comic reviews 6/24/11

Here In Bongo Congo

Good King Leonardo has declared that this week we review two D.C. Comics and one Marvel Comic that look like interesting summertime reading, so let's see how each of these issues fare:

Flashpoint: Deadman & The Flying Graysons #1

Publisher: D.C. Comics

J.T. Krul: Writer

Mikel Janin: Art

Ulises Arreola: Colors

Among the many titles currently being published under the umbrella of DC's Flashpoint mega-event is issue #1 of a three-part mini-series entitled "Flashpoint: Deadman & The Flying Graysons." The issue is scripted by J.T. Krul with art by Mikel Janin and colors by Ulises Arreola. I reviewed not long ago issue #1 of the main five-issue Flashpoint mini-series. For the uninitiated, the premise of Flashpoint is that an enemy of Barry Allen/The Flash has managed to alter the reality of the DC superhero universe. The most significant change features Wonder Woman and Aquaman leading their respective armies in war against humanity, resulting in millions of lives lost in Western Europe. Many creative changes occur regarding the idntities and histories of numerous DC heroes.

Issue #1 of this three-part series pairs alternate realities for Dick Grayson/Robin with Boston Brand/Deadman. In this new world, Grayson never became Robin, instead teaming with his still-living parents in a traveling circus trapped in Europe while the war rages. Their fellow circus performers include a still-living Boston Brand performing as an egocentric acrobat and Dr. Fate, relegated in this new world to a sideshow magic act. Two sub-plots thread their way through this Flashpoint segment. One focuses on the changed personalities and interaction between our DC heroes who are now relegated to circus act status, while the second brings the world war to their insulated world. The issue concludes in a dramatic bridge to issue #2, in which Wonder Woman's troops arrive in seacrh of poor Dr. Fate, for a key reason which I won't reveal as a spoiler in this review.

I liked the kick-off Flashpoint issue that I reviewed last month, due to the entertaining potential that the alternate reality concept holds for DC readers. This latest series doesn't fail in that regard, continuing to give us some really fresh and creative changes to very familiar hero roles turned topsy-turvy in this dangerous new reality of superhero world war. One of the most intriguing elements of this series is the decision by writer J.T. Krul to construct personalities for Robin, Deadman and Dr. Fate completely different from their standard DC characters, thereby taking the alternate reality story concept even deeper than normal into the brave and often frightening new world that the Flashpoint series is constructing. So a definite thumbs-up recommendation to have some fun summertime light beach reading by diving into this "what if?" version of our favorite DC superheros.

Freedom Fighters #9

Publisher: D.C. Comics

Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti: Writers

Travis Moore: Pencils

Trevor Scott: Inks

Allen Passalaqua: Colors

DC's Freedom Fighters comic book title is currently up to issue #9. The Freedom Fighters superhero team consists of Native American hero Black Condor, Doll Man, Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, The Ray and team leader Uncle Sam. I had given a negative review to the first issue of the title and wanted to revisit it this month to see how the story quality is faring. The creative team consists of co-writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, penciler Travis Moore, inker Trevor Scott and colorist Allen Passalaqua.

The current issue is Part Nine of the ongoing multi-issue storyline entitled "American Nightmare," and presents three story segments. The first sub-plot consists of a detailed discussion among the team members on how best to assist Human Bomb in functioning on his own while the group tries to address an unclear but inferred ongoing break-up of the team. The mid-section of the issue shifts to standard superhero crimefighting fare, as Black Condor returns to his home in the Southwestern U.S. and assists his deputy sheriff cousin in crimefighting. The final third of the issue abruptly shifts the storytelling genre, as the team reassembles to fight bizarre alien-like creatures who invade the U.S. from a future timeline with the goal of killing millions of humans to affect supposedly historic events.

Unfortunately, the Freedom Fighters comic book title hasn't outgrown the series flaws and problems which were evident from the beginning of this comic book series. While the artwork is top notch, the story presentation is bizarrely jumbled. None of the three story sections connect in subject matter or transition with the others, rendering much of the plotline illogical even for a comic book world. The beginning of the story is confusing and would have been helped with a catch-up narrative updating new readers on the details of the ongoing group break-up. And the sudden dumping of readers in the third section of the issue into a weird future alien invasion is very jarring and just adds to an overall sense that someone is mailing-in the effort here, oddly cutting and pasting-together story ideas that just don't blend together in a one-issue storyline.

So unfortunately, a belated thumbs-down recommendation to pass on this uncomfortable storyline with an unfinished feel to it. There's lots of other entertaining DC comics on those new issues shelves at That's Entertainment for your summer reading enjoyment.

Ghost Rider #0.1

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Rob Williams: Writer

Matthew Clark: Pencils

Sean Parsons: Inker

Robert Schwager: Colors

Marvel Comics is in the process of rebooting its well-known Ghost Rider character, with the publication of a prequel issue # 0.1 leading up to issue #1 of the new title. Fans of Ghost Rider are familiar with the story of motorcycle rider Johnny Blaze, who makes a deal with a demon that backfires, leaving him as the fire-wielding, skullblazing hero Ghost Rider. The new series is scripted by Rob Williams with pencils by Matthew Clark, inks by Sean Parsons and colors by Robert Schwager.

Prequel issue # 0.1 is entitled "Give Up The Ghost." The title is applicable, as Johnny is approached by a mysterious stranger named Adam who offers him the chance to be finally free of the skull-on-fire Ghost Rider demonic curse. After struggling throughout the story to make a decision, by issue's end Johnny takes the plunge, following Adam's instructions and seemingly ridding himself of the curse. Its also clear that Adam has not-so-good intentions regarding his purpose for helping Johnny, and that part of the deal is that some unknown person will be burdened with the relocated Ghost Rider curse.

