Conan The Barbarian #2 Review

 

Writer: Jim Zub

Artist: Roberto de la Torre

Colorist: Dean White

Letterer: Richard Starkings

Cover Artists: Alan Quah; Roberto de la Torre; Gerardo Zaffino; E.M. Gist; Dan Parent

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 3, 2023

 

The Tribe of the Dead transformed Hauler’s Roam from a lively settlement to a slaughterhouse. How will Conan and the Pict scout Brissa fare amid this Dawn Of The Hyborian Dead? Let's venture into Conan The Barbarian #2 and find out!

 

Story

After the zombies slay the not-so-peaceful inhabitants, they search the homes and buildings for survivors. Afterward, the methodical murderers march off, dragging the bound and broken bodies behind them. Conan and Brissa follow the trail of blood. Brissa urges him to attack. Perhaps they could slay the undead war party, Conan reasons. But then how would they find who sent them?

 

Conan The Barbarian #2 follows their trek across Conan's homeland. He wonders how many other animated corpses wander the Cimmerian steeps. Conan also learns more about Brissa. Her history makes him ponder the sword he found during the battle of Venerium. It's served him faithfully throughout his wanderings. Might it be linked to whatever sorcery directs the current carnage?

 

Jim Zub draws from Howard’s well, investing Conan The Barbarian #2 with action, mystery, and perhaps even love. At least he delivers plenty to read. He rewards those who persevere with a haunting vision, a heartrending battle, and a discovery that may rock Conan’s understanding of his people.

 

Super 7 Conan Action Figure available at Amazon

 

 

Art

Roberto de la Torre packs pages with panels that follow Conan and Brissa’s trek. They tread through forests, grasslands, barren hills, and dramatic rock formations. Their journey ends in the snowy hinterlands of Conan’s youth. What they find there is beyond anything they might have suspected.

 

Conan’s mane, mien, and muscles convey a majesty that bespeaks his Marvel years. Brissa belongs at Conan's side. The eyes of the undead glow, and their jaws drop open when they spot their quarry. Battles sing as steel sweeps through the air. The rent flesh sends blood flying in this gruesome gallery. And yet, Conan's comradeship with a woman who should be his enemy is what lingers.

 

Dean White streaks the unforgiving land and stormy skies with color. Aside from when Roberto de la Torre leaves areas blank, nuanced and lifelike color pervades. The overall tone is dark amid the short days and long nights and as cool as the Cimmerian winter. Yet light shines down from the sun and the moon, illuminating the living and the dead.

 

Richard Starkings fills spherical white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes with black, uppercase lettering. That is unless they escape and invade the white spaces or colored sky. In rare instances, these wanderers glow white amid dark scenery. While easier to read than his lettering for Dark Horse Comics' Conan series, the words seem smaller and packed tighter than Marvel's 1970s contributors. If Grim Jim stuffs his bags so tightly, perhaps Riotous Richard could ease the load on the travelers who must carry and unpack them. 

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Conan and his Pictish partner learn about each other and search for the source of the soulless scourge in Conan The Barbarian #2.

 

8.4/10

 

To preview interior art and more covers see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Marvel Unleashed #1 Spotlight

 

What do you do if your master goes missing? If you live in New York, why not seek the aid of a superhero? That's what the poodle Juniper does in Marvel Unleashed #1.

 

 

 

Her friend D-Dog doesn't have a home. People abandoned him at the city dump, so he vowed to bring justice to an unjust world. Even though he wants to save everyone who needs help, he's not afraid to ask for help. 

 

 

 

He and Juniper seek out Lucky, Kate Bishop's dog. Unfortunately, Marvel's female Hawkeye is out of town, so Lucky volunteers to join the team. But when the trio discover the remnants of occult practices at Juniper's home, they seek A-List assistance.

 

 

 

Marvel Unleashed #1 is a delightful romp through New York City. D-Dog, Juniper, and Lucky's adventure will involve the Inhumans' teleporting dog Lockjaw, more Avenger pets, and even Kraven The Hunter. The story reminds us that anyone can be a hero: all it takes is determination. 

 

 

 

Marvel Unleashed #1 came out last week. If you or your favorite pet lover didn't pick up a copy, do so soon. You won't want to miss a moment of The Incredible Journey!

 

 

 

Preview interior art for Marvel Unleashed #1 at ComicBook Dispatch.

