Game

Price: $15

Players: 2-10

Time: 10-30 minutes

Age: 15+

In April Cryptozoic came out with The Walking Dead Card Game. The game is based on the game 6 Nimmt! if you are familiar with that but was easy enough to learn without ever knowing about that game too.

There are 104 walker cards and 6 hero cards included in the game. Each point value has a picture depicting a number of zombies on them. The single point cards only having one zombie and the seven point card having a swarm. The six hero cards are Maggie, Daryl, Rick, Andrea, Glenn and T-dog. Each have an action shot from the show.

There are two different modes or ways to play the game.

Hero Mode

In hero mode each player will get to choose one of the hero cards to start in their hand. Each hero card works the same way so there is they can be handed out at random if wanted. The goal of hero mode is to kill more walkers than the rest of the players by collecting more points worth of walker cards. The points are shown on each card based on the number of bullets printed on each card. Game play is simple enough to learn and to teach to new people. Each player starts with 15 walker cards dealt to them plus their hero card. Then four more cards are lined up in a column. Each player will choose one or two cards from their hand and place them face down in front of them. When everyone has set down their cards you flip them over and follow the rules for placing the cards into rows. Starting from the lowest card, each card is placed next to the closest number that is lower than the card played. So if you played 51 and the cards out are 10, 20, 53 and 100, your card would go next to the 20, as that card is lower than your 51 and closer than 10. If the card is lower than all the cards at the end of the rows, then you place it after the highest card. Once all the cards are placed, you start the next round. When the card is forced to be played on a stack with five cards, your card being the sixth one, you collect the five cards on the table and leave your card as the new starting card. If a player wants, they can place their hero card as the second card when placing two cards down. When this happens, your walker card is placed before any other card regardless of its number, giving you the chance to collect a stack of zombies without it being stolen away by another player. When all the cards are played by each player, the game is over and the bullets are counted up. You can play one time or keep track of your score and play a set number of matches, three being recommended by the instructions.

Survival Mode

Survival Mode plays out almost the opposite of hero mode. You only get 10 cards each and no heros are used this time. Each player will choose only one card but this time the goal is to not be overrun by zombies(to not collect points). The card placement rules are similar to hero mode, except if you play a card lower than all the cards at the end of the row then you have to pick one of the rows to take and place your card as the new starting card. After the ten rounds of playing cards, you count the bullets the same way and either choose single game or multiple games and the person with the lowest score wins.

Both games are quick and easy to pick up after the first game or two. I personally like the feel of survival mode more. The game starts off a little slow but after you have played about half your hand, everyone seems to be a little more panicked about which card they are going to play and trying to figure out if someone else will steal the pile before their card gets played on it. Overall its a fun party game for people whether you have seen The Walking Dead or not. I would say the 15+ years on the age is about right because of the strategy and almost bluff like tactics to the game.

The Info Bit

Title: Charismagic volume 2 #1

Genre/s: Fantasy/Adventure

Writer: Vince Hernandez (Fathom: Kiani, Executive Assistant Assassins)

Penciler: Vincenzo Cucca (Route des Maisons Rouges, She-Hulk)

Inker: Mark Roslan (Broken Pieces, Heroes)

Colorist: Emilio Lopez (Executive Assistant: Lotus, Fanboys VS Zombies)

Letterer: Josh Reed (Idolized, Fathom)

Publisher: Aspen MLT

Number of Issues: 1 (limited series)

Page Count: 20

Price: $3.99

The Review Bit

It has been almost a year since the epic end to Charismagic volume 1 and we are currently two-thirds of the way through the prequel miniseries, Charismagic: The Death Princess, but now Charismagic volume 2 is being dropped on our door steps this Wednesday to continue the story of Hank Medley, his cat Sparkles, and the druid Sudana. The fourth title in Aspen’s 10 for 10 initiative, Charismagic volume 2 is certainly an interesting one and continues the more recent legacy of Aspen titles.

Volume 2 of Charismagic opens up just a short time after volume 1 ended, throwing us right in the thick of things as people return to our world after their time spent in the Void realm in volume 1. Things open in South Central Los Angeles in a comical scene involving a few hardcore ‘gangstas’ exchanging some cringe worthy clichés of trying to get “magic stuff” (but not the kind of magic Charismagic is known for, mind you). Just as things are about to get a little too Boyz n the Hood, LA gets shaken up by the appearance of magical monsters. Cut to our heroes, back in lovely Las Vegas, as Sudana wakes up screaming from a vision of this next to Hank. We are briefly re-introduced to our main characters, though readers not familiar with volume 1 of Charismagic might not call it much of an introduction at all. Sudana tells Hank of her somewhat cloudy vision that something has come to Earth from the void realm as Sparkles, Hank’s cat, defensively enters the room, curious to know what happened. Sudana changes from her skimpy lingerie to a more publicly acceptable outfit just in time for the door to be knocked upon. It is Kenny, Hank’s agent, a young redheaded guy that bares striking resemblance to Superman’s pal, Jimmy Olsen. Kenny helps clear up Sudana vision by turning on the TV to news of monster attacks in Los Angeles.

It is at this point we realize that Serke is responsible for sending magical bug monsters from the Void into Earth, with the aid of Hank’s friends Alle and Hector. Serke was a figure we are growing to know in the prequel mini-series, Charismagic: The Death Princess, and Hector and Alle were Hank’s good friends from volume 1. If you didn’t know that going into this volume, you probably won’t have picked it up in this issue as it is merely brushed over with a single line later on. But now we find Alle and Hector are looking rather evil and doing things that equally fit that appearance.