I'm an old Ghost Rider fan and clearly remember the day when I bought that very first issue of Ghost Rider back in the good old comic book reading days. As such, I was very pleased with this latest take on the story universe of this cursed Marvel hero. The artwork is wonderful, with the motorcycle action scenes both plentiful and providing the reader with an impressive feel for the action and adventure. I was also impressed with writer Rob Williams's approach of building a storyline of mystery around the lifting-of-the-curse storythread. It should be a lot of fun in upcoming issues for readers to learn more about the mysterious Adam as well as the consequences to everyone on the lifting of the curse. Obviously, Johnny will be put in a situation in which he will have to take the curse back in order to free some poor soul, but the details of the story should be very entertaining.

So whether you're an old Ghost Rider fan like me or a newcomer to our favorite hell-on-wheels good guy, this issue and the upcoming new series promises a lot of summer reading heat wave entertainment!

Contest Winner Announcement!!!

Our latest contest challenged you to correctly tell us which letter of the alphabet is not included in the names of any of the 50 U.S. states. My fellow reviewer Dave LeBlanc correctly answered the question for fun, having seen this question on the same recent episode of Jeopardy that I did. We received a lot of correct entries (as well as a few incorrect ones), and our randomly-selected winner is (drumroll, please)...Kevin Browne, who correctly identified the letter Q as never popping-up in any names of the 50 states. Congrats to Kevin, who wins the first prize $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainment!

New Contest Announcement!!!

Let's try another summertime trivia contest this week. E-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com with the answer to the following question: What does the middle initial "S" stand for in President Harry S. Truman's name? As always, in the event of multiple correct entries, the winner of the first-prize $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainment will be chosen via a random roll of the dice.

That's all for now, so have a great summer comic book reading week and see you again next week Here In Bongo Congo!!!

Comic Reviews 6/18/11

Here In Bongo Congo

Good King Leonardo has decreed that we review the kick-off issues of two new mini-series that just debut, one from Marvel Comics and one from D.C. Comics, along with a fun, new satire title of a well-known science fiction franchise. So let's get right to it and see how these three new titles fare:

Mystery Men #1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
David Liss: Writer
Patrick Zircher: Art
Andy Troy: Colors

Marvel Comics has just published issue #1 of a new five-issue limited series entitled Mystery Men. Set in 1930's Depression-era America, the story concept introduces some brand-new Pulp-era costumed heroes to the Marvel comic book universe, while eventually having these characters interact with the Golden Age versions of well-known, established Marvel superheroes. The series is scripted by writer David Liss with art by Patrick Zircher and colors by Andy Troy.

Issue #1 has two interweaving sub-plots. The first storyline kicks-off the origins of the Mystery Men team of pulp-era new superheroes. When cat burgler Dennis Piper's Broadway star girlfriend is murdered and he's falsely blamed for the crime, he becomes "The Operative," trading-in his cat burgler persona to try and solve the crime. By the end of this first issue, he's begun to assemble the Mystery Men, as two additional people get pulled-into the mystery: his girlfriend's twin sister pilot adventurer and "The Revenant," a mysterious African American superhero whose powers seem to be a combination of those of DC's The Flash and The Spectre. Our second sub-plot follows the actions of the murderer himself, a deformed evil humanoid known as "The General," who operates in two directions. One is the management from his lair in the brand-new Empire State Building of an evil secret corporate board of directors. His second area of activity is within the occult, as he clearly has dealings with the demonic world in exchange for wielding the power to cloud people's minds to hide his deformity and his evil actions. By the end of issue #1, its clear that the next two steps in this series are the further assembly of the Mystery Men team and further advancement of The General's plans for occult murder and world dominance.

Its incredibly difficult for any comic book creative team to introduce brand-new hero characters that comfortably fit into the publisher's existing superhero story universe. As such, Marvel Comics has achieved the very rare feat of successfully jumping this creative hurdle. The three good-guy characters here very comfortably and credibly fit nicely into the Golden Age Marvel Comics universe. Writer David Liss explains in a back-of-the-book letter that he had two goals with this title-first, to add such credible new characters to the Marvel comic book world and secondly, to use the plot to address some gritty historical themes of Depression-era America, such as racism and societal inequalities in general. He progresses very well out-of-the-gate with these goals in issue #1. Blend-in Patrick Zircher and Andy Troy's highly skilled artistic style and we've got a very significant and entertaining new conceptual branch added to the wider tree that is the Marvel universe.

I couldn't help but compare this new series to DC's ongoing First Wave event series, which also takes a pulp-era approach to comic book storytelling. While I've enjoyed much of what I've read in the First Wave titles, Mystery Men clearly raises the bar in terms of delivering high-quality Pulp Era comic book action and adventure within the framework of a major comic book publisher's existing story universe. It should be a lot of fun to see how Marvel weaves its established stable of superheroes into this new spin on Marvel storytelling. So whether you're a Pulp-era story fan and just a standard Marvel Comics fan, by all means don't miss-out on the premier of this new and worthwhile Marvel Comics story world!


Batman: Gates Of Gotham #1
Publisher: D.C. Comics
Scott Snyder & Kyle Higgins: Writer
Trevor McCarthy: Art
Guy Major: Colors

DC Comics has also just published issue #1 of a new five-issue Batman mini-series entitled "Batman: Gates Of Gotham." The series adds a new spin on the many Batman story universe concepts by proposing to blend a "secret history of Gotham City" into the world of all things Batman. The series is scripted by Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins, with art by Trevor McCarthy and colors by Guy Major. Scott Snyder is also known among us Batman fanatics as the writer of a very popular multi-issue story arc currently unfolding in monthly issues of Detective Comics.

