adam Archer’s previous exploits. What isn’t a recap is little more than setup for the rest of a story arc. Rather than publishing a single issue story with plenty of action that showcases what Godland is, the issue feels like a graphical essay explaining what Godland is. There really isn’t any meat and potatoes to the issue. To be fair, the art is spectacular, and the dialogue is just great. If you’re already reading the title, you’ll be glad to know you get a price break this week. If you’re thinking about trying out this title, pick up the first trade instead.
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New format looks great. In my pants.
14 Feb 2007 at 7:23 am
QuoteWow how weird that the only thing that’s catching my eye is a Punisher spin off, a character I’ve never much cared for, go figure. I already read Godland in the trades, so I’m not the target for a recap issue and I agree with D3 that a self contained story might have been a much better way to bring in new readers.
And now Salvatore, oh how I hate thee Salvatore. You see I came to fantasy through sword and sorcery, through the thrilling tales Robert E Howard, Clark Aston Smith, Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance and Karl Edward Wagner, stories full of blood and thunder, of crafty tough guys who fought and drank and fornicated, protagonists who walked through worlds both perilous and evocative, worlds where life was cheap and wizards were evil, or at least self serving. Worlds filled with dangerous men and women who lusted for power and riches and were willing to lie and cheat to get them and they were the good guys. Worlds where the only thing you could really on was a quick mind, fleet feet and strong sword arm.
But somewhere around the mid-to late eighties my fantasy was replaced by this wussified homogenized, shlock fantasy that clogs our shelves today where heroes with more angst than a character out of teen drama, traipse around quaint friendly villages saving orphans. And yes the movement was mostly ripping on Tolkien, but like all things derivative it ended up a diluted mass-produced mess. Salvatore was a big part of that movement. When they first appeared the Drow were one the coolest villain races to come out of DnD, they were Evil with a capital E, heck they EVIL all in caps, sinister and scary as all heck and pretty damn original to boot, until that whinny Clare Danes stand-in Drizzit showed up and flushed that right down the toilet.
OK, I’ll stop ranting now and forgive me for getting off topic, but as much as dislike what the likes of Quesada and Mark Millar are doing to the Marvel I loved, I detested what the like of Salvatore and Terry Brooks and others did to the fantasy I loved.
14 Feb 2007 at 9:49 am
QuoteThanks for mentioning Blood Syndicate. It’s one of those overlooked gems that really deserves to be collected in a trade format. The rest of the Milestone line was hit or miss.
14 Feb 2007 at 10:56 am
QuoteY’know, I have a kind of high schooler’s fondness for the Drizzt stuff, same as I do for the Dragonlance books, but that was an excellent rant, Gray Pumpkin. I really can’t disagree with anything in it.
14 Feb 2007 at 11:08 am
QuoteI agree though I was always fond of Static too. I liked Hardware for awhile though it lost its focus as it when on and I thought Xombi had promise.
14 Feb 2007 at 11:11 am
QuoteThanks, I’m afraid it’s one of buttons so I’ve had a lot of practice.
14 Feb 2007 at 11:56 am
QuoteI think the deterioration of the Drow as the ultimate cool character stems from 2 things — their overexposure and the entire concept coming down with a case of ‘Marvel Villain Syndrome’. If an evil character becomes popular enough, he’ll make the transition to protagonist before too long.
the Punisher
Deadpool
Venom
Magneto
Sabretooth
Juggernaut
Mystique
And on and on and on.
14 Feb 2007 at 2:14 pm
QuoteFor those of you who think Ellis on Thunderbolts is a bit iffy, be sure to check out Thunderbolts Zemo: Born Better #1. Nicieza retains the same convoluted but yet fun style he had on Thunderbolts, and Tom Grummett on art is almost an automatic sell for me.
Other than that, kind of a weak week. New issue of Blade, which I really enjoy for some reason, but the general consensus for that book is a resounding NO, it seems.
14 Feb 2007 at 6:34 pm
Quote… that, and he killed Show ▼
. Grrr!
15 Feb 2007 at 2:41 am
QuoteYeah the Drow were to cool not to get ruined eventually, and I’m sure if Salvatore hadn’t gone there someone else would have, but since he’s the one who did, he wins my ire.
15 Feb 2007 at 2:18 pm
QuoteYay! Credits! Thanks guys. Good work as usual.
15 Feb 2007 at 4:23 pm
QuoteI loved Syndicate, but my truest love at Milestone was Icon, which I thought was great pretty much for the first forty issues or so and at least good even after. In fact, I loved pretty much all of the first couple years of Milestone, and a good deal of what came after. I still have almost the entire line, stored away in a couple longboxes for re-reading when the mood strikes.
15 Feb 2007 at 10:07 pm
QuoteI totally agree with you on this. Hell, Baron Zemo, one of the best villains there is, and as pure evil as you can find, made the transition to anti-hero in Nicieza’s New Thunderbolts.
Too many writers seem to love taking the villains, making them three-dimensional and then, since they’re three-dimensional, giving them redemption arc and turning them into less interesting good guys. I say, leave ‘em bad, leave ‘em fighting the heroes, add the extra dimensions too.