To try and grasp what is going on, Sudana uses a bit of Earth “magic”, that is the everyday mobile cellular phone, to call the ancient wizard Kon. Kon is another character from volume 1, who also happens to be the protagonist of the prequel series. Kon is accompanied by another character from the prequel series whose appearance might be a bit of a spoiler for those still waiting on Charismagic: The Death Princess #3, so I won’t say who it is. Needless to say, they seem to certainly be plotting something on their own. Kon gives little aid to Sudana, other than to prod her into sharing with Hank the fact that his friends, Hector and Alle, are a part of the attack on Los Angeles. This leads Hank to gather his Vegas friends and head for LA. Hank uses his special magical power of vanishing (teleporting) to bring his friends there quickly, only to have something tragic happen to one of them. To top it all off, Hector and Alle are making their way to a rather dangerous place on the California coastline. From the frying pan and straight into the fire, I’m not sure where Serke is going with his attack on Earth, but things don’t look good for our hero or his friends.

Vince Hernandez writes a fun and funny issue here in Charismagic volume 2 #1. It has a lot of great little humor and one-liners from the supporting cast, and a few interesting twists. If you’ve been following all of Charismagic, you’ll likely rather enjoy this issue. If you’re new to the series, however, it might be rather hard to follow. In fact, if you even just skipped Charismagic: The Death Princess, you might be struggling a bit with who some of these characters are. It really is one of those opening issues that just throws you in the deep end and expects you to flail around until you learn to swim or follow the plot. As someone who has read all of the Charismagic issues currently out, including the Sparkles charity one-shot, I’m even having a little trouble putting all the pieces together. Still, I’m rather curious where this is all going.

On the art end, things are also a little unfocused, with some panels coming off absolutely beautiful well others are somewhat lacking. It’s hard to tell if this is penciler Vincenzo Cucca’s fault or digital inker Mark Roslan’s or some combination of the two. In some panels, Sudana is drawn as beautiful and sexy as if Bruce Timm himself was handling the art. In others, lines are a little thick and Characters seem somewhat undefined. Even the coloring in this issue seems a little irregular, which is odd to see from Emilio Lopez, who is a brilliant colorist. At moments you can see everything that makes Lopez’ colors pop, and in other scenes, like that of the bedroom scene, there are moments things seem a little flat. I will say that such color choices could be his interpretation of the drastic changes in lighting for various scenes, however.

Character designs in this issue seem a little basic for non-key characters. The bug monsters could just as easily be Annihilus’ army from Marvel’s Annihilation, not seeming very magical or creative. The same could be said for the new character known as “Dealer”, who looks about as generic as a vegas background character could get. But Cucca keeps up a great job on facial expressions, which really helps define the mood and tone of the character’s words. The action and framing also are rather solid, though at points it does seem to come at the cost of the characters appearance. The art consistently does the story justice throughout its pages, but just seems inconsistent in quality. This is especially true when compared to some of the beautiful character studies done by Cucca in the back of the issue, which all look rather brilliant. In fact, Cucca even provided an absolutely astonishing Special Reserved Edition variant cover to the comic that shows what the artist is capable of. All the Charismagic volume 2 covers look nice, but the interiors just have to be scrutinized a little, especially when compared to the stunning interiors of all other Charismagic issues.

The Rating Bit

In the end, Charismagic volume 2 #1 is a fun read that is particularly great if you’re fans of the Charismagic characters and curious what happened to them after volume 1. However, it gets a little spoilery by jumping ahead of the release of Charismagic: The Death Princess #3, and might not be the ideal jumping on issue for new fans. The story seems to be missing some details so far, but these will likely all be explained in time. The big hit is that the art is just not fully on par with previous incarnations of Charismagic. Still, the issue is enjoyable and easily earns itself a 7 out of 10 with its low cover price of only $1 for issue #1. Check it out for yourself when Charismagic volume 2 #1 hits stores this Wednesday, May 1^st.

The Info Bit

Title: Jirni #1

Genre/s: Fantasy/Adventure

Writer: J.T. Krul (Soulfire, Teen Titans)

Penciler: Paolo Pantalena (Epoch, 1001 Arabian Nights: The Adventures of Sinbad)

Colorist: Brett Smith (GI Joe, Homecoming)

Letterer: Josh Reed (If it has lettering at Aspen, this guy likely did it)

Publisher: Aspen MLT

Number of Issues: 1 (limited series)

Page Count: 20

Price: $1.00

The Review Bit

It’s the end of April and Aspen has released its third 10^th anniversary title under their 10 for 10 initiative. This month’s new #1 issue for only $1 comes to us from writer J.T. Krul and artist Paolo Pantalena, with a bit of an Arabian twist on the old female lead fantasy tale. I must point out, as it is the tenth anniversary of Michael Turner’s Aspen MLT, Turner was often known both for his beautiful artwork and his amazing comics with strong female leads. Therefore, it is great to see 10 years after the company was founded and almost 5 years after the beloved founder’s passing, Aspen is still producing comics with a similar trend of beautiful artwork and strong female leads.

Jirni #1 is an epic fantasy adventure set in world quite unlike ours, with different looking beings and magic abound. It is almost like if Disney or Dreamworks created an Arabian fantasy adventure, but a lot sexier. The story opens with a group of wild, cannibalistic brutes carving up a man and his family over a cooking fire. The man’s daughter screams for him as the brutes take pride in their work. Suddenly, a beautiful and buxom figure in purple appears; sword out and slashing away at the brutes. This is our protagonist and narrator, Ara. Ara makes quick work of the cannibals while exchanging quips and showing her fine sword skills. As she frees the young girl, who we come to find is named Nylese, it is already too late for the rest of her family. Nylese sits cupping her father, as he tells her to continue East with his dying breath. Ara, the valiant warrior and honorable fighter that she is, is unmoved by this scene as she piles up the bodies for pyre, but offers to take Nylese East with her, as it is the direction Ara is heading. Ara reveals her story to Nylese as she undoes whatever power makes her large and purple, returning to a normal human-esque female figure. It seems Ara is a princess, from a land thousands of miles to the West, whose mother was captured. Now Ara is in search of her mother, to bring her back home.

