Sunday, May 5, 2024

On The Shelf: Free Comic Book Day '24, and new releases

 Let's start with some new releases over the last few weeks.

Marvel has revived its MAX imprint, now known as MAX Comics, with the release of Get Fury, a miniseries that is focused more on a pre-Punisher Frank Castle, who is finally depicted as a Marine.

Set in Vietnam in the 60's, Nick Fury has been captured by the Viet Cong, and Castle and his unit have been sent to not so much extract him, but kill him if he is forced to give up important secrets. The MAX line allows Marvel to go R-rated (listed as explicit content), which is right in the wheelhouse for writer Garth Ennis (The Boys, Preacher, etc.). Artist Jacen Burrows uses a mix of styles, somewhere between Darick Robertson and the late Darwyn Cooke, and paints a clean picture for the reader.

Get past the F-bombs being used on virtually every page, and you'll be fine.

Cover artist Dave Johnson paid homage to Castle's 1st ever cover as Punisher (Amazing Spider-Man back in the 70's) with the 1st issue cover.

Rating: A-.

It is said that Dick Tracy creator Chester Gould meant for his hero to be a satire of standard crime drama conventions, but readers ate it up just the same.

Former Archie Comics writer/editor Alex Segura saw an opportunity to bring some realism to Tracy. Paired with co-author Michael Moreci, Segura accomplished his mission with Tracy making his Mad Cave Studios debut that explores just how Tracy built himself into legend status, and, as well, his infamous rogues gallery, set in an unnamed city circa 1947. I can't say enough about artist Geraldo Borges, really, that would do him justice.

Segura was in town yesterday for Free Comic Book Day, and I was kicking myself for not bringing my copy of the 1st issue for an autograph. I did give him a tip on a certain shop across the river that I frequent.....!

Anyway, whatever your reservations, this is a good read, since the Tracy strip is no longer available locally in the newspapers, and can be found online. (MSN.com would be a good start).

Rating: A.

Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast, the flagship of [adult swim] in its early years, turns 30 this year. Space Ghost as a franchise turns 60 in 2 years. 20 years after DC had Joe Kelly & Yanick Paquette create an origin for the Phantom of The Spaceways, Dynamite, the current license holder, had David Pepose & Jonathan Lau create a more definitive origin, specifically how Space Ghost met his young wards, Jan & Jace.

In any case, this is the Space Ghost most of us grew up with via reruns in the 70's (I was but a toddler when the series first aired in 1966). Local artist John Hebert contributed what is touted as a retailer exclusive that he's likely showcasing at the Philadelphia Comic-Con this weekend. An excerpt of this issue can be found in a Dynamite entry for Free Comic Book Day, which we'll talk about shortly.

Rating: A.
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Speaking of Free Comic Book Day:


Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz has hooked up with Vault Comics for his first comics project.

Dying Inside is a graphic novel being previewed, and tells the story of a teenager who idolized Elliott Smith, and, at the same time, wants to end it all. This black & white tome, co-written by Hannah Klein & illustrated by Lisa Sterle, is meant to be a cautionary tale against teen suicides, but as the cover suggests, also addresses the usual debunked stereotypes about rock music.

Rating: B.

Popeye returns to comics, this time at Massive, with Lie-Eye Popeye, which officially launches next month. The book is written & drawn by Marcus Williams, with the artwork in a manga-inspired style, and they cite Dragon Ball & One Piece as sources of inspiration, but there is one flaw.

With 9 panels to a page, the lettering should be a little bit bigger so the reader doesn't have to squint like Popeye to read the dialogue. The plot is all about trying to explain how Popeye lost his right eye, and a protege of the Sea Hag is in the midst of it all, with Bluto putting aside his feud to help Popeye.

Well, blow me down. It was just 25 years ago that Peter David married Popeye & Olive off, and Williams doesn't really establish if that marriage made it into his plot.

Rating: B-.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared some 40 years ago. As IDW marks 25 years of publishing, they're rebooting their Turtles series to #1 in July with a new creative team of Jason Aaron & Joelle Jones (meaning it'll be at least bi-monthly, given Jones' inability to keep deadlines at DC), and, at the same time, previewing a miniseries that presents one of the boys as a Batman parody, the Night Watcher. Half the fun is figuring out who it is. 

Rating: B.

Archie is getting a ton of mileage out of their horror line, and darkening second and third tier characters to make them presentable to grim-dark obsessed readers who don't know any better.

The Cursed Library continues the darkening of Jinx Holliday (formerly L'il Jinx), who has been repackaged as the daughter of the devil. Oh, please. Give me a break. In the context of this 0 issue, Jinx is holding Madam Satan prisoner, with the villain's face wrapped in bandages for whatever. Editor-writer Jamie Rotante uses excerpts from recent 1-shots to help frame the story.

Personally, I've got a better idea on how to use Jinx, and not like this.

Rating: C.

For months, Dynamite withheld the creative team for their adaptation of Jonny Quest, who turns 60 this year. Veteran writer Joe Casey, aided by artist Sebastian Piriz, sends the Quest team on a time trip. I think I already know who the villain is, and it ain't Dr. Zin.

The backup features are excerpts from Space Ghost (see above) and ThunderCats. The 1st issue of Jonny Quest is promised for July, but is not being solicited in Previews, which suggests a delay to August.

Chris Samnee provided the cover, inspired by Jonny's creator, Doug Wildey.

Rating: Incomplete.

Fantagraphics is working with Marvel on a trade collection of reprints from the Atlas era of the 50's, featuring the art of the likes of Joe Maneely, Bill Everett, Basil Wolverton, and Gene Colan. Wolverton's "Where Monsters Dwell" inspired the Marvel anthology of the 70's.

Rating: A.

Over at Titan, someone got a clue and decided to try to create a shared universe of Robert E. Howard's characters, including Conan The Barbarian, Solomon Kane, and others. This will start in Savage Sword of Conan in September, and there are plans for a Conan miniseries later this summer. The preview, Conan: Battle of The Black Stone, sets the tone. I'm interested.

Rating: B+.

Mad Cave previewed two forthcoming series, and gave away its publishing schedule for the summer.

Flash Gordon, last seen at Dynamite, returns in a new series by Jeremy Adams & Will Conrad, but the opening arc is meant to be a shocker. One of the variant covers for the first issue, due in July, pays homage to the infamous 1980 movie. The plan is to have the 2nd issue come out in September, then finish the arc on a monthly schedule, while a second, quarterly title, also debuts. Hmmmmmm.

Gatchaman debuts next month, with issue 2 out in August, and a miniseries built around the villains debuting in July. If you thought you knew G-Force from the American adaptations dating back to Battle of The Planets in 1978, you're in for surprises, and a treat. That's all I'll say.

Ratings:

Gatchaman: A.
Flash Gordon: Incomplete.

More FCBD next time.

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