Issue #1 is sub-titled "A Bridge To The Past" and literally takes the title to heart, providing us with a tale that flashes between past and present as it focuses on three famous bridges in Gotham City. The past segment of the tale focuses on the 19th century origins of the bridges, as Bruce Wayne/Batman's grandfather Alan Wayne creates the three river spans in partnership with the Elliotts and the Cobblepots, ancestors of Batman's archfoes Thomas Elliot/Hush and Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin. In the present-day plotline, a mysterious foe blows-up the three bridges and threatens "the founder's families," leading to an unlikely alliance between Batman/Dick Grayson and The Penguin against the attacker-with-an-historic-agenda.

Its always fun to come across a new mini-series that adds a fresh perspective to the well-known elements of a popular hero's world. Add this new title to the list of series that succeed on that count. The historic element is very creative, allying the grandfathers of today's trio of adversaries; I particularly got a kick out of The Penguin's willingness to grudgingly cooperate with Batman, valuing their joint family history over today's situation. A hats-off is also due to the artistic team for presenting a unique artistic format that's perfect for conveying the mix of Victorian Gotham that co-exists in both the past and present sides of the storyline. So by all means get in on the ground floor with issue #1 of this new and very entertaining Batman mini-series.



Space Warped #1
Publisher: Kaboom!
Herve Bourhis: Writer
Rudy Spiessert: Art
Mathilda: Colors
Dan Heching: Translation
Kevin Church: Americanization

Kaboom! comics, the children's division of Boom! Entertainmnet, has just published issue #1 of an American edition of an overseas-produced parody of Star Wars entitled "Space Warped". The creative team includes writer Herve Bourhis with art by Rudy Spiessert and colors by Mathilda. The Kaboom! version of this title was assisted in production by translater Dan Heching and with "Americanization" by Kevin Church.

This Stars Wars spoof faithfully follows the main events of the very first Star Wars movie. The idea here is to re-present the plotline in a low tech satiric manner. Instead of robot droids we have two human "druids," instead of hover cars we have ox-drawn carts, instead of a death star we have a bad guy's castle, etc. Names have been changed also, so Princess Leia is now Lady Leica, Darth Vador is Lord Salvador, Obi Wan Kenobi is Bernard The Mad Monk (you get the picture). By the end of issue #1, the story has progressed to the point equal in the original tale at which our friends link-up with Harrison Ford and Chewbacca to begin the outer space segment of the first movie adventure.

While the first few pages of this storyline unfolded a bit slow and in a somewhat confusing manner, by page four I was hooked on this extremely funny and original retake of the classic Star Wars movie #1 tale. It was a brilliant and just plain fun move to place the well-known story in a primitive low tech setting. The result is a series of hilarious riffs on the well-known movie scenes. Without being a detail spoiler, my favorite touches in this retelling include this comic's version of "The Force." as well as the bust-a-gut retelling of the original scene in which Luke and Obi Wan find that the Imperial Stormtroopers have killed Luke's aunt and uncle back at the ranch on Tatooine (sounds potentially unfunny, but it really does work).

The satire here is sharp and funny, but without coming close to the edge of snarkiness or staleness abyss that some Mad Magazine-style satires sometimes fall into. So by all means, grab at copy of Space Warped at That's Entertainment, and "May The Farce Be With You!"


Contest Winner Announcement!!!

Our latest contest challenged you to tell us what upcoming comic or superhero movie you most anticipate seeing. And our winner is (drumroll, please),,,Mike Dooley. While Mike tells us that he's a big fan of such heroes as Green Lantern, Thor, Captain America and The X-Men, he's being non-traditional this summer and most looking forward to the upcoming film "Cowboys and Aliens," the science fiction western starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, based on Scott Mitchell Rosenberg's 2006 graphic novel.

Mike writes that while the comic book has never appealed to him, he feels that the premise could be perfectly suited for the big screen. A bold and cutting-edge choice, Mike-we'll all know whether we agree with you or not after the movie hits the theatres on July 29! Congrats to Mike for winning our first prize $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainment!


New Contest Announcement!!!

Let's try another trivia contest for this week. E-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com with the answer to the following question: What is the one letter of the alphabet that is not included in the names of any of the 50 states in the U.S.? As always, in the event of multiple correct submissions, the winner of the first prize $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainmnet will be chosen via a roll of the dice.

That's all for now, so have a great comic book reading and summer blockbuster movie viewing week, and see you again next week Here In Bongo Congo!

comic reviews 6/10/11

Here In Bongo Congo

Good King Leonardo has decreed that its "Science Fiction Theme Week" Here In Bongo Congo, so let's review two new science fiction-themed comic book titles along with a classic Batman title:

Strange Adventures #1

Publisher: D.C. Vertigo Comics

Various Artists & Writers

DC Comics has recently restarted through its Vertigo imprint of comics its Strange Adventures title. Aging fanboys and fangirls will recall DC's long-running Silver Age version of this comic book, which featured science fiction tales in comic book form and is renowned among Silver Age collectors for having some of the most interesting and fun classic science fiction front covers. The over-sized issue #1 in the new series features a whopping nine stories encompassing a broad variety of science fiction storylines, with each tale presented by a different writer-artist team. The issue also features a fun science fiction cover by popular comic book artist Paul Pope.

While I expected a wide range of story quality from strong to weak, I was blown-away by the excellent quality of the three tales that lead in the issue. The first story is entitled "Case 21" and gives us a taut thriller set in a Bladerunner-type future mega-city with a shocking ending. Our second tale is entitled "The White Room." To avoid any spoiler details, I'll just comment that its an engrossing tale on the nature of reaility as well as a subtle comment on our real-world addiction to video-related technology. The third story is entitled "Partners," and has an entertaining Twilight Zone feel to it. Again, without spoiling any details, the plot centers on two male friends, each of whom has convinced the other that one of them is real and the other an imaginary sidekick, and neither one knows which-is-which. Overall, the credited writer-artist teams consistently deliver in this trio of stories with taut cutting-edge storylines and appropriate graphic styles for each of the varied story themes.

