The Shortbox 5/29/08

The Immortal Iron Fist #14
writers: Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker
artists: Tonci Zonjic, Clay Mann, Stefano Gaudiano, Kano and Matt Hollingsworth
Marvel Comics, released 4-30-08
Wow. That is how you relaunch a character, boys and girls.
Three years ago, I had no clue who Iron Fist was. Now, he's become one of my favorite characters and is very close to joining the elite company, comprised of Daredevil and Hellboy, of characters whose books I will probably never stop buying. And to have done this in only 14 issues? Once again, I am amazed by Ed Brubaker and wholeheartedly impressed by Matt Fraction. Combining them just isn't fair to my wallet.
For those not reading this book, in this most recent story arc kung-fu billionaire Danny Rand initially was immersed in a martial arts tournament of six of the craziest kung-fu masters ever conceived battling for each of their representative "Capital City of Heaven" to have access to Earth for a day every 10 years, as opposed to every 50. Added to that was a civil uprising in K'un-Lun (Iron Fist's city), the personal vendettas of the Steel Serpent, and an litany of HYDRA agents holding Danny's business manager, Jeryn, as well as friends Colleen Wing, Misty Knight and Luke Cage hostage. And that's the short version.
Sounds fucking awesome, right?
Well, it is.
It feels too soon for Fraction and Brubaker to let go of Iron Fist, but they are leaving it in novelist and comic newcomer Duane Swierczynski's capable hands (his new Cable series is quite extraordinary thus far -- I will review it eventually). And judging from where this issue ends, there is a limitless array of possibilities for Swierczynski to take Danny Rand and pals in. Can't wait for issue 15.
10 out of 10

The Order #10
writer: Matt Fraction
artists: Javier Saltares with Barry Kitson
Marvel Comics, released 4-30-08
I'll continue the praise of Matt Fraction in the following entry with the final issue of The Order. This book got off to a bit of a slow start, and really hadn't gripped me completely until three issues or so ago. It's a shame because Marvel had announced that #10 would conclude the series as soon as I got hooked into it hardcore.
The mostly new group of characters (Pepper Potts and Tony Stark being the only two with significant roles here that were around beforehand) never had actual powers, but would be given them for a year's time, then be replaced by other new characters, all while protecting California as part of the 50-State Initiative. It was an intriguing premise and the new characters had some great back-stories. Toss them up against Zeke Stane, Obadiah's son, as the villain, and you had a fantastic mess of problems for the team to deal with. But Zeke wasn't known to be behind everything until recently, and the book was taking it's time a bit too much before that revelation.
Sadly, The Order found it's stride too late to save it, but fortunately what was begun here will be continued by Fraction in his new Invincible Iron Man title, while the new characters created in the this book will be folded into Dan Slott and Christos Gage's Avengers: The Initiative book. If you like what happens in those books in the months to come, it might be worth your time to check out the trades from this one.
8 out of 10

Hellboy: Free Comic Book Day (2008)
"The Mole"
writer: Mike Mignola
artist: Duncan Fegredo
"Out of Reach"
writers: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
artist: Guy Davis
"Bishop Olek's Devil"
writers: Mike Mignola and Joshua Dysart
artist: Paul Azaceta
Dark Horse Comics, released 5-3-08
This is probably the best thing I've ever picked up on Free Comic Book Day and certainly my favorite read from this year. It is comprised of three canonical stories from the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. universe, all tying into three recent storylines. I've assumed that these were moments that just couldn't fit in the normal books for whatever reason, and if not for this comic, they would have been left on the cutting room floor. I love Free Comic Book Day.
The first story taps into one of Hellboy's own nightmares. It is pure magic. I don't know what else to say about this short tale. If you are a Hellboy fan, you'll love this. The only possible gripe is that Mignola didn't do the art, but I don't know that we'll ever get art from him any longer.
The second story is an epilogue to a B.P.R.D. arc that ended recently. However, what's really exciting in this one is that it's a bit of a prequel to the upcoming storyline and we see that Johan will be very much involved in it. Love Johan. Can't wait.
The final story also is a companion to a B.P.R.D. story, the recent 1946 arc. It's not a direct continuation, but rather another story featuring Prof. Bruttenholm during his youth. I'm so happy that Mignola is finally fleshing out Bruttenholm in the comics. He's been such a marvelous character in the first movie and the live-action films. I've always been disappointed of his death in the early pages of the Seed of Destruction, so to see him in action is superb.
If you're not a Hellboy nut like me, then you may not care for this book at all -- all it's stories on the vague side and seemingly very simple. But for those fellow disciples, a free Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comics is one of the coolest things in the world.
It's FREE Hellboy!!!