A short flashback to Ara’s youth gives us a greater insight into Ara’s character and relationship with her mother. This also leads as a great segue to the introduction of the comic’s villain. Back in present day, hidden in the Sonori Desert, a gargantuan elephant-like creature carries a large litter of sorts on its back. The elephant-like creature and its driver are stopped enroute through the desert by a sizable gang of thieves, who board the litter to steal its contents. Inside, however, is more than just riches, as a wealthy looking man sits beside what appears to be Ara’s mother, Luna. The thieves demand everything and the wealthy man scoffs, offering them a small bag of coin to be gone. When the thieves prove greedier, the man reveals himself to be a powerful sorcerer, named Torinthal, with a more powerful D’jinn enslaved in a lamp. Letting this genie of sorts out, the D’jinn massacres the thieves before taking a moment to show a hint of sorrow and longing. Torinthal quickly returns the D’jinn to its lamp, to Luna’s nagging displeasure, revealing herself as just as much a slave to the sorcerer as the D’jinn is. In the end, fans are given the smallest of answers to several of their questions hidden subtly in these final few pages, but are left with many more questions that the series should later answer.

J.T. Krul has thought up an amazing sounding world in the pages of Jirni, that seems like an incredibly interesting Arabian version of Red Sonja (which Krul has written for in the past) or another such fantasy adventure title featuring a strong and sexy female lead. However, the part that makes this story so great and unique extends beyond the Arabian themes and mythology, and actually has to do with the character of Ara herself. In just the few pages we’ve had with Ara so far, she seems to have more character than many other sexy female comic leads currently on the market. While still rocking the scantily clad armor and big weapon so many men and women love about this genre of comics, Ara has a little extra depth given by both her ability to transform and the flashback provided by Krul. The flashback featured Ara as a young, naïve, and wide-eyed girl who seemed easily excited by the world. Furthermore, her relationship with her family is hinted at in a way that seems to heavily contrast how she is presented as an adult. Krul perfectly captures the voice of a young girl in the younger Ara’s dialogue, and in the same paints it quite different from the adult dialogue and narration of Ara, which is hardened and almost cold.

The characters introduced so far in Jirni all seem rather interesting, with a strong bit of life, to which we can thank J.T. But in the same, we cannot talk about them without mentioning their absolutely beautiful designs by Paolo Pantalena. Pantalena provides absolutely breathtaking artwork throughout the book, with sexy and nubile women, strong and muscular men, curious and almost frightful fantasy races, and the type of weapons that your Dungeons & Dragons’ group would kill for. It has been some time since I’ve seen such a shapely female lead look this good in the interiors of a comic, and not just on the cover (though if you get a chance to look at the Bluerainbow Online variant Pantalena did for Jirni #1…that is just a whole lot of “WOW!”). Then you look at the opposite end of the design spectrum where Pantalena has created such innocence in the younger Ara, or bone shattering masculinity in the D’jinn, Anjaha, who looks like a more bad ass version of DC comic’s Doomsday, and you are further awe struck. Even Pantalena’s paneling looks good, with strong choices of tall and large panels that show off the characters, and great panel dividers done in smoke or hair. One of the only criticisms you could really give Pantalena on his art is that his panel backgrounds are often empty. But this is easily ignored thanks to the stunning figures in the foreground and the great coloring of Brett Smith. Smith is really on his A-game in this comic, with everything just looking magnificent and vividly colored. It actually reminds me of Peter Steigerwald’s coloring of Soulfire volume 1.

Beyond even the art, the whole team truly came together to make this comic look wonderful. The design work of Mark Roslan, Peter Steigerwald, and Josh Reed is notable just looking at the logo and credits page. Furthermore, Josh Reed designed some lovely caption boxes and really put Dreamer Design’s font to good use with a style that looked very befitting of the Arabian themes in Jirni. This is honestly one of those comics where it looks like everyone pulled their weight and then some making the project just shine.

The Rating Bit

Jirni #1 is a stunning opening issue for a comic that looks to be just great. It doesn’t break any boundaries or attempt to alter the medium in any way, but it is just a good old fashioned fantasy comic done to seemingly the best of everyone’s abilities. It looks great, it reads fun, and it could be handed to just about anyone for their enjoyment, comic fan or not. With the opening issue only costing a $1, there is absolutely no reason not to go pick up Jirni #1, and we confidently rate it a mighty 9 out of 10.

The Info Bit

Title: Star Wars: Legacy #1 Prisoner O/T Floating World    

Genre/s: Sci-Fi

Writer: Corinna Bechko (Fear Itself: Homefront, Betrayal Of The Planet Of The Apes) & Gabriel Hardman

Art: Gabriel Hardman (Agents of Atlas, Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm)

Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg (X-Factor, Barrack the Barbarian)

Publisher: Dark Horse

Number of Issues: #1 (on-going)

Page Count: 22

Price: $2.99

The Review Bit

In 2006, Dark Horse launched Star Wars Legacy, a title that would take place 129 years after the Battle of Yavin (ABY) and would center on former Jedi student turned smuggler/pirate Cade Skywalker, a descendant of Luke Skywalker. Now, after the titles immense success and incredible story of the first volume of Legacy (50 issues with a 6 issue limited story tie-up), Dark Horse brings us the next chapter in the Legacy Universe, this time focusing on the descendant of the Solo family.

