With Irredeemable, Mark Waid, took the world’s greatest superhero and made him the world’s worst enemy. With Incorruptible, Waid has taken one of the world’s worst villains and turned him into a boy scout. Max Damage was about to release an airborne super virus that would kill half the planet, just to see if he could feel it, when the Plutonian destroyed Sky City. Now reformed, Max is trying to become the hero the world needs.
Don’t let the cover fool you, Dingo is actually the man’s name. The story follows Dingo, one of the unluckiest people on the planet. He receives a call from his rock star brother that informs him that he’s sold his Ferrari and left “the box” in the trunk. Dingo rips into his brother asking why the mysterious box was not in the safe where it was suppose to be. Having no real sense of responsibility to the box, Dingo’s brother passes off the task to his assistant, to help him get the box back. Dingo, being unlucky, ends up at a gas station way off course from his Vegas destination and finds the “super” dog named Cerberus. Not an original name at all and even Dingo comments on it. With his new travel companion, Dingo gets back on course to reclaim his mystery box. He meets up with the owner of the Ferrari and breathes a sigh of release upon getting the box back. At this point the reader is truly asking, “What is the deal with this box and why do I care?”
Let the Battle Begin is a one shot issue from Marvel staring an angry green man surprisingly called the Hulk. Yes, everyone is familiar with the Hulk and I will not bore you with a recap of who he is.
The Guild is about Cyd, a wall flower that has no self-worth and is completely taken advantage of by her rock star wannabe boyfriend. She has a job as a violinist for an orchestra and talks to her webcam as part of her therapy. Cyd is, well shy, but that doesn’t stop her boyfriend from making her go from business to business posting flyers for his band performance. One of the places she ends up in is a video game store. She promises to buy something if they’ll let her hang up the flyer in the store. Being a video game store clerk, of course, he holds her to this. She picks up a Massively Multiplayer Online fantasy game. After being dumped by her loser boyfriend, she dives into the game.
Another Green Hornet book you say? Ah yes, but this one is written by Matt Wagner (Grendel). Matt may not bring his pencils to this issue, but he brings his ability to tell a strong narrative without bulky dialog. This issue is for all intents and purposes the origin of Green Hornet and Kato. It’s a great origin story, which is not usually the case. Most origin stories are told after the characters inception which results in disjointed story telling, and the over-whelming need to tie in every story written before the origin.
The unique aspect of this book is that two origins are told simultaneously. It makes the Green Hornet relevant and plays to Dynamite Entertainments strengths of licensed characters. There used to be one defining rule to licensed characters when performing in a medium outside of their own: they were bad, never livingup to the source material. That is until Dynamite Entertainment came to the scene. They treat the source material with respect and not only pay homage to it but expand upon it. This story pays homage to the characters as well as moving them forward for a new generation of readers.
Ghost Projekt follows two American weapons inspectors who have been sent to Russia after a break in at an abandoned lab. They discover two things while at the lab: a cat and the words “Dosvidanya” chiseled into the wall of a sub-basement. The Anya, our friend with the gun from the cover, breaks up their party. She’s a Russian intelligence agent that had already gotten clearance from their director to learn everything they know. Specifically, she needs to know there are no chemical or biological weapons on site. What there is, is a strange cat and children’s cribs. Where does the “Ghost” factor into the issue then? That is indeed the mystery of the story.
There was a time in Kevin Smith’s career where he was a sought-after director on the fast track to being able to green light anything he wanted to make. At that time, he chose Green Hornet. Well, as things go in Hollywood, that didn’t happen. This left many people wondering what Kevin Smith’s version of Green Hornet would be like. Let me just say, it would not be like this comic book. The book itself is very good but hollow compared to other works by Kevin Smith. It just doesn’t have the “feel” his books normally have. Phil Hester (Darkness, Golly) contributes to the breakdowns of the book, which more than likely played a strong role.
RoboCop! The cover says it all. Part man, part machine, all cop; the future of law enforcement returns! Let’s say that the third movie never happened. Okay? Good, because that’s exactly what Rob Williams (Ghostbusters, Punisher Max), the writer, has done. Dynamite Entertainment really knocks it out of the park with this issue. Not only does Williams capture the feel of the earlier movies and the world of RoboCop, but he ushers him into a modern era. Let me explain. RoboCop 1 resembled the 80’s even though, it was the future. RoboCop 2 did the same thing for the 90’s, while still feeling like the future. The tone of this issue is very much of our own society today but still feels like the near future.
First Wave is a pulp universe in which the character Doc Savage, The Spirit and The Batman exist at the same time, without it being a ridiculous company cross-over. The story of the first issue primarily follows Doc Savage and The Spirit as their world is introduced to us. Doc is characterized to be void of emotions as he attends his Father’s second funeral. Doc missed the first funeral while out of the country in solitude. The Spirit is characterized as the clumsy hero in the wrong places at the right times. Batman, who graces the cover, is nowhere to be found in this issue but I’m sure that means the second issue will be a Batman-heavy issue. The issue sets up a mystery surrounding the death of Doc’s father and an escaped scientist that is being hunted by a killer robot. Mostly, the issue focuses on introducing us to the two main characters and establishing the tone of the world.
Planetary #27 is the conclusion of the series created by Warren Ellis (The Authority, Black Summer) and John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men). If you are unfamiliar with Planetary, it’s about a group of archeologists that explore the weird. Planetary is a brilliant series with a strong story that pays homage to comics and stunning art that compliments the story from beginning to end. Usually, the last issue of the series is not the first issue you want to read. The amazing thing about Planetary is that any issue can rope you in and leave you wanting more. Upon completing the issue, I instantly wanted to break out my Planetary trades and begin the journey all over.