The Overman #5 (of 5)
writer: Scott Reed
artist: Shane White
Image Comics, released 4-2-08
So, I promised a few months back that I would check back in with this sci-fi mini series when all was said and done. I'm very sorry that I did that. This was a horrible, nonsensical story. I really can't express my distaste for this book enough. Every once in a while you take a flyer on an indie book, and results such as these really make you think twice before wasting your money again. That's a shame because there are so many overlooked books from small publishers.
Anyway, don't buy this one. Give something else a try.
2 out of 10

The Shortbox 8/9/07

The Astounding Wolf-Man #2
writer: Robert Kirkman
artist: Jason Howard
Image Comics, released 7-5-07
The first issue was one of the features of this year's Free Comic Book Day, so hopefully you already have had a taste of this book. I felt that one went a bit by the numbers, essentially not giving us anything groundbreaking for a werewolf tale. But some aspects of the story, such as Gary's wife finding out that he's been bitten, were addressed right off the bat. This allows Kirkman to avoid dragging out cliche storylines. So I added the second installment to reward a promising new title.
In issue two, the Wolf-Man makes his first contact with other superheroes after finishing up his training with vampire Zechariah. There are some good action sequences from Howard, who implores a wonderful style in this comic book. You know it's a comic book when you open the pages and with Kirkman's sensibilities, that's a perfect combo. That said, this was a rather ho-hum issue overall until the final few pages. I won't spoil it for you here, but I'm sure issue 3 will certainly be worth buying.
7 out of 10

The Order #1
writer: Matt Fraction
artists: Barry Kitson, Mark Morales & Dean White
Marvel Entertainment, released 7-18-07
I'm a big fan of Matt Fraction. I love pretty much everything I've read by him. However, after reading his new book set in the aftermath of Civil War, I realize I may have been expecting a bit too much. The Order is the California team of the 50-State Initiative, and it will have a constantly rotating cast of heroes, no one lasting more than a year. Other than Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, these are completely new characters.
First off, the tone of this book is on the serious side, more so than I was expecting from the hilarious Fraction. Also, I was fairly certain at least one member of the team we met would be gone in one way or another before the close of the first issue, given the nature of the book. Plus, there's a lot of talking in the issue, and while there is a fair amount of fighting too, they didn't seem to balance well. Adding all of these issues together, and I was pretty underwhelmed. The art was great, but not enough to overcome an un-engaging story.
Is there still hope for the book? Sure there is. I probably knew too much about issue one from podcasts and Newsarama articles. But I know a lot about many new books these days and am often pleased with a new book. I like Fraction, so this one will still get a shot.
5 out of 10

Last Blood #2
writer: Bobby Crosby
artist: Owen Gieni
Blatant Comics, released July 2007
Last Blood is another book that put out its first issue on Free Comic Book Day 2007. That issue was a complete surprise because I had never heard of the creators or the publisher beforehand. It's the best example as to why FCBD is a great idea; I would have completely ignored the solicitation page it was on had I not read that first issue.
The story began in a very familiar fashion. A small town decimated by zombies with only a small number holed up together with supplies and shotguns. I went through the motions with it until I reached the halfway point, at which time a couple of vampires take out the zombies, thus protecting the humans. It turns out that the zombies have almost completely taken over the world. The vampires need the blood of the few humans who are left in order to survive, otherwise they will become zombies themselves. But they don't want to kill the humans, just take a blood donation here and there to sustain themselves. I've never come into contact with a vampire/zombie premise like this before and was compelled to order the second issue.
This one is more of the same horror goodness. While it by no means contains the greatest dialogue I've ever heard, it is good enough to propel the story farther, which is all I want. Even things I feel like I should see coming, I'm not, which is the mark of a good storyteller. I hope Crosby has big plans for this book and I hope some of you out there order a copy soon, because I doubt Blatant Comics is selling a ton of books. It may go the way of the dodo.
9 out of 10

Star Wars: Legacy #14
writer: John Ostrander
artist: Jan Duursema
Dark Horse Comics, released 7-11-07
I haven't checked back in on this Star Wars title since it began last summer and I'm not sure why. It's fantastic. Issue 14 marks the start of a new storyline, a great jumping on point for all of you uninitiated. Cade Skywalker has now stopped hiding his jedi heritage, but is still lightyears away from embracing it. He's basically a rougher, angrier version of Han Solo with the skills of a Jedi knight. While he is the focus of the book, the real treats come from the expanded universe: the broken Jedi order, the bastardized legion of Sith, the Galactic Empire (somewhat separate from the Sith in this story), and the Galactic Alliance, not to mention the plethora of alien races and rogue groups already introduced (though I'm probably missing a few factions of the intricate universe that has been set up by Ostrander).
This issues brings us Cade's first solo missing as he attempts to rescue his former teacher, who has been captured on Coruscant. In the process, we get more interesting tidbits revealed about Darth Krayt (the big bad of Legacy at the moment) and members of an Empire's air fighting squad (aspects similar to the new Battlestar Galactica, particularly Starbuck). It's all fascinating to me because I never thought the Star Wars movies went deep enough into the seedy underbellies that exist throughout its universe. This book takes us there. Add it to your pull list; it's far from just another licensed property book.
8 out of 10