Set 138 years ABY (After the Battle of Yavin, the battle taking place at the end of Star Wars IV, for non-Star Wars geeks), and shortly after the events of Star Wars: Legacy – War, the Triumvirate (consisting of the Jedi Council, Imperial Court, and the Galactic Alliance) have sent Imperial Knight Yalta Val and his crew on a peacetime mission to the Carreras system in the outer rim. While trying to navigate through the dense Surd Nebula their ship is attacked, forcing them to make an immediate emergency landing on an unknown planet. After crash landing on the uncharted planet, Yalta Val’s Stormtroopers investigate the perimeter only to be cut down by what can only be a Sith. The Imperial Knight hears the commotion and comes to investigate himself, only to also be jumped by the Sith. During the fight Yalta Val is knocked to the ground, as the Sith raises his lightsaber to deliver the killing blow, he is killed from behind….by his Sith apprentice. The student has become the Master. The story moves forward to later in the day and we see the comm droid that was being prepared by the ships crew to act as a beacon in the nebula, checking for survivors, finding none. What it does find is Yalta Val’s lightsaber, but no sign of his body, what is the fate of the Imperial Knight? As the comm droid leaves the uncharted planet and enters space, it is shot down by an unknown party.

We jump ahead one week, to the Carreras system where we meet Ania Solo, who works as a junk dealer. After thwarting an attempt at 2 junk haulers to rip her off, Ania discovers a fairly intact comm droid. Ania takes the droid to a friend, a Mon Cal named Suak, to check it out. While investigating the droid, they open a compartment and find the lightsaber inside of it. Ania sees this as her chance to get off the rock she finds herself and decides to try and sell the lightsaber. The only problem is no one wants anything to do with it, or the trouble it will cause, so they cause trouble for her by alerting the authorities, which starts a chase through the city streets ending with Ania killing a member of the Carreras security force.

I enjoyed this book immensely; I have been a huge fan of the Legacy Era since its inception and have been anxiously waiting for this volume to start ever since it was announced. It’s a great thing to have such an open timeframe to play in; you don’t have to fit a story in a mold where you know what comes after, so anything goes. Bechko and Hardman have done a great job in stepping into the scripting shoes of Ostrander and Duursema and telling a new story in this universe. There is so much story here; I can’t wait, especially to find out about Aina’s lineage to Han and Leia. I enjoyed Hardman’s pencils, it was simple and I felt that they did their job of visually capturing the story, particularly when there is no narrative. Admittedly I did have some problems with Rosenberg’s colors; I feel that some scenes were far too darkly shaded. There were definitely some panels that overall looked fantastic. Well lit, soft natural colors, then others where it was just far too shadowed to the point where I felt it took away from the pencils. I will say some shadowing looked great, particularly in the panel where Ania activates the lightsaber for the first time…gorgeous.

The Rating Bit

Again, I really liked this book, and am eagerly looking forward to this title’s future and what it has to offer. I give this issue of Star Wars Legacy volume 2 a 7.5. I think my problems with the coloring keep this from getting any higher of a rating. I recommend this book to any Star Wars fan. Issue #1 is in stores now and issue #2 will hit shelves April 24^th.

The Info Bit

Title: Dead Man’s Run #4

Genre/s: Fantasy/Adventure

Writer: Greg Pak (X-treme X-men, Incredible Hulks)

Penciler: Tony Parker (Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, Warhammer 40,000)

Colorist: Wes Hartman (Gears of War, Pirates vs. Ninjas)

Letterer: Josh Reed (Soulfire, Idolized)

Publisher: Aspen MLT

Number of Issues: 4 (of 6)

Page Count: 20

Price: $3.99

The Review Bit

From the writer of well-loved Marvel books such as Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, and X-Men, comes an interesting and action-riddled take on a concept that is fairly well known to all of us—Hell. One of Aspen Comic’s most thought-provoking series to date, Dead Man’s Run is back after far too long of a hiatus, but easily the series best issue yet.

To recap for those of you who haven’t read this series before (or have just completely forgotten what happened in the past seven months since the last issue was released), the young cartographer Sam Tinker has been plunged into the depths of the seven layers of Hell in order to bring back his innocent sister, Juniper, from the horror that awaits. Accompanied by a gang of misfits sentenced to the fiery depths (a murderous house wife, a Chinese warlord, an engineer from ancient times, and an archeologist who speaks to demons) Sam treks through the Dante-like world in order to find his little sister and escape.

In this issue, they escape to the fifth level –that frankly looks like Narnia at first—where they find rooms and rooms full of children, terrified by their own conscience. Some have lost a doll, some have yelled at their parents, but all have sentenced themselves to this terrible place because they feel guilty. The most heart wrenching part of this is about half-way through the issue when one of the main characters finds his son there, who died only moments after he did. He died trying to protect his father’s land with the rest of the warriors, but fell from his pony, what he refers to as “A dog’s death.” The father, having been forever changed by this statement, regains his soul and vows to keep watch over these lost children until they are able to escape once and for all.

Sam is finally reunited with his sister, Juniper, and things are looking up. Just as they think they’re going to get away, however, things take a turn for a worse and she is lost again to the depths.
Who will fall behind? What member of the gang will betray the group? And will Juniper ever escape with her soul intact? To find out, we recommend picking up your own copy of Dead Man’s Run #4.

