Infinity Countdown Archives

May 28, 2018

BLACK PANTHER / INVINCIBLE IRON MAN / TMNT URBAN LEGENDS / DARKHAWK [Reviews]: Memorial Day Geek-end!

Happy Memorial Day, geeks and geekettes, and for those real-life superheroes among us, thank you for your service and everything you do to keep this country kicking ass!

As a treat to get you into the super-hero mood, and to get you moving into the warm, sunny days of summer, we’ve got a few great titles to look at this week. So crack open a beer (or micro-brew for those picky drinkers) and throw some brauts (or Beyond Burgers) onto the grill. It’s Stash time.

Destiny “Evangelical” Edwards
@mochaloca85

What happens when the most technologically advanced nation in the Marvel Universe decides to expand? That’s what Ta-Nehisi Coates seeks to explore in “The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda”, continuing his great and timely run on one of Marvel’s most resurgent and thrilling titles. It turns out that a couple of millennia ago, a small group of Wakandans went to space to find their own planet, and, embracing some very Killmonger-esque ideals, eventually colonized everything in the name of Bast. The ideals of Wakanda forgotten, hopefully the one, true Wakandan leader will right their ways. Some great writing, interesting ideas, and good sci-fi allegory.

We meet some familiar faces in some unfamiliar settings, and Daniel Acuña’s art helps drive home this is one Wakanda you don’t want to visit. The comic itself though? It’ll have you coming back month after month. Don’t miss it! 4.25/5 Bibles.

-Destiny Edwards

**INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #600** – Marvel Comics

The incongruity of this comic is interesting…and infuriating. Brian Michael Bendis wraps up his Iron Man run, as well as his tenure at Marvel, with this comic. With it, we see all of Bendis’ predictable traits (which wasn’t the case on his Ultimate Spider-Man, or his Daredevil, or Alias/Jessica Jones). He breaks the Lego Millenium Falcon into a hundred pieces, and then puts it back together again. Rinse and repeat (Avengers, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy…).

But the weirdness of the denouement of the story threw me for a loop. In this tale, we see a recently resurrected Tony repeat the procedure that he used to bring himself back to life to pave over some more potholes from his Marvel tenure. This was one of the few times we got to see actual hard sci-fi, something this book had been lacking for a very long time. The action scenes were quite good, despite the fact that the villain used has become a bit of a plot device by said writer.

The art, well, it varied from damn good to phenomenal. Mike Deodato, and Stefano Caselli, provided some interesting character work. Jim Cheung, one of the best artists of this generation, nails it with a spread of Iron Man armored awesomeness that makes me sad he was never the regular artist for Tony Stark’s adventures. I can’t say it was a great ending. I can say it was apropos. As the run ended like it began; not with a bang but with a whimper. 1/5 Bibles.

As a lifelong fan on the TMNT franchise, I will give almost anything with it’s name a shot, including the new comic series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Urban Legends. Overall, it is better than average. This is mostly due to the expert story telling by writer Gary Carlson (Megatron, and Big Bang Comics). The action literally starts on page one with Donatello getting shot (hopefully not too much of a spoiler since its on page 1!) and it did not slow down from there!

Visually, it initially felt a bit too busy: too crowded, too stuffed, too much going on. It seemed like there was too much trying to be fit into a single panel and my eyes kept being drawn away from the text bubbles. But the more I read, the more I appreciated the business. The attention to detail and bloody messes by Frank Fosco (TMNT, and Megatron) really is beautiful. I do think that I will be looking out for issue 2 when it comes out, and if you’re into the heroes on a half shell, you should keep an eye out for it as well! 4/5 Mutant Turtles agree with this review.

-Tim Markham

“Reverend Jog” Alex P.SO Ampadu
@itspsonow

**INFINITY COUNTDOWN: DARKHAWK** – Marvel Comics

Marvel hurdles towards infinity by focusing on an underused character.

