Certainly some of the most fun to be had this week comes with IDW’s Half Past Danger #1. Set during World War II, the book features the adventures of Sergeant Tommy “Irish” Flynn, who discovers an island in the war-torn Pacific that’s infested both with Nazis and dinosaurs! After the big lizards wipe out his squad, Flynn ends up (rather mysteriously) back home in America, drinking away his sorrows in a pub. He’s approached by British Agent Huntington-Moss and her counterparts: an American officer named John Noble (something even the obviously nicknamed “Irish” Flynn makes fun of) and the rather Kato-like Asian martial artist sidekick. These stereotypes apparently intend to force Flynn back into the War, and they destroy the tavern in a brawl while Agent Huntington-Moss smokes cigarettes and orders Pimm’s. Yet despite the rather stock characters (this felt a tiny bit like an Indiana Jones spin-off) the book works because of its quirkiness and fast paced adventure. The highlight, however, is the first half tale of soldiers versus dinosaurs, and I’m glad the series will be returning to that goldmine in future issues.
Image brings us a hero for the slacker age in Bounce #1 (despite the fact that the slacker age ended in 1999, as far as I know). Writer Joe Casey (Sex, Elephantmen) and artist David Messina (Star Trek: Countdown) have created an oddball hero in Bounce, quite literally. On an average day, he’s Jasper Jenkins – a pothead layabout with a comfy couch and an enabling roommate. But when duty calls, he’s Bounce – a hero in a black and yellow latex suit who seems to be able to, well, bounce. His super ability seems to consist of a high-powered cannonball, and he spends a lot of the comic tucked into a sort of barrel roll, hurling himself at the bad guys. The tale has an air of grim seriousness that was, frankly, hard to take seriously, and that seems to be its greatest misstep. I was chuckling a great deal while reading although, though I’m not sure I was supposed to be. Comedic highlights include the hero’s mask with a tiny spandex yellow goatee (he looks like the superhero version of Alice in Chains front man Layne Stanley) and super-drug-dealer The Fog, who is both the dealer and the drug. However, the artistic style is very serious and the cops assigned to bust the growing costumed hero/villain menace in the city are far too foul mouthed for anything other than rated R seriousness. Overall, the book has an uneven feel and I’d frankly have preferred a comedy.
The Green Team #1 is the companion piece to DC’s recently released series The Movement. It centers on Commodore Murphy, one of the wealthiest teenagers on the planet, and the gang he’s assembled around him, all also super wealthy young people. There’s the starlet Cecelia Sunbeam, and oil rich brother and sister J.P. and L.L. Houston, who are joined by Prince Mohammed Qahtanii. The Prince is a nervous young man without the braggadocio the other billionaire teens exhibit. He’s on a mission from his father to determine if he is worthy of inheriting the elder’s wealth by generating some profits of his own, and the Prince believes that Commodore could be his meal ticket. Commodore, meanwhile, is investing his wealth in high-tech fringe science, with the secret goal of turning himself and his über-wealthy brat pack into superheroes. This story has none of the heart and soul that its New 52 counterpart The Movement did, as these children of privilege are more than just poorly named. They come off as flat stereotypes of the wealthy, and that makes it hard to root for them when they are confronted by a radical gang of costumed activists seeking financial equality. In fact, I found myself rooting against the privileged youngsters almost immediately, thinking they’d make better villains than heroes, the Legion of Doom to The Movement’s Justice League. The obvious cross-over to come could pit them as such, but it will be hard to stay interested that long without some more original character development here.
Speaking of crossovers, Zenescope Comics is cranking out #1 issues for its Unleashed Grimm Universe event. We took a look at the first installment a little while back, and what there is to see this time around isn’t much better. Hunters: The Shadowlands #1 seems to pick up where the last issue left off, with the five monster hunters trapped in The Shaowlands, separated from each other and lost in a timeless void. Years pass, in fact, and each hunter travels their own lost path before finding each other again. This is another sexy nymph versus monster free for all with little character development and a barley intelligible plot. Only the male hunters Elijah and Roman dress sensibly, as Sela, Liesel Van Helsing and Masumi the Samurai seem content to wander the hellish landscape in their lingerie, bathing suits, and bathrobes. The second story has a touch more promise, however.
Werewolves: The Hunger #1 features monster hunter Roman Asher, who has returned to Earth somehow and is on the trail of his favorite prey, a werewolf. The wolf is attacking campers indiscriminately, and Roman tracks it to the home of a local man and his daughter. The young girl is tragically bitten, then whisked away by a mysterious group of soldiers, who take her to a local veterinarian with secrets of her own. Roman here is slightly more rounded than in previous stories, brooding over a mysterious dark past. Also, unusual for Zenescope, every female character in the story is fully clothed, not an inappropriate corset or pair of hot pants in sight, and the tale has little of the sexualized element common to most of the Grimm Universe. It’s a welcome change, but won’t save the thin plot for long.
The next comic is a great example of why it’s important to call attention to the type of exploitative sexism seen at Zenescope. Akaneiro #1 from Dark Horse Comics, Spicy Horse Games and American McGee, is Little Red Riding Hood re-imagined in feudal Japan, the kind of fairy tale remix that Zenescope so often fumble so badly. This one is expertly crafted by Justin Aclin and artist Vasilis Lolos. This book tells the tale of Kani, living in a time beset by demons called Yokai. Kani helps save her village from a possessed bear with the help of The Akane, or Red Hunters. She is then taken on a a fledgling hunter, but must travel in her red cloak to their village successfully to begin her training. Along the way a wolf demon in the guise of an old grandmother has other plans for her. Kani is a brave, brash and charismatic young woman with a sense of duty, trying to overcome the death of her mother and prove herself to her Ronin father. She’s a fantastic role model for any young girl, and has the feel of a modern YA literature heroine, minus the obligatory love triangle. Her future team mates in the Red Hunters are the same – tough women in full suits of body armor, with a talent for balletic violence. There isn’t a hint of sexual exploitation here, just determined women trying to protect that which is theirs from darkness, and it’s a terrific and beautifully illustrated story.
Taking yet another story from its monthly omnibus Dark Horse Presents to turn into a full series, the publisher brings us the one-shot The Deep Sea. Years ago, a team of intrepid explorers set out to discover the mysteries of the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. Their mission went horribly wrong, costing the crew their lives and leaving behind one man, Paul Barry, to mourn his lost love Mary and her crewmates. Decades later, the ship is finally recovered, and Paul is on hand to find that Mary and her crew are alive and well, having spent what was to them only a day apart. Worse yet, horrid monsters from the depths of the oceans are assaulting ships across the seas, and the rediscovered time traveling crew are convinced they are somehow to blame. This tale perfectly combines elements of the best Science driven sci-fi comics we’ve seen lately (think The Massive or Nowhere Men) with Tony Akins slightly throwback artistic style. The result is a swashbuckling action adventure that feels like Jacques Cousteau meets Buck Rodgers, with a couple of great ladies of STEM anchoring the team of time traveling adventurers. The Deep Sea is a great read, with the promise of more to come, hopefully in the form of a full ongoing series.
Other fun new stuff this week? Tank Girl is back with Solid State Tank Girl #1. Tank Girl and Jet Girl team up to save their Kangaroo pal Booga from a serious infection of electronic overload. These girl power icons hop into a “sausage” that then gets shrunk microscopically and inserted into their pal, a la Inner Space or Fantastic Voyage. There is a ton of innuendo and spirit, with little thought for linear story telling, as per the Tank Girl norm, and the book is ridiculous fun.
