Tag Earth X

Weekly Comic 100s: The Scumbag, MMPR Finale, 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

TITLE: The Scumbag #1
AUTHOR: Rick Remender
ARTISTS: Lewis Larosa, Moreno Dinisio (Colorist), Rus Wooton (Letterer)
RELEASED: October 21, 2020

This issue has, perhaps fittingly, the only blatant female pereneum shots I’ve ever seen. Clothed, obviously. But still.

I do love this premise, though. Essentially, giving Captain America’s super-serum to the worst person possible. And The Scumbag most certainly sells us on that point. There’s a gross-out quality to this book that doesn’t necessarily appeal to me. But there may be enough intrigue for me to give it another look…

TITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #55
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Moises Hidalgo, Igor Monti & Sabrina Del Grosso (Colorists), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Jamal Campbell.
RELEASED: October 21, 2020

As our gorgeous Jamal Campbell cover indicates, we get a new Green Ranger in this series finale. (Two new ones start next month.) It’s not exactly an exciting choice. But the character sells comic books.

I’m assuming this is the last we’ll see of these new Dark Rangers. That’s a shame, as I feel like this story could have gone another issue or two. I wasn’t sure about them initially. But they grew on me.

TITLE: Batman #101
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV
ARTISTS: Guillem March, Tomeu Morey (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: October 20, 2020

I’m not normally a big Guillem March fan. But in this issue he does a two-page rendering of Batman in the classic blue and gray costume that’s pretty awesome.

This issue tries to sell us on the idea that things are going to be very different for Batman and Gotham City going forward, with Bruce even getting a new base of operations. Of course, this kind of thing has been done before with varying degrees of success. Despite my mixed feelings on “Joker War,” I still have confidence in Tynion IV to deliver.

TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #110
AUTHORS: Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz (Story), Sophie Campbell (Script)
ARTISTS: Jodi Nishijima, Ronda Pattison (Colorist), Shawn Lee (Letterer)
RELEASED: October 21, 2020

A strictly okay issue. Transitional, if nothing else. The first half is a mildly amusing story about Raphael getting a motorcycle. Then we go into a brief tale about Leo and some of the Mutant Town kids breaking into Old Hob’s lair. The latter is the more intriguing of the two, as the angle with the kids has never been done in a TMNT story. But all in all, this one is pretty skippable.

TITLE: Marvels X #6
AUTHORS: Alex Ross (Story), Jim Krueger (Story & Script)
ARTISTS: Well-Bee, Cory Petit (Letterer). Cover by Ross.
RELEASED: October 21, 2020

This mini goes out on something of a whimper. But if you enjoyed Earth X, I suspect you’ll like it regardless.

The star of the book, besides Ross of course, is Well-Bee. His grounded, slightly gritty take on the Marvel Universe is fitting given we have a civilian as our point-of-view character. As the series expands, its fun to see him get to draw all the classic Marvel characters.

TITLE: Juggernaut #2
AUTHOR: Fabian Nicieza
ARTISTS: Ron Garney, Matt Milla (Colorist), Joe Sabino (Inker). Cover by Geoff Shaw & Milla.
RELEASED: October 21, 2020

Ron Garney draws a hell of a Hulk. Tremendous line work. My only complaint is we don’t really get to see the body of the fight between Juggernaut and Hulk. That’s what’s drawing readers in, yes? So at least a portion of your readership is going to come away disappointed…

Still, I’m liking the whole “Juggernaut teams with a YouTuber” premise. It’s enough to bring me back for at least one more issue.

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

Weekly Comic 100s: Kylo Ren, Gwen Stacy, Superman, 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

TITLE: Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #3 (of 4)
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Will Sliney, Guru-eFX (Colors), Travis Lanham (Letterer). Cover by Clayton Crain.
RELEASED: February 12, 2020

Once again, the most interesting part of this Kylo Ren origin story proves not to be Ben Solo’s fall to the dark side. Rather, it’s Luke attempt to revive the Jedi Order.

What we see doesn’t even have that much meat to it. It’s just Luke working with his students as children, and then a bunch of short scenes to give us a glimpse of what their lives were like as they grew up. But as we’ve been waiting to see this part of the story for so long, any morsel of information feels mountainous.

TITLE: Gwen Stacy #1 (of 5)
AUTHOR: Christos Gage
ARTISTS: Todd Nauck, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer). Cover by Adam Hughes.
RELEASED: February 12, 2020

The part of “spunky teen girl detective” will now be played by Gwen Stacy.