Greg Pak does an exquisite job of creating an entirely new take on the famous Dante’s Inferno by incorporating the concept of the seven layers of hell with a very modern twist. He provides both an action-packed storyline that has enough depth to rip your heart out and stomp on it every few pages, just when you get your hopes up. He makes the characters—despite their sins and flaws—very relatable. There are enough “what the fuck” moments to almost make this feel more like a ride at Halloween Horror Nights than a comic book, but would you expect anything less from the guy who wrote Planet Hulk?

Artist Tony Parker fills every page with acid-trip-like visuals that pull you into this wild ride of a story. The art is very different from what typically comes out of an Aspen book, but that’s in no way to call it bad. The portrayal of the characters reminded me very much of the TV series Archer, in a way, but with a lot more depth and detail. With the monsters this guy creates, one has to wonder if he’s on some sort of awesome, scary drugs.

The colors from Wes Hartman add even more depth to Parker’s already bad-ass imagery. They are a slight changed from previous series colorist, David Curiel, but perhaps for the better. Using mostly darker colors and red tones, he somehow manages to make every room look distinct rather than blurring all into one. The abrupt transition from the dark cavern they were fighting their way out of in the beginning to the Narnia-like place was astounding—like walking out of a dark theater and into a snow storm.

Josh Reed has out done himself on lettering in the issue with intricate word-boxes and sinister-looking fonts in just the right places.

The Rating Bit

Now really, I would like to give this a ten out of ten because of the fantastic job the team has done on it but the long stretch between the third and fourth issues have been a bit of a pain. We all know that Greg Pak is a busy guy, but for a series as great as this, I would hope that the issues would come out a bit closer together. So in the end, I give Dead Man’s Run #4 a still impressive 9 out of 10. This is a series that is certainly worth picking up.

The Info Bit

Title: Idolized #5

Genre/s: Superhero

Writer: David Schwartz (Meltdown, Fathom: Blue Descent)

Penciler: Pasquale Qualano (One, She-Hulk)

Colorist: David Curiel (Action Comics, Dead Man’s Run)

Letter: Josh Reed (Just about anything with lettering at Aspen)

Publisher: Aspen MLT

Page Count: 34

Price: $3.99

The Review Bit

Aspen Comic’s first ever super-hero series goes out with a BANG! and a POW! as David Schwartz’s Idolized comes to a close with issue #5.

We have followed our girl-next-door protagonist, Leslie (aka Joule), through her trials and tribulations in the hit reality TV series Super Hero Idol as she literally fights her way to the top, showing the judges and all of America why she deserves to have the spot in the renowned super hero team, The Powered Protectors.  For those of you who may not have been following the series from the beginning, Leslie discovered at a young age that she possesses super-human powers—that of being able to control energy—after witnessing the misguided activist turned villain, Stasis, kill her family in front of her very eyes. Her entire life from that point on was devoted to honing her powers and finding a way to seek revenge against the man who sent her world crashing to the ground at the age of nine.

Idolized #5 picks up moments after where #4 left off, in the wake of the Powered Protector’s downfall. Joule, guilt-ridden and hoping to escape the invasive eyes of the paparazzi, breaks into a nearby apartment to seek a place to hide and change out of her spandex. Leaving the apartment building in clothes she hopes will help her to blend in with the crowd, her former co-stars of Super Hero Idol find her in attempts to get her to fight once again. She reluctantly rejoins the battle and formulates a plan with the new team to bring down Stasis once and for all.

Flying to a seemingly abandoned warehouse in a small middle-American town, they combine their forces to intercept the villain and fight to stop the massive virus he is in the process of releasing upon all of the computers of the world.  Joule finally does herself proud and gains control of both her emotions and powers, fighting the rogue activist in an attempt to stop the virus in an epic confrontation—all with the help of her trusty friends!

Now, I know what you might be thinking- there are a LOT of super hero comics out there, and what makes this one different? There is a lead character with deaths to avenge who lives with elderly relatives, a flock of teenagers with assorted powers, and a villain in a long, black trench coat with a penchant for destruction. It may bring a few other comic series to mind, but it’s much more than just another caped-comic. Our hero is a teenage girl with a background of partying and drug use. Our villain is something like a Green Peace activist gone terribly, terribly wrong. And most of all, all throughout the storyline are woven significant and recent cultural references and issues. Genetically modified food, text-to-vote applications, and scripted reality shows.

Writer David Schwartz does an excellent job of portraying the individual personalities and motives of each character, and moves the story along with perfect pacing. He knows where to put in the emotional bits, the action sequences, and the self-deprecating angst every teenager feels at some point in their life, and even some cheesy pick-up lines. I would have liked to see more of the art and fewer word bubbles because I think less commentary would have moved the story along just as well, but it’s not a major complaint on my part.
Artist Pasquale Qualano, like so many of the other Aspen artists, fills every panel with life-like, beautiful imagery that make you want to hang posters of his art on your wall (which leads to the question—can we expect some Aspen OP prints from Idolized any time soon?).  Only a few of the panels were rather crowded, leading to some oddly proportioned bodies (i.e. Joule’s enormous sweater on page 8), but I would have to attribute it to his attention to including as many details as possible. For someone who jumped into a series mid-run, Qualano has had near perfect execution on everything I have seen of his thus far.
David Curiel continues to provide jaw-dropping color palates that make every bit of this issue pop, but then again, when has he ever done a bad job?

The Rating Bit

If you haven’t read this series before, it’s high time you do. Here’s to hoping there’s a second volume of Idolized out in the next few years, and that Aspen keeps doing what they do best—extraordinary art with terrific writing. I give Idolized #5 a 8.75 out of 10. Pick up your copy today!