Of the additional tales, three are average and decent, one tale is a cliched re-hashing of an old science fiction story theme and two are just outright gory in graphic style and stupid in plotline. Any mix of nine stories in a comic book is going to have a range of story quality, so three excellent stories and three decent tales give us a higher-than-expected batting average for quality in this premier issue. So in sum, a very well-deserved thumbs-up positive recommendation for the return of this classic standard Silver Age science fiction-themed comic book title. Here's hoping that DC Vertigo keeps this new title going for awhile and keeps publishing it in the multi-story, over-sized format of issue #1.

Science Dog #2

Publisher: Image Comics

Robert Kirkman: Writer

Cory Walker: Pencils & Inks

Dave Stewart & Chris Chuckry: Colors

Image Comics is up to issue #2 of a new science fiction series entitled "Science Dog," featuring a humanoid dog scientist and his human sidekicks Rachel and Daniel. The series is written by Robert Kirkman, known among many projects for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible comic book series. Pencils and inks are provided by Cory Walker with colors provided by Dave Stewart and Chris Chuckry.

The issue #2 plot is a very fast-paced tale of timetravel and alternate versions of reality. After being detained by aliens onboard an Earth-orbiting spaceship, Science Dog returns to Earth to find immense death and disaster caused by his arch-enemy Walter. Our hero attempts to make things right by using his timemachine several times, each time altering reality in some unexpected way. Obviously, by issue's end things are set right. But the kicker at the conclusion is very emotional and heart-rending, regarding the fate of Science Dog as he makes a particular personal sacrifice to reset reality in a particular way to assure that his friends Rachel and Daniel are protected from harm in the original disaster.

I was very impressed with this new comic book title for a few reasons. First, in a good way it reminded me of a Fantagraphics comic book title from the 1980's entitled "Dalgoda," (A Dog Lad spelled backwards). That very entertaining limited issue title featured an almost identical humanoid dog character's adventures in space, leading me to speculate that perhaps Kirkman wrote that title, also, or at the very least is paying homage to Dalgoda with this title. Secondly, while bleak and dark at times, the issue #2 plotline is beautifully presented, mixing traditional time travel/alternate reality story themes with some striking emotional content. And third, its fair to conclude that this comic book, in story style and graphic presentation, has many of the good elements that make the very popular "Atomic Robo" such a pleasure to read.

So whether you're a fan of talking dogs, science fiction themes or just plain entertaining comic book storytelling, by all means give this new Image Comics title a read.

Detective Comics #877

Publisher: D.C. Comics

Scott Snyder: Writer

Jock: Art

David Baron: Colors

DC's flagship Batman title, Detective Comics, is up to issue #877. There's been a lot of enthusiastic talk among Batman fans of late regarding the current creative team at the helm of this title, which includes popular writer Scott Snyder, renowned for his accomplished work on American Vampire. An artist named Jock pencils this issue with colors provided by David Baron.

This issue is the second installment of a three-part story arc entitled "Hungry City." Its a Dick Grayson-As-Batman tale, with The Caped Crusader smack in the middle of fast action as he tries to protect Sonia Branch, the good daughter of a mob boss, from threats by two modern-day Gotham crime kingpins called The Roadrunner and Tiger Shark. The plotline unfolds in three segments, starting with a battle between Batman and The Roadrunner, proceeding to an extended brainstorming session between Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Sonia Branch, and progressing into an undersea hunt through Gotham Harbor which ends in Batman's dramatic arrival at Tiger Shark's underwater criminal lair.

This is an excellent Batman story which stands solidly on its own two feet as an independent tale as well as the second segment of a three-part multi-issue story. This creative team goes betond refreshing Detective Comics, literally CPRing new life into the flagship DC Comics title. Jock and David Baron's graphic product is on equal par with past Batman A-list artists including Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, with the mid-story meeting of Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Sonia Branch in a driving Gotham evening rain the quintessential depiction of a Dark Knight Gotham noir setting. The combination of this well-written and beautifully-rendered story left me breathless and feeling rainsoaked myself.

So a well-deserved thumbs-up positive recommendation this week for this very high quality Batman tale in Detective Comics, which successfully doubles as a single story segment as well as the latest installment in this entertaining ongoing storyline.

Contest Winner Announcement!!!

Out latest contest challenge was for you to answer a simple trivia question as to what is the most popular fruit eaten annually in the U.S. these days. The Bongo Congo panel of contest judges were astounded by the flood of e-mail submissions to this question-we received the most contest submittals that we've ever received for a contest! I guess its the simple questions that get readers attention, after all. And the winner of our contest chosen at random from among our many correct submittals is (drumroll, please)...Gregory Goding, who correctly answered that the banana is the most popular fruit in the U.S. Other folks made logical guesses that the orange and the tomato (yes, the tomato is technically a fruit!) are most popular, but the banana rules! Congratulations to Gregory for winning the $10.00 first prize gift certificate to That's Entertainment!

New Contest Announcement!!!

As all good fanboys and fangirls know, this summer will see the release of more than the usual number of summer blockbuster superhero movies. So far, we've seen the Thor movie and can't wait to check-out as many of the other great movies as possible (X-Men rule!).

So your challange this week is to e-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com and pitch to us either the best summer superhero movie that you've seen so far, or tell us which one you're most looking forward to seeing and why. As always, our contest winner will receive a $10.00 first prize gift certificate to That's Entertainment!