In a post-script message to fans, editor Nick Lowe tells readers the idea for this mini-series is to add to some of the classic Spidey stories with Gwen, and fill in some details along the way. But it works quite nicely on its own merits. Todd Nauck’s art has a modern feel, but with a retro twinge. It feels like a natural successor to those Spider-Man stories from the ’60s and ’70s.

Though frankly, that Adam Hughes cover alone is worth the price.

TITLE: Superman: Heroes #1
AUTHORS: Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Greg Rucka
ARTISTS: Kevin Maguire, Mike Perkins, Steve Lieber, Mike Norton, Scott Godlewski. Cover by Bryan Hitch.
COLORISTS: Paul Mounts, Gabe Eltaeb, Andy Troy, Nathan Fairbairn. Alex Sinclair (Cover).
LETTERERS: Troy Peteri, Clayton Cowles, Simon Bowland
RELEASED: February 12, 2020

This issue is supposed to be about all the superheroes and supporting characters reacting to the big Superman/Clark Kent revelation. But there’s an absolutely beautiful scene between Superman and someone we’ve never seen before: Clark Kent’s high school chemistry teacher.

Clark thanks him for helping to show him the value of hard work, and assures him that despite his powers, he never cheated. Despite being tempted to, of course. It casts this strict, Mr. Feeny type character as a hero in his own right. That’s exactly how (most) teachers should be seen.

TITLE: Superman #20
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, Alex Sinclair (Colorist), Jeremiah Skipper (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer)
RELEASED: February 12, 2020

I think I’ve made it pretty clear by now that my favorite thing about Bendis’ influence on the Superman books has been the emphasis on journalism. In this issue we spend a good amount of time in the newsroom of The Daily Star (The Daily Planet‘s competitor) as they process the whole Superman/Clark Kent reveal. We happen to get a very intriguing return as well.

This United Planets story is finally starting to get interesting. As a representative of Earth, Superman is about to take on something of a political role. Things are about to get complicated. Very complicated…

TITLE: Alienated #1 (of 6)
AUTHOR: Simon Spurrier
ARTISTS: Chris Wildgoose, Andre May (Colorist), Jim Campbell (Letterer). Variant cover by Bengal.
RELEASED: February 12, 2020

Slow. Down.

I like this idea a lot. Three outcast high schoolers whose minds become telepathically connected by an alien thing in the woods. Great! Lot of fun to be had there.

But Alienated #1 is so fast-paced that it’s hard to really sink your teeth into anything. I get the sense these characters have been developed and thought out. But perhaps Spurrier figured he only had six issues to work with, and wanted to cram a lot of stuff in early. Why else would he come out of the gate so fast?

TITLE: Marvels X #1
AUTHORS: Alex Ross, Jim Krueger
ARTISTS: Well-Bee. Cory Petit (Letterer). Cover by Ross.
RELEASED: February 12, 2020

I think David, our young protagonist, is the only character I’ve ever seen pray to a superhero. Outside of Homer Simpson, that is. (“Please save me, Superman!”) But that was obviously for comedic effect. David seems serious as a heart attack as he prays to Captain America in this issue. Weird, huh?

This series takes place in an interesting time frame. As David makes his way through New York City, it’s clear the age of heroes is over. But we obviously haven’t made it to the dystopian future of Earth X yet. We’re in that in-between period. That’s…intriguing.

TITLE: Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P.
AUTHORS: James Tynion IV, Peter Tomasi
ARTISTS: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Chris Burnham, Marco Takara, Diogenes Neves, David Lafuente, Sumit Kumar. Cover by Lee Weeks.
COLORISTS: Adriano Lucas, Rex Lokus, Nathan Fairbairn
LETTERERS: Travis Lanham, Tom Napolitano
RELEASED: February 12, 2020

Not much to see here. Yes, it’s cool to see the whole Batman “family” come together out of costume. But by and large, this one’s pretty missable. Unless you want to see Barbara Gordon act like a complete asshole. Then you’ll love it.

The issue even contorts the timeline in a weird way. At one point it’s said that the tenth anniversary of the Wayne murders came not long after Damian died in the pages of Batman Incorporated. Wait…what? Yes, I know Damian was created using comic book science. But that timeline still doesn’t add up.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.

Weekly Comic 100s: Marvels X, Batman #86, 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

Earth X was probably the one big Alex Ross project I knew the least about. So I got myself a nice little education heading into this week’s Marvels X. Low and behold it’s a trilogy. Now a tetralogy, with Marvels X.

Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do. But in the meantime…

TITLE: Marvels X #1
AUTHORS: Alex Ross (Story), Jim Krueger (Story and Script)
ARTISTS: Well-Bee, Cory Petit (Letterer). Cover by Ross.
RELEASED: January 8, 2020

Having not read Earth X, and with this being intended as a prequel, I’m forced to judge this issue simply at face value. And at face value, it’s absolutely fine.

Our main character, a teenager named David, is the one person on in this dystopian future who does not have super powers. Orphaned and alone, he sets out for New York City to find his idols: Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.

Seeing an artist like Well-Bee tackle a Ross/Krueger concept like this feels different, but intriguing. For now, my interest is piqued.

TITLE: Batman #86
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV
ARTISTS: Tony Daniel, Danny Miki (Inker), Tomeu Morey (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: January 8, 2019

For my money, Tynion has a better handle on Batman and his world than Scott Snyder or Tom King. So I’m anxious to see what he turns in.

As Bruce continues to mourn for Alfred, various assassins gather in Gotham. Meanwhile, the issue presents us with an intriguing idea: Over the years, Bruce has randomly sketched, essentially doodled, bits of Gotham’s skyline and architecture as he would have them look. In the wake of “City of Bane,” he has a chance to make those visions a reality. Also, something’s up with the Joker…

So far, so good.

TITLE: The Clock #1
AUTHOR: Matt Hawkins
ARTISTS: Colleen Doran, Bryan Valenza (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letterer)
RELEASED: January 8, 2020

This is not the most gracefully executed issue. Naturally, it needs to get a lot of exposition out of the way, and it falls into the clunky dialogue trap that comes with that. Also, early on some of the the speech balloons are hard to follow. They don’t contrast with the backgrounds (specifically the outdoor ones) enough, so you have a hard time following who is saying what.

But under all that, The Clock might just be a good story about a super cancer threatening to wipe our half the Earth’s population. But the jury’s still out.

TITLE: Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #2 (of 4)
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Will Sliney, Guru-eFX (Colors), Travis Lanham (Letterer). Cover by Clayton Crain
RELEASED: January 8, 2020

If you need to be sold on the idea of a book about Luke’s post-Return of the Jedi adventures, look no further than this issue. He faces the Knights of Ren, with both Lor San Tekka and a young Ben Solo at his side. Call it The Adventures of Luke Skywaker, as a take-off of one of Lucas’ early draft titles for Star Wars.

Ben’s interactions with Snoke have a slightly different flavor now that The Rise of Skywalker has come out. Snoke is also wearing his most flamboyant outfit yet. What’s up with the hat…?

TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #101
AUTHORS: Kevin Eastman (Consultant), Tom Waltz (Consultant), Sophie Campbell (Script)
ARTISTS: Campbell, Ronda Pattison (Colorist), Shawn Lee (Letterer).
RELEASED: January 8, 2020

Basically, this book is doing what the 2007 TMNT movie did. Only, you know, better. The Turtles are split up and doing their own thing. And we’ve got kind of an Arkham City spin, as they’ve walled off a portion of New York to throw all the mutants in.

I like this. It’s a big status quo shake-up the series has probably needed for awhile now. Encouragingly, the character that shines the most in this issue is Jennika, our new female Ninja Turtle. Lots of fresh intrigue as this series moves forward.

TITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 (of 5)
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Simone di Meo, Walter Baiamonte (Colorist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Dan Mora.
RELEASED: January 8, 2020

In this issue we find out why Tommy has joined the Foot Clan. He’s apparently trying to save another clan member we don’t know. This new person’s identity, and how he connects to Tommy, is now far more interesting than the interactions the Turtles are having with the other Rangers.

They pull a stunt with Shredder at the end that I can take or leave. Seeing him meet Rita is pretty cool, though.

God damn, these Dan Mora covers are amazing.

TITLE: Young Justice #12
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: John Timms, Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer)
RELEASED: January 8, 2020

At what point do we just make this the new Teen Titans ongoing? Young Justice feels the way that book should feel. At least that’s how I…feel?

This is a pretty dense issue with a lot of standing around and talking. But Superboy does punches a T-Rex. That always counts for something.

We now appear to be headed toward a big Wonder Comics team-up, i.e. Young Justice along with the Wonder Twins and the kids from Dial H For Hero. Thankfully, it looks like it’s all staying within Young Justice, as opposed to a crossover.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.