Jean Grey #1 Spotlight

 

As Jean Grey lies dying, her life flashes before her eyes. Images appear, interlock with others, and form a tapestry of memories. She's been a leader among her fellow mutants. Now, she's just another victim of the massacre at the Hellfire Gala.

 

 

 

She wonders: How might things have gone differently? So Jean Grey searches for clues amid past events. She pours through them, looking for mistakes she made. If you're a rabid X-Men fan, you'll likely recognize many of the events featured in Jean Grey #1. If not, you'll be impressed by the strength of her resolve. Despite memories--or re-imaginings of past events--she nonetheless believes she could have prevented the tragedy. 

 

 

 

But then, isn't an unshakeable belief in yourself a hallmark of a hero?

 

Jean Grey #1 is a powerful look at the weight she places upon her shoulders and the responsibility she feels for all mutants.

 

 

 

Preview Jean Grey #1 interior art--and enjoy a more seasoned reviewer's thoughts--at Comic Book Dispatch.

Amazing Spider-Man #32 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Artist: Patrick Gleason

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Morry Hollowell; Jan Bazaldua & Jesus Aburtov; Patrick Gleason & Marcio Menyz; Adam Kubert & Brad Anderson; Giada Perissinotto; Elizabeth Torque

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

Peter Parker’s friend Randy tried to marry Janice Lincoln. But the lovebirds' wedding plans got smashed by an attack that left Tombstone injured and much of his criminal organization dead. Can Peter and her friend Michele help Randy and Janice tie the knot? Let’s fwip into Amazing Spider-Man #32 and find out!

 

 

 

 

Story

Just like Randy and Janice, recent events have torn apart Peter’s web of significant relationships. Mary Jane’s lost to him, as is Felicia Hardy. Even though he’s dubious about Randy’s future as Tombstone’s son-in-law, he cares for his friend. He meets Michele for dinner, hoping they can find a way to rekindle Randy and Janice’s belief that love will conquer all.

 

Peter is also concerned about his boss in Amazing Spider-Man #32. The Sin-Eater removed Norman Osborn's sins, but recent events—Kamala Khan's death and Doctor Octopus' attack—could push anyone to the breaking point. Even if Peter doesn’t trust him with Aunt May, he likes the man Norman’s becoming and wants to be there for him.

 

 

 

 

Unbeknownst to Peter, an evil force regenerated the Goblin Queen. She works now to expel the sins the Beyond Corporation gave her. Who will she give them to? Who better than their original host: Norman Osborn?

 

Perhaps the staff at the Ravencroft Institute should have chucked her body in the furnace after all!

 

 

 

Art

Arcane symbols mix with primitive weaponry in Amazing Spider-Man #32. Fire surrounds figures cloaked in darkness. Images of insects and animals contrast with elegant surroundings, suggesting occult ceremonies among the privileged classes. A dagger pierces a portrait of Norman Osborn on the wall behind a dark-haired woman. Beside her stands a muscular hunter clutching a spear.

 

Peter and Michele look made for each other as they discuss their friends' problems. Shock overtakes his smooth face as glaring differences become apparent. While hers is slower to transform, the meal ends with both diners frowning.

 

 

 

 

Yellow and orange surround the Goblin Queen's red skin as she and the hunter ready their attack. Peter passes green, pink, purple, and blue graffiti as he walks along New York City streets in Amazing Spider-Man #32. Yellow streetlighting imbues a statue with a ghostly aspect and casts all else in lavender. Interior lighting colors Norman’s lab blue until an attack slathers Oscorp’s halls and rooms in red.

 

 

 

 

The hunter’s thoughts appear as lowercase black letters in orange narrative boxes. Yet orange letters in black narrative boxes also feel like they belong to him rather than the Goblin Queen. Spoken dialogue appears as uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons, while large white letters help us hear mechanical sounds. All that changes when intruders enter Oscorp. Peter's distress colors his shout, swelling his utterance to epic proportions.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Amazing Spider-Man #32 showcases Peter’s concern for his friends, casts the identity of the Goblin Queen’s partner in doubt, and leaves us wondering why the red-skinned woman seeks revenge. How much of Ashley Kafka remains and hates the villain she's become?

