Benjamin Percy Writes Two-Part DETECTIVE COMICS Story (DC Comics)

September 30, 2014October 18, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics, Covers Batman, Benjamin Percy, Detective Comics, Terminus, Upcoming

I am a huge fan of Benjamin Percy’s novel RED MOON – published in the UK by Hodder and North America by Grand Central. It’s the only book of his that I’ve read, but it will by no means be the last.

I also shared a few days ago information about THE DEAD LANDS, his next novel, which is one of my most anticipated novels. Today, though, I discovered that Percy has also written a two-part story for Detective Comics, one of DC Comics’ various Batman series! This is great news, in my opinion – some of my favourite comic story-arcs have been written by some of my favourite writers (Lauren Beukes’s run on Fairest, Gregg Hurwitz’s run on The Dark Knight, to name but two).

Percy has written the story “Terminus”, which will run over Detective Comics #35-36, to be published October 1st and 8th, respectively. Art for the issues is by John Paul Leon (The Massive, DMZ, American Vampire, Scalped), colours by Dave Stewart (Fray, Lex Luthor, Hellboy), letters by Jared K. Fletcher.

Here’s the synopsis for #35:

In the first chapter of a two-part tale by the guest team of writer Ben Percy and artist John Paul Leon, a civilian appearance at Gotham Airport turns into a horror show for Batman when a plane full of dead passengers arrives on the runway! What happened – and what can Bruce Wayne do about it?

There are also two variant covers, by Cliff Chiang (left) and Becky Cloonan:

If ever there was an excuse for me to catch up on this series, this was it. I’m very eager to read this. Finally, here’s the artwork that will grace the cover of #36:

Also on CR: Interview with Benjamin Percy

Mini-Review: BLACK SCIENCE, Vol.1 – “How To Fall” (Image)

September 29, 2014October 22, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics, Review Graphic Novel, Image Comics, Rick Remender, Volume 1

A fascinating, strange, and engaging science fiction series

Writer: Rick Remender | Artists: Matteo Scalera & Dean White

Grant McKay has done the impossible! Using the Pillar, he has punched a hole through the barriers between dimensions, allowing travel to all possible universes. But now Grant and his team are trapped in the folds of infinity, the Pillar sending them careening through a million universes of unimaginable adventure, sanity-flaying danger and no way home…

Collects: Black Science #1-6

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Black Science. It received a healthy amount of pre-publication buzz – not surprising, given that it’s written by Remender (Deadly Class, Low, Captain America, Uncanny Avengers). Things move pretty quickly in this book, as readers are thrown straight into the action, which never lets up. The series includes everything you might want from a multi-dimensional action/adventure: strange and dangerous situations, back-stabbing, a larger conspiracy, weird and wonderful fauna, interesting technology. It also has everything we have come to expect from Remender: excellent story-telling and well-rounded, diverse characters. The story builds quite excellently over the course of the book, and I felt myself sink in as it took hold completely.

I want to avoid going into too much detail, as things move very fast. Grant is an interesting character, and readers will become invested in his quest and fate, just as they will for the fates of his companions. (Spoiler: not everyone’s going to get out of this one alive…)

Scalera’s artwork is a little strange, quite angular, but by no means unattractive. He does a great job of giving Remender’s story life, merging the weird and scientific excellently. It’s an eye-catching book, certainly.

Overall, then, a highly recommended new series for every fan of science fiction, sci-fi comics, and interdimensional story-telling. This was a lot of fun. I really can’t wait for volume two!

Review: THE WAKE (Vertigo)

September 26, 2014October 22, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics, Review Aliens, Catastrophe, Epic, Graphic Novel, Horror, Matt Hollingsworth, Post-Apocalypse, Sci-Fi, Scott Snyder, Sean Murphy, The Wake, Vertigo

Writer: Scott Snyder | Artist: Sean Murphy | Colors: Matt Hollingsworth

When Marine Biologist Lee Archer is approached by the Department of Homeland Security for help with a new threat, she declines, but quickly realizes they won’t take no for an answer. Soon she is plunging to the depths of the Arctic Circle to a secret, underwater oilrig filled with roughnecks and scientists on the brink of an incredible discovery. But when things go horribly wrong, this scientific safe haven will turn into a house of horrors at the bottom of the ocean!