I’m a pretty big Darkhawk fan. That’s not a phrase that you will hear very often. Darkhawk first appeared in 1991’s Darkhawk #1. Gritty and stylized, Darkhawk was a coming-of-age superhero story with an edge. Chris Powell was like Peter Parker only darker, and more bold. I ran through the first dozen issues packed with 90’s-era art and flair. After Darkhawk’s initial 50 issue run, the character stayed in the Marvel cellar for years before being reintroduced into the cosmic corner of the Marvel universe during the War of Kings storyline. Darkhawk has always been an interesting character with a unique mythology, but generally he has been underused. That’s why it was so surprising when he was featured as one of the most important characters in the new Infinity Countdown storyline.

Chris Sims and Chad Bowers are the scribes for this new Darkhawk tale, as we catch up with Chris Powell in his new profession. He’s a police officer for the NYPD now, which is pretty interesting, as he now is able to fight crime of both sides of the law. Meanwhile, in space, The Fraternity of Raptors, led by Talon-R (Nova’s brother Robbie Rider), are attempting to bring the original Raptors back into our dimension. It doesn’t necessarily work out, however. On Earth, Chris Powell, is still getting accustomed to the absence of Razor and the return of his own Talon armor.

This issue lacks a bit in the world-building department. Darkhawk is a lesser-known character with a convoluted backstory, and rather complicated power set. The story would benefit from a re-hash of who Darkhawk is, and exactly how his powers work. Instead we are thrust into the mythology without a great deal of explanation. World-building aside, this inaugural issue does peak my interest of the character and his place in the overarching Infinity Countdown storyline.

Gang Hyuk Lim’s artwork is one of the best aspects of this issue. It has a slight anime influence, but overall it’s great. I especially like the way he draws Darkhawk, who still has one of the most badass costumes in comics. Many characters from the 90’s era of comics are poorly designed, with ill-conceived origin stories, and deserve to be forgotten. Darkhawk is not one of those characters. He has a lot of potential, and if properly written, could end up making a splash in the greater Marvel Universe. A little more time needs to be spent fleshing out the character mythos, and this hawk just might fly again. 2.5/5 Bibles.

-Alex Ampadu

May 21, 2018

DAREDEVIL / FLAVOR / X-MEN WEDDING SPECIAL / NEW CHALLENGERS [Reviews]: Pre-morial Day Weekend Reading!

**INFINITY COUNTDOWN: DAREDEVIL #1** – Marvel Comics

Infinity Countdown has been a rather strange event so far. Initially, I was excited considering one of the things promised — that it would tie up the loose ends from the most recent Guardians of the Galaxy run, which was fantastic, while it would also bring other corners of the Marvel Universe in using the infinity stones. Thus far, however, it’s continued the stories that began in GotG, but otherwise we’ve just seen an extended game of hot potato with various Infinity Stones. For something billed as an event, there is actually very little going on outside of the issues the Guardians are dealing with. For that reason, I’d hoped that the tie-ins could add an extra layer of depth to this story to make it more fulfilling.

Unfortunately, the first of those tie-ins, Infinity Countdown: Daredevil #1, left me feeling even more empty about this event than before. This issue really doesn’t have much of a story, despite the efforts of writer Gerry Duggan. The majority of the issue is a fight between Daredevil and Turk as the former lowlife turned kingpin recounts the story of how he came to possess the Mind Stone. The story itself was rather entertaining, only for any development to become completely irrelevant just a few pages later as the game of hot potato continues. This issue falls into the same category as everything else in this event that doesn’t involve the Guardians: it all just feels like a waste of time, space, mind, soul and reality. If the rest of the event and tie-ins continue down this route, even the Guardians won’t have the power to save this story. 1/5 Infinity Stones.

-Kevin Palma

Now usually my comic book choices are the traditional superhero, action-packed, crime drama, or something sci-fi or futuristic, but every once in a while you see something that catches your eye and tempts your interest that may not be your norm. That is the case of when I saw Image comics Flavor #1 written by Joseph Keatinge. We journey into this world where cooking is more of a sport and primary source of survival; we find our protagonist Xoo in the side car of her incredibly talented dog Buster’s bike as he peddles as fast as he can through the city, in a rush to get the Garuda Truffle before supplies run out. As the story moves along, we find that Xoo is an unlicensed chef and it’s against the law for her to cook. And since her parents are both handicap from past injuries, Xoo has been running their family’s restaurant to pay bills.

