Tag Eber Ferreira

A Task Force Z #1 Micro-Review – Zombies and Mr. Freeze

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

Task Force Z 1, cover, 2021, Eddy BarrowsTITLE: Task Force Z #1
AUTHOR: Matthew Rosenberg
ARTISTS: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira (Inker), Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer)
RELEASED: October 26, 2021

I’ll say this much: Red Hood leading a bunch of zombie supervillains throws a hell of a wrinkle into the traditional team dynamic. It’s clever, though I’m skeptical of how much longevity they can get out of the concept.

Oddly enough it’s Mr. Freeze, who is not one of the zombies, that steals the issue. Eddy Barrows draws a really cool action sequence between he and Hood. He also draws the hell out of the zombies. It’s a great looking issue overall.

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: X-Men #1 For the Heck of It, Plus DC Digitals

Rob Siebert 1 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
Calls it Soda. Not Pop.

The other day I said I wanted to feature the X-Men a little more. So this week I tossed in X-Men #1 from back in November. Along with DC’s digital-first stuff, of course.

TITLE: X-Men #1
AUTHOR: Jonathan Hickman
ARTISTS: Leinil Yu, Gerry Alanguilan (Inker), Sunny Gho (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer).
RELEASED: November 14, 2019

Jonathan Hickman intimidates me. He tends to go a little too far out of this world, and I get lost.

Thankfully, X-Men #1 is relatively straightforward. Mutants have established their own nation on the island of Krakoa. And of course, there’s a group of humans that don’t like mutants that are trying to destroy them.

Had do to a Marvel Wiki search on Cyclops to see how the hell he could be leading the team again. He’s a more interesting character than most casual fans give him credit for.

TITLE: The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #2
AUTHOR: Gail Simone
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Marcelo Maiolo (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Cover by Cully Hamner and Dave McCaig.
RELEASED: May 1, 2020

Clayton Henry’s style, let’s call it moderately cartoony, is a perfect fit for Flash. When Barry’s zipping around in the costume, Henry stretches his body just a bit for effect. But at the same time, all the scenes about his civilian life have the weight they need. He can exaggerate, but he doesn’t overdo it.

Once again Simone gives us a scene that’s unintentionally poignant given the times, as Flash saves a pair of kids whose mom is a nurse.

Cool time-travel shenanigans make this the highlight of DC’s digital releases this week. (Or at least the ones here.)

TITLE: Aquaman: Deep Dives #2
AUTHOR: Michael Grey
ARTISTS: Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan (Inker), Hi-Fi (Colors), Wes Abbott (Letters). Cover by Philip Tan and Elmer Santos.
RELEASED: April 30, 2020

Aquaman vs. Russian Mobsters? Not a pairing I expected, I’ll give you that. But it works.

The Sea Devils make an appearance in this issue. If you have no idea who they are, I was right there with you. Somehow they’re in one of the few corners of the DCU I haven’t explored yet.

Not an amazing issue from a story perspective. But mad respect to Aaron Lopresti, who’s low key one of my favorites, for drawing fish deformed by poison dumped into the sea. Legit creepy.

TITLE: Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace #2
AUTHORS: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti
ARTISTS: Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran (Inker), Hi-Fi (Colors), Travis Lanham (Letterer). Cover by Conner and Paul Mounts.
RELEASED: April 29, 2020

So here we have Diana in another team-up issue, this time with Lois Lane. I’m curious if this is just a coincidence, of if they wanted to throw another big name character in there to help support her. With the Gal Gadot movie under her belt, and another one coming out in the near future, I’m not sure Wondie needs it right now.

We get a really nice fight sequence between her and what basically amounts to a demonic abominable snowman who spouts textbook supervillain speak. (“Give up impudent morsel! Death awaits!”) Steve Orlando gets Wonder Woman and knows how to write her. But from a story perspective, I haven’t been overly impressed by these last two outings.

TITLE: Batman: Gotham Nights #2
AUTHOR: Michael Grey
ARTISTS: Ryan Benjamin, Richard Friend (Inker), Alex Sinclair (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letterer). Cover by Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Lucas.
RELEASED: April 28, 2020

Pretty standard Batman stuff here. It’s not bad, but it’s not overly remarkable either. Crime involving an old theater, theater lead traces back to…well, you can probably guess based on the cover.

My favorite line in this issue: “Who was it that said every villain is the hero of their own story? Probably a villain.”

TITLE: Superman: Man of Tomorrow #2
AUTHOR: Robert Venditti
ARTISTS: Paul Pelletier, Andrew Hennessy (Inker), Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona and Tomeu Morey.
RELEASED: April 27, 2020

Another great issue from Venditti, Pelletier, and the crew as our Man of Steel faces off against a new villain called the Gambler.

In addition to a great “shirt opening” sequence, this issue contains a panel reminiscent of a famous Alex Ross painting where Superman is sitting in a chair with his shoulders slumped a bit. Like he can feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. Only in this issue, he’s holding what looks like a beer bottle. It’s soda, of course. I love that.

He’s got a few great one-liners too. “Don’t bet on it, Gambler!”

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