That's all for now, so keep enjoying the recent early summer sunshine and see you again next week Here In Bongo Congo!

We're off this week from adding any new reviews, so we'll be back on June 10 with new reviews for you along with our current contest challenge winner and a new contest challenge for you-in the meantime, enjoy our reviews below!!!

Thanks So Much,

Alan

Comic Reviews 5/27/11

Here In Bongo Congo

Good King Leonardo has decreed that we review this week the latest issues of two current D.C. and Marvel crossover event series, as well as another Marvel comic book. So let's see how these issues stack-up against each other:


Flashpoint #1
Publisher: D.C. Comics
Geoff Johns: Writer
Andy Kubert: Pencils
Sandra Hope: Inks
Alex Sinclair: Colors

DC Comics recently published issue #1 of its Flashpoint event series. The core of the Flashpoint event is a five-issue mini-series, with many more issues being published in a lengthy crossover list throughout the summer. The series stars The Flash/Barry Allen, in a story concept in which Allen is the only person who realizes that most of the basic concepts of the established DC universe have mysteriously altered. The five-issue mini-series is scripted by veteran writer Geoff Johns with pencils by Andy Kubert, inks by Sandra Hope and colors by Alex Sinclair.

Issue #1 of Flashpoint jumps right to the heart of this story concept. Barry Allen wakes-up from a nap in his crimelab and discovers that the entire DC universe has been radically altered. The story features two sub-plots. In the first storythread, this altered reality in the midst of a devastating world war, as Wonder Woman and Aquaman lead their respective kingdoms against mankind, already resulting in millions of deaths and threatened human extinction. The second storythread introduces the altered nature of DC's stable of superheroes, as a large group of heroes gather to try and convince a vicious vigilante version of Batman to lead them against Wonder Woman and Aquaman to save mankind. This premiere Flashpoint issue ends in a dramatic cliffhanger, as Barry Allen confronts Batman in his own effort to convince the Caped Crusader that reality has been horribly altered.

Issue #1 kicks this series off to a wonderfully entertaining start, in three respects. First, A-list veteran writer Geoff Johns is at the very top of his writing game here, excelling with both the general plot concept and the small narrative and story details. We're treated to a wide range of extremely entertaining alternate reality DC universe details, including both significant alterations of well-known DC superheroes and the introduction of some brand-new heroes and villains in this altered reality. Secondly, the concept of Barry Allen as the featured series star works very well; Johns portrays The Flash's new situation very credibly and mixes-in some personal changes to Barry's life that are emotionally moving. Third, and perhaps best of all is the cliffhanger reveal of the altered Batman's secret identity. I wouldn't dare spoil the surprise for readers beyond noting that its a very entertaining idea of featuring this particular person as donning the Caped Crusader costume, one that I'm surprised hasn't been featured before (as far as I know) somewhere in a Batman title.

So while it does look worthwhile at this point for committing to the many comic book issues that will be published within the full Flashpoint event, at the very least, I enthusiastically recommend that The Good DC Reader check-out the core five-issue Flashpoint mini-series.


Invincible Iron Man #504
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Matt Fraction: Writer
Salvador Larroca: Art
Frank D'Armata: Colors

Marvel's new "Fear Itself" event series continues with several new crossover title issues, including this past week's publication of Iron Man #504. As I mentioned a few weeks ago in my review of the Fear Itself Prologue issue, the storyline features the arrival on Earth of the God of Fear, a supervillain who has the power to use various superheroes fears against them. Thor and Captain America are featured the most in this series. This Iron Man issue in the series is written by Matt Fraction with art by Salvador Larroca and colors by Frank D'Armata.

The story segment is entitled "City Of Light, City Of Stone." An inside-the-front-cover narrative explains that the God of Fear has caused seven devastating weapons to rain down on Earth. This issue focuses on Iron Man's investigation of the weapon which has crashed into Paris, France. Upon his arrival he finds that the entire city population has been turned to stone, with a bizarre creature resembling The Grey Gargoyle having caused the problem. A battle between the pair ensues with the creature knocking Iron Man/Tony Stark unconscious. By issue's end, Iron Man awakens to find even more devastation occuring amidst piles of shattered former humans/statues.

While overall this issue gets a positive review recommendation, I had mixed feelings regarding some aspects of the story. On the plus side, the tale is very well-written and presented in excellent graphic style. I enjoyed both the main plot concept as well as a sub-plot that featured a continuation of the well-known emotional tension between Tony Stark and his attractive sidekick Pepper Potts. However, in balance to the good stuff are some very creepy scenes of thousands of former humans being shattered into granite pieces as our hero and the alien gargoyle creature battle throughout Paris. While the narrative acknowledges that even Iron Man is freaked over this destruction, it just lent a unusually intense and creepy pall to the tale.

But I can understand that this type of story element might require such heaviness to best present a tale of world-shattering events unfolding on a planet-wide scale. So as long as you're in the mood for a well-presented tale with some dark end-of-the-world elements to it, then by all means take this comic book out for a reading spin.


Heroes For Hire #7
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning: Writers
Tim Seeley: Art
Jay David Ramos: Colors


Marvel Comics has just published issue #7 in the "Heroes For Hire" title. The idea here is similar to DC's Oracle storyline. Instead of Barbara Gordon/The Oracle, we have bionic-arm detective Misty Knight running a mercenary superhero agency, in this case coordinating from her mission control center superheros Paladin and Spider-Man who are doing the dirty fieldwork. The current storyline is written by the team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with art by Tim Seeley and colors by Jay David Ramos.