The Info Bit

Title: Modesty Blaise: The Girl In The Iron Mask

Genre/s: Espionage/ Adventure

Writer: Peter O’Donnell

Artist: Enric Badia Romero

Publisher: Titan Books

Number of Issues: Graphic Novel

Page Count: 104 pages

Price: $19.95

The Review Bit

Keeping with their theme of reprinting classic stories, Titan Books released last week three complete tales of the English heroine, Modesty Blaise! Originally released as comic strips that ran for some forty years in London’s Evening Standard newspaper, this collected volume includes the adventures Fiona, Walk-About, and The Girl In The Iron Mask.

The first story in this collection, Fiona, initially follows the struggle of one couple running a hospital in Tanarachi, immediately following a devastating cyclone. When medicine and supplies start running low, and with little funding to buy more, they turn to a shady character—one Mr. Wu Smith—to whom they turn a blind eye against illicit dealings. The sexy crime-fighter and good friend of the couple, Modesty Blaise, along with companion and bad-ass Willie Garvin, come to surprise them with help and much-needed supplies. Things quickly go awry when Mr. Wu Smith discovers news of his long-time foe nearby and Modesty and Willie find themselves trapped in a snake pit with little hope of escape! Luckily Willie’s chimpanzee friend finds them with only seconds to spare and risks her own life to save that of the two heroes, and Smith is once again kept at bay!

The second adventure in this anthology, Walk-About, takes place in the Australian Outback, where Modesty has gone on a month-long stay with Aborigine friends to learn their way of life. Willie, who is staying in Sydney, runs into an old lawyer friend of theirs who mentions that a sect of the Italian-American mafia has recently infiltrated the city. After many life-threatening happenings—including a car fire, a spear-wound, and a show-down on a tug boat—Willie and Modesty, along with the help of some Aborigine acquaintances, bring down the murderous mafia and their dangerous accomplice, Four-Finger Fitch!

Last but by no means least, the title story, Girl In the Iron Mask, tells the unnerving tale of the elderly, eccentric Bone brothers and their aspirations to drive Modesty to insanity—all as a means of entertainment. These two billionaire twins have a long history of bringing about the ruination of many a wealthy man for their own fun and games and years after Modesty Blaise puts an end to their wily ways, they decide it’s time to bring her into their line of fire. Kidnapping her during a drive through the Swiss Alps, she is lowered into a deep pit where her head is encased in an iron mask and is filmed trying to escape. Thanks to a call from the Bone’s housemaid, Celeste, Willie is alerted of the imminent danger and rushes to the scene to rescue Modesty, who is already doing a great job of climbing out of the pit and kicking ass. Now without protection, the Bone brothers fall by the wayside and their tortured housemaid, Celeste, is freed.

Popular British crime writer Peter O’Donnell captures a Bond-like sense of extravagance and espionage in his tales of action-heroine Modesty Blaise, and it is easy to see why the busty do-gooder kept a place in London’s Evening Standard for thirty-eight years, until O’Donnell’s death in 2001. The main characters, with their good intentions and humorously over-the-top fighting skills are, on some level, so relatable that you can’t help but hold your breath waiting to find out what will happen to them. The pacing is just right and allows the reader to develop a sense of who the characters are and what motivations drive their actions.

Artist Enric Romero’s prolific images are instantly recognizable. While I’m not a fan of the comic-strip style layout, I’m happy that they stuck with the original panels because they show how much Romero was able to portray in such a small amount of space.

My only problem with the artwork was that many of the leading ladies had a bit too similar of a look; big, dark-lashed eyes, striking hour-glass figures, and cheek bones so high you could land a plane on them. Fortunately he added different hair colors and styles to help differentiate between them all.

Titan has covered the collection of these three riveting re-prints with a glossy grey-toned profile shot of Modesty with the title in huge print beneath her face. Meanwhile, Series archivist Lawrence Blackmore provides historical context to each story, detailing aspects of the tales that help drive along the plotline. Explaining mafia organizations in the 1960s, literary references dating back to the seventeenth century, and plot devices such as Deus ex Machina help readers to understand where O’Donnell found inspiration to make these stories as realistic as possible.

The Rating Bit

Modesty Blaise: The Girl In the Iron Mask is an excellent collection of reprinted classics, winning another point for Titan Books this month. For any fans of action, espionage, small shorts, and the 1960s, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this at your LCS or on the Titan website today. Definitely earns a 8.5 out of 10.

Looking through this book really started to bring the game to life for me, even though it wasn’t yet released and I hadn’t had an opportunity to play it yet. There is so much background that didn’t exactly make it into the game, but was hinted at through the subtle context of clues and small things placed in the final version of the game. Readers can see things like the original concept for The Handyman, which was first called Claw Daddy. There are even very in depth designs for things like the game’s iconic Sky-Hook.

The book is broken up into specific chapters, each named after a characters or concept in the game, outlining in rather great detail the process of its design and creation. To give you an idea of the book’s focus, some of the chapters are “Elizabeth”, “Vigors”, “Sky-Hook”, and “Booker Dewitt”. But my favorite chapter in the whole book has to be “Songbird”.

The mechanical feel to this game is so drastically different to the human, organic feel of the original Bioshock and its sequel. How they make it so different but manage to keep the concept art looking and feeling like the same Bioshock will confuse me forever. I speak specifically about The Songbird. The description of this in the book perfectly captured my feelings when they said “Just what is this creature? Alive? Machine? Or both?” The first concepts for The Songbird screamed machine to me. But, as they moved along in their designs, it became more and more organic. There are emotions, expressions, and different ways of making it seem like it’s alive, but…is it really? That’s one of the best parts of Bioshock, that it takes something and makes it into another, completely different, thing at the same time.

