Comics Down Under for 12/10/2014

 

Itty bitty bunnies In Rainbow Pixie Candy Land: Cock Fight

Published by Action Lab: Danger Zone.

Written by Dean Rankine

Art by Dean Rankine

 

Dean Rankine is the most messed up mind in comics today. Period. Also one of the funniest.

I could make this review all about a reflection of society and how the media, celebrity idolism and lower moral standards are tearing it down but I think Dean would rather keep it light and remind us all, its comics and therefore FUN!

 

The third in the Itty Bitty Bunnies series, Dean has perfected the formula for his books and characters. Put them in a completely out of this world situation (A cock fight), fill in the back story with some even more out of this world notions (Freeing smurf slaves) and pepper the rest of the story with crazy pop culture references and jokes. The similarities between other notable characters, Ren & Stimpy, Bevis & Butthead, will always be mentioned but its so much more than that. The Bunnies have developed their own style of friendship and humor which when combined with some gross out moments makes it a must read book. Sadly, I’m guessing there are some people out there who don’t appreciate this type of humor. That’s fine, that’s what Archie books are for. For the rest of us, Itty Bitty Bunnies stands proud.

 

Dean has a background in Simpsons and Mad Magazine comics so his style is an over exaggeration of those but with many naughty bits thrown in. It’s weird to say this but it’s the attention to detail that adds levels to the art and story. The pieces of poop coming out when being injected in the butt, and even the sound effect fonts bring more humor to the story.  I particularly loved the page of the stuntman’s family. If I were to own a piece of original art from a modern book, this would be high on must list of must haves.

 

Although it’s a very loose plot, it’s the humor and pop culture references that make this book so adorable. Yes some bits are gross but as long as you can handle that, you will love this book. Don’t expect cute and fuzzy and it is most definitely not for kids but buy it, read, it, enjoy it, laugh at it than join the rest of us who wait for each new book to come out.

 

Itty bitty bunnies In Rainbow Pixie Candy Land: Cock Fight gets 4.5 Rabbit proof fences out of 5

 

 

 

Secret Six #1

Published by DC Comics.

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Ken Lashley

 

So the much hyped debut of Gail Simone’s Secret Six is here. I was as keen as everyone else I imagine to read this. After her public dumping from Batgirl, the public immediately came to her aid demanding she be put back on a book. DC’s answer was to put her back on the Secret Six which she had so much success with prior to the New 52.

 

I personally didn’t read much of Batgirl. I did however read the first issue after Simone was dumped. It was terrible. Really terrible. So I thought, well DC have obviously made a mistake here. Secret Six has to be good with her writing. It wasn’t until after I read this issue did I realize something about Simone’s Batgirl run, it wasn’t that good either. Not terrible like it is now, but just underwhelming. Same goes for this debut issue. It could be one of the most unoriginal ideas I’ve read in a while. Bunch of people locked in a room and being drip fed information with no way out and then they have to complete a task set to them or punishment occurs. Yep, so the movie Saw pretty much. Except being the Secret Six, its villains and not regular people.  It looks to be definitely heading in a different direction to previous incarnations of the book with the villain’s, so far, not having to work for a government agency. So that part is treading new ground but the setup for the next issue and the bonding of this team is wholly uninspiring. I’m sue the book will get critical acclaim from the public and other reviewers because of Gail Simone, but don’t let her fool you. Nothing new here so far.

 

The art is also off putting. DC has finally decided to not make all their books the same, but here they seem to be punishing Gail by pairing her with a slightly less talented artist than she is used too. The first half of the book seems scratchy and less polished than it changes to being really polished but inconsistent.

 

Being a team book, the Characters can sometimes overcome a bad story. Sadly not the case here. Consisting of Catman who I have no empathy for, Black Alice who I know little about and other miscellaneous characters, I can’t get a feel for any of them or the team as a whole. Whether any of them survive their current predicament, I don’t really care. I’m sure if you are a Gail Simone tragic, you will buy this book and sing its praises. I on the other hand, am out.

 

Secret Six #1 from DC Comics gets 2 sleeping cats out of 5

I have no idea why I picked this book up. The attractive cover? Maybe. The desire to read something a little different? More likely. One things for sure, I’m glad I chose to read this. Having not read the first two issues I was afraid of having no frame of reference (yeah I just quoted The Big Lebowski, boo ya!) but thanks to the terrific writing, it didn’t matter. Enough backstory was given that I still felt the lead characters plight and intrigued enough by their story.