Issue #7 is part 2 of a multi-issue story arc entitled "Neighborhood." The main storyline is Spider-Man action-oriented. Spidey gets caught by the bad guys while tracking through New York City a shipment of lethal narcotics that originated in the underwater realm of Atlantis. Parallel sub-plots feature Misty Knight coordinating efforts from her control room, as well as Paladin trying to get back into the action after getting clocked by bad guy Bat Roc in last month's issue. This story segment comes to a climax as Paladin and Spider-Man come to realize that there's an even bigger conspiracy going-on than the Atlantean drug situation, confirmed by the arrival on the scene of a well-known Spider-Man supervillain.

I enjoyed this comic book very much for a few reasons. First, after reading the two heavy-duty mega-event comics reviewed above, it was very cleansing to kick-back and read a standard, bad guys-versus-good guys Marvel Universe comic book in which the entire world wasn't off of its collective rocker. Secondly, this unusual trio of seemingly incompatible heroes actually meshed together very well as the story progressed. I also enjoyed very much a sharp and witty sub-plot in which Paladin takes a cab ride and has to converse with his New York cabdriver about the reality of being a C-List superhero, at best.

So for a just plain fun and interesting Marvel story universe superhero comic book read, by all means check-out this latest issue of Heroes For Hire. I liked it enough to eventually go back and check-out the previous six issues available at That's Entertainment.

Current Contest Announcement!!!

For the second superhero-themed contest in a row we have no contest entrants. Our latest challenge was for you to submit your positive or negative opinion regarding the new Marvel "Fear Itself" crossover event series. So we'll just move-on in the new contest below to a non-comic book trivia challenge.

New Contest Announcement!!!

Here's a simple but interesting trivia contest. E-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com with the answer to the following trivia question: What is the number-one most popular fruit eaten in America these days? As always, in the event of multiple correct answers, we'll select our winner of the $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainmnet via a roll of the dice.

Have a great comic book reading week and we'll see you again next week Here In Bongo Congo!

Comic Reviews 5/20/11

Here In Bongo Congo

Good King Leonardo has decreed that its once again Women In Comic Books Week here in Bongo Congo. So let's see how the following three comic books starring strong female characters stack-up against each other:

The New York Five

Publisher: D.C. Vertigo Comics

Brian Wood: Writer

Ryan Kelly: Art

DC's Vertigo imprint of comic books has just completed publishing a 4-issue limited mini-series entitled "The New York Five." The series is a sequel to "The New York Four" mini-series, which followed the first semester experiences of four female college freshmen attending New York University. Both series are the creation of writer Brian Wood and artist Ryan Kelly. Wood is renowned for writing very character-driven comic book and graphic novel tales that have a strong short story fiction feel, in collaboration with Kelly, who produces the tales in a striking and effective back-and-white format. As all four issues are still available on the That's Entertainmnent new issues shelves, I decided to review issue #1 in the just completed limited series, in order to get a feel for the storyline from the very beginning.

The issue #1 storyline is entitled "Mistaken For Strangers" and reintroduces the four freshmen roommates (Riley, Lona, Merissa and Ren) as they reassemble in their apartment at the start of their freshman year second semester. The plot proceeds by introducing each of the four's current personal dilemmas, in two storythreads. In one plotline, each girl participates in a college therapy session, unloading their current personal dramas on the therapist. In a lengthier storythread, the actual events that they explain in therapy are portrayed. Without being a story spoiler, the issues range from Riley having drama with her estranged sister and her sister's sleazy boyfriend, Merissa having family issues, Ren dating guys too old for her and Lona behaving as a complete psychotic nutball by planning some unknown scary revenge against a professor for daring to give her a B instead of an A for a course grade.

I'm giving this comic book a qualified mixed-bag review. I think the plotline is very well-written, but its a very specialized type of story that I think is only of interest to a limited reader demographic, namely, high school and college age women, for two reasons. First, its extremely soap opera in plot style and secondly, there are no main or support characters present in this series outside of the college girl age range. As an aging fanboy, I felt like an outsider reading this plotline, a feeling that outweighed any sense of entertainment and which I suspect any reader outside of the high-school/college female readership pool would also experience. But as a reviewer, its always fun to check-out the latest comic title produced by Wood and Kelly, just to see what this extremely talented creative team are currently up to. So again, I'm giving a well-deserved thumbs-up recommendation for the high school/college age fangirl base to check-out this title, combined with a recommendation for the rest of the good comic book readership pool to pass on this very specialized story theme.

The Spirit #13

Publisher: D.C. Comics

David Hine: Writer

Moritat: Art

Gabe Bautista: Colors

The current title run of Will Eisner's The Spirit is up to issue #13. This particular Spirit series is published by DC Comics as part of its First Wave series, a group of interconnected titles featuring pulp heroes such as Doc Savage along with several golden age comic book figures, such as Denny Colt a.k.a. Central City's favorite masked noir detective The Spirit. The series is currently scripted by David Hine with art by Moritat and colors by Gabe Bautista.

Issue #13 is the third and final installment of a multi-issue story arc entitled "The Clockwork Killer." A page one narrative updates the reader on the story to-date, in which a New York gangster named Shonder Zeev is trying to muscle-in on the established Central City crime families. In the issue #13 story segment, Zeev hires a weird elderly hitman named The Professor to kill Police Commissioner Dolan. Instead, The Professor falls for Dolan's daughter Ellen (also The Spirit's girlfriend), building an Ellen look-alike robot and kidnapping Ellen in a bizarre scheme to help him program the robot to be like her. Hijinks ensue as the kidnapping and the out-of-town crime boss invasion come together by issue's end in a mutual conclusion.

While I'm a fanatical follower of The Spirit and have a soft place in my comic book reading heart for all things Spirit, even a more objective reader would conclude that this is a high quality and very entertaining Spirit tale. The story itself is fresh and fun, with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Writer David Hine pitches just the right balance of noir detective thriller and light humor that Spirit creator Will Eisner originally mixed into this comic book franchise, resulting in acclaim for this classic golden age comic book figure.