The art in this book really awed me (And I’m not just saying that because of my love of the Bioshock series). I loved loved loved that they showed us as the readers and cultists of the game franchise the makings behind the story and behind the characters. For a specific instance, in the chapter “Elizabeth” they tell and show us all the different types of faces and clothing that they thought about giving her before finally deciding on her look. When they finally decided on her look and feel, they drew her as a child, teenager, and young adult. They went through her entire life and built her from the ground up. That right there is dedication and love for what they do. It makes Elizabeth a person, not just a character design.

Thankfully enough, the creators thought to bring in details of the older games into this new ones, but still letting it be it’s on stand-alone game. The mask aspect of the first and second Bioshock still hold true in this game, hiding the people’s identities. Being a pretty big fan of the masks and splicers in the first two games (So much so that I made my own and may or may not have worn them and a splicer outfit to a convention…) I was happy that they kind of brought the theme to Bioshock: Infinite in regards to some of the big baddies…also presidents. Don’t worry, you’ll see.

So, all in all, I loved this book! It really showed the depth that the makers of Bioshock traveled to make this game the best it could be. Putting things together, scrapping ideas that weren’t perfect, following their characters from childhood to adults, and even making hundreds of faces and portraits to make a character’s emotions feel just right. Their dedication to the game and it’s background story is something to be proud of, and I can’t wait to sink my metaphorical teeth into this game! The book was released yesterday, March 27th, at the very reasonable price of only $39.99. It’s completely worth it for the amount of depth and detail that was put into this book. Go get it!

The Info Bit

Title:  Constantine #1

Genre/s: Fantasy

Writer: Ray Fawkes (Batgirl, Justice League Dark) & Jeff Lemire (Swamp Thing, Sweet Tooth)

Artist: Renato Guedes (Wolverine, Superman)

Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo (Demon Knights, Teen Titans)

Letterer: Sal Cipriano (Django Unchained, Before Watchmen)

Publisher: DC Comics

Number of Issues: 1 (on-going)

Page Count: 21

Price: $2.99

The Review Bit

Hellblazer, the long running DC/Vertigo comic series that began back in 1988 and followed the adventures of John Constantine, ended its 25 year long run this February with issue #300. Now while this was an end to the old John Constantine we knew from Alan Moore’s epic Swamp Thing run, this was not the end of the character completely. Like many comic characters from DC, Constantine was carried over into DC’s New 52 universe back in September of 2011 with Justice League Dark. The character quickly became the commanding lead of the series and now has earned himself DC’s newest on-going title in the New 52. Entitled just Constantine, the first issue of the series came out last week.

This issue starts at an indeterminable time in the New 52, as the narration doesn’t assure us whether or not John has become a part of the Justice League Dark yet or not. Things begin alright for old school Constantine fans, with John showing a disdain for heroes as he exits a bar and lights up a cigarette. We even get a slight hint that Papa Midnite is a part of the New 52. John appears a wise magic using man similar to his old incarnation, but now suddenly lives in a pet store basement somewhere in New York City. A bit of a trade from London, but we’ve already seen many changes to the character’s origin in the New 52. At John’s home, he takes in an acquaintance of sorts by the name of Chris. Chris has the ability to see things and is currently envisioning the location of an old wizard’s compass, which allows the user to locate certain magical events and artifacts. Constantine determines he must be the first person to track this compass down and takes Chris with him on a flight to the mystically discovered location, out in Norway. Along the way Constantine is attacked by a secret cult member disguised as an air stewardess before landing in Norway. An uncannily short taxi ride later, the duo find themselves in northern Norway at an ice hotel, tracking down the compass’ needle. But when they find the needle, evil is short behind in the form of a new incarnation of Sargon the Sorcerer. Constantine proves himself as still a bit of a bastard in the end, as he attempts to flee the evil chasing after him and this compass.

Like many of DC’s New 52 series that have taken an old character from Vertigo or Wildstorm and dragged them [back] into the DC universe, this is a good story on its own. It reads well and could be rather enjoyable except for one factor…the protagonist is almost nothing like the character we once knew. I was always more of a Jamie Delano fan when it came to writers of John Constantine, because I liked his visceral noir horror style. However, regardless if you are more of an Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, or even Mike Carrey fan of Hellblazer, if you took off the trench coat from this new Constantine, you’d hardly recognize him. He is about as English as a 16-year old Los Angeles hipster wearing a T-shirt depicting Matt Smith as the Doctor, but even then could be read as more American in dialogue. He drops a lot more simplistic and cartoonishly easy magic than the old Constantine. And while he pulls a somewhat dick move towards the end of the book, it just doesn’t feel like the John Constantine of the past 25+ years.

When we don’t focus on how little this John Constantine compares to the older comic version (which I admittedly can say is closer than the Keanu Reeves movie version), the comic is still written enjoyably. Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes can certainly script a comic and make it a fun read. The flow of the story is great, the ending is enjoyable, and the dialogue seems fitting for some late twenty-something in modern day New York City with a bit of magic in the atmosphere. It just sadly isn’t Constantine. There is much more I could complain about in the changes this issue brings to the New 52, such as how magic is depicted and how certain classic heroes of DC magic are now being vilified as the founders of a dark cult…but I’ll stop here.

