REVIEW: Lazarus #2

Writer: Greg Rucka 
Artist: Michael Lark 
Colorist: Santi Arcas 
Review: Arthur Black
 

There is a rising jewel from Image, which was started in June. Lazarus is a tale set in the world after government and society have broken down. Power falls to a few families holding wealth and food. These families take care of themselves and those that work for them. Other people are left to fend for themselves and are referred to as waste. Each family has one member that is given genetic enhancements and technology to be the family’s protector and enforcer. This individual is known as a Lazarus. 
The first book introduced us to Forever Carlyle (awesome name) and her family. The book was a bit dry, as first books can be, but it laid the ground work for a good story. The Carlyle family was attacked by waste and the Morray family. The waste attacked a guest house, where Forever happened to be. After a brutal assault on her, Forever took out the intruders. The Morray attack was on a seed storage facility, and this was thwarted by the family’s soldiers. The attack revealed there is a traitor in the family or personnel, and Forever was to exact justice and set an example.  

Forever is presented as a character in conflict. She is supposed to be more like a robot following orders blindly, but her engineer is trying to combat Forever’s emotions. After the encounter at the guest house, she shows remorse for slaying the men, whom were just after food.  These kinds of conflicts are the best. I love reading stories where the internal struggles are as tough as the external ones. This really allows us to attach ourselves to the character as they develop. This was the case for me a long time ago reading Spawn and The Darkness, when they first started. 

In the second book, we are shown into the interior of the Carlyle estate and meet the family. Let’s just say that the Carlyle family is a bit dysfunctional. We are shown a tight web of lies and secrets that are ready to blow up in their faces. The siblings do not trust each other and even start to assault each other. Out of this boiling brew of deceit and mistrust, Forever rises with loyalty to her father and family.  

At the end of #2, we are left with a nice “what the . . .” The way this one is ended is very clever. It really leaves you wondering which direction they are going to go next. These endings (I call them “crossroad endings”) are greater than just climatic endings, because it leaves you wondering how the spin will land. This can be great for the writer or a death sentence for the book, like landing on bankrupt on The Wheel of Fortune. 

The books have a nice flow to the action, and the story is taking off. In book one, the action is drawn in a step-by-step progression. Michael Lark has a unique style to his drawing, and it is very descriptive on its own. Action scenes are great with very precise and uncluttered images. The dialog throughout the books is simple, but it is direct and effective.  

Lazarus has been a nice surprise in a new comic, and I hope Greg Rucka does a great job with this story. In my opinion, it has all of the makings of a great comic line with endless possibilities. On August 28, 2013, the third installment of Lazarus will be on shelves, and I cannot wait until it is out to find out which direction the story is heading.

Welcome to the 2012-2013 Hammy Awards. No, there is no actual, physical award. But the opinions of three very discerning and opinionated individuals who read everything should make you feel either very elated or very terrible if you're a creator who is about to read this year's Hammies. To those faithful individuals protecting and defending one of the last great American art forms left, we at The Hammond Comics Blog salute you. There is now an industry wide Renaissance happening and it is because of your hard work and dedication. There is no consensus at the Hammies. Every staff writer will be giving out individual awards, as per tradition. Get your LOLZ right here faithful readers, because we're drinking to the best and the brightest, and bashing all of the mediocrity and mindless drivel with the butts of sniper rifles that threatens to harm our beloved...comics. WRDJ

William R. Davis Jr.

Comic of the Year:

Saga You will never get a more fully-throated endorsement of a book than I will give you about Saga. It's almost perfect. A richly developed, beautiful read on every level (stands and claps).

Best Cover Art:
Yuko Shimizu The Unwritten Some of the golden age throwback covers of The Tinkerer are just plain magic. You could frame them and put them on your wall. They're that good; a huge bright spot in a once great comic that has come completely off the rails this year.


Best New Comic:
East of West Barrels full of interesting and the plot has barely yet to unfold. Great characters, art, what more can I say to you?

Most Overrated:
Scott Snyder/Brian Bendis Both are past their prime and are running point for the big two. These guys need to work on quality over quantity. I was super disappointed to see Snyder teamed up with Sean Murphy on The Wake. The man who wrote the awesomely awesome Punk Rock Jesus does not need a co-pilot. The Wake is a good read three issues in, but Snyder is not a finisher. It's his MO. Most Overrated does not do these guys justice. They both suck. Just sayin'.

