TOM'S PREVIOUS REVIEWS--MAY 2, 1997 
TOM'S PREVIOUS REVIEWS--MAY 2, 1997
SUPER-SOLDIER, MAN OF WAR no. 1 ( * * * * 1/2 ) Dave Gibbons and Mark Waid
have produced a true classic here, very much in the tradition of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s
run on Captain America in TALES OF SUSPENSE in the 1960’s. This issue is set during
Amalgam Comics’ “Golden Age” and features some great cameos: The All-Star Winners
Squadron (the All-Star Squadron/the All-Winners Squad) Aqua-Mariner
(Aquaman/Sub-Mariner), the Whiz (the Flash/the Whizzer), American Belle (Liberty
Belle/Miss America), Brooklyn Barnes (Brooklyn of the Boy Commandos/Bucky Barnes),
and the Human Lantern (Green Lantern/the Human Torch). Of course, Super-Soldier is
the Amalgam-ated Superman and Captain America, and this World War II-era story finds
him in a classic plot involving a gigantic, cheesy Nazi weapon--the War Wheel--and Sgt.
Rock and his Howling Commandos . . . how’s that for fun?!? Obviously, Gibbons and
Waid are shooting for “homage” here, and they come through in style. From the primary
colors to the standard nine-panel page layouts to the classic logo, SUPER-SOLDIER,
MAN OF WAR is fast-paced and lots of fun, with more cliffhangers and plot twists than
an Indiana Jones movie; the last page is way, way cool. Sure, it’s not Neil Gaiman’s
SANDMAN or Art Spiegelman’s MAUS, but there’s no denying that SSMOW is pure,
schlocky, wonderful comic book art. ($1.95)
GENERATION HEX no. 1 ( * ) Let me begin by saying that Peter Milligan’s comic book
work, from ANIMAL MAN to SHADE to BATMAN, has yet to impress me, and this
endeavor that combines DC’s Jonah Hex and Marvel’s Generation X is, to borrow a
partial phrase from one of the book’s peripheral characters, "prime pig manure." The
story involves the anti-mutant hysteria that has so saturated the X-titles over the years,
but, since GENERATION HEX is set in the American West of the 1800’s, those with
mutant powers are colloquially referred to as “malforms,” and no place is more prejudiced
against malforms than Humanity, hometown of Jono Hex (Jonah Hex/Chamber). With its
overblown, way-too-obviously orchestrated symbolism, GENERATION HEX reads like a
very bad take on the work of Ann Nocenti, who, following Frank Miller’s stellar return to
DAREDEVIL with the “Born Again” storyline, turned that book into a monthly series of
symbol-heavy medieval morality plays. The artwork by Adam Pollina is passable, but
nothing to write home about, poor man’s Chris Bacchalo at best. Until DC and Marvel
decide to Amalgam-ate Merry, the Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks, and Night Nurse, this may be
the worst of the lot! ($1.95)
THE DARK CLAW ADVENTURES no. 1 ( * * * 1/2 ) Dark Claw, the combined
Batman and Wolverine, was the star of one of the most popular of last year’s Amalgam
titles so it seems natural for him to be back in this second wave, but the idea of basing this
book on Fox’s “Batman: The Animated Series” is a stroke of pure genius. Granted, most
of the fun in reading this issue comes from the animation-inspired artwork of Rick
Burchett, who has produced some beautiful stuff for both THE BATMAN AND ROBIN
and THE SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, though Ty Templeton’s tight script makes this
somewhat pedestrian Batman story (with a dash of Wolverine-ness) involving the
mysterious and lovely Lady Talia (Talia/Lady Deathstrike) a fairly gripping read. Still, as
is true with most Batman stories co-starring Robin and most Wolverine stories co-starring
Jubilee, the most inspired moments in this tale involve Dark Claw’s sidekick, the spirited
Sparrow (Robin/Jubilee). I can only take so much grim-and-gritty before I’m done in by it
so I really appreciate the spark a junior partner can bring to such comics noir fare. ($1.95)
SPIDER-BOY TEAM-UP no. 1 ( * * * * ) This title may actually feature the most
Amalgams as the Arach-Kid (Superboy/Spider-Man) travels to the future and meets up