 

Birth Right is a hard book to review. There are no spoilers to be wary of but it really is a case of not over explaining the plot here and taking away the enjoyment of actually reading the book. We start with a terrific action scene that introduces our main character, Mikey. A Viking looking character wielding magic. I know, awesome already. We are then given the twist to the story when is younger brother Brennan is introduced. We than learn of Mikey’s “mission”, to battle war criminals not from this Earth. We are also introduced to the parents as the book cuts away to a different time where we learn that Mikey had actually gone missing as a child, trained in the ways of Magic whilst his father is accused of his murder. A year passes in our time, many years in Mikey’s time. Now he is back to complete his mission. So we have two stories now, current day Viking Mage attempting to fight evil and the back story on how he got there. I’m totally down for both stories.

 

The art is a great blend of fantasy and real world. You immediately get the feeling of being on two different planes of existence which further serves the story. The action scene in the first few pages is detailed without being over loaded and confusing and the snow scene in the middle of the book is equally entertaining with some great character modeling.

If you are looking for a different, entertaining fantasy story, don’t go past this book. I have a feeling it may even be suited to those wishing to try comics out as a medium which is always a great thing.

 

Birth Right #3 gets 4 sword wielding wombats out of 5

This book couldn’t have come out at a more perfect time for me. Only two nights ago, Escape From New York was being shown on TV. Having nothing better to do, I sat down to watch a piece of cinematic history. Half way through I started to think about the world created by John Carpenter and wanted to see more. Apart from LA of course. Let’s never mention LA again….

So with this series being released from Boom, I got my wish. Let’s start by acknowledging that this book is far from being a literary masterpiece. But it doesn’t try to be. What it tries to be, and succeeds in, is being fun. So much fun. Picking up immediately where the film left off, Snake Plissken is being hunted by the US government. Of course, this is just another day in the life of Snake so we follow him as he escapes the military before joining up with some new age religious folk. Here is where the story starts to take direction and we get to explore more of Carpenters world. Snake and his new group are headed for Florida. Yep. Florida. Having seceded from the United States, Florida is now home to those wishing to escape and start a new life. The journey there isn’t without its troubles though and before Snake can enter, he must pass through The Crucible. Cue cheesy 80’s action music. The writing is fast paced but with enough detail given to ensure it’s easy to follow and enjoy. I’m guessing Carpenter didn’t have too much of a hand in the storyline which makes Christopher Sebela’s writing even more impressive. It doesn’t stray far from the original premise of the movie and takes you right back into the world.

The art is well done. No problems with too much or not enough likeness of the actors. It’s Snake all the way. The action is well done and the world building is serviceable to accomplish the feeling of being there. One or two panels may borderline being a little cartoony for me, especially when it’s trying to recreate an 80’s action film, but overall, well done.

It’s interesting to mention the success Boom is having with its other John Carpenter/ Kurt Russell franchise, Big Trouble In Little China. Boom seems to be onto something here, and I for one, couldn’t be happier.

Escape from New York #1 gets 4 out of 5 Red-Bellied Black Snake Plisskens

 

The Valiant # 1

Published by Valiant

Written by Jeff Lemire & Matt Kindt

Art by Paolo Rivera

 

Sometimes the marketing works and I totally get sucked in. In this case it was Valiant’s push to promote this crossover story that promised new readers could jump in and enjoy what they had to offer. I’m familiar with Valiant. Their characters and what has come before. Familiar, but not well versed. I missed the Valiant explosion when it first happened in the 90’s and I never really got on board since then. But with the promises of all new exciting stories and a great creative team, I thought I’d give it a go.

 

I’ll say it up front. Bit of a letdown. Not bad by any means, just not great. Being a Brand crossover, all characters from the Valiant universe get a run. Eternal Warrior, Bloodshot, Armstrong, X-O Manowar and I’m guessing a new Geomancer? Commencing with Eternal Warrior we get a quite good back story on him and what his purpose is. All good so far. It’s once we reach the present day and the other characters do the wheels get a little wobbly. It must be hard for the writers. First of there is two of them. Both superstar writers. I wonder if one did the majority or if it was an even share? Did they squabble over who took the lead? I hope one didn’t write and the other edit it, because whoever edited it didn’t do such a great job. Over all it lacks excitement. I get that they only had a few pages with each character to establish them for new readers but already it feels a bit tired. I can tell issue two will be a lot better with the characters actually coming together for the purpose of the story but I just don’t have any connection to them. Except maybe Eternal Warrior. I will probably go and check some of his stuff out.

 

The art is fantastic. A real highlight. Being so many different characters in different settings must have been fun for the art team. Not having to develop the same character over and over. Great action scenes and a very interesting design of the monster, The Immortal. The scenes with Armstrong are a great contrast to the action sequences and totally kept me involved despite the average story.

