***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
I was recently crushed to hear Go Go Power Rangers is ending in April. As I’ve said before, there’ve been plenty of months that book has outperformed the regular Mighty Morphin Power Rangers title. For awhile there, we were talking months at a time…
Thankfully, Ryan Parrott is staying with the Rangers for the foreseeable future. He’s been churning out amazing work since Go Go began, and he’s become BOOM’s go-to guy for Power Rangers content. Not only has he got the main book, but he’s writing the team up with the Ninja Turtles as well.
We’ll tip our hat to Go Go Power Rangers by leading off with it this week.
TITLE: Go Go Power Rangers #28
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Eduardo Francisco, Raul Angulo (Colors), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Eleonora Carlini.
RELEASED: January 29, 2020
Here we have a spotlight issue for Rita, where we see what was happening to her while she was imprisoned in that “space dumpster” for 10,000 years. Hint: If you’re an avid comic book fan, and the term “Black Mercy” means anything to you…
What I don’t like about this issue is how it portrays the inside of this prison. In theory it’s a dumpster, a place you put garbage. But inside it’s fairly high tech, with an A.I. overseeing everything. I always pictured the innards to be very dark and cave-like. Maybe that’s just me.
TITLE: Star Wars #2
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Jesus Saiz, Arif Prianto (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by R.B. Silva.
RELEASED: January 29, 2020
Just when I get excited about getting to see Luke do things without a lightsaber, the damn thing becomes a mcguffin in “The Destiny Path.”
God damn it.
On the plus side, they’ve put a nice focus on Lando thus far. It’s seemingly always been assumed that he instantly became a full-time good guy after seeing what happened to Han in Empire. But leopards rarely change their spots so quickly. And of course, Leia and the others would be rightfully wary of him afterward. For now, I’m willing to take the good with the bad on this book.
TITLE: Frankenstein Undone #1 (of 5)
AUTHORS: Mike Mignola, Scott Allie
ARTISTS: Ben Stenbeck, Brennan Wagner (Colorist), Clem Robins (Letterer)
RELEASED: January 29, 2020
I’m not nearly as versed in “the world of Hellboy” as I want to be. But apparently Frankenstein is part of that world. Having just read the book for the first time, this caught my interest.
The monster we meet is despondent over his actions during the events of the book. He opts to seclude himself in the far north. But solitude is not what he’ll find among the snow.
While we get some intriguing and well written pathos from our titular monster, I’m inclined to catch up with Mignola’s earlier works before diving back into this one.
TITLE: Action Comics #1019
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson (Inker), Brad Anderson (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Variant cover by Gabrielle Dell’otto.
RELEASED: January 29, 2020
I don’t get it. Generally speaking, I’m a John Romita Jr. fan. I’ve enjoyed his work on Kick-Ass, and his stuff at Marvel with Spider-Man, the Avengers, Hulk, etc. But for some reason, Romita and Superman mix like oil and water.
I truly hate to say this, but his art absolutely ruins this issue. What’s supposed to be this epic fight between the Justice League and the Legion of Doom looks downright sloppy. Brad Anderson’s work is especially wasted on this mess. It’s officially time to invoke a restraining order between Romita and the Man of Steel.
TITLE: Suicide Squad #2
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer)
RELEASED: January 29, 2020
I’ll give this book credit: I’m not hatin’ these new characters. This issue has an interaction between the Fin and the Shark that I really enjoyed.
I’m sure there are several Squad stories in existence where our anti-heroes want to kill one another, yet have to proceed with a mission. But this is the first one I can remember where the rivalries between the various members are so intensely personal. Combine that with Tom Taylor’s evident flair for black ops stories, along with some pretty awesome art, and we’ve got an exciting book on our hands.
TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #102
AUTHORS: Kevin Eastman (Consultant), Tom Waltz (Consultant), Sophie Campbell (Script)
ARTISTS: Campbell, Ronda Pattison (Colorist), Shawn Lee (Letterer).
RELEASED: January 29, 2020
Even with everything going on with Raph and Jennika in New York, I came away from this issue thinking about the other three Turtles. Once again, they’re secluded up at in Northampton.
I’m not sure we’ve ever seen the Ninja Turtles more collectively grief-stricken, and as such depressed. Most notably Michelangelo. The faces Sophie Campbell draws for him are almost devoid of life. Rarely has such amazing penciling prompted such a sad response.
But given what’s happened, it makes sense. It’s so relatable, it’s heart-breaking. Not bad for a book about mutant turtles…
Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.