Meanwhile there is another mystery lurking, the city that Xoo and her family lives in is surrounded by a fortified wall and at the end of the first issue we get a glimpse of why that wall is there. This was great read; Wook Jin Clark sketches a very precise world, and gives you a full tour throughout the pages of Flavor with awesome assist from the coloring expertise of Tamra Bonvillain. Flavor #1 gives me the same adventurous theme I feel whenever I watch or read The Adventures of Tintin, especially with characters like Buster the dog. Buster is instantly my favorite character, and he is sure to be the favorite for other readers as well: he ride a bike, cook, and who doesn’t love a trusty dog companion in a story? 3.5/5 Bibles.

-Tony Pattawon

**X-MEN GOLD: WEDDING SPECIAL** – Marvel Comics

X-Men Gold “Wedding Edition” was cute. It is the more rom-com than most movies tend to be, which was a nice change of pace. It’s written as 3 separate stories leading up to the wedding of Kitty and Colossus, which as we all say, “It’s about time!” “The Dream Before” by Chris Claremont gives us a look at Kitty Prides’s history through beautifully drawn (Todd Nauck) and colored (Rachelle Rosenberg) frames that make you feel her anxiety. “Boy’s Night Out” by Marc Guggenheim is just that. We get an awkward bachelor party with the men of the X-Men in Vegas. I really enjoyed the bold lines and dark red and black tones in these frames by Greg Land (artist) and Jason Keith (colorist). They were such a stark contrast compared to the other two stores. We finally finish up the trilogy with “Something Old” by Kelly Thompson. This is the bachelorette party. The ladies of the X-Men surprise Kitty with an oulandishly weird night out, and there is also a surprise guest by an old nemesis of Kitty. Marika Cresta (artist) and Frederico Blee (colorist) do a great job of bringing this back to a lighter and more feminine feel. Overall, the three are full of comedy, doubts, love, exes, and basically every other romantic comedy cliche, but still a fun read. Here’s hoping for a happy marriage in the next issue. 4/5 Bouquets.

-Jimmy Cupp

I went into this review with a great deal of trepidation. I’m a huge fan of the early Challengers of the Unknown comics. However, the subsequent relaunches have been extremely hit or miss for me. Previews for this newest volume were so vague that I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. From the outset, Scott Snyder & Aaron Gillespie crafted an eerie vibe that felt less “Fantastic Four”, and more Fringe or The X-Files, which will help this book stand apart from its potential competition.

The four new members, brought back from the brink of death by the mysterious Prof, each has a unique backstory and plenty of secrets that they wish to keep from the others. They will be dispatched on missions that explore the weirder side of the world and the multiverse. Each time they leave Challengers Mountain, the hourglass tattoos given to them will wind down and if they haven’t returned in time, they will die. The dialogue was crisp, the narration, while it did beat us over the head with how altruistic one of the Challengers is, did the job of making us care. And the mysterious Prof, well, he has his own secrets that he’s keeping from the team and will make for an interesting plot development later on.

Andy Kubert…WOW. I’ve followed his career for a long time. When he first went to DC Comics and did posters, guest issues and the like, I got excited. But after a while, I’d lost hope that he’d draw more DC characters than just Batman or Justice League related characters. I got my wish and then some. This is some of the best work of Kubert’s career. He brought top level emotion and character acting. And in a heartbeat, can switch it up to big widescreen pulp or science fiction insanity. The wrong inker could have muddied the waters. And while Klaus Janson does go a bit dark in a few scenes, for the most part, he accents Kubert’s work perfectly. Anderson has been doing great work for a while, but his palette here seemed pitch perfect on every single page. It’s been ages since I was this excited about the relaunch of a forgotten DC franchise. Snyder is like a Duke University basketball talent scout: he just keeps finding the very best. I’m hoping the quality keeps up once Gillespie flies solo. I’ll anxiously await issue two. 4.5/5 Bibles.

