POBB January 17, 2018

Pick of the Brown Bag

January 17, 2018

by

Ray Tate

The Pick of the Brown Bag is back on track with reviews of All-New Wolverine, Aquaman, Batman, Green Lanterns, Jupiter Jet, Monsters Unleashed, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man, Red Sonja, Sheena, Spirits of Vengeance and Superman. As always should you lack the time for the full POBB experience, check out the tweets: #PickoftheBrownBag.

Jupiter Jet is Jacky Johnson.  She's the gal with the rocket pack illustrated in a cartoon style that's friendly for all ages.  The newspapers have a different idea of what Jacky might look like.

Pretty zaftig, no? Jacky is actually no more than sixteen.  She and her ten-year old brother Chuck, a child prodigy in engineering, use the rocket pack and other inventions to rob from the rich and pay off their debt to gangster Bruno Brimante.

At least that’s the idea.  Alien sources power the pack and the gun, and this naturally attracts super genius villains.

Jupiter Jet set in a depression era city draws upon a lot of cultural history.  Such as kids unsupervised working to make ends meet and citizens with hearts of gold reaching out to the needy.   At the same time the book pulls the serial hero through the wringer to create something modern, feminist and fun.

It would almost be bad manners to shut down this issue of Superman, and I’ve never been accused of lacking etiquette.  Still, readers will be pleased to know that Superman is genuinely sweet and imaginative.  The story begins with the Demolition Team biting off way, way more than they can chew.

The Demolition Team are Green Lantern foes, but I don’t know how they ever presented a threat.  I suppose if the Team’s old hardhats were yellow that may have granted them a moment of surprise.  But wouldn’t a Lantern just deliver a big green-fisted uppercut? 

Anyhow, the Demolition Team prove to be remarkably stupid, ineffectual and extremely entertaining for the reader and a group of terminally ill children watching from the window of a local Children’s Hospital.

Here then lies the real story.  Superman arranges with the doctors and parents to give the kids a day out.  This is the kind of thing you expect Superman to do.  Today though, the New 52 is a brighter, shinier version of the DCU.  The Justice League back up the Man of Steel.  Including Hal Jordan.

Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz currently hold the GL positions in the Justice League.  Jordan could be visiting, or this tale may take place in the past.  Doesn’t matter.  All that matters is that the League entertain the kids, and Superman instigates a well thought out scavenger hunt.

The way in which one of the tykes secures the last and most treasured item in the hunt provides the punchline in a humane look at our heroes and the resourcefulness of a group of kids that reflect some of those in the real world.

Green Lanterns Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz battle super racist Lisbeth Vok on the planet Ungara, former home of honored Green Lantern Abin Sur, who gets excellent exposure here.  

Tim Seeley knows his comic book history.  Who Cruz and Baz actually fight is the new Composite Superman, one of the World’s Finest team’s deadliest foes.  The villain was the alter-ego of a janitor that experiences power transference from special Legion of Super-Heroes statuettes.

This new version isn’t quite so versatile, potent or intelligent.  Cruz and Baz therefore are more than up to the task to defend all the inhabitants of Ungara from the lunatic.

Vok of course mirrors the Nazi resurgence.  Her hateful talk is filled with racial epithets, and she’s utterly blind to a simple fact.  Abin Sur picked an alien that could overcome great fear to replace him.  The Green Lantern Corps is a unity of aliens.  Furthermore, Vok, a two-toned Ungaran, wouldn’t be alive without an alien’s kindness.

Seeley dramatizes the conflict between Baz and Lisbeth as equally well as he draws upon a more humorous battle between she and Jessica Cruz.

Just for fun, Seeley pays tribute to Mobile Suit Gundum.  Lisbeth Vok’s adopted mother Regent Vok dishes out some parental responsibility.

Dan Abnett offers political intrigue in Aquaman.  The former Sea King attempts to persuade King Shark to throw his lot in with the Undercurrent, the resistance to Trump like throne-poser Rath.

Aquaman in turn learns of Mera’s fate.  Attempting to use magic to breach the Crown of Thorns that surrounds Atlantis, she becomes an air-breather.  Not to worry, the matriarchal cult the Widowhood has an out.