Most Underrated:
God Hates Astronauts Ryan Browne is the most underrated creator in comics. Fact. Any GHA fan/worshiper knows this to be true. There is nothing like God Hates Astronauts on the shelves anywhere, and the art has a unique, fresh feel that never disappoints. "The Completely Complete" edition has just been picked up from Kickstarter and will be released by Image this fall. Buy this book.


Most Disappointing Comic:
The Walking Dead Seriously, what happened? We now have a character that looks like George Clinton, who speaks olde English, and walks around with a tiger that obeys commands. Now go back and re-read that sentence. Yes, this is now a plausible thing that happens in The Walking Dead. It's taken a full thirteen issues to set up one major event, and we're not even there yet. These guys are just cashing checks and pumping out merch at this point. Arcs like "Fear the Hunters" are long gone. This one almost snagged the Rob Liefield.

Most Likely to Be Burned First for Heat in the Event of a Post Apocalyptic Earth "This is the End" Scenario AKA The Rob Liefield:
Age of Ultron What a piece of shit. Multiple time traveling Wolverines. I may burn these comics in a garbage can dressed like a hobo because the idea of it sounds appealing to me for some reason.

Best Miniseries:
Mondo This is a book that reminds me of why I love print comics.I'm a rabid Ted McKeever fan. The feel of this book was just awesome, silver age sized and weird, but like a good weird, really really weird. Check out Miniature Jesus. It's shaping up to be even better. Both are a must read.

Worst Miniseries:
Age of Ultron ^

Writer of the Year:
Brian K. Vaughn Saga could be my favorite science fiction franchise ever. I know I've gone Saga heavy this year but it's that good.

Artist of the Year:
Chris Ware His art is hauntingly brilliant and detailed. Chris Ware is a master of his craft, and continues to be the most innovative artist in comics. Building Stories is another major cornerstone in Indie comics.

Cody "Madman" Miller

Comic of the year
Saga Gotta agree with Mr. Davis here. Hands down the best of the best.

Best cover art:
David Aja and Francesco Francavillia The popish covers these guys are throwing down on Hawkeye are fantastic . The cover on issue #1 is the sole reason I picked up the first issue.

Best new comic:
Superior Spider-Man Hey, what can I say, I have been reading Spidey books since I learned to read and this is the most exciting thing to happen to my beloved web head possibly ever.

Most overrated:
The Walking Dead This book was great, now it’s snowballing into mediocrity.

Most underrated:
Talon This is one of the only D.C. books that I could stomach longer than a few issues. Great writing and great art lost in the Bat verse.

Most disappointing:
Indestructible Hulk This one actually pisses me off. The Incredible Hulk was a fantastic run, then the reboot and Marvel feeds us this gamma powered bull shit. Horrible is an understatement.



Most Likely to Be Burned First for Heat in the Event of a Post Apocalyptic Earth "This is the End" Scenario AKA The Rob Liefield:
Age of Ultron

Best miniseries:
Punk Rock Jesus by Sean Murphy This run was edgy, brilliant, and relevant all at the same time.

Worst miniseries:
Age of Ultron I’d ask for my money back if I could.

Writer of the year:
Malachai Nicolle. At the ripe old age of eight, he brought us Axe Cop. Axe Cop: President of the World made me laugh to the point of pissing myself. I hope he continues in comics, especially with Axe Cop. I’m a lifetime member of this little guy’s fan club.

Artist of the year:
Fiona Staples The only thing better than reading Saga is looking at Fiona’s fancy drawings.

Will Dubbeld:

Comic of the Year:
Rachel Rising This book is phenomenal. Terry Moore's pencils are tight as ever and the plot is full of mystery, horror, and Moore's trademark human drama. Top notch work.

Best Cover Art:
Skottie Young I don't care, those baby Avengers/X-Men variant covers are great. It's like Muppet Babies, but with X-Men.
Adorable.

Best New Comic:
Hawkeye Matt Fraction nails it on this series, bringing back the dynamic that worked so well in his Iron Fist series, albeit without Ed Brubaker's assistance. Action, humor, and character wrapped in David Aja's superb pencils. Buy this book, bro.

