Latest Comic Book Reviews (07.14.2011): Red Skull: Incarnate & Captain America #1

Marvel's greatest villain (and Captain America's arch enemy) gets his own origin series and a new #1 starring the Captain of all Captains. I can't be more thrilled sharing my thoughts on both of these incredible titles.

All of my reviews after the jump.


Red Skull: Incarnate
Written by Greg Pak
Art by Mirko Colak
Colors by Matthew Wilson
Cover by David Aja
Published by Marvel Comics

Red Skull is arguably Marvel Comics greatest supervillain. We know him as the Nazi sympathizer who always fought with Captain America with an undeniable thirst and hunger for power - but more importantly, he know him for being a merciless, evil monster who will slaughter anybody who gets in his way.

But we never knew why he was like that. Why he do the things he do and what motivated him to embrace evil and be the personification of evil itself. 

Now, Marvel brings us the story that would answer all those questions. The story of Johann Schmidt, before he became The Red Skull. 

Hiring Greg Pak to write this complicated story was the right choice. Pak wrote the awesome Magneto: Testament (if you haven't read that one, go get it now!) which was the inspiration for this series. But there's a main difference: Magneto: Testament told the story of a boy who was a victim of the war and the Nazi's so it was very easy to sympathize with that character and ultimately understand his beliefs and hatred. 

Red Skull: Incarnate on the other hand, is the opposite. Its a story of a man embracing evil with all his heart. How could someone possibly make this evil incarnate - human - if that's the case then?

Believe it or not, Greg Pak was able to humanize this story as possible that was the result of his extensive study and research on pre-World War II history. His tragic writing is full of emotion and it cleverly guides the reader into the mind of the boy Johann Schmidt, who at this time (in 1932) is an innocent young lad living in an orphanage for wayward children, being constantly beaten by his strict headmaster.

This leads into a scene where Johann is forced to look for an escape from his miserable life, eventually ending up with a dogcatcher who gives him some advice on how to survive in this world, and more importantly, Johann's first meeting with death. 

The build-up to that scene is perfectly executed by Pak, slowly building up the tension then drops the bomb down the end, making a beautifully tragic tale leaving you with the desire to learn more about the title character. Honestly, I want to know Johann more after that last page. I felt sympathy for him. And with that, I could say that Pak was successful in his objective. 

Colak's illustration is brand new to me, and I never really knew this artist no until this comic book. His art is realistic and gorgeous, and though it lacks dynamic in some scenes, he compensates for that with sheer emotion. He was able to elevate Pak's storytelling and draws the script just the way it is. I also applaud him for not being afraid to depict brutality involving animals, and he was able to illustrate those touchy scenes with subtlety. 

David Aja's incredible poster-like cover didn't hurt either in enticing me to pick this up. I love his work on The Immortal Iron Fist, and I'm glad to see his talent being used here. Just look at that cover, and you'll agree with me when I say its a sure candidate for "Cover of the Month".

 

Overall, great start for this new Red Skull series and I'm sure be looking forward for more in the next 4 issues.

Rating:

Captain America #1 (2011)
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Steve McNiven
Published by Marvel Comics


The effects of Fear Itself definitely rippled thru the entire Marvel Universe, and with the death (again) of Bucky Barnes (aka Captain America II) at the hands of Red Skull's daughter Sin, its almost automatic for the original Star-Spangled Avenger - Steve Rogers - to take the mantle and shield once more.


This leads us to this new number 1 for Cap.

But its no ordinary number 1 issue, because heralding this latest Cap series is mystery-action-thriller specialist Ed Brubaker, who is no stranger to Captain America. Actually, his Cap run last year is regarded as one of the best ever, not just because he revitalized the character, but because he added modern sensibilities to Cap's endearing personality that was something readers haven't seen before.

Now Brubaker does that with this installment, putting Captain America in a complicated love-triangle, showing more of the man rather than the hero, while delivering his patented mystery plot that's beautifully intertwined with the back and forth switches from the past to the present time line (vice versa).

And Brubaker presents this with an ascending voice, slowly building up the pieces , giving a couple of hints here and there but not giving the main gist away, and then hits with a big "BANG!" as he finishes it with a cliffhanger. Now readers are hooked, and will sure pickup the next issue, guaran-damn-teed.

What's amazing is how Brubaker's impeccable storytelling makes all the multiple plot-lines gel together and look seamless for an easy and fun read. Its amazing. His idea of a former friend from Captain America's past coming to kill the shield-wielding avenger raises an awful lot of questions, but it sure makes for an intriguing and engaging plot that could somehow reveal some of Steve Rogers' dark past. Pair that with the love angle I mentioned a while ago, a blockbuster supporting cast of Dum Dum Dugan, Sharon Carter and Nick Fury, and you have a book that's very hard to put down.

Now when it comes to the art, Steve McNiven hits the jackpot here. He draws exceptional faces, something that most artist really do a mediocre job at, and he does it with clean and crisp lines. I know I say that a lot, but that's what I really notice at first in an art - the lines - and the way artists draw everything. Is it sketchy? Dull? That kind of stuff.

With McNiven,  its almost perfect, and I really dig his effort in bringing dynamic scenes mixed with some nice panel arrangements to give that widescreen movie feel.