There’s not much action in this issue of Aquaman but the words count, the dialogue is heartfelt and Abnett wants to direct your attention to Dolphin for some reason.

Regardless, this whole situation could have easily been avoided had the Widowhood stopped being enigmatic and actually explained what they wanted and why they impeded Aquaman’s marriage to Mera.  Typical mysterious cult behavior.

Finally, a less than perfect Batman book from Tom King.  I exhausting my vocabulary and thesauruses for words of praise.  Oh, I can still recommend King's latest for Batman, Catwoman and/or Wonder Woman fans.  If you’re not and you’ve read Action Comics #761, then you can skip it.

In Action Comics appropriately titled “For a Few Thousand Years…” Superman and Wonder Woman battle monsters in another dimension where time flows faster.  The gist being Wonder Woman and Superman fight side by side for thousands of years in the realm.  Wonder Woman gets horny, and Superman just really can’t get down with Diana because he’s still in love with Lois Lane.  Unsurprisingly, Lois was never keen on the field trip in the first place precisely because she suspected Wonder Woman would make a play for her Man of Steel.   It’s not a great premise for a book.  It’s not even a good premise, taking Ragnarok using it as slash fiction that doesn’t even have the decency to pay off, but it happens to be first. 

For Joelle Jones fans, this is a must buy for her many renditions of Wonder Woman and a continued feel for the new world of the Dark Knight.  King however doesn’t really offer any improvements to the original situation.  He puts in a little more details such as alluding to the Norse boat made of human nails and adds a twist that’s so far completely meaningless.  Your fandom is better served in the beginning where Commissioner Gordon meets Wonder Woman, she uses the Bat Signal and Catwoman reacts to the new Batsuit.  Maybe the second issue will distinguish itself better from Action Comics.

I first bought Monsters Unleashed because I generally like Cullen Bunn’s writing, and I’ve always been fond of Elsa Bloodstone the pithy British badass monster slaying daughter of Ulysses Bloodstone.  Cullen Bunn left the book to be part of the upcoming return of the Phoenix saga.  Now, Elsa departs.

Still, I’m not sure I’m going to drop Monsters Unleashed because Justin Jordan’s writing as evidenced from this story is a lot of fun.

Elsa infiltrates a cult worshiping a Cthulhu like monster at the bottom of the sea.  This leads to much head bashing.

Because of Bachan’s artwork these Elsa Unleashed moments become visual feats of cartoony slapstick delight.  Jordan and Bachan in addition involve a James Bond like villain complete with a cat that gives Elsa no end of trouble.

When Kid Kaiju receives Elsa's mistaken call for help.  He naturally asks the creatures to join him.  Only Aegis--the Ben Grimm like robot--chooses to help, and his encounter with the giant octopus-thing is priceless.

There are obviously different techniques to writing.  The implementation of these techniques helps define the genre of the story.  For example, if the narrator of a story keeps certain things to himself, you probably will have an element of mystery.  If the narrator however reveals all, you can end up with a procedural, or in the case of Spirits of Vengeance a two pronged drama.

This treatment is tricky because if you’re revealing everything, you better hope that the dialogue is so amazing and the characters so enthralling that your reader will enjoy treading in unsurprising waters.  Personally, these types of tales tend to bore me.  Columbo being the exception.  Writer Victor Gischler lays all the cards on the table in Spirits of Vengeance but he’s got a secret weapon other than an ear for dialogue and interesting characters.  That weapon is comprised of David Baldeon and Andrew Mossa.  Baldeon and Mossa provide such visual strength that even this chapter that features mere hints of violence is engrossing.

Red Sonja has left the building, or has she?

We do not know, nor will we know if scholar and sorcerer from the past Professor Wallace sent duplicates to the land of Kulan Gath or the duplicates follow the originals.  What can be said is that Carlos Gomez knows no mercy when depicting Red Sonja’s bodacious form.  Damn.  Sonja and Wallace meet a clue to their whereabouts.

The next town proves dicey in discerning the locale.  It’s clearly from the past, but things don’t add up, like a dearth of mead, the common brew of Sonja’s history.