with the Legion of Galactic Guardians of 2099 (Legion of Super-Heroes/Guardians of the
Galaxy). This roller-coaster ride of a story moves at a breakneck pace with a number of
twists and turns because writers Roger Stern and Karl Kesel manage to throw in
everything but the Amalgam kitchen sink as Spider-Boy meets not one, but three different
versions of the LGG: the original team, the Giffen-inspired “five-years-later” team, and,
finally, the continuity-reboot team. Then, there’s the Frightful Five, the
Phantom-Negative Zone (‘nuff said), Kang the Time Conqueror, Chronos-Tut the Time
Pharoah , and--why not?--Spider-Boy 2099! Even with all these ingredients, the
twenty-two page story entitled “Too Many Heroes, Too Little Time” never gets lost in the
details; it’s an entertaining time-travel romp with beautiful artwork by Jo Ladronn. I’m
not familiar with Ladronn’s previous work, but it’s incredibly detailed without being
cluttered, very reminiscent of Geof Darrow’s HARD BOILED and THE BIG GUY AND
RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT. I thought I’d miss Mike Wieringo’s take on Spider-Boy,
but Ladronn definitely eased the pain with some great-looking stuff. ($1.95)
IRON LANTERN no. 1 ( * * * * 1/2 ) Combining the histories of Green Lantern and
Iron Man, this title by Kurt Busiek and Paul Smith took me back in time. As I
read it, I felt as if I were reading a Marvel comic book from the late 1960’s with all its
continuing subplots and melodrama. While Iron Lantern, secretly Hal Stark, owner of
Stark Aircraft, is contending with the evil machinations of Madame Sapphire (Madame
Mask/Star Sapphire), secretly his ace test pilot, Pepper Ferris, and grimly reflecting upon
his origin story (as Marvel heroes of the sixties and seventies often did)--a wonderful
Amalgam-ation in and of itself--Happy Kalmaku pines away for Pepper, and Kyle O’Brien,
who once stood in for our hero as the Green Guardsman, searches for the Battery of
Power so he can become the one, true Iron Lantern. No kidding, folks: this is excellent,
excellent stuff, but what else could you expect from a writer as talented and as blessed
with a sense of comics history as Busiek? Smith’s artwork is as beautiful as the script he
was given to bring to visual life. His scenes involving Stark, Ferris, and the others at a
high society soiree are an homage to Don Heck’s classic work on Iron Man, while his Iron
Lantern visuals owe much to the legendary Gil Kane. If you’re a fan of the Silver Age of
Comics, you must own this book; it’s an absolute pleasure to read! ($1.95)
BAT-THING no. 1 ( * * 1/2) This Amalgam title also took me back in time, reminding
me of the DC comic books I used to buy in the early seventies . . . complete with the Mike
Friedrich/Denny O’Neil moral at the end of the story. Obviously, Bat-Thing combines the
histories of two of comics most misunderstood monster-heroes, Man-Bat and Man-Thing,
but writer Larry Hama hasn’t accomplished anything spectacular here. “Someone to
Watch over Me” could’ve featured any one of the following characters and would’ve
worked just as well: Man-Bat, Man-Thing, Swamp Thing, Werewolf by Night, or
Morbius. I’m not saying that it’s a bad story, but it’s about as pedestrian--as
workmanlike--as comic books get; the ending is in sight almost from page one as Hama
takes Bat-Thing through all the monster-hero paces: misunderstood by the authorities,
feared by the evil, feared by the good, secretly protecting someone he loves, etc., etc. The
artwork by Rodolfo Damaggio and Bill Sienkiewicz, however, is anything but pedestrian;
it’s gorgeous. I loved Damaggio’s work on Green Arrow, but, inked by Sienkiewicz, he’s
really impressive in this outing. The art is the saving grace of this book; pick it up if you
want to look at something really pretty. ($1.95)
I’ll continue my reviews of the second wave of Amalgam titles by breaking the bi-weekly
format next week. At this point, I want to jump back to the mainstream and look at
something pretty special.