 

I may not have written much about the actual story. That’s because there isn’t much to tell. It’s all set up in this issue. A bit reminiscent of early Justice League issues when it’s fun to see characters team up but it takes a while for anything to actually happen. If you are already a reader of Valiant, you may have a totally different perspective but as a new reader, I’m not sucked in yet.

 

The Valiant #1 gets 2.5 Wombats hidden underground out of 5

 

 

 

Thanos VS Hulk #1

Published by Marvel

Written by Jim Starlin

Art by Jim Starlin

 

I like to think Jim Starlin has free reign at Marvel. That he just makes a phone call to Joe Q and says “Hey I’ve got a story” and Joe green lights it immediately. “Oh and Joe, I’m drawing it too!” So set before Thanos: The Infinity Revelation and when Bruce Banner is working for S.H.I.E.L.D, it’s kind of just a fun story about two of the biggest Marvel characters out there, Thanos and Hulk. And Pip The Troll. Actually, this book should actually be Called: Pip the Troll: Every other silly character gets a book, now it’s my turn.  Not that that’s a bad thing. In fact, it’s actually quite good. So Banner is working for S.H.I.E.L.D and given a few days’ vacation. Then, Pip the Troll kidnaps him. Yep, Really. Let the fun begin!

 

So Starlin is clearly having a lot of fun here. He has been given two major characters to clash against each other but instead this first issue focuses more on the supporting characters. Iron Man and Maria Hill first than Pip. Some A grade cosmic villain gets some play too in Annihlus and Blastaar. It’s their intention to control the Hulk (because that ALWAYS works out well.), and when Thano’s finds out their intent, he decides he can’t handle someone having as much power as him. When it’s all said and done, it’s really just Starlin playing around with the characters. He knows them well (having created half of them) and straddles the line of them being too serious and over the top silly. Don’t expect advances in Marvel continuity or major character development, although there is a lot of potential with Pip.  I really hope the further issues continue with the focus on the minor characters rather than the title characters but I’m sure that’s not the case. Its only four issues long so I’m down for it and I’m looking forward to the ride.

 

Art wise, its Jim Starlin so you know it’s great. Actually it’s really cool to see how Starlins style doesn’t age and he continues to lead the pack. I totally dig the use of his own name in the book and the spattering of cosmic characters that he himself created as background characters. Well played sir.

If you are a fan of the cosmic realm of Marvel, or like me, a fan of minor and under rated characters, this is well worth a try. And best of all, it’s fun. Can’t ask for much more than that.

 

Thanos VS Hulk #1 gets 3.5 AUSROC’s out of 5

 

Skye isn’t The Doctor’s daughter. Raina is. Because even raging villains get it wrong sometimes.

 

At least, that’s what gut instinct tells me. And since this is all conjecture and theory, you don’t have to consider this truly a spoiler. But if I’m right, quite by accident? Well, sorry about that.

So why do I think this twist is coming our way?

Because of some other fan theories out there. The ones that suggest Kyle MacLachlan’s Doctor is actually Dr. Hyde and Skye is Hyde’s biological daughter, Daisy Johnson.

Trouble is, where are the clues? I mean, other than digging into the Marvel Wiki? Where are the on-screen clues?

There seem to be few that suggest Skye’s (“THAT’S NOT HER NAME!”) real name is Daisy. But there’s one big one that suggests Raina’s name is Daisy. Yep, that’s the one.

She’s “The Girl and the Flower Dress.” And Garrett’s nickname for her? “Flowers.”

I mean, c’mon. It’s right there.

What does this mean for Skye? A couple of possibilities:

1. She’s not The Doctor’s daughter. SHIELD files were foraged or futzed with and the mystery continues. Or The Doctor is her adopted father and we learn of a new mystery: Who is Skye’s real father?

2. She’s not her mother’s daughter. We’re assuming The Doctor’s wife, for whom he seeks revenge, is Skye’s mother. But that doesn’t have to be. She could be the Doctor’s daughter and the mother’s adoptive daughter. This still allows for Raina to be Daisy and Skye on a quest to find her real mother.

3. She’s Raina’s sister. Skye. Raina. Sky. Rain. I mean, again, right in front of us. Maybe Skye and Raina are sisters. Biologically, sure, but by adoption is even more intriguing. This leaves many a mystery still wide open, while still letting the audience take a few steps forward.

4. She’s from the same village as Raina. Again, this provides an opening for Skye’s parents to remain a mystery while her identity becomes a little more clear.