Tag Clem Robins

A Nemesis: Reloaded #2 Micro-Review – Dead Cops and Feces

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Nemesis Reloaded 2, cover, February 2023, Jorge JimenezTITLE: Nemesis: Reloaded #2
AUTHOR: Mark Millar
ARTISTS:  Jorge Jimenez, Giovanna Niro (Colorist), Clem Robins (Letterer)
RELEASED: February 15, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue contains dead cops, and a ring of human feces where an expensive necklace should be. So, yeah. There’s that…

An ad for the original Nemesis story famously asked: “What if Batman was the Joker?” It’s interesting to me how apt that little elevator pitch is. Because, like, the Joker, the things Nemesis does are horrible, and in some cases downright disgusting. But there’s also a dimension to him that’s morbidly humorous. A small part of us that we don’t want to acknowledge is laughing with him.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Nemesis: Reloaded #1 Micro-Review – Recapturing the Vibe

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Nemesis Reloaded 1, cover, January 2023, Jorge Jimenez, Giovanna NiroTITLE: Nemesis: Reloaded #1
AUTHOR: Mark Millar
ARTISTS: Jorge Jimenez, Giovanna Niro (Colorist), Clem Robins (Letterer)
RELEASED: January 11, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

In my 20 years of reading monthly comic books, Nemesis is one of the few characters I’ve come across that really makes me nervous. As in, what horrible and disturbing thing is this guy going to do next? It’s a tribute to Millar’s twisted genius that he keeps coming up with such truly awful things to do to other human beings. This character is like the personification of a Saw movie.

That’s all to say that this issue definitely recaptures the vibe of the first one. Somehow, I just can’t look away.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Prodigy: The Icarus Society #1 Micro-Review – Chimpanzee Hands?

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Prodigy The Icarus Society 1, cover, 2022, Matteo BuffagniTITLE: Prodigy: The Icarus Society #1
AUTHOR: Mark Millar
ARTISTS: Matteo Buffagni, Laura Martin (Colorist), Clem Robins (Letterer). Cover by Buffagni & David Curiel.

RELEASED: July 6, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Whenever I read a new Mark Millar book, I’m always worried he’s going to offend me. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad quality…

Prodigy doesn’t offend me. It actually doesn’t do much of anything for me. Our hero Edison Crane is (literally) the world’s smartest man, and he’s seemingly perfect in every way. Not exactly a great recipe for intrigue, and it doesn’t make me root for him at all.

The most interesting thing about Prodigy is actually right there on the cover. Our supervillain has given himself chimpanzee hands. Why? Because he’s a supervillain. Duh.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: Batman: The Detective #1

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Batman: The Detective #1 (of 6)
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Andy Kubert, Brad Anderson (Colorist), Clem Robins (Letterer)
RELEASED: April 13, 2021

I was tempted to close this one early. Not because this isn’t a talented creative team. It just isn’t my cup of tea. Not just because Batman is wearing the ridiculous jacket and goggles, but because it feels like Tom Taylor is doing his best Frank Miller impression. The dialogue and narration is very terse and blunt, and there’s no shortage of blood. Bruce Wayne even has a military-style short haircut for no apparent reason. Kubert’s work is fine, but the fact that he did DKIII makes this feel all the more Miller-ish.

I’ll pass, thanks.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: BRZRKR #1

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: BRZRKR #1
AUTHOR: Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt
ARTISTS: Ron Garney, Bill Crabtree (Colorist), Clem Robbins (Letterer). Cover by Rafael Grampa.
RELEASED: March 3, 2021

The much-hyped (thanks Keanu) BRZRKR #1 has plenty of blood and gore to go around. Like, pieces of brain on taped fists kinda gore.

It’s fitting that Ron Garney just came off Juggernaut at Marvel, as that’s basically what our lead character acts like in this book. He’s an invincible man running through all kinds of violence and destruction without consequence. As such, BRZRKR #1 is fairly low on substance. At least until we get toward the end of the issue.

This issue is pretty. But worth the hype? Not quite yet.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: Frankenstein Undone, Justice League, and More X-Men

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***”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

We’re going halfsies for this one. We’ve got two releases from this week, as well as two X-Men back issues. I’ve been diving further into Jonathan Hickman’s Dawn of X stuff. I must say, even if some of it has that typical X-Men level of convolutedness to it, I’m enjoying revisiting these characters and their world. And this is the first Hickman project I’ve really been able to immerse myself in. So it works two-fold.

TITLE: Frankenstein Undone #2
AUTHORS: Mike Mignola, Scott Allie
ARTISTS: Ben Stenbeck, Brennan Wagner (Colorist), Clem Robins (Letterer).
RELEASED: May 27, 2020

I’m hardly offended by Frankenstein Undone #2. But I can’t say I’m incredibly enthralled either. Hopefully readers who speak Hellboy will be a little more invested.

Still, the art is on point. I really like the look of Undone‘s Frankenstein. He’s got a lot more bolts and has a more deformed and monstrous look to him, as opposed to the conventional Universal movie-inspired look the monster tends to have. It definitely lends itself to more interesting action sequences, as we see here when Frank fights off a big snow wolf.

TITLE: Justice League #45
AUTHOR: Robert Venditti
ARTISTS: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira (Inker), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Tom Napolotano (Letterer). Cover by Francis Manapul.
RELEASED: May 26, 2020

I can’t say I know this for a fact, but so far this story feels like it was meant for a DC Giant. As we’ve discussed previously, those sold at retailers and meant for average joes. Thus, everything is drawn very simply and spoken plainly. I’m sure a few lines were inserted to indicate John Stewart is the leader. We’ve even got some paint-by-numbers mind-control fights between League members. Batman vs. Superman, Wonder Woman vs. Aquaman, etc.

That being said, none of this is meant as a dig. The issue, and thus far the story overall, is enjoyable for what it is.

TITLE: Marauders #1
AUTHOR: Gerry Duggan
ARTISTS: Matteo Lolli, Federico Blee (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer). Cover by Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson.
RELEASED: October 23, 2019

Other potential titles for Marauders: Put the Kitty Outside and What If the X-Men Were Superhero Pirates, and Places to Buy Booze for Wolverine.

No, it’s true. Kitty Pryde buys Wolverine a bunch booze in this issue.

I jest, but I really like this book a lot. It reminds me of the most recent volume of X-Men: Gold, which Kitty also happened to be the lead in. It’s got an easy concept with familiar characters. Gerry Duggan also gives us some fun character moments and dialogue. I had no idea about Marauders until recently. But I’m sticking with it going forward.

TITLE: Excalubur #1
AUTHOR: Tini Howard
ARTIST: Marcus To, Erick Arcinega (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer). Cover by Mahmud A. Asrar.
RELEASED: October 30, 2019

I’ve loved Marcus To’s work on Red Robin and Nightwing. So I was very excited to see his name here. He delivers accordingly.

But despite To’s presence, this book didn’t do much for me. Blasphemous as it may be to say, I tend to zone out when Marvel or DC go into Arthurian lore. And of course, that’s the centerpiece of Excalibur. A mysterious plant shows up in Avalon, and Morgain La Fey traces it back to Krakoa.

Apocalypse being on the team is intriguing. But it’s not enough to keep me hooked. Not now, at least.

(Special thanks to Super Fan Productions for an advance review copy of Frankenstein Undone #2.)

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: Star Wars, Frankenstein, Action Comics, and More!

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***”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…

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