Collects: The Wake #1-10

This is a tricky one to review. This is the whole ten-issue run of the series, which means a lot happens. The multiple timelines, the expansive scope of the story… There’s a lot crammed into this book. It’s the most ambitious of Snyder’s stories that I’ve read, and while I found it excellent on a number of levels, the second half really let the book down. Continue reading →

Darwyn Cooke Covers Some DC Comics

September 9, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics Art, Darwyn Cooke, DC Comics, DC New 52, Upcoming

This December, 23 DC Comics will be available with Darwyn Cooke-created variant covers. Five of them in particular jumped out at me, so here they are…

Batgirl #37

Batman/Superman #37

Catwoman #37

Detective Comics #37

Superman #37

You can find the other covers here.

Batman, Vols. 4-5: Zero Year “Secret City” & “Dark City” (DC Comics)

August 27, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics, Review Batman, DC Comics, DC New 52, Graphic Novel

Writer: Scott Snyder | Art: Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, FCO Pascencia, Rafael Albuquerque

The New 52 origin of The Dark Knight delves into Bruce Wayne’s past with the Red Hood Gang and his run-ins with aspiring District Attorney Harvey Dent!

Before the Batcave and Robin, The Joker and the Batmobile, there was ZERO YEAR. The Riddler has plunged Gotham City into darkness. How will a young Dark Knight bring his beloved hometown from the brink of chaos and madness and back into the light?

Collects: Batman #21-24 (Vol.4); #25-27, 29-33 (Vol.5)

I’ve always had a soft-spot for origin stories, as I’m sure many fans do. In Zero Year, Snyder et al, have created a very good, more extensive and explanatory take on the origins of Gotham’s Dark Knight. Other stories and collections have touched up this period of Bruce’s development from spoiled rich kid to crime-fighting genius, but none have done it this well. If you haven’t been reading the New 52 Batman, then I’d strongly recommend you start – either here or at the beginning of Snyder’s run. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Volume 4 pretty much re-creates the background portion of Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, but from Batman’s perspective, and with a little more focus on the wider actions of the Red Hood gang. Their fight against the new vigilante are relentless and bloody (Bruce is really put through the ringer, here). The story is very well-told, too. There are echoes with Nolan’s Dark Knight movie trilogy, but with shades of Fight Club and Gone in Sixty Seconds added in the back-up stories focused on Bruce’s overseas training stops.

In Volume 5, things really get tricky for Batman and his new allies: the Riddler takes over the city (there is a strange leap forward in time, which wasn’t handled quite as smoothly or neatly as it could have been), and it is up to them to wrest control of the power grid and save the lives of their fellow Gothamites from the Riddler’s games. The story has an excellent flow to it, and there’s a nice, circular element to the narrative that takes us back to certain events in Volume 4. Snyder et al show us perhaps the most detailed account of the days leading up to the death of Bruce’s parents that I’ve ever seen. (Anyone know if it’s presented in greater detail anywhere else?) I really enjoyed this volume, made even better by the fact that it’s a pretty long book – not once did it feel like the story was dragging, and the creative team have done a wonderful job of making it visually and narratively engaging and attention-grabbing.

Across both books, and their back-ups, the artwork is fantastic – Capullo’s art is consistently brilliant, and the back-up artists (including Rafael Albuquerque, who has worked with Snyder on multiple other projects) offer welcome and refreshing alternatives. There really is nothing bad I can think of saying about the two books’ visuals – it’s all excellent. There were a couple of moments that were clearly meant to be homages to Frank Miller’s Batman work. First, there was this moment (thanks so the Mary Sue for putting together the image – I was reading the digital ARC, which has degraded artwork to prevent sharing, etc.)*:

Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (left) and the new image

And also this moment, which is another homage to a Dark Knight Returns cover (I put this one together):

Snyder’s work on the Batman series continues to impress and entertain, and also expand the Batman mythology brilliantly. I’m concerned about the growing number of Batman titles, though, because I don’t want the story from each to become so cross-pollinated that you can’t properly follow any of them without reading all of them. So, please, just don’t go the way of Marvel?

In all? Batman continues to be very highly recommended. If you’re a fan of the character, you need to be reading Snyder et al’s series.