On an unrelated note… wow, was this a crappy week for comics. Manhunter was good, but it’s almost cancelled, and there were some good hardcovers (Image’s Drink n Draw is a thing of beauty, and Beyond is terrific), but man… not much to read, and some of what there was was terrible. I disliked the second issue of Ellis’ Thunderbolts, but even more I was disgusted with the over-the-top violence and depravity in Justice Society. A Nazi super-speedster tears through a mom and her kid… on panel. How can I ever take the JSA seriously as heroes after that? They’re utter fucking failures if they can’t prevent a picnic massacre by some third-rate Neo-Nazi supervillains.
15 Feb 2007 at 10:10 pm
Quote16 Feb 2007 at 12:24 am
Quote“A Nazi super-speedster tears through a mom and her kid… on panel.”
Man, For Real? If DC fucks up the JSA, I am going to shit in their cereal bowl. That is just unacceptable.
16 Feb 2007 at 2:33 am
QuoteHow could I forget Baron Zemo?? That *still* makes no sense to me.
16 Feb 2007 at 7:56 am
QuoteI sort of liked Thunderbolts, in that I actually cared about the characters, but that’s Nicieza’s fault, not Ellis’. I want the “good guys” to win out… but this is a Warren Ellis comic.
Ghost Rider was fun, and better than the hideous arc which preceded it, which was filled with the worst aspects of Way’s writing. The editors seemed to have leaned on him with this issue, because it seems like something actually happened. The scene with the corrupt sheriff was disturbing as hell and it was nice to see GR really crunch a bad dude.
Casanova was great.
16 Feb 2007 at 9:32 am
QuoteYep, it’s pretty bad. I started out VERY much on board this title, but that incident may well just get me to drop the book.
Remember when heroes prevented the schemes of evil men instead of just cleaning up the mess and punishing the perpetrators?
16 Feb 2007 at 10:51 am
QuoteInteresting. I’ll be the first to say that Daniel Way is…one of my least favorite writers working today. However, I tried out GH for the first time with the last two issues (just because of Corben’s art), and I was mildly impressed, considering how much I dislike his other stuff (especially Wolverine). I picked issue 8 up for fun, and to see how Way handles the CW aspect. Disappointing. CW was mentioned in one panel, while GH himself didn’t show up til late in the book. If you’re gonna put the spotlight on peripheral characters, they better be interesting - but these weren’t; they were an echo of every other small-town corrupt cop seen elsewhere (including the last arc of this very book).
Still, a part of me does wanna see where Way goes with the villain (um…didn’t Punisher put a bullet in his head? Lucifer and his possession games…).
Dan Way even got two chances this week…I also picked up Wolverine: Origins #11 on a whim. Pretty much reinforces about how I feel about this book in general: ick. Wolverine has a son. Lame. Even lamer is the character design for him - laughable. Dillon is still a poor, poor choice for this book (but the level of expression he can pack into one character’s face, especially the eyes, is amazing). Oh yeah - where was Logan himself?
Still, 1 for 2 ain’t bad. I’ll still continue to stay away from Origins, but Ghost Rider has me interested, so that’s saying something for a writer I normally dislike…a lot.
16 Feb 2007 at 11:30 am
QuoteKiel: That’s the interesting part- Lucifer can only posess dead bodies, so he happened to pick up Jack O’Lantern.
I’ll fully admit Origins is very, very bad. Way is doing what he always does, which is play his cards way too close to the vest that you have to wait till an arc’s end to figure out what the hell that was going on. Only this time, he’s plowed through 15 issues of this story and we have the barest of details, and a character whose look is so laughable it borders on parody. This is a projected 60 issue series!
16 Feb 2007 at 12:47 pm
QuoteSlow week for interesting reads, I agree. Actually (as noted in the Shazam! thread), Pants People recommended Bone so, having no other new stuff to buy outside of Y and Astonishing (which FINALLY was fun again), I got the first trade of the colored Bone. Looks great. Can’t wait to read it.
The group recommended a week or so ago the Essential Punisher, which was also a great read. In slow weeks like this I pick up fun, cheap, or cool trades. Any other Essentials worth getting? I don’t really want to re-read the Stan Lee era books so that eliminates a bunch of them but a few tempted me. 70’s and early 80’s Supers stuff interests me, in particular. Iron Fist, Power Man, Spider Woman and others looked good to me. Any other great reads in that collection? Maybe add a Trade forum. Big Pants. Maybe “Briefs?”
16 Feb 2007 at 1:46 pm
QuoteHell yes, there are other Essentials worth getting. Some of them are just plain great. Monster of Frankenstein, Tales of the Zombie and Tomb of Dracula are awesome reprints of the heyday of Marvel horror. Power Man is great fun, Defenders, Man-Thing, and Howard the Duck have some lovely Steve Gerber weirdness, Godzilla has some sweet action, and X-Men starts from the time Claremont took over and goes from there, with all sorts of classic stories in those volumes.
I actually buy every Essential volume that comes out and read it, and with very few exceptions *cough* Killraven *cough* I am always at least satisfied with the read, and usually more than that.
16 Feb 2007 at 3:27 pm
QuoteDear God, how could something called “Return of the Super Pimps” possibly fail? The world no longer makes sense to me.
16 Feb 2007 at 5:47 pm
Quotenew rob review up http://www.howcomics.com
features jsa 3 but my only real thought was “uh where’d the Starman plot go?”
18 Feb 2007 at 2:08 pm
Quote