Captain Kirk’s Weekly Comic Review – 07/28/2016

Damn my eyes, but there’s an awful lot I have to catch up on.

I’m back from San Diego. SDCC 2016 was an incredible week that just never seemed to stop. Did I talk comics? Oh yeah – graphic novels, artists, writers and even the odd celebrity or two. I’ll have to tell you about my interview with Star Wars comic cover artist, Dave Dorman. Oh, and I’ll also have to include my interview with Dirk Gently star, Elijah Wood.

The point is: I don’t know how I’m going to be able to get all of this down in print! For now, let’s just look at the comics I’ve read this week!

Image Comics

Image has had a banner week. With Eisner Awards galore (Southern Bastards, The Fade Out, Paper Girls), is it any surprise that they have awesome offerings this week?

East of West #28

Like I said with the last issue, the pace is really stepping up now. There is a greater focus on making it to the end of days and all of the players are bringing themselves to a climax that will either see the destruction of the Earth or its reconfiguration. It’s an astonishing saga and it completely blows my mind that Hickman and Dragotta can maintain such an extended frenzy.

The Hunt #1

As a lover of Celtic Mythology, it always surprises me that there isn’t a greater interest in it. Raymond Feist did an amazing job with his Faerie Tale back in the 80’s, and it’s been the standard since then in my humble opinion, but Celtic myth is such a rich vibrant source of lore that has never been really exploited since then. Fairies are evil and this book just goes far to affirm that status.

Written and drawn by Colin Lorimer, it’s an astonishingly good book. The look at modern day Irish culture interspersed with sprinklings of cultural lore is remarkable; Lorimer has the right tempo of story-pacing and his art is phenomenally dark. This is an incredible offering from Image and I’m definitely going to be keeping my eye on this one.

Jupiter’s Legacy Vol.2 #2

Unbelievably tense and a thorough example of the idea that absolute power corrupts absolutely. How Mark Millar comes up with this stuff is beyond me. I mean, I can appreciate the imaginative effort in writing something like this book, but would I be able to pull it off myself? Not a snowball’s chance. And with Frank Quitely providing the visualization for this adventure to take place is something short of incredible. I’m a Mark Millar fan, but Quitely makes me love his work more.

DC Comics

Batman Rebirth #3

Hmmm … is Gotham big enough for two more? Well, if Batman is calling the shots, I don’t see why not.

As much as this is a fairly simple story, it’s a strong one and it has basic elements of character growth, development and motivation that I can seriously respect. It’s an enjoyable read and one that really validates the whole Rebirth event. Gotham and Gotham Girl really aren’t all that spectacular and their origin seems a little contrived, but – hey? Why not?

Hellblazer #1

Wow … what a great blast from the past this was. Typical Constantine – right down to the smug, self-centred lack of concern for anyone else other than himself. This was a great story. Written by Simon Oliver and drawn by Moritat, Oliver has really channelled the greats who have gone before him into this book. Azzarello, Ennis, even dare I say, Alan Moore?

This was exactly what John Constantine fans were expecting and Oliver delivers. From Constantine’s forced exile to New York City to his attempted return – every page was exactly the John Constantine that we needed to see. It’s nice to see that even Rebirth has room for the classics.

IDW Comics

ROM #1

Wow … when I heard they were rebooting this toy favourite from the late 1970’s little did I realize that it would be so enjoyable.

Short and sweet. For fans of the Marvel book of yesterday, there will be joy in recognizing the Dire Wraiths again as the chief villains. Still, one of the fun elements of this comic book was the fact that there were often cameos from the rest of the Marvel Universe. While the nostalgia fact alone should be fun, I can’t help but wonder how long that can sustain this book? I love it, to say the least, but it may not be enough to keep it afloat. We’ll hope for the best.

One nifty factoid about this release to keep in mind is the really cool cover variant done by Dave Dorman! It’s an amazing piece.

The Micronauts #4

Awesome re-envisioning of this comic title. I love to see how Baron Karza has been newly designed and how the Time Travelers have been refitted to serve as the mystery point of this book. It’s truly a wonderful comic and IDW is definitely pushing the envelope in re-discovering new properties that were cult favourites when I was a kid. Making them available to a new generation is a great way to publish comics. I hope they can continue to find these great titles and carve out more of the market.

The Pick of the Week:

I have to go with The Hunt #1.

Like I said, this is an amazing title that totally caught my attention with its new interpretive twist on Irish lore. Looking back allows us to look forward with a better sense of where we want to go. Mythology has always been a rich source of story-telling, but contemporary attitudes and morales make us re-examine these things with a fresh perspective and renews them. What is old is new again, right?

Celtic lore is so rich yet under-utilized. Kudos to Lorimer and his team for revitalizing these legends and giving us something to fear out of the stories of old.

That’s it for this week. Elijah Wood and Star Trek stuff will have to wait for other articles! SDCC – can’t wait to visit you again!