Most Overrated:
Bendis/Snyder Good lord, these two...
For being lauded as they are, Brian Bendis and Scott Snyder really need to step up their collective game, especially with the free reign given them by their respective companies. Snyder seems to have solid stories, but manages to shit the bed in the last act. Every time.
And Bendis is probably spread too thin, as it seems he's writing half the Marvel catalogue right now. Even Powers, his creator owned series, has taken a turn for the worst, serving to showcase how many times a writer can shoehorn "fuck", "shit", or "cunt" into a comic.
Shame on both of you.

Most Underrated:
Fatale Cthulhu Noir? Absolutely. Elements of H. Rider Haggard's She? I can see it. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' tale of an ageless femme fatale on the run blends pulp, horror, and crime genres into one helluva comic.
And nobody I know actually reads it, besides myself.

Most Disappointing Comic:
Age of Ultron This was drek. Plain and simple. I love a good Avengers/Ultron throwdown, but Pym's robot appeared on the cover more than he did in the actual series. The writing was fractured, plotting horrid, and the few bright moments in the book were overshadowed by the garbage that composed the remainder. A prime example of how far Bendis' writing has slipped.

Most Likely to Be Burned First for heat in the Event of Post Apocalyptic Earth "This is the End" Scenario:
Before Watchmen Dear god, though it pains me to say, I'd rather suffer through Final Crisis, Liefeld's entire Youngblood series, and Secret Wars II than read this trash again. Having this enter the Watchmen canon disgraces the original work as opposed to adding meaningful elements to the mythos.

Best Miniseries:
Fashion Beast Although adapted from an unproduced Alan Moore movie script from the 1989s, Fashion Beast made a damn fine comic. It harkens back to a time when Moore produced top-notch books rife with dystopia and simmering anger at Thatcherism. It did the ol' heart good to see some classic Moore.

Worst Miniseries:
Age of Ultron/Before Watchmen I don't think I can express how horrid I find these books. When the Big Two hit on a good idea, they strike gold, but when they miss, they miss HARD.

Writer of the Year:
Brian K. Vaughn Okay, I didn't take the Saga kool-aid out of the gate like everyone else. I read the first issue and gave it a solid 'meh'. Only after every nerd on the planet touted the merits of BKVs Saga did I give it another shot.
And I was not disappointed. Is it the best comic ever written? Hell no, we all know that's Man-Thing, but Saga is pretty damn good and Vaughn's writing is top notch.
Kudos, three cheers, and huzzah to Mr. Vaughn.

REVIEW: Absolution Rubicon #2

Writer: Christos N. Gage
Artist: Daniel Gete
Review: William R. Davis Jr.


People tend to sift through their lives for definitive answers to unanswerable questions. Heroes like Superman resonate with readers so well because they are the embodiment of everything that humanity does right. As much as we would like to believe that we are not driven by greed, the allure of greatness; lustful thoughts and actions... the simple truth is that within us each of these inherent flaws exist. Read the news and nothing could be made more plain. The human condition is beyond comprehension after thousands of years of study. Psychologists, spiritualists, and philosophers have devoted their lives searching for the "solution". People tend to paint the troubled in our societal ranks with broad strokes, using words like "mental illness" or "Satan", condemning those that commit terrible acts, as if putting a label on them erases the darkness within ourselves, separating "us" from "them". But the biggest collective fear we have is knowing that there is no pill, no bullet, and no form of entertainment that can completely wash away the suppressed part of humanity that we do everything in our power to ignore. As much as I love books like Absolution Rubicon, it is a pretty formulaic "cop gone rogue" book that fails to address the complexities listed above. Rorschach had cigarettes put out on him by his prostitute mother. The Punisher had his family killed and was driven over the edge. And John Trask, this book's anti-hero, is a cop fed up with a flawed justice system whose ideological purity has been corrupted by the failings of humanity.

The heroes that become global icons are pillars of morality that represent truth, justice, and the American way (at least in America)... flawed but not too flawed. Books like Absolution Rubicon are appealing to me because they're not Superman. Absolution Rubicon is an expletive laced, ultra violent blood bath put on a comic book page. This book has a protagonist who draws a clear line between good and evil while simultaneously blurring that line, wrestling with the question of whether or not the ends justify the means. If you enjoyed The Boys, this book should fill the gap quite nicely.