Opportunity literally comes bursting through the door, and Sonja’s eager for coin.  This comes with some difficulty.

Once, Sonja’s established her credentials, the trek begins in earnest.

Now, writers Amy Chu and Erik Burnham fall into familiar Red Sonja territory: sword fights with ancient foes, rescuing the helpless and hapless and of course finding herself in a wose situation than she left.

Sheena pads across similar territory as Red Sonja, but Marguerite Bennett’s and Christina Trujillo’s execution differs.  Sent on a snipe hunt to rescue an interloping Cadwell agent, Sheena runs into a well-meaning environmentalist named Chano.  Together they traverse the dangers of the Forbidden City only to come out with knowledge of death.  That should sign the warrant on Sheena’s adopted tribe, but Sheena presents a bigger problem to Ransom, Cadwell’s away team leader.

Moritat left a few issues ago.  Left in his place Maria Sanapo who does simply splendid work.  

Maria’s depiction of Sheena is sinewy and sexy, but what caught my attention more is the similarity between the monsters and the legendary Zuni fetish doll from Karen Black’s star vehicle Trilogy of Terror.

The toothy grin, crawling and mimicry gives the verdant ghouls an underlying creepiness that benefits the story.  Their presence plausibly forces everybody Cadwell's people, tribesmen, Sheena and Chano to work together in order to fight an enemy that just wants to kill every living thing on the planet.

Whack jobs Orphans of X intend to slay the X-Men, starting with the Wolverine Family who they see as the X-Men’s greatest asset.  So far, same old.  The survivors of victims caught in the crossfire of X-Men battles however comprise the Orphans of X, and their visionary lunacy make them different and dangerous.

To that end, the Orphans of X acquire special metal that Logan intended to use on his son Daken back when Daken was a troublesome anti-hero.  The Orphans reshape the sword into bullets and begin their fruitcake crusade.  The Orphans captured Daken, whom they knew would draw Laura into their web.  

Now, Laura and Daken put their lives in the hands of Murumasa who forged the sword Logan needed.  Murumasa now seeks to smith defenses for the surviving Wolverine Family.

The latest chapter in the war between the Orphans and Wolverine is a stunner.  The revelation of the armor is timed perfectly and the involvement of a Marvel staple villain group comes as a surprise. The graphics I included are not the most exciting in the book, but to reveal the contenders, the fights the reaction of fledgling gabby would be a crime.  

Peter Parker Spider-Man is just dripping with reveals.  Fortunately there’s a lot of tomfoolery before these secrets open sesame.  This I can comment upon.

So, for those that came in late.  Peter Parker has a sister, or maybe he doesn’t.  Teresa Parker was introduced in a Spider-man title some years ago.  

She was brainwashed into believing she was Peter Parker’s sister.  Why this was done is beyond me, but hey, it was done.  Peter Parker suggests that maybe brainwashing wasn’t actually needed, and Pete’s parents, former CIA agents murdered by the Red Skull, just may have kept Teresa’s existence quiet.  There’s a precedent for this action.  The fact that Richard and Mary Parker hunted down criminals like the Red Skull is certainly reason enough.

Teresa joined SHIELD and discovered something rotten in the organization.  What else is new? The SHIELD of comic books sucks when it comes to internal security.  How many times has SHIELD been infiltrated? It's the Swiss Cheese of secret employ.

A division of SHIELD is looking for ways to defeat supervillains and superheroes.  Teresa stole the information from their database and hid it in her DNA—via Star Trek: Enterprise—and went to her maybe brother for help. 

This prompted shitty SHIELD agent Mintz to declare Teresa, Peter Parker and Spider-Man public enemies number one.  

Black Panther entered the fray to apparently help, but Spider-Man this issue is not so sure about T’Challa’s good intentions, and Hawkeye got wind of the whole operation through SHIELD.  So, he cannot be trusted either.  Fortunately, Spidey knows exactly what to do with both of them.

The plot itself is interesting.  The interaction between Peter and Teresa emanates a very cool brother/sister vibe.  The intersection of the Marvel Universe and the light continuity add depth to the story, and the comedy is just brilliant.  Best Spider-Man book on the racks.