On art duties, Renato Guedes does a rather good job. His characters look good and his version of Constantine has most of the iconic pieces (the trench coat and hair) with a bit of a younger, hipper style (the tie is quickly lost for a scarf…but it does get extremely cold in Norway). One of my biggest complaints in his art actually comes from me being fairly familiar with Norway. Once John and Chris land in Norway they are taking a taxi over the Storseisundet Bridge, which Guedes draws rather awkwardly trying to get the unique angle and perspective that would show the bridge going through the Atlantic Road, across several islands. The only problem is the Storseisundet Bridge is nowhere near where the compass was shown on the map of Norway, being roughly 600 miles south west of it on an island. I believe they were trying to depict the compass as being at the Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel…but they even were fairly off on the art depiction of that (but the map location is right!). Not the greatest research or perspective displayed on the art end, but credit for pulling up an iconic Norwegian location to begin with.  Marcelo Maiolo provides decent color to Guedes’ well drawn figures, but even there I have to nitpick that his variation in shading is quite harsh, lacking any sense of smooth gradient coloring. Normally he does quite well making that work, such as he did in Demon Knights and Teen Titans, but it just appears off in this issue. Thankfully at least Sal Cipriano does a job I can’t complain about, with beautiful lettering and a great choice in fonts for captions, creepy magical words, and mystical character names.

The Rating Bit

Overall Constantine #1 isn’t horrible. In fact, the comic could be great if you’re new to the character and aren’t going in with any previous baggage. But I can’t judge it on that level because they’re selling this comic on the title of it being based off a classic DC/Vertigo character and even canceled his previous book to do so. While a new character in this exact same story might have rated the book a 7 or so, with the broken baggage and littered history of John Constantine creating a sad trail behind this book, the story just seems empty and the art just above mediocre. Constantine #1 earns a saddening 4 out of 10, that might impress a few, but will ultimately leave many just upset and disappointed.

The Warlord of the Air

A 288-page reprint of Steampunk Fiction, published by Titan Books

When I first read the words “Warlord of the Air”, my first thought was of a Hun-like figure atop a flying pirate ship, brandishing his glittering sword of doom. Luckily, this reprint of fantasy-legend Michael Moorcock’s book was even better than that, if you can imagine. This fantastical tale of adventure set in both the turn of the century as well as an alternate-history 1970’s has everything from mystical hidden temples to the decades-late atomic bomb.

The Warlord of the Air begins with our narrator, Michael Moorcock (supposedly the grandfather of the author by the same name), recounting how he met our protagonist, one Captain Oswald Bastable on the quiet Rowe Island in the year 1904. The man is jilted and opium-ridden, but soon takes a liking to the narrator and relates to him over the course of several days his traumatic and far-fetched story.

The tales starts off with a slightly younger Bastable leading a troop of Indian soldiers to investigate recent attacks, by the Kumbalari warriors, upon a civilian town. They come to the most ancient of all cities, Teku Benga, which is ruled over by an omnipresent, self-declared, magical king, Sharan Kang. After being drugged in the midst of negotiations, Bastable dictates a series of horrific visions that haunted his mind until he awoke on a desolate plateau, clearly some years after a natural disaster. Upon the brink of losing himself to insanity, he is rescued from his isolation by a massive zeppelin piloted by an English officer/amateur archeologist.

After being taken back to England and being informed that the year is now 1972 rather than 1902, the protagonist of this story takes it surprisingly well and quickly adjusts to his new environment. The British Empire is now the most influential nation in the Great Powers and the world now thrives on technology and the changes brought on by the widely used airships.

Author Michael Moorcock

At this point, Bastable does a stint as an officer aboard the luxury air-ship liner, Loch Etive, but is thrown out of the army after assaulting a passenger (with very good reason, I might add). Distraught and in a drunken stupor, he is offered employment aboard a rickety old cargo airship, The Rover, and somehow finds himself part of an anarchistic, socialistic crew. Fighting the idea of communism and revolutionists, he eventually comes to realize that they’re not all bad and, in fact, changes his views on everything he once believed to be true.

The story ends with a battle and a BOOM! During which Bastable is shuttled backwards through time, finding himself once again in the year 1904, though everything is not as it had been.

The Warlord of the Air is terrifically written with a very Victorian sound to it without feeling forced, like so many period novels do when written so long after the time in which they take place.  Moorcock managed to turn out not only an exciting action/adventure tale with a lovably tragic hero, but a social commentary in which he cleverly injects his own views in the context of a world we might have known. The only problem I had with the writing style of this otherwise excellent novel was the pacing. The first one hundred pages are entirely different in tone and context than the next one hundred, as are the last fifty pages from the rest.

The 1971 cover to The Warlord of the Air by Ace Books

This reprint (released on January 15^th, 2013) features a cover very different from its previous incarnations, such as the 1971 and 1974 covers by Ace Books, both of which feature weaponized airships floating along through ominous-looking clouds, all in very yellowy tones. This most recent cover is a flat shade of electric blue with a line-drawing of a zeppelin taking up only a small portion of the image. Moorcock’s name is emblazoned across it, larger than even the book title. At the bottom of the book it is noted that this is the first novel in a trilogy known as the Nomad of the Time Streams novels. Moorcock had two more novels succeeding The Warlord of the Air, The Land Leviathan & The Steel Tsar being re-released from Titan Books on April 16th & August 13th respectively.

The foreword, written by Kim Newman (Anno Dracula, Time and Relative), praises the author’s understanding of his great dystopian (or as he calls them, Scientific Romancers) predecessors such as H.G. Wells, E. Nesbit, and Rudyard Kipling, and I couldn’t agree more. It is much shorter than one would expect in a foreword, and while I would have liked to hear him elaborate more on the links between Moorcock and authors like the above, I think perhaps it’s best to leave it to the imagination. Overall I must give this wonderful reprint of The Warlord of the Air a might 9 out of 10.