John Trask is an "enhancile" fed up with the ineptness of the criminal justice system. Enhanciles (humans with superpowers) are rare, so he tends to be granted leniency at first when he becomes judge, jury, and executioner, taking justice into his own hands. This grace period ends though, and the hunter now instead becomes the hunted in this new series. Absolution Rubicon is a sequel to the six issue miniseries Absolution. Trades are available. Reading Absolution would be a good starting point, but it is not a necessary one. Any fan of Kick Ass, Crossed, or the above mentioned The Boys is going to love is book. What started long ago with The Punisher, is continuing with Absolution and Absolution Rubicon. Nothing much separates this title from anything that has been done in the past. Books like these can be comfort food to people who enjoy these themes, and Absolution Rubicon sated my palate in this way.

The art by Daniel Gete is great during the plethora of action packed scenes. Just as a visceral experience for any fan of gore, his style gets the job done here. While this is by no means a thought provoking book, I found it highly entertaining. My love for comics grew exponentially after being force fed classic literature by high handed, elitist professors who openly bashed the medium of sequential art because of books like Absolution Rubicon. Personally I like to be entertained and would rather discuss a thinly themed, highly entertaining book over a beer, than a canonical tome written by a dead white male over a glass of chardonnay, but that's just me. Absolution Rubicon is just good, entertaining comics. It's not WWE or monster trucks, but it's no Moby Dick either.

REVIEW: Superior Carnage #1

Writer: Kevin Shinick
Artist: Stephen Segouia
Colorist: Jay David Ramos
Review: Cody Miller


I am so far behind reading my funny books that it is absolutely anything but funny. Granted, there are a few that do not get placed on the altar of procrastination. Those few go straight to my brain. Dead Pool, Superior Spider-Man, Hawkeye and Thief of Thieves are among the few. Other than that, I don’t really give a damn.

Spider Island……

AvX……

Before Watchmen……

The Age of Ultron……

That’s the Sonovabitch that broke Batman’s back right there. I mean seriously Marvel get real! I’m out! (Except for the few afore mentioned titles, but don’t tell them that) and shame on you D.C. what in the hell are you two doing?
Seriously, what are these guys doing to the comics that I know and love? It’s like dying a slow death I could imagine. It’s exhausting wandering through the desert of Big 2 these days.

AoU ruined me. I just totally stopped caring about comics…….

Then came Superior Carnage to save the day (enter happy music). I knew I was going to love this book before I even made it past the cover. Which happens to be crafted by none other than Clayton Crain. Mr. Crain did the eye candy for last year's Carnage U.S.A. , which was a phenomenal miniseries. In both the art and writing departments. The dude can immortalize my man Cletus like no other. Sadly, Crain’s art stops at the cover on this one. Segouis doesn’t do a terrible job, but he just didn’t get me into the dark and psychotic place that all Carnage books should take you.

I mean come on, I am an American...our level of desensitization determines our social status.
Pretty much just like every Carnage run...ever, it starts off with the stereotypical escape from the super high tech inescapable fortified mega super-villain clink. Yawn! Actually, not really. It does get better and I’m not judging Kevin Shinick at all, however, I don’t think I could think of a better idea now that I think about it. Okay, Shinick, free pass on this one. There is no doubt that that this title just found a place in the read pile.

I don’t want to spoil this one for anyone who has not had a chance to take a look yet, because the last three pages are epic. Just let me drop this here…WizardvsCarnagevsKlaw. That’s right Wizard. Yes, that’s right Carnage. Hell to the yah I said Klaw!
I’m going to guess the fourth member of the dark side will be someone with some sort of fire super powers. Carnage has two real weaknesses.

1. sonics
2. high heat.
Just saying.

Madman

REVIEW: The Movement #3

Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Freddie Williams II
Review: William R. Davis Jr.


The flagship books of the New 52 have come up way short, prompting a backlash from fans that seems to never end no matter what the company does. Superman and Batman have taken a vicious beating at the hands of their new creative teams. All of the George Perez interviews that came out after his six issue run of Superman paint a picture of a company full of battling egos, a lack of a concrete editorial hierarchy, and way too many cooks in the kitchen, rewriting entire sections of Perez's Superman scripts. That pure Perez Superman that most fans were salivating for when the reboot was announced never even saw the light of day. Grant Morrison quickly turned Action Comics into one of the most confusing mainstream comic books of all time, rivaling Flashpoint in the convoluted plot department. Don't get me started on the Batman titles when they were first launched. I stopped collecting Detective Comics for the first time in my life after two months of the new Detective.