-Gene Selassie

March 11, 2018

OBLIVION SONG / SHADE the CHANGING WOMAN / DOCTOR STAR / INFINITY COUNTDOWN [Reviews]: Easy Like Sunday Morning.

Happy Sunday, fellow geeks and geekettes. Winter’s thawing into spring, and with this change to warmer weather comes some new titles from some familiar names. This week’s peek spans space, time, and sanity itself, as our great writers tell you which upcoming titles are worth the use of your eye muscles.

Let’s dive right in…

When one door closes, another one opens. Robert Kirkman, fresh off his epic hundred plus issue run of Invincible, delivers his newest long form series, a crazy sci-fi action adventure drama filled with love, loss, monsters and mayhem. A decade ago, a large portion of Philly disappeared. Where did it go? To the Oblivion; a world filled with all sorts of weird creatures and monsters. The government did search-and-rescue missions for years, yet eventually stopped due to budget cuts and other bureaucratic issues. But not everyone gave up hope.

Visually, co-creator Lorenzo de Felici has crafted a grotesquely yet beautiful world filled with nightmare fuel for miles. Kirkman has grand plans for this series as well. Putting where his money where his mouth is; they are a FULL YEAR ahead of schedule on this series. No delays. No hiccups. Twelve issues in twelve months. Must be nice to have that Zombie money to cushion you…Hey! There’s even a super special edition of this comic that comes with a statue replicating the first issue cover–so that’s something.

The first issue doesn’t break any new ground, nor does it need to. It eases you into this new world and its cast. There’s a hook, a twist, and a very well-defined motivation, as well as more questions than answers given. Kirkman knows what he is doing by now. I’m sure this will be optioned for television or film sooner rather than later. 4/5 Bibles.

-Sean Farrell

Colleen “of the Covenant” Vincent
@CollyCol

**SHADE THE CHANGING WOMAN #1** – Young Animal/DC Comics

An interesting exploration of identity and connection, Shade the Changing Woman is a cool kind of weird. Published under DC’s Young Animal imprint, Shade the Changing Woman is a reboot of Vertigo’s Shade the Changing Girl, which was a spin-off of Shade, the Changing Man. Loma is a Metan, an avian alien species. The stolen Madness Cloak still in her possession and has now claimed the body of Megan, a woman, bringing her a new set of challenges. The story introduces her trying to maintain old friendships and memories while creating new versions of both, while the threat of extraterrestrial deportation looms heavy.

Gerard Way’s Young Animal champions the intelligent, creative, mature, and experimental and this title definitely fills the bill. YA novelist Cecil Castellucci’s writing is brilliantly poetic and full of emotion. The plot can be hard to follow — as there is so much ground to cover — but it is worth the careful read to be fully immersed in the dynamics. The trippy visuals provided by artist Marley Zarcone created a comic of serious eye candy. It all looks like a retro fever dream, pink and amber pastels, geometric shapes, with rainbows thrown in for good measure. The character lines are fine and well defined with an array of expression and varieties of differentiation between them, not a singular copy among them. Shade the Changing Woman is certified fresh and worth your exploration and subscription. 5/5 Bibles.

-Colleen Vincent

Taffeta “Dutchess” Darling
@TaffetaDarling

**DOCTOR STAR and THE KINGDOM of LOST TOMORROWS #1** – Dark Horse Comics

Back in a new spin-off series from the world of Black Hammer, is Jim Robinson, better know as Doctor Star. For those unfamiliar, Doctor Star, (created by Eisner Award winning team writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormstron), was a Golden Age superhero who has since retired, yet now struggles with and bemoans some of the personal and hero-centric decisions he’s made.

In issue one of Lemire’s continually growing world of Black Hammer, the readers get a bit more insight regarding Doctor Star’s sorrows as he looks back on his life focusing on parental missteps, war, his evolution into a superhero and potentially, some emotional absolution. What is most enjoyable about this poignant debut is yet while the creative team gives Jim a more established, melancholy tone compared to his previous attributes, they keep in the accustomed superhero tropes that made Black Hammer compelling and enjoyable to read from the beginning.

