-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #123
Imago‘s finish opens the issue. Arcudi might have needed more time–this installment just gives up, admitting the concept was more interesting than the execution. O’Connell’s art is okay. His faces aren’t distinct enough, but it’s fine for a short story. Nixey continues the issue’s lackluster vibe with Trout‘s conclusion. In it, Trout (the character) gets… š
-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #122
I can’t believe I’m saying it but Snejbjerg’s art messes up this Lords of Misrule. He’s unable to draw a regular person. Instead, the person appears frightening, even though he’s not supposed to be frightening. It’s an okay story–but the art, though great in most respects, doesn’t work. Nixey’s back on track with Trout, at… š
-
Dark Horse Presents 124 (August 1997)
It’s a strange issue. First is Seagle and Rouleau’s take on Predator, which might be the most harmless Predator story ever. Three boys camping out in one’s backyard go into the nearby swamp and see a Predator. Rouleau’s art is charming, the writing’s decent… still, it’s a Predator story. It can only be so good.… š
-
Dark Horse Presents 123 (July 1997)
Imago‘s finish opens the issue. Arcudi might have needed more time–this installment just gives up, admitting the concept was more interesting than the execution. O’Connell’s art is okay. His faces aren’t distinct enough, but it’s fine for a short story. Nixey continues the issue’s lackluster vibe with Trout‘s conclusion. In it, Trout (the character) gets… š
-
Dark Horse Presents 122 (June 1997)
I can’t believe I’m saying it but Snejbjerg’s art messes up this Lords of Misrule. He’s unable to draw a regular person. Instead, the person appears frightening, even though he’s not supposed to be frightening. It’s an okay story–but the art, though great in most respects, doesn’t work. Nixey’s back on track with Trout, at… š
-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #121
The issue opens with Zero Boy and Pander’s Jack Zero, which starts out a little awkwardly… but then quickly establishes itself as a good Western. Pander’s art looks fantastic, bringing a lot of energy to the setting and Zero Boy’s script is thoughtful. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Nixey’s Trout installment this issue.… š
-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #120
The Gully story from Schultz and Williamson doesnāt have much of a script; with Williamsonās art, who cares about the writing? Itās some otherworldly sci-fi Western thing. Lovely to look at. White and Snejbjergās The Lords of Misrule is a little confusing, but decent. Snejbjerg does a great job with the tone and the art… š
-
Dark Horse Presents 121 (May 1997)
The issue opens with Zero Boy and Pander’s Jack Zero, which starts out a little awkwardly… but then quickly establishes itself as a good Western. Pander’s art looks fantastic, bringing a lot of energy to the setting and Zero Boy’s script is thoughtful. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Nixey’s Trout installment this issue.… š
-
Dark Horse Presents 120 (April 1997)
The Gully story from Schultz and Williamson doesnāt have much of a script; with Williamsonās art, who cares about the writing? Itās some otherworldly sci-fi Western thing. Lovely to look at. White and Snejbjergās The Lords of Misrule is a little confusing, but decent. Snejbjerg does a great job with the tone and the art… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #33
Interesting, we never get the saboteur revealed. This issue is a lot of setup after the action stopsāFraction goes back to the old way of writing Invincible, where Tony is narrating it. It means we get a recap of the last few issues, but itās nice to have the narration back so who cares if… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #32
In what I can only describe as a Jeff Parker moment, Fraction revealsāin the backup, illustrated by McKelvieāPepperās suit, J.A.R.V.I.S., has the hots for her. Itās cute (and ties into that next big crossover event). The main story is Tony and Team Iron Man (I canāt imagine that name sticking) battling the drones of Hammer.… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #31
And Fraction even takes it further… the Air Force guy agreeing to an attack endangering the American citizens he’s sworn to protect. Love it. The issue’s pacing is a little off though. It’s a lot of corporate sabotage, Iron Man style, and it seems more like Fraction is using it to set up for a… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #30
Okay, it’s not all Android users who are military industrial complex pawns, just some of them. Fraction gives the issue a great cliffhanger, just because he starts building to it about five pages before the end. But it’s a fast-paced lead-up, lending more and more to Invincible‘s movie ties. Though, I imagine basically introducing “Lady… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 33 (February 2011)