Admittedly there have been a lot of major disappointments in the DCU, but there have also been a lot of books that have strangely gone unnoticed and under appreciated. The Movement is one of these books. Topical, interesting, and full of richly developed characters, this title has great appeal for anyone who appreciated (I obsessed over) Simone's time on Batgirl.

Coral City is quickly becoming one of the most uniquely grounded settings in the DC lineup. The Movement, or Channel M, consists of the misfits from this broken urban metropolis battling a corrupt Government and championing the common man. While other critics have been despondent over a superhero title bringing the occupy movement into comics, sometimes due to their political leanings or the want of a purer escapism, I find this aspect of the book to be quite palatable to the plot and not out of place whatsoever. What worked for Alan Moore in V for Vendetta can work in the superhero universe as well in my opinion. The current arc is focused around locating the "Cornea Killer", but this seems to be a minor point in the story thus far. The Movement spends most of it's time battling the local police force and protecting the less fortunate inhabitants of Coral City.

The characters are what really makes this title pop. Mouse and Burden are two of my favorite superheroes (?) out right now. Both are weird, whimsical, and sometimes equally terrifying. Burden, a bi-polar superhero with an oppressive religious background that believes he is possessed by demons, never fails to entertain. And Mouse is the equivalent of a grimy pied piper on LSD. Right now those two characters alone are more interesting than anyone in the Suicide Squad. The rest of the team core: Virtue, Tremor (Simone Secret Six), Katharsis (Knightfall Batgirl), and Vengeance Moth are also not without their admirable qualities as well. Simone also adds a Gen 13 character, Rainmaker, into the plot as well. At this point it's hard to say how she will fit into the story, but I've got my money on her joining The Movement within the next three issues.

Instead of writing diatribe after diatribe on all of the comic forums, stop banging your head against the wall and pick up some of the solid books that are coming out of DC right now. The Movement, Wonder Woman, Flash, JLA, Nightwing, Aquaman, Animal Man, and All-Star Western all promise a fun read. Even the main titles are getting tweaked lately. After two issues the new Batman/Superman book seems solid. Superman and Action Comics both now seem to be heading the right direction as well. Fellow nerd and one of my Facebook friends MIguel recently compared the big two to "junk food", and I would tend to agree, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Image is definitely where I'm spending my majority of time and money, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start chucking the McNuggets out the car window either.

REVIEW: Suicide Squad #21

Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Patrick Zircher
Review: Will Dubbeld


I would like, if I may, to relate an anecdote I picked up in the miasma know as the Internet before the review. The originator of this story eludes me, so in the event he or she reads this article, mea culpa.

No infringement or disrespect intended, merely boosting your signal.
The timeframe for this particular story is shortly after Flashpoint, if memory serves:


"Last Thursday at Comic-Con International, during the first of four New 52 panels held by DC Comics to discuss their line-wide relaunch of superhero titles this September, a fan walked up to the microphone and posed a question to Co-Publisher Dan DiDio about the demographics of the New 52 creators:

'Why did you go from 12% in women [creators] to 1% on your creative teams?'

To which DiDio replied in a startlingly aggressive tone, 'What do those numbers mean to you? What do they mean to you? Who should we be hiring? Tell me right now. Who should we be hiring right now? Tell me.'

Who should you be hiring? How about the 11% of your creators that you at some point thought were good enough to work on your comics?"


I cannot vouch for the veracity of this statement, as I was not at CCI that particular Thursday.

Or ever.

During my tenure as the HCBs Twitternaut, however, I have heard tales, witnessed exchanges, and had brief discourse with industry folks about instances of rampant misogyny/nepotism within the business, sexual harassment at conventions, and other distasteful practices that we're all really too old and presumably too intelligent in which to engage.

The comix industry has always been perceived as a boys club, but that sorry outlook has been mythbusted by the Joyce Brabners, Wendy Pinis, Weezie Simonsons, and others too numerous to mention simply in the interest of upping my word count.

Big high fives to Gail Simone, for getting rehired by DC comics after getting fired via email by some peabrain. Despite her frequent oblique Twitter updates and her Cult of Gail followers...
I dunno, I guess I'm just more of a Kelly Sue DeConnick fan...
Point is, stop being dickbags, fellas.
The girls isn't going anywhere, and a lot of them are doing a better job at writing! Deal!


After that, forgive me if I segue into another Nu52 rant/diatribe.
Or don't.

I'll do it anyway.