But in line with our "Women In Comic Books" theme of this week's review column, the best feature of issue #13 is the central and starring role of Ellen Dolan in this storyline. Always portrayed as a strong personality with an independent streak of resourcefulness, writer Hine adds just the right dash of humor and glamour girl glitz to the 1940's retro Ellen, updating her into a very entertaining character who starts as kidnap victim and evolves into saving both herself and the overall story situation in a very entertaining manner. And a special hats-off is due to the art team for giving us a great visual interpretation of Ellen with a fantastic range of comedic facial expressions.

So add Ellen Dolan and her sidekick's in this story, including The Spirit, to your ever-growing new comics reading pile!

Warlord Of Mars: Dejah Thoris #1

Publisher: Dynamite Comics

Arvid Nelson: Writer

Carlos Rafael: Art

Carlos Lopez: Colors

Dynamite Comics is currently publishing a few comics exploring the science fiction world of Edgar Rice Burroughs's classic novel "John Carter, Warlord Of Mars." In honor of this week's Women In Comics Books review theme, I decided to review issue #1 of the title that stars Dejah Thoris, Carter's Martian Princess girlfriend from the series of novels. The comic book is scripted by Arvid Nelson with art by Carlos Rafael and colors by Carlos Lopez. That's Entertainment actually has copies of the first three issues in this new title on the new issues shelves in the store.

An inside-the-front-cover narrative informs the reader that the setting of this tale is 437 years before Carter's adventures on Mars, or "Barsoom" as the natives call it. The never-aging Princess Thoris is smack in the middle of a civil war between the cities of Lesser and Greater Helium. Without spoiling interesting plot details, in general terms this is a tale of political intrigue between warring parties. In the midst of the war, a higher Martian royal official mandates a truce and orders that Princess Thoris marry his son. By issue's end, all parties figure-out that the shotgun wedding idea is a trick by which the greater royal powers on Mars hope to conquer both feudal cities for their own purposes. The issue ends in a double dramatic bridge to issue #2, as fighting breaks-out against the royal schemers and an alien surprise is discovered buried deep beneath Helium.

I was prepared for this comic to be light on plot and heavy on action, and as such was pleased to discover that it provides a decent mix of both story elements. In between the royal warring, writer Arvid Nelson loads the script with detailed and intriguing dialogue, as the royal leaders of the two warring cities and the higher royal powers of Barsoom maneuver around and against each other for control and power. Similar to the Ellen Dolan figure in The Spirit comic book reviewed above, we're provided here with a very smart and savvy version of Princess Dejah Thoris, who steps-out from John Carter's shadow and solos on her own as both a story star and a strong political leader of both her royal family and the Martian people.

So a very positive thumbs-up recommendation for this new comic book addition to the wide-ranging Warlord Of Mars science fiction franchise. I plan on continuing to read this series, starting with issues #2 and #3 available right now at That's Entertainment and continuing on with future monthly issues of this comic book title.

Current Contest Results!!!

Surprisingly, the Bongo Congo panel of contest judges did not receive any entries to our current contest, which challenged you to tell us what your favorite three Free Comic Book Day comics were and why you liked them so much. So we'll move-on with our new contest below.

New Contest Announcement!!!

As all good fanboys and fangirls know, the newest Marvel Comics cross-over mega-event series is the "Fear Itself" series, featuring the God Of Fear, a supervillain who uses superheroes's worst fears against them. We gave a positive review a few weeks ago to the Prologue one-shot issue that kicked-off this new crossover event.

By now, readers have had a chance to start reading some of the many comics in this series. As such, your contest challenge this week is to e-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com and give us your opinion as to why you either like or dislike this series. The selected winning entry will receive the first prize $10.00 gift certificate to That's Entertainment.

That's all for now, so try to dry-off from all of this past week's rain by having a great comic book reading week and see you again next week Here In Bongo Congo!

Comic Reviews 5/13/11

Here In Bongo Congo

Good King Leonardo enjoyed so much last Saturday's free comic books distributed at That's Entertainment in honor of National Free Comic Book Day, that he's decreed that we review three of them for you this week. So let's see what these freebie gems are all about:


Atomic Robo
Free Comic Book Day Issue
Publisher: Red 5 Comics
Brian Clevinger: Writer
Scott Wegener: Art
Ronda Pattison: Colors

One of the most popular giveways nationwide last week was the special Free Comic Book Day issue of Atomic Robo. I've previously reviewed a few issues of the monthly title, which features the science and action adventures of the endearing man-child robot created back in the 1920's by scientist Nicola Tesla, real-life scientific rival of Thomas Edison. In five story arcs totaling 25 issues to-date, our atomic hero has been featured in five different historic periods between the 1920's and modern times, battling interdimensional vampires, H.G. Well-type monsters, the wacky and wonderful Doctor Dinosaur and of course, a bad-guy fictional version of Thomas Edison. The title is scripted by Brian Clevinger with art by Scott Wegener and colors by Ronda Pattison.

The story setting of the Free Comic Book Day issue is appropriately May 7, 2011, of course; as soon as Atomic Robo arrives as the celebrity judge at an elementary school science fair in Boston, highjinks ensue as that crazy Doctor Dinosaur arrives on the scene and attempts to steal a fourth grader's science fair project. Turns-out fourth grader Emma Armstrong is the descendent of one of Robo's genious buddies from one of the earlier historic story arcs and as such her project has major scientific merit. Without providing any spoiler details, Robo, Emma and pals battle with their nutbag dinosaur enemy over the project artifact with hilarious results. The story wraps-up with a one-page conclusion set ten years in the future on August 12, 2021.