 

9.4/10

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Dead Lucky #8 Review

 

Writer: Melissa Flores

Artist: French Carlomagno

Colorist: Mattia Iacono

Letterer: Becca Carey

Cover Artists: French Carlomagno; Matthew Johnson

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

The Morrow Corporation sent Bibiana and her team to rescue a scientist. Instead, the masked mercenary Pyre captured her makeshift team of former gang members. When the fire-wielding soldier-for-hire removed his mask, she saw the face of a fallen member of her Special Forces team. But how can he be alive when Bibiana communes with his spirit? Let's charge into Dead Lucky #8 and find out!

 

Story

Last year, while guarding classified cargo in Jordan, Bibiana’s teammates died. Diagnosed with P.T.S.D. and honorably discharged, she returned to San Francisco. Instead of resuming life in the city she remembered, Bibiana used her strange, new superpowers to prevent Morrow from ruling her hometown. After that battle ended in disaster, Bibiana agreed to work for the technology giant in return for amnesty and positions within the company for her and her allies.

 

Bibiana’s ability to channel electricity seems linked to the spirits of her fallen team. Foremost among those is Ghost, who she named her first robot after. She often spoke with him while fighting Morrow. Now Ghost stands before her, seemingly resurrected, and hurls rivulets of fire at her. So with whose empowering spirit does she speak if Ghost still lives? Were the psychologists right: is she merely suffering from P.T.S.D.? If so, where do Bibiana's superpowers come from?

 

Meanwhile, former S.F.P.D. officer Maria updates Ms. Valentine on security operations. Her plea to lift Morrow's curfew gets interrupted when Ms. Korin arrives. Once again, Jimmi Morrow's secretary is rescheduling Valentine's appointment with the company C.E.O. Then Korin tells them that Bibi’s gone missing, and Morrow’s best technology can’t find her.

 

Art

After the highly detailed art in earlier issues, French Carlomagno’s work looks less polished in Dead Lucky #8. Fuzzy soldiers, sparse interiors, and tents and buildings in the Jordanian desert can't compare with lively districts, stately structures, and San Francisco's cultural and ethnic diversity. The story features fewer characters and no robots—humanoid or canine—or flying drones. Still, Bibi's scenes crackle with power: her confrontation with Ghost—and memories of their final mission—electrify.

 

Mattia Iacono delivers her usual mix of energetic colors to Dead Lucky #8. The Jordanian desert, interiors, and memories benefit from a loaded palette of intense colors. The sophisticated blend of florescent hues mixes with colorful shading to sustain this series' eye-catching appeal.

 

Writer Melissa Flores dishes out the dialogue in Dead Lucky #8, and letterer Becca Carey delivers. Uppercase black letters file into white balloons, and their orderly arrangement is easy to follow. Big white words locate us in time and space, and sound effects heighten confrontations with concussive force.

 

Final Thoughts

A revelation rocks Bibiana’s understanding of her superpowers when her last mission returns to haunt her in Dead Lucky #8.

 

Rating 8.6/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Captain America Finale #1 Review

 

Writers: Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly

Artist: Carmen Carnero

Colorist: Nolan Woodard

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Carmen Carnero & Alejandro Sánchez; Greg Land & Frank D’Armata

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

Conflicting ideologies divide Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Can Captain America and the Winter Soldier join forces to destroy the Outer Circle? Let's leap into Captain America Finale #1 and find out!

 

Story

World War II forged Steve Rogers into an American hero. It wasn’t just his zeal to defend his country’s borders. Nor was it the Super-Soldier serum that enhanced his strength and endurance and slowed his aging. What mobilized Steve was fighting oppression, and what completed the transformation was examples of courage and heroism set by his friends.

 

Now, as Steve charges into battle against the Outer Circle in Captain America Finale #1, his friends fight alongside him. He leads his team of Invaders against an enemy that would dominate our planet. Together, they face the ultimate enemy of Humanity: one that stands against liberty and freedom in all its forms. Backed up by his friends, you know he'll bring it down. Or die trying.

 

 

 

 

Art

Writers Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly may rely too often on single-page scenes and bold, double-page spreads to evoke grandeur. In Captain America Finale #1, their teammate Carmen Carnero delivers their colossal vision. Nolan Woodard overloads his palette with an appealing mix of colors to make such big scenes leap off the page. Yet pages of smaller panels and those set within larger images also speak volumes.

 

Joe Caramagna enhances white time and space markers with Cap's distinctive shield. White dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes protect his black, uppercase letters in Captain America Finale #1. They're easy to read as they sweep across the pages. If you get lost, don't worry. Captain America's by your side!

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Captain America Finale #1 knits disparate story strands to deliver a rousing conclusion. Driven by the themes and people that make him a superhero, this issue reminds us of what Steve Rogers always fights for.