I sincerely hope that comic book fans were as crestfallen after the wake of 1985s Crisis on Infinite Earths as many of us are in the swirling toiletbowl eddy of post-Flashpoint DC.

Everything from its hugely overcomplicated costume redesigns to the arbitrary erasure of years of (and I'll use this term lightly, DC) continuity, to GODDAMN WILDSTORM CHARACTERS IN MY DC, leads me to poo-poo the Nu52. Perhaps it's all a plot to further convolute Power Girl's backstory (Atlantean? Kryptonian? Arm candy for Mister Terrific?) even more.

Perhaps the random bits of conflicting history and retcons are intentional plays to toy with our weary fanboy hearts.

I'm not saying Dan Didio and Jim Lee are high-fiving over Geoff Johns (or 'DC Bendis') back, but Nu52 may have some editorial issues.

I just hope the irony of characters from The Authority existing in the DCU is not lost on Warren Ellis.


Perhaps I'm still really bitter over Before Watchmen (http://the-hammond-comics-blog.blogspot.com/2013/02/review-before-watchmen_22.html?m=0) but I tend to gravitate towards the less popular DC books. All Star Western, Whistling Skull, (the Shazam! backup story in Justice League was amazing, incidentally) dearly departed Sword of Sorcery, and the Suicide Squad.


See, I got around to it...


I adore the Suicide Squad, I always have. It's the Dirty Dozen, but starring super-villains.
If you don't think that's a great concept, you're a Red.
It's like Marvel's Thunderbolts comic, but 20+ years older.

And usually better.

A rotating roster of super-criminals whose ranks were bolstered with expendable morts who the writers could snuff at a moments notice without depleting the core group of characters was the formula, then and now.

And yes, I am mastering the art of Lovecraftian run-on sentences, thankyouverymuch.

The current incarnation of the Squad has a few familiar faces and some new blood, including:

Captain Boomerang, a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad Flash villain, but an amazing-flavored amazing member of the Suicide Squad. He throws trick boomerangs, guys.

And is from Australia. Because he throws boomerangs. Nevertheless, was always one of my favorite Squad members, because he was such a hapless fucker. "Busted by The Flash AGAIN?!!! *sigh* guess I'll do another tour with The Squad"
Or at least that's how I like to see it.

Harley Quinn, one of the worst fashion victims of the Nu52 redesigns. Poor Harley went from Carnivale Jester to leather lass, getting a slutty makeover because bewbs.

And really no other reason.

Harley has split ways with Mister J, presumably because she finds Face/Off Joker as stupid as the rest of us, and now serves in the Squad over a stint in Belle Reve prison. I nearly balked at her somewhat juvenile depiction in the book, but harkening back to her original appearances in Batman:TAS she was essentially a sadistic woman-child.

King Shark, this guy is amazeballs crazy and gets a free pass from my usual distaste for wonky DC characters. Probably because he's a giant shark-guy that eats people. Apparently he's the son of a Hawaiian shark god and, I dunno, a lady shark I guess. His Nu52 makeover changed him from a great white shark head guy to a hammerhead shark head guy, but whatever, he still eats folks.

The latest issues have introduced as members the Unknown Soldier from the latest GI Combat book, a sort of Jason Bourne/super soldier kind of chap, and some spawn of Commissioner Gordon, his craaaaaazy son from that totally kewl arc Scott Snyder wrote where he was craaaaaazy.
Not so crazy as to cut his own face off, however.

The last two noteworthy characters in the book are the closest thing to flagship characters the book has had, omnipresent in nearly every issue of every incarnation of the Suicide Squad.
Deadshot, never has a 1950s throwaway Batman villain struck it rich like Deadshot. Going from a betuxedoed mustache-twister in a top hat to a nihilistic gun-bunny with death wish, Deadshot has turned into a fan favorite over the years, spawning miniseries and a co-starring role in the lamented Secret Six comic from Auld52.

Finally, Amanda Waller, the Squad's liaison/handler/all around take no shit tough bitch. Mrs. Waller used to be a back talkin', portly African-American matron, but has since gone on a severe weight loss program and has undergone a 'hot treatment', apparently because the Nu52 has a 'no fatties' policy.

Also, she was apparently in Team 7, which was a top secret government project to PUT WILDSTORM IN MY DC!!!!!