Interesting, we never get the saboteur revealed. This issue is a lot of setup after the action stopsāFraction goes back to the old way of writing Invincible, where Tony is narrating it. It means we get a recap of the last few issues, but itās nice to have the narration back so who cares if… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 32 (January 2011)
In what I can only describe as a Jeff Parker moment, Fraction revealsāin the backup, illustrated by McKelvieāPepperās suit, J.A.R.V.I.S., has the hots for her. Itās cute (and ties into that next big crossover event). The main story is Tony and Team Iron Man (I canāt imagine that name sticking) battling the drones of Hammer.… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 31 (December 2010)
And Fraction even takes it further… the Air Force guy agreeing to an attack endangering the American citizens he’s sworn to protect. Love it. The issue’s pacing is a little off though. It’s a lot of corporate sabotage, Iron Man style, and it seems more like Fraction is using it to set up for a… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 30 (November 2010)
Okay, it’s not all Android users who are military industrial complex pawns, just some of them. Fraction gives the issue a great cliffhanger, just because he starts building to it about five pages before the end. But it’s a fast-paced lead-up, lending more and more to Invincible‘s movie ties. Though, I imagine basically introducing “Lady… š
-
Man Made Monster (1941, George Waggner)
Man Made Monster, at least for the first fifteen minutes (of an hour), gives Lon Chaney Jr. one of his best roles. He gets to be the affable guy his other performances from the forties often hint he’s capable of being, but never gets to be. Not surprisingly, Monster takes that aspect of his character… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #29
I wish Larroca could draw Rhodey better. Especially this issue. He draws him without any personality–I guess he smiles a lot. But Rhodey is actually really important to this arc, because he’s kind of taking care of Tony as Tony hides all the stuff he can’t handle from everyone else. The issue ends with Tony… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #28
So this issue isāwhile technically well-writtenākind of pointless. Fraction has a bunch of really good dialogue and talking heads scenes, but itās about Tony hiring these guys for his new company to build an electric car. Very interesting stuff, if the series were about the company. Itās about Tony. And Tonyās best scene is with… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #27
Here we get some promise of action (well, for next issue). Actually, the whole issueās about promise. Fraction promises the return of Rescueāa fine move, because Pepper made a very interesting superheroāas well as some Stark business developments. The action stuff he promises, which Tony and Rhodey zoom off to deal with at the end,… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 29 (October 2010)
I wish Larroca could draw Rhodey better. Especially this issue. He draws him without any personality–I guess he smiles a lot. But Rhodey is actually really important to this arc, because he’s kind of taking care of Tony as Tony hides all the stuff he can’t handle from everyone else. The issue ends with Tony… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 28 (September 2010)
So this issue isāwhile technically well-writtenākind of pointless. Fraction has a bunch of really good dialogue and talking heads scenes, but itās about Tony hiring these guys for his new company to build an electric car. Very interesting stuff, if the series were about the company. Itās about Tony. And Tonyās best scene is with… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 27 (August 2010)
Here we get some promise of action (well, for next issue). Actually, the whole issueās about promise. Fraction promises the return of Rescueāa fine move, because Pepper made a very interesting superheroāas well as some Stark business developments. The action stuff he promises, which Tony and Rhodey zoom off to deal with at the end,… š
-
Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010, Joaquim Dos Santos)
Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam is not particularly good. It has a lot of problems, which Iāll enumerate, but it also has a lot of undeniable strengths. Iāll start with thoseā¦. I mean, itās got James Garner voicing an old wizard. That casting alone makes it worth some kind of look. And Dos Santos… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #26