LEAVE IT TO CHANCE nos. 1-4 (Image/Homage Comics) ( * * * * * ) There’s
absolutely no doubt about it: James Robinson and Paul Smith have a classic on their
hands with this ongoing series that will, apparently, be published as four-issue story arcs.
The first arc introduces readers to the adventurous young Chance Falconer, daughter of
the mystic protector of the city of Devil’s Echo; her sidekick, a friendly little dragon
named St. George; and a world where magic (Am I being politically incorrect by not
ending it with a “k”?) is a part of everyday life--gangsters want it, the police are wary of it,
and revenge is sought with it. In one of the most humorous scenes in the series thus far,
sewer workers are being troubled on the job by goblins who live beneath the streets, and
Mayor Callow--who seems anything but--has to deal with it. At any rate, LEAVE IT TO
CHANCE involves Chance’s growth as a heroine. A male Falconer has always been the
protector of Devil’s Echo, but, after the deaths of her mother and brother, Chance has
been sheltered by her father, who will not train his fourteen-year-old daughter to be a
mystic warrior. Of course, she gets into “the family business” anyway, and that’s where
this adventure involving a giant, rampaging, Kirby-inspired toad begins.
In a way, Chance Falconer is the flipside of Robinson’s Starman, young Jack Knight, who
only reluctantly accepted his father’s mantle as the protector of Opal City. And, of
course, she’s a girl. In a market where the few comic book leading ladies seem to survive
by being balloon-chested, bikini-and-armor-clad bad girls, Chance is a breath of fresh air.
First of all, she’s fully clothed; in fact, she wears a hat and a raincoat. Second,
she’s truly resourceful and gutsy; in other words, she does more than snarl with her back
arched and her chest thrust forward when danger rears its head. She thinks her way
through a fight. And, finally, she’s darn close to a real kid; she’s not one of these
hipspeak-spouting, thong-wearing airheads who pass for teenagers in so many of today’s
comics. Robinson seems to realize that there are still intelligent kids out there--in spite of
what the news media would have us believe--and he seems to have crafted Chance
Falconer’s personality with that in mind.
As for Smith’s artwork, it is, of course, beautiful. Don’t pass this up! If you’ve missed
these first four issues on the stands, they’ll soon be available as a trade paperback so you’ll
have another opportunity to be in on the ground floor of a true comic book classic.
($2.50)
THE FLASH no. 125 (DC) ( * * 1/2 ) After six years on this series, Mark Waid (now,
with Brian Augustyn) is still producing fairly strong stories involving Wally West, but this
issue is indicative of why their upcoming year-long hiatus from THE FLASH may be a
good thing. According to any number of comics-related publications, as well as this very
issue’s letter column, Waid and Augustyn, who plan to be Wally West’s scribes for many
years to come, want to recharge their creative batteries and return to the series with a
major story arc entitled “Chained Lightning,” beginning in issue no. 143. The problem I
see in THE FLASH no. 125 (featuring the villainy of the Neron-enhanced Major Disaster), as well as the last
several issues, is a story that is merely workmanlike; it’s nothing special, and whatever
spark it may have is virtually extinguished by the lackluster artwork of Paul Ryan, an artist
whose work I also find to be very workmanlike . . . at best. It’s not bad, but there’s no
style, no flair, and that’s what has happened to this series in general. It’s become a
run-of-the-mill comic book, and that’s not what readers expect from Mark Waid.
Perhaps the second part of this story will have more . . . something. I hope so. I really find
it hard to believe that THE FLASH has become something to endure, rather than to enjoy.
For Waid at the top of his game, check out KA-ZAR. This series just gets better and
better; the writing is sharp, and the artwork is stunning. I’m not worried, though; I have
faith that the Waid who brought me back to THE FLASH, the Waid who’s producing
KA-ZAR with Andy Kubert will be back in a little over a year. Then we’ll see the difference
between workmanlike and drop-dead brilliant. ($1.75)
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