Batman, Vol.4 – “Secret City” Contents

Batman, Vol.5 – “Dark City” Contents

* That Mary Sure piece also has one other homage example, this time to the first appearance of Batman – also something I spotted, but I thought the Miller homages were far more striking, so decided to share them.

Upcoming: Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman…

August 22, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics Art, Marvel, Spider-Man, Upcoming

… this time, without gratuitous, ridiculous butt-graphics on the cover. In Edge of Spider-Verse #2, an alternative Marvel universe’s Gwen Stacy is New York’s spider-bitten protector. I don’t have a huge amount of interest in what is becoming an ever-more-complex web of Spider-Man-related series,* but the artwork by Robbi Rodriguez caught my eye. First, here’s the cover…

And second, a pair of interior pages. I rather like the hoody-outfit Stacy wears, and Rodriguez’s overall aesthetic and style is really interesting and eye-catching (I have no idea if there’s a proper term for this approach, so I won’t attempt to make one up)…

Edge of Spider-Verse #2 is due to be published September 17th, 2014.

* Seriously, Marvel – not everything has to be cross-pollinated and crossed-over. It’s really damned annoying. Not to mention expensive. (OH! Of course! That’s why you do it…)

Another Cool CONSTANTINE Cover (DC New 52)

August 13, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics Art, Constantine, Cover Art, DC Comics, DC New 52

The New 52 Constantine series has been getting some really cool cover, lately. The piece that will grace the 17th issue – by Juan Ferreyra – is particularly cool, too, because it ties in with the centennial commemoration of World War I…

The issue – published on this week – is written by Ray Fawkes, with art by Edgar Salazar and Jay Leisten, and colours by Richard and Tanya Horie. Here’s the synopsis:

John Constantine is no stranger to death, but he’s never seen it on this scale – a spell gone terribly wrong has sent him back through time to World War I! Unfortunately, he’s not the only mage in the trenches… and where death has this much power, black magic couldn’t be more dangerous!

You can check out a preview of the issue here.

Artwork: CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #1 (Marvel)

July 28, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics Artwork, Captain America, Cover Art, Marvel

Hot on the heels of the identity of the new Captain America, there’s more on the way! Today, Marvel unveiled the cover for Captain America & The Mighty Avengers #1, a second series to feature Sam Wilson-as-Captain America. The series will be written by Al Ewing. The cover above and internal art for the book are by Luke Ross. The series will spin out of the upcoming Marvel Event (yup, another one), Avengers & X-Men: AXIS.

Sam Wilson has inherited his new patriotic moniker, but is he up to the task of leading a team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? The hero formerly known as Falcon has some new ideas for the rag-tag team of Mighty Avengers – but the events of AXIS may spell doom for the inexperienced leader. And not everyone on the team is happy with Sam’s new position as leader. Spider-Man is back, too – Amazing this time, NOT Superior. Luke Cage & Jessica Jones are still itching to give him some payback for trying to take their daughter to Child Services. And what is Luke Cage doing meeting with the head of the notorious Cortex corporation?

Here’s what Ewing had to say about the series, in an interview with Marvel.com:

“As for the mission statement – same as it’s ever been. Help those in need, however they need it. This is where all the work over the previous series pays off – the Gem theater is refurbished, the hotline is in place, the field team is on standby to take care of problems nobody else can handle. The Mighty Avengers are hitting the ground running.”

Upcoming: All New Captain America & Thor (Marvel)

July 17, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics Marvel, Upcoming

Marvel has been in the process of shaking things up, this week. Not only did they announce an all-new, female Thor on The View (see below), but they have now unveiled, yesterday on The Colbert Report, who is going to be the (all-)new Captain America!

And that lucky fellow who will now don the stars and stripes is none other than Sam Wilson, who formerly wore the mantel of the Falcon. In a nod to both his new role and his past super-heroics, his new get-up is pretty cool…

I quite like this, actually. I think this should offer something new to the character, and more so than Bucky’s turn as Captain America – although, I did really like that time in the Cap mythology. Here’s what Rick Remender, who will be writing the new series, had to say…

“Sam wants to lead by example. To help people see their own selfishness and to turn it around. To build better communities, to never forget the little guy… Sam follows his heart and his belief in what the American dream means and how it belongs to everyone.”