By now, fans of Lemire know his track record and won’t be disappointed. And while he’s written for many heroes, there’s something inspiring and endearing to see his experience, dedication and hard work continue into his own created universe of Black Hammer. Max Fiumara’s artwork and page design between two lifetime periods of Doctor Star goes from spastic overlapping fantastical wartime panels to empathetic understated expressions of exhausted looking characters that is perfect for Black Hammer regular, Dave Stewart, and his familiar colorization to pull us instantly back into the shared universe.

While Doctor Star and The Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows is part of already-founded characters and stories, it works as a standalone issue, as well, for fans of superheroes. 4.75/5 Layers of Dust.

-Taffeta Darling

**INFINITY COUNTDOWN #1** – Marvel Comics

Following up after Infinity Prelude, Gerry Duggan’s Infinity Countdown #1 actually takes advice from yours truly and boils down the story to focus on just two of gems. While an action-packed story, it’s basic and that is what saves this story. The art by Aaron Kuder is very reminiscent of Art Adams, which is a huge plus. I am starting to get a little intrigued by the story now seeing as how we might have a new housing for the Infinity Gems, that the power gem is now the size of a mountain and Logan no longer has the space gem, but who has it?

Well, let’s just say that a certain Russian spy, believed to be dead but really isn’t might just have the stone… it’s Black Widow. Black Widow has the space stone. This issue also gives us a Groot that can now speak; and quite eloquently at that. While there isn’t anything revolutionary about this issue, it is a fun read. If you are a big fan of collecting all of these mini-series, then run out and grab it. If not, then I would wait for the trade. 3/5 Bibles.

-Robert Bexar

February 24, 2018February 24, 2018

HIT-GIRL / DOCTOR STRANGE / THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD / TALES OF SUSPENSE [Reviews]: Infinity Countdown Prime.

**INFINITY COUNTDOWN PRIME #1** – Marvel Comics

So the Marvel Universe is kinda-sorta-not-really-but-is restarting again, and one can only assume that it will be kicked off (or re-re-re-rebooted) with Infinity Countdown Prime, done up by writer Gerry Duggan and, one of the very best artists out there today, Mike Deodato Jr. His crisp drawings make this story better than what it is. The problem with this issue, then — and it really isn’t Duggan’s fault — is the amount of set-up in so few pages. By the end of the issue, all I heard was Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some!!” (an amazing song but the point is…). I read this kind of comic before. While it starts off really strong with an “eye-popping” Logan/Loki reunion and finishes on a huge Hank Pym question mark, this Prime could have (and probably should have) been stretched out over 2 issues. 3/5 Infinity Bibles.

-Robert Bexar

If you have no conscientious objection to reading a comic book that fetishizes imperialistic horror porn (that we in this country happen to be the greatest purveyors of in the history of the real whirled), as personified through the actions of a twelve-year-old American girl (Hit-Girl, how equal-opportunity and feminist), who was trained to be a murderous vigilante by her now-deceased father (Big Daddy, basically a felon and a killer), who himself initially claimed to be a former NYPD cop (but wasn’t), who in actuality kidnapped his own daughter from her mother so that he could instill in her those vigilante killing ways, in hopes of simply making her life “more interesting,” as they worked side-by-side to supposedly take down the “bad guys” while circumventing everyone’s legally established Miranda Rights–regardless of what manner of crime their so-called victims are accused of– then Hit-Girl #1 is probably the comic book for you.

Isn’t life just better when you go around ruthlessly bludgeoning, maiming, torturing, and killing everyone??? Ain’t that the American way, after all??? I mean, that’s what we’re inherently about as a species, right??? Take what you want by any means necessary, and you know that I know that you know that I know ya need ta take it, and ya need ta take it, and ya NEED TO TAKE IT ALL!!! Stupor Heroes don’t really need to care about who suffers, or how, right??? This one’s gunna be Manifist Density on a Globalized Scale of Terrorsaurus… 5/5 Bibles.