 

Rating 9/10

 

Preview interior art on my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother Review

 

Writers: Mirka Andolfo & Luca Blengino

Artists: Giuseppe Cafaro, Salvatore Cafari, Valentina Pinti,Francesco Paciaroni, Nathan Ramirez, Chiara Di Francia, Giovanna La Pietra & Fausto Michelotti

Colorists: Chiara Di Francia, Nicolò Laporini, Gianluca Papi & Francesca Carotenuto

Letterers: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou & Jeff Eckleberry

Cover Artist: Mirka Andolfo

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $19.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

Scavengers find poor pickings among the dead. They blame their leader Three-Eyed Shezem for placing them among the stragglers of his war party. Then a woman clad in a chain mail bikini and a fur cloak rides into the burning village. Have the gods finally smiled upon them? Let's hack into Red Sonja Vol 1: Mother and find out!

 

Story

Pirates kidnapped Sitha from her cradle. Years later, her parents learned she was in Hyperborea. Zondryak, the King Of The Slums in Messentia, commissioned Red Sonja to find her. It’s taken her two months to travel here from the capital city of Argos, only to find this remote village burning and looters searching the corpses.

 

  

Suddenly, like a gift from the gods, Sitha emerges from the flames. The girl is just as Zondryak described her: ritualistic signs of her lineage mark her arms. Sitha’s eyes glow when she sees Sonja. The exhausted girl rushes into her embrace and insists that Red Sonja is her mother!

 

Red Sonja will find returning to Messentia as difficult as shaking Sitha’s assertion. After a battle leaves her injured, she’ll awaken to discover a man tending her. How dare Samosh touch her so intimately, even to nurse her back to health! Worse, Sitha believes that they should continue living together as a family! Red Sonja’s spirits ebb further when she finally delivers the girl to Zondryak and collects her fee. Sitha feels betrayed. Red Sonja feels like she’s just sold her daughter!

 

 

 

Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother will take Red Sonja and Sitha across the Hyborean world. From Hyperborea to Argos, thence into Shem, and eventually to faraway Khitai, they will meet soldiers, thieves, and an evil baroness. They'll battle blind priests and monsters, visit the castle of a mad king, and find friendship with an aging servant named Setubai. Yet the most intense battle of all will be the battle for their souls, as Red Sonja wrestles with her conscience, and Sitha battles the raging spirit inside her.

 

If you find yourself confused regarding Sitha’s background, don’t worry. The pieces of that puzzle will come together by the end. And while Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother ends on a cliffhanger, Red Sonja and Sitha grow as people while they battle the dangers life throws into their paths. It's the adventure of a lifetime, and you'll be glad you shared it with them.

 

 

 

Art

Giuseppe Cafaro’s characters often appear angular and wear exaggerated expressions. Backgrounds—and characters in long shots—may look barely sketched in. Yet there's also an organic, flowing feeling to his work, such as when the wind whips Red Sonja's hair.

 

His dynamic style relates action well, sometimes faster than the eye can see. There's over-the-top silliness, such as when a man's severed head flies through the air screaming, and battles suggest a George Lucas-like love of lopped-off limbs. At times, dialogue refers to people and objects that only appear in later panels. Yet I like his sense of symmetry, page composition, and how he frames scenes. I particularly like a statue in Samosh’s home that presages Sitha’s transformation in later issues.

 

 

 

Chiara Di Francia enhances Cafaro’s images with bright colors full of richness and depth. They show shadows and highlights, enliven action scenes, and convey realism. Flashbacks—such as when Zondryak commissioned Red Sonja—appear sepia toned. Like Giuseppe Cafaro, he allows other artists to contribute to issue #5. But then he returns to sole coloring duties to follow Sitha’s struggle to survive when separated from her flame-haired guardian.

 

Large, uppercase black letters usually inhabit dialogue balloons. They give way to small font and lowercase lettering for lowered voices. Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother boasts a wealth of lettering styles, from immense time-and-space markers to irregularly shaped balloons with backgrounds that gradually shift from white to red. Balloon arrangement takes on beauty, particularly in the early issues, before the action heightens and situations intensify. 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother explores our responsibility toward others, our craving for power, and how much we long for a sense of family. This six-issue trade paperback—filled with action, sorcery, and Hyborean myths and legends—also packs a forty-page cover gallery.

 

9.2/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.