This installment sees the Squad on lockdown in Belle Reve Prison and surprise! something goes awry. Harley escapes and goes after Amanda Waller, and releases Deadshot because they have some kinda weird 'thing' going on, the kind of thing only a murderous clown girl and a cold-blooded gunman could have goin' on.

The book is a painfully quick read, too quick, but not to the fault of the page count or the writer. It just flows in a way as to seem much shorter than it is. From Harley capturing Amanda Waller and psychoanalyzing her (because, writer Ales Kot did fans the service of remembering that she was a criminal psychiatrist before she was a wacky clown) to a pretty visceral knockdown dragout tussle between Deadshot and the Unknown Soldier, the characters play off one another very well and the art is sublime, with the colors subdued to the tone and mood of the book.

After Jim Gordon, Jr. strikes an unrevealed deal with Harley, the book returns to an earlier scene depicting a fight between the Squad and a monolithic creature composed of a pile of corpses. The issue ends with a nearly full page spread (pun not really intended) of Cheetah wielding Jesse Ventura's minigun from Predator in a rather phallic manner.
And you all heard that right, The Cheetah (usually fights Wonder Woman) straddling a minigun (big enough to be considered aircraft ordinance) and fighting a gigantic mound of undead.

And shit like that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I will continue to look forward Suicide Squad every month.

REVIEW: Ghosted #1

Writer: Joshua Williams
Artist: Goran Sudzuka
Review: William R. Davis Jr.


"Ghosted" in the comic world means doing most of the work, getting a little of the money, and none of the credit. Living in Asia, I don't get those awesome preview newspapers that always seem be plastered with pictures of Popeye from the comic shop anymore. But Image has all the street cred in the world right now, and I found myself hoping that the quality book parade over at Image would continue unabated. When I read that they picked up God Hates Astronauts at Image Expo, I knew that they were still honed in on promoting quality work. Now I find myself counting down the days until October, and I cannot wait for issue four to hit comic store shelves so I can see some new God Hates Astronauts. For those who haven't read GHA, remember that you heard it here first at The Hammond Comics Blog almost a year ago. Check out the archives for previous reviews and interviews with creator Ryan Browne.

My main motivation for picking up Ghosted was the aforementioned street cred over at Image, and a distasteful loathing of all the reboots and mega events going on over at the Big Two. The opening pages of this book were dark and brilliant, a nice little insight into prison life. I always thought that sitting around reading books all day would be the best part about prison, but it never entered my mind that people would tear out pages to roll joints or write notes leaving all of the stories incomplete. My distaste for prison life has grown immeasurably after reading the first few pages of Ghosted.

Unfortunately this book started spiraling out of control quick. Ghosted is a highly entertaining read, but quickly marched out every overused storytelling trope in the book. The main character is straight out of Oceans Eleven, a master thief whose last attempt at robbing a casino was botched resulting in the death of his crew. Then he is busted out of prison during a staged prison riot by a cookie cutter femme fatale character who promptly takes him to meet a collector of the occult. This billionaire collector of all things macabre wears a red silk smoking jacket and has a study filled with skulls, hands, and 'insert cliche here'. The only thing that is missing is the snifter of brandy. To complete his collection he needs an actual ghost, and Oceans Eleven has to procure one from a haunted house or get sent back to prison. But Oceans Eleven plays by his own rules, and insists on using "his guys" to catch this ghost. A team building montage introducing a rag tag group of rogues ensues, and then they head to the house to do some serious ghost busting.

The art for this book was pretty pedestrian throughout. The best adjective I can come up with is: Serviceable. It's not Dark Horse Star Wars comic book bad, but lacks originality and makes an already worn out theme even more cliche (see previous paragraph). All is not lost with Ghosted. The dialogue is snappy at points, and it needs to continue to be in order for this book to be successful. The first few pages and the last page were the best part. The middle was necessary from a story building standpoint, but left me wanting in almost every way. Purely as a base form of entertainment, issue one is pretty solid. If you're going into this book wanting Fantagraphics you are going to be extremely disappointed, but if you're willing to settle for a supernatural/grand heist romp, Ghosted could hit the sweet spot. Goran Sudzuka draws a very detailed and enticing last page, and although Ghosted did not blow me away I will continue reading. Issue one managed to do its job in that regard. This comic could be good, but there's an equal chance that you're going to see a film poster for Ghosted starring Jason Statham that goes straight to DVD in one to two years. Only time will tell.