Fraction kind of skips over the craziest part of his Iron Man revamp–the liquid metal to the suit is stored in Tony’s bones. It’s a trippy, sort of non-Iron Man idea. Iron Man used to be a guy in a suit; Fraction’s turned him into something else entirely. It’s a great move. This issue introduces… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 26 (July 2010)
Fraction kind of skips over the craziest part of his Iron Man revamp–the liquid metal to the suit is stored in Tony’s bones. It’s a trippy, sort of non-Iron Man idea. Iron Man used to be a guy in a suit; Fraction’s turned him into something else entirely. It’s a great move. This issue introduces… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man (2008) #25
I was going to complement Fraction on having the greatest pacing of a comic book ever this issueā¦ then realized it was oversized. Still, itās hard not to be impressed with how much Fraction does this issue. Since itās Invincible Iron Man and it has some relation to the movies, whether itās acknowledged or not,… š
-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #118
I thought the other Monkeyman & O’Brien stories were bad. Here, Adams seems to forget how to draw with perspective and scale. It makes the story a hideous curiosity, but not much else. The script’s incomplete at best. Then Trypto finishes up and it’s probably be Leialoha’s best installment as an artist… and Mumy and… š
-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #116
Unfortunately, itās a very loose issue. Musgroveās installment of Fat Dog Mendoza here is a big improvement over his previous work. Musgrove goes for cheap sight gags and a less narration while doing some decent artwork. Itās painless, occasionally amusing, but never funny. Without the dogfighting element, Trypto is lost. Thereās a space alien element… š
-
The Invincible Iron Man 25 (June 2010)
I was going to complement Fraction on having the greatest pacing of a comic book ever this issueā¦ then realized it was oversized. Still, itās hard not to be impressed with how much Fraction does this issue. Since itās Invincible Iron Man and it has some relation to the movies, whether itās acknowledged or not,… š
-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #115
Wow, what a downer. Arcudiās The Creep returns (with OāConnell on art this time). Itās a very depressing story about him hanging out with a prostitute. Itās utterly fantastic. It still shocks me Arcudi can be so subtly devastating. Trypto has a happy installment though; the dog rescues his owner from a drug cartel. Again,… š
-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #114
Millerās pseudo-anti-misogyny Lance Blastoff is backā¦ itās amazing how someone can turn in something so stupid and pretend itās profound. I guess the sci-fi setting means Miller has to work a little harder on his art. Trypto gets weird this time. The dog develops superpowers and goes around (flying like Krypto) freeing and magically rehabilitating… š
-
Dark Horse Presents 118 (February 1997)
I thought the other Monkeyman & O’Brien stories were bad. Here, Adams seems to forget how to draw with perspective and scale. It makes the story a hideous curiosity, but not much else. The script’s incomplete at best. Then Trypto finishes up and it’s probably be Leialoha’s best installment as an artist… and Mumy and… š
-
Dark Horse Presents (1986) #113
I was trying to remember where I knew Leialoha fromā¦ he inks now. He pencils and inks Trypto, which has a superhero dog splash page and then a rather traditional story. Itās about a stolen dog being forced to dogfight. Mumy and Ferrerās script is fine and Leialoha has some imaginative composition, but his art… š
-
Dark Horse Presents 116 (December 1996)
Unfortunately, itās a very loose issue. Musgroveās installment of Fat Dog Mendoza here is a big improvement over his previous work. Musgrove goes for cheap sight gags and a less narration while doing some decent artwork. Itās painless, occasionally amusing, but never funny. Without the dogfighting element, Trypto is lost. Thereās a space alien element… š
-
Night of the Living Dead (1968, George A. Romero)
What a lame ending. If it werenāt for the sufficiently uncanny end credits, Iād finish Night of the Living Dead thinking it was supposed to be a comedy. Actually, if it werenāt for that lame ending, Iād be starting this response much differently. Night of the Living Dead has one of the most sublime opening… š
-
Dark Horse Presents 115 (November 1996)
Wow, what a downer. Arcudiās The Creep returns (with OāConnell on art this time). Itās a very depressing story about him hanging out with a prostitute. Itās utterly fantastic. It still shocks me Arcudi can be so subtly devastating. Trypto has a happy installment though; the dog rescues his owner from a drug cartel. Again,… š