Justin Ponsor's colors are really well toned on this one, not to bright and not to dark, yet its vibrant and almost everything especially the backgrounds is very well taken care of. Perfect match of pencilling, inking, and coloring = an art experience you don't want to miss, and that's the formula for Captain America #1 - art wise.

Only thing that was not tackled in this issue is Bucky. I know he's dead, but why didn't Cap or anybody mention his name in the funeral scene? But other than that, this issue is damn flawless. Now if only Marvel can do us a favor and make this a bi-monthly series.

Rating:

Latest Comic Book Reviews (05.21.2011) - Power Girl #24 and Alpha Flight (v4) 0.1

Got a chance to read two superhero comic books today featuring one of my second favorite Kryptonian (next to Superman) and the return of Marvel Comics' premiere Canadian superteam. Both books we're really good so I decided to write a review for them. 

You know the drill:  titles are rated by the number of stars I give them, with 5 stars being the highest. That means if a title gets a rare 5 stars, then that should be really m'effin good! 

Now that we got that out of the way, go and read all my reviews after the cut.

Power Girl #24

Written by Judd Winick

Art by Hendry Prasetya

Cover by Sami Basri and Sunny Gho

Colors by Jessica Kholinne

Pubslihed by DC Comics 

First thing I noticed is the fact that Sami Basri’s art is completely missing in this issue. After delivering 10 consecutive issues of solid artwork, I was very disappointed that Sami was out for this one. Hope he gets back soon.

Hendry Prasetya fills-in for the starter here, and his art does not stand out as well as the latter. But he does have some good sense of narrative in his illustrations and even tries to be faithful to Basri’s templates and artistic sensibilities. I love the way he handled PeeGee, Batman and everybody else, though his inconsistencies in drawing Peej face every panel is a little bit of a turn off. Kholinne's beautiful toned-down coloring compensates for the not so good stuff though and therefore made the overall art work.

When Batman cameos in your series,
you know you're in for superstardom.

I really like Winnick’s continued commitment to making the character a force to be reckoned with in the DCU -  not only as a superpowered Kryptonian – but also as a complete professional who stands for her beliefs and knows what she doing in the business side. Karen Starr becomes more of a powerful business mogul here, able to stand on her own in the tough corporate world as she continues to expand Starrware by venturing into other fields, aside from developing eco-friendly devices.

Bruce Wayne/Batman also makes a cameo here in a supporting role, giving Kara some helpful advice on how to handle her fast growing empire. Who knows more running a billion dollar company during the  day while “ridding the world of all evil” night in and night out, than Bruce Wayne himself? Exploring these unique character relationships are the ones that makes this series really good, and if this book continues to elevate Kara’s alter-ego by making everything revolve around her, then Power Girl could be no doubt become DC’s greatest heroines in the forefront.  No longer a second fiddle to Superman or to any hero for that matter.

But that’s not the only thing that is tackled in this issue. The “villain” – if I could call him that – in the name of Reyhan Mazin, an innocent American-Arab metahuman who gets the unfortunate taste of racial stereotyping is one interesting subplot that could possibly move this story to new heights. Winnick covers this topic very effectively (and cautiously, mind you) by making Mazin very easy to sympathize with subjects of “injustice and racism” playing in the background.

Still a very good solid issue here for “Power Girl” despite Basri’s absence. The title continues to deliver very engaging storylines while making Kara Zor-L a lot more interesting than ever. “Power Girl” is one of those books that I do follow every month since its inception, and I have no plans of leaving this series at all at this point. It’s that good.

Rating: 

Alpha Flight 0.1

Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente

Art by Ben Oliver and Dan Green

Colors by Frank Martin

Published by DC Comics

I have no idea what Alpha Flight is until I started reading volume 1 of The New Avengers a couple of weeks ago. They are Canada’s premiere super-team and Marvel is bringing them back with this special point-one issue.

With no idea about the character backgrounds at all, I was surprised on how Pak was able to make this a very easy and entertaining read for me despite my complete ignorance. New readers should be able to grasp the story pretty quick without having to read their Marvel wiki pages one by one, and that's always a plus for the writer. 

Canada's superhero team returns.

What I really like about this issue is how action packed it is right from the get-go. The team looks really good together against an adamantium-armored guy who’s trying to disrupt Canada’s elections. Alpha Flight works cohesively and strikes with complete badasserry, with Sasquatch’s first blow a memorable one for me. Paks’ dialog is very seamless and he handles each guy on the roster so well that nobody gets ignored.

Oliver’s art is a big eye-catcher as I am a sucker for realistic illustrations of superheroes with thin, clean lines. The colors just make it even better as it gives off that “canvas painting” effect on the inked pencils. Very well done. And for some reason, the overall artistic approach reminded me of this 1940s Superman Kellogs ad made by an unknown artist.

Only problem is that Pak wasn’t able to provide an explanation on how a former Alpha Flight member suddenly became a foe in this issue, but I guess that’s for the succeeding issues to answer.

Alpha Flight 0.1 succeeds in many areas and with lots of questions waiting to be answered by the last pages concerning the purple-pheromone villain Persuasion; it looks like Marvel’s Canadian team is poised for a good take off.  But since they are not as popular as the other teams from “the House that Stan and Jack Built”, I’m thinking of AF getting shelved right away – that is, if it doesn’t get that much attention and the much needed support from its fans. 

Rating: 

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