I doubt if there's a humorous comic book that sells-out quicker each month in comic book shops nation-wide than Atomic Robo, and with good reason. The mixture of charming humor and personality in Robo, combined with the historical period story arc elements of the ongoing, multi-decade Tesla-Edison conflict, make this one of the most entertaining comic books available in today's comic publishing industry. The Free Comic Book Day issue smartly follows in the footsteps of a similar freebie from a few years ago, also featuring the immensely nutty and funny Doctor Dinosaur. So a very enthusiastic thumbs-up recommendation to check-out this freebie if still available and also read the monthly issues of this title, available both on the new issues shelves and in the back issue bins at That's Entertainment.

As a final review note, the Atomic Robo free issue also features two brief stories introducing a pair of new Red 5 Comics titles, an 1840's gold rush adventure series entitled "Foster Broussard" and a 1950's pulp title set in New York City entitled "Moon Girl". While Foster Broussard looks interesting, Moon Girl is an amazing art deco pulp adventure knock-out. We'll review an issue of each of these new titles as soon as possible in upcoming editions of Here In Bongo Congo.


Super Dinosaur: Origin Special #1
Publisher: Image Comics
Robert Kirkman: Writer
Jason Howard: Art and Colors

Image Comics has launched via a Free Comic Book Day origin issue a new monthly comic book entitled "Super Dinosaur." The new title is written by Robert Kirkman with art and colors by Jason Howard.

Most of the issue #1 plot is a flashback tale, in which 11-year-old Derek Dynamo summarizes to two young friends how his scientist father, along with his Dad's partner Max Maximus, discovered a secret dinosaur world at the Earth's core. The pair bring back a Tyrannosaurus Rex egg, genetically altering the eventual hatchling to be a boy-sized, fully intelligent T-Rex named (of course!) Super Dinosaur. There are two detailed sub-plots throughout the flashback. In the first, the two scientists have a falling-out, with lots of battle action between the good Dynamo family/Super Dinosaur versus the bad guy Maximus and his band of villainous dinosaurs. The second plotline details the invention and upgrading of a complex set of robot arms and weaponry that Super Dinosaur wears and manipulates with his tiny dino arms in order to function like a regular person.

This is an extremely cute and fresh take on the common "dinosaurs at the center of the Earth" story concept, which as all comic book fans know pops-up frequently in the comic publishing world. The many characters, both good and evil, are richly detailed and the story concept succeeds on both kid and adult-reader levels. The one oddity here is the unbelievably detailed backstory that's presented in this kick-off issue. The issue is structured as an origin summary, creating an immense, richly detailed story universe for all of these folks in one quick 14-page shot.

Normally, this level of back-story depth and multiple plot concepts, along with the very detailed character bios in the back of the book, unfold over the course of at least a year's worth of comic books in a title. The result is a nagging feeling that we've missed about a year's worth of Super Dinosaur stories and are just being briefed on this title with a special origin summary issue. For me, the effect was disorienting and I don't understand why the creative team didn't just take a deep breath and calmly let this story universe unfold on a monthly basis, versus plopping it all down on our reading plate in one huge glob of detail. But I doubt that this is an issue for kids, who are most likely the main audience for this very entertaining new title. So an overall positive thumbs-up recommendation for kids and adults alike to have some reading fun with Super Dinosaur!


Captain America and Thor, The Mighty Fighting Avengers
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Roger Langridge: Writer
Chris Samnee: Art
Matthew Wilson: Colors

Marvel Comics has contributed to this year's Free Comic Book Day with a free new issue of the recently completed, eight-issue Thor, The Mighty Avenger mini-series. For the uninitiated, this was an acclaimed mini-series providing a unique perspective of Thor as a young, innocent hero living in Middle America. Both the series and this free issue are the creation of writer Rodger Landgridge and artist Chris Samnee, with colors provided by Matthew Wilson.

Our free story is entitled "Once And Future Avengers!" and is a fresh prequel interpretation of the first meeting between Thor and Captain America. In this version, the World War II Cap and the present-day Thor each touch a magic cup in their respective eras, which transports both to Arthurian Camelot. Without being a plot spoiler, the pair team-up to have a Camelot adventure that involves King Arthur, Merlin and of course, Thor's mischevious half-brother Loki. Our free issue tale concludes with both heroes returning to their respective eras wondering if they'll ever meet again.

This freebie giveaway is an unexpected treat for the many fans of the recently-concluded Thor, The Mighty Avenger limited-issue series, for at least three reasons. First and foremost is the return of the charming and unique personality that writer Landgridge applies to Thor, which he also extends to Captain America in this series. Secondly, the dialogue provides a perfect element of droll humor for the characters; its especially fun to read this version of Loki, who speaks more like an I-phone equipped mall shopper than the classic prince of all badness. And third, we're treated once again to the art team's unique and beautiful graphic style. I paerticularly loved the retro deign applied to Captain America's costume, adding yet another nice version to the many Cap uniforms presented over the years.

If you're already a fan of the Thor, The Mighty Avenger series, then by all means add this issue to your reading pile. And if you're a newcomer to the series, then I'd suggest moving-on from this free issue to read either the original mini-series issues or purchase the graphic novel reprint of the series, both available at That's Entertainment.

Ongoing Contest Reminder!!!

As of this writing date, we haven't received any entries to our ongoing contest, which challenges you to e-mail us at Gordon_A@msn.com and tell us what are your three favorite comic books from among this year's Free Comic Book Day giveaways and why you like your selections so much. There's a $10.00 first prize gift certificate to That's Entertainment just waiting for a winner, so e-mail us your contest submission no later than noontime on Wednesday, May 18!

That's all for now, so have a great comic book reading week and see you again next week Here In Bongo Congo!