-Jason “Preacher Creature” Bud

**DOCTOR STRANGE: DAMNATION #1** – Marvel

I’ll start this by admitting I generally don’t read Marvel much these days, but the artwork from Rod Reis quickly caught my eye. His imagery allows you to fully grasp the huge scale action we’ve come to know, especially from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There were some parts I went through a few times for the detailed visuals alone, but that’s where my positivity starts to fade. The story is lame, plain and simple. First off, Las Vegas probably isn’t the best place right now (#TooSoon, man) to have a ficitional threat or attack. In a nutshell, Doctor Strange casts a spell which brings the entire city back from the dead, which in turn allows a gigantic tower (which looks like something from the LotR trilogy) to shoot up from the ground called “Hotel Inferno”.

After some quick inquiries Strange learns Mephisto is using the casino as a means to take people’s souls–and that’s just a ludicrous premise. Mephisto comes off as a worse, gameshow host version of the Joker. Being fair, the target audience is probably meant for a younger crowd; end old punk rock nerd rant, the writing of Nick Spencer and Donny Cates just doesn’t do it for me. Although I get what they’re attempting with themes of greed and sin associated with Vegas, it’s flat-out corny. The humor and jokes were even worse, as if watered down for children. Back to the Manga’s for me. 2.5/5 Bibles.

-Anton Tilgren

**THE BRAVE and THE BOLD: BATMAN and WONDER WOMAN #1** – DC Comics

If you’re going to show up with a new volume of a title with as distinguished a legacy as, say, World’s Finest or what we’ve got right here, you had better bring the thunder. Liam Sharp absolutely makes that happen. Fresh off the present-day half of Greg Rucka’s excellent recent Wonder Woman Rebirth run, Sharp found himself unable to move on from Princess Diana of Themyscira. He got the idea to fold in classic Irish mythology to the DC Universe and also bring in Batman to help Wonder Woman solve a diplomatic-mission-turned-murder-mystery in a hidden faerie kingdom. Why not? Comics are the best. Sharp takes on scripting duties and makes a strong debut. His first words out of Diana’s mouth actually pay homage to one of Han Solo’s finest moments with an execution that serves to elevate her character and enhance her cool, setting the tone admirably for all that follows. Really, that opening five-page scene of Diana and Steve Trevor in bed is a strong contender for being as beautiful and fully realized as I’ve maybe ever seen the characters on-panel, channeling the lightning chemistry that Gadot and Pine harnessed to such memorable and profound effect last summer and even sneaking in a little bit of Lou Reed for good measure.

This first issue is all set-up. Our heroes don’t even cross paths yet. You could argue that Batman is a bit underdeveloped this time out, but he pretty much cedes his panel-time to bring in the Irish mythology, with which readers are admittedly quite a bit less familiar. I was initially bummed not to see Sharp’s former collaborator Laura Martin not make the jump with him onto this new title on colors, but Romulo Fajardo Jr. lends lush tones perfectly complementing and enhancing Sharp’s art, making these pages look more like illustrations than panel-layouts and bringing Charles Vess to mind. The biggest misfire of this issue is that DC didn’t add a dollar or two to the cover price and present it ad-free to give these beautiful pages enough room for the reader to drown in without getting distracted by in-house advertising. 4/5 Romantic Antarctic Getaways.

-Rob Bass

Okay, so you guys know how Captain America: Winter Soldier was a thriller that was a callback to conspiracy fiction from the 70s the likes of Three Days of the Condor? Did you like that chuckle worthy back-and-forth between Winter Soldier and Falcon in Civil War? Well, this book is definitely for you! Equal parts hard-boiled conspiracy story and unlikely buddy/duo banter, Hawkeye and Winter Soldier make an unlikely-bumbling pair as they stumble from one revelation to another. Read it if you want, but nothing is going to matter in a matter of months when Marvel renumbers and reboots their universe…yet again. Hang on true-believers for the ALL-NEW, DEFINITELY DIFFERENT, NOT-NOW, POINT-NOTHING, RENUMBERING REBOOT! 1/5 Bibles.

-Lauro Rojas