And here’s Executive Editor Tom Brevoort on the change-up…

“Steve’s spirit is as willing as ever, but his body is no longer up to the task of being Captain America. So he’ll employ his skills as the new Cap’s remote strategic advisor, running Cap’s missions from his headquarters in Avengers Mansion and providing Sam with technical support and field information from a distance. He’ll also tutor Sam in how to throw the shield, a skill that’s deceptively difficult for the new Cap to master. So Steve will continue to be a vital part of the series moving ahead.”

So, Steve Rogers is the new Nick Fury? Maybe just for new Sam-Cap? Sounds interesting, at any rate.

Given my tendency to wait for comic series to be collected or discounted, this means that two complete runs (or volumes) of Captain America have actually finished, that I haven’t read yet… Kind of: Rick Remender’s Marvel NOW series with Steve Rogers as Cap will end before the first issue of All New Captain America comes out in November 2014. Before that was Ed Brubaker’s second run on the series, which was (I think) part of the Golden Era or something. Marvel are re-juggling things far too frequently for me to keep up. It may look like a desperate plea for attention (certainly, in some instances it’s hard to see it as anything other than that), but it’s nice that they’re properly mixing things up. Just, you know, maybe let a series run for a full year before canning it?

Next up, the new Thor! A character I was not particularly familiar with pre-movie, as I always thought the idea of him was a little silly, compared to all of the other Avengers and Marvel characters. As a result, I have only read about him in the Avengers series, and more recently in Jason Aaron’s Marvel NOW series, Thor: God of Thunder (of which I’ve read the first collection, “The God Butcher”). I am, however, rather intrigued by this change up. Here’s the new Thor…

First up, that’s a great piece of art. I do love this artist’s work – I think it’s Esad Ribic (the press release didn’t say, but it’s similar in style to Ribic’s work on Thor: God of Thunder). Here’s what the press release had to say:

“No longer is the classic male hero able to hold the mighty hammer, Mjölnir, a brand new female hero will emerge will who will be worthy of the name THOR. Who is she? Where did she come from and what is her connection to Asgard and the Marvel Universe?”

Jason Aaron, who will write the new Thor series, was keen to emphasize that, “This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it’s unlike any Thor we’ve ever seen before.”

“The inscription on Thor’s hammer reads ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ Well it’s time to update that inscription,” said Marvel editor Wil Moss. Moss also addressed what was no doubt the immediate thought of many Marvel Comics readers, stating that “this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute – she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”

Still don’t know who Thor actually is, but I’m interested to see how this series develops. I’m sure Jason Aaron will do a great job, and not just write Valkyrie-with-more-armour-and-a-hammer.

The new Thor #1 will be published in October 2014.

Some Pieces of Wolverine Art… (Marvel)

July 11, 2014 Civilian Reader Comics Art, Cover Art, Marvel, Wolverine

Despite my belief that the mini-series will either be a disappointment, fail to deliver, or quickly retconned, Marvel has released some pretty cool artwork for Death of Wolverine. Today, for example, the following three images arrived in my inbox. They’re a selection of three work-in-progress versions of the same page: pencils, inks, and colours…

The artwork is by Steve McNiven (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), and Justin Ponsor (colours). The series is written by Charles Soule. Issue one of Death of Wolverine will be published on September 3rd, 2014 – it will also include 20 pages of bonus content, like these progression pages.

In addition to these three versions of the page, Marvel have also unveiled some Canadian variant covers. Why Canada? Well, Wolverine is Canadian. Here are the variant covers and the series synopsis…

Born in Alberta, Canada – James Howlett’s long and eventful life now comes to an end. He has been counted among the X-Men, the Avengers and Canada’s own Alpha Flight. He’s fought alongside heroes in numerous wars. He’s been the headmaster of a school for gifted youngsters. He has been the best there is at what he does for over a century. But the day has come where his best is not enough…

Left without his mutant healing factor, his enemies now close in for the kill – and the Wolverine faces his greatest battle alone. As he runs the gauntlet of his deadliest foes, be there when the once indestructible killing machine makes his final stand! What does a world without Wolverine look like?